Plant Rice in the early morning, about five, because that is the hour
at which infants (the Rice Soul being considered as an infant) get up.
The Cultivation of Rice
The most important contribution of the Malays to the animistic theory
of vegetation is perhaps to be found in the many strange ceremonies
with which they surround the culture of Rice. In order to properly
understand the significance of these ceremonies, however, a proper
understanding of the Malay system of rice-planting is essential,
and I therefore quote in extenso a description of rice-culture,
which possesses the additional interest of being translated from the
composition of a Malay: [395]--
"It is the established custom in Malacca territory to plant rice once
a year, and the season for doing so generally falls about the month
of Zilka`idah or Zilhijah. [396]
"In starting planting operations, however, the object is, if possible,
to coincide with the season when the West wind blows, because at
that time there are frequent rains, and accordingly the earth of the
rice-field becomes soft and easy to plough. Moreover, in planting
rice it is an invariable rule that there must be water in the field,
in order that the rice may sprout properly; though, on the other hand,
if there is too great a depth of water the rice is sure to die. It
has also been observed that as a rule the season of the West wind
coincides with the fourth month [397] of the Chinese calendar, and
sometimes also with the month of Zilka`idah or Zilhijah. [398]
"2. In olden time the order of planting operations was as
follows:--First, the elders had to hold a consultation with the Pawang;
then the date was fixed; then Maulud [399] prayers were read over
the 'mother-seed,' and benzoin, (incense) supplied by the Pawang,
was burned; then all the requisites for rice-planting were got ready,
viz.:--
"(1) A strong buffalo (to pull the plough).
(2) A plough with its appurtenances (to turn over the earth and the
short weeds).
(3) A harrow with its appurtenances (to level and break up small the
clods of earth left by the plough).
(4) A roller with its appurtenances (to knock down the long weeds,
such as sedges, in fields that have lain fallow for a long while).
(5) A wood-cutter's knife, to mend any of the implements that may
get out of order at the time of ploughing.
(6) A hoe to repair the embankments and level the higher grounds.
(7) A scythe [400] to cut the long weeds.
(8) And a whip to urge the buffalo on if he is lazy.
"3. When the proper season has arrived for beginning the work of
planting, and the elders have come to an agreement with the Pawang,
then on some Friday after the service in the Mosque the Penghulu
addresses all the people there present, saying that on such a day of
the month every one who is to take part in rice-cultivation must bring
to the Mosque half a quart of grain (for 'mother-seed') in order that
Maulud prayers may be read over it. (At that time ketupats [401] and
lepats [402] are prepared for the men who are to read those prayers.)
"When the Maulud prayers are over, every man goes down to the
rice-field, if possible on the same day or the next one, in order to
begin ploughing the nursery plot, that is, the plot which is near
his house or in which he has been in the habit of sowing the seed
every year.
"But if a man has a great number of plots, he will begin by ploughing
half of them, and then at the end of the month of Zilhijah he must
diligently prepare the nursery plot so as to be ready in about ten
days' time.
Of Sowing
"4. Before sowing one must first of all lay out the grain, both the
seed-grain and the 'mother-seed,' each separately, to dry. It must then
be soaked in a vessel (a bucket or pot) for two days and two nights,
after which it is taken out, strained and spread quite evenly on a
mat with fresh leaves (areca-nut fronds are best), and every afternoon
one must sprinkle water on it in order that the germ may quickly break
through, which will happen probably in two days' time or thereabouts.
"5. While the seed is soaking, the nursery plot must be carefully
prepared; that is to say, it must be ploughed over again, harrowed,
levelled, ditched, and the soil allowed to settle; the embankments
must be mended, and the surface made smooth. When the germs have
sprouted the seed is taken to the nursery plot. Benzoin supplied by
the Pawang is burnt, and the plot sprinkled with tepong tawar. [403]
Then a beginning is made by sowing the 'chief of the seed,'
i.e. 'mother-seed,' in one corner of the nursery prepared for the
purpose, and about two yards square; afterwards the rest of the seed
is sown all over the plot. It is well to sow when the plot contains
plenty of water, so that all the germs of the seed may be uppermost,
and the roots may not grow long, but may be pulled up easily. The
time for sowing must be during the dark half of the month, so that
the seedlings may be preserved from being eaten by insects. [404]
"Three days after the seed is sown the young shoots begin to rise
like needles, and at that time all the water should be drawn off
the plot; after seven days they are likened to a sparrow's tail,
and about the tenth or fifteenth day they break out into blades. At
that period the water is again let into the plot, little by little,
in order that the stalks of the seedlings may grow thick.
"The seedlings have to remain in the nursery for at least forty or
forty-four days from the time of sowing before they are sufficiently
grown; it is best to let them remain till they are about seventy
days old.
"6. While the seedlings are in the nursery the other plots are
being ploughed, one after another; and this is called the first
ploughing. Then the embankments are mended and re-formed with earth,
so that the water in the field may not escape and leave it dry. After
the embankments have been mended the harrowing begins: a start is
made with the plot that was first ploughed (other than the nursery
plot), for there the earth will have become soft, and the weeds being
rotten after many days of soaking in the water will form a sort of
manure. Each plot is so dealt with in its turn. Then all have to be
ploughed once more (which is called the second ploughing) and harrowed
again; for the first harrowing merely breaks up the clods of earth,
and a second is required to reduce them to a fine state and to kill
the weeds. Most people, having first used an iron harrow, use a
wooden one for the second harrowing, in order that the earth may
be broken up quite fine. Their rice is sure to thrive better than
that of people who are less careful; for in rice-planting, as the
saying goes, there is 'the plighted hope of good that is to come,'
in the way of bodily sustenance I mean. So day by day the different
plots are treated in the way that has been described in connection
with the nursery plot in paragraph 5 above.
Of Planting
"7. When the seedling rice has been in the nursery long enough,
and the fields are clean and ready for planting (which will be about
the month of Safar, or August) the seedlings are pulled up and tied
together with strips of dried palas [405] leaves into bundles of
the size known as sachekak (i.e. the space enclosed by the thumb
and the index finger when their ends meet). If the roots and blades
are long the ends can be clipped a little, and the roots are then
steeped in manure. This manure is made of buffalo bones burnt with
chaff till they are thoroughly calcined, and then pounded fine,
passed through a sieve and mixed with mud: that is the best kind of
manure for rice-planting, and is known as 'stock manure.' (It can
also be applied by merely scattering it in the fields. In that case,
after cutting off the ends of the blades, the seedlings are planted,
and afterwards, when they are green again and appear to be thriving,
the manure is scattered over the whole field. There are some places,
too, where no manure at all is used because of the perennial richness
of the soil.)
"Afterwards the seedlings are allowed to remain exposed to the air
for about two nights, and then taken to the field to be planted. The
bundles are broken up, and bunches of four or five plants together
are planted at intervals of a span all over the different plots till
all are filled up. If there are very many plots, ten or fifteen female
labourers can be engaged to assist in planting, and likewise in pulling
up the seedlings, at a wage of four cents for every hundred bundles.
Of the Rice after it has been Transplanted
"8. Ten days after the young rice has been transplanted it recovers
its fresh green colour; in thirty days the young shoots come out;
in the second month it increases more and more, and in the third it
becomes even all over. After three months and a half its growth is
stayed, and in the fourth month it is styled bunting kechil.
"At that stage the stalk has only five joints, and from that period
it must be fumigated daily till the grain appears.
"About the time when the stalk has six joints it is called bunting
besar; in forty days more the grain is visible here and there, and
twenty days later it spreads everywhere. At this time all the water in
the field must be drawn off so that the grain may ripen quickly. After
five or six days it ripens in patches, and a few days later the rice
is altogether ripe.
"From the time of transplanting to the time when it is ripe is reckoned
six months, not counting the days spent in ploughing and in growing
it in the nursery, which may be a month or two, or even (if there
are many plots) as much as three months to the end of the ploughing.
Of Reaping and taking the Soul of the Rice
"9. When one wishes to begin reaping the grain one must first have
the Pawang's permission, and burn benzoin supplied by him in the field.
"The following implements must be got ready, viz.:--
"(1) A small basket to hold the rice cut first, known as the 'Soul
of the Rice' (semangat padi).
(2) A jari lipan [406] to put round the small basket.
(3) A string of terap [407] bark to tie up the rice that is cut first.
(4) A small stem of bamboo, of the variety known as buloh kasap,
with a flag attached, which is to be planted in the small basket as
a sign of the 'Soul of the Rice' that has been cut first.
(5) A small white cloth to wrap up the 'Soul of the Rice.'
(6) An anchak [408] to hold the brasier.
(7) A brasier, in which to burn the incense provided by the Pawang.
(8) A nail and a kind of nut, known as buah keras, [409] to be put
into the anchak together with the brasier.
"When the rice is ripe all over, one must first take the 'Soul' out
of all the plots of one's field. You choose the spot where the rice
is best and where it is 'female' (that is to say, where the bunch of
stalks is big) and where there are seven joints in the stalk. You begin
with a bunch of this kind and clip seven stems to be the 'soul of the
rice'; and then you clip yet another handful to be the 'mother-seed'
for the following year. The 'Soul' is wrapped in a white cloth tied
with a cord of terap bark, and made into the shape of a little child
in swaddling clothes, and put into the small basket. The 'mother-seed'
is put into another basket, and both are fumigated with benzoin, and
then the two baskets are piled the one on the other and taken home,
and put into the kepuk (the receptacle in which the rice is stored).
"10. One must wait three days (called the pantang tuai) before one may
clip or cut any more of the rice. At first only one or two basketfuls
of rice are cut; the rice is dried in the sun, winnowed in a winnowing
basket, and cleaned in a fanning machine, pounded to free it from the
husk, so that it becomes beras (husked rice), and then boiled so that
it becomes nasi (cooked rice), and people are invited to feast on it.
"11. Then a bucket is made for the purpose of threshing the rest of
the rice, and a granary built to keep it in while it remains in the
field, and five or six labourers are engaged to reap and thresh it
(banting). [410] Their hours of working are from 6 to 11.30 A.M.,
and all the rice they thresh they put into the granary.
"12. If the crop is a good one a gallon of seed will produce a
hundredfold. Each plot in a field takes about a gallon of seed.
"13. When the rice has all been cut it is winnowed in order to get
rid of the chaff, and then laid out in the sun till quite dry, so
that it may not get mouldy if kept for a year.
"Then the wages of the labourers are taken out of it at the rate of
two gallons out of every ten. When that is settled, if the rice is
not to be sold, it is taken home and put into the rice-chest.
"Whenever you want to eat of it, you take out a basketful at a time
and dry it in the sun. Then you turn it in the winnowing basket, and
clean it in the fanning machine, pound it to convert it into beras,
and put a sufficiency of it in a pot and wash it. Enough water is
then poured over it to cover it, and it is put on the kitchen fire
till it is boiled and becomes nasi, when it can be eaten.
"14. The custom of reaping with a sickle (sabit) and threshing the
rice as described in paragraph 11 is a modern method, and is at present
mainly practised by the people living in the neighbourhood of the town
of Malacca, in order to get the work done quickly; but in olden times
it was not allowed, and even to this day the people who live in the
inland parts of the territory of Malacca prefer to clip their rice
with a tuai, [411] and put it into their baskets a handful at a time
[i.e. without threshing it]. (If labourers are employed to do this
their wage is one-tenth of the rice cut.) It takes ever so many days
to get the work done, but the idea is that this method is the pious
one, the 'Soul of the Rice' not being disturbed thereby. A good part
of the people hold this belief, and assert that since the custom of
threshing the rice has been introduced, the crops have been much less
abundant than in years of olden time when it was the custom to use
the tuai only.
"15. If a man has broad fields so that he is unable to plant them
all by his own labour, he will often allow another to work them on an
agreement, either of equal division of the produce (each bearing an
equal share of the hire of a buffalo and all other expenses incidental
to rice-planting), or of threefold division (that is, for example,
the owner bears all expenses, in which case the man who does the work
can get a third of the produce; or the latter bears all expenses,
in which case the owner only gets a third of the produce). Or again,
the land can be let; for instance, a field which ordinarily produces
a koyan [412] of rice a year will fetch a rent of about two hundred
gallons more or less.
"16. Every cultivator who does not act in accordance with the ordinance
laid down in paragraphs 9 and 10 above, will be in the same case as
if he disregarded all the prohibitions laid down in connection with
planting. If a man does not carry out this procedure he is sure to
fail in the end; his labour will be in vain and will not fulfil his
desires, for the virtue of all these ordinances and prohibitions lies
in the fact that they protect the rice, and drive away all its enemies,
such as grubs, rats, swine, and the like." [413]
I will now deal with the ceremonies indicated in the foregoing article
from the ceremonial point of view exclusively.
The Sowing of the Rice-Seed
The ceremony to be observed at the sowing of the rice-seed was thus
described to me by the Pawang who performed the reaping ceremony
described below:--
"First arrange four poles upon the ground, so as to form a rectangular
frame (galang dapor), in the middle of the clearing. Then plant in
succession at the four corners--
"1. A young banana-tree.
2. A plant of lemon grass (serai).
3. A stem of sugar-cane (of the kind called lanjong).
4. A plant of saffron (kunyit).
Perform the operation carefully, so that they are all likely to live.
"In the centre of the ground enclosed by the frame deposit a cocoa-nut
shell full of water.
"Early next morning go out and observe the omens. If the frame has
moved aside (berkuak) ever so little, or if the water has been spilt,
it is a bad omen. But if not, and if the water in the cocoa-nut
shell has not been spilt, or if a black ant (semut) or a white ant
(anei-anei) is found in the water, it is a good sign.
"When good omens have been obtained, proceed by planting rice-seed in
seven holes with a dibble of satambun wood, repeating the following
charm:--
"In the name of God, etc.,
Peace be with you, Prophet 'Tap,
Here I lodge with you, my child, S'ri Gading, Gemala Gading, [414]
But within from six months to seven
I will come and receive it back,
Cluck, cluck, soul! cluck, cluck, soul! cluck, cluck, soul!"
The Planting out of the Young Rice
The following account (by Mr. C. O. Blagden) of the ceremony of
planting out the young rice (from the rice-nursery) appeared in the
Journal of the Straits Asiatic Society in 1896:--
"In agricultural operations the animistic ideas of the Malays are
clearly apparent: thus, before the rice is cut a sort of ritual
is performed which is known as puji padi, and which is regarded,
apparently, as a kind of propitiatory service, a sort of apology to
the padi (rice) for reaping it. The padi is usually sprinkled with
tepong tawar (flour mixed with water) before the reaping is commenced,
and the first lot cut is set apart for a ceremonial feast.
"At planting there are also ceremonies: as a rule the beginning of
the planting season is ushered in by a visit of the whole body of
villagers to the most highly revered kramat in the neighbourhood,
where the usual offerings are made and prayers are said. Sometimes,
however, there is a special service known as bapua, [415] consisting
of a sort of mock combat, in which the evil spirits are believed to
be expelled from the rice-fields by the villagers: this is not done
every year, but once in three or four years.
"Another occasional service of a peculiar character, which is not
of very frequent occurrence, is the ceremony which would perhaps be
best described as the propitiation of the earth-spirit. Some years
ago I happened, by chance, to be present at a function of this kind,
and as its details may be of some interest as illustrating the wide
dispersion of certain points of ritual, I will end these notes by
giving a full description of it as noted down at the time. It was
in the month of October, and I happened to be out shooting snipe in
the padi-fields of the village of Sebatu on a Sunday morning, when
I was met by the Penghulu, the headman of the village, who asked me
to leave off shooting for an hour or so. As I was having fair sport,
I naturally wanted to know the reason why, so he explained that the
noise of gunshots would irritate the hantu, and render unavailing the
propitiatory service which was then about to begin. Further inquiry
elicited the statement that the hantu in question was the one who
presided over rice-lands and agricultural operations, and as I was
told that there would be no objection to my attending the ceremony,
I went there and then to the spot to watch the proceedings. The place
was a square patch of grass-lawn a few yards wide, which had evidently
for years been left untouched by the plough, though surrounded by
many acres of rice-fields. On this patch a small wooden altar had been
built: it consisted simply of a small square platform of wood or bamboo
raised about three or four feet above the ground, each corner being
supported by a small sapling with the leaves and branches left on it
and overshadowing the platform, the sides of which appeared to face
accurately towards the four cardinal points. To the western side was
attached a small bamboo ladder leading from the ground to the edge
of the platform. At the four corners of the patch of grass were four
larger saplings planted in the ground. On the branches of all these
trees were hung a number of ketupats, which are small squarish bags
plaited of strips of the leaves of the screw-pine (mengkuang) or some
similar plant, like the material of which native bags and mats are
made. A larger ketupat hung over the centre of the altar, and all
of them were filled with a preparation of boiled rice. On the altar
were piled up various cooked foods laid on plantain leaves, including
the flesh of a goat cooked in the ordinary way, as well as rice and
different kinds of condiments and sweetmeats. The Pawang was present as
well as a number of the villagers, and soon after my arrival with the
Penghulu the ceremony began by some of the villagers producing out of
a bag the skin of a black male goat with the head and horns attached
and containing the entrails (the flesh having been cooked and laid on
the altar previously). A large iron nail four or five inches long,
and thick in proportion, was placed vertically in a hole about two
feet deep which had been dug under the altar, and the remains of the
goat were also buried in it, with the head turned towards the east, the
hole being then closed and the turf replaced. Some of the goat's blood,
in two cocoa-nut shells (tempurong), was placed on the ground near
the south side and south-west corner of the altar close to the ladder.
"The Pawang, after assisting at these preliminaries, then took his
stand at the west side of the altar, looking eastward: he covered
his head, but not his face, with his sarong wrapped round it like a
shawl, and proceeded to light a torch, the end of which was tipped
with incense (kemenyan). With this he touched the bottom of the altar
platform four times. He then took a cup of tepong tawar and dipped in
it a small bundle of four kinds of leaves, with which he then sprinkled
the north-west and south-east corners of the platform. He then
coughed three times--whether this was part of the ritual, or a purely
incidental occurrence, I am unable to say, as it was not practicable
to stop the ceremony for the purpose of asking questions--and again
applied the torch under the altar and sprinkled with tepong tawar
all the corners of it, as well as the rungs of the ladder.
"At this stage of the proceedings four men stationed in the rice-field
beyond the four corners of the patch of turf, each threw a ketupat
diagonally across to one another, while the rest of the assembly,
headed by the Penghulu, chanted the kalimah, or Muhammadan creed,
three times.
"Then a man holding a large bowl started from a point in the rice-field
just outside the north side of the patch of turf, and went round it
(first in a westerly direction). As he walked, he put handfuls of the
rice into his mouth and spat or vomited them out, with much noise, as
if to imitate violent nausea, into the field. He was followed closely
by another who also held a bowl filled with pieces of raw tapioca root
and beras bertih (rice roasted in a peculiar way), [416] which he threw
about into the field. Both of them went right round the grass plot. The
Pawang then took his cup of tepong tawar and sprinkled the anak padi,
that is, the rice-shoots which were lying in bundles along the south
and east sides of the altar ready for planting. Having sprinkled them
he cut off the ends, as is usually done; and after spitting to the
right and to the left, he proceeded to plant them in the field. A
number of others then followed his lead and planted the rest of the
rice-plants, and then a sweetmeat made of cocoa-nut and sugar was
handed round, and Muhammadan prayers were said by some duly qualified
person, an orang `alim or a lebei, and the ceremony was concluded.
"It was explained to me that the blood and the food were intended for
the hantu, and the ladder up to the altar was for his convenience;
in fact the whole affair was a propitiatory service, and offers
curious analogies with the sacrificial ceremonials of some of the
wild aboriginal tribes of Central India who have not been converted
to Hinduism or Islam. That it should exist in a Malay community
within twenty miles of the town of Malacca, where Muhammadanism
has been established for about six [417] centuries, is certainly
strange. Its obvious inconsistency with his professed religion
does not strike the average Malay peasant at all. It is, however,
the fact that these observances are not regarded with much favour
by the more strictly Muhammadan Malays of the towns, and especially
by those that are partially of Arab descent. These latter have not
much influence in country districts, but privately I have heard
some of them express disapproval of such rites and even of the
ceremonies performed at kramats. According to them, the latter might
be consistent with Muhammadan orthodoxy on the understanding that
prayers were addressed solely to the Deity; but the invocation of
spirits or deceased saints and their propitiation by offerings could
not be regarded as otherwise than polytheistic idolatry. Of course
such a delicate distinction--almost as subtle as that between dulia
and latria in the Christian worship of saints--is entirely beyond the
average Malay mind; and everything is sanctioned by immemorial custom,
which in an agricultural population is more deeply-rooted than any
book-learning; so these rites are likely to continue for some time,
and will only yield gradually to the spread of education. Such as they
are, they seem to be interesting relics of an old-world superstition.
"I have mentioned only a few such points, and only such as have been
brought directly to my knowledge; there are hosts of other quaint
notions, such as the theory of lucky and unlucky days and hours, on
which whole treatises have been written, and which regulate every
movement of those who believe in them; the belief in amulets and
charms for averting all manner of evils, supernatural and natural;
the practice during epidemics of sending out to sea small elaborately
constructed vessels which are supposed to carry off the malignant
spirits responsible for the disease (of which I remember a case a few
years ago in the village of Sempang, where the beneficial effect was
most marked); the widespread belief in the power of menuju, that is,
doing injury at a distance by magic, in which the Malays believe the
wild junglemen especially to be adepts; the belief in the efficacy of
forms of words as love-charms and as a protection against spirits and
wild beasts--in fact, an innumerable variety of superstitious ideas
exist among Malays." [418]
The Reaping Ceremony
On the 28th January 1897 I witnessed (at Chodoi, in the Kuala Langat
district of Selangor) the ceremony of fetching home the Rice-soul.
Time of Ceremony.--I arrived at the house belonging to the Malay owner
of the rice-field a little past 8 A.M., the hour at which the ceremony
was to take place having been fixed at angkat kening (about 9 A.M.) a
few days previously. On my arrival I found the Pawang (sorceress),
an aged Selangor woman, seated in front of the baskets required for
the ceremony. [419]
Accessories.--At her extreme left stood one of the circular brass
trays with high sides which are called dulang by the Malays, containing
the following objects:--
1. A small bowl of "parched rice" (b'ras ber'tih).
2. A small bowl of "saffron rice" (b'ras kunyit).
3. A small bowl of "washed rice" (b'ras basoh).
4. A small bowl of "oil of frankincense."
5. A small bowl of "oil of Celebes" (minyak Bugis).
6. A small bowl of "incense" (kem'nyan).
7. A small bundle of incense (in addition to the bowl).
8. One of the hard jungle-nuts called buah k'ras (the candle-nut).
9. One of the shells called k'rang (a cockle shell).
10. A hen's egg.
11. A stone (a small block of quartz).
12. A large iron nail.
13 to 15. Three Malay reaping instruments (penuwei). [420]
Close to the dulang stood a cocoa-nut shell filled with the tepong
tawar, which plays so prominent a part in Malay magic ceremonies, and
a brush made up of the leaves of seven different plants, bound up as
usual with a cord of kulit t'rap (the bark of the Wild Breadfruit),
and ribu-ribu (a kind of small creeper). The plants which supplied
the leaves of which the brush was composed, were as follows:--
1. Sapenoh. 2. Sapanggil. 3. Jenjuang (or lenjuang) merah (the Red
Dracæna). 4. Gandarusa. 5. Pulut-pulut. 6. Selaguri. 7. Sambau dara
(a kind of grass).
But the most interesting object was a small oval-shaped basket bound
with the ribu-ribu creeper, and about fourteen inches long, which
was standing just in front of the three rice-baskets and close to the
Pawang, and which, as I afterwards found out, was intended to serve as
the cradle of the Rice-soul (or "Rice-baby"). I examined it, however,
and found that as yet it only contained the following objects:--
1. A strip of white cloth (folded up and lying at the bottom of
the basket).
2. Some parti-coloured thread (benang panchawarna or pancharona).
3. A hen's egg.
4. One of the hard jungle-nuts (candle-nuts) already referred to.
5. A cockle shell (k'rang).
6. A long iron nail.
7. Five cubits of red cloth by means of which the soul-basket was to
be slung round the neck of its bearer. (The correcter custom would
require an expensive cloth of the kind called jong sarat, or the
"Loaded Junk," according to my informant the Pawang.)
Three new Malay skirts or sarongs were added, (one to each basket),
and everything being ready, the various receptacles described above
were entrusted to five female bearers (Penjawat), who descended
from the house, with the Pawang at their head, and set out for the
rice-field. Before they had gone many yards they were joined by the
owner of the field, who walked in front of them bearing what was
called the junjongan padi. This was the stem and leaves of a dark
red kind of sugar-cane, which was used in substitution for the black
or "raven" variety (tebu gagak) which, the Pawang explained, would
have been used in preference if it had been obtainable. Meanwhile
the procession passed on, and the Pawang repeated as we went the
following prayer to the spirits:--
"In the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate,
Peace be with thee, O Prophet 'Tap, in whose charge is the Earth,
I know the origin of the Rice, S'ri Gading, Gemala Gading,
That (dwelleth at) the end of the clearing, and that (dwelleth at)
the beginning (top) of the clearing;
That is scattered broadcast, that is cast headlong,
That is over-run (!) by the ants called Silambada.
Ho, Dang 'Pok, Dang Meleni, [421] (and)
Dang Salamat, who carriest the pole slung on thy back,
Gather together and press hitherwards your attendants.
May safety and our daily bread be granted us by God."
On reaching the rice the procession filed through a lane already
made in the rice, until the "mother-sheaf" was reached from which the
Rice-soul was to be taken. But immediately on arriving at the spot,
and before depositing the rice-baskets on the ground, the Pawang
repeated these lines:--
"Herons from all this region,
Roost ye upon the shaft of my bow;
Retire ye, O Spectral Reapers,
That we may deposit our baskets upon the ground."
Here the baskets were deposited, and the Pawang took up her station
in front of the mother-sheaf, of which mention has just been made.
Covering her head with a flowing white cloth of which the ends fell
upon her shoulders, the Pawang now stood up facing the sheaf, and waved
the ends of this cloth thrice upward to the right, thrice upward to
the left, and finally thrice upward to the right again. Then for a
few moments she stood still, close to the sheaf with her head bent
forward and buried among the ears, after which she reseated herself
and dabbled the tepong tawar thrice upon the roots of the sheaf. One
of the female bearers now planted the stem of the sugar-cane upright
in the centre of the sheaf, [422] whilst the Pawang sprinkled it with
the tepong tawar, and then holding the sharpened end of it over the
incense, fumigated it, saying:--
"Peace be with thee, O Prophet 'Tap!
Lo, I plant this Sugar-cane
For you to lean against,
Since I am about to take away this Soul of yours, S'ri Gading,
And carry it home to your palace,
Cluck, cluck, soul! cluck, cluck, soul! cluck, cluck, soul!"
Here the Pawang and Penjawat (Female Bearer), together proceeded to
plant the sugar-cane in the centre of the sheaf, and (pressing the
sheaf more tightly round the sugar-cane) drew the waist of the sheaf
together and belted it with some of the outer stems of the sheaf
itself; then the Pawang applied the tepong tawar once more to the
sheaf, and after fumigating it in the usual manner, ran her hands up
it. Next she took in one hand (out of the brass tray) the stone and
the egg, cockle-shell and candle-nut, and with the other planted the
big iron nail in the centre of the sheaf close to the foot of the
sugar-cane. Then she took in her left hand the cord of tree-bark,
and after fumigating it, together with all the vessels of rice and
oil, took up some of the rice and strewed it round about the sheaf,
and then tossed the remainder thrice upwards, some of it falling upon
the rest of the company and myself.
This done, she took the end of the cord in both hands, and encircling
the sheaf with it near the ground, drew it slowly upward to the waist
of the sheaf, and tied it there, after repeating what is called the
"Ten Prayers" (do`a sapuloh) without once taking breath:--
"The first, is God,
The second, is Muhammad,
The third, Holy Water of the five Hours of Prayer by Day and Night,
The fourth, is Pancha Indra,
The fifth, the Open Door of Daily Bread,
The sixth, the Seven Stories of the Palace-Tower,
The seventh, the Open Door of the Rice-sifting Platform,
The eighth, the Open Door of Paradise,
The ninth, is the Child in its Mother's Womb,
The tenth, is the Child created by God, the reason of its creation
being our Lord.
Grant this, `Isa! [423]
Grant this, Moses!
Grant this, Joseph!
Grant this, David!
Grant me, from God (the opening of) all the doors of my daily
bread, on earth, and in heaven."
This prayer completed, [424] she dug up with the great toe of the
left foot a small lump of soil, and picking it up, deposited it in
the centre of the sheaf.
Next she took the contents of the soul-basket (the egg and stone,
candle-nut and shell as before), and after anointing them with oil and
fumigating them, replaced them in the basket; then taking the penuwei
sulong ("Eldest Rice-cutter"), anointed the blade with the oil of
frankincense, and inserting the thumb of the right hand into her mouth,
pressed it for several moments against the roof of her palate. On
withdrawing it she proceeded to cut the first seven "heads" of rice,
repeating "the Ten Prayers" as she did so. Then she put the seven
"heads" together, and kissed them; turned up the whites of her eyes
thrice, and thrice contracting the muscles of her throat with a sort
of "click," swallowed the water in her mouth. [425] Next she drew the
small white cloth which she took from the soul-basket for the purpose
across her lap, and laying the little bundle of seven ears in it,
anointed them with oil and tied them round with parti-coloured thread
(benang panchawarna), after which she fumigated them with the incense,
and strewing rice of each kind over them, folded the ends of the cloth
over them, and deposited them as before in the basket, which was handed
to the first bearer. Then standing up, she strewed more rice over the
sheaf, and tossing some backwards over her head, threw the remainder
over the rest of the party, saying "tabek" ("pardon") as she did so,
and exclaiming "kur semangat, kur semangat, kur semangat!" ("cluck,
cluck, soul!") in a loud voice. Next she pushed the cocoa-nut shell
(which had contained the tepong tawar) into the middle of the sheaf,
and removed all traces of the lane which had been trodden round the
sheaf (to make it accessible) by bending down the surrounding ears
of rice until the gap was concealed.
Then the First Bearer, slinging the basket of the Rice-child about her
neck (by means of the red cloth before referred to), took an umbrella
[426] from one of the party, and opened it to shield the Rice-child
from the effects of the sun, and when the Pawang had reseated herself
and repeated an Arabic prayer (standing erect again at the end of it
with her hands clasped above her head), this part of the ceremony
came to an end. Moving on to another part of the field, the Pawang
now cut the next seven "heads" and deposited them in one of the three
rice-baskets, which she then handed to one of the female bearers,
telling her and her two companions to reap the field in parallel
straight lines facing the sun, until they had filled the three
rice-baskets, after which they were to return to the house. Leaving
the three reapers at their task, I followed the Pawang and Eldest
Bearer (the latter still shielding the Rice-child from the sun
with the umbrella) and arrived in time to witness the reception
of the party as they reached the foot of the house-ladder. Here
(on the threshold) we were met by the wife of the owner, and other
women of his family, the former thrice calling out as we approached,
"Apa khabar?" ("What news?"), and thrice receiving the reply, "Baik"
("It is well"). On receiving this reply for the third time she threw
saffron-rice over the Pawang and repeated these lines:--
"Chop the 'tree' Galenggang (a kind of shrub),
Chop it to pieces in front of the door:
Yonder comes One swinging (her) arms;
That (methinks) is a child of mine."
To which the Pawang immediately replied:--
"Chop the young bamboo-shoots as fine as you can,
If you wish to stupefy the fish in the main stream.
In good sooth I have crossed the stream,
For great was my desire to come hither."
And the bearer of the Rice-child added--doubtless on the Rice-child's
behalf:--
"This measure is not a measure filled with pepper,
But a measure filled with rice-husks.
My coming is not merely fortuitous,
But great (rather) was my desire, the wish of my heart."
She then entered the house and laid the Rice-child (still in its
basket) on a new sleeping-mat with pillows at the head. About
twenty minutes later the three Bearers returned, [427] each of
their rice-baskets covered with a sarong. These baskets were carried
into the bedroom and deposited in order of size on the mat at the
foot of the soul-basket, the largest basket being the nearest to the
soul-basket. Finally, the Pawang removed the sarongs which covered each
basket and deposited them on the Rice-child's pillow, and sticking
the "penuweis" into her hair, fumigated the entire row of baskets
and the Rice-child, and covered them over with the long white cloth,
after which the wife of the master of the house was told to observe
certain rules of taboo for three days.
The following were the taboos imposed upon her:--
1. Money, rice, salt, oil, tame animals, etc., were forbidden to
leave the house, though they might enter it without ill
consequences.
2. Perfect quiet must be observed, as in the case of a new-born child.
3. Hair might not be cut.
4. The reapers, till the end of the reaping, were forbidden to let
their shadows fall upon the rice. (Yang menuwei sampei habis
menuwei, tiada buleh menindeh bayang.)
5. The light placed near the head of the Rice-child's bed might not
be allowed to go out at night, whilst the hearth-fire might not be
allowed to go out at all, night or day, for the whole three days.
The above taboos are in many respects identical with those which have
to be observed for three days after the birth of a real child.
I may add that every day, when the reapers start their reaping,
they have to repeat the following charm:--
"A swallow has fallen, striking the ground,
Striking the ground in the middle of our house-yard;
But ye, O Shadows and Spectral Reapers,
See that ye mingle not with us."
When reaping, they must cover their heads and must face the sun,
no matter what hour of the day it is, in order to prevent their own
shadows from falling upon the rice in the basket at their side.
Pounding the first of the padi.--I witnessed this ceremony three
days later, at about 9 A.M. The three baskets filled with the first
reapings were removed from the mat on which they had been placed, and
their contents emptied out upon a new mat, to each corner of which
four rice-ears were tied, and trodden out (di-irekkan) by the owner
of the field. Then the rice was poured back into two of the baskets,
and the straw of the rice "heads" was plaited into a wreath. [428] |
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