26 
E. A. de Roepstorff— Tiomherombi. 
[No. 1, 
It is possible that the tale of Tiomberombi may be of foreign, per¬ 
haps of Malay, origin. If so it must have been introduced into these 
islands generations ago, for it now abounds with the peculiarities which 
characterise the Nicobarese race, breathes their spirit and has been wholly 
adopted by them as their own, and never fails to afford them delight. 
The plot of the tale is simple enough. The two points of interest in it 
are the magical powers exercised by the hero, and the introduction of 
animals talking. The supernatural is closely interwoven with the lives 
of these people. The disembodied spirits of the dead surround them, and 
in their endeavours to return to the world, would effect a lodgment in 
the bodies of the living, hence, according to the native superstition, the 
cause of sickness and sometimes of death. To fight, control, exorcise 
these too familiar and obnoxious spirits the Manloenes exist. These, 
who are a sort of combination of the doctor and the juggler, are on speak¬ 
ing terms with the spirits. They have to go through an initiation which 
is only complete when they have been in spirit-land, seen, and talked 
with them. They are supposed to possess the faculty of detecting the 
presence of these invisible spirits, of seeing them, as well as of vanquish¬ 
ing them. It is to be remarked that Tiomberombi is no Manloene. Not 
only does he acquire by the gift of the looking-glass no inherent power 
over the spirit residing in it, for when the glass is lost he is utterly help¬ 
less ; but when the peit (snake) gives it to him, he finds himself unable 
to manage the spirit of it, and returns with the glass in fear of his life. 
On the contrary, the spirit of the mirror is in the power of the mighty 
snake : he is its true master, and it is only through him that our hero 
has the benefit of its services. Hence Tiomberombi is warned not to 
open the glass and thereby bring himself face to face with the spirit of 
the mirror. The peit in fact treats him as a poor ragged creature who 
will probably use the magical powers placed at his service to provide 
himself with food and clothing, and has no suspicion of the “ vaulting 
ambition ” which stirs beneath that lowly exterior. If the tale be not 
indigenous, it is certainly not of Indian origin ; Tiomberombi’s wife is 
no harem or zenana character. For although the tale might be regarded 
as a sort of humorous satire upon woman’s weakness for gossip, which 
would seem to be so universal a trait as to awaken mirth and “ point a 
moral ” even here amongst this semi-civilized race, and no doubt reigns 
supreme amongst the female members of an Indian household; yet the 
wife of the tale is a free, independent, masterful person. If it is her 
irrepressible love of gossip which brings on the catastrophe of the story, 
it is also she who saves her husband by her provident arrangements and 
practical genius. Woman is highly esteemed in the Nicobar islands 
which, it must be remembered, are part of the Malay archipelago and are 
only politically connected with India. 
