“Ber-olak dâpor, instead of kuching—cat. Cats are not allowed on mines, nor may the name be mentioned.
“A tiger of enormous size called Ber-olak is said to haunt Kinta. The legend about him is as follows:— A long time ago, in the pre-Muhammadan days, a man caught a tiger kitten and took it home; it grew up quite tame and lived with the man until he died, when it returned to the jungle and grew to an enormous size, nine cubits (hasta) long; it is still there, though nobody ever sees it; it does no harm, but sometimes very large tracks are seen, and men hear its roar, which is so loud that it can be heard from Chĕmor to Bâtu Gajah; when heard in the dry season, it is a sure prognostication of rain in fifteen days’ time.
“Sial,[229] instead of kerbau—water-buffalo. The buffalo is not allowed on the mine for the same reason as the elephant.
“Salah nama,[230] instead of limau nipis—lime (fruit). If limes are brought on to a mine, the hantu (spirits) are said to be offended; the particular feature of the fruit, which is distasteful, appears to be its acidity. It is peculiar that Chinese have this superstition concerning limes as well as Malays; not very long ago a Chinese towkay of a mine complained that the men of a rival kongsi[231] had brought limes and squeezed the juice into his head race, and, furthermore, had rubbed their bodies with the juice mixed with water out of his head race, and he said they had committed a very grave offence, and asked that they might be punished for it.
“With Malays this appears to be one of the most important pantang[232] rules, and to such a length is it carried that bĕlachan (shrimp-paste) is not allowed to be brought on to a mine for fear it should induce people to bring limes as well, lime-juice being a necessary adjunct to bĕlachan when prepared for eating.
“Buah rumput,[233] or bunga rumput, instead of biji—tin sand.
“Akar, or akar hidop,[234] instead of ular—snake.
“Kunyit,[235] instead of lipan—centipede.
“Batu puteh,[236] instead of timah—metallic tin.
“It was important that the Pawang should be a marked man as to personal appearance; for this reason there are certain positions of the body which may be assumed by him only when on the mine. These attitudes are—first, standing with the hands clasped behind the back; and, secondly, with the hands resting on the hips. This second position is assumed when he is engaged in ‘invocating’ the ‘spirits’ of a mine; the pawang takes his station in front of the genggulang,[237] having a long piece of white cloth in his right hand, which he waves backwards and forwards over his shoulder three times, each time calling the special hantu whom he wishes to propitiate, by name; whilst engaged in this invocation his left hand rests on his hip. During the performance of any professional duty he is also invariably dressed in a black coat; this nobody but the pawang is allowed to wear on a mine. These attitudes and the black coat comprise what is technically termed the pakei pawang.