The pagan tribes of Borneo - Get a Free Blog Here

66 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.
nothing in the shape of material reward. He mayreceive
a Httle voluntary assistance in the cultivation
of his field ; in travelling by boat he is accorded the
place of honour and ease in the middle of the boat,
and he is not expected to help in its propulsion.
His principal rewards are the social precedence and
deference accorded him and the satisfaction found
in the exercise of authority.
If the people of a house or village are gravely
dissatisfied with the conduct of their chief, they will
retire to their /^^/-fields, building temporary houses
there. If many take this course, a new long house
will be built and a new chief elected to rule over it,
while the old chief remains in the old house with
a reduced following, sometimes consisting only of
his near relatives.
The office of chief is rather elective than heredi-
tary, but the operation of the elective principle is
affected by a strong bias in favour of the most
capable son of the late chief; so in practice a chief
is generally succeeded by one of his sons. An
elderly chief will sometimes voluntarily abdicate in
favour of a son. If a chief dies, leaving no son of
mature age, some elderly man of good standing
and capacity will be elected to the chieftainship,
generally by agreement arrived at by many informal
discussions during the weeks following the death.
If thereafter a son of the old chief showed himself a
capable man as he grew up, he would be held to
have a strong claim on the chieftainship at the next
vacancy. If the new chief at his death left also
a mature and capable son, there might be two
claimants, each supported by a strong party ; the
issue of such a state of affairs would probably be
the division of the house or village, by the departure
of one claimant with his party to build a new
village. In such a case the seceding party would
carry away with them their share of the timbers