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Juice from a sugarcane is poured upon the water, and the women drink the water, while the beetles are carefully returned to the river. The beetles carry the messages to Laki Ivong. When these observances have been duly honoured, there begins a scene of boisterous fun. The women make pads of the boiled sticky new rice, and cover it with soot from their cooking vessels.
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.
We have little information bearing upon the origin and history of these Kayan gods. But a few remarks may be ventured. The names of many of the minor deities are proper personal names in common use among the Kayans or allied tribes, such as JU, BALARI, ANYI, IVONG, URAI, UKA; and the title LAKI, by which several of them are addressed, is the title of respect given to old men who are grandfathers.
The people crowd round deeply interested, while the old man interprets the movements of the beetles as forecasting good or ill luck with the crops of the following season, and invokes the good-will of Laki Ivong. Laki Ivong is asked to bring the soul of the PADI to their homes.
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