300 APPENDIX I. 



the priest. He still survives in nearly every village in 

 the Malay Peninsula, and is the counterpart of the manang 

 of Borneo and shaman of the Mongolian tribes. Although 

 a sorcerer, he is, like every one else in the community, a 

 Muhammadan ; and he defends himself, his practices, and 

 beliefs from the attacks of the orthodox followers of the 

 Prophet by claiming for his craft the sanction of the adat, 

 the immemorial custom of the country. 



The following beliefs are represented by the pawangs, 

 and survive to-day from the old pagan times. A belief 



(i) in certain great and powerful spirits called the Jin 

 Tanah and Jin Laut, the " Spirits of the Earth " 

 and the " Spirits of the Sea " ; 



(ii) in innumerable lesser spirits of the mountains, rivers, 

 and forests, and even of particular rocks, rapids, 

 and trees; 

 (iii) in familiar spirits created by the pawangs, and 



ordered to obey their commands ; 



(iv) in the animistic properties of plants and trees (of 

 this idea, the best known example is the annual 

 ceremony of tending the soul of the rice crops) ; 

 (v) in were-tigers ; 

 (vi) in invisible folk ; 

 (vii) in death-avenging influences ; 

 (viii) in a spectral huntsman ; 



(ix) in innumerable spooks, goblins, bogeys, and weird 

 apparitions of various kinds. 



There still survives a pagan tradition of the creation of 

 the world by the first pawang and a bird. This most 

 extraordinary story is not considered in any way incom- 

 patible with the Muhammadan tradition of the creation, 

 with which the Malays are of course perfectly familiar. 



During the period of Hinduism the pawangs borrowed 

 largely from the Hindu mythology. The very word for 

 the spells or charms which they repeat to propitiate the 

 spirits is pure Sanskrit (mantra) ; and in the mantras there 

 still survive to this day the names of Siva, Vishnu, Rama, 



