Pagan races of the Malay Peninsula - Sabrizain.org

BIRTH-CUSTOMS AND BELIEFS
invocations address it with the word " kur," used in
calHng chickens. The Semang woman is said to carry
about with her a bamboo receptacle, in which she
keeps the soul-bird of her expected progeny ;
this bird
is really the vehicle of her child's soul, and she is
expected to eat it to enable the soul of her child to be
developed. The whole of this part of the subject is
fraught with great interest, and would reward the
most careful investigation by future observers.
Among the Sakai a professional sage-femme is to
be found, who enjoys certain special privileges, and
is the owner of a species of medicine-hut to which
any of the expectant mothers of the tribe may retire
when their full time has come. Another point about
the birth-customs of the Sakai is that a special water-
receptacle of bamboo called " chit-nat," which is
decorated with a special design, is employed in the
purification of mother and child.
Finally, among the Jakun, or aboriginal Malayans,
we find the greatest development of the custom of
" roasting " the new-made mother over a fire (an Indo-
Chinese practice which is general among the Malays,
by whom it is called " salei-an "), as well as a system
of birth-taboos which regulate the diet and the move-
ments of both parents.
I.
—
Semang.
Among the Semaiig of Kedah the mother was
usually placed at birth in a sitting posture, and
was then preferably treated with a decoction made
from the root of a creeper called " chenlai," which
had to be sought upon the loftiest mountain ranges ;
but in default of this, a potion was concocted from the
leaves of the " Icngkuas " and Citronella or lemon