Malay Magic
Being an introduction to the folklore and popular religion of the Malay Peninsula
"The cry of hosts [we] humour
Ah! slowly, toward the light."
Rudyard Kipling.
PREFACE
The circumstances attending the composition and publication of the
present work have thrown upon me the duty of furnishing it with a
preface explaining its object and scope.
Briefly, the purpose of the author has been to collect into a
Book of Malay Folklore all that seemed to him most typical of the
subject amongst a considerable mass of materials, some of which lay
scattered in the pages of various other works, others in unpublished
native manuscripts, and much in notes made by him personally of what
he had observed during several years spent in the Malay Peninsula,
principally in the State of Selangor. The book does not profess to be
an exhaustive or complete treatise, but rather, as its title indicates,
an introduction to the study of Folklore, Popular Religion, and Magic
as understood among the Malays of the Peninsula.
It should be superfluous, at this time of day, to defend such
studies as these from the criticisms which have from time to time been
brought against them. I remember my old friend and former teacher, Wan
`Abdullah, a Singapore Malay of Trengganu extraction and Arab descent,
a devout and learned Muhammadan and a most charming man, objecting to
them on the grounds, first, that they were useless, and, secondly,
which, as he emphatically declared, was far worse, that they were
perilous to the soul's health. This last is a point of view which it
would hardly be appropriate or profitable to discuss here, but a few
words may as well be devoted to the other objection. It is based,
sometimes, on the ground that these studies deal not with "facts,"
but with mere nonsensical fancies and beliefs. Now, for facts we all,
of course, have the greatest respect; but the objection appears to me
to involve an unwarrantable restriction of the meaning of the word:
a belief which is actually held, even a mere fancy that is entertained
in the mind, has a real existence, and is a fact just as much as any
other. As a piece of psychology it must always have a certain interest,
and it may on occasions become of enormous practical importance. If,
for instance, in 1857 certain persons, whose concern it was, had paid
more attention to facts of this kind, possibly the Indian Mutiny could
have been prevented, and probably it might have been foreseen, so that
precautionary measures could have been taken in time to minimise the
extent of the catastrophe. It is not suggested that the matters dealt
with in this book are ever likely to involve such serious issues;
but, speaking generally, there can be no doubt that an understanding
of the ideas and modes of thought of an alien people in a relatively
low stage of civilisation facilitates very considerably the task of
governing them; and in the Malay Peninsula that task has now devolved
mainly upon Englishmen. Moreover, every notion of utility implies
an end to which it is to be referred, and there are other ends in
life worth considering as well as those to which the "practical man"
is pleased to restrict himself. When one passes from the practical to
the speculative point of view, it is almost impossible to predict what
piece of knowledge will be fruitful of results, and what will not;
prima facie, therefore, all knowledge has a claim to be considered
of importance from a scientific point of view, and until everything
is known, nothing can safely be rejected as worthless.
Another and more serious objection, aimed rather at the method of
such investigations as these, is that the evidence with which they
have to be content is worth little or nothing. Objectors attempt to
discredit it by implying that at best it is only what A. says that
B. told him about the beliefs B. says he holds, in other words, that
it is the merest hearsay; and it is also sometimes suggested that
when A. is a European and B. a savage, or at most a semi-civilised
person of another breed, the chances are that B. will lie about his
alleged beliefs, or that A. will unconsciously read his own ideas into
B.'s confused statements, or that, at any rate, one way or another,
they are sure to misunderstand each other, and accordingly the record
cannot be a faithful one.
So far as this objection can have any application to the present work,
it may fairly be replied: first that the author has been at some pains
to corroborate and illustrate his own accounts by the independent
observations of others (and this must be his justification for the
copiousness of his quotations from other writers); and, secondly,
that he has, whenever possible, given us what is really the best
kind of evidence for his own statements by recording the charms
and other magic formulæ which are actually in use. Of these a great
number has been here collected, and in the translation of such of the
more interesting ones as are quoted in the text of the book, every
effort has been made to keep to literal accuracy of rendering. The
originals will be found in the Appendix, and it must be left to those
who can read Malay to check the author's versions, and to draw from
the untranslated portions such inferences as may seem to them good.
The author himself has no preconceived thesis to maintain: his object
has been collection rather than comparison, and quite apart from the
necessary limitations of space and time, his method has confined the
book within fairly well-defined bounds. Though the subject is one
which would naturally lend itself to a comparative treatment, and
though the comparison of Malay folklore with that of other nations
(more particularly of India, Arabia, and the mainland of Indo-China)
would no doubt lead to very interesting results, the scope of the work
has as far as possible been restricted to the folklore of the Malays
of the Peninsula. Accordingly the analogous and often quite similar
customs and ideas of the Malayan races of the Eastern Archipelago
have been only occasionally referred to, while those of the Chinese
and other non-Malayan inhabitants of the Peninsula have been excluded
altogether.
Moreover, several important departments of custom and social life
have been, no doubt designedly, omitted: thus, to mention only one
subject out of several that will probably occur to the reader,
the modes of organisation of the Family and the Clan (which in
certain Malay communities present archaic features of no common
interest), together with the derivative notions affecting the tenure
and inheritance of property, have found no place in this work. The
field, in fact, is very wide and cannot all be worked at once. The
folklore of uncivilised races may fairly enough be said to embrace
every phase of nature and every department of life: it may be regarded
as containing, in the germ and as yet undifferentiated, the notions
from which Religion, Law, Medicine, Philosophy, Natural Science,
and Social Customs are eventually evolved. Its bulk and relative
importance seem to vary inversely with the advance of a race in
the progress towards civilisation; and the ideas of savages on
these matters appear to constitute in some cases a great and complex
system, of which comparatively few traces only are left among the more
civilised peoples. The Malay race, while far removed from the savage
condition, has not as yet reached a very high stage of civilisation,
and still retains relatively large remnants of this primitive order of
ideas. It is true that Malay notions on these subjects are undergoing a
process of disintegration, the rapidity of which has been considerably
increased by contact with European civilisation, but, such as they
are, these ideas still form a great factor in the life of the mass
of the people.
It may, however, be desirable to point out that the complexity of
Malay folklore is to be attributed in part to its singularly mixed
character. The development of the race from savagery and barbarism up
to its present condition of comparative civilisation has been modified
and determined, first and most deeply by Indian, and during the last
five centuries or so by Arabian influences. Just as in the language of
the Malays it is possible by analysis to pick out words of Sanskrit and
Arabic origin from amongst the main body of genuinely native words,
so in their folklore one finds Hindu, Buddhist, and Muhammadan ideas
overlying a mass of apparently original Malay notions.
These various elements of their folklore are, however, now so
thoroughly mixed up together that it is often almost impossible to
disentangle them. No systematic attempt has been made to do so in this
book, although here and there an indication of the origin of some
particular myth will be found; but a complete analysis (if possible
at all) would have necessitated, as a preliminary investigation,
a much deeper study of Hindu and Muhammadan mythology than it has
been found practicable to engage in.
In order, however, to give a clear notion of the relation which the
beliefs and practices that are here recorded bear to the official
religion of the people, it is necessary to state that the Malays of
the Peninsula are Sunni Muhammadans of the school of Shafi'i, and that
nothing, theoretically speaking, could be more correct and orthodox
(from the point of view of Islam) than the belief which they profess.
But the beliefs which they actually hold are another matter altogether,
and it must be admitted that the Muhammadan veneer which covers their
ancient superstitions is very often of the thinnest description. The
inconsistency in which this involves them is not, however, as a rule
realised by themselves. Beginning their invocations with the orthodox
preface: "In the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate," and
ending them with an appeal to the Creed: "There is no god but God, and
Muhammad is the Apostle of God," they are conscious of no impropriety
in addressing the intervening matter to a string of Hindu Divinities,
Demons, Ghosts, and Nature Spirits, with a few Angels and Prophets
thrown in, as the occasion may seem to require. Still, the more
highly educated Malays, especially those who live in the towns and
come into direct contact with Arab teachers of religion, are disposed
to object strongly to these "relics of paganism"; and there can be
no doubt that the increasing diffusion of general education in the
Peninsula is contributing to the growth of a stricter conception of
Islam, which will involve the gradual suppression of such of these
old-world superstitions as are obviously of an "unorthodox" character.
This process, however, will take several generations to accomplish,
and in the meantime it is to be hoped that a complete record will have
been made both of what is doomed sooner or later to perish, and of
what in all likelihood will survive under the new conditions of our
time. It is as a contribution to such a record, and as a collection
of materials to serve as a sound basis for further additions and
comparisons, that this work is offered to the reader.
A list of the principal authorities referred to will be found
in another place, but it would be improper to omit here the
acknowledgments which are due to the various authors of whose work in
this field such wide use has been made. Among the dead special mention
must be made of Marsden, who will always be for Englishmen the pioneer
of Malay studies; Leyden, the gifted translator of the Sejarah Malayu,
whose early death probably inflicted on Oriental scholarship the
greatest loss it has ever had to suffer; Newbold, the author of what
is still, on the whole, the best work on the Malay Peninsula; and Sir
William Maxwell, in whom those of us who knew him have lost a friend,
and Malay scholarship a thoroughly sound and most brilliant exponent.
Among the living, the acknowledgments of the author are due principally
to Sir Frank Swettenham and Mr. Hugh Clifford, who, while they have
done much to popularise the knowledge of things Malay amongst the
general reading public, have also embodied in their works the results
of much careful and accurate observation. The free use which has been
made of the writings of these and other authors will, it is hoped,
be held to be justified by their intrinsic value.
It must be added that the author, having to leave England about
the beginning of this year with the Cambridge scientific expedition
which is now exploring the Northern States of the Peninsula, left the
work with me for revision. The first five Chapters and Chapter VI.,
up to the end of the section on Dances, Sports, and Games, were then
already in the printer's hands, but only the first 100 pages or so
had had the benefit of the author's revision. For the arrangement
of the rest of Chapter VI., and for some small portion of the matter
therein contained, I am responsible, and it has also been my duty to
revise the whole book finally. Accordingly, it is only fair to the
author to point out that he is to be credited with the matter and the
general scheme of the work, while the responsibility for defects in
detail must fall upon myself.
As regards the spelling of Malay words, it must be said that
geographical names have been spelled in the way which is now usually
adopted and without diacritical marks: the names of the principal
Native States of the Peninsula (most of which are repeatedly mentioned
in the book) are Kedah, Perak, Selangor, Johor, Pahang, Trengganu,
Kelantan, and Patani. Otherwise, except in quotations (where the
spelling of the original is preserved), an attempt has been made to
transliterate the Malay words found in the body of the book in such
a way as to give the ordinary reader a fairly correct idea of their
pronunciation. The Appendix, which appeals only to persons who already
know Malay, has been somewhat differently treated, diacritical marks
being inserted only in cases where there was a possible ambiguity, and
the spelling of the original MSS. being changed as little as possible.
A perfect transliteration, or one that will suit everybody, is,
however, an unattainable ideal, and the most that can be done in that
direction is necessarily a compromise. In the system adopted in the
body of the work, the vowels are to be sounded (roughly speaking)
as in Italian, except e (which resembles the French e in que, le,
and the like), and the consonants as in English (but ng as in singer,
not finger; g as in go; ny as ni in onion; ch as in church; final k
and initial h almost inaudible). The symbol ` represents the Arabic
`ain, and the symbol ' is used (1) between consonants, to indicate
the presence of an almost inaudible vowel, the shortest form of
e, and elsewhere (2) for the hamzah, and (3) for the apostrophe,
i.e. to denote the suppression of a letter or syllable. Both the
`ain and the hamzah may be neglected in pronunciation, as indeed they
are very generally disregarded by the Malays themselves. In this and
other respects, Arabic scholars into whose hands this book may fall
must not be surprised to find that Arabic words and phrases suffer
some corruptions in a Malay context. These have not, as a rule, been
interfered with or corrected, although it has not been thought worth
while to preserve obvious blunders of spelling in well-known Arabic
formulæ. It should be added that in Malay the accent or stress,
which is less marked than in English, falls almost invariably on
the penultimate syllable of the word. Exceptions to this rule hardly
ever occur except in the few cases where the penultimate is an open
syllable with a short vowel, as indicated by the sign [breve].
The illustrations are reproduced from photographs of models and
original objects made by Malays; most of these models and other
objects are now in the Cambridge Archæological and Ethnological Museum,
to which they were presented by the author.
The Index, for the compilation of which I am indebted to my wife, who
has also given me much assistance in the revision of the proof-sheets,
will, it is believed, add greatly to the usefulness of the work as
a book of reference.
C. O. BLAGDEN.
Woking, 28th August 1899.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
Nature, pp. 1-15 PAGE
(a) Creation of the World 1
(b) Natural Phenomena 5
CHAPTER II
Man and His Place in the Universe, pp. 16-55
(a) Creation of Man 16
(b) Sanctity of the Body 23
(c) The Soul 47
(d) Animal, Vegetable, and Mineral Souls 52
CHAPTER III
Relations with the Supernatural World, pp. 56-82
(a) The Magician 56
(b) High Places 61
(c) Nature of Rites 71
CHAPTER IV
The Malay Pantheon, pp. 83-106
(a) Gods 83
(b) Spirits, Demons, and Ghosts 93
CHAPTER V
Magic Rites connected with the Several Departments of Nature,
pp. 107-319
(a) Air--
1. Wind and Weather Charms 107
2. Birds and Bird Charms 109
(b) Earth--
1. Building Ceremonies and Charms 141
2. Beasts and Beast Charms 149
3. Vegetation Charms 193
4. Minerals and Mining Charms 250
(c) Water--
1. Purification by Water 277
2. The Sea, Rivers, and Streams 279
3. Reptiles and Reptile Charms 282
4. Fishing Ceremonies 306
(d) Fire--
1. Production of Fire 317
2. Fire Charms 318
CHAPTER VI
Magic Rites as affecting the Life of Man, pp. 320-580
1. Birth-Spirits 320
2. Birth Ceremonies 332
3. Adolescence 352
4. Personal Ceremonies and Charms 361
5. Betrothal 364
6. Marriage 368
7. Funerals 397
8. Medicine 408
9. Dances, Sports, and Games 457
10. Theatrical Exhibitions 503
11. War and Weapons 522
12. Divination and the Black Art 532
Appendix 581
Note on the word Kramat 673
List of Chief Authorities quoted 675
Index 677
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Fig. PAGE
1. Sacrificing at the Fishing Stakes 311
2. Invoking the Tiger Spirit 438
3. Stand used at Invocation of Spirits 447
4. Main Galah Panjang 500
5. Tapers used in exorcising Evil Spirits 511
6. Taper and Ring used in same Ceremony 512
7. Heptacle on which the Seven-Square is based 558
PLATES
Plate
1. Selangor Regalia 40
2. Spirits 94
3. The Spectre Huntsman 116
4. Pigeon Decoy Hut 133
5. Rice-Soul Baskets 244
6. Bajang and Pelesit Charms 321
7. Penanggalan and Langsuir 326
8. Betrothal Gifts 365
9. Betrothal Gifts 366
10. Curtain Fringe 372
11. Fig. 1.--Bridal Bouquets 375
Fig. 2.--The Henna Cake, etc. 375
12. Fig. 1.--Bridegroom's Headdress 378
Fig. 2.--Pillow-ends 378
13. Wedding Procession 381
14. Poko' Sirih 382
15. Wedding Centrepiece with Dragons, etc. 388
16. Bomor at Work 410
17. Anchak 414
18. Gambor 464
19. Pedikir 466
20. Fig. 1.--Musical Instruments 508
Fig. 2.--Demon Mask 508
21. Masks of Clowns and Demon 513
22. Kuda Sembrani 514
23. Fig. 1.--Hanuman 516
Fig. 2.--Pauh Janggi and Crab 516
24. Fig. 1.--Weather Chart 544
Fig. 2.--Diagram 544
25. Diagrams 555
26. Diagrams 558
27. Diagrams 561
28. Fig. 1.--Wax Figures 570
Fig. 2.--Spirit Umbrellas and Tapers 570
CHAPTER I
NATURE
(a) Creation of the World
The theory of the Creation most usually held by Peninsular Malays is
summarised in the following passage, quoted (in 1839) by Lieutenant
Newbold from a Malay folk-tale:--
"From the Supreme Being first emanated light towards chaos; this
light, diffusing itself, became the vast ocean. From the bosom of
the waters thick vapour and foam ascended. The earth and sea were
then formed, each of seven tiers. The earth rested on the surface
of the water from east to west. God, in order to render steadfast
the foundations of the world, which vibrated tremulously with the
motion of the watery expanse, girt it round with an adamantine chain,
viz. the stupendous mountains of Caucasus, the wondrous regions of
genii and aerial spirits. Beyond these limits is spread out a vast
plain, the sand and earth of which are of gold and musk, the stones
rubies and emeralds, the vegetation of odoriferous flowers.
"From the range of Caucasus all the mountains of the earth have
their origin as pillars to support and strengthen the terrestrial
framework." [1]
The Mountains of Caucasus are usually called by Malays Bukit Kof
(i.e. Kaf), or the Mountains of Kaf (which latter is their Arabic
name). These mountains are not unfrequently referred to in Malay
charms, e.g. in invocations addressed to the Rice-Spirit. The
Mountains of Kaf are to the Malays a great range which serves as a
"wall" (dinding) to the earth, and keeps off both excessive winds and
beasts of prey. This wall, however, is being bored through by people
called Yajuj and Majuj (Gog and Magog), and when they succeed in their
task the end of all things will come. Besides these mountains which
surround the earth there is a great central mountain called Mahameru
(Saguntang Maha Biru, or merely Saguntang-guntang). [2] In many Malay
stories this hill Mahameru is identified with Saguntang-guntang on
the borders of Palembang in Sumatra.
The account which I shall now give, however, differs considerably
from the preceding. It was taken down by me from an introduction to a
Malay charm-book belonging to a magician (one `Abdul Razzak of Klang
in Selangor), with whom I was acquainted, but who, though he allowed me
to copy it, would not allow me either to buy or borrow the book: [3]--
"In the days when Haze bore Darkness, and Darkness Haze, when the
Lord of the Outer Silence Himself was yet in the womb of Creation,
before the existence of the names of Earth and Heaven, of God and
Muhammad, of the Empyrean and Crystalline spheres, or of Space and
Void, the Creator of the entire Universe pre-existed by Himself,
and He was the Eldest Magician. He created the Earth of the width
of a tray and the Heavens of the width of an umbrella, which are
the universe of the Magician. Now from before the beginning of time
existed that Magician--that is, God--and He made Himself manifest
with the brightness of the moon and the sun, which is the token of
the True Magician."
The account proceeds to describe how God "created the pillar of the
Ka`bah, [4] which is the Navel of the Earth, whose growth is comparable
to a Tree, ... whose branches are four in number, and are called, the
first, 'Sajeratul Mentahar,' and the second 'Taubi,' and the third,
'Khaldi,' and the fourth 'Nasrun `Alam,' which extend unto the north,
south, east, and west, where they are called the Four Corners of
the World."
Next we read that the word of God Almighty came in secret to Gabriel,
saying, "Take me down the iron staff of the 'Creed' which dangles at
the gate of heaven, and kill me this serpent Sakatimuna." [5] Gabriel
did so, and the serpent brake asunder, the head and forepart shooting
up above the heavens, and the tail part penetrating downwards beneath
the earth. [6] The rest of the account is taken up with a description,
that need not here be repeated, of the transformation of all the
various parts of the serpent's anatomy, which are represented as
turning with a few exceptions into good and evil genii.
The most curious feature of the description is perhaps the marked
anthropomorphic character of this serpent, which shows it to be a
serpent in little more than name. It seems, in fact, very probable
that we have here a reminiscence of the Indian "Naga." [7] Thus we
find the rainbow (here divided into its component parts) described
as originating from the serpent's sword with its hilt and cross-piece
(guard), grass from the hair of its body, trees from the hair of its
head, rain from its tears, and dew from its sweat.
Another account, also obtained from a local magician, contains one
or two additional details about the tree. "Kun," said God, "Payah
[8] kun" said Muhammad, and a seed was created.
"The seed became a root (lit. sinew), the root a tree, and the tree
brought forth leaves.
"'Kun,' said God, 'Payah kun,' said Muhammad; ... Then were Heaven
and Earth (created), 'Earth of the width of a tray, Heaven of the
width of an umbrella.'"
This is a curious passage, and one not over-easy to explain; such
evidence as may be drawn from analogy suggests, however, that the
"Earth of the width of a tray, and Heaven of the width of an umbrella,"
may be intended to represent respectively the "souls" (semangat) of
heaven and earth, in which case they would bear the same relation to
the material heaven and earth as the man-shaped human soul does to
the body of a man.
(b) Natural Phenomena
"Most Malays," says Newbold, "with whom I have conversed on the
subject, imagine that the world is of an oval shape, revolving upon
its own axis four times in the space of one year; that the sun is
a circular body of fire moving round the earth, and producing the
alternations of night and day."
To this I would add that some Malays, at least, whom I questioned
on the subject (as well as some Sakais [9] under Malay influence),
imagined the firmament to consist of a sort of stone or rock which they
called Batu hampar, or "Bed rock," the appearance of stars being caused
(as they supposed) by the light which streams through its perforations.
A further development of the Malay theory of the earth declares it
to be carried by a colossal buffalo upon the tip of its horns. [10]
When one horn begins to tire the buffalo tosses it up and catches it
upon the tip of the other, thus causing periodical earthquakes. This
world-buffalo, it should be added, stands upon an island in the midst
of the nether ocean. [11] The universe is girt round by an immense
serpent or dragon (Ular Naga), which "feeds upon its own tail."
The Malay theory of the tides is concisely stated by Newbold: [12]--
"Some Malays ascribe the tides to the influence of the sun; others
to some unknown current of the ocean; but the generality believe
confidently the following, which is a mere skeleton of the original
legend. In the middle of the great ocean grows an immense tree,
called Pauh Jangi, [13] at the root of which is a cavern called
Pusat Tassek, or navel of the lake. This is inhabited by a vast crab,
who goes forth at stated periods during the day. When the creature
returns to its abode the displaced water causes the flow of the tide;
when he departs, the water rushing into the cavern causes the ebb."
Mr. Clifford gives a slightly different explanation:--
"The Pusat tasek, or Navel of the Seas, supposed to be a huge hole in
the ocean bottom. In this hole there sits a gigantic crab which twice
a day gets out in order to search for food. While he is sitting in
the hole the waters of the ocean are unable to pour down into the
under world, the whole of the aperture being filled and blocked by
the crab's bulk. The inflowing of the rivers into the sea during
these periods are supposed to cause the rising of the tide, while
the downpouring of the waters through the great hole when the crab
is absent searching for food is supposed to cause the ebb."
Concerning the wonderful legendary tree (the Pauh Janggi) the following
story was related to me by a Selangor Malay:--
"There was once a Selangor man named Haji Batu, or the Petrified
Pilgrim, who got this name from the fact that the first joints of all
the fingers of one hand had been turned into stone. This happened in
the following manner. In the old days when men went voyaging in sailing
vessels, he determined to visit Mecca, and accordingly set sail. After
sailing for about two months they drifted out of their course for some
ten or fifteen days, and then came to a part of the sea where there
were floating trunks of trees, together with rice-straw (batang padi)
and all manner of flotsam. Yet again they drifted for seven days,
and upon the seventh night Haji Batu dreamed a dream. In this dream
one who wore the pilgrim's garb appeared to him, and warned him to
carry on his person a hammer and seven nails, and when he came to
a tree which would be the Pauh Janggi he was to drive the first of
the nails into its stem and cling thereto. Next day the ship reached
the great whirlpool which is called the Navel of the Seas, [14] and
while the ship was being sucked into the eddy close to the tree and
engulfed, Haji Batu managed to drive the first nail home, and clung
to it as the ship went down. After a brief interval he endeavoured to
drive in the second nail, somewhat higher up the stem than the first
(why Haji Batu could not climb without the aid of nails history does
not relate), and drawing himself up by it, drove in the third. Thus
progressing, by the time he had driven in all the seven nails he had
reached the top of the tree, when he discovered among the branches
a nest of young rocs. Here he rested, and having again been advised
in a dream, he waited. On the following day, when the parent roc had
returned and was engaged in feeding its young with an elephant which
it had brought for the purpose, he bound himself to its feathers with
his girdle, and was carried in this manner many hundreds of miles
to the westward, where, upon the roc's nearing the ground, he let
himself go, and thus dropping to the earth, fell into a swoon. On
recovering consciousness he walked on till he came to a house, where
he asked for and obtained some refreshment. On his departure he was
advised to go westward, and so proceeded for a long distance until he
arrived at a beautifully clear pool in an open plain, around which
were to be seen many stone figures of human beings. The appearance
of these stone figures rendering him suspicious, he refrained from
drinking the water, and dipped into it merely the tips of his fingers,
which became immediately petrified. Proceeding he met a vast number of
wild animals--pigs, deer, and elephants--which were fleeing from the
pursuit of a beast of no great size indeed, but with fiery red fur. He
therefore prudently climbed into a tree to allow it to pass. The
beast, however, pursued him and commenced to climb the tree, but as
it climbed he drove the point of his poniard (badik) into its skull,
and killed it. He then robbed it of its whiskers, and thereafter, on
his reaching a town, everybody fled from him because of the whiskers
which had belonged to so fierce a beast. The Raja of that country,
begging for one of them, and giving him food, he presented him with
one of the whiskers in payment. After paying his way in a similar
manner at seven successive villages, the Petrified Pilgrim at length
reached Mecca."
"Bores," or "eagres," at the mouths of rivers, and floods [15] due to
heavy rain, are conceived to be caused by the passage of some gigantic
animal, most probably a sort of dragon, as in the case of landslips,
which will be mentioned later.
This animal, whose passage up rivers is held to cause the tidal wave
or bore, is called Bena in Selangor. It is a matter of common report
among Malays at Jugra, on the Selangor coast, that a bore formerly
"frequented" the Langat river, near its mouth. This was anterior
to the severance of the narrow neck of land [16] at Bandar that
divided the old channel of the Langat river from the stream into
which the waters of the Langat now flow, forming the short cut to
the sea called the Jugra Passage. In the days when the bore came up
the river the Malays used to go out in small canoes or dug-outs to
"sport amongst the breakers" (main gelombang), frequently getting
upset for their pains. Eventually, however (I was told), the bore
was killed by a Langat Malay, who struck it upon the head with a
stick! It is considered that this must be true, since there is no
bore in the Langat river now!
Eclipses (Gerhana) of the sun or moon are considered to be the outward
and visible sign of the devouring of those bodies [17] by a sort of
gigantic dragon (rahu) [18] or dog (anjing). Hence the tumult made
during an eclipse by the Malays, who imagine that if they make a
sufficient din they will frighten the monster away.
The following is an excellent description of a lunar eclipse from
the Malay point of view:--
"One night, when the Moon has waxed nearly to the full, Pekan resounds
with a babel of discordant noise. The large brass gongs, in which
the devils of the Chinese are supposed to take delight, clang and
clash and bray through the still night air; the Malay drums throb and
beat and thud; all manner of shrill yells fill the sky, and the roar
of a thousand native voices rises heavenwards, or rolls across the
white waters of the river, which are flecked with deep shadows and
reflections. The jungles on the far bank take up the sound and send
it pealing back in recurring ringing echoes till the whole world seems
to shout in chorus. The Moon which bathes the earth in splendour, the
Moon which is so dear to each one of us, is in dire peril this night,
for that fierce monster, the Gerhana, [19] whom we hate and loathe,
is striving to swallow her. You can mark his black bulk creeping over
her, dimming her face, consuming her utterly, while she suffers in the
agony of silence. How often in the past has she served us with the
light; how often has she made night more beautiful than day for our
tired, sun-dazed eyes to look upon; and shall she now perish without
one effort on our part to save her by scaring the Monster from his
prey? No! A thousand times no! So we shout, and clang the gongs,
and beat the drums, till all the animal world joins in the tumult,
and even inanimate nature lends its voice to swell the uproar with
a thousand resonant echoes. At last the hated Monster reluctantly
retreats. Our war-cry has reached his ears, and he slinks sullenly
away, and the pure, sad, kindly Moon looks down in love and gratitude
upon us, her children, to whose aid she owes her deliverance." [20]
The "spots on the moon" [21] are supposed to represent an inverted
banyan tree (Beringin songsang), underneath which an aged hunchback
is seated plaiting strands of tree bark (pintal tali kulit t'rap)
to make a fishing-line, wherewith he intends to angle for everything
upon the earth as soon as his task is completed. It has never been
completed yet, however, for a rat always gnaws the line through in
time to save mankind from disaster, despite the vigilance of the
old man's cat, which is always lying in wait for the offender. [22]
It is perhaps scarcely necessary to add that when the line reaches
the earth the end of the world will come.
"Bujang ('single,' 'solitary,' and hence in a secondary sense
'unmarried') is a Sanskrit word bhujangga, 'a dragon.' 'Bujang Malaka,'
a mountain in Perak, is said by the Malays of that State to have
been so called because it stands alone, and could be seen from the
sea by traders who plied in old days between the Perak river and
the once flourishing port of Malacca. But it is just as likely to
have been named from some forgotten legend in which a dragon played
a part. Dragons and mountains are generally connected in Malay
ideas. The caves in the limestone hill Gunong Pondok, in Perak,
are said to be haunted by a genius loci in the form of a snake who
is popularly called Si Bujang. This seems to prove beyond doubt the
identity of bujang with bhujangga. [23] The snake-spirit of Gunong
Pondok is sometimes as small as a viper, and sometimes as large
as a python, but he may always be identified by his spotted neck,
which resembles that of a wood-pigeon (tekukur). Landslips on the
mountains, which are tolerably frequent during very heavy rains,
and which, being produced by the same cause, are often simultaneous
with the flooding of rivers and the destruction of property, are
attributed by the natives to the sudden breaking forth of dragons
(naga), which have been performing religious penance (ber-tapa)
[24] in the mountains, and which are making their way to the sea." [25]
So, too, many waterfalls and rocks of unusual shape are thought to
owe their remarkable character to the agency of demons. This, however,
is a subject which will be treated more fully later on.
"Palangi, the usual Malay word for the rainbow, means 'striped.' The
name varies, however, in different localities. In Perak it is called
palangi minum [26] (from a belief that it is the path by which spirits
descend to the earth to drink), while in Penang it is known as ular
danu ('the snake danu'). In Perak, a rainbow which stretches in an
arch across the sky is called bantal ('the pillow '), for some reason
that I have been unable to ascertain. [27] When only a small portion
of a rainbow is visible, which seems to touch the earth, it is called
tunggul ('the flag'), [28] and if this is seen at some particular point
of the compass--the west, I think--it betokens, the Perak Malays say,
the approaching death of a Raja. Another popular belief is that the
ends of the rainbow rest upon the earth, and that if one could dig at
the exact spot covered by one end of it, an untold treasure would be
found there. Unfortunately, no one can ever arrive at the place." [29]
"Sunset is the hour when evil spirits of all kinds have most
power. [30] In Perak, children are often called indoors at this time
to save them from unseen dangers. Sometimes, with the same object,
a woman belonging to the house where there are young children,
will chew kuniet terus (an evil-smelling root), supposed to be much
disliked by demons of all kinds, and spit it out at seven different
points as she walks round the house.
"The yellow glow which spreads over the western sky, when it is
lighted up with the last rays of the dying sun, is called mambang
kuning ('the yellow deity'), a term indicative of the superstitious
dread associated with this particular period." [31]
CHAPTER II
MAN AND HIS PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE
(a) Creation of Man
A common feature in Malay romances and legends is a description of
the supernatural development of a young child in the interior of some
vegetable production, usually a bamboo.
Sir W. E. Maxwell has pointed out the fact of the existence, both in
Malay and Japanese legends, of the main features of this story, to
which he assigns a Buddhistic origin. He tells the story as follows:--
"The Raja of the Bamboo.--Some years ago I collected a number of
legends current among Malayan tribes having as their principal
incident the supernatural development of a prince, princess, or
demi-god in the stem of a bamboo, or tree, or the interior of some
closed receptacle. [32] I omitted, however, to mention that this very
characteristic Malay myth occurs in the "Sri Rama," a Malay prose
hikayat, [33] which, as its name betokens, professes to describe the
adventures of the hero of the Ramayana.
"Roorda van Eysinga's edition of the Sri Rama opens with an account of
how Maharaja Dasaratha sent his Chief Mantri, [34] Puspa Jaya Karma,
to search for a suitable place at which to found a settlement. The site
having been found and cleared, the narrative proceeds as follows:--
"'Now there was a clump of the betong [35] bamboo (sa'rumpun buluh
betong), the colour of which was like gold of ten touch (amas sapuloh
mutu), and its leaves like silver. All the trees which grew near
bent in its direction, and it looked like a state umbrella (payong
manuwangi [36]). The Mantri and people chopped at it, but as fast
as they cut down a branch on one side, a fresh one shot forth on
the other, to the great astonishment of all the Rajas, Mantris, and
warriors. Puspa Vikrama Jaya hastened back to King Dasaratha and
laid the matter before him. The latter was greatly surprised, and
declared that he would go himself the next day and see the bamboo cut
down. Next day he set out on a white elephant, attended by a splendid
train of chiefs and followers, and on reaching the spot ordered the
bamboo clump to be cut down. Vikrama Puspa Jaya pointed it out, shaded
by the other forest trees. The king perceived that it was of very
elegant appearance, and that an odour like spices and musk proceeded
from it. He told Puspa Jaya Vikrama to cut it down, and the latter
drew his sword, which was as big as the stem of a cocoa-nut tree, and
with one stroke cut down one of the bamboos. But immediately a fresh
stem shot forth on the other side, and this happened as often as a
stroke was given. Then the king grew wroth, and getting down from his
elephant he drew his own sword and made a cut with it at the bamboo,
which severed a stem. Then, by the divine decree of the Dewatas,
the king became aware of a female form in the bamboo clump seated on
a highly ornamented platform (geta), her face shining like the full
moon when it is fourteen days old, and the colour of her body being
like gold of ten touch. On this, King Dasaratha quickly unloosed his
girdle and saluted the princess. Then he lifted her on to his elephant
and took her to his palace escorted by music and singing.'" [37]
I myself have heard among the Selangor Malays similar legends to the
above, which, as already pointed out, are common in Malay romances. A
parallel myth is described in the following words:-- |
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