For these observations, however, a single rod is not used, but an arrangement of rods called togallan, seven in number, which are planted in the ground, the middle one upright, the rest diverging on either side like a fan. Beginning on the left side, six months are indicated, but the togallan does not remain standing more than three; in fact as soon as the planting is finished it is removed. Although the most propitious time is when the sun is at zenith, it is also considered favourable for half the distance from the middle rod toward 3 and toward 5. If paddi is planted in the second month the crop will be injured; if in the fifth month, the plant will be damaged.
[Illustration: INDICATION BY THE TOGALLAN OF THE FAVORABLE TIME FOR
PLANTING RICE.]
Formerly heavy spears made of ironwood were employed not only as weapons, but for agricultural purposes as well, both when making the holes into which the seed grains are dropped and as material in erecting the astronomical device. Each of the seven rods is called ton-dang, as is the pointed stick with which at present the ground is prepared for planting paddi.
MISCELLANEOUS
With the Kenyahs and many other tribes it is the custom to give boiled rice that has stood overnight to the dogs, pigs, and hens; it is not considered fit for human food.
Regarding the number of souls: The Murung says that each person has seven souls, called brua, six being distributed as follows: one at the top of the head, one in each eye and knee, and one in the navel. The Duhoi (Ot-Danum) has also seven brua, one at the top of the head and one in each eye, knee, and wrist.
Other tribes speak of three souls. The Kenyahs, according to Dr. J.M. Elshout, have only one brua, located at times in the head, at times in the heart; and the tiger-cat and the orang-utan have stronger brua than man. The Katingans likewise recognise but one, called liao in life, and after death. They also give the same name to the soul of an animal, but the more common usage in the tribes is to call the ghost liao, by the Malays named njava.
In regard to the practice of incision, which is used in Southwest Borneo, Chapter XXXV, I am able to furnish some details gathered in Sampit from three Dayaks who had been operated upon. A cut is made in the praeputium lengthwise with a knife (further east a sharpened bamboo is used), a piece of iron wood being used as a support, and the operation which in Katingan is called habálak is performed by the father of the father's brother when the boy is coming of age. Before the event he must go into the river up to his navel seven days in succession, morning, midday, and evening, and stand in the water for an hour. All boys must undergo the operation, which is not sanguinary, the leaves of a tree called mentawa being applied to the wound. They could give no reason why they follow this practice any more than the ordinary Dayak can explain the purpose of tatuing.
With the Kayans, and, indeed, all the tribes I met in Dutch Borneo, it is the custom to urinate in a sitting position.
To the observer it is strikingly evident that the mammae of both Dayak and Malay women retain firmness and shape much longer than is the case with white women.