Pagan races of the Malay Peninsula - Sabrizain.org

CHAP. VI NEGRITOS OF PERAK 217
The new souls sit in a great tree behind Kari's
seat till he sends them forth. They never return to
him after death, after they have become human.
"She has eaten the bird" is the expression used by
Kelantan Semang of a pregnant woman. The soul-
bird is not eaten up all at once, but sometimes kept in
a bamboo called " tahong " (? " tabong ").^
The bird which conveys men's souls is the small
Argus-pheasant (" Til-til-tapa") ; the bird which con-
veys women's souls is " Chim iui."
Twins result (as above indicated) from eating the
soul-bird with an ^%^r They have the same birth-
tree.
With the dead was interred the " penitah " or burial
bamboo, which had to be produced by the soul when it
came before Kari, on penalty of condemnation.^ Both
by Semang and Pangan the soul was believed to cross
over into Paradise by means of a tree-bridge, from
which the souls of the wicked fell into a boiling lake
beneath, through fright of a monstrous figure that
mounted guard over the bridge. A fuller account of
this, however, has already been given.
The ideas of the Eastern Semang (Pangan) with
regard to death and the future life are as follows :
There are two Death-spirits, one for men which is called Sentiu, and one for
women called Chin-ni. Sentiu has a male servant ("hala") called Ta' Ponn
("Tappern"), and Chin-ni, a female servant called Min-nang. All these are
invisible spirits. Of their own unaided power they cannot take away life from
any one, but on their wanderings among the Eastern Semang they see here and
there persons who in their opinion are fit to be called away from life. In such
a case either Sentiu or Chin-ni send their servants to the Putto of the
district, and the latter sends his servant to the Sna-hut, and sets forth eveiything
that concerns the life of the Semang in question. The answer returns by the
same road until it reaches Pie, who proceeds to bring the matter before Kari by
word of mouth. If Kari decides that the man should die, Pie then commissions
his servant to inform the Death-spirits about it. These latter (Sentiu or Chin-ni,
1 Vaughan-Stevens, iii. 11 2- 114. ^ Ibid. p. 116.
2 Cp. vol. i. p. 460 ; and vol. ii. p. 93. * P. 208, ante.