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

"MANANG," OR WITCH-DOCTOR 177
doubt the manang would have made much capital out
of it.
I have sometimes argued with a manang
that if the
soul has already left the body of the patient when he is
called in, then the man ought to be dead. The answer
to this is that a man has more than one soul. It is only
when all his souls leave the body that the man dies.
Some Dyaks assert that a man has three souls, and others
seven. Their ideas on this matter do not agree.
Though the manang is supposed to be able to defeat
the evil
spirits which cause disease, there are some
diseases which are too terrible for even his mystical
powers. The epidemic scourges of cholera and smallpox
are said to be caused by the direct influence of evil spirits.
Smallpox is said to be caused by the King of Evil Spirits,
because it is such a terrible disease. The name by which
it is known among the Dyaks is Sahit Rajah (the sickness
of, or caused by, the King of Evil Spirits). But
the manangs will not go near a case of either. Probably
a consciousness of their own powerlessness, combined with
a fear of infection, has made them assert that those
diseases do not come within reach of their powers. Other
means, such as propitiatory sacrifices and offerings, must
be resorted to.
To qualify a man to take part in this mixed system of
symbolism and deceit, a form of initiative ceremony is
gone through by other witch-doctors,
in the course of
which he is supposed to learn the secrets of his mystic
calling. The aspirant to the office of manang must first
commit to memory a certain amount of Dyak traditional
lore, to enable him to take part in the incantations in
company
with other witch-doctors. But in addition to
this, before he can accomplish the more important parts,
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