Pagan races of the Malay Peninsula - Sabrizain.org

CHAP. VI SAKAI OF PERAK 297
where iron blades are scarce, spear- blades made of
bamboo with palm-wood shafts are nevertheless em-
ployed as the most natural and usual substitute.'
The Boiv.
Perak Sakai.—There are only two cases known to
me in which the use of the bow has l)een attributed to
the Sakai.
According to De la Croix, the Sakai of Kenering
possessed a bow - which was similar to that used by
the Semang of Patani ;
and
a similar statement was
made by Miklucho-Maclay, who was, however, quite
rightly corrected by Pleyte. In both cases, however,
there can be no doubt that the error arose entirely
from applying the name " Sakai " to Negritos, and
that these so-called Kenering Sakai of De la Croix,
no less than Miklucho-Maclays Sakai, were in reality
of Semang (or, at least, Semang-Sakai) origin.^
The Blowpipe.
Perak Sakai.—The Sakai blowpipe has the same
arrangement of an outer and an inner tube, and is constructed
of the same material as that of the Semang.
The inner tube is closely fitted into the outer tube or
casing, which (unlike the casing of the Semang weapon)
is made in one piece, the central node (should a
jointless tube be unobtainable) being knocked out
with a wooden spike, and the jagged edges rasped
away by means of the prickly " leaf-whips " of a kind
of rattan, and finally polished so as to allow the
inner tube or blowpipe to be fitted into it without
* De Morgan, vii. 417; viii. 225, ^ The "Hill Kreans" («.