E. palm
leaves that have been put to ceremonial use (Fig. 80).
The whole bundle, blackened with the smoke and dust of years, hangs
in the gallery over the principal hearth beside the heads, usually
in a widemeshed basket. It constitutes the most precious possession
of the household, being of even greater value than the heads. No one
willingly touches or handles the SIAP, not even the chief. And when
it becomes necessary to touch the bundle, as in transferring it to
a new house, some old man is specially told off for the duty; he who
touches it brings upon himself the risk of death, for it is very PARIT
to touch it, I.E. strongly against custom and therefore dangerous.[157]
Its function seems to be to bring luck or prosperity of all kinds to
the house; without it nothing would prosper, especially in warfare.
Many individuals keep a small private bunch of SIAP, made up of various
small objects, of unusual forms, generally without any human hair
(Fig. 81). These are generally obtained through dreams. A man dreams
that something of value is to be given him, and then, if on waking
his eye falls upon a crystal of quartz, or any other slightly peculiar
object, he takes it and hangs it above his sleeping-place; when going
to bed he addresses it, saying that he wants a dream favourable to
any business he may have in hand.
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