Seeds of Play, Words of Power: An Ethnographic Study of Iban Shamanic Chants (Borneo Classics Series, Volume 5) 9834051352, 9789834051358

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In Cooperation with k^^The Borneo Research Council, Inc. as Volume 5 of mi -r^ Z11 . ^ . The Borneo Classics Series

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First published in 2001 by The Tun Jugah Foundation. The views expressed in this volume are those of the author and not necessarily those ofThe Tun Jugah Foundation. © The Tun Jugah Foundation 2001

Apart from the use ofmaterials contained in this volume for private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted by the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without the written permission ofthe publisher. Cover photo: Baju manang, a shaman’s shirt, Iban ikat, from the Tun Jugah Foundation collections, Kuching. Back cover photo: Detail of the baju manang.

Printed in Malaysia by Ampang Press Sdn. Bhd. 6 & 8 Jalan 6/91, Taman Shamelin Perkasa, Batu 3 Jalan Cheras, 56100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia National Library ofMalaysia

Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

Sather. Clifford Seeds ofplay, words of power: an ethnographic study of Iban shamanic chants / Clifford Sather. Bibliography: p. 731 Includes Index ISBN 983-40513-5-2 1.Shamanism-Sarawak. 2.Iban(Borneanpeople)-Religion. I.Title. 299.9223 Library ofCongress Card Number: 2001090425

Contents

S2-3 :z^^/

:

List ofIllustrations, Map, Tables, Diagrams and Plates Preface Acknowledgements

Chapter 1

ix ^i xv

1

Introduction

ThcLekaMain: ‘Seeds ofPlay* Words ofHealing

1 1

Bards, Soul Guides, and Shamans

5

Bards (Lemambang) Soul Guides {Tukang Sabak or Lemambang Sabak) Shamans (Afo«a«g) TheSetting The Present Study

Chapter!

•

TheMawaw^

20

Inspiration and ±e Mastery ofWords Cultural Representations ofthe Shaman’s Role The Shamanic Career

20

.

21 23

Apprenticeship and Receiving a Spirit Guide (Yang) Rites of Installation (Bebangun)

23 29

The Transformed Shaman (ManangBali') The Bailing Rite (Pelion Betimba 9

34 36

Death Summoning aMzwawg The Shaman’s Medicine Kit: Charms and Medicines and Modem Medicine

Chapter?

5 8 10 13 p

Illness, Health, and the Concept of Person in Shamanic Healing

The Concept ofPerson in Iban Shamanic Healing Body (Tubuh) Soul (iSewewgat)

The Plant Image (4yw and Rwwga) Spirits (Antu) and Other Beings

Spirits and Hinnan Affliction

Hot and Cold in Shamanic Healing

36 37 43 46

48 48 51

58 65

66 74

vi

I

Chapter 4

Myth and the Shamanic Cosmos

82

Seen and Unseen Worlds This World {Dunya Tu 9

82 82

Myth and the Creation of a Differentiated Universe The Upperworld {Langit)

83 85

The Otherworld of the Dead {Menua Sebayan) Sebayan in Shamanic Curing

89

The Gods {Petara) Menjaya ‘Lord of Shamans’ Ini’ Inda ‘ Summit ofthe Universe’ Selampandai ‘Who Makes Us’ The Mythic Origins ofIban Shamanism

Shaman Jarai and the Beginning of Shamanism in the Human World ■ Shaman Landu Kedawa Visits Sebayan

108 109 HO

TheMythofJcnikan

Hl

Mount Rabung and the Shamanic Landscape Microcosmic Imagery

Chapters

99 104 105 108

The Curing Performance

H5 118

119

Bedara’ Curing Sessions and Pelian

120 121

Diagnosis, Palpation, and Spirit Wounds Besampu’snABegama' Dreams and Omens Scanning the Crystal {Bepandang}

123 123 125 130

Entering the Gallery (Tama ’ke Ruai) Types ofPeZ/aw

132 136

Chapter 6

The Ritual Use of Space

141

The Longhouse as a Ritual Setting

141

ThePagaryfpz

144

Architecture and the Display of Social and Ritual Categories The Longhouse The Family Apartment (B/Zz/:)

153 155 156

The Communal Passageway (7e/M77Mz7z^represents Batu Tekup Bedaup, the Constantly Crashing Rock, a place passed by the souls and spirits as theyjourney on their way to the otherworld ofthe dead. The kibung or mosquito net is often identified as a lubang batu or ‘cave*. The section

of the bilik located just inside the doorway is called the tempuan ai’ (or tempuan bilik) (see

Diagram 1). Here, at death, the corpse ofa family member is washed before being placed inside the sapat enclosure on the ruai. In the past, the family hearth was located at the tempuan ai' and the

water gourds (labu *) used to draw and hold water were hung there beside the hearth (Sather 1993b) . Traditionally, the corpse of a stillborn or dead infant (anak mit mati lulus) was put inside a cradle and hung at thepewgazZ labu \ the place from which the water gourds were hung, until the time of its burial. In the leka main, the tempuan ai ’ is sometimes represented as a lake, the Danau

Alai, a landmark described in the songs as just inside Sebayan.

The Communal Passageway (Tempuan) The door ofeach family’s bilik opens onto a common corridor called, as we have seen, the tempuan (or, more precisely, in contrast to the tempuan bilik, the tempuan ruai or tempuan lesung). As adjacent apartments are connected, the tempuan forms a continuous corridor, in effect, an enclosed,

central passageway that runs from one end ofthe longhouse to the other. Each end ofthe tempuan terminates in an entranceway, which is reached from the ground below by an entry ladder (or

tangga *). Traditionally, these ladders, one at each end ofthe house, took the form of a notched log. Today they more often are comprised of a set of wooden steps or stairs (Diagram 1). Flanking the tempuan ruai on one side are the various bilik apartments that make up the longhouse. On the other side are the series of open sections that together form the galleiy or ruai.

Like the tempuan, the ruai normally extends the full length ofthe longhouse and is unpartitioned. Support pillars mark the divisions between interior sections ofthe house. Thus, the family biliks are

separated from the tempuan by a continuous wall called (in the Saribas) the dinding ukui or ‘dog wall’. This is attached to the main support pillars ofthe longhouse, including the family’s ‘source post’ (tiangpemun). When a longhouse is built, these ‘source posts’, which extend down the exact center of the structure, are the first posts to be erected (cf. Sather 1993b). They form an

2

In modem houses, the hearth is located in a separate cooking area at the back of the bilik apartment.

SEEDS OF PLAY

158

important social and symbolic threshold, being located between the gallery and ±e bilik apartments, and between one apartment and another. The luhangpenutuk, the hole in the ceiling above the tempuan through which the top of the alu, or wooden pestle, passes when a woman pounds rice

on the passageway, represents in the lekapelian a lubuk dalam, or ‘deep pool’, an important symbol of cooling. At the end of theirpengap, the bards stand directly under the lubangpenutuk

and raise their tungkat staffs while inviting the blessings of the gods. In the Saribas, the pillars that mark the division between the tempuan and the ruai {tiang tenggah ba tempuan) are

called, alternately, the tiang rugan and the tiangpengait duku (the latter for hanging bushkmves, or duku). To the tiang rugan are attached the rugan, the altar places fashioned of split bamboo where the spirits ofthe dead are fed during the Gawai Antu.

The Gallery {Ruai) In a traditional Iban longhouse, the gallery forms the principal arena of community social life. Traditionally, the gaUery was the chiefsetting in which oral narratives were recounted, longhouse galherings held, and public rituals performed, including pelian. Unquestionably, the richness of Iban oral literature owes much to the existence of the ruai and to the nature of the longhouse as a distinctive community. Describing a traditional longhouse, Freeman (1970:5) conveys aclear sense

ofits social significance, particularly that ofthe gallery, as constituting ... the main centre of community life... Here meetings {baum) are held, and disputes formally heard and settled... guests are welcomed.., and offerings to the gods performed. The cool and convivial ruai is also the site for many minor tasks: the place where nets are knotted, knife handles and sheaths carved, mats plaited, and cotton tied ready for dyeing. At nights it is the place where the men gather in informal groups to talk about their padi farms, to discuss an omen or a dream, or merely to gossip... It is on the ruai too, and in the evenings, that the enthralling sagas {ensera} of the Iban are chanted and recited gagas which tell of the fantastic adventures and miraculous feats of their cultural heroes.

Although a few small rites are performed entirely within the bilik, such as, for example, the

bedara' mata ’ described in Chapter 5, most shift from the bilikio the ruai, or like most/je/zazi, oscillate during their performance between these two spaces. Through the ritual organization of space, thereto make explicit the crosscuttihg social and cosmic categories that structure Iban

experience. Thus, as we have seen, the initial entry of the manang onto the gallery (pansut ke ruai) is a dramatic event that marks a movement fl-om diagnosis to treatment, and firOm the family as a separate entity to the family as a constituent element of the longhouse. There is also a gender dimension to this movement. A senior woman prepares the dekuh offering inside the billk, which she then carries to the ruai, together with a pua ’ and other items representing the products of

women’s labor. By contrast, the men erect the main part ofthe;?agtzr api directly on the ruai, using the spear and other characteristically male objects described earlier. The ruai in the chants fi-equently represents the tebing sungai Mandai, the banks ofthe

Mandai river, while ±e tempuan represents the Mandai itself. The pantar is often identified as a lubang batu, or ‘cave’.

THE RITUAL USE OF SPACE

159

Moving outward, some pelian, as we have noted, are performed on the platform or at the edge of the longhouse. Others are performed outside the house, in the clearing beneath the entry ladders. At this point, the living longhouse may now symbolically become a longhouse in Sebayan. After this, in succeeding pelian, spatial progression is reversed. If the manang re-enters the house, the ruai now becomes the ruai of the longhouse of the dead- Here, for example, in the pelian bebatak lampung, the manang may enact a tug of war with a champion representing the side of the dead. Finally, there are pelian which take the manang’s soul full-circle, back to the bilik of his patient, now representing a bilik in Sebayan. For example, in the pelian bedagang, the shaman walks from bilikXo pretending ‘to trade’ {bedagang) while he, in fact, searches for his patient’s soul. Or the manang may disguise himself as a visitor {nemuai), entering each bilik in turn, in order to locate and steal back the soul.

The Rooftop {Perabung) Ynpelian performances, the longhouse rooftop {perabung rumah), including the perabungpinang or ‘ridge beam’, represents a place of conjunction where the upperworld and the human world potentially meet. It is also a place of summation, encompassing as a totality the various internal divisions ofthe longhouse itself. It is thus the place where the most elaboratepelian are conducted. In the lekapelian, theperabung rumah may also represent a tuchung bukit gt ‘mountain summit’, including the summit ofMount Rabimg itself. The tebelayar atap, the small roof that may extend from the outer wall at each end of the longhouse to cover the entry ladders, represents the kaki bukit or ‘foot ofthe mountain’. The kaki atap, or base ofthe roof, may represent, more specifically, Lalang Punggat, a place in the otherworld, while the telengga atap, the skylight in the roofthat may be opened and closed, often represents aperengkap, or ‘cage trap’, which is meant to catch potential spirit intruders attempting to enter the house.

PERFORMANCE PROPS {PERENGKA} As. discussed in Chapter 5, a variety of objects of everyday use are employed by the manang in

pelian performances to represent objects or landmarks in the unseen world. These form part of

what the manang describe as theirperengka, meaning the ‘equipment’ or ‘tools* required for a pelian performance. Perhaps the most frequently used are the lesung or wooden rice milling

mortars and the alu or pestles. A lesung, for example, may be placed on the ruai and covered wi±

apua ’kumbu ’ cloth to represent Munggu’ Tunggal, a hill in the otherworld ofthe dead. The alu are

often identified with tedung, or ‘cobras’, and may be placed at the entryways to the tempuan to

prevent the spirits of the dead from entering the longhouse. In an especially demandingpeZzan, the

manang sets up seven lesung, covered withpua ’, arranging them in a ‘row’ (rintai) along the ruai. These mortars represent Tinting Lanjan, the mountain ridge in the otherworld beyond which, as we

saw in Chapter 3, the souls ofthe dying are believed to be irrevocably parted from this world. He then walks around them as he sings, moving up and down the row as he seeks the patient’s soul. A fire is lit in a bedilang hearth that is placed at the threshold or base ofthe longhouse platform (pugu ’

160

SEEDS OF PLAY

tanju y After circumambulating the row ofmortars, the manang sits in the tali wa ’ and continues singing as he swings. Concluding his chant, he suddenly darts from the swing and rushes in pursuit of the soul around the lesung, finally, after a chase, snatching it from the flames of the fire. He then

faints. When he recovers, he holds the soul grasped in his palm. In another pelian called the pelian bebatak lampung, the manang engages in a tug of war with the dead. Bebatak lampung was a contest of strength traditionally played between young men. The two contestants sat on the ground with their feet pressed against a short piece of wood called the penumpu kaki. A century ago, this form of contest was extremely popular in the

Saribas and was held for amusement at the end of nearly every festival or public gathering, including marriage ceremonies. As they sat on the ground pressing their feet against a piece ofwood, each contestant gripped a flexible pole made of a softwood called the lampung. The object of the

contest was to pull one’s opponent off balance toward oneself . During the pelian bebatak lampung, the manang left the gallery and descended to the foot of the longhouse entrance ladder, now representing the border between this world and the land of the dead. The materials used for thepelian are a pestle and a shed-stick {letan, used in weaving), which are placed on the floor of

the gallery and covered with apua ’ kumbu'. The pestle represents thepenumpu kaki, the short

piece of wood against which the contestants push with their feet, and the shed-stick, the lampung, the pole that they grip with their hands. During thepelian, the manang, using these objects, engages in a tug of war contest with an unseen champion representing the antu Sebayan. Ifthe manang defeats this champion, the life of his patient is spared. In a final example, in the pelian titi rawan orjaban titi rayvan, the manang again sings

while suspended from the tali yva A pestle is used to construct the Bridge of Fear {Titi Rowan}, and is rolled in a mat and placed across the threshold of the bilik doorway. Near the end ofthe pestle, just inside the bilik doorway, a bowl {pinggai) is set out filled with water. This represents, in miniature, Lake Alai, or Danau Alai, a lake just inside Sebayan. The alu and mat are then covered with a pua ’ kumbu ’ cloth and together represent the Bridge of Fear that spans the

3

In the administrative region formerly defined by the old Second Division, on the 1st of January, during the time of the Second and Third Rajahs, all of the Iban chiefs of the Division were called to Simanggang, accompanied by their anakbiak (followers). Bebatak lampung contests were organized at the time and were played between young men from different areas. The contests became yearly competitions and each Penghulu selected the strongest young men in his district to accompany him to Simanggang. Another occasion was once a year when Iban from the Saribas district came together at Betong to clear the road that once ran between Belong and the Tisak stream, a tributary of the Skrang river. This road is said to have been about nine miles long. It was a requirement that every longhouse send men to clear the road once each year. Failure to do so was punishable by a fine. Performance of the work was also taken to be a sign of loyalty to the Brooke Govemm^t. Benedict Sandin, who was my source for this information, told me that he personally went twice as a youngster. The practice was started during the time of Penghulu Garran (of the Paku) and ended in the time of Penghulu Ijau, at the beginning of the Japanese Occupation. Today the road is no longer maintained or used. While the young men were gathered for this work, bebatak lampung contests were held. In addition, on the night prior to roadwork, bachelors courted all the girls living in longhouses surrounding Betong. In 1934 these contests were replaced by the Betong Regatta.

THE RITUAL USE OF SPACE

161

chasm separating this world from Sebayan. The tempuan, across which the alu is laid, represents

the Mandai river. The edge of the bilik wall and the opposite edge of the ruai represent the

opposite banks of the Mandai. The manang begins the pelian by ‘striking iron’ {begendang best), and, after fainting, he searches for the missing soul in the bowl ofwater. Ifhe cannot find it,

he must continue his search, using additionalpelian, following it, in the progressive logic oipelian performances, still deeper into Sebayan.

Chapter 7

The Chants Sitting beside thepagar api, the manang, to strengthen his soul, first bites the blade of a bushknife, then touches the tip of its blade to each shoulder. This is called ngetup kering semengat, meaning, literally, ‘to bite the soul-strengthener’. He then begins to sing. Starting quietly at first, his voice increases gradually in volume. Emerging from the conversation ofhis gallery audience, it finally dominates and hushes it, as children are quieted and older people in particular listen carefully to follow the meaning

ofhis words. The lekapelian are always sung. In melodically developed passages, particularly in the opening stanzas of apelian, and, again, in the last stanza or stanzas that close a song, syllables are regularly drawn out in an oscillating voice that often progresses into a quavering trill or tremolo that ends oftentimes in an abrupt descent, followed by an accented terminal syllable or phrase that generally returns to the main melodic register. In singing, the shaman either sits on the floor or sits suspended from a barkcloth swing, or, when he reaches the main body ofthe leka pelian narrative, he may rise from a sitting or swinging position and, for the rest of the chant, he often walks, as he sings, around the pagar api. The

direction ofhis movement is always, the Iban say, ‘from left to right’ {iya hejalai mansang ari kiba ke kanan), that is to say, he moves in a counter-clockwise direction, with his left shoulder toward the pagar api. Consistent with the east-west orientation of the pagar api described in the previous chapter, he ideally begins and ends his circumambulation facing eastward, in the life-

affirming direction from which the sun rises {ke mata hari tumbuh\ toward the longhousepantar or upper gallery’. As he circles thepagar api, he characteristically moves in a slow, measured walk in time with the melodic rhythm ofhis singing, bringing first one foot forward, then moving

1

These are ideal orientations in which the long axis of the longhouse runs north-south. In actuality, the layout of a longhouse may, for a variety of reasons, depart from these ideal directions (for a discussion of the orientation of a Saribas Iban longhouse, see Sather 1993b).

THE CHANTS

163

the second level with the first, then advancing the second foot forward, and so on. This slow, deliberate walking style reflects, and is mirrored in, the words ofthe leka main themselves. Kejang ka ari nya Nginsit mimit nyungkah mindah.

Leave there, And, little by little, move on a bit.

POETIC STRUCTURE, RHYME, AND MELODY The entirety of a lekapelian, from beginning to end, may be described in Iban as its telian. Anthony Richards, in his Iban-English Dictionary (1981:377), gives two definitions of telian". 1. Falling in drops, shower... 2. One of a series, section or stanza ofpoem (usu. enteran)"^

nelian [v.f.], strung together. Each telian, in turn, is divided in terms of its poetic structure into a series of enteli or enteli

main. Each enteli comprises a group oftwo or more lines sharing die same predominant [accented] end rhyme; hence an enteli may be described as a poetically marked stanza. Saribas-Saratok manang recognize six major named varieties ofenteli main, plus several minorunnamed ones^. These major varieties are called:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

lebu ngidan, with an end rhyme of -an or -am", lebu nyangka, with an end rhyme of-a or -a lebu nagai, with an end rhyme of -ai", lebu ngadang, with an end rhyme of -ang", lebu nyangkung, with an end rhyme of -ung", and lebu nangi, with an end rhyme of-z.

Minor end rhymes include -uk, -uh, -au, and -ak. To illustrate with an example, this one taken from thepelian nganjungpelepa Rite to Set Out a Ritual Barrier (Chapter 16), lines 8 through 15 form an enteli main in lebu nagai form, i.e.,

having a dominant -ai end rhyme [in bold, for emphasis] : Lalu terebai yang kami Gelanyang, Afanang Sentawai, Naban ka anak punggang tengkebang ampang bait belulai. Irit ari bukit tanah landai, Baring ka gerinjing batu chanai. Nya ’ baru diri ka yang kami lelabi gumba nyemerai, Tiangpelepa'kami manang ka tinggang bedil besai. Engaranpelepa’ Usam sumpitan sungkuhpanjai.

2

These same varieties are also recognized by Saribas lemambang.

SEEDS OF PLAY

164

Then our spirit guides, Gelanyang, the Bat Shamans, fly. Carrying [for their wings] a piece of ingeniously patterned ampung bali belulai cloth. Drag it from the mountains to the level plains. Roll down the rough, spiky chanai boulder! Now, our spirit helpers, the swimming Gumba Turtle Shamans, put up A ritual pillar, a warning sign sent out by us shamans and secured with a large bedil swivel-gun. Hang in place, as Usam’s ritual barrier, a blowpipe bearing at its tip a long blade.

Not all stanzas are as consistent as this one in their use ofend rhyme. Those who are especially skilled in leka main composition are expected to vary the rhyme pattern from time to time, while still maintaining the predominant rhyme scheme. Some variation is thus considered a sign ofpoetic skill.

Line length varies with tempo, with individual lines, phrases, or run-on lines generally sung on a single breath. Where passages have a marked melodic form, changes of melody, which may occur within a single line, are characteristically marked by a pause and intake of breath. Lines are combined to form ‘stanzas’ which are also called genteran or enteran. These are normally

distinguished by pauses and changes ofrhyme pattern. In addition, they are usually, although not always, melodically defined, particularly by a signature closing melody. In Iban, the term genteran is also used in connection with instrumental music to describe a musical ‘movement’, as, for example, a single passage played on a gong (cf. Richards 1981:103). Stanzas vary in length and are generally set offby pauses. New stanzas may also be opened with a repetition ofthe final passage or a repeated end rhyming syllable, or syllables, ofthe last line ofthe preceding stanza. As noted, most stanzas are melodically defined. In the opening sections of most7?eZzaK, new stanzas characteristically begin on a tone below the main register, and then ascend

in a distinctive opening melody. Following a pause for breath, the main body of the stanza, which may vary greatly in length, is then sung in a single oscillating melody. This often ends with an abrupt descent, another breath, and a return to the main register, all features forming a distinct terminal

melody marking the end ofa stanza. Some stanzas invert this opening, beginning on a higher note and then descend, while many, particularly in the middle sections ofthepe/zazi, which bear the main narrative content, lack a well-defined terminal melody. Some stanzas, particularly those featuring

dramatic action or dialogue, have little musical marking and are usually sung as a single continuous melody. Like the main body ofthe opening sections, this melody usually osciUates around the same three tone range. Here the transition from one stanza to the next is generally signaled by a repetition

ofthe final accented syllable (or syllables) ofthe preceding passage, or by the use of a connecting phrase, such, for example, ^senti’pia‘, ‘ifso’, nya’alai, ‘therefore’, Qxnya baru^ now . The rhythmic pattern QiVaclekapelian tends to be end-accented, syllables, with

a rising melodic line, serve as a common opening motif for a line or stanza. The end of a line or stanza is often signaled by a closing pattern in which the manang sings a repeated or sustained pitch, and then releases the pitch to a lower or indefinite tone. The final sung tone is an explosive

downward release ofbreath. Also, the end or closing ofeach pelian is typically marked by the use

the CHANTS

165

of this same musical convention. This introductory signature and closing melodic phrase are most marked in the opening and closing sections of apelian. Later these features tend to be less marked and lines and stanzas are characterized more by a simple undulating melodic contour, especially in the middle portions of the pelian, during moments of dramatic action or of rapid movement. For example, in thepelian anchau bidai, when the spirit guides capture the missing soul, and having secured it, begin their flight back to the longhouse, the manang uses repeated phrases like enti ‘ piaor enti’kita‘if so*, ‘therefore’, ‘ifyou’, to elide syllables or lines. Here, too, the manang sings sustained notes, using melody to connect the end ofone line to the beginning ofthe next. As Dr. Matusky notes in Appendix 1, the singing style becomes, during these moments of dramatic climax, almost declamatory. Without melodic ornamentation, vocal contours are flattened, and singing is mainly on one or two pitches. The focus here is on narrative action, dialogue, or quickly unfolding events. Similarly, the language ofthe leka pelian becomes at these points increasingly transparent or ‘shallow’. These declamatory passages mark moments ofrevelation and drama, when events in the narrative occur in quick succession, and when what was previously hidden is disclosed, its meaning illuminated. A characteristic feature ofthe vocal production ofthe manang is the use ofa slight trembling or shaking ofthe voice, which Dr. Matusky describes as tremolo. Tremofo is especially marked in

the first part of a song when the tempo is characteristically quite slow. Later in the song, as the tempo speeds up and narrative events begin to build, tremolo generally decreases. Tremolo is also used for emphasis, liighlighting words, or the final syllable ofwords, that help establish the dominant end rhyme, or signal shifts in action or meaning. The singing style is mainly syllabic and the melodic range is comparatively narrow. This singing style also makes extensive use of syllables without meaning, for example, ‘ee’, ‘a’, ‘ia ’, 'a-wa ’. Another characteristic feature is what Dr. Matusky identifies as the use ofdotted rhythm and a slowly rising tonal pattern that acts to sustain the progressive dramatic tension of the songs. Dotted rhythm entails a sequence of a note or syllable of short duration followed by a note or syllable oflong duration, resulting in apattem ofweak stress followed by strong stress (see Appendix 1). This pattern of weak-strong stress permeates the entire leka pelian genre. Depending on the rhyme scheme, in some words the final syllable is also elongated. As Dr. Matusky notes, the end accented feature in a rhythmic pattern is important, not only in sung words, but also at the level of sung lines, and sometimes a repeated or sustained note acts to highlight the dominant rhyme scheme of each stanza. While chants are usually sung by a single manang, occasionally manang sing in pairs, in which case, they typically sing alternate stanzas, with the second manang usually repeating at the opening of his passage the final accented syllable (or syllables) sung by his partner immediately before him^. Each stanza characteristically expresses a discrete set of ideas or relates an episode of action. The sequence of stanzas is highly structured, from the opening stanza, through an orderly

progression of themes to the final stanza that characteristically describes the return ofthe manang's spirit guides and his spirit shaman companions to the summit ofMount Rabung.

3

The effect, although simpler, is very much like that of the choral recapitulation separating solo passages in Iban bardic singing (cf. Sather 1994: 62).

166

SEEDS OF PLAY

The distinctive melodic pattern in which lines and stanzas are sung is called the rtyawa or , patah nyawa, meaning the characteristic ‘voice’ or ‘tune’ that distinguishes the vocalization styles used to produce different leka main genres. The melodic style associated with shamanic singing is known specifically as thepatah nyawa manang. For the Iban, this ‘voice’ is recognizably different from that of the soul guides and the bards and is said to be basically the same for all

pelian, although there are, in fact, important melodic variations within and between individual pelian. In contrast, thepatah nyawa of the bards is described as being more variable (berapa

patah nyaway-. In Appendix 1, Dr. Patricia Matusky discusses the musical characteristics of the pelian, and, with notation, provides, as an example, amusical transcription of the opening, middle, and final stanzas of thepelian anchau bidai. As she explains in her comments, she has omitted only a short middle section of the pelian, consisting of lines 87 to 104, as the musical material

contained in this section (melodic lines, tonal level, rhythms, and so on) is identical to that contained

in the lines that immediately precede and follow it. In her score. Dr. Matusky indicates pauses and their length. Short pauses within melodic lines are indicated by musical rest signs, while longer pauses between lines and stanzas are indicated by a blank staff after a vertical double line, with the exact length of the pause noted. Ifthere is no blank staffafter the vertical double line, then the

music immediately continues, with no pause, directly into the next line of the song. In my own presentation ofthe texts, I have indicated pauses with breaks between lines only in instances of stanza divisions, or at points of emphasis or transition, shifts of speaker, or to set off dialogue or conversational exchange. As Dr. Matusky indicates in her comments, the sung texts are replete with reduplicated and meaningless syllables used by the manang for melodic flourish, to extend

melodies, or to link musical passages. Except for stanza openings, I have generally omitted this material, unless it adds meaning to the text, or contributes to its poetic composition. Otherwise, its function appears to be chiefly musical rather than semantic. Nevertheless, I am grateful to Dr. Matusky for portraying this and other aspects ofthe songs that cannot be adequately conveyed

by written texts. Finally, there are, within mostpelian, additional variations in tempo, marking features of narrative development. The manang also modulates his voice by volume. Thus, for example,

during thepelian bebunuh antu, the manang typically begins by singing in a loud, clear voice, as he summons the spirits from afar. At the climactic point in the ritual, when he leaves the lighted gallery, descends the house ladder, or steps into the darkened family bilik, leaving his audience behind on the gallery, his voice dramatically falls, typically becoming soft and seductive. As the

4

The bards (lemamhang}, when they perform the besugi sakit, a nightlong curative song, sing briefly, in the opening invocations that precede the main narrative, while they are still in the patient’s family room, in the melodic ‘voice’ of the manang [patah nyawa manang). Immediately afterwards, they shift to their usual ‘bardic voice’ [patah nyawa lemambang), as they lead the patient from the bilik to a meligai dais on the gallery, and continue in this voice for the remainder of the chant. This, according to lower Saribas lemambang, is the only time in the whole of the bardic repertoire when the bards sing like shamans.

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Spirit he is attempting to attract draws nearer and nearer, his voice may grow even softer and more enticing, so that his audience must often strain to make it out.

JAKV^ DALAMAND THE DISCLOSURE OF MEANING The lekapelian move back and forth between what the Iban describe asjaku ’dalam, literally, deep language , which is particularly characteristic ofritual, andjaku ‘mabu literally, the ‘shallow language’ of everyday speech. Deep language is sometimes archaic and is usually difficult to

interpret, typically conveying more profound meanings than shallow language. It is also often

more cryptic, frequently having the characteristics of a puzzle or riddle. Some sections ofthe leka pelian cannot be xmderstood even by the manang themselves. Occasionally, words are said to

represent spirit language {jaku ’ antu} or the special language of the dead {jaku ’ sebayan} in which meanings are typically reversed. This is unusual, however, and it is important to stress that, for the most part, the language of the songs, while challenging, is not, by any means, unintelligible.

At some level, lay audiences can readily follow the narrative line and comprehend its imagery^ including elements of metaphor and paradox. Moreover, the language shifts at times into the more immediate language of everyday speech, particularly in stanzas of dramatic action, or of

rapid movement in time or place. Hence, by controlling language ‘depth’, and by moving between shallow and deep language, the manang is able to signal, within the mediating reality created by his lekapelian, bridging movements between the seen and unseen realms of experience, between the hidden and the revealed^.

Deep language is said to be enclosed’ or ‘hidden’ {karun^. In contrast, shallow speech is said to be clear’ {terang) and ‘direct’ {terns). Deep speech may include archaic words {jaku lama ), some ofthem very largely restricted to ritual and known mainly to the bards, soul guides, and shamans. But they also include common words, which may have a shallow meaning in one context, but deep meaning in another^. When Iban talk in a register ofrespect {basa), they

typically use deep words. In talking of rice, for example, deep words ofrespect are used. Rice, spirits and gods are all addressed in indirect terms. Deep language is also used when talking about dreams and omens. The Saribas Iban also use a special variety of‘hidden language’, called

Although I talk here of deep and shallow ‘languages’, ‘speech’ or ‘speech genres’ are, technically speaking, preferable terms (see Kuipers 1990: 58). Jaku' dalam is not, it is important to note, another language, but, rather, a recognized stylistic tradition, particularly appropriate to ritual contexts, within the total repertoire of Iban speech. Notions of ‘deep’ meaning extend beyond speech. They also apply to the objects that are used in ritual, including, at times, objects of everyday use. For example, in the agricultural rites of initial clearing {manggul), the objects having polysemic meanings consist most notably of bushknives and clearing hooks (cf. Sather 1992125-27), In shamanic ritual, the major example of objects with deeply layered meanings are, of course, the constituent components of the pagar apt, the banana frond, spear, kebuk jar, and seluk basket, all, of course, simultaneously, in mundane contexts, everyday utilitarian objects.

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jaku ’ lalai, when they hunt, fish, or fire rice farms, so that animals and spirits cannot understand what they are saying, lest they endanger or thwart their designs’. Typically, in songs, the meaning is at first hidden and then gradually disclosed. The basic notion here is, again, that of karung, referring literally to an ‘envelope’, ‘cage* or ‘cover’. Thus,jaku ’ karung means to speak with hidden meaning. Karung may also be the host or borrowed cover, the envelope, in which a malevolent spirit disguises itself. For example, the enturun or bearcat may, in

actuality, be the antu kuklir, the vengeful spirit of a woman who died in childbirth. An expectant mother is similarly the karung ofthe fetus she carries in her womb. At first, in the lekapelian, the habitation is mentioned. Only at the end ofa line, or in the final lines of a stanza, is the object itself revealed, or is it identified by name. The hidden/disclosed distinction is thus structured semantically into the chants themselves. First lines or stanzas typically allude to deep meanings, oftentimes

metaphorical, while second lines, or linked stanzas, typically disclose or describe. Movement from deep to shallow, from the interior to the surface, is thus built into the poetic structure ofthe songs. Deep meaning is a feature of all Iban ritual songs, not only thepelian. Yet, these songs are never composed entirely ofdeep language.

The Iban use the terms ‘shallow* and ‘deep’ to refer to both words and meanings. Depth refers to the degree of difficulty of interpretation; the deeper the ‘meaning’ (retij, the harder it is to interpret Deep meanings encourage interpretation. Meanings also tend to ramify. Depth adds dimension

to social life, as in the cases of oratory, exchanges of songs, and in verbal repartee. Depth is also a means of showing respect, as to rice, for example, or to one’s parents or other elders. As Barrett and Lucas (1993:574) note: Iban shamanic therapy relies on a mastery of semantic depth. It draws forth interpretations which transform the understanding of illness and serve to return a patient, his or her family, and the community as a whole, to a state of health. Indeed, for Iban, the evocation of depth is the principal mechanism of transformation in knowledge, experience and personhood.

Interpretation ofdeep meanings is characteristically arduous. This is not because meanings are secret. While some persons are better able to understand such meanings than others (for example, the elderly are generally more skilled than young people, while orators, shamans, and bards have special expertise in the use of deep speech), it is not, however, an esoteric knowledge that they command. In the relatively egalitarian society of the Saribas Iban, everyone is equally entitled to attempt an

interpretation. Indeed, some non-specialists have a reputation for being adept and penetrating interpreters. As Barrett and Lucas (1993:575) observe, ‘The role of specialists is not to monopolize or adjudicate on interpretations, but to open meaning up to scrutiny’. The essence of expertise is thus to pose questions about meaning—to open the interpretive process - which specialists and laypersons

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In/aAu ’ lalai, for example, when hunting parties are in the forest, the common word makai, ‘to eat’, is replaced, according to Tuai Rumah Renang, the headman of KeranganPinggai, by matah ka lengan, meaning, literally, ‘to break an arm’; pagila, ‘tomorrow’, by ball’ batang, ‘turn over the log’, and so on. Through this use of ‘hidden speech’, the Tuai Rumah said, the plans of hunters or fishermen, if overheard, will not be understood by game animals or fish or by spirits.

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alike can attempt to decipher, challenge, or elaborate. AU chants are comprehensible, and, indeed, audience participation plays an important role inpelian sessions, contributing in important ways, as

we shall see, to the effectiveness ofthe therapy process.

Deep language requires that listeners draw their own conclusions. The interpretive process engages an audience ofkin and longhouse neighbors, all coming together in ajoint interpretive effort This is an active process which is itself, as Barrett notes, ‘a powerful form of sociality’. Iban join together to decipher meaning, not only vxpelian sessions, but in other contexts as well, for example, in funeral oratory or in the verbal combat that precedes a wedding. The Iban term for this process is *to

search [for] ’ {ngigd) or mereti, ‘to [uncover] meaning’. It is also the central process in augury and hepatomancy. These latter forms ofdivination are performed in connection with curing when specialists and lay persons sit together to decipher the deeper meanings of a configuration ofareca blossoms or the Ever ofa sacrifical pig for indications relating to a patient’s prognosis.

The possibilities of depth are, in many instances, open-ended. Jaku ’ dalam is thus open to deeper and deeper levels ofinterpretation. These levels of meaning cut across human and spirit

realities, yet at the same time they also act to distinguish between them. Deep and shallow form a framework which Iban use to describe both speech and the therapeutic search for understanding that underlies pelian process. The distinction provides, as it were, a metalanguage ofmeaning, what Barrett and Lucas (1993:577) call ‘an ethnosemantics of interpretation’. In the course of a song’s performance, levels ofmeaning shift back and forth between deep and shallow. In some stanzas, the words are so deep that they cannot be understood even by the manang who sings them. These passages, or words, may have been taught to the wanc«gby his spirit guide in dreams and although they are too deep for ordinary human comprehension, they may be intelligible to the unseen beings who are also thought to form part ofthe manang^s audience. In other

stanzas, meanings are clear and direct. Hence, songs speakpartly to the living and partly to the spirits, including, in somepe/Zaw, such as thepe/wn beserara ’ bunga, the spirits ofthe dead (see also Barrett and Lucas 1993; 591).

The shaman s human audience is drawn in by the shallow language ofthe songs, thrmigh

transparent references to the situation immediately at hand, to the patient’s illness, the sick person himself, the longhouse, the surrounding forest and hills, and the treatment being undertaken. Listeners also appreciate the extravagant imagery of the leka pelian, the indirect allusions, and the deep

speech of those parts of the chant that describe and thereby disclose the invisible actions ofthe souls, spirits, and gods. Somepe/Zan describe the single cordyline palm {sabang) which may be planted by the manang outside the longhouse at the end oia-pelian session, describing it in hyperbolic

terms as a luxurious garden of sabang palms, planted on both sides of the path leading to the lon^ouse, stretching away as far as the eye can see. The words of the pelian may also praise the various objects that the shaman makes use of, again, often using exaggerated, febulous imagery. Thus, the adze blades that the manang holds in his hands as he sings become ‘knots of steel’, which, when struck together, produce a ringing sound that reverberates throughout the sky, echoing into its highest vaults and outward into the remotest comers ofthe universe. Following the weeding

and fencing ofthe plant image, the newly weeded ‘flower’, its branches laden with treasures, is similarly described as reaching over vast distances. Thus,

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Besumbuk bunga kusuk ke The budding kusuk flower sends out leaf shoots bekantuk nuju ke Kayan Kiekam, toward the Kayan of the Mahakam. Takah pelepah dan ke kanan To the right, its regularly spaced branches deram-deram. produce a loud roaring sound. Dan ari tisi lelai ke pantai Its outer branches bend down to the beach at negeri Api-Api Api-Api [Kota Kinabalu], Baka ke tau ’ nanggung kudi ringgit tisam. To lift up silver dollar coins. Dan baruh nyelelai ke pantai Its lower branches bend down to the country menuh Maloh, of the Malohs Ke chapuh kiruh nempuh Who are in a noisy state of alarm, bansa Kayan. making ready to attack the Kayans.

In otherpelian, the stalk and roots ofthe ayu^ in an extended series ofimages, are replaced or transformed by the shaman into jars or heavy metal wire, objects symbolizing invulnerability,

strength, and longevity. The use ofsuch imagery is not simply a matter ofpoetics, but empowers the shaman’s treatment by transforming food offerings, for example, into feasts suitable to exchange with the spirits for the patient’s soul, river stones into cooling charms, jars into soul containers, and ritual cloth into wings or stockades that encircle the longhouse, rising skyward to the clouds.

A PLENTITUDE OF CHARACTERS During his songs the manang assumes a number of different parts, or voices, becoming the different

characters that appear in his narrative: for example, the souls ofthe dead, spirit messengers, hisyawg, birds, animals, and, ofcourse, an observing, conversing soul-traveler. He may at times take the part of celestial manang or theiryang, qt the spirits of a series of fish species who come at his bidding to

attend ih^pelian. In theGawaiBetawaiheeven becomes Menjayahimself. At times he may play the part of his own medicine box or individual healing charms. In thepelian bebunuh antu. Rite to Slay a Spirit, the manang takes on the role ofthe spirit’s lover, assuming a female voice and reminding the intruder ofits promise to pay her a nightly call. By assuming the character of all kinds of beings, the shaman not only entertains his audience and demonstrate his own virtuosity, but, as a ritual performer, he also establishe his status as a being who is able to traverse the boundaiie ofthe cosmos, transforming

his very nature and so moving at will between the seen and unseen. This virtuoso display ofmutability

establishes him as a being capable of moving back and forth across the major boundaries ofthe cosmos and from one ontological state to another. During the breaks betweenpelian, the manang often comments on the nature of thepelian themselves, frequently offering, as we shall see in the next chapter, an insider’s experience based on past performances, both his own and those of other manang. He might even break off during a chant to comment in his own voice on the characters, or on a course of action that is about to occur.

Thus, during his songs, the wcrwawgregularly moves from character to character, becoming potentially all beings in the cosmos - gods, spirits, souls, and even animals, material objects, and ordinary Iban.

As Barrett (1993:258) aptly observes, ‘Throughthe chants, the manangpersonifies the power of illusion [itself’.

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At times, the shaman’s voice may also become self-reflexive, describing his own equipment, such as the shell armlets and ritual cloth he uses, or the actions he performs and their intended

purposes. For example, during the ritual climax of thepeZmn beserara' bunga, the shaman speaks With the voice of Selampandai, and at the same time he imitates the god’s action, cutting off the flower’(or life image), thereby severingthenewiydeceased ’sfinal connection witlithe living world.

Here, the manang^ words cease merely to describe or report, but in a sense are ‘re-contextualized ’, and so become simultaneously ‘directions’ for the actions that the manang himselfcarries out as he smgs. By means of this metapragmatic device, which the manang employs again and again, a textual world is made to direct concrete ritual actions, thereby, in effect, shaping the very context’in which its words are sung (cf. Bell 1987).

TEMPORALITY AND THE MANIPULATION OF TIME Akey element in songperformances is the manipulation oftime and place by means ofthe descriptive power ofthe lekapelian themselves. Each song, in its opening stanzas, is typically situated in time and place, anchored initially in the mundane reality that the shaman’s audience directly experiences, piis mirrors the processural order in which each chant is structured. Pelian narratives relate journeys that begin m the longhouse and move out from this famUiar setting into the world ofspirits and souls

and, oftentimes, to the otherworld ofthe dead or the upperworld ofthe gods, and then return back

again to the longhouse world. The openmg stanzas thus describe what is visibly apparent to the audience; the manang, his equipment, his ritual actions, and the longhouse itself. There are also references to time. In the first pelian of a session, these references are to dusk. Later, in the middle part of a session, temporal

references are to the middle ofthe night, and, finally, in the lastpelian performed, they are to the approaching dawn or early morning. Thus, each text is anchored in time and place, and the actions It relates are always connected to the this worldly reality from which they depart and to which they

return. Each narrative describes a cosmic journey out from this anchored mundane time and place mto o±er realities, then back again. ’

There is also a matching temporal movement corresponding to this processual shift from early evening when a session opens, to dawn the next morning when, just after sunrise, the sl^an recalls his own soul. It is during the intervening hours of greatest darkness that the manang’s soul typically travels turthest from the longhouse and enters into progressively more and more remote regions ofthe cosmos. This normally takes the party oftravelers far beyond the frontiers ofthe perceptible world. Always, in returning, the party enters the longhouse by way ofa tembawai or former longhouse site. This narrative device signals stiU another kind oftime. By visiting a former longhouse site, where the past deeds of its inhabitants may be recalled by the travelers, the imagery

recapitulates, in a sense, the collective history ofthe longhouse itself. This narrative device thus reconnecte temporality with spatial travel. The party oftravelers thus approaches the longhouse not only commg from a distance, but simultaneously moving from the past as well, and so re-enters not only the ‘here’, but also the ‘now’, coming from the collective past symbolized by the tembawai

and re-entering into the present moment.

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The leka pelian also manipulate time. Viewed from a mundane perspective, pelian time appears to move slower and slower aspelian reality converges with the otherworld ofthe dead, the forests and tree lairs ofthe spirits, or the upperworld ofthe gods. In ihQpelian nyembayan, as the travelers journey from this world to Sebayan, time slows as they meet and interrogate a series of birds. Each bird is questioned in turn as to whether or not it has seen the straying soul ofthe patient As we shall see later, these birds index narrative movement in space, in this case, from the vicinity of the longhouseto form sites, to the deep forest, and finally to the frontiers ofthis world and the next. Thus, the first birds met with are those that are normally found around the longhouse; the next are birds encountered in the rice fields; and finally those, like the rhinoceros hombill, which are found only in the deep forest. But, more significantly, the sequence ofbirds also symbolizes movement in time, from birds ofthe daylight hours to birds ofthe dusk or twilight. The sequence ends with the

Burung Bubut, the common coucal, a bird believed to guard the Bridge of Fear, the bridge over which the souls ofthe dead must cross in order to enter Sebayan. Later, pelian time speeds up again and at the climax ofthe leka pelian narrative, it becomes highly compressed. Here, theyawg seizes the errant soul and, the instant it is caught, the manang's party flies swiftly back to this world.

Thus, die shaman’s audience is brought back again, almost instantaneously, to the everyday longhouse world. The landmarks they meet are now familiar. After alighting in the tembev^ai, narrative action slows down once more as the travelers approach the longhouse. First, the soul bathes and then ascends the entry ladder and finally enters its bilik. Here, it is enclosed by the shaman inside ajar, while theyang ofthe manang is returned with its spirit companions to Mount Rabung. Once a song is over, depending on its nature, the shaman often faints. Just before he faints, the actions related in the song are briefly enacted before the gallery audience in ahighly condensed ‘ritual drama’ set within an enormously compressed time-frame, lasting only seconds. The chant that precedes this enactment, by contrast, comprises the chief discursive component of pelian. Here, time may be varied. By using elaborate descriptions, questions and answers, and other poetic devices, the discursive time of the chants may be slowed, as the travelers approach or journey through unseen realms, or, in a parallel way, during thepelian beserara 'bunga, when the spirits ofthe dead, after arriving at the foot ofthe longhouse entry ladder, converse with the living souls within. This is followed by moments ofdramatic denouement, narrated in transparent language, in which time is highly compressed, as events build upon one another in quick succession. Then, time once again slows, as the manang’s soul, accompanied by its spirit companions, re-enters the familiar world ofthe patient’s longhouse and so reconnects spatial and temporal movement with the

narrative here-and-now.

THE JOURNEY AS A TROPE OF KNOWLEDGE AND A NARRATIVE ITINERARY In everyday life, Edward Casey (1996:38-39) wntes: .we are continually confronted with circumstances in which places provide the scenes for action and thought, feeling and expression... Equally eventful, however, are the journeys we take between the dwellings in which we reside, for we also dwell in the intermediate places, the interplaces of travel places which, even when briefly visited or merely traversed, are never uneventful, never not full of spatiotemporal specificities that reflect particular modes and moods of emplacement.

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The leka pelian are filled with just such ‘interplaces oftravel’, reflecting, at once, projections of shamanic agency into distant places and the transportation, or ‘gathering’ (Casey 1996:26), of images of elsewhere into local landscapes, most notably that ofthe longhouse. The essential narrative thread of each leka pelian^ itsjalai or ‘journey’, is characteristically

memorized and performed as an ordered sequence ofnamed places, a ‘topogeny’ in James J. Fox’s

(1997b) terms, that always begins and ends in the actual longhouse in which the manang is singing (or its metaphoric analogue, the longhouse of the spirit heroes). From here, the narrative moves

outward, into increasingly remote realms, shifting the sense of‘emplacement’ that its audience experiences from the immediacy of the longhouse, where its members are physically present, into ever more distant places, finally, returning once again by way of familiar longhouse landmarks. Place names, as Fox (1997a: 7) notes, are often part of ‘a structure for remembrance’. Thus, Specific places identified by name form a critical component of a social knowledge that links the past to the present (Fox 1997a: 6).

A prominent feature ofnarratives relating to place names in the Austronesian world ‘is the recounting ofa process ofdomesticating the landscape in which houses and settlements oforigin figure prominently as do the memories ofprevious sites ofresidence’ (Fox 1997a: 8). Fox introduces the notion of ‘topogeny’ to refer to ‘an ordered succession of place names’ and argues that the recitation of topogenies is analogous to the recitation ofgenealogies: Both consist of an ordered succession of names that establish precedence in relation to a particular starting point.. .Genealogy functions to establish a succession in time. Topogeny functions to establish succession in space (1997b: 91,101).

In many instances, the two are combined. Notably, ‘ [tjopogenies can be traced, relived, [and] revisited’

(Fox 1997b: 101). Topogenies take a great variety offorms, but most are narrated as journeys or migrations. Aside from ritual narratives - timang, sabak, and lekapelian - the most significant Iban topogenies are remembered lists that record the names of successive former longhouse sites or tetnbawai. These named sites, each designating the location at which an earlier longhouse stood, map spatially and in terms oftheir temporal order, the collective circulation ofa local community within its territorial domain, and, indeed, often beyond as well. Large segments ofthe lekapelian, like other

Iban ritual texts, are structured around topogenies, their successive named places forming, as it were, an itinerary oftravel. In some sections of the leka pelian this structure is more clearly evident than in others. Here the sequence ofplaces visited, or passed by, may be ordered by linked connective phrases,

such as ‘leave there’ (kejang ka ari nya 9 and ‘come to* or ‘arrive at’ {manggai di). For example, Kejang ka ari nya Manggai di pun kara' jangkit, Baka gamal dara mit Besegi lampit melit pinggang.

Leave there. And arrive at the foot of a spreading kara ’ tree, Like a small young damsel Wearing a silver girdle about her waist.

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Here, the ‘ interplaces’ visited are identified by topographic and botanical features that inhere, or are • ‘gathered’ into them, giving each a distinctive character that contributes to the audience’s sense of being transported from one highly tangible place to another. Finally, in this imagery, the closing lines disclose the owner or identifying name of each ofthese places. In the example ofthe kara ’ tree. Dan iya ditepan bejit, Baka bujang sida' Kanowit, Belabung lampit bekenawing simbang. Nya' menua Manang Linsing betubuh hurting, Baka kupak umbang medang.

On its branches the leaf monkeys alight, Like middle-aged bachelors, Wearing their lampit turbans cocked to one side. This is the country of Shaman Linsing, whose body is yellow. Like the peeling bark of the medang tree.

The ‘journey’, as Greg Urban (1996:89) observes, when employed as a form of discursive narrative, offers ‘the basis for talking about what lies beyond the sensible, empirical world.. .beyond

[in other words] sensory, here-and-now experience.’ It represents a kind of‘witnessing’ in which the ‘returning traveler is in a position to report back on what he or she has seen or heard or tasted.. .touched or smelled’ (Urban 1996:89). It is, therefore. Urban notes, a trope ofknowledge, the acquisition of which requires travel, dislocation, and displacement in space. Characteristically, the trope involves, by its nature, a tripartite narrative structure. An opening

situates the travelers in a here and now, and provides a motivation for their journey to the other places. We then have the journey itself, and the experiences that occur along the way. Finally, we have the return and re-establishment of connections with the narrative here and now (cf. Urban 1996:89). By means of spatial dislocation, the mind thus bridges, in Urban’s terms, ‘the sensible and the intelligible through reported experience’. Narratives ofround-trip journeys constitute, in

other words, ‘forays into a palpable world from which knowledge is retrieved... [knowledge] which can then enter into discourse circulation’ (1996:91). However, such ‘discourse is not only about what lies beyond the senses, it is [also] about getting from the immediate sensory world to the world beyond’ (Urban 1996:93). Indeed, the poetic power ofthe shamanic songs derives from the very action oftraveling itself, from the paths taken, and from the places and persona encountered and left behind along the way. Thepelian narratives are equally about the active projection of the selfinto other worlds and about the specific interplaces visited in which still further knowledge is stored, knowledge embodied in additional narratives, myths and local histories, alluded to, or known implicitly by the shaman’s listeners. Places are constructions of social histories and personal and interpersonal experiences. They gather not only physical topographies -trees, for example, and other natural features - but also, of course, thoughts and memories, including those ofpeople and places not physically present. Casey suggests that our sense of place is the product of a complex ‘interaction between body, place, and motion’ (1996: 23). Place, he argues, is the most fundamental form of embodied experience, ‘the site of a powerful fusion of self, space, and time’. Place is the generatrix for the collection, as well as the recollection, of all that occurs in the lives of sentient beings... Its power consists in gathering these lives...each with its own space and time, into one arena of common engagement (1996:26).

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Moreover, our sense ofplace derives not only from ‘being in place’, but also from the experiences we acquire of‘moving in a place’ and of‘moving from place to place’. A characteristic feature of the/je/fiTw is the use ofmovement in a place, the circumambulation by the manang of hispagarapi,

to represent movement between places, including movement from mundane space to the unseen space of the spirits, souls, and gods. Greg Urban notes that among die people ofP.I. Ibirama, a Brazilian indigenous reserve, space is something that ‘goes without saying*. For the Ibiramapeople, public discourse is reserved largely for what cannot be directly perceived. Whatever lies beyond the realm ofthe senses can only be known through discourse, hence, for the Ibirama people, the ‘most widely circulated public

discourse is about what is not ordinarily sensible’ (1996:93). TTius, they leave perceptible space untheorized. ..space is something in which people maneuver and negotiate; they do not symbolize it or make it meaningful in publicly circulating or ritualized speech (Urban 1996: 85).

However, as Urban goes on to note, there are cultures where, by contrast, much, in fact, is said of perceptible space. He singles out in this regard eastern Indonesia and Aboriginal Australia. Here, very often, he notes, ‘discourse circulates in a physical space that it simultaneously illuminates’ (1996: 97). ‘[W]hat can be plainly seen’, discourse illuminates, ‘enchanting perceptible space, making it more real than it is to the senses’ (1996:88). Iban shamanic narratives do exactly die same thing, illuminating the perceptible space in which they circulate, while at the same time, through the discursive trope ofjourneying, they also bridge the

gap between Urban’s ‘sensible’ and ‘intelligible’, between the ‘empirically observed’ and the ‘discursively defined*. In doing so, they bear also upon the actualities oftravel and community for the Iban. Narrative is discourse that, in Urban’s (1996:72) terms, is ‘fully cultural’, that is to say, which is ‘widely circulated, [and] passed down across the generations*. Narrative is arguably the cultural umt most salient to consciousness. ‘Until it is encoded in discourse and socially shared,

experience of phenomena languishes in the subjective realm. Once it circulates in discourse, it becomes obj ective, part ofthe storehouse of wisdom about the universe and how to live in it* that constitutes a community’s culture (Urban 1996:72). The circulation ofnarratives is thus essentially constitutive ofcommunity and, despite the emplaced nature ofits individual, highly transit perfonned

moments, it is able to span the distances opened by physical travel and to take as its subject the realities, so much apart ofIban experience, oftraveling, and ofliving in, and between, multiple places. The lekapelian use the natural and social landscape to symbolize the patient’s journey from danger and affliction to security and health. The songs do this through their depiction ofthe soul’s

travels, at the end ofeach narrative, as ajourney from thejungle or distant regions ofthe cosmos to the longhouse. In the Gawai Betawai, for example, before Menjaya enters the longhouse ofthe celebrants, he and his entourage first stop at the longhouse bathing place. Here, as they bathe, they produce

powerful cooling charms at the tips oftheir fingers. As with die arrival ofhuman visitors, the, coolness ofbathing presages the entry ofgods into the community ofthe living. The water cools them from their journey and is itselftransformative, the medium by which stones metamorphose into charms, and gods and spirit messengers become ritual visitors. A similar narrative pattern characterizes soul-recovery

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pelian and the narrated return ofthe missing soul to the longhouse. So, for example, in the pelian ngamhi ’semengat baruhjerangku karathe Rite to Recover the Soul from Beneath the Fig Tree Roots, the soul, upon its return, similarly bathes at the longhouse bathing place before it enters the house (Chapter 10, Lines 106-129): Thereupon we Matai fly home to this world, We shamans cross over a land overgrown in jera grass And alight at the former longhouse site where we were bom.

Knock down the langsat fruit thick with blossoms! Harvest the rambutan fruit, ripe all at the same time! Then reach the downriver bathing place, where the soul bathes, floating on its back.

Having reached its home territory, the soul now begins to feel healthy and comfortable. At the conclusion ofits bath, the soul is splashed and sprinkled with water treated with magical life-protecting charms, a ritual act that exactly replicates the final stage ofthe bathing rite {meri ’ anakmandi") by

means ofwhich a newborn infant and its mother are ritually incorporated into a longhouse community (Sather 1988). Here the imagery ofcooling parallels the reintegration ofthe recovered soul with its body and the social re-incorporation ofthe patient and his or her family in the longhouse community. Sprinkling the soul in a controlled, ritual context, is a fundamentally chelap act, in the deep sense, and hence restorative ofhealth and wellbeing. It scoops and splashes water with a brass vessel. Dipping from a vial of life-protecting charms.

But, in addition to cooling, the imagery ofthe soul’s return is also permeated with symbols of heat and dazzling light, signifying a return to strength, lucidity, decisiveness, and healthful vigor, all tangibly-felt symptoms experienced by the re-embodied self, that indicate the reintegration of its body and soul components. We then alight and plant our feet upon Simpulang Gana’s bridge. And ascend the steep cliff, Ablaze in bright, dazzling heat. Looking so fair, the soul recovered by Menani Strides straight along the main pathway, And comes to a large clearing. Grazed by the tail feathers of red-brown cocks. The soul caught by Nyara’ is laughing. As it climbs the notched ladder. Its hands reach out and grasp the double rails.

It steps upon the solid longhouse floor, like the deck of a boat Built by the king of Holland,

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And walks straight along the level passageway Beside the apartment walls gleaming with heat. Straight away, it makes for a richly ornamented door, Enters, and steps into the spacious apartment within, like the open sea beyond the river mouth.

Here, the sensory experience of renewed strength and vigor is made concrete by the shaman’s richly detailed descriptions ofthe familiar. While earlier in the song his poetic descriptions

of the unseen attested to the shaman’s ability to see the invisible, at this point, the narrative comes full-circle and the imagery serves, by contrast, to render the unseen visible, transporting the soul’s return to the immediately perceptible space that surrounds and envelops the shaman and his audience. Thus, personal experience is objectified. More generally, the narrative conveys a sense

ofthe significance ofthe unseen actions performed by the shaman’syawg, how the shaman himself receives the soul and secures it, restoring it to its proper place in the longhouse, and how he encloses it for safekeeping inside ajar. The images of renewed health and longevity that follow culminate in a final evocation ofMount Rabung and the return ofdie shaman’s spirit guides to the invisible world.

IMAGES OF THE NATURAL WORLD The lekapelian draw heavily on the natural world for descriptive images and analogies. In part, this reflects a belief that, for each species, all living creatures have their own manang. Thus, there are frog shamans, barking deer shamans, and tortoise shamans. Human manang regularly solicit the collective aid of the creatures of the land and of the aquatic world. In the Gawai

Betawai, for example, a long series of invocations call for the bunsu ikan, the fish spirits, and at the end of the Gawai, these spirits are returned to their homes in various local rivers and streams.

The spirits are praised in the lekapelian and compared to beautiful young women who come from each of the different rivers of Sarawak. In the pelian bejereki, the manang calls for the

upriver and downriver fish, the kaban ikan ulu and the kahan ikan Hi inviting them to join the spirit guides of ancestral manang. Sometimes, in addition, the sea fish are also called and their different species enumerated. In the Gawai Betawai and a number of other pelian, the shamans call upon the the ‘things of no importance’, the ‘common’ or ‘lowly things’, who, in the songs are described as anxious to accompany the manang and his yang as helpers. It is notable that none of the creatures are powerful or dangerous, or even, for that matter, very useful. In the pelian bejereki, the familiar creatures that are commonly found living inside the longhouse are also

invited to join the manang in treating the patient (Sandin 1978:60-62). Those mentioned include the tichak, or house lizard, and the empelawa, or spider. As longhouse residents, they must be informed of the impending ritual and are invited to join as participants. Like fish and lowly creatures, the house lizard and spider are similarly described as anxious to join the manang. Various animal, bird, and fish shamans are also mentioned. Each of these is identified with the

specific part ofthe visible world it inhabits, the forests, valleys, mountaintops, rivers, or streams.

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Their inclusion serves to point up the encompassing nature of shamanic agency. Like the imagery

of the/7eraZzw«g, or ofMount Rabung, or the summit ofthe world, the enumeration ofthese various bird, fish, and animal manang expresses a sense ofthe universality of shamanism and the powers it commands.

The kusing and entawai bats appear in the songs as manang as well as messengers’. Similarly, the gods, too, have manang. In Singalang Bunmg’s longhouse, his son-in-law Beragai is said to be a manang, and in the Panggau-Libau world, the best known shaman is the comic hero, Apai Alui, the subject of endless comic and cautionary tales (Sather 1993a).

Frederick Damon (1998), building on Levi-Strauss ’s (1966) insight into the way in which empirical categories may be used to express abstract ideas and relationships, has demonstrated

how classification and knowledge of the natural flora are used to model social relations and identities among the island cultures that comprise the classic Kula Ring. Similarly, in the leka

pelian, the manang exploits the extensive botanic knowledge ofhis audience to convey a similarly abstract sense ofthe contrasting identities ofthe spirits, celestial manang, and the gods, and of the irrevocable discontinuities that separate life from death. For example, in the Gawai Betawai, \hQpelangka or winnowing sieve, the vehicle ofMenjaya, serves as the instrument by which the patient’s body is lifted from the rooftop of the longhouse in order to be brought to a renewed

state ofhealth and wellbeing. Hence, the fashioning of the ritual pelangka by the manang, a task that forms the main precursory action of the Gawai, must be done with careful attention to detail.

Not only should thepelangka be fashioned from wood associated with life and longevity, but there are prohibitions against using wood associated with death and decay. Hence, in the leka pelian, there is a long question-and-answer dialogue about the correct selection of trees from

which to cut the planks for the pelangka, rejecting some because of their association with the otherworld, notably softwoods that quickly decay, choosing others, notably hardwoods that are enduring and practically serviceable in the world ofthe living.

Many plants, in addition, are attributed sacred properties by the Iban, or function as objects in ritual; and botanic imagery, symbolizing spiritual powers and relationships, or demarcating the realms of different gods, spirits, and ancestral shamans, permeates the entire song repertoire. Like human beings, plants, too, are a major category of living things {utai idup), sharing the same

properties of life and death. In this connection, as we have seen, plants function for the Iban as a primary symbol of life itself. This is most notably reflected in the concepts of ayu and bunga. The fecundity and generative growth of plants are fundamental symbols of human fertility and healthful vigor. Similarly, the vulnerability ofplants, and their eventual death, provides the basic analogy for impaired human health and mortality. These analogies run throughout the lekapelian, and, indeed, they extend beyond as well into the metaphors of everyday speech.

8

The entawai and kusing bats are also the messengers sent to invite Menjaya in the Gawai Sakit. According to Sandin (1969), there are two forms in which the Gawai Sakit songs are sung. In one the bats travel only as far as the Wind God’s house; in the other, which comprises the longer version, they travel all the way to Menjaya’s house. Sandin (1969), who recorded a text of the Gawai Sakit, recorded the latter version.

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WORDS OF POWER Bakhtin (1986:60) begins hisclassic essay on ‘The Problem of Speech Genres’ by noting that Language is realized in the form of individual concrete utterances by participants in the various areas of human activity. These utterances reflect the specific conditions and goals of each such area not only through their content and linguistic style...but above all through their compositional structure.. .Each separate utterance is individual, of course, but each sphere in which language is used develops its own relatively stable types of these utterances. These we may call speech genres.

Variation in the composition ofmessages evidences the fact that language is capable of fulfilling many other functions besides strictly referential ones. Choice of genres may be prescribed by

context, ‘presupposing’, in Silverstein’s (1976:33-34) terms, social structure, or it may, again in SUversteui’s terms, be ‘creative’, itselftransforming and defining the contexts in which it is used. The shamanic genre works at both levels. Ritual events tend to be built upon what Greg Urban (1996: 184) calls ‘contextual, nonreferential meanings’ (see also Sather n.d.a). What goes on in ritual is characteristically known primarily through the experience of it’, that is to say, it tends to involve its participants in ‘a modality ofexpenencmg the world distinct from reflective awareness’. Similarly, the speech employed in ntual events often participates in these same qualities and so, to the extent that this occurs, frequently takes on a form distinct from everyday speech, which Urban (1996:178) calls ‘ritualized speech’. The distinction is grounded in an opposition, ‘present in each and every instance of discourse’, between discourse ‘as referentially meaningful... and discourse as an object of sensory experience’, thatistosay, ‘as sound with iconic and contextual associations’(1996:185). While referential

discourse ‘has a way ofdistancing individuals from immediately affective experience’, ritualized discourse is, itself, directly implicated in such experience, participating in ‘embodied, nonreferential, contextualized meaningfulness ’. The referential side ofdiscourse thus tends to be downplayed, whereas contextualization and the tangible, perceptible qualities ofdiscourse tend to be emphasized*

including its poetics and aesthetic values. Much current (and fashionable) anthropological writing about ritual is couched in notions of embodiment, or in experiential or phenomenological approaches (cf. Roddy 1989, Csordas 1994a, 1994b, Jackson 1989). While such work tends to stress similar characteristics of ritual, much of it,

™''^®ver,e?^resses misgivings, or is explicitly critical oflinguistic or communicative models ofmeaning tiiat, by their nature, direct attention to the more discursive aspects ofritual. Misgivings may well be justified when applied to studies that ignore context or nonreferential meanings, or engage in what Urban calls ‘ inferred symbology’, that is to say, the reading ofmeaning into practice without regard

to whether these ‘meanings’are consciously articulated in local discoume ornot. However, inherent in at least some ofthis writing is an oversimplified view ofthe relationship between experience and cultural meanmg, and in particular, a deceptively unproblematic notion of experience itself and so of

interplay, often ofa highly complex nature, that exists between sensory experience, consciousness and the intellect

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As Urban (1996:2-5) argues, the empirical foundations of cultural meaning are not merely . to be sought in extracultural experiences, but are also to be found in experiences of discourse itself,

both as a phenomenal object - speech or song, for example - and as a vehicle by which cultural meanings are themselves circulated and shared. Following Jakobson (1957) and Silverstein (1976), Urban (1996:24) draws attention to the inherently ‘double nature’ of discourse, as something that is at once both sensible and intelligible. In having this double nature, discourse serves in a variety of

complex ways as a bridge between the senses and the intellect. It acts, in Urban’s words, ‘ like a membrane or thin film that is simultaneously in the world and yet a filter through which the perceptible world is passed and its underlying realities imderstood’ (1996:10). People, Urban argues, try to join these two sides of discourse together, making the discourses they circulate fit with the sensory world they encounter. However, not all ofthis world is equally an object ofdiscourse. In this regard. Urban (1996:85) distinguishes ‘embodied culture’, including, in part, Bourdieu’s (1977) ‘habitus’, which ‘one knows by living it without necessarily reflecting upon it’. Embodied culture. Urban argues, is generally ‘ left untheoretized’; anyone can experience this sensible realm directly, without the need for discourse. By contrast, public discourse tends to reflect a different kind of knowing.. .The most widely circulated... discourse is about what is not ordinarily sensible (Urban 1996: 93).

Discourse in this case attempts in various ways to make intelligible what lies beyond the

sensory world. In particular, discourse is called upon ‘to fill in what cannot be seen [and so] ...requires words to make its existence known’ (1996: 80). But discourse is not only about the imperceptible; ‘it is also about the interchange between the imperceptible world and this one.. .between the knowable and the sensible’ (1996:93). Thus, discourse can also make the sensible intelligible, illuminating what we can directly see, hear, touch, or smell. As Urban explains (1996:93-94), ... discourse is not only about what lies beyond the senses; it is about getting from the immediate sensory world to the world beyond... [It] is thus about bridging the sensible and the intelligible, moving back and forth between perception and knowledge.

But more importantly, people try through enactments ofdiscourse to make what is intelligible

‘sensible’. In other words, ‘What otherwise exists only in the realm ofmeaning is made tangible by enactment’ (1996:25). Through the use of speech, as a phenomenal experience and the material

signs that accompany its enactment, ‘intelligible meaning [is converted]... into a sensible thing...a phenomenally real entity’, and so becomes, in Urban’s terms, an object of sensible experience. This interplay and bridging between knowledge and the senses is central to an understanding ofthe lekapelian and how they work in ritual. The Iban themselves foreground words, in this case describing the words that the shamans sing as the leka pelian^ meaning, literally, the ‘gist of ritual’.

At the outset of a pelian session, the causes of affliction that affect the patient and his family are always open to question and decipherment. Moreover, the interactions of spirits, human souls, plant images, and the gods, upon which affliction and related conditions ofhealth and wellbeing depend, are intelligible for the most part only through discourse, in particular, through the words of

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the lekapelian. Dealing with unseen realities, the shaman’s task is to make intelligible an imperceptible world that is always hidden, at least to non-shamans, and which can never, in any case, be entirely fathomed, and where meanings are forever open-ended. But the realms ofmeaning that the shaman creates in the discursive medium of his songs, and extends into the unseen, he also makes tangible through the ritual enactment ofthese words, and by the sensory, tangible, and poetic qualities of the songs themselves. For the Than, this tension between intelligibility and sensibility is couched in an

ethnosemantic idiom, between contrasts of deep and shallow, hidden and transparent, that apply at once to both discourse and to cultural meanings. Textual knowledge is central to the shaman’s performance, but by its enactment in a ritual drama, this knowledge becomes both contextualized and embodied, while shifting dimensions ofdiscourse and meaning draw attention to the ways in which these varying relations ofexperience and knowing emerge for Iban audiences as part of the ritual process itself.

Deep meanings are the subject of active curiosity and bring people together in ajoint effort at interpretation. As Barret and Lucas (1993:593)note, the concept of depth ‘presupposes that there are levels of interpretive difficulty’. It also presupposes that there exist degrees of

active interpretive effort. In Saribas society, an elaborate discourse circulates about words, speech, and meaning. Varying levels of interpretive difficulty pervade mundane talk, oratory, ritual

songs, riddles, expressions ofrespect, and beyond speech, they pervade the use ofnon-discursive ritual symbols as well, such as miniature weeding hooks used in farming rites. Ibans talk about interpretive effort as an active search to disclose meanings. Tt is an evocative process through which meanings ramify, and a provocative process through which more and more people are enlisted and their attention engaged’ (Barrett and Lucas 1993:593). During apelian performance, an individual’s affliction thus becomes a community concern as people come together in an attempt to discover the meaning of symptoms and dreams, while, at the same time, the therapeutic expertise of the tnanang is made accessible to the whole community. Audience and manang alike only begin to search for, and so to actualize meanings, ifthey do not know them beforehand. It is the

unknown factors that surround the patient’s condition that set the shaman’s soul offon its journey, a journey in search of meaning that unites spectators and shaman alike in a common quest (cf. Torrence 1994:291). As Torrence (1994: 291) observes more generally, the shaman’s ‘quest

patterns and parallels that ofhis.. .listener, who becomes an active participant in a narrative that would have no existence without [him] ’. The tangible meanings that the manang retrieves or illuminates, each listener himself ‘must construct by the creative interaction that constitutes the search for meaning, not of the text alone, but (through the text that links them) of self and world’ (Torrance 1994:291).

Chapter 8

Enactment and Concluding a Performance ENACTMENT AND DRAMA Characteristically, everypelian is brought to a close by a briefepisode of action that dramatizes the main narrative events depicted in the song that precedes it. Song and action are thus integrally related, the latter typically taking the form of a brief enactment of the former. This enactment, however, as Barrett (1993:263) observes, is more like a ‘brief sketch’ than a ‘developed plot’. Indeed, an unwary observer may miss it altogether, as it rarely lasts longer than a minute or two.

In the case of the most frequently performed pelian^ in which the tnanang retrieves an errant or captured soul, the manang typically enacts the soul’s recapture with a sudden, grasping

movement, as, for example, in thepelian betansang in which he suddenly leaps to seize the patient’s soul from a spirit’s lair represented by a seluk qt sintung basket attached to the top of a gallery pillar, after which, in a continuous motion, he falls to the floor ofthe gallery in a fainted state. Or, in the pelian munggu ’raran, the shaman, seated on the ruai floor, with a sudden sweep of his arms, knocks down the pestles that have been set up to represent the spirits’ ‘cooking rack’ {raran),

sending them clattering across the floor, as he simultaneously topples or slumps over in a faint. At other times, he simply reaches under apua ’ enclosure and grabs for the soul as it darts this way and

that, trying to escape his grasp. Or, rushing to the next family’s section ofthe gallery, he may suddenly seize a soul that has hidden itselfbehind a pillar. The moment he grasps the soul, the manang feints, and from wherever he collapses he must be carried by members ofthe audience back to his place by the pagar api. Less sudden, but no less absorbing, the manang may, following thepelian, inspect the blossoms of an areca palm to determine, through this act of divination, whether his performance has been successful or not.

The killing of an animal or water spirit, or rather the point at which spectators are allowed to view the evidence of the killing, is one of the most intensely dramatic moments in the manang’s repertoire (see Freeman 1967). Although barred from viewing the slaying itself, the audience is permitted close enough to be able to hear the voice of the manang as he entices the spirit to present

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itself, or to come near enough to be slain, followed by the sounds oftheir struggle. Not surprisingly, the subsequent return ofthe manang to the center ofthe ruai, or of the audience’s admission to the scene ofthe slaying, arouses considerable interest.

Fainting {luput}, too, typically engages the shaman’s audience. As the song reaches its conclusion, and the shaman is about to faint, men on the gallery, as Barrett (1993; 264) observes, frequently call out to the women and others inside the bilik to come out and see, while spectators on therwazmay exclaim, ^Manangluput! ManangInputP ‘The manangis fainting! The manangis feinting! ’ However, the feint itselfis exceedingly abrupt, rarely lasting longer than 20 or 30 seconds.

When he faints, the Manang covers his head with thepua ’ kumbu ’ cloth that, until then, he has worn draped over his shoulders. He then drops suddenly to the floor, where he lays prone, or else, ifhe is seated, he simply slumps over as if he has fallen into a deep sleep. Indeed, manang

themselves explicitly identify fainting with a state of ‘dreaming* (mimpi). When I asked Manang Bangga whether, upon regaining consciousness, he ‘felt tired’ (berasai lelak\ he answered: No {nadai). It is like when you are asleep, like dreaming; it feels exactly like dreaming {Asai nuan tinduk, asai mimpi, tulin-tulin asai mimpi deh}. When I journey to the otherworld to challenge [the dead]... I employ trickery, the craft of the ancient manang... [I] use the [rice] lizard, so that I am not out of breath... Similarly when I snatch back [the soul], it is the same. {Nyembayan berekak...aku diatu ngena' akal, ngena' manang tuai,..ngena’ menarat dua, enda’ ikak...Sama enggau berebut. sama dia deh.}

Clearly, even when he is luput, the manang perceives himselfto be in conscious control ofhis actions (though these are now actions that take place in the unseen realm), applying the skills, and, indeed, even the deceptions, that he associates specifically with his calling. As Barrett (1993:264) observes, the art ofrecovering from a faint, called ngeleda', meaning ‘to regain bodily consciousness*, or dani, ‘to awaken’, is no less important than the art offalling into it. Both require careful training. Thus, onlookers watch for an appropriately dazed expression on the manang’s face when he uncovers himself and removes the pua' kumbu ’ from his head. As

other observers ofiban shamanism have noted (cf. Barrett 1993:264; Freeman 1967: 316), the faint itself appears to be simulated rather than spontaneous *. There is no evidence to suggest that Iban shamans enter into an altered state of consciousness. Hence, I prefer to gloss the Iban term luput os faint ratherthanby the more problematic‘trance’. Indeed, fee English term ‘feint* very

closely approximates fee Iban meaning of luput (Richards 1981:200). In fee case of fee manang.

This is not to say that the term ‘simulated’ is entirely satisfactory in this connection. Thus, in using it, I do not wish to imply that the statements of Manang Jabing and the others that I have quoted, to the effect, for example, that in falling luput, they lose their immediate awareness of external sensations, most notably of sound, or that they undergo dreamlike experiences, are untruthful. However, the learned and overwhelmingly theatrical character of luput needs to be recognized, as does the fact that its enactment may be ‘effective’ (albeit, less so), even if, in the view of the shaman involved, it does not engage his yang, as is sometimes said to happen, and so, by his own account, is only a physical performance.

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luput is, at once, brief, non-ecstatic, and quite explicitly learned. As part of his training, every

novice manang thus receives instruction on how to enter into and emerge from luput. Fainting, nevertheless, is culturally defined as a dangerous state, analogous to death. While

he is luput, the soul ofthe manang is believed to leave his body, precisely as it does during dreaming, and while disembodied, it is thought to engage in the actions narrated in the lekapelian. Although

controlled, partly through the words of the lekapelian, this condition is, nonetheless, viewed as dangerous, and stories are told of manang who are said to have died while they were luput. When I asked Manang Bangga whether there were shamans who, after falling luput, were unable to regain

consciousness again (manang nya ’ tadi enda ’ ngeleda 3, he replied. Yes, many (Au' mayuh). The reason for this is that they do not yet have a truly effective spirit helper (Nama iya baka nya' apin tentu bisi ’ yang}. If in going to Sebayan, [we] encounter there those who have only recently died, it might be hard for us to bring [ourselves] back [to this world] if it were not for the leka main (Enti’ orang nyembayan tadi. apin lama' orang udah mati, enda’ ulih ambi’ enti’ enda' enggau hudi ba’leka main MrwMg 10,90,112,112&, 171-172,275,291,29Uh,293 coucal {burung dundun), 289,289fh crane {burung indan), 325fn cuckoo {kuangkapun^, 606-609,609fn eagle, 513 frogmouth, 602-605,605 fii green pigeon, 613,613fh hawk, 28,32,37,109-110,215,383,383fii, 399 hombill, 171,318-321,319fii,32161,355,417,609fii, 613,61361,667 kingfisher {burungensing), 627,62761,631,677 kite, 77,52761,55361 kuang kebat, 287,28761 mynah, 263,611,61161 pigeons, 285,28561,613,6136i ru6is piculet, 671,6716i sebalangking, 274-275,289,28961 sparrow, 541,629 spider hunter, 281,2816i, 283 Straits magpie, 283,28361 warbler {burung kejira 279,281,2816i white paradise flycatcher, 461,583,58361 birds, as spirit guides {yang), 28,33, see spirit guides bird shamans, see shamans Blackbum, Stuart, xi

SEEDS OF PLAY

Blehaut, Jean-Francois, 66161 blinder {enkeraburi), 40,44,112,129,139,201,202,211, 21161,261,262,320,321,323,393,425,433,437, 671,673 lukai, 44,85,108,425,43361; see also lukai blood, see body, constituents of blowing {beburafi), as treatment, 124,125,128,199 blowpipe {sumpit), 31,32,37,129,145,181,305,425, 431,491,515,52361; see also bridge boats, 37,95,110,455,45561,465,487,531,53161,55961, 665 barge, 531,53161 boats of the dead {bangkung and berangat), 37, 95,369,36961,373,37361 canoe; 110,146,148-149,150,151,187; see also shamanic equipment warboat, 465,467 Boddy, Janice, 179 body {tubuh) notions of, 31,47,48,49-51,58,80,105,118,119, 124,135 as an aspect of self, 48,49-51,52,119 permeability of, 50,80,124 as a source of symptoms, 123 body, constituents of: blood {darah), 25,33,50,51,76,79,105,559,55961 brain, 31,49 breath {seput or nyawa), 4,51,56,105,415,551 fli, 593 fontanelle {bubun aji), 50,5061,52,53,80,118,188, 226; see also soul heart, liver {afai or ati), 49-50,51,52,53,119; as a seat of sentient awareness, 119 skin, 49,50,124 botanic imagery, 61,62,64,141 -142,178,211 fli, 2316i, 25561, 406, 421fn; related to the longhouse, 141-142,178; see plants, also plant image Bourdieu, Pierre, 179 breath, see body, constituents of bridge, 189,208,221,231,245,369,385,546-547,643 blowpipe as a, 37; see also blowpipe pagar api as a, 152; see also pagar api words as a, 21,167,175; see also words imageryot 118,189 Bridge of Fear (Titi Rawan), 10,8961,90,95,96,118,138, 160,199,201,275,28761,291,29161 Brooke government, 16061,43761,537 Bukitan {Beketan), 453,45361 Bunsu Belut, see gods and goddesses Bunsu Petara, see gods and goddesses

INDEX

Bunsu Ribul, see gods and goddesses Burung Bubut, see birds, also gods and goddesses bushknife {duku), see shamanic equipment cannon, 431,431 fii, 437,437fii, 441,595,609,609fii, 679 Casey, Edward S., 172,174 chants, 162-181, 185fii; see also leka main, language, and music language of, 1-5,18-19 manipulation oftime, 165,166,171,274,275, 429fn music, 164-166,685-711 poetry, 163-166 translation of, 18-19,166 charms (pengaruh and batu), 16,24,43-46,98,102,122, 123,191,207fii, 221,245,349,351,385,511,537, 553,555,555fo, 561fii, 599,631,632,647,665, 712; to feed, 25,30,712-713; see also shamanic equipment as gifts from the dead, 46,93,348-357 as gifts from the spirit guide, 25,46,712-13; from senior manang, 25,36,712 blinder charms, see blinder cooling charms {batupenchelap}, 78-79,127,301, 30101,647,651 for courage, 191 for increase/inexhaustibility {ubatjedian}, 335fri, 353fii for longevity, 103,301,355,415,632,633,651,647, 681 for love, 563,563fh for making treatment effective, 45,123,125 for memory, 191 for neutralizing dreams and omens, 41 -42,45,72, 127,197 for use in begama’, 123-125,199 for youthfulness, 561 patching charms, 45-46,50,105,124 warming charms, 80 chelap, cold, see hot/cold chicken as a messenger, 120,245,446; see also messengers as a sacrifice, 120,195,198,245,405,413 chicken liver for manang &nd his yang, 195,405 for changing a name, 448,667 fighting cocks, 110,110fii,377&i,459,513,541,549, 635 wave with (miau), 30,40,120,150,153,236,405, 447,456,653,654 childbirth, 46,51,54,62,76,80,96,115,375fh, 713 Chinese, 16,349,385,385fii, 589

743

Christianity, 13,23-24,24fii, 36fii, 88fii, 101,192,351fii, 557fh,716 Christensen, Hanne, 115, 391 fh, 453fri, 459fh, 515fti, 601fii,615fh cloth, 448, see also Appendix 3 blackcotton(Aa«ggaw),24,124,19-150,207fii, 233, 233fh, 237,239,361 fii, 487,489,669 . plain cloth {kain belachu' or kainburalz), 124,146, 149.150.196.198.231.257.327-329,366,404, 424,42401,447 ritual cloth (pua ’ kumbu'), 9,13,22,29,30,41,46, 60,109,110,113,114fii, 122,149,159,186,201, 20761,217,226,221,233,23361,235,237,239, 251,258,269.277,304,327,328,365,365fii, 38161,383,406,429,435,446,447,463,473,475, 47561,491,493,495,497,607,649,669,675,677 use inpelian ritual, 22,29,31,122,146,149150.159.183.185.196.277.29561.327- 329, 36561,366,426,431.441,446-447,463,718 thread (cotton) benangmansaulmirah{iQ^, 145-146,151,328, 712 gelagi, 474-475,490-491 ubung (undyed raw cotton thread), 146, 148, 150-151,196,327,366,424,42461 weaving, 84,85,107,110,146,20761,28961,36161, 38161,47561,49161,559,55961,607,60761 cobra {tedun^, see reptiles/amphibians cool, cold {chelap), see hot/cold cooling charms, see charms cordyline {sabang), see plants cosmology as portrayed in shamanic ritual, 2,85-86,122-123, 41161,52361,62961 Mount Rabung, see Rabung otherworld of the dead (Sebayan), see Sebayan progressive differentiation of, 83-85,86,97,98,55361 raised world (Panggau-Libau), 84,561fii; see also spirit heroes sky orupperworid (langil), 2,85-87,98,24761,52361, 57161,595,597,599,59961,661; see also gods and goddesses this world (dunya tu'},2,11,82-83,84,86,249,62961 Cramb, Robert A., 13 Crapanzano, Vincent, 194 crocodile {baya), see reptiles/amphibians crystal {batu karas and batu ilau), see shamanic equipment Csordas, Thomas J., 179 Cuisiner, Jeanne, 134fii

744

curing sessions, 40-42,119-120,121-123,182-198,424; see also pelian summoning a shaman, 37-43,100,119-120; see also shamans diagnosis and palpation, 123; see also massage - treating the body, 123-125,194,196,197,559fh; see also body besampu' and begama', 123-125,127,199; see also massage berenchah, 559,559fti relating dreams and omens, see dreams, see also omens scaiming with a crystal, see scanning entering the gallery, 132-133, 327, 448; see also longhouse, gallery pelian, see pelian, see also chants, also performance makaisalau, 121-122,149,195,195&1,196,326,405, 489 divination, see divination payment, see shamans erecting a barrier, 196-197,323,424; see also barriers concluding a session, 123,182-198,424 Damon, Frederick, 178 Davison, Julian and Vinson Sutlive, 345fti Dayak Cultural Foundation, 19 death, 8,32,37,43,43&, 49,55,64,65,76-77,94,95,140, 324-25,361 fii, 589&; also see mourning inevitability of, 4,51,64,94,361 invisibility of the dead, through the lemayang membrane, 115 death of a shaman, 32, 36-37; see also shamans, career ill-feted, 10,95-96,373-377,375fo separating the dead from the living, 59,60-61,9495,325-326,356-365,366,369,409&, 431 the dead, see spirits of the dead {antu Sebayan} deep/shallow, see language, see also words dekuh, see pagar api dQw(ambun), 57-58,233,233fii, 355,433,443,479,511; see soul, transubstantiation of imagery of soul, 58,233fii nourishing rice, 58 Dinding Hari, see Wall of the Day divination, 62,168,197,445,653-654,667 augury (burung), 9,42fh pig’s liver, 168,197,22 Ifii, 445,448,653-654 arecapalm blossoms, 62,78,168,182,197,448,445, 448

• SEEDS OF PLAY

rice lizard, 41,191,197,276-277,29561,304 star omens for rice planting, 497 Donald, Jimmy, 84 Door of the Sky, see doors doors/entranceways. Door of the Sky (Pintu Langit), 86,102, 594-599, 607 Earthen Door(P/nft/ Tanah}, 10,88,110 dragon’s blood (jerengan) dye, 265,265fh dreams (inimpi}, 20-21,24-25,28,29,36,41,42,421h, 55, 66,70,71-73,74,83,89,125-130,184-185,197, 306,446; see also omens as a source of songs, 3, 20fii in diagnosis, 123, 125-130 nature of, 41,42,42fh, 57,83,89,123,125-126,718 relating dreams, 123,125-126,127,193 kenyap, 42 drums, see music, see also shamanic equipment duku (bushknife), see shamanic equipment, see also pagar api dukun, 38,44,124; see also Malay, healers Dunging ak Gunggu, 267fn

Earthen Door (Pintu Tanah), see doors/entranceways effigy pentik, 101,137,200,20061,226,251-52,252n, 277, 543,54361 engkeramba', 101,156,397,39761,541,54161 Eliade, Mircea, 11,184 engkeramba ’, see effigy

faint (ZwpH/), 2,11-12,13,27,29,30,122,161,172,182186,187,226,228,249,251,304,321,405,41761, 424,718; see also trance experience of, 11-12,13,29,183,184,185,226,229, 718 regaining consciousness, 29,183,184,184fn, 185186,230,233,249,665 fanning, 20561,25361,33761,33961,347,34761,424,426, 42661,66161 fees, see shamans, payment of fence, see barriers fence of fire, see pagar api fig tree {kara *), see trees fighting cocks, see chickens Firth, Raymond, 11,13461 fish, 28,83,177,192,306,307,333,383,397,403,417, 498-507,50561,519,51961.543,545,54561,597, 631,63161,639,643,657; asyowg, 499-507 fishhooks, see shamanic equipment

INDEX

flower, see plants fontanelle {bubun aji), see body, constituents of, see also soul Forth, Gregory, 417fii Fox, James J., 173 Freeman, J. Derek, 11,26,61,64fti, 66,71,73,97,155, 156,158,182,183,305,306,58761 friendship names (perembian), 255,255fii, 261,261 fn, 501,501fe,503,505 frogs, see reptiles/amphibians, see also shamans fruit, see also trees banana, see plants durian,219,385,395,497 fig, see tree langgir, 72,219,219fii, 385,385fii. 425,437 langsat,2]9,245,276,301,319,395,657ft. 665 lemayung^ 115,115& mango, 451 melanjan, 96,381fii puah, 114,11461,115 puah laba^ 353,35361 rambutan, 119,245,276,301,385,395,611 fruit groves, see longhouse, sites of former

GanaNgadi, Henry, xiii, xv,62,78,324,36161 Gawai, 5,6-8,11,84,98,196,33561,47361,503,63361 Gawai Antu, 7fii, 78,88,96,110-111,12861,158,198, 33161,34561,38161,404 Gawai Betawai,xii, 561,11,17,18,19,29,35,42,63,75, 77,84,86-7,98,99-103,104,11061,117,175,197, 683 42661,444welcoming the arrival of the shaman, 446-447 preparing thepelangka, 447-454 grooming the divining pig, 455-456 gawai shrine (pandungmanang), 447-448,456,463, 465,475,489,499,515 praising the family apartment, 464-469 carrying the patient to the meligai, 478-489 besagu-ayu,482-483,619,654 bewas-was, 484-489 planting the ayu tawai, 490-491 praising the areca blossom, 492-493 calling the visitors, 493-645 ransoming the sick person, 645-651 divining, 652-654 returning the souls, 656-667 name change and concluding the ritual, 667-683 Gawai Burung, 475,537 Gawai Manang, see shamans, initiation Gawai Sakit, llfii, I136i, 12161 Gawai Simen, 12761

745

gendang, gendang raya^ see music, gender, 10,34,35,104,155,158 of ritual specialists, 8,10,23 reversals of, 34-36,102,104-105,106, 106fii,247, 24761,64561,647,64761 genealogy, 35,86 genre, speech genre, 178; leka main as a, 1, 178-181; see also language gods and goddesses (peterd), 2,6,74,83,84,86-87,9799,170,55361,716 calling as ritual visitors, 2,6-8,84,98; see also visitor, ritual homes of, 7,8,82,83,85-87,97,117,55361 Aki’ Ungkuk,581,58I6i Anda Mara, god ofwealth, 7,86,97; home of, 86,97 Bunsu Belut, worm goddess, 10 Bunsu Bubut, see birds, common coucal Bunsu Lemetak, leech goddess, 101,551,551 fn BunsuNgitarTanah, 597,597fn BunsuPetara,51,97, 101,105,225,276,323,556557,55761,611,667,681 Bunsu Ribut, wind god, 8,87,102,521,52161,597, 59761 IndaiBilai,331,33161 Ini’Andan, 104,353,353fn,577;see also Ini’ Inda Ini’Inda (also Ini’ Inee), 29,98,104-105,108,109, 110.117.42661.444- 445,517,638-641 Ini’Kamba’, 579 Menjaya, 2,28,35,42,43,60,63,75,77,86.98.99103.175.22161.387.399.42661.444- 445,448, 48761,517,519,51961,521,525-527,52761,537543,573,589,58961,591,631,633,635,637,653, 661,663; home of, 86,99-103,445,517,519, 521,52161,523,52361,525,533-539,661 -663 Pantan Tnan Raja Jadia, 221,22 Ifn, 225,247,681, 68161 RajaPetara, 611,681 Selempandai (also Sempandai), 4,51,55,91,97,98, 104,105-108,170,190,223,24761,251,253, 25361,255,259,267,276,323,331,333,363,377, 575,654,667; as life-giver, 51,105; forger of the body, 4.51,105,106-107,575,57561; severer of the bimga, 91 -92,170 Selempandai ofthe Living, 105,106,107 Selempandai ofthe Dead, 55,59,105,106,107,363 Shaman Simparang, 109,1 lOfii, 643,645 Simpulang Gana, god of agriculture, 7, 97, 245, 24561,335,33561,35361 Singalang Burung, god of war and augury, 97,98, 99,101,177,445,47361,47561,52761,553,55361. 67161

746

gods of Sebayan, 9,86,90,291,291 th, 293,293fn Gomes, Edwin H., 10,30&1,34,252fn gongs, 117,341,343,343fn, 375fo, 399,491,521,647, 665; see also music Graham, Penelope, XV, 3,3fii, 11,22,23,35,136,152 grave goods (baya'), 10,59,114fn, 115 Hamayon,RoberteH., 134fii, 184,185 Harrisson, Tom and Benedict Sandin, 97 head-hunting, 325,375fh, 377,377fh, 473fh, 475 trophy heads (antupala '),71 fh, 78-79,81,473,475 headman (tuai rumah}, 39,40 health, 10,48-81,119-120,135-136,176,193-194,444 notions of, 48,49-81,136 good health (gera/). 48,61,62,75,119,136,176177,193,194 heart, see body, constituents of hearth, 9,59,157,157fh, 276 bedilangJG, 79,129 dapur, 9,52,59,59fii, 19,79fii, 81,157,413fii, G19 heirloom jars 223,225fh, 247,267,267fii, 216, 303,347fii, 387,387&, 399,417fii, 645,647,649, 661, 6Z3, 683fh; begeri’ guchi, 646‘, benda pelawan, 491; ningka, 649; pelawan menaga, 667; see also jars Heppeil, Michael, xv, 156,365fii, 381 fii Hobart, Mark, 74 hornbill, see birds, see also shamans hot/cold, 74-81,135,136,176,573 cool, cold {chelap), 74-81,136,176,429fii hot, heated {angat}, 14-^i, 107,135,245,245 fo, 247, 573 in relation to health, 135-136,175-177,245fii; see also health Howell, William, 23,30fii, 34,85fii Hultkrantze, Ake, 12 Iban, language, 18-19; see also language. illness and affliction (sakH), 10,37,38,48-50,119-120 notions of, 48,62,64,65,66-74,79-80,193 causes of, 47,68-71,72-74,119-120 spirit wounds {abi}, 45,46,68-70,124,304 imageiy,51,61,115,118,169-170,176-178,190,191,193 Ini’ Inda (also Ini’ Inee), see gods and goddesses initiate manang {manang mengeris), see shamans initiation {bebangun), see shamans insects borer beetle, 629,629fii cricket, 617,617fn; see also messengers, mengalai wasps, 539,555,571,591

SEEDS OF PLAY

invisibility, see blinder. iron(Ae?/). 161,198,227,23I,347fii,435; strike to call souls, 7fii, 161,201,227,228,231,231 fh, 237, 253, 321; see also shamanic equipment, also soul strengthener

Jakobson, Roman, 179 Jarai, as the first shaman, see myths Jarraw, Boniface, 104-105 jars, 32,153,172,223,225fii,247.267,404,405,417fh, 537; see also heirloom jars, also pagar api 41,153,276,327,447 kebuk, 133,145,147,148,150,151,153,200,409fii, 42161 tempayan, 153,448 Jensen, Erik, 26fii, 34,82,85fii, 88 Jerukan, see myths Jew’s (or mouth) harp, 351,35 Ifn Job’s tears, 339,33961 journey {jalaj), 2,3-4,7,10-11,141,150-152,171,172177,181,190,38361,531 asatrope, 171,172-177,181,689 to Sebayan, 2,171,274-304,363-381,38361,715 to the upperworld, 2,171,525-635 order in, see order Kantu’,675,67561 Kayan, 251,25961,273,273fh, 361,399,39961 Kelabit, 345,34561 Keling, see spirit heroes Kerangan Pinggai (longhouse), ix, 17,39-42,68,73,126, 127,128,12861,191,197,20061,228,41561, 41961,51161,712 Kessler, Clive, 118 Klemperer, Louise, xvi Kuching, 13,37,128,437fh, 58961 Kuipers, Joel, 5,5fh, 16761 Kumang, see spirit heroes

ladder {tangga *), 9,32,201,629 ladder of the souls (tangga' semengat), 145, 146, 151,23161,424 ladder of the shamans (tangga’ manang), 145,146, 151,23161 longhouse entry ladder (tangga’ rumah), 9, 138, 155-156,157,223,22361,247,306,307,39761, 415,425,441 useinritual,32,145-146,155,201,20961,23161,253, 259,260n; tangga' keling, 444,471 Laderman, Carol, 13461

INDEX

language {jaku 0, xi, xii, 2,18-19,167-170,172; see also words deepZshallow, 18,122,168,171-172,180-181,190 deep language {jaku’ dalani}, 18-19,75, 167-170, 179-181,349fii.453fe,683& shallow language 9, '1^, 165,167-170, 180 hidden meaning, 75-81,167-170,167fii, 180-181,716 Leach, E.R.,x /eAzima/w (‘seeds of play’), 1,2,5,9,19,20,32,46fii, 83, 120,142,191,233fii, 255fh, 405,495; see also genre definition of, 1 acquiring mastery of, 3,5,20-21 Lempah, 445fii, 445-446 leopard cat, see spirit guides Levi-Strauss, Claude, 178,194,244 Lewis, LM., 11-12,184,231 Linggi, Datuk Amar Leonard, xiii-xi v Linggi, Datin Amar Margaret, 559fii longhouse {rumah}, 9,10,118,141,144,153-159,173, 194-95,196,197,198-199,223fn,247,385fh, 493fo asametaphor, 118, 153-156,531fii as a ritual setting, 12,77-78, 111, 118-120,135,137138.141- 144,149,153-159,171,193,195,197199,433fii,53lfii,665 hot longhouse {rumah angat), '1'1-19,135,140; see also hot/cold orientation, 135,141,142,143,149,162,16261,327328,49361,654 longhouse, social/architectural divisions, 12,132-133, 137-138,141,142,143,144,153-159,194-199, 49361,49561 bilik (apartment, family), 9,30,60-62,65,120,123, 132.138.141- 144,149,153-155,172,195,196, 306,307,424,425,426,447,455,58961 menalan, clearing below longhouse ladder, 64,245, 301,30161,306,307,441,446,447,52961,5416i, 635,683 perabung (rooftop), 30,34,37,116-117,153,159, 199,22361,43361,437,441,44161,444,445,446, 471,479,481,48161.483,654 rum (gallery), 30,120,132-133,137,138,141,142, 143,144,149,153,156-157,158-159,199,446, 448 sadau (loft), 155 tanggaentry ladder, see ladder tanju’ (open air platform), 30,36,37,137,143,441, 444,446,475,478,653

747

tempuan(passageway),9,12,77, 111, 118,138,141, 143,144,153,157-158,277,306,41161,426,531, 531fn; tempuan bilik, 589,58961 longhouse, site of former (tembawai), 91,91 fti, 96,171, 172,173,219,245,276,299,415,41561,552-553, 587,58761 Lot-Falck, Eveline, 185 Lucas, see Barrett lukai, bark, weakens spirits, 108,4436i; see blinder lupung, see shamanic equipment luput, see faint main, see performance malaria, 80 Malay, 13,341,343,347,38561,625,625fh Malay healers (bomoh and dukun}, 13, 14, 16, 38, 68, 13461 Maloh, 273,27361 manang, see shamans manang ball see shaman. Manang Asun, xiii, 18,336i, 14261,199,200,20061,201, 226,250,251,277,41561,41961,425,685 Manang Bangga, 18,52,53,54,55,56-57,63,67,69,70, 72,104,116,126,131,139,185,186,188,229, 230-31,233,236,445 Manang Digat, 18,24,38.52,53,133,136,158,187,188, 190,235-36,238,326,328,366,591 fti Manang Enteri, 326-329 Manang Gieng, 35,446 Manang Giri, 25,35,445,446,712 Manang Jabing, xiii, xiv, 17,18,236i, 23-25,26,27,28,29, 31,33-34,35,39-43,125,130,150,191-193,197. 228,23061,240,24 M3,247^8,26161,277,321, 323,405,424,445,446,712-719 Manang Linggong, 144,145,146,148-149,150,153,185, 186-187,191,42461 Manang Meramat, 326-329 Manang Sawang, 52,53,54,58,63 Manang Tarang, 126-130 Mandai, 236; see Sebayan Masing, James Jemut, xv, 6 massage, 43-44,45,124,125 mat(htoz),52,145,148-149,180,184,185,187 bidaioTidas, 199,19961,45161 spreading a mat (anchau tikai), 145,199,446,447, 455,463 mat canoe {tikaiperau), 144,148-49,180,187,249 Matusl^,Pa6icia,xiv, 165,166,685-711 medicinal plants, see plants medicine, Chinese, 589

SEEDS OF PLAY

748

medicine, Western, 13,26,37-38,47 medicine box {lupun^, see shamanic equipment meligai (dais). 34,121 fii, 444,445,446,471 -483,521 th, 654 Mengalai, see messengers Menjaya, see gods and goddesses messengers, 2,8,11,517 bats, 11,99,177,177&, 445,517,518-523,527-539, 573,659 Mengalai, 95,113,113fn, 12 Ifii, 363,363fii sacrificial chicken, 120,195 millet, 278,279 Minggat, 465,465fri monitor lizard (menarat), see reptiles/amphibians, also divination moon, 317,467.471,511,581,581 fn, 605,605fii, 637, 637fii, 641,645,66Ifii. 712; full moon, 117,261, 267,317,581,681 fii, 605,605111,712; moonless night, 305 Mount Rabung, see Rabung, see also death, death of a shaman mourning, 88,114,234,325; see also death ngetas uHt, 324,325,326,404 /?afla,88,114,324 m///, 88,32461,325 Munan, Heidi, 18461,271 fti music melody and melodic ornamentation, 162,166,685686,687-689 singing style, 1, 163-166, 685-689; see also vocalization, also Appendix 1 rendition Q{a.pelian, see Appendix 1,685-711 rhythm, 688-689 tempo, 164,165,689 music, use of instruments, 7fii, 84,164,186,186fii,269, 26961,447 bells (gerz ’ and gerarawng), 7fn, 93,129,305,308309,31161,313,339,453,489,547,599 drum (rz/ZuMgand ketebun^, 30, 31,32, 36-7, 96, 18661,23361,383,38361,493,613; see also alarm gendang,gendangraya, 84,118, 186,23361,456, 503,505 gendang lanjan, 271,27161 gendang ngalu, 447 gendangpatnpaJ, 37,37fn gongs, see gongs Jew’s harp, 603 mustard {chabikox ensabi), 55,92,347,34761 myths, 29,44,83-85,108-115 ofJarai,29,44,60,84-85,108-109,186 ofJerukan, 60,69,111-115

ofKedawa, 110-111 ofLandu, 109-110 offerings, 30,227,305,306,31561,326,327,328,345, 34561,446,448,456,459,45961,461,463,467, 475,477,637,63761,641,643,645,653,654,661, 66161, 663; see also bedara', for dekuh, see pagar api to the spirit guide (ytjwg), 30,117,195,326,405,456, 477,479 omens, 42,63,65,66,74,97,2816i, 447; see also divinahon birds, rufiis piculet, 671 sound (sabut}, 74,713 dreams as, 42,65,74,119,125-130,197; see also dreams Orang Panggau, see spirit heroes order {ripih}, 3-4,189-190; see also journey otherworld, see Sebayan, see also cosmology

pagar api (fence of 6re), shamanic shrine, 109,110,133, 134,135,141,142,144-153,154,162,16761,177, 182,195,197,327,406,40961,42661 construction of, 133, 144-153,195,200,327,366, 443 mythic origin of, 108-109 symbolism of, 135,141,150-153,16761,327 to circumambulate, 135,142,151-152,162-163,174, 177,406 rules relating to, 135,140,142,149,154 /?CTg«7z‘dpz, parts of(see diagram 2,147,table3,150-151) banana stalk or leaf, 89,145,146,147,150,327,411, 41161 basket, see baskets bushknife (duku\ 146,147,151,200,329 e/eAw/z (offering), 133,150-151,152,195,200,25361, 327,40961,41961 jars, see jars kembaibunga, 147,150-151,196,327,366,42461 lemba ’ fibers, 146,147,151,327 mat, see mats plate, 146,147,148,151,200,209 pHfl'AMzwZm'(ritual cloth). 122,146,147,149,151, 195,327,328; see also cloth spear (razjgAwA), 145,147,150,4096i,411;see also spear paradox, 75,81,38961,55361,57961 passageway, see longhouse, social/architectural divisions payment of manang, see shamans pelangka (sieve), see shamanic equipment pelepa see barriers

INDEX

pelian, rites of the manang, 1,3,10-11, 121-122,154, 425, 715; see also shamans, also curing sessions jalai pelian as experiences of the manang's soul, 2 mastery of a pelian repertoire, 20-21 pelian, varieties of, 10-11,136-140,199,424,715 pelian anchaubidai, 18,199-226,421 ffi, 685,691711 pelian bebataklampung, 159,160,160fh pelianbebunuhantu, 137,166,170,191, 192,193,305-323 pelian bedagang, 159 pelian bejereki' kandung, 17,43,64,152,52961 pelian belimbu ayu, 62,63,64,444 pelian beserara’ bunga, VI, 43,59,60, 89, 91, 93, 10561,11361,121,136,150,153,172,250,324404 pelian besudi’, 361,46 pelian besumpit, 129 pelian betanam ayu, 62,63,64,122 pelian betimba 36,718 pelian gerai nyamai, ^24 pelian kara'penjuang, \31 pelian lubang batu, \3'1 pelian mensiang bunga, 43,60,196,250 pelian merau,3'&, 187,188,234,235 pelian munggu' raran, 10,11,182,715 pelian ngambi ’ semengat baruh jerangku kara ’, 17,122,137,227-249,712 pelian ngambi’semengatpagi, 18, 196,201,405424 pelian nganjungpelepa', 18,72,154,425-443 pelian ngeraga bunga, 17,60,196,250-273,712 pelian nupi' ayu, 62 peliannyala, 11,128,129-130 pelian nyembayan, 18,41,89,171,274-304,715 pelian terebai, 53 pelian titi rowan, 160 pentik, see effi^ perembian (emperian'), see 6iendship names performance (main), 1,17,134-135,134fn, 142,154, 156, 170, 185, 193; see also words, artistry (verbal) as enactment, 21,180,182-186,195 as play or entertainment, 134,13461 performance skills, 17,170,189-195 audience involvement, 189-195 Perham, John, 3061,35,85,617,61761 person, components of, 48-50,189; see also body, also soul personal autonomy, 11,119

749

Pilz, Annemarie, 23,236i, 26,3061,4061 plants, 60,64-65,178,25561,406,52961,607; see also trees areca blossoms (mayangpinang), 30, 52,62,248, 448,493; see also divination areca nut (buahpinan^, 183,327,406,421,42161, 493,495,49761.499,49961 bamboo (buluh), 60,64,152,153,261,327,366,431, 43161,52561,601,603,60361,621,6216i; see also plant image banana plant (p(sa«g), 51,62,64,89,145,389,411; lengki, 601 cordyline (sabang), 61,63,64,89,103,153,169,220, 221,22161,385,392,456,493,515,635,63561, 654,683 enterakup (type of grass), 57 6owers, 60,208,209,20961,22161,25561,25961,265, 267,26761,269,26961,271,2716i, 328,331, 33161,333,33361,357,359,567 medicinal plants and 6ees, 44,80,101,537,548-549, 54961,56161,56761,62761 rice, see rice sega ’ cane, 551,593 plant image (ayu and bunga), 48, 49, 58-65, 136, 139, 178.196.250- 273 58,59,62-65,152,153,170,22161,446,456,483, 491,49161,493,554 bunga (also bungai), 59-62,63,65,91-92,93,112, 136.250251,255,25761,327,328,359,35961, 366 celestial garden, 60,75,112,549 difference between ayu and bunga, 59,61 -65 health and illness, 60,61,178,196,250-251,25561, 272n,366 tended by Shaman Entawai, 60,112 severing the bunga, 59-61,91-97,324-404 erecting awning, 60,139 replanting, 63,139 weeding, 60,62,63,112,122,138,169-170,250-273 plates (or bowls) (p/rtggaZ)- 22,134,150,160,209,247, 365,448,479,665; see alsopagar api, parts of praise-song (timang), 6,761,346i, 123, 200,239,447, 455,465-469,493,499 prayers (^ampz), 30,31,120,121,197,322-323,328,447, 456; see also bedara pregnancy, 43,46,47,51,62,339; rituals related to, 62, 529,53161 Pringle, Robert, 13,465fn prohibitions mali QV pemali,39,4^-4\ ,43,5461,65,67,140,154,

750

SEEDS OF PLAY

197,241,293fn, 404,424,426,426fh; see also ada( pantang, 130,195 puni, 61,70,70fii, 126,195; see also illness

Rabung (Mount Rabung), 29,34,37, 87,88, 115-117, 118,172,177,202,225,249,276; 303,365,389, 403,423,443,463,479,483,491,491 fii, 571.651, 657,665,667,683 as otherworld ofthe shamans, 37,116 association with human head, 118,126 location of, 87,116 Ragai Lang, Nicholl, xiii, 18 Ranyai palm, see trees Rejang, 6,26fii, 73,100,104 reptiles/amphibians, see also spirits, also spirit guides cobra, 159,213,220,221,297,333,355,511,581, 669,681 coral snake, 669 crocodile. 28,37,72,82,215,21 5fii, 241,276,293fii, 295,297,306,371,397,433,435,595,669 frog, 177,235fii,615,615fh; frogshaman,615 gecko (tuchuk), 525-527,525fh house lizard, 177,493,493fo monitor lizard {menarat}, 28,37, 82,276,277,293, 293fii,295,304,306,718 python, 28,156,213,243,297,461,479,539,589 tortoise, 28,32,32fii, 627 turtle, 28,32,82,83,157,177,215,297,306,429, 435fii, 593,593fii, 629,' 629fii, 641,669, 718 reptiles, as spirit guides, 33, 429, 433; see also cobra, crocodile, python, and turtle rhyme, 6,7,122,163-164,429fin; see also words, also leka main rice, 30,31,73,209,343,345,345fii, 347,347fii, 353,353fii, 355,459fii,477,677& as a transformative medium, 189 rice fanning, 60,63,88,194,205fe, 23 Ifii, 250,253fe. 424,448fii,549fo,577 berastitmpu,40,148,149,151,184,185,188,236 husked rice (Wav), 30,31,32,40,145,148,149,181, 188,240,276,277,304,40Ifii, 459; collecting rice (mupu beras) for a manang’s induction, 30 popped rice, 315,463,465,477,565,565fii, 631,641 for reinserting the soul, 188,189,236 burial of manang in, 30,31,32 monitor lizard of(menarat beras), 41,276-277,291295,304,715; see also divination in bebangun, 30-32

rice souls (semengatpadi), 51-5%, 63 scattering, 417,4I7fii,418,4I9 Richards, Anthony, xv, 1,26,29-30,32,34,40,45,70,82, 84,92fii, 114&, 123,134,138,163,164,183,199, 250,265fii, 271 fh, 315fii, 333fii,339fii, 353 fh, 37161,381fr, 38561,39161,39561,40961,43761, 45161,46761,48561,52561,52961,54761,55961, 56361,57761,6016i, 60961,61361,61561,61961, 62761,63161,66161,67561,67761 ripih, see order rooftop (perabun^, see longhouse, sociaVarchitectural division Roth, Henry Ling, 3061,35,43 Rouget, Gilbert, 184 rubber, 92,127,34761,349,38561

sacrifice, see offerings Sandin, Benedict, ix, x, xv, 6,10,13,17,20,21,24,29,33, 34,3561,36,83,84,8461,85,97,98,99,109,1 10, 111, 11461,116,118,152,177,17761,324,326, 41761,43761,444,46561,46761,47361,501fti, 52761,66761,67161 Sather, Clifibrd, 5,6,7,8,9,10,12,13,16,17,21,22,26, 3461,37,43,57,58,59,60,62,63,65,66,68,71, 71fii, 72,73,76,77,78,79,82,83,84,85,86,87, 88,9161,92,9261,95,97,102,104,10461,107, 11161,114,11461,115,116,118,127,12861,134, 135,137,138, 141,142,155,156,157,16261, 16561,16761,176,177,179,20961,21361,21961, 250,26361,2716i, 27661,29761,305,3156i, 324, 326,328,331,33561,33961,34561,35361,37561, 37961,41361,41561,42661,4316i, 43361,43561, . 43961,45361,57561,58761,61561,62961,654 Sather, Georgeann, illustration title page, diagrams 143, 147 scanning (ninjau), 31,41,59,125,130-132,135-136,199, 713-714; see also curing session in diagnosis, 41,59,125,130-132,199-200 interpretation. 41,45,130-131,132,135,193,714 scanning crystal, see shamanic equipment Scott, N.C., 34-35 Sebayan (otherworld ofthe dead), 2,8-9,37,56,57,59, 82,86,87-97,110-111.1H fti, 116,138,200,216, 217,21761,275,276,28761,33161,36361,369381,389,393,409,40961,4116i, 4516i, 565 disparaged by the shaman, 96-97,389,391-393,409, 40961,413 longhouse of the dead, 10,90,138,156,276,277, 715 spirits of the dead (antv Sebayan), see spirits, of the dead

INDEX

Sebayan, landmarks in, 88,95-96,138,155,157,285fh, 331,331fh, 337,337fh, 339,343,349,409fn, 411fiT,565,565fii Ai’ Limban, 90,118,138,287,287fo, 381 Batu Tckiip Bedaup, 157 LeburApiHill, 138,337 Mandai River, 37,88,95,96,111,138,155-156,158, 161,335,335fii, 3'il, 341,363; Wung Mandai (Mandai Waterfall), 138,377,377fii Sungai Lupa, 565,565fh Tanah Lang, 337,337fn Tinting Lanjan, 56,138,159,200,381 place of the ill-fated dead, 95,96,373-379,375fii; see also death Sebuyau Iban, shamanism among, 16fii seen and unseen, 2,4,12,21-23,47,48^9,51-52,58,63, 82,116,122,124,136,159,167,170,176,180181,193-194,201-202,205 fii, 276,425; see also cosmology, also Sebayan conjoining of, 82,159-160,170,172,176-177,189 reversals of, 22,67,82 Selempandai, see gods and goddesses, see also body semengat, see soul session, see curing session shadow {gyuk}, 52,53,61; see also soul shallow (mabu'}, see deep/shallow, see also language shamans (manang), 1,2,4,5,8,10-13,20-47,151-152, 170,176-177,180-181,184,193-194,195,716718 as distinguished from medium, 11-12,27,119 as intercessor, 2,4-5,22-23,122,181,193-194 definition,2,10-12,23,47,119,184-185,185fii cultural representation of, 10,11-13,21-23,25,26, 47,152,170,176,177,181,184-185 declining numbers of, 16-17,46fii kinship with clients, 121,409fh, 425,429&1 payment of, 17,24,26,3461,40^1,43,125,185,197198,248-49,323,404,448, 683fii personality of, 12,21-22,25-26 summoninga, 37-43,100,119-120,121,539fii,555fii useofdeception by,21-22,138-139,170,185,485fii, 715 wandering {belelang) of, 43,555fn shamans, career of, 12,23-29,1-16,712-717 becoming a, 12,20-21,23-34,716-717 being called, 20-21,24-25,712,713,716 apprenticeship, 16,17,20,23-29, lOSfii, 183,184,185 inheriting the calling, 16,24,46 initiation of {bangun or bebangun}, 20, 20fh, 25, 29-34,104,105,110,117,118,136,152,190,445, 64561,712,713,718

751

as colleagues, 27,32,36,36fti, 25561 renaming and titles, 32-33,33fii, 36,627,627fii, 717 changing a patient’s name, 444,445,44561,537fh, 667,66761 slaying spirits, 10,33,72,83,305-323,587,713 illness of, 36,3661,718 death of, 36-37,115-116 shamans, types of ancestral shamans, 33,98,10661,202,23361,253fii, 25561 animals as shamans, 102,177-178; see also animals initiate manang {manang mengeris), 3,23,24-26, 29,30 newly initiated manang{inanangmata'), 30,33-34, 35 senior manang {manang muda, manang mansau or manang tuai), 30,34,35 transformed or transvestite manang {manang ball *), 3361,34-36,41,43-44,445,446,52761 of the mountains {manang bukit), 98, 103,508-515, 659 shamanic equipment {perengka manang), 16,447; see also pagar apt annletCrangh-^,93,149,153,185-86,191,201,207, 233,237,239,269,305,328,41 Ifii bushknife {duku), 200, 449, 587; see soul strengthener, see also pagar api charms, see charms fishhooks {ginti), 31,33,50,50fii, 54,110,217,243, 299,383 iron, see iron lime-paste {kapu'), 124,125,126,327,41961 medicine box {lupung), 16,20,24,34,34fii, 38,4346,98,100,123,147,149,197,331,331 fii, 465, 509,515,533-535,539,53961,551,571,583,585, 587,681 meligai, see meligai TnQTtax{lesung), 111, 137,138,159-160,205,459, 45961,67761 pestle {alu\ 137,159,227,66961,67761 ritual cloth {pua’ kumbuy, see cloth, alsopagar api scanning crystal {batu ilau, ‘seeing stone’ and batukaras, ‘translucent stone’), 25,41,45,129, 130-132,35561,712,713,714; gift or inheritance of, 25,712; see also scanning sieve (pelangkay 178,445,447-449,44861,450-

453,455,471,473,475,483,485,487-489,48761, 53261,537 shirt of blood, 33,713,718 spear, see spear

752

spirit guide, see spirit guide swing, see swing shamanism in the Betong-Saratok area, 13-17 Siikala, Anna-Leena, xiv, 12fii, 184 Siikala, Jukka, x, xiv Silverstein, Michael, 178 Simpulang Gana, see gods and goddesses Singalang Burung, see gods and goddesses Smythies,B.,5831h soul (semengaf), 2,4,10,48,51-58,61-62,83,118,119, 130-132,136,405,421ft, 657,659 aggregating, collecting family souls, 58; 63, 132, 195-196,405-406,419,421fii, 424 as image ofthe body, 52,54-55,132 beliefs concerning, 2,51-58,61,69,71,87,131,421 fii growing wild, 4,68,130,186,211 fo, 213,227-228 location in the body; 52,53-54 number of souls, 52-53 transubstantiation, 57-58,87,233fri; see also dew universality of, 56-57,83 soul loss, 54,58,71,119,130,199-200,235,714 soul capture, 10,53,55,66-68,200,213,227-228, 249,715 soul recovery, 10,53,54,58,89,122,132,136,175177,182,186-188,196,213ft. 227,228,231,249, 276,328-329,366,383-385,405,417 taking back the shaman’s soul, 10,58,196-197,443, 665-667 re-insertion in the body, 54,118,176-177,186-189, 196,223ft, 226,233,249,303ft, 304,321,366, 424 soul guide (tukang sabaK), 1, 2, 5, 8-10, 85, 146, 184, 535fo,591fe soul strengthener {kering semengat}, 9, 24, 34fn, 149, 151,162,186,198,329,404,449 spear, 43,134,145,675,67561,677; see a{&Qpagar api, parts of spider (ewpeZowa), as a ritual visitor, 177, 493, 495, 495fh; as a shaman, 542-543,543fh spirit guide iyang), 11,20-21,23-29,32,42,66,120,176, 228,535,53561,712-714,716-717 as animals, 28,32,276n; see also animals, see also birds being called by, 20-21,23-29,712,713 of bards, 27fh, 66 of shamans, 11-12,20-21,23-29,27fo, 32,42,46,66, 83,90,114-115,148,176,181,185,200,228,712713,714,717-718 effectiveness of shaman attributed to, 27-28,191, 718 set payments, 198

SEEDS OF PLAY

spirit guardians {tua ’), 27ft, 95,95fo, 363,363fo spirit heroes and heroines (Orang Panggau), 6,7,8,65, 83-85,86,97,99,104-105,172,177,377fo,423fo, 435fo, 45961,471,471 fo, 473,47361,517,55361 Keling, 7,83,84,85,29161,293,471,47161 Kumang, 7,84,90,111,29161,29361 Apai Sabit Bekait, 471,471 fo separation 6om humans, 83-85,86 spirits (on/M), 65-74,131,137 appearing as animals, 65,66,82-83,167-168,53161, 591.59161.671- 673,67161,712 common ancestry with humans, 65, 85, 202,210, 211,21161,446 habitation of, 66,82-83,95,167-168 spirit lairs, see 6ees, fig spirit wounds, see illness spirits, varieties of, water spuits, 65-66,305,306 seducing spirits (antu tunang), 66,71-73,71 fo, 192, 305.306.53161.671-673,67161,673fo; spirits of deceased spouses, 326 a«Zw6«VH’(orwoZ),40,73-74,102,156,587,58761 antugerasi, demon huntsmen, 21,66-68,69,73,85, 8561,108,209,20961,211,21 Ift, 213,227,23361, 24561,446; origin of, 84-85,209ft, 21 Ifo, 213, 227, 23161,23361,261, 262, 26261,713; as a yang, 83,85,712,713 antu kuklir, spirits of women who died in childbirth, 167-168 antu lulus, spirits of fetal and stillborn dead, 92, 9261,114 ofthe dead (antu Sebayan}, 9-10,87-88,89,91-97, 110-111,275,276,277,331,333,361,36161,363 of commonplace things, 493,49361,495,497,49761 springtrap (peti •), 321,32161,375,411,425,437,439, 67361 stars, 339,341,49761,661 stones, 79,137,145,200; see charms Suluk (Tausug), 625,62561,677,67761 Sutlive, Vinson, xv, 1,8,19,25,27,30fo, 32,34,36,66, 156,34561 swing(taliwa’}, ni, 130,141,145,160,196,200,306, 41161, 424, 426, 443, 543, 54361, 545; tiang pancha, 306

Tambiah, Stanley, x-xi Telichai, 44,84-85,85fo, 108; see also myths Telichu, 44,84-85,108 this world, see cosmology thread (benang and ubung}, see cloth Tinting Apit, 54161

INDEX

Titi Rawan, see Bridge of Fear Torrance, Robert M., 12,181 trance, notion of, 12-13,16fii, 183,183fri, 184,185,185fii, 186fii; see also faint {luput} transformation, 28,75,80-81,86,88,122,155,170,175, 187,194,219 transformative symbols, 187 pagar api, 152-155; see alsopagar api, symbolism of water, 175 transformed shaman, see shamans translation, see chants transvestite shaman, see shamans trees, 60,141-142,459fii, 553,575,577,581,607,609,611, 615; see also fruit Zjznt/ortgpalm, 529,601,631 e«/e/i,34,34fii,509,515 fig trees (kayu kafa"), 61, 68, 128, 137, 227-228, 231 fii, 232,233,235,237,239,239fii, 241,241fii, 243,245,249,265,439,577, 577fo, 613,613fh, 671,671fii,712 ironwood (belian or teras), 519,519fri, 639,643 melaban, 561,561 fii mumban, 615,615fii n/ZjMwgpalm, 527,529,601 Ranyaipalm, 10,114 ridan palm, 553 tepus suman palm, 529 for ritual sieve (pelangka), 450-453,45 Ifh; see also shamanic equipment, sieve trophy heads, see head-hunting

753

Tsing, Anna L., 70fh, 185 fh tua ’, see spirit guardian TunJugahFoundation,x,xiii-xiv, 18 Uchibori, Motomitsu, xv, 59,61,64,88,89&i, 375fii ulit, see mourning upperworld, see cosmology Urban, Greg, 174,175,179,180

vigils or vision quests {nampuK), 365fn, 423fii visitor, ritual {pengaban^, 2,6, 98, 111, 517; see also gods and spirit heroes. vocalization style (patoAnymva 9,1,162,163-166,166fii, 201,685-689 Wadley, Reed, XV, 199fh,324,331fii Wall of the Day (Dinding Hari), 86,556-557 water, see bathing, see transformative symbols weaving, see cloth whetstone, 585,587 winnowing sieve {pelangkd}, see shamanic equipment, sieve words, their importance in ritual, 1-5,21,168-170,172,178181; see also language, also leka main as efficacious, 2,3,21,170,178-181,194 capacity for representation, 2,169,180,189-191 artistry (verbal), 3,5,17,21-23,122,134,168,189, 190,299fii,611fh yang, see spirit guide