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XII DECORATIVE ART 259
stated that a somewhat similar design was engraved by
them on sword blades. PI. 139, Fig. 4, is taken from a
tatu-block of uncertain origin, and the same name was also
applied to this by the Baram Kayans, though with some
hesitation and uncertainty ; the hornbill motif is here quite
obvious.
We have stated that an interlacing line design is
generally employed for the back of the thigh ; we figure,
however, a remarkable exception from the Baloi river
(PI. 140, Fig. ; 5) this is known as kalong kowit, hook
pattern ; A is a representation of an antique bead, balalat
lukuty B is known as kowit^ hooks. Between the two strips
of line design at the back of the thigh runs a narrow line of
untatued skin, the supposed object of which has been
described above.
class women will
The front and sides of the thigh in high-
be covered with three or more strips of
pattern such as are shown on PI. 138, Figs. 4 and 5 ;
in the latter tushun tuva, dulang harok, ulu tinggang and
beliling bulan can again be recognised ;
the ulu tinggang in
this example are less conventionalised than in the spirals of
the forearm pattern, and a spiral form of tushun tuva is
shown in addition to the angular form. The other example
exhibits ida limuy tushun tuvajalaut, kowit (the interlocking
spirals) and ulu tinggang. All these strips of pattern are
separated by the ikor. The knee-cap is the last part of the
leg to be tatued, and the design covering it is called the
kalong nangy the important pattern, good examples of
which are shown in Figs. 70, 71 ; Fig. 72 represents the
design on the front and sides of the thigh of an Uma
Semuka Kayan of the slave class, which also is termed
tushun tuva.
The admirable Uma Lekan patterns (PI. 140, Fig. 2)
represent on the back of the thigh (AA) beliling bulan^ on
the front and sides (BB) silong^ faces or silong lejau^ tigers'
faces ; the latter is evidently an anthropomorph ; the kneecap
design is particularly worthy of notice.^ Nieuwenhuis
[9, PI. 83, and 8, PI. XXVI I.] figures the thigh tatu of
a Mendalam woman of the panjin or free-woman class ;
the back of the thigh is occupied by two strips of the four-
^ The drawing is taken from a rubbing of a model carved by an Uma
Lekan ; this will account for the asymmetry noticeable every here and there
throughout the design. A print from an actual tatu-block is shown in PL
139, Fig. 7 ; this would be repeated serially in rows down the front and sides
of the thigh, so that absolute uniformity would be attained ; the carver of the
model, which was about one-sixth life size, has not been able to keep the
elements of his design quite uniform.