We don’t even have a name for the dogs who reside here. That makes it quite difficult to find photos to post for you, but I can tell you they look a bit like dingos. The chapter opens describing a caring and precise funeral process, later to reveal that this burial is for a dog, a dog who helped his master kill over 100 pigs. With no separation between natural and spiritual, life and afterlife, the Punan people view their dogs as companions moreso than property. Instead of trying to teach the dogs commands, the Punan speak to them in the cries and wails the dogs themselves use. Unlike the greyhounds of Burkina Faso, the Punan dogs make terrible guards as they are so accustomed to humans that they consider everyone to be friendly.
The authors take this opportunity to include a few rants about deforestation, which although a tragedy, doesn’t seem to fit with the overall theme of the book.
Speaking of legends…the Punan have their own story about where their dogs came from:
According to an ancient legend, the Punan created their dogs themselves--from the resin of a eucalyptus tree. The creature was supposed to have quick legs and a good nose, and it needed to be able to speak so it could call to the hunter. In response to their requests, a god breathed into the figure and, thereby, gave the dog life.
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