12
STEPHEN MORRIS
determined by the fact that the two people were neighbours or strangers, kinsmen or not, of equal or unequal rank. And in addition they were, of course, either male or female, and young or old. Within the social order an individual's behaviour was regulated by the elders acting under the adet, which was thought to be changeless. In the symbolic order an individual's behaviour was also regulated by the adet administered by the elders who, in this field, were helped by other experts thought to know more about the rest of the natural order of the universe than was fitting to a dignified aristocrat.
Indeed, the main premise underlying Melanau thought was that the universe is held together in a system of natural order, and that if that order was disturbed, whether inadvertently or by deliberate foolishness, trouble would follow; and, until the cause of the disorder was diagnosed and steps were taken to restore proper order once again, the trouble would remain. The rules governing the behaviour of the members of the different ranks to one another in the human social order was as much an aspect of the universal adet as the behaviour of a man to animals or spirits; and improper behaviour anywhere brought disorder, often in the form of illness.
To finish this brief sketch of the Melanau view of the world, of which men shared only a part with a variety of other beings, I do need to say a little more. For a Melanau his village lay at the centre of his social and symbolic worlds. Beyond the village were the forests, the hills, the sea, and other rivers whose inhabitants, human, animal, vegetable, and supernatural were, or were believed to be, at best indifferent to humans and at worst really dangerous. Above this world is the overworld and below the underworld. These worlds were thought of as countries, as rivers, like the river on which a man's own village was situated. The over- and the under-worlds were more elaborate than I have described and consisted of seven separate worlds above and seven below this our middle world; but the essential point is that each one was by and large a replica of this one, and like it was inhabited by humans, animals, plants and spirits. Since mythical times there have been barriers between these different worlds; and though spirits can still travel freely from one to another, humans, except for special ones like shamans, cannot. One of the underworlds is the Land of the Dead (likou matai); it is also fenced off and once a soul has passed its guardian the soul cannot leave the land of the dead. Ghosts are those unhappy souls who for one reason or another have not been allowed in and wander unhappily and dangerously between two worlds.
12
STEPHEN MORRIS
determined by the fact that the two people were neighbours or stran- gers, kinsmen or not, of equal or unequal rank. And in addition they were, of course, either male or female, and young or old. Within the social order an individual's behaviour was regulated by the elders acting under the adet, which was thought to be changeless. In the symbolic order an individual's behaviour was also regulated by the adet administered by the elders who, in this field, were helped by other experts thought to know more about the rest of the natural order of the universe than was fitting to a dignified aristocrat.
Indeed, the main premise underlying Melanau thought was that the universe is held together in a system of natural order, and that if that order was disturbed, whether inadvertently or by deliberate foolishness, trouble would follow; and, until the cause of the disorder was diagnosed and steps were taken to restore proper order once again, the trouble would remain. The rules governing the behaviour of the members of the different ranks to one another in the human social order was as much an aspect of the universal adet as the behaviour of a man to animals or spirits; and improper behaviour anywhere brought disorder, often in the form of illness.
To finish this brief sketch of the Melanau view of the world, of which men shared only a part with a variety of other beings, I do need to say a little more. For a Melanau his village lay at the centre of his social and symbolic worlds. Beyond the village were the forests, the hills, the sea, and other rivers whose inhabitants, human, animal, vegetable, and supernatural were, or were believed to be, at best indifferent to humans and at worst really dangerous. Above this world is the overworld and below the underworld. These worlds were thought of as countries, as rivers, like the river on which a man's own village was situated. The over- and the under-worlds were more elaborate than I have described and consisted of seven separate worlds above and seven below this our middle world; but the essential point is that each one was by and large a replica of this one, and like it was inhabited by humans, animals, plants and spirits. Since mythical times there have been barriers between these different worlds; and though spirits can still travel freely from one to another, humans, except for special ones like shamans, cannot. One of the underworlds is the Land of the Dead (likou matai); it is also fenced off and once a soul has passed its guardian the soul cannot leave the land of the dead. Ghosts are those unhappy souls who for one reason or another have not been allowed in and wander unhappily and dangerously between two worlds.
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