8 RECORDS OF MALAY MAGIC. 
her neck in the red cloth before referred to, accepted an um- 
brella which was offered her by one of the party and opened it to 
guard the infant, I was told, from the effects of the sun. The 
Pawang then sat down and repeated a prayer in Arabic, standing 
up at the end with her hands clasped above her head. This 
completed the ceremony of removing the rice child, and passing 
on to another part of the field, the Pawang cut the first seven 
ears and then handed her basket to another of the female bearers, 
who in company with two others was told to reap the field in 
parallel straight lines facing the sun (but on no account to turn 
their backs to it and let their shadow fall on the baskets) until 
they had filled the three rice baskets, after which they were to 
return to the house. Leaving the three reapers each at their 
allotted task, I followed the Pawang and first bearer (the latter 
still shielding the Rice child with her umbrella) and was in time 
to witness the reception of the party as they arrived in front of 
the house-ladder, Here (on the threshold) they were met by 
the wife of the house owner, and other women of his family, the 
former thrice calling out as we approached, “‘ What news?” (apa 
khabar?) and thrice receiving the same reply, “ Baik.” (It is 
well.) On receiving this reply for the third time she threw 
saffron rice over the Pawang and repeated the following lines:— 
Di-chinchang gaJenggang batang 
Di-chinchang di-muka pintu 
Di-tentang melenggang-nia datang 
Anak aku rupa-nia itu. 
To which the Pawang immediately replied :— 
Dichinchang rebong lumai-lumai 
Buat penuba batang ari 
Sunggoh sahya sebrang sungei 
Besar maksud datan& kamari. 
And the bearer of the Rice-child added :— 
Bukan-nya gantang gantang lada 
Gantang berisi hampa padi 
Bukannia datang datang sehaja 
Besar maksud kahandak hati. 
We then entered the house, and laid the Rice-child in its 
“cradle” on a new sleeping mat with pillows at the head. 
About twenty minutes later the three reapers returned bearing 
their baskets of rice each carefully covered over with a sarong. 
