LIFE AMONG THE B ATT AS OF SUMATRA. u 3 



short time, the body of the sibaro begins to tremble. He throws off 

 the cloth and rises, and begins, with outstretched arm and a fixed look 

 at the distance, slowly to turn to the rhythm of the music. At the 

 same time a time-keeping convulsion, beginning in his fingers, extends 

 from limb to limb, finally engaging the whole body, till at last the 

 man dances in spasmodic leaps, which continue till he collapses in ex- 

 haustion. The music now ceases, and the time has come for the head 

 of the family to question the begu which has taken possession of the 

 medium, first asking its name. The begu, having given its name, then 

 asks why it has been called ; and in response to this overture the 

 whole occasion of the trouble is related, and the spirit's good advice 

 is requested. The most important question is, whether there is any 

 hope of the recovery of the patient, and what must be done to secure 

 that desirable result. If the family are not satisfied, as they are not 

 likely to be with the unfavorable answer that is generally given, the 

 music and the dancing are repeated, or the process is applied to the 

 second sibaro. It sometimes happens that the two mediums do not 

 agree in their revelations, and then the drumming and the dancing 

 and the questioning are kept up till they are of accord. If the final 

 answer is that there is no hope for the sick man, he is left to his fate, 

 which has most probably been made more certain by his having had 

 to endure the prolonged torture of witnessing these ceremonies ; if a 

 more favorable answer is given, all that the spirit requires as a con- 

 dition of recovery is performed in good faith. 



If the ceremonies are interrupted by the death of the patient 

 during their performance, the music ceases and lamentations take its 

 place ; the company go away, leaving only the nearest relatives of the 

 deceased at the house ; a few shots are fired, either to drive away evil 

 spirits, or to give notice of the death, and preparations are begun for 

 the funeral. 



The existence of cannibalism among the Battas and some pecul- 

 iarities connected with it suggest some questions respecting its origin. 

 The principal question is whether it is a survival from the original 

 barbarism of the people, or is an offense of later beginning. All the evi- 

 dence I have met in my investigations points to the latter conclusion 

 as more probable. Among the evidences is the fact that the practice 

 occurs, not among the more degraded tribes, but among those which 

 are most distinguished from their neighbors by intelligence and cult- 

 ure. Other facts, favoring the same view, are : 1. The Battas have 

 traditions of a primitive time when man-eating was unknown among 

 them. They say that it originated during a long civil war, in the 

 course of which the hostility of the opposite factions became so em- 

 bittered that they went to the extremity of eating captured enemies. 

 2. Cannibalism is unknown among other people evidently related to 

 the Battas the inhabitants of the Island of Nias, for instance, whose 

 language is nearly the same, and who are of a lower degree of civili- 



VOL. XXII. 8 



