died in a few weeks’ time. Shortly after this some men were sitting plaiting
ataps^153 under the shade of another of these ill-omened trees, when, without any
warning, a large branch fell down, breaking the arm of one man, and more or
less injuring two others. There was not a breath of wind at the time, or anything
else likely to determine the fall of the branch. After this it was decided to have
the tree felled, as there were coolie houses nearly under it. There was great
difficulty in getting any one to fell it. Eventually a Penang Malay undertook the
job, but stipulated that a Pawang, or sorcerer, should be employed to drive away
the demons first. The Pawang hung pieces of white and red cloth on sticks round
the tree, burnt incense in the little contrivances made of the split leaf-stalks of
the bĕrtam palm, used by the Malays for that purpose, cut off the heads of two
white fowls, sprinkled the blood over the trunk, and in the midst of many
incantations the tree was felled without any mishap; but, strange to say, the
Pawang, who was a haji^154 and a slave-debtor of the Toh Puan Halimah, died
about nine months afterwards.”^155
There appears to be very little reason to doubt that the word Tualang (’Toh
Alang or Sialang) is the name not of a particular species of tree, but rather the
generic name of all trees in which wild bees have built their nests, so that in
reality it simply means a “Bee-Tree.”
I have not yet succeeded in obtaining any of the Malay charms used by the
collectors of these bees’ nests, except such as are used by Sakais under Malay
influence on the Selangor coast, the Sakais being most usually the collectors.
Some of these latter, however, were pure Malay charms, and may perhaps be
considered, in the absence of charms collected from Malays, as evidence of at
least secondary importance. One of these charms commences as follows:—
“Here is the Peeling-knife, the knife with the long handle,
Stuck into the buttress of a Pulai-Tree.”^156And another, which is almost word for word the same, as follows:—
“Here is the Peeling-knife, the knife with the long handle,
With which to stab (lit. peck at) the buttress of the Pulai-Tree.”^157It will be noticed that both refer to the Pulai-tree by name, and not to the
Tualang. The footnote which I here quote with reference to the customs of Siak