ETHNOLOGICAL NOTES. 
95 
and speak Kalabit and Murut; the rising generation 
•of Tabuns know very little Tabun ; a Trusan Murut 
could follow a Ivalabit’s conversation but could only 
reply in Murut which was ‘barely intelligible to the 
Kalabit. A Dayak who had married a Murut, and lived 
with Munits for several years was perfectly at home in 
the Adang-Murut language but was useless at Kalabit, and 
could hardly understand or make himself understood by 
Kalabits. One or two Tabuns knew Penan and could 
understand it. Ova Blawing the Long Pata (Treng) 
Chief is the Government Agent for all the Penans of the 
Baram district, and Tama Belulok, the Tabun chief, acts 
in a similar capacity in the Limbang district. Muruts 
and Kalabits, whom I met, could not understand or be 
understood by Penans. Many Adang Muruts knew 
Dayak fairly well, but seldom any Malay. Kalabits 
knew neither. Tabuns knew both. 
According to Tabuns themselves they differ from 
Adang Muruts in that the latter eat five times a day to the 
Tabuns’ three ; the Adangs plant paddy every three 
months, the Tabuns everv six. There is a medicine-man 
or manang in Tama Seluling's house (Tabun), and when 
the inmates are ill, fowls or eggs are put outside at his 
advice for the propitiation of the antu (spirits). Rice 
and other food is not used for this purpose. They firmly 
believe in bird omens but do not take much account of 
dreams like the Sea-Dayaks. Up the Limbang River 
a little way inland near the Kuala Salindong, there is a 
small deserted cave in which remains of some 40 burial 
jars were found. These were supposed to have been 
used bv a long since forgotton tribe of Trengs, who, like 
Muruts and Kalabits of to-day, buried their dead in these 
big jars for a short period, afterwards depositing the 
remaining bones in small jars for permanent burial in 
some other place. 
Tabun men pull out the hair from the upper lip with 
depilatory forceps and many pull out the eye-brows. 
On the fore part of the head, the hair is cut short, also 
above the ears and round the back leaving a long stream 
of hair from the crown, which in several of the Limbang 
Tabuns reaches below the waist. Tabuns only black the 
mpper row of teeth ; Muruts black both. 
J. C. Moulton. 
