occasional pauses for the emission of the growls, which had previously startled
us, and the performance of wonderful cat-like leaps, rapidly licked up the
handfuls of rice which had been thrown upon the floor in front of it. This part of
the performance lasted, however, but a few minutes, and then the evident
excitement of the onlookers was raised to fever pitch, as the bizarre, and, as it
seemed to our fascinated senses, strangely brute-like form stooped suddenly
forward, and slowly licked over, as a tigress would lick its cub, the all but naked
body of the patient—a performance (to a European) of so powerfully nauseating
a character that it can hardly be conceived that any human being could persist in
it unless he was more or less unconscious of his actions. At all events, after his
complete return to consciousness at the conclusion of the ceremony, even the
Pawang experienced a severe attack of nausea, such as might well be supposed
to be the result of his performance. Meanwhile, however, the ceremony
continued. Reverting to a sitting posture (though still with shrouded head), the
Pawang now leaned forward over the patient, and with the point of his dagger
drew blood from his own arm; then rising to his feet he engaged in a fierce hand-
to-hand combat with his invisible foe (the spirit whom he had been summoned to
exorcise). At first his weapon was the dagger, but before long he discarded this,
and laid about him stoutly enough with the sheaf of areca-palm blossom.
Presently, however, he quieted down somewhat, and commenced to “stroke” the
sick man (as before) with the sheaf of palm-blossom, beating out the blossom
upon the floor as usual at the end of the operation. Then sitting down again and
crooning to himself, he partook of betel-leaf, faced round towards the patient and
stooped over him, muttering as he did so, and passing his hands all over the
prostrate form. Next he turned once more to the jars and again plunged his
dagger into each of them in turn (to make sure that the evil spirit was not lurking
in them), and then drawing his head-cloth over his head so as to completely hide
his face, he once more took his seat beside the patient, stooping over him from
time to time and crooning charms as he did so.
Finally he clapped his hands, removed his head-cloth, “stroked” the patient over
and flicked him with the corners of it, and then shrouding himself once more in
the sarong, lay down at full length in a state of complete exhaustion. A pause of
about ten minutes’ duration now followed, and then with sundry convulsive
twitchings the Pawang returned to consciousness and sat up, and the ceremony
was over.