14 RECORDS OF MALAY MAGIC. 
Explanation of the Ceremony 
Any one who knows Mr Frazer's ‘“‘ Golden Bough,” will find 
init ample proofs, if indeed it were not already sufficiently obvi- 
ous, that such padi-ceremonies as those I have described are part 
aud parcel of an old-world religion. 
The majority of the details can be explained by a reference 
to the principles of sympathetic magic, one of which is “ that any 
effect can be produced by imitating it” (vide “ The Golden Bough,” 
Vol. I.,p. 9). Thus the central idea of these padi-ceremonies ap- 
pears to be that the padi may be induced to bear, by pretending 
that it has borne a child. In this case the sheaf is the mother, 
(indeed it is called the Rice-Mother, zbu pad) and the first seven 
ears are unmistakeably meant to represent her child. That is why 
it is swathed in the cloth, and laid it in the basket-cradle, together 
with appropriate charms to guard it from evil influences, kissed, 
protected from the sun by an umbrella, carried home and laid 
upon the sleeping mat with pillows and a sheet; that is why the 
lamp must be kept burning near it at night, and why it must not 
be disturbed by noise in the house. Lastly, that is why it is 
actually called a child in the incantations which are used. 
Surely nothing can be plainer than this; and if a parallel is 
wanted, there is our own corn-baby, which is the name given to 
the spirit of the corn when similarly treated in the north of 
England. 
There is, however, a difficulty when we have got so far; is 
it the actual child of the padi itself that the Pawang and Bearers 
think they are carrying home? The use of the word semangat 
seems to preclude this; and in fact suggests that it may after all 
be the sow/ of the child which is supposed to be removed by the 
Pawang. Thus when she waves the white (soul) cloth, it is 
undoubtedly to attract the spirit of the Rice-child that she does 
so, and it must be remembered that the old-world idea of the 
soul (an idea which is still spread widely among uneducated and 
uncivilised communities), is that it is a sort of puppet or 
mannikin exactly resembling in every respect the body which 
encases it. Then again, the soul is supposed to be able to soar 
like a bird, aud that is why the Pawang ininvoking it, uses the 
word “ Kur,” which is the word used in calliug fowls together. 
However, it is perhaps a matter of no great moment whether the 
