Journal of the Federated Malay States museums - Sabrizain.org

iy4 Journal of the F.M.S. Museums. [Vol. VII,
the ends, are made of guttapercha instead of wood. All the
dart-quivers that I saw were of the hard round-topped variety,
which is found in the south of the Batang Padang district of
Perak. One article of some interest that I purchased was a
bamboo comb—an old specimen
—
which was decorated with
very minute and finely-executed scratched-in patterns. The
only other objects worth recording that I managed to buy were
some ceremonial articles used by Hulaks (Shamans). These
I treat of below.
Beliefs and Customs connected with Agriculture
The Behrang Senoi have a number of customs conni i ted
with agriculture, and I suspect that I have
obtained all of them.
not by any means
In clearing jungle for planting rice the brushwood is cut
away before the large trees are felled. The Sakai. when beginning
to make a new clearing, work for three days at cutting
down the undergrowth, and then rest for a day. This is called
pahantak kernor; that is the cutting-of-brushwood tabu {kefnor,
I am told, is equivalent to tebas in Malay)- When the under-
growth has been dispose 1 ol
trees and. after felling foi tin
rest for pahantak gani, or the
meaning as the Malay word /
In sowing dry-growing
mencement is a rest-dav for
sowing tabu.
At reaping, the rice-soul
the peopk
consists of seven eai =.
bahantak kenod bah, the tabu at the reaping of the rice. On
this day things must not be carried down from the house-, to
the ground, though anything may be taken up into them. II
an article were removed from a house, the rice-soul would
follow it and be lost.
Customs and Beliefs with Regard to Storms.
The Senoi of the Behrang Vallev. like most, if not
all, of the other wild tribes of the Malay Peninsula, are much
afraid of thunder and lightning, and it is thought that should
certain prohibited acts be done, without taking step-, to avoid
the consequences, the village of the offenders would be struck
by lightning and destroyed. In a former number of this
'•Journal" I have given a list of sane of the prohibitions
which are in force among the Sakai of the Ulu Sungkai, and
those that I was made acquainted with by Katil are somewhat
similar. For instance, a monkey must not be dressed
up and laughed at : a cat and a dog must not be set to fight ;
jungle leeches, malau (a kind of gum), lice, bugs, jelotong-wood,
Mcnug i is .i \l ilaj word