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Malay Magic / Being an introduction to the folklore and popular religion of the Malay Peninsula cover

Malay Magic / Being an introduction to the folklore and popular religion of the Malay Peninsula

Chapter 312: [ccxli] Fencing Terms
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About This Book

A compilation of Malay Peninsula folklore, popular religion, and magical practices drawn from manuscripts, published sources, and the author's field notes, presenting creation myths, supernatural beings, charms, incantations, ritual practices, and folk explanations for illness and misfortune. The text emphasizes literal translations of spells and formulæ with originals in an appendix, confines attention to Malay communities of the peninsula, and compares recurring motifs while avoiding non-Malay populations. Methodological notes explain evidence and limits. The volume serves as an introductory survey that organizes material thematically—cosmology, spirit lore, protective and harmful magic, divination, and ritual observances—without claiming exhaustive treatment.

[ccxli] Fencing Terms

B’lah mumbang (lit. to split the young cocoa-nut), to cut straight downwards.

Tĕbas (lit. to cut down undergrowth), to make a horizontal stroke.

Tĕbas sepak, to “cut” from left to right with an upward motion at the end of the stroke.

Paras gantang, to “cut” from right to left with the back of the hand turned downwards, as in “levelling a measure” of rice.

Panchong Malayu, to “cut” from right to left with an upward motion at the end of the stroke.

Of “stabbing” strokes the following are the most important:—”Tikam tunggal,” “tikam beranak,” “tikam sĕmbor anak,” and the “tikam tupei terjun,” the latter taking its name from the way in which the stroke curves slightly downwards in the course of delivery, “like a squirrel taking a header.”

Divination and the Black Art