“The note of the birik-birik at night, telling as it does of the approach of the
hantu pemburu, is listened to with the utmost dread and misgiving. The Bataks
in Sumatra call this bird by the same name—birik-birik. It is noticeable that in
Batak legends regarding the creation of the world, the origin of mankind is
ascribed to Putri-Orta-Bulan, the daughter of Batara-Guru, who descended to
the earth with a white owl and a dog.”^24
To the information contained in the foregoing passage I would add the following
observations:—
Charms for neutralising the power of the Spectre Huntsman are by no means
uncommon, and though they almost invariably differ in unimportant details, such
as the names of his dogs and weapons, they still bear strong and unmistakable
family likeness. Still there are some versions which contain important
divergencies (two or three of these versions will be found in the Appendix), and
it will only be after the diligent collation and compilation of a great many
versions that the real germ or nucleus of the myth as known to the Malays will
be clearly apparent.
One of the charms given in the Appendix evidently alludes to a different version
of the story; the lines which contain the allusion being as follows:—
“I know your origin, O man of penance,
Whose dwelling was upon the hill of Mount Ophir,
[You sprang] from a son of the Prophet Joseph who was wroth with his mother,
Because she would eat the hearts of the birds of Paradise.”Yet even here, if we except the obvious interpolation of the reference to the “son
of the Prophet Joseph,” the task of reconciling the conflicting versions may be
easier than would appear at first sight.^25
A still more curious deviation occurs in another version,^26 where the Spectre
Huntsman’s poniard and k’ris are declared to be the insignia of the great Spirit-
King Rama. The passage is as follows:—
“With a blind crow as his guide,
The giant demon, Si Adunada,
Carries (his weapons) slung over his shoulder with back bent double.