RECORDS OF MALAY MAGIC. 45 
out to them by the late Sultan of Johor, when for a short time 
Rembow came under his influence, about eighteen years ago; 
from what I have heard he most likely laughed at their customs, 
and advised them that the only way for professed Mohammadans 
was to follow the ‘ Adat Tomonggong,” in other words the law 
of the Prophet. Since that time Rembow customs have greatly 
changed, and in such matters as debt quarrels, a man may act 
for his wife instead of her own relations, the law inheritance also 
follows the code of Islam, so that a man’s children may inherit 
his property instead of his wife’s relations. 
In spite, however, of these decided advances made by the 
clever Rembow people they are still behind in some of matters ; 
for instance, the law of marriage is still the law exogamy as 
in force amongst savages; as the people say it is not lawful to 
marry within one pérui, or sa waris, that is within the limits 
of a well defined group of families whose common descent 
is more or less clear from one ancestress who was probably an 
immigrant from Sumatra several hundred years ago; this is 
very different from the Mohamadan law on the subject, where 
the table of affinity is even less comprehensive that it is under 
Christian rule, 
Another Rembow custom, which I expect is almost peculiar 
to itas a Mohammadan country, is, that a man may not have 
more than one wife at the same time, except by special author- 
ity of the Penghalu; I cannot find out when this custom arose, 
nor can I find any special saying connected with it; the people 
can only remember thct it always prevailed in Rembow, in 
accordance with a vow made by a tribal chief in Menangkabau 
before he and his people migrated to Rembow. At any rate the 
idea has taken such strong hold of the people, that although 
when the late Sultan of Johor came to Rembow, as before stated, 
he ridiculed the custom as opposed to the teaching of Islamism, 
the people still hold by what has been handed down to them — 
by their ancestors, and I understand that even to-day there are 
only three men in Rembow with more than one wife. 
