188 A NATURALIST IN CELEBES ch. vra 



Several of the small islands are recognised as holy 

 throughout the Eastern seas. There is an island called 

 Massape,^ near Siauw, which has been considered sacred from 

 very ancient times. The natives not only bring their offer- 

 ings there to secure a favourable wind, fine weather, or other 

 seamen's blessings, but even when they are ill or unlucky 

 they make a pilgrimage to Massape, and by offering a goat 

 or a few chickens to the presiding spirits they hope to 

 be speedily cured or to secure better luck. 



The islands Mandako ^ and Mahangetang, lying between 

 Great Sangir and Siauw, are also looked upon as holy. 

 They believe that a great doctor lives there who can cure 

 everything. He is considered to be either an ampuang 

 (deity) or an orang petenong (priest) (14). 



Sangir is connected with Celebes by a very complete 

 chain of islands, so that even small canoes can by creep- 

 ing along from island to island make very long voyages. 

 The widest passages to be crossed are the Siauw passage 

 between Siauw and Tagulandang, ten miles, and the Banka 

 passage between Biarro and Talisse, eighteen miles. But 

 even in making these short passages canoes are not infre- 

 quently drifted many miles out of their course by the strong 

 sea currents and contrary winds. 



Unfortunately so few soundings have yet been taken 

 between and in the neighbourhood of these islands that 

 we are unable to say for certain whether they are connected 

 by submarine banks or not — whether, in fact, they should 

 be looked upon as the peaks of mountain ranges now sunk 

 beneath the sea, which formerly perhaps connected the 

 ranges of Minahassa with those of Mindanao, or simply 

 as volcanic peaks rising from the bed of the ocean. 



The only soundings we have are those taken by the 

 ' Flying Fish ' in Banka passage, and one taken by the 

 ' I am unable to give the position of these islands. 



