described in a later part of this book.^64
To the same category (of sacred things having physical connection with the
body) should doubtless be referred such objects as the eyebrows, the saliva, and
soil taken from the (naked) footstep, all of which are utilised by the magician to
achieve his nefarious ends.
(c) The Soul
The Malay conception of the Human Soul (Sĕmangat)^65 is that of a species of
“Thumbling,” “a thin, unsubstantial human image,” or mannikin, which is
temporarily absent from the body in sleep, trance, disease, and permanently
absent after death.
This mannikin, which is usually invisible but is supposed to be about as big as
the thumb, corresponds exactly in shape, proportion, and even in complexion, to
its embodiment or casing (sarong), i.e. the body in which it has its residence. It
is of a “vapoury, shadowy, or filmy” essence, though not so impalpable but that
it may cause displacement on entering a physical object, and as it can “fly” or
“flash” quickly from place to place, it is often, perhaps metaphorically,
addressed as if it were a bird.^66
Thus in a charm given in the Appendix we find—
“Hither, Soul, come hither!
Hither, Little One, come hither!
Hither, Bird, come hither!
Hither, Filmy One, come hither!”^67As this mannikin is the exact reproduction in every way of its bodily counterpart,
and is “the cause of life and thought in the individual it animates,” it may readily
be endowed with quasi-human feelings, and “independently possess the personal
consciousness and volition of its corporeal owner.” Thus we find the following