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malformation of their children’s heads by boards, in the 
manner of some South American tribes. Others immure 
their young girls for two or three years or more at the 
age of puberty, and there are many curious customs, 
especially among the Kayans, for the knowledge of which 
we are indebted to Mr. Dalton, who resided for a long 
period with the head-hunting Dyaks in 1828. 
As a rule the Dyak pagan tribes w T ear rude clothing 
of bark or cotton cloth, and the women deck them¬ 
selves with abundance of beads, brass wire, and plaited 
girdles. The men generally wear only the cliawat— 
a long band of bark or strip of cotton cloth passed 
between the legs and round the loins, with sometimes 
a jacket. The women wear a short petticoat, and 
in some tribes have a belt of bark or bamboo bound 
together with brass wire or rattans, and sometimes also 
a jacket. The women, as with most savage tribes, do 
much hard labour, whereas among the Malays and other 
Mohammedans they are almost wholly confined to house¬ 
work, occasionally assisting in the fields at harvest-time. 
The practice of taking heads as trophies was common 
among almost all the Dyak tribes, but has been to a 
great extent abolished where European influence is pre¬ 
dominant.. A young Dyak could not marry, nor a parent 
or wfidower leave off mourning, till a head was obtained. 
These heads were dried and carefully preserved in their 
houses. It was a custom, and as a custom was observed, 
but it did not imply any extraordinary barbarism or 
moral delinquency. On the contrary, it is the general 
opinion of all who know them well that the Dyaks are 
among the most pleasing of savages, that they are kind, 
truthful, and have many excellent qualities. The Dyak 
houses are generally very large, many families residing 
together, and there is in every village a bcdai , or council- 
