[xcviii]
An Invocation to Setia Guni, an Earth-spirit
Hei Tuanku Setia guni
Yang memegang bumi tujoh lapis
Aku bertarohkan anak aku
Sri Chinta rasa chukup dengan inang
Pengasoh kanda manda itu
Sampei lima bulan ka-anam
Aku datang mengambil balik
Jangan angkau bagi rasa binasa
Chachat chelah inilah upah-kan mu.
Hail! Lord Setia Guni,
Who dost rule the seven-fold earth,
I herewith lay my child upon thy breast,
My child, the darling of my heart,
With his full following of nurses and attendants,
And when the fifth moon wanes unto the sixth
I shall come to claim him back again.
Let him taste no harm or evil, great or small;
Here is thy reward.
The “upah,” or payment of the services of the spirit, is generally as follows:—
An egg, a bunch of betel-vine leaves, some “bras kunniet” (oryza glutinosa), some “bras bertik”111 (i.e., the white pulp which exudes from rice grains when roasted), and a “ketupat,” or little woven basket of cocoa-nut leaves filled with rice.
After this invocation of Setia Guni loadfuls of rice are sprinkled on the ground, and the following invocation is then raised to the spirit of the air:—
Hei! Tuanku Malim ka-raja-an
Yang memegang langit tujoh lapis
Aku bertarohkan anak aku
Sri Chinta rasa, etc. (as in the last).
Hail! Malim, who dost supremely rule
The seven folds of sky,
I lay my child in pledge with thee,
My child, the darling of my heart, etc.
After this the rice is thrown into the air, and the ceremony is completed.
The “pawangs,” sorcerers, or rather “wise men” who are skilled in these incantations, are in great request at the sowing of the padi crop.
The above five charms are extracted from a paper entitled “Ceremonies at Seedtime,” by A. W. O’Sullivan, in J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 18, pp. 362–365. The first two are from a work by Captain James Low on the Soil and Agriculture of Penang, 1836.
Charms used in the Reaping Ceremony