The pagan tribes of Borneo - Get a Free Blog Here

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THE SOCIAL SYSTEM 69
distinguished at a glance by his superior bearing
and manners, by the neatness and cleanliness of his
person, his more valuable weapons, and personal
ornaments, as well as by greater regularity of
features. The woman of the upper class also
exhibits to the eye similar marks of her superior
birth and breeding. The tatuing of her skin is
more finely executed, greater care is taken with the
elongation of the lobe of the ear, so that the social
status of the woman is indicated by the length of
the lobe. Her dress and person are cleaner, and
generally better cared for, and her skin is fairer
than that of other women, owing no doubt to her
having been less exposed to the sun.
The men of the upper class work in the padifields
and bear their share of all the labours of the
village ; but they are able to cultivate larger areas
than others owing to their possession of slaves, who,
although they are expected to grow a supply of
padi for their own use, assist in the cultivation of
their master's fields. For the upper-class women,
also, the labours of the field and the house are
rendered less severe by the assistance of female
slaves, although they bear a part both in the weeding
of the fields, in the harvesting, and in the
preparation of food in the house.
The chiefs room, which is usually about twice
as long as others, is usually in the middle of the
house ; and those of the other upper-class families,
which also may be larger than the other rooms,
adjoin it on either side.
In all social gatherings, and in the performance
of public rites and ceremonies, the men of the upper
class are accorded leading parts, and they usually
group themselves about the chief. Social intercourse
is freer and more intimate among the people of the
upper class than between them and the rest of the
household.