THE SUPERSTITIONS OF THE MINTIRA* 321* 
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lie cherished by the young man. J cast down the devil. Before I 
have charmed, I have drive away the venom of the devil. May all 
devils be driven away, may they he far [from here.] ) 
The sambordn ended, he cuts down a little jangle (tabas m'pidtU 
por *) Three days afterwards he returns, and begins his labour in 
earnest. Having cleared a sufficient space, he waits until the trees 
which he has felled are sufficiently dry, and then, on some clear windy 
day, sets fire to them. When the ground is ready to receive his plants, 
he prepares some tippong taw dr, or rice flour mixed with water, in 
which he dips a bundle of leaves of satawar, ganda rusa, ati ati, and 
ribu ribii, and sprinkles it here and there over the iadang. He then 
plants some bangle, which has the property of driving away the evil 
power or bad spirit that lurks in the ground (budng back' tdnd.fj 
The Iadang being now completely charmed, he proceeds with confi¬ 
dence to plant his potatoes, kledi, &c. 
Rice, however, requires a special charm of its own. On proceed¬ 
ing to sow it, about two chupas of paddy are taken and mixed with tip- 
pong tdwdr and lime juice. This is carried to the place where it is 
to be sowed, and along with it a knife of the kind called pisail raid, 
a sarong, an incense pot (perasapan) and leaves of the ribii ribii, si- 
dingin and pandin. The paddy is smoked in the fumes of benjamin 
or lignum aloes, and the leaves placed over it. The sarong is ex¬ 
tended on two erect poles. The knife is laid on the ground. The 
charm or invocation is then repeated : “ Smillaht mujor bri siju bri 
dingin ko melittakan bude.” (In the name of God. Quickly give 
cold, give coolness. I place the young [the paddy seed.] ) The 
leaves are now taken and stuck into the ground, and the paddy is 
then sown. Three days afterwards the whole field is sown, holes 
having been previously made for the reception of the seed. In plant¬ 
ing paddy sawa or wet rice, similar ceremonies are used. 
When the crop is ripe, and a day has been fixed to commence the 
harvest, a large quantity of food is collected, and some guests areiiivit- 
* Literally fells a cooking place (sa’pidapor) of jungle i. e. as much as a 
cooking place occupies. 
t Jimbaldng and not bddi would be here used by the Malays, who con¬ 
fine the latter word to the haunting of a murderer by the ghost of his victim. 
