4 i6 THROUGH CENTRAL BORNEO 



They came back, lived long, and had many children. 

 Her name was Kamkamiak and she had long, long nails. 

 When he was disinclined to comply with her wishes she 

 forced him by using her nails on a tender spot. She shows 

 herself to-day as alang, the black hawk. 



The descendants of this pair are also Kamkamiak, 

 evil antohs of women at childbirth. The offspring of the 

 dogs is another kind of antoh, called Penyakit (sickness). 

 One of these appears in the form of a large goat which 

 is seen only occasionally. It bites in the neck and the 

 throat, the wounds are invisible, and the victim must 

 die on the second or third day. 



When the descendants of Mai Boang are ill they be- 

 come better when relating the story of Boang. 



Note. — The handsome woman who figures in this story is an evil antoh 

 which afflicts women at childbirth and by the Ot-Danums and others is 

 called Kamkamiak, the one with the long nails. She is also commonly 

 known by the name Branak. She causes the woman to lose much blood and 

 to have pain in the uterus, the nails of the antoh playing an important part 

 in these conditions. Men who work in the utan gathering rubber, rattan, 

 etc., are liable to get a disorder under the scrotum that looks like scratches, 

 and which ulcerate and may be troublesome for several months or a year. 

 These are ascribed to the long nails of the antoh, Branak, and sacrifices of 

 sugar and eggs are offered. 



Pontianak, the well-known town in the Western Division of Dutch 

 Borneo, is the name of another good-looking female antoh, who causes 

 injury to women at childbirth. 



Some evil antohs, by Kahayans and others called kuyang, also select 

 maternity victims. They are believed to fly through the air at night, appear- 

 ing like fireflies, and enter the woman through head, neck, or stomach, 

 doing much harm. They are supposed to suck blood, and when a woman 

 dies at childbirth from bleeding, the belief is that it was caused by these 

 evil spirits that in the daytime appear as ordinary human beings. They 

 are also able to suck blood from men and kill them. The goat is at times an 

 antoh, as is also the case with the water-buffalo, which may appear in dreams 

 and cause illness. 



The period of time required for "cooking rice" mentioned in the tale is 

 called one pemasak, equal to about half an hour. 



