The Golden Bough (Third Edition, Vol. 7 of 12) - Mirrors

216 The Golden Bough (Third Edition, Vol. 7 of 12)[182]body; he sometimes appeals to it to return: ‘Hither, hither, birdof my soul.’ Or again, if a Malay lover wishes to influence themind of a girl, he may seek to obtain control of her sĕmangat,for he believes that this spirit of active and vigorous life mustquit the body when the body sleeps and so be liable to captureby the use of magic arts. It is, however, in the ceremoniesconnected with the so-called ‘spirit of the rice-crops’ that thepeculiar characteristics of the sĕmangat come out most clearly.The Malay considers it essential that the spirit of life should notdepart from the rice intended for next year's sowing as otherwisethe dead seed would fail to produce any crop whatever. He,therefore, approaches the standing rice-crops at harvest-time ina deprecatory manner; he addresses them in endearing terms; heoffers propitiatory sacrifices; he fears that he may scare away thetimorous ‘bird of life’ by the sight of a weapon or the least sign ofviolence. He must reap the seed-rice, but he does it with a knife ofpeculiar shape, such that the cruel blade is hidden away beneaththe reaper's fingers and does not alarm the ‘soul of the rice.’ Whenonce the seed-rice has been harvested, more expeditious reapingtoolsmay be employed, since it is clearly unnecessary to retainthe spirit of life in grain that is only intended for the cookingpot.Similar rites attend all the processes of rice-cultivation—thesowing and the planting-out as well as the harvest,—for at eachof these stages there is a risk that the vitality of the crop may beruined if the bird of life is scared away. In the language used bythe high-priests of these very ancient ceremonies we constantlyfind references to Sri (the Hindu Goddess of the Crops), to thefruit of the Tree of Knowledge, and to Adam who, according toMoslem tradition, was the first planter of cereals;—many of thesereferences only represent the attempts of the conservative Malaysto make their old religions harmonize with later beliefs. Beneathsuccessive layers of religious veneer, we see the animism ofthe old Indonesians, the theory of a bird-spirit of life, and thecharacteristic view that the best protection against evil lies in