Pagan races of the Malay Peninsula - Sabrizain.org

CHAP. V SAVAGE MALAYS OF JOHOR 233
the Jakun. It is only when there is an unusual
demand for any of them in Singapore that the Malays
hurry to the interior and induce the Jakun to engage
for a time in procuring a supply of whatever happens
to be in request. At the period of Logan's visit
nearly every man in the country was searching for
" gutta taban," to which the name of " gutta-percha,"
a gum yielded by a different tree, is erroneously
applied by Europeans. This tree was one of the
commonest in the forests of Johor. It is not found
in the alluvial districts, but in undulating or hilly
ground (such as that which occupies the centre of
the Peninsula between the Endau and the Batu
Pahat) it occurs frequently, and in some places
abundantly. Wherever Logan penetrated he found
that collectors of " taban " had preceded him.^
The Jakun, after felling the tree. " ringbarks
the trunk by making an incision completely round it,
from which the viscous milk flows. Similar incisions
are made at distances of from 6 to iS inches through-
out the entire length of the trunk. The rings are
no broader than the blade of the chopper with which
they are made, no bark being removed save the
rough superficial coating for an inch or two on each
side. Many trees felled by Malays had rings of bark
to the breadth of about an inch cut right out instead
of a single incision. A Malay woodman who had been
employed in different places in procuring the gutta
stated that this was the usual Malayan system. 'I he
bark is not stripped off the tree, as has been stated.
Logan asked both the Malays and the Jakun in different
parts of the country whether they could not procure the
gutta in the same way as they collect the dammar.
•
I. J. A. vol. i. ]ip. 260, 261.
"