CHAPTER XVII

SPORTS AND AMUSEMENTS

Dyak games—Football—War Dance—Sword Dance—Dyak music—Cock-fighting—Tops—“Riding the tidal bore”—Swimming—Trials of strength.

At certain times of the year the Dyaks are very busy at their farms, and go to work early in the morning, and do not return till late at night. But they have their slack times, when there is not so much work to be done, and then they have plenty of opportunity to indulge in games.

They do not seem to have a large variety of pastimes. The following are those most popular among them.

Football is played by the Dyaks in a curious manner. The players stand in a circle about four yards from each other, the size of this circle varying according to the number of the players. The ball is kicked in the air by the player to whom it falls nearest. This kicking is done in a curious manner with the sole of the foot. A party of good players will keep a ball in the air for several minutes, each player kicking it upwards just as it is about to fall, or as it bounds upwards from the ground. The ball itself is a light hollow one of rattan open-work, and is about the size of a croquet-ball.

The Dyaks are fond of dancing, and at their feasts and on other occasions when many are met together, they will keep it up for hours to the thumping of drums and the beating of brass gongs. They have a musical instrument of bamboo, like the pan-pipe (_engkrurai_), to which they sometimes dance; but the usual music on such occasions is a row of small brass gongs (_engkrumong_), placed on the ground, and beaten with two sticks, also large brass gongs, and a variety of drums.

The two popular dances are the Sword Dance and the War Dance, both of which are danced by the men. It is very rarely that the women dance. I am told that they only do so when a fighting-party have been successful, and return with a human head which has been taken in war. Then the women, dressed up in all their finery, go to the landing-stage where the war-boat is, and as the head is taken to the house the women dance around it singing a monotonous chant.

The _Mencha_, or Sword Dance, is danced in the following manner: Two swords, or in their place two sticks, are placed on the mat, and the two dancers commence from the opposite ends, turning the body, clapping the hands, and extending the arms, lifting their feet and planting them down in grotesque but not ungraceful attitudes. For a few minutes they posture and move in leisurely manner round and round about; then they seize the swords, and pass and repass each other, now cutting, now crossing swords, retiring and advancing. Sometimes one kneels as though to defend himself from the attacks of his adversary. The main idea of this Sword Dance seems to be the posturing in different attitudes, and not so much the skill displayed in fencing. Those are considered the best dancers who, according to Dyak ideas, are the most graceful in their movements. I have often watched a Dyak Sword Dance where neither has touched the other with his sword, the movements having been so leisurely that there has been plenty of time to ward off each attack.

The dance seems quite in keeping with the Dyak surroundings, and the whole effect of it is very striking. The long veranda of the Dyak house dimly lighted up by _damar_ torches; the pretty silver tones of the small row of brass _enkrumong_ struck by two sticks in fast measure; the deep tones of the large brass gongs; the numerous noisy drums; the crowd of spectators standing, sitting, or kneeling; the screams of encouragement to the dancers; the evolutions of the two performers—all help to form a weird and striking scene.

The _Ajat_, or War Dance, is danced by one man. He is generally fully armed with sword, and spear, and shield. He acts in pantomime what is done when on the warpath. The dancer begins by imitating the creeping through the jungle in cautious manner, looking to the right and to the left, before and behind, for the foe. The lurking enemy is suddenly discovered, and after some rapid attack and defence a sudden plunge is made upon him, and he lies dead on the ground. The taking of the head of this invisible enemy in pantomime now follows. A great deal of liberty is allowed the dancer, and the dances are very varied. Sometimes the dance ends with the defeat and death of the dancer. The last agonies of the dying man are too closely and painfully depicted to be altogether pleasant to watch.

The musical instruments which accompany the War Dance are much the same as those used for the Sword Dance. There are the _engkrumong_, or row of little brass gongs, the large gongs, and a variety of drums. But the music is in different time, the music for the War Dance being quicker than that for the Sword Dance.

Cock-fighting is a very favourite amusement of the Dyaks, and is indulged in to a great extent at all their feasts. In fact, one of the preparations for a feast is for the inmates of the house to go round to their friends and beg for as many fighting-cocks as they can. The cocks have artificial steel spurs, which are very sharp.

Spinning tops is a favourite amusement, not only of the children, but also of grown-up men. They generally divide themselves into two sides. One side spin their tops, and the other party, standing at a given distance, aim at the spinning tops with their tops. Great skill is shown in the manner in which a man often hits a top, driving it far away, and leaves his top spinning in its place.

The Dyaks are very much at home on the water, and a favourite amusement of the Dyaks at Banting was to “ride the tidal bore.” During the spring-tides, when there was a tidal bore, they would paddle down the river some distance, and wait for the turn of the tide. When the bore came, they would get just in front of it, and the great wave would send the boats up-river at a good pace without any paddling on their part. Of course, a great many boats were often swamped, but that only added to the fun. When I was stationed at Banting, the schoolboys often asked to be allowed to “ride the bore.”

The Sea Dyaks seem to acquire naturally the art of swimming. They are taken to the water regularly from infancy, and dipped and floated on the water, and at an early age they are able to swim. They swim hand over hand. They never take “a header” in diving, but jump in feet foremost.

The Dyaks are fond of wrestling, and many of them are good wrestlers. At a Dyak feast very often the young men have friendly wrestling matches. They have also other trials of strength. Two young men sit on the ground opposite each other, feet placed against feet, and a stout stick is grasped by both their hands. Each then tries to throw himself back, so as to raise his adversary from the ground either by main strength or sudden effort. Another trial of strength is to put two fingers of one opponent against two fingers of another, the elbows being placed upon a table or log; then each party tries to force the other’s fingers backward. Or else two stand up face to face, and each grasps the two first fingers of his opponent, holding his arm up, so that their hands are the same level as their faces, and they each try by main force to lower the arm of the other.

The Dyaks are very fond of jumping, and at Banting, in the cool of the evening, the young men, returning with me from Evening Prayer in church, would often try the long-jump or high-jump near the Mission House.

They also play a game called _galangang_, not unlike prisoners’ base. The players divide themselves into parties, and one party is set to watch certain lines which the other party cross. If anyone is touched as he crosses a line, his side loses, and has to do the watching.

The evening amusements are listening to some story, either set to verse and sung, or simply told in prose, and the asking each other riddles. These riddles are generally rhyming verses.