Through Central Borneo An Account Of Two Years' Travel In The Land Of The Head-Hunters Between The Years 1913 And 1917 By Carl Lumholtz
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Two Days Later,
When I Photographed The Ladies Performing Dances, They Had At Least Five Of
These Fashionable Contrivances.
It may be stated that natives of the Dutch Indies are generally afraid of
the sun.
Well-to-do Malays carry umbrellas as a protection against it. In
Batavia I read in the newspapers that the Sultan of Priok, when visiting
an aviation camp, was so overcome by the heat that he had to be carried
away, regaining consciousness on arriving at his quarters. However, the
attack may have been induced to some extent by general lack of exercise
and the indolent life that characterises his compatriots who occupy high
positions.
Even some of the pagan tribes protect their heads, as the Katingans, the
Duhoi, and others, who make beautiful sunshades, which also serve in case
of rain, and this was not learned from the Malays. In the Bornean tribes
that I visited, until the child is old enough to walk, the sun is not
allowed to shine upon it even for a moment. The blacks of Australia, on
the other hand, who are in a state of absolute nudeness, pay no attention
to the sun, though in common with most natives of hot countries they
usually prefer to follow the example of the animals and remain quiet in
the middle of the day.
An umbrella of the usual type, Chinese or Japanese, is very useful for
travel in Borneo. At times it proves of excellent service in the prahu in
case of sudden showers, and it is invaluable for protecting the camera
when photographing.
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