14 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO 



have kept many in captivity. They spend the greater 

 part of the day huddled up in a ball with the head 

 bent down between the thighs and covered by the arms; 

 if roused from slumber the head is slowly raised, a 

 querulous grunt uttered, and the somnolent attitude is 

 again resumed. All their movements during the day- 

 time are very slow and deliberate, but at night they 

 wake up, and then can move at a fairly rapid rate. 

 They feed very largely on insects, but thrive well in 

 captivity on fruit with a little raw meat. They must 

 be handled with caution, for they are very fierce, and 

 the bite of a newly captured specimen, which has 

 been living mainly on an insect diet, is very poisonous, 

 producing a nasty suppurating wound. 



On account of its very peculiar appearance the Slow 

 Loris is considered by the Malays to possess magical 

 properties, and they have many quaint recipes for 

 employing various parts of its body for medicinal and 

 magical purposes. 1 A few of these may be quoted 

 here. 



"The right eye dried and ground to powder and 

 mixed with human or goat's milk and some sweet oil 

 may be used as an eye-ointment which will make dim 

 sight bright by the will of God. The left eye ground 

 fine and mixed with rose water, honey and camphor 

 (Sumatran) can be used as an eye ointment or eaten 

 with ' sirih ' leaf, the nerves of which meet together 

 causes all who look on us to love us, and if given to 

 a wild beast it will become tame. ... If its backbone 

 is buried beneath the door of the house we can prevent 

 thieves from entering. If the bone of its left leg be 

 kept in the mouth during a conversation with a rajah, 



1 H. N. Ridley, Journ. Roy. As. Soc. S. Br., No. 34(1900), pp. 31-34. 



