In procuring fire by circular or cross friction the performer will often say, by way of a charm—
“The Mouse-deer asks for Fire[325]
To singe his mother-in-law’s feathers.”
The “mouse-deer’s mother-in-law” is the name of a small bird, which is said to have very gay plumage of five colours and to resemble the green pigeon (punei) in shape, and the explanation of this charm is said to be that in the days of King Solomon, when both the mouse-deer and his mother-in-law wore their human forms, the Mouse-deer was greatly annoyed by the conduct of his mother-in-law, who kept dancing in front of him as he went. A quarrel ensued,[326] as the result of which they were both transformed into the shapes which they now respectively bear; but the mother-in-law has not yet abandoned her exasperating tactics, and may still often be seen tantalising the Mouse-deer by hopping in front of it as it goes along.
There are still some traces of the influence of animistic ideas in that part of Malay folklore which is concerned with fire. If an inflammable object, such as wood, falls by accident into the fire, a stick must be used in extracting it, and the stick left, as a substitute, in its place.
The hearth-fire (api dapor) must never be stepped over (di-langkah-nya), nor must the rice-pot which stands upon it, as in the latter case the person who does so will be “cursed by the Rice.”
Both fire and smoke (fumigation) are a good deal used by the Malays for purposes of ceremonial purification, but the details of such rites cannot be conveniently discussed except in connection with the complete ceremonies of which they form a part; they will accordingly be found under such headings as Birth, Adolescence, Marriage, Medicine, and Funerals.[327]
[1] Kapar, Klang, Langat: the Pawang (magician) mentions, by way of example, the names of three places on the Selangor coast which he wishes to visit in succession during the day “if the wind will listen to him.” The Pawang who told me this was a Kapar man (’Che ʿAkob). [↑]
[2] The first two lines are no doubt (as elsewhere) a sort of rhymed memoria technica, intended to “memorise” the accessories required for the rite. The tortoise here would appear to be a symbol of rain, as among the Sakais (wild tribes) of the Malay Peninsula. v. Haddon, Evolution of Art, p. 246. Can the “white” (or gray?) “ones” be the two lizards; and the “black one” the tortoise? The grass lizards are of various colours. [↑]