Of the right ankle.
The bone was from the right hind leg of the babi, and was sharp, so it
drew a little blood from the ankle.
She felt pain and went back to the house. Some time later the leg began to
swell, and as time passed it grew bigger and bigger. The woman kapala
said: "There must be a child inside." "If that is the case," said Inyah,
"then better to throw it away." "No, don't do that. Wait until the child
is born and I will take care of it," said the kapala. When her time had
come the child arrived through the wound made by the babi bone, and the
kapala washed the child and took care of it. When two months old the child
was given the name Obongbadjang. When he was fifteen years old he was as
strong as Dirang.
Dirang had brought many heads to the kampong, but finding all the people
dead and houses fallen down, he became angry and killed the slaves he had
brought back. He then went out on another hunt for heads. When the prahus
passed the kampong where Inyah was, all the people in the house saw them,
and Obongbadjang, her young son, who had heard much of Dirang, went down
to see him. "Where are you going?" asked Dirang. "I want to go with you,"
answered the boy. Dirang liked him, and let him into the prahu.
They travelled far and wide, and finally came to the kampong which they
wanted to attack. Dirang went in from one end of the house and
Obongbadjang from the other, and they cut the heads from all the people,
men, women, and children, and met in the middle of the house. Dirang was
wondering who this young man was who was strong like himself and not
afraid. "My name is Obongbadjang," he said, "the son of Dirang and Inyah."
He then ran away, although Dirang tried to keep him back, and he ran until
he arrived where his mother was.
On seeing his son run away Dirang felt "sick in his throat," then
collected all the heads, comprising the population of the whole kampong,
put them in the prahus, and returned to look for his son and wife. He
stopped at the same place where he had killed the big babi and made a hut.
He then went to look for Obongbadjang and Inyah. When he was walking under
the house, which was high up in the air, Inyah threw a little water down
on him. He turned his head up and saw there was a house, but there was no
ladder and he could not get up. They put out the ladder and he went up and
met Inyah again, who, until then, he did not know was alive. He also met
his son, and after remaining a little while he took them away to rebuild
their kampong.
NOTE. - "Sick in his throat," Saputan mode of speech for deep emotional
depression, is similar to our "feeling a choking in the throat." The
Malays say: "Sick in his liver."
For the sake of convenience the Malay name babi for a pig, perfectly known
to the Dayaks, has been maintained in this tale.
14. WHEN HUSBAND AND WIFE ARE ANTOHS
(From the Saputans; kampong Data Laong)
There were many young men who wanted to marry Inu Songbakim, a young girl,
but she liked only one man, Monjang Dahonghavon, and, having obtained the
consent of her father and mother, he shared her mat. One day he went out
to work, making planks with his axe, while she remained at home cooking.
When she had prepared the food she took it to him, and when she arrived at
the place where he was working he looked at her as he was cutting with the
axe and hurt himself. He died, and his father came and took the corpse to
the house. Being an antoh he restored the life of his son, who became very
angry with his wife for being the cause of his death. He wanted to kill
her, but as she was very strong he could not do it, and instead, with his
parang, killed her father and mother. His wife, in turn, became filled
with wrath, and with a parang killed his father and mother.
The young man then left her to look for another wife, but could not find
any that was to his liking, strong and good-looking, so after a while he
decided to return to the wife he already had. "I like you much," she said,
"but if you want to have me again you must make my father and mother alive
again." "I will do that," he answered, "if you first will restore to life
my father and mother." They were both antohs, so there was a general
return to life, and the people from the two kampongs to which the families
belonged came together and made the kampongs into one.
15. THE WOMAN, THE BIRD, AND THE OTTER
(From the Saputans; kampong Data Laong)
Many young men courted Ohing Blibiching, but she was difficult to please.
Finally, she favoured Anyang Mokathimman because he was strong, skilful in
catching animals, brave in head-hunting. She said: "Probably you have a
wife." "No, I am alone," he said, and her father and mother having given
consent, they then lived together.
After a while he said: "I want to go away and hunt for heads." She said:
"Go, but take many men with you. If you should be sick, difficulties would
be great." She then made rice ready in a basket, calculating that on a
long journey they would depend more on the sago found in the utan.
