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v IDEAS ABOUT BIRDS 109
On the other hand the recital of the following charm
will, it is believed, effectually stop the heaviest down-
pour :
"Though the stem of the MSranti tree 1 rocks to and fro (in the
storm),
Let the Yam leaves be as thick as 2
possible,
That Rain and Tempest may come to naught."
With the foregoing should be classed such charms
as are used by the Malays to dispel the yellow sunset
glow. 3
2. BIRDS AND BIRD CHARMS
The chief features of the Bird-lore of the Peninsular
Malays, which, as will appear in the course of this
chapter, is strongly tinged with animism, have been
thus described by Sir William Maxwell :
" Ideas of various characters are associated by
Malays with birds of different kinds, and many of
their favourite similes are furnished by the feathered
world. The peacock strutting in the jungle, the
argus pheasant calling on the mountain peak, the hoot
of the owl, and the cry of the night-jar, have all
suggested comparisons of various kinds, which are
embodied in the proverbs of the people. 4 The Malay
1 The mtranti is a fine hard-wood The idea is that the beauty of the
forest tree. bird is thrown away when exhibited in
2 i.e. "May we be well sheltered." a lonely spot where there is none to
3 Vide p. 93, supra. admire it.
4 The proverbs referred to are to be
found in the collections of ?
proverbs
2 ' Sepertt ponggok menndu bulan.
sent by Mr. Maxwell to Nos.
"
i, 2, As the owl sighs longingly to the
and 3 of the Journal of the Straits moon."
Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. A figure often used by Mal in
The numbers are consecutive.
describing the longing of a lover for
4. Apa guna-nia merak mengigal di his mistress. It recalls a line in
hutan?
Gray's "Elegy," "The moping owl
"What is the use of the peacock doth to the moon complain." [As to
strutting in the "
jungle ? the story connected with the ponggok,