u 



144 MALAY PROVERBS. 



" Whoever may be raja my hand goes up to my frehead 

 all the same (in allusion to the mode of saluting)," 



u The arrival of ten junks even," here used metaphorically 

 for any important or astonishing event, is rather a charac- 

 teristic figure ; in Malay villages on the coasts of the Penin- 

 sula there are few events in the quiet lives of the people 

 so important as the arrival of the periodical trading boats, 



105. Sudah ter-lalu hilir malam apa handak dikatakan 

 yic/i. 



( The prahu } has gone too far down-stream in the night ; 

 what more is to be said ? 



To have overshot the mark or to have done more than was 

 intended and to repent when too late. 



In travelling in boats on the rapid rivers of the Peninsula, 

 if the polers, on the way upstream, go past their destination 

 in the darkness, it matters very little, because the boat can 

 come down again with the stream ; but it is otherwise if the 

 mistake is made when descending a river, and to go back 

 involves a laborious journey against the current. 



106. Sesat di hujung jalan batik kapangkaljalan. 



If you miss your way go back to the beginning of the road. 

 If a thing is not likely to succeed it is best to commence 

 de novo. 



107. Sir ih naiJc junjong pat ah. 



As the sirih vine is growing up the prop breaks. 



Said of the ruin or misfortune which befalls a family, 

 when its support is suddenly removed by death or otherwise. 



108. Sepertijanda bulum berlaki. 



Like a widow who has not been married. 



109. Seperti gadis sudah berlaki. 

 Like a maiden who has been married. 



Compare the following lines from a Malay poem, of which 

 it is enough to explain that earrings subana are among the 

 Malays the token of virginity : — 



Sungguh bersubang tidak berdarah 

 Bagei mumbang di tebuk tupei. 



