INDIA AND MALAY BELIEFS. 
89 
with the Spectre Huntsman. Accordingly it has been surmised 
that we must premise an Indo-Germanic storm-god, the common 
source of the Indian and German myths (L v. Schroeder: Wiener 
Zeitschrift fuer die Kunde des Morgenlmdes Bd. IX, 1895, pages 
235-252). The identification by the Malays of the Spectre Hunts- 
man with Siva clearly corroborates the relationship between Siva or 
Rudra and Odin. 
Again just as in German folklore there are various versions of 
the tale of the wild huntsman, so Malay legend sometimes identi- 
fied him with Hama and even made him a descendant of the Prophet 
Joseph (Skeat, page 119). 
Further evidence that Malay magic came from India is the 
practice of Malay magicians declaring they know the source of the 
spirit they would exorcize or repel (ib. page 117) : parallels for this 
occur in the Atharvaveda e.g. I, 3 ; VII, 76, 5. Compare also the 
use of hong = om in Malay charms. “ The syllable om is the door 
of heaven. Therefore he who is about to study the Veda shall 
begin his lesson by pronouncing it. If he has spoken anything 
else than what refers to the lesson, he shall resume his reading 
by repeating the word om: thus the Veda is separated from pro- 
fane speech. And at sacrifices the orders given to the priests are 
headed by this word. And in common life at the occasion of 
ceremonies performed for the sake of welfare the sentence shall 
be headed by this word 1 ” (Apastamba p. 49, “Sacred Books of 
the East vol. II). In this context I would quote two sentences 
from Havell’s “ Aryan Pule in India ” (pages 46 and 118) on the 
mantra, the Vedic- forerunner of the Malay magician’s charm: — 
“ A mantra could bring victory or defeat in wars, assure the pros- 
perity of a State or the destruction of its enemies; it could be 
used to win votes in a popular assembly or to silence the arguments 
of an opponent and either by itself or in conjunction with medicinal 
prescriptions it could stop a cough or promote the growth of hair. 
It lost its efficacy if a single syllable were incorrect in expression 
or intonation.” Moreover it had to he kept secret. In every 
respect the Malay charm corresponds with it. (Cf. J. R. A. S., 
S. B. 81, p. 8). 
The idea that eclipses of sun or moon are due to the attempt 
of a dragon to swallow those bodies is not now associated by Malays 
with Indian legend. But there is a Javanese legend (Metzger, op. 
cit. page 186) practically identical with the Indian legend of Ralm 
quoted by Skeat (page 11). 
Belief in were-tigers or were-wolves is worldwide. It was 
current in India in Vedic. times: in the Vaja-saneyi-Samhita XXX 
and the Satapatha-Brahmana XIII 2, 4, 2 are mentioned puru- 
savvaghra or “ men-tigers.” (H. Oldenberg, Religion den Vedas, 
Berlin 1894, p. 84). 
Tabu vocabularies are emploved in all departments of Malay 
magic (Skeat, pages 35, 139, 192, 315, 253, 523). They were 
R. A. Soc., No. 83, 1921. 
