The fish called sĕluang is used for purposes of magic. It is supposed that any one who pokes out its eyes with a special needle (which must be one out of a score—the packets being made up in scores—and must possess a torn eye) will be able to inflict blindness, by sympathy, upon any person against whom he has a grudge.[315]
The fish called kĕdĕra is supposed to change into a sea-bird.
I will now proceed to describe the ceremony which is supposed to secure an abundant catch of fish in the stakes.
In January 1897 I witnessed the ceremony of sacrificing at the fishing-stakes (mĕnyemah b’lat) which took place at the hamlet of Ayer Hitam (lit. “Blackwater”), in the coast district of Kuala Langat (Selangor). The chief performer of the rites was an old Malay named Bilal Umat, who had owned one of the fishing-stakes in the neighbourhood for many years past, and had annually officiated at the ceremony which I was about to witness. I and my small party arrived in the course of the morning, and were received by Bilal Umat, who conducted us to the long, low palm-thatch building (bangsal kelong), just above high-water mark, in which he and his men resided during the fishing-season. Here we found that a feast was in course of preparation, but what most attracted my attention was the sight of three large sacrificial basket-work trays,[316] each about 2½ feet square, and with high fringed sides which were suspended in a row from the roof of the verandah, on the seaward side of the building. These trays were empty, but had been lined with banana leaves to prepare them for the reception of the offerings, which latter were displayed upon a raised platform standing just in front of them.
Fig. 1.—Ceremony of sacrificing at the fishing-stakes.
Shortly after our arrival the loading of the trays commenced. First Bilal Umat took a large bowl of parched rice, and poured it into the trays, until the bottom of each tray was filled with a layer of parched rice about an inch in depth.
Next he took a bowl of saffron-stained rice, and deposited about five portions of it in the centre and four corners of each tray; then he made a similar distribution of small portions of washed rice, of sweet potatoes (k’ledek), of yams (k’ladi), of tapioca (ubi kayu), of bananas (pisang), and betel-leaf (sirih)—there being two sets, one cooked and one uncooked, of each of these portions, except the last. Finally, he added one cigarette to each portion, the cigarette being intended for the spirits to smoke after their meal!
A fine black goat, “without blemish and without spot,” had been killed by Bilal Umat early that morning, and he now deposited its head in the middle of the central tray, two of the feet in the middle of the right-hand tray, and the other two feet in the middle of that on the left. To each of these three central portions were now added small portions of the animal’s viscera (liver, spleen, lights, tripe, heart, etc.), and then the small diamond-shaped (kĕtupat) and cylindrical (lĕpat) rice-bags[317] were suspended in the usual manner. A wax taper was added to each portion of each tray, and the loading of the trays declared complete.
Everything being now ready, Bilal Umat carried a smoking censer thrice round the row of trays (walking always towards the left), and then lighting the five wax tapers of the left-hand tray, directed two of his men to take down this tray and sling it on a pole between them. This they did, and we set off in procession along the sandy foreshore at the back of the building until we came to a halt at a spot about fifty yards off, where Bilal Umat suspended the tray from the branch of a mangrove-tree about five feet from the ground. This done, he faced round towards the land, and breaking off a branch of the tree, gave utterance to three stentorian cooees, which he afterwards informed me were intended to notify the Land Spirits (Orang darat, lit. “Land Folk”) of the fact that offerings were awaiting their acceptance. Returning to the house, he manufactured one of the leaf-brushes[318] which the Malays always used for the “Neutralising Rice-paste” (tĕpong tawar) rite, and we then started in a couple of boats for the fishing-stakes, taking with us the two remaining trays.