The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-01-29
HEADQUARTERS AT HOME i'm
THE INTERIOR OF BORNEO)
~ RELAND, Author 81 Tropical Coonzaton.'

sdltion 81 u few heads II oss tie collect ion.s
I8wltI3yhith5 the yernnda Ssf every Dy az
fhouses WIS decorated s F n K NJ VI u
DAILY SI,iftsotsthe Dyak Of To-day
$sfhe HEAD. hlt1terj3 rs saw him In I,
sBorneo5Sis 81 reformed 5character; bu!
|nlthough that element III Ills life which,
exercised d q morbid " "a srinntt ION Tor all
lovers Of the horrlb and grotesta'u!e'l
that us Quaint md interesting IN the
daily }life@o Dyalt II. W &
! III common with u greR humber Of
peoples nail ages and ain8 al phr ts8 81
|llhe world, tho Dyaks AYs3gnrl elaborate :
system Of taboo ohSthey call y, N, z ci-5
ma tong or 1all ss One o. The most IN
terestlng these ,tnboos; iSis TINT known
as rern,atong biPadi. which Is a taboo
lgthat extends To al the members Of az
Dyak Village during certaiti seasons OF \
thn$rlce planting y Va ~
|E The flrst8 thing To- be done when the
Dyalss aros goingEto plnn tsricn .is to con &
suit the pmotls. ~ pm tcilsE Of jungle LIS
selected IDS tho SIT y oposed rice
field and the work Or clearing Oft the
Underground ISL comni1onccd.sa While this
work is liz progress II close; lookout Is
kept BY, every one $forS d ny kind OF omen
LIZ during these days, IN ", one 4 should !
5chnnce to! see the lttlo red 7hended snake
tg''Nipn N1n.ei 11Aoh,,g the e 'ele-
Hau,8ons the oiyet cat 4 Mliiiin,,i' Or tho
rain Bird 3S" Is, the omen would c'll pc
considered bad md tie work would he
abandoned 1 n az N !3 MS Il
After three days, intIt tho nbsence or any
bud omen, the underbrushIng IS finished
,land the onlcns S,mtlst5tbe consulted ms to-
the heavy work of fell ling ic large tins a
her, Il IN
L Every XII one, man, woman and child
must remain sin the refrain
From work cor any kind 4 while two men
whose Hlcal title IL 3 'lald N tho or
hawk -me1, so out into til 9 pods Y to
search Cor the omen hawk. ~ his searcl
lasts three days 1f3the hawk Is see mon
|fthe first day. e the omen / Is $unfavornblee,
but not sufficiently SO to top the work 'f
on the clearing; Sf itEis secn on tho 4se- "A
lcond and third days, the omen is favor
able. ii AS soon ms tho L hawk has been
seen Oh the third day the Lake. n tho
set fire to a small bundle OF dried wood
|sin order to inform the hawk that q
blessing Is expected on the WORK, and
then I hey rethrn to the house and give
,he good Il news to the people. sl every Wv
one ut once lights d cigarette ora fire.
brand and waves 1T in the air to invoke
a blessing 3onEthe rice planting. a;l M,
III he hay k s3 however, 6 ives further
omen. n One the first occnson on hlcs$
$he is seen8by any one after the eturn
4 OF THE H LAX Nho his rnnnnert8of flight
shows what degree Of success Will . at
ktend the crop. IF he3 flies out Of sigh +,
Without tiapIng l h, wings ey ~; svn
|5its$is n sign that some.t one WI be. shurt
sinhfelling tho timber. y;
"a similar recess must noW Pc gene 'eals
ithroll gh with the rain bird, with tho deer
with the Sclvet. cat and with the Hwhhltte-y
headed Ehornbill. h sss2'g4s
Somens have 5all been con.
and planting the rlcesis, proceeded With.
! But during the whole period which elapsesE
/ between the clearing OF the jungle, and
ihe 81 Il 90 most 81 the Tine
and I'LL sorts Q tionsi are ipla ccds Q
I$the people. I'd I,
5l The above merelAcservs:s! a s an inst ance:
of1thes complicated egulauo which are
N enforced among the Dyaks IN regard .t9
almost every feature of their social ana
Il indus trial life. IN 81 .siiS. y M .5i. I'll.
L Peculiar Forms 81 the Villages!
ils In travelling through the Dyak coun-
try the traveller Is cons family struck by
Tho fact that he sees mo isolated houses a
81 In other words, that ,he sees no Ylllases
I'd Az yak village consists Of one long
house, sometimes nearly "a Quarter Of !, g
mile long. a gallery runs along the > W !nS'ie
fifteen feet BY partitions, which make
H tho one long house Sinto what IS practl-
iii nils peculiar teu form Of village is the
~ product ofSIie general conditions Of life
y IN the Borneo jungle. a The forest presses
the baeR h0 WSe m ay
.i be looking for trouble, so that the effect
4 Of the long house. list place al the people
nnder one r. roofaXagX gT'eat advantage
/ "a The front Of the house always faces
! the river, and lrivors are practically the
/ only means Of communication IN the inte7
i fall very arapidly on az count OF the ire.
! mendous rains which swamp the country
during the wet season. the houses are ,1
to fifteen feet above the ground
| There is no stairway TO q Dyak house,
4 ingress and egrsss being s, effected !, by
4 at tho sides, UP which the Dyaks, with
II their naked feet can easily walk, even
when carrying q heavy load.
4. the center Of life in ali It's phases. It Is
ii Tho market place, the city hall, the coun-
eli chamber the meeting house, the work t''k
eVep o taKes p place Which ean ems
at at the fe back Of the gallery are used only
s'SesnT rbesp i "a eae
! used also for weaving and other domestic
4 Industries, gSs n 55
Dyak Life Full Of Curious Gus
toms v,
Il Dyak life is full OK curious customs.
vigorously prescribed for every event of
any Importance Interest, The naming
peculiar ceremonial Before describing n
Of " y very sinTSular
z The naming OF a. child Is one Of tho most
mPortant sysnts IN Us lfe Idor for unit,
u any 'exlstenco So firmly is this idea i'm
bedded IN Tie Ryak mind y that da m IN
Der OF q famllyls spoken OF, and the par
ents Of an unnamed child regard its death
u In" In the mining OF a chiefs son, ms In
nll other matters, the omens must be con-
L suited, and in addition, heed must be
d tie exact day for tho ceremony, There
are 12 moons In the pyak calendar, Of
which "Iaulan petnk, the moon of slck-
ness, is the worst, and "Bulan salap
bioh,," the little-beluly moon, Is the best
NaItGAt thn initial ceremony the central fig.