Pagan races of the Malay Peninsula - Sabrizain.org

146 DUESS PART II
twisted fibre obtained from the " bertam " palm
{Eugcissona). Sometimes, however, they were made
of finely plaited strips of rattan {Calai?ms), or of the
string^s of the " Rock-vein " fungus. Metal armlets and
rings were, however, worn in a few cases, but these are
more commonly found among tribes who mix more
freely with the Malays. I never saw any armlets
with European beads among the Semang of Kedah.
The foregoing remarks apply equally to the Pan-
ofan of Kelantan.
Perak Semang".—The bead - armlets or ligatures
worn by the Semang of Perak were frequently made
on the same plan as their necklaces {i.e. of black and
white seeds strung alternately). Ordinarily they were
very narrow, but in some cases they were very broad
and covered a large portion of the arm.^
Semang- (of Perak?).—The women wore, by way of
a charm, bracelets made from the leaves of the
" palas " {Licuala peltata), the men bracelets of the
Rock-vein Creeper (the plant called "Tam-tum")
fitting tightly to the left wrist. These bracelets are
called " Chin-ing-neng."
-
Head- dress—Men 's.
Kedah Semang.—Among the Semang at Siong
some of the men were wearing short woolly hair forming
small spiral clusters close to the scalp. Most, how-
ever, had adopted the fashion of shaving the head,
which is found among other branches of the Negrito
race {e.g. the Andamanese), as well as, frequently,
among the local Malays.
None of the men that I saw were in the habit of
* De Morgan, vii. 413. ^ Vaughan-Stevens, iii. 126.