ndicate the sex and favourite occupation of the deceased. If the
grave be that of a warrior, it is roofed and decorated with streamers,
and such of his weapons as are not buried with him are hung about, and
the ground around is palisaded and spiked. The grave of the hunter is
distinguished by his spear, his blow-pipe and quiver, together with the
trophies of the chase--stags' antlers, and boars' tusks. Some articles
of feminine attire or work--spindles, petticoats, waist-rings, or
water-gourds--indicate the graves of women.

CHAPTER XIV

A DYAK LEGEND

There are many fairy-tales and legends known to the Dyaks of the present
day. As they have no written language, these have been handed down by
word of mouth, from generation to generation, from ancient times. These
tales and legends may be divided into two classes: 1. Those which are
mythical and related as such, which are simply meant to interest and
amuse, and in these respects resemble the fairy-tales familiar to us
all. 2. And those believed by them to be perfectly true, and to record
events which have actually taken place. These form in fact the mythology
of the Dyaks. The following legend is related by them as explaining how
they came to plant rice, and to observe the omens of birds:

THE STORY OF SIU

Many thousands of years ago, before the paddy plant was known, the Dyaks
lived on tapioca, yams, potatoes and such fruit as they could find in
the jungle. It was not till Siu taught them to plant paddy[3] that such
a thing as rice was known. The story of how he came to know this article
of food, and how he and his son, Seragunting, introduced it among the
Dyaks is here set forth.

[Footnote 3: Paddy--rice in the husk.]

Siu was the son of a great Dyak chief. His father died when he was quite
a child, and at the time this story begins, he had grown to manhood, and
lived with his mother, and was the head of a long Dyak house in which
lived some three hundred families. He was strong and active, and
handsome in appearance, and there was no one in the country round equal
to him either in strength or comeliness.

He proposed to the young men of his house that they should take their
blow-pipes and darts and go into the jungle to shoot birds. So one
morning they all started early. Each man had with him his bundle of food
for the day, and each went a different way, as they wished to see, on
returning in the evening, who would be the most successful of th