“Meanwhile the female portion of the community had been preparing for their part in the proceedings. At this moment they came from the interior of the house, and the stately magnificence of their appearance showed that time and labor had not been spared in arraying themselves for this great occasion. From the neck to the hips they were covered over with large agate beads; string of them was heaped on string, till many of the women were cuirassed an inch thick in solid stone before and behind.
“Upon their heads was placed a piece of bead-embroidered cloth, in which were arranged thin skewers of painted wood about five inches long: there were about twenty of these bits of wood disposed about their heads, and each was attached to the other by strings of brilliant glass beads. Five or six of these many-colored loops hung from each skewer, and they were entwined into a graceful network. The effect was very pretty, though barbarous, and the solemnity of the ceremonies was much enhanced by the stately uprightness which the women were compelled to observe in moving, on peril of disarrangement of this delicate structure.”
They also wear conical hats, made of split rattan. These hats are very light, and last for a wonderful time. A specimen was presented to me by a lady who had worn it for four years, and had certainly not treated it with any consideration. Yet it is as strong and good as ever, and the colors are as fresh and bright as when the hat was first made. The rattan has been split into very narrow strips, and stained red, yellow, and black, while some of the strips have had the natural color discharged, so as to make them nearly white.
The hat is fixed on the head by a broad loop of plaited palm leaf, which is fastened to the side. Hats made on this principle are prevalent throughout the whole Archipelago.
Among the ornaments which are worn by the Dyaks are the little bells which have already been mentioned as forming part of the appendages of an earring. These ornaments called “garunongs,” and mostly worn by the women on the edges of the bedang or petticoat, are almost exactly like our hawk-bells, being nothing more than little hollow spheres of brass or bronze about the size of a boy’s playing marble, with a small metal ball in the interior by way of a clapper, and a moderately wide slit at the bottom. To some of the bells the remarkable beads are attached. These bells keep up a musical chime or jingle as the wearer walks, and are therefore used in dances and on great occasions.
The general treatment of the Dyak women is good. They certainly have to work hard, but so have their husbands, and, as we shall presently see, they are not the abject slaves such as are too often found among savage nations, but maintain their share of influence in the family, and are perfectly capable of assisting themselves when the occasion requires it. They are accustomed to work in the fields, and the universal chopping-knife or parang is seldom out of their hands. The constant use of this weapon hardens their hands and often deforms the fingers.
When they come home from their work in the field, they have the heaviest portion of their work before them, their evening task being the husking and winnowing of the rice for supper and for the meals of the following day. The rice is first pounded in large troughs by means of long and heavy wooden poles, which are held perpendicularly, lifted up, and then allowed to fall on the grain, and, as a rule each trough occupies three women, who work for about half an hour. This pounding separates the husk from the grain, and the next process is to winnow the rice by means of a shovel and a fan.
The evening meal is then cooked and eaten, the children fed, the bronze dishes put away, and then the women can sit quietly in the veranda, and eat their betel in peace. Although this mode of life seems rather hard, and the husbands appear to be acting harshly toward their partners in letting them work in this manner while they sit in their houses, chew betel, and talk over the gossip of the day, there is really a very fair reciprocity of labor. While the wives have been working in the fields, the husbands have been fishing, and in so doing have repeatedly exposed their lives to danger, the rollers being at certain seasons of the year exceedingly dangerous. At Mukah, as at other places, the wives insist upon being furnished with fish by their husbands, and, in case the men should come home unsuccessful, the women fasten their doors and bar them out. Indeed, so long as the marriage holds good, the relation of husband and wife seems to be conducted in a manner similar to that which is so graphically depicted by Scott in his “Antiquary.”
In order to show the appearance of the Dyak women in their ordinary and gala costumes, two figures are introduced into [illustration No. 2] on page 1113. One represents a Dyak girl before arraying herself in the mass of ornaments with which she loves to decorate herself on festivals. She wears, as usual, the bedang, or petticoat, which, if she be of ordinary condition, is made of cotton, but if she be rich, of silk. It is twisted round the waist in the manner practised by the men, but, in addition, is fastened to the brass belts which surround her waist. Her long glossy hair is flowing to the full extent, before the owner gathers up its massive tresses preparatory to adorning her head with the complicated decorations, of full dress.
The other figure represents her as she appears in all the glory of full gala costume. As far as absolute dress goes, she wears no more than she did before, the only alteration being that her bedang is the best which she has, and is sometimes beautifully embroidered. On her arms are several thick rings of brass, and the singularly uncomfortable brass gauntlet extends from the wrist to the elbow. Her neck and bust are nearly covered with the heavy agate beads, and on her head is the complicated cap, with its curious arrangement of wooden spikes and glass beads.