File:Image from page 174 of "The pagan tribes of Borneo; a description of their physical, moral and intellectual condition, with some discussion of their ethnic relations" (1912) (14784699235).jpg

Title: The pagan tribes of Borneo; a description of their physical, moral and intellectual condition, with some discussion of their ethnic relations
Year: 1912 (1910s)
Authors: Hose, Charles, 1863-1929 McDougall, William, 1871-1938 Haddon, Alfred C. (Alfred Cort), 1855-1940
Subjects: Ethnology Anthropometry
Publisher: London : Macmillan and co., limited
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Internet Archive

View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
View All Images: All Images From Book

Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Text Appearing Before Image: elective principle isaffected by a strong bias in favour of the mostcapable son of the late chief; so in practice a chiefis generally succeeded by one of his sons. Anelderly chief will sometimes voluntarily abdicate infavour of a son. If a chief dies, leaving no son ofmature age, some elderly man of good standingand capacity will be elected to the chieftainship,generally by agreement arrived at by many informaldiscussions during the weeks following the death.If thereafter a son of the old chief showed himself acapable man as he grew up, he would be held tohave a strong claim on the chieftainship at the nextvacancy. If the new chief at his death left alsoa mature and capable son, there might be twoclaimants, each supported by a strong party; theissue of such a state of affairs would probably bethe division of the house or village, by the departureof one claimant with his party to build a newvillage. In such a case the seceding party wouldcarry away with them their share of the timbers

Text Appearing After Image: Plate 50. ABAN DENG, THE CHIEF OF THE LONG WAT(KLEMANTANS) OF THE BARAM DISTRICT. THE SOCIAL SYSTEM 6^ of the old house, together with all their personalproperty. The Kenyahs form a less homogeneous andclearly defined tribe than the Kayans; yet in themain their social organisation is very similar tothat of the Kayans, although, as regards physicalcharacters and language as well as some customs,they present closer affinities with other peoples thanwith the Kayans, especially with the Klemantans.The Kenyah tribe also comprises a number ofnamed branches, though these are less clearlydefined than the sub-tribes of the Kayan people.Each branch is generally named after the river onthe banks of which its villages are situated, or weresituated at some comparatively recent time of whichthe memory is preserved. In many cases a singlevillage adopts the name of some tributary streamnear the mouth of which it is situated, and thepeople speak of themselves by this name. Thus itseems clear that the

Note About Images