“King Solomon’s Palace-yard,” and will also be useful from a practical point of
view, as it will serve as a perch for your “decoy.”^44
The instructions proceed as follows:—
Before entering the hut the wizard must go through what is called the
“Neutralising Rice-paste” (tĕpong tawar) ceremony, first in the centre of the
enclosed space, and then in each corner successively, beating each of the forked
sticks (uprights) at the corners with a bunch of leaves. He must then take the
decoy-tube, and after reciting the appropriate charm, sound a long-drawn note in
each corner successively, and then insert the mouth-end of it into the hut through
a hole in the thatch, supporting the heavy outer end upon a forked upright stick.
Then entering the hut, he slips the noose at the end of the decoy-bird’s rod on to
the decoy-bird’s feet, and pushing the bird out through the front door of the hut,
makes it flutter on to one of the horizontal rods, where it will sit, if well trained,
and call its companions. After a time the decoy-bird’s challenge is met by first
one and then many counter challenges, then the wild pigeon approach, there is a
great fluttering of wings, and presently one of the first arrivals flies down and
commences to walk round and round the hut. Then the wizard awaits his
opportunity, and as the pigeon passes in front of the door he pushes out one of
the rods with a noose at the end, slips the noose over the bird’s neck or feet, and
drags it into the hut.
The hut must be used, if possible, before the leaves with which it is thatched
have faded, as the wild pigeon are less likely to be suspicious of the hut when its
thatch is green.
In the way just described any number of pigeon can be taken, a bag of twenty or
thirty being a fair average for a day’s work under favourable conditions.
The “call” will occasionally, for some unexplained reason, attract to the spot
wild animals such as deer (especially mouse-deer) and tigers. Is it not possible
that the story of the lute of Orpheus may have had its origin in some old hunting
custom of the kind?
The following are specimens of the charms used by the wizard:—
When you are about to start (to decoy pigeons) say—