KONG, the hornbill (ANORRHINUS COMATUS), gives omens of minor importance by his strange deep cry. The handsome feathers of another species of hornbill (BUCEROS RHINOCEROS), with bold bars of black and white, are worn on war-coats and stuck in the war-caps by men who are tried warriors, but may not be worn by mere youths. The substance of the beak of the helmeted hornbill (RHINOFLAX VIGIL) is sometimes carved into the form of the canine tooth of the tiger-cat, and a pair of these is the most valued kind of ear-ornament for men. Only elderly men, or men who have taken heads with their own hands, may wear them. One of the popular dances consists in a comical imitation of the movements of the hornbill, but no special significance attaches to the dance; it seems to be done purely in a spirit of fun. Young hornbills are occasionally kept in the house as pets.
We know of no other bird that plays any part in the religious life of the Kenyahs or affects them in any peculiar manner.
The Pig
All Kenyahs keep numerous domestic pigs, which roam beneath and about the house, picking up what garbage they can find to eke out the scanty meals of rice-dust and chaff given them by the women. It seems that they seldom or never take to the jungle and become feral, although they are not confined in any way.
The domestic pig is not treated with any show of reverence, but rather with the greatest contumely, and yet it plays a part in almost all religious ceremonies, and before it is slaughtered explanations are always offered to it, and it is assured that it is not to be eaten. We have seen that, in the rites preparatory to an important and dangerous expedition, the chief was washed with pig's blood and water, and that young pigs were slain before the altar-post of Bali Penyalong, and their blood sprinkled on the post and afterwards upon all or most of the men of the household. It is probably true that Bali Penyalong is never addressed without the slaughter of one or more pigs, and also that no domestic pig is ever slaughtered without being charged beforehand with some message or prayer to Bali Penyalong, which its spirit may carry up to him. But the most important function of the pig is the giving of information as to the future course of events by means of the markings on its liver.[136]
Whenever it becomes specially interesting or important to ascertain the future course of events, when, for example, a household proposes to make war, or when two parties are about to go through a peace-making ceremony, a pig is caught by the young men from among those beneath the house, and is brought and laid, with its feet lashed together, before the chief in the great gallery of the house. And it would seem that the more important the ceremony the larger and the more numerous should be the pigs selected as victims. An attendant hands a burning brand to the chief, and he, stooping over the pig, singes a few of its hairs, and then, addressing the pig as "Bali Bouin," and gently punching it behind the shoulder, as we have already depicted him, he pours out a rapid flood of words. The substance of his address is a prayer to Bali Penyalong for guidance and knowledge as to the future course of the business in hand, and an injunction to the soul of the pig to carry the prayer to Bali Penyalong.
Sometimes more than one chief will address one pig in this way; and then, as soon as these prayers are concluded, some follower plunges a spear into the heart or throat of the pig, and rapidly opens its belly in the middle line, drags out the liver and lays it on a leaf or platter with the underside uppermost, and so carries it to the chief or chiefs. Then all the elderly men crowd round and consult as to the significance of the appearances presented by the underside of the liver. The various lobes and lobules are taken to represent the various districts concerned in the question on which light is desired, and according to the strength and intimacy of the connections between these lobes, the people of the districts represented are held to be bound in more or less lasting friendship. While spots and nodules in any part betoken future evils for the people of that part, a clean healthy liver means good fortune and happiness for all concerned.
The underside of the liver, which alone is significant, varies considerably from one specimen to another, and this must prevent any very definite and consistent identification of the parts with the different districts of the country. The rule generally observed is to identify the under surface of the right lobe (ARTI TOH) with the territory of the party that kills the pig and makes the enquiry; the adjacent part of the left lobe (SUNAN) with the territory of any party involved in the question which adjoins that of the first party; and the under surface of the caudal extremity (ARTI ARKAT) with that of any remoter third party (see Fig. 79). If the ridge that runs up between the right and left lobes is sharp, it indicates that there will still be some bad feeling (or, as they say, the swords are still sharp). A gall-bladder which is long and overlapping indicates more trouble between the parties to the right and left; but one which is sunk almost out of sight in the substance of the liver is a sign that no further trouble is to be expected. The grooves on the under surface of the right lobe stand for the waterways and, if they are strongly marked, imply freedom of intercourse. Notches at the free edges stand for past injuries suffered (the scars of wounds received, as it were); and if these are equally marked in the several parts they indicate peace, because it is implied that no balance of old scores remains to any one of the parties concerned. A sore or abscess in any part foretells the speedy death of one of the chiefs of the people of that part.
FIGURE 79
It is obvious that this system of interpretation, which is common to nearly all the peoples, gives much scope for the operation of prejudice, suggestion, and ingenuity. But the group of interpreting chiefs and elder men generally achieves unanimity in giving its verdict.