THE 'NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



131 



* ..,->** ' "" *!*''' ., 



the gallery of a kayan house during a conference: with government 



officials. note the row of skulls hanging from the beam 



in the lfft foreground, near the top: sarawak 



The formal welcome to visitors in a Kayan house is apt to be long and somewhat tedious, 

 but the ceremony has one advantage over the customs of occidental civilization — when the 

 guest's health is drunk the guest gets the drink (see page 133). 



Resident by the arm, conducted him to 

 the seat prepared for him in the middle 

 of the gallery. Then the old chieftainess, 

 Ulau, came forward to greet us. 



A STATELY CHIEFTAINESS 



The dignified presence and stateliness 

 of the old lady gave me one of the great- 



est surprises I ever experienced. She 

 maintains rigid discipline, which is char- 

 acteristic of the Kayan household, from 

 the chief of the house to the head of the 

 family, and the fruits of discipline are 

 apparent in the good manners and recog- 

 nition of authority that, more than any- 

 thing else, astonish the visitor, who is not 



