"Peace be with you, Khailir (Khizr), Prophet of God and Lord
of water,
Maduraya is the name of your sire,
Madaruti the name of your mother,
Si Kekas the name of their child;
Accept this present from your younger brother, Si Kekas,
Cause him no sickness or headache.
Here is his, your younger brother's, present."
Here the limas is set adrift, and the water underneath it scooped up
and carried home, where it is used for bathing the sick man.
Another very simple form of "propitiation" is called ambang-ambangan,
and is performed as follows:--
Take seven "chews" of betel-leaf, seven native cigarettes (rokok),
seven bananas, an egg, and an overflowing chupak (half cocoa-nutful)
of parched rice (ber'tih sa-chupak abong), [663] roll them all up
together in a banana leaf (which must be a cubit in length and of
the same variety of banana as the first), and deposit them in a place
where three roads meet (if anything "a little way along the left-hand
road of the three,") and repeat this charm:--
"Jembalang Jembali, Demon of the Earth,
Accept this portion as your payment
And restore So-and-So.
But if you do not restore him
I shall curse you with the saying,
'There is no god but God,'" etc.
The above ceremony is generally used in the case of fever complaint.
Counter-charms for "neutralising" the active principle of poisons form,
as a rule, one of the most important branches of the pharmacopoeic
system among the less civilised Malay tribes. A settled form of
government and the softening of manners due to contact with European
civilisation has, however, diminished the importance (I speak, of
course, from the Malay point of view) of this branch of the subject
in the Western Malay States of the Peninsula, where poisoning cases
are very rarely heard of. Malay women have always possessed the
reputation of being especially proficient in the use of poison;
ground glass and the furry spicules obtained from the leaf-cases of
some kinds of bamboo being their favourite weapons.
This idea (of using a charm to "neutralise" the active principle of
poison) has been extended by Malay medicine-men to cover all cases
where any evil principle (even, for instance, a familiar spirit) is
believed to have entered the sick person's system. All such charms are
piously regarded by devout Muhammadans as gifts due to the mercy of
God, who is believed to have sent them down to the Prophet Muhammad
by the hand of his servant Gabriel. This doctrine we find clearly
stated in the charms themselves, e.g. (somewhat tautologically):--
"Neutralising charms sprang from God,
Neutralising charms were created by God,
Neutralising charms were a boon from God,
Who commanded Prince Gabriel
To bring them unto Muhammad."
The ceremony of applying such charms generally takes the form of
grating a bezoar-stone [664] (batu guliga), mixing the result with
water, and drinking it after repeating the charm.
Thus in one of the charms quoted in the Appendix we read:--
"The Upas loses its venom,
And Poison loses its venom,
And the Sea-Snake loses its venom,
And the poison-tree of Borneo loses its venom,
Everything that is venomous loses its venom,
By virtue of my use of the Prayer of the Magic Bezoar-Stone."
Of the sea-snake (ular gerang) I was told that it was about two cubits
in length, and that it was the most poisonous snake in existence;
"In fact," my informant declared, "if your little finger is bitten
by it you must cut off the finger; if your oar-blade is bitten by it
you must throw away the oar." [665] And again of the Ipoh, or "upas"
(which is one of the chief ingredients in the blow-gun poison used
by the wild tribes), I was told that if a man who was "struck" by
it was supported by another his supporter would die, and that so
far from its virulence becoming then exhausted, it would even kill
a person who was seven times removed, in point of contact, from the
person originally affected. [666]
The above charm terminates as follows:--
"Let this my prayer be sharp as steel,
Swift as lightning,
Fleet as the wind!
Grant this by virtue of my use of the prayer of Dato' Malim
Karimun,
Who has become a saint through religious penance
Performed at the headwaters of the river of Sairan in the interior
of Egypt,
By the grace of," etc.
I may add that when you are collecting the materials for a neutralising
ceremony (tawar) the following formula should be used:--
"Not mine are these materials,
They are the materials of Kemal-ul-hakim; [667]
Not to me belongs this neutralising charm,
To Malim Saidi belongs this neutralising charm.
It is not I who apply it,
It is Malim Karimun who applies it."
Badi
The next class of medicinal ceremonies consists of rites intended to
effect the expulsion from the patient's body of all kinds of evil
influences or principles, such as may have entered into a man who
has unguardedly touched a dead animal or bird from which the badi
has not yet been expelled, or who has met with the Wild Huntsman in
the forest. [668]
Badi is the name given to the evil principle which, according to the
view of Malay medicine-men, attends (like an evil angel) everything
that has life. [It must not be forgotten when we find it used of
inert objects, such as trees, and even of stones or minerals, that
these too are animate objects from the Malay point of view.] Von de
Wall describes it as "the enchanting or destroying influence which
issues from anything, e.g. from a tiger which one sees, [669] from
a poison-tree which one passes under, from the saliva of a mad dog,
from an action which one has performed; the contagious principle of
morbid matter."
Hence the ceremony which purports to drive out this evil principle is
of no small importance in Malay medicine. I may take this opportunity
of pointing out that I have used the word "mischief" to translate
it when dealing with the charms, as this is the nearest English
equivalent which I have been able to find; indeed, it appears a very
fairly exact equivalent when we remember its use in English in such
phrases as "It's got the mischief in it," which is sometimes used
even of inanimate objects.
There are a hundred and ninety of these mischiefs, according to some,
according to others, a hundred and ninety-three. Their origin is very
variously given. One authority says that the first badi sprang from
three drops of Adam's blood (which were spilt on the ground). Another
(rather inconsistently) declares that the "mischief" (badi) residing
in an iguana (biawak) was the origin of all subsequent "mischiefs,"
yet adds later that the "Heart of Timber" was their origin, and yet
again that the yellow glow at sunset (called Mambang Kuning or the
"Yellow Deity") was their origin. These two latter are, perhaps the
most usual theories, but a third medicine-man declares that the first
badi was the offspring of the Jin ("genie") Ibn Ujan (Ibnu Jan?),
who resides in the clouds (or caverns?) and hollows of the hills. Thus
do Malay medicine-men disagree.
These "mischiefs" reside not only in animate, but also in inanimate
objects. Thus in one of the elephant-charms given in the Appendix
several different "mischiefs" are described as residing in earth,
ant-hills, wood, water, stone, and elephants (or rhinoceroses)
respectively. Again, in a deer-charm, various "mischiefs" are
requested to return to their place of origin, i.e. to the Iguana
(strictly speaking, the Monitor Lizard), Heart of Timber, and the
Yellow Glow of Sunset. Yet another deer-charm calls upon "Badi"
(as the offspring of the Jin Ibn Ujan, who resides in the clouds and
hollows of the hills), to return thereto. [670]
I will now proceed to describe the ceremony of "casting out" these
"mischiefs."
The chief occasions on which this casting out takes place are, first,
when somebody is ill, and his sickness is attributed to his accidental
contact with (and consequent "possession by") one of these mischiefs;
and, secondly, when any wild animal or bird is killed. The ceremony of
casting out the mischief from the carcases of big game will be found
described under the heading of "Hunting Ceremonies." I shall here
confine myself to a brief description of the ceremony as conducted
for the benefit of sick persons.
First make up a bunch of leaves (sa-cherek), consisting of the shrubs
called pulut-pulut and selaguri, with branches of the gandarusa and
lenjuang merah (red dracæna), all of which are wrapped together in a
leaf of the si-pulih, and tied round with a piece of tree-bark (kulit
t'rap), or the akar gasing-gasing. With this leaf-brush you are to
cast out the mischief. Then you grate on to a saucer small pieces
of ebony wood, brazil wood, "laka" wood, sandalwood, and eagle-wood
(lignaloes), mix them with water, putting in a few small pieces of
scrap-iron, and rub the patient all over with the mixture.
As you do this, repeat the appropriate charm; then take the brush of
leaves and stroke the patient all over downwards from head to foot,
saying:--
"Peace be with you, Prophet Noah, to whom belong the trees,
And Prophet Elias who planted them.
I crave as a boon the leaves of these shrubs
To be a drug and a neutralising (power)
Within the body, frame, and person of So-and-So.
If you (addressing the leaves) refuse to enter (the body of
So-and-So),
You shall be cursed with my 'curse of the nine countries,'
By (the power of) the word 'There is no god but God,'" etc.
Whilst reciting the above, stand upright, close to the patient's head,
grasping a spear in your left hand. Brandish this spear over the body
of the patient, drawing a long breath. [671]
This spear must afterwards be ransomed, (say) for forty cents; in
default of which payment it is forfeited to the medicine-man.
The directions for another form of the ceremony just described
("casting out the mischief"), are as follows:--
Whenever a person is suffering from the influence of a waxen image
(such as is described elsewhere), [672] you must rub him (or her)
all over with limes in order to "cast out the mischief." These limes
must be of seven different kinds, and you will require three of each
kind. When you have got them, fumigate them with incense and repeat
the appropriate charm, which is practically an appeal addressed to the
spirit of the limes to assist in extracting the poisonous principle
from the body of the sick man:--
"Peace be with you, O Lelang,
We have been brothers from the former time until now,
I am fain to order you to assist me in extracting everything that
is poisonous
From the body and limbs of So-and-So.
Break not your solemn promise,
Break not your plighted faith,
And use not deceit or wiles," etc.
Of course the luckless spirit is told that if he does not do exactly
as he is bidden he must expect the curse to follow.
This charm must be repeated overnight, and early next morning three
thicknesses of birah leaves must be laid down (for the patient to
stand upon during the lustration). The seven sorts of limes are
at the same time to be squeezed into a bowl and divided into three
portions. These portions are to be used three times during the day,
at sunrise, noon, and sundown respectively, partly for washing off
the cosmetics (which are rubbed all over the body), and partly as a
medicinal draught or potion.
In the morning the cosmetic must be white (bedak puteh lulut), at noon
it must be red (bedak merah), and at sundown black (bedak hitam). The
"trash" of the limes (after squeezing) is wrapped up in a birah
leaf at evening, and either carried out to the sea (into which it is
dropped), or deposited ashore at a safe distance from the house. The
only special taboo mentioned for this ceremony is that the patient must
not during its continuance meet anybody who has come from a distance.
Another very curious form of this ceremony of "casting out devils" was
described to me by a Kelantan Malay. It is worked on the substitute
or "scapegoat" principle (tukar ganti), and the idea is to make
little dough images of all kinds of birds, beasts, fishes, and even
inanimate objects (a few of the former being fowls, ducks, horses,
apes, buffaloes, bullocks, wild cattle (seladang), deer, mouse-deer,
and elephants, besides those enumerated in the charm itself, whilst
exceptions are to be the "unlucky" animals (benatang sial) such as
cats, tigers, pigs, dogs, snakes, and iguanas). When made they are
to be deposited together in a heap upon a sacrificial tray (anchak),
together with betel-leaves, cigarettes, and tapers. One of the tapers
is made to stand upon a silver dollar, with the end of a piece of
particoloured thread inserted between the dollar and the foot of the
taper; and the other end of this thread is given to the patient to
hold whilst the necessary charm is being repeated.
Part of this charm is worth quoting, as it helps to explain the line
of thought on which the medicine-man is working:--
"I have made a substitute for you,
And engage you for hire.
As for your wish to eat, I give you food,
As for your wish to drink, I give you drink.
Lo, I give you good measure whether of sharks,
Skates, lobsters, crabs, shell-fish (both of land and sea)--
Every kind of substitute I give you,
Good measure whether of flesh or of blood, both cooked and raw.
Accept, accept duly this banquet of mine.
It was good at the first: if it is not good now,
It is not I who give it."
The explanation of this part of the ceremony is that the evil spirit,
or "mischief," is supposed to leave the body of the sick man, and to
proceed (guided, of course, by the many-coloured thread which the
patient holds in his hand) to enter into the choice collection of
"scapegoats" lying in the tray. As soon as his devilship is got fairly
into the tray, the medicine-man looses three slip-knots (lepas-lepas),
and repeats a charm to induce the evil spirit to go, and throws away
the untied knots outside the house.
The original "disease-boat" used in Selangor was a model of a special
kind of Malay vessel called lanchang. This lanchang was a two-masted
vessel with galleries (dandan) fore and aft, armed with cannon,
and used by Malay Rajas on the Sumatran coast. This latter fact was,
no doubt, one reason for its being selected as the type of boat most
likely to prove acceptable to the spirits. To make it still further
acceptable, however, the model was not unfrequently stained with
turmeric or saffron, yellow being recognised as the royal colour
among the Malays.
Occasionally, on the other hand, a mere raft (rakit) is set adrift,
sometimes a small model of the balei (state-chamber), and sometimes
only a set of the banana-leaf receptacles called limas.
The vessel in the case of an important person is occasionally of
great size and excellent finish--indeed, local tradition has it that
an exceptionally large and perfect specimen (which was launched upon
the Klang river in Selangor some years ago, on the occasion of an
illness of the Tungku 'Chik, eldest daughter of the late Sultan),
was actually towed down to sea by the Government steam launch `Abdul
Samad. When all is ready the lanchang is loaded with offerings, which
are of an exactly similar character to those which are deposited
on the sacrificial tray or anchak [673] already described. Then one
end of a piece of yellow thread is fastened to the patient's wrist
(the other end being presumably made fast to the spirit-boat, or
lanchang); incense is burnt and a charm recited, the purport of it
being to persuade the evil spirits which have taken possession of the
patient to enter on board the vessel. This, when they are thought
to have done so, is then [674] taken down to the sea or river and
set adrift, invariably at the ebb tide, which is supposed to carry
the boat (and the spirits with it) "to another country." One of the
charms used at this stage of the ceremony even mentions the name of
the country to which the devils are to be carried, the place singled
out for this distinction being the Island of Celebes! The passage in
question runs as follows:--
"Peace be unto you, Devils of the sea, and Demons of the sea,
Neither on cape, nor bay, nor sandbank be ye stuck or stranded!
This vessel (lanchang) is that of Arong, [675]
Do you assist in guarding this offering from his grandchildren,
And vex not this vessel.
I request you to escort it to the land of Celebes,
To its own place.
By the grace of," etc.
This same charm is used mutatis mutandis for the Balei (Spirit-hall).
A common form of the "Lanchang" charm runs as follows:--
"Ho, elders of the upper reaches,
Elders of the lower reaches,
Elders of the dry land,
Elders of the river-flats,
Assemble ye, O people, Lords of hill and hill-foot,
Lords of cavern and hill-locked basin,
Lords of the deep primeval forest,
Lords of the river-bends,
Come on board this Lanchang, assembling in your multitudes,
So may ye depart with the ebbing stream,
Depart on the passing breeze,
Depart in the yawning earth,
Depart in the red-dyed earth.
Go ye to the ocean which has no wave,
And the plain where no green herb grows,
And never return hither.
But if ye return hither,
Ye shall be consumed by the curse.
At sea ye shall get no drink,
Ashore ye shall get no food,
But gape (in vain) about the world.
By the grace of," etc.
Sometimes the crocodile-spirit is requested to act as the forwarding
agent in the transaction; thus we find a short lanchang-charm running
as follows:--
"Ho, Elder of the Sloping Bank, Jambu Agai, [676]
Receive this (lanchang) and forward it to the River-Bay,
It is So-and-So who presents it.
Sa-rekong is the name of the (spirit of the) Bay,
Sa-reking the name of the (spirit of the) Cape,
Si `Abas, their child, is the rocky islet;
I ask (you) to forward this present at once to the God of
Mid-currents."
A somewhat longer charm, which is given in the Appendix, commences
by making an interesting point--
"Peace be with you! O crew newly come from your shipwrecked barque
on the high seas,
Spurned by the billows, blown about by the gale;
Come on board (this lanchang) in turn and get you food."
. . . . . . . . .
The speaker goes on to say that he recognises their right to levy
toll all over the country, and has made this lanchang for them as
a substitute (tukar ganti), implying, no doubt, in place of the one
which they had lost. In any case, however, there can be little doubt
that the "barque wrecked on the high seas" is the wasted body of the
sick man, of which the spirits were so recently in possession, and
in substitution for which they are offered the spirit-boat in question.
Tiger Spirit
I shall now proceed to describe the ceremony of invoking the Tiger
Spirit for the purpose of obtaining his assistance in expelling a
rival spirit of less power.
In the autumn of 1896 (in the Kuala Langat District of Selangor)
the brother of my Malay collector `Umar happening to fall ill of
some slight ailment, I asked and obtained permission to be present
at the ceremony of doctoring the patient. The time fixed for the
commencement of the ceremony (which is usually repeated for three
consecutive nights) was seven o'clock on the following evening. On
reaching the house at the time appointed I was met by `Umar, and
ascending the house-ladder, was invited to seat myself upon a mat
about two yards from the spot where the medicine-man was expected
to take up his position. Having done so, and looking round, I found
that there were in all nine persons present (including myself,
but exclusive of the Pawang, his wife, or the patient), and I was
informed that although it is not necessary for the same persons to
be present on each of the three nights, the greatest care must be
taken to see that the number of persons present, which should never,
in strictness, be an even number, does not vary from night to night,
because to allow any such variation would be to court disaster. Hence
I myself was only enabled to be present as a substitute for one of the
sick man's relatives who had been there on the preceding night. [677]
The accompanying diagram shows (approximately) the relative positions
of all who were present. In one corner of the room was the patient's
bed (sleeping-mat) and mosquito curtain with a patchwork front, and
in a line parallel to the bed stood the three jars of water, each
decorated with the sort of fringe or collar of plaited cocoa-nut
fronds called "centipedes' feet" (jari 'lipan), and each, too,
furnished with a fresh yam-leaf covering to its mouth. A little
nearer to me than the three water-jars, but in the same line, stood
a fairly big jar similarly decorated, but filled with a big bouquet
of artificial "flowers" and ornaments instead of the water. These
flowers were skilfully manufactured from plaited strips of palm-leaf,
and in addition to mere "flowers" represented such objects as rings,
cocoa-nuts, centipedes, doves, and the like, all of which were made
of the plaited fronds referred to. This invention was intended (I was
informed) to represent a pleasure-garden (taman bunga), and indeed
was so called; it was (I believe) intended to attract the spirit
whom it was the object of the ceremony to invoke. In front of the
three jars stood, as a matter of course, a censer filled with burning
embers, and a box containing the usual accessories for the chewing of
betel. Everything being now ready, the medicine-man appeared and took
his seat beside the censer, his wife, an aged woman, whose office was
to chant the invocation, to her own accompaniment, taking her seat at
the same time near the head of the patient's sleeping-mat. Presently
she struck up the invocation (lagu pemanggil), and we listened in rapt
attention as the voice, at first weak and feeble with age, gathered
strength and wailed ever higher and shriller up to the climax at the
end of the chant. At the time it was hard to distinguish the words,
but I learnt from her afterwards that this was what she sang:--
"Peace be unto you, Penglima Lenggang Laut!
Of no ordinary beauty
Is the Vessel of Penglima Lenggang Laut!
The Vessel that is called 'The Yellow Spirit-boat,'
The Vessel that is overlaid with vermilion and ivory,
The Vessel that is gilded all over;
Whose Mast is named 'Prince Mendela,'
Whose Shrouds are named 'The Shrouds that are silvered,'
Whose Oars are named 'The Feet of the Centipede'
(And whose Oarsmen are twice seven in number).
Whose Side is named 'Civet-cat Fencing,'
Whose Rudder is named 'The Pendulous Bees'-nest,'
Whose Galleries are named 'Struggling Pythons,'
Whose Pennon flaps against the deckhouse,
Whose Streamers sport in the wind,
And whose Standard waves so bravely.
Come hither, good sir; come hither, my master,
It is just the right moment to veer your vessel.
Master of the Anchor, heave up the anchor;
Master of the Foretop, spread the sails;
Master of the Helm, turn the helm;
Oarsmen, bend your oars;
Whither is our vessel yawing to?
The vessel whose starting-place is the Navel of the Seas,
And that yaws towards the Sea where the 'Pauh Janggi' grows,
Sporting among the surge and breakers,
Sporting among the surge and following the wave-ridges.
It were well to hasten, O Penglima Lenggang Laut,
Be not careless or slothful,
Linger not by inlet or river-reach,
Dally not with mistress or courtesan,
But descend and enter into your embodiment."
A number of rhymed stanzas follow which will be found in the Appendix.
Meanwhile the medicine-man was not backward in his preparations for
the proper reception of the spirit. First he scattered incense on
the embers and fumigated himself therewith, "shampooing" himself,
so to speak, with his hands, and literally bathing in the cloud of
incense which volumed up from the newly-replenished censer and hung
like a dense gray mist over his head. Next he inhaled the incense
through his nostrils, and announced in the accents of what is called
the spirit-language (bhasa hantu) that he was going to "lie down." This
he accordingly did, reclining upon his back, and drawing the upper end
of his long plaid sarong over his head so as to completely conceal
his features. The invocation was not yet ended, and for some time
we sat in the silence of expectation. At length, however, the moment
of possession arrived, and with a violent convulsive movement, which
was startling in its suddenness, the "Pawang" rolled over on to his
face. Again a brief interval ensued, and a second but somewhat less
violent spasm shook his frame, the spasm being strangely followed
by a dry and ghostly cough. A moment later and the Pawang, still
with shrouded head, was seated bolt upright facing the tambourine
player. Then he fronted round, still in a sitting posture, until he
faced the jars, and removed the yam-leaf covering from the mouth of
each jar in turn.
Next he kindled a wax taper at the flame of a lamp placed for the
purpose just behind the jars, and planted it firmly on the brim of
the first jar by spilling a little wax upon the spot where it was to
stand. Two similar tapers having been kindled and planted upon the
brims of the second and third jars, he then partook of a "chew" of
betel-leaf (which was presented to him by one of the women present),
crooning the while to himself.
This refreshment concluded, he drew from his girdle a bezoar or
talismanic stone (batu penawar), and proceeded to rub it all over the
patient's neck and shoulders. Then, facing about, he put on a new white
jacket and head-cloth which had been placed beside him for his use,
and girding his plaid (sarong) about his waist, drew from its sheath
a richly-wrought dagger (k'ris) which he fumigated in the smoke of
the censer and returned to its scabbard.
He next took three silver 20-cent pieces of "Straits" coinage, to
serve as batu buyong, or "jar-stones," and after "charming" them
dropped each of the three in turn into one of the water-jars, and
"inspected" them intently as they lay at the bottom of the water,
shading, at the same time, his eyes with his hand from the light
of the tapers. He now charmed several handfuls of rice ("parched,"
"washed," and "saffron" rice), and after a further inspection declared,
in shrill, unearthly accents, that each of the coins was lying exactly
under its own respective taper, and that therefore his "child" (the
sick man) was very dangerously ill, though he might yet possibly
recover with the aid of the spirit. Next, scattering the rice round
the row of jars (the track of the rice thus forming an ellipse),
he broke off several small blossom-stalks from a sheaf of areca-palm
blossom, and making them up with sprays of champaka into three separate
bouquets, placed one of these improvised nosegays in each of the three
jars of water. On the floor at the back of the row of jars he next
deposited a piece of white cloth, five cubits in length, which he had
just previously fumigated. Again drawing the dagger already referred
to, the Pawang now successively plunged it up to the hilt into each
of the three bouquets (in which hostile spirits might, I was told,
possibly be lurking). Then seizing an unopened blossom-spathe of the
areca-palm, he anointed the latter all over with "oil of Celebes,"
extracted the sheaf of palm-blossom from its casing, fumigated it,
and laid it gently across the patient's breast. Rapidly working
himself up into a state of intense excitement, and with gestures of
the utmost vehemence, he now proceeded to "stroke" the patient with
the sheaf of blossom rapidly downwards, in the direction of the feet,
on reaching which he beat out the blossom against the floor. Then
turning the patient over on to his face, and repeating the stroking
process, he again beat out the blossom, and then sank back exhausted
upon the floor, where he lay face downwards, with his head once more
enveloped in the folds of the sarong.
A long interval now ensued, but at length, after many convulsive
twitchings, the shrouded figure arose, amid the intense excitement
of the entire company, and went upon its hands and feet. The Tiger
Spirit had taken possession of the Pawang's body, and presently a low,
but startlingly life-like growl--the unmistakable growl of the dreaded
"Lord of the Forest"--seemed to issue from somewhere under our feet,
as the weird shrouded figure began scratching furiously at the mat
upon which it had been quietly lying, and then, with occasional pauses
for the emission of the growls, which had previously startled us,
and the performance of wonderful cat-like leaps, rapidly licked up
the handfuls of rice which had been thrown upon the floor in front of
it. This part of the performance lasted, however, but a few minutes,
and then the evident excitement of the onlookers was raised to fever
pitch, as the bizarre, and, as it seemed to our fascinated senses,
strangely brute-like form stooped suddenly forward, and slowly licked
over, as a tigress would lick its cub, the all but naked body of the
patient--a performance (to a European) of so powerfully nauseating
a character that it can hardly be conceived that any human being
could persist in it unless he was more or less unconscious of his
actions. At all events, after his complete return to consciousness at
the conclusion of the ceremony, even the Pawang experienced a severe
attack of nausea, such as might well be supposed to be the result of
his performance. Meanwhile, however, the ceremony continued. Reverting
to a sitting posture (though still with shrouded head), the Pawang
now leaned forward over the patient, and with the point of his dagger
drew blood from his own arm; then rising to his feet he engaged in a
fierce hand-to-hand combat with his invisible foe (the spirit whom he
had been summoned to exorcise). At first his weapon was the dagger,
but before long he discarded this, and laid about him stoutly enough
with the sheaf of areca-palm blossom.
Presently, however, he quieted down somewhat, and commenced to
"stroke" the sick man (as before) with the sheaf of palm-blossom,
beating out the blossom upon the floor as usual at the end of the
operation. Then sitting down again and crooning to himself, he partook
of betel-leaf, faced round towards the patient and stooped over him,
muttering as he did so, and passing his hands all over the prostrate
form. Next he turned once more to the jars and again plunged his
dagger into each of them in turn (to make sure that the evil spirit
was not lurking in them), and then drawing his head-cloth over his
head so as to completely hide his face, he once more took his seat
beside the patient, stooping over him from time to time and crooning
charms as he did so.
Finally he clapped his hands, removed his head-cloth, "stroked"
the patient over and flicked him with the corners of it, and then
shrouding himself once more in the sarong, lay down at full length
in a state of complete exhaustion. A pause of about ten minutes'
duration now followed, and then with sundry convulsive twitchings the
Pawang returned to consciousness and sat up, and the ceremony was over.
The following description of a ceremony similar to the one just
described is taken from Malay Sketches:--
"The ber-hantu is, of course, a survival of præ-Islam darkness,
and the priests abominate it, or say they do; but they have to be a
little careful, because the highest society affects the practice of
the Black Art.
"To return to the king's house. In the middle of the floor was
spread a puadal, a small narrow mat, at one end of which was
seated a middle-aged woman dressed like a man in a short-sleeved
jacket, trousers, a sarong, and a scarf fastened tightly round her
waist. At the other end of the mat was a large newly-lighted candle
in a candlestick. Between the woman and the taper were two or three
small vessels containing rice coloured with turmeric, parched padi,
and perfumed water. An attendant sat near at hand.
"The woman in male attire was the Pawang, the Raiser of Spirits, the
Witch, not of Endor, but of as great repute in her own country and
among her own people. In ordinary life she was an amusing lady named
Raja Ngah, a scion of the reigning house on the female side, and a
member of a family skilled in all matters pertaining to occultism. In
a corner of the room were five or six girls holding native drums,
instruments with a skin stretched over one side only, and this is
beaten usually with the fingers. The leader of this orchestra was
the daughter of Raja Ngah.
"Shortly after I sat down, the proceedings began by the Pawang covering
her head and face with a silken cloth, while the orchestra began to
sing a weird melody in an unknown tongue. I was told it was the spirit
language; the air was one specially pleasing to a particular Jin, or
Spirit, and the invocation, after reciting his praises, besought him
to come from the mountains or the sea, from underground or overhead,
and relieve the torments of the King.
"As the song continued, accompanied by the rhythmical beating of the
drums, the Pawang sat with shrouded head in front of the lighted taper,
holding in her right hand against her left breast a small sheaf of
the grass called daun sambau, tied tightly together and cut square
at top and bottom.
"This chadak she shook, together with her whole body, by a stiffening
of the muscles, while all eyes were fixed upon the taper.
"At first the flame was steady, but by and by, as the singers screamed
more loudly to attract the attention of the laggard Spirit, the wick
began to quiver and flare up, and it was manifest to the initiated
that the Jin was introducing himself into the candle. By some means
the Pawang, who was now supposed to be 'possessed' and no longer
conscious of her actions, became aware of this, and she made obeisance
to the taper, sprinkling the floor round it with saffron-coloured
rice and perfumed water; then, rising to her feet and followed by the
attendant, she performed the same ceremony before each male member of
the reigning family present in the room, murmuring all the while a
string of gibberish addressed to the Spirit. This done, she resumed
her seat on the mat, and, after a brief pause, the minstrels struck
up a different air, and, singing the praises of another Jin, called
upon him to come and relieve the King's distress.
"I ascertained that each Malay State has its own special Spirits,
each district is equally well provided, and there are even some to
spare for special individuals. In this particular State there are four
principal Jin; they are the Jin ka-raja-an, the State Spirit--also
called Junjong dunia udara, Supporter of the Firmament; Maia udara,
the Spirit of the Air; Mahkota si-raja Jin, the Crown of Royal Spirits;
and S'tan Ali.
"These four are known as Jin aruah, Exalted Spirits, and they are the
guardians of the Sultan and the State. As one star exceeds another
in glory, so one Jin surpasses another in renown, and I have named
them in the order of their greatness. In their honour four white
and crimson umbrellas were hung in the room, presumably for their
use when they arrived from their distant homes. Only the Sultan of
the State is entitled to traffic with these distinguished Spirits;
when summoned they decline to move unless appealed to with their own
special invocations, set to their own peculiar music, sung by at least
four singers, and led by a Beduan (singer) of the royal family. The
Jin ka-raja-an is entitled to have the royal drums played by the State
drummers if his presence is required, but the other three have to be
satisfied with the instruments I have described.
"There are common devils who look after common people; such as Hantu
Songkei, Hantu Malayu, and Hantu Blian; the last the 'Tiger Devil,'
but out of politeness he is called 'Blian,' to save his feelings.
"Then there is Kemala ajaib, the 'Wonderful Jewel,' Israng, Raja
Ngah's special familiar, and a host of others. Most hantu have their
own special Pawangs, and several of these were carrying on similar
proceedings in adjoining buildings, in order that the sick monarch
might reap all the benefits to be derived from a consultation of
experts, and as one spirit after another notified his advent by the
upstarting flame of the taper, it was impossible not to feel that
one was getting into the very best society.
"Meanwhile a sixteen-sided stand, about six inches high and shaped
like this diagram, had been placed on the floor near the Pawang's
mat. The stand was decorated with yellow cloth; in its centre stood
an enormous candle, while round it were gaily-decorated rice and
toothsome delicacies specially prized by Jin. There was just room
to sit on this stand, which is called Petrana panchalogam (meaning
a seat of this particular shape), and the Sultan, supported by many
attendants, was brought out and sat upon it. A veil was placed on his
head, the various vessels were put in his hands, he spread the rice
round the taper, sprinkled the perfume, and having received into his
hand an enormous chadak of grass, calmly awaited the coming of the Jin
Ka-raja-an, while the minstrels shouted for him with all their might.
"The Sultan sat there for some time, occasionally giving a convulsive
shudder, and when this taper had duly flared up, and all the rites had
been performed, His Highness was conducted back again to his couch,
and the Pawang continued her ministrations alone.
"Whilst striding across the floor she suddenly fell down as though
shot, and it was explained to me that Israng, the spirit by whom
she was possessed, had seen a dish-cover, and that the sight always
frightened him to such an extent that his Pawang fell down. The cause
of offence was removed, and the performance continued.
"There are other spirits who cannot bear the barking of a dog, the
mewing of a cat, and so on.
"Just before dawn there was a sudden confusion within the curtains
which hid the Sultan's couch; they were thrown aside, and there lay
the King, to all appearance in a swoon. The Jin Ka-raja-an had taken
possession of the sick body, and the mind was no longer under its
owner's control.
"For a little while there was great excitement, and then the King
recovered consciousness, was carried to a side verandah, and a quantity
of cold water poured over him.
"So ended the seance.
"Shortly after, the Sultan, clothed and in his right mind, sent to
say he would like to speak to me. He told me he took part in this
ceremony to please his people, and because it was a very old custom,
and he added, 'I did not know you were there till just now; I could not
see you because I was not myself and did not know what I was doing.'
"The King did not die, after all--on the contrary, I was sent for
twice again because he was not expected to live till the morning,
and yet he cheated Death--for a time." [678]
The ceremony called Mengalin, or the "sucking charm" ceremony, is
one which is very curious, and deserves to be described in some detail.
First of all you perform the ceremony called "Driving out the Mischief"
(buang badi) from the sick man (vide supra) in or to drive away all
evil spirits (menolak sakalian chekedi atau hantu). Then wrap the
patient up in a white or black cloth, and taking a ball of (kneaded)
dough (tepong pengalin), eggs and saffron, repeat the suitable charm,
and roll it all over the skin of the patient's body in order to draw
out all poisonous influences (menchabut sagala bisa-bisa). Then if you
find inside the ball of dough after opening it an infinitesimally small
splinter of bone, or a few red hairs, you will know that these belong
to the evil spirit who has been plaguing the patient. The charm to
be used when rolling the ball of dough over the skin runs as follows:--
"Peace be unto you, O Shadowy Venom!
Venom be at ease no longer!
Venom find shelter no longer!
Venom take your ease no longer!
May you be blown upon, O Venom, by the passing breeze!
May you be blown upon, O Venom, by the yellow sunset-glow,
May the Pounce of this Lanthorn's lightning kill you;
May the Pounce of this Twilight's lanthorn kill you,
May the Shaft of the Thunderbolt kill you;
May the Fall of the heavy Rains kill you,
May the Inundation of Flood-waters kill you;
May you be towed till you are swamped by this my head-cloth,
May you be drowned in the swell of this my dough-boat.
By the grace of," etc. |
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