Chapter I: Preface

Ever since my camping life with the aborigines of Queensland, many years ago, it has been my desire to explore New Guinea, the promised land of all who are fond of nature and ambitious to discover fresh secrets. In furtherance of this purpose their Majesties, the King and Queen of Norway, the Norwegian Geographical Society, the Royal Geographical Society of London, and Koninklijk Nederlandsch Aardrijkskundig Genootschap, generously assisted me with grants, thus facilitating my efforts to raise the necessary funds. Subscriptions were received in Norway, also from American and English friends, and after purchasing the principal part of my outfit in London, I departed for New York in the autumn of 1913, en route for the Dutch Indies. In 1914, having first paid a visit to the Bulungan, in northeast Borneo, in order to engage the necessary Dayaks, I was preparing to start for Dutch New Guinea when the war broke out.

Under these changed conditions his Excellency, the Governor-General, A.W.F. Idenburg, regretted his inability to give me a military escort and other assistance needed for carrying out my plan, and advised me to await a more favorable opportunity. During this interval, having meanwhile visited India, I decided to make an expedition through Central Borneo, large tracts of which are unexplored and unknown to the outside world. My project was later extended to include other regions of Dutch Borneo, and the greater part of two years was spent in making researches among its very interesting natives. In these undertakings I received the valuable assistance of their Excellencies, the governor-general and the commanding general, as well as the higher officials of the Dutch Government, to all of whom I wish to express my heartfelt thanks.

Through the courtesy of the well-known Topografische Inrichting, in Batavia, a competent surveyor, whose work will later be published, was attached to my expeditions. He did not accompany me on my first visit to the Bulungan, nor on the second occasion, when I went to the lake of Sembulo, where the country is well known. In the map included in this book I have indicated the locations of the different tribes in Dutch Borneo, based on information gathered from official and private sources and on my own observations.

I usually had a taxidermist, first a trained Sarawak Dayak, later a Javanese, to collect mammals and birds. Fishes and reptiles were also preserved in alcohol.

Specimens of ethnological interest were collected from the different tribes visited; the collection from the Penihings I believe is complete. Measurements of 227 individuals were taken and as soon as practicable will be worked out by Doctor K.S. Schreiner, professor at the University of Christiania. Vocabularies were collected from most of the tribes. In spite of adverse conditions, due to climate and the limitations under which I travelled, a satisfactory collection of photographic plates and films was brought back. With few exceptions, these photographs were taken by myself. For the pictures facing page 26 I am indebted to Doctor J.C. Koningsberger, President of the Volksraad, Buitenzorg, Java. Those facing pages 16 and 17 were taken by Mr. J.F. Labohm. The lower picture facing page 286 was taken by Mr. A.M. Erskine.

My observations on the tribes are recorded in conformity with my itinerary, and include the Kayans, Kenyahs, Murungs, Penyahbongs, Saputans, the nomadic Punans and Bukits, Penihings, Oma-Sulings, Long-Glats, Katingans, Duhoi (Ot-Danums), and the Tamoans. On one or two occasions when gathering intelligence from natives I was very fortunate in my informants--an advantage which will be appreciated by any one who has undertaken a similar errand and has enjoyed the keen satisfaction experienced when drawing the veil from primitive thought which lies so near and yet so far away.

Circumstances naturally prevented me from making a thorough study of any tribe, but I indulge the hope that the material here presented may prove in some degree acceptable to the specialist as well as to the general reader. Matter that was thought to be of purely anthropological interest is presented in a special supplement. Above all, I have abstained from generalities, to which one might be tempted on account of the many similarities encountered in the tribes that were visited. Without the light of experience it is impossible to imagine how much of interest and delight there is in store for the student of man's primitive condition. However, as the captain of Long Iram said to me in Long Pahangei, "One must have plenty of time to travel in Borneo." I have pleasure in recording here the judicious manner in which the Dutch authorities deal with the natives.

On a future occasion I shall hope to be able to publish a detailed report on several of the novel features of my Bornean collections, especially as regards decorative art, the protective wooden carvings called kapatongs, the flying boat, etc.

The first collections sent to Norway ran the risks incident to war. Most of them were rescued from the storehouses at Antwerp after the German occupation, through the exertions of the Norwegian Foreign Office, though a smaller part, chiefly zoölogical, appears to have been lost in Genoa. Count Nils Gyldenstolpe, of the Natural History Museum, Vetenskapsakademien in Stockholm, who is determining the mammals collected, informs me that so far a new species of flying maki and two new subspecies of flying squirrels have been described.

To further my enterprise, liberal gifts of supplies were received from various firms in Christiania: preserved milk from Nestle & Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Co., tobacco from Tiedemann's Fabrik, alcohol for preserving specimens from Löitens Braenderi, cacao from Freia Chokolade Fabrik. A medical outfit was presented by Mr. E. Sissener, Apotheket "Kronen," Christiania, and Messrs. Burrows, Wellcome & Co., of London, placed at my disposal three of their excellent medicinal travelling-cases.

I want to express my appreciation of many services rendered by the Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij and its branches, especially the Factorij in Batavia. I am under similar obligations to the Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij, and my thanks are also due to De Scheepsagentuur for courtesies received. Miss Ethel Newcomb, of New York, has kindly transcribed the two songs rendered.

Finally I desire to make grateful acknowledgment of valuable assistance rendered by Doctor J.C. Koningsberger, and by Doctor W. van Bemmelen, director of Koninklijk Magnetisch en Meteorologisch Observatorium, Weltevreden, Batavia.

Although force of circumstances altered the scope and to some extent the character of this expedition, nevertheless my Bornean experiences afforded great satisfaction. Moreover, my sojourn in the equatorial regions of the East has imbued me with an even stronger desire to carry out my original purpose, which I hope to accomplish in the near future.

CARL LUMHOLTZ

NEW YORK, April, 1920.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

DEPARTURE FROM NEW YORK--A RACE WITH THE IMPERIAL LIMITED--IMPRESSIONS OF JAPAN--SINGAPORE--ARRIVAL AT BATAVIA, JAVA--BUITENZORG--BORO BUDUR, THE WONDROUS BUDDHIST MONUMENT

CHAPTER II

BORNEO--CLIMATIC AND BIOLOGICAL CONDITIONS--NATURAL RESOURCES--POPULATION-- HISTORY--GOVERNMENT OF THE NATIVES--RACIAL PROBLEMS.

CHAPTER III

BANDJERMASIN, THE PRINCIPAL TOWN IN DUTCH BORNEO--NORTHWARD ALONG THE EAST COAST--BALIK PAPAN, AN OIL PRODUCING CENTRE--SAMARINDA--TANDJONG SELOR--THE SULTAN--UP THE KAYAN RIVER.

CHAPTER IV

AN EXPEDITION INTO THE JUNGLE--FIRST IMPRESSIONS--RAPID CHANGE IN THE DENSENESS OF VEGETATION--ANIMAL LIFE--A STUBBORN FIGHT

CHAPTER V

MEETING PUNANS, THE SHY JUNGLE PEOPLE--DOWN THE RIVER AGAIN--MY ENTHUSIASTIC BOATMEN--MALAYS VERSUS DAYAKS

CHAPTER VI

RESUMPTION OF MY JOURNEY UP THE KAYAN RIVER--LONG PANGIAN--BERI-BERI-- HINTS ON PROPER PROVISIONS--KENYAHS FROM CENTRAL BORNEO--EFFECT OF A SPIDER'S BITE

CHAPTER VII

ON THE ISAU RIVER--A KENYAH CHILD'S FUNERAL--A GREAT FISHING EXPEDITION-- CATCHING FISH BY POISONING THE RIVER--TAKING OMENS--ENTERTAINING SCENES

CHAPTER VIII

THE JOURNEY CONTINUED UP THE KAYAN RIVER--FIRST EXPERIENCE OF KIHAMS, OR RAPIDS--WITH KENYAH BOATMEN--ADVANTAGE OF NATIVE COOKING--LONG PELABAN--THE ATTRACTIVE KENYAHS--SOCIAL STRATA--CUSTOMS AND HABITS--VALUABLE BEADS

CHAPTER IX

HYDROPHOBIA--FUNERAL CEREMONIES--AT A PADDI HARVEST--ANOTHER TUBA-FISHING EXPEDITION--THE CHARM OF PRIMITIVE MAN--INTERESTING CEREMONIES--ON HEADHUNTING GROUND

CHAPTER X

IN FOG AND DARKNESS--A RAID BY ANTS--DEPARTURE FROM LONG PELABAN--AN EXCITING PASSAGE--RETURN TO TAND-JONG SELOR

CHAPTER XI

DEPARTURE FOR BANDJERMASIN--A PLEASANT STEAMSHIP LINE--TWO HEAD-HUNTERS-- AN EXPEDITION TO LAKE SEMBULO--SAMPIT--THE ORANG-UTAN--STORMY WEATHER--A DISAGREEABLE RECEPTION

CHAPTER XII

THE WAR CHANGES MY PLANS--CHOLERA--UP THE GREAT BARITO RIVER--PURUK TJAHU--DECIDE TO STAY AMONG THE MURUNGS--A DANCING FEAST

CHAPTER XIII

DAYAK CURE OF DISEASE-EVIL SPIRITS AND GOOD--ANIMISM--BLIANS, THE PRIEST-DOCTORS--THE FEAST OF RUBBER-GATHERERS--WEDDINGS--IN PRIMITIVE SURROUNDINGS

CHAPTER XIV

THE SCALY ANT-EATER--THE PORCUPINE--THE BLOW-PIPE--AN UNUSUAL ADVENTURE WITH A SNAKE--HABITS AND CUSTOMS OF THE MURUNGS--AN UNPLEASANT AFFAIR

CHAPTER XV

FINAL START FOR CENTRAL BORNEO--CHRISTMAS TIME--EXTENT OF MALAY INFLUENCE--THE FLOWERS OF EQUATORIAL REGIONS--AT AN OT-DANUM KAMPONG--THE PICTURESQUE KIHAMS, OR RAPIDS--FORMIDABLE OBSTACLES TO TRAVEL--MALAYS ON STRIKE

CHAPTER XVI

ARRIVAL AT BAHANDANG--ON THE EQUATOR--A STARTLING ROBBERY--OUR MOST LABORIOUS JOURNEY--HORNBILLS--THE SNAKE AND THE INTREPID PENYAHBONG--ARRIVAL AT TAMALOË

CHAPTER XVII

THE PENYAHBONGS, MEN OF THE WOODS--RHINOCEROS HUNTERS--CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PENYAHBONGS--EASY HOUSEKEEPING--DAILY LIFE--WOMAN'S LOT

CHAPTER XVIII

A STRANGE MAMMAL--ANIMAL LIFE IN CENTRAL BORNEO--A SUPERB AND SILENT REALM--VISIT TO A SALT WATER EXUDATION--PASSING THE DIVIDING RIDGE--A MOUSE-DEER CHASE--ON THE KASAO RIVER

CHAPTER XIX

THE SAPUTANS--HOW THE EARS OF THE CHIEF WERE PIERCED--AN UNEXPECTED ATTACK OF FILARIASIS--DEPARTURE FROM THE SAPUTANS--DOWN THE KASAO RIVER--"TOBOGGANING" THE KIHAMS

CHAPTER XX

ARRIVAL ON THE MAHAKAM RIVER--AMONG THE PENIHINGS--LONG KAI, A PLEASANT PLACE--A BLIAN'S SHIELD--PUNANS AND BUKATS, SIMPLE-MINDED NOMADS--EXTREME PENALTY FOR UNFAITHFULNESS--LONG TJEHAN

CHAPTER XXI

AN EXCURSION DOWN THE RIVER--LONG PAHANGEI--THE OMASULINGS--THE GREAT TRIENNIAL FESTIVAL--HOSPITABLE NATIVES--INCIDENTS IN PHOTOGRAPHY

CHAPTER XXII

DAYAK DOGS--A FUNERAL ON THE MAHAKAM--OUR RETURN JOURNEY--AGAIN AT LONG TJEHAN--IN SEARCH OF A UNIQUE ORCHID--A BURIAL CAVE

CHAPTER XXIII

A PROFITABLE STAY--MAGNIFICENT FRUITS OF BORNEO--OMEN BIRDS--THE PENIHINGS IN DAILY LIFE--TOP PLAYING--RELIGIOUS IDEAS--CURING DISEASE

CHAPTER XXIV

HEAD-HUNTING, ITS PRACTICE AND PURPOSE

CHAPTER XXV

DEPARTURE FROM THE PENIHINGS--FRUIT-EATING FISH--ANOTHER CALL AT LONG PAHANGEI--A TRIP UP THE MERASI RIVER--GENIAL NATIVES--AN INOPPORTUNE VISIT--THE DURIAN, QUEEN OF ALL FRUITS

CHAPTER XXVI

AMONG THE LONG-GLATS--IS FEAR OF EXPOSURE TO THE SUN JUSTIFIED?-- CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LONG-GLATS--GOODBYE TO THE MAHAKAM

CHAPTER XXVII

CONTINUING THE JOURNEY DOWN THE RIVER--GREAT KIHAMS--BATOKELAU--AT LONG IRAM--LAST STAGES OF OUR JOURNEY--ARRIVAL AT SAMARINDA--HINDU ANTIQUITIES--NATIVE'S SUPERIORITY TO CIVILISED MAN

CHAPTER XXVIII

AN EARTHQUAKE--ERADICATING THE PLAGUE--THROUGH THE COUNTRY NORTHEAST OF BANDJERMASIN--MARTAPURA AND ITS DIAMOND-FIELDS--PENGARON--THE GIANT PIG--THE BUKITS--WELL-PRESERVED DECORATIVE DESIGNS--AN ATTRACTIVE FAMILY

CHAPTER XXIX

THE BALEI OR TEMPLE--A LITTLE KNOWN PART OF THE COUNTRY--A COURTEOUS MALAY--POWER OVER ANIMALS--NEGARA.

CHAPTER XXX

AN EXPEDITION TO THE KATINGAN RIVER--TATUING OF THE ENTIRE BODY--THE GATHERING OF HONEY--A PLEASANT INTERMEZZO--AN UNUSUALLY ARTISTIC PRODUCTION--UP THE SAMBA RIVER--WITH INCOMPETENT BOATMEN

CHAPTER XXXI

AMONG THE DUHOI (OT-DANUMS)--RICH COLLECTIONS--THE KAPATONGS--THE BATHING OF DAYAK INFANTS--CHRISTMAS EVE--THE FLYING BOAT--MARRIAGE CEREMONIES

CHAPTER XXXII

AGRICULTURAL PURSUITS--FACTS ABOUT ULU-OTS, THE WILD MEN OF BORNEO--TAKING LEAVE OF THE INTERESTING DUHOI--A VISIT TO THE UPPER KATINGANS--DANCING--FRIENDLY NATIVES--DOWN THE KATINGAN RIVER

CHAPTER XXXIII

KASUNGAN--THE WEALTH OF THE DAYAKS--ANIMISM--GUARDIANS OF THE DEAD--HUGE SERPENTS--CROCODILES--GOVERNMENT OF DAYS GONE BY--KATINGAN CUSTOMS AND BELIEFS

CHAPTER XXXIV

FUNERAL CUSTOMS OF THE KATINGANS--DEPARTURE FROM KASUNGAN--AN ATTEMPTED VISIT TO SEMBULO--INDIFFERENT MALAYS--A STRANGE DISEASE--THE BELIEF IN TAILED PEOPLE--THE LEGEND OF THE ANCESTOR OF TAILED MEN

CHAPTER XXXV

A VISIT TO KUALA KAPUAS--A BREED OF STUMP-TAILED DOGS--THE SHORT-TAILED CATS OF BORNEO--A SECOND EXPEDITION TO LAKE SEMBULO--NATIVES UNDISMAYED BY BERI-BERI--THE TAMOANS--THE PRACTICE OF INCISION

FOLKLORE OF SOME OF THE TRIBES IN DUTCH BORNEO VISITED BY THE AUTHOR