Evening star., 1902-01-18
Why the Moros Have No Renrds.

1t is rare to find a Moro with a beard.
The same condition prevails among the
Borneo savages. The people have natural
1y but little hair on their faces, but what
they have they pull out with nippers or
tweezers. / met Moros In the Sulus who
carried silver nippers with them and
plucked out every stray hair as soon as it
appeared Among some Borneo tribes the
eyebrows are shaved and the eye lashes
plucked out. Others of the savages rub
quick lime into the skin to destroy the
vitality of the folicles. The eyebrows
and eyelashes are plucked out at the age
of fifteen, and the lack of hair is the sign
of manhood or womanhood
How the Dyaks Live.
There is a great similarity between the
homes of the Sea Dyaks and the Moros,
and the hill tribes of Borneo have homes
much like those of the hill tribes of Min
danao. The towns along the shores OF
North Borneo are like those Of the Suiu
Islands. They are made up of huts OF
bamboo thatched with Nipa palm and erect
ed on piles. Many of the towns are built
out in the water, the houses being reached
by bamboo walks and having bamboo plat
forms between the huts. NAHUM, the
capital of the Sultan Of Jolo, is of this ma
ture, and SO is Bus Bus, on the other side
of the island.
Brunei is built upon piles, as are also
bdNQJeTWdSSln ana Olner towns IN BOrneO.
Even in the interior the Dyaks build their
houses in the streams or near them. They
often have watch towers and drums to
alarm the villagers at the approach Of a
stranger. I met soldiers at Davao in the
southern part Of the Philippines, who found
similar villages in that region. The Borneo
villages are often walled with bamboo
hedges and some have boats about them
the farming lands Of the village lying out
side.
A Look Into a Moro House.
1t does not cost much to build house
either in Mindanao or in Borneo Here is a
description of a Moro house, which I made
while sitting before it in the village Of
Datto Mandi in Mindanao. The house Is
bamboo hut, which looks for all the
world like straw stack about twenty feet
square, raised upon poles as high as my
waist. Its walls are Of bamboo poles and
the roof Is Of Nipa palm leaves. The leaves
are wide and fan-like. They are woven in
sheets and laid on 50 that they overlap one
another like the shingles Of house They
are perfectly waterproof and withstand the
floods of the rainy season. The walls are
made much the same way, the leaves being
laid on the poles, overlapping one another
bamboo poles, laid upon bamboo studding
and tied there with rattan strips.
The roof is sewed together with rattan
and the walls are tied on with rattan.
There Is not nail In the house and every
thing Is done by sewing and tying. The
house has thousands of stitches in it, but it
can be made so rapidly that it could be
built by three men in one week. / ask as
to the cost and am told that it was about
$40 In silver or about $40 in gold.
The door to this house is a hole large
enough for man to stand erect within 1t.
1t Is closed by a framework Of bamboo and
is reached by a ladder of bamboo poles a
yard wide. The ladder has four rungs
each as big around as Your wrist. and on
the middle rung three bright-eyed, half
naked little Moro children are sitting
Their eyes laugh and their teeth shine as
I write
/ rise and go to the door hole and look in
The house consists of one large room, and