Part 3 (1/2)

The two divers are led into the river, and each stands on his own grating, grasping his pole. At a given signal they plunge their heads simultaneously into the water. Immediately the spectators shout aloud at the top of their voices, over and over again, ”_Lobon--lobon_,” and continue doing so during the whole contest. What these mysterious words mean, I have never been able to discover. When at length one of the champions shows signs of yielding, by his movements in the water, and the shaking of the pole he is holding to, the excitement becomes very great. ”_Lobon--lobon_,” is shouted louder and more rapidly than before.

The shouts become deafening. The struggles of the poor victim, who is fast losing consciousness, are painful to witness. The champions are generally plucky, and seldom come out of the water of their own will.

They stay under water until the loser drops senseless, and is dragged ash.o.r.e, apparently lifeless, by his companions. The friends of the winner, raising a loud shout of triumph, hurry to the bank and seize and carry off the stakes. The vanquished one, quite unconscious, is carried by his friends to the fire, where he is warmed. In a few minutes he recovers, opens his eyes and gazes wildly around, and in a short time is able to walk slowly home. Where both champions succ.u.mb at the same time, the one who first regains his senses is held to be the winner.

The Dyaks have a curious superst.i.tion that if food is offered to a man, and he refuses it, and goes away without at least touching it, some misfortune is sure to befall him. It is said that he is sure to be either attacked by a crocodile, or bitten by a snake, or suffer from the attack of some animal.

When Dyaks have been asked to stay and have a meal, if they do not feel inclined to do so, I have often noticed them touch the food before going away. I have never been able to discover the origin of this curious superst.i.tion, but innumerable tales are told of those who have disregarded it, and have paid the penalty by being attacked by some animal.

The Dyaks are very truthful. So disgraceful indeed do the Dyaks consider the deceiving of others by an untruth, that such conduct is handed down to posterity by a remarkable custom. They heap up a pile of the branches of trees in memory of the man who has told a great lie, so that future generations may know of his wickedness, and take warning from it. The persons deceived start the _tugong bula_--”the liar's mound”--by heaping up a large number of branches in some conspicuous spot by the side of the path from one village to another. Every pa.s.ser-by contributes to it, and at the same time curses the man in memory of whom it is. The Dyaks consider the adding to any _tugong bula_ they may pa.s.s a sacred duty, the omission of which will meet with supernatural punishment, and so, however pressed for time a Dyak may be, he stops to throw on the pile some small branch or twig.

A few branches, a few dry twigs and leaves--that is what the _tugong bula_ is at first. But day by day it increases in size. Every pa.s.ser-by adds to it, and in a few years' time it becomes an imposing memorial to one who was a liar. Once started, there seems to be no means of destroying a _tugong bula_. There used to be one by the side of the path between Seratok and Sebetan. As the branches and twigs that composed it often came over the path, on a hot day in the dry weather, I have more than once applied a match to it and burnt it down. However, in a very short time, a new heap of branches and twigs was piled on the ashes of the old _tugong bula_.

CHAPTER IX

DYAK FEASTS

The Dyak religious feasts may be divided into the four following cla.s.ses:--

Those connected with--

1. Head-taking.

2. Farming.

3. The Dead.

4. Dreams, etc.

Though the Dyak feasts differ in their aims, there is a great deal which is common to them all. In these feasts the religious aspect does not seem of great importance. There is little real, reverential wors.h.i.+p of G.o.ds or spirits. It is true that food is offered to some higher powers, but this is done as the mere observance of an ancient custom. There are also long incantations made by men chosen for that purpose, who have good memories and can recite in a monotonous chant the special hymns of great length connected with each feast. But the guests do not share in this as an act of religious wors.h.i.+p. They are generally sitting round, talking, and laughing, and eating. While these incantations are sung, topics of common interest are discussed, and plans formed, and in all Dyak feasts, sociability and the partaking of food and drink seem to take a more prominent place than any religious wors.h.i.+p.

The preparations for all these feasts are much alike. They extend over a length of time, and consist for the most part in the procuring of food for the guests. The young men go to their friends, far and near, and obtain from them presents of pigs or fowls for the feast, and as c.o.c.k-fighting is loved by the Dyaks, they at the same time procure as many fighting c.o.c.ks as possible. The women busy themselves with pounding out an extra amount of rice, both for the consumption of the guests, and also for the making of _tuak_ or native spirit.

The special characteristics and religious aspects of these different feasts must now be noticed.

1. _Feasts connected with Head-taking._ All these are given in honour of Singalang Burong, who is the ruler of the spirit-world, and the G.o.d of war. These feasts are not held as frequently as those connected with farming, but when any of them take place, a great deal is made of the event. The most important is the _Bird Feast_.

The _Bird Feast_. This feast is also called the _Head Feast_, because part of the ceremony connected with it is the giving of food to some human heads taken in war, or the _Horn-bill Feast_, because carved figures of the horn-bill are used. It lasts three days whereas other feasts only last one day. In the old days it was only held on the return from a successful war expedition, when the heads of the enemy were brought home in triumph. But in the present day this feast is organized when they get a good harvest, and when the people of the Dyak house seem so inclined, and if no new heads have been lately brought home as trophies, some old smoked heads that have been in the house for years are used.

Among the preparations for this feast is the making of the carved wooden figure of the rhinoceros' horn-bill. This wooden figure is set on a high pole, which is fixed into the ground in front of the house. An offering of Dyak delicacies is hung up under it for food. Sometimes several of these figures are used.

Some human heads are placed in large bra.s.s dishes in the public hall of the Dyak house, and to these offerings of food and drink are made. Some of the food is stuffed into the mouths of these heads, and the rest is placed before them.

There are also certain erections called _pandong_ put up at regular intervals in the long public hall, and to these are hung war-charms, swords and spears, etc. The men who are chosen to make the incantations walk up and down, going round the _pandong_ and the heads in the bra.s.s dishes, singing the particular incantation that is used at this feast.

This singing lasts the whole night, beginning at 8 P.M. and continuing till the following morning. Except for a short interval for rest in the middle of the night, the performers are marching and singing all the time. The killing of a pig, and examining the liver to find out whether good or bad fortune is in store for them, is the last act of the ceremony.

2. The princ.i.p.al feast connected with _Farming_ is the _Gawai Batu_ (the ”Stone Feast”). It takes place before the farming operations begin, and is held in honour of Pulang Gana, the G.o.d of the land, who lives in the bowels of the earth, and has power to make the land fruitful or unfruitful. In this feast invocations are made to this G.o.d, and he is asked to give them a good harvest. The whetstones and farming implements are placed in a heap in the public part of the Dyak house. Offerings are made to the whetstones with a request that they may sharpen the tools and thus lighten the labours of their owners. After the feast is over, the whetstones are taken to the different farms, and the work of cutting down the jungle for planting begins.

3. The _Great Feast connected with the Dead_ is the _Gawai Antu_ (the ”Spirit Feast”). No definite time is fixed for the celebration of this, and it may be held one or two years after the death of a person. All those that have died since the last time the feast was held, are honoured at the same time, so that the number of departed spirits remembered at this feast is sometimes great.