Part 20 (2/2)
We still regard as highly plausible the view suggested in this pa.s.sage. We would add to what we have written only a few words in explanation of what may seem to be a difficulty in the way of this view. It was mentioned above that the Kayans recognise a G.o.d of war, TOH BULU. This fact may seem incompatible with the view that the idea of LAKI TENANGAN has been reached by exalting the G.o.d of war above his fellow-departmental deities; but it is not, we think, a fatal objection. For TOH BULU seems to be a G.o.d of but small account with the Kayans; his name figures but little in their rites; and the name itself indicates his subordinate position; for TOH is, as we have seen, the generic name for spirits of minor importance, and BULU is the Kayan word for feather; TOH BULU, literally translated, is then the feather-spirit or spirit of the feathers. It seems possible, therefore, that TOH BULU was nothing more than the spirit concerned with the hornbill's feathers, which are the emblems or badges of acknowledged prowess in battle; and that with the exaltation of the original G.o.d of war above his fellows, this minor spirit concerned in warfare has acquired a larger sphere and importance.
With the Kenyahs similar processes, we suggest, have led to the exaltation of BALI PENYALONG, the original G.o.d of war, into the position of the Supreme Being, and of BALI FLAKI, his special messenger, into the position, or almost into the position, of the G.o.d of war. This view derives, we think, considerable support from the fact that the Kenyahs recognise no special G.o.d of war; and in view of their tendency to create deities to preside over each of the great departments of nature and of human activity, the absence from their system of a special G.o.d of war requires some special explanation such as we have offered above.
The Klemantan G.o.ds are more numerous and more vaguely conceived, and the whole system seems more confused than that of the Kayans or Kenyahs. It is probable that the Klemantan tribes have borrowed freely from these more powerful neighbours. Many of them are very skilful in wood-carving, and it is probably largely owing to this circ.u.mstance that they make a larger number of images in human form. Some of these are kept in the house, while others stand before the house like those before the Kayan houses. The former are generally more highly regarded, and it is before them that their rites are generally performed. It seems not improbable that these stand for the G.o.ds proper to these people, and those outside the house for the borrowed G.o.ds.
The supernatural beliefs and cults of the Sea Dayaks differ so widely from those described above that we think it best to bring together in one place (vol. ii., p. 85) what we have to say about them.
The Lesser Spirits of Ill-defined Nature
In the second of the three cla.s.ses of spiritual beings distinguished above (vol. ii., p. 4) we put the souls of men and of some of the animals. Some account of beliefs connected with these will be given in the following two chapters. We conclude this chapter by describing the spirits of the third cla.s.s, spirits or intelligent powers vaguely conceived, of minor importance, but imperfectly individualised and not regularly envisaged in any visible forms or embodied in any material objects. The generic Kayan name for spirits of this cla.s.s is TOH. All the spirits of this cla.s.s seem to be objects of fear, to be malevolent, or, at least, easily offended and capable of bringing misfortunes of all kinds upon human beings.
The most important of these TOH are perhaps those a.s.sociated with the dried human heads that hang in every house. It seems that these spirits are not supposed to be those of the persons from whose shoulders the heads have been taken. Yet they seem to be resident in or about the heads, though not inseparable from them. They are said to cause the teeth of the heads to be ground together if they are offended or dissatisfied, as by neglect of the attentions customarily paid to the heads or by other infringement of custom. The heads are thus supposed to be animated by the TOH; if a head falls, through the breaking of the rattan by which it is suspended, it is said to have thrown itself down, being dissatisfied owing to insufficient attention having been paid to it. This animation of the heads by the TOH is ill.u.s.trated by the treatment accorded by the people to the heads from the time they are brought into the house. Having been dried and smoked in a small hut made for the purpose, they are brought up to the house with loud rejoicings and singing of the war chorus. For this ceremony all members of the village are summoned from the fields and the jungle, and, when all are a.s.sembled in the houses, every one puts off the mourning garments which have been worn by all since the death of the chief for whose funeral rites the heads have been sought. Everyone having donned the ordinary attire, the men carry the heads in procession adorned with DAUN SILAT, the dried and frayed leaves of a palm, before one of the altar posts that stand between the house and the river. There fowls and pigs are sacrificed in the usual way, and their blood is scattered upon the a.s.sembled men with a wisp of shredded palmleaves.
Then the procession carries the heads into the house and up and down the gallery. The men dressed in their war coats, carrying s.h.i.+elds and swords, drawn up in a long line, sing the war chorus, and go through a peculiar evolution, known as SEGA LUPAR. Each man keeps turning to face his neighbours, first on one side, then on the other, with regular steps in time with all the rest. This seems to symbolise the alertness of the warriors on the war-path, looking in every direction. The heads, which have been carried by old men, are then hung up over the princ.i.p.al hearth on the beam on which the old heads are hanging; they are suspended by means of a rattan, of which one end is knotted and the other pa.s.sed upward through the FORAMEN MAGNUM and a hole cut in the top of the skull. After this the men sit down to drink, and the chief describes the taking of the heads, eulogising the warrior who drew first blood in each case, and who is credited with the glory of the taking of the head. Then follows a big feast, in every room a pig or fowl being killed and eaten; after which more BORAK is drunk, the war chorus breaking out spontaneously at brief intervals. BORAK is offered to the heads by pouring it into small bamboo cups suspended beside them; and a bit of fat pork will be pushed into the mouth of each. The heads, or rather the TOH a.s.sociated with them, are supposed to drink and eat these offerings. The fact that the bits of pork remain unconsumed does not seem to raise any difficulty in the minds of the Kayans; they seem to believe that the essence of the food is consumed.
At all times the heads hanging in the house are treated respectfully and somewhat fearfully. When it is necessary to handle them, some old man undertakes the task, and children especially are prevented from touching them; for it is felt that to touch them involves the risk of madness, brought on by the offended TOH or spirits of the heads.
The fire beneath the heads is always kept alight in order that they shall be warm, and dry, and comfortable. On certain special occasions they are offered BORAK and pork in the way mentioned above.
On moving to a new house the heads are temporarily lodged in a small shelter built for the purpose, and are brought up into the house with a ceremony like that which celebrates their first installation. The Kayans do not care to have in the house more than twenty or thirty heads, and are at some pains occasionally to get rid of some superfluous heads -- a fact which shows clearly that the heads are not mere trophies of valour and success in war. The moving to a new house is the occasion chosen for reducing the number of heads. Those destined to be left are hung in a hut built at some distance from the house which is about to be deserted. A good fire is made in it and kept up during the demolition of the great house, and when the people depart they make up in the little head-house a fire designed to last several days. It is supposed that, when the fire goes out, the TOH of the heads notice the fact, and begin to suspect that they are deserted by the people; when the rain begins to come in through the roof their suspicions are confirmed, and the TOH set out to pursue their deserters, but owing to the lapse of time and weather are unable to track them. The people believe that in this way they escape the madness which the anger of the deserted TOH would bring upon them.
The precautions described in the foregoing paragraph ill.u.s.trate very well the power for harm attributed to the TOH of the heads and the fear with which they are regarded. Nevertheless these beings are not wholly malevolent. it is held that in some way their presence in the house brings prosperity to it, especially in the form of good crops; and so essential to the welfare of the house are the heads held to be that, if through fire a house has lost its heads and has no occasion for war, the people will beg a head, or even a fragment of one, from some friendly house, and will instal it in their own with the usual ceremonies.
The TOH of the heads are but a few among many that are conceived as surrounding the houses and infesting the tombs, the rivers, the forests, the mountains, the caves, and, by those who live near the coast, the sea; in fact every locality has its TOH, and, since they are easily offended and roused to bring harm, the people are careful to avoid offence and to practise every rite by which it is thought possible to propitiate them. Death and sickness, especially madness, accidental bodily injuries, failure of crops, in fact almost any trouble may be ascribed to the malevolent action of Toh. Examples of the way conduct is influenced by this belief are the following: --
In clearing a patch of jungle in preparation for sowing PADI, it is usual to leave a few trees standing on some high point of the ground in order not to offend the TOH of the locality by depriving them of all the trees, which they are vaguely supposed to make use of as resting-places. Such trees are sometimes stripped of all their branches save a few at the top; and sometimes a pole is lashed across the stem at a height from the ground and bunches of palm leaves hung upon it; a ”bull-roarer,” which is used by boys as a toy, is sometimes hung upon such a cross-piece to dangle and flicker in the breeze.[104]
Again, young children are held to be peculiarly subject to the malevolent influence of the TOH. We have already mentioned that no name is given to a child until it is two or three years of age, in order to avoid attracting to it the attention of the TOH. For the same reason the parents dislike any prominent person to touch an infant; and if for any reason such contact has taken place, it is usual to give the mother a few beads, which she ties about the wrist or ankle of the child, ”to preserve its homely smell” as they say, and so, it would seem, avoid the risk of the TOH being attracted by the unusual odour of the child. Parents who have lost several young children will give to a child, when the time comes for naming it, some such name as TAI (dung), or TAI MANOK (birds' dung), or JAAT (bad), in order that it may have a better chance of escaping the unwelcome attention of the TOH. If for any reason it is suspected that the attention of some evil-disposed TOH has been drawn to a child (and the same practice is sometimes observed by adults under similar circ.u.mstances), a sooty mark is made upon the forehead, consisting of a vertical median line and a horizontal band just above the eyebrows. This is thought to render it difficult for the TOH to recognise his victim. Such a black mark is worn more especially on going away from the house. Sea Dayaks sometimes go farther under such circ.u.mstances. They place the new-born child in a small boat and allow it to float down river, and standing upon the bank call upon all the evil spirits to take the child at once, if they mean to take it, in order that the parents may be spared the greater bereavement of losing it some years later. If, after floating some distance down stream, the child is found unhurt, it is carried home, the parents feeling some confidence that it will be ”spared” to grow up
Again, on going to the territory of people who have recently come to friendly terms with their village, men will make a black mark across the forehead with soot in order to disguise themselves from the TOH of this region. In the main, although all regions are infested with TOH those of the locality in which a man dwells are regarded by him as less dangerous than those of other parts; for experience has shown him that in the neighbourhood of his own village he may behave in certain ways with impunity, whereas in distant regions all is uncertain. It is for this reason that, when boys enter any river or branch of the river for the first time, a special rite is performed. An old man will take them apart from the company to some spot on the bank of the river, and, calling all the spirits of the place, will ask them to favour the boys and to give them vigorous life. An egg (which on this occasion is spoken of only by the name OVE = sweet potato) is offered to the spirits on behalf of each boy (or sometimes merely a fowl's feather) by placing it in the split end of a bamboo stick thrust into the ground. Not until this rite has been performed are the boys considered to be safe in the strange region.
The more remote and inaccessible the region, the more are the TOH of it feared; rugged hill tops and especially mountain tops are the abodes of especially dangerous TOH, and it was only with difficulty that parties of men could be induced to accompany us to the summits of any of the mountains.
The influence of the TOH is not always pernicious; certain spots become credited with the presence of TOH of benign influence. Thus, tradition relates of a streamlet (Telang Ading) falling over the rocky bank of the Baram river some little distance below the mouth of the AKAR, that a wild pig recently killed with spears fell into it and was allowed to lie there, and that after a little while it jumped up and made off Through this event the streamlet has acquired a great reputation, and pa.s.sing boats generally stop in order that the crews may splash some of the water on their heads and faces, and so be cured of any ailments they may happen to have at the time. These therapeutic effects are attributed to the TOH of the stream.
The TOH play a considerable part in regulating conduct; for they are the powers that bring misfortunes upon a whole house or village when any member of it ignores tabus or otherwise breaks customs, without performing the propitiatory rites demanded by the occasion. Thus on them, rather than on the G.o.ds, are founded the effective sanctions of prohibitive rules of conduct. For the propitiation of offended TOH fowls' eggs and the blood of fowls and of young pigs are used, the explanations and apologies being offered generally by the chief or some other influential person, while the blood is sprinkled on the culprit or other source of offence.
The beliefs and practices of the Kenyahs and Klemantans in regard to spirits of this cla.s.s are very similar to those of the Kayans. They designate them by the same general name, TOH.
We are doubtful whether the Sea Dayaks can properly be said to have any religion. They believe in a number of mythical and legendary heroes in whose honour they indulge in heavy feasting; but none of these seem to be credited with the attributes of a G.o.d, or to evoke on the part of the people the specifically religious emotions and att.i.tudes -- awe, reverence, supplication, trust, grat.i.tude, and hope. Their cult of the PETARA seems to show traces of Javanese and Hindu influence or origin. They believe in a mult.i.tude of ill-defined spirits which they speak of as ANTU, and towards which their att.i.tude is very similar to that of the Kayans towards the TOH. Some further account of Iban superst.i.tions will be found in Chapter XV.
CHAPTER 14
Ideas of the Soul Ill.u.s.trated by Burial Customs, Soul-Catching, and Exorcism
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