At the wedding of a Raja nothing else should be put inside the curtain, but at an ordinary wedding a few small articles of typical marriage furniture are usually added as follows:—
Three or four small clothes boxes (saharah), such as are kept by every Malay family, and pĕti kapor (boxes whose corners are strengthened and decorated with brass) are ranged upon the mattress just below the clothes-rod. Upon these should be placed (a) the bangking, which is a kind of jar or urn of lacquered wood, ranging from about half a foot to a foot in height, and contains a portion of the bride’s wardrobe; and (b) the bun,[79] which is either octagonal (pĕchah d’lapan), or hexagonal (pĕchah anam), as the case may be, and which may be described as a box of tin, or sometimes of lacquered wood, whose contents are as follows:—(1) a couple of combs (sikat dua bilah), one with large and one with small teeth; (2) a small cup or saucer of hair oil (a preparation of cocoa-nut oil), or attar of roses (minyak attar), or pomatum (kateneh); (3) a small pen-knife for paring the nails; (4) a pair of scissors; (5) a preparation of antimony (chĕlak), which is a sort of black ointment applied by the Malays to the inside edge of the eyelids; and (6) a Malay work-box (called dulang in Selangor and bintang at Malacca), which is a circular box of painted or lacquered wood, furnished with a lid, and containing needles, cotton, and the rest of the Malay housewife’s paraphernalia.
Near the door of the curtain is placed an earthenware water-jar, called gĕlok (gĕlok Kĕdah and gĕlok Perak are the usual “makes”); this jar stands upon a small brass or earthenware plate with high sides (bokor), and its mouth is covered with a brass or earthenware saucer (chepir), on which is laid the brass or earthenware bowl (pĕnchedok ayer or batil) which is used for scooping up water from the water-jar, and which, when it is in use, is temporarily replaced by an ornamental cap woven from strips of screw-palm leaves. A couple of candlesticks placed near the water-jar, a betel tray (tepah or puan), a basin (batil bĕsar) for washing off the lees of henna, and a “cuspadore” (kĕtor), all of which are placed inside the curtain, complete the preparations for this portion of the ceremony.
The day concludes, as far as the workers are concerned, with a meal in which all who have assisted in the preparations take part, and this is followed by various diversions dear to Malays, such as the chanting of passages from the Korān.[80]
At a royal wedding, either the “Story of ’Che Mĕgat” (’Che Mĕgat Mantri), or a royal cock-fight (main dĕnok), or a performance by dancing girls or fencers (pĕdikir), may be substituted for these more devotional exercises.
These performances (whatever they may be) are kept up (with intervals for rest and refreshment) till four or five in the morning, when the guests disperse to their respective homes to sleep off the night’s fatigue.
Whilst the games are progressing (at about nine or ten P.M.) the first staining of the finger-nails of the bride and bridegroom is commenced, the ceremony on this occasion being conducted in the seclusion of the inner apartments, and hence called the “Stolen Henna-staining” (bĕrhinei churi). Leaves of henna are taken and pounded together with a small piece of charcoal, and the “mash” is applied to the finger-nails of both hands (with the exception of the middle or “Devil’s finger,” jari hantu). The centre of each palm is also touched with the dye, the area stained being as much as would be covered by a dollar. A line (of a finger’s breadth) is also said to be drawn along the inner side of the sole of each foot, from the great toe to the heel (hinei kaus).
Plate 11.—Fig. 1. Bridal Bouquets.
Bridal bouquets of artificial flowers and betel-leaves carried by bride and bridegroom, that on the left being the bridegroom’s.