MALAY PROVERBS. 145 



110. Sudali ter-kachak-kan benang arang hitamlah tapak. 



After having trodden on a charcoal line, the soles of the 

 feet are of course black. 



Said of a person who wilfully breaks a well known regu- 

 lation and whose guilt is therefore clear. 



The charcoal thread mentioned is the black line used by 

 carpenters in marking timber for sawing. 



111. SesaJc ber-undor-undor lari ta'malu menghambat ta- 

 lugu. 



To retreat when hard-pressed, not ashamed to fly and not 

 satisfied when pursuing. 



A maxim illustrating Malay tactics in Avar or piracy. 

 Malay warfare is generally a series of desultory attacks and 

 retreats. Confronted by a superior force the attacking party 

 does not disdain a retrogade movement, and when it is his 

 turn to pursue he does not follow up his advantage. 



112. Seperti kumbang putus tali. 



Like a cockchafer Avhose string has broken. 

 Said of a person who has recovered his freedom. 



Kumbang is the carpenter-bee, Avhich Malay children spin, 

 by means of a tread (tied to one of the insect's legs), to 

 amuse themselves with the buzzing sound which it makes. 



113. Seperti bujuk lepas deri bubu. 



Like a fish (of the kind called Bujult) which has escaped 

 from the trap. 



This proverb has much the same meaning as the last. 



Bujuk, is a fresh water fish found in muddy places. Bubu, 

 is a fish-trap made of split bamboo tied with rattan. It 

 has a circular opening which narrows as the end of the pas- 

 sage is reached, and is constructed on the same principle as 

 the eel-pot or lobster-pot. One of the highest mountains 

 in Perak is called Bubu. It is supposed to be the fish-trap 

 of a mythological jjersonage named Sang Katembai, and the 

 rocks in the bed of the Perak river at Pachat are pointed out 

 as his Sawar, (stakes which are put down to obstruct a stream 

 and thus to force the fish to take the opening which leads 

 to the trap.) 



