Through Central Borneo; an Account of Two Years' Travel in the Land of Head-Hunters Between the Years 1913 and 1917Lumholtz, Carl
History
Through Central Borneo; an Account of Two Years' Travel in the Land of Head-Hunters Between the Years 1913 and 1917
Lumholtz, Carl
Borneo -- Description and travel; Ethnology -- Borneo; Natural history -- Borneo
The blian usually resorts also to feats of juggling, proceeding in the
following way: Clasping his open hands forcibly together over the painful
part, at the same time turning himself round and stamping on the floor, he
wrings his hands for a few seconds and then, in sight of all, produces an
object which in the Penihing conception represents a bad antoh--in fact,
by them is called antoh. In this manner he may produce several bits of
substance which are thrown away to disappear. According to belief, when
the blian performs his trick it is in reality a good antoh that does it
for him.
While we were in camp at Long Tjehan there was considerable singing at
night for the cure of sick people, and four voices could be heard in
different parts of the house at the same time. One night I was prevented
from sleeping by a remedial performance just above my tent, which was only
a few metres from the house. The clear, strong voice of the blian had
resounded for an hour or more, when five loud thumps upon the floor were
heard, as if something heavy had fallen. The fact was that the man had
stamped hard with his right foot as by sleight-of-hand he caught various
objects from the patient, producing in quick succession a piece of wood, a
small stone, a fragment of bone, a bit of iron, and a scrap of tin. Five
antohs, according to the Penihing interpretation, had been eradicated and
had fled. Afterward he extracted some smaller ones in a similar manner but
without stamping his foot. The singing was then continued by another man
and a woman, in order to call the friendly antoh, that the exercises might
be happily concluded.
The blian also tries to placate the malevolent antoh by the gift of food.
A Penihing informant said that the evil one also eats the sacrificial
blood, including that which is smeared on the patient, and ultimately may
leave satisfied. As soon as the souls see that the antoh has gone they
return and the victim recovers. The blian's remuneration is usually one
parang and a handful of rice. If the person is very ill, a gong and a
handful of rice is the fee, but should the patient die the gong is
returned. The Duhoi (Ot-Danum) women occasionally put on men's costume,
and vice versa, to frighten the antoh that causes illness and keep it at a
distance. With the Katingans a good antoh is believed to reside in the
saliva applied by the blian for healing purposes to that part of a body
which is in pain. The saliva drives out the malevolent antoh, or, in other
words, cures the pain.
CHAPTER XXIV
HEAD-HUNTING, ITS PRACTICE AND PURPOSE
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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