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

For the maintenance of his authority and the enforcement of his commands the chief relies upon the force of public opinion, which, so long as he is capable and just, will always support him, and will bring severe moral pressure to bear upon any member of the household who hesitates to submit.

In return for his labours on behalf of the household or village the Kayan chief gains little or nothing in the shape of material reward. He may receive a little voluntary assistance in the cultivation of his field; in travelling by boat he is accorded the place of honour and ease in the middle of the boat, and he is not expected to help in its propulsion. His principal rewards are the social precedence and deference accorded him and the satisfaction found in the exercise of authority.

If the people of a house or village are gravely dissatisfied with the conduct of their chief, they will retire to their PADI-fields, building temporary houses there. If many take this course, a new long house will be built and a new chief elected to rule over it, while the old chief remains in the old house with a reduced following, sometimes consisting only of his near relatives.

The office of chief is rather elective than hereditary, but the operation of the elective principle is affected by a strong bias in favour of the most capable son of the late chief; so in practice a chief is generally succeeded by one of his sons. An elderly chief will sometimes voluntarily abdicate in favour of a son. If a chief dies, leaving no son of mature age, some elderly man of good standing and capacity will be elected to the chieftainship, generally by agreement arrived at by many informal discussions during the weeks following the death. If thereafter a son of the old chief showed himself a capable man as he grew up, he would be held to have a strong claim on the chieftainship at the next vacancy. If the new chief at his death left also a mature and capable son, there might be two claimants, each supported by a strong party; the issue of such a state of affairs would probably be the division of the house or village, by the departure of one claimant with his party to build a new village. In such a case the seceding party would carry away with them their share of the timbers of the old house, together with all their personal property.

The Kenyahs form a less homogeneous and clearly defined tribe than the Kayans; yet in the main their social organisation is very similar to that of the Kayans, although, as regards physical characters and language as well as some customs, they present closer affinities with other peoples than with the Kayans, especially with the Klemantans. The Kenyah tribe also comprises a number of named branches, though these are less clearly defined than the sub-tribes of the Kayan people. Each branch is generally named after the river on the banks of which its villages are situated, or were situated at some comparatively recent time of which the memory is preserved. In many cases a single village adopts the name of some tributary stream near the mouth of which it is situated, and the people speak of themselves by this name. Thus it seems clear that the named branches of the Kenyah tribe are nothing more than local groups formed in the course of the periodical migrations, and named after the localities they have occupied.[39]

The foregoing description of the relations of a Kayan chief to his people applies in the main to the Kenyah chief. But among the Kenyahs the position of the chief is one of greater authority and consideration than among the Kayans. The people voluntarily work for their chief both in his private and public capacities, obeying his commands cheerfully, and accepting his decisions with more deference than is accorded by the Kayans. The chief in return shows himself more generous and paternal towards his people, interesting himself more intimately in their individual affairs. Hence the Kenyah chief stands out more prominently as leader and representative of his people, and the cohesion of the whole community is stronger. The chief owes his great influence over his people in large measure to his training, for, while still a youth, the son or the nephew of a chief is accustomed to responsibility by being sent in charge of small bodies of followers upon missions to distant villages, to gather or convey information, or to investigate disturbing rumours. He is also frequently called upon to speak on public occasions, and thus early becomes a practised orator.

Among Klemantans, Muruts, and Sea Dayaks each house recognises a headman or chief; but he has little authority (more perhaps among the first of these peoples than among the other two). He acts as arbitrator in household disputes, but in too many cases his impartiality is not above suspicion, save where custom rigidly limits his preference.

Among both Kayans and Kenyahs three social strata are clearly distinguishable and are recognised by the people themselves in each village. The upper class is constituted by the family of the chief and his near relatives, his aunts and uncles, brothers, sisters, and cousins, and their children. These upper-class families are generally in easier circumstances than the others, thanks to the possession of property such as brass ware, valuable beads, caves in which the swift builds its edible nest, slaves, and a supply of all the other material possessions larger in quantity and superior in quality to those of the middle- and lower-class families.

The man of the upper class can generally be distinguished at a glance by his superior bearing and manners, by the neatness and cleanliness of his person, his more valuable weapons, and personal ornaments, as well as by greater regularity of features. The woman of the upper class also exhibits to the eye similar marks of her superior birth and breeding. The tatuing of her skin is more finely executed, greater care is taken with the elongation of the lobe of the ear, so that the social status of the woman is indicated by the length of the lobe. Her dress and person are cleaner, and generally better cared for, and her skin is fairer than that of other women, owing no doubt to her having been less exposed to the sun.

The men of the upper class work in the PADI-fields and bear their share of all the labours of the village; but they are able to cultivate larger areas than others owing to their possession of slaves, who, although they are expected to grow a supply of PADI for their own use, assist in the cultivation of their master's fields. For the upper-class women, also, the labours of the field and the house are rendered less severe by the assistance of female slaves, although they bear a part both in the weeding of the fields, in the harvesting, and in the preparation of food in the house.