Chapter VI: Magic Rites as Affecting the Life of Man (5)

The following is a specimen of a monkey legend: "A little farther up-stream two rocks facing each other, one on each side of the river, are said to have been the forts of two rival tribes of monkeys, the Mawah (Simia lar) and the Siamang (Simia syndactyla), in a terrible war which was waged between them in a bygone age. The Siamangs defeated their adversaries, whom they have ever since confined to the right bank of the river. If any matter of fact person should doubt the truth of this tradition, are there not two facts for the discomfiture of scepticism--the monkey forts (called Batu Mawah to this day) threatening each other from opposite banks of the river, and the assurance of all Perak Malays that no Mawah is to be found on the left bank?"--J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 9, p. 48.

[330] According to another account, the siamang is said to have originated from akar pulai, i.e. the roots of a pulai tree (the Malay substitute for cork, used to form floats for the fishing-nets).

[331] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 7, p. 26.

[332] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 1, pp. 93, 94.

[333] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 7, p. 22.

[334] The sacrificial buffalo (when presented to a Raja) is covered with a cloth, and has its horns dressed and a breast-ornament (dokoh) hung round its neck (vide Pl. 11, Fig. 2). In the case of a great Raja or Sultan, yellow cloth is used.

[335] Infra, Chap. VI. pp. 450-452.

[336] I may add that the dried penis of the squirrel (chula tupei) is believed to be a most powerful aphrodisiac, and that many Malays believe that squirrels are occasionally found dead with this organ caught fast in cleft timber.

Mr. H. N. Ridley, in a pamphlet on Malay Materia Medica, already referred to, says:--

"Many things are used as aphrodisiacs by the natives.... Among them are the ovipositor of a grasshopper, which is popularly supposed to be the male organ of the squirrel; Balanophora, sp., a rare plant growing on Mount Ophir, and the Durian (Durio zibethinus)." Mr. Ridley regards the use of Balanophora for this purpose as an illustration of the "doctrine of signatures."

[337] Vide J.R.A.S., S.B., l.c.

[338] Vide p. 108, supra.

[339] In Court and Kampong, p. 47.

[340] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 7, p. 26.

[341] Ibid.

[342] I have not heard this word used on the west coast. It is of the east coast that Mr. Clifford is here writing.

[343] In Court and Kampong, pp. 147, 148.

[344] Vide p. 217, infra.

[345] Vide p. 279, infra.

[346] One of these stones (cocoa-nut pearls) in my possession has recently been presented to the Ethnological Museum at Cambridge. It is encircled by a dark ring, caused, I was told, by its adherence to the shell of the cocoa-nut in which it was found, for it is asserted that it is usually, if not always, found in the open eye or orifice at the base of the cocoa-nut, through which the root would otherwise issue.--W. S.

[347] Quoted from the Singapore Free Press in Denys' Descriptive Dictionary of British Malaya, p. 80.

[348] Nephelium lappaeum, L. (Sapindaceae).

[349] Baccaurea motleyana, Hook. fil. (Euphorbiaceae).

[350] Or Langsat (Lansium domesticum, Jack; Meliaceae).

[351] Resembling the last named, but larger, and finer in flavour.

[352] Garcinia mangostana, L. (Guttiferae).

[353] Sakarang 'kau mahu berbuah, atau tidak?
Kalau tidak, aku tebangkan.

[354] Ya-lah, sakarang aku 'nak berbuah
Aku minta' jangan di-tebang.

[355] This instrument consisted of a single short joint of bamboo, about nine inches in length by three inches in diameter, closed at one end only, near which was an orifice into which the performer blew. These instruments (tuang-tuang) are reported to have been formerly used by the Langat pirates, and are said to be still used by the Malay fishermen at Bernam, in Selangor, for calling their boats together.

[356] In Selangor a freak of this kind is called samambu bangkut, or "dwarfed (stunted) samambu." One of this species belonged to the Sultan, and was kept in a yellow case. Sometimes, whether through the splitting of the bark on one side or some similar cause, an excrescence like a gigantic rat-tail will form on one side of the stem, a peculiarity which is believed to give the stick that is made from it immense value. To merely tap a person in play with one of these sticks (which are called sengat pari or "sting-rays' tails") will, it is believed, raise a most painful weal, whilst to strike a person hard with one would assuredly kill him. A Malacca-cane, one of whose knots is inverted and the other not, is also considered of great value, being believed to render the bearer of it invulnerable (jadi pelias).--Cp. J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 17, p. 155.

[357] In Selangor belum sampei is the phrase used.

[358] In Selangor rotan manau.

[359] Sel. Journ. vol. iii. No. 6, pp. 95, 96.

[360] Another Selangor version says that whilst the wife is boiling the stones, the husband is climbing the Malacca-cane plant (samambu) in order to get to the sky. The husband keeps calling out, "Are they cooked yet?" (Masak belum?), as in the version just given, and the wife cries, "Have you reached it yet? Have you reached it yet?" (Sampei belum?)

[361] In Selangor it is called Tualang (= 'Toh Alang?) and Sialang (= Si Alang?), and is the tree on which the wild bees build their nests.

[362] Strips of palm-leaves for thatching houses.

[363] One who has made the pilgrimage to Mecca.

[364] Sel. Journ. vol. iii. No. 6, p. 96.

[365] Vide App. lxxxvi.

[366] Vide App. lxxxvii.

[367] "Certain customs are observed in Siak in the collection of wax which may be mentioned here.

"The sialang (that is, a tree on which bees have made nests) is generally considered to belong to him who finds it, provided it stands in a part of the forest belonging to his tribe. Should the tree stand in a part of the jungle apportioned to another tribe, the finder is permitted to take for once all the wax there is on the tree, and ever afterwards, during his lifetime, all the wax of one branch of the tree. After his death the tree becomes the property of the tribe to whom that part of the jungle belongs.

"When wax is collected from a tree there are generally three persons to share in it, and the proceeds are divided as follows: viz., one-third to the proprietor of the tree, one-third to the man who climbs the tree, and one-third to the man who keeps watch below. These two latter offices are considered rather dangerous, the first because he has to climb the towering sialang trees, branchless to a considerable height, by means of bamboo pegs driven into the trunk; and the watch-keeper underneath, because he has to face the bears and tigers who (so it is said) come after the wax and honey.

"The following trees are generally inhabited by bees (lebah), and then become sialangs; near the sea, pulei, kempas, kayu arah, and babi kurus; whilst farther in the interior ringas manuk and chempedak ayer are their general habitats.

"Besides the lebah there is to be found in Siak another bee, called neruan, which does not make its nest on trees, but in holes.

"The regulations observed when taking the wax of the lebah do not apply to the taking of the wax and honey of the neruan. Anybody is at liberty to look for them wherever and whenever he likes."--F. Kehding, in J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 17, pp. 156, 157.

[368] When the orchid was to be planted it was found that there was no room for it on the ground between the trees, and hence it was planted upon them.

[369] Under the heading of Divination a description will be given of a method of augury by means of one of these lime-fruits into which a spirit was supposed to have entered. See also one of the methods of abducting another person's soul by causing it to enter into a bunch of seven lime-fruits. The use of the lime-fruit by the Malays for purposes of ablution was no doubt of ceremonial origin.

[370] Correctly, Descriptive Dictionary of the Indian Islands and Adjacent Countries.

[371] The tree is also in Selangor known as 'Karas or tengkaras. Tabak or 'long tabak is the name given to the tree by the wild jungle-tribes, but I cannot say if it is therefore a Sakai word in origin. I was told that this product eagle-wood was also occasionally found in other trees, such as the Baru-baru, but I cannot in any way vouch for this.

[372] A catty (kati) is 1 1/3 lb. avoir.

[373] Homali hamali looks like a corruption of S'ri Dangomala, S'ri Dangomali in the Rice-charms (q.v.) Otherwise this first sentence is evidently too corrupt to be translated.

[374] Read sahya.

[375] Mustajak: the Selangor form is "mestajap."

[376] Belingkah: read Belingkar.

[377] Menginjan (sic): (?) Menginjau or Meninjau. A rough translation is as follows: [The first sentence is unintelligible.] "'Come down and I shall be bounden to you. Come down, O Kadim, in company with me.' 'I grant this,' says Eagle-wood. 'So be it,' says God. By virtue of 'there is no god but God.' Ho, Princess that art Coiled-up, Princess that Danglest, Princess that Stretchest forth (thine arms), I ask that this tree may be full of eagle-wood. Attempt not to command me, attempt not to conceal yourself from me, for if you do you shall be a rebel unto the Lord."

[378] This statement must not be accepted without reserve, though it may be true of the particular districts in which the information contained in this article was collected.

[379] In some parts of Selangor, said to be called "nibong" or gharu "tulang ayam."

[380] In Selangor called gharu "jenjolong."

[381] Here "lampan" (?)

[382] Yet another variety is called in Selangor gharu "isi kang tua." The following are the names of certain other, gharu-trees, of which the product, however, is said to be useless for market purposes. They are gharu tutor, gharu dedap, gharu kundor, and gharu akar.

[383] A pikul is 133 1/3 lbs. avoir.

[384] R.N.B. in J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 18, pp. 359-361.

[385] On putting this theory to the test, I found that the singing noise referred to was in reality nothing but the low whispering noise caused by the flow of the sap, which could be distinctly heard, even without putting the ear to the bark, when the tree was struck by the cutlass. The Malays, however, look upon it as the voice of the spirit, and add that if you hear it at night you must repeat the charm, altering the first line only to "Ho, offspring of the King of Forest Butterflies" (Hei anak S'ri Rama-rama hutan).

[386] "The gaharu merupa is a piece of strangely formed gaharu wood, having a rough resemblance to some living creature, be it a bird, a dog, a cat, or something else.

"The writer of these lines has never been able to see one of these gaharu merupa, and it would seem that none have been found in Siak in recent times.

"The power which it is believed to possess rests on the supposition that it is the spirit of the kayu gaharu. With it in hand, the holder is sure to make large finds of gaharu wood in the jungle.

"The gaharu wood is not the wood of a tree named gaharu, but is the product of a tree of the name of karas."--J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 17, p. 154.

[387] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 26, pp. 39, 40.

[388] Orang hulu literally means "men of the inland country," but here denotes especially the aborigines known to the Malays as Jakun, orang hutan, orang bukit, and by other names.

[389] J. I. A., vol. i. p. 293. Nos. 1, 3, and 8 of the J.R.A.S., S.B., contain further notes on the subject.

[390] Sic: no doubt this is for sambal, a variety of condiments (more or less resembling chutney) and eaten with curry.

[391] Penghulu Kapur, i.e. "Camphor Chief."

[392] "Camphor is a gum (not the pith or heart of wood, as Avicenna and some others think), which, falling into the pith-chamber of the wood, is extracted thence or exudes from the cracks. This I saw in a table of camphor wood at a certain apothecary's, and in a piece of wood as thick as the thigh, presented to me by Governor John Crasto, and again in a tablet a span broad at a merchant's. I would not, however, deny that it may sometimes be deposited in the hollow of a tree. It is told me as a fact, that it is the custom that when any one who goes out to collect it has filled his gourd, if any other stronger person sees him with the gourd, he can kill him with impunity and take away the gourd, fortune assisting him in this. That which is brought from Borneo is usually mixed with small bits of stone, or some kind of gum called Chamderros, much like raw sugar or sawdust. But this defect is easily detected; I know no other method of adulteration. For if sometimes it is seen to be spotted with red or blackish dots, that is due to treatment with dirty or impure hands, or they may be caused by moisture. But this defect is easily remedied by the Indians. If it is tied up in a cloth and dipped in warm water to which soap and lime-juice has been added, and then carefully dried in the shade, it becomes very white, the weight not being altered. I saw this done by a Hindu friend who entrusted me with the secret.... What they say as to all kinds of animals flying together to its shade to escape the fiercer beasts is fabulous. Nor is it what some, following Serapion, write less so, namely, that it is an omen of larger yields when the sky glitters with frequent lightning, or echoes with constant thunder. For as the island of Sumatra, which some think to be Taprobane, and the adjacent regions are near the equinoctial line, it follows that they are subject to constant thunderstorms, and for the same cause have storms or slight showers every day; so camphor ought to be abundant every year. From which it is clear that the thunder is neither the cause nor indication of a larger supply of camphor."--Garcia in the Historia Aromatum (1593), quoted in J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 26, p. 37.

"The camphor is so far considered as a barang larangan that nobody is allowed to go and collect it without having a special permit from the Sultan. This permit is only given after the Sultan has made sure that a good Pawang accompanies the party, a man who is able to know from the outside of a tree whether it contains camphor or not.

"The gratuity to be given to the Pawang is not fixed by law, but is settled beforehand on every expedition; also the share of the Sultan.

"The regulations which have to be observed when collecting camphor are most strange; for instance, those who go on the expedition are not permitted during the whole time of its duration to wash or bathe; they have to use a peculiar language, which differs from ordinary Malay. Compare what is known on this point of similar usages amongst the Battaks.

"The collectors have to go on through the jungle until the hantu kapur (the camphor spirit), a female, appears to the Pawang in his dreams, and shows him the direction in which success may be expected."--J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 17, pp. 155, 156. This account has reference to Siak, in Sumatra.

[393] Vide App. lxxxix.

[394] These last five lines contain allusions to the implements with which the Pawang does his work; the Ivory Cup is the tagok, a bamboo vessel in which the sap of the Blossom-shoot is received. The Ivory Bath is the copper in which the cocoa-nut sugar is made, the name given to it being an allusion to the chemical change which accompanies the process.

[395] Inche Muhammad Ja`far, of Malacca.

[396] [In 1893 these months extended from the 17th May to the 14th July.--C.O.B.]

[397] [In 1893 from the 16th May to the 13th June.--C.O.B.]

[398] In what may be called the "dry" method of planting rice (berhuma or berladang) the ceremonies naturally differ somewhat, as the forest has to be felled, if not every year, at least more often than is the case with the "wet" system; and the rice-seed is not sown in nurseries (as a rule), but either scattered broadcast or planted with the dibble whilst the ground cultivated is comparatively dry and no embankments are required. This is not, of course, intended to be an exhaustive description of the differences between the two systems (for which there is here no space), but merely to point out certain salient differences. A specimen of the charms used by the orang berhuma ("dry padi" planters) will be found in the Appendix. The account in the text refers only to the wet method, which is by far the more important one, though the dry cultivation is probably the more ancient of the two.

[399] An account of the birth of Muhammad which is intoned by a number of people in the mosque.

[400] The tajak may perhaps be better described as a (kind of) hoe than a scythe.

[401] Two strips of cocoa-nut leaf are braided into a square bag, hollow inside, which is half filled with rice, and then boiled so that when cooked the rice fills the bag.

[402] Flour is mixed with sugar and with the expressed juice of the pulp of the cocoa-nut, and put into a piece of plantain leaf about two fingers long, which is then folded and the whole is steamed, that is put into a pail known as kukusan, which is placed in a large pan containing water having a fire lighted under it so that the contents of the kukusan are cooked by means of steam only.

[403] Tepong tawar consists of rice-flour mixed with water. A bundle is made of the following leaves, ribu-ribu (a creeper), gandarusa, senjuang, sambar dara, sipuleh, sitawar and chakar bebek (a small shrub); the end of this bundle is dipped into the tepong tawar, which is then sprinkled about.

[404] The italics are mine.--W. S.

[405] Licuala paludosa, Griff, and other species.

[406] Jari lipan--lit. centipede's feet, i.e. a sort of fringe generally made of plaited strips of cocoa-nut leaf.

[407] Terap--a kind of wild bread-fruit tree.

[408] Strips of bamboo or fronds of palm-leaf braided into an open square shape with cords attached to the four corners, the ends of the cords being joined so that it can be hung up.

[409] Buah keras, the "Candle-nut."

[410] The cut rice is beaten, by handfuls, against the inner edge of the bucket so that the grain falls into the bucket; this process is called membanting padi, a phrase here rendered by "threshing."

[411] The tuai or penuwai is a much smaller instrument than the sickle (sabit) and cuts only a few ears at a time, vide supra, p. 58.

[412] A koyan, as a measure of weight, contains 40 pikuls = 5333 1/3 lbs.

Rather over 20 gallons (gantang) of rice (padi) go to a pikul.

The term koyan is also used as a measure of capacity, in which sense it contains 800 gantangs.

The term gantang has been rendered here by "gallon," of which it is at present the legal equivalent, but the native gantang had a standard varying according to locality.

[413] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 30, pp. 297-304.

[414] On my asking her what these names signified, the Pawang told me that "s'ri gading" meant the husk, and "gemala gading" the kernel or grain of the rice-fruit.

[415] Menangkabau and Naning pronunciation for berpuar. Puar is the name of a jungle plant, said to be akin to cardamom, the stem of which is used as a sort of javelin in this mock combat. [In Selangor this mock combat is called singketa.--W.S.]

[416] Beras bertih, "parched" rice.

[417] Five would probably be nearer the mark, but Malay chronology is very uncertain.

[418] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 29, pp. 7-12.

[419] These were newly-plaited round baskets, three in number, and diminishing in size from the Pawang's right to her left (the big one being supposed to contain seven, the medium size five, and the smallest one three, gemalan of padi); they were each bound round, just under the rim, with the female variety of the creeper called ribu-ribu freshly gathered that morning.

[420] One of these was called the penuwei sulong (lit. eldest rice-cutter), which was only to be used--when the Pawang had done with it--by the owner of the rice-field, and the blade of which is fitted into a piece of the wood called pompong; the reason given being that the pompong was the wood of which these instruments were originally made, whilst what I may call the handle of the instrument was made of a slip of bamboo stopped from end to end with wax. About the other two penuweis there was nothing specially remarkable.

[421] These are the names of two girls mentioned in the "Malay Annals" (Sejarah Malayu) to whose rice there happened a strange phenomenon. The following is Leyden's translation (in which the names appear as Ampu and Malin). "The name of its (the country of Palembang's) river was Muartatang (Muartenang ?) into which falls another river named Sungey Malayu (Malay River), near the source of which is a mountain named the mountain Sagantang Maha Miru (v. p. 2, supra). There were two young women of Belidung, the one named Wan-Ampu, and the other Wan-Malin, employed in cultivating rice on this mountain, where they had large and productive rice-grounds. One night they beheld their rice-fields gleaming and glittering like fire. Then said Ampu to Malin, 'What is that light which is so brilliant? I am frightened to look at it.' 'Make no noise,' said Malin, 'it is some great snake or naga.' Then they both lay quiet for fear. When it was daylight they arose and went to see what it was shone so bright during the night. They both ascended the hill, and found the grain of the rice converted into gold, the leaves into silver, and the stalks into brass, and they were extremely surprised, and said, 'This is what we observed during the night.'" The account proceeds to show how the prodigy was due to a supernatural visit from a descendant of Raja Secander Zulkarneini.--Leyden, Mal. Ann., pp. 20, 21. The words in brackets are mine.

[422] Whilst drawing together the heads of the sheaf before actually planting the sugar-cane in the ground, the following lines were repeated by the Pawang:--

"Kur semangat, S'ri Gading, Gemala Gading!
Batang-'kau perak bertuang
Daun-'kau tembaga belepeh,
Tangkei-'kau 'mas, buah 'kau 'mas rantian" (sic).

"Cluck, cluck, soul of S'ri Gading, Gemala Gading!
This stem of yours is molten silver,
Your leaves are copper overlaid,
Your stalk is gold,
Your grain is fine gold."

I have not been able to discover what 'mas rantian means, as the Pawang could not explain it (though she insisted that it was right), and it is not in any dictionary.

[423] The Muhammadan name for the Founder of Christianity.

[424] During the performance of this part of the ceremony (which is called cherangkan tali t'rap) omens are taken as to the prosperity or otherwise of the people of the house, and the observations have therefore to be made with the greatest care. The most disastrous omen is the cawing of a crow or rook; next to this (in point of disastrous significance) comes the mewing cry of the kite, and, thirdly, the flight of the ground-dove (tekukur). A good omen is the flight of the bird called the Rice's Husband (Laki Padi), but the best omen is the absence of any portent or sound, even such as the falling of a tree, the crackling of a branch, or a shout in the distance, all of which are harbingers of misfortune of some sort.

[425] The Pawang said to me afterwards, when I questioned her about this, "If you want your husked rice to be white and smooth (puteh lanchap) you must stand up facing the sun at nine o'clock (angkat kening, lit. 'Raise the eyebrow'), turn up the whites of your eyes, swallow the water in your mouth, and your rice will be smooth and white and easily swallowed. But if you want it to be a little rough (kesat), so that you may not be tempted to eat too much of it during hard times, instead of directly swallowing the water in your mouth, you must put the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth, and contract the throat thrice, slowly swallowing as you do so." To the above she then added: "Besides this, you can make the whole field of rice break into waves by standing up, clapping the hands, and then pushing each hand right up the sleeve of the opposite arm (I am not quite sure if I rightly understood this last, but am fairly certain that it is correct--my notes have only 'run the hands up the arms'), saying as you do so:--

"Al-salam `aleikum,
Waman wamat,
Paku amat,
Wathohar."

This will swell the grains, and prevent them from getting empty (minching, jangan banyak hampa)."

[426] This umbrella had been forgotten, and we were compelled to wait while one of the "bearers" returned to the house to fetch it; as without it, I was told, the Rice-child could not be escorted home.

[427] I was told by the Pawang that when the three reapers had each filled her basket, each of them tied the leaves of the rice clumps together, and dug up a lump of earth with the great toe of the left foot, and inserting the lump into the midst of each clump, repeated the following words:--

"Al-salam `aleikum, nabi 'Tap, yang memegangkan bumi!
Tetapkan anak aku,
Jangan rosak, jangan binasakan
Jauhkan deripada Jin dan Sheitan
Dengan la-ilaha," d.s.b.

"Peace be with you, Prophet 'Tap, in whose charge is the earth,
Confirm this my child.
Do it no harm or scathe,
But remove it far from Demons and Devils.
By virtue of," etc.

[428] A cat having given birth to kittens the night before the ceremony, I was told by the Pawang that it was a very good sign, and that it was a known rule that if there was nobody else who could bear children at the time, God was wont to substitute a cat (menggantikan kuching).

[429] The drying usually takes longer, but the exceptional heat of the sun on the day in question enabled the operation to be hastened.

[430] Nothing of the male sex may stand or sit opposite the point of the sieve (nyiru) during this winnowing.

[431] The charms are the same as those given supra, viz. "A swallow has fallen," etc., and "Herons from all this region." They are in the pantun form, and accordingly there is little connection discernible between the first and the second half of the quatrain; the latter always contains the actual point, the former at most something analogous or remotely parallel.

[432] The extreme voluminousness of Malay folk-lore upon the subject of rice-planting makes it impossible to do more than give a general idea of the ceremonies described. The ceremonies, however, are comparatively homogeneous in all parts of the Peninsula, and the specimens given may be taken as fairly representative. In the Appendix (xciii. seqq.), will be found a number of invocations, collected by Mr. O'Sullivan and myself, which are addressed to the rice-spirit and may help to emphasise or explain some of the details. One of these invocations should certainly help to emphasise the strength of the anthropomorphic conception of the Rice-soul as held by Malays. It runs as follows (vide App. cx.):--

"Cluck, cluck, soul of my child!
Come and return home with me,
Our agreement has reached its term.
Let not the Heat afflict you,
Let not the Wind afflict you.
Let not Mosquitoes bite you,
Let not Sandflies or Midges bite you."

[433] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 16, pp. 303-320.

[434] Report on the Geology and Physical Geography of the State of Pêrak, by Rev. J. E. Tennison-Wood, F.G.S., F.L.S., etc.

[435] The mining contractor, also called towkay lombong and towkay labur, vide infra.

[436] Lit. "Taboo language."

[437] Berolak here means to "turn one's self about," and the whole phrase would mean "The Tall One that Turns Himself about"--perhaps the "Tall Loafer" would be as near as we can get to it in English. So, too, berolak dapor means "The Kitchen Loafer" (Loafer of the Kitchen).

[438] Sial means literally anything which brings bad luck; so perhaps we might translate it "Mr. Bad-luck."

[439] Salah nama means "Wrong name" (Misnomer); limau nipis, lit. means "thin lime."

[440] Kongsi, i.e. "company, firm, gang."

[441] Pantang, i.e. "taboo."

[442] Buah rumput means "Grass-seed;" Bunga rumput, "Grass-flower."

[443] Akar hidop, lit. "live creeper." The allusion is obvious.

[444] Kunyit means "saffron." The allusion is not evident.

[445] Batu puteh means "white stone" or "white rock."

[446] Genggulang, explained by Mr. Hale as meaning "altar," vide p. 260, infra.

[447] About 1878, the principal pawang of the Lârut district, one Pa'Itam Dam, applied to me as Assistant-Resident to reinstate him in the duties and privileges which he had enjoyed under the Orang Kaya Mantri, and before him, under Che Long J`affar. He describes the customary ceremonies and dues to be as follows:--He had to visit all the mines from time to time, especially those from which tin-ore was being removed; if the daily output of tin suddenly decreased on any mine it was his business at once to repeat certain invocations (puja) to induce the tin-ore to remain (handak di-pulih balik sapaya jangan mengorang biji). Once in every two or three years it was necessary to carry out an important ceremony (puja besar) which involved the slaying of three buffaloes and a great feast, the expense of which had to be borne by the pawang. On the day of the puja besar strict abstinence from work is enjoined on every one in the district, no one might break ground or even pull up weeds or cut wood in the whole province. Further, no stranger whose home was three days' journey away might enter one of the mines under a penalty of twenty-five dollars.

The pawang was entitled to exact from the owners of mines a customary payment of one slab of tin (or $6.25 in cash) per annum for every sluice-box (palong) in work during the year.

In any mine from which the tin-ore had not yet been removed it was strictly forbidden to wear shoes or to carry an umbrella; no Malay might wear a sarong.

The Chinese miners, always superstitiously disposed, used (under Malay rule) to adhere to these rules and submit to these exactions, but since 1875 the pawang has found his occupation and income, in Lârut at all events, gone.--Ed. J.R.A.S., S.B.

[448] Altar.

[449] A small tray or platform for offerings, supported by a central "leg," vide Mr. Hale's description, s.v. Kapala nasi (infra).

[450] Gantang is a measure approximately equivalent to a gallon.

[451] In Selangor anchak is the form used. It means a sacrificial tray (for offerings to the spirits), vide infra, pp. 260, 310-313, 414-423.

[452] Lit. the "Magician's wear."

[453] Ra`iyat is used here to denote a man of the common people, as opposed to a Chief or Raja. It is sometimes used by Malays in other senses.

[454] Seperti sungkei be-rendam, "like a soaked sungkei stick." When the sungkei stick has been soaked for a long time, say three months, the peel comes clean away; proverbial expression used of a person "cleaned out."

[455] Beam or rafter of the shed.

[456] Palm-leaf thatch.

[457] Forbes mentions a "palm-leaf fringe" used in certain rites by the Kalangs of Java.--A Naturalist's Wanderings, p. 101.

[458] "It is quite a common thing in Java to encounter by the wayside near a village, or in a rice-field, or below the shade of a great dark tree, a little platform with an offering of rice and prepared fruits to keep disease and blight at a distance and propitiate the spirits."--A Naturalist's Wanderings, Forbes, p. 103.

[459] In Selangor this custom is now obsolete.--Sel. Jour. vol. iii. No. 18, p. 294.

[460] The derivation of the name of this primitive Malay censer from the Sanskrit çankha (conch shell) has been pointed out (Maxwell, Malay Manual, p. 32). Forbes notes having seen in a sacred grove in Java "the remnants of small torches of sweet gums which had been offered."--A Naturalist's Wanderings, p. 97.

[461] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 16, pp. 310-320.

[462] Cliff. and Swett., Malay Dict., s.v. Amang: "tourmaline, wolfram, and titaniferous iron-ore are all called by this name. They are all considered impurities, and tourmaline is the one most commonly met with."

[463] The Malay was saperti ulat hidup, which would rather mean "like live maggots."--W.S.

[464] Sel. Journ. vol. iii. No. 18, pp. 293, 294.

[465] Sel. Journ. vol. iv. No. 2, p. 26.

[466] i.e. tin-bearing stratum and stone overlying the ore.

[467] i.e. his "connections."

[468] Sel. Journ. vol. iv. No. 8, p. 139.

[469] "This my tank" is an allusion to the mine, the system on which mines are worked in the Malay States being that of the removal of the overburden, which, of course, forms immense pits, such as are here likened to an (empty) tank or reservoir.

[470] A plant, possibly Solanum aculeatissimum, Jacq., which has very thorny orange-coloured fruits.

[471] Sega is a species of rattan (Calamus viminalis or Calamus ornatus, Griff.); but probably the better reading here is segar, which means a long black spike of the kabong-palm (Arenga saccharifera, L.)

[472] Presumably a corruption of Iskandar zu 'l-Karnain, i.e. Alexander the Great, who plays a considerable part in Malay legendary history.

[473] Vide App. cxviii., cxix.

[474] Oryza sativa, L. var.

[475] Batin is a title of certain Chiefs amongst the aboriginal tribes of the southern part of the Peninsula. It appears to have been in former days sometimes borne by Malays also.

[476] Ketong as a dry measure is not to be found in the dictionaries. V. d. Wall, however, gives a form kentong (with which it may be connected) as meaning an earthen pot, formerly used for holding lalang-sugar.

[477] An arai is an Achinese measure [= 2 chupak], about 3 1/3 lbs.

[478] Sic: quære lombong?

[479] Denys, Descr. Dict. of Brit. Malaya, s.v. Gold.

[480] Vide Leyden, Malay Annals, p. 94. "He (the Sultan), also prohibited the ornamenting of creeses with gold, and the wearing anklets of gold, and the wearing the koronchong, or hollow bracelets of gold, ornamented with silver."

Two legends, which connect the wild boar with the precious metals, have already been mentioned, vide p. 188, supra.

[481] Vide v. d. Wall, Malay-Dutch Dict., s.v. Kawi, one of the meanings of which he explains as the supernatural power of anything. He proceeds to explain besi kawi as follows:--It is "a piece of old scrap-iron with supernatural powers, belonging to the royal insignia of the former Kingdom of Johor, now [then?] in the possession of the Sultan of Lingga. Whenever an oath was to be taken by a subject, the Iron would be immersed in water for a time, and the patient [sic] had to drink of this water before he took the oath. Whoever took a false oath would be affected by a severe sickness, and in the case of a Chief the sickness affects the whole tribe."

Bisa kawi is another (West Sumatran) form of this expression. Under Bisa III., q.v., v. d. W. remarks that to say, "May you be struck by the Bisa Kawi" (lit. Poison of Kawi), is the ugliest wish you can address to anybody, as it is supposed to bring upon the person so addressed every possible kind of sickness.

[482] For examples vide the charms quoted in almost every part of this book.

[483] "It is a very general belief among Malays that Gulîga [and] Bûntat, viz. stones that are found in the bodies of animals or contained in trees, have great magic and vegetable virtue. These stones are worn as charms, and are also scraped, the scrapings being mixed with water and given to the sick as medicine."--Pubns. of the R.A.S., S.B., No. 3, p. 26 n.

[484] This idea recalls a similar superstition about what are called in the Straits Settlements "breeding-pearls," i.e. a kind of pearl which is supposed to reproduce itself when kept in a box and fed with pulut rice for a sufficiently lengthy period.--Vide J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 1, pp. 31-37, No. 3, pp. 140-143.

[485] "The Guliga, more commonly known as Bezoar, forms a recognised article of export from the Rejang and Bintulu rivers in the Sarawak territory. These concretions are chiefly obtained from a red monkey (a species of Semnopithecus), which seems to be very abundant in the interior districts of Borneo. A more valuable Guliga, called the 'Guliga Landak,' is obtained from the porcupine, but it is comparatively rare. The Sepoys stationed at Sibu Fort in the Rejang formerly exported considerable numbers of these calculi to Hindustan, where, in addition to their supposed efficacy as an antidote for the poison of snakes and other venomous creatures, they appear to be applied, either alone or in combination with other medicines, to the treatment of fevers, asthmatic complaints, general debility, etc. A few years ago, however, these men ceased to send any but the Guliga Landak, since their hakims had informed them that the concretions obtained from the monkeys had come to be considered of very doubtful, if any, value from a medicinal point of view. The usual test for a good Guliga is to place a little chunam on the hand and to rub the Guliga against it, when, if it be genuine, the lime becomes tinged with yellow. Imitations are by no means rare, and on one occasion which came to my own knowledge, some Bakatans succeeded in deceiving the Chinamen, who trade in these articles, by carefully moulding some fine light clay into the form of a Bezoar, and then rubbing it well all over with a genuine one. The extreme lightness of a real Guliga and the lime test are, however, generally sufficient to expose a counterfeit Bezoar. The Sepoys and Malays apply various imaginary tests. Thus they assert that if a true Guliga be clasped in the closed fist the bitter taste of the concretion will be plainly susceptible to the tongue when applied to the back of the hand, and even above the elbow if the Guliga be a good 'Landak'; and a Sepoy once assured me that having accidentally broken one of the latter he immediately was sensible of a bitter taste in the mouth.

"Accounts vary very much among the natives as to the exact position in which the Guligas are found: some saying they may occur in any part of the body, others that they occur only in the stomach and intestines, whilst I have heard others declare that they have taken them from the head and even the hand! Bezoar stones are sold by weight, the gold scale being used, and the value varies according to quality and to the scarcity or abundance of the commodity at the time of sale. The ordinary prices paid at Rejang a few years ago were from $1.50 to $2 per amas for common stones and from $2.50 to $4 per amas for Guliga Landak. I have seen one of the latter which was valued at $100. It was about the size of an average Tangiers orange, and was perfectly spherical. The surface, where not artificially abraded, was smooth, shining, bronze-brown, studded with numerous irregularly-shaped fragments of dark rich brown standing out slightly above the general mass of the calculus. These fragments, in size and appearance, bore a close resemblance to the crystals in a coarse-grained porphyritic rock.

"The common monkey-bezoars vary much in colour and shape. I have seen them of the size of large filberts, curiously convoluted and cordate in shape, with a smooth, shining surface of a pale olive-green hue. Mr. A. R. Houghton once showed me one which was an inch and a half long, and shaped like an Indian club. It was of a dirty greenish colour, perfectly smooth and cylindrical, and it had become aggregated around a portion of a sumpitan dart, which appears to have penetrated the animal's stomach, and being broken off short has subsequently served as the nucleus for the formation of a calculus. The same gentleman had in his possession two Landak stones, one of which bore a close resemblance to a block in shape, and was of a bright green colour, and the second was of a rich chocolate brown, and could best be likened in form to a constable's staff. One porcupine stone which was opened was found to be a mere shell full of small brown shavings like shred tobacco.

"The part of the island which produces these stones in greatest abundance seems to be, by a coincidence of native reports, the district about the upper waters of the Baluñgar (Batang Kayan). The story is that the head-waters of this river are cut off from its lower course by an extensive tract of hills beneath which the river disappears, a report by no means unlikely if the country be, as is probable, limestone. The people of the district have no communication with the lower course of the river, and are thus without any supply of salt. In lieu of this necessity they make use of the waters of certain springs, which must be saline mineral springs, and which the Kayans call 'Suñgan.' These springs are also frequented by troops of the red monkeys before mentioned, and the Bezoars are most constantly found in the stomachs of these animals through their drinking the saline water. The hunters lie in wait about such springs, and, so runs the report, on the animals coming down to drink they are able to guess with tolerable certainty from external signs which of the monkeys will afford the Guliga, and they forthwith shoot such with their sumpitans. I have this account, curious in more ways than one, from several quite independent sources. In concluding these brief notes, I may remark that the wide-spread idea of the medicinal virtue of these concretions would lead us to suppose that there is some foundation for their reputation."--J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 4, pp. 56-58.

"The guliga in Siak, which is considered to belong to the larangan raja [royal property], is an intestinal stone found in a kind of porcupine living principally in the upper reaches of the Mandau. The Sakeis living in this region are the only persons who collect these stones, which they deliver to the Sultan partly as a revenue, partly as barang larangan.

"By right all the guligas found by them are the Sultan's; the greater number, however, are clandestinely sold to Malay and Chinese traders.

"According to their size they are worth from $40 to $600 a piece.

"Their value, however, does not merely rise with their weight but, as in the case of precious stones, rises out of all proportion with the mere increase in weight. A guliga weighing 1 ringgit (8 mayam) costs $600, whereas one of the weight of 3 mayam will only be worth $100.

"For guligas, particularly large ones, extraordinary prices are sometimes paid. The Sultan of Siak possesses one said to be valued at $900.

"Natives maintain that they are an almost infallible medicine in cases of chest or bowel complaints, but their principal value is founded on their reputed virtue as a powerful aphrodisiac. To operate in this way one is worn on the navel tied up in a piece of cloth, or water in which one has been soaked is drunk."--F. Kehding on Siak (Sumatra) in J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 17, pp. 153-4.

[486] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 9, p. 24 n. As to Paujangi (Pauh Janggi) vide pp. 6-9, supra.

[487] Vide Chapter IV. supra.

[488] For the charm used at the insertion of the twigs, vide App. cxxii.

[489] Vide App. cxxiv.

[490] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 9, p. 26.

[491] This recalls the account in Northern mythology of the four rivers which are said to flow from the teats of the cow Audhumla.

In a great many Malay myths the colour white is an all-important feature. In this legend we have the white Semang and the white river. In others white animals and white birds are introduced.

[492] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 9, p. 95.

[493] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 7, pp. 24-26.

[494] The most usual name of the crocodile-spirit, as given in such charms as I have succeeded in collecting, is Sambu Agai, or, as it is also called, Jambu Rakai.

[495] Kira-kira means "accounts."

[496] Selangor Journal, vol. iii. No. 6, pp. 93, 94.

[497] The shortness of the crocodile's tongue, which is a mere stump of a tongue, has probably given rise to this idea.

[498] Also sometimes called "Apa daya," lit. "What device?" or "What resource?" The front teeth are also sometimes called kail seluang, or "seluang" hook, or hook for catching the seluang, a small fish resembling the sardine.--Vide H. C. C. in N. and Q. No. 4, sec. 95, issued with No. 17 of the J.R.A.S., S.B.

[499] The question of the mental attributes ascribed to the crocodile is one of great interest, as it is credited by Malays with a human origin. It is not alleged to shed tears over his victim; but, as the above account shows, it is far from insensible to the enormity of manslaughter. At the same time, it is credited with strong common sense (since it is known to "laugh" at those misguided mortals "who pole a boat down stream," no less than the tiger which "laughs" at those who "carry a torch on a moonlight night"), and also has a strict regard for honesty. (Vide infra.)

[500] Rewritten from Sel. Journ. vol. iii. No. 19, pp. 309-312.

[501] A native-built canoe hollowed out of a tree-trunk is no doubt referred to.

[502] Mangrove, of various species, chiefly Rhizophoreæ.

[503] Sel. Journ. vol. i. No. 22, pp. 350-351.

[504] Vide App. cxxviii.

[505] Vide App. cxxx.

[506] This and the preceding lines clearly refer to the fable quoted by Sir W. E. Maxwell. There are, however, many differences in minor details, one version asserting that the head of the first crocodile was made from the central shoot or cabbage of a cocoa-nut (umbi niyor), its blood of saffron, and its eyes from the star of the east; another asserting that its dorsal ridge was manufactured (by Siti Fatimah) from the eaves of the thatch.

[507] Her Highness Princess Rundok, as appears from the line below, in which she is again referred to, is evidently the name given to the fowl used as a bait.

[508] Jangan angkau lari!
Perjanjian kita sa-tanjong ka hulu,
Sa-tanjong ka hilir.

[509] Tabek Raja di Laut, Mambang Tali Harus,
Aku 'nak buang badi buaya ini.

[510] Angkau menangkap Si Anu?

[511] Vide Chap. VI. pp. 325-327, infra.

[512] Mr. L. Wray in "Perak Museum Notes," quoted in the Selangor Journal, vol. iii. No. 6, p. 94.

[513] Other accounts make it out to be of a golden colour. Vide p. 506, infra.

[514] I have heard this same word used to describe a sort of unnatural "glow" which was supposed to illumine certain parts of the country at night; one such region being a portion of the coast at Lukut in Sungei Ujong.

[515] Clifford, In Court and Kampong, p. 189.

[516] Selangor Journal, vol. iii. No. 6, p. 92.

[517] Ibid., p. 91.

[518] A kind of flat fish (sole?), also ikan lidah-lidah and lelidah, probably derived from lidah, a tongue, owing to its shape. This fish is sometimes called sisa Nabi, or the "Prophet's leavings," the story being that it had originally the same amount of flesh on both sides, but that the Prophet Muhammad, having eaten the whole side of one of these fish (which had been cooked and served up to him as a meal) cast the remaining side back into the sea, whereupon it revived and commenced swimming about as if nothing had happened, retaining, however, the shape of a flat fish to the present day.

Cp. the following note in Sale's Translation of the Korân:--

"This miracle is thus related by the commentators. Jesus having, at the request of his followers, asked it of God, a red table immediately descended, in their sight, between two clouds, and was set before them, whereupon he rose up, and having made the ablution, prayed, and then took off the cloth which covered the table, saying, In the name of God, the best provider of food. What the provisions were with which this table was furnished is a matter wherein the expositors are not agreed. One will have them to be nine cakes of bread and nine fishes; another, bread and flesh; another, all sorts of food, except flesh; another, all sorts of food except bread and flesh; another, all except bread and fish; another, one fish, which had the taste of all manner of food; and another, fruits of paradise, but the most received tradition is that when the table was uncovered, there appeared a fish ready dressed, without scales or prickly fins, dropping with fat, having salt placed at its head and vinegar at its tail, and round it all sorts of herbs, except leeks, and five loaves of bread, on one of which there were olives, on the second honey, on the third butter, on the fourth, cheese, and on the fifth, dried flesh. They add that Jesus, at the request of the apostles, showed them another miracle, by restoring the fish to life, and causing its scales and fins to return to it, at which the standers-by being affrighted, he caused it to become as before; that 1300 men and women, all afflicted with bodily infirmities or poverty, ate of these provisions and were satisfied, the fish remaining whole as it was at first; that then the table flew up to heaven in the sight of all; and every one who had partaken of this food were delivered from their infirmities and misfortunes; and that it continued to descend for forty days together at dinner-time, and stood on the ground till the sun declined, and was then taken up into the clouds. Some of the Mohammedan writers are of opinion that this table did not really descend, but that it was only a parable; but most think the words of the Koran are plain to the contrary. A further tradition is, that several men were changed into swine for disbelieving this miracle, and attributing it to magic art; or, as others pretend, for stealing some of the victuals from off it. Several other fabulous circumstances are also told which are scarce worth transcribing."--Sale's Korân Trans. ch. v. p. 87, note.

[519] Maxwell in J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 7, p. 26.

[520] The tears of the dugong are believed to be an exceedingly potent love-charm.--Vide Swettenham, Unaddressed Letters, p. 217.

"Like most nations dwelling near the sea, the Malays have their mermaids, of which the dugong is the probable origin.--J.I.A., i. 9."--Quoted by Denys, Dict. Brit. Mal., s.v. Mermaid.

[521] Vide, however, supra.

[522] Mr. Wray no doubt refers to the b'rudu (tadpole), the upper half of which is declared by Selangor Malays to develop into a frog (katak), while the hinder part develops into the ikan lembat.

[523] Sel. Journ. vol. iii. No. 6, p. 93.

[524] Vide App. cclxxiv.

[525] These were trays of the kind called anchak which are used by the Malays to contain offerings to the spirits. For fuller details, cp. pp. 414-422, infra.

[526] For details of a similar ceremony, vide pp. 416-418, infra.

[527] The composition of these brushes varies apparently according to the ceremony which is to be performed. In this case leaves or sprays of the following plants were used:--

1. Sapenoh.
2. Lenjuang merah (the red Dracæna).
3. Gandarusa.
4. Satawar.
5. Sadingin.
6. Pulut-pulut (?) or Selaguri (?)
7. Mangrove (bakau).

These leaves were tied together with a small creeper called ribu-ribu (a so-called "female" variety, which is said to have larger leaves than the "male variety," being used). For further details, vide Chap. III. pp. 78-80, supra.

[528] The following is a list, as correct as I was able to make it, of the number and order of the offerings which were thus distributed:--