The pagan tribes of Borneo - Get a Free Blog Here

228 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.
work are put to many decorative uses : they are
applied to the women's head-bands, to the centre of
the sun-hat, to sword sheaths, to cigarette boxes,
to the war-coat at the nape of the neck, and, by
some Klemantans, to the jackets of the women.
The designs worked in this way are but few, and
most of them are common to all the tribes. The
thread used is prepared by rolling on the thigh
fibres drawn from the leaf of the pine-apple ; it is
very strong and durable. The design to be reproduced
is drawn or carved in low relief on a board.
A thread is fixed across the end of the board and
others are tied to it at short intervals ; on these the
beads are threaded, neighbouring threads being
tied together at short intervals ; and the colours of
the beads are selected according to the demands of
the pattern over which they are worked.
Besides these designs on the flat, tassels, girdles,
necklaces, ear-rings, and cigarette rings are also
made of these beads. The modern imported beads
used for these purposes are sometimes improved
by being ground flat on the two surfaces that
adjoin their neighbours ; this is done by fixing a
number of them into the cut end of a piece of
sugar-cane and rubbing this against a smooth stone.
This treatment of the beads gives to the articles
made of them a very neat and highly finished
appearance.
Bamboo Decorations
The working of designs on the surface of pieces
of bamboo is done very simply, but none the less
effectively. Among the bamboo articles generally
decorated in the way to be described are the native
drinking-cup, the tobacco-box, and tubes for carrying
flint and steel and all sorts of odds and ends.
The pattern to be produced is outlined with the