BY THE BEVI). YV. IIDWELL. 
7 
Hades. She bites the piece of iron to strengthen her 
soul, she hangs the hawk bell to the wire bracelet and 
puts them on to her wrist for a talisman or a good 
omen (bitrang malam*). The petticoat or kain is to 
screen her from the danger of Hades. Unless these 
gifts are given for her protection she (her soul) will not 
be able to return from Hades. 
The real fee depends entirely on the length of time 
spent in singing the dirge. As soon as the corpse is 
taken down from the house to be buried, the dirge 
ceases. As a rule the fee is either a kebok (a small 
earthenware jar) or an irun (a bigger one, which would 
not cost more than seventy-two cents). 
Nyurnn. 
i—Tanah langgong ban- 
gat enda tepegai ka 
n u a n ti pumpong ti 
alai nemu paong pugu 
sengkenyang. 
A Dirge. 
The level spaces on the 
mountains where the 
young sengkenyan g 
plants are found, availed 
nothing to hold thee back 
from dying. 
2 —N am a kabuali tinting 
panjai bangat enda 
tepegai ka nuan ti su- 
lai ti endor orang nga- 
ga rumah panjai ti 
nejai ngakar ten gang ? 
3 — Nama kabuah tab a 
bangat enda tepegai 
ka nuan ti tejula, aki 
Tenyali Lia, ti endor 
ngaring ka batang ? 
Why i n d e e d d i d the 
lengthy range of hills 
whereon men build long 
houses that stretch 
straight along like the 
tengang creeper, avail 
nothing to hold thee back 
from perishing ? 
And why could the site of 
the house where tree 
trunks are rolled away, 
avail nought to hold thee 
back from dying, O h 
grandfather Tenyali Lia ? 
* Barony malam meaus a night omen; it is a kind of grasshopper or 
cricket. 
1. —This refers to farms on mountains. Sengkenyang is a lily with white 
flowers and broad leaves. It is a sacred plant and called by the Dayaks irnla 
jxidi (the mother of paddy). It is planted at the farm when they first dibble 
their paddy. 
2. —Dayaks generally build their houses on hills if they can. Ten pain/ 
is a creeper that stretches long and straight. The bark of it makes durable 
cords. It is cultivated. 
3. —Tenyali Lia, Mengkuli, Jelu Bengayong, Anggat, Buai Brambat, etc., 
are terms of endearment or complimentary titles given to the dead man. It 
is the custom among the Dayaks to avoid addressing their relatives by their 
proper names, and a term of endearment, such as one of the above, is 
substituted. 
