Page:Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (IA journalofstrait561880roya).pdf/317

 A SEA-DYAK TRADITION OF THE DELUGE AND CONSEQUENT EVENTS.

Once upon a time some Dyak women went to gather young bamboo shoots to eat. Having got the shoots, they went along the jungle, and came upon what they took to be a large tree fallen to the ground; upon this they sat, and began to pare the bamboo shoots, when, to their utter amazement, the tree began to bleed. At this point some men came upon the scene, and at once saw that what the women were sitting upon was not a tree, but a huge boa-constrictor in a state of stupor. The men killed the beast, cut it up, and took the flesh home to eat. As they were frying the pieces of snake, strange noises came from the pan, and, at the same time, it began to rain furiously. The rain continued until all hills, except the highest, were covered, and the world was drowned because the men killed and fried the snake. All mankind perished, except one woman, who fled to a very high mountain. There she found a dog lying at the foot of a jungle creeper, and feeling the root of the creeper to be warm she thought perhaps fire might be got out of it, so she took two pieces of its wood and rubbed them together and obtained fire; and thus arose the fire-drill, and the first production of fire after the great flood.

This woman and the fire-drill, to which they attribute the qualities of a living being, gave birth to Simpang-impang; who, as the name implies, had only half a body, one eye, one car, half a nose, one cheek, one arm, one leg. It appears that many of the animal creation found refuge in the highest mountains during the flood. A certain rat, more thoughtful than the rest of his friends, had contrived to preserve a handful of padi, but by some means not told, Simpang got knowledge of this, and stole it from the rat;