The pagan tribes of Borneo - Get a Free Blog Here

194 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.
of the interior was from ore found in the river beds,
and possibly from masses of meteoric iron ; and even
at the present day the native ore is still smelted in
the far interior, and swords made from it by the
Kenyahs are still valued above all others.
Smelting and forging demand a specialised skill
which is attained by relatively few. But in each
Kayan village are to be found two or three or more
skilled smiths, who work up for a small fee the metal
brought them by their friends, the finishing touches
being generally given by the owner of the implement
according to his own fancy.
The smelting is performed by mixing the ore
with charcoal in a clay crucible, which is embedded
in a pile of charcoal. The charcoal being ignited is
blown to a white heat by the aid of four pistonbellows.
Each of the bellows consists of a wooden
cylinder (generally made from the stem of a wild
sago palm) about four feet in length and six
inches in diameter, fixed vertically in a framework
carrying a platform, on which two men sit to work
the pistons (see PI. 107). The lower end of each
cylinder is embedded in clay, and into it near its
lower end is inserted a tube of bamboo, which,
lying horizontally on the ground, converges upon
and joins with a similar tube of a second cylinder.
The common tube formed by this junction in turn
converges with the tube common to the other
pair of cylinders, and with it opens by a clay
junction into a final common tube of clay, which
leads to the base of the fire. The piston consists
of a stout stick bearing at its lower end a
bunch of feathers large enough to fill the bore of
the cylinder. When the piston is thrust downwards,
it drives the air before it to the furnace ; as it is
drawn upwards, the feathers collapsing allow the
entrance of air from above. The upper extremity
of each of the piston-rods is attached by a cord to