Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 115, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 May 1911 — THE DCCORATIVE DYAK [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

THE DCCORATIVE DYAK

W T is very evident «■ that Borneo is to 1H . be "standardised” B In the matter of “"■““Tjaw clothes—ls not In the matter of bread—and it is probable that but 1 llttle 411110 wlll * pass before the Hpi* aborigines of that country flaunt themselves in Eu-

ropean attire, and exchange the silver coins whose chief use at present is •nerely ornamental for the gauds and ipswgawa of the men and women of fees natural ways. “Civilisation is ■Wiring.* 1 says Mr. Gomee, "coming Bwtckly; and all the distinctive Dyak customs will soon be things of the past Already the Dyak is mixing with other races in the towns, and is changing his dress for western costame." Alas! such is civilisation! Hie Sea Dyak of today la generally a picturesque person. The man Is as pay as the woman. Possibly, too, his wardrobe Is more elaborate than hers. She is content, ss a rule, with a couple of petticoats and a jacket. Her however, make amends for anything that may be lacking in the way of "creations.” On ordinary occaekxu she will wear a bine or red petticoat with figuring of white; a necklace of small silver current coins, fastened together with silver links; Dangles of hollow silver or brass, several on each wrist; and a narrow corset of hoops of cane, round which little brass rings are arranged in such a trey that none of the cane is visible. Bor festlvaljyriie will probably add a comb decorated with silver flllgree'Work, a necklace of beads, ear-pen-r Pants, a deep collar worked with heads and colored threads, and don a 'much longer corset hung with coins. Vtor her wedding her dress "consists of a short petticoat of Dyak woven

cloth which. reaches to her knees. Along the bottom edge of this are sewn several rows of tinsel and of silver coins, below which probably bang some rows of hawk-bells, which make a tinkling sound as she moves. Round her waist are several colls of brass or silver chain, and two or three belts made of dollars or other silver coins linked together. From her hips upwards, as far as her armpits, she wears a corset formed by threading upon split cane a great number of small brass rings, arranged so closely together as completely to hide the cane. To this corset may be fixed two or three bands of silver coins. Her armlets of brass or silver extend as far up as her elbow. As many rings as she possesses are on her fingers, and she wears necklaces of small beads, worked in very beautiful patterns and finished off with a tassel of heads, or else a large number of big silver or brass buttons strung together round her neck. Her ears are decorated with filigree studs of silver gilt, with a setting of scarlet cloth behind the filigree-work to show them off. In her hair is a towering comb of filigree-work, to which are attached a number of silver spangles, which glitter with every movement of her head. She wears her hair in a knot, into which are stuck a number of large brass hairpins decorated with beads and little tags of red, yellow and white cloth. She possesses a bright-colored jacket of Dyak woven cloth; but she does not wear it —It is slung over her right shoulder.” And what of the mere man? The ordinary male attire consists of a waist-cloth, a headkerchief, and a seatmat, the last-named a useful part of the attire, for in his wanderings in the jungle, the Dyak has often to sit on prickly grass or sharp stones. Sometimes, too, a sleeveless jacket Is favored, together with a shawl thrown over the shoulders. The arm and leg ornaments are brass rings. The war-path dresß Is more elaborate. For festivals the man "sports” "a fringed headkerchief, in which are fixed feathers of the rhinoceros hornbill and other birds. His ears are decorated with lead pendants. Round his neck are necklaces of beads, and brass or Bilver buttons. He has shell bracelets, and brass and cane rings on his arms, and a large number of palm-fibre rings on his wrists. Round his waist Is a belt of silver coins, and

his sword is fastened to his side. He wears the Dyak waist-cloth, and has a sarong on his right shoulder,’* His brass ornaments, be it said, and those of his womenfolk, may prove of gruesome use. “If the crocodile will live at peace with him, the Dyak has no wish to start a quarrel. If, however, the crocodile breaks the truce and kills someone, then the Dyaks set to work to find the -culprit, and keep on catching and killing crocodiles until they find him. The Dyaks generally wear brass ornaments, and by cutting open a dead crocodile they can easily find out if he is the creature they wish to punish. Sometimes as many as ten crocodiles are killed before they manage to destroy the animal they want” —which seems rough on the innocent. Let it be noted, also, that fashion does not stop at clothes and ornaments. “The teeth are often blackened, as black teeth are considered a sign of beauty. . . . The front teeth are also frequently filed to a point, and this gives their face a curious dog like appearance. . . . Another curious way of treating the front teeth is to drill a hole In the middle of each tooth, and fix in it a brass stud. I was once present when this operation was in progress. The man lay down with a piece of soft wood between his teeth, and the ‘dentist’ bored a hole in one of his front teeth. . . . The next thing was to insert the end of a pointed brass wire, which was then filed off, leaving a short piece in the tooth; a small hammer was used to fix this in tightly, and, lastly, a little more filing was done'to smooth the surface of the brass stud. I am told the process 1b so painful that It is not often a man can bear to have more than one or two teeth operated on at a time.” “Shaving” would seem almost as nerve-tryfng. “The looking-glass and tweezers are often seen in the hands of the young men, and they devote every spare moment to the plucking out of stray hairs. Kapu, or quicklime, which is one of the constituents of betel-nut mixture chewed by the Dyaks, is often rubbed into The skin to destroy the vitality of the hair follicles. Among some tribes'll is the fashion for both men and women to shave the eyebrows and pull out the eyelashes, and this gives their faces a staring, vacant expression.”