456 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 



hoard." He appeared to have some idea that the Hibu JJlar 

 were germs from whence the snake had sprung within its 

 own body. In either case, it was curious to find that struc- 

 tures, which were obviously harmful to the animal in which 

 they occurred, should be considered most beneficial to it. 



The above are selected samples of the zoological beliefs 

 held by the Malays of the mainland, and they are typical of 

 their conceptions of life in the concrete. T have avoided 

 entering into the higher regions of zoological mythology and 

 folklore, as it would be impossible to treat them adequately 

 without describing the religion and superstitions of the 

 Malays at greater length than would be justifiable in the 

 present paper. 



Like all primitive languages, Malay is deficient in general 

 terms, but rich in specific names. In zoological nomen- ■ 

 clature, however, this is less noticeable than in some other 

 branches of the language. The Malays have a general name 

 for birds — hurong ; for snakes — uldr, which also includes 

 csecilians and certain worms ; for tortoises — kurakurd; 

 for frogs and toads — herkdtdk;^ for fish — %kan; for shelled 

 molluscs, whether univalve or lamellibranch — slput ; for 

 worms — chdching; for spiders — labd-labd; for flies — Idlat 

 (but mosquitoes are called nydmok); for ants — semut; for 

 butterflies — kupu-kupu, which also includes dragon-flies; 

 for fixed coelenterates and sponges — bungd kdrdng ("reef 

 flowers "). The word beldldng, derived from Idldng, the long 

 grass in which many grasshoppers live, means primarily a 

 grasshopper or locust, but is generally extended to all 

 Orthoptera which are neither cockroaches {Upas) nor ear- 

 wigs (sipU-sipU) — fiom sipit, a pair of forceps. But in Malay, 

 as in ordinary English, a mammal cannot be described more 

 accurately than by calling it a " four-footed beast," Hndtdng 

 dmpdt kdki ; there is no general name for lizards {Mabuia 

 and the skinks generally being called benkdrong ; small 

 geckos and Draco, ^ cMchdk; Varanus, Gecko stentor {Biawak 

 Ponggok, or "Owl Lizard"), and Liolepis biawak {Biawak 



1 Final k is mute iu the dialects spoken in the Malay Peninsula. 



2 But Draco is also called Bidadari— the "celestial nymph." 



