so PAGAN TRIBES OF BORNEO chap. 



Dayong \ " the meaning and intention of this chorus 

 seem to be that of the ''Amen" with which a 

 Christian congregation associates itself with the 

 prayer offered by its pastor. For the chant with 

 which the Dayong begins his operations is essenti- 

 ally a prayer for help addressed to Laki Tenangan, 

 or, in case of a woman, to Doh Tenangan also. 



The Dayong may or may not fall and lie inert 

 upon the ground in the course of his trance ; but 

 throughout the greater part of the ceremony he 

 continues to chant with closed eyes, describing with 

 words and mimic gestures the doings of his own 

 soul as it follows after and eventually overtakes 

 that of the patient. When this point is reached 

 his gestures generally express the difficulty and 

 the severity of the efforts required to induce 

 the soul to return ; and the anxious relatives then 

 usually encourage him by bringing out gongs or 

 other articles of value, and depositing them as 

 additions to the Dayong s fee. Thus stimulated, he 

 usually succeeds in leading back the soul towards 

 the patient's body. One feature of the ceremony, 

 not quite logically consistent with its general 

 scheme, is that the Dayong takes in his hand a 

 sword and, glancing at the polished blade with a 

 startled air, seems to catch in it a glimpse of the 

 wandering soul.^ The next step is to restore the 

 soul to the body. The Dayong comes out of his 

 trance with the air of one who is suddenly trans- 

 ported from distant scenes, and usually exhibits in 

 his palm some small living creature, or it may be 

 merely a grain of rice, a pebble, or bit of wood, in 

 which the captured soul is in some sense contained. 

 This he places on the top of the patient's head, and 



^ This procedure seems to be one of the many varieties of " crystal gazing" 

 that are practised among many peoples ; and it seems probable that the 

 Dayong^ in some cases at least, experiences hallucinatory visions of the scenes 

 that he so vividly describes as he gazes on the polished metal. The sword so 

 used becomes the property of the Dayong. 



