SRI RAMA. 97 



By the time that Sri Rama was dressed, it was mid-day, 

 " when the shadows are round " (buntar baijaug-bayang) , 

 and it was time to embark. Bat he had first to comply with 

 the (Malay) observances included under the term of langkah, 

 which assure to a traveller a successful journey and a safe 

 return : — 



Di-kena-kan langkah sedang budiman 



Anak ular ber-belit di kaki 



Anak lang terbang meniungsong angin 



Sa-langkah kahadapan dua langkah balikka-belakang. 



Sa-langkah kahadap tanda meninggal-kan negri 



Dua langkah balik ka-belakang tanda ber-balik 



Sa-langkah kaki yang kanan 



Ber-derik changgei di kiri 



Sa-langkah kaki yang kiri 



Ber-derik changgei di kanan 



Ter-ayak dada yang bidang 



Ter-lempei jari yang halus 



Di-kena-kan langkah menukal kachang 



Ter-kena lenggang menabor bayam.* 



As soon as the Raja had embarked, anchor was weighed 



and the expedition started amid the beating of drums and 



gongs and the blowing of trumpets. Cannon and muskets 



were fired (for anachronisms do not shock the taste of a Malay 



* " He adopted the art called ' sedang budiman,'' the young snake 

 writhed at his feet (i. e., he started at mid-day when his own 

 shadow was round his feet), a young eagle was flying against the 

 wind overhead ; he took a step forward and then two backward, 

 one forward as a sign that he was leaving his country, and two 

 backward as a sign that he would return ; as he took a step with 

 the right foot, loud clanked his accoutrements on his left, as he 

 put forth the left foot a similar clank was heard on his right, he 

 advanced swelling out his broad chest, and letting drop his slender 

 fingers, adopting the gait called "planting beans" and then the 

 step called "sowing spinach '." 



(A long step and a slow swing of the arms reminds a Malay of 

 the way a man steps and raises his arm to plant bean-seeds six 

 feet apart ; a quicker step and a rounder swing of the arms is com- 

 pared to the action of scattering small seeds.) 



