The difficulty about an interpreter was
solved when the "onder's" clerk returned from a brief absence; he was an
intelligent and trustworthy Kayan who spoke Malay well, had been a
Christian for six years, but adopted Islam when he married a Bakompai
wife. Compared with the retiring "onder," who, though a very good man,
seemed to feel the limitations of his position, this Kahayan appeared more
like a man of the world.
I made a large collection of kapatongs (in Kahayan, hapatong), which here,
and in less degree on the Katingan, I found more abundant than in any
region of Borneo visited. These interesting objects are carved
representations of a good antoh, or of man, bird, or animal which good
antohs have entered, and which, therefore, are believed to protect their
owners. When the carving has been finished the blian invokes a beneficent
antoh to take it in possession, by dancing and singing one or two nights
and by smearing blood on it from the sacrifice of a fowl, pig, or a
water-buffalo - formerly often taken from a slave. As with a person, so with
a kapatong; nobody is permitted to step over it lest the good antoh which
resides in it should become frightened and flee.
Kapatongs are made from ironwood; they are of various kinds and serve many
purposes. The larger ones, which appear as crude statues in many kampongs
of Southern Borneo, more rarely on the Mahakam, are supposed to be
attendants on the souls of the dead and were briefly described in Chapter
XII.
The smaller kapatongs are used for the protection of the living and all
their earthly belongings or pursuits. These images and their pedestals are
usually carved from one block, though the very small ones may be made to
stand inside of an upright piece of bamboo. Some kapatongs are placed in
the ladang to protect the crops, others in the storehouse or inside the
baskets where rice or food is kept. The monkey, itself very predatory on
the rice fields, is converted into an efficient watchman in the form of
its image, which is considered an excellent guardian of boiled rice that
may be kept over from one meal to the next.
For protection at night the family may have a number of images, preferably
seven, placed upright and tied together, standing near the head of the
bed; a representation of the tiger-cat is placed on top of it all, for he
impersonates a strong, good antoh who guards man night and day. From the
viewpoint of the Katingans the tiger-cat is even more powerful than the
nagah. When cholera or smallpox is apprehended, some kapatongs of fair
size are left standing outside the room or at the landing places of the
prahus. Images representing omen birds guard the house, but may also be
carried on a journey in a basket which is placed near the head when a man
is sleeping in a prahu or on land. A kapatong of one particular omen bird
is thus capable of allaying any fear if real omen birds or snakes should
pass in front of the boat.
On head-hunting expeditions kapatongs were of prime importance. Smeared
with blood, they were taken along for protection and guidance, and
afterward were returned to the room. Some of them are very curious; a
favourite one represents a pregnant woman, the idea being that a woman
with a child is a good watcher, as the infant cries and keeps her awake.
That the child is not yet born is of no consequence. In my possession is a
kapatong of the head-hunters which represents a woman in the act of
bearing a child. Among the Dayaks the woman is regarded as the more alert
and watchful; at night it is she who perceives danger and thrusts her hand
against her husband's side to arouse him.
When feasts occur kapatongs, etc., are taken outside the house to partake
of blood from the animal or (formerly) the slave sacrificed. They are
supposed to drink it and are smeared with it. When important they are
never sold, but are transmitted as heirlooms from father to son. They
passed in a circuit among brothers, remaining three to five years with
each, and were the cause of much strife, brother having been known to kill
brother if deprived of his kapatong.
Many of those which came into my possession showed distinct traces of the
application of blood. Some had necklaces around the necks as a sign that
they had received human blood. A few of these were later estimated by an
intelligent Dayak to be two hundred years old. At the time of purchase I
was struck with the fact that the Ot-Danums were parting with objects of
great importance in their religious life. One reason is that the young
generation no longer practises head-hunting, which necessitated the use of
a great number of kapatongs. The people are gradually losing faith in
them.
These Duhoi were curiously varying in their physical aspects; some were
tall, like the "onder," others of medium size; some had hooked noses,
others turned up noses. The wife of the "onder" had unusually light skin,
but there was no indication of a mixture of white blood. Their temperament
is peaceful and gentle, and, according to the Kahayan clerk, who had been
here ten years, they are truthful. Most of those that were measured came
from the kampongs above, one of which is only two or three hours away.
Several men had their foreheads shaved in a manner similar to the Chinese,
a straight line from ear to ear forming the hair limit.
