Others exhibit the right number of small squares (3 × 3 or 5 × 5 or
7 × 7), but instead of a subdivision into sub-groups, have merely an
arrangement of alternative emblems, such as a bud and a full-blown
flower, or the like.
An analysis of the squares whose figures are given in the illustrations
shows that the order of the colours, deities, and planets is by no
means always the same.
Thus, in the matter of the order of the five colours, we have:--
In Plate 26, Fig. 1,
1-5 brown (? red).
6-10 yellow.
11-15 white.
16-20 black.
21-25 white.
and in another figure,
1-5 white.
6-10 black (red is substituted by mistake in No. 9).
11-15 red.
16-20 blue (17 is made black by mistake).
21-25 yellow.
And in the matter of the order of the Five Deities we find:--
In Plate 26, and in another figure,
Fig. 1,
1-5 Brahma (Brahma). 1-5 Besri (S'ri).
6-10 Bisnu (Vishnu). 6-10 Kala.
11-15 Maswara (Maheswara). 11-16 Maswara
16-20 S'ri (17 is called Kala by (Maheswara).
mistake). [779] 16-20 Bisnu (Vishnu).
21-25 Kala (23 and 24 are called
S'ri by mistake). 21-25 Brahma.
And yet another 5-square containing the names of Deities (Pl. 26,
Fig. 2) is composed as follows:--
1-5 Bisnu (Vishnu).
6-10 Brahma.
11-15 Maswara (Maheswara).
16-20 [a diagonal cross].
21-25 [a small circle].
From Pl. 26, Fig. 2, it would appear that this form of the 5-square
is used to ascertain the best time of day to commence an operation,
e.g. to start on a journey.
In a 7-square we find the following:--
1-7 Shams (Sun); Sunday (1).
8-14 Mirrikh (Mars); Tuesday (2).
15-21 Mushtari (Jupiter); Thursday (3).
22-28 Zuhal (Saturn); Saturday (4).
29-35 Kamar (Moon); Monday (5).
36-42 Ketab [780] (Mercury); Wednesday (6).
43-49 Zahari [781] (Venus); Friday (7).
This 7-square is based on a heptacle in which every alternate day is
skipped, thus:--
[FIGURE]
This form of square is evidently used to ascertain the best day of
the week to commence any operation.
Next in importance to the methods of divination by the use of magic
squares, come those which depend upon "aspect," and involve the use
of diagrams which I propose to call "aspect-compasses." Of these the
commonest form is a drawing, in which the places usually occupied by
the points of the compass are occupied by the names of certain things
(usually animals or birds) which are supposed to be naturally opposed
to each other. Thus in one of these compass-like figures we find
(vide Pl. 25, Fig. 2):--
The Bird [sic] (N.) opposed to the Fowl (S.)
The Crocodile (N.E.) opposed to the Fish (S.W.)
The Rat (E.) opposed to the Cat (W.)
The Tiger (S.E.) opposed to the Stag (N.W.)
Another has:--
The Kite (N.) opposed to the Fowl (S.)
The Crocodile (N.E.) opposed to the Fish (S.W.)
The Rat (E.) opposed to the Cat (W.)
The Tiger (S.E.) opposed to the Stag (N.W.)
And a third:--
The New Moon (N.) opposed to the Kite (S.)
The Cat (N.E.) opposed to the Rat (S.W.)
The Crocodile (E.) opposed to the Fish (W.)
The Stag (S.E.) opposed to the Tiger (N.W.)
whilst a fourth has alternately cape and bay.
The way in which these figures were used for divination is very
clearly shown by Pl. 25, Fig. 1, which is copied from a figure in
one of my (Selangor) charm-books, which had the days of the month,
from the 1st to the 30th, written round it in blue ink. Starting from
the north aspect, you count round to the left until (allowing one day
to each aspect) you arrive at the aspect corresponding to the number
of the day of the month upon which you wish to start your journey. If
it coincides with an aspect assigned to one of the weaker influences,
it will be most imprudent to start on that day. Start on a day assigned
to one of the stronger influences, and you will be all right. If the
first aspect-compass which you consult is not accommodating enough
for your requirements, go on consulting others until you find one
which is satisfactory.
Other forms of the compass-figure are used for divining whether if
he starts on a certain day the man will get the better of his enemy,
or meet with a person (e.g. a slave or a thief) who has run away. In
the former case a double circle of human figures is used, the figures
of the inner circle representing the person who seeks the information,
and those of the outer circle his enemy. The counting is carried out
in precisely the same manner as before, and the headless figure in
each case represents the man who will lose. In the case of a drawn
battle neither party, of course, loses his head.
In the case of an absconder, a single circle of figures is used, the
figures pointing towards the centre signifying that the absconding
party will return or be caught, and those pointing away from the
centre signifying the opposite. In one case (Pl. 25, Fig. 2) there
are fourteen human figures arranged in two opposing rows of seven,
every alternate figure being headless. In this case you start the
counting at the right-hand figure of the bottom row, and count towards
the left. Yet another form of divination in which the human figure
is made use of, is shown in Pl. 25, Fig. 1; a number of small red
circles (which should be alternately dark and light) are drawn at the
salient points of the figure, and counted down to the left in order,
beginning at the head. All I have yet been able to discover about the
villainous-looking individual here portrayed is the fact that he is
said to represent one "Unggas Telang," who was described to me as an
"old war-chief" (hulubalang tua) of the Sea-gypsies (Orang Laut)
and the Malay pirates.
Figures of dragons (naga) and scorpions (kala) are sometimes used
in a similar manner; and there is also an aspect-compass known as
the Rajal-al-ghaib or Jinazah Sayidna `Ali ibn Abu Talib (the body
or bier of Our Lord `Ali, the son of Abu Talib), which, according to
this notion, "is continually being carried by angels [782] towards the
different quarters of the heavens, and must not be faced; for if one
faces towards it, one is sure to be defeated in battle or fight." The
aspect to be avoided varies from day to day, turning towards each of
the eight points of the ordinary Malay compass three or four times
in the lunar month.
The subject of omens in general has been shortly dealt with at
the beginning of this section, and also incidentally mentioned in
connection with various departments of nature and human life. It would
hardly be possible to make a complete or systematic list of the things
from which omens are taken. Apart from those depending merely on Times,
Seasons, Numbers, and Aspect, which have been already dealt with at
quite sufficient length, it may be noted that omens are drawn from
earthquakes, thunder, "house-lizards, rats, and other four-footed
things," according to the times at which they are observed, from
the colour, smell, and nature of soil (in choosing building-sites),
from birds, and, in fact, from a very large variety of matters which
cannot be classified under any general head. The lines of the hand
are, of course, interpreted among the Malays, as elsewhere, as signs
of good and evil fortune. It has not been possible to collect much
information on the subject of Malay chiromancy, but for the benefit
of European adepts in "palmistry" (as it seems to be usually styled
nowadays) it may be worth while mentioning that the Malays attach
importance, as an indication of long life (`alamat panjang `umor),
[783] to the intersection of the line round the base of the thumb [784]
with the one which runs round the wrist (simpeian `Ali), while a broken
line across the palm (retak putus) is believed by them to be a sign
of invulnerability (tanda penggetas, ta' buleh di-tikam). Upright
lines running up the lower joints of the fingers, in the same line
as the fingers themselves, are a sign of prospective wealth (`alamat
'nak di-panjat de' duit, tanda orang kaya), and a whorl of circular
lines on the fingers (pusat belanak) is a sign of a craftsman (`alamat
orang tukang).
More important, perhaps, are the omens believed to be derived
from dreams, of which there seem to be several different methods
of interpretation. According to one system the initial letter of
the thing dreamt of determines the luck: thus to dream of a thing
beginning with T is very lucky indeed, to dream of a thing beginning
with H means that a visitor from a distance is to be expected; N
indicates sorrow, L is a hint to give alms to the poor and needy,
and so forth. According to another system, a purely arbitrary
meaning is put upon the subject-matter of the dream, or, at most,
some slight analogy is the basis of the interpretation. Thus to
dream of a gale of wind in the early morning is an omen of sorrow,
to dream of hail means acquisition of property, to dream of bathing
in a heavy shower of rain indicates escape from a very great danger,
a dream about mosquitoes, flies, and the like, means that an enemy
is coming to the village, to dream about eating jack-fruit (nangka)
or plantain (pisang) is an indication of great trouble impending,
and so on; an extract from a treatise on this subject is given in
the Appendix, and it is impossible to dwell at greater length upon it
here. Among Malay gamblers special importance is attached to dreams
as an indication of luck in gambling (mimpi paksa or dapat paksa). If
the gambler dreams of "sweeping out the gambling farm" (menyapu pajak),
i.e. "breaking the bank," or of running amok in it (mengamok pajak), or
of bailing out the ocean (menimba lautan), or of the ocean running dry
(lautan k'ring), or even of his breeding maggots on his person (badan
berulat), he is confident of great good fortune in the near future.
As a specimen of the importance traditionally ascribed to dreams,
it seems worth while to give the following popular legend, which also
illustrates the type of folk-tales in which hidden treasure plays a
great part:--
"Che Puteh Jambai and his wife were very poor people, who lived many
generations ago at Pulo Kambiri on the Perak river. They had so few
clothes between them that when one went out the other had to stay at
home. Nothing seemed to prosper with them, so leaving Pulo Kambiri,
where their poverty made them ashamed to meet their neighbours, they
moved up the river to the spot since called Jambai. Shortly after
they had settled here Che Puteh was troubled by a portent which has
disturbed the slumbers of many great men from the time of Pharaoh
downwards. He dreamed a dream. And in his dream he was warned by a
supernatural visitant to slay his wife, this being, he was assured, the
only means by which he could hope to better his miserable condition.
"Sorely disturbed in mind, but never doubting that the proper course
was to obey, Che Puteh confided to his wife the commands which he
had received, and desired her to prepare for death. The unhappy lady
acquiesced with that conjugal submissiveness which in Malay legends,
as in the Arabian Nights, is so characteristic of the Oriental
female when landed in some terrible predicament. But she craved and
obtained permission to first go down to the river and wash herself
with lime juice. So taking a handful of limes she went forth, and,
standing on the rock called Batu Pembunoh, she proceeded to perform
her ablutions after the Malay fashion. The prospect of approaching
death, we may presume, unnerved her, for in dividing the limes with
a knife she managed to cut her own hand and the blood dripped down
on the rocks and into the river; as each drop was borne away by the
current, a large jar immediately rose to the surface and floated,
in defiance of all natural laws, up-stream to the spot whence the
blood came. As each jar floated up Che Puteh's wife tapped it with
her knife and pulled it in to the edge of the rocks. On opening
them she found them all full of gold. She then went in search of
her husband and told him of the treasure of which she had suddenly
become possessed. He spared her life, and they lived together in
the enjoyment of great wealth and prosperity for many years. Their
old age was clouded, it is believed, by the anxiety attending the
possession of a beautiful daughter, who was born to them after they
became rich. She grew up to the perfection of loveliness, and all the
Rajas and Chiefs of the neighbouring countries were her suitors. The
multitude of rival claims so bewildered the unhappy parents that,
after concealing a great part of their riches in various places,
they disappeared and have never since been seen. Their property was
never found by their children, though, in obedience to instructions
received in dreams, they braved sea-voyages and went to seek for it
in the distant lands of Kachapuri and Jamulepor.
"Several places near Jambai connected with the legend of Che Puteh
are still pointed out; at Bukit Bunyian the treasure was buried and
still lies concealed. A deep gorge leading down to the river is the
ghaut down which Che Puteh's vast flocks of buffaloes used to go to
the river. Its size is evidence of the great number of the animals,
and therefore of the wealth of their owner. Two deep pools, called
respectively Lubuk Gong and Lubuk Sarunai, contain a golden gong
and a golden flute which were sunk here by Che Puteh Jambai. The
flute may sometimes be seen lying on one of the surrounding rocks,
but always disappears into the depths of the pool before any mortal
can approach it. The treasures of Lubuk Gong might before now have
passed into human possession, had it not been for the covetousness of
the individual selected as their recipient. A Malay of Ulu Perak was
told in a dream to go and fish in the pool of the gong and to take a
pair of betel-nut scissors (kachip) with him. He was to use the kachip
immediately on being told to do so. Next morning he was at the pool
early, and at his first cast hooked something heavy and commenced to
draw it up. When the hook appeared above water there was a gold chain
attached to it. The lucky fisherman then commenced to pull up the chain
into his canoe, and hauled up fathoms of it, hand over hand, until the
boat could hardly hold any more. Just then a little bird alighted on
a branch close by and piped out a couple of notes, which sounded for
all the world like kachip. The man heard, but he wanted a little more,
and he went on hauling. 'Kachip,' said the bird again. 'Just a very
little more,' thought the fisherman, and he still continued dragging
up the chain. Again and again the warning note sounded, but in vain,
and suddenly a strong pull from the bottom of the pool dragged back the
chain, and before the Malay had time to divide it with his tweezers,
the last link of it had disappeared beneath the water." [785]
Charms, Talismans, and Witchcraft
While by divination and by inferences from omens and dreams, Malays
attempt to ascertain the course of fate, so by charms of the nature
of amulets and talismans they sometimes endeavour to influence its
direction or modify its force. Charms of the nature of invocations
have been dealt with already under different headings in connection
with a variety of matters, and it will only be necessary to refer here
to a few miscellaneous ones of a less elaborate character. It should
be observed that some charms are directly effective or protective,
like amulets or talismans, while others are supposed to work only by
influencing the volition of another mind. Under the latter head come
the great mass of love-charms, charms for securing conjugal fidelity,
or for compelling the revelation by another person of his or her secret
thoughts, and the like, of which Malay books of magic are full; while
under the former come sundry recipes of a more or less medicinal nature
for the purpose of curing various diseases, of increasing physical
power or virility, or of protecting the person against evil influences,
natural or supernatural. In most of these cases the modus operandi is
of the simplest character; the charm consists usually of a short Arabic
prayer or a few letters and figures, sometimes quite meaningless and
conventional, sometimes making up one or more of the sacred names
(Allah, Muhammad, `Ali, etc.). These charms are written on paper
or cloth and worn on the person; sometimes they are written on the
body itself, especially on the part to be affected; occasionally they
are written on a cup which is then used for drinking purposes. Such
prescriptions are infinite in number, and are to be found in Malay
charm-books, wedged in amongst matter of a more strictly medical kind;
in fact, it would be quite correct to say that letter-charms (rajah,
`azimat) and sacred names have their place in the Malay Pharmacopoeia
side by side with spices, herbs, roots, and the like. But such charms
are also used for many other purposes: "to ward off demons (sheitan),
to make children feed at the breast properly, to prevent them from
crying and from going into convulsions, to prevent the rice-crops
from being devoured by pigs, rats, and maggots," are consecutive
instances of the charms contained in a page of one of the numerous
Malay treatises on these matters. It would, from the nature of the
case, be utterly impossible to exhaust this endless subject, and it
is not necessary to dwell upon it at greater length, as the details
of the charms used (of which a few are quoted in the Appendix) do
not as a rule offer any features of general interest. [786]
Far more interesting is that form of the Black Art which attempts to
"abduct," or in some way "get at" another person's soul, whether (as
in the case of the ordinary love-charm), in order to influence it in
the operator's favour, or, on the other hand, with a view to doing
the victim some harm, which may take the form of madness, disease,
or even death.
These results can be arrived at by a variety of methods: in some of
them the influence works entirely without contact, in others there is
some sort of contact between the victim and the receptacle into which
his soul is to be enticed. A few specimens of the methods employed
will conclude this part of the subject; they are necessarily somewhat
of a miscellaneous character; but it will be seen that they are really
only different applications of the same general principle, the nature
of which has already been indicated in the section on the Soul. [787]
The following is an instance of direct contact between the soul
receptacle and its owner's body--
"Take soil from the centre of the footprint (hati-hati tapak) of
the person you wish to charm, and 'treat it ceremonially' (di-puja)
for about three days.
"The 'ceremonial treatment' consists in wrapping it up in pieces of
red, black, and yellow cloth [788] (the yellow being outside), and
hanging it from the centre of your mosquito-curtain with parti-coloured
thread (penggantong-nya benang pancharona). It will then become (the
domicile of) your victim's soul (jadi semangat). You must, however,
to complete the ceremony, switch it with a birch of seven leaf-ribs
taken from a 'green' cocoa-nut (penyembat-nya lidi niyor hijau tujoh
'lei) seven times at sundown, seven times at midnight, and seven times
at sunrise, continuing this for three days, and saying as you do so:--
"'It is not earth that I switch,
But the heart of So-and-so.'
(Bukan-nya aku menyembat tanah,
Aku menyembat hati Si Anu).
"Then bury it in the middle of a path where your victim is sure to
step over it (supaya buleh di-langkah-nya), and he will certainly
become distraught. The only taboo in connection with it is that you
should let no one share your sleeping-mat." The soul-receptacle in
this case is the lump of earth taken from the centre of the victim's
footprint. It is said to actually "become (the victim's) soul," but
no doubt this is merely figurative, though it completely proves the
identification of the soul with its receptacle in the Malay mind. The
object of the birching is not self-evident, but may be intended to
dispel evil influences, and so purify it for the incoming soul.
Another way of obtaining the required result is to scrape off some of
the wood of the floor from the place where your intended victim has
been sitting. Having secured this, take some of the soil from his or
her footprint and mix them both together with wax from a deserted bees'
comb, moulding the figure into his or her likeness. Fumigate it with
incense, and "beckon" to the soul by waving a cloth (lambei semangat)
every night for three nights successively, reciting this charm:--
"'OM!' shout it again and again!
Stupid and dazed
Be the heart of Somebody,
Thinking of me.
If you do not think of me,
The forty-four angels shall curse you."
Another method is as follows:--
Take parings of nails, hair, eyebrows, saliva, etc. of your intended
victim (sufficient to represent every part of his person), and make
them up into his likeness with wax from a deserted bees' comb. Scorch
the figure slowly by holding it over a lamp every night for seven
nights, and say:--
"It is not wax that I am scorching,
It is the liver, heart, and spleen of So-and-so that I scorch."
After the seventh time burn the figure, and your victim will die.
The description of the next ceremony is taken word for word from a
charm-book which I obtained from a Langat Malay (named 'Che Indut),
and which is still in my possession. As it illustrates several new
points about these wax figures, and as such charms are exceedingly
rare and all but impossible to obtain, I here give a word for word
translation of the whole text, the original Malay version of which
will be found in the Appendix: [789]--
"This refers to making images to harm people. You make an image to
resemble a corpse out of wax from an empty bees' comb, [790] and of
the length of a footstep. If you want to cause sickness, you pierce
the eye and blindness results; or you pierce the waist and the stomach
(lit. the waist) gets sick, or you pierce the head and the head gets
sick, or you pierce the breast and the breast gets sick. If you want
to cause death, you transfix it from the head right through to the
buttocks, the 'transfixer' being a gomuti-palm [791] twig; then you
enshroud the image as you would a corpse, and you pray over it as if
you were praying over the dead; then you bury it in the middle of the
path (which goes to) the place of the person whom you wish to charm,
so that he may step across it. This refers to when you want to bury
the image--
"Peace be to you! Ho, Prophet 'Tap, in whose charge the earth is,
Lo, I am burying the corpse of Somebody,
I am bidden (to do so) by the Prophet Muhammad,
Because he (the corpse) was a rebel to God.
Do you assist in killing him or making him sick:
If you do not make him sick, if you do not kill him,
You shall be a rebel against God,
A rebel against Muhammad.
It is not I who am burying him,
It is Gabriel who is burying him.
Do you too grant my prayer and petition, this very day that
has appeared,
Grant it by the grace of my petition within the fold of the Creed
La ilaha," etc.
There are, as I have said, several new points to be got from this
charm. You must make the image resemble a corpse; you must make it of
the length of the footstep (doubtless that of the intended victim);
you must pierce the part which you want to affect; if you want to kill
your man, you must transfix him from the head downwards with the twig
of a gomuti-palm (that is to say, with one of the black splinters used
as pens by the Malays [792]); you must wrap the image in a shroud,
and read the burial service over it; and, finally, in order to absolve
yourself from blood-guiltiness, you shift the burden of your crime
on to the shoulders of the Archangel Gabriel!!!
There are, of course, many slight variations of the actual
ceremony. Sometimes the wizard, during the insertion of the pins into
the image, exclaims:--
"It is not wax that I slay [793]
But the liver, heart, and spleen of So-and-so."
And then, after "waving" the figure in the smoke of the incense,
and depositing it in the centre of a sacrificial tray (anchak),
he invites the spirits to banquet upon his victim's body:--
"I do not banquet you upon anything else, [794]
But on the liver, heart, and spleen of So-and-so."
When the ceremony is over the image is buried in the usual way in
front of the victim's door-step.
Another method is described as follows:--
"Make the wax figure in the usual way and with the usual
ingredients. At sundown take parched rice, with white, black, green,
and yellow (saffron) rice, a "chew" of betel-leaf, a wax taper and an
egg--this latter as the representative of a fowl (`isharat ayam). Burn
incense, and recite this charm:--
"Peace be with you, O Earth Genie,
Bull-shaped Earth-spirit, Earth-demon, Bull-shaped World-spirit.
Come hither, come down, I pray you, and accept the banquet I offer.
I have a something that I want you for,
I want to give you an order,
I want to get you to aid me
sickness
And assist me in causing the or madness (as the case may be),
or death
of Somebody.
If you do not accept the banquet I offer
You shall be a rebel to God," etc.
This is a charm for sowing dissension between husband and wife
(pembenchi):--
Make two of the wax figures in the ordinary way, but taking care
that one resembles the husband and the other the wife. Sit down with
your legs stretched out before you, and hold the figures face to face
while you repeat the charm thrice, and at the end of each repetition
breathe upon their heads. Then lay the man upon the ground on your
right side close to your thigh, but looking away from it; and the
woman at the side of the left thigh in a similar position, so that
they both look away from each other. Then burn incense and recite
the same charm twenty-two times over the man and twenty-two times
over the woman. Now put them back to back, and wrap them up in seven
thicknesses of the leaves of tukas, [795] and tie them round with
thread of seven colours wrapped seven times round them, repeat the
charm and bury them. Dig them up after seven days and see if they are
still there. If you find them the charm has failed, but if not, it will
work, and they will assuredly be divorced. The charm runs as follows:--
"'Ndit marangan 'ndit!
Angkau Fatimah kambing,
Si Muhammad harimau Allah;
Kalau Fatimah tentangkan Muhammad,
Saperti kambing tentang harimau.
Muhammad sabenar-benar hulubalang,
Harimau Allah di-atas dunia.
Dengan berkat" d. s. b.
Which, so far as it is intelligible, appears to mean:--
. . . . . . . . . .
"Thou, Fatimah, art a goat;
Muhammad is God's tiger.
If Fatimah is face to face with Muhammad,
She will be as a goat facing a tiger.
Muhammad in very truth is the Chief,
The Tiger of God upon earth.
By the grace of," etc.
The following is a clear example of soul abduction without contact:--
The simplest way, perhaps, of abducting another person's soul is
to go out, when the sun clears (matahari mencharak, at sunrise?),
or when the newly-risen moon looks red, and standing with the big
toe of the right foot resting on the big toe of the left, to make a
trumpet of your right hand and recite the appropriate charm through
this improvised speaking-trumpet thrice. At the end of each recital
you blow through the hollowed fist. The charm runs as follows:--
"'OM.' I loose my shaft, I loose it and the moon clouds over,
I loose it, and the sun is extinguished,
I loose it, and the stars burn dim.
But it is not the sun, moon, and stars that I shoot at,
It is the stalk of the heart of that child of the congregation,
So-and-so.
Cluck! cluck! soul of So-and-so, come and walk with me,
Come and sit with me,
Come and sleep and share my pillow.
Cluck! cluck! soul," etc.
A second method is to beat your own shadow, [796] ceremonially;
according to this method you take a cane (of rattan or rotan sega),
in length as long as your body, fumigate it with incense and recite
a charm over it seven times, striking your own shadow with the cane
once after each recital. Repeat this at sundown, midnight, and early
morning, and sleep under a coverlet made of five cubits of white cloth,
and the soul you wish for will assuredly come to you. The following
is the charm, a very curious one:--
"Ho! Irupi, Shadowy One,
Let the Queen come to me.
Do you, if Somebody is awake,
Stir her and shake her, and make her rise,
And take her breath and her soul and bring them here,
And deposit them in my left side.
But if she sleep,
Do you take hold of the great toe of her right foot
Until you can make her get up,
And use your utmost endeavours to bring them to me.
If you do not, you shall be a rebel to God," etc.
Another method of abducting another person's soul is as follows:--
"Take a lime branch which has seven limes on a single stalk, and
suspend it from the top of your mosquito-curtain on three successive
nights. When you suspend it recite the charm already given [797]
(beginning 'Om! shout it again and again!')."
The following ceremony is one in which the soul of another person
is abducted without any direct contact between the soul-receptacle,
which in this case is a head-cloth, and the soul-owner. The directions
are as follows:--
"Go out on the fourteenth night of the lunar month (full moon) and
two successive nights; seat yourself on a male ant-hill (busut jantan)
facing the moon, burn incense, and repeat the charm:--
"I bring you a (betel-) leaf to chew,
Dab the lime on to it, Prince Ferocious,
For Somebody, Prince Distraction's daughter, to chew.
Somebody at sunrise be distraught for love of me,
Somebody at sunset be distraught for love of me.
As you remember your parents, remember me,
As you remember your house and house-ladder, remember me.
When thunder rumbles, remember me,
When wind whistles, remember me,
When the heavens rain, remember me,
When cocks crow, remember me,
When the dial-bird tells its tales, remember me,
When you look up at the sun, remember me,
When you look up at the moon, remember me,
For in that self-same moon I am there.
Cluck! cluck! soul of Somebody come hither to me,
I do not mean to let you have my soul,
Let your soul come hither to mine."
Here wave the end of your head-cloth (puncha detar) in the direction
of the moon seven times every night for three successive nights. Then
take the turban (detar) home and place it under your pillow (for the
three nights). If you want to use it by day, burn incense, and say:--
"It is not a turban that I carry in my girdle but the soul of
Somebody." [798]
At sundown, when the sun is hovering on the brink of the horizon
(matahari ayun termayun), chew betel, and spit out (semborkan) the
chewed leaf thrice. Then stand opposite the door, looking if possible
towards the west, burn incense, and repeat this charm:--
"Nur Mani is your name,
Si Pancha Awalis my name;
By the grace of my using the prayer called 'Kundang Maya Chinta
Berahi'
Concentrate your thoughts on me,
Be enamoured of me,
Be distraught for love of me,
Distraught both by day and by night,
Distraught seven times in the day,
And distraught seven times in the night.
Come back to your home,
Come back to your palace."
Although this looks at first sight not unlike a love-charm, the last
two lines show that it is really intended to induce a wandering soul
(semangat riang) to return to its owner. In fact, the wizard who gave
me this charm told me that it was taboo to let any one pass during
the whole evening, when this charm was used, between the light and
the patient.
It seems possible, however, that it might be used on occasion, and
mutatis mutandis, as a love charm as well.
The following ceremony is professedly a species of divination (tilek
or penilek), but as it is clearly only another form of soul-abduction
I give it here. The instructions are as follows:--
"First take some wax from a deserted bees' comb and make a wax taper
out of it as well as you can; stick it upon the rim of a white cup,
and repeat this charm, when you will be able to see the person you
wish to affect in the taper's flame (buleh di-tengo' orang-nya didalam
puchok api). The charm runs as follows:--
"I know the origin from which you sprang,
From the glitter of the White Blood.
Come down then to your mother,
Stemming both ebb and flood tides,
Cluck! cluck! souls of Somebody,
Come all of you together unto me.
Whither would ye go?
Come down to this house and house-ladder of yours.
This solitary taper is your house and house-ladder,
Since already the liver, stomach, heart, spleen, and great maw
Of all of you have been given into my care,
So much the more have the body and life
Of all of you been given into my care.
Grant this by the grace of my use
Of the prayer called divination by (secret) cognizance (tilek
ma`rifat) of Somebody.
"Next you take a fathom's length of thread, with seven strands, and
seven colours running through the strands (benang tujoh urat, tujoh
warna melintang benang), and a pen made of a splinter of the sugar-palm
(puchok kabong), and draw a portrait of the person you wish to charm
(menulis gambar orang itu). When the portrait is finished you suspend
it from the end of a pole by means of the parti-coloured thread,
and make fast the lower end of the pole to the branch of a tree,
fixing it at an angle, so that the portrait may hang free and be
blown to and fro without ceasing by every breath of wind. This will
cause her heart to love you."
It will be noticed that a general similarity underlies these several
methods of soul-abduction in spite of their apparent variety, and
the diversity of the objects in view in the different cases. On this
point it is impossible to enlarge here: the purpose of this book has
been primarily to collect authentic specimens of the various magic
practices in vogue among the Malays of the Malay Peninsula, and to
indicate the nature of the beliefs on which these practices are based,
leaving it for others to draw from them such inferences and to make
such comparisons as may throw further light on the subject. It has not
been deemed desirable to anticipate such inferences and comparisons
here; but, without trespassing beyond the scope of the present work, it
may be noticed that there is a special appropriateness in concluding it
with the above account of the various methods of soul-abduction. From
them, taken together with what has already been said on the subject,
[799] a fairly complete idea can be gathered of the Malay conception
of the Soul; and it is hardly too much to say that this conception is
the central feature of the whole system of Malay magic and folklore,
from which all the different branches with their various applications
appear to spring.
The root-idea seems to be an all-pervading Animism, involving a
certain common vital principle (semangat) in Man and Nature, which,
for want of a more suitable word, has been here called the Soul. The
application of this general theory of the universe to the requirements
of the individual man constitutes the Magic Art, which, as conceived by
the Malays, may be said to consist of the methods by which this Soul,
whether in gods, men, animals, vegetables, minerals, or what not,
may be influenced, captured, subdued, or in some way made subject to
the will of the magician.
It would, however, probably be a mistake to push this analysis too far;
for side by side with the theory of a universe animated by souls,
which by the use of the appropriate words and forms can be cajoled
or threatened, there are the ideas of Luck and Ill-luck, and the
notion, strong in Muhammadans all over the world, of a preordained
course of events. Sometimes, presumably in extreme cases, there is
no escape from this destiny: if a man is fated to die at a certain
time, die he must, whatever he may do. But to a great extent ill-luck
can be avoided if one knows how; though we cannot stop it, we need
not expose ourselves to its influence. Thus a particular hour may be
unlucky for the doing of a certain act; but if we know that it is so,
we need not incur the danger.
There are, therefore, for a Malay three alternatives, it would seem:
viz. Charms, for occasions where moral pressure can be brought
to bear; Divination, to assist in detecting dangers which in the
ordinary course must come but can be avoided; and, finally, Islam (Resignation), when he has to meet the inevitable, whether it be regarded as the course of Fate or the eternal purpose of God. |
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