Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
VI
Borneo—The Dyaks
The manners and customs of the aborigines of Borneo have been described in great detail,
and with much fuller information than I possess, in the writings of Sir James Brooke, Messrs.
Low, St. John, Johnson Brooke, and many others. I do not propose to go over the ground
again, but shall confine myself to a sketch, from personal observation, of the general charac-
ter of the Dyaks, and of such physical, moral, and social characteristics as have been less fre-
quently noticed.
The Dyak is closely allied to the Malay, and more remotely to the Siamese, Chinese, and
other Mongol races. All these are characterised by a reddish-brown or yellowish-brown skin
of various shades, by jet-black straight hair, by the scanty or deficient beard, by the rather
small and broad nose, and high cheekbones; but none of the Malayan races have the oblique
eyes which are characteristic of the more typical Mongols. The average stature of the Dyaks
is rather more than that of the Malays, while it is considerably under that of most Europeans.
Their forms are well proportioned, their feet and hands small, and they rarely or never attain
the bulk of body so often seen in Malays and Chinese.
I am inclined to rank the Dyaks above the Malays in mental capacity, while in moral char-
acter they are undoubtedly superior to them. They are simple and honest, and become the
prey of the Malay and Chinese traders, who cheat and plunder them continually. They are
more lively, more talkative, less secretive, and less suspicious than the Malay, and are there-
fore pleasanter companions. The Malay boys have little inclination for active sports and
games, which form quite a feature in the life of the Dyak youths, who, besides outdoor games
of skill and strength, possess a variety of indoor amusements. One wet day, in a Dyak house,
when a number of boys and young men were about me, I thought to amuse them with
something new, and showed them how to make 'cat's cradle' with a piece of string. Greatly
to my surprise, they knew all about it, and more than I did; for, after I and Charles had gone
through all the changes we could make, one of the boys took it off my hand, and made sever-
