4 MALAY POISONS AND CHABM CUBES 



expecting to be slain, perchance, at the end of his 

 reckless " running amuck " {mengarnok). Poison mixed 

 •with honey is sometimes smeared on the under surface 

 of a knife. The poisoner, sharing a meal with his 

 enemy, divides a water-melon in half "w^th the poisoned 

 blade, but is careful to eat only the upper and harmless 

 portion as his share of the fruit. This method of 

 poisoning is said to be common in Trengganu ; cyanide 

 of potassium is employed. In Kelantan a long-bladed 

 kitchen knife, the pisau ajam, is used and the ordinary 

 water-melon, lahii Ckin^, chosen* 



The Kris, — On the west coast of the Malay Peninsula 

 it has been denied veiy generally, that the blade of the 

 kris is ever deliberately poisoned, but in Kelantan I 

 have been told by the late Dato' Lela Derja and the 

 Engku Said Husain of Kota Bharu that poison is some- 

 times smeared on the blades of Malay weapons with 

 criminal intent. Eeference to this practice is made in 

 a quamt little book entitled ** Six Months Among the 

 Malays/* pubHshed in London in 1840. The author, 

 Dr, Yvan, who was physician to a scientific mission 

 sent by France to China, wTites as follows : *' I changed 

 the subject by inquiring whether it were true that the 

 Malays poisoned their arrows and other weapons. 

 * As true,* he replied, * as that I am the son of my 

 father.* On my inquiring further into the subject he 

 said he would return on the morrow and show me 

 something relative to it ; so on the following day, 

 Abdala arrived carrying a number of small paper 

 parcels which he spread out on the table and allowed 

 me to examine. There were several fragments of a 

 whitish substance which I immediately recognized 

 from its form to be a species of hme ; another ingredient 

 reduced to a white powder, some coco-nut oil, a 

 citron and an extract of some kind of a dark colour 



