Grant this, Moses!
Grant this, Joseph!
Grant this, David!
Grant me, from God (the opening of) all the doors of my daily bread, on earth, and in heaven.”
This prayer completed,[215] she dug up with the great toe of the left foot a small lump of soil, and picking it up, deposited it in the centre of the sheaf.
Next she took the contents of the soul-basket (the egg and stone, candle-nut and shell as before), and after anointing them with oil and fumigating them, replaced them in the basket; then taking the pĕnuwei sulong (“Eldest Rice-cutter”), anointed the blade with the oil of frankincense, and inserting the thumb of the right hand into her mouth, pressed it for several moments against the roof of her palate. On withdrawing it she proceeded to cut the first seven “heads” of rice, repeating “the Ten Prayers” as she did so. Then she put the seven “heads” together, and kissed them; turned up the whites of her eyes thrice, and thrice contracting the muscles of her throat with a sort of “click,” swallowed the water in her mouth.[216] Next she drew the small white cloth which she took from the soul-basket for the purpose across her lap, and laying the little bundle of seven ears in it, anointed them with oil and tied them round with parti-coloured thread (bĕnang panchawarna), after which she fumigated them with the incense, and strewing rice of each kind over them, folded the ends of the cloth over them, and deposited them as before in the basket, which was handed to the first bearer. Then standing up, she strewed more rice over the sheaf, and tossing some backwards over her head, threw the remainder over the rest of the party, saying “tabek” (“pardon”) as she did so, and exclaiming “kur sĕmangat, kur sĕmangat, kur sĕmangat!” (“cluck, cluck, soul!”) in a loud voice. Next she pushed the cocoa-nut shell (which had contained the tĕpong tawar) into the middle of the sheaf, and removed all traces of the lane which had been trodden round the sheaf (to make it accessible) by bending down the surrounding ears of rice until the gap was concealed.
Then the First Bearer, slinging the basket of the Rice-child about her neck (by means of the red cloth before referred to), took an umbrella[217] from one of the party, and opened it to shield the Rice-child from the effects of the sun, and when the Pawang had reseated herself and repeated an Arabic prayer (standing erect again at the end of it with her hands clasped above her head), this part of the ceremony came to an end. Moving on to another part of the field, the Pawang now cut the next seven “heads” and deposited them in one of the three rice-baskets, which she then handed to one of the female bearers, telling her and her two companions to reap the field in parallel straight lines facing the sun, until they had filled the three rice-baskets, after which they were to return to the house. Leaving the three reapers at their task, I followed the Pawang and Eldest Bearer (the latter still shielding the Rice-child from the sun with the umbrella) and arrived in time to witness the reception of the party as they reached the foot of the house-ladder. Here (on the threshold) we were met by the wife of the owner, and other women of his family, the former thrice calling out as we approached, “Apa khabar?” (“What news?”), and thrice receiving the reply, “Baik” (“It is well”). On receiving this reply for the third time she threw saffron-rice over the Pawang and repeated these lines:—
“Chop the ‘tree’ Galenggang (a kind of shrub),
Chop it to pieces in front of the door:
Yonder comes One swinging (her) arms;