7th. The Dyak. They are divided into Dyak Darrat and Dyak Laut, or
land and sea Dyaks. The Dyak Lauts, as their name implies, frequent
the sea; and it is needless to say much of them, as their difference
from the Dyak Darrat is a difference of circumstances only. The tribes
of Sarebus and Sakarran, whose rivers are situated in the deep bay
between Tanjong Sipang and Tanjong Sirak, are powerful communities,
and dreadful pirates, who ravage the coast in large fleets, and murder
and rob indiscriminately; but this is by no means to be esteemed a
standard of Dyak character. In these expeditions the Malays often join
them, and they are likewise made the instruments for oppressing the
Laut tribes. The Sarebus and Sakarran are fine men, fairer than the
Malays, with sharp keen eyes, thin lips, and handsome countenances,
though frequently marked by an expression of cunning. The Balows and
Sibnowans are amiable tribes, decidedly warlike, but not predatory;
and the latter combines the virtues of the Dyak character with much
of the civilization of the Malays. The Dyak Laut do not tattoo, nor
do they use the sumpitan; their language assimilates closely to the
Malay, and was doubtless originally identical with that of the inland
tribes. The name of God among them is Battara (the Avatara of the
Hindoos). They bury their dead, and in the graves deposit a large
portion of the property of the deceased, often to a considerable
value in gold ornaments, brass guns, jars, and arms. Their marriage
ceremony consists in two fowls being killed, and the forehead and
breast of the young couple being touched with the blood; after which
the chief, or an old man, knocks their heads together several times,
and the ceremony is completed with mirth and feasting. In these two
instances they differ from the Dyak Darrat.

It must be observed that the Dyak also differs from the Kayan in not
being tattooed; and from the Kayan Millanows, &c., in not using the
_national_ weapon--the sumpitan. The Kayan and the Dyak, as general
distinctions, though they differ in dialect, in dress, in weapons,
and probably in religion, agree in their belief of similar omens,
and, above all, in their practice of taking the heads of their
enemies; but with the Kayan this practice assumes the aspect of an
indiscriminate desire of slaughter, while with the Dyak it is but
the trophy acquired in legitimate warfare. The Kadians form the only
exception to this rule, in consequence of