They Are More
Lively, More Talkative, Less Secretive, And Less Suspicious Than The
Malay, And Are Therefore Pleasanter Companions.
The Malay boys have
little inclination for active sports and games, which form quite a
feature in the life of the Dyak youths, who, besides outdoor games of
skill and strength, possess a variety of indoor amusements.
One wet
day, in a Dyak house, when a number of boys and young men were about
me, I thought to amuse them with something new, and showed them how
to make "cat's cradle" with a piece of string. Greatly to my
surprise, they knew all about it, and more than I did; for, after
Charles and I had gone through all the changes we could make, one of
the boys took it off my hand, and made several new figures which
quite puzzled me. They then showed me a number of other tricks with
pieces of string, which seemed a favourite amusement with them.
Even these apparently trifling matters may assist us to form a truer
estimate of the Dyaks' character and social condition. We learn
thereby, that these people have passed beyond that first stage of
savage life in which the struggle for existence absorbs all of the
faculties, and in which every thought and idea is connected with war
or hunting, or the provision for their immediate necessities. These
amusements indicate a capability of civilization, an aptitude to
enjoy other than mere sensual pleasures, which night be taken
advantage of to elevate their whole intellectual and social life.
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