principal state on. the western side of Java. Several states Ör
rajahships on tfie eastern side of the country are looked upon
as owing a. sort of homage to the sultan of Matan. Athöng
them are Kotti, Passir, and Banjarmassing.*.
Besides ^thesje foreigners from more civilised countries who
have established.. themselves in Borneo, the coasts of that
island afford a receptacle to various tribes of wandering
fishermen or sea-gipsiep, wboroam about the shores. Their
origin is^ little known, and they bear different names. The
Lanuns are ^supposed, to' come from Magindano. The
Orang Biaju and Orang Tedong live in ‘ small covered
boats and enjoy a perpetual summer on the Indian Ocean,
shifting to leeward from island to island with the variations of
the monsoon* The Biajus on the north-west coast are more
civilised than the rest. They are galled by the Malays
Orang Laut, or “ Men of the Sea.”.; They formerly supplied
the* English colony at Balambangan with rice, fowls/.and
other provisions.
( The Orang Tedong or Tiroon • are a savage people of the
north-east coast, who fit out boats which trade among the
Philippinesthey live principally onsago, but are said oacb-
sionally to eat human flesh.
By these tribes on the sea-coast the aborigines of Borneo
have, been driven into the interior. Except on a few points,
says Mr. Earle, where the Dayaks are seen on toe rivers near
the sea, they have been every where obliged to take refuge in
the inland parts. The native inhabitants of this great island
are perhaps the least known tribe of the human family, We
have .only heard of them by vague names, under which they
are distinguished in the different parts of Borneo: whether
these: names belong to different tribes of the same race or to
distinct, nations we are uninformed, nor can we form an
opinion founded on sufficient evidence as to the relations of
the Bornean people to the natives , of other lands. In the
south and west the aboriginal tribes are termed Dayaks; in
the north they have the name of Idaan. Thé Dusum and
*• Account of Borneo collected from various quarters by MM. Rienzi and
Dumont D’Urville. Oceatiie de Rienzi. Voyage Pittoresque de M. D’Urville.
ACCOUNT • OF THE DAYAKS. 85
the Kayans are also savage tribes of the south, and are
thought tb be of the race of the Dayaks. By several writers
it has been supposed that all these races are tribes 6f Hara-
foras or Alfourotis,’ but this last, name is itself used in a very
indefinite sense, as we ^shah further take occasion to shew,
and is^thought by Mr. Earle to be applied by the Malays to
all the savage races who live in the woods and are aliens
from them and’independent of their petty chiefs.
We are assured by Mr. Earle that,the Dayaks are scattered
in iSmall tribes over the cohntry. They aire divided
hordes, wholly independent of. each other except in stteae
places, near the large rivers, where they have more communication.
In to p forests their little communities kre cfulte^'distinct.
The various tribes are said to differ from each' otoer ;
but Mr. Earle, who,saw individuals of several distinct'hdrdies,
fsWs that they might be' recognised as ’the same pebple,
having, however, ‘a difference of dialect. ^ Thbite/who live
entirely on the water are much darkei than the rest. They
are-,.of the middle size and remarkably straight' and well
formed. ; Their limbs are well rounded, arid hpptear to
fie muscutar, but where physical strength is to be5 exerted m
'cafrymg burdens are far ihferibr’ to the mbfe ’ spa%-bodied
Chines^settlers.o Their feet are short and broad, and their
toes 'turn a little inwards, so that in walking they def not
require a very wide path. Their foreheads are broad and flat,
and their eyes, which are placed further apart than those of
Europeans,1 appear longer than they really are froth an indolen
t habit of keeping, the eye half cioSed. The outer cortiets
are generally higher up in the forehead than those nearer to
the nose, so that the direction of the orbit deviates front an
horizontal line. Their cheek-bones are prominent, • but their
faces are generally plump, and their features altogether resemble
thosh of the Cochin Chines^ metre neaVly than any
Other half-civilised nation of Eksfe^h indihf Their hair is
straight and black. I never saw a nearer approach to a
‘ beard among the men than a few straggling hairs scattered
over the chin and the upper lip.
« The.physiognomy of the Dayaks is prepossessing. The
countenance of the Dayak women, if not exactly beautiful,