They set high prices
on all things purchased from them and cheat if permitted to do so.
Although no case of actual stealing came to my notice, they are dishonest,
untruthful, and less intelligent than the tribes hitherto met. The chiefs
from two neighbouring kampongs paid us visits, and they and their men made
a somewhat better impression, besides having less skin disease.
The Saputans are a crude and somewhat coarse people who formerly lived in
caves in the mountains further east, between the Mahakam and the Murung
(Barito) Rivers, and migrated here less than a hundred years ago. Lidju, a
Long-Glat raja from Batokelau, who at one time was my interpreter and
assistant, told me that the Saputans had made a contract with his
grandfather to take them to the Kasao. This report was confirmed by the
kapala of Batokelau. The Saputans probably do not number over 500 all
told.
The custom of cutting the teeth, eight in upper front and six in the lower
jaw, is observed to some extent, but is not regularly practised. Both
sexes have shrill, sharp voices. The men admire women who have long hair,
light yellow skin, and long extension of the ear-lobes. The women like men
to be strong and brave on headhunting expeditions. Suicide is very rare.
They may use ipoh or tuba for the purpose. All animals are eaten without
restriction. The men are good hunters and know how to kill the tiger-cat
with sumpitan or spear. They also make good, large mats from split rattan,
which are spread on the floor, partly covering it. The women make mats
from palm leaves, and when the Saputans are preparing for the night's rest
the latter kind is unrolled over the rattan variety. Formerly sumpitans
were made in sufficient number, but the art of the blacksmith has almost
died out, only one remaining at the present time, and most of the
sumpitans are bought from the Bukats on the Mahakam River.
There appear to be more men than women in the tribe. Children are wanted,
and though the usual number in a family is four, sometimes there is only
one. There are no restrictions in diet for a pregnant woman beyond the
prohibition of eating of other people's food.
Only when the chief has a wedding is there any festival, which consists in
eating. There is no marriage ceremony, but having secured the girl's
consent and paid her father and mother the young man simply goes to her
mat. They then remain two days in the house, because they are afraid of
the omen birds. On the third day both go to fetch water from the river and
she begins to husk rice. Monogamy is practised, only the chief being
allowed to have five or more wives. The very enterprising kapala of Data
Laong, to the displeasure of his first wife, recently had acquired a
second, the daughter of a Penihing chief. While the payment of a parang
may be sufficient to secure a wife from among the kampong people, a chiefs
daughter is worth ten gongs, and in order to raise the money necessary to
obtain the gongs he set all the men of the kampong to work, gathering
rattan, for one month. Though each of them received something for his
labour, it was less than one-fourth of the amount accruing from the sale
of the product, leaving him sufficient to pay the price demanded for the
new bride. In Long Iram a gong may be bought for f. 30-80, and for
purposes of comparison the fact is mentioned that a Malay usually is
required to pay f. 60 to the girl's father to insure his consent to the
marriage.
April was rainy, with frequent showers day and night, and thunder was
heard every evening. Life there was the same as in most Dayak kampongs,
nearly all the people being absent during the day at the ladangs, and in
the evening they bring home the roots of the calladium, or other edible
roots and plants, which are cooked for food. The paddi had been harvested,
but the crop was poor, and therefore they had made no feast. There is no
dancing here except war dances. For a generation they have been gathering
rubber, taking it far down the Mahakam to be sold. Of late years rubber
has nearly disappeared in these parts, so they have turned their attention
to rattan.
One day a man was seen running with a sumpitan after a dog that had
hydrophobia, and which repeatedly passed my tent. The apparent attempt to
kill the animal was not genuine. He was vainly trying to catch it that he
might tie its legs and throw it into the river, because the people believe
that the shedding of a dog's blood would surely result in misfortune to
their health or crops. After three days the dog disappeared.
In Data Laong few were those men, women, and children who had not some
form of the skin diseases usual among the Dayaks, which were rendered
still more repugnant by their habit of scratching until the skin bleeds. A
man and wife whose skin looked dry and dead, the whole body exhibiting a
whitish colour, one day came to my tent. Standing, or crouching, before
the tent opening they formed a most offensive picture, vigorously
scratching themselves, while particles of dead skin dropped in such
quantity that after some minutes the ground actually showed an
accumulation resembling snow. They were accompanied by a twelve-year-old
daughter who, strange to say, had a perfectly clean skin.
The belief about disease and its cure is identical with that of other
tribes I have met. The evil antohs are believed to be very numerous in the
mountainous region at the headwaters of the Kasao River, from whence they
visit the kampongs, though only the blians are able to see them.
