Ill TIMOR. 



445 



me by tlio guide who was accompaBymg me, tmd who himself 

 in a late war had been an actor in the scene, of the selectinf^ 

 by Heaven of those who were to sustain the honour of 

 their country in the field. On the eve of a war, he told 

 me, messengers are sent to every corner of the kingdom 

 and country to summon from wherever he is, and from 

 whatever he is employed, every man who owes alle- 

 giance to their Ilajah. From the Uma-Lidi near which we 

 stcxxl, the hill sloped up in a vast shallow, natural amphi- 

 theatre, bounded on all sides by precipitous and inaccessible 

 valleys. " Here," he siiid, " every man of the kingdom assem- 

 bled, each with a fowl in his hand on which to reail his fate, 

 until the whole of this hill was full, sitting close together in 

 silence, each man dressed in his war attire, with his gun on bis 

 shoulder, his sword by his side and his spear iuhis hand; they 

 sat row upon row fi-om the bottom all the way up to the top 

 there, round and round/* As he spoke his eyes flashed up, 

 and I could picture to myself the wild and expectant mien of 

 the half-savage crowd, " The Dato-LuU*" he continued, " then 

 appearcil at the door of the great house in all the awesome 

 vestments of his office, w'ith the sacred spear and the gun and 

 the shield beside him, and b^^fore them all lie sacrificed a buffalo. 

 After placing a piece of its flesh, along with siri and pinang og^ 

 the^Y(ttii-liilif or altar -stone, he invoked the spirits of our dead 

 forefathers, then on Maromak of the heavens (in other districts 

 the deity is knowTi by the name Urubatu and Laraulut signifying 

 sun and moon) aiid on Him of the earth. Then in turn he called 

 out every man present singly, who, advancing to the high 

 priest each with his fowl in his hand, gave it to the Bato-LuUt 

 who slaycd it in presence of the assembled company. According 

 as the animal dies with its right foot or its left foot elevated, 

 and according as the colour of the siri juice which the Daio 

 expectorates on the brow and breast of the man before him is 

 bright scarlet or dark, does the Maromak indicate whether the 

 man is chosen to fight for his kingdom or destined to stay at 

 home and guard the women. If the fowl die with its right leg 

 elevated, and the siri spittle be bright scarlet, the omens are 

 in favour of the consultor, who then, turning from the Dato- 

 Lnl% draws his sword, and, brandishing it wildly in the air, 

 c^xclaims— 'I'm a Man; I'm a Brave,' and takes his place on 



