etymology of BELIAN

[Waruno Mahdi]

Dear Paz,

I was very glad I got to meet you at last at ISMIL-5 in June in Leipzig.
Sorry that I have been away the last couple of weeks, and could not
respond to your query earlier.

>    Does anyone know the word BELIAN 'spirit medium' -  and its
> etymology/original literal meaning?
> According to Dr. Penelope Flores (San Francisco State University),
> this is what the Tagalog word BABAYLAN 'priestess' came  from.

Here is what I have on *b[ae]lian in a first quick run:

Dempwolff, Otto (1938, Vergleichende Lautlehre des austronesischen
  Wortschastzes, Bd. 3, Austronesisches Woerterverzeichnis. Berlin:
  Reimer), p. 21

  *bali 'escort, accompany'
        Malay _bali-an_, Ngaju "Dayak" _ba(lian_ [where _a(_ is "a-breve"]
        'priestess (who escorts the soul to the other world)',
        "Hova" (i.e. Merina Malagasy) _vadi_ 'companion, spouse'.

(NB. Merina _vadi_ is spelled _vady_, the Sakalava Malagasy cognate is
 _vali_, spelled _valy_; the stress in both is on the penultimate _a_).

Blust, Robert (1970, 'Proto-Austronesian Addenda', Oceanic Linguistics
  9:104-162), p. 116, #22

  *balia[nN] 'shaman'
        Iban _belian_, Kapuas, Dohoi _balian_,
        West Bukidnon Manobo _beylan_ (metathesis),\27
        Maranao _oalian_ 'legendary witch'.

  \27 (on p. 149): WBM _weliyan_ may be loan from Maranao.

Prentice, D.J. (1974, 'Yet another PAN phoneme?', Oceanic Linguistics
  13:33-75), p. 47, #64

  *b[ae]liyan
       Kadazan Dusun (of Sabah) _bo-bohizan_, Timugon Murut _ba-balian,
       Old Javanese _walyan_;

Mahdi, W (1988, Morphologische Besonderheiten und historische Phonologie
  des Malagasy. Berlin/Hamburg: Reimer), p. 185

  *bali-an
       Taboyan, Lawangan _b at lian_  (where _ at _ is schwa),
       Deyah Dusun (of S. Kalimantan) _balian_ (irreg. _b_, expected _w_),
       Paku _walian_, Samihim _w)dian_ (where _)_ is IPA rotated _c_),
       Malang Dusun (of S.Km.) _bidian_ (*a > @, subseq. assym. > i),
       Witu Dusun (of S.Km.), Maanyan _wadian_ 'shaman'
       Tontemboan _walian_ 'id.'

NB. The Dusun of Sabah are not directly related to the Dusun of South
Kalimantan, just as the Bisaya of Sabah are not to the Bisaya of the
Central Philippines.

With regard to the probable underlying form assumed to be *bali in the
above, it is separately reconstructed by Bob Blust as *baliw 'oppose,
opposite part; friend, partner, answer' in:

(1) BKI 136:215-247 (1980), see there p. 222, #2
    where BKI = Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde

(2) Oceania 52(1):66-80 (1981), see there p. 74, sub (2).

That's all I have at the moment. As for the apparent vowel alternation
in *b[ae]lian, I don't believe there were two (doublet) protoforms, but
that the variant with schwa (virtual *e) is the result of neutralisation
of vowels in antepultimate position, which is typical for Malay and some
other languages. Forms featuring this vowel shift in languages that do
not normally shift the antepenultimate vowel in this way may be loans.
Otherwise, the shift probably took place independently in the various
languages (i.e. in parallel).

The apparent metathesis in Tagalog _babaylan_ is paralleled in the West
Bukidnon reflex, but I can't tell whether these are two independent
developments, or whether they perhaps have a common origin, suggesting
that either the Tagalog or the WBM form, may be borrowed.

Will be back if I find anything more.

Aloha,   Waruno