Page:Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (IA journalofstrait391903roya).pdf/87

 We had talked to one another so pleasantly and frankly that I thought I might ask Dasu as a great favor to show me his Lupong, or Medicine Chest, and the charms of power which it contained. It was quite evident that this aroused his suspicions again, and he retired within himself as before. But the prin- cipal people of the house, who were sitting by us, urged him to consent, and, as old acquaintances of mine, assured him of my good faith. So he was at last persuaded, and went to his own room to fetch the treasure.

As I have said, the good mats of the household, as is usual when it is intended to show respect to a visitor, had been taken down for our accommodation from the place where they are stored. But we now saw that the most valued of them all had been held in reserve. This, which was made of fine and very flexible rotan, the latest triumph of the skill and industry of our courteous hostess Ipah, Brok's wife, was now handed down and spread in front of us for the reception of the great man and the mysterious implements of his profession. After some consider- able delay, probably intended to excite our curiosity the more, he appeared and sat down on the mat prepared for him: a subdued murmur of applause and satisfaction greeting him as he took his seat.

A Manang's Lupong, or case for holding his charms, may be almost anything. Sometimes it is a box, sometimes a basket, sometimes a bag. In this instance it was an open-mouthed basket made of thin shavings of bamboo, hung round the neck of the owner by a strip of bark.

Before beginning the exhibition Dasu made a little formal speech, in which with much show of humility, he spoke in depreciation of his own powers and knowledge, and of his collection of remedial charms, as compared with those of other members of the profession elsewhere. These remarks were of course received with complimentary expressions of dissent from the audience: and then at last the contents of the basket were displayed before us. They were tied up together in a cloth bag, the most highly prized being further enclosed in special receptacles of their own, such as a second cloth covering, a little bamboo box with a lid, or a match-box. They were ceremoniously brought out and placed side by side on the mat