FOLKLORE OF THE MALAYS. ZO 



daughter of the prophet. One day she took some clay and 

 fashioned it into the likeness of what is now the crocodile. The 

 material on which she moulded the clay was a sheet of upih (the 

 sheath of the betel-nut palm). This became the covering of the 

 crocodile's under-surface. When she attempted to make the mass 

 breathe it broke in pieces. This happened twice. Now it chanced 

 that the Tuan Putri had just been eating sugar-cane, so she ar- 

 ranged a number of sugar-cane joints to serve as a backbone, and 

 the peelings of the rind she utilised as ribs. On its head she placed 

 a sharp stone and she made eves out of bits of saffron (It unlet) :. 

 the tail was made of the mid-rib and leaves of a betel-nut frond. 

 She prayed to God Almighty that the creature might have life, and 

 it at once commenced to breathe and move. For a long time it 

 was a plaything of the prophet's daughter, Siti Fatima, but it at 

 length became treacherous and faithless to Tuan Putri Padang 

 Gerinsing, who had grown old and feeble. Then Fatima cursed it 

 saying: "Thou shalt be the crocodile of the sea, no enjoj'nient shall 

 be thine, and thou shalt not know lust or desire." She then de- 

 prived it of its teeth and tongue, and drove nails into its jaws to 

 close them. It is these nails which serve the crocodile as teeth to 

 this day. 



Mala}" Pawangs in Perak observe the following methods of pro- 

 ceeding when it is desired to hook a crocodile. To commence with, 

 a white fowl must be slain in the orthodox way by cutting its 

 throat, and some of its blood must be rubbed on the line (usually 

 formed of rattan) to which the fowl itself is attached as bait. The 

 dying struggles of the fowl in the water are closely watched and 

 conclusions are drawn from them as to the probable behaviour of 

 the crocodile when hooked. If the fowl goes to a considerable 

 distance, the crocodile will most likely endeavour to make off, but 

 it will be otherwise if the fowl moves a little w r ay only up and 

 down, or across the stream. When the line is set, the following 

 spell must be repeated : ' : Aur Dangsari hamala sari, samhut 

 kiriui Tuan Putri Padang Gerinsing tidal: di samhut mat a angkau 

 cliahut" ("0 Dangsari, lotus, flower, receive what is sent thee by 

 the Lady Princess Padang Gerinsing ; if thou receivest it not, may thy 

 eyes be torn out"). As the bait is thrown into the water the oper- 

 ator must blow on it three times, stroke it three times, and thrice 



