48 MALAY POISONS AND CHARM CURES 



nightfall. It is supposed to resemble the human form, 

 but to dart about like a will-o'-the-wisp. The rendering 

 of Kelantan charms into English is exceedingly difficult, 

 and I am gi"eatly indebted to one of my brother officers 

 for his help. The original texts from which they have 

 been translated are given m romanised Malay in 

 Appendix L Spoken charms form ao important part 

 of the armentarium of the homor ; they seem to be 

 vehicles for the operation of sympathetic magic. 



An empmcal prescription, used by the hoimT in the 

 treatment of yaws, contains the bones of a dugong, a 

 mammal which is often connected with Malay love 

 charms. The prescription is as follows : " Take the 

 knee-cap of a tiger (FeHs tigris) ; a bone from the dugong 

 (duyong, Hahcore duyong), a bone and a horn from the 

 rare wild mountain goat {kamhing gerun, Nemorrhaedus 

 sumatrensis) ; the horn of a stag (rwsa, Cervus unicolor), 

 and a red sulphide of arsenic (heleraTig haTig^ realgar) ; 

 some dark red w^ood from Java {cMndajm janggi) and 

 the root of a jungle plant (memjiasi rimaUy unidentified). 

 Bub the horns and bones down on a stone placed in 

 boihng rice-water. Add a small amount of ashes from 

 the hearth to scrapings made from the other ingi^edients, 

 and then give the concoction by the mouth.'* The 

 dugong, a sea mammal, rare in Malayan w^aters, gave 

 rise to the conception of the treacherous mermaid, 

 " the fair pretty maid with a comb and a glass in 

 her hand." It is mentioned both by Dr. Wiustedt and 

 Sir Frank Swettenliam in connexion with love charms ; 

 the former writer gives the charm of the dugong in 

 verse, to be recited thrice on waving a kerchief towards 

 the setting sun. The dugong is asserted by some to be 

 the remains of a pig off which Muhammad himself dined 

 before he pronounced pork to be the accm-sed thing; 

 its bones are used by the hoTiwr as an antidote for 



