There is a certain tribe,—the Malanaus,—among whom the custom obtains of flattening the foreheads of female children; the practice is begun about the fifteenth day after birth, and continues for several months, until the bones of the skull begin to harden. The process is as follows:—On the forehead of the child a small padded board is held in place by means of cords, which pass through its ends and are attached to a band of cloth which passes round the back of the child’s head. On the upper surface of the board the cords pass through a perforated coin, one from above downward and the other from below upward, so that by turning the coin the cords are twisted and the band shortened. By this means the pressure is exerted regularly by just so many turns of the coin each day. The compression is applied only during sleep, and, unless very carefully done, there is danger lest under too great pressure the skull be forced apart at the fontanelles. The Malanaus maintain that a forehead thus flattened imparts to the face a very beautiful and mild expression. Inasmuch as this compression is restricted to very early infancy, I am inclined to think that the skull resumes its shape. I did not observe any deformity of the foreheads in adults or even in the young girls.
MALANAU HEAD-COMPRESSION.
THE PADDED BOARD WHICH IS BOUND ON THE CHILD’S HEAD IS KEPT IN PLACE ONLY WHILE THE CHILD IS ASLEEP OR LYING QUIETLY IN ITS MOTHER’S LAP. THE PRESSURE EXERTED BY TWISTING THE CORD RUNNING OVER THE HEAD-BOARD IS NEVER VERY SEVERE, AND THE FLATTENING OF THE FOREHEAD IS BARELY PERCEPTIBLE IN AN ADULT.
THE OPEN BOX, CONTAINING FOUR SMALLER BOXES, IS THE ‘BETEL’ BOX, WHEREIN ARE KEPT LIME, WILD PEPPER LEAVES, GAMBIER, TOBACCO, CLOVES, AND BETEL NUTS, ALL NECESSARY ADJUVANTS TO THE CHEWING OF BETEL, A PRACTICE TO WHICH THE MALANAUS ARE ALMOST UNIVERSALLY ADDICTED.
None of the tribes mutilates the nose either with rings or sticks through the septum, or with studs through the alæ. Nor do they ornament themselves with scars, except as practised by the boys to show their fortitude. In this display of valour, they have adopted a species of moxa,—small pieces of tinder are placed along the forearm, set on fire, and allowed to burn out undisturbed by any sign whatever of pain. The straight line of scars bears an enduring testimony to the fortitude of the youth, and is infinitely precious in the eyes and to the heart of his dusky love.
What with browless and lashless eyes, inky teeth, brass plugs, looped ears, and blue legs, I am afraid I have given but a sorry picture of those whom I would fain have my readers regard with as much kindliness as my memory now holds for the originals. These freaks of fashion are, however, merely external; underneath I found honesty, hospitality, gentleness, and a child-like simplicity. The Kayans and Kenyans harmonise with their surroundings. The very word ‘jungle’ possesses an indefinable charm,—it is full of gay, exuberant life in insect and flower; but in its depth, side by side with these, lurks swift death. Deep seated in the heart of the joyous, child-like Borneans there reigns in their bosoms, true to their jungle home, an inextinguishable yearning for a head not their own. Nevertheless, I like them.
PERMANTONG, OR LALI
A BORNEAN SPECIES OF TABOO
During the days devoted to search for omens in reference to the sites of the rice-fields, and also again in reference to the planting, the Kayans refrain from their usual daily occupations, and neither leave their houses themselves nor allow strangers to enter. These days of seclusion are termed ‘Permantong Padi,’ or ‘Lali Padi,’ and correspond very closely to taboo elsewhere. Permantong is the word among the Kayans in the Baram district in the northwest of the island; but among the Kayans in the valley of the Kapuas River, in Dutch Borneo, it is ‘Pantang;’ both these forms are possibly derived from the Malay word ‘Hantu,’—a Demon or evil Spirit,—with the prefix per and the affix an, both used to form derivative substantives; thus the Malay word in full would be ‘per-hantu-an,’ meaning possessed by Spirits, or, more freely, bewitched. ‘Lali’ is probably a pure Kayan word; its derivation I do not know. Between it and permantong I could discover no shade of difference in meaning.