The Pagan Tribes of Borneo / A Description of Their Physical Moral and Intellectual Condition, with Some Discussion of Their Ethnic Relations

by Charles Hose; William McDougall

CHAPTER 3

General Sketch of the Peoples of Borneo

It is not improbable that at one time Borneo was inhabited by people of the negrito race, small remnants of which race are still to be found in islands adjacent to all the coasts of Borneo as well as in the Malay Peninsula. No communities of this race exist in the island at the present time; but among the people of the northern districts individuals may be occasionally met with whose hair and facial characters strongly suggest an infusion of negrito or negroid blood.

It is probable that the mixed race of Hindu-Javanese invaders, who occupied the southern coasts of Borneo some centuries ago, became blended with the indigenous population, and that a considerable proportion of their blood still runs in the veins of some of the tribes of the southern districts (E.G. the Land Dayaks and Malohs).

There can be no doubt that of the Chinese traders who have been attracted to Borneo by its camphor, edible birds' nests, and spices, some have settled in the island and have become blended with and absorbed by the tribes of the north-west (E.G. the Dusuns); and it seems probable that some of the elements of their culture have spread widely and been adopted throughout a large part of Borneo. For several centuries also Chinese settlers have been attracted to the south-western district by the gold which they found in the river gravel and alluvium. These also have intermarried with the people of the country; but they have retained their national characteristics, and have been continually recruited by considerable numbers of their fellow countrymen. Since the establishment of peace and order and security for life and property by the European administrations, and with the consequent development of trade during the last half-century, the influx of Chinese has been very rapid; until at the present time they form large communities in and about all the chief centres of trade. A certain number of Chinese traders continue to penetrate far into the interior, and some of these take wives of the people of the country; in many cases their children become members of their mothers' tribes and so are blended with the native stocks.

Among the Mohammedans, who are found in all the coast regions of Borneo, there is a considerable number of persons who claim Arab forefathers; and there can be no doubt that the introduction of the Mohammedan religion was largely due to Arab traders, and that many Arabs and their half-bred descendants have held official positions under the Sultans of Bruni.

During the last half-century, natives of India, most of whom are Klings from Madras, have established themselves in the small trades of the towns; and of others who came as coolies, some have settled in the towns with their wives and families. These people do not penetrate into the interior or intermarry with the natives.

With the exception of the above-mentioned immigrants and their descendants, the population of Borneo may be described as falling naturally into two great classes; namely, on the one hand those who have accepted, nominally at least, the Mohammedan religion and civilisation, and on the other hand the pagan peoples. In Bruni and in all the coast regions the majority of the people are Mohammedan, have no tribal organisation, and call themselves Malays (Orang Malayu). This name has usually been accorded them by European authors; but when so used the name denotes a social, political, and religious status rather than membership in an ethnic group. With the exception of these partially civilised "Malays" of the coast regions and the imported elements mentioned above, all the natives of Borneo live under tribal organisation, their cultures ranging from the extreme simplicity of the nomadic Punans to a moderately developed barbarism. All these pagan tribes have often been classed together indiscriminately under the name Dyaks or Dayaks, though many groups may be clearly distinguished from one another by differences of culture, belief, and custom, and peculiarities of their physical and mental constitutions.

The Mohammedan population, being of very heterogeneous ethnic composition, and having adopted a culture of foreign origin, which may be better studied in other regions of the earth where the Malay type and culture is more truly indigenous, seems to us to be of secondary interest to the anthropologist as compared with the less cultured pagan tribes. We shall therefore confine our attention to the less known pagan tribes of the interior; and when we speak of the people of Borneo in general terms it is to the latter only that we refer (except where the "Malays" are specifically mentioned). Of these we distinguish six principal groups: (1) Sea Dayaks or Ibans, (2) the Kayans, (3) Kenyahs, (4) Klemantans, (5) Muruts, (6) Punans.

A census of the population has been made in most of the principal districts of Sarawak and of Dutch Borneo; but as no census of the whole country has hitherto been made, it is impossible to state with any pretence to accuracy the number of the inhabitants of the island. Basing our estimate on such partial and local enumerations as have been made, we believe the total population to be about 3,000,000. Of these the Chinese immigrants and their descendants, who are rapidly increasing in number, probably exceed 100,000. The Malays and the native converts to Islam, who constitute with the Chinese the population of the towns and settled villages of the coast districts, probably number between three and four hundred thousand; the Indian immigrants are probably not more than 10,000; the Europeans number perhaps 3000; the rest of the population is made up of the six groups of barbarians named in the foregoing paragraph.

Any estimate of the numbers of the people of each of these six divisions is necessarily a very rough one, but it is perhaps worth while to state our opinion on this question as follows: Klemantans, rather more than 1,000,000; Kenyahs, about 300,000; Muruts, 250,000; Sea Dayaks, 200,000; Kayans, 150,000; Punans and other peoples of similar nomadic habits, 100,000 — I.E. a total of 2,000,000.

(1) Of all these six peoples the Sea Dayaks have become best known to Europeans, largely owing to their restless truculent disposition, and to the fact that they are more numerous in Sarawak than any of the others. They have spread northwards over Sarawak during the latter half of the last century, chiefly from the region of the Batang Lupar, where they are still numerous. They are still spreading northward, encroaching upon the more peaceful Klemantan tribes. They are most densely distributed in the lower reaches of the main rivers of Sarawak, especially the Batang Lupar and Saribas rivers, which are now exclusively occupied by them; but they are found also in scattered communities throughout almost all parts of Sarawak, and even in British North Borneo, and they extend from their centre in Sarawak into the adjacent regions of Dutch Borneo, which are drained by the northern tributaries of the Great Kapuas River.

The Sea Dayak is of a well-marked and fairly uniform physical type. His skin is distinctly darker than that of the other peoples of the interior, though not quite so dark as that of most of the true Malays. The hair of his head is more abundant and longer than that of other peoples. His figure is well proportioned, neat, and generally somewhat boyish. His expression is bright and mobile, his lips and teeth are generally distorted and discoloured by the constant chewing of betel nut. They are a vain, dressy, boastful, excitable, not to say frivolous people — cheerful, talkative, sociable, fond of fun and jokes and lively stories; though given to exaggeration, their statements can generally be accepted as founded on fact; they are industrious and energetic, and are great wanderers; to the last peculiarity they owe the name of Iban, which has been given them by the Kayans, and which has now been generally adopted even by the Sea Dayaks themselves.

The good qualities enumerated above render the Iban an agreeable companion and a useful servant. But there is another side to the picture: they have little respect for their chiefs, a peculiarity which renders their social organisation very defective and chaotic; they are quarrelsome, treacherous, and litigious, and the most inveterate head-hunters of the country; unlike most of the other peoples, they will take heads for the sake of the glory the act brings them and for the enjoyment of the killing; in the pursuit of human victims they become possessed by a furious excitement that drives them on to acts of the most heartless treachery and the most brutal ferocity.

All the Sea Dayaks speak one language, with but slight local diversities of dialect. It is extremely simple, being almost devoid of inflections, and of very simple grammatical structure, relying largely on intonation. It is closely allied to Malay.

(2) The Kayans are widely distributed throughout central Borneo, and are to be found in large villages situated on the middle reaches of all the principal rivers with the exception of those that run to the north coast. They occupy in the main a zone dividing the districts of the lower reaches of the rivers from the central highlands from which all the rivers flow.

They are a warlike people, but less truculent than the Sea Dayaks, more staid and conservative and religious, and less sociable. They do not wantonly enter into quarrels; they respect and obey their chiefs. They are equally industrious with the Sea Dayaks, and though somewhat slow and heavy in both mind and body, they are more skilled in the handicrafts than any of the other peoples. They also speak one language, which presents even less local diversity than the Sea Dayak language.

(3) The Kenyahs predominate greatly in the highlands a little north of the centre of Borneo where all the large rivers have their sources; but they are found also in widely scattered villages throughout the Kayan areas. In all respects they show closer affinities with the Kayans than with the Sea Dayaks; as regards custom and mode of life they closely resemble the Kayans, with whom they are generally on friendly terms; but they are easily distinguished from the Kayans by well-marked differences of bodily and mental characters, as well as by language. Physically they are without question the finest people of the country. Their skin-colour is decidedly fairer than that of Sea Dayaks or Kayans. They are of medium stature, with long backs and short, muscular, well-rounded limbs; a little stumpy in build, but of graceful and vigorous bearing. They are perhaps the most courageous and intelligent of the peoples; pugnacious, but less quarrelsome than the Sea Dayak; more energetic and excitable than the Kayan; hospitable and somewhat improvident, sociable and of pleasant manners; less reserved and of more buoyant temperament than the Kayan; very loyal and obedient to their chiefs; more truthful and more to be depended upon under all circumstances than any of the other peoples, except possibly the Kayans.

The Kenyahs speak a number of dialects of the same language, and these differ so widely that Kenyahs of widely separated districts cannot converse freely with one another; but, as with all the peoples, except the Sea Dayaks, nearly every man has the command of several dialects as well as of the Kayan language.

(4) The Klemantans. Under this name we group together a number of tribes which, though in our opinion closely allied, are widely scattered in all parts of Borneo, and present considerable diversities of language and custom. In physical and mental characters they show affinities to the Kenyahs on the one hand and to the Muruts on the other. They are less bellicose than the peoples mentioned above, and have suffered much at their hands. They are careful, intelligent, and sociable, though somewhat timid, people; skilful in handicrafts, but less energetic than the Kayans and Kenyahs, and inferior to them in metal work and the making of swords and spears and boats. The blow-pipe is their characteristic weapon, and they are more devoted to hunting than any others, except the Punans.

Klemantans are to be found in every part of the island, but most of their villages are situated on the lower reaches of the rivers. They are most abundant in the south, constituting the greater part of the population of Dutch Borneo; in the north they are few, their place being filled by their near relatives, the Muruts. The latter constitute the principal part of the population of the northern end of the island, predominating over all the other peoples in British North Borneo, and in the northern extremities of Sarawak and of Dutch Borneo.

(5) The Muruts are confined to the northern part of Borneo. They resemble the Klemantans more closely than the other peoples. They are comparatively tall and slender, have less regular and pleasing features than the Klemantans, and their skin is generally darker and more ruddy in colour. Their agriculture is superior to that of the other peoples, but they are addicted to much drinking of rice-spirit. Their social organisation is very loose, their chiefs having but little authority. Besides those who call themselves Muruts, we class under the same general name several tribes which we regard as closely allied to them; namely, the Adangs in the head of the Limbang; the Kalabits about the head of the Baram; the Sabans and Kerayans at the head of the Kerayan river; the Libuns; the Lepu Asings at the head of the Bahau; Tagals and Dusuns in the most northerly part; the Trings of the Barau and Balungan rivers on the east.

(6) The Punans, among whom we include, beside the Punans proper, the Ukits and a few other closely allied but widely scattered small groups, are the only people who do not dwell in villages established on the banks of the rivers. They live in small groups of twenty or thirty persons, which wander in the jungle. Each such group is generally made up of a chief and his descendants. The group will spend a few weeks or months at a time in one spot (to which generally they are attracted by the presence of wild sago), dwelling in rude shelters of sticks and leaves, and then moving on, but generally remaining within some one area, such as the basin of one of the upper tributaries of a large river. They are found throughout the interior of Borneo, but are difficult to meet with, as they remain hidden in the depths of the forests. Unlike all the other peoples, they cultivate no PADI (rice), and they do not make boats or travel on the rivers. They support themselves by hunting with the blow-pipe, by gathering the wild jungle fruits, and by collecting the jungle products and bartering them with the more settled peoples. In physical characters they closely resemble the Kenyahs, being well-built and vigorous; their skin is of very light yellow colour, and their features are regular and well shaped. Mentally they are characterised by extreme shyness and timidity and reserve. They are quite inoffensive and never engage in open warfare; though they will avenge injuries by stealthy attacks on individuals with the blow-pipe and poisoned darts. Their only handicrafts are the making of baskets, mats, blow-pipes, and the implements used for working the wild sago; but in these and in the use of the blow-pipe they are very expert. All other manufactured articles used by them — cloths, swords, spears — are obtained by barter from the other peoples. Unlike all the other peoples, they have no form of sepulture, but simply leave the corpse of a comrade in the rude shelter in which he died. They sing and declaim rude melancholy songs or dirges with peculiar skill and striking effect. Their language is distinctive, but is apparently allied to the Kenyah and Klemantan tongues.

We propose to deal with the topics of each of our descriptive chapters by giving as full as possible an account of the Kayans, and adding to this some observations as to the principal diversities of custom and culture presented by the other peoples. For, if we should attempt to describe in detail each of these peoples with all their local diversities, this book would attain an inordinate length. The Kayans are in most respects the most homogeneous of these peoples, the most conservative and distinctive, and present perhaps the richest and most interesting body of belief and custom and art; while many of their customs and arts have been adopted by their neighbours, or are indigenous with them.

We may conclude this chapter by describing briefly in general terms the physical characters, and the habits and customs that are common to all or most of these pagan tribes.

These peoples present no very great differences of physical character. All are of medium height; their skin-colour ranges from a rich medium brown to a very pale CAFE-AU-LAIT, hardly deeper than the colour of cream. Their hair is nearly black or very dark brown, and generally quite lank, but in some cases wavy or even almost curly. Their faces show in nearly all cases, though in very diverse degrees, some of the well-known mongoloid characters, the wide cheek-bones, the small oblique eyes, the peculiar fold of the upper eyelid at its nasal end, and the scanty beard. In some individuals these traces are very slight and in fact not certainly perceptible. The nose varies greatly in shape, but is usually rather wide at the nostrils, and in very many cases the plane of the nostrils is tilted a little upwards and forwards. On the other hand some individuals, especially among the Kenyahs, have distinctly aquiline and well-formed noses. Amongst all these peoples, especially the Kenyahs, Punans, and Klemantans, there are to be seen a few individuals of very regular well-shaped features of European type.

Although as regards physical characters all these peoples have much in common, yet each of them presents peculiarities which are obvious to the eye of an experienced observer, and enable him without hesitation to assign to their proper groups the majority of individuals; and such recognition on mere inspection is of course rendered easier by the relatively slight peculiarities of dress and ornament proper to each group.

The pure-bred Kenyah presents, perhaps, the most clearly marked as well as the finest physical type. His skin, is the colour of rich cream with a very small dash of coffee. The hair of his head varies from slightly wavy to curly, and is never very abundant or long in the men. The rest of his body is almost free from hair, and what little grows upon the face is carefully plucked out (not, leaving even the eyebrows and eyelashes). This practice is common to all the peoples of the interior except the Sea Dayaks. His stature is about 1600 mm.; his weight about 136 pounds. His limbs are distinctly short in proportion to his body; his trunk is well developed and square, and both limbs and trunk are well covered with rounded muscles. His movements are quick and vigorous, and he is hardy and capable of sustaining prolonged toil and hardship. His head is moderately round (Index 79), his face broad but well shaped. The expression of his face is bold and open.

The Kayan has a rather darker skin of a redder tone. His legs are not so disproportionately short, but in all other respects his body is less well proportioned, graceful, and active than the Kenyah's. His features are less regular and rather coarser and heavier; his expression is serious, reserved, and cautious.

The Murut is nearly as fair skinned as the Kenyah, perhaps a little ruddier in tone. His most characteristic feature is the length of his leg and lack of calf, in both of which respects he contrasts strongly with the Kenyah. The length of his leg raises his stature above the average. His intonation is characteristic, namely, somewhat whining; whereas the Kenyah's speech is crisp and staccato.

The Klemantans present a greater variety of physical types, being a less homogeneous group. Roughly they may be said to present all transitions from the Kenyah to the Murut type. In the main they are less muscular and active than the Kenyah. It is amongst them that the upward and forward direction of the plane of the nostrils is most marked.

The Punan presents, again, a well-marked type. His skin is even fairer than the Kenyah's, and is distinguished by a distinctly greenish tinge. He is well proportioned, graceful, and muscular, and his features are in many cases very regular and pleasing. His expression is habitually melancholy and strikingly wary and timid. In spite of his homeless nomadic life he generally appears well nourished and clean, and he seems less subject to sores and to the skin diseases which so often disfigure the other peoples, especially the Muruts, Kayans, and Sea Dayaks.[29]

All these peoples, with the exception of the Punans and similar nomads, live in village communities situated with few exceptions on the banks of the rivers. The populations of these villages vary from 20 or 30 persons only in the smallest, to 1500 or even more in a few of the largest; while the average village comprises about 30 families which, with a few slaves and dependants, make a community of some 200 to 300 persons. Each such community is presided over by a chief. A number of villages of one people are commonly grouped within easy reach of one another on the banks of a river. But no people exclusively occupies or claims exclusive possession of any one territory or waterway. With the exception of the Sea Dayaks, all these different peoples may here and there be found in closely adjoining villages; and in some rivers the villages of the different peoples are freely intermingled over considerable areas. The segregation of the Sea Dayak villages seems to be due to the truculent treacherous nature of the Sea Dayak, which renders him obnoxious as a neighbour to the other peoples, and leads him to feel the need of the support of his own people in large numbers. All find their principal support and occupation in the cultivation of PADI (rice), and all supplement this with the breeding of a few pigs and fowls and, in the north of the island, buffalo, with hunting and fishing, and with the collection of jungle produce — gutta-percha, rubber, rattan canes, camphor, sago. These jungle products they barter or sell for cash to the Malay and Chinese traders.

They have no written records, and but vague traditions of their past history and migrations. There is no political organisation beyond a loose coherence and alliance for defence and offence of the village communities of any one people in neighbouring parts of the country — a coherence which at times is greatly strengthened by the personal ascendency of the chief of some one village over neighbouring chiefs. One of the most notable examples of such personal ascendency exercised in recent times was that of Tama Bulan (Pl. 27), a Kenyah chief whose village was situated on one of the tributaries of the Baram river, and who by his loyal co-operation with the government of the Rajah of Sarawak greatly facilitated the rapid establishment of law and order in this district.

Except for these informal alliances obtaining between neighbouring villages of the people of any one stock, each village forms an independent community, ruled by its chief, making war and peace and alliances, and selecting patches of land for cultivation at its own pleasure. No village community remains on the same spot for any long period; but after fifteen, ten, or even fewer years, a new site is sought, often at a considerable distance, and a new village is built. The principal reasons for this habit of frequent migration, which has produced the intimate mingling throughout large areas of the peoples of different stocks, are two: first, the necessity of finding virgin soil for cultivation; secondly, the occurrence of epidemics or other calamities; these lead them to believe that the place of their abode supplies in insufficient degree the favouring spiritual influences which they regard as essential to their welfare. For among all these peoples animistic beliefs abound; they hold themselves to be surrounded on every hand by spiritual forces both good and bad, some of which are embodied in the wild creatures, especially the birds, while some are manifested in such natural processes as the growth of the corn, the rising of the river in flood, the rolling of thunder, the incidence of disease. And they are constantly concerned to keep at a distance, by the observance of many rigidly prescribed customs, the evil influences, and, to a less degree, to secure by propitiatory acts the protection and the friendly warnings of the beneficent powers.

One of the most peculiar features of the people of Borneo is the great diversity of language obtaining among them. The migratory habits of the people and the consequent mingling of communities of different stocks within the same areas, far from having resulted in the genesis by fusion of a common language, have resulted in the formation of a great number of very distinct dialects; so that in following the course of a river, one may sometimes find in a day's journey of a score of miles half a dozen or more villages, the people of each of which speak a dialect almost, or in some cases quite, unintelligible to their neighbours. A necessary consequence of this state of affairs is that, with the exception of the Sea Dayaks, almost all adults speak or at least understand two or more dialects or languages, while most of the chiefs and leading men speak several dialects fluently and partially understand a larger number. The language most widely understood by those to whom it is not native is the Kayan; but since the recent spread of trade through large areas under the protection of the European governments, a simplified form of the Malay language has been rapidly establishing itself as the LINGUA FRANCA of the whole country. In Sarawak, where, during the last fifty years, the Sea Dayaks have spread from the Batang Lupar district and have established villages on all the principal rivers, their language, which seems to be a bastard and very simple branch of the Malay tongue, is very widely understood and is largely used as a common medium.

Note on the use of the term KLEMANTAN. The Malay name for Borneo is Pulu Klemantan, and we have adopted this name to denote the large group of allied tribes which in our opinion have the best claim to be regarded as representing the indigenous population of the island.