Pagan races of the Malay Peninsula - Sabrizain.org

322 NATURAL RELIGION AND FOLK-LORE part ni
thence the souls that inhabit it repair to the Fruit
Island to procure their food/
The Mantra Deities and Demons.
The traditions of the Mantra (collected by Hervey)
give Tuhan Dibawah, or the " Lord of the Underworld,"
as the name of the creator of the earth. His
dwelling is, in fact, beneath the earth, and even
below the " Land of Nyayek " (Tanah Nyayek),^
which represents the underworld, and by his power
he (Tuhan Dibawah) supports everything above him.
The first two men belonging to the human race
were Poyang Mertang and B'lo (or Belo) his brother,
and the former had so many children that he complained
to their creator, who turned half of them
into trees. Later on, at B'lo's suggestion, when this
proved too mild a measure, Tuhan Dibawah institutes
Death, to give some relief to overcrowded humanity.
Borie says the Mantra recognise a Supreme God
(Tuhan Allah), at whose command Raja Brahil \i.e.
" Gabriel "] created all living things, God himself
creating the firmament. They have also a " day
of judgment " belief, yet their religion is mainly
Shamanistic.
All diseases are believed to be caused either by
spirits * or by the spells of men. Amongst the spirits
or demons of disease (" Hantu Penyakit ") the most
powerful are the Hantu Hamoran, Barah Sisip demon,
and Barah Terkilir demon. ^ These demons are those
* It is the slain, not the slayer, •* It would be more correct to say
who is excluded from Ngangnari ; for that all Diseases are believed to l>e
the pagan Mantra have no belief in Spirits,
future rewards and punishments. ^ The Malay phrase " barah sisip "
2 Cp. p. 321, ante. means an "abscess under the ribs,"
3 Alisc. Ess. rel. Indo-China, sec. and " bara terkilir" external ulcers
ser. vol. i. pp. 298-301. (which spread over the surface).