The skulls are smoke-begrimed and otherwise dirty, and interspersed among them are streamers of dried palm leaves, which all over Borneo are invariably employed in all ceremonies connected with skulls. Usually close by the skulls are pronged skewers on which pieces of pig’s meat may be stuck, and short sections of a small bamboo so cut as to form cups ready for the reception of borak (a spirit made from rice), when it is desired to feast the skulls or their spirits. Below the chandelier of skulls there is always a fire which is kept continually burning, for it is believed the skulls like to keep warm, and that if they are kept comfortable and their wants supplied, they will bring good luck to the house and ensure plentiful harvests.
The artistic taste of the people often manifests itself in the decoration, by painting or carving, of the doors or of the wooden partition of the verandah. On the latter are often hung shields, gongs, and the large ornamented women’s hats, which have a really fine decorative effect.
When one is tired of the sights of the verandah one can turn round and look over the low-boarded parapet towards the river with the prospect beyond. Sometimes jungle alone can be seen, but usually there are padi fields on the low hills, and perhaps some plantations of yams and clumps of bananas.
The word “Long,” which enters into so many Bornean names of villages, means the mouth of a river, and as many villages are situated at the spot where one river enters another, they are named from the smaller stream. This village took its name from the Tru River, but it sometimes happens that when a village shifts its quarters the old name is retained, and some confusion may arise.
Fig. 32. Butiong in a Lelak House
The domicile at one end of the Long Tru house had projecting from the partition into the verandah a queer wooden sleeping bunk with lattice windows; a notched pole served as a ladder. It is not uncommon to find sleeping bunks for men built on the verandah, but one attached to the wall like a meat-safe is very unusual. By the side of the door of the same dwelling stood a rudely carved wooden image (butiong), in this instance a female figure, which represented a goddess who protected the house from any harm or sickness, but should there be any illness previous to the placing of the butiong in the house, she would prevent it from becoming worse. Stuck on to the wall of another dwelling was a portrait of Lord Kitchener!
About twenty miles up the Tinjar is the Bok River, and we left the steamer and paddled up this tributary in canoes to visit a small community of Punans. The Punans are, as I have already stated, essentially a nomad people, who inhabit the jungles of Sarawak and do not build permanent habitations. They do not cultivate anything, but they collect jungle produce which they sell and barter amongst the more settled tribes, who further trade these with Malays or Chinamen. The Punans are an interesting folk, and may be the remains of an ancient aboriginal population. The settled Punans were very dirty, and looked miserable; they lived in a tumble-down house. But one must not expect much from people who are making the first step out of absolute savagery.
Fig. 33. Sarcophagus of a Boy in a Barawan House