ABSTRACT

The Kyans of the rivers Banjar, Coti, and Pasir, appear to have been always subject to the European or Malayan power, which held the mouth of their respective streams. The houses of the Kyans are built, like those of the Sea Dyaks, in one long terrace, with the verandah fronting its whole length. The Dutch authors always speak of the Kyans of south Borneo, as the "Dyah Kyan," including all the infidel natives of the island under the former term, and using the names of divisions and tribes as specific names of this generic appellation. The jacket of the Kyan women is not loose, like that of the Dyaks, but fits closely to the person, and is longer than the cotton ones of the Hill tribes: it is also frequently made of the pine-apple fibre. The swords of the Kyan tribes are of very peculiar construction.