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From a rubbing of a carved model in the Sarawak Museum. From a tatu-block in the Sarawak Museum. Plate 142. Tatu design on the forearm of a Kalabit woman. From a drawing. Tatu design on front of leg of a Kalabit woman. C = BETIK LULUD, shin pattern. From a photograph. Tatu design on back of leg of a Kalabit woman. A = BETIK BUAH, fruit pattern; B = BETIK LAWA, trunk pattern. From a drawing.
J. D. E. Schmeltz of the Leyden Museum, where these "tatu" marks are deposited, and learnt from him that they are indeed actual drawings on paper; there are ninety-two of them, apparently all are different isolated designs, and they are evidently the work of one artist.
The present takes the form of four antique beads, or of some other object worth about one dollar; it is termed LASAT MATA, for it is supposed that if it were omitted the artist would go blind, and some misfortune would happen to the parents and relations of the girl undergoing the operation of tatu.
W. Crossland, and are labelled "tatu marks on arm of Kapuas Kayan captive woman." The designs are certainly not of Kayan origin; the woman had in all probability been brought captive to Sarawak, where Mr. Crossland saw her, and it is unfortunate that exact information concerning the tribe to which she belonged was not obtained.
Most of these friendly natives had fair-sized beards, some only mustaches. The elder men complainingly said that the younger ones no longer want to tatu nor cut the front teeth. No haste was apparent about making the coffin for the woman who had been dead four days; although not yet commenced they said it would be completed that day.
Nieuwenhuis that after death she would be recognised by the impregnation of her bones with the tatu pigment. The operation of tatuing amongst Kayans is performed by women, never by men, and it is always the women who are the experts on the significance and quality of tatu designs, though the men actually carve the designs on the tatu blocks.
At the age of eighteen to twenty the front of the thigh is tatued, and later on in life the back of the thigh; unlike the Kayans it is not necessary that the tatu of the thighs should be finished before child-bearing. A Long Glat woman on each day that she is tatued must kill a black fowl as food for the artist.
The tatu marks are the same as those of the Katingans. At present these natives have only six kampongs, three of them above Sampit. Cultivating rice was very difficult, they complained, on account of the poor soil and wet weather. The lake has few fish and they cannot be caught except when the water is low.
The patterns once employed by the tribes included in the second section of this list, most of which have adopted Malay dress and to some extent Malay customs, are lost beyond recall. The Land Dayaks display absolute ignorance of tatu, and aver that they never indulged in the practice.
The women of these tribes tatu in the same way, and employ the same designs as the Kayans, except that they never tatu on the thighs. Amongst the Baram Kenyahs there appears to be very little ceremonial connected with the process of tatuing. Kenyah-Klemantan Tatu. Amongst this rather heterogeneous assemblage of tribes considerable diversity of tatu design is found.
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