THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



147 



A KAYAN MAN AND WOMAN OF THE TlNJAR RIVER DISTRICT: SARAWAK 



The lobes of the woman's ears are ornamented with the customary rings, but the upper 

 parts of the man's ears are adorned with much more highly prized decorations — two tiger's 

 teeth, which give him the appearance of having tusks growing out of the sides of his head. 



not to interfere with harmless native 

 customs. 



WHY NATIVE CUSTOMS AND OCCUPATIONS 

 ARE PRESERVED 



It is difficult enough to abolish the 

 harmful ones ; and it is best for those 

 people to spend days watching for favor- 

 able omens in the flight of birds and the 

 cries of animals, until they have advanced 

 enough to make it certain that a useful 



occupation can be substituted for that 

 which the superior white man wishes to 

 destroy. Thus the Residents carefully 

 respect this and other "tabus." 



The danger of destroying the primitive 

 customs and harmless occupations of 

 pagan races simply because the white 

 man knows that he can employ his own 

 time better has been recorded by Steven- 

 son in his pathetic stories of the Mar- 

 quesans. So many of their customs were 



