Other day, his spirit came back to him and his body sat
up and talked, and we were much afraid, and seized hold of the body;
which gave us much trouble to put it into the hole we had digged,
and when we had quickly filled in the hole so that the body could not
come out again, we fled away quickly, so now we know that the saying
is true." It thus transpired that they had buried a live Chinaman
without being aware of the fact.
CHAPTER 13
Home-Life Among Head-Hunting Dayaks.
I leave the Main Stream and journey up the Sarekei - A Stream
overarched by Vegetation - House 200 feet long - I make Friends with
the Chief - My New Quarters - Rarity of White Men - Friendliness
of my New Hosts - Embarrassing Request from a Lady, "like we your
skin" - Similar Experience of Wallace - Crowds to see me Undress -
Dayak's interest in Illustrated Papers - Waist-rings of Dayak Women
- Teeth filled with brass - Noisiness of a Dayak House - Dayak
Dogs - A well-meant Blow and its Sequel - Uproarious Amusement of
the Dayaks - Dayak Fruit-Trees - The Durian as King of all Fruits
- Dayak "Bridges" across the Swamp-Dances of the Head-Hunters -
A Secret "Fishing" Expedition - A Spear sent by way of defiance to
the Government - I "score" off the Pig-Hunters - Dayak Diseases -
Dayak Women and Girls - Two "Broken Hearts" - I Raffle my Tins -
"Cookie" and the Head-Hunters, their Jokes and Quarrels - My Adventure
with a Crocodile.
The Rejang is one of the many large rivers which abound in Borneo,
and its tributaries are numerous and for the most part unexplored. The
Rejang is tidal for fully one hundred and fifty miles, and at Sibu
is over a mile in width. The banks of this river are inhabited by
a large population of Malays, Chinese, Dayaks, Kayans, Kanawits,
Punans and numerous other tribes. Thus it is a highly interesting
region for an ethnologist.
It was with feelings of pleasant anticipation that I started down
the river in the government steam-launch from Sibu just as dawn was
breaking, on my way to spend several weeks among the wild Dayaks
on the unexplored Sarekei River. I took with me my two servants,
Dubi, a civilized Dayak, and my Chinese cook. After a journey of
four hours we arrived at a large Malay village near the mouth of
the Sarekei River. Here I disembarked and sought out the chief of
the village and demanded the loan of two canoes, with some men to
paddle them, and in return I offered liberal payment. Accordingly,
an hour after my arrival I found myself with all my belongings and
servants on board the two canoes, with a crew of nine Malays. Soon
after leaving the Malay village we branched off to the left up the
Sarekei River.
