THE REAPING CEREMONY
On the 28th January 1897 I witnessed (at Chodoi, in the Kuala Langat district of
Selangor) the ceremony of fetching home the Rice-soul.
Time of Ceremony.—I arrived at the house belonging to the Malay owner of the
rice-field a little past 8 A.M., the hour at which the ceremony was to take place
having been fixed at angkat kĕning (about 9 A.M.) a few days previously. On
my arrival I found the Pawang (sorceress), an aged Selangor woman, seated in
front of the baskets required for the ceremony.^210
Accessories.—At her extreme left stood one of the circular brass trays with high
sides which are called dulang by the Malays, containing the following objects:—
- A small bowl of “parched rice” (b’ras bĕr’tih).
- A small bowl of “saffron rice” (b’ras kunyit).
- A small bowl of “washed rice” (b’ras basoh).
- A small bowl of “oil of frankincense.”
- A small bowl of “oil of Celebes” (minyak Bugis).
- A small bowl of “incense” (kĕm’nyan).
- A small bundle of incense (in addition to the bowl).
- One of the hard jungle-nuts called buah k’ras (the candle-nut).
- One of the shells called k’rang (a cockle shell).
- A hen’s egg.
- A stone (a small block of quartz).