[5] Sakatimuna (or "Sicatimuna") is the name of an enormous serpent,

said to have ravaged the country of Menangkabau in Sumatra about the

beginning of the 12th century.--Newbold, op. cit. vol. ii. p. 199

n. It is also given as "Icktimani" by Leyden in his trans. of the

Malay Annals.

[6] For the parting asunder of the snake, vide the note on page 11

infra, which gives what may be the origin of this myth as it is known

to the Malays.

[7] The Nagas are generally represented in old sculptures as bearing

the human form, but with a snake attached to their backs, and the

hooded head rising behind their necks.--Nagananda, translated by

Palmer Boyd, p. 61; vide also ib. p. 84. This may be the explanation

of the Malay k'ris hilt, or dagger hilt, which represents a seated

human form with folded arms and a hood at the back of its neck rising

over its head. These hilts are called hulu Malayu (the "Malay hilt"),

or Jawa demam (lit. the "Fever-stricken Javanese"), in allusion to

the attitude of the figure with its folded arms. The pattern of these

hilts, which are universally used for the national Malay k'ris or

dagger, varies from an accurate representation of the human figure

to forms in which nothing but the hood (which is occasionally much

exaggerated) is recognisable. Europeans seeing these hilts for the

first time sometimes take them for snakes' heads, sometimes for the

heads of birds.

[8] Payah probably stands for supaya, perhaps with the meaning

"so also." Kun in Arabic means "be." The tree would appear to be

identifiable (vide App. i., iii.) with that mentioned in the first

account.

[9] Sakais are certain of the non-Malayan heathen (i.e. not Muhammadan)

inhabitants of the hills and jungles of the Peninsula.

[10] Some say a bullock (lembu), but the most usual version gives the

buffalo. In the Ramayana, which has largely influenced some departments

of Malay folk-lore, it is an elephant which supports the earth. So,

too, Vishnu in the boar-incarnation raised the earth from the bottom

of the sea upon his tusks.

[11] This island (for which a tortoise or the fish "Nun" is

occasionally substituted) may be compared with the Batak (Sumatran)

belief concerning the raft which was made by Batara Guru for

the support of the earth at the creation of the world (J.R.A.S.,

N. S. vol. xiii. part i. p. 60); and vide Klinkert's Malay-Dutch Dict.,

s.v. Nun.

[12] Newbold, op. cit. vol. ii. p. 359. The spelling of "Jangi"

is incorrect. It should be spelt "Janggi."

[13] This tree appears to be a tradition of the Cocos Maldiva, of

which Sir H. Yule, s.v. Coco-de-Mer, gives the following interesting

account:--

"Coco-de-Mer, or Double Coco-nut, the curious twin fruit so called,

the produce of the Lodoicea Sechellarum, a palm growing only in the

Seychelles Islands, is cast up on the shores of the Indian Ocean,

most frequently on the Maldive Islands, but occasionally also on

Ceylon and S. India, and on the coasts of Zanzibar, of Sumatra,

and some others of the Malay Islands. Great virtues as medicine and

antidote were supposed to reside in these fruits, and extravagant

prices were paid for them. The story goes that a 'country captain,'

expecting to make his fortune, took a cargo of these nuts from the

Seychelles Islands to Calcutta, but the only result was to destroy

their value for the future.

"The old belief was that the fruit was produced on a palm growing

below the sea, whose fronds, according to Malay seamen, were sometimes

seen in quiet bights on the Sumatran coast, especially in the Lampong

Bay. According to one form of the story among the Malays, which is

told both by Pigafetta and by Rumphius, there was but one such tree,

the fronds of which rose above an abyss of the Southern Ocean, and

were the abode of the monstrous bird Garuda (or Rukh of the Arabs). The

tree itself was called Pau-sengi, which Rumphius seems to interpret as

a corruption of Buwa-zangi, 'Fruit of Zang,' or E. Africa. They were

cast up occasionally on the islands of the S.W. coast of Sumatra; and

the wild people of the islands brought them for sale to the Sumatran

marts, such as Padang and Priamang. One of the largest (say about

twelve inches across) would sell for 150 rix dollars. But the Malay

princes coveted them greatly, and would sometimes (it was alleged)

give a laden junk for a single nut. In India the best-known source

of supply was from the Maldive Islands.

"The medical virtues of the nut were not only famous among all the

people of the East, including the Chinese, but are extolled by Piso

and by Rumphius, with many details. The latter, learned and laborious

student of nature as he was, believed in the submarine origin of the

nut, though he discredited its growing on a great palm, as no traces

of such a plant had ever been discovered on the coasts. The fame of the

nut's virtues had extended to Europe, and the Emperor Rudolf II. in his

latter days offered in vain 4000 florins to purchase from the family

of Wolfert Hermanszen, a Dutch Admiral, one which had been presented to

that commander by the King of Bantam, on the Hollander's relieving his

capital, attacked by the Portuguese in 1602."--Hobson-Jobson, loc. cit.

To this valuable note I would add that Rumphius is evidently wrong

if he derives the name of the tree, "Pau-sengi," from the Malay

"Buwa-zangi." The first part of the word is "Pau" or "Pauh," which

is perfectly good Malay, and is the name given to various species of

mango, especially the wild one, so that "Pau-sengi" actually represents

(not "Buwa," but) "Pauh Janggi," which is to this day the universal

Malay name for the tree which grows, according to Malay fable, in the

central whirlpool or Navel of the Seas. Some versions add that it grows

upon a sunken bank (tebing runtoh), and is guarded by dragons. This

tree figures largely in Malay romances, especially those which form the

subject of Malay shadow-plays, (vide infra, Pl. 23, for an illustration

of the Pauh Janggi and the Crab). Rumphius' explanation of the second

part of the name (i.e. Janggi) is, no doubt, quite correct.

[14] The following passage describes how a magic prince visited the

Navel of the Seas:--

"Presently he arrived at his destination--the Navel of the Seas--(Pusat

tasek). All the monsters of the ocean, the whales and monster fishes,

and colossal dragons (naga umbang), and the magic dragons (naga

sri naga ka-sak-tian), assembled together to eat and devour him,

and such a tumult arose that the Raja Naga, who was superior to all,

heard it and came to see. Now when he beheld the Golden Dragon he

opened his jaws to their full extent, and made three attempts to seize

and swallow him, but failed each time. At length, however, he caught

him, and dashed him against the sea bottom with such force that his

head was buried in the ground, but the little dragon cared not at

all. Then the Raja Naga said: 'Tell me the truth! from what land hast

thou fallen (titek deri pada negri ninggua mana), and whose son and

offspring art thou?' To which the Golden Dragon made answer, saying,

'I have no land nor country, I have neither father nor mother, but I

was incarnated from the hollow part of a bamboo!' When the Raja Naga

heard this he sent for his spectacles (chermin mata), and by their

aid he was able to see the real parentage of the Golden Dragon and

all concerning him, and he at once told him everything concerning

his birth (usul asal ka-jadi-an-nya), and informed him that they were

close relations, since the Golden Dragon's mother was a relative of

the Raja Naga. Then the Raja Naga kissed and embraced his nephew, and

congratulated himself on having seen him before his time came to die,

and calling together all his people to feast, installed (tabal) the

Golden Dragon as king over them in his own place, since he was very

old. Thus the Golden Dragon continued to live in increasing state and

prosperity at the Pusat tasek, and was greatly beloved by his uncle,

the Raja Naga; and in the course of time his horn (chula) split up

and was replaced by six other heads--making seven in all."--Hikayat

Raja Budiman, part ii. pp. 7, 8. Publications of the S. B. of the

Royal Asiatic Society, No. 3.

[15] "The Malays give the names 'Bah Jantan' and 'Bah Betina,' viz. the

'male' and the 'female' floods, respectively to the first rising of

a freshet, and to the flood which sometimes ensues after the waters

have partially subsided. The latter is generally supposed to be more

serious than the former."--Cliff. and Swett., Mal. Dict. s.v. Bah.

"'If this be the likeness of the male flood, what will that of the

female be?' ejaculated my head boatman. In common with other Malays,

he held the belief that floods, like other moving things, go in

couples. The first to come is the male, and when he has passed upon

his way the female comes after him, pursuing him hotly, according

to the custom of the sex, and she is the more to be feared, as she

rushes more furiously than does her fleeing mate."--Cliff., Stud. in

Brown Humanity, p. 213.

[16] This neck of land was called "Penarek Prahu," or the "Place of

the dragging (across) of Boats."

[17] "The belief (probably borrowed from the Hindoos) of a serpent

devouring the sun or moon, whenever they are eclipsed, and the weird

lamentations of the people during the continuance of these phenomena,

are well known."--Newbold, op. cit. vol. ii. p. 358.

[18] "During an eclipse they (the Malays) make a loud noise with

sounding instruments to prevent one luminary from devouring the other,

as the Chinese, to frighten away the dragon."--Marsden, Hist. of

Sum. p. 157. I have not yet met with the explanation given in this

passage of Marsden's work.

"Rahu, a daitya or demon who is supposed to seize the sun and moon,

and thus cause eclipses (according to the common myth he was a son

of Vipra-`citti and Sinhika, and had four arms, his lower part ending

in a tail), he was the instigator of all mischief among the daityas,

and when the gods had produced the amrita or nectar from the churned

ocean, he disguised himself like one of them and drank a portion of it,

but the sun and moon having detected his fraud and informed Vishnu,

the latter severed his head and two of his arms from the rest of

his body; the portion of nectar he had swallowed having secured his

immortality, the head and tail were transferred to the stellar sphere,

the head wreaking its vengeance on the sun and moon by occasionally

swallowing them for a time, while the tail, under the name of Ketu,

gave birth to a numerous progeny of comets and fiery meteors."--Monier

Williams, Skt. Dict. s.v. Rahu.

[19] Gerhâna is from a Sanskr. word meaning "eclipse." The name of

the monster is Rahu.

[20] Clifford, Stud. in Brown Humanity, p. 50. For ceremonies to

be observed during an eclipse, more especially by women in travail,

vide Birth Ceremonies (infra).

[21] "They (the Malays) observe in the moon an old man sitting under

a beringin tree (the Banyan, Ficus Indica)."--Maxwell, in J.R.A.S.,

S.B., No. 7, p. 27, In Sanskrit mythology the spots on the moon are

supposed to be caused by a hare or antelope, which being hard pressed

by a hunter appealed to the moon for protection, and was taken up

by the moon into her arms. This is no doubt the real explanation

of the Malay phrase, "Bulan bunting pelandok" ("the moon is great

with the mouse-deer"), an expression often used when the moon is

three-quarters full.

[22] "They tell of a man in the moon, who is continually employed

in spinning cotton, but that every night a rat gnaws his thread, and

obliges him to begin his work afresh."--Marsd., Hist. of Sum. p. 187.

[23] It is, however, also possible that there may be two "bujangs," and

that we have here a simple case of what philologists call "confluence,"

so that the derivation, though quite possible, must not be accepted

without reserve.

[24] Sanskrit tapasya.

[25] Maxwell, in J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 7, p. 28.

[26] In Selangor I have also heard "Ular minum," "the snake drinks."

[27] A Selangor Malay told me that the full phrase was "Ular Danu

berbantal," "the snake Danu is pillowed (in sleep)."

[28] A fuller expression is tunggul-tunggul membangun. A double

rainbow is called palangi sa-k'lamin.

Maxwell points out, in a note, that dhanuk, in Hindustani, means a bow,

and is a common term in India, among Hindus, for the rainbow.

[29] Maxwell, J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 7, p. 21.

[30] So, too, midday, especially when a light rain is falling and

the sun shining at one and the same time, is usually regarded as

equally dangerous.

[31] Maxwell, loc. cit. Vide infra, Chap. IV. pp. 92, 93.

[32] Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, N.S. vol. xiii. part

iv. Cp. also the note to page 8 supra, in which the Golden Dragon is

made to say, "I have neither father nor mother, but I was incarnated

from the hollow part of a bamboo." See also J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 9,

p. 91.

[33] Hikayat; i.e. "romance."

[34] Mantri; i.e. "Minister of State."

[35] Betong; i.e. "big."

[36] Manuwangi; perhaps a mistake for manuwanggi, cp. beraduwanggi,

infra.

[37] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 17. Notes and Queries, No. 4, sec. 94.

[38] Semangs are aboriginal non-Muhammadan inhabitants of the interior

of the Peninsula. Their type approximates to that of the Negritos of

the Andaman Islands and the Philippines, but the one referred to in

this legend had white blood, which is considered by Malays to be the

royal colour.

[39] Teh, short for Puteh, "white"; Pûrba, or Pûrva, Sanskrit

"first." This name is also given to the first Malay Raja in the

Sajarah Malayu.

[40] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 9, pp. 90, 91. For a similar story vide

Leyden's Malay Annals, p. 29: "It happened on a certain day that

the river of Palembang brought down a foam-bell of uncommon size,

in which appeared a young girl of extreme beauty." She was adopted

by the Raja, and "named Putri Tunjong Bui, or the Princess Foam-bell."

[41] It is Gabriel who performs this office in the account which

follows.

[42] "Concerning the creation of Adam, here intimated, the Mohammedans

have several peculiar traditions. They say the angels Gabriel, Michael,

and Israfil were sent by God, one after another, to fetch for that

purpose seven handfuls of earth from different depths, and of different

colours (whence some account for the various complexions of mankind);

but the Earth being apprehensive of the consequence, and desiring

them to represent her fear to God that the creature He designed to

form would rebel against Him, and draw down His curse upon her, they

returned without performing God's command; whereupon He sent Azrael on

the same errand, who executed his commission without remorse, for which

reason God appointed that angel to separate the souls from the bodies,

being therefore called the angel of death. The earth he had taken

was carried into Arabia, to a place between Mecca and Tayef, where,

being first kneaded by the angels, it was afterwards fashioned by God

himself into a human form, and left to dry for the space of forty

days, or, as others say, as many years, the angels in the meantime

often visiting it, and Eblis (then one of the angels who are nearest

to God's presence, afterwards the devil) among the rest; but he, not

contented with looking on it, kicked it with his foot till it rung,

and knowing God designed that creature to be his superior, took a

secret resolution never to acknowledge him as such. After this God

animated the figure of clay and endued it with an intelligent soul,

and when He had placed him in paradise, formed Eve out of his left

side."--Sale's Korân, ch. ii. (of translation), p. 4 (note).

[43] "The Creator determined to make man, and for that purpose He

took some clay from the earth and fashioned it into the figure of a

man. Then He took the Spirit of Life to endue this body with vitality,

and placed the spirit on the head of the figure. But the spirit was

strong, and the body, being only clay, could not hold it, and was

reft in pieces and scattered into the air. Those fragments of the

first great Failure are the spirits of earth and sea and air.

"The Creator then formed another clay figure, but into this one

He wrought some iron, so that when it received the vital spark it

withstood the strain and became Man. That man was Adam, and the iron

that is in the constitution of his descendants has stood them in good

stead. When they lose it they become of little more account than their

prototype the first failure."--Swettenham, Malay Sketches, p. 199.

[44] Newbold, op. cit. vol. ii. pp. 351, 352. In Selangor, some of the

greater bones, at least, have their own mystic nomenclature, e.g. the

backbone, which is called tiang `arash, or the "Pillar of the Heavens."

[45] Of the superstition which forbids the imitation of the royal

insignia I can speak personally, as when a set of models of the

Selangor regalia were being made for me, with the late Sultan's

full permission and knowledge, I found it impossible to get them

made really like the originals either in shape or size, the makers

alleging their fear of being struck dead in spite of this permission

by this Divine Power or "Daulat" if they were to imitate them too

accurately. In Perak the custom would appear to be less strict. Thus

from Malay Sketches (p. 215) we may gather that in the "silver" state

even the most sacred pieces of the regalia accompany the royal party

upon their annual expedition to seek for turtles' eggs.

[46] "The kabesaran or regalia of every petty state is supposed to be

endowed with supernatural powers, for instance that of the ex-Panghulu

of Naning."--Newbold, op. cit. vol. ii. p. 193.

[47] Ibid.

[48] Ibid. p. 195.

[49] Leyden, Malay Annals, pp. 22-23. The words in brackets are

mine.--W. S.

[50] Newbold, op. cit. vol. ii. p. 199; cp. Leyden, Mal. Annals,

pp. 38, 39. Limbuara, limbuana, or sembuana (= singhabuana) is the name

given to the lance of the Spectre Huntsman, (vide Chap. V. p. 118),

whose k'ris is called salengkisa. It has been suggested that

singhabuana may be composed of two Sanskrit words meaning "lion"

and "world," but put in the Malay order, which is the opposite of

Sanskrit. If this supposition is accepted, the name would mean "lion

of the world," vide App. xxviii.-xxx.

[51] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 9, pp. 91, 92.

[52] It would appear from Malay romances that the full complement

of musical instruments forming part of a royal orchestra was, at

all events sometimes, twelve. Thus when S'ri Rama is bidden by the

astrologers to get up an expedition by water for the amusement of

his Princess, "dresses of honour were given to the attendants, and

musical instruments of the twelve kinds were got together."--Maxw.,

in Sri Rama, J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 17, p. 93.

[53] This list was given me by H. H. Raja Bôt of Selangor. Besides

the above there are several royal "properties" not usually included

in any list of regalia. These are H. H.'s chain jacket (baju rantei);

a species of shield or targe, said to be made of brass, and called

otar-otar; H. H.'s seal, and possibly his mat and the dish he ate

from. One of the tombak belonging to H. H. was a species of trident,

and was called tombak bercheranggah or the "Branching Lance." The

ordinary lances might be borrowed by the people, and carried, for

example, in the procession escorting a bridegroom (by virtue of his

supposed "one day's sovereignty," Raja sa-hari) to the house of his

bride, but the trident never.

[54] "All the insignia of royalty were hastily fashioned by the

goldsmiths of Penjum, and whenever To' Râja or Wan Bong appeared in

public they were accompanied by pages bearing betel-boxes, swords,

and silken umbrellas, as in the manner of Malay kings."--Cliff.,

In Court and Kampong, p. 115.

[55] Maxw. in Raja Donan, J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 18, p. 253.

[56] "Ta' lapok de' hujan, Ta' lekang de' panas, Pesaka di toras

(? turis) di-teladan, Pesaka di-lintas tumbang."

[57] It is usually upon a portion of his insignia (as, for instance,

his k'ris, which is dipped into water which he drinks) that a Malay

sovereign swears his most solemn oath. Sometimes, however, it is upon

a lump of iron called besi kawi, which not unfrequently forms part

of the regalia as well.--Vide Klink. s.v. Besi.

[58] The following recital of the titles of a Sumatran Raja will show

at least the extraordinary pretensions to sanctity which to this day

(with, in some parts, no great diminution) hedge about the person of

the Malay king:--

"The Sultan of Menangcabow, whose residence is at Pagarooyoong (after

pardon asked for presuming to mention his name), who is king of kings,

son of Raja Iscunder-zulcarnainny, ... master of the third of the

wood maccummat, one of whose properties is to enable matter to fly;

of the lance ornamented with the beard of Jangee, of the palace of

the city of Rome; ... of the gold of twelve grains named coodarat

coodarattee, resembling a man; ... who is possessed of the sword named

Chooree-se-mendong-geree, which has an hundred and ninety gaps, made

in the conflict with the arch-devil, Se Cattee-moono, whom it slew;

who is master of fresh water in the ocean, to the extent of a day's

sailing; possessed of a lance formed of a twig of ejoo (the gomuti,

or sugar-palm); of a calewang (scimitar) wrapped in an unmade chinday

(cloth); of a creese (dagger) formed of the soul of steel, which, by a

noise, expresses an unwillingness at being sheathed, and shows itself

pleased when drawn; of a date coeval with the creation; possessed of

a gun brought from heaven, named soubahana hou ouatanalla; of a horse

of the race of sorimbor-ahnee, superior to all others; Sultan of the

Burning Mountain, and of the mountains goontang-goontang, which divide

Palembang and Jambee; who may slay at pleasure without being guilty

of a crime; who is possessed of the elephant named settee dewa; who

is Vicegerent of Heaven; Sultan of the Golden River; Lord of the Air

and Clouds; master of a balli (Audience-Hall), whose pillars are of

the shrub jelattang; of gandangs (drums) made of hollowed branches of

the minute shrubs pooloot and seelosooree; of the gong that resounds

to the skies; of the buffalo named Se Binnooang Sattee, whose horns

are ten feet asunder; of the unconquered cock, Sengonannee; of the

cocoa-nut tree whose amazing height, and being infested with serpents

and other noxious reptiles, render it impossible to be climbed; of

the flower named seeree menjeree, of ambrosial scent; who, when he

goes to sleep, wakes not till the gandang nobat (state drum) sounds;

one of whose eyes is as the sun and the other as the moon."--Marsden,

Hist. of Sum. p. 270.

On the foregoing list I should like to remark (1) that the necessity

of asking pardon for mentioning the king's name is considered by the

Peninsular Malays to be as imperative as ever. (2) The expression

"who is master of fresh water in the ocean" is explained by a passage

in Leyden's Malay Annals (p. 37), where, all the fresh water being

exhausted, "Raja Sang Sapurba directed them to bring rotans and tie

them in circles and throw them in the water; then having himself

descended into a small boat, he inserted his feet into the water,

within the circles of bamboo (sic), and by the Power of God Almighty

and the virtue of a descendant of Raja Secander Zulkarneini, the

water within these circles became fresh, and all the crews supplied

themselves with it, and unto this day the fresh water is mixed with

the salt at this place." (3) The horse, which is usually called

"Sembrani," is a magic steed, "which could fly through the air as

well as swim through the water" (Leyd., Mal. Ann. p. 17). (4) For

the mountains Goontang-goontang (or Saguntang Mahamiru), cp. Leyden's

Mal. Ann. p. 20 seqq. (5) The privilege of "slaying at pleasure without

being guilty of a crime" is a privilege which still belongs to Malay

sovereigns of the first rank.

Similar sacred objects, belonging to another Sultan of "Menangcabow"

named "Gaggar Allum"(Gegar`Alam), "were a sacred crown from God";

"the cloth sansistah kallah, which weaves itself, and adds one thread

yearly of fine pearls, and when that cloth shall be finished the world

will be no more"; "the dagger Hangin Cinga (Singa?) which will, at his

command, fight of itself"; "the blue champaka flower, which is to be

found in no country but his (being yellow elsewhere)," and many others

worthy of the Sultan "whose presence bringeth death to all who attempt

to approach him without permission," and of the "Sultan of Indrapore,

who has four breasts."--Marsden, Hist. of Sum. p. 272.

[59] I.e. purple, vide Klinkert, s.v.; cf. the following from J.R.A.S.,

S.B., No. No. 9 , p. 93: "Tan Saban was frequently to be seen on

the outworks of his fort across the river, dressed in garments of

conspicuous colours. In the morning he wore red, at mid-day yellow,

and in the evening his clothes were green. When he was pointed out

to Magat Terawis, it was the morning, and he was dressed in red."

The foregoing superstitious observance is found among more than one

Indo-Chinese nation. "Le général en chef doit se conformer à plusieurs

coutumes et observances superstitieuses; par exemple, il faut qu'il

mette une robe de couleur différente pour chaque jour de la semaine;

le dimanche il s'habille en blanc, le lundi en jaune, le mardi en vert,

le mercredi en rouge, le jeudi en bleu, le vendredi en noir, et le

samedi en violet."--Pallegoix, Description de Siam, vol. i. p. 319.

[60] Lit. "corpse grooves."

[61] The usual form is penggonggong, from gonggong, to carry in

the mouth.

[62] Their Malay names are "Si-mulajadi," "Ashik sa-kampong,"

"Si-putar leman," "Asam garam," "Ahadan mabuk," "Sa-palit gila"

"Sri gegah," and "Doa unus."--J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 17, pp. 94-97.

[63] The Malay word is changgei, which means "long nails" (whether

natural or artificial); artificial nails are several inches in length,

being much affected by Malay actors performing as royalty.

[64] A long step and a slow swing of the arms reminds the Malay of

the way a man steps and raises his arm to plant bean-seeds six feet

apart; a quicker step and a rounder swing of the arms is compared to

the action of scattering small seeds.--J.R.A.S., S.B., loc. cit.

[65] In house-building it is further forbidden to dovetail or make

the ends of the timbers (e.g. of the roof) fit accurately together,

and also to build two verandahs, one on each side of the house,

with their floors on a level with the floor of the main building;

if two verandahs are used, the floor of one must be lower than that

of the main building (kelek anak).

[66] I.e. the sarong or Malay national garment; for the custom, vide

Cliff., In Court and Kampong, p. 158, and for an exception, ib. 27.

[67] The hilt of the creese (k'ris) must, however, be hidden by a

fold of the cloth about the wearer's waist.

[68] "The covered portion of the barge which carries the Sultan's

principal wife is decorated with six scarlet-bordered white

umbrellas. Two officers stand, all day long, just outside the

state-room, holding open black umbrellas with silver fringes, and

two others are in the bows with long bamboo poles held close together

and erect."--Malay Sketches, p. 214.

[69] Leyden, Malay Annals, pp. 94, 95.

[70] Code of Malacca, translated in Newbold, op. cit. vol. ii. pp. 234,

235.

[71] In Selangor this royal right to one of each pair of elephant's

tusks is still a tradition to which an allusion is occasionally

made. There are said to have been other perquisites as well as those

mentioned, e.g. rhinoceros' horns (sumbu badak) and bezoar stones

(guliga).

[72] Notes and Queries, No. 4, issued with J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 17,

sect. 75.

[73] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 30, p. 127.

[74] Swettenham, op. cit. pp. 211-226.

[75] Others are titah (commands); patek (slave); merka or murka

(wrath); karnia or kurnia (favour); and negrah or anugrah (permission);

the penalty of uttering any of which, except in addressing the

sovereign, is death, i.e. should the offender be a royal slave; should

he be any other individual, he is struck on the mouth.--Newbold,

op. cit. vol. ii. pp. 233-234; vide also Malay Sketches, p. 218,

where the same list of linguistic taboos appears to be used in Perak.

[76] Marhum, one who has found mercy, i.e. the deceased. It is the

custom of Malays to discontinue after the death of a king the use

of the title which he bore during his life. A new title is invented

for the deceased monarch, by which he is ever afterwards known. The

existence of a similar custom among other Indo-Chinese races has

been noticed by Colonel Yule: "There is also a custom of dropping

or concealing the proper name of the king. This exists in Burma and

(according to La Loubère) in Siam. The various kings of those countries

are generally distinguished by some nickname derived from facts in

their reign or personal relations, and applied to them after their

decease. Thus we hear among the Burmese kings of 'the king dethroned

by foreigners,' 'the king who fled from the Chinese,' 'the grandfather

king,' and even 'the king thrown into the water.' Now this has a close

parallel in the Archipelago. Among the kings of Macassar, we find one

king known only as the 'Throat-cutter'; another as 'He who ran amuck';

a third, 'The beheaded'; a fourth, 'He who was beaten to death on his

own stair-case.'" Colonel Yule ascribes the origin of this custom to

Ancient India. [Journal Anthrop. Institute.] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 9,

p. 98.

[77] Newbold, op. cit. vol. ii. p. 288, note.

[78] The bakong is a kind of lily; the sirih is the Malay betel-vine.

[79] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 17, p. 93.

[80] Touching hands is done with both hands together. If you touch

hands with a man who is somewhat your superior in rank, it is proper,

in drawing back your hands, to bring them at least as high as your

chest; and if the other is decidedly your superior, even as high as

your forehead, bending forward somewhat while doing so.

[81] Cliff., Stud. in Brown Humanity, p. 175.

[82] Cliff., In Court and Kampong, p. 113, and compare the

following:--"Visitors to Jugra may often in the evening see a party

of some 30 or 40 men coming along the road with His Highness" [the

late Sultan `Abdulsamad of Selangor] "walking a few paces ahead of

them. Should a native meet the little procession he will squat down

at the side of the road until the Sultan has passed, for according to

Malay ideas it shows a want of respect in a subject to remain standing

in the presence of his Raja" ... "on replying to His Highness natives

place the palms of their hands together and so raise them to their

forehead, by way of obeisance, and this is done even by his own

children."--Selangor Journal, vol. i. No. 1, p. 5.

[83] This dressing up of the buffaloes, when taken in conjunction

with the suspension of the breast-ornament about their necks, suggests

the survival of anthropomorphic ideas about the sacrificial buffalo.

[84] Among the Malays the use of the naubat is confined to the reigning

Rajas of a few States, and the privilege is one of the most valuable

insignia of royalty. In Perak the office of musician used to be an

hereditary one, the performers were called Orang Kalau, and a special

tax was levied for their support (J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 9, p. 104).

[85] I was told that these dangerous genii or spirits resided in the

naubat or Big State Drum, the two gendang or Small State Drums, the

two langkara or State Kettle Drums, the lempiri or State Trumpet,

the serunei or State Flute, and the k'ris or State Dagger, called

(in Selangor) b'rok berayun, or the "Swaying Baboon," which latter

is said to have slain "a hundred men less one" since it was first

used. [I learnt this from H.H. the late Sultan himself, and here

record it, because it has sometimes been asserted that H.H. the

Sultan claimed to have slain these ninety-nine men with his own hand,

which H.H. assured me was not the case.] The sanctity of the remaining

pieces of the regalia appears to be less marked. They are the payong

ubor-ubor or State Umbrella, the State Trident, and the State Lances

or tombak bandangan. Of the Selangor State Trumpet I was told that

any one who "brushed hastily past it" (siapa-siapa melintas-nya)

would be fined one dollar, even if he were the Sultan himself (walo'

Sultan-pun kena juga).

[86] But in Malay Sketches (p. 215) we read that in Perak the royal

instruments accompany the royal water-parties, and that "the royal

bugler sits on the extreme end of the prow, and from time to time

blows a call on the antique silver trumpet of the regalia."

[87] The Malay headman (Haji Brahim), the priest of the local mosque,

the Bilal (an inferior attendant at the mosque), and some thirty Malays

belonging to the village, took part in this ceremony. A goat had been

killed for the occasion, and the party who were paying the vow brought

its flesh with them, together with a great heap of rice stained with

saffron (turmeric). The men assembled at the tomb, incense was burned,

and Arabic prayers read, after which a white cloth, five cubits long,

was laid on the saint's grave. A banquet followed, in which we all

took part.

[88] Frazer, Golden Bough, vol. i. p. 189.

[89] For the ideas referred to in this and the preceding paragraph,

cp. Frazer, op. cit. vol. i. pp. 187-207. Cp. also for the abstention

from hair-cutting at childbirth, Clifford's Studies in Brown Humanity,

p. 48. The idea of long hair is found even in animistic conceptions

of natural objects. Thus the wind (Angin) is begged in a wind-charm

"to let down its long and flowing locks."

[90] Raja Berma, son of Raja Jaman of Bandar (Wan Bong). Cp. also

Clifford, In Court and Kampong, p. 114, "He wore his fine black hair

long, so that it hung about his waist."

The old custom in Selangor is said to have been for men to wear their

hair down to the shoulders (rambut panjang jijak bahu), but they

would frequently wear it below the waist (rambut sa-perhempasan),

in which case it appears to have been commonly shorn at puberty or

marriage. When worn full length by men it was usually, for convenience,

coiled up inside the head-cloth or turban (saputangan or tanjak),

or was made up into rolls or chignons (sanggul dan siput) like that

of the women. It was not infrequently used as a place of concealment

for one of the small Malay poniards called "Pepper-crushers" (tumbok

lada), not only by men but by women.

[91] Frazer, op. cit. vol. i. p. 193.

[92] Vide infra, Chap. VI. p. 569, seqq., etc.

[93] Vide infra, Chap. VI. pp. 353-355, Adolescence.

[94] "Ces danseurs et ces danseuses ont tous des ongles

faux, et fort longs, de cuivre jaune."--La Loubère, Royaume

de Siam, tome i. pp. 148-150 (quoted by Crawf., Hist. Indian

Arch. i. p. 131). Cp. "They have a custom to wear their thumb-nails

very long, especially that on their left thumb, for they do never

cut it, but scrape it often."--Dampier's Voyages, vol. i. pp. 325, 326.

[95] Vide infra, Chap. VI. pp. 355-360.

[96] Or Sumangat. The derivation of the word is unknown: possibly

it may be connected with sangat, "excessive," or bangat, "sudden,

quick." The meaning covers both "soul"and "life" (i.e. not the state

of being alive, but the cause thereof or "vital principle").

[97] In calling the soul, a clucking sound, represented in Malay by

the word kur or kerr, by which fowls are called, is almost always

used; in fact, "kur semangat" ("cluck! cluck! soul!") is such a common

expression of astonishment among the Malays that its force is little

more than "good gracious me!" (vide infra, p. 534, note).

[98] Vide App. vi.

[99] In another charm we find the sick man's body compared to a

weather-beaten barque at sea.

[100] Vide App. cclxxi.

[101] The entire conception of the soul among the Malays agrees word

for word with Professor Tylor's classical definition in Primitive

Culture, vol. i. p. 387, and hence I have not hesitated to use his

exact words in so far as they were applicable.

[102] Cp. Tylor, Prim. Cult. vol. i. p. 422.

[103] What these seven souls were it is impossible without more

evidence to determine. All that can be said is that they were most

probably seven different manifestations of the same soul. Such

might be the Shadow-soul, the Reflection-soul, the Puppet-soul,

the Bird-soul (?), the Life-soul, etc, but as yet no evidence is

forthcoming.--Cp. Tylor, op. cit. vol. i. pp. 391, 392.

[104] Professor Tylor calls this "a combination of several kinds

of spirit, soul, or image, to which different functions belong"

(op. cit. vol. i. pp. 391, 392).

[105] Infra, Chap. VI. p. 569.

[106] Infra, Chap. V. p. 241.

[107] Infra, Chap. VI. p. 575.

[108] Infra, Chap. VI. p. 568.

[109] Infra, Chap. VI. p. 431.

[110] We might then expect to get some such table as the following:--

Colours of Colours of Colours of Rice

Cloths (used to Cosmetics (such as may be

enwrap the lump (used by the used by

of earth from sick man). medicine-men).

the footprint).

... white white Highest Color.

yellow ... yellow \

... ... blue. |

red red red. | Medium Color.

... ... purple or |

orange |

... ... green. /

black black black. Lowest Color.

Green is not a common colour. Blue appears to be rarely used. It is,

however, the colour assigned to a (fabulous (?)) champaka flower, which

is supposed to be the rarest of its kind (vide p. 29 n. supra). Orange

(jingga) is also extremely rare, though it is occasionally used for

certain decorative work (e.g. small wedding-pillows).

[111] Infra, Chap. V. pp. 211, 250, 251.

[112] Or is this phenomenon of a bird-shaped soul inhabiting certain

trees to be explained by the "notion of a vegetable soul, common

to plants and to the higher organisms, possessing an animal soul

in addition"? and are we to take this as only "one more instance of

the fuller identification of the souls of plants with the souls of

animals"?--Tylor, op. cit. vol. i. pp. 428, 429.

[113] Professor Tylor's pregnant phraseology in this connection

is entirely applicable to the Malays, who "talk quite seriously

to beasts alive or dead as they would to men alive or dead,

offer them homage, ask pardon when it is their painful duty to

hunt and kill them." Cp. also his remarks upon this subject,

ibid. p. 423.--Prim. Cult. vol. i. p. 422.

[114] Infra, Medicine, Divination, etc.

[115] Infra, Hunting charms.

[116] Infra, Fowling charms.

[117] Infra, Vegetation charms.

[118] Infra, Fishing charms.

[119] Infra, Mining charms.

[120] The central idea of this conception appears to be that these

animals, birds, and trees were once human beings, but were turned

into their present shapes by reason of some wrongful act for which

they were not invariably themselves responsible.

[121] Vide introductory remarks to Hunting, Fowling, Fishing, Planting,

and Mining charms.

[122] "The titles Pawang and Bomor are given by the Malays to

their medicine men. The Pawang class perform magic practices in

order to find ore, medicine crops, or ensure good takes of fish,

etc. The Bomor usually practise their art for the cure of human

disease. Both terms are, however, often used as though they were

interchangeable."--Clifford, Hik. Raja Budiman, pt. ii. p. 28 n.

[123] In Bukit Senggeh the articles subject to this custom are priced

as follows:--

Padi (unhusked rice) 3 cents a gantang (about a gallon).

Beras (husked rice) 10 cents a gantang.

Kabong (i.e. palm) sugar 2 1/2 cents a "buku" of two pieces and

weighing a kati (1 1/3 lb. avoir.)

Cocoa-nuts 1 cent each.

Hen's eggs 1/4 cent each.

Duck's eggs 1/2 cent each.

[124] C. O. Blagden in J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 29, pp. 5-7.

[125] Ibid. p. 4.

[126] The Malay version runs:--

"Hei angkau Si Anu,

Tolong-lah aku

Aku bawakan kapada aulia Allah,

Aku 'nak minta `elmu sadikit."

This method of getting magic is an exact transcription of the words

in which it was dictated to me by a Kelantan Malay ('Che `Abas)

then residing at Klanang in Selangor.

[127] Cp. Mr. G. C. Bellamy in Selangor Journal, vol. ii. No. 6,

p. 90, who says: "The word kramat, as applied to a man or woman, may be

roughly translated prophet or magician. It is difficult to convey the

real idea, as Malays call a man kramat who is able to get whatever he

wishes for, who is able to foretell events, and whose presence brings

good fortune to all his surroundings. District officers will be proud

to know that in this last sense the word is occasionally applied to

them. When the name kramat is applied to a place, I understand it to

mean a holy place, a place of pilgrimage; but it does not necessarily

mean a grave, as many people think. I can quote the kramat at Batu

Ampar, Jugra, and numerous places on river banks where no graves exist,

but yet they are called kramats." [There is, however, a tradition

that a saint's leg was buried at Batu Hampar!--W. S.]

[128] C. O. Blagden in J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 29, pp. 1-3.

[129] C. O. Blagden in J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 29, pp. 4, 5.

[130] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 2, p. 236.

[131] Selangor Journal, vol. ii. No. 6, p. 90, seqq.

[132] Ibid. vol. v. No. 19, p. 308.

[133] Infra, Chap. V. pp. 153, 163.

[134] The local Malacca tradition represents her as still haunting

her original seat. She is said to appear sometimes in the shape of

an old woman with a cat, sometimes as a young and beautiful girl

dressed in silk. She can transform her cat into a tiger if people

molest her. J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 24, pp. 165, 166; No. 32, pp. 213, 214.

[135] Tylor, Prim. Cult. vol. ii. p. 340.

[136] Tylor, Prim. Cult. vol. ii. p. 341.

[137] Vide supra, Chap. II. p. 42.

[138] Zabur is the Arabic for "psalm," especially for the Psalms of

David; but the connection here is not very obvious.

[139] Another account derives the origin of incense from the eye gum

of the Prophet Muhammad's eyes.

[140] Infra, Chap. VI. p. 410, infra.

[141] This rice is occasionally stained with other colours, e.g. red,

green, black (vide pp. 416, 421, infra.)

[142] Sometimes it is "dabbed" on the object, sometimes "painted"

on it so as to spread as evenly as possible, more rarely "sprinkled."

[143] It is not unfrequently used in medicinal and other ceremonies,

e.g. it is tied to each corner of the new mat on which the first-fruits

of the rice-harvest are spread out to dry, and to the centre of the

long wooden pestle which is used for husking them.

[144] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 30, p. 240.

[145] According to Favre and v. d. Wall, Hedychium coronarium.

[146] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 30, p. 158.

[147] Vide App. xiii., xxxvi., xxxvii., cli., etc.

[148] Vide Birth, Marriage, Funerals, Medicine.

[149] It was on Jugra Hill, according to tradition, that the Princess

of Malacca fasted to obtain eternal youth.

[150] Frazer, Golden Bough, vol. i. pp. 9-12.

[151] Journal of the Indian Archipelago, vol. iv. p. 573.

[152] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 7, pp. 11, 12.

[153] Swettenham, Malay Sketches, p. 192.

[154] Mr. R. J. Wilkinson in J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 30, p. 308.

[155] The following are the deities most usually inscribed in the

"magic square" of five: 1. Kala (black), which is an epithet of

Shiva; 2. Maheswara, which means Great Lord, an epithet of Shiva;

3. Vishnu; 4. Brahma; 5. S'ri (the wife of Vishnu); or else the

names are mentioned in this order: 1. Brahma; 2. Vishnu; 3. Maheswara

(Shiva); 4. S'ri; 5. Kala. Kali, Durga, or Gauri, is the wife of Shiva;

Sarasvati is the wife of Brahma. See inf. p. 545, seqq. In the magic

word Aum (OM): A = Vishnu, U = Shiva, M = Brahma.

[156] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 30, p. 309. This is the water of life called

Amrita, to obtain which, by churning the ocean, Vishnu assumed one

of his avatars--that of the tortoise.

[157] Cp. Crawfurd, Hist. of the Ind. Archipelago,

vol. ii. p. 219. "From some of the usual epithets bestowed upon

Siwa by the pagan Javanese, and still familiar to their posterity,

the pre-eminence of this deity is clearly demonstrated.... He is the

same personage who acts so distinguished a part in the machinery of

Malayan and Javanese romances, under the appellation of Guru, or the

instructor, prefixing to it the word Batara, a corruption of Avatara,

both in sense and orthography, for with the Indian islanders that word

is not used as with the genuine Hindus, to express the incarnation of a

god, but as an appellation expressing any deity; nay, as if conferring

an apotheosis upon their princes, it has been sometimes prefixed to the

names of some of the most celebrated of their ancient kings. When Siwa

appears in this character, in the romances of the Indian islanders,

he is painted as a powerful, mischievous, and malignant tyrant--a

description sufficiently consonant to his character of Destroyer in the

Hindu triad"; and, again, "ywang is a Javanese word used in the same

sense as batara.... Usually the obsolete relative pronoun sang, which

has the sense, in this case, of a definite article, is placed before

it. Thus sangywang guru is the same as batara guru.... It is probably

the same word also which forms the last part of a word in extensive

use, sâmbahayang, 'worship or adoration.'"--Crawfurd, Mal. Grammar,

p. cxcviii. To this I may add that the form ywang, when used by the

Peninsular Malays, becomes "yang," sangyang being also found.

Another (and probably better) etymology of batara is given by Favre

and Wilken, viz. Sanskr. bhattara, "lord."

[158] To these should perhaps be added dewa, mambang (?), and sa-raja

(or sang raja), if Mr. Wilkinson's explanation of this last expression

be taken as correct. And in any case its use in combination with guru

appears to warrant its classification with the titles applied to the

greater deities. It is also, however, used, like sang, of inferior

deities and even of animals (e.g. in a "Spectre Huntsman" charm)

we find "Lansat, sa-raja anjing, etc." Dewa is used indiscriminately

(occasionally in conjunction with mambang) both of the greater and

lesser divinities. Thus we not unfrequently find such expressions as

Dewa Bisnu (i.e. Vishnu), dewa mambang, dewa dan mambang, etc.; and

we are expressly told that they (the Dewas) "are so called because

they are immortal." Mambang (per se) is said to be similarly used,

not only of greater (vide App. xvii.), but of lesser divinities, and

"Mambang Tali Harus," god of mid-currents, has even been explained

as referring to Batara Guru (Shiva). This, however, is no doubt an

instance of confusion, as it generally appears to be used with the

"colour" attributes (e.g. M. puteh, White; M. hitam, Black; M. kuning,

Yellow) usually assigned to the inferior divinities; and, moreover,

in an invocation addressed to the sea-spirit, the "god of mid-currents"

is requested to forward a message to Dato' Rimpun `Alam, which appears

to be merely another name for Batara Guru, the reason given for the

preferment of this request being that he is in the habit of "visiting

the Heart of the Seas" in which 'Toh Rimpun `Alam dwells (the title

of the latter being perhaps taken from the tree, Pauh Janggi).

[159] Footnote supra. Sambu (Sambhu, the Auspicious One) is merely

another name for Shiva (rarely of Brahma), and its application to

the crocodile-spirit would appear to indicate that this latter was,

formerly, at least, regarded as an embodiment of that supreme god's

manifestation as a water-god. It is worth while to compare this

with the expression "'Toh Panjang Kuku," which is applied to the

corresponding manifestation of the supreme god on land, and which

strongly suggests the tiger.

"Most of the theological words of this list [printed in App. xiv.] are

Sanskrit, and afford proof sufficient, if any were needed, of

the former prevalence of the Hindu religion among the Malays and

Javanese. Many of them are more or less corrupted in orthography,

owing to the defective pronunciation and defective alphabets of

the Archipelago. Some, also, are altered or varied in sense. Tapas,

'ascetic devotion,' is deprived of its last consonant and becomes

tapa. Avatar, 'a descent,' is converted into batara; and instead

of implying the descent or incarnation of a deity, is used as an

appellative for any of the principal Hindu deities. Combined with

guru, also Sanskrit, it is the most current name of the chief god of

the Hindus, worshipped by the Indian islanders, supposed to have been

Vishnu, or the preserving power. It may be translated "the spiritual

guide god," or, perhaps, literally "the god of the spiritual guides,"

that is, of the Brahmins. Agama in Sanskrit is "authority for religious

doctrine"; in Malay and Javanese it is religion itself, and is at

present applied both to the Mahomedan and the Christian religions. With

nearly the same orthography, and in the same sense, Sanskrit words,

as far as they extend, are used throughout the Archipelago, and even as

far as the Philippines."--Crawfurd, Mal. Grammar, pp. cxcvii.-cxcviii.

[160] Supra, p. 86.

[161] Some confirmation of this view may be found if we admit the

explanation given me by a medicine-man, who identified the Spectre

Huntsman with 'Toh Panjang-Kuku, and both with Batara Guru.

[162] The supreme god in the State Chamber (balei) is Batara Guru,

on the edge of the primeval forest (di-gigi rimba) it is Batara Kala,

and in the heart of the forest (di hati rimba) it is 'Toh Panjang Kuku,

or "Grandsire Long-Claws." Similarly "Grandsire Long-Claws" is lord

of the shore down to high-water mark; between that and low-water mark

Raja Kala is supreme, and Batara Guru di Laut (Shiva of the Ocean)

from low-water mark out to the open sea.

[163] It is very difficult to ascertain the exact relation that 'Toh

Mambang Tali Harus (God of Mid-currents) bears to Batara Guru di

Laut. Most probably, however, the God of Mid-currents, whose powers

are less extensive than those of the "Shiva of the Sea," is an old

sea-deity, native to the Malay (pre-Hindu) religion, and that "Shiva

of the Sea" was merely the local Malay adaptation of the Hindu deity

afterwards imported.

[164] Vide supra, p. 88, note. Yang berulang ka pusat tasek is the

expression applied to Mambang Tali Harus.

[165] Vide supra, pp. 6, 7.

[166] It would appear not impossible that Sang Gala may be a corruption

of Sangkara, one of the names of Shiva, which would account at once

for the higher rank of this particular spirit, and for his possession

of the titles enumerated above.

[167] Vide App. ccxxviii. Another account adds (with) "Black Throat

and White Blood," white blood being a royal attribute.

[168] Their names were (1) Sa-lakun darah ("He of the Blood-pool(?))";

(2) Sa-halilintar ("He of the Thunderbolt"); (3) Sa-rukup (= rungkup)

Rang Bumi ("World-coverer"); (4) Sa-gertak Rang Bumi ("World-pricker");

(5) Sa-gunchang Rang Bumi ("World-shaker"); (6) Sa-tumbok Rang Bumi

("World-beater") and (?) (7) Sa-gempar `Alam ("Universe-terrifier").

[169] The magician appears to have interpreted it as Benua `ajam;

but it may be conjectured that this is a mistaken inference from

some expression like Jin ibnu Jan, "Jan," according to some Arabic

authorities, being the Father of the Genii, or, according to others,

a particular class of them who are capable of being transformed into

"Jin." Vide Hughes, Dict. of Islam, s.v. Genii.

[170] Perhaps a corruption of Sartan, the Crab (Cancer) in the Zodiac.

[171] The following account of Genii (printed in the Selangor Journal,

vol. i. No. 7, p. 102) was given me by a Mecca pilgrim or "Haji." This

man was a native of Java who had spent several years in the Malay

Peninsula, and as Mecca is the goal of the pilgrimage to all good

Muhammadans alike, it is important to know something of the ideas

which are there disseminated, and with which the Malay pilgrim would

be likely to come in contact. "In the unseen world the place of first

importance must be accorded, on account of their immense numbers,

to the 'Jins' (the 'Genii' of the Arabian Nights)."

"The Javanese, drawing a slightly stronger line of distinction (than

that of good and bad genii in the Arabian Nights), call these two

(separate) classes the Jin Islam and the Jin Kafir, or the Faithful

and the Infidel. Of these two classes, the former shrink from whatever

is unclean, and the latter only will approach the Chinese, to whom

the Jin Islam manifests the strongest repugnance. The good genii

are perfectly formed in the fashion of a man, but are, of course,

impalpable as air, though they have a voice like mortals. They live in

a mosque of their own, which they never leave, and where they offer up

unceasing prayers. This mosque is built of stone, and stands beside

a lake called 'Kolam Yamani'; into this lake the whole of the waters

from the neighbouring country drain, and the overflow runs down to the

sea. In this lake the good genii bathe, and if any wicked or childless

mortals bathe in it they carry them off and detain them in the mosque

until they (the mortals) have shown proof of their reformed character

by continuing for a long while without committing a wrong action, when

they are sent back in safety to their native land. I should add that

the Jin Islam exact tribute from the unfaithful--e.g. Chinamen--and

if they do not receive their due, they will steal it and give it to

a son of Islam. [They may be bought from the "Sheikh Jin" at Mecca

for prices varying from $90 to $100 each.]

"The Jin Kafir, or bad genii, are invariably deformed, their heads

being always out of their proper position; in short, they are Othello's

Men whose heads

Do grow beneath their shoulders.

Their commonest name, 'Jin isi-isi didalam Dunia' (the Genii who Fill

the World), is owing to the fact that their enormous numbers fill the

whole atmosphere from earth to sky. Like the good Genii, they cannot

die before the great day of judgment, but (unlike them) they are dumb.

"Great as their numbers are they are continually increasing, as they

are suffered by God to get children after their kind. They are imps of

mischief, and their whole time is spent in works of malice. Sometimes

when there has been a long drought and a heavy shower of rain is poured

down upon the earth by the angels at the bidding of God to cool the

parched verdure, they will assemble their legions, bringing with them

invisible cocoa-nut shells, one for each drop of rain. In these they

catch each rain-drop as it falls, and herbs and trees alike wither

for lack of moisture. Then the angels being wroth, cast thunderbolts

upon them out of heaven, and these malicious elves take shelter in

tall trees, which the thunderbolts blast in their fall. At another

time they will climb one upon the other's shoulders until they reach

the sky, when the topmost elf kicks a neighbouring angel, and then

they all fall together with a crash like thunder."

[172] It is probable that the Arabic spirits here mentioned have,

as in other cases, taken the place of native (Malay) spirits to whom

similar functions were assigned, but whose names are now lost.

[173] There are, besides, one or two partly Arabic expressions

which are occasionally used, e.g. Sidang (or Sedang) Saleh, Sidang

(or Sedang) Mumin. It is probable that "Sidang" in these cases is a

Malay word implying respectability (v. v. d. W. s.v.), so that Sidang

Saleh may be translated "Sir Devout," and Sidang Mumin, "Sir Faithful."

[174] Hantu and sheitan are generic terms for evil spirits, the former

being the Malay term, the latter Arabic.

[175] The Polong is a familiar spirit.

[176] The Pontianak and Penanggalan are childbirth spirits (vide

pp. 327, 328, infra).

[177] The Jin is the genie of the "Arabian Nights" (vide pp. 93-97,

supra).

[178] The Pelisit or Pelesit, like the Polong, is a familiar spirit

(vide pp. 329-331, infra).

[179] The Mambangs are inferior Malay divinities (vide pp. 88 n.,

91-93, supra).

[180] The Hantu Pemburu is the Spectre Huntsman (vide pp. 113-120,

infra), for whom Hantu Rimba is probably a mere synonym.

[181] The Jadi-jadian is the Were-tiger (vide pp. 160-163, infra).

[182] The Bengkus I have not yet been able to identify.

[183] The Bota, Gargasi, and Raksasa (not raksaksa) are giants.

[184] The Nenek Kabayan does not appear to be a ghost at all; it may,

however, possibly be a rare synonym for some well-known character

in Malay folklore (such as the wife of the Man in the Moon). It is

not so explained in the best Dutch dictionaries, however, but simply

as the village messenger (dorpsbode) who sells flowers and carries

lovers' messages.

[185] The Himbasan I have not yet identified.

[186] The Sawan (i.e. Hantu Sawan) is the demon or devil which is

believed to cause convulsions.

[187] The Hantu (orang) mati di-bunoh is the ghost of a murdered man.

[188] The Bajang is a familiar spirit (vide pp. 320-325, infra).

[189] The Hantu katagoran, sempak-kan, and puput-kan I have not been

able to identify, and as the two last possess the verbal suffix it

is clear that each is the name of a state or process and not of a

ghost or demon. In fact, v. d. Wall gives (under sampok), kesampokan,

which he explains as meaning "door een' boozen geest getroffen zijn,"

to be attacked or possessed by an evil spirit, which is doubtless

the correcter form of the word. So with puput-kan, which is also a

verbal form meaning (acc. to v. d. W.) "to blow (tr.)," to "sound

a wind instrument." It would seem that `Abdullah's list of "ghosts"

is not very systematically drawn up.

[190] The `efrit is a spirit of Arabian origin.

[191] The Jemalang (Jembalang) is a Malay earth-spirit.

[192] Terkena is a past participial form used of people who are

thought to be "struck by" or "affected by" one of the foregoing demons.

[193] Ubat guna is a love-philtre.

[194] Gagah (usually penggagah) is the art of making one's self bold

or courageous.

[195] Penundok, the art of making one's enemy yield (tundok).

[196] Pengasih, the art of making one's self beloved by another.

[197] Kebal (pengebal) the art of making one's self invulnerable.

[198] Kasaktian, the art of acquiring magic powers.

[199] Tuju (penuju), the art called "sending."

[200] `Alimun, the art of making one's self invisible.

[201] Penderas, the art of making one's self swift-footed.

[202] Perahuh (a misprint for peruah = peruang?) that of keeping

water at a distance from one's face when diving, and also, it is said,

of walking on the water without sinking below the ankles.

[203] Chucha is, I believe, a love charm.

[204] Pelali, is the art of numbing or deadening pain.

[205] Perangsang, the art of exciting or whetting the temper of the

dogs when hunting.

[206] Hik. Abdullah, p. 143. [Maxwell in J.R.A.S., S.B., No. ii N. and

Q., No. 4, sec. 98.]

[207] Newbold, op. cit. vol.ii. p. 191.

[208] The name of this demon is probably connected with the Malay

dongak, which means to "look upwards." It is sometimes identified

with the Hantu Pemburu, or wild huntsman, who, after hunting the

earth, harked on his dogs through the sky, and whose head, from his

continually looking upwards, became fixed in that position.

[209] The Hantu Raya is sometimes said to dwell in the centre of

four cross-roads. There is a sea-spirit of the same name, Si Raya,

which should, however, probably be identified with Batara Guru.

[210] Malay Sketches, p. 197.

[211] The name of this Demon (songkei = sa-ungkei?) is no doubt

connected with the Malay ungkei or rungkei, which means to undo or

unloose a knot. The only traps which it is said to interfere with are

snares and rope-traps, and as the most obvious way in which they could

be "interfered" with would be by untying or loosening their knots,

the connection between the name of this spirit and the Malay rungkei

to unloose or undo, is sufficiently obvious. The name, therefore,

would appear to mean the "Untying" or "Loosening Demon," naturally

a most vexatious spirit to have anywhere near your snares or nooses.

[212] Kapar, Klang, Langat: the Pawang (magician) mentions, by way

of example, the names of three places on the Selangor coast which he

wishes to visit in succession during the day "if the wind will listen

to him." The Pawang who told me this was a Kapar man ('Che `Akob).

[213] The first two lines are no doubt (as elsewhere) a sort of rhymed

memoria technica, intended to "memorise" the accessories required

for the rite. The tortoise here would appear to be a symbol of rain,

as among the Sakais (wild tribes) of the Malay Peninsula. v. Haddon,

Evolution of Art, p. 246. Can the "white" (or gray?) "ones" be the

two lizards; and the "black one" the tortoise? The grass lizards are

of various colours.

[214] The rice-spoon is a favourite weapon against spirits of evil,

v. Maxwell in J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 7, p. 19, which describes how a

woman in travail is armed with a [rice-] spoon during an eclipse.

[215] Pengiran Chemcha, which I translate Prince Rice-spoon, appears

to be a mock title of Bornean origin. Thus we read that "Pengiran"

or "Pangeran" is the title of the four Ministers of State (wazirs)

in Brunei, one of whom was called Pengiran Pamancha, of which the

present name (Pengiran Chemcha) looks like a corruption.--J.R.A.S.,

S.B., No. 20, p. 36.

[216] Inverted (I was given to understand), by way of symbolising

the vault of heaven--a good example of sympathetic magic.

[217] For other superstitions about the cat, vide pp. 190-192, infra.

[218] The meranti is a fine hard-wood forest tree.

[219] i.e. "May we be well sheltered."

[220] Vide p. 93, supra.

[221] The proverbs referred to are to be found in the collections

of proverbs sent by Mr. Maxwell to Nos. 1, 2, and 3 of the Journal

of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. The numbers

are consecutive.

4. Apa guna-nia merak mengigal di hutan?

"What is the use of the peacock strutting in the jungle?"

The idea is that the beauty of the bird is thrown away when exhibited

in a lonely spot where there is none to admire it.

72. Seperti ponggok merindu bulan.

"As the owl sighs longingly to the moon."

A figure often used by Malays in describing the longing of a lover

for his mistress. It recalls a line in Gray's "Elegy," "The moping

owl doth to the moon complain." [As to the story connected with the

ponggok, vide infra, p. 122. Cpt. Kelham, vide infra, supposes the

ponggok to be Scops lempiji, Horsf.]

73. Seperti kuang mekik di-puchuk gunong.

"Like the argus pheasant calling on the mountain peak."

Another poetical simile for a complaining lover. Here he is compared

to a lonely bird sounding its note far from all companions.

93. Seperti tetegok di-rumah tinggal.

"Like the night-jar at a deserted house."

The tegok or tetegok is a bird common in the Malay Peninsula,

whose habits are nocturnal and solitary. It has a peculiar, liquid,

monotonous call. The phrase is used to signify the solitude and

loneliness of a stranger in a Malay kampong.

Elsewhere (in notes afterwards published in the Selangor Journal)

(vol. i. No. 23, p. 360) Sir W. E. Maxwell says "The burong tetegok

is not a night bird, but flies by day. It can be distinguished by its

short rapid note, which resembles tegok-tegok-tegok-tegok." Apparently

Sir W. E. Maxwell identifies this bird with the Malay night-jar

(Caprimulgus macrurus. Horsf.) described by Capt. Kelham, in No. 9,

page 122 of the J.R.A.S., S.B. None of the Dutch Dictionaries identify

it clearly, though Klinkert (probably wrongly) identifies it with

the small owl called ponggok, which is taken by Capt. Kelham to be

Scops lempiji, Horsf.

[222] Gerda meniumur kepah-nia.

[223] Another fabulous bird which Maxwell does not mention is

the Walimana (which I have more than once heard called Wilmana in

Selangor). On the identity of this bird, my friend Mr. Wilkinson,

of the Straits Civil Service, sends me in a letter the following

note:--"The word is walimana. I have often met it in old MSS. written

The 'wali' is the same as the second word in Rajawali. The mana is

'human'; cp. man, manushya, etc. The walimana in old Javanese pottery

is represented as a bird with a human head, a sort of harpy. In the

Hikayat Sang Samba it is the steed of Maharaja Boma, and repeatedly

speaks to its master."

[224] Laksana jintayu menantikan hujan "as the jintayu awaits

the rain," is a proverbial simile for a state of anxiety and

despondency. Jintayu = Jatayu (Sanskrit), a fabulous vulture.

[225] The chandrawasi, bird of power,

Is closely hidden among the clouds.

Anxiety reigns in my heart,

Each day that I see not my love.

[To the above I may perhaps be allowed to add that the (dialectal)

form chandrawasir is the form generally used in the southern part of

Selangor (where the final "r" is still commonly preserved). The regular

(Dictionary) form of the word, however, appears to be chandrawasih

or chenderawaseh (the forms chendarawangsa, chenderawasa, and

chenderawangseh being also found). In origin the word is undoubtedly

Sanskrit.

It means the Bird of Paradise, but in those Malay countries where

the Bird of Paradise is unknown, it is also applied to other birds,

such as (in Malay romances) to the golden oriole and even to the

ostrich. In the Malay Peninsula, too, it is said to fly feet upwards

(which peculiarity it shares, according to Mr. Clifford, with the

Berek-berek, Pub. J.R.A.S., S.B., Hik. Raj. Budiman, pt. ii. 35), and

its eggs are sometimes said, on falling, to develop into the snake

called chintamani. It is always considered lucky, and the "Bird of

Paradise Prayer," (do`a chendrawasi) as it is called, generally takes

an important place in the formulas recited at the ceremonies connected

with the Rice-soul, q.v. For the confusion between the chendrawasi and

berek-berek (probably due to the fact that the chendrawasi, or Bird of

Paradise, is not to be found in the Peninsula) vide note on App. xxx.]

[226] The baberek appears to be yet another name for the goat-sucker

or night-jar (Caprimulgus macrurus, Horsf.) Dawn of History, page 171.

[227] As it appears that in Europe, at all events, the legend of the

Wild Huntsman and his dogs (or Gabriel's Hounds, as they are often

called) is explained by the cries of wild geese flying overhead on dark

nights, it seems most convenient to give the Malay legend in connection

with the birds with which the Malays associate him. The explanation

to which I refer is to be found in Prof. Newton's Dictionary of Birds

(1893), sub voce "Gabble-ratchet." I quote in extenso:--

"In many parts of England, but especially in Yorkshire, the

cries of some kind of wild goose, (Prof. Newton here has a note:

"Presumably the BRANT, on the rare occasions when, losing its way,

it comes inland, for the call-notes proceeding from a flock of this

species curiously resemble the sound of hounds in full cry (Thompson,

B. Irel. iii. p. 59), though some hearers liken them to the yelping of

puppies. The discrepancy may to some extent depend on distance.")

when flying by night, are heard with dismay by those who do not

know the cause of them, and are attributed to 'Gabriel's Hounds,' an

expression equivalent to 'Gabble-ratchet,' a term often used for them,

as in this sense gabble is said to be a corruption of Gabriel, and

that, according to some mediæval glossaries, is connected with gabbara

or gabares, a word meaning a corpse (cp. Way, Promptorium Parvulorum,

p. 320, sub voce 'Lyche'); while ratchet is undoubtedly the same as the

Anglo-Saxon ræce and Middle English racche or rache, a dog that hunts

by scent and gives tongue. Hence the expression would originally mean

'corpse-hounds,' and possibly has to do with legends such as that

of the Wild Huntsman.... The sounds are at times very marvellous,

not to say impressive, when heard, as they almost invariably are,

on a pitch-dark night, and it has more than once happened within the

writer's knowledge that a flock of geese, giving utterance to them,

has continued for some hours to circle over a town or village in

such a way as to attract the attention of the most unobservant of its

inhabitants, and inspire with terror those among them who are prone to

superstition. (Cp. Atkinson, Notes and Queries, ser. 4, vii. pp. 439,

440, and Cleveland Glossary, p. 203; Herrtage, Catholicon Anglicum,

p. 147; Robinson, Glossary Whitby, (Engl. Dial. Soc.) p. 74; and Addy,

Glossary Sheffield (Engl. Dial. Soc.) p. 83. Mr. Charles Swainson

(Prov. Names, Br. B., p. 98), gives 'Gabble-ratchet' as a name of

the night-jar, but satisfactory proof of that statement seems to be

wanting." (Possibly the sounds made by the geese might be attributed

to the night-jar by peasants through the latter's appearing at the

time they were made. It is curious that the Malays as well should

connect the night-jar with the Wild Huntsman.)

[228] Selangor Malays add further that his whole body became overgrown

with orchids, a conceit which recalls their story of a local hero who

went on swimming in the sea until his body became covered with oysters!

[229] The Spectre Huntsman is said to butcher (bantai) his

game, whenever he gets it, under a kind of wild areca palm

(pinang senawar). He then binds it up again with a creeper (akar

gasing-gasing), and roasts it over an earth hearth (saleian), the floor

(lantei) of which is of the pinang boring (another wild areca palm),

and covers it over with wild banana leaves (tudong salei daun pisang

hutan) and leaves of the resam bracken.

[230] Selangor Malays add that the Spectre Huntsman himself instructed

his son how to cure people who were suffering from the effects of his

magic. These instructions were: "Take leaves of the bonglei, resam,

gasing-gasing, and wild banana, shred and distil them (di-uraskan),

and administer the potion to the patient, together with sirih kunta

and pinang kunta. Before administering it, however, an augury has to

be taken: young shoots of the (wild?) cotton-tree (puchok daun kapas)

are plucked and have the sap squeezed out of them (di-ramas). If the

liquor is red the patient may be cured; but if it has a black look,

nothing can be done to save him."

[231] The sickness which results from crossing the path of the Spectre

Huntsman (kalintasan) has choleraic symptoms (vomiting and voiding)

and is quickly fatal; that resulting from his challenge or summons

(kategoran) begins with persistent fever (demam salama-lama-nya),

but does not prove so rapidly fatal.

[232] As to this, vide App. xxx., note.

[233] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 7, pp. 12-18.

[234] Vide App. xxx., lines 13, 14, 15, and 16.

[235] App. xxviii.

[236] I was once stationed for about eighteen months in a small

out-of-the-way village on the Selangor coast, where three subordinate

officers of the Government (foremen of works) had died successively, at

comparatively short intervals. The last of these men, I was informed

by the local Malays, received a kick from the Spectre Huntsman

(di-sepak uleh Hantu Pemburu) as he was going down the hill to the

village in the morning. He took no notice of the occurrence and

proceeded down the river in a boat. Three hours later he vomited

mangrove leaves(!) and was brought back dead! Cp. N. and Q., No. 2,

sec. 32 (issued with J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 15).

[237] From J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 9, pp. 129, 130, "Malayan Ornithology,"

by Captain H. R. Kelham, who adds:--

"I asked Mr. Low, H.B.M. Resident of Pêrak, if he could give me any

information as to which species of Hornbill this legend relates to,

and he writes--

"'It is the largest Hornbill which is found in Pêrak, bigger, I should

say, than the Rhinoceros Hornbill, but I have never seen it except

flying, or on very high trees. The legend about it is very common,

but I do not know the scientific name of that particular Hornbill;

but it is not that you refer to, viz. Berenicornis comatus, Raffles;

nor is it the Rhinoceros.'"

[238] Vol. i. No. 23, pp. 360-363.

[239] If Sir W. E. Maxwell is right this must be another name for

the night-jar (vide p. 110n. supra). But the identification is at

least doubtful.

[240] Vide supra, p. 109, note.

[241] Cp. Swett., Mal. Sketches, p. 160.

[242] Swett., Mal. Sketches, pp. 159, 160.

[243] In Selangor I have heard a similar story; but in this case it was

a red-crested hornbill which supplied the buttons, which latter were

said to turn green on the approach of poison. The only solid-crested

hornbill is, I believe, the Rhinoplax.

[244] The amount of luck which goes with any particular bird of

this species depends on the number of scales on its feet, for

counting which certain verbal categories (like our own "tinker,

tailor, soldier" formula) are used. Forty-four is the luckiest

number of scales for one of these birds to possess. An example is:

"Manuk (3), Manumah (5), Sangkesa (6), Desa (1), Dewa (4), Raja (2),"

which has to be repeated as the scales are counted (beginning with

the lowest scale). The numbers after the words indicate the order

of the luck which the birds are supposed to bring; a ground-dove of

the first order bringing luck worth a ship's cargo (tuah merbok tuak

sa-kapal). I have kept these birds myself.

[245] Cp. the Malay pantun:--

"Tekukur di gulei lemak

Sulasi di-bawah batang

Lagi lumpor jalan semak

Sebab kasih maka-nya datang."

[246] In Sel. Journ. vol. iii. No. 6, pp. 94, 95.

[247] Dissemurus platurus, Vieill.

[248] Haliætus leucogaster, Gm.

[249] An old Malay (in Selangor) once told me that the hornbill was

the king of the birds until dispossessed by the eagle (Rajawali). If,

as seems probable, the hornbill was taken as a substitute for the

frigate-bird in places where the latter did not exist, this may

be important.

[250] Argus giganteus, Temm.

[251] Corvus enca, Horsf., the Malay crow.

[252] I believe that a similar story exists in Siam, the Siamese,

however, making turpentine play the part of the ink in the Malay story.

[253] Besides the hut, the necessary apparatus consists of: (1) Three

rods (called ampeian or pinggiran) laid across the top of short forked

sticks at a height of one or two feet from the ground. The whole space

enclosed by these is called King Solomon's palace-yard (halaman). (2)

The buluh dekut, or bamboo pigeon-call, from 6 to 8 ft. in length,

called "Prince Distraction." (3) A rod with decoy-bird attached to it

(by means of a string and noose at the end of the rod). (4) A rod

with fine hair-like noose at the end, for snaring the wild pigeon,

and dragging them into the hut. There is a door at back of hut as

well as a small door or opening in front of hut, called pintu bangsi

(mangsi or mansi).

[254] Bujang Sibor literally means the "Bachelor (i.e. solitary)

Scooper." The name has no doubt been chosen because it is thought to

be lucky, possibly because it suggests "scooping in" (birds).

[255] Vide App. xxxii.

[256] Kapor, Puding, and Sarap, are the names of three varieties

of pigeon, generally styled "princesses" in the charms used by

pigeon-catchers. Their names are also given as Bujang Kapor, (the

Solitary Kapor), Lela Puding (?), and Dayang Sarap (the Handmaiden

Sarap).

[257] The mengkudu is a Malay forest tree (Morinda tinctoria).

[258] An alternative version runs:--

Caller, bamboo caller,

Caller of the wild doves,

Over the seven valleys, seven knolls of rising ground,

Re-echo the voice of my decoy.

Come down, Queen Kapor, Queen Puding, Handmaid Sampah,

With one hundred and ninety others.

Come down to this spot I stand on.

Come down from the north,

Come down from the south,

Come down from the east,

Come down from the west.

[259] Another version has:--

This shoot of a creeper is "Prince Invitation,"

This hut is called the Magic Prince,

This decoy is called Prince Distraction.

Si Raja Nyila (from sila, menyila) is the name given to the long

slender rods with fine hair-like nooses at the end with which the

pigeons are snared and dragged into the hut (vide App. xli.)

[260] Vide App. xxxvii.

[261] Vide App. xlv.

[262] Vide App. xlvii.

[263] Ibid.

[264] Ibid. Note that the house-door must not face towards the

south; if it faces southwards there will be no luck in the house

and everything will go wrong.--J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 30, p. 306. Vide

App. lv.

[265] Perhaps a corruption of "Bentara," or Batara, Guru (i.e. Shiva),

which is what we should here expect (vide the charms a few pages

farther on). "Mentri" usually means "minister."

[266] Vide App. xlvii.

[267] As to lucky and unlucky times, vide Chap. VI. pp. 545-550, infra.

[268] Cp. pp. 244-245, 248, infra.

[269] In a case where no trouble is expected on the part of the

earth-spirit, even an egg (as the "symbol" of a fowl) may be sufficient

as a sacrifice.

[270] Vide App. l.

[271] An alternative method was thus described to me by a magician:

Take a white cup, fill it with water, fumigate it with incense, and

deposit it in the hole dug to receive the centre-post. Early next

morning take note of it; if it is still full of water, it is a good

sign; if the water has wasted (susut), a bad one. If live insects are

found in it, it is a good sign, if dead ones, bad. There can, however,

be little doubt that the original victim of this sacrifice was a

human victim (generally perhaps a slave), for whom the buffalo was

substituted (the goat, fowl, and egg representing further successive

stages in the depreciation of the rite). Malays on the Selangor coast

more than once told me they had heard that the Government was in the

habit of burying a human head under the foundations of any unusually

large structure (e.g. a bridge), and two cases where a local scare

resulted from the prevalence of this idea were recorded in the local

press (the Malay Mail) in 1897. For similar traditions of human

sacrifice, vide p. 211 infra.

[272] Vide App. lii.

[273] For other "categories" vide p. 559, infra.

[274] Another form of measurement was from the threshold (of the front

door) to the end of the house; but the method of augury in this case

is not yet quite clear.

[275] This probably refers to the mystic Dragon which does duty (in

Malay charm-books) as an "aspect compass." Vide Chap. VI. p. 561,

infra, and App. cclvii.

[276] Audience hall.

[277] J.R.A.S., S.B. No. 9, pp. 85, 86. This is an extract from the

Marong Mahawangsa, the legendary history of Kedah, a State bordering on

Lower Siam. The name Podisat (i.e. Bodhisattva) indicates Indo-Chinese

Buddhist influence. It does not seem to occur elsewhere in Malay

literature, though Buddhism flourished in Sumatra in the seventh

century A.D.

[278] Of the rhinoceros not many superstitions are yet known. The

rhinoceros horn, however (called chula), is believed to be a

powerful aphrodisiac, and there is supposed to be a species of "fiery"

rhinoceros (badak api) which is excessively dangerous if attacked. This

latter is probably a mere fable, vide Cliff., In Court and Kampong,

p. 33.

[279] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 7, pp. 23, 24.

[280] Young shoots of bamboo are eaten by Malays with curry.

[281] The skull of this elephant, riddled with bullets, was sent

to the Government Museum at Kuala Lumpor, in Selangor. It had,

so far as I remember, one stunted tusk. The present State surgeon

(Dr. A. E. O. Travers) can speak to the facts.

[282] Sel. Journ. vol. iii. No. 6, p. 95 (quoted from Perak Museum

Notes by Mr. L. Wray).

[283] Sel. Journ. vol. i. No. 6, p. 83, where this note is

given. Probably "armadillo" is a mistake for "pangolin."

[284] These leaves are such as are used by the medicine-man for his

leaf-brush, i.e. leaves of the pulut-pulut, selaguri, gandarusa,

and the red dracæna (lenjuang merah).

[285] "The Malays believe that the power to inform a spirit, a wild

beast, or any natural object, such as iron rust, of the source

from which it originates (usul asal ka-jadi-an-nya), renders it

powerless." H. Clifford in No. 3 of the Publications of the R.A.S.,

S.B., Hikayat Raja Budiman, pt. ii. p. 8. This belief is found

among all tribes of Malays in the Peninsula. Possibly the idea was

that knowledge of another person's ancestry implied common tribal

origin. For the explanation of "Badi," vide Chap. IV. p. 94, supra,

and Chap. VI. p. 427, infra.

[286] "Rhinoceros" should be substituted for "elephant" passim,

if it was the object of the hunter's pursuit. This particular line

should probably come at the end of the charm instead of the middle.

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

[288] Marsden, Hist. of Sum. p. 292, ed. 1811.

[289] J.R.A.S., S.B., l.c.

"They (the Sumatran Malays) seem to think, indeed, that tigers

in general are actuated with the spirits of departed men, and no

consideration will prevail on a countryman to catch or to wound one,

but in self-defence, or immediately after the act of destroying

a friend or relation. They speak of them with a degree of awe,

and hesitate to call them by their common name (rimau or machang),

terming them respectfully satwa (the wild animals), or even nenek

(ancestors), as really believing them such, or by way of soothing or

coaxing them, as our ignorant country folk call the fairies 'the good

people.'" [Dato' hutan, "elder of the jungle," is the common title of

the tiger in Selangor. Various nicknames, however, are given, e.g. Si

Pudong, "he of the hairy face" (Cliff., In Court and Kampong, p. 201),

'Pah Randau, "father shaggy-face," etc.] "When an European procures

traps to be set ... the inhabitants of the neighbourhood have been

known to go at night to the place and practise some forms in order to

persuade the animal, when caught, or when he shall perceive the bait,

that it was not laid by them or with their consent. They talk of a

place in the country where the tigers have a court, and maintain a

regular form of government, in towns, the houses of which are thatched

with women's hair."--Marsden, l.c. (The italics are mine.) It is

curious that the Fairy Princess' hall on Gunong Ledang is similarly

described in the Sejarah Malayu (Malay Annals, p. 279) as being of

bone and thatched with hair.

[290] Also called 'tas. The tiger is still supposed to be mortally

afraid of los or 'tas wood. In fact, I was more than once told of

a trapped tiger who on being shown a piece of 'tas wood "became

quite silent," though it had previously been savagely growling,

and shrank into a corner of the trap. A single inch of this wood is

thought an adequate protection against any tiger. I do not know what

species of tree it belongs to, but a gorse stick (which I had bought

some years before in Ireland) was taken to be a piece of los wood,

and was begged from me by a local Malay headman, who cut it up into

inches for distribution among his following.

[291] It appears that in Java there are supposed not only to be men

who can themselves become tigers at will, but men who can turn other

people into tigers as well. This is done by means of a species of

sympathetic magic, the medicine-man drawing on a sarong (Malay skirt)

of marvellous elasticity, which at first will only cover his great

toes, but which he is able gradually to stretch until it covers his

whole person. This sarong resembles the hide of a Bengal tiger (being

yellow with black stripes), and the wearing of it in conjunction with

the necessary charms will turn the required person into a tiger.

[292] Clifford, In Court and Kampong, pp. 65, 66.

[293] Malay Sketches, pp. 200, 201.

[294] Sel. Journ. vol. i. No. 6, p. 87.

[295] Or with a needle, vide infra.

[296] Or two cats, vide infra.

[297] Sel. Journ. vol. i. No. 8, p. 115. Later Mr. Turney, writing

under the nom de plume of a well-known Chinese servant, added the

following:--

"Talking of the harimau kramat (ghost tigers) reminds me of the

excitement there was in the town because a clever lady, called Miss

Bird, was coming and would write about the place and people.

"My master had obtained intimation of this lady's wants, and was

directed to receive her on a certain date, and the Sultan's people

were told that a great 'cherita (story) writer' was coming who would

tell the world of our Sultan and his dominions.

"On the appointed day the lady arrived, and accompanying her were a

crowd of gentlemen, who were supposed to help her to get information.

"They all dined at my master's, and the subjects discussed were

very various, among others was the kramat (ghost) tiger, which had

been shot a few days previously. They admired the skin of the tiger,

which was in a state of good preservation, and Miss Bird regretted that

she was too late to taste the flesh, which, my master said, made very

good 'devilled steaks,' not unlike venison!"--(S. J. vol. i. No. 11,

p. 171.)

[298] It may perhaps be supposed that she had thrown the rest of the

body overboard before she was surprised by the sailing vessel.

[299] Cp. the other versions of this tale given in N. and Q., No. 3,

Secs. 33, 34 (issued with J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 15).

[300] The explanation given to me of these two lines was that they

were both based on a fancied resemblance between the parts referred to.

[301] A similar charm runs, "Madam Ugly is the name of your mother,

Sir Stripes the name of your body. I fold up your tongue and muzzle

your mouth; -wig -eak [stands for] let the twig break--break with

the weight of this well-fed wild goose. Be (your mouth) shut fast and

locked. If a bachelor loses his vocation, it does not matter." (Here

follow a few words of Arabic.) On reaching home you must never forget

to unlock the tiger's jaws, or "he will certainly bear a grudge against

you!" To do this you must repeat the Arabic words with which the charm

(just quoted) concluded, and then pronounce the Malay word buka, which

means "open." The Malays are fond of enigmatical expressions, in which

the part of a word is made to stand for the whole. Cp. infra "Teng

[stands for] the Satengteng flower." Sometimes these expressions are

propounded as riddles, e.g. "Ti tiong kalau kalau," out of which the

guesser was supposed to make "Banyak-banyak beSI, beLIONG ta'memBALAU."

[302] Chiefs, especially with reference to military functions.

[303] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 3, p. 139.

[304] "Two large and four species of small deer are found in the

Peninsula, besides the babi rusa or hog-deer, which however is not

a member of the same order. The large species are: the sambur (Rusa

Aristotelis), a rather savage animal, larger than our own red deer;

and the axis (A. maculata) or spotted deer. Of the small or Moschine

species, the kijang is the largest; next to this comes the napuh;

the third in size is the lanak; and the smallest is the pelandok or

true pigmy deer."--Denys, Descr. Dict. of Brit. Malaya, s.v. Deer.

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

[306] J. D. Vaughan in J.I.A. vol. xi. quoted in Denys, l.c.

[307] Village or hamlet.

[308] Sambon. I do not know any plant of this name. Possibly it may

stand for sarimbun or sambau, the latter of which at least is commonly

used by Malay medicine-men.

[309] I may add that the first person to draw blood is supposed to

get sabatang daging lembusir, a moiety of the kidneys (?) and the

Pawang to get the other half.

[310] Kiramun katibun (lit. "illustrious writers") are the two

recording angels who are said to be with every man, one on the right

hand to record his good deeds, and one on his left to record the

evil deeds. They are mentioned in the Koran. Vide Hughes, Dict. of

Islam, s.v.

[311] The token consists in chopping down a small tree and with it

piercing the slot of the deer.

[312] Or, "whose art is more powerful than mine."

[313] Possibly an allusion to the branching of the stag's horns. The

last two lines of this charm are obscure.

[314] Another Pawang gave me the following account, which is much

fuller:--"On entering the jungle carry the toils with you till you meet

with the slot of the deer, and then ask for a tree, saying as follows--

'Peace be with you, O 'Tap, Prophet of God, in whose charge is

the Earth.

I ask for this tree (to enable me) to make fast these toils.'

Here begin to unroll the toils, saying--

'Sir Tuft' is the name of our rattan,

'Sir Ring' is the name of our toils."

[The point of this charm is that "Sir Tuft" is an allusion to the

origin of the rattan rope, which must have come, of course, from the

"tufted" creeper of that name. Similarly, "Sir Ring" is supposed to be

an allusion to the ring which formed the original unit of the toils,

a collection of rings or nooses. The object of mentioning the origin

of anything is that doing so is supposed to give one power over the

article so addressed, v. p. 156 n., supra.] "Having completed the

unrolling of the toils, double the connecting rope (from which the

nooses hang) in two, and when this is done, enter them, holding them

by the connecting rope (kajar), and say--

'O Mentala (i.e. Batara) Guru, and Teachers one and all (dengan

Gurwuru-uru), and Sir Yellow Glow,

Sir Yellow Glow knows all the ins and outs of it (?)

These toils of ours are twofold, O let them not be staled.

If they are staled, and we perform the penance for them, let our

toils still kill the quarry.

If they are staled by the dogs, let our toils still kill the

quarry.

If they are staled by men, let our toils still kill the quarry,

by virtue of,' etc., etc."

[315] Probably a pun upon teng, which was explained to me as meaning

kaki sa-b'lah ("one foot only"), as in berteng-teng, "to go on one

foot," to hobble; tengkis, "with one foot shortened or shrunken,"

etc. The "satengteng flower" was explained as another name for the

satawar.

[316] The corresponding charm for driving out the mischief, given by

another deer Pawang ('Che Indut), appears to be more appropriate:--

O Mischief, Mother of Mischiefs,

Mischiefs One Hundred and Ninety (in number),

I know the origin from which you sprang.

The mischief of an Iguana was your origin.

The Heart of Timber was your origin,

The Yellow Glow of Sunset was your origin,

Return to the places from whence ye came,

Do me no harm or scathe.

If you do me harm or scathe, ye shall be consumed by the curse,

Eaten and enclosed in Disaster (bintongan), crushed to death by

the Thirty Divisions of the Koran,

Smitten by the sanctity of the Four Corners of the Earth,

By virtue of, etc., etc.

Bintongan was explained to me carefully as = benchana (calamity

or disaster).

[317] This and the four succeeding names are evidently corruptions

of the names of the four archangels, "Michael, Israfel, Azrael,

and Gabriel." Vide p. 98, supra.

[318] Vide pp. 94, 95, note, supra.

[319] In the Pelandok Jinaka, a Malay beast-fable, the Mouse-deer

is styled "Sheikh `alam (or Shah `alam) di Rimba," "Chief (or King)

of the Forest."

[320] Vide p. 117.

[321] Cp. our use of the phrase "an ugly customer," vide App. lxxxi.

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

[323] The wild dogs of the jungle are considered by Malays to

be not natural dogs, but "ghost" dogs of the pack of the Spectre

Huntsman. They are regarded as most dangerous to meet, for, according

to a Malay informant, "if they bark at us, we shall assuredly die

where we stand and shall not be able to return home; if, however,

we see them and bark at them before they bark at us, we shall not be

affected by them. Therefore do all Malays give tongue when they meet

the wild dog in the forest."

[324] Or Sugar-palm (Arenga saccharifera).

[325] "The Malayan Sun-bear, the only animal of the bear species in

the Peninsula. It is also known as the Honey-bear, from its fondness

for that sweet. It is black in colour, with the exception of a

semi-lunar-shaped patch of white on the breast, and a yellowish-white

patch on the snout and upper jaw. The fur is fine and glossy. Its

feet are armed with formidable claws, and its lips and tongue are

peculiarly long and flexible, all three organs adapting it to tear

open and get at the apertures in old trees where the wild bees usually

build."--Denys, Descr. Dic. Brit. Mal., s.v. Bruang.

[326] Bruin is also the Dutch word for a bear. The Malay form Beruang

has also been derived from ruang, which is assumed, for this occasion

only, to mean a "cave," in order that Beruang may be explained as

meaning the cave-animal. There is no evidence, however, to show that

ruang ever did mean a cave, nor is the Malay bear a cave-animal.

[327] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 7, p. 23.

[328] Cp. Cliff., Stud. in Brown Hum. p. 243 seqq. (The Strange

Elopement of Chaling the Dyak).

[329] There seems to be some doubt as to the scientific nomenclature

properly applicable to the Siamang.

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.