Seventeen years among the Sea Dyaks of Borneo; a ... - Sabrizain.org

166 "MANANG, OR WITCH-DOCTOR
at the house of the sick man generally at sunset, for he
never performs in daylight, unless the case is very serious
and he is paid extra for doing so. It is difficult and
dangerous work, he say3, to have any dealings with the
spirits in the daytime. Sitting down by the patient,
after some inquiries, he produces out of his medicine-box
a boar's tusk or pebble, or some other charm, and gently
strokes the body with it. If there be several medicinemen
called in, the leader undertakes the preliminary
examination, the rest giving their assent.
The inanang now produces his Batu Ilau (" stone of
light "). and gravely looks into it to diagnose the charac-
ter of the disease, and to see where the soul is, and to
discover what is the proper ceremony necessary for the
Where there is serious illness the witch-
case in question.
doctor affirms that the spirit of the afflicted person has
already left the body and is on its way
to the next
world, but that he may be able to overtake it and bring
it back, and restore it to the person to whom it belongs.
He pretends to converse with the spirit that troubles the
sick man, repeating aloud the answers that the spirit i-
supposed to make.
There are many
different ceremonies resorted to in
cases of illness, but the following is what is common to all
ang performances.
In the public hall of the Dyak house a long-handled
with a few leaves tied round
spear is fixed blade upwards,
it, and at its foot are placed the medicine-boxes of all the
witch-doctors who take part in the ceremony. This is
called the Pagar Apt ("fence of fire "). Why it is called
by this curious name is not clear. The manangs all squat
on the floor, and the leader begins a long monotonous
drawl, the rest either singing in concert or joining in the