discover the will of the
higher powers, is chewed by those present just as other _pinang_ and
_sireh_, and the marriage ceremony is over; the young couple are
lawfully man and wife.

For the wedding, the bride decks herself out in all the finery she
possesses, or can borrow from her friends. Her wedding-dress consists of
a short petticoat of Dyak-woven cloth, which reaches to her knees. Along
the bottom edge of this there are sewed several rows of tinsel, and of
silver coins, below which probably hang some rows of hawk-bells, which
make a tinkling sound as she walks. Round her waist are several coils
of brass or silver chain, and two or three belts made of dollars or
other silver coins linked together. From her hips upwards, as far as her
armpits, she wears a corset formed by threading split cane through a
great number of small brass rings, arranged so closely together as to
completely hide the cane. To this corset may be fixed two or three bands
of silver coins. Her armlets of brass or silver extend as far up as her
elbow. As many rings as she possesses are on her fingers, and she wears
necklaces of small beads, worked in very beautiful patterns, and
finished off with a tassel of beads, or else a large number of big
silver or brass buttons strung together round her neck. Her ears are
decorated with filigreed studs of silver gilt, with a setting of scarlet
cloth behind the filigree work to show them off.

In her hair is a towering comb of silver filigree work, to which are
attached a number of silver spangles, which glitter with every movement
of her head. She wears her hair in a knot into which are stuck a number
of large brass hair-pins, decorated with beads and little tags of red
and yellow and white cloth. She possesses a bright coloured jacket of
Dyak-woven cloth; but she does not wear it, it is slung over her right
shoulder.

After this detailed description of the bride's dress, it is
disappointing to learn that the bridegroom takes no special pains to
ornament his person. The men wear a great deal of finery when they
attend a feast, or when they go on the war-path, but on the occasion of
his wedding, the bridegroom takes no extra trouble over his apparel.

BURIALS

As soon as a man dies, the professional mourner sits on a swing near the
head of the corpse and sings a long dirge, blaming the different parts
of the house, beginning with the roof-ridge and proceeding downwards,
for not keeping back the soul