Pagan races of the Malay Peninsula - Sabrizain.org

CHAP. I SAVAGE
MALAYS OF SELANGOR 15
Lodge not here, O Deep-forest Demon !
Lodge not here, O Jungle Demon !
O Jungle Demon, return to thy jungle,
O Deep-forest Demon, return to thy Forest-depths. ^
The last of these charms collected from the
Blandas was employed for exorcising the " Caul-
demon," when the caul was being removed.
Charm against the Caul-demon. ^
Shoots of Salak-palm, shoots of Ranggam-palm ;
Caul like a bridle. Caul like a casting-net
Caul that art bound, now be thou loosened ;
Caul that art tied up, be thou unloosened ;
Caul that art noosed, be thou unloosened ;
Caul that art anchored, be thou unloosened ;
Caul-fiend that lodgest here, be thou unloosened ;
O fiends and devils, be ye unloosened ;
O fiends from the Forest-depths, be ye unloosened ;
O fiends from the Per'pat Rock, be ye unloosened ;
O fiends from the Banyan Hill, be ye unloosened ;
O fiends from the Kempas-tree, be ye unloosened ;
O Caul-spirit, Demon that cam'st from the ocean.
From Levin and Lightning, from drizzling and mizzling Rain,
Return to Malim Putih, to Malim Sidi,-^
'Tis not by me that this caul is unloosened,
But by Malim Putih, by Malim Sidi.
Besisi.—Among the Besisi (of the Kuala Langat
District) the traditional hire of the sage-femme was
two dollars in money, " or a white jacket." If no
person of professional experience was obtainable, her
place would be usually taken by the invalid's mother
or even her husband. The mother's mosquito-curtain
was decorated all round with the leaf-hangings used
on all ceremonial occasions, and when the child was
born the mother underwent a ceremonial bathing, and
would then be brought out from time to time and
seated with her back to the fire and kept extravagantly
warm— " roasted," as it is called, a practice which is
found among the Malays. An infusion was also made
1 Cp. i. 153. 2 The Caul-demon was believed to lick up the sufferer's blood.
^ Both known to the Malays in connexion with To' Batara (or "Petala")
Guru, the Malay name of Shiva (see Malay Magic, p. 85).
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