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 kĕning (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.210

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 bĕr’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” (kĕm’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 (pĕnuwei).211

Close to the dulang stood a cocoa-nut shell filled with the tĕpong 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. Sapĕnoh. 2. Sapanggil. 3. Jĕnjuang (or lĕnjuang) merah (the Red Dracæna). 4. Gandarusa. 5. Pulut-pulut. 6. Sĕlaguri. 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 (bĕnang 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 (Pĕnjawat), 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 (tĕbu 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:—

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:—

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 tĕpong 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,213 whilst the Pawang sprinkled it with the tĕpong tawar, and then holding the sharpened end of it over the incense, fumigated it, saying:—

Here the Pawang and Pĕnjawat (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 tĕpong 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” (doʿa sapuloh) without once taking breath:—

This prayer completed,215 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 pĕnuwei 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.216 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 (bĕnang 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 sĕmangat, kur sĕmangat, kur sĕmangat!” (“cluck, cluck, soul!”) in a loud voice. Next she pushed the cocoa-nut shell (which had contained the tĕpong 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 umbrella217 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:—

To which the Pawang immediately replied:—

And the bearer of the Rice-child added—doubtless on the Rice-child’s behalf:—

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,218 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 “pĕnuweis” 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 mĕnuwei sampei habis mĕnuwei, tiada buleh mĕnindeh 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:—

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.219

Drying the first of the padi.—Preparations being complete, the two baskets full of newly-cut rice were carried down the steps and out to an open part of the field, a little way from the house, and there spread on a mat in the sun to dry. To spread it properly is not an easy matter, the operator (who in this case was the owner), standing on the mat and spreading the grains with a long sweeping motion of the hand from one side of the mat to the other (the process being called di-kekar, di-kachau, or mĕmbalikkan jĕmoran). In the present case several objects were placed in the centre of the mat, consisting of—

• 1. A basket-work stand (one of those used for the cooking-pots, and called lĕkar jantan).
• 2. A bowl of water deposited upon this stand and intended “for the Rice-soul (sĕmangat padi) to drink when it becomes thirsty with the heat of the sun.”
• 3. A big iron nail.
• 4. A candle-nut (buah k’ras).
• 5. Six trodden-out rice “heads,” a couple of which tied in a slip knot (simpul pulih) are fastened to each corner of the matting.

Pounding of the rice from the three baskets.—When the rice had been sufficiently dried, it was once more collected in the baskets, and carried back to the house to be pounded.220 That operation took place the same evening, when the rice was pounded and winnowed221 in the ordinary way, the only noteworthy addition being the tying of bunches of the grass called sambau dara to the upper ends of the long wooden pestles which the Malays use for the pounding operation.

Disposal of the empty rice-stalks from the three baskets.—The chaff thus obtained was deposited in a heap by the owner of the field in a place where three paths met, crowned with a wreath made of the empty rice-stalks, and covered by a big stone which was intended, I was told, to keep it from being blown away.

The sugar-cane was left to grow in the midst of the mother-sheaf, until the latter should be reaped by the wife of the owner; when this takes place, it is carried back to the house and used for next year’s reaping. Meanwhile the “heads” of the mother-sheaf are pounded, and the grain thus obtained is mixed with the grain obtained from the Rice-soul, and deposited in the rice-bin (kĕpok) together with a stone, a lump of rosin (damar), and a wreath composed of the empty rice-ears. I may add that I saw the articles which had been deposited in the previous year in the rice-bin of the Malay at whose house I witnessed the ceremony which I have just described.

I did not witness the preliminary search for the mother-sheaf (in which the Rice-soul was supposed to be contained), but it was described to me by the Pawang, and performed for my benefit by the people of the house. The Pawang’s description ran as follows: In order to confine the “Rĕngkesa” (a Spectral Reaper) to the boundaries, visit the four corners of the field, and at each corner tie a knot in a rice-leaf, and hold your breath while you repeat the following charm:—

These noxious spirits being thus confined to the Four Corners, you may search in safety till you find one of the special varieties of rice-ear in which the Rice-soul resides.

There are several varieties, of which the best is called Tongkat Mandah; it may be described as an ordinary “rice-head” bending over to meet the tip of a second (adventitious) “rice-head,” but it is produced only by a freak of nature. There is some risk connected with this variety, however, for if the “Reception (Sambut) Ceremony” is not properly performed the owner will die. The second best is called “The Kite” (Lang). The third best is called “The Veiled Princess” (Pŭtri Bĕrtudong); in this case the sheath of the “head” is of unusual length, and overshadows the “head” itself. A fourth kind is called Padi Bĕrtel’kum, and is described as a “Female Rice” (padi bĕtina); like the “Veiled Princess,” it has an unusually well-developed sheath; whilst a fifth kind is the “Padi Mendhara”—a rice-plant whose leaves show white lines or markings.

How women should reap on ordinary occasions.—Whenever women go out to reap they should repeat certain charms before leaving the house,222 and again before depositing their baskets on the ground. Their heads should be covered, and they should always be careful to reap, as has been said, facing the sun, to prevent their shadow from falling upon the rice in the basket at their side. Occasionally, however, the body is uncovered, and I was even told of one, Inche Fatimah of Jugra, in Selangor, who when reaping stripped herself bare from the waist upwards, and when asked why she did so said it was “to make the rice-husks thinner, as she was tired of pounding thick-husked rice.”

The sheaf which is left standing after the taking home of the Rice-soul is called the Mother of the Rice-soul (Ibu Sĕmangat Padi), and treated as a newly-made mother; that is to say, young shoots of trees (putik-putik kayu) are taken, pounded together (di-tumbok), and scattered broadcast (di-tabor) every evening for three successive days.

When the three days are up you take cocoa-nut pulp (isi niyor) and what are called “goat flowers” (bunga kambing), mix them, and eat them with a little sugar, spitting some of the mixture out among the rice. [So, after a birth (as the Pawang informed me), the young shoots of the jack-fruit (kababal nangka), the rose-apple (jambu), and certain kinds of banana (such as pisang abu and pisang Bĕnggala), and the thin pulp of young cocoa-nuts (kĕlongkong niyor) are mixed with dried fish, salt, acid (asam), prawn-condiment (b’lachan), and similar ingredients, to form a species of salad (rojak). For three successive days this salad is administered to mother and child, the person who administers it saying, if the child be a girl, “Your mother is here, eat this salad,” and if the child be a boy, “Your father is here, eat this salad.”]

Invariably, too, when you enter the rice-clearing (mĕnĕmpoh ladang) you must kiss the rice-stalks (chium tangkei padi), saying, “Cluck, cluck, soul of my child!” (kur, sĕmangat anak aku!) just as if you were kissing an infant of your own.

The last sheaf (as I think I have said) is reaped by the wife of the owner, who carries it back to the house (where it is threshed out and mixed with the Rice-soul). The owner then takes the Rice-soul and its basket and deposits it in the big circular rice-bin used by the Malays, together with the product of the last sheaf. Some of the product of the first seven “heads” will be mixed with next year’s seed, and the rest will be mixed with next year’s tĕpong tawar.223