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
In the morning the monkeys asked him what he had dreamed. "There is plenty
of fruit in the mountain far away," he answered, pointing afar, and all
the monkeys went out to the mountain leaving their wives and children
behind. When they were all gone Ulung Tiung killed the women and children
with a stick, and went home to his father. "I killed the women and
children," he declared, "but the men had not come back." "We will watch
for them with sumpitan," said his father, and when the monkeys returned
and found that all who had remained at home were dead, they began to look
for Ulung Tiung, but he and his father killed half of them with sumpitan
and the rest ran away.
NOTE.--Ulung Tiung is the name for a boy whose mother is dead, but whose
father is alive. For the sake of convenience I have maintained the Malay
name "borro" for the cocoanut-monkey.
2. THE FATHERLESS BOY
(From the Penyahbongs; kampong Tamaloë)
Ulung Ela made a fish-trap and when he returned next morning he found it
full of fish. He put them in his rattan bag, which he slung on his back
and started for home. As he walked, he heard an antoh, Aaton Kohang,
singing, and he saw many men and women, to whom he called out: "It is much
better you come to my place and sing there." Aaton Kohang said: "Very
well, we will go there." The boy continued his march, and when he came
home he gave one fish to his mother to roast, which she wrapped in leaves
and put on the live coals. He also prepared fish for himself, ate quickly,
and begged his mother to do the same. The mother asked: "Why do you hurry
so?" The boy, who did not want to tell her that he had called an antoh,
then said that it was not necessary to hurry.
After they had finished eating, in the evening Aaton Kohang arrived with
many men and many women. They tickled the mother and her boy under the
arms until they could not talk any more and were half dead, took what
remained of the fish, and went away. The two fell asleep, but ants bit
them in the feet and they woke up and saw that all the fish were gone.
"Ha!" they said: "Aaton Kohang did this," and they ran away.
NOTE.--Ulung Ela is the name for a boy whose father is dead, but whose
mother is alive.
3. THE TWO ORPHANS
(From the Penyahbongs; kampong Tamaloë)
Two small sisters, whose father and mother had died, went with the women
to look for sago. The tree was cut and the sago, after having been beaten,
was put into the large rattan bag. The younger child, who was sitting
close to the bag, dropped asleep and fell into it. The other girl came to
look for her sister but could not find her. She had disappeared, and when
the women saw that the bag was already full they all went home. On
returning next day they found plenty of sago inside of the tree, and had
no difficulty in filling their bags.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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