14 SARAWAK ETHNOGRAPHICAL COLLECTION. 



cavity of the stem is closed by a piece of wood nailed on, 

 the cavity of the resonator by a diaphragm of skin, edged 

 with blue cloth and nailed to the sides with brass-headed nails. 

 The back of the resonator is perforated with a circular hole and 

 the cover of the stern near its junction with the resonator is 

 similarly perforated. This orifice is surrounded by incised lines 

 forming a conventional flower design. A rectangalar block of 

 wood is driven into the lower (distal) end of the resonator and 

 through holes in this the strings pass to be attached to a cross 

 bar of wood at its back. The stem is expanded proximally to 

 form a curved head, the cavity of the stem is continued up into 

 the lower part of the head, but not only is not closed in front, 

 but the back of the head is here cut away leaving the two sides 

 only, these are perforated with six holes for the tuning pegs ; 

 the rest of the head is solid and its sides are decorated with a 

 phyllomorphic pattern in deep relief, in front with a phyllomor- 

 phic design in shallow relief and three brass headed nails. There 

 are six tuning pegs (petaran) and six cotton strings. An inverted 

 V shaped bridge rests on the diaphragm. 



Total length 93 cm. ; greatest breadth Of resonator 16*9 cm. 

 Catalogue No. 12U7. [Pd. xii. 02.] It appears probable that 

 this instrument has l>een borrowed from the Arabs. There is 

 a similar specimen in the Cambridge Anthropological Museum 

 obtained by W. W. Skeat, Esq., in the Malay Peninsula. 



Class III.— Upright Harps. 



(Plate II, fig. 6.) 



These instruments, which appear to be used only by Muruts 

 Dusuns (?) and Sea-Dyaks are roughly rectangular boxes (reson- 

 ators) with a handle and an upright or a handle aloie at 

 each end. Strings are stretched in a vertical plane from one 

 handle or upright to the other and are kept taut by upright 

 bridges standing on the lid of the box ; the addition of tuning 

 pegs seems to be a modern development. The Murut harp is 

 simpler in construction than the Sea-Dyak forms and its strings 

 being looped through the handles, not tied separately as in the 

 Sea-Dyak harps are in two parallel vertical planes instead of in 

 one. The strings are strummed with the fingers of one hand 



Jour. Straits Branch 



