| caption: |
dragging a morung post in from the jungle |
| text: |
In the afternoon I heard calls from numerous voices rising an ebbing away, finally I investigated the matter and found out that the The-pong men were dragging a morung post into the village. That of course should not be missed and I followed the voices into the forest and soon met the entire train which was not far away any more from the village. The beam which was being dragged was indeed really of impressive length, probably a good 20 metres long, as it is supposed to go along one of the two sides under the side, under the roof down the entire morung. Holes had been bored into the front and back and long strong rattan had been fastened through the holes. The rattan which is like a strong rope is being pulled in front by the little boys of the morung who greatly enjoy this. The rattan is so long that only after a while come the men who pull at two rattan strips in two rows. Only a few older men and half grown boys were pulling at the rattan rope in the back. It is their job (160) to keep the tree trunk in the right direction and to give it the necessary twist when the path curves. Several men are busy pushing smooth peeled wooden sticks under the trunk. The leaders of the work pull closest to the trunk and they also command the rhythmic work song that is divided into several parts. |
