12 FOLKLORE OF THE MALAYS. 



tions offered by the creed of Buddha, but to the propitiation of the 

 demons feared and reverenced by their early progenitors, and just 

 as the Burmese and Takings, though Buddhists, retain in full 

 force the whole of the Nat superstition, so among the Malays, 

 in spite of centuries which have passed since the establishment of 

 an alien worship, the Muhammadan peasant may be found invoking 

 the protection of Hindu gods against the spirits of evil with which 

 his primitive faith has peopled all natural objects. 



An exposition of the chief characteristics of demon-worship, as 

 it still lingers among the Malays, is a work requiring some research 

 and labour. Its very existence is scarcely known, and there 

 are not probably many Englishmen who have witnessed the 

 frantic dances of the Pawang, or listened to the chant and drum 

 of the Bidu beside the bed of some sick or dying person. In the 

 present paper, a corner is lifted of the veil of Muhammadan ism, 

 behind the dull uniformity of which, few, even among those who 

 know Malays well, have cared to look, and an attempt is made to 

 select from the folklore of the peasantry a few popular customs 

 and superstitions, some of which had their origin in the beliefs of 

 the pre- Muhammadan period. 



The Malay language itself, abounding as it dues in words derived 

 from or imported direct from Sanskrit, offers copious materials for 

 illustrating the progress of Hindu influences in this part of the 

 world. To the evidence thus furnished, the corroborative testi- 

 mony afforded by the sayings and legends of the people is an 

 important addition. 



BlllDS. 



Ideas of various characters are associated by Malays with birds 

 of different kinds, and many of their favourite similes are furnish- 

 ed by the feathered world. The peacock strutting in the jungle, 

 the argus-pheasant calling on the mountain peak, the hoot of the 

 owl, and the cry of the night-jar, have all suggested comparisons of 

 various kinds, which are embodied in the proverbs of the people. 

 The Malay is a keen observer of nature, and his illustrations, drawn 

 from such sources, are generally just and often poetical. 



* Malay Proverbs-— Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society ( Straits Branch ), 

 Nos. 4, 72, 73, 93. 



