Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1900-04-05
PEOPLE OF BORNEO.
WHAT THEY ARE TODAY UNDER THE
RULE OF AN ENGLlSHMAN.

A Fresh Account of tho Race From Which
I the Museum's "wiid Men" Were Wont
| to Come How They Dress, Court, Marry
! and DO Other Things.
/ An archaeological study in thousand
pages Is an achievement which German
thoroughness" might envy, and there can
be no question that in "Thc Natives Of
Sarawak and British North Bornco" Mr..
Henry Ling Roth has produced n work Of
solid value The modern history Of Sara
wax is in itself n romance, the country he
ing ono of the now necessarily very rare
instances Of kingdom carved out by the
energy, determination and genius for rule
of ono man. In this respect it is certainly
the most interesting corner of the Malay
archipelago. Before tho arrival on the
scene of the young Englishmon who after
ward became Raiah Brooke, tho Dyaks
were the prey of all the pirates slave raid
ers and frecbooters who, until very recent
times, infested Malayan waters.
No sooner had young Mr. Brooke con
verified himself into an absolute monarch
/ by obtaining the cession of that northwest
ern portion of the island of Bornoo which
we know as Sarawak than the harasscd
natives began to breathe moro freely. The
pirates were kept at respectful distance,
life and property became secure, and, with
gratitude that might not have been found
among moro sophisticated people, tho
rajah was revcred as "a superior being, de
seconded 60 earth TO succor the afflicted.
Primitive man. rs he Is still TO be seen in
Bornco seems, however, to have n good
many ideas and customs not very far re-
81. 4. L.,
IIo knows all about tho delugc possesses
an improved version of purgatory and has
firm belief in guardian angels.
/ Like his white fellow subjects of the
west, he may not marry his deceased wfo's
sister or his grandmother, and, although
divorce is easy public opinion docs not
consider it respectable to break the seventh
! commandments. The young Dyak gallant
! is quito as particular about tho sit and
/ fashion of his voluminous waist cloth as
any European dandy about the fit Of his
I necktic, while his sister lHvishcs the patcr-
nal wealth upon the brass wire corsets,
which are her proudest garment.
Even in his sports the methods Of the
/ Dyak are not altogether unfamiliar He
fishes with o float, knows how to bait a
hook scientifically and angles for crocodiles
with dead monkey for hait--the higher
the monkey the bigger the bag. In the art
Of polling, which is now becoming so
favorite n branch Of aquatics, he could
give points to the most expert practitioner
on tho Thames. On the whole, he seems
to live "a happy life, tempered by few
/ lingering regrets that, ut all events in
/ Sarawak, he is no longer permitted to take
occasional holidays in search of heads.
That grim sport, so far as it still exists,
a. 4iy.a1r J.,
ion by the ladies'. These Maayan daugh-
tcrs Of Hcrodias turn disdainfully from "a
wooer who has never shortened man by
head No head, no wife, is their rule,
though, to do them justice, it must be ad-
mitted that they are not too exigcnt rs to
whose it is or how obtained. A woman :
will serve, and, siugularly enough, he who
obtains this essential in what seems, TO our
western notions, the lest sportsmanlike
fashion, Is esteemed remarkably clever
fellow. A brave boosted that he had Sc
cured his trophy from Chinaman in "the
finest way''-by cutting 1t off when the
owner was asleep.
In Bornco you may divorce yourself for
almost anything. The Dyak matron may
exhibit her incompatibilty Of temper by
! being unduly jealous, the husband may
, not like his dinner, or one or the other
may have "A disagreeable dream. Instant
divorce by mutual consent follows. Dreams
are found peculiarly convenient for this
purpose, for, if they are unpleasant, they
mean that the dreamer has not yet found
his or her true helpmeet and Dyaks OF "a
volatile disposition appear to be "A good
deal troubled by uneasy slumbors. But if
the notions Of morality which obtain in
northwestern Borneo do not quite square
.tritl I,n IN, tf,s,
no worse than anybody else. Their religious
ideas are, on the whole, vague, but their
polytheism is not very extensive They
believe that everything was made by 1upa
the Blacksmith the head Of the celestial
system, and that he would have them fol
low a code of ethics which, as set forth in
Mr.. ROth's book, is uncommonly like an
| Indignation of the Ten Commandments
and the bcatitudos. Certainly they are, in
the main, AN honest people, as many tray
elers testify. Othorwis SO than intensely
superstitious, of course, they could not be.
They imagine themselves to be surrounded
by all manner of invisible spirits good and
evil,
If u man be i'll, it is because an evil
spirit has entered into him or has enticed
his soul from his body. Then comes the
medicine man with the usual lamentations
and noisome messes, and the patients re-
cuvcry is the best proof of the soundncsS
of his constitution. Altogether it is un
dcniable that the subjects of his highucsS
the JAN of Sarawak are an attractive and
unspOiled people, who although they
know how to make a glass of good teddy
run no risk from European trade gin OF
potato brandy, and desire nothing better
than to bo ruled by that claw of common
eoii In 10 ,iI 10.