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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On All
These Rivers They May Number As Many As 5,000, About 1,200 Of Which Should
Be Located On The Samba And The Braui.
The last figures are fairly correct,
but the first ones are based only on information derived from native
sources.
On the Samba, where I met the Ot-Danums, they are known as Duhoi, a name
applied by themselves and other tribes. They are still in a primitive
condition, though in outward appearance beginning to show the effect of
foreign influence. While a few wear chavats and sometimes becoming rattan
caps, nearly all cut their hair, and they no longer have sumpitans. Higher
up the river is a Malay kampong consisting of settlers from the Western
Division. Occasional traders also bring about inevitable changes, though
as yet few of these Dayaks speak Malay.
The Kahayans who live to the east of them always liked to come to the
Samba, often marrying Duhoi wives, and they also exert an influence. In
intellect they are superior to the Duhoi as well as in knowledge of
worldly affairs, in that respect resembling the Malays, though they have
none of their objectionable qualities. One or two of them are generally
present in a kampong, and I always found them useful because they speak
Malay well besides being truthful and reliable. Some of these are converts
to Christianity through the efforts of the Protestant mission on the
Kahayan River, which has begun to extend its activity to the Samba by
means of such Kahayans.
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