The corpse in
its box is kept two to seven days in the house at the kampong; the body of
a chief, which is honoured with a double box, remains ten days. According
to an otherwise trustworthy Penihing informant, funeral customs vary in
the different kampongs of the tribe, and generally the box is placed on a
crude platform a metre above the ground.
As for the orchid, I, as well as the Dayaks, who were shown an
illustration of it, searched in vain for three days. There is no doubt
that I was at the place which had been described to me, but the plant must
be extremely rare and probably was discovered accidentally "near the
water," as the native collector said, perhaps when he was resting.
CHAPTER XXIII
A PROFITABLE STAY - MAGNIFICENT FRUITS OF BORNEO - OMEN BIRDS - THE PENIHINGS
IN DAILY LIFE - TOP PLAYING - RELIGIOUS IDEAS - CURING DISEASE
On my return to camp a pleasant surprise awaited me in the arrival of
mail, the first in six months. The days that followed were laborious:
buying, arranging, and cataloguing collections. From early morning
Penihings came to my tent, desiring to sell something, and did not quit
until late at night. Some were content to stand quietly looking at the
stranger for ten or fifteen minutes, and then to go away, their places
being taken by others.
