Their sacred number
is seven, as is that of the Ot-Danum, Kapuas, and Kahayan. As usual with
Dayaks, all members of the family eat at the same time as the men. Sons
and daughters inherit equally, while brothers and sisters receive nothing
unless the deceased was childless.
The father of a young man must arrange the payment for the bride, and
probably receives remuneration himself for the service rendered. The
son-in-law remains in the house of his father-in-law a year or more and
assists him. A raja was privileged to have five or six wives.
During the period of pregnancy both wife and husband are subject to the
following restrictions:
1. They must not split firewood, otherwise harelip will result, or a child
with double thumbs.
2. The arms or legs must not be cut off from any animal caught, else the
child will have stumps of arms or legs.
3. When fish has been caught the couple must not open the head themselves;
if they do the child will be born without ears.
4. The husband must not make fish hooks, or the child will be born doubled
up in a wrong position, perhaps causing the mother's death.
5. Neither of them may stretch up either arm to take food from the hanging
trays of bamboo, called toyang. Should they do so the child will come into
the world arm first, or probably not be born.
6. They must not nail up boxes or anything else (nails were formerly of
wood), nor tie up anything, - for instance, a rattan for drying
clothes, - nor lock a trunk, else the child will not be born and the mother
will die.
7. In case of feeling hot, if he or she should take off their upper
garments they must not be tied round the neck, or the child will be born
dead, with the navel cord around its neck.
8. The work of tying split bamboo sticks into loose mats, for instance
such as are used in the bottom of the prahu, must not be done, or the
child will be born with two and two or all four fingers grown together.
9. They must not put the cork in a bottle or place the cover on a bamboo
basket containing rice in order to close it for a considerable time, as in
that case the child will be born blind in one or both eyes, or with one
ear, one nostril, or the rectum closed, but the cover may be put back on a
basket from which rice is taken for daily use.
10. For five months the work of putting a handle on a parang and fastening
it with damar must not be done else both mother and child would die.
