may throw further light on the subject. It has not been deemed desirable to
anticipate such inferences and comparisons here; but, without trespassing
beyond the scope of the present work, it may be noticed that there is a special
appropriateness in concluding it with the above account of the various methods
of soul-abduction. From them, taken together with what has already been said on
the subject,^264 a fairly complete idea can be gathered of the Malay conception of
the Soul; and it is hardly too much to say that this conception is the central
feature of the whole system of Malay magic and folklore, from which all the
different branches with their various applications appear to spring.
The root-idea seems to be an all-pervading Animism, involving a certain
common vital principle (sĕmangat) in Man and Nature, which, for want of a
more suitable word, has been here called the Soul. The application of this
general theory of the universe to the requirements of the individual man
constitutes the Magic Art, which, as conceived by the Malays, may be said to
consist of the methods by which this Soul, whether in gods, men, animals,
vegetables, minerals, or what not, may be influenced, captured, subdued, or in
some way made subject to the will of the magician.
It would, however, probably be a mistake to push this analysis too far; for side
by side with the theory of a universe animated by souls, which by the use of the
appropriate words and forms can be cajoled or threatened, there are the ideas of
Luck and Ill-luck, and the notion, strong in Muhammadans all over the world, of
a preordained course of events. Sometimes, presumably in extreme cases, there
is no escape from this destiny: if a man is fated to die at a certain time, die he
must, whatever he may do. But to a great extent ill-luck can be avoided if one
knows how; though we cannot stop it, we need not expose ourselves to its
influence. Thus a particular hour may be unlucky for the doing of a certain act;
but if we know that it is so, we need not incur the danger.
There are, therefore, for a Malay three alternatives, it would seem: viz. Charms,
for occasions where moral pressure can be brought to bear; Divination, to assist
in detecting dangers which in the ordinary course must come but can be avoided;
and, finally, Islām (Resignation), when he has to meet the inevitable, whether it
be regarded as the course of Fate or the eternal purpose of God.