10 



bag and hangs it up in his house. Then he burns incense 

 (kemennyan) under it. Nobody but the pawang may touch the 

 semarigat. When the new planting season begins the pawang takes 

 the semangat seed and scatters it in the clearing before anyone else 

 has sown. On the next day or the day following the general padi 

 sowing begins. The semangat ceremony is used for padi paya but 

 not for jJCtdi buhit. 



[The last statement is interesting as the planting of padi paya 

 is probably of comparatively recent date among the Besisi while padi 

 buJcit has probably always been grown. The semangat ceremonies have, 

 therefore, almost certainly been adopted from the Malays and cannot 

 be considered as indigenous.] 



Marriage. — The following are a few disconnected statements 

 concerning marriage customs which I obtained, chiefly from the 

 Bomor of the Besisi. 



It is an unknown thing for a man to have more than two wives, 

 though several have as many as two. 



A man may select a wife from wherever he pleases. There are no 

 rules regarding the locality from whence she has to be taken. 



If both a man and his wife wish for divorce they give cloth to one 

 another. 



Both parties must be willing before a divorce can take place. 

 The divorce is proclaimed by the Batin. 



A man who wishes to take a wife does not have to pay either 

 money or goods to his wife or her relations. (That is to say, there is 

 no wife buying.) 



A man gives the girl he is to marry money to buy food for the 

 wedding feast and clothes for the marriage. 



Formerly the woman on the marriage day waited at the house of 

 her mother. The man was carried from his house to that of the 

 woman and he might not leave it for one or two days. If the wife 

 was not a virgin connection might take place on the first night ; 

 otherwise it was considered right to refrain for some days. 



Sometimes the man stops on at the house of his wife's parents, 

 sometimes he makes a house for himself after three or four months. 



Tooth-piling. — Both men and women file the six front teeth of 

 the upper jaw. This was formerly done with a stone but now the 

 European file is in use. The operation may be performed by any 

 friend or relation. The bomor told me that the tooth-filing might be 

 done when people were " chukup besar." As far as I could make out 

 it takes place at any time after the age of puberty, but always before 

 marriage. 



Tooth-blackening used to be in fashion but is now obsolete. 



Tattooing. — I observed tattooing on the arms of one or two men 

 and women but in every case was informed that it was the work of 

 Chinamen 



