Pagan races of the Malay Peninsula - Sabrizain.org

302
WEAPONS AND IMPLEMENTS
fresh water added and the process repeated. The
fluid is then boiled and filtered through leaves in
which some fine scrapings of bamboo are put. It is
then evaporated in an open vessel over a fire to the
consistency of a thick syrup, and mixed with the Ipoh
in the proportion of three parts of Ipoh to one of
" gadong." ^
The Sakai living in the plains employ the
Antiaris poison, as a rule, since the plants from which
it is prepared are low-country forms ; but the Sakai of
the hills use a poison prepared from three hill plants
known as " Ipoh akar," or root Ipoh—in contradistinc-
tion to the Antiaris or "Ipoh kayu" (tree Ipoh)
"prual," and "lampong."
-'
" Ipoh akar " is a large climbing Strychnos, with a
stem often as much as three inches in diameter. It
has dark green glabrous, opposite leaves, with three
prominent longitudinal veins. The fruit is said to be
large and round, and to contain seeds about half an
inch in diameter, and the flower is stated to be reddish.
It grows on the hills, and is to be seen at over
4000 feet elevation. The specimens procured were
collected on Gunong Batu Putih in Batang Padang.
The portion of this plant from which the poison is
extracted is the bark of the roots and lower part of
the stem. It is often employed without admixture,
and is then prepared ^ as follows :
The bark, which is burnt sienna coloured, is
—
scraped with knives irom the roots ;
—
the scrapings are
put into a pan with water and boiled, the water is
poured off and filtered. Fresh water is added to the
bark, which is again boiled for some minutes, and the
water poured off a second time. The exhausted
» /. A. I. vol. xxi. (1892), p. 480. 2 jb^ 3 7(5