80 MALAY POISONS AND CHABM CURES 



them, and every human being has in addition an 

 internal jinn peculiar to himself, without whose 

 cooperation the exteiTial jinn of the element is power- 

 less. Seeing that the Malays are Mohammedans the 

 elemental doctrine probably reached them by way of 

 Galen and the mediaeval Arabic physicians." A study 

 of Browne's " Arabian Medicine," however, shows 

 clearly that t-his doctrine of four natural properties 

 rather than elements formed the basis of Arabian 

 medicine and reached the East fiom Arabia and Persia. 

 Again, the care taken by the bomor in treating every- 

 day diseases with foods and drugs of an appropriate 

 kind may perhaps be based on the conception of trying 

 to '* preserve the balance of power " among the four 

 natural properties, as outhned in Browne's " Ai-abian 

 Medicine " (Eef. 2). 



Taboo prescribed by the homor in regard to diet in 

 illness is often of an elaborate nature : two examples 

 will suffice — beef, mutton, three kinds of pumpkins and 

 mango fruit may not be eaten in conditions of any kind 

 of fever, nor in gonorrhoea, eye diseases and painful 

 joint affections ; eggs and milk may be taken. Eggs 

 of all kinds, coarse brown sugar (jaggeiy), and three 

 kinds of dried fish, silver bream {kekek) and two varieties 

 of horse-mackerel {talang and selar), may not be eaten 

 with a cough of any kind. 



Tlie Kota Bharu hoTtior says, further, that owing to 

 the strong behef of man in jin the influence of these 

 demons is very persistent in human affairs, especially 

 when external jin ride upon the wings of the wind. 

 According to a certain school, the explanation of this is 

 that when internal jin have weakened a man by loss of 

 blood, by windy coughing, or by dyspepsia, his condi- 

 tion is mtensified by the co-operation of the external 

 jin, who may come either with a hot wind, dry or damp, 



