OCCASIONAL NOTES. 155 



The chula tupei is the dried penis of the tupei, a kind of 

 squirrel. Malays say that the dead body of the tupei is some- 

 times found with this organ held fast in a cleft of a cocoa-nut 

 tree or bamboo. 



I must leave it to others, better judges that myself, to say 

 whether such a thing is possible. 



Malays believe that the chula tupei is a very strong aphro- 

 disiac, so strong that even to carry one has an effect. 



The taring nap oh is the eye-tooth, grown in ring form, of 

 a napoh, a dwarf deer (in size between the pelanduk (kanchil) 

 and the kijang), an animal which it appears is only found in 

 Sumatra and surrounding islands. 



The taring is worn as a ring, and forms what Malays call a 

 pelias, namely a protection which renders its bearer invulner- 

 able. They are very rare. Another pelias, which however is no 

 barang larangan, is the semambu * songsang, that is a semambu 

 which is deformed or presents some peculiarity of growth ; 

 another is buntat tumboh nyiur, part of the kernel of a cocoa- 

 nut turned to stone. 



The musang chabu is a white musang, which whenever found 

 is the Sultan's. It seems, however, to have do further useful 

 quality than its extreme rarity. It appears to be so rare 

 indeed that the writer has never found anybody who has seen 

 one. 



The camphor is so far considered as a barang larangan that 

 nobody is allowed to go and collect it without having a special 

 permit from the Sultan. This permt is only given after the 

 Sultan has made sure that a good pawang accompanies the 

 party, a man who is able to know from the outside of a tree 

 whether it contains camphor or not. 



The gratuity to be given to the pawang is not fixed by law, 

 but is settled beforehand on every expedition, also the share 

 of the Sultan. 



The regulations which have to be observed when collecting 

 camphor are most strange, for instance, those who go on the 



* Semambu — better rotan scmamlu — is a rattan commonly known 

 as Malacca cane. — F, K. 



