In the following sketch of the ethnography of Sarawak I have purposely dealt with the subject on broad lines only, since if we understand the main features first we shall be the better able to formulate the real problems, and this is a necessary first step towards their elucidation. As most of the peoples that inhabit Borneo have representatives in Sarawak, this sketch may be taken to apply provisionally to the island as a whole.
Scattered over a considerable part of the jungle of Sarawak live the nomad Punans. They are a slender people, of moderate height, and paler in colour than most tribes. They were the lightest coloured of the indigenous people that we met with in Sarawak; many have a distinct greenish tinge. Those that we measured were slightly broad-headed, with an average cephalic index of 81. The Ukit may be allied to the Punan, but none of them have been measured as yet. Their mode of life is very similar.
The wild Punans are grouped in small communities, and inhabit the dense jungle at the head waters of the principal rivers of Borneo. They do not cultivate the soil, but live on whatever they can find in the jungle. There is so much that is edible in the jungle that there is no fear of starvation, especially as these people live on a very mixed diet.
PLATE XXVII
PUNANS
A LELAK MAN, WITH TYPICAL TATTOOING ON SHOULDERS AND UPPER ARMS
Their few wants are supplied by barter from friendly settled peoples, and in return for iron implements, calico, beads, tobacco, etc., they offer jungle produce, mainly gutta, indiarubber, camphor, dammar, and ratans. They do not live in permanent houses, but erect miserable shanties in which they sleep.
They are very mild savages, they are not head-hunters, do not keep slaves, are generous to one another, are moderately truthful, and probably never do an injury by purposely making a false statement. On first acquaintance they appear melancholy, and certainly shy and timid-looking, but when they have gained confidence they show themselves in their true colours as a cheerful, bright people, who are very fond of their children and kind to the women.