To sum up, the Sea Dyak worships his gods. There are good spirits ready to help him, and evil spirits eager to harm him. He has omens and divination and dreams to encourage or warn him. The traditions of his ancestors, handed down by word of mouth from generation to generation, are his authority for his beliefs. He makes sacrifices to the gods and spirits, and invokes their help in long incantations. He believes he has a soul which after death will live in another world a future life differing little from his existence in the flesh. CHAPTER XVI DYAK FEASTS Four classes of feasts—Preparations—Feasts connected with: 1, Head-taking; 2, Farming; 3, The dead; 4, Dreams, etc.—House-warming—Social feasts. The Dyak religious feasts may be divided into the four following classes: Those connected with— 1. Head-taking. 2. Farming. 3. The dead. 4. Dreams, etc. Though the Dyak feasts differ in their aims, there is a great deal which seems to be common to them all. The social character of all these feasts seems to be of more importance than the religious aspect, and the feasting of the guests has more consideration than the making of offerings to the spirits or gods. In none of these feasts does there seem to be any real, reverential, religious worship. It is true food is offered to the spirits, but this is done as the mere observance of an ancient custom, without any approach to religious reverence. There are also long incantations made to the higher powers by men selected for that purpose, who have good memories and can recite in a monotonous chant the special hymns of great length connected with each feast. But the guests do not share in it as an act of religious worship. They are generally sitting round, talking and laughing and eating. While these incantations are sung, topics of common interest are discussed and plans formed, and in all these feasts sociability, friendship, and the partaking of food and drink seem to take a more prominent place than any religious worship. The preparations for all these feasts are much alike. They extend over a length of time, and consist for the most part in the procuring of food for the guests. The young men go to their friends, far and near, and obtain from them presents of pigs or fowls for the feast, and as cock-fighting is loved by the Dyaks, they at the same time procure as many fighting-cocks as possible. The women busy themselves with pounding out an extra amount of rice, both for the consumption of the guests and also for the making of _tuak_, or native spirit. A little before the date fixed for the feast a great _tuba_ fishing takes place, by which means a great amount of fish is generally obtained, salted, and kept for consumption at the feast. The men go out into the jungle to hunt for pig and deer. The special characteristics and religious aspect of the different feasts must now be noticed.