[465] Sel. Journ. vol. iv. No. 2, p. 26.
[466] i.e. tin-bearing stratum and stone overlying the ore.
[467] i.e. his "connections."
[468] Sel. Journ. vol. iv. No. 8, p. 139.
[469] "This my tank" is an allusion to the mine, the system on which
mines are worked in the Malay States being that of the removal of
the overburden, which, of course, forms immense pits, such as are
here likened to an (empty) tank or reservoir.
[470] A plant, possibly Solanum aculeatissimum, Jacq., which has very
thorny orange-coloured fruits.
[471] Sega is a species of rattan (Calamus viminalis or Calamus
ornatus, Griff.); but probably the better reading here is segar, which
means a long black spike of the kabong-palm (Arenga saccharifera, L.)
[472] Presumably a corruption of Iskandar zu 'l-Karnain, i.e. Alexander
the Great, who plays a considerable part in Malay legendary history.
[473] Vide App. cxviii., cxix.
[474] Oryza sativa, L. var.
[475] Batin is a title of certain Chiefs amongst the aboriginal tribes
of the southern part of the Peninsula. It appears to have been in
former days sometimes borne by Malays also.
[476] Ketong as a dry measure is not to be found in the
dictionaries. V. d. Wall, however, gives a form kentong (with which
it may be connected) as meaning an earthen pot, formerly used for
holding lalang-sugar.
[477] An arai is an Achinese measure [= 2 chupak], about 3 1/3 lbs.
[478] Sic: quære lombong?
[479] Denys, Descr. Dict. of Brit. Malaya, s.v. Gold.
[480] Vide Leyden, Malay Annals, p. 94. "He (the Sultan), also
prohibited the ornamenting of creeses with gold, and the wearing
anklets of gold, and the wearing the koronchong, or hollow bracelets
of gold, ornamented with silver."
Two legends, which connect the wild boar with the precious metals,
have already been mentioned, vide p. 188, supra.
[481] Vide v. d. Wall, Malay-Dutch Dict., s.v. Kawi, one of the
meanings of which he explains as the supernatural power of anything. He
proceeds to explain besi kawi as follows:--It is "a piece of old
scrap-iron with supernatural powers, belonging to the royal insignia
of the former Kingdom of Johor, now [then?] in the possession of
the Sultan of Lingga. Whenever an oath was to be taken by a subject,
the Iron would be immersed in water for a time, and the patient [sic]
had to drink of this water before he took the oath. Whoever took a
false oath would be affected by a severe sickness, and in the case
of a Chief the sickness affects the whole tribe."
Bisa kawi is another (West Sumatran) form of this expression. Under
Bisa III., q.v., v. d. W. remarks that to say, "May you be struck by
the Bisa Kawi" (lit. Poison of Kawi), is the ugliest wish you can
address to anybody, as it is supposed to bring upon the person so
addressed every possible kind of sickness.
[482] For examples vide the charms quoted in almost every part of
this book.
[483] "It is a very general belief among Malays that Gulîga [and]
Bûntat, viz. stones that are found in the bodies of animals or
contained in trees, have great magic and vegetable virtue. These stones
are worn as charms, and are also scraped, the scrapings being mixed
with water and given to the sick as medicine."--Pubns. of the R.A.S.,
S.B., No. 3, p. 26 n.
[484] This idea recalls a similar superstition about what are called
in the Straits Settlements "breeding-pearls," i.e. a kind of pearl
which is supposed to reproduce itself when kept in a box and fed with
pulut rice for a sufficiently lengthy period.--Vide J.R.A.S., S.B.,
No. 1, pp. 31-37, No. 3, pp. 140-143.
[485] "The Guliga, more commonly known as Bezoar, forms a recognised
article of export from the Rejang and Bintulu rivers in the Sarawak
territory. These concretions are chiefly obtained from a red monkey
(a species of Semnopithecus), which seems to be very abundant in
the interior districts of Borneo. A more valuable Guliga, called
the 'Guliga Landak,' is obtained from the porcupine, but it is
comparatively rare. The Sepoys stationed at Sibu Fort in the Rejang
formerly exported considerable numbers of these calculi to Hindustan,
where, in addition to their supposed efficacy as an antidote for
the poison of snakes and other venomous creatures, they appear to be
applied, either alone or in combination with other medicines, to the
treatment of fevers, asthmatic complaints, general debility, etc. A
few years ago, however, these men ceased to send any but the Guliga
Landak, since their hakims had informed them that the concretions
obtained from the monkeys had come to be considered of very doubtful,
if any, value from a medicinal point of view. The usual test for a
good Guliga is to place a little chunam on the hand and to rub the
Guliga against it, when, if it be genuine, the lime becomes tinged
with yellow. Imitations are by no means rare, and on one occasion
which came to my own knowledge, some Bakatans succeeded in deceiving
the Chinamen, who trade in these articles, by carefully moulding some
fine light clay into the form of a Bezoar, and then rubbing it well
all over with a genuine one. The extreme lightness of a real Guliga
and the lime test are, however, generally sufficient to expose a
counterfeit Bezoar. The Sepoys and Malays apply various imaginary
tests. Thus they assert that if a true Guliga be clasped in the closed
fist the bitter taste of the concretion will be plainly susceptible
to the tongue when applied to the back of the hand, and even above
the elbow if the Guliga be a good 'Landak'; and a Sepoy once assured
me that having accidentally broken one of the latter he immediately
was sensible of a bitter taste in the mouth.
"Accounts vary very much among the natives as to the exact position in
which the Guligas are found: some saying they may occur in any part of
the body, others that they occur only in the stomach and intestines,
whilst I have heard others declare that they have taken them from the
head and even the hand! Bezoar stones are sold by weight, the gold
scale being used, and the value varies according to quality and to
the scarcity or abundance of the commodity at the time of sale. The
ordinary prices paid at Rejang a few years ago were from $1.50 to $2
per amas for common stones and from $2.50 to $4 per amas for Guliga
Landak. I have seen one of the latter which was valued at $100. It
was about the size of an average Tangiers orange, and was perfectly
spherical. The surface, where not artificially abraded, was smooth,
shining, bronze-brown, studded with numerous irregularly-shaped
fragments of dark rich brown standing out slightly above the general
mass of the calculus. These fragments, in size and appearance, bore a
close resemblance to the crystals in a coarse-grained porphyritic rock.
"The common monkey-bezoars vary much in colour and shape. I have
seen them of the size of large filberts, curiously convoluted and
cordate in shape, with a smooth, shining surface of a pale olive-green
hue. Mr. A. R. Houghton once showed me one which was an inch and a
half long, and shaped like an Indian club. It was of a dirty greenish
colour, perfectly smooth and cylindrical, and it had become aggregated
around a portion of a sumpitan dart, which appears to have penetrated
the animal's stomach, and being broken off short has subsequently
served as the nucleus for the formation of a calculus. The same
gentleman had in his possession two Landak stones, one of which bore
a close resemblance to a block in shape, and was of a bright green
colour, and the second was of a rich chocolate brown, and could best
be likened in form to a constable's staff. One porcupine stone which
was opened was found to be a mere shell full of small brown shavings
like shred tobacco.
"The part of the island which produces these stones in greatest
abundance seems to be, by a coincidence of native reports, the district
about the upper waters of the Baluñgar (Batang Kayan). The story is
that the head-waters of this river are cut off from its lower course
by an extensive tract of hills beneath which the river disappears,
a report by no means unlikely if the country be, as is probable,
limestone. The people of the district have no communication with the
lower course of the river, and are thus without any supply of salt. In
lieu of this necessity they make use of the waters of certain springs,
which must be saline mineral springs, and which the Kayans call
'Suñgan.' These springs are also frequented by troops of the red
monkeys before mentioned, and the Bezoars are most constantly found
in the stomachs of these animals through their drinking the saline
water. The hunters lie in wait about such springs, and, so runs the
report, on the animals coming down to drink they are able to guess
with tolerable certainty from external signs which of the monkeys
will afford the Guliga, and they forthwith shoot such with their
sumpitans. I have this account, curious in more ways than one, from
several quite independent sources. In concluding these brief notes, I
may remark that the wide-spread idea of the medicinal virtue of these
concretions would lead us to suppose that there is some foundation
for their reputation."--J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 4, pp. 56-58.
"The guliga in Siak, which is considered to belong to the larangan
raja [royal property], is an intestinal stone found in a kind of
porcupine living principally in the upper reaches of the Mandau. The
Sakeis living in this region are the only persons who collect these
stones, which they deliver to the Sultan partly as a revenue, partly
as barang larangan.
"By right all the guligas found by them are the Sultan's; the greater
number, however, are clandestinely sold to Malay and Chinese traders.
"According to their size they are worth from $40 to $600 a piece.
"Their value, however, does not merely rise with their weight but, as
in the case of precious stones, rises out of all proportion with the
mere increase in weight. A guliga weighing 1 ringgit (8 mayam) costs
$600, whereas one of the weight of 3 mayam will only be worth $100.
"For guligas, particularly large ones, extraordinary prices are
sometimes paid. The Sultan of Siak possesses one said to be valued
at $900.
"Natives maintain that they are an almost infallible medicine in cases
of chest or bowel complaints, but their principal value is founded on
their reputed virtue as a powerful aphrodisiac. To operate in this
way one is worn on the navel tied up in a piece of cloth, or water
in which one has been soaked is drunk."--F. Kehding on Siak (Sumatra)
in J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 17, pp. 153-4.
[486] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 9, p. 24 n. As to Paujangi (Pauh Janggi)
vide pp. 6-9, supra.
[487] Vide Chapter IV. supra.
[488] For the charm used at the insertion of the twigs, vide
App. cxxii.
[489] Vide App. cxxiv.
[490] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 9, p. 26.
[491] This recalls the account in Northern mythology of the four
rivers which are said to flow from the teats of the cow Audhumla.
In a great many Malay myths the colour white is an all-important
feature. In this legend we have the white Semang and the white
river. In others white animals and white birds are introduced.
[492] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 9, p. 95.
[493] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 7, pp. 24-26.
[494] The most usual name of the crocodile-spirit, as given in such
charms as I have succeeded in collecting, is Sambu Agai, or, as it
is also called, Jambu Rakai.
[495] Kira-kira means "accounts."
[496] Selangor Journal, vol. iii. No. 6, pp. 93, 94.
[497] The shortness of the crocodile's tongue, which is a mere stump
of a tongue, has probably given rise to this idea.
[498] Also sometimes called "Apa daya," lit. "What device?" or "What
resource?" The front teeth are also sometimes called kail seluang,
or "seluang" hook, or hook for catching the seluang, a small fish
resembling the sardine.--Vide H. C. C. in N. and Q. No. 4, sec. 95,
issued with No. 17 of the J.R.A.S., S.B.
[499] The question of the mental attributes ascribed to the crocodile
is one of great interest, as it is credited by Malays with a human
origin. It is not alleged to shed tears over his victim; but, as
the above account shows, it is far from insensible to the enormity of
manslaughter. At the same time, it is credited with strong common sense
(since it is known to "laugh" at those misguided mortals "who pole a
boat down stream," no less than the tiger which "laughs" at those who
"carry a torch on a moonlight night"), and also has a strict regard
for honesty. (Vide infra.)
[500] Rewritten from Sel. Journ. vol. iii. No. 19, pp. 309-312.
[501] A native-built canoe hollowed out of a tree-trunk is no doubt
referred to.
[502] Mangrove, of various species, chiefly Rhizophoreæ.
[503] Sel. Journ. vol. i. No. 22, pp. 350-351.
[504] Vide App. cxxviii.
[505] Vide App. cxxx.
[506] This and the preceding lines clearly refer to the fable quoted
by Sir W. E. Maxwell. There are, however, many differences in minor
details, one version asserting that the head of the first crocodile
was made from the central shoot or cabbage of a cocoa-nut (umbi niyor),
its blood of saffron, and its eyes from the star of the east; another
asserting that its dorsal ridge was manufactured (by Siti Fatimah)
from the eaves of the thatch.
[507] Her Highness Princess Rundok, as appears from the line below,
in which she is again referred to, is evidently the name given to
the fowl used as a bait.
[508] Jangan angkau lari!
Perjanjian kita sa-tanjong ka hulu,
Sa-tanjong ka hilir.
[509] Tabek Raja di Laut, Mambang Tali Harus,
Aku 'nak buang badi buaya ini.
[510] Angkau menangkap Si Anu?
[511] Vide Chap. VI. pp. 325-327, infra.
[512] Mr. L. Wray in "Perak Museum Notes," quoted in the Selangor
Journal, vol. iii. No. 6, p. 94.
[513] Other accounts make it out to be of a golden colour. Vide
p. 506, infra.
[514] I have heard this same word used to describe a sort of unnatural
"glow" which was supposed to illumine certain parts of the country
at night; one such region being a portion of the coast at Lukut in
Sungei Ujong.
[515] Clifford, In Court and Kampong, p. 189.
[516] Selangor Journal, vol. iii. No. 6, p. 92.
[517] Ibid., p. 91.
[518] A kind of flat fish (sole?), also ikan lidah-lidah and lelidah,
probably derived from lidah, a tongue, owing to its shape. This fish
is sometimes called sisa Nabi, or the "Prophet's leavings," the story
being that it had originally the same amount of flesh on both sides,
but that the Prophet Muhammad, having eaten the whole side of one of
these fish (which had been cooked and served up to him as a meal)
cast the remaining side back into the sea, whereupon it revived
and commenced swimming about as if nothing had happened, retaining,
however, the shape of a flat fish to the present day.
Cp. the following note in Sale's Translation of the Korân:--
"This miracle is thus related by the commentators. Jesus having, at
the request of his followers, asked it of God, a red table immediately
descended, in their sight, between two clouds, and was set before them,
whereupon he rose up, and having made the ablution, prayed, and then
took off the cloth which covered the table, saying, In the name of
God, the best provider of food. What the provisions were with which
this table was furnished is a matter wherein the expositors are not
agreed. One will have them to be nine cakes of bread and nine fishes;
another, bread and flesh; another, all sorts of food, except flesh;
another, all sorts of food except bread and flesh; another, all
except bread and fish; another, one fish, which had the taste of all
manner of food; and another, fruits of paradise, but the most received
tradition is that when the table was uncovered, there appeared a fish
ready dressed, without scales or prickly fins, dropping with fat,
having salt placed at its head and vinegar at its tail, and round it
all sorts of herbs, except leeks, and five loaves of bread, on one of
which there were olives, on the second honey, on the third butter,
on the fourth, cheese, and on the fifth, dried flesh. They add that
Jesus, at the request of the apostles, showed them another miracle,
by restoring the fish to life, and causing its scales and fins to
return to it, at which the standers-by being affrighted, he caused it
to become as before; that 1300 men and women, all afflicted with bodily
infirmities or poverty, ate of these provisions and were satisfied,
the fish remaining whole as it was at first; that then the table flew
up to heaven in the sight of all; and every one who had partaken of
this food were delivered from their infirmities and misfortunes; and
that it continued to descend for forty days together at dinner-time,
and stood on the ground till the sun declined, and was then taken up
into the clouds. Some of the Mohammedan writers are of opinion that
this table did not really descend, but that it was only a parable;
but most think the words of the Koran are plain to the contrary. A
further tradition is, that several men were changed into swine for
disbelieving this miracle, and attributing it to magic art; or, as
others pretend, for stealing some of the victuals from off it. Several
other fabulous circumstances are also told which are scarce worth
transcribing."--Sale's Korân Trans. ch. v. p. 87, note.
[519] Maxwell in J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 7, p. 26.
[520] The tears of the dugong are believed to be an exceedingly potent
love-charm.--Vide Swettenham, Unaddressed Letters, p. 217.
"Like most nations dwelling near the sea, the Malays have their
mermaids, of which the dugong is the probable origin.--J.I.A.,
i. 9."--Quoted by Denys, Dict. Brit. Mal., s.v. Mermaid.
[521] Vide, however, supra.
[522] Mr. Wray no doubt refers to the b'rudu (tadpole), the upper
half of which is declared by Selangor Malays to develop into a frog
(katak), while the hinder part develops into the ikan lembat.
[523] Sel. Journ. vol. iii. No. 6, p. 93.
[524] Vide App. cclxxiv.
[525] These were trays of the kind called anchak which are used by
the Malays to contain offerings to the spirits. For fuller details,
cp. pp. 414-422, infra.
[526] For details of a similar ceremony, vide pp. 416-418, infra.
[527] The composition of these brushes varies apparently according to
the ceremony which is to be performed. In this case leaves or sprays
of the following plants were used:--
1. Sapenoh.
2. Lenjuang merah (the red Dracæna).
3. Gandarusa.
4. Satawar.
5. Sadingin.
6. Pulut-pulut (?) or Selaguri (?)
7. Mangrove (bakau).
These leaves were tied together with a small creeper called ribu-ribu
(a so-called "female" variety, which is said to have larger leaves
than the "male variety," being used). For further details, vide
Chap. III. pp. 78-80, supra.
[528] The following is a list, as correct as I was able to make it,
of the number and order of the offerings which were thus distributed:--
1. A portion of parched rice.
2. A portion of sweet potatoes.
3. Two (cooked) bananas.
4. Two lepats (small cylindrical rice-bags).
5. Three (cooked) bananas.
6. Two ketupats (small diamond-shaped bags).
7. Three yams (k'ladi).
8. A portion of parched rice.
9. Three short lengths of the stem of the tapioca plant (ubi kayu).
10. Three sweet potatoes.
11. Four sweet potatoes.
12. A portion of uncooked liver (hati).
13. A portion of cooked meat.
14. Four sweet potatoes.
15. Three cooked bananas.
16. Three ketupats.
17. Three (green) bananas.
18. Three ketupats.
19. Three ketupats.
20. Three green bananas.
21. Three green bananas.
22. Three sweet potatoes.
23. Three yams.
24. Three lepats.
25. Three lepats.
26. Two lepats.
27. Five ketupats.
28. Two yams.
29. Two sweet potatoes.
30. One cooked banana.
31. Three handfuls of white pulut rice.
32. Three handfuls of parched rice.
[529] This was one of the tide-braces which are used to strengthen
the stakes, the one used being that on the left hand looking seaward.
[530] Kelong is the name given to one of the kinds of fishing-stakes
(something like weirs) common on the coasts of the Peninsula.
[531] A different Pawang gave me the following (alternative)
instructions:--"When you are about to plant the (first) seaward pole
of the fishing-stakes, take hold of it and say:--
'O Pawang Kisa, Pawang Berima, Si Arjuna, King at Sea,
O Durai, Si Biti is the name of your mother, Si Tanjong (Sir Cape)
that of your father!
In your charge are the points of the capes, in your charge all
borders of the shore,
In your charge, too, are the river bars!
Your mother's place is on the seaward pole, your child's at the
shoreward end of the screens,
Your father's in the tip of the "wings" towards the west.
We be four brothers;
If in truth we be brothers,
Do you lend me your assistance.'
"Here plant the pole, and say:--
'My foot is planted in the very heavens,
My pole rests against the pillar of the firmament.
God lets it down, Muhammad receives it.
Six fathoms to the left, six fathoms to the right,
Do you, O family of three, assist in my maintenance.
May this be granted by God,'" etc.
[532] Jermal is another kind of fish-trap, different from the kelong.
[533] Denys, Descr. Dict. of Brit. Mal., s.v. Fire.
[534] P'landok minta' api,
'Nak membakar bulu mentua-nya.
[535] The Mouse-deer is said to have cursed his mother-in-law,
saying:--"Kalau betul aku pemainan Raja Suleiman angkau bersayap."
[536] Illumination with tiny lamps is also common on feast-days (hari
raya), especially at the end of the Month of Fasting; and the Malays
have to some extent adopted the Chinese penchant for fireworks.
[537] "To return to the elemental spirits, it was explained to me by a
Malay, with whom I discussed the subject at leisure, that apart from
the spirits which are an object of reverence, and which when treated
with proper deference are usually beneficent, there are a variety of
others. To begin with, spirits (the word used on this occasion was
hantu) are of at least two kinds--wild ones, whose normal habitat
is the jungle, and those that are, so to say, domesticated. The
latter, which seem to correspond to what in Western magic are called
'familiars,' vary in character with their owners or the persons to whom
they are attached. Thus in this particular village of Bukit Senggeh,
a few years ago, there was a good deal of alarm on account of the
arrival of two or three strangers believed to be of bad character,
who were supposed to keep a familiar spirit of a peculiarly malignant
disposition, which was in the habit of attacking people in their
sleep by throttling them. One or two cases of this kind occurred,
and it was seriously suggested that I should make the matter the
subject of a magisterial inquiry, which, however, I did not find it
necessary to do. But the familiar spirits are by no means necessarily
evil.... The chief point of importance is to keep these wild spirits
in their proper place, viz. the jungle, and to prevent them taking
up their abode in the villages. For this reason charms are hung up
at the borders of the villages, and whenever a wild spirit breaks
bounds and encroaches on human habitations it is necessary to get
him turned out."--Blagden in J.R.A.S., S.B. No. 29, p. 4.
[538] Vide Klinkert, v.d. Wall, and Pijnappel, sub voce.
[539] This "Bajang" was copied for me by 'Che Sam (for many years Malay
munshi and clerk at Kuala Lumpur, Selangor), from the original which
was posted up on the door of one of his neighbours. The outlines of
the figure are made up from varying combinations of the names "Allah,"
"Muhammad," "`Ali," etc., in the Arabic character.
[540] "In all parts of the Peninsula the Bajang is said to be of
the male gender, while the Langsuir is supposed to be a female. It
is usually believed by Malays that the Bajang is merely a malignant
spirit which haunts mankind, and whose presence foretells disaster. In
Perak and some other parts of the Peninsula, however, the Bajang is
regarded as one of the several kinds of demons which, the Malays hold,
can be enslaved by man and become his familiar spirit. Such familiars,
it is believed, are handed down in certain families as heirlooms. The
master of the familiar is said to keep it imprisoned in a tabong, or
vessel made from a joint of the bamboo, which is closed by a stopper
made from the leaves of the Cotyledon laciniata, the Daun chekar bebek,
or Daun sadingin, as they are variously termed by the Malays. Both
the case and the stopper are prepared by certain magic arts before
they can be employed in this way. The familiar is fed with eggs and
milk. When its master wishes to make use of it he sends it forth to
possess and prey upon the vitals of any one whom his malice may select
as a victim. The individual thus persecuted is at once seized by a
deadly and unaccountable ailment, which can only be cured by magic
agencies. If the Bajang is neglected by its owner, and if the latter
omits to feed it regularly, it is said that he often falls a victim
to his own familiar."--Clifford and Swett., Mal. Dic., s.v. Bajang.
[541] Swett., Mal. Sketches, p. 194, seqq.
[542] Swett., Mal. Sketches, pp. 198, 199.
[543] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 7, p. 28. Cp. "Langsuior, the female
familiar, differs hardly at all from the bâjang, except that she is a
little more baneful, and when under the control of a man he sometimes
becomes the victim of her attractions, and she will even bear him
elfin children."--Swett., Mal. Sketches, p. 198.
[544] "Pontianak" appears to be synonymous with "Mati-anak," which
may perhaps be a shorter form of Mati beranak ("stillborn"); indeed,
one of the charms against the Pontianak which I collected, commenced
with the words, "Pontianak mati beranak."
[545] Mr. Clifford (of Pahang), however, speaks of "that weird little
white animal, the Mati-ânak, that makes beast noises round the graves
of children."--In Court and Kampong, p. 231.
[546] Cp., however, "The Penangal, that horrible wraith of a woman
who has died in childbirth, and who comes to torment small children
in the guise of a fearful face and bust, with many feet of bloody,
trailing entrails in her wake."--Clifford, loc. cit.
"He (Mr. M.) said, 'Very well then, tell me about the penanggalan
only, I should like to hear it and to write it down in English so
that Europeans may know how foolish those persons are who believe in
such things.' I then drew a picture representing a woman's head and
neck only, with the intestines hanging down. Mr. M. caused this to be
engraved on wood by a Chinese, and inserted it with the story belonging
to it in a publication called the Anglo-Chinese Gleaner. And I said,
'Sir, listen to the account of the penanggalan. It was originally
a woman. She used the magic arts of a devil in whom she believed,
and she devoted herself to his service night and day until the
period of her agreement with her teacher had expired and she was
able to fly. Her head and neck were then loosened from the body, the
intestines being attached to them, and hanging down in strings. The
body remained where it was. Wherever the person whom it was wished
to injure happened to live, thither flew the head and bowels to suck
his blood, and the person whose blood was sucked was sure to die. If
the blood and water which dripped from the intestines touched any
person, serious illness immediately followed and his body broke out
in open sores. The penanggalan likes to suck the blood of women in
childbirth. For this reason it is customary at all houses where a
birth occurs to hang up jeruju (A kind of thistle.) leaves at the
doors and windows, or to place thorns wherever there is any blood,
lest the penanggalan should come and suck it, for the penanggalan has,
it seems, a dread of thorns in which her intestines may happen to get
caught. It is said that a penanggalan once came to a man's house in
the middle of the night to suck his blood, and her intestines were
caught in some thorns near the hedge, and she had to remain there
until daylight, when the people saw and killed her.
"'The person who has the power of becoming a penanggalan always
keeps at her house a quantity of vinegar in a jar or vessel of some
kind. The use of this is to soak the intestines in, for when they issue
forth from the body they immediately swell up and cannot be put back,
but after being soaked in vinegar they shrink to their former size
and enter the body again. There are many people who have seen the
penanggalan flying along with its entrails dangling down and shining
at night like fire-flies.
"'Such is the story of the penanggalan as I have heard it from my
forefathers but I do not believe it in the least. God forbid that I
should.'"--Hikayat Abdullah, p. 143.
[547] "The origin of the Polong is this:--The blood of a murdered
man must be taken and placed in a bottle (buli-buli, a bottle having
a spherical or wide body and a long narrow neck). Then prayers are
said over it, and something or other is read, I don't know what, but
it has to be learnt. After seven days of this worship, according to
some people, or after twice seven days according to others, a sound is
heard in the bottle like the chirping of young birds. The operator then
cuts his finger and inserts it into the bottle and the Polong sucks
it. The person who thus supports the Polong is called his father,
or, if it happens to be a woman, she is his mother. Every day the
parent feeds it with his (or her) blood. The object of doing this
and the advantage to be gained from it are these:--if he entertains
a feeling of anger against any one he orders the Polong to go and
afflict him, that is to say, to cause him pain or sickness; or if a
third person is at enmity with another he goes in secret to the person
who keeps the Polong, and gives him a sum of money to send the Polong
to attack the person against whom he bears ill-will. This is the use
of it. The person who is tormented by the Polong, whether a virgin,
or a married woman, or a man, cries out and loses consciousness of
what he (or she) is doing, and tears and throws off his (or her)
clothing, biting and striking the people near, blind and deaf to
everything, and does all sorts of other things. Wise men are called
in to prescribe remedies; some come and chant formulas over the
head of the patient, others pinch his thumb and apply medicines
to it. When the remedy is successful the sick person cries out,
'Let me go, I want to go home.' The doctor replies, 'I will not let
you go if you do not make known who it is that has sent you here,
and why you have come, and who are your father and mother.' Sometimes
he (the Polong in the patient) remains silent and will not confess
or give the names of his parents; sometimes he confesses, and says
'Let me go, my father is such-a-one and lives at such-and-such a
kampong, and my mother is so-and-so. The reason that I have come
here is that such-a-one came to my parents and asked for their aid,
and gave them a sum of money because he bore ill-will against this
person' (or whatever the reason may have been). Sometimes he makes
a false statement, and mentions entirely wrong persons in order to
conceal the names of his parents. As soon as the people know the
name of the person who has contrived the attack and the reason, they
let him go, and the sick person at once recovers his consciousness,
but he is left weak and feeble. When a Polong attacks a person and
will confess nothing, the person who is attacked shrieks and yells
in anger, and after a day or two he dies. After death blood pours
forth bubbling (ber-kopak-kopak) from the mouth, and the whole body
is blue with bruises."--Hikayat Abdullah, p. 143. Notes and Queries,
S.B.R.A.S. No. 4, sec. 98, issued with No. 17 of the Journal.
[548] Merepet kata kuching.
[549] Cp. Clifford, In Court and Kampong, pp. 230-244. "Pôlong and
pelsit are but other names for bâjang, the latter is chiefly used
in the state of Kedah, where it is considered rather chic to have
a pelsit. A Kedah lady the other day, eulogising the advantage of
possessing a familiar spirit (she said that, amongst other things, it
gave her absolute control over her husband and the power of annoying
people who offended her), thus described the method of securing this
useful ally:--
"'You go out,' she said, 'on the night before the full moon, and
stand with your back to the moon, and your face to an ant-hill, so
that your shadow falls on the ant-hill. Then you recite certain jampi
(incantations), and bending forward try to embrace your shadow. If
you fail, try again several times, repeating more incantations. If
not successful, go the next night and make a further effort, and the
night after, if necessary--three nights in all. If you cannot then
catch your shadow, wait till the same day on the following month and
renew the attempt. Sooner or later you will succeed, and, as you stand
there in the brilliance of the moonlight, you will see that you have
drawn your shadow into yourself, and your body will never again cast
a shade. Go home, and in the night, whether sleeping or waking, the
form of a child will appear before you and put out its tongue; that
seize, and it will remain while the rest of the child disappears. In
a little while the tongue will turn into something that breathes,
a small animal, reptile, or insect, and when you see the creature
has life put it in a bottle and the pelsit is yours.'
"It sounds easy enough, and one is not surprised to hear that every
one in Kedah, who is anybody, keeps a pelsit." Swett., Malay Sketches,
pp. 197, 198.
[550] No less than seven "Bidans," it is said, were formerly
requisitioned at the birth of a Raja's child, and occasions when
even nine are mentioned are to be met with in Malay romances. The
most general custom, however, seems to have been to summon seven
"Bidans" only, the number being possibly due to the Malay theory of
a sevenfold soul (v. Soul). The profession was an honourable one,
and the Bidans received the title of "Dato' (abbreviated to 'Toh)
Bidan"; but if the child of a Raja happened to die, the Bidan who
was adjudged to be responsible paid the penalty with her life.
[551] Vide also N. & Q. No. 3, sec. 65, issued with J.R.A.S., S.B.,
No. 16.
[552] If the betel-leaf adheres to the cherana it is a bad sign
(uri melekat tiada mahu k'luar).
[553] Vide p. 551, infra.
[554] Vide App. clxxxiv.
[555] So, too, in the report of the Dutch Expedition to Mid-Sumatra,
vol. i. p. 266, it is stated that delivery took place "in a sitting
posture."
[556] T'rong asam.
[557] One account says that the Penanggalan (or Manjang,
i.e. Pemanjangan another name for her) if she comes will be caught in
this snare, and that next morning when the fowls are let loose out of
the fowl-house they will peck at the sac of her stomach to get at its
contents. Thus she will be detected, and can be punished by having
her stomach filled up with ground glass and sherds of earthenware,
which will kill her in about seven days' time!
[558] When the "sickness" is severe, the Bidan draws upon her almost
inexhaustible stock of Malay charms, a specimen of which will be
found in the Appendix. Salt and asam are taken (apparently by the
Bidan?) into the mouth (di-kemam asam garam) while the selected charm
is repeated.
[559] Vide McNair, Perak and the Malays, p. 231. "The children of
the Malays are received into the world quite in religious form,
prayer being said, and the Azan or Allah Akbar pronounced by the
father with his lips close to the tender infant's ear." The bang,
according to 'Che Sam, a Malay pandit of Kuala Lumpor, ran somewhat as
follows:--Allahu Akbar (twice), ashahadun la-ilaha-illa-'llah (twice),
ashahadun Muhammad al-Rasul Allah (twice), hei `Ali al-saleh (twice),
hei `Ali al-faleh (twice), Allahu akbar (twice), la-ilaha-illa-'llah
(twice); and the kamat as follows:--
Allahu akbar (twice), ashahadun la-ilaha-illa-'llah, ashahadun
Muhammad al-Rasul Allah. Hei `Ali al-saleh, hei `Ali al-faleh, kad
kamat al-salata (twice), la-ilaha-illa-'llah.
[560] Vide App. cl.
[561] Mr. H. N. Ridley, Director of Gardens and Forests at Singapore,
in a pamphlet on Malay Materia Medica (dated 1894) describes a somewhat
similar ceremony as follows:--
"When a child suffers from sampuh pachut, that is to say, when it
persistently cries and will not take its food, it is treated in the
following way: the leaves of Hedyotis congesta, Br., a tall jungle
weed, known as Lida Jin [lidah jin, lit. Demon's Tongue] or Poko'
Sampuh Pachut, are boiled with some other leaves till one-third of
the liquor is evaporated, and the decoction exposed to the dew for
a night, and the child is bathed with it; or a quantity of road-side
rubbish, dead-leaves, sticks, chewed sugar-cane, etc. is boiled and
the child is bathed in the liquid (it is washed afterwards), and
it is then smoked over a fire consisting of a nest of a weaver-bird
(sarang tampur), the skin of a bottle-gourd (labu), and a piece of
wood which has been struck by lightning."
[562] Kur, semangat Muhammad ini! Kur, semangat Fatimah ini!
[563] Vide pp. 353-355, infra.
[564] Of the Pahang customs Mr. Clifford writes:--
"Umat rushes off to the most famous midwife in the place, and presents
her with a little brass dish filled with smooth green sîrih leaves, and
sixpence of our money (25 cents) in copper, for such is the retaining
fee prescribed by Malay custom. The recipient of these treasures
is thereafter held bound to attend the patient whenever she may be
called upon to do so, and when the confinement is over she can claim
other moneys in payment of her services. These latter fees are not
ruinously high, according to our standard, two dollars being charged
for attending a woman in her first confinement, a dollar or a dollar
and a half on the next occasion, and twenty-five, or at the most fifty
cents being deemed sufficient for each subsequent event."--Clifford,
Studies in Brown Hum., pp. 47, 48.
[565] To each corner of this hearth is fastened a bunch of lemon-grass
leaves, each of which is separately charmed by ejecting betel-leaf
upon it (di-sembor); at the same time a pillow is prepared for it
by the insertion of a needle at each end. The fire (api saleian) is
always lighted by the Bidan, and must never be allowed to go out for
the whole of the 44 days. To light it the Bidan should take a brand
from the house-fire (api dapor), and when it is once properly kindled,
nothing must be cooked at it, or the child will suffer. Moreover,
whenever during this same period there happens to be a hen sitting
on its eggs in the house, the blades of weapons, such as daggers
(k'risses) and spears, must not be reset in their handles (membalau)
either over the hearth-fire or the fire of the saleian.
[566] J. D. Vaughan in vol. xi. of J.I.A.
Cp. the following passage:--
"Later, comes a day when Selema nearly loses her life by reason of
the barbarities which Malay science considers necessary if a woman is
to win through her confinement without mishap."--Clifford, Stud. in
Br. Hum., p. 51.
[567] The following methods are resorted to for the curing of
faintness: (a) the patient is made to smell (di-isapkan), first with
one and then with the other nostril, the bottom of the copper (or
brass) receptacle (pekaporan) in which the lime, which is one of the
invariable concomitants of the betel-chewing apparatus, is kept; (b)
the "rattan" (rotan sega) "cure," which is said to consist in charring
the end of a piece of rattan (rotan sega), taking the burnt end in
the mouth, and blowing the smoke into the patient's ear (di-embuskan).
[568] Clifford, Stud. in Brown Hum., pp. 48-50.
[569] The following is the list of actual ingredients so far as I
could ascertain them: bark of the jambus, sentul, b'ruas, rambutan,
kachang kayu, 'leban, dedap, petaling, rambei, lawang, kayu manis,
serapat, and memp'las hari; and the following herbs, roots, or spices,
such as kunyit t'rus, lada hitam, bawang puteh, bawang merah, chingkeh
pala, buah pelaga, katumbar, jemuju Jawa, jemuju kersani, chabei tali,
chabei pintal, changkoh, sudu ayer, mur daging, mur tulang, pekak,
jintan puteh, jintan hitam, manjakani, manjarawai or menjelawai (?),
akar manis, biji sawi, jadam, puchok ganti, mesur, alim, mustakim,
chuchor atap, kemukus, and kadekai.
[570] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 7, p. 19.
[571] Clifford, Stud. in Brown Hum., p. 51.
[572] Lit. "sharpening of the teeth."
[573] Lit. "heirs" (warith), but often, as here, used in the sense
of representative members of the family.
[574] The leaf-brush in this case consisted of leaves of the sapenoh,
pulut-pulut, sapanggil, sambau dara, and selaguri, and was bound up
with ribu-ribu (a kind of creeper).
[575] Into this egg, it is supposed, all evil influences proceeding
from the teeth enter. Hence it is regarded after the ceremony as
sial (unlucky), and cannot be eaten--indeed it is considered "bad"
(temb'lang).
[576] Besides the tray containing the articles described, there
stood at one side of the room what is called a dulang-dulang. This
consists of a tray full of unhusked rice surmounted by a tray full
of husked rice and a roughly-husked cocoa-nut (niyor gubalan) which
rests upon the latter. The pointed top of the cocoa-nut referred to is
encircled by a hank of "Java" thread (benang Jawa), which is said to
avert injury to the tooth-filer's eyes whenever, as sometimes happens,
the evil influence (badi) issues from the teeth. This dulang-dulang is
valued at a quarter of a dollar, and is taken as part payment of the
tooth-filer's services, or it may be retained by the householder when
the full fee of fifty cents is paid. This dulang-dulang is thought,
moreover, to dispel evil influences (membuang sial), the hank of
yarn being used by the Pawang to wipe his eyes should any harm to
them accrue from evil influences residing in the teeth. Such evil
influences (badi), however, can only accrue when people are having
their teeth filed for the first time (orang bungaran).
[577] Vide App. cli.
[578] Vide App. cliii.
[579] Vide App. clv.
[580] "Both sexes have the extraordinary custom of filing and
otherwise disfiguring their teeth, which are naturally very white
and beautiful, from the simplicity of their food. For files they make
use of small whetstones, and the patients lie on their backs during
the operation. Many, particularly the women of the Lampong country,
have their teeth rubbed down quite even with the gums; others have
them formed in points, and some file off no more than the outer coat
and extremities in order that they may the better receive and retain
the jetty blackness with which they almost universally adorn them. The
black used on these occasions is the empyreumatic oil of the cocoa-nut
shell. When this is not applied the filing does not, by destroying
what we term the enamel, diminish the whiteness of the teeth.... The
great men sometimes set theirs in gold by casing with a plate of that
metal the under row; and this ornament, contrasted with the black dye,
has, by lamp or candle light, a very splendid effect. It is sometimes
indented to the shape of the teeth, but more usually quite plain. They
do not remove it either to eat or sleep."--Marsden, Hist. of Sumatra
(ed. 1811), pp. 52, 53.
[581] The oil used for this purpose is also obtained by burning the
leaves of the lime-tree (Clifford and Swett., Mal. Dict., s.v. Bâja)
or (in Selangor) the wood of certain trees, such as the jambu biawas
and mer'poyan.
[582] "At the age of about eight or nine they bore the ears and file
the teeth of the female children; which are ceremonies that must
necessarily precede their marriage. The former they call betende,
and the latter bedabong; and these operations are regarded in the
family as the occasion of a festival. They do not here, as in some of
the adjacent islands (of Nias in particular), increase the aperture
of the ear to a monstrous size, so as in many instances to be large
enough to admit the hand, the lower parts being stretched till they
touch the shoulders. Their ear-rings are mostly of gold filagree, and
fastened, not with a clasp, but in the manner of a rivet or nut screwed
to the inner part."--Marsden, Hist. of Sumatra (ed. 1811), p. 53.
[583] The formula (shahadat) used by the Mudim (tukang memotong)
runs as follows:--
"Ashahadun la-ilaha-illa-'llah wa ashahadun Muhammad al-Rasul Allah
allahumma aja`lni mina 'l-tawabina wa aja`lni mina 'l-matatahirrina."
[584] Some of these charms are also Love-charms, vide App. clxv.
[585] Vide App. clxiii.
[586] Ibid.
[587] Ibid.
[588] Sa-hari bulan.
[589] Awan di-tulis.
[590] Bentok taji.
[591] Pauh di-layang.
[592] Kuntum melor belum kembang.
[593] Ikal mayang.
[594] Jinjang.
[595] Getak (ketak) tiga.
[596] Bidang.
[597] Ramping saperti tangkei bunga.
[598] Tombak serai.
[599] Duri landak.
[600] Chahia bintang Zuhrah.
[601] Dalima mer'kah.
[602] Vide App. clxxv.
[603] The youth's representatives had further the right to interview
the girl, and personally assure themselves that she was "without
blemish and without spot." This interview passed by the name of the
"Inspection of the Buffalo-calf," and was conducted somewhat as
follows:--When the youth's representatives (the Wooing Party) go to
inspect the girl, one of them says--
"See how fruitful are the satela yams,
Where the hills of Bantan rise by the sea;
I know not whether good luck or calamity will follow it,
But my heart turns towards you."
Here one of the girl's representatives says, "Look well at this
buffalo-calf of mine that has been allowed to forage for itself. Maybe
its coat is torn, its limbs broken, or its sight lost." The youth's
representative, if all is satisfactory, then replies--
"The sun being so high,
The buffalo-calf will die if tethered;
This long while have I been prosecuting my search,
But not till to-day did I meet with what I wanted."
[604] Diamond, i.e. the girl about whom the wooing party has come
to treat.
[605] The kati is the "Indian" pound (1 1/3 pound avoir.), and the
tahil is its sixteenth part. The phrase sakati lima is explained by
Klinkert as an elliptical expression = sa-keti lima laksa, i.e. 150,000
cash (pitis). Vide Kl. sub voce.
[606] i.e. when the sago is being extracted from the stem.
[607] The native substitute for a rowlock.
[608] Lit. indigo.
[609] This line is obscure, the word "bingku" (which I have translated
rim, on the supposition that it may be merely a longer form of biku),
not appearing in any dictionary. The next line also is not quite
clear, but it would appear to mean "let us make sacrifice," rice
stained with saffron being always used sacrificially.
[610] In Denys' Descriptive Dictionary of British Malaya, under the
word "Marriage," we find:--
"The only terms for marriage in Malay are the Arabic and Persian ones,
respectively nikah and kahwin, the native ones having probably been
displaced by these and forgotten."
Both these words are used in Selangor, the first (nikah), which
properly signifies the mere ceremony or "wedding," being more commonly
used by the better class of Malays than the more comprehensive kahwin,
which corresponds pretty nearly to the English word "marriage." Words
describing the married state with reference to one of the parties only,
however, are in frequent use: such as the bersuami and beristri of
the higher classes, and the berlaki and berbini of the common people;
and yet again there is the word berumah-rumah, which is applied
indifferently to either of the two parties or to both, and is the
politest word that can be used with reference to the common people,
but is never applied to Rajas, in whose case bersuami and beristri
alone are used.
I may add, on the authority of Mr. H. Conway Belfield, lately
Acting-Resident of Selangor, that a curious periphrastic expression is
sometimes used by Perak women in talking of their husbands, whom they
call rumah tangga, which literally means "House and House-ladder," and
which is tantamount to saying, "My household," instead of "My husband."
[611] I remember Mr. C. H. A. Turney (then Senior District Officer at
Klang) telling me of a great disturbance that arose at Klang because
too many of these big pillows were being used at a Malay wedding. Order
was only restored by the intervention of the police.
[612] A hasta is the length of the forearm from the elbow to the tip
of the middle finger, or about eighteen inches.
[613] There is, I believe, a special ceremony connected with the
opening of this curtain which is performed by the bridegroom after
the wedding ceremony, special cakes, called "curtain-openers" (kueh
pembuka k'lambu), being eaten.
[614] C. and S. give--"Bun (Dutch), a large tin or copper box for
tobacco or sirih leaves--Van der Tuuk." "Bun" is given as a "trunk"
in a Dutch Dictionary.
[615] This is called main zikir--or, more commonly, jikir--maulud
if it is unaccompanied, and zikir berdah if accompanied by musical
instruments.
[616] Tepong tawar, or "Neutralising Paste," is believed
to avert ill-luck (membuang sial); for further details vide
Chap. III. pp. 77-81, supra.
[617] Not at a Raja's wedding.
[618] This ceremony is also called menyelang or berlebat.
[619] One of these fillets, which was purchased by the writer, had
for its pattern two dragons (naga), which looked different ways,
and a couple of butterflies as pendants at each end. The substitute
used by poor people is frequently manufactured from the leaf of the
thatch-palm (nipah).
[620] According to v. d. Wall this plant is Carthamus tinctorius.
[621] A weight used for weighing the precious metals. According
to C. and S. Dict., s.v. Bûngkal, it is equal to 822 grains troy;
according to Maxwell, Manual of the Mal. Lang., p. 141, to 832.
[622] The mast with its branches carrying artificial flowers,
streamers, and coloured eggs, appears to be emblematic of a fruit-tree,
the eggs representing the fruit, the artificial blossoms its flowers,
and the streamers its leaves.
[623] For instance, in reply to an appeal from the Bride's Relations
to "take into account the duty which is the custom of the country,"
one of the Bridegroom's Relations would repeat the following:--
"Even the woodpecker knows how to fly,
And how much more the lory;
Even my grandsire's commands I take into account,
And how much more the duty imposed by the State."
[624] It is said that this is a departure from the old custom,
according to which the wedding ceremony took place the day before the
procession (except at the re-marriage of a widow who has no children,
kahwin janda berhias). In the case of the re-marriage of a widow who
has no children by her former husband there is no procession at all,
and the ceremonies are somewhat abridged. I may add that a childless
widow has the subang (ear-rings which are the symbol of virginity)
tied on to her ears. Vide p. 360, supra.
[625] A couple of matronly ladies are generally told off for this
service, the ceremony being as follows:--
1. They raise first the man and then the woman slowly to a standing
posture; when it is reached the bridegroom says to the bride, "Take
heed, care for thy husband, care for my good name, care for me"
(Baik-baik jaga laki awak, jaga nama sahya, jagakan aku); to this
the bride responds in a similar strain, mutatis mutandis, and they
are then as slowly re-seated.
2. They are similarly raised, and repeat as before, in turn, the words,
"Assuredly I will not do thee any shame whatever" (Sahya ta'buleh
buat satu apa kamaluan di-atas awak).
3. When raised for the third and last time they say, "I ask the Lord
God to give us both long life, and that all our handiwork may prosper"
(Sahya minta' kapada Tuhan Allah bersama-sama panjang `umor, samua
kerja dengan salamat).
[626] It used to be considered an insult to omit offering one of these
eggs to a guest, so much so, that I was assured that in former days
a woman whose husband had been thus slighted would have a right to
sue for a divorce.
[627] The Kathi is an official having superintendence over several
mosques and jurisdiction in matters connected with marriage, divorce,
and ecclesiastical affairs generally. The Imam is the chief elder of
one mosque.
[628] There is a difference between b'lanja and mas kahwin, the former
usually meaning the wedding expenses, the latter the dower; at least
this is the Malacca terminology, which probably also obtains elsewhere.
[629] The descendant of one of the four great Chiefs (Orang Besar
ber-ampat) of Selangor.
[630] Ex-Prime Minister of Perak.
[631] Sireh or sirih, the betel leaf.
[632] The Bilal is an elder of the mosque; in western Muhammadan
countries he is styled Muezzin.
[633] Selangor Journal, vol. i. No. 2, p. 23.
[634] Probably this should be 4th.
[635] He was of Arab extraction. But wearing clothes in the Arab
fashion is not unusual even in the case of purely Malay bridegrooms.
[636] Selangor Journal, vol. iv. No. 2, pp. 23-5. The list of presents
sent by friends on this occasion included buffaloes, a bullock, goats,
spices, plate, and jewellery.
[637] Sir William Maxwell in N. and Q., No. 4, sec. 91, issued with
No. 17 of the J.R.A.S., S.B.
[638] "At their funerals the corpse is carried to the place of
interment on a broad plank, which is kept for the public service
of the dusun, and lasts for generations. It is constantly rubbed
with lime, either to preserve it from decay or to keep it pure. No
coffin is made use of, the body being simply wrapped in white cloth,
particularly of the sort called hummums. In forming the grave (kubur),
after digging to a convenient depth they make a cavity in the side,
at bottom, of sufficient dimensions to contain the body, which is
there deposited on its right side. By this mode the earth literally
lies light upon it; and the cavity, after strewing flowers in it,
they stop up by two boards fastened angularly to each other, so that
the one is on the top of the corpse, whilst the other defends it on
the open side, the edge resting on the bottom of the grave. The outer
excavation is then filled up with earth; and little white flags, or
streamers, are stuck in order around. They likewise plant a shrub,
bearing a white flower, called kumbangkamboja (Plumeria obtusa),
and in some places wild marjoram. The women who attend the funeral
make a hideous noise, not much unlike the Irish howl. On the third
and seventh day the relations perform a ceremony at the grave, and at
the end of twelve months that of tegga batu, or setting up a few long
elliptical stones, at the head and foot, which, being scarce in some
parts of the country, bear a considerable price. On this occasion they
kill and feast on a buffalo, and leave the head to decay on the spot,
as a token of the honour they have done to the deceased in eating to
his memory. The ancient burying-places are called krammat, and are
supposed to have been those of the holy men by whom their ancestors
were converted to the faith. They are held in extraordinary reverence,
and the least disturbance or violation of the ground, though all
traces of the graves be obliterated, is regarded as an unpardonable
sacrilege,"--Marsden, Hist. of Sumatra (ed. 1811), pp. 287, 288.
[639] The explanation usually given by Malays is that the betel-nut
scissors symbolise iron. Short weapons are sometimes substituted.
[640] Tradition says that formerly the corpse was watched for three
days before burial, and that sometimes it was kept for a week or
even a longer period. One Raja S'nei is reported to have been kept
40 days in her coffin above ground! It is also stated that before
the introduction of Muhammadanism the dead were burned.
It is still the custom to keep both the hearth-fire (api dapor) and
lamps (palita) burning not only for so long as the corpse may be in the
house, but for seven days and nights after occurrence of the death. It
is also the custom to open the sick person's mosquito-curtain when
death is approaching, and in some cases, at all events, the dying
are taken out of their beds and laid upon the floor. I may add that
the material for fumigation (perabun) is placed upon the hearth-fire
after death, to scare away the evil spirits, just as salt is thrown
upon the fire during a thunderstorm, in order that it may counteract
the explosions of thunder (membalas petir), and thus drive away the
demons who are believed to be casting the thunderbolts.
[641] The kati is a weight equivalent to 1 1/3 lb. avoirdupois.
[642] The form found in most dictionaries is banchoh or banchuh.
[643] Whence the expression "charik kapan," which means literally to
tear the shroud (i.e. to tear off the selvage of the shroud, and not
to tear off a piece of cloth to form the shroud).
[644] Cubit, the length of the forearm.
[645] The short motto which usually heads Malay letters.
[646] I may add that in pre-Muhammadan days certain articles are said
to have been buried with the corpse, viz. "b'ras sa-p'riok, asam,
garam," together with (in the case of a man) rough wooden models of
the deceased's weapons.
[647] Tradition says that originally one grave-post (nisan) was used,
and that the earlier form of a tomb was a circular mound with a single
grave-post in the centre. It is said that such mounds were formerly
used in Sungei Ujong, but I am unable to say if this is so. Sultan
Zeinal `Abidin of Johor is also described as having a tomb of this
description at Kota Tinggi.
[648] This notion probably arose from an erroneous idea of etymological
connection between the words talkin and bertelku.
[649] Of course if the karanda is used the bands have to be removed
before it is nailed down. On their removal these bands are handed to
the next-of-kin, who tear them up and plait the strips into a rough
sort of bracelet, which they wear as long as it lasts in memory of
the deceased. Little children are made to pass thrice underneath
the karanda of their parents when it is first lifted in the chamber,
"to prevent them from pining for the deceased."
[650] From observing a good many of these grave-posts in different
localities, I should be inclined to suppose that the grave-post used
for men had been evolved from a phallic emblem, whilst that used for
women occasionally assumes a rude resemblance to a human being.
[651] Newbold, Malacca, vol. ii. p. 352.
[652] As to the titles Bomor and Pawang, see Chapter III. p. 56, note.
[653] There are, it need hardly be said, innumerable charms and
talismans which are valued by the Malays for their supposed efficacy in
preventing disease; there are also an immense number of short charms
(often mere texts from the Koran) which are considered invaluable
for checking minor ailments. It being impossible, however, in the
scope of this work to give specimens of the entire "materia medica"
of the Malays, examples of the more important branches only are given.
[654] The Pawang may either effect this himself, by luring the evil
spirits out of the sick person's body into some object, such as an egg,
a substituted image or scapegoat (tukar ganti), a "Spirit-Hall," or
spirit-boat, in which the evil spirits are carried out of the house
and got rid of; or else he may induce a stronger spirit, e.g., the
Tiger Spirit (vide infra), to enter into his own person, and assist
him in the task of evicting the offender.
[655] Jikalau sa-rasi dengan aku, mengadap-lah angkau, asap, kapada'ku,
kalau ta' sa-rasi, melintang-lah 'kau dengan aku, atau ka kiri,
atau ka kanan.
[656] Kur! Semangat Si Anu ka-tujoh-nya! Mari-lah kita bersama-sama
ini, Tengo'kan ubat, semangat Si Anu!
[657] If ashore, it is usually suspended from a tree. If at sea,
from a wooden tripod, or a projecting pole affixed to the seaward
end of a fishing-stake.
[658] Another method is described by Messrs. Clifford and Swettenham
(vide their Malay Dictionary, s.v. Anchak) as follows: "The (anchak
perbingkas) is fastened to the end of a branch, which is pulled
down almost to the ground, and held there while the medicine-man goes
through his incantation or invocation, after which it is allowed to fly
up, and all the things on it are scattered by this means," but it is
not yet clear to which class this use of the anchak should be referred.
[659] Some of them are enumerated under Fishing Ceremonies, pp. 311
seqq., supra. See also pp. 76, 257, 260.
[660] Vide App. xii.
[661] So called in Malay (tali penggantong); they consist of the four
cords which start from the four corners of the tray respectively,
and are carried up to meet at a point some two or three feet above
the centre of the tray, from which point upwards a single cord only
is used.
[662] Ketupat and lepat. There were fourteen of each kind of bag,
the ketupats being diamond-shaped and the lepats cylindrical. Each
set of fourteen bags contains seven portions of cooked and seven
portions of uncooked food. Vide also supra.
[663] Abong = full to overflowing; cp. merabong, etc.
[664] As to these stones, vide p. 274, supra.
[665] Kalau kena kelingking, k'rat-lah kelingking, kalau kena daun
dayong, di-chatok-nya, champak-lah dayong. Numerous sea-snakes do, as a
fact, exist in the seas of the Malay Peninsula and Archipelago. They
are all, I believe, venomous. Vide Miscell. Papers relating to
Indo-China, First Series, vol. ii. pp. 226-238.
[666] Ipoh ra`yat laut, kalau kena sa-orang di-sandarkan sa-orang,
mati sampei tujoh orang bersandar.
[667] Supposed to be identical with Lukmanu-'l-hakim, a mysterious
person mentioned in the Koran. Vide Hughes, Dict. of Islam,
s.v. Luqman.
[668] For the Wild Huntsman, vide Birds and Bird-charms,
Chap. V. pp. 113-120, supra.
[669] Apparently v. d. W. means the fascination which a tiger has for
its prey. In Selangor this fascination is called g'run or pengg'run
in the case of a tiger, and badi only in the case of a snake--the
person affected by it being said to be kena g'run or kena badi,
as the case may be.
[670] Vide App. lx., lxxii., lxxix. The different names under which
"Badi" is invoked are worth noting; e.g. "Badiyu, Mak Badi, Badi
Panji, Mak Buta," in an elephant-charm (App. lx.); and again "Ah
Badi, Mak Badi" in a deer-charm (v. App. lxxii.), and in a later
deer-charm, "Hei Badi Serang, Badi Mak Buta, Si Panchur, Mak Tuli"
(v. App. lxxix.), and again "Sang Marak, Sang Badi" (v. App. lxxix.),
and "Jembalang Badi" (v. App. lxxx.). I may remark that Sabaliyu is
given by Logan in the J. I. A. vol. i. p. 263, as meaning a deer
in the Camphor Language (bhasa kapor or pantang kapor) of Johor,
and this word was afterwards confirmed by Mr. D. F. A. Hervey.
[671] Influence of the Breath in Healing.--In Notes and Queries, No. 1,
p. 24, a Malay bomor, or doctor, is described as blowing upon something
to be used as medicine. Breathing upon sick persons and upon food,
water, medicines, etc., to be administered to them is a common ceremony
among Malay doctors and midwives. The following note would seem to
show that the Malays have learnt it from their Muhammadan teachers:--
"Healing by the breath [Arab. Nafahal, breathings, benefits,
the Heb. Neshamah, opp. to Nephest (soul), and Ruach (spirit)]
is a popular idea throughout the East, and not unknown to Western
magnetists and mesmerists. The miraculous cures of the Messiah were,
according to Moslems, mostly performed by aspiration. They hold that in
the days of Isa, physic had reached its highest development, and that
his miracles were mostly miracles of medicine; whereas in Mohammed's
time eloquence had attained its climax, and, accordingly, his miracles
were those of eloquence, as shown in the Koran and Ahadis."--The Book
of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Burton, vol. v. p. 30.--Notes
and Queries, J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 4, sec. 92, issued with No. 17.
[672] Vide pp. 569-574, infra.
[673] Vide pp. 418 seqq., supra.
Strictly speaking, money (which is called batu-batu lanchang or
lanchang stones) should always form part of them. In Kedah three
kenderi (one kenderi amounting to three cents) are said to be used;
in Perak three wang, and in Selangor three duits (cents).
[674] I believe this usually takes place immediately after the
ceremony, but one medicine-man whom I knew ('Che Amal of Jugra)
used to keep the boat into which the spirits were thought to have
entered until the patient recovered, and then set it adrift. When
the medicine-man is launching it, he takes the boat in both hands,
and repeatedly gives it a rotatory movement towards the left (as if
he were using a sieve), and repeats the charm. A small portion of each
dish deposited in the lanchang has to be carried back to the patient's
house, and there administered to the patient, together with water
scooped up in a bowl from underneath the lanchang as it lay in the
water before drifting away. As the sick man receives the offerings,
the person who administers them says, addressing the spirit of evil,
"Here is your wage, return not back here unto So-and-So; and cause him
to be sick no more," and the spirit replies through the man's mouth,
"I will never return."
[675] Arong also means "to cross the water," and there may be some
doubt as to the precise meaning of this line. See the original in
App. cciv.
[676] i.e. the Crocodile-spirit (vide pp. 286 (note), 298, supra.)
[677] In this connection it may be added that there are sundry medical
"taboos" in use on various occasions: e.g. it is sometimes forbidden
to enter the house where the sick man lies or to approach it by a
particular path, and a string, with cocoa-nut leaves hung on it, is
often drawn across the path as an indication of such prohibition. The
fine for breaking such a taboo (langgar gawar-gawar) was "half a
bhara," or in the case of a Raja "two bharas."
[678] Swettenham, Malay Sketches, pp. 153-159. Another excellent
account, also by an eye-witness, of a similar ceremony will be found
in J.R.A.S. S.B., No. 12, pp. 222-232.
[679] Studies in Brown Humanity, p. 46.
[680] Bintang, a star, means "the eye" in Malay ghost language.
[681] About 5/6 lb. avoirdupois.
[682] A maiam is 1/16th of a bungkal and equal to 52 grains.
[683] The peeling-knife (pisau raut) is mentioned because it is dreaded
by the demons, who hurt themselves (it is alleged) by treading on
one end of it, when, owing to its curved blade, the other end flies
up and wounds them. Such spirits as the Wild Huntsman are specially
mentioned as being afraid of it. Vide p. 118, supra.
[684] Swettenham, Malay Sketches, pp. 208-210.
[685] This is a description of Malay dancing from the European point
of view; the reason of the "undoubted fascination which it has for the
Malays" being no doubt the fact that for them it has a real meaning,
which by Europeans (like that of the Malay four-rhymed stanza or
pantun) is quite inadequately understood.
[686] In 1875.
[687] The attitude is that obtained by transferring the body directly
from a kneeling to a sitting position.
[688] Swettenham, Malay Sketches, ch. vii. pp. 44-52.
[689] This dance is said to be borrowed from the Arabs.
[690] Newbold, Malacca, vol. ii. p. 179.
[691] "I have said that all birds fight more or less, but birds are
not alone in this. The little, wide-mouthed, goggled-eyed fishes,
which Malay ladies keep in bottles and old kerosine tins, fight
like demons. Goats sit up and strike with their cloven hoofs, and
butt and stab with their horns. The silly sheep canter gaily to the
battle, deliver thundering blows on one another's foreheads, and then
retire and charge once more. The impact of their horny foreheads is
sufficient to reduce a man's hand to a shapeless pulp should it find
its way between the combatants' skulls. Tigers box like pugilists,
and bite like French school-boys; and buffaloes fight clumsily,
violently, and vindictively, after the manner of their kind."--In
Court and Kampong, p. 52.
[692] Ibid. pp. 54-61.
[693] Ibid. pp. 48-52.
[694] Sic, correctly Kenantan.
[695] Sic, better Bangkas.
[696] Sic, correctly Belurang.
[697] Sic, correctly K'labu.
[698] Vide pp. 545-547, infra.
[699] Newbold, Malacca, vol. ii. pp. 179-183.
[700] i.e. Sepak raga, which means "kick the wicker-work (ball)."
[701] Also Singketa.
[702] Also Teki-teki. Examples are,--What is it which you leave
behind when you remember it, and take it with you when you forget
it?" Ans. "A leech." "What is it that builds a house within a house,
getting the materials out of his own body?" Ans. "A spider."
[703] i.e. "Tuju lobang," which means "Aim at the Hole."
[704] Newbold, op. cit. vol. ii. pp. 183-185.
[705] "Yes, it's sweet
... to grouse about the crops,
And sweet to hear the tales the natives tell,
To watch the king and chieftains playing leisurely at tops,
While the country's bowling gaily down to hell."
--Hugh Clifford (adapted from Rudyard Kipling).
[706] More probably India or Persia (?).
[707] Taken from Clifford and Swett., Mal. Dict., s.v. Châtor.
[708] Notes and Queries No. 1, sec. 23, issued with J.R.A.S.,
S.B. No. 14. Quoted in Denys, Descriptive Dictionary of British Malaya,
s.v. Cards.
[709] Selangor Journal, vol. v. No. 13, pp. 210-12. I may add that luck
in gaming is largely thought by the Malays to depend upon fortunate
dreams. Vide p. 563, infra.
[710] I cannot find either ping, ning, or biling in the dictionaries,
and the only chance perhaps of finding out the meaning will be to
collate the rhymes used for this game in other States. I have heard
it several times here, and it has always been the same.
[711] Probably the species of sea-turtle known by that name.
[712] The ordinary Indian name for "clarified butter," which is used
largely in Eastern cookery.
[713] It is almost impossible to translate nursery rhymes
satisfactorily, and the versions here given must be regarded as
tentative and necessarily imperfect.
[714] Vide supra, p. 484, note.
[715] Literally, "Brothers and Sisters and Chiefs"; this refers to
the Spirits who inhabit the villages, and not to the Humans.
[716] The term used is Penjak pengantin, which means musicians and
bridegroom. The former term includes all people belonging to the
Ma'iong who make a noise. The latter term means a man whose wedding
is being celebrated, but in this connection it is applied to the
Pa'iong or jeune premier.
[717] These names are given by the Ma'iong people to the two big gongs
used by them (tetâwak or tâwak-tâwak). Gemûroh is formed from gûroh
(= thunder), in exactly the same way as kemûning, the yellow wood
used for the cross-pieces of kris scabbards, is formed from kûning
(= yellow). Dengong is the word used to describe the noise made by
a gong, by the wind, or any other sonorous sound.
[718] The phrase in the original is Halûan sûsun. The former word
means the bows of a boat, the latter is applied to things fitted
together, as sirih leaves are fitted when one leaf is laid on the
top of another. The use of this phrase is very curious, and I believe
it to convey the sense which I have rendered. I have never heard the
phrase in any other connection, nor have I met with it except in this
incantation. [Should not the correct reading be halun (= alun) susun,
which is a fairly common Malay phrase used of the waves "crowding"
one upon another on a stormy day?--W.S.]
[719] Chinta-mâni, the name of a very short snake of a golden yellow
colour, the presence of which is regarded as a lucky omen.
[720] Awang is a very common male proper name among the natives of
Kelantan, and in addressing any man whose name is not known it is
always used, much as Kûlop is employed among the natives of Perak.
[721] Malays believe Spirits to be extremely sensitive as regards
their origin and their habits, and any knowledge possessed by a human
being on these subjects renders the spirit harmless. [The same idea
has been noticed supra with reference to animals, etc.]
[722] The least sensitive spirit in the world might not unreasonably
dislike so many personal remarks of such a frankly unflattering nature.
[723] This is hardly an accurate description of the temporary shed in
which ma'iong people perform. Seven among the Malays, as with other
Orientals, is the mystic number.
[724] Selangor Journal, vol. ii. No. 26, pp. 423-429.
[725] If the performance is to last for more than one or two nights,
a proper shed (bangsal) may be erected.
[726] The third is for the Jin Puteh, or "White Genie," and the fourth
for the Jin Hitam, or "Black (Earth) Genie."
[727] The Malay account of this ceremony with the text of the charms
used will be found in App. ccxxiv. seqq.
[728] Vide J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 2, p. 163.
[729] J. D. Vaughan in J.I.A., quoted in Denys, Desc. Dict. of
Brit. Mal., s.v. Puppet Shows.
[730] Vide App. ccxxxi.
[731] Even wild beasts, it is said, can be stopped in this way;
see Beast Charms, p. 156, supra.
[732] Vide Eagle-wood tree, Camphor, Fishing, etc., supra.
[733] Defiance is intimated by a war-dance on the ramparts (penglima
bersilat or berentak di-atas kubu). Cp. Begbie, Malayan Peninsula,
p. 170.
[734] This legendary war of Tan Saban with the second king of Perak
owes its origin probably to mythological accounts of the wars of
Salivahana and Vikramaditya, which Hindu settlers, not improbably,
brought to Malay countries. Saban is a natural corruption of
Salivahana.--J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 9, p. 94.
[735] When swearing fidelity, alliance, etc., water in which daggers,
spears (lembing), or bullets have been dipped is drunk, the drinker
saying, "If I turn traitor, may I be eaten up by this dagger" or
"spear," etc., as the case may be (jika aku belut, aku di-makan k'ris
ini d.s.b.)
[736] Vide supra, p. 4, note.
[737] In original, Manikou.
[738] In original, belangur.
[739] The original text proceeds to give an explanation of certain
patterns of damask given in a plate, which is not reproduced here.
[740] The Code of Sultan Mahmud Shah, the last Malay Raja of Malacca,
who was expelled by the Portuguese under Albuquerque in A.D. 1511.
This Code was probably founded on earlier regulations ascribed to
Sultan Muhammad Shah, the first Muhammadan Raja of Malacca, and Sultan
Mudhafar Shah, his son. Nothing is known about the laws of the last
named, except that (according to the Sejarah Malayu, chap, xii.),
"he ordered the Book of Institutes, or Kitab Undang-Undang, to be
compiled," but the preceding chapter of the same work has a good deal
to say about the laws of Sultan Muhammad Shah, and mentions that he
"prohibited the ornamenting of creeses with gold, etc." See Leyden,
op. cit., pp. 94, 118.
A similar prohibition occurs in section i. of Sultan Mahmud's
Code, of which a translation will be found in Newbold, Malacca,
vol. ii. pp. 231 seq.
[741] Newbold, op. cit. vol. ii. pp. 202-208. Vide Chap. II. p. 33,
supra.
[742] Swettenham, Malay Sketches, pp. 207, 208.
[743] Yet the act of sneezing is considered so fraught with the risk
of the soul's escaping, that not unfrequently after a severer sneeze
than usual, a Malay will attempt to call his soul back by ejaculating
"Cluck! Soul!" (kur, semangat!) as if he were calling a chicken, and
the regular use of the phrase "Al-hamdu li'llah" (Praised be God),
after sneezing suggests that he may be relieved to find his soul
still in his own possession.
[744] See J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 7, pp. 19, 20.
[745] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 7, pp. 26-28. In Selangor "Kursemangat,
tuboh budak ini," "My soul! the body of the boy," or some such phrase
is occasionally used.
[746] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 7, p. 27.
[747] Examples are:--(1) the burning of incense ... (vide Medicine,
pp. 410 seqq. and elsewhere, passim); (2) the inspection of the water
in the "Three Jars" ceremony, ibid.; (3) the scattering of parched
rice, ibid.; (4) the application of the "Rice-Paste" (tepong-tawar)
ceremony (vide Marriage, Fishing, etc.); (5) the sound of water
struck by a canoe paddle (vide Crocodile-catching); (6) the manner of
falling of the filed-off portion of a tooth (vide Adolescence); (7)
the whisper of the sap in the bark of a gharu-tree, when the latter
is struck by a cutlass (vide Vegetation Charms), and a host of others.
[748] My informant did not make it plain whether the same charm was
repeated on each of these three occasions, or whether a different
charm was used in each case. Probably the latter would be the more
correct course.
[749] Swettenham, Malay Sketches, pp. 201-207.
[750] Hall.
[751] Clerk.
[752] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 3, pp. 30, 31. Ordeals by immersion of
the hands in boiling oil or molten tin are also mentioned in the old
Johor Code of Laws. Vide Crawford, Dict. of Ind. Isl., s.v. Ordeal.
[753] A number of these diagrams, all of which are in the author's
possession, are shown in the illustrations to this section. They
seem to be closely connected with the system of "magic squares,"
which has probably come to Europe from the East.
[754] Or Kutika.
[755] "The original Javanese week, like that of the Mexicans,
consists of five days, and its principal use, like that of the same
people, is to determine the markets or fairs held in the principal
villages or districts. This arbitrary period has probably no better
foundation than the relation of the numbers to that of the fingers of
the hand. The names of the days of this week are as follows:--Laggi,
Pahing, Pon, Wagi, Kliwon.... The Javanese consider the names of the
days of their native week to have a mystical relation to colours,
and to the divisions of the horizon.
"According to this whimsical interpretation, the first means white,
and the east; the second, red, and the south; the third, yellow, and
the west; the fourth, black and the north; the fifth, mixed colour,
and focus, or centre. It is highly probable that, like the week of the
continental nations of Asia and Europe, the days were named after the
national gods. In an ancient manuscript found in Java, which will be
afterwards referred to, the week of five days is represented by five
human figures, two of which are female and three male."--Crawfurd,
Hist. of the Indian Archipelago, vol. i. pp. 289, 290.
[756] Communicated by Sir George Birdwood of the India Office.
But in Bali S'ri is the wife of Vishnu, or more usually of Shiva. "As
goddess of the rice-fields she is called S'rî ... and has temples on
the sawahs [rice-fields], and on the roads between them."--Misc. Papers
relating to Indo-China, etc., Second Series, vol. ii. p. 105.
She is frequently mentioned in Malay invocations connected with
rice-planting; vide p. 89, supra, and App. cix.
[757] Cf. such words in Malay as panchawarna or pancharona (lit. of
five colours), panchalogam (lit. of five metals), which are of Indian
origin, with the Indian pancharangi, panchatantra, etc.
[758] Or does this mean "black or red"? But red is Brahma's colour,
and for Kala one would a priori expect black to be appropriate.
[759] See App. ccxliii. for an extract from a treatise on these
subjects.
[760] Both this table and that of the Katika Lima have been reversed in
translating from the originals, which, being in the Arabic character,
run from right to left.
[761] See App. ccxliv. for an extract from a short treatise on this
subject.
[762] The table is given in App. ccxlv.
[763] Vide p. 554, infra.
[764] Newbold, op. cit. vol. ii. p. 354.
[765] Ibid. p. 358.
[766] The names are given supra. Katib is another name for Mercury,
and Venus is sometimes known as Bintang Kajura and Bintang Babi;
vide Kl., s.v. Bintang.
[767] Maxwell in J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 7, p. 21.
[768] Newbold, op. cit. vol. ii. p. 355.
[769] There is a treatise on the Bintang Dua-b'las, too long to give
in full, of which a short extract will be found in App. ccliv.
[770] The following names of constellations are taken from Klinkert,
s.v. Bintang and elsewhere:
Bintang Mayang, the Virgin (lit. the Spathe of Palm-blossom).
Bintang Pari, the Southern Cross (lit. the Skate or Sting-ray).
Bintang B'lantek (C. and S.) i.e. the Spring-gun, or rather
Spring-spear-trap (also called by its Arabic name al-jubar), Orion.
Bintang Bidok, or Bintang Jong, the Great Bear (lit. the Boat or Junk).
Others bear more familiar names, e.g.:--
Bintang Utara or Kotub (?), the Pole-Star (lit. North Star).
Bintang Kala, the Scorpion.
Whilst Bintang Alnasj (Alnash) is the "Wain."
[771] Newbold, op. cit. vol. ii. p. 355. Cf. Colebrooke's Life and
Essays, vol. iii. p. 284.
[772] A Sha`ir Rejang has been published at Singapore, and for an
extract from the Rejang of 'Che Busu, the reader is referred to
the Appendix.
[773] The MS. here and in the blanks above is defective or
illegible. But the prescriptions for the other days show that the image
is to be thrown either in some definite direction or into the jungle,
simply; on each day the thing to be thrown away of course corresponds
with the symbol of the particular day.
[774] Newbold, op. cit. vol. ii. pp. 356, 357.
[775] Qu. dawar?
[776] Newbold, loc. cit.
[777] Occasionally these squares, instead of being reversed, are
turned sideways, thus:--
8 3 4
1 5 9
6 7 2
17 23 4 10 11
24 5 6 12 18
1 7 13 19 25
8 14 20 21 2
15 16 22 3 9
30 38 46 5 13 21 22
39 47 6 14 15 23 31
48 7 8 16 24 32 40
1 9 17 25 33 41 49
10 18 26 34 42 43 2
19 27 35 36 44 3 11
28 29 37 45 4 12 20
[778] The crescent, or crescent and star, are here used as emblems
of the 1st day of the (lunar) month.
[779] The order should (it would seem) be Kala, S'ri.
[780] For `Utarid.
[781] For Zuhrah.
[782] Possibly this notion is partly responsible for the ridiculous
European legend about Muhammad's coffin being suspended between
heaven and earth, of which idea there seems to be no trace amongst
the Muhammadans themselves.
[783] Another such indication is hair growing close to the ears.
[784] Double lines round the base of the thumb are called retak madu.
[785] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 9, pp. 23-26.
[786] An analysis of them would, however, show what objects are
most generally aimed at by those who use them. It may be safely
estimated that the sexual relations are here of the first importance,
the majority of the charms having reference to them, directly or
indirectly.
[787] Supra, pp. 49, 50. The methods here given are closely akin
to those of medicine (v. pp. 452-456, supra); but the ends are
different. The medical man always professes to aim at the cure of his
patient, whereas here the intention is to cause harm to the person
to be affected, or at least to acquire an influence over him for the
operator's own benefit or satisfaction (as in love-charms).
[788] For the colours of the cloth used, and the purport of the number
seven, vide pp. 50, 51, supra.
[789] Vide App. cclxvi.
[790] I class this with the instances of indirect contact (between the
soul and the body of its owner), because there is no doubt whatever
that the usual ingredients (clippings of hair, paring of nails,
etc.) would have to be worked up with the wax, and that they are not
mentioned, because understood.
[791] Generally called kabong when cultivated, or (h)eenau when wild
(Arenga saccharifera, L., Palmeæ).
[792] Cp. the charm on p. 183, supra, and App. lxxxiii.
[793] Bukan-nya aku membantai lilin
Aku membantai hati, jantong, limpa Si Anu.
[794] Bukan-nya aku menjamu sakalian yang lain,
Aku menjamu hati, jantong, limpa Si Anu.
[795] Probably Ventilago leiocarpa, Benth. (Rhamneæ).
[796] The explanation of this ceremony is that the shadow is supposed
in some way to embody or at least represent the soul. Thus the female
reapers of the first ripe padi are specially enjoined to reap in
a straight line facing the sun, so that their shadow may not fall
upon the rice-soul in the basket at their sides (vide pp. 242-244,
supra). No doubt the speaker's shadow-soul is expected to fetch the
woman's body-soul, and the beating of the shadow-soul is perhaps purely
ceremonial, to drive away evil influences from it, before it starts
on its journey, but this latter suggestion is merely conjectural. The
first line of the charm, however, in which the speaker addresses his
shadow by name (Irupi) as he strikes it with the cane, points out
most clearly the connection between the body-soul (or puppet-soul)
and the shadow-soul, to which I have referred. The coverlet or white
cloth is no doubt the soul-cloth, into which the woman's soul is
expected to enter when it arrives.
[797] p. 570, supra.
[798] Bukan-nya aku membawa detar, aku kandong semangat Si Anu.
[799] Supra, pp. 47-54, 76, 77, 452-456, and under the headings Birds,
Beasts, Vegetation, Minerals, etc.
[800] Note.--It may be as well to observe generally that the Malay
texts here given are often evidently corrupt, and that it has not
always been found possible to suggest satisfactory emendations. A
comparison of several different versions of each charm, etc. would
be a necessary preliminary to the establishment of a really sound text.
[801] Qu. Ka dalam.
[802] Qu. Bergetar.
[803] Newbold, op. cit. vol. ii. pp. 84 and 199.
[804] Em. Atoran.
[805] Isma.
[806] Qu. `ashikkan, and so infra throughout this section.
[807] i.e. Beringin.
[808] i.e. Bunting.
[809] Qu. dengan.
[810] Beralih rupa.
[811] Em. Meng`ashikkan and so infra.
[812] Em. Supaya.
[813] Em. Mikail.
[814] i.e. `Azrail: so infra in iv.
[815] Em. Kemalu-'l-hakim, i.e. Lukmanu-'l-hakim.
[816] Qu. Disitu.
[817] Em. Berusul.
[818] Hikayat Raja Budiman, Part ii. No. 3, p. 35, Publications of
the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. For other charms
connected with the Soul vide infra Chap. VI. esp. secs, ccxiii, ccxiv,
cclxv, cclxxv.
[819] Bunyi nafas yang masok "Allah," bunyi nafas yang kaluar "Hu,"
kata orang Malayu.
[820] Em. di hulu.
[821] Extracted from Crawfurd, Mal. Gram. p. cxcvii.
[822] i.q. usik.
[823] i.q. larang.
[824] i.q. kekal, pusaka.
[825] Golah, daun kayu sakatilima.
[826] Rempenai, nama akar.
[827] Rimpun, nama kayu.
[828] Betoto' (not Betutu), i.q. bersama-sama.
[829] Belunchau, i.q. ayer berjalan.
[830] Berkalentong, ta'tentu.
[831] Halunlintar, i.q. halilintar.
[832] N. and Q., No. 4 sec. 97, issued with No. 17 of the J.R.A.S.,
S.B.
[833] Kapas, i.e. Kapas hutan or Kapas hantu, Hibiscus abelmoschus,
L. (Malvaceæ).
[834] Lerik, probably Phrynium parviflorum, Roxb. (Scitamineæ) or
Phrynium Griffithii, Bak.
[835] Resam, Gleichenia linearis (Filiceæ), a common fern.
[836] Lenjuang merah, the common red Dracæna, Cordyline terminalis,
var. ferrea (Liliaceæ).
[837] Kedah is the name of the old Spectre Huntsman, and Kadim (or
Gadeh = grandmother) that of his wife.
[838] Si Adunada and Si Aduan were explained as the names of his two
children, but the names look as if they had been confused in some way.
[839] Tarantan, v.l. terantang, was explained as meaning senjata
kabesaran (royal weapons or insignia) of the Hantu Rama.
[840] To these names may be added Si Lansat, Si Kumbang, and Si Desa,
a lame old dog which the Spectre Huntsman is said to carry at his
side in a wallet, until he comes up with his quarry, but whose bite
is then the worst of them all.--Cp. Note to 1. 6 of sec. xxx.
[841] Si Tompang is said to be the jackal (srigala), the brother of
Si Sukum.
[842] Sangkil = sangka.
[843] Kinchah = benchah.
[844] Kunta = terkena (?).
[845] Juru-juru, sc. mulut, the corners of the mouth. Gagak: lit. a
crow, but here said to mean the goat-sucker or nightjar, the steed
of the Spectre Huntsman.
[846] Tertuntong, turned upside down, the phrase signifying the
vomiting which accompanies the sickness caused by the Spectre Huntsman.
[847] Antara mani, explained as meaning between noon and the hour
of prayer, called dlohor (early in the afternoon), that being the
time of day when the Spectre Huntsman most commonly strikes people
with sickness.
[848] Si Hantu Pemburu, here definitely explained to me as Batara Guru
(Shiva).
[849] Si Lansat, also called Si Sukum, a lame old hound which Si
Kedah carries on his back (anjing bapa tepok di-dokong uleh-nya).
[850] Dang Mesa(h), also called Si Pintal, always accompanies Si
Lansat.
[851] Cp. this line with l. 18 of Maxwell's version, "Aku tahu asal
angkau mula menjadi, orang Katapang." "Orang petapa'an" and "orang
Katapang" are the two readings, and the ease with which the one might
pass into the other, possibly through a medial form "orang katapa'an,"
will be readily admitted by students of Malay, especially when the
general family resemblance of this version to other versions of the
same charm is taken into consideration.
[852] G. Ledang is, of course, the well-known Mount of Penance of this
part of the Peninsula, the so-called Mount Ophir of Malacca territory.
[853] Anak Nabi Yusuf looks like an interpolation, but fresh versions
will no doubt explain it.
[854] Chendrawasi, possibly due to confusion with the berek-berek
of the commoner versions, but this point also requires further
investigation. Mr. Clifford has recorded a similar confusion (the
berek-berek being supposed, he says, to fly feet upwards like the
chendrawasi). See note on chandrawasih in text, p. 111, supra.
[855] i.q. antara.
[856] Gendala, elsewhere menala (v. infr.): (a) I can find nothing
nearer to it in the dictionaries than gendala (with a cross-reference
to kendala) in Klinkert, who explains it as meaning an obstacle or
hindrance. If this is right it may perhaps be translated "Hold-fast,"
as a euphemism for "snares"; (b) on the other hand, if, as seems most
likely, menala is the correct form, it may simply stand for mendala (=
bandala, a bundle), and so mean "enter my sack"; (c) or it may even
conceivably mean "enter my circle" (referring to the circular hut),
from a Sanskrit word meaning circle or disc (v. Kl. s.v.). This,
however, seems far-fetched, and perhaps (b) is the most natural
explanation.
[857] Raja Sakti, "Magic Prince," a euphemism for the hut (bumbun);
possibly in allusion to the wizard concealed inside it.
[858] Raja Gila, "Prince Distraction," a euphemism for the decoy-tube
(buluh dekut).
[859] Do' Ding is evidently a name given in allusion to some kind
of pigeon, but the only pigeon name which comes at all near it is
puding. It is quite possible that this may be right, although one of
my informants told me that it was meant to refer to a kind of pigeon
called rangob, which is not given in Klinkert's dictionary.
[860] Madukara was explained to me by a Malay as referring to a
kind of pigeon generally called punei jambu. Klinkert only gives
madoe-kara as meaning "silken stuff inwoven with gold or embroidered
with a special pattern," etc.
[861] Lapek, v.l. sumpit (a rice bag).
[862] Menturun, the Selangor name of the bear-cat (Arctictis
binturong).
[863] Dokoh is a crescent-shaped breast-ornament rather than a necklace
in the ordinary sense. Still it is suspended round the neck of the
wearer, and necklace is perhaps the best translation. I may remark
that such a "necklace" (dokoh) is often worn by Malay brides and
bridegrooms, and may even be seen decorating the neck of an animal,
such as the buffalo, when it is dressed up and sent as a present to
some great man.
[864] Tawar means to neutralise (the power or effect of)
anything. Hence it is applied even to the neutralising of the power
of diseases and of evil spirits, as well as of noxious potions and
influences.
[865] Kabaleian, v.l. ka-ampeian which would refer to the railings
in front of the hut.
[866] Kalangkiri appears to be corrupt. Quære kanan kiri? The commoner
version of these lines has "iring-iring."
[867] Ampeian gading; this, of course, refers to the railing around
the "Palace-yard."
[868] Var. lec. batang.
[869] Mengkudu, a Malay forest-tree, Morinda tinctoria.
[870] Var. lec. tetak.
[871] Sa-nila-nila: this looks as if it ought to be the name of some
shrub or tree (nila, indigo); but the variant in the second of these
two charms is the most likely to be the right reading; in which case
Si Raja Nila (or more properly Nyila) might be translated as "Prince
Invitation." Si Raja Nyila is, in fact, the name sometimes given to
the long slender wands with fine nooses at the end with which the
wild pigeon are snared, the name being clearly an allusion to its
pretended character.
[872] Kelampati: appears to be corrupt; the preceding charm giving
the correct reading (si merpati).
[873] Mati mampeh: was explained as = mati bapa, fatherless; or
perhaps = mati tinggalbapa, to die leaving a father (the converse of
"fatherless").
[874] Mati mawah: was explained as = mati `mak; motherless, but query?
[875] Beriak: not in Klinkert, but evidently of cognate meaning
to ber-ingin.
[876] Sa-pepak: was explained as meaning sa-keliling rimba raya,
i.e. through the length and breadth of the forest.
[877] Fatimah, as being the name of the daughter of the Prophet
(Muhammad), is often used in Malay charms when they are intended to
affect a Malay woman without her name being mentioned. (Muhammad
is used under similar circumstances of men.) In this case the
name "Fatimah passes" is evidently considered a lucky one for
pigeon-catching, Fatimah, of course, representing the female birds.
[878] Both here and below the original reads Allah Nabi, but the
emendation seems clearly necessary.
[879] Mati mampik: this word is not in Klinkert. Vide note on mampeh
(supra).
[880] Mati maiwai: vide note on mawah (supra), for which word it
appears to be a variant form.
[881] Di-lilit akar: v. 1. chelar (chelah?) bakar.
[882] Di-petok: v. 1. di-chetok, with same meaning.
[883] Vide note on last charm.
[884] Wak-wak, v. l. sengkuak, d.s.b. which apparently could only mean
(acc. to Klinkert) extension of the roof over the kitchen rack. Another
reading is ruwak-ruwak, in which case it would mean a "heron on the
kitchen rack." This latter seems to make the best sense.
[885] Juara means (1) the umpire or manager of a cock-fight, and (2)
a master of ceremonies (v. Klinkert, s. v.).
[886] Qu. mari.
[887] The following various readings are found in another version:--
[888] Jintala.
[889] Binasa.
[890] S'ri menyalak.
[891] Menyalak kadalam hutan.
[892] Chelaka besar sudah datang.
[893] Rumah sudah.
[894] Sudah datang.
[895] Sadikit tidak.
[896] Di tepi.
[897] Menchabut rumput petang pagi.
[898] Di-kata.
[899] Modal liput sudah rugi.
[900] Berpalut.
[901] Bukan buatan.
[902] Sadikit tidak tanggong.
[903] Terbang.
[904] Singgah.
[905] Raja.
[906] Chelaka.
[907] Or badak (rhinoceros), as the case may be.
[908] Hum is probably a form of the Buddhist OM; though the form
which the latter takes in Malay magic is usually "Ong" or "Hong."
[909] Tongkat: the tongue is commonly said tongkatkan mulut (to prop
open the mouth) when the tip of it is pressed against the roof of the
mouth. I therefore venture to read tongkat mulut for tongkat, because
the context shows that this is what is meant, the tongue being (not
inaptly) compared in shape to a crocodile. Tongkat can hardly be used
here in the sense of a "staff"; even if mulut is not actually read,
it must still be understood.
[910] Pengri was explained to me as the indentation above the chin,
but I have never met the word elsewhere.
[911] Here the speaker addresses the tiger direct.
[912] Bergrak-lah must be taken with handak.
[913] Pasih or fasih was the word given me; unless a mistake for
something else, it must mean cunning or savage (quære fasik).
[914] Pinta-pinta = perminta'an, request.
[915] Ari bekari: so pronounced by 'Che Indut and other Langat
Malays. Bekari is in no dictionary that I could find, and I only
came upon begari by accident in Klinkert, who only gave, however, a
cross-reference to pegari, which form he does not give in its right
place. I found begari, however, in Pijnappel, q.v. s.v. He explains
it as meaning "to appear," "to come to light." A similar phrase occurs
in cclxvi, infra.
[916] v.l. Membalun.
[917] Uru-uru: the only sense given by Klinkert is that of a kind of
rattle used to decoy fish--made of a cocoa-nut shell, and some Chinese
copper coins. But in this context it looks most like a double rhyme
to guru.
[918] Qu. di-tapakan, i.e. by footsteps.
[919] Rindang was explained as = rindu (suka gemar). Kutop =
tutop. Bintongan = benchana, kasusahan. Teng explained as = kaki
sablah, as in tengkis. Bertengteng = jalan kaki sablah. The Bunga
satengteng is also called the Satawar.
[920] Em. Jin Tanah.
[921] Or Petala, i.e. Batara.
[922] Merak in the "Bhasa Hantu," or "Spirit Language," means sirih,
and it is in this sense that it should apparently be taken here. The
ordinary meaning of merak (peacock) makes nonsense.
[923] Kutu hutan, lit. "flea of the forest," i.e. the mouse-deer.
[924] Lapang, i.e. "trap."
[925] Hunting dogs have special names used for harking them on,
e.g. Sukum, Sugara, Tampoi, Sujugara, Lansat, Si Indra, Si Kumbang,
Sa' Untara.
[926] There is a grass called rumput padi burong.
[927] Tedong: no doubt a play on the word, which means not only a
cobra (ular tedong) but is applied to cocks (and query dogs?) of a
certain colour.
[928] Semawi is said to be the name by which the wild pigs are
addressed.
[929] Sungko': quære sungkor.
[930] Unintelligible. Bengkarong means "lizard."
[931] Mampe, mawei: apparently the pigs are threatened with various
terrible forms of death.
[932] Explained as i.q. banyak. Quære emend sayup, "afar off."
[933] Explained as i.q. perminta'an.
[934] Explained as i.q. bahtra.
[935] When the voice of the gharu-spirit is heard at night.
[936] Satukum is the Kelantan form of satokong, from tokong, to cut
the hair.
[937] Besir, lit. incontinent, referring to the running of the sap
when the flower-spike is tapped.
[938] Berhilir, i.q. berleler.
[939] i.q. pisau sadap.
[940] Explained as i.q. tagok, bekas buloh yang di-isi ayer mayang.
[941] Explained as kawah 'nak masak gula.
[942] The tujoh orang bersaudara are explained to be (1) Satinjau
Rantau, (2) Sakuntum Raya, (3) Malim Karimun, (4) Si Ali Pachi,
and three others, children of Mentala Guru.
[943] B'ras bertih "parched" rice (W. S.).
[944] This and the next four charms are extracted from a paper by the
author which appeared in Sel. Journ., vol. iii. No. 12, pp. 196-200.
[945] Ular chintamani: the snake chintamani springs from the eggs
of the bird chandrawasih (chendrawasi), which fall into the sea;
if you find dust (abu) or a piece of sugar-cane inside a floating
cocoa-nut-shell at sea, you may know it to be the snake chintamani. If,
on the other hand, the eggs fall into primeval forest, they turn
into the doves called merbo' titek abu, if upon a hill, they turn
into the doves called merbo' api. Sometimes, however, even after
falling, they take the shape of bananas, sugar-cane, or hen's eggs;
and that is why sugar-cane, hen's eggs, and bananas are used when the
"Soul of the Rice" is fetched home.
[946] Bijeh, i.q. biji, tin-ore, lit. seed, grain.
[947] Buih, i.q. buhi, foam.
[948] The last two lines must be said quite in a whisper to one's self,
as the name of God or Muhammad must never under any circumstances be
mentioned aloud in the mine.
[949] Jika terlanggar atau tersepek, itulah akan pem'pas dan
dendang-nya (i.q. ubat-nya) maka `isharat-nya ayam sa'ekor, tanam
kapala, tumpah darah.
[950] Kalerik, not given in dictionaries, nor is jintu-jintu, which is
another name for it. The sound of a lizard's chuckle is considered a
good omen at this juncture. Ketong, not in dictionaries, but explained
as a grain (sa-biji). Arai, not given in dictionaries, but explained
as a cocoa-nut shell full (sa-chupak). Sentong, lit. = basketful here,
the basket being such a basket as is filled with jungle produce and
fitted to the back of the carrier. Makau stands for tembakau. Kantan
is probably Nicolaia Imperialis Horan (Scitamineæ).
[951] i.q. tokong, a rocky islet, a rock.
[952] [Sic.? Laksamana.]
[953] i.q. Makhdum, or perhaps mukaddam, chief.
[954] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 31, p. 28.
[955] Pekiriman: lit. a "sending," a thing which is sent, and hence
a present, the "present" being the bait.
[956] Ulubalang, or hulubalang, a captain or champion (v. Kl. s.v.):
in this context the crocodile is of course intended.
[957] Pematahan: lit. the "break" of the bay, i.e. the central point
(from patah, to break).
[958] Alir: the name of this particular method of crocodile
catching. Thus mengalir = to catch crocodiles in this particular way
(as described above). Rotan alir = the long rattan line attached to
the bait.
[959] Telentang: this and the next line probably refer to some
form of omen which is taken from the way in which the tree falls;
but this was not explained to me at the time. The "supine position"
in this case would no doubt be an allusion to the position of a dead
crocodile which has "turned turtle," whereas to be "prone" would be
its natural position as it swims.
[960] Yang berdosa: this, of course, refers to the guilty crocodile
or crocodiles, i.e. the maneaters, who are considered to have "sinned"
in eating human flesh.
[961] Si Anu: the name of the victim or victims should be mentioned
here.
[962] Kalangan darah: it is difficult to see the exact meaning of this
phrase; at first sight it looks like "the curse of the barring of the
blood," but my Malay authority insisted that it meant the "blood-bars,"
and that it was an allusion to the bones, which were supposed to
"bar off" blood from blood, and that the real significance of the
phrase was "choked to death with bones." It looks to me, however, much
more like a mistake for, or variation of, the phrase mengklan darah,
of which there are plenty of examples; but until more instances are
collected the explanation must be considered doubtful.
[963] Biak kembang, d.s.b.: "increase and multiply" is the only sense
given to biak or bijak (v. Kl. s.v.), but the phrase may possibly
be corrupt.
[964] Sambu Agak, Sambu Agai: in other charms "Jambu Rakai" is given,
which evidently corresponds to "Sambu Agai," and is the name given to
the human being who, according to what must undoubtedly be the older
(pre-Muhammadan) legend, was metamorphosed into the crocodile. The
story which makes the first crocodile a plaything into which Muhammad's
daughter Fatimah gave life, must at any rate in that respect be much
modified by Muhammadan ideas, but there are indications here which
seem to point to the interweaving of two separate stories (v. supra).
[965] Em. Kalimu 'llah, the special title of Moses.
[966] Di-sembor kapada yang kena.
[967] i.e. rumah Pontianak.
[968] Orang yang kena Pontianak jadi hitam saperti jantong di-bembam.
[969] Qu. selimbar, a plant?
[970] Tanah kang: explained as an allusion to that part of the
lower jaw which is beneath the tongue (mulut di-bawah lidah), the
intention evidently being to allude to the "pelesit's" coming out
of its owner's mouth. In the next line but one, tanah dengkang is
similarly explained as alluding to the roof of the owner's month, so
that asking the "pelesit" to return to it is tantamount to requesting
it to fly back down its owner's throat. And thus, three lines later,
it is requested to return to its "embodiment" (jinjangan).
[971] i.q. aruah Jin.
[972] i.e. sa-habis-habis burok.
[973] Apparently a demi-god, descended (according to one account)
from Batara Guru.
[974] In the case of a Raja's child as much as ten (silver) dollars
should be used, but for poor people even one cent will do.
[975] Cp. Report of Dutch Expedition to Mid-Sumatra, vol. i. p. 266.
[976] Or a small wallet (bujam), such as is often used by Malays to
hold their supply of tobacco and betel.
[977] In the case of a boy, a piece of paper and a sugar-palm twig
(such as the Malays use for writing with) may be added to the other
objects.
[978] (?) Kau.
[979] Mutatis mutandis.
[980] Qu. angkau.
[981] The Filer of Teeth explained that the file being of iron, and
hence emblematic of earth, the bowl of water in which the file was to
be dipped emblematic of water in general, and the limes emblematic
of the vegetable creation, it was necessary to invoke the three
"Prophets" who are supposed to be in charge of those departments
of creation. The explanation, however, is not a satisfactory one,
and it is more probable that these lines have taken the place of an
older invocation now forgotten. Their Arabic character in itself is
almost conclusive on this point.
[982] Qu. beratus or saratus?
[983] Qu. baruh.
[984] The neckbone.
[985] The breastbone.
[986] The backbone.
[987] Em. Berchela chachat.
[988] i.e. beriring, also biring.
[989] Qu. pernama or berlima?
[990] Asam, which comes from the land, is mixed with salt, which
comes from the sea, and the two bring out each other's qualities.
[991] Tengkuling, or tengguli, is said to be made with the squeezings
of cocoa-nut pulp mixed with sugar, and cooked till the oil and sugar
come out and float on the top; this is called tengguli.
[992] V.l.
'Ku titek pinang 'ku titek
'Ku titek di-atas batu
'Ku makan pinang sadikit
Naik s'ri ka muka aku.
Titek, is from titekka to hammer, and so to smash, hence 'ku titek =
'ku kachipkan, I break with the betel-nut scissors?
Temuning, v. l. tengkuling or tengguli (v. supra).
Ta' si kulita' seqq. should probably be taken as meaning "Ta' si
kulita' stands for Tepi laut bunyi guroh halilintar."
Cp. "'Tah 'ting stands for patah ranting," etc.
[993] Menti is explained as a minor title of rank, below that of
mentri.
[994] i.e. Knead your limbs upwards.
[995] Qu. chintamani.
[996] Qu. hanyiran from hanyir.
[997] Qu. upau, a snake.
[998] i.e. Jibra'il, Gabriel.
[999] i.e. Nestapa.
[1000] Explained as meaning "to roll in anything sticky."
[1001] Tracks, qu. bangkar.
[1002] "Thrust deeply down."
[1003] i.e. yang dalam diri kita.
[1004] i.e. siput darat.
[1005] Em. Kalimu 'llah.
[1006] Raja di Laut: in this connection my informant quoted:
Maduraya nama bapa-nya,
Madaruti nama anak-nya,
Si Kekas nama anak-nya.
[1007] Em. Baruh.
[1008] Or Si-rekong, Si-reking; pronounced Serkong, Serking.
[1009] Qu. Sula.
[1010] Ula-ula is the name given to a pennon attached to the
mainmast. It was of such length that it reached to the poop, which it
flapped against or "whipped." Gada-gada was explained here as a short
pennon attached to the foremast. Pemepah was the standard at the stern.
[1011] i.e. juru batu.
[1012] Or else this first verse:
Talang puan, tatang cherana
Dalang bidok pagi hari
Datang-lah tuan datang-lah nyawa,
Memanggil tuan datang kamari.
[1013] i.e. Penuwei.
[1014] i.e. Poko' kait-kait.
[1015] Or Kembola.
[1016] Lengkong Pulau is the name of the royal (Bengal) tiger, which
was described to me as the steed of "Raja Jin Peria," whereas Nibong
Hangus was explained as the name of the Black Leopard and the steed of
"Lang Jengkat." These steeds (!) are said to wait outside the house
when their masters have entered, their spoor being visible next
morning! Raja Jin Peria and Lang Jengkat are said to reside upon
the mountain Ambin Anak, together with other spirits named Mampek,
Pilus, Lang Padang, Nibong Alai, and Gelombang Ribut, whereas Penglima
Lenggang Laut lives in the Heart of the Seas (Pusat Tasek).
[1017] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 17, p. 116.
[1018] i.e. Kahwin-nya.
[1019] i.e. Jerok.
[1020] Qu. tarohkan.
[1021] Romanized from the Sel. Journ., vol. ii. No. 26, pp. 424-426.
[1022] Qu. Bersulor.
[1023] Kalau berlaga atau bertanding pun gantong juga dua-dua.
[1024] Bangsa limau hutan.
[1025] Em. ruayat, i.e. kesah.
[1026] Di-surat, i.e. aku.
[1027] Ha, i.e. angkau. (But qu. em. do`a for de' ha.)
[1028] "Penetration is from me," i.e. "it rests with me whether you
penetrate or not."
[1029] Qu. ia.
[1030] Em. sa-hingga.
[1031] Gampang (?).
[1032] Rejang, said to be Achinese, equivalent to tinju.
[1033] Tembok = menchedok ayer (?).
[1034] Tang = kita in the spirit language (bhasa hantu).
[1035] Quære.
[1036] Quære.
[1037] Em. Mengadu.
[1038] i.e. Halilintar. These four are the Saudara Ampat.
[1039] Qu. Menunggu.
[1040] Qu. sunggoh-nya.
[1041] Some word like hantu, puaka, buatan orang, or the like, is
missing here.
[1042] The reading is doubtful; the word might be read berhenti.
[1043] As in the first section the Naning MS. here has menerka.
[1044] Qu. dia bersunggoh.
[1045] The substance of the rest of this short treatise will be found
in the text.
[1046] For `Utarid.
[1047] Zuhrah.
[1048] Mirrikh.
[1049] Zuhal.
[1050] Or Zu-'l-hijjah.
[1051] Inserted from another version, which also gives the numbers
of the Abjad; for these vide Hughes' Dict. of Islam, s.v.
[1052] From Life and Essays of H. T. Colebrooke, vol. iii. p. 284.
[1053] Qu. memerang from prang, or memarang from parang?
[1054] Lit. the Invisible (or Hidden) Man.
[1055] Probably Fa is intended, v. inf.
[1056] Qu. Thal or Dal.
[1057] Explained as yang bising. Kl. "plaaggeest."
[1058] Membrum virile.
[1059] Coitus.
[1060] Transliteration of the magic letters and figures directed to
be used.
[1061] Ia was explained by 'Che Indut as referring to the figure
(gambar), not to the person who was to be charmed. A more complete
identification of the soul-receptacle with the person it would be
hard to find.
[1062] Em. Derhaka.
[1063] Betuah or petua?
[1064] Mix them.
[1065] Quære.
[1066] A single needle which has a broken eye out of a score (needles
being made up in scores).
[1067] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 14, p. 313.