lO FOLK-LORE AND POPULAR RELIGION OF THE MALAYS. 



this he touched the bottom of the altar platform four times. 

 He then took a cup of tepong tdwar and dipped in it a small 

 bundle of four kinds of leaves, with which he then sprinkled 

 the north-west and south-east corners of the platform. He 

 then coughed three times — whether this was part of the ritual, 

 or a purely incidental occurrence, I am unable to say, as it was 

 not practicable to stop the ceremony for the purpose of asking 

 questions — and again applied the torch under the altar and 

 sprinkled with tepong tdwar all the corners of it, as well as 

 the rungs of the ladder. 



At this stage of the proceedings four men stationed in the 

 rice-field beyond the four corners of the patch of turf, each 

 threw a ketupat diagonally across to one another, while the 

 rest of the assembly, headed by the Penghulu, chanted the 

 kalimah, or Muhammadan creed, three times. 



Then a man holding a large bowl started from a point in 

 the rice-field just outside the north side of the patch of turf, 

 and went round it (first in a westerly direction). As he 

 walked, he put handfuls of the rice into his mouth and spat 

 or vomited them out, with much noise as if to imitate violent 

 nausea, into the field. He was followed closely by another 

 who also held a bowl filled with pieces of raw tapioca root and 

 beras hertih (rice roasted in a peculiar way) which he 

 threw about into the field. Both of them went right round 

 the grass-plot. The Pawang then took his cup of tepong 

 tdwar and Sprinkled the anak padi, that is, the rice-shoots 

 which were lying in bundles along the south and east sides 

 of the altar, ready for planting. Having sprinkled them he 

 cut off the ends, as is usually done ; and after spitting to the 

 right and to the left, he proceeded to plant them in the field. 

 A number of others then followed his lead and planted the 

 rest of the rice-plants, and then a sweetmeat made of coco-nut 

 and sugar was handed round and Muhammadan prayers were 

 said by some duly qualified person, an orang ^alim or d^lebei, 

 and the ceremony was concluded. 



It was explained to me that the blood and the food were 

 intended for the hantu and the ladder up to the altar was for 

 his convenience: in fact, the whole affair was a propitiatory 



