Toripos interpretation from Anggor’s narrative; pose and setting imagined.
Original narrative illustration; appearance and setting interpreted, not an authenticated ethnographic record.
Overview
In Anggor’s Tuaran Dusun account, Kinharingan cannot make the newly formed earth become firm. He sends Toripos to obtain earth from Bisagit, the spirit of smallpox. Evans’s note describes Toripos as a small green parrot. Bisagit will supply the earth only if Kinharingan gives him half of his people. The bird refuses to agree on its own authority and flies back to seek instructions. After Kinharingan accepts the condition, Toripos returns to confirm the agreement and receives the earth.
Toripos brings the earth back, and Kinharingan praises the messenger. The following morning, mixing Bisagit’s earth into his own makes the land hard, allowing him to create people. The bargain has a terrible consequence: two or three years later Bisagit comes to claim his share, and half the people die of smallpox. The narrative ends with Bisagit promising to return after forty years and an explanation of the Tuaran community’s response to the disease. These are the collected story’s explanations of illness and ritual, rather than medical claims. The bird’s role is that of an accountable intermediary; the decision and its cost belong to the two negotiating powers.
Origins & earliest records
Anggor, identified by Evans as a Tuaran Dusun narrator; printed in the 1923 collection, pp. 47–49.
Records & interpretation
Complete Kinharingan and Bisagit narrative, including its ending and the footnote identifying the bird.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Studies in Religion, Folk-Lore, & Custom in British North Borneo and the Malay Peninsula
Original historical English collection; pp. 47–49.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary collected narrativeStudies in Religion, Folk-Lore, & Custom in British North Borneo and the Malay PeninsulaResearch access: 2026-10-18
Image credits
AI-generatedToripos interpretation from Anggor’s narrative; pose and setting imagined.
Original narrative illustration; appearance and setting interpreted, not an authenticated ethnographic record.