THE WOBK OF THE BOMOB 81 



as the case may be, or with a cold wind, which is either 

 dry or damp, but always prejudicial to the sick man. 

 Similar behefs are prevalent in Montenegro, The 

 external jin appear to be identical with the loathed 

 things that rove through the land " of Lido-Germanic 

 origin. In aniving at these ideas the hoTmr^ a man 

 capable of observation, and of reasoning from observa- 

 tion, seems to be uifluenced by the meteorological 

 conditions of his country ; for instance, the relative 

 recurrence and high mortality of prevalent bowel 

 complaints, such as Asiatic cholera and the typhoid and 

 dysentery groups, when hot, dry winds are prevalent 

 must have appealed to him, so also pulmonary diseases, 

 such as phthisis, when hot, damp winds prevail. 

 Fevers followmg chills caused by cold winds blowing 

 on the wet body, and the converse, may well suggest 

 the idea of external jin being borne by the winds. 

 Jaundice may have suggested the yellow spirits of 

 disease. The symptoms of tetanus, hysteria, infantile 

 convulsions, and dehrium may have appeared to be the 

 work of evil spirits. The clinical manifestations of 

 hsemorrhagic small-pox, gangrene, and perhaps sep- 

 tic semic plague, in Kelantan may have strengthened 

 the idea of black jin. 



The following Malay folktale is of interest ; it fore- 

 tells the fact that Asiatic cholera is connected with 

 subsoil wells, and tends to explam the easy tolerance 

 of Kelantan natives to the " pinking " or addition of 

 permanganate of potassium to their wells dm-ing 

 epidemics of cholera. The legend was told me by a 

 Kelantan Malay (Nik Ismail) on the staff of the State 

 hospital ; ** A merchant had seven sons who did nothing 

 but play the mandohne very beautifully hi the streets 

 all day and all night. This caused all the king's wives 

 to fall in love with the lads, but the ruler of the country 



