Seventeen years among the Sea Dyaks of Borneo; a ... - Sabrizain.org

CHAPTER XXII
THREE DYAK LEGENDS
Dj'ak fairy-tales and legends — I. Danjai and the Were -Tiger's
Sister— II. The Story of Siu, who first taught the Dyaks to
observe the omens of birds— III. Pttlang Gana, and how he came
to be worshipped as the god of the earth.
THERE are many fairy-tales and legends known to
the Sea Dyaks of the present day. As they have
no written language, these have been handed down
by word of mouth from generation to generation from
ancient times. These tales and legends inay be divided
into two classes :—
1. Those purely fabulous, and related as such, which
are simply meant to interest and amuse, and in these
respects resemble the fairy-tales familiar to us all.
2. And those believed to be perfectly true, and to
record events which have actually taken place, which
are the traditions respecting their gods and preternatural
beings. These form, in fact, the mythology of the Dyaks.
To this latter class belong the many and varied adven-
tures of Klieng, the great warrior hero of ancient times,
and his wife Kamang, the Dyak Venus, as well as the
traditions relating to the gods believed in by the Dyaks
of the present day. To these must be added certain
stories which give a reason for some of the curious
customs observed by the Dyaks. The three myths which
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