XII QUE SIGNOS ESTÁN SUJETOS QUE VIENTOS

In this chapter we will look closely at how the concepts we discussed in chapter seven form the focus o f the two types of ritual practiced, the puliaijat and the pabete (healing event), in particular the puliaijat. We explore how this event shapes the hospitable space o f the pulagajat out o f an inhospitable space, exemplified by the leleu, through the uma

and the ancestral heirlooms, articulated within the praxical dimension o f the ideology of identity. The production o f the uma as a particular complex o f spaces— the inner sanctum (batnuma) and the ‘outer’ (laibok)— has the intentional effect o f simultaneously producing this habitable space within a largely hostile cosmos. From this perspective, the puliaijat can be viewed as a temporary intervention, by means o f the uma and its ancestral heirlooms, in the cosmos to ensure the triumph o f "life" over the entities o f death. This is the general end towards which each puliaijat is directed. Where the powers deployed in a puliaijat have ceased to be effective or have simply failed, then it is the object o f the pabete to excise the bajou from an individual or a household (lalep), to push back encroaching entropy restoring he, she, or they fully to "life" . 1

Most o f the time, the uma remains unoccupied, and even then it is only occupied by the

rimata, his wife and children when he is in the village, despite the fact that it is, sociologically and cosmologically speaking, the hub o f the uma faction o f the suku of which it forms a part. However it is only in a puliaijat that the uma's sociological import becomes obvious. For the duration o f the event the uma comes alive. Apart from those brief intervals when the particular events making the puliaijat what it is take place, when the rimata retires into the inner sanctum to perform his art in concert with his heirlooms, the place is in virtual uproar, a cacophony o f barking dogs, animated conversations, surreptitious gossiping, including laughing, screaming, crying and fighting children— it is very much a social event. Nevertheless it is still the rimata’’s art that defines its import. But before we can proceed to look at it in detail, we need to look a little more closely at the bakkat katsaila's properties in its capacity as an entity of

1 Endicott’s depiction of the logic underlying Malay medicines reveals a similar principle at work : "Malay ‘medicine’ is almost entirely magical; even when procedures of real medical value are used, the reasons given are magical. The term ubat [cf. gaud] applies equally to remedies that work by magic and those working by chemistry... [T]he causes of disease are supernatural forces, and their cures are the magical methods by which those forces can be controlled" (Endicott: 1991:26).

"life", since it is this, as "ritual attractor" (Fox 1993:1), which is the centre of proceedings in the puliaijat.

The bakkat katsaila is also glossed as the bakkat uma ("foundation o f the uma") or riok uma. Riok means to "stand" and has connotations o f being "firm", "enduring", "upright" which we met in relation to the uggala siririok uma (chapter 4). As with all the ancestral heirlooms the bakkat katsaila must be "looked after" and "respected". As its "guardian" only the rimata may freely tamper with it without fear o f reprisal, but only then if there is good reason, such as in a puliaijat. In the words o f one rimata: "If the bakkat katsaila

was a human being (.sirimanua), then it could be said to be my foundation (bakkat), just as a parent is the bakkat o f his children." In actuality then the rimata looks after the

bakkat katsaila in order that the bakkat katsaila looks after him and through him every member o f the suku or uma faction.

Each bakkat katsaila is represented as having its own specific, "powerful" constituents. Not many rimata that I interviewed about this were sure what exactly was inside their respective katsaila although they would say what "usually" went inside. All items are associated with "life"; since the bakkat katsaila is purely a repository o f "life" there are, therefore, no gaud sikataik objects included amongst these. In each case the ingredients were represented as several drawn from a set o f items common to all bakkat katsaila, located at the bottom (bakkat) o f the katsaila's bolobok (bamboo cylinder). On the two occasions where I was able to witness the recreation or renewal o f an old bakkat katsaila, it turned out that the ingredients used were indeed drawn from those represented. The fruit o f aileleppet, momunen, taimalauklauk, and duruk are often included. Ubiquitous is a small quantity o f bulau (lead). Its power as gaud, similar to

aileleppet, comes from its imputed "coolness". In the same way a river pebble or two might be included for the "coolness" they exude having come from the "cool" depths. There is often a tairosi (small bell), powerful in its capacity as an adjunct to "life" in that a live being "moves" (mageret) and "makes a sound" (ulamo), a tinkling sound if wearing a tairosi. This property is felt to inhere in these bells. Some claimed that rattan

(bebeget) leaves were also included, the power from these stemming from their characteristic fluttering in the breeze, movement indicative, once again, o f "life". In one instance I observed the rimata cut a sliver of lead from a sinker he kept stored near the heirlooms. He placed this on top o f a "base" (pereman) o f aileleppet and momunen all of which were placed on top o f an initial base o f duruk. Fruit o f each type was included after this, along with some taimalauklauk and bukak. An old pebble from the former

bakkat katsaila was also placed in with these. In line with its identity as an ancestral object informants claimed, in respect o f other cases where such renewals had occurred.

that only the bolobok had been changed. The objects inside were represented to be from the ancestors and therefore had to be retained.

To understand the puliaijat one needs to, firstly, understand the bakkat katsaila in its role as the premier ancestral heirloom, and secondly, the rimata' s relationship to it. The

puliaijat can, in fact, be described purely in terms o f the relationship between the rimata

and his bakkat katsaila, mediated by a special series o f events, the puiringan, involving the other heirlooms. Through a close examination o f these events, which are at the heart o f the puliaijat, the relationship of the bakkat katsaila to the uma, the suku, and the

rimata, as well as the relationship of each in to the other, viz. the role they play in producing a viable space within a hostile cosmos, become clear.