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
During the night there was a grand banquet in all the houses. Lidju, my
assistant, did not forget, on this day of plenty, to send my party
generous gifts of fresh pork. To me he presented a fine small ham. As salt
had been left behind we had to boil the meat à la Dayak in bamboo with
very little water, which compensates for the absence of seasoning. A
couple of men brought us two bamboos containing that gelatinous delicacy
into which rice is transformed when cooked in this way. And, as if this
were not enough, early next morning a procession arrived carrying food on
two shields, the inside being turned upward. On these were parcels wrapped
in banana leaves containing boiled rice, to which were tied large pieces
of cooked pork. The first man to appear stepped up to a banana growing
near, broke off a leaf which he put on the ground in front of me, and
placed on it two bundles. The men were unable to speak Malay and
immediately went away without making even a suggestion that they expected
remuneration, as did the two who had given us rice. I had never seen them
before.
The sixth day was one of general rejoicing. Food was exchanged between the
two groups of houses and people were in a very joyful mood, eating pork,
running about, and playing tricks on each other. Both men and women
carried charcoal mixed with the fat of pork, with which they tried to
smear the face and upper body of all whom they met. All were privileged to
engage in this sport but the women were especially active, pursuing the
men, who tried to avoid them, some taking refuge behind my tent. The women
followed one man through the enclosure surrounding the tent, at my
invitation, but they did not succeed in catching him. This practical
joking was continued on the following days except the last.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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