VOCABULARY OF DAYAK WORDS.
Akar pahit.—“Bitter root,” is the root of a creeper largely found in the marshy lower country of Borneo, and until now the best substitute for quinine.
Alier.—The hole through which the slag is drawn off in the process of smelting ore.
Amai.—Means father, and is the title of the chiefs of the upper country.
Antoeën.—The power of changing into an evil spirit in order to steal a man’s soul. See page 254.
Baba and Kee.—Are used to designate the Chinese in the Dutch Indies. The former is the more complimentary. Kee is humiliating and almost a nickname.
Badjangkan.—In Dayak, means to occupy a large space. Hence the Djangkanese were proud of their name, as indicating the powerful tribe from which they descend.
Badjoe.—Married women and girls always walk about half naked indoors. When company is expected, decorum requires the lady of the house to put on a badjoe, generally made of blue or red silk, and frequently stitched with gold thread.
Bakatak.—A green frog; used as food.
Baloedoek.—An amphibious animal about a foot long, white and covered with fine scales. Its body resembles a fish and it has the head of a frog.
Bangamat.—Flying dog.
Bapoejoe.—A fish like the perch in shape and size. See page 53 for their habits.
Basara.—A legal action pending.
Batoe galiga, or bezoar stone.—Is found in the intestines of certain kinds of monkeys.
Batoe kasisentoe.—Coal.
Batoe sanaman.—Iron ore.
Benting.—Fort.
Bigal.—A national dance of the Dayaks.
Blako ontong.—Means to beg for good luck. [[373]]
Boea bakoeng.—See weights.
Boea kajoe.—See weights.
Boehies.—Black and gray apes, noted for their long tails.
Boekit riwoet, or Wind Mountain.—A common name for hills or summits of mountains, especially when standing isolated and consequently exposed to every wind.
Boelau oerei.—Gold dust.
Boengkang.—The fat of a black cat.
Boentoeng.—See weights.
Boetoeng.—The nozzle of the bellows used in smelting.
Brini.—See weights.
Brotoali.—A species of cactus from which a decoction is made which is used as a protection against mosquitoes.
Djata.—The brother of Mahatara, the Dayak god, was the father of all crocodiles.
Djoekoeng.—Is a canoe formed by the excavated trunk of a tree. It can contain two or three persons only.
Dohong.—Means “war sword.” It usually denotes male bravery and in Oriental language it stands for valorous.
Ewah.—A coarse cloth or piece of bark wound several times around the middle, an end hanging down before and behind. It serves a most useful purpose in protecting the abdomen against sudden chills.
Gantang.—Is a measure calculated to hold about four and one-half pounds avoirdupois.
Hagalangang.—The decision of a case by an appeal to arms. See page 232.
Halamantek.—Forest leeches.
Hambator.—Is the larva of a large beetle found in worm-eaten wood. It is very fat and of the dimensions of a finger.
Ipoh.—A vegetable poison made from the sap of a creeper, in which the Dayaks dip the points of their arrows.
Kadjanka.—The ruler of the moon and protector of newly married women.
Kahio.—Bornean name of the orang outang.
Kalamboe-ie.—A large snail; used as a food.
Kalampoet.—A tree of the rhododendron tribe.
Karangan.—A sand bar of considerable size in a river.
Karoenkoeng.—Suit of rattan armor.
Katiting.—A tree belonging to the Rhizophora.
Kee.—See Baba. [[374]]
Ketan.—Is a species of rice containing much gluten, which becomes thick in boiling. Eaten with treacle and powdered cocoanuts, it forms one of the delicacies of the Dayaks.
Kiham.—Indicates a spot in the river, narrowed by beds of rock, compelling the waters to rush through a much straitened canal. Generally this is accompanied by a tolerable decrease in the bed of the river.
Koedjang.—Is a tuber, largely found in marshy regions, and especially in the lower country, where, after the rice, it forms the principal food of the natives. In the upper country it is also found in pools and marshes.
Kwala.—Mouth of a river.
Laboerang.—An earthen trough in which iron ore is smelted.
Mahatara and Hatallah both signify God. The first is seldom used by the Dayaks when speaking to a European. The latter is never used among the Dayaks themselves.
Mandauws.—The Dayak sword, the blade concave on one side and convex on the other. Is about twenty-one inches long, nearly straight, and one and a half inches broad in the middle and tapering to a sharp point. It has only one cutting edge.
Manjapa.—The administration of oaths.
Maroetas.—A species of quarantine declared against a house, village or even whole district in consequence of infectious disease.
Matta boeroeng.—See weights.
Nagara.—Is a district with a capital of the same name situated in the Malayan districts of Borneo, where the best arms of the whole island are manufactured.
Obat.—Medicine.
Palakko.—A settlement deposited by the bridegroom with the bride’s parents, varying in amount according to the wealth of the individual.
Pampahilep.—A forest imp. See page 42.
Pangereran.—A crocodile killer, usually a Malay.
Pantoek.—The needle used in tattooing.
Parabah.—A Dayak stratagem. A tree is cut off but held upright by rattan cables. These are severed at the proper moment and the tree falls upon the enemy.
Radjah balawang boelau, or King of the Golden Gate; sometimes also called Radja Ontong, or king of misfortune. The residence of this benevolent being is above the residence of the Sangiangs, near that of Mahatara, the supreme divinity. [[375]]
Radja Ontong.—See Radjah balawang boelau.
Rajoh.—A fine moss found on the high lands of Borneo.
Ramon petak kinan.—Eatable soil.
Rangkan.—Is a large canoe formed by excavating the trunk of a tree. It will carry thirty persons, in some cases even more.
Real.—An imaginary coin among the Dayaks. Its value is about 60 cents.
Ringgit.—See weights.
Rioeng.—Noise.
Riwoet-haroesan.—Breath of the stream; a musical sound formed by the waters of a stream meeting the incoming tide from the sea.
Sadjampol.—See weights.
Sakobang.—See weights.
Salambouw.—A square net with medium sized meshes, spread across a stream to prevent the escape of fish.
Sambalajong.—A white head-dress worn by widows.
Sanaman.—Iron.
Sangiangs.—Heavenly beings, servants of Mahatara (God). Many sacrifices are offered to them.
Sanggarang.—A richly carved flag-staff.
Sapoendoes.—Posts to which prisoners are tied to be tortured to death.
Sarok boelau.—The soul of the gold dust, the Dayaks believing that inanimate bodies have souls.
Sarong.—Petticoat.
Satali.—See weights.
Satilai.—See weights.
Singapore.—Although not a single lion is found in the whole of the Moluccan peninsula, Singapore means lion city.
Sipet.—is a blow-pipe for poisonous arrows. An iron lance is attached to it so that it may be used for offensive operations.
Siren.—A poison made from the sap of a tree in which the Dayaks dip the points of their arrows.
Soengei.—Stream.
Soho.—A flood.
Takakak.—Is a woodcock of great beauty, crowing its loud taaaak-kekakakak at regular intervals, about 9 P.M., 12 M., and 3 A.M.
Talawang.—Shield.
Tangoeli.—The larvæ of bees stewed in honey.
Tarodjok.—A pair of scales.
Tatoem.—The shriek with which the Dayak lament their dead. [[376]]
Tempon Telon.—One of the Sangiangs, the Charon of the Dayaks, who carries the souls of the dead through a purifying fire into the Elysian fields.
Thaël.—See weights.
Titih.—The funeral knell of the Dayaks. See page 18.
Tobah.—A shrub belonging to the Rhisophores; is universally found in the lower country, while in the upper country it only grows in marshy soil.
Toeak.—A liquor prepared from fermented rice, pepper, betelnuts and sugar.
Toending.—The gilding of the nails and painting the forehead. The dead are thus decorated before burial.
Tomoi.—Somewhat resembles a summer-house, erected near the fortified dwellings in the upper country, to receive travellers. No stranger is ever admitted within the fortification; mistrust is principally the origin of this custom, the natives thus protecting themselves against spies, who, under the mask of friendship, may come to reconnoitre the territory; but this practice also serves to prevent dissensions which may arise from the violation of customs and habits of the inhabitants with which strangers are presumably unacquainted.
Weights.—The standard weight of gold in the interior of Borneo is the ringgit. Two ringgits are about equal to one thaël. The ringgit contains two sadjampol; the sadjampol two and a half sakobang; the sakobang two boea kajoe; the boea kajoe two boentoeng; the boentoeng two satilai; the satilai two satali; the satali one and a half brini; the brini two matta boeroeng, and the matta boeroeng two boea bakoeng. A boea bakoeng therefore is the 1–960th part of a thaël.