New-York tribune., 1896-12-06
/ l..
MYTH AND RELIGION IN BORNEO

MYTH AND RELIGION IN BORNEO.
One can find something In this book to con-
firm any theory one happens to hold respecting
the primitive habits of man. All those notions
which are expressed in the hard words Mutter-
recht, endogomy eXogamy, polyandry, ana so
on to the end of the list, exist In fact or in
tradition in Borneo But when all is said there
is no proof that any Of the practices indicated
by these words were universal at given time.
There Is also plenty of evidence OF cannibalism
and human sacrifces-and these are perhaps,
not done away with altogether at the present
day-but there is no proof that some time in the
past everybody ate human flesh or murdered
iren and women in honor of the gods. Even the
familiar controversy about savage peoples.
namely, as to whether they have religion or
not recurs In the study Of the Dyaks. None
worthy of the name, testfes one investigator;
whereupon Mr.. Lang who has views on the sub
ject not adapted TO the atmosphere OF a mis-
sionary meeting. declares that this only shows
what the investigator supposes religion to be-
1t seems to be certain. however, that the Dyaks
have neither the religion nor the folklore which
they started with or that they began by borrow
ing Archdeacon Perham. to whom the world
owes most of It's knowledge Of Dyak heroic
poetry agrees that the word for God. Petara,
which he defines equivalent In sense to the
plural Elohim Of the Old Testament, Is simply
the Hndoo word Avatara transferred to the
Dyaks through the Malays. The same problem
that confounds the students of Egyptian lore
meets those who wish TO understand the the
osopby OF the Dyaks When a Dyak is in the
humor he will insist that there is only one Petara,
the universal ruler and creator. In that case he
usually betrays himself By showing knowledge
OF Islam or Christianity. But he is just as likely
hot Tn
any case this borrowed word conveys to his mind
an idea more powerful than that of the ancestral
spirits with which he is more intimate He
has many inferior deties. but in extremity il is
to Petara that he appeals. Petara is to him
person many persons, never an incarnation
like the Hndoo Avatar. He is capable, however
of conceiving his many gods as the manifesto
tions Of one being, and so he is quite capable
of contradicting himself when talking about re-
ligion as any white man would be in his place
In his songs Petara Is described as the first who
stretched out the heavens. who created the earth
who poured out the waters. who made man of
clay. 1t Is Petara who preserves man from evil
spirits and rescues his soul when it departs from
the body.
II these ideas were original with the Dyak. II
Petara were his own word, there would be here a
clear case Of the evolution OF an imperfect
monotheism out Of the witchcraft and nature
worship and science Of omens which make up so
large part OF his ordinary life and thinking.
But there is no evidence OF a gradual advance
In his mind from the one set of ideas TO
the other. On the contrary. there Is indirect
proof I'm his folklore of effort explain ava,
the differences which Mahometans usually insist
on between themselves and idolaters. book
religion stands with them a plane with other
book religions The Dyak feels his inferiority
n this respect. when the Malay produces the