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These gifts were offered on the New Year's Day, known as Zag-muk, and the importance of the worship of Bau is evidenced by the designation of this day, as the festival of Bau. The offerings, themselves, consist of lambs, sheep, birds, fish, cream, besides dates and various other fruits.
The stability of the Rajah's government was seriously threatened in 1857 by the insurrection of Chinese gold-workers at Bau in Sarawak proper.
On the 17th of February, three Chinese kunsi were flogged by order of the court at Kuching, for taking the law into their own hands, and seizing a runaway prisoner, as well as the captain of the boat in which she absconded, although he was not guilty of hiding her. This seems to have put the finishing touch to the factious state of feeling at Bau.
On this day the people would come from all parts of the district within which the cult was carried on, to pay their homage to the god or goddess. In the days of Gudea, we find Bau occupying this superior rank. Her festival had assumed such importance as to serve for reckoning the commencement of the year. Hence it became known simply as the day of zag-muku, that is, the New Year's Day.
Before the city a pavilion had been erected in which I drank the stirrup-cup. Then I rode away and when I arrived before our own gate a thunder-peal crashed and I awoke." Thereupon the general wrote an account of what had happened to Dschou Bau, in which he conveyed the princess's thanks.
Whether this festival of Bau was recognized as the New Year's Day throughout Babylonia, we do not know, but it must have been observed in a considerably extensive district, or Gudea would have made the attempt to give some festival connected with his favorite deity Nin-girsu this character.
The Bishop pointed out to them that the best thing they could do would be to return to Bau and defend their town; that the Dyaks would certainly come in fleets of boats directly they heard of what had happened at Kuching, and they would as certainly be killed if they remained in the place. This was true enough, but they were afraid of the Malays attacking them on the water.
Not only, however, does Nin-girsu precede, but two other deities who are closely related in general character to the 'warrior deity' of Gudea's dominion. Then, the two great goddesses, Bau and Ninni, are introduced, and it is not until they are disposed of that the sun-god, together again with Pa-sag as a kind of lieutenant, is invoked.
She is the one who deluges the land with water belonging therefore to the same order as Bau. In a list of deities enumerated by a ruler of Erech, Lugal-zaggisi, are found a local goddess, Umu, designated as the 'priestess of Uruk, and occupying an inferior rank to a goddess, Nin-akha-kuddu,
Poor creatures, they were in terror for themselves, as they were not of the same tribe of Chinese as the Bau people. What should we do? We were so large a party, and had so many children amongst us, that we did not venture to hide in the jungle: the night was quite dark and we might lose one another.
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