Books: The Pagan Tribes of Borneo

C >> Charles Hose and William McDougall >> The Pagan Tribes of Borneo

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LONG, a species of CALADIUM, is commonly hung, both root and leaves,
upon the door of a room to mark that it is LALI (tabu) owing to
sickness, harvesting, or any other circumstance.

OROBONG, a weed (not unlike the foxglove in appearance) which always
grows freely among the young PADI, is gathered by the female friends
of any woman passing through the ordeal of childbirth. They boil
the leaves and wash her body with the decoction on several days
following the delivery. It is held that, if this is not done, the
woman's abdomen will not regain its normal state. This usage also is
common to the Kayans with many other tribes.

The leaves of the DRACAENA are sometimes tied beneath the prow of
a boat during journeys to distant parts (as mentioned on p. 70,
vol. ii.); they are also hung upon the tombs and, with the ISANG,
upon altar posts, when the rites are performed.

The Ibans and some of the Klemantans will not make the first stroke
in cutting down the TAPANG tree (ARBOURIA), alleging that, if they
do so, great troubles will befall them.

Supplementary Note on the NGARONG

Since correcting the proofs of this chapter we have come upon a brief
account of the guardian spirits of the Iban, which corroborates
our account of the Ngarong. It is contained in a series of papers
entitled RELIGIOUS RITES AND CUSTOMS OF THE IBANS OR DYAKS OF SARAWAK,
BORNEO, written by Leo Nyuak (an Iban educated in a mission school),
and translated by the Very Rev. Edm. Dunn (ANTHROPOS, vol. i. p. 182,
1905). In this account the guardian spirit is called TUA, and we are
told that ,The TUA or guardian spirit of an Iban has its external
manifestation in a snake, a leopard, or some other denizen of the
forest. It is supposed to be the spirit of some ancestor renowned
for bravery, or some other virtue, who at death has taken an animal
form ... it is revealed in a dream what animal form the honoured dead
has taken."

CHAPTER 16

Magic, Spells, and Charms

Magic is in a comparatively neglected and backward condition among the
Kayans and Kenyahs, Punans, Ibans, and the more warlike up-country
Klemantans. On the other hand, some of the coastwise tribes of
Klemantans, especially the Malanaus and Kadayans, cultivate magic
with some assiduity.

The Kayans dislike and discourage all magical practices, with the
exception of those which are publicly practised for beneficent purposes
and have the sanction of custom.

In the old days they used to kill those suspected of working any evil
by magic. There are no recognised magicians among them other than
the DAYONGS, and these, as we have seen, perform the functions of the
priest and the physician rather than those OF the wizard or sorcerer.

Some of the DAYONGS make use at certain ceremonies of a rough mask
carved out OF wood, or made from the shell of a gourd. The mask is
merely an oval shell with slits for eyes and mouth, generally blackened
with age and use. It may be worn during the soul-catching ceremony,
but not during attendance on the recently deceased. This use of a
mask is not known to us among any other of the peoples (Pl. 151).

The medicine man of the Ibans is known as MANANG; the MANANGS are
more numerous than the DAYONGS of the Kayans; they are more strictly
professional in the sense that they do but little other work, depending
chiefly on what they can earn by their treatment of disease and by
other ways of practising upon the superstitions of their fellows. They
generally work in groups of three or four, or more in cases of serious
illness, and, with the imitativeness and disregard for tradition
characteristic of the IBAN, they have developed a great variety of
procedures,[151] into most of which the element of deliberate fraud
enters to a much greater extent than into the practice of the Kayan
DAYONGS. The Sea Dayak MANANG is usually covered with skin disease
(tinea) and shirks all hard work with the other members of the village.

A peculiar and infrequent variety of Sea Dayak MANANG are the MANANG
BALI. They are men who adopt and continuously wear woman's dress
and behave in all ways like women, except that they avoid as far as
possible taking any part in the domestic labour. They claim to have
been told in dreams to adopt this mode of life; they are employed
for the same purpose as the more ordinary MANANGS, and they practise
similar methods.

Among the IBANS certain persons get a bad reputation for working harm
by magic. They are said to be cunning in sorcery (TAU TEPANG), and
these persons may properly be said to be sorcerers or witches. They are
believed to work harm in many ill-defined ways, especially to health;
but their procedures are not generally known; they probably include
poisoning, but, like the practices of our European witches in recent
times, they probably have but little existence outside the timorous
imaginations of the people. Such persons are disliked and shunned,
though not killed as they would be among Kayans or Kenyahs. They are
not professional sorcerers, I.E. their help is not called in by other
persons who wish to work evil on their enemies, for others do not dare
to do this. At the present time in Sarawak, if a man accuses another
of practising TEPANG, he is liable to be sued for libel and fined.[152]

Black Magic

The most important of the magical practices is one known and
occasionally resorted to among all the peoples for the purpose of
bringing about the death of a personal enemy. We describe the procedure
as carried out by the Sebops (Klemantans), but in all essentials the
account holds good for all or nearly all the peoples. It is not usual
to invoke the aid of any recognised magician. The man whose heart is
filled with hatred against another will retire secretly to a spot at
the edge of a PADI field, or of some other clearing, where he can see
a large expanse of sky and yet feel sure of being unobserved. Here
he sets up the BATANG PRA, a pole supported horizontally some six or
eight feet above the ground, its ends resting on two vertical poles. A
little figure of a man or woman (according to the sex of the person
aimed at), which has been carved for the purpose out of soft wood,
is fixed upright in the ground beneath the BATANG PRA. This is called
TEGULUN KALINGAI USA, which, literally translated, is "the reflected
image of the body." The operator makes a fire beside the TEGULUN,
digs a small hole in the ground, and fills it with water coloured with
ferruginous earth. This pool is called BAWANG DAAR,[153] the lake of
blood. Sitting before the TEGULUN he scans the space of sky framed by
the BATANG PRA, searching for some hawk upon the wing. As soon as he
sees a hawk within this area, he addresses it, waving in one hand a
small frayed stick, and saying, "Put fat in the mouth of So-and-So,"
and he puts a bit of pork fat into the mouth of the TEGULUN. Then
saying, "Send him to BAWANG DAAR," he immerses the TEGULUN in his pool
of reddened water; and taking it out again he thrusts into it a little
wooden spear. After this he buries the TEGULUN in a hole in the ground,
covering it with earth. (Only people who die by violence or of some
much-feared disease are normally buried in this fashion.) This done
he keeps shouting to the hawk to go to the left, at the same time
waving his stick in that direction. If the hawk passes out of the
area of operations towards the right, he knows that his attempt will
not succeed, and he desists for the time being; if it flies out to
the left he knows that his arts will prevail, and he addresses the
hawk as follows: --

"BALI FLAKI TUAI MUSIT, OU MATEI IYA KALUNAN ITO TAMA ODOH (the name
of the victim), TUJU KAU, BALI FLAKI, MIEU TUOR BAWANG DAAR AU MULOH
USUK, BALI FLAKI, MIEU NIAK BOIN NA ALAM UJUN, PALA UJA MATEI SAGAM;
MATEI DAAR KAYU SAGAM; MATEI SUAT; MATEI AIOH SAGAM; MATEI MANYAT ALAM
SUNGEI; MATEI PADAM; MATEI NAKAP BAYA; MATEI SAKIT ULUN; MATEI SAKIT
USOK." (Translation runs -- "O Bali Flaki, go your way, let this man
Tama Odoh die; go and put him in the lake of blood, O Bali Flaki;
stab him in the chest, Bali Flaki, put fat of pig in his mouth that
he may die to-morrow (this is equivalent to -- let his head be taken;
for fat is always put in the mouth of the head taken in battle); let
him be killed by a falling tree, to-morrow; let him die from a wound;
let him die by the hand of his enemy, tomorrow; let him be drowned,
to-morrow; let him die of a deadly disease; let him be caught by
a crocodile; let him die of pain in the head; let him die of pain
in the chest.") It will be observed that the formula calls upon the
hawks to give effect to the malevolent wishes, so that the operation
is not one of direct magical or sympathetic action, but rather is
one by which the aid of a higher power is invoked. This feature of
the process renders it one which the strongest minded cannot pooh-pooh.

With this comprehensive curse the rite is concluded and the vengeful
man returns home and secretly observes his enemy. The latter may
become aware that magic is being worked against him through dreaming
that fat is put into his mouth; and as he is probably more or less
aware of the hatred of his enemy, it is not unlikely that such a dream
will come to him.[154] There can be no doubt that, if in this or any
other way a man learns that he has been made the object of a magical
attempt of this sort, he, in many cases, suffers in health; and it is
probable that in some cases such knowledge has proved fatal. If it is
discovered that any man has attempted to injure another in this way,
he falls into general reprobation, and, if the case can be proved
against him, heavy damages in the form of pigs, gongs, etc., may be
awarded by the house-chief.

A curse is sometimes imposed without formality, and in the heat of
the moment, in the face of their enemy. Under these circumstances
the curse is usually muttered indistinctly, and seems then to work
upon the victim all the more powerfully. The words used are similar
to those of the curse written out above.

A characteristic bit of Iban magic is the following: -- A man, angered
by finding that some one has deposited dirt in or about his property
or premises, takes a few burning sticks and, thrusting them into the
dirt, says, "Now let them suffer the pains of dysentery."

Therapeutic Magical Procedures

It was said in Chapter XIV. that the Kayans treat disease by three
distinct methods, namely, by soul-catching, by drugs and regimen,
and by extraction of the supposed cause of the trouble. This last
operation seems to fall under the head of magic and may be described
here. It is usually performed by the DAYONGS, and is applied more
particularly in cases in which localised pain is a prominent feature
of the disorder. The DAYONG comes provided with a short tube, prepared
by pushing out the core of a section of the stem of a certain plant
of the ginger family. After inquiring of the patient the locality of
his pains, he holds up the polished blade of a sword, and, gazing at
it as one seeing visions, he sings a long incantation beginning: --

BALI DAYONG USUN LASAN
URIP ULUN KAM KELUNAN
NINI KETAI NATONG TAWANG LEMAN
BALI DAYONG.[155]

The crowd of people, men and women, sitting round the central figure,
join in the BALI DAYONG, which recurs as the refrain at the end of
each verse, intoning in loud deep voices. It seems clear from the use
of the words BALI DAYONG that the whole is addressed to some superior
power; for no human DAYONG, and indeed no human being, is addressed or
spoken of with the title BALI. And it would perhaps be more correct,
therefore, to describe the address as a supplication rather than
an incantation, and the whole operation as a religious rite rather
than a magical procedure. But we are here on the disputed borderland
between magic and religion, and other features incline us to regard
the process as magical rather than religious.

During the singing of a number of verses in this way, the DAYONG seems
to become more and more distraught and unconscious of his surroundings;
and when the singing ceases he behaves in a strange manner, which
strikes the attendant crowd with awe, starting suddenly and making
strange clucking noises. Then he produces the tube mentioned above,
and pressing one end upon the skin of the part indicated by the
patient as the seat of the pain, he sucks strongly, and, presently
withdrawing it, he blows out of it on to his palm a small black
pellet, which moves mysteriously upon his hand as he exhibits it
to the patient and his friends as the cause of the pain; and if the
patient has complained of more than one seat of pain, the operation
is repeated. It only remains for the DAYONG to return gradually with
some violent gestures and contortions to his normal state, and to
receive his fee, which properly consists of the sword used by him
in the ceremony, and a live fowl. The whole procedure is very well
adapted to secure therapeutic effects by suggestion. The singing and
the atmosphere of awe engendered by the DAYONG'S reputation and his
uncanny behaviour prepare the patient, the suction applied through the
tube gives him the impression that something is being drawn through
his skin, and the skilful production of the mysterious black pellet
completes the suggestive process, under the influence of which, no
doubt, many an ache or pain has suddenly disappeared. On one occasion,
one of us being a little indisposed in a Klemantan house, we made an
opportunity to examine the methods of the DAYONG a little more closely
than is usually possible, by inviting one to undertake the extraction
of his pains. We were then able to realise more vividly the suggestive
force of the procedure, and to see that the black pellets were bits of
dark beeswax which were carried upon the finger-nails of the DAYONG,
and surreptitiously introduced by him into his mouth as they were
required for exhibition after being blown through the tube; we could
see also that the mysterious movements of the pellets upon his palm
were produced by the help of short fine hairs protruding from it. It
seems impossible to deny the presence of a certain element of fraud in
this procedure, but we think that it would be hasty and uncharitable
to assert that the DAYONG'S attitude is wholly one of fraud; we
must remember that our most orthodox medical practitioners accord a
legitimate place in their armamentarium to MISTURA RUBRA (solution of
burnt sugar) and to similar aids whose operation is purely suggestive.

Most of the coastwise tribes seek to drive away epidemic disease by
the following procedure: -- One or more rough human images are carved
from the pith of the sago palm and placed on a small raft or boat,
or full-rigged Malay ship, together with rice and other food carefully
prepared. The boat is decorated with ribbons of the leaves and with the
blossoms of the areca palm, and allowed to float out to sea with the
ebb-tide in the belief or hope that it will carry the sickness with it.

Among the Ibans, if a man has deceived people in a serious matter by
means of a malicious lie, and if the untruth is discovered, one of
the deceived party takes a stick and throws it down at some spot by
which people are constantly passing, saying in the presence of others,
"Let any one who does not add to this liar's heap (TUGONG BULA) suffer
from pains in the head." Then others do likewise, and the nature of
the growing heap becoming known, every passer-by throws a stick upon
it lest he should suffer pains. In this way the heap grows until it
attains a large size, in some cases that of a small haystack, and,
being known by the name of the liar, is a cause of great shame to him.

When any man has his hair cut or shaved, he sees that the hair cut
off is burnt or otherwise carefully disposed of. This is common to all
the Borneans. It would seem that this is not prompted by fear of any
definite harm, nor is there, so far as we know, any recognised way
of using the hair cut off to work injury to its former owner. The
custom seems rather to be due to the fact that shields and swords
are decorated with the hair of enemies by Kenyahs and others;
therefore it is felt that to use a man's hair for this purpose is
almost equivalent to taking his head; and it is well to guard against
this possibility. No doubt also it is vaguely felt that if the hair
of one's head should come into the possession of any other person,
that person would acquire some indefinable power over one.

Magical practices for the injury of enemies and rivals are more various
and frequent among the coastwise Klemantans, especially the Bisayas,
Kadayans, and Malanaus. It is probable that they have learnt much
of this from the Malays. One variety is to hang up at the edge of
a PADI field a yam or other root covered with projecting spikes of
bamboo cane. This is done openly to spoil the crop.

Another trick is to tie under a bench in the boat of one's enemy a
pebble, generally of quartz. This is supposed to make the boat so
heavy that it can only travel very slowly.

Charms

These practices involve the application of charms. Charms are
extensively used by all the peoples, least so by Kayans. In every
house is at least one bundle of charms, known as SIAP AIOH by the
Kenyahs, by whom more importance is attached to it than by any of
the other tribes. This bundle, which is the property of the whole
household or village, generally contains hair taken from the heads
that hang in the gallery; a crocodile's tooth; the blades of a few
knives that have been used in special ceremonies; a few crystals or
pebbles of strange shapes; pig's teeth of unusual shape (of both wild
and domestic pig); feathers of a fowl (these seem to be substitutes
for Bali Flaki's feathers, which they would hardly dare to touch);
stone axe-heads called the teeth of Balingo;[156] and ISANG, I.E. palm
leaves that have been put to ceremonial use (Fig. 80).

The whole bundle, blackened with the smoke and dust of years, hangs
in the gallery over the principal hearth beside the heads, usually
in a widemeshed basket. It constitutes the most precious possession
of the household, being of even greater value than the heads. No one
willingly touches or handles the SIAP, not even the chief. And when
it becomes necessary to touch the bundle, as in transferring it to
a new house, some old man is specially told off for the duty; he who
touches it brings upon himself the risk of death, for it is very PARIT
to touch it, I.E. strongly against custom and therefore dangerous.[157]
Its function seems to be to bring luck or prosperity of all kinds to
the house; without it nothing would prosper, especially in warfare.

Many individuals keep a small private bunch of SIAP, made up of various
small objects, of unusual forms, generally without any human hair
(Fig. 81). These are generally obtained through dreams. A man dreams
that something of value is to be given him, and then, if on waking
his eye falls upon a crystal of quartz, or any other slightly peculiar
object, he takes it and hangs it above his sleeping-place; when going
to bed he addresses it, saying that he wants a dream favourable to
any business he may have in hand. If such a dream comes to him, the
thing becomes SIAP; but if his dreams are inauspicious, the object
is rejected. Since no one can come in contact with another man's SIAP
without risk of injury, the inconvenience occasioned by multiplication
of SIAP bundles puts a limit to their number. Nevertheless a man who
possesses private SIAP will carry it with him attached to the sheath
of his sword, and special hooks are provided in most houses for the
hanging up of such swords (Fig. 82).

There are many instances of SIAP of specialised function. A man
specially devoted to hunting with the blowpipe will have a special
blow-pipe SIAP tied to his quiver (this is especially common among
Punans). He will dip this SIAP in the blood of every animal he kills,
so that it becomes thickly encrusted. This is thought to increase or
preserve its virtue.

Another special kind of SIAP is that which ensures a man against hurt
from firearms, through causing any gun aimed at him to miss fire.

The Ibans use personal charms which they call PENGAROH; but in
accordance with their more individualistic disposition, they have
no important charm common to the whole household corresponding to
the household SIAP of the other peoples. The objects composing the
PENGAROH are an assortment even more varied and fantastic than the
SIAP of other peoples. In many cases they are carried with small china
pots of oil, which are used to rub on the body as a universal remedy.

A curious object to be occasionally seen in some Sea Dayak houses
is the empugau. It is a blackened bundle hung in a basket among the
heads above the hearth. It is covered with the smoke and soot of ages,
and though it is generally claimed as the property of some one man who
has inherited it from his forefathers, even he knows nothing of its
history and composition, and is unwilling to examine it closely. It
is regarded by the Ibans as the head of some half-human monster. On
careful examination of several specimens we have found the EMPUGAU
to consist of a large cocoanut in its husk, tricked out with a rude
face mask having part of the fibrous husk combed out to look like
hair. The Ibans regard it with some awe, and it seems probable that
it has formerly played some part in magical procedures.

Love Charms

Love charms are used by most of the peoples, though the Kayans and
Kenyahs are exceptions, since they prefer to rely chiefly upon the
power of music and personal attractions. These charms are in almost all
cases strongly odorous substances. The Iban youth strings together
a necklace of strongly scented seed known as BUAH BALONG. This
he generally carries about with him, and, when his inclination is
directed towards some fair one, he places it under her pillow, or
endeavours to persuade her to wear it about her neck. If she accepts
it, he reckons her half won.

Klemantans, among whom love charms go by the generic name SANGKIL,
make use of a variety of charms, of which one of the most used is a
scented oil that they contrive to smuggle on to the garments or other
personal property of the woman.

Those that have had much contact with Malays make use of pieces of
paper on which they scrawl certain conventional patterns.

Charms are used by Ibans to ensure success in trapping. The trapper
carries a stick one end of which is carved to represent the human
form (Fig. 83). He uses this to measure the appropriate height of
the traps set for animals of different species.

All the peoples observe a large number of restrictions in regard to
contact with objects, especially articles of food. Some of these are
mentioned in other chapters. Here we notice a few typical instances. In
Chapter XV. we related that each of the peoples avoid certain animals;
in some cases they avoid not only killing or touching these animals,
but also even very remote relations with them: as, for example,
taking food from a vessel in which their flesh has been cooked on some
previous occasion; coming within the range of the odour of the object;
coming into a house in which there is any part of such an animal.

The evil resulting from breach of any such prohibitions generally takes
the form of wasting sickness with pains in the head, chronic cough,
dysentery, or spitting of blood. When a Kenyah has knowingly for
any reason, or unintentionally, come in contact with any one of the
forbidden objects, or if he finds himself suffering from any of these
things, and therefore suspects that he has unwittingly come under their
influence, he subjects himself to a process of purification. At break
of day he descends, with other members of his family, to the brink of
the river provided with a chicken, a sword-blade, two frayed sticks,
and a length of spiky vine known as ATAT. This latter is bent into
the form of a ring, within which he takes his stand and awaits the
appearance of Isit (the spider hunter -- one of the omen-birds). He
calls it by name, Bali Isit; and as soon as Isit calls in reply,
he pours out a long-winded address, charging him to convey to Bali
Penyalong his prayer for recovery or protection. Then he snips off
the head of the chicken, and wipes some of its blood on the frayed
sticks and on the ring. The ring, with the chicken and the frayed
sticks, are then lifted above his head by his attendants, and water is
poured upon them from a bamboo, so that it drips from them on to his
head. Eight times the ring is lifted up, and each time the pouring out
of the water is repeated. Then, standing on the blade of the sword,
he again addresses the omen-bird as before. This completes the rite,
which is known as LEMAWA.

A similar rite of purification is practised by most of the other
peoples. In some cases the principal feature of the rite of
purification is being spat upon by the chief.

It may be broadly said that all these peoples are constantly on the
alert to provide against unknown dangers; that, having no definite
theories of causation, they are apt to accept every hint of danger
or hurtful influence suggested by the attributes and relations of
things, and to seek to avoid these influences or to ward them off
or counteract them by every means that in any way suggests itself to
their minds as possibly efficacious.