TEE WORK OF THE BOMOE 19 



by natural ability and skill. He is an independent 

 practitioner individually resorted to, likely to be called 

 in at birth and at death, for any accident or illness. 

 He generally accepts small payments for his services 

 and is secretive, so that it may happen that one bonior 

 is quite ignorant of the magic employed by another. 

 Only a few are experienced in the black art of spirit- 

 raising ; but most of them are skilled in the lore of 

 incantation. Very often the village bomor is merely a 

 herbahst, and a lovable old fellow ; he is always well 

 quahfied m the use of local native drugs and the folklore 

 connected with them. To' Bomor Enche' Jalal, wiiose 

 photograph is given as an illustration, was a prac- 

 titioner of this type. The village boTnor is a pillar 

 of local society ; but the Malay ** medicine-man " who 

 specialises in poisoning in the towns is a dangerous 

 citizen. The spirit-raising homor is best regarded as a 

 priest-physician ; he is a master in the occult science 

 which is only within the reach of the few ; he professes 

 to rule demons by means of special incantations which 

 they are unable to disobey, and in general is beneficent 

 rather than noxious to his fellow-men. When deahng 

 in magic he endeavours to move the occult powers to 

 exert a heahng influence by means of traditional rites. 



The consideration of charms, exorcism, anathema and 

 incantations used by the hoTmr in chnical medicine is a 

 vast subject. Briefly, Skeat divides the medical rites 

 mto " ceremonial inspection," i.e., diagnosis, by divina- 

 tion and ominous signs, etc., and therapeutical rites, 

 such as the propitiation of evil spirits, the destruction 

 or neutralisation of evil pruiciples, the casting out or 

 suckmg out of evil principles, and the recalHng of a sick 

 man's soul Malay Magic/' p. 408). 



The hoiiwr, again, is the Malay surgeon as well as 

 physician, and in Kelantan he is not unskilful in liis 



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