“But during the period that the Moon’s fate hung in the balance, Sĕlĕma has suffered many things. She has been seated motionless in the fireplace under the tray-like shelf, which hangs from the low rafters, trembling with terror of—she knows not what. The little basket-work stand, on which the hot rice-pot is wont to rest, is worn on her head as a cap, and in her girdle the long wooden rice-spoon is stuck dagger-wise. Neither she nor Umat know why these things are done, but they never dream of questioning their necessity. It is the custom. The men of olden days have decreed that women with child should do these things when the Moon is in trouble, and the consequences of neglect are too terrible to be risked; so Sĕlĕma and Umat act according to their simple faith.”[36]
3. ADOLESCENCE
Of the purely Malay ceremonies performed at Adolescence, the most important are the “filing of the teeth” (bĕrasah gigi),[37] and the cutting of the first locks of hair, in cases where this latter operation has been postponed till the child’s marriage by a vow of its parents.
The following is a description of the rite of tonsure (bĕrchukor), at which I was present in person:—
“Some time ago (in 1897) I received, through one of my local Malay headmen, an invitation to attend a tonsure ceremony.
“When I arrived (about two P.M.), in company of the headman referred to, the usual dancing and Korān-chanting was proceeding in the outer chamber or verandah, which was decked out for the occasion with the usual brilliantly coloured ceiling-cloth and striped wall-tapestry. After a short interval we were invited to enter an inner room, where a number of Malays of both sexes were awaiting the performance of the rite. The first thing, however, that caught the eye was a gracefully-draped figure standing with shrouded head, and with its back to the company, upon the lowest step of the dais (g’rei), which had been erected with a view to the prospective wedding ceremony. This was the bride. A dark-coloured veil, thrown over her head and shoulders, allowed seven luxuriant tresses of her wonderful raven-black hair to escape and roll down below her waist, a ring of precious metal being attached to the end of each tress. Close to the bride, and ready to support her, should she require it, in her motherly arms, stood the (on such occasions) familiar figure of the Duenna (Mak Inang), whose duty, however, in the present instance was confined to taking the left hand of the bride between her own, and supporting it in a horizontal position whilst each of the seven Representatives (orang waris)[38] in turn was sprinkling it with the ‘Neutralising Rice-paste’ (tĕpong tawar) by means of the usual bunch or brush of leaves. A little in front of this pair stood a youth supporting in his hands an unhusked cocoa-nut shell. The crown of this cocoa-nut had been removed, and the edges at the top cut in such a way as to form a chevroned or ‘dog-tooth’ border. Upon the indentations of this rim was deposited a necklace, and a large pair of scissors about the size of a tailor’s shears were stuck point downwards in the rim. The cocoa-nut itself was perhaps half-filled with its ‘milk.’ Close to this youth stood another, supporting one of the usual circular brass trays (with high sides) containing all the ordinary accessories of the tĕpong tawar ceremony, i.e. a bowl of rice-paste, a brush of leaves, parched rice, washed saffron-stained rice, and benzoin or incense.
“I was now requested to open the proceedings, but at my express desire the Pĕnghulu (Malay headman) did so for me, first scattering several handfuls (of the different sorts of rice) over the bride, and then sprinkling the rice-paste upon the palm of her left hand, which was held out to receive it as described above. The sprinkling over, he took the scissors and with great deliberation severed the end of the first lock, which was made to fall with a little splash, and with the ring attached to it, into the cocoa-nut with the ‘dog-tooth’ border.
“Five other waris (Representatives) and myself followed suit, the seven tresses with the rings attached to them being all received in the cocoa-nut as described.
“A child of the age of about two or three years underwent the tonsure at the same time, each of the Representatives, after severing the bride’s lock, snipping off a portion of the child’s hair. The child was in arms and was not veiled, but wore a shoulder-cloth (bidak) thrown over his shoulder. At the conclusion of the ceremony we left the room, and the Korān-chanting was resumed and continued until the arrival of the bridegroom in procession (at about five P.M.), when the bride and bridegroom went through the ceremony of being ‘seated side by side’ (bĕrsanding), and the business of the day was concluded.