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The balei was very stuffy, and little light or air could enter, so I continued my journey, arriving later in the afternoon at Beringan, where a tiny, but clean, pasang-grahan awaited us. It consisted mainly of four small bamboo stalls, in which there was room for all of us to sleep, but the confined air produced a disagreeable congestion in my head the next day.
La iaid kawei ka mrád u tyrwa, "To thied kane ka ktung." Haba ka la khmih bad ka la íw, kaba iwtung pynban, la iaid kawei pat ruh shu shem ba ka long kumta, kaba sniew bad kaba íwtung ka jingdie jong u ksew. Te haba ki la ialang kham bún ha ka basa jong u ki la phoi ia u ksew, ki ong "balei me wan die ia ka ktung kaba íw jakhlia?" bad ki la kynjat ia ka jingdie jong u bad ki la iúh hapoh slajat.
Primitive hospitality provides a roemah negari, or "House of Strangers," in every village rich enough to erect this refuge for the toil-worn wanderer, but where no special resting-place for pilgrims can be offered, lodging can always be had in the open Balei, on application to any member of the Village Council.
This done, I again inspected the balei, accompanied by the kapala who himself was a blian; he and the others were perfectly willing to give any information about customs and beliefs, although equally unable to do so. The dancing space in the middle was rectangular, about eight metres long, lying nearly east and west.
For their religious feasts they gather in the balei, just as the ancient Mexicans made temporary habitations in and near their temples, and as the Huichols and other Indians of Mexico do to-day. The natives of Angkipi are stocky, crude people. Several had eyes set obliquely, a la Mongol, in a very pronounced manner, with the nose depressed at the base and the point slightly turned upward.
Ban tip thikna ia ka dáw balei ba khot kyrteng Máwlong Siem ia u ym lah ban tip; hinrei la kumno kumno i-mat ba kane ka kyrteng ka la mih namar ba mynhyndái haba yn sa iap Siem la jiw ioh sngew hangta ha U Máwlong Siem ba don ka jingsawa tem ksing kaba khraw shibun. Ki Mawsmai bad ki Mawmluh ki jiw ioh sngew, bad ki jiw tharai ba u blei Mawlong Siem u tem ksing ban pynshád khún.
The roofs of the Mosque rise on thatched tiers, mounted on slender pine-stems, and the long Balei, with mossy thatch prolonged into an open verandah on either side, shows a multitude of curving horns pointing to Heaven, and symbolically invoking celestial aid for the solemn assembly gathered beneath them, when the full moon floods upland Sumatra with molten silver.
In the middle of the square stands the balei or town hall, a room about fifty to a hundred feet long and twenty or thirty wide, without division, and open at the sides, excepting when on particular occasions it is hung with mats or chintz; but sheltered in a lateral direction by the deep overhanging roof. A VILLAGE HOUSE IN SUMATRA. W. Bell delt. J.G. Stadler sculpt. Published by W. Marsden, 1810.
However, it must be conceded that their presence helped to make an impression on the next kampong which was expected to furnish another gang of carriers. We managed to travel along, and finally reached the last Dayak kampong, Bayumbong, consisting of the balei and a small house.
They preserve a degree of delicacy and respect towards the sex, which might justify their retorting on many of the polished nations of antiquity the epithet of barbarians. The opportunities which the young people have of seeing and conversing with each other are at the bimbangs, or public festivals, held at the balei, or town hall of the dusun.
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