One of these appears in the form of a large goat
which is seen only occasionally. It bites in the neck and the throat, the
wounds are invisible, and the victim must die on the second or third day.
When the descendants of Mai Boang are ill they become better when relating
the story of Boang.
NOTE. - The handsome woman who figures in this story is an evil antoh which
afflicts women at childbirth and by the Ot-Danums and others is called
Kamkamiak, the one with the long nails. She is also commonly known by the
name Branak. She causes the woman to lose much blood and to have pain in
the uterus, the nails of the antoh playing an important part in these
conditions. Men who work in the utan gathering rubber, rattan, etc., are
liable to get a disorder under the scrotum that looks like scratches, and
which ulcerate and may be troublesome for several months or a year. These
are ascribed to the long nails of the antoh, Branak, and sacrifices of
sugar and eggs are offered.
Pontianak, the well-known town in the Western Division of Dutch Borneo, is
the name of another good-looking female antoh, who causes injury to women
at childbirth.
Some evil antohs, by Kahayans and others called kuyang, also select
maternity victims. They are believed to fly through the air at night,
appearing like fireflies, and enter the woman through head, neck, or
stomach, doing much harm.
