ETHNOLOGICAL NOTES. 141 
happens to be travelling or living among the Land- 
Dayaks. 
Our inquiries—such as they are—lead us to conclude 
that generally speaking the Land-Dayaks are not 
allowed to eat deer's flesh. There are various exceptions 
to this rule ancl as may be expected, all sorts of 
different stories and reasons are given to account for 
this restriction. 
Beginning with the eastern district of the Sarawak 
Land-Dayaks, which comprises the land watered by 
the Sadong and Gedong rivers, out of the 44 villages 
of this district at two only do the entire population 
eat deer’s flesh. At ten others only a few of the in¬ 
habitants eat deer ; and at these villages the deer-eaters 
have certain restrictions put upon them. 
Under no circumstances may they bring deer’s flesh, 
raw or cooked, near a bintang (long dwelling-house) or 
pancha (head-house), whilst there is any kind of taboo 
in force, e. g. for the first clearing for paddi farms, for 
sickness, etc. 
At other times deer’s flesh, when cooked, may be 
brought into the bintang, but it must not be taken into 
the bilek (living-rooms), although it may be eaten in 
the awa (passage in front of the living-rooms). 
• Deer’s flesh should never be taken up to a pancha 
where there is a gana (i. e. a collection of heads which 
are kept in the pancha and treated with the greatest 
respect. If any insult is offered to the heads, dire 
calamity is sure to fall on that house). It is true that 
the Dayaks do allow Malays and others to do so out of 
•courtesy, and then only after it has been cooked. One 
of the writers of these notes remembers now the 
spectacle of a dignified grey-haired old Dayak standing 
at the foot of some steps leading up to the pancha, 
making courteous apologies for not allowing some 
freshly killed deer’s flesh to be brought upstairs. “Let 
-It be cooked outside first and then we do not mind if 
the Tuan likes to eat it upstairs,” he requested, and of 
•course we readily complied. It is no uncommon sight 
■when the flesh is brought into their presence to see 
them immediately 1 expectorate and show marked signs 
