Should the mother die, no other woman
willingly suckles the child unless the father has a daughter who can do
it. However, by paying from one to three gongs a woman may be induced to
undertake the duty.
ORANG BAHAU
(On the Mahakam River)
Bahau is the name of a river in Apo Kayan, where the tribes of the Mahakam
River lived before they migrated to their present habitations, a hundred
and fifty to two hundred years ago. The Penihings, Kayans, Oma-Sulings,
and Long-Glats speak of themselves as Orang Bahau, as also do the
Saputans, though probably they did not originally come from Apo Kayan.
According to these Dayaks the designation as used by the Malays signifies
people who wear only chavat (loin cloth), and the Punans and Ibans are
said to be included under the same term.
PUNANS AND BUKATS
(Notes from kampong Long Kai on the Mahakam River)
The formidable king cobra (naia bungarus) is feared by the Punans, who
have no remedy for the bite of this or any other venomous snake. The
Bukats are said to know a cure which they share with the Penihings; the
bark is scraped from a certain tree and the juice is applied to the wound.
Death from lightning is unknown to any of these three tribes.
