Head Pressing amongst the Milanos of Sarawak. 
By JOHN HEwiTtT, B.A. & A. E. LAWRENCE. 
With two plates. 
In remote times the custom of head pressing in one form or 
another has been practised in many parts of the world. Nowadays 
however, the people who still hold to this remarkable habit are few 
in number and of local distribution. So far as the Malayan region 
is concerned, it appears to be confined to the Milanos of Sarawak, 
and to certain natives of Celebes. In all probability, the custom 
will die out amongst the Milanos at no very distant date: never- 
theless at the present day a great majority of Milano women bear 
on their heads the unmistakable evidence of the press. A few only 
of the men have been thus deformed, though apparently 1t was at 
one time a privilege bestowed on all; a privilege because the press 
is considered to impart beauty to the subject. | 
The operation is performed during early infancy, the first 
application of the press being made when the child is only a week 
or two old: it is discontinued about three or four months afterwards. 
The apparatus employed is called a “Ja” at Mukah, an “Api” at 
Oya and at Bintulu a Tadal:” the press itself is exactly the same 
at these three places. A Ja’ is simply a board of hard wood, 
shaped as in the figure, attached by strings to a T shaped piece of 
cloth which supports the back of the head: the central part of the 
wood rests upon a pad which is applied to the infant’s forehead. 
The pad is made of folded up leaves or of cloth, and sometimes to 
increase its weight a flat stone or piece of wood occupies the interior 
of the pad. ‘The strings which cross the board from end to end 
pass through a coin which is ordinarily situated at the centre of 
the board : by twisting the coin round and round the strings are 
tightened as in a torniquet and thus the pressure on the head may 
be gradually increased. When applying the “Ja,” the infant is 
taken between the legs of the father or mother and the apparatus 
is gently fitted over its head. At first the strings are fairly loose 
and the inconvenience experienced by the child is slight: after a 
few minutes when her offspring is asleep, the mother carefully adds 
to the pressure of the  Ja”’ by twisting the coin round a few times: 
this she repeats at intervals of about ten minutes until, as she 
judges, the maximum pressure consistent with safety is attained: 
when the child finally wakens, the ‘Ja’ is removed. This opera- 
tion then is conducted only during the sleeping hours of the child, 
commencing at about 9 a.m. and resuming again about 2 p.m.: at 
night time, the baby has a respite as the ' Ja”? demands too much 
trouble of the parent. It occasionally happens that too much 
Jour. Straits Branch R. A. Soc., No. 69, I9II. 
