1 
82 SARAWAK TO Meri. 
‘one Supreme Being and give him the same name as the Maho- 
~medans—Allah taala.” They seldom appeal to him, however, 
in their troubles, and rely rather upon the power of hantus, or 
‘spirits, whom they propitiate in time of sickness by letting off 
‘guns and feasting. It is generally the practice, after a feast of 
this kind, to place a portion of the viands in the jungle, at a dis- 
‘tance from the house where the prayer-meeting has taken place, 
to lure away the evil-spirié which is troubling the house. 
‘Sorcery m this part of the country is chiefly practised by 
‘women, and the older and uglier they are the greater is sup- 
‘ posed to be their knowledge of the art; men who practise these 
‘ tricks are called manangs. 
“ Milanos and Dayaks have the strongest possible affection for 
‘ their children, it being considered a disgrace for any woman to be 
“childless ; so strong is this affection among the Milanos that 
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they will readily part with a child in order to better its condi- 
tion, and money never passes on such occasions. People will 
often thus adopt the children of others poorer than themselves, 
‘not with any idea of making slaves of them, but showing them 
the same affection that they would do were they their own. 
‘Human sacrifices were common among the Milanos previ- 
* ous to the cession of the country to Sir James Brooxr. At Rejang 
‘village, a young virgin was buried alive under the main-post of 
house, and it was not at allan uneommon practice, when an 
“ Orange Kaya died, to sacrifice from 10 to 12 of his slaves and 
‘bury them with him, the poor wretches receiving a solemn ad- 
‘monition to tend well upon their master in the new world. 
“That cannibalism was once prevalent in Borneo may be 
‘a fact from the traces of it which are still seen existing. Among 
‘Dayak and Milano tribes, in many parts of the country, it is the 
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‘practice still to cut up and consume the raw heart of “‘a brave” 
‘killed in battle, under the idea that the partakers will in time 
become braver.* The way in which they establish a brotherhood 
‘between people of different tribes, viz., by puncturing the arms 
‘and each imbibing a portion of the blood, points also to the 
fact of such practices of cannibalism having been anything but 
uncommon in the country. 
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* [A similar practice prevails amongst the Chinese in China, the liver being 
the part usually selected. Eb. ] 
