78 
FASCICULI MALA TENSES 
All descendants of the brothers or sisters of Betimor can invoke the aid 
of 'Toh Sri Lam in sickness or other misfortune, or they may even do so on 
behalf of other people for hire. A shrine still exists at the place where Betimor 
became a crocodile, and any one may dedicate offerings and make petitions to 
’Toh Sri Lam there ; members of the crocodile family being privileged to do 
so either at the shrine or at home, wherever they may happen to live. My 
informant, though herself one of the privileged family, had visited the shrine 
at Petioh no less than three times. On one occasion, a raft loaded with 
merchandize belonging to herself and her husband had stuck on a snag in the 
river, and it was found impossible to get it free until the pair 4 went to their 
ancestor ’ and offered three fathoms of white cloth to cover the shrine. As a 
rule, however, the old woman sacrificed to her Da toh in her own house, offer¬ 
ing three wax tapers and some parched rice. She told me that she made use 
of no special formula in making her request, but said, 1 Datoh Sri Lam, your 
granddaughter begs to be freed from sickness and brings you food.’ If the 
petition happened to take any other form in her mind, she made use of it. 
After the offering had been dedicated at home, it was taken and laid on the 
bank of the river. If my informant was ill or unfortunate she would make a 
vow to dedicate an offering once a month or oftener for a stated time. 
It is dangerous for anyone to promise an offering to ’Toh Sri Lam if he 
does not really intend to make it, for persons who do not fulfil their vows to 
her become very sick and are irresistibly attracted to the river, into which they 
rush and in which they remain until the incensed Datoh is appeased with an 
enormous offering of food and wax tapers. 
The family of ’Toh Sri Lam reckons descent in both the paternal and the 
maternal line ; thus, the grandchildren of my informant, whether they were 
the children of sons or of daughters, were both liable to the prohibitions, and 
are able to perform the private sacrifice. Her husband, who was not a member 
of the family by birth, had become, as it were, affiliated to it by marriage; he was 
in the family, but not of it. He was not allowed to take part in the capture 
or killing of crocodiles, but could not make the private sacrifice, not being an 
actual descendant of Betimor’s parents. 
The cult of the crocodile as an ancestor or ancestress does not appear to 
have been originally confined in the Malay Peninsula to Patani, where it is 
now all but extinct. 1 believe that at least one important native official in the 
State of Perak claims to be descended from a crocodile, and what is evidently 
no more than another version of the Patani legend of ’Toh Sri Lam, is related 
by Mr, W. W. Skeat , 1 who had heard it from a Labu Malay in Selangor, 
i. Maby Magic t pp. 2S5, 286, Lorvtcm, 1900. 
