RECENT ACCOUNT
In the first place, it is... ascertained that the interior of
the island, or a 1 part t of it at least, is ‘inhabited by a race
o f , h e ro e s . & Mr. Earle says that in 1834 the Dayaks
described to him a people in the inland parts of the island,
whom he concluded to be Papuas, hut he only;,ventured to
allude to their existence in Borneo as possible. “ During
the last year,” he adds, “ an English ship was lost on the east
coast of Borneo, and a portion of the crew were detained! for
some months in the interior of the island-. Among the abori-'
gines who came, to the Bugis settlement to see the strangers,
were a party of men, who from the description given me by nay
informant, Captain Brownrig, (the commander of the “ Pre-
mier, the wrecked vessel,) must have been pure Papuas.
He particularly noticed that striking peculiarity of this race, the
hair growing upon the head in small tufts separated from
each other, which, when the hair is close croppedj ’giye the
head the appearance of an old shoedbrush. They had also
raised cicatrices on their,skin like thdse of the natives u f
Australia and New Guinea.”
JHr* Earle supposes the Dayaks to be a branch of the
Malayo-Polynesian family; and he considers all thd. inhabitants
of the island, whatever variety of names are ascribed to
different tribes, to be one race, exclusive of the Papuas in the
interior and the casual settlements of foreigners on the coast.
The following is Mr. Earle’s account of these people. ,
The aboriginal tribes of Borneo bear so clo^e a resemblance
to each other in personal appearance and mode of life;,
that they are generally considered by those who have had
opportunities of seeing them at different points of the island
as being one and the same people. Their dialects, no doubt,
differ somewhat, but no tribe is known to have any peculiarity
that could in the slightest degree lead to the supposition
that it is a distinct people from the others. From this remark
the Papuas are excluded, who cannot be very numerous.
Each tribe has a distinctive; appellation, but they have no
general name among themselves* comprehending the entire
body of the nation. Strangers who have settled upon the
coast ;of Borneo have given names to the tribes in their own
vicinity. Th us the Malays who have settled on the iwestern
OF THE DAYAK TRIBES. 89
coast,’ teHn vther aborigines o f the island | Dayak. The
people of Boteteo: Proper again hayè^fc*® them the* name of
I M arit’ or: | Morût4 On the north-easterrièoast, where the
aborigines are under the influence 'of the people of Sulu,
they are called * Idâaft^ a«4 in the »do uth-eastern-part of thé
island, about Banjar Massing theys are known by the name of
} Biajéi’ and sömetóméi* byithèt M & Biàjû Dayakÿ^’l J
If Mr. Earle’s infbrmation is coîfect,: ' which there is every
reason to believè, one -great tpoint'in the history of Bofneö ié
determined*. namely1, that its’-dnhalteanisp the * Papuas 'êk-
Cepted, are all one racer' Thisuraéeis^furthef proved to' be
of Malayo-Polynesian origin. He says ï
WithireipôBtHo the origin of the Dayaks,: T hâve iSMë*
bad the slightest doubt from thef commencement of my mtèO-
coutse with them that they are Polynesians:,: Unfortunately
I: was rcontehted with BtttiB%ing'?%-<Wm 'd e b ts '
subject without regarding* those of others, and on discovering
■that- theidialect - of the’Dayaks fvaSj decidedfy’ PêlÿiîeÂ-hj*'!
took no trouble1 to collect a vocahularyi ThéTé>44 hbwbvCT,
a vocabulary published in Mr. Grawfurdfs History of'Hhe
Indian Archipelago, which affords a specimen of-thehan’gnâ^e
I of thé Dayaks: It obcurs in theftiSStfe ânê>Mô#ng pajêl
o f the second volume, where the words of thfe ladgdage there
collated with others are termed Biajuk, whichp âs ît- àppeâfs
from pâge;:im), meâùs Biajû Dayak. I é t/not know where
Mf: Crawford procured this Hècabulaiyv as I believe that he
never was in Borneo. It was most probâbly at Macassar,
where there are generally many slaves from the Dayak tribes
about Baujar Massin uèar the soufh-eastern extremity of
Bornéo.” i ? *'.r! ‘ • '
Mr. Earle givres the follöwing âcèôutet of the names Dayak,
Idaan, Biaj ûi which he in sid e rs: M all Ibeten^in^f,io: ohfe
race.
« The Malays on the west • coast ofBbmeo appeârgënèrâWj
to consider the-'term ‘ Dayak’ Of purely Polynesian origin,
and derived from ‘ dayaf '‘•■deofeitMy’^ot ‘ treacherous,?
although those-with i Whom I «V e rsed -b n this subject
allowed’that this term was not generally applicable to the
aborigines o f the island. The M Ö word ‘ Dayak ’ is* often used