32 MALAf PROVERBS. 



Mang-mang means accusation. This word must; not be 

 confounded with mong-mong, (a brass gong, larger than the 

 kind called chancing, which is beaten when a Royal procla- 

 mation is published. See Sijara Malayu p. 83. 



254. Telinga vabit cli pasang subang. 

 Kaki imtut cli pakei-lmn gelang. 



" In the torn ear an earring is fastened 

 On the swollen leg a bangle is clasped/' 



Said of any arrangement in which a want of fitness or 

 suitability is apparent. " A beggar on horseback." Com- 

 pare No. 215. 



TJntut elephantiasis. 



255. Jika ada padi berhampalih. 

 JiJca ada hati herasalah. 



" In all padi there is chaff, but 



In every heart there should be feeling." 



Do not employ a person who is so insensible to right feel- 

 ing as to pay no attention to rebuke or remonstrance. Get 

 rid of him as you would of the chaff in your corn. " Le sage 

 entend a demi mot." 



256. Jihi iiada iersapu arang cli muka, deri liidop baik-lah 

 matt. 



" If the black stain on the face cannot be wiped out death 

 itself is preferable to life." 



If revenge for an injury is impossible, life with dishonour 

 is not worth having. (See No. 3.) 



257. Jik't benih gang bails jatoli ha laut menjadi pulau. 



" Provided that the seed be good, if it drop into the sea 

 it will form an island." 



As many of their proverbs shew, the Malays are intensely 

 aristocratic in their principles and have the firmest faith in 

 good blood and highbreeding. The phrase here quoted 

 conveys the popular belief that a man of good family will 

 nourish wherever he settle, and will draw others after him. 



