He
impersonates a strong, good antoh who guards man night and day. From the
viewpoint of the Katingans the tiger-cat is even more powerful than the
nagah. When cholera or smallpox is apprehended, some kapatongs of fair
size are left standing outside the room or at the landing places of the
prahus. Images representing omen birds guard the house, but may also be
carried on a journey in a basket which is placed near the head when a man
is sleeping in a prahu or on land. A kapatong of one particular omen bird
is thus capable of allaying any fear if real omen birds or snakes should
pass in front of the boat.
On head-hunting expeditions kapatongs were of prime importance. Smeared
with blood, they were taken along for protection and guidance, and
afterward were returned to the room. Some of them are very curious; a
favourite one represents a pregnant woman, the idea being that a woman
with a child is a good watcher, as the infant cries and keeps her awake.
That the child is not yet born is of no consequence. In my possession is a
kapatong of the head-hunters which represents a woman in the act of
bearing a child. Among the Dayaks the woman is regarded as the more alert
and watchful; at night it is she who perceives danger and thrusts her hand
against her husband's side to arouse him.
When feasts occur kapatongs, etc., are taken outside the house to partake
of blood from the animal or (formerly) the slave sacrificed. They are
supposed to drink it and are smeared with it. When important they are
never sold, but are transmitted as heirlooms from father to son. They
passed in a circuit among brothers, remaining three to five years with
each, and were the cause of much strife, brother having been known to kill
brother if deprived of his kapatong.
Many of those which came into my possession showed distinct traces of the
application of blood. Some had necklaces around the necks as a sign that
they had received human blood. A few of these were later estimated by an
intelligent Dayak to be two hundred years old. At the time of purchase I
was struck with the fact that the Ot-Danums were parting with objects of
great importance in their religious life. One reason is that the young
generation no longer practises head-hunting, which necessitated the use of
a great number of kapatongs. The people are gradually losing faith in
them.
These Duhoi were curiously varying in their physical aspects; some were
tall, like the "onder," others of medium size; some had hooked noses,
others turned up noses. The wife of the "onder" had unusually light skin,
but there was no indication of a mixture of white blood.
