The pagan tribes of Borneo - Get a Free Blog Here

MATERIAL CONDITIONS 51
of wood. The framework of the roof is supported
at a height of some 25 to 30 feet from the ground
on massive piles of ironwood, and the floor is
supported by the same piles at a level some 7 or
8 feet below the cross-beams of the roof. The
floor consists of cross-beams morticed to the piles,
and of very large planks of hard wood laid upon
them parallel to the length of the house. The
projecting eaves of the roof come down to a level
midway between that of the roof- beams and that
of the floor, and the interval of some 4 to 5 feet
between the eaves and the floor remains open
along the whole length of the front of the house
{i.e. the side facing the river), save for a low parapet
which bounds the floor along its outer edge. This
space serves to admit both light and air, and affords
an easy view over the river to those sitting in the
house. The length of the house is in some cases
as much as 400 yards, but the average length is
probably about 200 yards. The width of the floor
varies from about 30 to 60 feet ; the whole space
between roof and floor is divided into two parts
by a longitudinal wall of vertical planks, which
runs the whole length of the house. This wall lies
not quite in the middle line, but a little to the river
side of it. Of the two longitudinal divisions of the
house, that which adjoins the river is thus somewhat
narrower than the other ; it remains undivided
in its whole length. The other and wider part is
divided by transverse walls at intervals of some 25
or 30 feet, so as to form a single row of spacious
chambers of approximately equal size. Each such
chamber is the private apartment of one family ; in
it father, mother, daughters, young sons and female
slaves, sleep and eat (PI. :^j).
Within each chamber
are usually several sleeping-places or alcoves more
or less completely screened or walled off from the
central space. The chamber contains a fireplace.