The “lump of earth from the victim’s footprint” used in one form of the soul-
abduction ceremony^77 is to be wrapped up in three thicknesses of cloth, which
must be red, black, and yellow respectively, the yellow being outside. Again (in
the ceremony of casting out “the mischief” from a sick man), a white cosmetic is
assigned for use in the morning, a red cosmetic for mid-day, and black for
sundown.^78
Now in all, I believe, of what are now called the Federated Malay States, and
probably in all Malay States whatsoever, yellow is the colour used by royalty,
whereas the more exalted and sacred colour, white (with occasional lapses into
yellow), has been adopted by Malay medicine-men as the colour most likely to
conciliate the spirits and demons with whom they have to deal. Thus the soul-
cloth, which, by the way, is always five cubits long (lima hasta), is sometimes
white and (much more rarely) yellow, and hence in the first instance just quoted,
the yellow cloth, being, next to white, of the colour which is most
complimentary to the demons, is the one which is put outside; and in the second
instance, for similar reasons, the white cosmetic is to be used first.
The working out of this system, however, must await fresh evidence, and all I
would do now is to emphasise the importance of colour in such investigations,
and to urge the collection of fresh material.^79
(d) Animal, Vegetable, and Mineral Souls
Hitherto I have treated of human souls only, but animal, mineral, and vegetable
souls will now be briefly discussed. Speaking generally, I believe the soul to be,
within certain limits, conceived as a diminutive but exact counterpart of its own
embodiment, so that an Animal-soul would be like an animal, a Bird-soul like a
bird; however, lower in the scale of creation it would appear that the Tree- or
Ore-souls, for instance, are supposed, occasionally at least, to assume the shape
of some animal or bird. Thus the soul of Eagle-wood is thought to take the shape
of a bird, the soul of Tin-ore that of a buffalo, the Gold-soul that of a deer.^80 It
has, however, always been recognised that the soul may enter other bodies