14 JOURNEY ON THE SEMBEONG RIVER. 



the inhabitants were of the fine featured race, while at Kampong* 

 P'niot, on the Kahang-, good examples of both extremes were 

 observed. Their height is from four to five feet only but they 

 are pretty well developed and capable of enduring a considerable 

 amount of fatigue. The Sumpitan, or blow pipe, does not appear 

 to be used in these districts, the only weapons being spears, 

 b'liongs, and parangs, and S'rampangs for spearing fish. The 

 Labu, a large pear shaped gourd about nine inches in diameter, 

 is used as a vessel for holding- water. 



The houses of these interesting people are built on thin 

 poles, ten or twelve feet high, near the bank of a river. The 

 floors aie of lantai, (split nibong) or split bamboo, over which 

 are spread mats made of mengkuang ; the roof and walls are of 

 atap, Daun Payong {Teysmannia altifrons) or occasionally Kajang. 

 I noticed one house at Kampong P'niot the walls of which were 

 of bark. Two or more, up to as many as five or six families, hve 

 in one house, according to its size. The portions allotted to each 

 family being not at all, or only partially screened off with mats, 

 from each other. All cooking is done in the huts, the smoke 

 escaping' as best it can throug'h the numerous interstices of the 

 walls and roof. The fireplace consists of an oblong frame woik 

 or shallow box of wood about thiity inches by eighteen inches 

 and some four or five inches deep, filled with earth, on the top of 

 which are placed three good sized stones to support the cooking- 

 pots. All the Jakuns, men and women, chew sirih and tobacco, 

 of the latter they are especially fond. When they cannot obtain 

 such leaf they use the bark of a root called " kallong " as a 

 substitute. This root is slightly astringent and has somewhat 

 the same flavour as sirih. Each man carries his supply of betel- 

 nut, sireh (or kauong), tobacco, and lime in a small wallet made 

 of pandan and never goes anywhere without these — to a Jakun 

 — almost 'necessaries of life.' 



The clothing worn by both sexes is scanty, consisting for 

 the men of a pair of loose short trousers or a sarong, and for the 

 women of a sarong fastened at the waist. Some of them have 

 adopted the Malay "baju," or loose jacket, and some wear the 

 head cloth. Cats and dogs are found in all the villages, the 

 former in every house and sometmaes tw^o or three in one house. 

 They are of various colours, black, white, grey, or combinations 



