Be distraught for love of me,
Distraught both by day and by night,
Distraught seven times in the day,
And distraught seven times in the night.
Come back to your home,
Come back to your palace.”
Although this looks at first sight not unlike a love-charm, the last two lines show that it is really intended to induce a wandering soul (sĕmangat riang) to return to its owner. In fact, the wizard who gave me this charm told me that it was taboo to let any one pass during the whole evening, when this charm was used, between the light and the patient.
It seems possible, however, that it might be used on occasion, and mutatis mutandis, as a love charm as well.
The following ceremony is professedly a species of divination (tilek or pĕnilek), but as it is clearly only another form of soul-abduction I give it here. The instructions are as follows:—
“First take some wax from a deserted bees’ comb and make a wax taper out of it as well as you can; stick it upon the rim of a white cup, and repeat this charm, when you will be able to see the person you wish to affect in the taper’s flame (buleh di-tengo’ orang-nya didalam puchok api). The charm runs as follows:—