made of what is called Icumnium wood, which takes
a fine polish. The kris is peculiarly a weapon of
war, and is made in Brunei, where the native artificers
in metal are remarkably clever. While the parang
has only one cutting edge, the kris is a two-edged
sword. Mr. Carl Bock tried to investigate the manu-
facture of similar weapons in that part of Borneo which
he visited under the protection of the Dutch. “ The
process of grinding and sharpening,” he says, “ is very
slow, and to polish and put a proper edge on a plain
blade occupies more than a fortnight. Many of the
blades are beautifully inlaid with brass along the sides
and near the back, while others have open scroll
patterns cut right through the blade. How this work
is done I could not ascertain, as both Dyaks and
Malays were very wary of giving any information, and
very unwilling to show me any of their tools. Regular
workshops do not seem to exist, 'each man being apparently,
to a great extent, his own cutler.” Many blades,
however, are imported into the interior of Borneo from
native Brunei traders.
This second group of arms and implements (page
325) represents ( 1 ) the blade of a parang, the handle of
bone, the lower part bound with brass wire; (2 ) head
of Dusun spear; (3) small parang and sheath, the
handle of the blade made of deer horn, the sheath being
two pieces of light wood bound together with plaited
rattan ; (4 ) a paddy cutter, or reaping-hook, as old
in form and manufacture as the biblical days of Ruth,
The handle is made of a specially hard Bornean wood
bound both for ornament and use with bamboo cane.
The implement is small. Only the heads of the rice
are reaped. I t would be interesting if it were possible
to trace the history of this almost universal implement
to the savage tribes of Borneo. The method of rice
cultivation is curious. A clearing being made, the
undergrowth is fired. . The ashes are
an excellent manure. Meanwhile the
cultivators construct rafts, cover them
with earth, sow them with seed, and
place them in the river, where they are
kept moist. Very quickly the rafts become
green floating islands. Then the
women transplant the grain into the
newly cleared ground, which has to be
constantly weeded. Rats are often
as troublesome as weeds, and the natives
have a cleverly constructed trap
which does great execution among
them.
The third group of implements,
parangs and reaper sheaths (page 326),
GROUP OP BORNEAN ARMS AND IMPLEMENTS.
(Drawn by Helen H. Hatton.)
exhibits in a marked degree the primitive and civilized
methods of Bornean workmanship. These
sheaths are of the most ordinary and primitive character—
two roughly fashioned pieces of wood bound
together with rattan and ornamental plaitings of bam