96 MALAY PROVERBS, 



45. Ta' ampang peluru di lalang. 



A bullet is not stopped by the lalang grass. The weak can 

 oppose but the feeblest barriers to the attacks of the powerful. 



46. Tlada tef-kajang hat a di pulau. 



" The rocks on an island are not to be coveted over with 

 kajang awnings/' There must be a limit to benevolence ; one man 

 cannot feed a province. Kajang, a kind of mat or screen made 

 of palm-leaves sewn together, often used as an awning or 

 tarpaulin. 



47. Ta'fcan srek luka ma/can ditajak,esok ka bindang juga kita. 

 A cut with a tajak is not so serious but that we are able to go ' 



to the fields again next day. The tajak is an instrument with 

 which the first process in padl cultivation, namely clearing the 

 ground of the long grass and reeds which have grown up since 

 the last crop was taken off, is p' -formed. It consists of a heavy 

 iron blade attached, at right angles nearly, to a wooden handle. 

 Weight is necessary, as the grass is thick and strong and its 

 roots are under water. A certain amount of dexterity is re- 

 quired, or the operator ma}' cut his own feet. The proverb, 

 which is common among Malay peasants in Perak, means some- 

 thing of this kind : " What is the use of being sulky because 

 " our Chief or Punghulu has punished or injured us ? We 

 " have to till his fields for him all the same whether we like it 

 " or not/' 



Ter-klebat-klebat seperti lintah lapar. 



" Waving about like a hungry leech." A simile applied to Ma- 

 lay damsels who shew a want of maidenly propriety. 



48. Tamaa hilang mala haloba dapat kabinasa-an. 



" Covetousness begets loss of shame, avarice results in de- 

 struction." 



Favre, quoting Hikayat Abdullah gives loba, not haloba, as 

 the Malay word for covetousness, (Diet. vol. 2. p. 537.) I give 

 the word as I have been accustomed to hear it pronounced, after 

 having consulted several Malays of education. 



Another Malay word, signifying " miserly, avaricious" is 

 chikei. I have not found this in any dictionary, though Favre 

 (quoting Klinkert) gives kikel. 



49. Tiada bulih tel'niga, tanddk di pvlas-kan. 



li As he can't twist the ear he pulls at the horn." " By hook 

 or by crook." 



