ngle I have
repeatedly seen what, in every respect, appeared to be a leaf fall to
the ground and then miraculously put out legs and walk away; it was one
of those remarkable insects of the _Mantis_ family, or "walking
leaves.") The inhabitants of the rock had no need of fire in those days,
for the sun beat down on them strongly, and there was no night; it was
not until many, many years had elapsed that an old man named _Laki Oi_
invented a method of obtaining fire by means of friction produced by
pulling a strip of rattan rapidly back and forth beneath a piece of dry
wood. This process of making fire he called _Musa_, and it is still the
only method used in obtaining fire for ceremonials, such as the naming
of a child, or when communicating with the omen-birds. Laki Oi also
taught them the use of the fire-drill, which he called the _Nalika_.

On the main trunk of Batang Utar Tatei was a large excrescence, from
which exuded a resinous gum called _Lutong_, which, as it dropped to the
ground beneath, was immediately transformed into chickens and swine; and
it is because they were thus formed out of the very heart and substance
of the tree that they are always used in the reading of auguries. From
this same cause, there was innate in them an insight into the innermost
workings of Nature and a knowledge of the future.

The first beings with any resemblance to man had neither legs, nor
breasts, and consisted merely of a head, chest, arms, and a fragment of
a body which hung down in shreds and rags, having the appearance of
twisted snakes. When they moved they dragged themselves along the ground
by their arms. (From this description and from native carvings, I am
inclined to believe that a large cuttle-fish or octopus must have
suggested this idea to the original narrator of this tradition.) Little
by little, the body was brought into more compact form, and, in a later
generation, legs appeared, but it was a long time before they became
accustomed to legs and able to use them in moving about. A survival of
this awkwardness, so say the Kayans, is still noticeable in the way in
which children crawl about the floor, and in their clumsy walk when
first they learn to stand upright. The heads of these first people were,
furthermore, much larger than the heads of the present generation, and,
since it was the first part formed, it is the oldest part of the body,
and on this account the most important member, and valued accordingly
wh