The pagan tribes of Borneo - Get a Free Blog Here

232 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.
and white, made respectively from soot, iron oxide,
and lime—are, so far as we know, the only native
varieties ; but at the present day these are sometimes
supplemented with indigo and yellow pigments
obtained from the bazaars. The pigment is generally
laid on free-hand with the finger-tip, a few
guiding points only being put in.
It may be mentioned here that individuals of all
the tribes will occasionally amuse themselves by
making rude drawings with charcoal on the plank
wall of the gallery. The drawings usually depict
human and animal figures, and scenes from the
life of the people, and they generally illustrate the
particular form of occupation
in which the
household is employed
at the time, e.g. scenes
from the padi fields, a
group of people weeding,
the return of a war-
Fig. 48.—Kayan Cradle ornamented
with flat tops of cone shells.
party, the collection of
honey, the capture of a
large fish. These draw-
ings are invariably very crude ; their nature is
sufficiently indicated by PI. 128. There seem to
be no noteworthy differences in this respect between
the different peoples.
The Punans, having no houses and therefore no
walls on which to draw pictures, have little opportunity
to indulge any such tendency ; but we have
seen rude hunting scenes depicted by them on the
walls of shallow caves ; the technique consisted in
scratching away the soft rotted surface of the limestone
rock to produce outlines of the figures depicted.
The Malanaus, who live in the large limestone
caves during the time of harvesting the edible nests
of the swift, sometimes make rude drawings with
charcoal on the walls of the cave.