The pagan tribes of Borneo - Get a Free Blog Here

266 PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap.
so that it is impossible to tell for certain whether the design
was tatued in outline only or whether the outline was filled
in uniformly ; our impression is that the outline only was
tatued on this individual, and that it was employed either
as an experiment or from idle amusement. Zoomorphs are
conspicuous by their absence from all forms of decorative
art amongst the Lawas Muruts, and the particular zoomorph
noted here gives every evidence of an unpractised hand.
St. John states [7, p. 92] that the Muruts of the Adang
river, a tributary of the Limbang, are tatued about the
arms and legs, but he gives no details.
{d) Kalabit.—This tribe, dwelling in the watershed of the
Limbang and Baram rivers, is closely akin to Muruts,
but its tatu is very different. The men tatu but rarely,
and then with stripes down the arms. The women, however,
are decorated with most striking geometrical designs,
shown on PI. 142, Figs. 1-4. On the forearm are tatued
eight bold zigzag bands, one-eighth of an inch broad, which
do not completely encircle the arm, but stop short of joining
at points on the ulnar side of the middle line on the
flexor surface. The series of lines is known as betik tisu^
the hand pattern. In some cases two short transverse lines,
called tipalang, cross -lines, spring from the most distal
zigzag at the point where it touches the back of the wrist
on the radial side ; in other cases these lines are tatued
across the middle of the back of the wrist and two lozenges
are tatued on the metacarpals ; these are known as teparat
(PI. 142, Fig. i). The legs are tatued on the back of
the thigh, on the shin, and sometimes on the knee-cap.
The designs can best be explained by a reference to PL
142, Figs. 2-4 ; the part of the design marked A is termed
betik buah, fruit pattern ; B, betik lawa, trunk pattern ; and
C, betik Mud, shin pattern. In Fig. 4, A and C are as
before ; D is betik karawin ; E, ujat batu, hill-tops ; F,
betik kalang (Fig. 3).
Kalabit women are tatued when they are sixteen years
old, whether they are married or unmarried, and the
operation does not extend over a number of years as with
the Long Glat and Kayans, nor is any elaborate ceremonial
connected with the process.
{e) Long Utan,—An extinct Klemantan tribe, once dwelling
on the Tinjar river, an affluent of the Baram. We owe
our knowledge of their tatu to an aged Klemantan, who was
well acquainted with the tribe before their disappearance
;