The pagan tribes of Borneo - Get a Free Blog Here

CHAPTER XII
DECORATIVE ART
All the tribes of Borneo practise a number of
decorative arts. Some of the Klemantans, notably
the Malanaus, excel all other tribes, in that they
attain a high level of achievement in a great variety
of such arts ; but each tribe and sub-tribe preserves
the tradition of some one or two decorative arts
in which they are especially skilled. Thus some of
the Klemantan tribes specially excel in the finer
kinds of wood-carving (e.g. the decoration of paddles);
the Kayans in tatuing and in chasing designs on
steel ; the Kenyahs in the painting of shields and
in the production of large designs carved in low
relief on wood and used for adorning houses and
both Kayans and Kenyahs excel in the
tombs ;
carving of sword - handles in deer's horn ; the
Barawans and Sebops in beadwork ; the Kalabits
and I bans in tracing designs on the surface of
bamboo ; Punans in the decorative mat - work ;
Kanowits and Tanjongs in basket-work.
Wood-carving is the most generally practised
and on the whole the most important of the decora-
tive arts. Much of it is done on very hard wood ;
and the principal tools are the sword, the small
knife carried in the sword -sheath, and adzes and
axes of various sizes. The blade of the knife is some
three inches in length, resembling in general shape
the blade of the sword ; it is wider in proportion,
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