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200 VEGETATION CHARMS CHAP.
the power of killing any one even when the person
is only slightly hurt by a blow dealt with it. These
are canes that have died down and have begun to
shoot again from near the root. They are very rare,
one of eighteen inches in length is valued at six or
seven dollars, and one long enough to make a walking
stick of, at thirty to fifty dollars. At night the rotan
samambu plant is said to make a loud noise, and,
according to the Malays, it says, ' Bulam sampei, bulam
sampei,' *
meaning that it has not yet
reached its full
growth. They are often to be heard in the jungle
at night, but the most diligent search will not reveal
their whereabouts. The rotan manoh^ is also said
to give out sounds at night. The sounds are loud
and musical, but the alleged will-o'-the-wisp character
of the rattans which are supposed to produce them
seems to point to some night-bird, tree-frog, or lizard
as being the real cause of the weird notes, though
it is just possible that the wind might make the
rattan leaves vibrate in such a way as to cause the
sounds." 3
In Selangor it is the stick-insect (keranting) which
is believed to be the embodiment of the " Malacca-
"
cane spirit (Hantu Samambu], by which last name
it is most commonly called. These stick-insects are
believed by the Selangor Malays to produce the sounds
to which Mr. Wray refers, and in order to account
for their peculiar character a story is told, the main
features of which are as follows :
tails ") will, it is believed, raise a most invulnerable (jadi pPlias). Cp.
painful weal, whilst to strike a person
hard with one would assuredly kill
him. A Malacca-cane, one of whose
J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 17, p. 155.
* In Selangor bflum sampei is the
phrase used.
knots is inverted and the other not, is
also considered of great value, being
2
In Selangor rotan manau.
3 Sel. Journ. vol. iii. No. 6, pp. 95>
believed to render the bearer of it 96.