CHAPTER XIII 



IDEAS OF SPIRITUAL EXISTENCES AND THE 

 PRACTICES ARISING FROM THEM 



The Kayans believe themselves to be surrounded 

 by many intelligent powers capable of influencing 

 their welfare for good or ill. Some of these are 

 embodied in animals or plants, or are closely con- 

 nected with other natural objects, such as mountains, 

 rocks, rivers, caves ; or manifest themselves in such 

 processes as thunder, storm, and disease, the growth 

 of the crops and disasters of various kinds. There 

 can be no doubt that some of these powers are 

 conceived anthropomorphically ; for some of them 

 are addressed by human titles, are represented by 

 carvings in human form, and enjoy, in the opinion 

 of the Kayans, most of the characteristically human 

 attributes. 



Others are conceived more vaguely, the bodily 

 and mental characters of man are attributed to 

 them less fully and definitely ; and it is probably 

 true to say that these powers, all of which, it would 

 seem, must be admitted to be spiritual powers (if 

 the word spiritual is used in a wide sense as 

 denoting whatever power is fashioned in the like- 

 ness of human will and feeling and intelligence), 

 range from the anthropomorphic being to the power 

 which resides in the seed grain and manifests itself 

 in its growth and multiplication, and which seems 



