“The dancers have a quantity of plantain leaves brought to them, which they split and shiver into the form of ribands. These they twine and fix round their heads, wrists, waists, ankles, and knees; and the leaves being of a yellowish hue, so prepared, have not an inelegant effect when applied to their dark copper skin. They make also bunches or tassels of the same, which they hold in their hands.
“When drawn out, they form themselves into circles of two or three deep, one within another. In general, an elderly man amongst them begins in a very solemn tone something like a song, or long sentence—for our countrymen could not discriminate which it was—and when he comes to a pause, or what we should call the end of a stanza, a chorus is struck up, and the dancers all join in concert, still continuing their figure.
“Their dancing does not so much consist in capering or agility as in a particular method they have of balancing themselves, and this frequently very low sideways, singing together all the while; during which they will flatten their circles, so as to bring themselves face to face to each other, lifting up the tassels they hold in their hands, and giving them a clashing or tremulous motion. After this there will be a sudden pause, and an exclamation from every one of ‘Weel!’ Then a new sentence or stanza is repeated, and danced to as before, and the same ceremony continued till every man who is engaged in the dance has in his turn had his repetition and chorus.”
As far as was ascertained by Captain Wilson, the Pelew Islanders have some notions of religion, and certainly believed in a life after death. They had several superstitions, one of which was that the wood of a certain tree was unlucky, and always brought harm wherever it was used. When Captain Wilson was building his new vessel, he used some planks of this tree, much to the dismay of the king, Abba Thulle, who begged him to remove them. Captain Wilson explained to him that as in his own country any kind of suitable wood was employed for ship building without producing disastrous results, the same impunity was to be expected in the Pelew Islands. As it happened, shortly after the obnoxious planks had been inserted, one of the carpenters fell from the side of the vessel, and hurt himself severely, thus confirming the natives in their belief.
Their funeral ceremonies are very short and simple, and even in one instance witnessed by Captain Wilson, when the son of the principal chief was buried, there was scarcely any ceremony. The corpse was wrapped up in mats, and borne by four men on a bier, no men except the actual bearers attending. A number of women followed the bier, and poured out loud lamentations as they walked. When they arrived at the place of burial, the body was laid in the grave, and the earth immediately filled in by the four bearers, while the women knelt round, and renewed their lamentations, marking as if they would tear up the body from the ground.
Next day, however, Raa Kook, the father of the deceased, went to the burial-place, and performed a curious ceremony. He took two old cocoa-nuts (young nuts being always gathered for consumption) and some red ochre, with which he drew transverse stripes across the nuts. He then laid the painted nuts by his side, and repeated, in an undertone, some words which were supposed to be an incantation or prayer of some kind. A bundle of betel leaves was treated in the same way, and the whole were then delivered to an old woman, who went with them toward the grave; but the precise termination of the ceremony was not ascertained.
On [page 1107] mention was made of Lee Boo. As this young man was the first Pelew Islander who ever visited England, and was besides a very remarkable character, I will conclude this account with a short memoir of him.
He was the second son of the king, Abba Thulle, who was no common man, and well deserving of the power which he held. He possessed great energy, wonderful liberality of mind, and an innate nobility of disposition. The visit of the white men taught him their infinite superiority, and when Captain Wilson had built his new ship, and was about to start, Abba Thulle begged him to take Lee Boo to England, to have him instructed in the arts of civilization, and to send him back again so that he might be the teacher of his future people. The request was granted, and Lee Boo accompanied Captain Wilson to England, where he lived for five months, winning the esteem and affection of all whom he met, by his intelligent, modest, and affectionate nature. Unfortunately for his father’s hopes, he was attacked with small-pox, of which he died, his last wish being that all presents that been given him should be sent to his father. He died on Dec. 27, 1784, and was buried in Rotherhithe Church, where a tomb was erected to his memory by the India Company.
CHAPTER CXIV.
BORNEO.
THE DYAKS, THEIR APPEARANCE AND DRESS.
SUPPOSED ORIGIN OF THE DYAKS — NUMBER OF TRIBES — THE SEA AND LAND DYAKS — GENERAL APPEARANCE OF THE NATIVES — TATTOOING MOST PREVALENT AMONG THE LEAST CIVILIZED TRIBES — DRESS AND ORNAMENT — EXTRAORDINARY EARRINGS — FILING AND BLACKENING THE TEETH — A DYAK WARRIOR IN FULL DRESS — A DUSUM WARRIOR IN ORDINARY COSTUME — THE ILLINOAN PIRATES, THEIR ARMAMENTS AND FEROCITY — A SAGHAI DYAK AND HIS STRANGE HEADDRESS — STRENGTH AND ACTIVITY OF THE DYAKS — “BATANG” WALKING — AN OBLIGING DYAK — THEIR ABILITY TO PENETRATE JUNGLES — THE CHAWAT AND SARONG — A DYAK DANDY — DRESS OF THE WOMEN — THE BEDANG AND SLEEVELESS JACKET — THE BEAUTIFUL HAIR OF DYAK WOMEN — THE METALLIC BODICES — A SAIBAS GIRL IN FULL DRESS — DYAK BELLS — TREATMENT OF THE WOMEN.