My brightness like the brightness of the Prophet Muhammad,
By virtue of my using this charm that was coeval with my birth,
And by grace of ‘There is no god but God,’” etc.
When personal attractions begin to wane with the lapse of years, invocations are resorted to for the purpose of restoring the petitioner’s lost youth. In one of the invocations referred to (which is said to have been used by the Princess of Mount Ophir, Tuan Pŭtri Gunong Ledang, to secure perpetual youth), the petitioner boasts that he (or she) was “born under the Inverted Banyan Tree,” and claims the granting of the boon applied for “by virtue of the use of the “Black Lĕnggundi Bush,” which when it has died, returns to life again,”[67] the idea being, no doubt, that a judicious use of black magic will enable the petitioner to “live backwards.”
The third class of invocations, for rendering the person formidable, belong rather to the chapter on war, under which heading they will be included.
5. BETROTHAL
Betrothal is called tunangan or pinangan. When the parents of a marriageable youth perceive a suitable “match” for their son, they send a messenger to her parents to ask if she has yet been “bespoken” (kalau ada orang sĕbut). If the reply is satisfactory, the messenger is again despatched to intimate the desire of the youth’s parents to “bespeak” the hand of the favoured individual for his son, and to arrange a day for a meeting. These preliminaries are accompanied by the usual polite self-depreciation on both sides. Thus, the girl’s father begins by saying, “You wish to bespeak the hand of my daughter, who knows neither how to cook nor how to sew” (yang ta’tahu masak, ta’tahu mĕnjait). But the custom is not carried to such extremes as it is in China.[68]
The girl’s parents next call four or five witnesses (saksi) of either sex to “witness” the betrothal, and after preparing a meal (nasi dan kueh) for their expected guests, await the arrival of the youth’s “Representatives,” the youth himself remaining at home. One of the party carries a betel-leaf tray furnished with the usual betel-chewing appliances, together with half a bhara of dollars ($11) according to the stricter custom; although (failing the dollars), a ring or bracelet, or other jewellery of that value, may be substituted.
