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Another Random Scribd Document
with Unrelated Content
 CHAPTER IV
THE DYAK CHARACTER
General remarks—Kind to children—Industrious—Frugal—Honest—Two cases of
theft—Curses—Honesty of children—Truthful—Curious custom—Tugong Bula—
Hospitable—Morals—Desire for children—Divorce—Adultery—Dyak law
concerning adultery—Dyak view of marriage—Unselfishness—Domestic
affection—Example.

The Dyaks are seen at their best in their own jungle homes, in the
midst of their natural surroundings. The man who has only met the
hangers-on of the towns has little idea of their true character. To one
who knows them well, who has lived among them, and seen them at
their work and at their play, there is something very attractive about
the Dyaks. They are very human, and in many points are very like
children, with the child’s openness in telling his thoughts and
showing his feelings, with the child’s want of restraint in gratifying
his wishes, the child’s alternate moods of selfishness and affection,
obedience and obstinacy, restlessness and repose. Like children,
they live in the present, and take little thought for the future. Like
children, they love passionately those who are kind to them, and
trust absolutely those whom they recognize as their superiors.
They are cheerful, merry, and pleasure-loving. Fine dress is a
passion, and the love, in both men and women, for bright colours is
very marked, and yet somehow the brilliant colours that are seen at
a Dyak feast are not at all displeasing. They are fond of song; the
boatman sings as he paddles along. They are fond of games, and a
Dyak feast is the occasion for playing many games, and for friendly
trials of strength. They are fond of dancing, and the two Dyak
dances—the Sword Dance and the War Dance—are always watched
with interest by those present.
They are, like most Orientals, apathetic, and have no desire to rise
above their present condition. But they are truthful and honest, and
are faithful to those who have been kind to them; and these
qualities cover a multitude of deficiencies, and are rather unusual in
Eastern races.
They are kind and affectionate to children, and in all the many
years I lived in Borneo I did not meet a single instance of cruelty to
children. They are considerate to the aged, and parents who are
past work are generally kindly treated by their children and
grandchildren. They are most hospitable to strangers, and offer
them food and shelter. And yet these are the people who some sixty
years ago were dreaded pirates and terrible head-hunters! Their
improvement under a kind and just Government has been
wonderful.

A Dyak Woman making a Mat with Split Cane

She is seated on the outside open veranda of the Dyak house. The flooring in
the picture is made of the round trunks of small trees, and these are tied down
with cane. Sometimes the flooring is made of split palm or split bamboos, but
more often of laths of bilian or ironwood, so as to stand exposure to the weather.
The outside uncovered veranda is a favourite place to sit in in the cool of the
evening.

The Dyaks are industrious and hard-working, and in the busy

times of paddy-planting they work from early in the morning till
dusk, only stopping for a meal at midday. The division of labour
between the men and the women is a very reasonable one, and the
women have no more than their fair share of work. The men do the
timber-felling, wood-cutting, clearing the land, house and boat
building, carrying burdens, and the heavier work generally. The
women help in the lighter part of the farm work, husk and pound
the rice they eat, cook, weave, make mats and baskets, fetch the
water for their daily use from the well or river, and attend to the
children.
The Dyak is frugal. He does not as a rule seek to accumulate
wealth, but he is careful of whatever he may earn. He plants each
year what he supposes will produce sufficient rice to supply his own
needs—a portion of this is for family consumption, a portion for
barter for such simple luxuries as tobacco, salt fish, cloth, etc., and a
third portion for hospitality. If he happen to have an exceptionally
good harvest, he may sell some paddy, and the money thus obtained
is not lavishly squandered, but saved with the object of investing in
gongs or other brassware, old jars, etc., which do not decrease in
value with age. On such occasions as feasts nearly all the food and
drink used are home products or begged from friends. A Dyak drinks
water as a rule, but if he takes alcohol in any form, it is a home-
brewed rice spirit (tuak). To spend money upon anything which he
can make for himself, or for which he can make a substitute, is, in
his opinion, needless waste.
The Dyak in his jungle home is remarkably honest. Families are
often away from their homes for weeks at a time, living in little huts
on their farms, and though no one is left in charge of their rooms,
things are seldom stolen. Sometimes Dyaks become demoralized by
associating with other races in the towns, but a case of theft among
the Dyaks in their native wilds is indeed rare. I have not been able to
discover any enactment of traditional law which fixes the punishment
for theft. It has not been necessary to deal with the subject at all. In
my missionary travels in Borneo I have often left by mistake in a
Dyak house some small thing like a soap-box, or a handkerchief, or a
knife—things I know the Dyaks love—but it has always been
returned to me.
 With an experience of nearly twenty years in Borneo, during which
I came into contact with thousands of the people, I have known of
only two instances of theft among the Dyaks. One was a theft of
rice. The woman who lost the rice most solemnly and publicly cursed
the thief, whoever it might be. The next night the rice was secretly
left at her door. The other was a theft of money. In this case, too,
the thief was cursed. The greater part of the money was afterwards
found returned to the box from which it had been abstracted. Both
these incidents show the great dread the Dyak has of a curse. Even
an undeserved curse is considered a terrible thing, and according to
Dyak law, to curse a person for no reason at all is a fineable offence.
A Dyak curse is a terrible thing to listen to. I have only once heard
a Dyak curse, and I am sure I do not want to do so again. I was
travelling in the Saribas district, and at that time many of the Dyaks
there had gone in for coffee-planting; indeed, several of them had
started coffee plantations on a small scale. A woman told me that
someone had over and over again stolen the ripe coffee-berries from
her plantation. Not only were the ripe berries stolen, but the thief
had carelessly picked many of the young berries and thrown them
on the ground, and many of the branches of the plants had been
broken off. In the evening, when I was seated in the public part of
the house with many Dyak men and women round me, we
happened to talk about coffee-planting. The woman was present,
and told us of her experiences, and how her coffee had been stolen
by some thief, who, she thought, must be one of the inmates of the
house. Then she solemnly cursed the thief. She began in a calm
voice, but worked herself up into a frenzy. We all listened horror-
struck, and no one interrupted her. She began by saying what had
happened, and how these thefts had gone on for some time. She
had said nothing before, hoping that the thief would mend his ways;
but the matter had gone on long enough, and she was going to
curse the thief, as nothing, she felt sure, would make him give up his
evil ways. She called on all the spirits of the waters and the hills and
the air to listen to her words and to aid her. She began quietly, but
became more excited as she went on. She said something of this
kind:—
“If the thief be a man, may he be unfortunate in all he
undertakes! May he suffer from a disease that does not kill him, but
makes him helpless—always in pain—and a burden to others. May
his wife be unfaithful to him, and his children become as lazy and
dishonest as he is himself. If he go out on the war-path, may he be
killed, and his head smoked over the enemy’s fire. If he be boating,
may his boat be swamped and may he be drowned. If he be out
fishing, may an alligator kill him suddenly, and may his relatives
never find his body. If he be cutting down a tree in the jungle, may
the tree fall on him and crush him to death. May the gods curse his
farm so that he may have no crops, and have nothing to eat, and
when he begs for food, may he be refused, and die of starvation.
“If the thief be a woman, may she be childless, or if she happen
to be with child let her be disappointed, and let her child be still-
born, or, better still, let her die in childbirth. May her husband be
untrue to her, and despise her and ill-treat her. May her children all
desert her if she live to grow old. May she suffer from such diseases
as are peculiar to women, and may her eyesight grow dim as the
years go on, and may there be no one to help her or lead her about
when she is blind.”
I have only given the substance of what she said; but I shall never
forget the silence and the awed faces of those who heard her. I left
the house early next morning, so I do not know what was the result
of her curse—whether the thief confessed or not.
The children are just as honest as their elders. A missionary used
to visit certain stations once a quarter. At one of the stations he had
a small native hut built for his accommodation. On one occasion
some small Dyak boys came to him with three cents (less than one
penny in value), which they said they wished to return to him. They
had picked them up under the floor of his hut. They thought they
had fallen through the open floor, and belonged to the missionary,
and, as a matter of course, they wished to return the money to the
owner. I have never had occasion to punish any of the schoolboys
living in my house for theft. They had access to everything there
was, but, though they had no scruples about asking for things, they
never stole anything.
The Dyaks are also very truthful. So disgraceful indeed do the
Dyaks consider the deceiving of others by an untruth that such
conduct is handed down to posterity by a curious custom. They heap
up a pile of the branches of trees in memory of the man who has
uttered a great lie, so that future generations may know of his
wickedness and take warning from it. The persons deceived start the
tugong bula—“the liar’s mound”—by heaping up a large number of
branches in some conspicuous spot by the side of the path from one
village to another. Every passer-by contributes to it, and at the same
time curses the man in memory of whom it is. The Dyaks consider
the adding to any tugong bula they may pass a sacred duty, the
omission of which will meet with supernatural punishment, and so,
however pressed for time a Dyak may be, he stops to throw on the
pile some branches or twigs.
A few branches, a few dry twigs and leaves—that is what the
tugong bula is at first. But day by day it increases in size. Every
passer-by adds something to it, and in a few years’ time it becomes
an imposing memorial of one who was a liar. Once started, there
seems to be no means of destroying a tugong bula. There used to
be one by the side of the path between Seratok and Sebetan. As the
branches and twigs that composed it often came over the path, on a
hot day in the dry weather I have more than once applied a match
to it and burnt it down. In a very short time a new heap of branches
and twigs was piled on the ashes of the old tugong bula.
It has often been remarked by Dyaks that any other punishment
would, if a man had his choice, be much preferred to having a
tugong bula put up in his memory. Other punishments are soon
forgotten, but this remains as a testimony to a man’s untruthfulness
for succeeding generations to witness, and is a standing disgrace to
his children’s children. Believing, as the Dyaks do, in the efficacy of
curses, it is easy to understand how a Dyak would dread the
accumulation of curses which would necessarily accompany the
formation of a tugong bula.
The Dyaks are very hospitable. They are always ready to receive
and entertain strangers. A man travelling on foot through the Dyak
country need never trouble about food. He would be fed at the Dyak
houses he passed on his journey, as part of their crops is reserved to
feed visitors. When the family meal is ready, visitors are invited to
partake of it. If many visitors come to a house at the same time,
some have their meal with one family and some with another.
The morals of the Dyak from an Eastern point of view are good.
There is no law to punish immorality between unmarried people. The
parents do not seem to be strict, and it is considered no disgrace for
a girl to be on terms of intimacy with the youths of her fancy until
she has made her final choice. It is supposed that every young Dyak
woman will eventually marry, so her duty is plainly to choose a
husband in her youth from among the many men she knows. And
yet, for all this, I should say that promiscuous immorality is
unknown. It is true that very often a girl is with child before her
marriage, but from the Dyak point of view this is no disgrace if the
father acknowledges the child and marries the woman. The greatest
desire of the Dyak is to become a parent, to be known as father or
mother of So-and-so. They drop their own names after the birth of a
child. A young couple in love have no opportunities of private
meetings excepting at night, and the only place is the loft where the
young lady sleeps. The suitor pays his visit, therefore, when the rest
of the family are asleep, and she gets up from her bed and receives
him. Two or three hours may be spent in her company before he
leaves her, or if he should be one whom she is not willing to accept
as a husband, she soon gives him his dismissal. If acceptable, the
young man may be admitted to such close intimacy as though they
were already married. The reason is to ascertain the certainty of
progeny. On his departure he leaves with the young lady some
ornament or article of his attire, as a pledge of his sincerity and
good faith. On the first signs of pregnancy the marriage ceremony
takes place, and they are man and wife.
Divorce is very uncommon after the birth of a child, but where
there are no children, for such reasons as incompatibility of temper
or idleness, divorce is obtainable by either husband or wife by
paying a small fine. The women as a rule are faithful to their
husbands, especially when they have children, and adultery is very
uncommon when there is a family.
The Dyak law respecting adultery is peculiar and worthy of notice.
If a woman commit adultery with a married man, his wife may make
a complaint to the headman of the house, and receive a fine from
the guilty woman; or, if she prefer it, she may waylay the guilty
woman and thrash her; but if she do so, she must forgo one-half of
the fine otherwise due to her. In the eyes of the Dyak the woman is
alone to blame in a case like this. “She knew,” they say, “the man
has a wife of his own; she had no business to entice him away from
her.” If a married man commits adultery with an unmarried woman
the procedure is similar. The wife of the man may punish the girl,
but no one punishes the man. The whole blame, according to Dyak
ideas, falls on the woman for tempting the man.
If a married man commits adultery with a married woman, the
husband of the woman is allowed to strike him with a club or
otherwise maltreat him, while the wife of the adulterer has the right
to treat the adulteress in the same way. The innocent husband
supposes the one most to be blamed is not his wife, but her tempter,
and vice versâ. This striking must not, however, take place in a
house; it must be done in the open. The club used must not be of
hard wood. Very often this striking is merely a means of publishing
the fact that adultery has been committed, and no one is much hurt,
but I have known cases where the man has been very badly
wounded. No striking can take place after the matter has been
talked about or confessed, and if one knew for certain of a case of
adultery, one could easily stop this maltreatment of each other by
talking about it publicly. The case is then settled by fining the guilty
parties. Where both parties are married, and no divorce follows, the
fining is no punishment, because each party pays to the other.
The Dyak view of the marriage state, especially where there are
children, is by no means a low one. Though an Oriental people living
in a tropical climate, their own traditional law allows a man to have
only one wife. If, as sometimes is the case, a couple continue to live
together after one of them has committed adultery, it is due to the
fact that there are little children whom they do not want to part
with, and not because they think lightly of the crime of adultery.
The Dyaks are very unselfish, and show a great deal of
consideration for each other. They live together under one roof in
large communities. Though each family has a separate room, all the
rooms are usually connected one with another by little windows in
the partition walls. This communal life accounts for the good-nature
and amiability of the Dyaks. The happiness and comfort, to say
nothing of the safety, of the community in times past, depend largely
on their getting on well one with another. Therefore, as a natural
result, there has grown up a great deal of unselfish regard for each
other among the inmates of the Dyak village house.
Domestic affection between the different members of one family is
very great. Especially is this the case between parents and children.
An old father or mother need never work unless they like. Their
children will provide for them.
Parents will risk their lives for their children. At Semulong, near
Banting, a man and his son, a youth about twenty years old, were
returning from their farm, and had just arrived at the landing-place.
The father stepped out of the canoe, washed his feet on the river-
bank, and then turned to speak to his son in the boat. But the son
had disappeared. The father at once guessed that a crocodile had
taken him, though he had heard no noise. He shouted for help from
the village house, and at once jumped into the water. He dived, and
felt his hand strike the crocodile. Drawing his short sword (duku), he
attacked the animal. He managed to drive the point of his sword into
the animal, when the beast let go his son. The father brought him at
once to the nearest mission-station, where he was treated, but after
ten days died of tetanus. The inner part of the thigh and knee of one
leg was torn away, so as to expose the ragged ends of sinews under
the knee.
CHAPTER V
HEAD-HUNTING
Head-hunting—Women an incentive—Gruesome story—Marriage of Dyak Chiefs—
Legend—Some customs necessitating a human head—A successful head-
hunter not necessarily a hero—A dastardly crime—War expeditions—The spear
token—My experience at a village in Krian—Dyak war-costume—Weapons—
The Sumpit—Poison for darts—Consulting omen birds—War-boats—Camping
—War Council—Defences—War alarm—Ambushes—Decapitation and
treatment of head—Return from a successful expedition—Women dancing—
Two Christian Dyak Chiefs—Their views on the matter of head-taking.

Warfare is an important element among all savage races, and the

Dyaks are no exception to the rule. But it would be wrong to
suppose that they are naturally abnormally bloodthirsty because
head-hunting was such a regular practice with them. Mere love of
fighting is not the only reason for the terrible custom of head-
hunting which at one time prevailed to such a great extent among
the Dyaks, but which at present, under the rule of Rajah Brooke, is
fast dying out. There are many other causes. Theft committed by
one tribe against another, revenge for the murder of some of their
friends, and a thousand other minor pretexts, are often the origin of
an expedition of one tribe against another. The Dyaks are faithful,
hospitable, just, and honest to their friends, and, being so, it
naturally follows that they avenge any act of injustice or cruelty to
them, and they are consequently bloodthirsty and revengeful against
their enemies, and willing to undergo fatigue, hunger, want of sleep,
and other privations when on the war-path. I have often been told
by Dyaks that the reason why the young men are so anxious to
bring home a human head is because the women have so decided a
preference for a man who has been able to give proof of his bravery
by killing one of the enemy.
The desire to appear brave in the eyes of his lady-love sometimes
leads a young man to mean and cowardly crimes. The following
gruesome incident actually took place many years ago. A young man
in the Batang Lupar started by himself to seek for a head from a
neighbouring tribe. In a few days he came back with the desired
prize. His relatives asked him how it was he was able to get to the
enemy’s country and back in such a short time. He replied gravely
that the spirits of the woods had assisted him. About a month
afterwards a headless trunk was discovered near one of their farms.
It was found to be the body of his victim, an old woman of his own
tribe, not very distantly related to himself!
In the old days no Dyak Chief of any standing could be married
unless he had been successful in procuring the head of an enemy.
(See also Chapter XXII.) For this reason it was usual to make an
expedition into the enemy’s country before the marriage-feast of any
great Chief could be held. The head brought home need not be that
of a man; the head of a woman or a child would serve the purpose
quite as well.
There is a legend related among the Dyaks as a reason for this
custom. Once upon a time a young man loved a maiden, but she
refused to marry him until he had brought to her some proof of what
he was able to do. He went out hunting and killed a deer, and
brought it to her, but still she would have nothing to say to him. He
went again into the jungle, and, to show his courage, fought and
killed a mias (orang-utan), and brought it home as a proof of his
courage; but still she turned away from him. Then, in anger and
disappointment, he rushed out and killed the first man he saw, and,
throwing the victim’s head at the maiden’s feet, he blamed her for
the crime she had led him to commit. To his surprise, she smiled on
him, and said to him that at last he had brought her a worthy gift,
and she was ready to marry him.
It is sometimes stated that, according to ancient custom, no Dyak
could marry without having first procured a human head as a token
of his valour. This is not true. It was only in cases of the great men—
their Chiefs—that such a thing was necessary. A little consideration
will show how impossible it was for every man who married to be
the owner of the head of some human victim.
There were certain ancient customs which necessitated the
possession of a human head. When any person died the relatives
went into mourning. They put away their ornaments and finery,
which were tied together in bundles. At the feast in honour of the
dead—Begawai Antu—these were all undone, and the women and
men put on their finery again. Some man cut the string with which
they were tied up. Before he could do such a thing, it used to be
necessary that a human head be brought into the house, and it was
usual for the man who had obtained that head to take a leading part
in the ceremonies and cut open the bundles.
 Five Dyaks in War Dress with Spears and Shields
The spears are made of steel and have shafts of hard heavy wood. The shields
are each cut out of one piece of wood, and are often coloured with some
fantastic design. Sometimes, as in the case of the man’s shield on the left, cross
pieces of cane or wood are fixed in the shield to prevent it splitting. The second
man on the left is wearing a large sleeveless jacket, or collar, of skin to protect
his shoulders from wounds.

Again, it was customary in some tribes to bring home a head as

an offering to the spirits when a new village was to be built.
Both these customs are no longer observed. At the feast in honour
of the dead—Begawai Antu—the headman of the house generally
cuts open the bundles of finery that have been put away, and at the
building of a new house the killing of a pig is supposed to be
sufficient to satisfy the demands of the spirits.
It is presumed that a man who has secured a human head must
necessarily be brave. But this need not be the case at all, for, as has
been said, the head of a woman or child will serve the purpose. And
these heads need not be obtained in open warfare. Very often the
head of an enemy is taken while he is asleep. Nor is it necessary
that a man should kill his victim with his own hand. Frequently many
of his friends assist him in killing some unfortunate man whom they
have waylaid, and then he comes home with the head, and poses as
a hero!
It was customary in the old days to announce an expedition that
one tribe intended to take against another at one of their feasts,
when the village was thronged with guests from far and near. Some
great Chief would advance his reason for the intended attack. Either
some of his people had been slain, and revenge was called for, or
else they wished to put off their mourning, and for that required a
human head taken in war. Perhaps the reason was that they
intended to build a new village house, and so required some human
heads to use as offerings to the spirit of the land; or possibly he
himself wished to marry, and wanted a head as a proof of his valour
in the eyes of his lady-love. Among the crowd who listened to him
there were sure to be many who were willing to follow him on the
war-path. The women would help him by urging their husbands, or
lovers, or brothers, to go. Out of the crowd of eager followers the
Chief would choose a certain number to form a Council of War.
These would discuss the whole matter, and it would be decided
when the party was to start for the enemy’s country. Details would
also be discussed—how much food each man was to take with him,
by what route they were to go. The time of the year generally
chosen would be just after the planting season, because that would
give the men a clear three months before the harvest. The weeding
of the paddy-fields between the planting season and the harvest is
work that is usually done by the women.
The next thing to do would be to send the War Spear round to the
neighbouring villages, to let all know when the expedition was to
take place, and where it was to start from. A man would bring this
spear to a long Dyak house, deliver his message, and return, leaving
the spear to be carried on by one of the men in that house to the
next village, and so on. At once the men in the house would get
their war-boats ready. They would begin making figure-heads for the
bows of their boats, and paint the side planks in various patterns.
They would furbish up their arms, and sharpen their weapons, and
decorate their helmets and war-jackets. The Dyaks generally wear
their best when going out to fight. I asked a Dyak once why this was
done, because, as I pointed out to him, most of the finery they put
on interfered with the free action of their limbs. His answer was that
if they were well dressed, in case of their death, the enemy who saw
the bodies would know that they were not slaves, but free men of
some standing.
In the present day, under the rule of Rajah Brooke, no Sea Dyaks
may go out on a fighting expedition unless called out for that
purpose by the Government. I remember not long ago that there
were some rebels in the upper reaches of the Batang Lupar River,
who had been guilty of many murders, and would not submit to the
Government. After trying milder measures without any effect, it was
decided to take a force into their country, and the Government sent
round the War Spear to let the people of the different villages know
they were to be ready to go on expedition at a certain date. I
happened to be in a Dyak village in the Krian. It was evening, and I
was seated on a mat in the open veranda of the house, and round
me were seated a crowd of men and women, whom I was trying to
teach. A man arrived at the house with a spear decorated with red
cloth. At first no one noticed him. He spoke to a man near the top of
the ladder of the house. The man came up to the middle of the
house, where I was seated, and said something which I did not
quite catch. At once the whole crowd got up and left me. They
listened eagerly to what the man who brought the spear had to say.
I was not left long in doubt of what it all meant. The message the
man brought was short and to the point: “You are to be ready with
your war-boats, and be at Simanggang at the next full moon. There
is to be an expedition up the river.”
It is difficult for me to describe the change that came over the
crowd. The headman of the house at once asked a youth to carry on
the spear to the next house with the same message. The men at
once discussed the question of war-boats, and it was decided there
and then that they should begin making a new war-boat the next
day. The women were just as excited about the expedition as the
men, and there was a general turning out of war-caps and war-
jackets which had long been put away.
The costume a Dyak wears when going on the war-path consists
of a basket-work cap decorated with feathers and sometimes with
human hair, a sleeveless skin jacket, or in place of it a sleeveless
quilted cotton jacket, and the usual Dyak costume of the waist-cloth
(sirat). For weapons they have a sword, or duku. This may be of
foreign or of their own make. It is a dangerous weapon at close
quarters, and is what they use to cut off the head of a fallen enemy.
They also have a spear, consisting of a long wooden shaft of some
hard wood with a steel spear-head, which is tied on to the shaft with
rattan. Sometimes the shaft of the spear is the sumpit, or blow-pipe.
For defensive purposes the Dyak has a large wooden shield about
three feet long, which, with its handle, is hollowed out of a single
block of wood. It is held in the left hand well advanced before the
body, and meant not so much to receive the spear-point as to divert
it by a twist of the hand. It is often painted in bright colours, with
some elaborate design or fantastic pattern, and often decorated with
human hair.
The sumpit, or blowpipe, is a long wooden tube about eight feet
long. The smoothness and straightness of the bore is remarkable.
The hole is drilled with an iron rod, one end of which is chisel-
pointed, through a log of hard wood, which is afterwards pared
down, and rounded till it is about an inch in diameter.
 A Dyak in War Dress
Holding up his shield in readiness to
receive the attack of the enemy. He is
holding his sword in his right hand. The
shield is decorated with human hair.

Human Heads
 The heads of slain enemies are smoked and
preserved and looked upon as valuable possessions.
The above is a bunch of old heads as they appear
hanging from the rafters of a Dyak house.
The dart used with the sumpit is usually made of a thin splinter of
the wood of the nibong palm, stuck into a round piece of very light
wood, so as to afford a surface for the breath to act upon. These
darts are sharpened to a fine point, and are carried in neatly carved
bamboo quivers.
The poison that is used for these darts is obtained from the epoh
tree (upas). Incisions are made in the tree, and the gutta which
exudes is collected and cooked over a slow fire on a leaf until it
assumes the consistency of soft wax. It is a potent and deadly
poison. Some Dyaks say that the most deadly poison is made of a
mixture of the gum from the epoh tree and that from some creeper.
A dart is put in at one end, and the sumpit is lifted to the mouth,
and with the breath the dart is driven out. Up to twenty-five yards
they shoot with accuracy, but though the darts can be sent fifty
yards or more, at any distance greater than twenty-five yards their
aim is uncertain.
Before starting on a war expedition, the Dyaks consult the omen
birds. The headman of the village, with the help of a few chosen
friends, builds a little hut at a convenient distance from the Dyak
house, and stays there, listening to the voices of the birds. If the
first omens he hears are unfavourable, he continues living there until
he hears some bird of good omen. When this happens, the men get
ready their war-boats and start for the appointed meeting-place.
The war-boat is generally made in the same way as the Dyak dug-
outs in ordinary use, out of the trunk of one large tree, only it is very
much larger and longer, and able to hold sixty men or more. They
paint this boat with a pattern of red and white—the red is an ochre
and the white is lime. It is propelled with paddles, and the steering
is done with one or two greatly developed fixed paddles, which the
steersman works with his foot if he happens to be standing up.
 Sometimes the war-boat is built of planks in the following manner.
First they make a long lunas, or keel plank, of hard wood the whole
length of the boat. This has two ledges on each side on its upper
surface, each about an inch from the edge of the keel. Then several
planks are made, all of which are also the entire length of the boat.
Each plank has an inside ledge on its upper edge, its lower edge
being quite plain. When the Dyaks have made as many planks as are
necessary, they put them together in the following manner. The keel
plank is put in position, then the first side-planks are brought and
placed with their lower or plain edges upon the two ledges of the
keel planks. The ledge of the first side-plank receives in turn the
next plank, and so on, till they have enough planks, generally four or
five, on each side. The ledges and the planks next to them are
bored, and firm rattan lashings are passed from one to the other.
The seams are caulked up so as to render the boat watertight. In
the construction of a boat of this kind no nails or bolts are employed
—nothing but planks ingeniously fastened together with cane or
rattan. These lashings are not very durable, as the rattans soon get
rotten. But this is of little consequence, as the boat is only used for
war expeditions, and on her return the lashings are cut, and the
separated planks are stored in the Dyak house. When she is again
required, the planks are got out and the boat reconstructed as
before.
This kind of war-boat is not often seen nowadays. It is clumsy,
and does not travel very fast. In the whole of my experience I have
only seen one boat of this kind in course of construction.
Dyak war-boats hold from thirty to a hundred men. When filled
with dusky warriors with naked arms and legs just visible beneath
the palm-leaf awning, paddling with a regular, vigorous stroke, with
their Chief standing in the stem working the rudder with hand or
foot, they form a grand sight.
When all the boats have arrived, a start is made for the enemy’s
country. The line of advance is most irregular. There are wide gaps
between the boats, some lagging behind to cook or fish, and others,
deterred by bad dreams or unpropitious omens, waiting a day or two
before moving on.
When the landing-place of the enemy is reached, a camp is
formed, and temporary huts are built lining the river bank. The
warriors lie down to rest side by side. Their spears are stuck in the
ground near them, and their shields and swords are by their side, so
that they can spring to their feet in a moment, ready for battle. The
boats are hauled ashore and hidden in the brushwood, to be used
again on the return journey.
A War Council is held and the route decided upon, and the best
way to attack the enemy discussed. On a given day the march
commences, each shouldering his pack containing a cooking-pot,
rice, etc. The pace is more or less rapid as long as they are far from
the enemy, but slackens when they come nearer. The leaders
proceed warily, as the enemy may be in ambush by the way.
The Dyaks who are expecting an attack defend their houses with a
strong palisading of hard wood, strengthened by bamboo stakes
fixed between the perpendicular posts, with the sharpened points
projecting in all directions, presenting an impassable barrier of
spikes to the invader. The whole is tied firmly together with rattan or
creepers. This fence is about six feet high, and surrounds the whole
village. Two gates are made in it, but when these are closed, they
present the same appearance as the rest of the palisading.
The landing-places and approach to the village are all protected
with sharpened spikes of bamboo or hard wood. Their valuables—
their jars and brass gongs, etc.—they conceal in the jungle.
If they feel confident that they are able to repel the attack of the
enemy they keep the women and children at home. If there is any
doubt about the matter, they too are hidden away in the forest, and
when resistance becomes hopeless, they are rejoined by their
relatives at some fixed rendezvous.
The moment the enemy appears, the gongs are struck in a
peculiar manner, three strokes following each other very rapidly, a
short pause, and then three strokes again, and so on. When the
neighbours hear this, they recognize the signal, and know that their
friends have been attacked, and they hurry to their help.

Dyak Warfare
The figures in this picture are posed to give some idea of Dyak warfare. In the
foreground is a dead man. The Dyak over him is grasping his hair and about to
cut off his head. The two figures on the left and the man behind are waiting with
their spears to attack the man who has taken refuge in the hole in the stump of
a tree.

A favourite stratagem of defence in the lower reaches of the river

is to entice the leading boats of the enemy into an ambush on shore.
There are sure to be some boats of the attacking party far in
advance of the others, as they are anxious to be foremost in the
fight. The defenders choose a convenient spot, and a strong party is
placed in ambush among the trees. One or two men stroll upon the
shingly bank to lure the enemy. As the warriors from the attacking
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