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

180 "MANANG," OR WITCH-DOCTOR
to — that is, when he becomes a manang
bali. Bali
means
: '
changed,' and a manang bali is one who is
supposed to have changed his sex, and become a woman.
Sometimes a male manang assumes female attire. He
does this, it is said, because he has had a supernatural
command conveyed to him in dreams on three separate
occasions. To disregard such a command would mean
death. He prepares a feast, and sacrifices a pig or two
to avert evil consequences to the tribe, and then assumes
female costume. Thenceforth he is treated like a woman,
and occupies himself in female pursuits. His chief aim
in life is to copy female manners and habits as accurately
as possible.
A manang bali is paid much higher fees than an
ordinary manang, and is often called in when others have
been unable to effect a cure. I do not think there is ever
a case of a young man becoming a manang
bali. Gener-
it
ally
is an old and childless man who uses this means of
earning a livelihood.
The only occasion on which I have met a manang bali
was in the upper part of the Krian River. He seemed a
poor sort of creature, and appeared to me to be looked
down upon by the Dyaks, though they were glad enough
to ask his help in cases of illness. He had a " husband,"
a lazy good-for-nothing, who lived on the earnings of the
manang bali.
Women as well as men may become manangs, though
it is not usual to meet many such nowadays. 1 have
only come across one woman manang, and that was at
Temudok, though I have heard of several others in
different parts of the country.
The fact that the manang claims to be able to hold
communion with the spirit -world would lead one to