116 KACHAL AND OTHER ISLANDS 



— he will perchance recover on the spot ! Faith and imagination, 

 both in savagedom and civilisation, have a lot to do with these 

 matters. 



The women of the village were very shy and timid, but we 

 now and again saw one or two going about their daily business ; 

 the children, however, could not get used to us, and fled 

 screaming whenever we appeared. 



A few days before we arrived at the village a woman had 

 died there, and during our stay a performance for ridding the 

 place of the ghost was gone through. 



A large catamaran was constructed and rigged like a schooner, 

 with sails made of green coco-palm leaves. The local doctor or 

 dodo * then went through certain ceremonies, at which we were 

 not present, and finally seized the ghost or devil and threw it 

 into the boat, which was pushed off, and drifting away, was 

 carried out to sea, where it disappeared. 



The Malays have an almost similar custom to this, in the 

 employment of the kapal hantti (ghost ship). This they use 

 during times of pestilence, or in cases of individual sickness ; 

 but instead of forcing the evil spirits into it, they are attracted 

 by a show of coloured rice, etc. Once they are cajoled on board, 

 the vessel is pushed off, and carries the illness to whatever fresh 

 locality it may reach.t 



The day before we left, Yassan, who had promised to collect, 

 brought in a number of charms — figures of crocodiles, birds, 

 women, men, and some fever pictures, called here deusJii (derived 

 from the Portuguese for God, and is applied to the representa- 

 tions of the Deity in the pictures on boards and spathes). The 

 people had but few scruples with regard to parting with such 

 things. After being paid, he asked for a chit and a bottle of 

 rum, " to use, mixed with eggs, as a medicine for his stomach ! " 



In the waters of the bay we caught quantities of small fish, 

 which, although easily obtained by us with the seine, cannot be 



* Tlie Nicol)arese equivalent is menliuum ("medicine man," or s/ianian). 

 t The belief that evil spirits cannot cross water seems to be of world-wide 

 prevalence, cf. Burns' " Tarn o' Shanter." 



