The dominant emotion in the presence of these is fear;
and the attitude is that of avoidance and propitiation.
The Gods
The Kayans recognise a number of gods that preside over great
departments of their lives and interests. The more important of
these are the god of war, TOH BULU; three gods of life, LAKI JU URIP,
LAKI MAKATAN URIP, and LAKI KALISAI URIP, of whom the first is the
most important; the god of thunder and storms, LAKI BALARI and his
wife OBENG DOH; the god of fire, LAKI PESONG; gods of the harvest,
ANYI LAWANG and LAKI IVONG; a god of the lakes and rivers, URAI UKA;
BALANAN, the god of madness; TOH KIHO, the god of fear; LAKI KATIRA
MUREI and LAKI JUP URIP, who conduct the souls of the dead to Hades.
Beside or above all these is LAKI TENANGAN, a god more powerful
than all the rest, to whom are assigned no special or departmental
functions. He seems to preside or rule over the company of lesser
gods, much as Zeus and Jupiter ruled over the lesser gods of the
ancient Greeks and Romans.
The Kayans seem to have no very clear and generally accepted dogmas
about these gods. Some assert that they dwell in the skies, but
others regard them as dwelling below the surface of the earth. The
former opinion is in harmony with the practice of erecting a tree
before the house with its branches buried in the ground and the root
upturned when prayers are made on behalf of the whole house; for the
tree seems to be regarded as in some sense forming a ladder or path of
communication with the superior powers.
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