MANANGISM IN BORNEO. 91 
ant soul has to be caught. If the patient is apparently in a 
dangerous state, they pretend the soul has escaped far away, 
perhaps to the river; and they will wave about a garment, or 
a piece of woven cloth, to imitate the action of throwing a 
cast net to inclose it as a fish is caught ; perhaps they give out 
that it has escaped into the jungle, and they will rush out of 
the house to circumvent and secure it there; perhaps they 
will say it has been carried away over seas to unknown lands, 
and will all set to and play at paddling a boat to follow it. 
But more generally the operation is made a more simple one. 
The Manangs rush round the “ Pagar Api” as hard as they 
can, singing a not unpleasing chant, until one of them falls on 
the floor and remains motionless; the others sit down. The 
bystanders cover the motionless Manang with a blanket, and 
wait whilst his spirit is supposed to hie away to Hades, or 
wherever the erring soul has been carried, and to bring it 
back. Presently he revives, looks vacantly about like a man just 
waking out of sleep, then he rises with his right hand clenched 
as if holding something. That hand contains the soul; and 
the Manang proceeds ‘to the patient, and returns it to the 
body through the crown of the head, muttering at the same 
time a few words of incantation. This “ nangkap semengat,”’ 
‘catching the soul,’ is the great end, to which all that has 
preceded is only preliminary, and which only a fully equipped 
Manang is competent to perform. As the devouring demon 
is supposed to be driven away by the magical arts and charms 
of the Manang, so the soul is allured into submission to him 
by his persuasive invitations and melodious cadences. And 
as he approaches the point of accomplishing this grand feat 
of spiritual power, he sings thus : — 
Trebat puna nepan di lamba kitap, 
Semengat lari nengah lengkap, 
Antu ngagat jaya jayap. 
Trebat puna nepan di lamba midong, 
Semengat lari nengah darong, 
Antu ngagai nengah darong. 
