“raven” variety (tĕbu gagak) which, the Pawang explained, would have been
used in preference if it had been obtainable. Meanwhile the procession passed
on, and the Pawang repeated as we went the following prayer to the spirits:—
“In the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate,
Peace be with thee, O Prophet ’Tap, in whose charge is the Earth,
I know the origin of the Rice, S’ri Gading, Gĕmala Gading,
That (dwelleth at) the end of the clearing, and that (dwelleth at) the beginning
(top) of the clearing;
That is scattered broadcast, that is cast headlong,
That is over-run (!) by the ants called Silambada.
Ho, Dang ’Pok, Dang Mĕleni,^212 (and)
Dang Salamat, who carriest the pole slung on thy back,
Gather together and press hitherwards your attendants.
May safety and our daily bread be granted us by God.”
On reaching the rice the procession filed through a lane already made in the rice,
until the “mother-sheaf” was reached from which the Rice-soul was to be taken.
But immediately on arriving at the spot, and before depositing the rice-baskets
on the ground, the Pawang repeated these lines:—
“Herons from all this region,
Roost ye upon the shaft of my bow;
Retire ye, O Spectral Reapers,
That we may deposit our baskets upon the ground.”Here the baskets were deposited, and the Pawang took up her station in front of
the mother-sheaf, of which mention has just been made.
Covering her head with a flowing white cloth of which the ends fell upon her
shoulders, the Pawang now stood up facing the sheaf, and waved the ends of this
cloth thrice upward to the right, thrice upward to the left, and finally thrice
upward to the right again. Then for a few moments she stood still, close to the
sheaf with her head bent forward and buried among the ears, after which she
reseated herself and dabbled the tĕpong tawar thrice upon the roots of the sheaf.
One of the female bearers now planted the stem of the sugar-cane upright in the
centre of the sheaf,^213 whilst the Pawang sprinkled it with the tĕpong tawar, and
then holding the sharpened end of it over the incense, fumigated it, saying:—