There are, therefore, for a Malay three alternatives, it would seem: viz. Charms, for occasions where moral pressure can be brought to bear; Divination, to assist in detecting dangers which in the ordinary course must come but can be avoided; and, finally, Islām (Resignation), when he has to meet the inevitable, whether it be regarded as the course of Fate or the eternal purpose of God.
[1] “To return to the elemental spirits, it was explained to me by a Malay, with whom I discussed the subject at leisure, that apart from the spirits which are an object of reverence, and which when treated with proper deference are usually beneficent, there are a variety of others. To begin with, spirits (the word used on this occasion was hantu) are of at least two kinds—wild ones, whose normal habitat is the jungle, and those that are, so to say, domesticated. The latter, which seem to correspond to what in Western magic are called ‘familiars,’ vary in character with their owners or the persons to whom they are attached. Thus in this particular village of Bukit Sĕnggeh, a few years ago, there was a good deal of alarm on account of the arrival of two or three strangers believed to be of bad character, who were supposed to keep a familiar spirit of a peculiarly malignant disposition, which was in the habit of attacking people in their sleep by throttling them. One or two cases of this kind occurred, and it was seriously suggested that I should make the matter the subject of a magisterial inquiry, which, however, I did not find it necessary to do. But the familiar spirits are by no means necessarily evil.... The chief point of importance is to keep these wild spirits in their proper place, viz. the jungle, and to prevent them taking up their abode in the villages. For this reason charms are hung up at the borders of the villages, and whenever a wild spirit breaks bounds and encroaches on human habitations it is necessary to get him turned out.”—Blagden in J.R.A.S., S.B. No. 29, p. 4. [↑]
[2] Vide Klinkert, v.d. Wall, and Pijnappel, sub voce. [↑]
[3] This “Bajang” was copied for me by ’Che Sam (for many years Malay munshi and clerk at Kuala Lumpur, Selangor), from the original which was posted up on the door of one of his neighbours. The outlines of the figure are made up from varying combinations of the names “Allah,” “Muhammad,” “ʿAli,” etc., in the Arabic character. [↑]
[4] “In all parts of the Peninsula the Bajang is said to be of the male gender, while the Langsuir is supposed to be a female. It is usually believed by Malays that the Bajang is merely a malignant spirit which haunts mankind, and whose presence foretells disaster. In Perak and some other parts of the Peninsula, however, the Bajang is regarded as one of the several kinds of demons which, the Malays hold, can be enslaved by man and become his familiar spirit. Such familiars, it is believed, are handed down in certain families as heirlooms. The master of the familiar is said to keep it imprisoned in a tabong, or vessel made from a joint of the bamboo, which is closed by a stopper made from the leaves of the Cotyledon laciniata, the Daun chĕkar bebek, or Daun sadingin, as they are variously termed by the Malays. Both the case and the stopper are prepared by certain magic arts before they can be employed in this way. The familiar is fed with eggs and milk. When its master wishes to make use of it he sends it forth to possess and prey upon the vitals of any one whom his malice may select as a victim. The individual thus persecuted is at once seized by a deadly and unaccountable ailment, which can only be cured by magic agencies. If the Bajang is neglected by its owner, and if the latter omits to feed it regularly, it is said that he often falls a victim to his own familiar.”—Clifford and Swett., Mal. Dic., s.v. Bajang. [↑]
[5] Swett., Mal. Sketches, p. 194, seqq. [↑]
[6] Swett., Mal. Sketches, pp. 198, 199. [↑]
[7] J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 7, p. 28. Cp. “Langsuior, the female familiar, differs hardly at all from the bâjang, except that she is a little more baneful, and when under the control of a man he sometimes becomes the victim of her attractions, and she will even bear him elfin children.”—Swett., Mal. Sketches, p. 198. [↑]
[8] “Pontianak” appears to be synonymous with “Mati-anak,” which may perhaps be a shorter form of Mati bĕranak (“stillborn”); indeed, one of the charms against the Pontianak which I collected, commenced with the words, “Pontianak mati bĕranak.” [↑]