lo PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap. 



as the recipient of the prayer and the dispenser of 

 the benefits which properly he only foretells or 

 announces.^ 



We have little information bearing upon the 

 origin and history of these Kayan gods. But a few 

 remarks may be ventured. The names of many of 

 the minor deities are proper personal names in 

 common use among the Kayans or allied tribes, 

 such as Ju, B atari, Anyi, Ivongy Urai, Uka ; and 

 the title Laki, by which several of them are 

 addressed, is the title of respect given to old men 

 who are grandfathers. These facts suggest that 

 these minor gods may be deified ancestors of great 

 chiefs, and this suggestion is supported by the 

 following facts : — 



First, a recently deceased chief of exceptional 

 capacity and influence becomes not infrequently the 

 object of a certain cult among Klemantans and Sea 

 Dayaks. Men will go to sleep beside his grave or 

 tomb, hoping for good dreams and invoking the 

 aid of the dead chief in acquiring health, or wealth, 

 or whatever a man most desires. Sea Dayaks some- 

 times fix a tube of bamboo leading from just above 

 the eyes of the corpse to the surface of the ground ; 

 they will address the dead man with their lips to 

 the orifice of the tube, and will drop into it food and 

 drink and silver coins. A hero who is made the 

 object of such a cult is usually buried in an isolated 

 spot on the crest of a hill ; and such a grave is 

 known as rarong. 



Secondly, all Kayans, men and women alike, 

 invoke in their prayers the aid of Oding Lahang 

 and his intercession with Laki Tenangan. That 

 they regard the former as having lived as a great 

 chief is clearly proved by the following facts : 

 firstly, many Kayans of the upper class claim to 

 be his lineal descendants; secondly, a well-known 



* Cf. vol. ii., p. 75, for the statement of a Kayan on this question. 



