The pagan tribes of Borneo - Get a Free Blog Here

70 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.
The upper class is relatively more numerous
in the Kenyah than in the Kayan houses, and
more clearly distinguishable by address and bear-
ing.
The middle class comprises the majority of the
people of a house in most cases. They may enjoy
all the forms of property, though generally their
possessions are of smaller extent and value, and
they seldom possess slaves. Their voices carry
less weight in public affairs ; but among this class
are generally a few men of exceptional capacity
or experience whose advice and co-operation are
specially valued by the chief Among this class,
too, are usually a few men in each house on whom
devolve, often hereditarily, special duties implying
special skill or knowledge, e.g. the working of iron
at the forge, the making of boats, the catching of
souls, the finding of camphor, the observation and
determination of the seasons. All such special
occupations are sources of profit, though only the
last of these enables a man to dispense with the
cultivation oi padi.
The lower class is made up of slaves captured in
war and of their descendants, and for this reason its
members are of very varied physical type. An
unmarried slave of either sex lives with, and is
treated almost as a member of, the family of his
or her master, eating and in some cases sleeping
in the family room. Slaves are allowed to marry,
their children becoming the property of their
masters. Some slave - families are allowed to
acquire a room in the house, and they then begin
to acquire a less dependent position ; and though
they still retain the status of slaves, and are spoken
of as **slaves-outside-the-room," the master generally
finds it impossible to command their services beyond
a very limited extent, and in some cases will volun-
tarily resign his rights over the family. But in this