Pagan races of the Malay Peninsula - Sabrizain.org

GENERAL REMARKS 141
medical, or rather for magico-medical reasons, as are
the combs of the Semang and of the Semang-Sakai
women. I myself was definitely told this on several
occasions both by the Semang and Jakun, and it agrees
with the observations of other travellers in the same
region.
Thus, for instance, the Sakai of Kampong Langkor
(S. Kerbu) believed in the ubiquitous presence of
evil spirits (Hantu), against whose evil intentions
they protected themselves by means of charms worn,
in the forms referred to, upon their persons. Their
bracelets, rings, and copper ornaments were, in fact,
nothing but talismans, as De la Croix discovered in
the following way :—A young girl who had disposed
of her seed necklace to him came back in a hurry to
ask for it to be returned. He thought she was not
satisfied with her bargain, and was about to give
her some knick-knack or other in addition, when she
informed him that all she wanted back was the set
of small spirals of copper-wire attached to the neck-
lace. In spite of the most extravagant offers of
tobacco, which certainly ought to have persuaded her,
she would not allow him to retain the spirals, and
evidently attributed a far greater value to them than
could be accounted for by the mere worth of the
copper. De la Croix subsequently asked the chief
of the tribe (Bah Itam) about it, and the latter told
him, with evident conviction, that the girl would
certainly fall ill if she ceased to wear these metal
rings.
^
' De la Croix, p. 338. See, too, use of necklaces and other ligatures
the necklace described by Vaughan- may also apply to the girdle.
Stevens, p. 153, infra. . This magical