Page 175 - Malay sketches

BER-HANTU

all appearance in a swoon. The Jin Ka-raja-an
had taken possession of the sick body, and the mind
was no longer under its owner's control.
For a little while there was great excitement, and
then the King recovered consciousness, was carried
to a side verandah and a quantity of cold water
poured over him.
So ended the seance.
Shortly after, the Sultan, clothed and in his right
mind, sent to say he would like to speak to me.
He told me he took part in this ceremony to please
his people and because it was a very old custom,
"
and he added, I did not know you were there till
I could not see because I was not
just now ; you
myself and did not know what I was doing."
The King did not die, after all on the contrary,
I was sent for twice again because he was not
expected to live till the morning, and yet he cheated
Death for a time.
That reminds me of the banshee. I saw it sitting
in a Malay house some months later, and they told
me the boys had caught it, that it was an owl, and
its name was Toh ka-tampi. It had very round,
yellow eyes, and there was no mistake about the
horns. It seems that with Malays it is an ill-
omened bird, the herald of misfortune and death,