Magic Rites connected with the Several Departments of Nature (part 2)

“The gall-bladder of the python, uler sawah, is in great request among native practitioners. This serpent is supposed to have two of these organs, one of which is called lampedu idup, or the live gall-bladder. It is believed that if a python is killed and this organ is cut out and kept, it will develop into a serpent of just twice the size of that from which it was taken. The natives positively assert that the python attains a length of sixty to seventy feet, and that it has been known to have killed and eaten a rhinoceros.

“One of the pit vipers is exceedingly sluggish in its movements, and will remain in the same place for days together. One individual that was watched, lay coiled up on the branch of a tree for five days, and probably would have remained much longer, but at the end of that time it was caught and preserved. The Malays call it ular kapak daun, and they say that it is fed three times a day by birds, who bring it insects to eat. One man went so far as to say that he had actually once seen some birds engaged in feeding one of these beautiful bright-green snakes.”

In Selangor, as in Perak, the “live gall-bladder” of the python will (it is believed), if kept in a jar, develop into a serpent; when dried it is in great request as a remedy for small-pox. The story that Mr. Wray tells of the pit viper (ular kapak daun) is in Selangor told of a snake called chintamani. Selangor Malays say that it was once upon a time a Raja of the country, and that the birds which bring it food were then its subjects. A Malay told me that he once saw this operation, and that the birds fed it with insects. It is reputed to be a perfectly harmless snake, and it is considered extremely lucky to keep one of the species in one’s house, or even to see it. It is described as of a bright and glittering blue colour (biru bĕrkilat-kilat), and is frequently referred to in charms, especially those connected with the Rice-soul ceremony, and is sometimes said to spring from the egg of the chandrawasih or bird of paradise.

The cobra (ular tĕdong) is said to have a bright stone (kĕmala or gĕmala) in its head, the radiance of which causes its head to be visible on the darkest night. A “snake bezoar” (guliga ular) is also said to be occasionally found in the back of a snake’s head (?), whilst the snake-stone (batu ular) is carried in its mouth.

This batu ular is a prize for the possession of which snakes are not unfrequently believed to fight, and appears to correspond to the pearl for which in Chinese legendary lore the dragons of that country were believed to engage in mortal combat. A Malay remarked to me that it was always worth while if one came upon two snakes thus engaged to kill them both, as one of them was sure to possess this much-coveted stone, which is said to confer an almost certain victory upon its possessor.

Another species of “snake-stone,” which is said to be manufactured by Pawangs from gold, silver, amalgam (of silver and gold), tin, iron, and quicksilver, is called Buntat Raksa, and is said to be invaluable in case of snake-bite. It is believed that this stone will adhere to the wound, and will not fall off until it has sucked out all the poison. One of these stones, which was sold to me in Selangor for a dollar, was about an inch long and oval in shape; it was evidently made of some mixture of metals, and was perforated so as to enable it to be carried on a string.

The ular gantang is said to be a snake, though from the description given it would seem more likely to be some species of slow-worm or blind-worm. It is only a “few inches” long, and is “black,” and there is said to be little if any difference between its head and its tail. It is considered to be extremely lucky, and when a Malay meets it, he spreads out his head-cloth or turban on the ground, and allows it to enter, when he carries it home and keeps it.

To dream of being bitten by a snake is thought to portend success in a love affair.

“A horned toad, known as katak bertandok, but not the common one of that name (Megalophrys nasuta, Gunther), has a very bad reputation with the Malays. It is said to live in the jungle on the hills, and wherever it takes up its abode all the trees and plants around wither and die. So poisonous is it, that it is dangerous even to approach it, and to touch or be bitten by it is certain death.

“The bite of the common toad (Bufo melanostictus, Cantor) is also said to prove fatal. That toads have no teeth is an anatomical detail that does not seem to be thought worthy of being taken into account.

“The supposed venomous properties of this useful and harmless tribe have a world-wide range. In Shakespeare many allusions to it are made; one of them, which mentions the habit of hibernation possessed by those species which inhabit the colder parts of the earth, says—

‘In the poison’d entrails throw,
Toad, that under coldest stone
Days and nights hast thirty-one,
Swelter’d venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i’ the charmed pot.’

“In another, reference is made to the toad-stone, which seems to be represented in Malayan tradition by the pearl carried in the bodies of the hamadryad, the cobra, and the bungarus, the three most deadly snakes of the Peninsula:—

‘Sweet are the uses of adversity,
Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in its head.’

“There is some foundation of fact for the popular belief, as toads secrete an acrid fluid from the skin, which appears to defend them from the attacks of carnivorous animals.”

It may not be out of place to give here a Malay tradition about a species of snail:—

“A strange superstition is attached to a small snail which frequents the neighbourhood of the limestone hills in Perak. It belongs to the Cyclophoridæ, and is probably an Alycæus. Among the grass in the shadow of a grazing animal these creatures are to be discovered, and if one of them is crushed it will be found to be full of blood, which has been drawn in a mysterious way from the veins of the animal through its shadow. Where these noxious snails abound, the cattle become emaciated and sometimes even die from the constant loss of blood. In the folklore of other countries many parallels to this occur, but they differ in either the birds, bats, or vampires, who are supposed to prey on the life-blood of their fellows, going direct to the animals to suck the blood, instead of doing so through the medium of their shadows.”

4. Fishing Ceremonies

Fish are in many cases credited by the Malay peasant with the same portentous ancestry as that which he attributes to some of the larger animals and birds.

“Many Malays refuse to eat the fresh-water fish called ikan belidah, on the plea that it was originally a cat. They declare that it squalls like a cat when harpooned, and that its bones are white and fine like a cat’s hairs. Similarly the ikan tumuli is believed to be a human being who has been drowned in the river, and the ikan kalul to be a monkey transformed. Some specially favoured observers have seen monkeys half through the process of metamorphosis—half-monkey and half-fish.”

Similarly, the Dugong (Malay duyong) is asserted by some Malays to have sprung from the remains of a pig, which Muhammad himself dined off before he pronounced pork to be the accursed thing. Being cast by the Prophet into the sea, it revived and took the shape of the dugong, in which shape it is still to be found off the coast of Lukut and Port Dickson, where it feeds upon sea-grass (rumput sĕtul), in common with a species of small tripang or bêche-de-mer.

The origin of the Eel (ikan b’lut) is derived from a stem of the g’li-g’li plant; the “white-fish” (ikan puteh) from splinters, or rather shavings of wood (tatal kayu or tarahan kayu); the sĕnunggang fish from the long-tailed monkey (k’ra); the aruan fish from a frog (katak) or lizard (mĕngkarong); the bujok fish from charred fire-logs (puntong api); the telan fish from the creeping roots of the yam (sulur k’ladi); and so on. There is even the leaf of a certain tree which is sometimes said to turn into a fish (the ikan bĕlidah), while the following story is held to account for the origin of the Porpoise:—

Once upon a time there was a fishing-wizard (Pawang Pukat) who had encountered nothing but misfortune from first to last, and who at length determined to put forth all his skill in magic in one last desperate effort to repay the burden of debt which threatened to crush him. One day, therefore, having tried his luck for the last time, and still caught nothing, he requested his comrades to collect an immense quantity of mangrove leaves in their boat. Having carried these leaves out to the fishing-ground, he scattered them on the surface of the water, together with a few handfuls of parched and saffron-stained rice, repeating a series of most powerful spells as he did so. The next time they fished, the leaves had turned into fish of all shapes and sizes, and an immense haul of fish was the result. The wizard then gave directions for the payment in full of all his debts and the division of the balance among his children, and then without further warning plunged into the sea only to reappear as a porpoise.

“A species of fish-like tadpole, found at certain seasons of the year in the streams and pools, is supposed to divide when it reaches maturity, the front portion forming a frog and the after-part or tail becoming the fish known as ikan kli, one of the cat-fishes or Siluridæ. In consequence of this strange idea many Malays will not eat the fish, deeming it but little better than the animal from which it is supposed to have been cast.

“The ikan kli is armed with two sharp barbed spines attached to the fore-part of the pectoral fins, and can and does inflict very nasty wounds with them, when incautiously handled. The spines are reputed to be poisonous, but it is believed that if the brain of the offending fish is applied to the wound, it will act as a complete antidote to the poisonous principle, and the wound will heal without trouble. The English cure for hydrophobia—that is, ‘the hair of the dog that bit you’—will occur to all as a modification of the same idea.”

The fish called sĕluang is used for purposes of magic. It is supposed that any one who pokes out its eyes with a special needle (which must be one out of a score—the packets being made up in scores—and must possess a torn eye) will be able to inflict blindness, by sympathy, upon any person against whom he has a grudge.

The fish called kĕdĕra is supposed to change into a sea-bird.

I will now proceed to describe the ceremony which is supposed to secure an abundant catch of fish in the stakes.

In January 1897 I witnessed the ceremony of sacrificing at the fishing-stakes (mĕnyemah b’lat) which took place at the hamlet of Ayer Hitam (lit. “Blackwater”), in the coast district of Kuala Langat (Selangor). The chief performer of the rites was an old Malay named Bilal Umat, who had owned one of the fishing-stakes in the neighbourhood for many years past, and had annually officiated at the ceremony which I was about to witness. I and my small party arrived in the course of the morning, and were received by Bilal Umat, who conducted us to the long, low palm-thatch building (bangsal kelong), just above high-water mark, in which he and his men resided during the fishing-season. Here we found that a feast was in course of preparation, but what most attracted my attention was the sight of three large sacrificial basket-work trays, each about 2½ feet square, and with high fringed sides which were suspended in a row from the roof of the verandah, on the seaward side of the building. These trays were empty, but had been lined with banana leaves to prepare them for the reception of the offerings, which latter were displayed upon a raised platform standing just in front of them.

Shortly after our arrival the loading of the trays commenced. First Bilal Umat took a large bowl of parched rice, and poured it into the trays, until the bottom of each tray was filled with a layer of parched rice about an inch in depth.

Next he took a bowl of saffron-stained rice, and deposited about five portions of it in the centre and four corners of each tray; then he made a similar distribution of small portions of washed rice, of sweet potatoes (k’ledek), of yams (k’ladi), of tapioca (ubi kayu), of bananas (pisang), and betel-leaf (sirih)—there being two sets, one cooked and one uncooked, of each of these portions, except the last. Finally, he added one cigarette to each portion, the cigarette being intended for the spirits to smoke after their meal!

A fine black goat, “without blemish and without spot,” had been killed by Bilal Umat early that morning, and he now deposited its head in the middle of the central tray, two of the feet in the middle of the right-hand tray, and the other two feet in the middle of that on the left. To each of these three central portions were now added small portions of the animal’s viscera (liver, spleen, lights, tripe, heart, etc.), and then the small diamond-shaped (kĕtupat) and cylindrical (lĕpat) rice-bags were suspended in the usual manner. A wax taper was added to each portion of each tray, and the loading of the trays declared complete.

Everything being now ready, Bilal Umat carried a smoking censer thrice round the row of trays (walking always towards the left), and then lighting the five wax tapers of the left-hand tray, directed two of his men to take down this tray and sling it on a pole between them. This they did, and we set off in procession along the sandy foreshore at the back of the building until we came to a halt at a spot about fifty yards off, where Bilal Umat suspended the tray from the branch of a mangrove-tree about five feet from the ground. This done, he faced round towards the land, and breaking off a branch of the tree, gave utterance to three stentorian cooees, which he afterwards informed me were intended to notify the Land Spirits (Orang darat, lit. “Land Folk”) of the fact that offerings were awaiting their acceptance. Returning to the house, he manufactured one of the leaf-brushes which the Malays always used for the “Neutralising Rice-paste” (tĕpong tawar) rite, and we then started in a couple of boats for the fishing-stakes, taking with us the two remaining trays.

Of these two trays, one was suspended by Bilal Umat from a high wooden tripod which had been erected for the purpose, the site selected being the centre of a shoal about half-way between the fishing-stakes and the house. The third tray, which contained the head of the goat (kapala kambing dĕngan buah-nya), was then taken on to the fishing-stakes, Bilal Umat disposing of a large quantity of miscellaneous offerings which he had brought with him in a basket by strewing them upon the surface of the sea as we went along.

On reaching the stakes, the Pawang (Bilal Umat) suspended the tray from a projecting pole at the seaward end of the fishing-stakes, and then seating himself upon one of the timbers almost directly underneath it, scattered handfuls of saffron-stained rice, “washed” rice, and native cigarettes upon the water, just outside the two seaward posts at the end of the stakes, and emptied out the remainder of the parched rice upon the water just inside the “head” of the stakes. Then he recited a charm, stirred the bowl of neutralising rice-paste (tĕpong tawar) with the brush of leaves, and taking the latter out of the bowl, sprinkled, or rather daubed it first upon the two “tide-braces” of the stakes (first upon the left “tide-brace,” and then upon the right), then upon the heads of the two upright posts next to the tide-braces, and then delegated the brush to two assistants. One of these sprinkled the heads of all the (remaining) upright posts in the seaward compartment of the stakes, while the other boarded the big boat belonging to the stakes, and sprinkled the boat and all its gear from stem to stern (commencing on the left side of the bows, and working right down to the stern, and then recommencing on the right and working down to the stern again). Finally, the same assistant returning to the stakes, washed the rice-bowl in the sea just beneath the place where Bilal Umat was sitting, and fastened up the leaf-brush to the left-hand head-post (kayu puchi kiri) at the seaward end of the stakes. To the above account I may add that a number of taboos are still pretty rigorously enforced by the fishing-wizards (Pawang B’lat) upon the coast of Selangor. I was never allowed to take either an umbrella or boots into the fishing-stakes when I visited them—the spirits having, I was told, the strongest possible objection to the use of either.

Other “perpetual taboos” (pantang salama-lama-nya) are to bathe without wearing a bathing-cloth (mandi tĕlanjang), to throw the wet bathing-cloth over the shoulder when returning to the house, and to rub one foot against the other (gosok satu kaki dĕngan lain). Sarongs, umbrellas, and shoes must never on any pretence be worn. I may add that the first pole planted is called Turus Tuah (tua?), and if the response of the spirits to the invocation be favourable, it is believed that it will enter the ground readily, as if pulled from below. The only seven-days’ taboo which I have heard mentioned (though, no doubt, there are many others) is the scrupulous observance of chastity.

A boat which possesses a knot in the centre of its keel, or to which the smell of fish long adheres (p’rahu pĕranyir, or pĕrhanyir), is supposed to bring good luck to the fishermen.

There is also a regular “taboo language” used by the fishermen, of which the following are examples:—

• “Fish = daun kayu (tree-leaves) or sampah laut (jetsam).
• Snake = akar hidup (living creeper).
• Crocodile = batang kayu (tree-log).
• Seaward compartment of the stakes (bunohan) = kurong.”

At the close of the ceremony Bilal Umat repeated to me one of the kelong invocations which he had just been making use of, and which ran as follows:—

“Peace be with you, God’s Prophet, ’Tap!
Peace be with you, God’s Prophet, Khizr!
Peace be with you, God’s Prophet, Noah!
Peace be with you, god of the Back-water!
Peace be with you, god of the ‘Bajau’!
Peace be with you, god of Mid-currents!
Peace be with you, god of the Yellow Sunset-glow!
Peace be with you, Old Togok the Wizard!
Peace be with you, O Elder Wizard!
It is not I who make you this peace-offering,
It is Old Togok the Wizard who makes it.
It is the Elder Wizard who makes it,
By the order of Old Aur Gading (lit. ‘Ivory Bamboo’).
By virtue of ‘There is no god,’” etc.

The following was the charm used by the Pawang at the planting of the first pole of a jĕrmal:—

“Peace be with you, Eldest Wizard, First of Wizards, Allah,
And Musa, the Converser with Allah.
Sĕdang Bima, Sĕdang Buana,
Sĕdang Juara, and King of the Sea,
Come let us all together
Plant the pole of this jĕrmal.”

Even when fishing with rod and line, a sĕrapah (invocation) of some sort, such as the following, was generally used:—

“Ho, God of Mid-currents,
See that you do not agitate my hook!
If my hook is to the left,
Do you go to the right.
If my hook is to the right,
Do you go to the left.
If you approach this hook of mine
You shall be cursed by the Saying of God,” etc.

(Before casting the line, a chew of betel-leaf should be thrown into the water.)

Another very common rhyming charm would frequently be addressed to the fish:—

“Swallow (lit. receive) the gut of my line,
Be it broken sooner than torn from my hands,
If you tear it from my hands
Your eye shall be plucked out.”

(d) Fire

1. Production of Fire

“Procuring fire by friction is an accomplishment as common to the Malay as to the North American Indian. The process is, however, slightly different. While the latter resorts to circular friction, the Malay cuts a notch on the converse surface of a bamboo, across which he rapidly rubs another piece cut to a sharp edge. A fine powder is rubbed away and this ignites. Bamboo is also used as a flint with tinder. The all-pervading match, however, is alone used in all districts under foreign influence.”

The foregoing description requires to be supplemented, for the method of procuring fire by circular friction is hardly (if at all) less common among the Malays than the method of cross friction. The former process takes the form of the well-known “fire-drill,” both the block and the upright stick being generally made of mahang wood. The upright stick is frequently worked by a species of “bow,” such as that used by carpenters, and is kept from jumping out of the socket in which it revolves by means of a cocoa-nut shell, which is pressed down from above. When cross friction is used, a long narrow slit is usually cut, following the grain, in the convex surface of the piece of bamboo, the dust which is rubbed away falling through it and gradually forming a little pile which presently ignites. It is hardly necessary to cut a notch for the cross-piece, as a groove is very quickly worn when the friction is started. A species of fire-syringe has also, I believe, been collected by Mr. L. Wray in Perak.

2. Fire Charms

In procuring fire by circular or cross friction the performer will often say, by way of a charm—

“The Mouse-deer asks for Fire
To singe his mother-in-law’s feathers.”

The “mouse-deer’s mother-in-law” is the name of a small bird, which is said to have very gay plumage of five colours and to resemble the green pigeon (punei) in shape, and the explanation of this charm is said to be that in the days of King Solomon, when both the mouse-deer and his mother-in-law wore their human forms, the Mouse-deer was greatly annoyed by the conduct of his mother-in-law, who kept dancing in front of him as he went. A quarrel ensued, as the result of which they were both transformed into the shapes which they now respectively bear; but the mother-in-law has not yet abandoned her exasperating tactics, and may still often be seen tantalising the Mouse-deer by hopping in front of it as it goes along.

There are still some traces of the influence of animistic ideas in that part of Malay folklore which is concerned with fire. If an inflammable object, such as wood, falls by accident into the fire, a stick must be used in extracting it, and the stick left, as a substitute, in its place.

The hearth-fire (api dapor) must never be stepped over (di-langkah-nya), nor must the rice-pot which stands upon it, as in the latter case the person who does so will be “cursed by the Rice.”

Both fire and smoke (fumigation) are a good deal used by the Malays for purposes of ceremonial purification, but the details of such rites cannot be conveniently discussed except in connection with the complete ceremonies of which they form a part; they will accordingly be found under such headings as Birth, Adolescence, Marriage, Medicine, and Funerals.