364 S O O L O O. 



been submitted to smoke to destroy the smell. After these prelimi- 

 naries, the family honour of the bride is supposed to be satisfied, and 

 she is not allowed to refuse to marry. A feast is now made, and the 

 couple are seated in the midst naked, holding the bloody heads, when 

 handfuls of rice are thrown over them, with prayers that they may 

 be happy and fruitful. After this, the bridegroom repairs in state to 

 the house of the bride, where he is received at the door by one of her 

 friends, who sprinkles him with the blood of a cock, and her with 

 that of a hen. This completes the affair, and they are man and wife. 



Funerals are likewise consecrated by similar offerings, the corpse 

 remaining in the house until a slave can be procured, by purchase or 

 otherwise, whom they design to behead at the time the body is burnt. 

 This is done in order that the defunct may be attended by a slave on 

 his way to the other world or realms of bliss. After being burnt, the 

 ashes of the deceased are gathered in an urn, and the head of the slave 

 preserved and placed near it. 



In some parts, a rajah or chief is buried with great pomp in his war 

 habiliments, and food and his arms are placed at his side. A mound is 

 erected over him, which is encircled with a bamboo fence, upon which 

 a number of fresh heads are stuck, all the warriors who have been 

 attached to him bringing them as the most acceptable offering; and 

 subsequently these horrid offerings are renewed. 



The Dyacks are found also on the island of Celebes, but there, as in 

 Borneo, they are confined to the interior. I have already mentioned 

 that they were supposed to have been the original inhabitants of the 

 Sooloo Archipelago. The Sooloos speak of the country of the Dyacks 

 as being exceedingly fertile and capable of producing every thing. The 

 north end of Borneo is particularly valuable, as its produce is easily 

 transported from the interior, where much of the land is cultivated. I 

 have obtained much more information in relation to this people, in a 

 variety of ways, from individuals as well as from the published 

 accounts, which are to be found at times in the Eastern prints ; but as 

 this digression has already extended to a great length, I trust that 

 enough has been said to enable the reader to contrast it with the natives 

 who inhabit the islands that dot the vast Pacific Ocean, and to make 

 him look forward with interest to the developements that the philan- 

 thropic exertions of Mr. Brooke may bring to light. 



Having completed our duties here, the boats were hoisted in, after 

 despatching one to leave orders for Mr. Knox of the Flying-Fish, in a 

 bottle tied to a flag-staff'. 



On the afternoon of the 12th, we got under way to proceed direct to 

 Singapore, and passed through the channel between the reef off the 



