The pagan tribes of Borneo - Get a Free Blog Here

X WAR 163
The war-coat is made of the skin of the goat, the
bear, or (in case of distinguished chiefs) of the tigercat.
The whole of the skin in one piece is used,
except that the skin of the belly and of the lower
parts of the forelimbs are cut away. A hole for the
warrior's head is made in the mid-dorsal line a little
behind the skin of the head, which is flattened out
and hangs over the chest, descending to the level of
the navel ; while the skin of the back, flanks, and
hind limbs in one large flap, covers the back and
hind parts of the warrior as far as the bend of the
knees. A large pearly shell usually adorns the
lower end of the anterior flap. The warrior's arms
are thus left free, but unprotected. In the finest
coats there is a patch of brightly coloured beadwork
at the nape of the neck, and the back-flap is
adorned with rows of loosely dangling hornbills'
feathers ; but these again are considered appropri-
ate only to the coats of warriors of proved valour.
The Kayan shield is an oblong plate cut from a
single piece of soft wood. Its ends are pointed
more or less acutely ; the length between the points
is about four feet. The inner surface forms a flat
hollow ; the outer is formed by two flat surfaces
meeting in a flat obtuse angle or ridge extending
from point to point. The grain of the wood runs
longitudinally, and a downward falling parang is
liable to split the wood and become wedged fast in
it. In order to prevent the shield becoming divided
in this way, and to hold fast the blade of the sword,
it is bound across with several stout strips of rattan
which are laced closely to the wood with finer strips.
The handle, carved out of the same solid block of
wood as the body of the shield, is in the middle of
the concave surface ; it is a simple vertical bar for
the grasp of the left hand. The Kayan shield is
commonly stained red with iron oxide, and touched
up with black pigment, but not otherwise decorated.