And the Sea-Snake loses its venom,
And the poison-tree of Borneo loses its venom,
Everything that is venomous loses its venom,
By virtue of my use of the Prayer of the Magic Bezoar-Stone.”
Of the sea-snake (ular gerang) I was told that it was about two cubits in length, and that it was the most poisonous snake in existence; “In fact,” my informant declared, “if your little finger is bitten by it you must cut off the finger; if your oar-blade is bitten by it you must throw away the oar.”[130] And again of the Ipoh, or “upas” (which is one of the chief ingredients in the blow-gun poison used by the wild tribes), I was told that if a man who was “struck” by it was supported by another his supporter would die, and that so far from its virulence becoming then exhausted, it would even kill a person who was seven times removed, in point of contact, from the person originally affected.[131]
The above charm terminates as follows:—
“Let this my prayer be sharp as steel,
Swift as lightning,
Fleet as the wind!
Grant this by virtue of my use of the prayer of Dato’ Malim Karimun,