Note 117 — Chapter V · Magic Rites connected with the Several Departments of Nature (continued 2)

Bruin is also the Dutch word for a bear. The Malay form Bĕruang has also been derived from ruang, which is assumed, for this occasion only, to mean a “cave,” in order that Bĕruang may be explained as meaning the cave-animal. There is no evidence, however, to show that ruang ever did mean a cave, nor is the Malay bear a cave-animal. ↑