Far more elaborate, on the contrary, is the tattooing of Kayan women, which, in the case of married women, invariably covers the thighs, legs, forearms, hands, and feet.
On the arms, it extends from the second joint of the fingers, (whereon is a simple black patch about a half inch square,) to just a little below the bend of the elbow. The knuckles and intervening hollows are decorated with a row of solid black triangles with base and point alternating; on the back of the hand are four small ovals surrounded by five concentric ovals, the outer four merging into the contiguous series, so that the upper and lower arcs form merely wavy lines. This row of concentric ovals is enclosed in a border of five lines, following the margin of the back of the hand below the knuckles to the wrist.
TATTOO DESIGNS ON THE FOREARMS OF KAYAN AND KENYAH WOMEN COPIED FROM THE ARM OF A WOMAN IN TAMA BULAN’S HOUSEHOLD.
TATTOO DESIGNS USED BY IBANS OF THE REJANG AND BY KENYAHS OF THE BARAM.
- 1. IBAN. ‘KALA,’ THE SCORPION,—ON THE OUTERSIDE OF THE THIGH.
- 2. ” ‘TAIA GASING,’ THE COTTON SPINNER,—ON THE ULNAR SIDE OF THE WRIST, EXTENDING UP THE ARM.
- 3. ” ON THE FRONT OF THE THROAT.
- 4. ” ON THE FRONT OF THE THROAT.
- 5. ” ‘KALA,’ THE SCORPION,—ON THE OUTERSIDE OF THE THIGH.
- 6. ” ‘BUAH ANDU,’ THE ANDU (?) FRUIT,—ON THE SHOULDER IN FRONT.
- 7. ” ‘TALI SABIT,’—ALONG THE RIBS.
- 8. KENYAH. ‘ASU,’ THE DOG,—ON THE FOREARM.
- 9. ” ‘KALA ASU,’ THE SCORPION DOG,—ON THE FOREARM.
- 10. IBAN. ‘BUAH ANDU,’—ON THE SHOULDER IN FRONT.
- 11. ” ‘LUKUT,’—ON THE POINT OF THE SHOULDER.
- 12. ” ‘TANDAN BUAH,’ THE TANDAN (?) FRUIT,—ON THE CHEST.
- 13. KENYAH. ON THE BACK AND FRONT OF A WOMAN’S FOREARM.
- 14. IBAN. ‘BUNGA TRONG,’ THE TRONG (?) FLOWER,—ON THE SHOULDER.
- 15. KENYAH. ‘KALA ASU,’—ON THE FOREARM OR THIGH.
- 16. IBAN. ‘RINGGIT SALILANG,’—ON THE CHEST OR BREASTS.
On the back of the wrist is another row of four concentric ovals; above these, nine narrow lines and then two rows of five concentric ovals alternating with bands composed of five narrow lines. Above these, again, are intertwining zig-zags and scrolls composed of seven lines; this pattern, they told me, represents the root of the Tuba-plant, which is used in drugging, or poisoning, the water to get fish. The concentric ovals, so they say, are pictures of the moon. It is barely possible that an explanation of this frequent figure of the moon is to be found in a remark made to me by a tattooer, that when a woman died and passed to the next life, ‘her tattooing becomes luminous like a fire-fly’s light, and that without it she would wander in total darkness.’ Above the Tuba pattern are eleven, sometimes more, finely waving lines completely encircling the arm, like rings. From these rings to the wrist, along both sides of the arm, is a narrow recurrent line making four laps on itself, and dividing the patterns on the flexor and extensor surfaces of the arm.
On the flexor surface of the arm, the pattern begins at the wrist with a row of triangles like those on the knuckles; then a band of narrow lines and two large concentric moons; above these, a large triangle whose sides and base are composed of seven narrow, parallel lines,—this represents the spring bow-piece, affixed to a canoe when shooting rapids; above this, two more large moons and then the band of rings around the arm.
These patterns vary to a slight extent in different households, but the main features are always present; the concentric ovals may be replaced by a spiral coil surrounded by radiating lines; or the twists and zig-zags of the Tuba-root may be arranged according to the artistic ability of the operator. The concentric moons are, however, considered a higher grade of work than the spiral coils.