Their chief weapon is the parang or heavy knife, somewhat like the kris. It is manufactured of native iron and steel, with which the coast of the country is said to abound. They have a method of working it which renders it unnecessary for them to look to a foreign supply; the only articles of foreign hardware that they are said to desire, are razors, out of which to make their cockspurs. One thing seems strange: although asserted upon good authority, that the iron and steel of the coast are thought to be superior by foreigners, they are not to be compared with that which is found in the interior, and manufactured by the Dyacks. All the best krises used by the Malay rajahs and chiefs, are obtained from the interior. Some of these are exquisitely manufactured, and so hard that, without turning the edge, they cut ordinary wrought iron and steel.
Among their other weapons is the sumpit, a hollow tube, through which they blow poisoned arrows. The latter are of various kinds, and those used in war are dipped in the sap of what the natives term the “upo.” The effect of this poison is almost instantaneous, and destroys life in four or five minutes. Those who have seen a wound given accidentally, describe the changes that the poison occasions as plainly perceptible in its progress. Before using the arrow, its poisoned point is dipped in lime-juice to quicken it. The range of the sumpit is from fifty to sixty yards. Although the arrows are poisoned, yet it is said they sometimes eat the games they kill with them, parboiling it before it is roasted, which is thought to extract the poison. Firearms, respecting which they have much fear, have not yet been introduced among them; indeed, it is said that so easily are they intimidated by such weapons, that on hearing a report of a gun they invariably run away. Each individual in a host would be impressed with the belief that he was the one that was to be shot.
The diwatas.They address their prayers to the maker of the world, whom they call Dewatta, and this is all the religion they have. There are many animals and birds held by them in high veneration, and they are close observers of the flight of birds, from which they draw prognostics. There is in particular a white-headed eagle or kite, upon whose flight and cries they put great reliance, and consult them in war or on any particular expedition. For this purpose they draw numbers of them together, and feed them by scattering rice about. It is said their priests consult their entrails also on particular occasions, to endeavor to look into future events.
In the performance of their engagements and oaths, they are most scrupulous. They seem to have some idea of a future life, and that on the road to their elysium they have to pass over a long tree, which requires the assistance of all those they have slain in this world. The abode of happy spirits is supposed to be on the top of Kini Balu, one of their loftiest mountains, and the portals are guarded by a fiery serpent, who does not suffer any virgin to pass into the celestial paradise.
Polygamy does not exist among them, but they have as concubines slaves, who are captured in their wars or rather predatory expeditions. If a wife proves unfaithful to her husband, he kills several of his slaves, or inflicts upon her many blows, and a divorce may be effected by the husband paying her a certain price, and giving up her clothes and ornaments, after which he is at liberty to marry another. The women, however, exercise an extraordinary influence over the men.
Headhunting.But of all their peculiar traits, there is none more strange than the passion they seem to indulge for collecting human heads. These are necessary accompaniments in many transactions of their lives, particularly in their marriages, and no one can marry unless he has a certain number of heads; indeed, those who cannot obtain these are looked upon with disdain by the females. A young man wishing to wed, and making application to marry her for whom he has formed an attachment, repairs with the girl’s father to the rajah or chief, who immediately inquires respecting the number of heads he has procured, and generally decides that he ought to obtain one or two more, according to his age, and the number the girl’s father may have procured, before he can be accepted. He at once takes his canoe and some trusty followers, and departs on his bloody errand, waylaying the unsuspecting or surprising the defenceless, whose head he immediately cuts off, and then makes a hurried retreat. With this he repairs to the dwelling of his mistress, or sends intelligence of his success before him. On his arrival, he is met by a joyous group of females, who receive him with every demonstration of joy, and gladly accept his ghastly offering.
Various barbarous ceremonies now take place, among which the heads undergo inspection to ascertain if they are fresh; and, in order to prove this, none of the brain must be removed, nor must they have been submitted to smoke to destroy the smell. After these preliminaries, the family honor of the bride is supposed to be satisfied, and she is not allowed to refuse to marry. A feast is now made, and the couple are seated in the midst naked, holding the bloody heads, when handfuls of rice are thrown over them, with prayers that they may be happy and fruitful. After this, the bridegroom repairs in state to the house of the bride, where he is received at the door by one of her friends, who sprinkles him with the blood of a cock, and her with that of a hen. This completes the affair, and they are man and wife.
Cremation.Funerals are likewise consecrated by similar offerings, the corpse remaining in the house until a slave can be procured, by purchase or otherwise, whom they design to behead at the time the body is burnt. This is done in order that the defunct may be attended by a slave on his way to the other world or realms of bliss. After being burnt, the ashes of the deceased are gathered in an urn, and the head of the slave preserved and placed near it.
In some parts, a rajah or chief is buried with great pomp in his war habiliments, and food and his arms are placed at his side. A mound is erected over him, which is encircled with a bamboo fence, upon which a number of fresh heads are stuck, all the warriors who have been attached to him bringing them as the most acceptable offering; and subsequently these horrid offerings are renewed.
The Dyacks are found also in the Celebes island, but there, as in Borneo, they are confined to the interior. I have already mentioned that they were supposed to have been the original inhabitants of the Sulu Archipelago. The Sulus speak of the country of the Dyacks as being exceedingly fertile and capable of producing every thing. The north end of Borneo is particularly valuable, as its produce is easily transported from the interior, where much of the land is cultivated. I have obtained much more information in relation to this people, in a variety of ways, from individuals as well as from the published accounts, which are to be found at times in the Eastern prints; but as this digression has already extended to a great length, I trust that enough has been said to enable the reader to contrast it with the natives who inhabit the islands that dot the vast Pacific Ocean, and to make him look forward with interest to the developments that the philanthropic exertions of Mr. Brooke may bring to light.