Through Central Borneo An Account Of Two Years' Travel In The Land Of The Head-Hunters Between The Years 1913 And 1917 By Carl Lumholtz
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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.
The name given the child when the umbilical cord is cut remains unchanged.
Among names in vogue here for
Men are Bugis (black), Spear, Axe, Duhong
(ancient knife), etc., Tingang and other names of birds, or names taken
from animals, fish, trees, and fruit; many are called Peti, the Malay name
for a steel trunk sold by traders. A person must not give his own name nor
call by the name of his father, mother, father-in-law, mother-in-law,
grandfather or grandmother, whether they are alive or dead. If one of
these names is given there will be no luck, for instance, in fishing or
hunting.
There are many sorts of pali (sins) but all may be paid for in kind or by
sacrifice. One of the most serious is that of a widow who marries before
the second funeral of her husband has been solemnised. Although the rule
does not apply to husband and wife, a man is forbidden to touch a woman's
dress and vice versa, and transgression must be made good by sacrifice of
a fowl or even a pig. In case a chavat or other article of clothing
belonging to a man has been hung to dry after washing, and a woman other
than his wife wishes to take the garment from the rattan line, she must
use a stick for the purpose.
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