Chapter V: Magic Rites connected with the Several Departments of Nature (3)

"Ho Badi Serang, Badi Mak Buta,
Si Panchor Mak Tuli,
It is not I who cast out these mischiefs,
It is the Junior Dogboy who casts them out.
It is not I who cast out these mischiefs,
It is the Dogboy Rukiah who casts them out.
It is not I who cast out these mischiefs,
It is Mukaël [317] (Michael) who casts them out.
It is not I who cast out these mischiefs,
It is Israfel who casts them out.
It is not I who cast out these mischiefs,
It is Azrael who casts them out.
It is not I who cast out these mischiefs,
It is Mukarael (?) who casts them out.
I know the origin of these mischiefs,
They are the offspring of the Jin Ibni Ujan, [318]
Who dwell in the open spaces and hill-locked basins.
Return ye to your open spaces and hill-locked basins,
And do me no harm or scathe.
I know the origin from which you spring,
From the offspring of the Jin Ibni Ujan do ye spring.

"Here take small portions of his eyes, ears, mouth, nose, hind-feet, fore-feet, hair (of his coat), liver, heart, spleen and horns (if it be a stag), wrap them up in a leaf, and deposit them in the slot of his approaching tracks, saying: 'O Mentala (Batara) Guru, one a month, two a month, three a month, four a month, five a month, six a month, seven a month (be the deer which fall) by night to you, by day to me. One deer I take with me, and one I leave behind.'"

A deer Pawang named 'Che Indut gave me a charm for turning the deer back upon their tracks, "though their flesh was torn to rags and their bones well-becudgelled." It concluded with the following appeal to the spirits:--

"Ho (ye Spirits) turn back my Deer!
If you do not turn them back,
At sea ye shall get no drink,
Ashore ye shall find no food.
By virtue of the word of God," etc.

I will conclude with the following charm, believed to be a means of bringing the stag low:--

"Measure off three sticks (probably dead wood taken from the slot of the deer, as in the case of the elephant), their length being measured by the distance from the roof of your mouth to the teeth of the lower jaw. Lay these sticks in a triangular form inside the slot of the stag, press the left thumb downwards in the centre of the triangle, and humble your heart. This will humble the deer's heart too."

The Mouse-deer or chevrotin is the "Brer Rabbit" of the Malays. It figures in many proverbial sayings and romances, in which it is credited with extraordinary sagacity, and is honoured by the title of "Mentri B'lukar," the "Vizier of the (secondary) Forest-Growth." [319]

It is generally taken by means of a snare called tapah pelandok, but sometimes by tapping on the ground with sticks (mengetok pelandok), the sound of which is supposed to imitate the drumming of the buck's fore-feet upon the ground in rutting-time, by which the attention of the doe is attracted. Whatever the reason may be, there is no doubt that the method is often successful.

When this "tapping" method is adopted, the charms used are similar to those used for calling the big deer, e.g.--

"Arak-arak iring-iring
Kembang bunga si Panggil-Panggil,
Datang berarak, datang beriring,
Raja Suleiman datang memanggil.

Follow in procession, follow in succession,
The Assembly-flower has opened its petals.
Come in procession, come in succession,
King Solomon comes to summon you."

But at the end of the charm is added, "Ini-lah gong-nya," i.e. "This is his (King Solomon's) gong."

The stick which is used may be of any kind of wood except a creeper, and the best place for the operation is where the ground sounds hollow when tapped. Either three, five, or seven leaves must, however, be laid on the spot before the tapping is commenced.

The directions for setting the snare (jerat or tapah pelandok) were taken down by me as follows:--

First look for a tree whose sap is viscid, and chop at it thrice (with a cutlass). If the splinters fall, one the right and the other the wrong way up (lit. one prone and the other supine), it is a bad sign (though it is a good sign when one is setting a trap); for in the case of a snare they must fall the wrong way up (supine).

When this is done, commence to set the snare near the foot of a tree, at about a fathom's distance, and say:--

"As a cocoa-nut shell rocks to and fro
When filled with clay,
Avaunt ye, Jembalang and Badi,
That I may set this snare."

Next you say:--

"Ho, Sir 'Pointed-Hoof,'
Sir 'Sharp-Muzzle,'
Do you step upon this snare that I have spread
Within two days or three.
If you do not step upon this snare that I have spread
Within two days or three,
You shall be choked to death with blood in your throat,
You shall be in sore straits within the limits of your own
Big Jungle.
At sea you shall get no drink,
Ashore you shall get no food,
By virtue of," etc.

Hunting-Dogs

Hunting-dogs are spoken to continually as if they were human beings. Several examples of this occur in the deer charms.

Thus we find the following passage addressed to the dogs:--

"Let not go the scent,
Formidable were you from the first;

Hot-foot, hot-foot, do you pursue,
If you do not pursue hot-foot,
I will minimise my benediction (lit. my 'Peace be with you').
If it (the deer) be a buck, you shall have him for a brother;
If it be a doe, you shall have her for a wife."

So too, again, after calling several dogs by name, the Pawang gets together the accessories (leaves of the tukas and lenjuang, a brush of leaves (sa-cherek) and a black cloth), and exclaims:--

"Bark, Sir Slender-foot; bark, Sir Brush-tail."

The Pawang generally tries to deceive the deer as to his ownership of the hunting-dogs. Thus he will say:--

"It is not I whose dogs these are,
It is the magical deer Pawang whose dogs these are."

So, too, they are called by certain specific names (according to their breed and colour), which are in several cases identical with the names of the dogs with which the wild Spectre Huntsman (the most terrible of all personified diseases in the Malay category) hunts down his prey. [320]

Ugliness is by no means looked upon as a disadvantage, but rather the opposite. An ugly dog is apparently formidable. Thus we find a dog addressed as follows:--

"Let not go the scent (of the quarry)
As you were formidable (lit. ugly) [321] from the first."

Again, the description of the "good points" of some of these dogs which is given in the Appendix would, if ugliness and formidability are convertible terms, satisfy the most exacting whipper-in, the so-called good points being for the most part a mere list of deformities. These points, however, are merely the external sign of the Luck to which dogs, as well as human beings, are believed to be born. In a fine passage we are told:--

"From the seven Hills and the seven Valleys
Comes the intense barking of my Dogs.
My Dogs are Dogs of Luck,
Not Luck that is adventitious,
But Luck incarnate with their bodies.
Go tread upon the heaped and rotting leaves,
And never desert the scent."

Speaking of dog-lore generally, it may be remarked that though dogs are very frequently kept by the Malays, it is considered unlucky to keep them. "The dog ... is unlucky. He longs for the death of his master, an event which will involve the slaying of animals at the funeral feast, when the bones will fall to the dogs. When a dog is heard howling at night, he is supposed to be thinking of the broken bones (niat handak mengutib tulang patah)." [322]

Even the wild dogs in the jungle [323] are warned not to bark, and are addressed as if they were human:--

"If you bark your windpipe shall burst,
If you smack your lips your tongue shall be docked.

If you come nearer, you shall break your leg;

Return to the big virgin jungle,
Return to your caverns and hill-locked basins,
To the stream which has no head-waters,
To the pond which was never dug,
To the waters which bear no passengers,
To the fountain-head which is [never] dry.
If you do not return, you shall die,
Cursed by the First Pen (i.e. the Human Tongue),
Pierced by the twig of a gomuti-palm, [324]
Impaled by a palm thatch-needle,
Transfixed by a porcupine's quill."

Bears and Monkeys

"The Bear [325] is believed to be the mortal foe of the Tiger, which he sometimes defeats in single combat. (Bruang, the Malay word for 'bear,' has a curious resemblance to our word 'Bruin.' [326]) A story is told of a tame bear which a Malay left in charge of his house and of his sleeping child while he was absent from home. On his return he missed his child, the house was in disorder, as if some struggle had taken place, and the bear was covered with blood. Hastily drawing the conclusion that the bear had killed and devoured the child, the enraged father slew the animal with his spear, but almost immediately afterwards he found the carcase of a tiger, which the faithful bear had defeated and killed, and the child emerged unharmed from the jungle, where she had taken refuge. It is unnecessary to point out the similarity of this story to the legend of Beth-Gelert. It is evidently a local version of the story of the Ichneumon and the Snake in the Pancha-tantra." [327]

Monkeys and men have always been associated in native tradition, and Malay folklore is no exception to the rule. Thus we get the tradition of the great man-like ape, the Mawas (a reminiscence of the orang-outang or mias of Borneo), which is said to make shelters for itself in the forks of trees, and to be born with the blade of a cutlass (woodknife) in place of the bone of the forearm, so that it is able to cut down the undergrowth as it walks through the jungle. It is believed, moreover, occasionally to carry off and mate with human kind. [328]

The Siamang (Hylobates lar), [329] which walks on its hind-legs, is, however, the species which is most commonly associated in legend with the human race; in fact, it is not impossible that there may sometimes have been a confusion between its name (siamang) and Semang, which is the name of one of the aboriginal (Negrito) races of the interior. The following Malay legend, which I took down at Labu in Selangor is believed to explain its origin, and also that of the Bear: [330]--

Once upon a time her Highness the Princess Telan became the affianced bride of Si Malim Bongsu. After the betrothal Si Malim Bongsu sailed away and did not return when the period of the engagement, which was fixed at from three to four months, came to an end.

Then Si Malim Panjang, elder brother of Si Malim Bongsu, decided to take the place of his younger brother, and be married to the Princess Telan. The latter, however, repelled his advances, and he therefore attacked her savagely; but she turned herself into an ape (siamang) and escaped to the jungle, so that Si Malim Panjang desisted from pursuit. Then the ape climbed up into a pagar-anak tree which grew on the sea-shore, and leaned over the sea, and there she chanted these words:--

"O my dear Malim Bongsu,
You have broken your solemn promise and engagement,
And I have to take upon myself the form of an ape."

Now Si Malim Bongsu was passing at the time, and on recognising the voice of the Princess Telan he took a blow-gun and shot her so that she fell into the sea. Then he took rose-water and sprinkled it over her, so that she resumed her natural shape, and they started to go home together. Still, however, Si Malim Bongsu would not wed her, but promised that he would do so when he came back from his next voyage, whereupon the Princess chanted these words:--

"If you do not return within three months
You will find me turned into an ape."

The same course of events, however, happened as before. Malim Bongsu did not return at the time appointed; his elder brother, Malim Panjang once more attacked her, and, leaping towards an areca palm, she once more became an ape, whereupon she chanted as before:--

"O my dear Malim Bongsu,
You have broken your solemn promise and engagement,
And I am forced to become an ape."

Again Malim Bongsu, as he passed by, heard and recognised her voice; but upon learning that he had been for the second time the cause of his Princess's troubles, he exclaimed, "Better were it for me were I nothing but a big fish"; and leaping into the water he disappeared, and was changed into a big fish as he desired.

Now the Princess's nurse (who was called "The Daughter of Sakembang China") was at the same time transformed into a bear, and as they were bathing at the time when they were surprised, and had not time to wash off all the soap (rice-cosmetic), the white marks on the breast and brows of the bear and on the breast and brows of the ape (siamang) have remained unto this day.

Occasionally the opposite transformation is believed to take place, some species of the monkey tribe being supposed to turn into fish.

Thus the k'ra (Macacus cynomolgus) is believed to develop into a species of fish called senunggang, and of the fish called kalul (kalui or kalue), Sir W. E. Maxwell writes: "The ikan kalul (is believed) to be a monkey transformed. Some specially favoured observers have seen monkeys half through the process of metamorphosis--half-monkey and half-fish." [331] The species of monkey which is believed to turn into the ikan kalul is, as I was told in Selangor, the b'rok or "cocoa-nut monkey."

"Berhakim kapada brok" is a Malay proverbial expression which means, "'To make the monkey judge,' or, 'to go to the monkey for justice.' A fable is told by the Malays of two men, one of whom planted bananas on the land of the other. When the fruit was ripe each claimed it, but not being able to come to any settlement they referred the matter to the arbitration of a monkey (of the large kind called brok). The judge decided that the fruit must be divided; but no sooner was this done than one of the suitors complained that the other's share was too large. To satisfy him the monkey reduced the share of the other by the requisite amount, which he ate himself. Then the second suitor cried out that the share of the first was now too large. It had to be reduced to satisfy him, the subtracted portion going to the monkey as before. Thus they went on wrangling until the whole of the fruit was gone, and there was nothing left to wrangle about. Malay judges, if they are not calumniated, have been known to protract proceedings until both sides have exhausted their means in bribes. In such cases the unfortunate suitors are said to berhakim kapada brok." [332]

The Wild Pig and Other Animals

There are several superstitions about the Wild Boar which prove that it was not always regarded as an unclean animal.

Of these the following recipe, which was given me by a Jugra (Selangor) Malay, for turning brass into gold is the most remarkable:--

"Kill a wild pig and rip open its paunch. Sew up in this a quantity of old 'scrap' brass, pile timber over it, burn it, and then leave it alone until the grass has grown right over it. Then dig up the gold." Again, certain wild boars are believed to carry on their tushes a talisman of extraordinary power, which is called rantei babi, or "Wild Boar's Chain." This chain consists, it is asserted, of three links of various metals (gold, silver, and amalgam), and is hung up on a shrub by the wild boar when he is enjoying his wallow, so that it is occasionally stolen by Malays who know his habits. I may add that, according to a Malay at Langat, the "were-tiger" (rimau jadi-jadian) occasionally appears in the shape of a wild boar escaping from a grave, in the centre of which may be afterwards seen the hole by which the animal has escaped.

"Among the modern Malays avoidance of the flesh of swine and of contact with anything connected with the unclean animal is, of course, universal. No tenet of El-Islam is more rigidly enforced than this. It is singular to notice, among a people governed by the ordinances of the Prophet, traces of the observance of another form of abstinence enjoined by a different religion. The universal preference of the flesh of the Buffalo to that of the Ox in Malay countries is evidently a prejudice bequeathed to modern times by a period when cow-beef was as much an abomination to Malays as it is to the Hindus of India at the present day. This is not admitted or suspected by ordinary Malays, who would probably have some reason, based on the relative wholesomeness of buffalo and cow-beef, to allege in defence of their preference of the latter to the former." [333]

To the above I may add that it is invariably the flesh of the Buffalo, and not that of the Ox, which is eaten sacrificially on the occasion of festivities. [334] But the flesh of the so-called White (albino) Buffalo (kerbau balar) is generally avoided as food, though I have known it to be prescribed medicinally (as in the case of Raja Kahar, a son of H.H. the Sultan of Selangor, the circumstances of whose illness will be detailed elsewhere). [335] As might be expected, a story is told by the Malays to account for this distinction. The general outline of the tale is to the effect that a Malay boy (a mere child) fell into the big rice-bin (kepok) in his parents' absence and was suffocated by the rice. After some days the body began to decompose, and the ooze emanating from the rice-bin was licked up by a buffalo belonging to the boy's parents. The attention of these latter being thus attracted to the rice-bin, they found therein the remains of their child, and thereupon cursed the buffalo, which (we are led to infer) became "white," and has remained so ever since. According to one version, a ground-dove (tekukur) was implicated both in the offence and the punishment which followed it. Wherefore to this day no man eats of the flesh of either of the offenders.

Perhaps the most extraordinary transformation in which the Malays implicitly believe is that of the Squirrel, which is supposed to be developed from a large caterpillar called ulat sentadu. [336]

About the Cat there are many superstitions which show that it is believed to possess supernatural powers. Thus it is supposed to be lucky to keep cats because they long for a soft cushion to lie upon, and so (indirectly) wish for the prosperity of their master. [337] On the other hand, cats must be very carefully prevented from rubbing up against a corpse, for it is said that on one occasion when this was neglected, the badi or Evil Principle which resides in the cat's body entered into the corpse, which thus became endowed with unnatural life and stood up upon its feet. So too the soaking of the cat in a pan of water until it is half-drowned is believed to produce an abundance of rain. [338] It is, besides, believed to be extremely unlucky to kill cats. Of this superstition Mr. Clifford says:--

"It is a common belief among Malays that if a cat is killed he who takes its life will in the next world be called upon to carry and pile logs of wood, as big as cocoa-nut trees, to the number of the hairs on the beast's body. Therefore cats are not killed; but if they become too daring in their raids on the hen-coop or the food rack, they are tied to a raft and sent floating down stream, to perish miserably of hunger. The people of the villages by which they pass make haste to push the raft out again into mid-stream, should it in its passage adhere to bank or bathing-hut, and on no account is the animal suffered to land. To any one who thinks about it, this long and lingering death is infinitely more cruel than one caused by a blow from an axe; but the Malays do not trouble to consider such a detail, and would care little if they did." [339]

Before leaving the subject of cats, I must mention the belief that the "fresh-water fish called ikan belidah" was "originally a cat." Sir W. E. Maxwell says that many Malays refuse to eat it for this reason, and adds, "They declare that it squalls like a cat when harpooned, and that its bones are very white and fine like a cat's hairs." [340] A story is also sometimes told to account both for the general similarity of habits of the cat and the tiger and for the fact that the latter, unlike most of the Felidæ, is not a tree-climber. It is to the effect that the cat agreed to teach the tiger its tricks, which it did, with the exception of the art of climbing trees. The tiger, thinking it had learnt all the cat's tricks, proceeded to attack its teacher, when the cat escaped by climbing up a tree; so the tiger never learnt how to climb and cannot climb trees to this day.

Even the smallest and commonest of mammals, such as Rats and Mice, are the objects of many strange beliefs. Thus "clothes which have been nibbled by rats or mice must not be worn again. They are sure to bring misfortune, and are generally given away in charity." [341]

So too on the Selangor coast a mollusc called siput tantarang or mentarang is believed to have sprung from a mouse; and many kinds of charms, generally addressed to the "Prophet Joseph" (Nabi Yusuf), are resorted to in order to drive away rats and mice from the rice-fields.

The following passage describes the general ideas about animal superstitions which prevail on the east coast of the Peninsula:--

"The beliefs and superstitions of the Fisher Folk would fill many volumes. They believe in all manner of devils and local sprites. They fear greatly the demons that preside over animals, and will not willingly mention the names of birds or beasts while at sea. Instead, they call them all chêweh [342]--which, to them, signifies an animal, though to others it is meaningless, and is supposed not to be understanded of the beasts. To this word they tack on the sound which each beast makes in order to indicate what animal is referred to; thus the pig is the grunting chêweh, the buffalo the chêweh that says 'uak,' and the snipe the chêweh that cries 'kek-kek.' Each boat that puts to sea has been medicined with care, many incantations and other magic observances having been had recourse to, in obedience to the rules which the superstitious people have followed for ages. After each take the boat is 'swept' by the medicine man with a tuft of leaves prepared with mystic ceremonies, which is carried at the bow for the purpose. The omens are watched with exact care, and if they be adverse no fishing-boat puts to sea that day. Every act in their lives is regulated by some regard for the demons of the sea and air, and yet these folk are nominally Muhammadans, and, according to that faith, magic and sorcery, incantations to the spirits, and prayers to demons, are all unclean things forbidden to the people. But the Fisher Folk, like other inhabitants of the Peninsula, are Malays first and Muhammadans afterwards. Their religious creed goes no more than skin deep, and affects but little the manner of their daily life." [343]

3. VEGETATION CHARMS

The Vegetation Spirit of the Malays "follows in some vague and partial way," to use Professor Tylor's words, from the analogy of the Animal Spirit. It is difficult to say, without a more searching inquiry than I have yet had the opportunity of making, whether Malay magicians would maintain that all trees had souls (semangat) or not. All that we can be certain of at present is that a good many trees are certainly supposed by them to have souls, such, for instance, as the Durian, the Cocoa-nut palm, and the trees which produce Eagle-wood (gharu), Gutta Percha, Camphor, and a good many others.

What can be more significant than the words and actions of the men who in former days would try and frighten the Durian groves into bearing; or of the toddy-collector who addresses the soul of the Cocoa-nut palm in such words as, "Thus I bend your neck, and roll up your hair; and here is my ivory toddy-knife to help the washing of your face"; [344] or of the collectors of jungle produce who traffic in Eagle-wood, Camphor, and Gutta (the spirits of the first two of which trees are considered extremely powerful and dangerous) or, above all, of the reapers who carry the "Rice-soul" home at harvest time?

A special point in connection with the Malay conception of the vegetation soul perhaps requires particular attention, viz. the fact that apparently dead and even seasoned timber may yet retain the soul which animated it during its lifetime. Thus, the instructions for the performance of the rites to be used at the launching of a boat (which will be found below under the heading "The Sea, Rivers, and Streams") [345] involve an invocation to the timbers of the boat, which would therefore seem to be conceived as capable, to some extent, of receiving impressions and communications made in accordance with the appropriate forms and ceremonies.

So, too, a boat with a large knot in the centre of the bottom is considered good for catching fish, and in strict conformity with this idea is the belief that the natural excrescences (or knobs) and deformities of trees are mere external evidences of an indwelling spirit. So, too, the fruit of the cocoa-nut palm, when the shell lacks the three "eyes" to which we are accustomed, is believed to serve in warfare as a most valuable protection (pelias) against the bullets of the enemy, and the same may be said in a minor degree of the joints of "solid" bamboo (buluh tumpat) which are occasionally found, whilst to a slightly different category belong the comparatively numerous examples of "Tabasheer" (mineral concretions in the wood of certain trees), which are so highly valued by the Malays for talismanic purposes. Such trees as the Mali mali, Rotan jer'nang (Dragon's-blood rattan), Buluh kasap (rough bamboo), etc., are all said to supply instances of the concretions referred to, but the most famous of them all is without doubt the so-called "cocoa-nut pearl," of which I quote the following account from Dr. Denys's Descriptive Dictionary of British Malaya.

Cocoa-nut Pearls

The following remarks concerning these peculiar accretions are extracted from Nature:--

"During my recent travels," Dr. Sidney Hickson writes to a scientific contemporary, "I was frequently asked by the Dutch planters and others if I had ever seen 'a cocoa-nut stone.' These stones are said to be rarely found (1 in 2000 or more) in the perisperm of the cocoa-nut, and when found are kept by the natives as a charm against disease and evil spirits. This story of the cocoa-nut stone was so constantly told me, and in every case without any variation in its details, that I made every effort before leaving to obtain some specimens, and eventually succeeded in obtaining two.

"One of these is nearly a perfect sphere, 14 mm. in diameter, and the other, rather smaller in size, is irregularly pear-shaped. In both specimens the surface is worn nearly smooth by friction. The spherical one I have had cut into two halves, but I can find no concentric or other markings on the polished cut surfaces.

"Dr. Kimmins has kindly submitted one-half to a careful chemical analysis, and finds that it consists of pure carbonate of lime without any trace of other salts or vegetable tissue.

"I should be very glad if any of your readers could inform me if there are any of these stones in any of the museums, or if there is any evidence beyond mere hearsay of their existence in the perisperm of the cocoa-nut." [346]

On this letter Mr. Thiselton Dyer makes the following remarks:--"Dr. Hickson's account of the calcareous concretions occasionally found in the central hollow (filled with fluid--the so-called 'milk') of the endosperm of the seed of the cocoa-nut is extremely interesting. It appears to me a phenomenon of the same order as tabasheer, to which I recently drew attention in Nature.

"The circumstances of the occurrence of these stones or 'pearls' are in many respects parallel to those which attend the formation of tabasheer. In both cases mineral matter in palpable masses is withdrawn from solution in considerable volumes of fluid contained in tolerably large cavities in living plants; and in both instances they are monocotyledons.

"In the case of the cocoa-nut pearls the material is calcium carbonate, and this is well known to concrete in a peculiar manner from solutions in which organic matter is also present.

"In my note on tabasheer I referred to the reported occurrence of mineral concretions in the wood of various tropical dicotyledonous trees. Tabasheer is too well known to be pooh-poohed; but some of my scientific friends express a polite incredulity as to the other cases. I learn, however, from Prof. Judd, F.R.S., that he has obtained a specimen of apatite found in cutting up a mass of teak-wood. The occurrence of this mineral under these circumstances has long been recorded; but I have never had the good fortune to see a specimen." [347]

The Durian

The Durian tree (for an account of whose famous fruit the classical description in Wallace's Malay Archipelago may be referred to) is a semi-wild fruit-tree, whose stem frequently rises to the height of some eighty or ninety feet before the branches are met with. It is generally planted in groves, which are often to be found in the jungle when all other traces of former human habitation have completely disappeared, though even then its fruit, if tradition says true, is as keenly fought over by the denizens of the forest (monkeys, bears, and tigers) as ever it was by their temporary dispossessors. Interspersed among the Durian trees will be found numerous varieties of orchard trees of a less imperial height, amongst which may be named the Rambutan, [348] Rambei, [349] Lansat, [350] Duku, [351] Mangostin, [352] and many others. A small grove of these trees, which was claimed by the late Sultan `Abdul Samad of Selangor, grew within about a mile of my bungalow at Jugra, and I was informed that in years gone by a curious ceremony (called Menyemah durian) was practised in order to make the trees more productive. On a specially selected day, it was said, the village would assemble at this grove, and (no doubt with the usual accompaniment of the burning of incense and scattering of rice) the most barren of the Durian trees would be singled out from the rest. One of the local Pawangs would then take a hatchet (beliong) and deliver several shrewd blows upon the trunk of the tree, saying:--

"Will you now bear fruit or not?
If you do not I shall fell you." [353]

To this the tree (through the mouth of a man who had been stationed for the purpose in a Mangostin tree hard by) was supposed to make answer:--

"Yes, I will now bear fruit;
I beg you not to fell me." [354]

I may add that it was a common practice in the fruit season for the boys who were watching for the fruit to fall (for which purpose they were usually stationed in small palm-thatch shelters) to send echoing through the grove a musical note, which they produced by blowing into a bamboo instrument called tuang-tuang. I cannot, however, say whether this custom now has any ceremonial significance or not, though it seems not at all unlikely that it once had. [355]

The Malacca Cane

No less distinct are the animistic ideas of the Malays relating to various species of the Malacca-cane plant. Mr. Wray of the Perak Museum writes as follows:--

"A Malacca-cane with a joint as long as the height of the owner will protect him from harm by snakes and animals, and will give him luck in all things. What is called a samambu bangku [356] or baku, possesses the power of killing any one even when the person is only slightly hurt by a blow dealt with it. These are canes that have died down and have begun to shoot again from near the root. They are very rare, one of eighteen inches in length is valued at six or seven dollars, and one long enough to make a walking stick of, at thirty to fifty dollars. At night the rotan samambu plant is said to make a loud noise, and, according to the Malays, it says, 'Bulam sampei, bulam sampei,' [357] meaning that it has not yet reached its full growth. They are often to be heard in the jungle at night, but the most diligent search will not reveal their whereabouts. The rotan manoh [358] is also said to give out sounds at night. The sounds are loud and musical, but the alleged will-o'-the-wisp character of the rattans which are supposed to produce them seems to point to some night-bird, tree-frog, or lizard as being the real cause of the weird notes, though it is just possible that the wind might make the rattan leaves vibrate in such a way as to cause the sounds." [359]

In Selangor it is the stick-insect (keranting) which is believed to be the embodiment of the "Malacca-cane spirit" (Hantu Samambu), by which last name it is most commonly called. These stick-insects are believed by the Selangor Malays to produce the sounds to which Mr. Wray refers, and in order to account for their peculiar character a story is told, the main features of which are as follows:--

Once upon a time a married couple fell out, and the husband surreptitiously introduced stones into the cooking-pot in place of the yams which his wife was cooking. Then he went off to climb for a cocoa-nut, and as he climbed, he mocked her by calling out "Masak belum? Masak belum?" ("Are they cooked yet? Are they cooked yet?"). What she did by way of retaliation is not clear, but as he climbed and mocked her, she is said to have retorted, "Panjat belum? Panjat belum?" ("Have you climbed it yet? Have you climbed it yet?"), a reply which clearly shows that her woman's wit had been at work, and that she was not going to allow her husband to get the better of her. [360] However this may be, a deadlock ensued, the result of which was that both parties were transformed into stick-insects, but were yet condemned to mock each other as they had done during the period of their human existence.

I have often from my boat, during dark nights on the Langat river, listened to the weird note which my Malays invariably ascribed to these insects, and which is not inaptly represented by one of the Malay names for them, viz. "belum-belam." I have not yet, however, succeeded in identifying the real producer of the note, of which all I can say at present is, that although it may not be itself discoverable, the Malays look upon it as a certain guide to the localities where the Malacca-canes grow.

The Tualang or Sialang Tree

So too of the Tualang-tree Mr. Wray writes:--

"One of the largest and stateliest of the forest trees in Perak is that known as Toallong, or Toh Allong; [361] it has a very poisonous sap, which produces great irritation when it comes in contact with the skin. Two Chinamen who had felled one of these trees in ignorance, had their faces so swelled and inflamed that they could not see out of their eyes, and had to be led about for some days before they recovered from the effects of the poison. Their arms, breasts, and faces were affected, and they presented the appearance of having a very bad attack of erysipelas. These trees are supposed to be the abiding-places of hantu, or spirits, when they have large hollow projections from the trunk, called rumah hantu, or spirit houses. These projections are formed when a branch gets broken off near the trunk, and are quite characteristic of the tree. There are sometimes three or four of them on a large tree, and the Malays have a great objection to cutting down any that are so disfigured, the belief being that if a man fells one he will die within the year. As a rule these trees are left standing when clearings are made, and they are a source of trouble and expense to planters and others, who object to their being left uncut.

"The following series of events actually happened:--A Malay named Panda Tambong undertook, against the advice of his friends, to fell one of the Toh Allong trees, and he almost immediately afterwards was taken ill with fever, and died in a few weeks' time. Shortly after this some men were sitting plaiting ataps [362] under the shade of another of these ill-omened trees, when, without any warning, a large branch fell down, breaking the arm of one man, and more or less injuring two others. There was not a breath of wind at the time, or anything else likely to determine the fall of the branch. After this it was decided to have the tree felled, as there were coolie houses nearly under it. There was great difficulty in getting any one to fell it. Eventually a Penang Malay undertook the job, but stipulated that a Pawang, or sorcerer, should be employed to drive away the demons first. The Pawang hung pieces of white and red cloth on sticks round the tree, burnt incense in the little contrivances made of the split leaf-stalks of the bertam palm, used by the Malays for that purpose, cut off the heads of two white fowls, sprinkled the blood over the trunk, and in the midst of many incantations the tree was felled without any mishap; but, strange to say, the Pawang, who was a haji [363] and a slave-debtor of the Toh Puan Halimah, died about nine months afterwards." [364]

There appears to be very little reason to doubt that the word Tualang ('Toh Alang or Sialang) is the name not of a particular species of tree, but rather the generic name of all trees in which wild bees have built their nests, so that in reality it simply means a "Bee-Tree."

I have not yet succeeded in obtaining any of the Malay charms used by the collectors of these bees' nests, except such as are used by Sakais under Malay influence on the Selangor coast, the Sakais being most usually the collectors. Some of these latter, however, were pure Malay charms, and may perhaps be considered, in the absence of charms collected from Malays, as evidence of at least secondary importance. One of these charms commences as follows:--

"Here is the Peeling-knife, the knife with the long handle,
Stuck into the buttress of a Pulai-Tree." [365]

And another, which is almost word for word the same, as follows:--

"Here is the Peeling-knife, the knife with the long handle,
With which to stab (lit. peck at) the buttress of the
Pulai-Tree." [366]

It will be noticed that both refer to the Pulai-tree by name, and not to the Tualang. The footnote which I here quote with reference to the customs of Siak is, almost word for word, equally true of the Bee-Trees in Selangor. [367]

Other haunted trees (pokok berhantu) are the Jawi-jawi, the Jelotong, and Berombong, of which the following tradition will perhaps suffice:--

"All trees," according to Malay tradition, "were planted by 'the Prophet Elias,' [368] and are in the 'Prophet Noah's' charge. In the days of King Solomon, trees could speak as well as birds and animals, and several of the trees now to be seen in the forest are really metamorphosed human beings. Such are the 'Jelotong' and the 'Berombong,' which in the days of King Solomon were bosom friends, until there broke out between them an unfortunate quarrel, which terminated in 'Si Jelotong's' lacing the skin of 'Si Berombong' all over with stabs from his dagger, the effect of which stabs remains visible to this day. Si Berombong, on the other hand, cursed Si Jelotong with his dying breath, praying that he might be turned into a tree without any buttresses to support his trunk, a prayer which was, of course, duly fulfilled. Thus originated the lack of buttresses at the base of the former tree, and the laced and slashed bark of the latter."

The Lime-Tree

Yet another tree whose spirit is the object, as it were, of a special cult, [369] is the lime-tree, which is revered and looked up to almost as their chief patron by the theatrical players (orang ma'yong) of Penang. The invocations addressed to this spirit show that, as in most branches of magic, every part of the tree had its appropriate "alias." Thus the root was called the "Seated Prince," the trunk the "Standing Prince," the bark the "Prince Stretching Himself," the boughs the "Stabbing Prince," the leaves the "Beckoning Prince," the fruit the "Prince loosing an arrow."

The Eagle-wood Tree

The following account of Eagle-wood and of the tree which produces it is quoted from the Journal of the Straits Asiatic Society:--

"In Crawfurd's Dictionary of the Malay Archipelago [370] I find the following:--'Agila, the Eagle-wood of commerce.--Its name in Malay and Javanese is kalambak or kalambah, but it is also known in these languages by that of gharu or kayu gharu, gharu-wood, a corruption of the Sanskrit agahru.... There can be no doubt but that the perfumed wood is the result of disease in the tree that yields it, produced by the thickening of the sap into a gum or resin.'

"This 'Eagle-wood of commerce,' under its more familiar name gharu, is one of the rarest and most valuable products of our Malayan jungles, and the following notes may be of interest. They are the result of inquiries amongst the Malays and Pawangs in Ulu Muar and Johol, and I am indebted to Mr. L. J. Cazalas for much assistance in obtaining the information contained in them.

"The gharu-tree is a tall forest tree, sometimes reaching the size of fifteen feet in diameter. The bark is of a silvery gray colour, and the foliage close and dense, of a dark hue. The Malay name for the tree is "tabak," and no other may be used by the Pawang when in search of the kayu gharu. [371] Gharu, the diseased heart-wood of the tabak, is found in trees of all sizes, even in trees of one foot in diameter, thus showing that the disease attacks the tree at an early stage.

"The gharu is found in pockets, and may sometimes be discovered by the veins which run to these pockets. In other trees the veins are absent, which renders the process of searching more difficult. The tree is generally cut down and left to rot, which exposes the gharu in about six months.

"'Pockets' are found to contain as much as 104 catties; a single tree has been known to yield 400 catties. [372] Gharu is seldom found in the sap-wood, generally in the heart-wood or teras.

"Many tabak-trees do not contain gharu at all. To select the right trees is the special province of the Pawang or wise man. The tabak-trees are under the care of certain hantu or wood-spirits, and it would be hopeless for the uninitiated to attempt to find gharu; even the Pawang has to be very careful.

"The following is the process as far as I have been able to ascertain it:--

"On the outskirts of the forest the Pawang must burn incense, and repeat the following charm or formula:--

"Homali hamali [373] matilok (mandillah ?) serta kalam mandiyat serta teboh. Turun suhaya [374] trima suka turun kadim serta aku kabul kata gharu mustajak [375] kata Allah Berkat la ilaha il'allah. Hei Putri Belingkah, [376] Putri Berjuntei, Putri Menginjan [377] aku meminta isi tabak. Ta'boleh di surohkan, ta'boleh lindong kapada aku kalau di-suroh di-lindong-kan biar durâka kapada tuhan."

"There is no "pantang gharu" except that the words "isi" and "tabak" must be used instead of "tras" and "gharu." [378]

"He then proceeds to search for a likely tree, and upon finding one he again burns incense and repeats the spell as above. The tree having been cut down, the next thing is to separate the gharu from the sap-wood. The best way is to let the tree rot, but the Pawang is often "hard-up," and does not mind wasting some of the gharu in his hurry to realise.

"The following are said to be the tests for finding gharu in a standing tree:--

1. The tree is full of knots. (Berbungkol.)
2. The bark full of moss and fungus. (Bertumuh berchandawan.)
3. Heart-wood hollow. (Berlobang.)
4. Bark peeling off. (Bergugor kulit.)
5. A clear space underneath. (Mengelenggang.)
6. Stumps jutting out. (Berchulak.)
7. Tree tapering. (Bertirus.)
8. The falling of the leaves in old trees.

"There are great differences in the quality of gharu, and great care is taken in classifying them. It requires a skilled man to distinguish between some of the varieties.

"The names are as follow:--

1. Chandan. [379]
2. Tandok.
3. Menjulong-ulong. [380]
4. Sikat.
5. Sikat Lampam. [381]
6. Bulu Rusa.
7. Kemandangan.
8. Wangkang.

"The chandan (pada tiada champur) is oily, black, and glistening. It sinks in water.

"The tadak very closely resembles the chandan.

"The menjulong-ulong may be distinguished from the chandan and the tandok by its length and small breadth. Splinters, 36 inches long, have been found evidently from veins, not pockets. [382]

"Sikat (bertabun champur kubal dan teras), fibrous, with slight lustre, will just float in water. Black and white streaks.

"Sikat lampam--the same as sikat, only white streaks more prominent.

"Bulu Rusa will float in water, fibrous, generally of a yellow colour.

"Kemandangan floats in water, whitish, fibrous fragments small.

"Wangkang floats in water, fibrous blocks whitish in colour.

"The chandan tree differs from other gharu-trees in having a maximum diameter of about 1 1/2 feet, and very soft sap-wood.

"Gharu varies in price between 200 and 50 dollars a pikul [383] according to the variety. The chandan and the tandok are the most valuable.

"Chinese and Malays burn it in their houses on high days and festivals--the latter generally take a supply with them on the pilgrimage to Mecca. The better varieties are used in the manufacture of aromatic oils." [384]

Before setting out to search for gharu, the gharu-wizard burns incense and repeats these words, "O Grandsire Duita, Divinity of Eagle-wood, if you are far, be so good as to say so; if you are near, be so good as to say so," and then sets out on his quest. On finding a karas-tree he chops the bark of the trunk lightly with his cutlass, and then puts his ear to the trunk to listen. If he hears a kind of low singing, or rather whispering noise (bunyi ting ting) in the tree, he takes this as a signification that the tree contains gharu (isi), [385] and after marking the bark with a cross (silang ampat) he collects wood to build a temporary shelter (pondong) for himself, and when about to plant the first post repeats the following charm:--

"O Grandsire Batara of the Earth, Earth-Genie, Earth-Spirit,
Idol of Iron, Son of Wani, Solitary Wani,
Son of Wayah, Bandan the Solitary,
I ask you to show me (an eagle-wood tree),
If you do not do so
You shall be a rebel against God," etc.

The result of this invocation is, or should be, that the gharu-spirit appears to the wizard (generally, no doubt, in a dream), and informs him what kind of sacrifice he requires on this particular occasion. Whatever kind of sacrifice is asked for, must of course be given, with the exception of a human sacrifice which, as it is expressly stated, may be compounded by the sacrifice of a fowl.

When the tree has been felled you must be exceedingly careful to see that nobody passes between the end of the fallen trunk and the stump; whoever does so will surely be killed by the "eagle-wood spirit," who is supposed to be extremely powerful and dangerous. I myself received a warning to this effect from some Labu Malays when I saw one of these trees felled. Malays maintain that men are frequently killed by this spirit (mati de' Hantu Gharu), but that they may be recalled to life if the following recipe is acted upon:--"Take two 'cubits' (?) of 'Panchong leaves' (daun panchong dua heta), flowers of the sunting mambang, and 'bullock's eye' limes (limau mata kerbau), squeeze [the limes(?)] and rub them over the corpse, saying, 'Sir Allah! Sir Mangga Tangan! God's Essence is in your heart (lit. liver). God's attributes are in your eyes. Go and entertain the male Borer-Bee that is in your heart and liver.' The dead man will then revive and stand upon his feet."

The most important point about eagle-wood, however, from the animistic point of view, is the Pawang's use of the gharu merupa, a strangely shaped piece of eagle-wood which possesses a natural resemblance to some animal or bird. It is believed to contain the soul of the tree, and therefore is always, when possible, carried by the collectors of eagle-wood in the belief that it will aid them in their search. I myself once owned one of these gharu merupa, which possessed a remarkable resemblance to a bird. This appears to me very fairly sufficient evidence to prove that the tree-soul is not supposed by the Malays necessarily to resemble a tree. [386]

Camphor

The following account of the superstitious notions connected with the search for Camphor (kapur Barus) is extracted from a paper by Messrs. H. Lake and H. J. Kelsall [387]:--

"The chief interest attaching to the Kapur Barus in Johor lies in the superstitions connected with the collection of the camphor by the natives, or Orang Hulu. [388]

"Amongst these superstitions the most important is the use of a special language, the subject of the present paper, which has been the means of preserving some remnants of the aboriginal dialects of this part of the Malay Peninsula. This language is called by the Orang Hulu "Pantang Kapur"; pantang means forbidden or tabooed, and in this case refers to the fact that in searching for the camphor the use of the ordinary Malay language is pantang, or forbidden. In addition to this there are restrictions as to food, etc.

"This Camphor language is first referred to by Mr. Logan in his account of the aboriginal tribes of the Malay Peninsula, [389] and he gives a list of eighty words, thirty-three of which are Malay or derived from Malay."

"The Jakuns believe that there is a "bisan," or spirit, which presides over the camphor-trees, and without propitiating this spirit it is impossible to obtain the camphor. This bisan makes at night a shrill noise, and when this sound is heard it is a sure sign that there are camphor-trees near at hand. (This bisan is really one of the Cicadas which are so numerous in the Malayan jungles.)

"When hunting for camphor the natives always throw a portion of their food out into the jungle before eating, as an offering to the bisan.

"No prayers are offered up, but all food must be eaten dry, i.e. without sumbul, [390] or stewed fish, or vegetables. Salt must not be pounded fine; if it is eaten fine, the camphor when found will be in fine grains; but if eaten coarse the grains of camphor will be large. In rainy weather the cry of the bisan is not heard. At certain seasons regular parties of Jakuns, and sometimes Malays, go into the jungle to search for camphor, and they remain there as long as three or four months at a time. Not only must the men who go into the jungle to search for the camphor speak the 'Pantang Kapur,' but also the men and women left at home in the Kampongs.