38 



JELEBU CUSTOMARY SONGS AND SAYINGS. 



His wife's Kusut menyelesaikan, 



tribe con- Chiehir memungut, hilang menchari, 



trols and Utang membayar, piutang menerimakan 



protects him Oleh tempat semanda. 



in business. 



Bride- Pertama orang semanda sahaja, 



grooms Kedua orang semanda bapa budak, 



differ in Ivetiga orang semanda langau ijau, 



type. Keempat orang semanda kumbang jantan, 



Kelima orang semanda alas tempat semanda. 



Custom has Chari bahagi, 1 



fixed rules Dapatan tinggal, 



for division Pembawa kembali, 



of property Kutu di-belah, 



on divorce. Suarang 2 di-ageh, 



Eugi laba pulang ka-tempat semanda;, 

 Nyawa darah pulang ka-pada waris. 



The educa- Bila mengadakan anak, 



tion of Kalau laki-laki, di-serah mengaji; 



children, Iyalau perempuan, di-serah menjahit. 



Masa itu terhutang-lali orang semanda, 



Petang mengandaugkan, 



Pagi melepaskan ; 



Di-jaga ayam ? 



Jangan di-makan musang, 



Kerbau jangan merompak. 

 until Bila baligh anak itu, 



marriage. Yang perempuan masa-masa-nya di-nanti-nantikan, 



Masa-masa-nya di-adang-adangkan untong-nya, 



Yang laki-laki masa-masa-nya di-chari-charikan, 



Masa-masa-nya di-adang-adangkan untong-nya ; 



I a -itu 



Gamit yang berkechapi 



Eisek yang berdasus 3 



('Sa-umpama barang kali ada yang berhajat yang mem- 

 beli-nya.) 



i Some interpreters distinguish this line from the fifth as 

 our translation does: others explain that chari refers to land 

 and suarang to other property. I think there is little doubt 

 that the first line is a N. S. paraphrase for the Minangkabau 

 terms of the fifth line, and that the two lines are identical and 

 refer to joint earnings of husband and wife. Line 5 always 

 takes the place of line 1 in real Minangkabau pepatah and line 1 

 does not occur. - Cf. note 1, p. 30. "Kembau" reads ber- 



sdoran.gan, obviously corrupt, because ber an is a 



plural formative and sa — a singular and their conjunction un- 

 thinkable: persuarangan is a Minangkabau form common in N. S. 

 Jelebn pundits tako lcutu to mean Mice' and the phrase Tcutu di- 

 belah to imply that even the parasites on the persons of those 

 seeking n divorce must be split in half, presumably a last occasion 



Jour. Straits Branch 



