“Measure off (on a piece of string) the stretch (fathom) of the arms of her who is to be mistress of the proposed house. Fold this string in three and cut off one third. Take the remainder, fold it in eight and cut off seven-eighths. Take the remaining eighth, see how many times it is contained in the length of the threshold, and check off the number (of these measurements) against the “category” (bilangan) of the “eight beasts”[64] (bĕnatang yang d’lapan). This category runs as follows:—(1) The dragon (naga); (2) the dairy-cow (sapi); (3) the lion (singa); (4) the dog (anjing); (5) the draught-cow (lĕmbu); (6) the ass (kaldei); (7) the elephant (gajah), and (8) the crow (gagak), all of which have certain ominous significations. If the last measurement coincides with one of the unlucky beasts in the category, such as the crow (which signifies the death of the master of the house), the threshold is cut shorter to make it fit in with one that is more auspicious.”[65]
The names of the “eight beasts,” coupled with the events which they are supposed to foreshadow, are often commemorated in rhyming stanzas.
Here is a specimen:—
I.—The Dragon (naga).
“A dragon of bulk, a monster dragon,
Is this dragon that turns round month by month.[66]
Wherever you go you will be safe from stumbling-blocks,
And all who meet you will be your friends.”
II.—The Dairy-Cow (sapi).
“There is the smoke of a fire in the forest,