Through Central Borneo; an Account of Two Years' Travel in the Land of Head-Hunters Between the Years 1913 and 1917Lumholtz, Carl
History
Through Central Borneo; an Account of Two Years' Travel in the Land of Head-Hunters Between the Years 1913 and 1917
Lumholtz, Carl
Borneo -- Description and travel; Ethnology -- Borneo; Natural history -- Borneo
The Penihing kampong, Sungei Lobang, was soon reached. It is newly made,
in accordance with the habit of the Dayaks to change the location of their
villages every fourteen or fifteen years, and lies on a high bank, or
rather a mud-ridge, which falls steeply down on all sides. It was the
residence of the chief and the Penihings who brought us here, and if
conditions proved favourable I was prepared to make a stay of several
weeks in this populous kampong, which consists of several long,
well-constructed buildings. The Dayaks assisted in putting up my tent, and
of their own accord made a low palisade of bamboo sticks all around it as
protection against the roaming pigs and dogs of the place. It proved of
excellent service, also keeping away the obnoxious fowls, and during the
remainder of my travels this measure of security, which I adopted, added
considerably to my comfort. On receiving their payment in the evening the
Dayaks went away in bad humour because they had expected that such a tuan
besar as I was would give them more than the usual wages allowed when
serving the Company, as the government is called. This tuan, they said,
had plenty of money to boang (throw) away, and he had also a good heart.
Otherwise, however, these natives were kindly disposed and more attractive
than either of the two tribes last visited. In husking rice the
Penyahbongs, Saputans, and Penihings have the same method of gathering the
grains back again under the pestle with the hands instead of with the
feet, as is the custom of the Kenyahs and Kayans. All day there were
brought for sale objects of ethnography, also beetles, animals, and birds.
Two attractive young girls sold me their primitive necklaces, consisting
of small pieces of the stalks of different plants, some of them
odoriferous, threaded on a string. One girl insisted that I put hers on
and wear it, the idea that it might serve any purpose other than to adorn
the neck never occurring to them. Two men arrived from Nohacilat, a
neighbouring kampong, to sell two pieces of aboriginal wearing apparel, a
tunic and a skirt. Such articles are very plentiful down there, they said,
and offered them at an astonishingly reasonable price.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account