12 RECORDS OF MALAY MAGIC. 
which the padi-spirit was supposed to reside, but it was des- 
cribed to me by the Pawang and was afterwards reperformed 
for my benefit by the people of the house. The Pawang’s direc- 
tions were as follows. In order to confine the Rengkesa to 
the boundaries, visit the four corners of the field and at each 
corner tie a knot in a padi leaf and repeat in one breath the 
following charm:— 
Bismillah, d. s. b. 
Layang-layang jatoh bertimpa 
Bertimpa di tengah laman 
Bayang layang dengan Rengkesa 
Tempat Rengkesa di sempadan 
Dengan berkat, d. s. b. 
There are several forms of the padi ear within which the 
‘‘semangat padi” may be held to reside, the best being called 
‘“ tongkat mandah’”; it consists of an ordinary ear bending over to 
meet the tip of a second (adventitious) spike of padi which is 
occasionally produced from its own stalk by a freak of nature. 
The next test is called “ putri bertudong” (the veiled Princess) : 
in this case the sheathing of the ear is of unusual length and 
bows down over the ear itself. A third kind is called “ padi 
bertelkum”; which is said to be the female padi (‘ padi betina”’) ; 
this variety also has an unusually well developed sheath: <A 
fourth kind is the *‘padi menhara,” which appears from the des- 
cription given to be a rice plant whose leaves show white lines 
or markings. 
Whenever the women go out to reap they should repeat a 
certain charm before depositing their baskets on the ground *, 
so also on leaving the house to start the reaping. f 
Their heads should be covered, and they should always be 
careful to reap, as has already been noticed, facing the sun, to 
prevent their shadow from falling upon the rice in the basket at 
* Ruak-ruak sakandang desa 
Bertinggek di bauran panat 
Berkuak-lah angkan Rengkesa 
’ Nak letakkan bakui diatas tanah. 
+ Layang layang jatoh bertimpa 
Timpa di laman kami 
Bayang bayang dengan Rengkesa 
Jangan berchampor dengan kami 
