The pagan tribes of Borneo - Get a Free Blog Here

46 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.
a row of small brass rings inserted round the margin
of the shell of each ear (Fig. 2).
Many of the men wear also bracelets of shell or
hard wood.
'Although the dress of the men is so uniform
in essentials throughout the country, it gives con-
siderable scope for the display of personal tastes,
and the Sea Dayak especially delights in winding
many yards of brilliantly coloured cloth about his
waist, in brilliant coats and gorgeous turbans ^
and feathers, and other ornaments ; by means of
these he manages to make himself appear as a
very dressy person in comparison with the sober
Kayan and with most of the people of the remoter
inland regions, who have little but scanty strips of
bark-cloth about the loins.
The universal weapons of the country are sword
and spear, and no man travels far from home
without these and his oblong wooden shield. Some
of the peoples are expert in the use of the blowpipe
and poisoned dart. The blow-pipe and the recently
introduced firearms are the only missile weapons ;
the bow is unknown save as a plaything for children,^
and possibly in a few localities in the extreme
north.^
The dress of the women is less uniform than that
of the men. The Sea Dayak woman (Pis. 29 and 30)
wears a short skirt of cotton thread woven in curious
patterns of several colours, reaching from the waist
almost to the knee ; a long-sleeved jacket of the
same material, and a corset consisting of many
rings of rattan built up one above another to enclose
the body from breast to thigh. Each rattan ring
is sheathed in small rings of beaten brass. The
'
^ The turban is a head-dress which is copied from the Malays and is rapidly
spreading inland.
2 This toy cross-bow is found among Kayans. Both it and the arrow used
are very crudely made.
' The war dress and accoutrements will be more fully described in
Chap. X.