"Among the modern Malays avoidance of the flesh of swine and of
contact with anything connected with the unclean animal is, of course,
universal. No tenet of El-Islam is more rigidly enforced than this. It
is singular to notice, among a people governed by the ordinances of
the Prophet, traces of the observance of another form of abstinence
enjoined by a different religion. The universal preference of the
flesh of the Buffalo to that of the Ox in Malay countries is evidently
a prejudice bequeathed to modern times by a period when cow-beef was
as much an abomination to Malays as it is to the Hindus of India
at the present day. This is not admitted or suspected by ordinary
Malays, who would probably have some reason, based on the relative
wholesomeness of buffalo and cow-beef, to allege in defence of their
preference of the latter to the former." [333]
To the above I may add that it is invariably the flesh of the Buffalo,
and not that of the Ox, which is eaten sacrificially on the occasion
of festivities. [334] But the flesh of the so-called White (albino)
Buffalo (kerbau balar) is generally avoided as food, though I have
known it to be prescribed medicinally (as in the case of Raja Kahar, a
son of H.H. the Sultan of Selangor, the circumstances of whose illness
will be detailed elsewhere). [335] As might be expected, a story
is told by the Malays to account for this distinction. The general
outline of the tale is to the effect that a Malay boy (a mere child)
fell into the big rice-bin (kepok) in his parents' absence and was
suffocated by the rice. After some days the body began to decompose,
and the ooze emanating from the rice-bin was licked up by a buffalo
belonging to the boy's parents. The attention of these latter being
thus attracted to the rice-bin, they found therein the remains of
their child, and thereupon cursed the buffalo, which (we are led
to infer) became "white," and has remained so ever since. According
to one version, a ground-dove (tekukur) was implicated both in the
offence and the punishment which followed it. Wherefore to this day
no man eats of the flesh of either of the offenders.
Perhaps the most extraordinary transformation in which the Malays
implicitly believe is that of the Squirrel, which is supposed to be
developed from a large caterpillar called ulat sentadu. [336]
About the Cat there are many superstitions which show that it is
believed to possess supernatural powers. Thus it is supposed to be
lucky to keep cats because they long for a soft cushion to lie upon,
and so (indirectly) wish for the prosperity of their master. [337]
On the other hand, cats must be very carefully prevented from rubbing
up against a corpse, for it is said that on one occasion when this was
neglected, the badi or Evil Principle which resides in the cat's body
entered into the corpse, which thus became endowed with unnatural
life and stood up upon its feet. So too the soaking of the cat in
a pan of water until it is half-drowned is believed to produce an
abundance of rain. [338] It is, besides, believed to be extremely
unlucky to kill cats. Of this superstition Mr. Clifford says:--
"It is a common belief among Malays that if a cat is killed he who
takes its life will in the next world be called upon to carry and
pile logs of wood, as big as cocoa-nut trees, to the number of the
hairs on the beast's body. Therefore cats are not killed; but if they
become too daring in their raids on the hen-coop or the food rack,
they are tied to a raft and sent floating down stream, to perish
miserably of hunger. The people of the villages by which they pass
make haste to push the raft out again into mid-stream, should it in
its passage adhere to bank or bathing-hut, and on no account is the
animal suffered to land. To any one who thinks about it, this long
and lingering death is infinitely more cruel than one caused by a blow
from an axe; but the Malays do not trouble to consider such a detail,
and would care little if they did." [339]
Before leaving the subject of cats, I must mention the belief that the
"fresh-water fish called ikan belidah" was "originally a cat." Sir
W. E. Maxwell says that many Malays refuse to eat it for this reason,
and adds, "They declare that it squalls like a cat when harpooned,
and that its bones are very white and fine like a cat's hairs." [340] A
story is also sometimes told to account both for the general similarity
of habits of the cat and the tiger and for the fact that the latter,
unlike most of the Felidæ, is not a tree-climber. It is to the effect
that the cat agreed to teach the tiger its tricks, which it did,
with the exception of the art of climbing trees. The tiger, thinking
it had learnt all the cat's tricks, proceeded to attack its teacher,
when the cat escaped by climbing up a tree; so the tiger never learnt
how to climb and cannot climb trees to this day.
Even the smallest and commonest of mammals, such as Rats and Mice,
are the objects of many strange beliefs. Thus "clothes which have
been nibbled by rats or mice must not be worn again. They are sure
to bring misfortune, and are generally given away in charity." [341]
So too on the Selangor coast a mollusc called siput tantarang or
mentarang is believed to have sprung from a mouse; and many kinds of
charms, generally addressed to the "Prophet Joseph" (Nabi Yusuf), are
resorted to in order to drive away rats and mice from the rice-fields.
The following passage describes the general ideas about animal
superstitions which prevail on the east coast of the Peninsula:--
"The beliefs and superstitions of the Fisher Folk would fill many
volumes. They believe in all manner of devils and local sprites. They
fear greatly the demons that preside over animals, and will not
willingly mention the names of birds or beasts while at sea. Instead,
they call them all cheweh [342]--which, to them, signifies an
animal, though to others it is meaningless, and is supposed not to be
understanded of the beasts. To this word they tack on the sound which
each beast makes in order to indicate what animal is referred to;
thus the pig is the grunting cheweh, the buffalo the cheweh that says
'uak,' and the snipe the cheweh that cries 'kek-kek.' Each boat that
puts to sea has been medicined with care, many incantations and other
magic observances having been had recourse to, in obedience to the
rules which the superstitious people have followed for ages. After
each take the boat is 'swept' by the medicine man with a tuft of
leaves prepared with mystic ceremonies, which is carried at the bow
for the purpose. The omens are watched with exact care, and if they
be adverse no fishing-boat puts to sea that day. Every act in their
lives is regulated by some regard for the demons of the sea and air,
and yet these folk are nominally Muhammadans, and, according to that
faith, magic and sorcery, incantations to the spirits, and prayers to
demons, are all unclean things forbidden to the people. But the Fisher
Folk, like other inhabitants of the Peninsula, are Malays first and
Muhammadans afterwards. Their religious creed goes no more than skin
deep, and affects but little the manner of their daily life." [343]
3. VEGETATION CHARMS
The Vegetation Spirit of the Malays "follows in some vague and partial
way," to use Professor Tylor's words, from the analogy of the Animal
Spirit. It is difficult to say, without a more searching inquiry than
I have yet had the opportunity of making, whether Malay magicians
would maintain that all trees had souls (semangat) or not. All that we
can be certain of at present is that a good many trees are certainly
supposed by them to have souls, such, for instance, as the Durian,
the Cocoa-nut palm, and the trees which produce Eagle-wood (gharu),
Gutta Percha, Camphor, and a good many others.
What can be more significant than the words and actions of the men who
in former days would try and frighten the Durian groves into bearing;
or of the toddy-collector who addresses the soul of the Cocoa-nut
palm in such words as, "Thus I bend your neck, and roll up your hair;
and here is my ivory toddy-knife to help the washing of your face";
[344] or of the collectors of jungle produce who traffic in Eagle-wood,
Camphor, and Gutta (the spirits of the first two of which trees are
considered extremely powerful and dangerous) or, above all, of the
reapers who carry the "Rice-soul" home at harvest time?
A special point in connection with the Malay conception of the
vegetation soul perhaps requires particular attention, viz. the fact
that apparently dead and even seasoned timber may yet retain the
soul which animated it during its lifetime. Thus, the instructions
for the performance of the rites to be used at the launching of a
boat (which will be found below under the heading "The Sea, Rivers,
and Streams") [345] involve an invocation to the timbers of the boat,
which would therefore seem to be conceived as capable, to some extent,
of receiving impressions and communications made in accordance with
the appropriate forms and ceremonies.
So, too, a boat with a large knot in the centre of the bottom is
considered good for catching fish, and in strict conformity with
this idea is the belief that the natural excrescences (or knobs)
and deformities of trees are mere external evidences of an indwelling
spirit. So, too, the fruit of the cocoa-nut palm, when the shell lacks
the three "eyes" to which we are accustomed, is believed to serve in
warfare as a most valuable protection (pelias) against the bullets of
the enemy, and the same may be said in a minor degree of the joints of
"solid" bamboo (buluh tumpat) which are occasionally found, whilst to a
slightly different category belong the comparatively numerous examples
of "Tabasheer" (mineral concretions in the wood of certain trees),
which are so highly valued by the Malays for talismanic purposes. Such
trees as the Mali mali, Rotan jer'nang (Dragon's-blood rattan), Buluh
kasap (rough bamboo), etc., are all said to supply instances of the
concretions referred to, but the most famous of them all is without
doubt the so-called "cocoa-nut pearl," of which I quote the following
account from Dr. Denys's Descriptive Dictionary of British Malaya.
Cocoa-nut Pearls
The following remarks concerning these peculiar accretions are
extracted from Nature:--
"During my recent travels," Dr. Sidney Hickson writes to a scientific
contemporary, "I was frequently asked by the Dutch planters and others
if I had ever seen 'a cocoa-nut stone.' These stones are said to be
rarely found (1 in 2000 or more) in the perisperm of the cocoa-nut,
and when found are kept by the natives as a charm against disease and
evil spirits. This story of the cocoa-nut stone was so constantly
told me, and in every case without any variation in its details,
that I made every effort before leaving to obtain some specimens,
and eventually succeeded in obtaining two.
"One of these is nearly a perfect sphere, 14 mm. in diameter, and the
other, rather smaller in size, is irregularly pear-shaped. In both
specimens the surface is worn nearly smooth by friction. The spherical
one I have had cut into two halves, but I can find no concentric or
other markings on the polished cut surfaces.
"Dr. Kimmins has kindly submitted one-half to a careful chemical
analysis, and finds that it consists of pure carbonate of lime without
any trace of other salts or vegetable tissue.
"I should be very glad if any of your readers could inform me if
there are any of these stones in any of the museums, or if there is
any evidence beyond mere hearsay of their existence in the perisperm
of the cocoa-nut." [346]
On this letter Mr. Thiselton Dyer makes the following
remarks:--"Dr. Hickson's account of the calcareous concretions
occasionally found in the central hollow (filled with fluid--the
so-called 'milk') of the endosperm of the seed of the cocoa-nut is
extremely interesting. It appears to me a phenomenon of the same
order as tabasheer, to which I recently drew attention in Nature.
"The circumstances of the occurrence of these stones or 'pearls'
are in many respects parallel to those which attend the formation
of tabasheer. In both cases mineral matter in palpable masses is
withdrawn from solution in considerable volumes of fluid contained
in tolerably large cavities in living plants; and in both instances
they are monocotyledons.
"In the case of the cocoa-nut pearls the material is calcium carbonate,
and this is well known to concrete in a peculiar manner from solutions
in which organic matter is also present.
"In my note on tabasheer I referred to the reported occurrence of
mineral concretions in the wood of various tropical dicotyledonous
trees. Tabasheer is too well known to be pooh-poohed; but some
of my scientific friends express a polite incredulity as to the
other cases. I learn, however, from Prof. Judd, F.R.S., that he
has obtained a specimen of apatite found in cutting up a mass of
teak-wood. The occurrence of this mineral under these circumstances
has long been recorded; but I have never had the good fortune to see
a specimen." [347]
The Durian
The Durian tree (for an account of whose famous fruit the classical
description in Wallace's Malay Archipelago may be referred to) is a
semi-wild fruit-tree, whose stem frequently rises to the height of some
eighty or ninety feet before the branches are met with. It is generally
planted in groves, which are often to be found in the jungle when all
other traces of former human habitation have completely disappeared,
though even then its fruit, if tradition says true, is as keenly
fought over by the denizens of the forest (monkeys, bears, and tigers)
as ever it was by their temporary dispossessors. Interspersed among
the Durian trees will be found numerous varieties of orchard trees
of a less imperial height, amongst which may be named the Rambutan,
[348] Rambei, [349] Lansat, [350] Duku, [351] Mangostin, [352] and
many others. A small grove of these trees, which was claimed by the
late Sultan `Abdul Samad of Selangor, grew within about a mile of my
bungalow at Jugra, and I was informed that in years gone by a curious
ceremony (called Menyemah durian) was practised in order to make the
trees more productive. On a specially selected day, it was said,
the village would assemble at this grove, and (no doubt with the
usual accompaniment of the burning of incense and scattering of rice)
the most barren of the Durian trees would be singled out from the
rest. One of the local Pawangs would then take a hatchet (beliong)
and deliver several shrewd blows upon the trunk of the tree, saying:--
"Will you now bear fruit or not?
If you do not I shall fell you." [353]
To this the tree (through the mouth of a man who had been stationed for
the purpose in a Mangostin tree hard by) was supposed to make answer:--
"Yes, I will now bear fruit;
I beg you not to fell me." [354]
I may add that it was a common practice in the fruit season for the
boys who were watching for the fruit to fall (for which purpose they
were usually stationed in small palm-thatch shelters) to send echoing
through the grove a musical note, which they produced by blowing
into a bamboo instrument called tuang-tuang. I cannot, however,
say whether this custom now has any ceremonial significance or not,
though it seems not at all unlikely that it once had. [355]
The Malacca Cane
No less distinct are the animistic ideas of the Malays relating to
various species of the Malacca-cane plant. Mr. Wray of the Perak
Museum writes as follows:--
"A Malacca-cane with a joint as long as the height of the owner will
protect him from harm by snakes and animals, and will give him luck in
all things. What is called a samambu bangku [356] or baku, possesses
the power of killing any one even when the person is only slightly
hurt by a blow dealt with it. These are canes that have died down
and have begun to shoot again from near the root. They are very rare,
one of eighteen inches in length is valued at six or seven dollars,
and one long enough to make a walking stick of, at thirty to fifty
dollars. At night the rotan samambu plant is said to make a loud noise,
and, according to the Malays, it says, 'Bulam sampei, bulam sampei,'
[357] meaning that it has not yet reached its full growth. They are
often to be heard in the jungle at night, but the most diligent search
will not reveal their whereabouts. The rotan manoh [358] is also
said to give out sounds at night. The sounds are loud and musical,
but the alleged will-o'-the-wisp character of the rattans which are
supposed to produce them seems to point to some night-bird, tree-frog,
or lizard as being the real cause of the weird notes, though it is
just possible that the wind might make the rattan leaves vibrate in
such a way as to cause the sounds." [359]
In Selangor it is the stick-insect (keranting) which is believed to be
the embodiment of the "Malacca-cane spirit" (Hantu Samambu), by which
last name it is most commonly called. These stick-insects are believed
by the Selangor Malays to produce the sounds to which Mr. Wray refers,
and in order to account for their peculiar character a story is told,
the main features of which are as follows:--
Once upon a time a married couple fell out, and the husband
surreptitiously introduced stones into the cooking-pot in place
of the yams which his wife was cooking. Then he went off to climb
for a cocoa-nut, and as he climbed, he mocked her by calling out
"Masak belum? Masak belum?" ("Are they cooked yet? Are they cooked
yet?"). What she did by way of retaliation is not clear, but as
he climbed and mocked her, she is said to have retorted, "Panjat
belum? Panjat belum?" ("Have you climbed it yet? Have you climbed
it yet?"), a reply which clearly shows that her woman's wit had been
at work, and that she was not going to allow her husband to get the
better of her. [360] However this may be, a deadlock ensued, the result
of which was that both parties were transformed into stick-insects,
but were yet condemned to mock each other as they had done during
the period of their human existence.
I have often from my boat, during dark nights on the Langat river,
listened to the weird note which my Malays invariably ascribed to
these insects, and which is not inaptly represented by one of the
Malay names for them, viz. "belum-belam." I have not yet, however,
succeeded in identifying the real producer of the note, of which all I
can say at present is, that although it may not be itself discoverable,
the Malays look upon it as a certain guide to the localities where
the Malacca-canes grow.
The Tualang or Sialang Tree
So too of the Tualang-tree Mr. Wray writes:--
"One of the largest and stateliest of the forest trees in Perak is that
known as Toallong, or Toh Allong; [361] it has a very poisonous sap,
which produces great irritation when it comes in contact with the
skin. Two Chinamen who had felled one of these trees in ignorance,
had their faces so swelled and inflamed that they could not see out of
their eyes, and had to be led about for some days before they recovered
from the effects of the poison. Their arms, breasts, and faces were
affected, and they presented the appearance of having a very bad attack
of erysipelas. These trees are supposed to be the abiding-places of
hantu, or spirits, when they have large hollow projections from the
trunk, called rumah hantu, or spirit houses. These projections are
formed when a branch gets broken off near the trunk, and are quite
characteristic of the tree. There are sometimes three or four of them
on a large tree, and the Malays have a great objection to cutting down
any that are so disfigured, the belief being that if a man fells one
he will die within the year. As a rule these trees are left standing
when clearings are made, and they are a source of trouble and expense
to planters and others, who object to their being left uncut.
"The following series of events actually happened:--A Malay named
Panda Tambong undertook, against the advice of his friends, to fell
one of the Toh Allong trees, and he almost immediately afterwards was
taken ill with fever, and died in a few weeks' time. Shortly after
this some men were sitting plaiting ataps [362] under the shade
of another of these ill-omened trees, when, without any warning,
a large branch fell down, breaking the arm of one man, and more or
less injuring two others. There was not a breath of wind at the time,
or anything else likely to determine the fall of the branch. After
this it was decided to have the tree felled, as there were coolie
houses nearly under it. There was great difficulty in getting any
one to fell it. Eventually a Penang Malay undertook the job, but
stipulated that a Pawang, or sorcerer, should be employed to drive
away the demons first. The Pawang hung pieces of white and red cloth
on sticks round the tree, burnt incense in the little contrivances
made of the split leaf-stalks of the bertam palm, used by the Malays
for that purpose, cut off the heads of two white fowls, sprinkled
the blood over the trunk, and in the midst of many incantations the
tree was felled without any mishap; but, strange to say, the Pawang,
who was a haji [363] and a slave-debtor of the Toh Puan Halimah,
died about nine months afterwards." [364]
There appears to be very little reason to doubt that the word Tualang
('Toh Alang or Sialang) is the name not of a particular species of
tree, but rather the generic name of all trees in which wild bees have
built their nests, so that in reality it simply means a "Bee-Tree."
I have not yet succeeded in obtaining any of the Malay charms used
by the collectors of these bees' nests, except such as are used
by Sakais under Malay influence on the Selangor coast, the Sakais
being most usually the collectors. Some of these latter, however,
were pure Malay charms, and may perhaps be considered, in the absence
of charms collected from Malays, as evidence of at least secondary
importance. One of these charms commences as follows:--
"Here is the Peeling-knife, the knife with the long handle,
Stuck into the buttress of a Pulai-Tree." [365]
And another, which is almost word for word the same, as follows:--
"Here is the Peeling-knife, the knife with the long handle,
With which to stab (lit. peck at) the buttress of the
Pulai-Tree." [366]
It will be noticed that both refer to the Pulai-tree by name, and
not to the Tualang. The footnote which I here quote with reference
to the customs of Siak is, almost word for word, equally true of the
Bee-Trees in Selangor. [367]
Other haunted trees (pokok berhantu) are the Jawi-jawi, the Jelotong,
and Berombong, of which the following tradition will perhaps suffice:--
"All trees," according to Malay tradition, "were planted by 'the
Prophet Elias,' [368] and are in the 'Prophet Noah's' charge. In
the days of King Solomon, trees could speak as well as birds and
animals, and several of the trees now to be seen in the forest are
really metamorphosed human beings. Such are the 'Jelotong' and the
'Berombong,' which in the days of King Solomon were bosom friends,
until there broke out between them an unfortunate quarrel, which
terminated in 'Si Jelotong's' lacing the skin of 'Si Berombong' all
over with stabs from his dagger, the effect of which stabs remains
visible to this day. Si Berombong, on the other hand, cursed Si
Jelotong with his dying breath, praying that he might be turned into a
tree without any buttresses to support his trunk, a prayer which was,
of course, duly fulfilled. Thus originated the lack of buttresses
at the base of the former tree, and the laced and slashed bark of
the latter."
The Lime-Tree
Yet another tree whose spirit is the object, as it were, of a special
cult, [369] is the lime-tree, which is revered and looked up to almost
as their chief patron by the theatrical players (orang ma'yong) of
Penang. The invocations addressed to this spirit show that, as in
most branches of magic, every part of the tree had its appropriate
"alias." Thus the root was called the "Seated Prince," the trunk
the "Standing Prince," the bark the "Prince Stretching Himself,"
the boughs the "Stabbing Prince," the leaves the "Beckoning Prince,"
the fruit the "Prince loosing an arrow."
The Eagle-wood Tree
The following account of Eagle-wood and of the tree which produces
it is quoted from the Journal of the Straits Asiatic Society:--
"In Crawfurd's Dictionary of the Malay Archipelago [370] I find the
following:--'Agila, the Eagle-wood of commerce.--Its name in Malay
and Javanese is kalambak or kalambah, but it is also known in these
languages by that of gharu or kayu gharu, gharu-wood, a corruption of
the Sanskrit agahru.... There can be no doubt but that the perfumed
wood is the result of disease in the tree that yields it, produced
by the thickening of the sap into a gum or resin.'
"This 'Eagle-wood of commerce,' under its more familiar name gharu, is
one of the rarest and most valuable products of our Malayan jungles,
and the following notes may be of interest. They are the result of
inquiries amongst the Malays and Pawangs in Ulu Muar and Johol, and
I am indebted to Mr. L. J. Cazalas for much assistance in obtaining
the information contained in them.
"The gharu-tree is a tall forest tree, sometimes reaching the size
of fifteen feet in diameter. The bark is of a silvery gray colour,
and the foliage close and dense, of a dark hue. The Malay name for the
tree is "tabak," and no other may be used by the Pawang when in search
of the kayu gharu. [371] Gharu, the diseased heart-wood of the tabak,
is found in trees of all sizes, even in trees of one foot in diameter,
thus showing that the disease attacks the tree at an early stage.
"The gharu is found in pockets, and may sometimes be discovered by
the veins which run to these pockets. In other trees the veins are
absent, which renders the process of searching more difficult. The
tree is generally cut down and left to rot, which exposes the gharu
in about six months.
"'Pockets' are found to contain as much as 104 catties; a single tree
has been known to yield 400 catties. [372] Gharu is seldom found in
the sap-wood, generally in the heart-wood or teras.
"Many tabak-trees do not contain gharu at all. To select the
right trees is the special province of the Pawang or wise man. The
tabak-trees are under the care of certain hantu or wood-spirits, and
it would be hopeless for the uninitiated to attempt to find gharu;
even the Pawang has to be very careful.
"The following is the process as far as I have been able to ascertain
it:--
"On the outskirts of the forest the Pawang must burn incense, and
repeat the following charm or formula:--
"Homali hamali [373] matilok (mandillah ?) serta kalam mandiyat serta
teboh. Turun suhaya [374] trima suka turun kadim serta aku kabul kata
gharu mustajak [375] kata Allah Berkat la ilaha il'allah. Hei Putri
Belingkah, [376] Putri Berjuntei, Putri Menginjan [377] aku meminta
isi tabak. Ta'boleh di surohkan, ta'boleh lindong kapada aku kalau
di-suroh di-lindong-kan biar duraka kapada tuhan."
"There is no "pantang gharu" except that the words "isi" and "tabak"
must be used instead of "tras" and "gharu." [378]
"He then proceeds to search for a likely tree, and upon finding
one he again burns incense and repeats the spell as above. The tree
having been cut down, the next thing is to separate the gharu from
the sap-wood. The best way is to let the tree rot, but the Pawang is
often "hard-up," and does not mind wasting some of the gharu in his
hurry to realise.
"The following are said to be the tests for finding gharu in a
standing tree:--
1. The tree is full of knots. (Berbungkol.)
2. The bark full of moss and fungus. (Bertumuh berchandawan.)
3. Heart-wood hollow. (Berlobang.)
4. Bark peeling off. (Bergugor kulit.)
5. A clear space underneath. (Mengelenggang.)
6. Stumps jutting out. (Berchulak.)
7. Tree tapering. (Bertirus.)
8. The falling of the leaves in old trees.
"There are great differences in the quality of gharu, and great care
is taken in classifying them. It requires a skilled man to distinguish
between some of the varieties.
"The names are as follow:--
1. Chandan. [379]
2. Tandok.
3. Menjulong-ulong. [380]
4. Sikat.
5. Sikat Lampam. [381]
6. Bulu Rusa.
7. Kemandangan.
8. Wangkang.
"The chandan (pada tiada champur) is oily, black, and glistening. It
sinks in water.
"The tadak very closely resembles the chandan.
"The menjulong-ulong may be distinguished from the chandan and the
tandok by its length and small breadth. Splinters, 36 inches long,
have been found evidently from veins, not pockets. [382]
"Sikat (bertabun champur kubal dan teras), fibrous, with slight lustre,
will just float in water. Black and white streaks.
"Sikat lampam--the same as sikat, only white streaks more prominent.
"Bulu Rusa will float in water, fibrous, generally of a yellow colour.
"Kemandangan floats in water, whitish, fibrous fragments small.
"Wangkang floats in water, fibrous blocks whitish in colour.
"The chandan tree differs from other gharu-trees in having a maximum
diameter of about 1 1/2 feet, and very soft sap-wood.
"Gharu varies in price between 200 and 50 dollars a pikul [383]
according to the variety. The chandan and the tandok are the most
valuable.
"Chinese and Malays burn it in their houses on high days and
festivals--the latter generally take a supply with them on the
pilgrimage to Mecca. The better varieties are used in the manufacture
of aromatic oils." [384]
Before setting out to search for gharu, the gharu-wizard burns incense
and repeats these words, "O Grandsire Duita, Divinity of Eagle-wood,
if you are far, be so good as to say so; if you are near, be so
good as to say so," and then sets out on his quest. On finding a
karas-tree he chops the bark of the trunk lightly with his cutlass,
and then puts his ear to the trunk to listen. If he hears a kind
of low singing, or rather whispering noise (bunyi ting ting) in the
tree, he takes this as a signification that the tree contains gharu
(isi), [385] and after marking the bark with a cross (silang ampat)
he collects wood to build a temporary shelter (pondong) for himself,
and when about to plant the first post repeats the following charm:--
"O Grandsire Batara of the Earth, Earth-Genie, Earth-Spirit,
Idol of Iron, Son of Wani, Solitary Wani,
Son of Wayah, Bandan the Solitary,
I ask you to show me (an eagle-wood tree),
If you do not do so
You shall be a rebel against God," etc.
The result of this invocation is, or should be, that the gharu-spirit
appears to the wizard (generally, no doubt, in a dream), and
informs him what kind of sacrifice he requires on this particular
occasion. Whatever kind of sacrifice is asked for, must of course
be given, with the exception of a human sacrifice which, as it is
expressly stated, may be compounded by the sacrifice of a fowl.
When the tree has been felled you must be exceedingly careful to see
that nobody passes between the end of the fallen trunk and the stump;
whoever does so will surely be killed by the "eagle-wood spirit,"
who is supposed to be extremely powerful and dangerous. I myself
received a warning to this effect from some Labu Malays when I saw
one of these trees felled. Malays maintain that men are frequently
killed by this spirit (mati de' Hantu Gharu), but that they may
be recalled to life if the following recipe is acted upon:--"Take
two 'cubits' (?) of 'Panchong leaves' (daun panchong dua heta),
flowers of the sunting mambang, and 'bullock's eye' limes (limau
mata kerbau), squeeze [the limes(?)] and rub them over the corpse,
saying, 'Sir Allah! Sir Mangga Tangan! God's Essence is in your heart
(lit. liver). God's attributes are in your eyes. Go and entertain
the male Borer-Bee that is in your heart and liver.' The dead man
will then revive and stand upon his feet."
The most important point about eagle-wood, however, from the animistic
point of view, is the Pawang's use of the gharu merupa, a strangely
shaped piece of eagle-wood which possesses a natural resemblance to
some animal or bird. It is believed to contain the soul of the tree,
and therefore is always, when possible, carried by the collectors of
eagle-wood in the belief that it will aid them in their search. I
myself once owned one of these gharu merupa, which possessed a
remarkable resemblance to a bird. This appears to me very fairly
sufficient evidence to prove that the tree-soul is not supposed by
the Malays necessarily to resemble a tree. [386]
Camphor
The following account of the superstitious notions connected with
the search for Camphor (kapur Barus) is extracted from a paper by
Messrs. H. Lake and H. J. Kelsall [387]:--
"The chief interest attaching to the Kapur Barus in Johor lies in
the superstitions connected with the collection of the camphor by
the natives, or Orang Hulu. [388]
"Amongst these superstitions the most important is the use of a special
language, the subject of the present paper, which has been the means
of preserving some remnants of the aboriginal dialects of this part
of the Malay Peninsula. This language is called by the Orang Hulu
"Pantang Kapur"; pantang means forbidden or tabooed, and in this case
refers to the fact that in searching for the camphor the use of the
ordinary Malay language is pantang, or forbidden. In addition to this
there are restrictions as to food, etc.
"This Camphor language is first referred to by Mr. Logan in his
account of the aboriginal tribes of the Malay Peninsula, [389] and
he gives a list of eighty words, thirty-three of which are Malay or
derived from Malay."
"The Jakuns believe that there is a "bisan," or spirit, which presides
over the camphor-trees, and without propitiating this spirit it is
impossible to obtain the camphor. This bisan makes at night a shrill
noise, and when this sound is heard it is a sure sign that there are
camphor-trees near at hand. (This bisan is really one of the Cicadas
which are so numerous in the Malayan jungles.)
"When hunting for camphor the natives always throw a portion of their
food out into the jungle before eating, as an offering to the bisan.
"No prayers are offered up, but all food must be eaten dry,
i.e. without sumbul, [390] or stewed fish, or vegetables. Salt must
not be pounded fine; if it is eaten fine, the camphor when found will
be in fine grains; but if eaten coarse the grains of camphor will
be large. In rainy weather the cry of the bisan is not heard. At
certain seasons regular parties of Jakuns, and sometimes Malays,
go into the jungle to search for camphor, and they remain there as
long as three or four months at a time. Not only must the men who go
into the jungle to search for the camphor speak the 'Pantang Kapur,'
but also the men and women left at home in the Kampongs.
"The camphor occurs in the form of small grains deposited in the cracks
in the interior of the trunk of the tree. Camphor is only found in the
older trees, and not in all of these, and to obtain it the tree must
be cut down and split up. There are certain signs which indicate when
a tree contains camphor, one of which is the smell emitted from the
wood when chipped. A man who is skilled in detecting the presence of
camphor is called Penghulu Kapur. [391] The camphor when taken away
from the tree is washed, and all chips of wood and dirt carefully
removed, and it is then sold to Chinese traders at Kwala Indau at
prices varying according to the quality from $15 to $40 per katti.
"The Camphor language consists in great part of words which are
either Malay or of Malay origin, but contains, as above mentioned,
a large number of words which are not Malay, but which are presumably
remnants of the original Jakun dialects, which are apparently almost
obsolete otherwise in the Indau and Sembrong districts of Johor." [392]
Gutta-percha
The trees from which Gutta-percha is taken are also supposed to be
inhabited by a spirit; but this, the Gutta-spirit, being far less
dangerous than the Eagle-wood spirit, fewer precautions are taken in
dealing with it. In the invocation addressed to the Gutta-spirit,
the petitioner asks for the boon of a drop of the spirit's blood,
which of course is an indirect way of asking for the tree's sap.
Here is a specimen of the charms used by the gutta-collectors:--
"Ho, Prince S'ri Bali,
Prince S'ri Bandang,
I wish to crave the boon of a drop of blood;
May the yield be better than from this notch of mine.
(Here the speaker notches the tree.)
"If it be not better
You shall be a rebel unto God," etc. [393]
The Cocoa-nut Palm
The following instructions to be followed by toddy-collectors (who
tap the Cocoa-nut palm for its juice, which is boiled into sugar)
were given me by a Kelantan Malay ('Che `Abas of Klanang):--
"When you are about to set foot against the base of the trunk (i.e. to
start climbing) repeat these lines:--
"Peace be with you, O Abubakar!
Drowse not as you keep watch and ward in the heart of this tree
(umbi)."
Here climb half-way up and say:--
"Peace be with you, Little Sister, Handmaiden Bidah,
Drowse not as you keep watch and ward in the middle of the trunk,
Come and accompany me on my way up this tree."
Here climb up among the leaf-stalks, lay hold of the central shoot,
give it three shakes, and say--
"Peace be with you, Little Sister, Youngest of the Princesses,
Drowse not as you keep watch and ward over the central shoot,
Do you accompany me on my way down this tree."
Now commence by bending down one of the blossom-sheaths, lay hold of
the central shoot, and thrice repeat the following lines:--
"Peace be with your Highnesses, Princesses of the Shorn Hair and
(perpetual) Distillation,
Who are (seen) in the curve (lit. swell) and the ebbing away of
the Blossom-sheath,
Of the Blossom-sheath Si Gedebeh Mayang,
Seven Princesses who are the Handmaidens of Si Mayang."
(Here the speaker addresses the soul (or rather souls) of the tree.)
"Come hither, Little One, come hither,
Come hither, Tiny One, come hither,
Come hither, Bird, come hither,
Come hither, Filmy One, come hither.
Thus I bend your neck,
Thus I roll up your hair,
And here is an Ivory Toddy-knife to help the washing of your face.
Here is an Ivory Toddy-knife to cut you short,
And here is an Ivory Cup to hold under you,
And there is an Ivory Bath that waits below for you.
Clap your hands and splash in the Ivory Bath,
For it is called the 'Sovereign Changing Clothes.'" [394]
Rules for planting various Crops
The following rules have an evident bearing upon the subject of
vegetable animism. They were collected at Langat, in Selangor:--
The time to plant Sugar-cane is at noon: this will make it sweeter,
by drying up the juice and leaving the saccharine matter. If you plant
it in the early morning its joints will be too long, if in the middle
of the day they will be short.
Plant Maize with a full stomach, and let your dibble be thick, as
this will swell the maize ear.
For Plantains (or Bananas) you must dig a big hole, and the evening
is the time to plant them. The evening is the quicker, and if planted
after the evening meal they fill out better.
Plant Sweet Potatoes on a starry night to ensure their filling out
properly (by getting plenty of eyes?)
Plant Cucumbers and Gourds on a dark moonless night, to prevent them
from being seen and devoured by fire-flies (api-api).
Plant Cocoa-nuts when the stomach is overburdened with food (kalau kita
'nak sangat berak); run quickly and throw the cocoa-nut into the hole
prepared for it without straightening the arm; if you straighten it
the fruit-stalk will break. Plant them in the evening, so that they
may bear fruit while they are still near the ground. When you pick
seed cocoa-nuts off the tree somebody should stand at the bottom of
the tree and watch whether the "monkey-face" of each seed cocoa-nut,
as it is thrown down, turns either towards himself or the base of the tree, or whether it looks away from both. In the former case the seed will be good, in the latter it is not worth planting. |
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