IDEAS OF THE SOUL 37 



with the help of the lower jaws of the pigs that 

 were consumed at the funeral feast. The jaws are 

 placed together with water in a gong or other basin, 

 and the Dayong, taking a fowl's feather, sprinkles 

 drops of water from the basin upon all the assembled 

 mourners, pouring out the while a stream of words, 

 the purport of which is — may all evil things, all 

 sickness and such things be kept away from you. 

 Then the mourners return in a single file through 

 the V formed by the cleft pole, each one again 

 placing his foot on the fowl (which dies before the 

 end of the ceremony), spitting as he goes through, 

 and exclaiming, '* Keep off evil " (ball jaat, i.e. liter- 

 ally, spiritual or supernatural evil). When all have 

 passed through, the upper ends of the two parts of 

 the cleft pole are brought together and lashed round 

 with rattans ; and a small tree, pulled up by the 

 roots, and having its branches cut away, is laid 

 beside the pole with its roots turned towards the 

 grave (this is called selikang) ; and on the other 

 side of the pole is put another vertical pole with a 

 cross-piece tied at its upper end. Fire is left 

 burning beside these structures. In this way the 

 Kayans symbolically prevent any of the uncanny 

 influences of the graveyard following the party back 

 to the house ; though they do not seem to be clear 

 as to whether it is the ghosts of the dead, or the 

 Toh of the neighbourhood, or those which may have 

 contributed to his death, against whom these pre- 

 cautions are taken. This done, the whole party 

 returns as quickly as possible to the village, halting 

 only to bathe on the way. 



The whole household of which the dead man was 

 a member continues in mourning for a period which 

 is long in proportion to his social standing ; the 

 mourning rules are observed most strictly by the 

 nearest relatives. The signs of mourning are the 

 wearing of bark-cloth or of clothes made yellow 



