- ADOLESCENCE
Of the purely Malay ceremonies performed at Adolescence, the most important
are the “filing of the teeth” (bĕrasah gigi),^37 and the cutting of the first locks of
hair, in cases where this latter operation has been postponed till the child’s
marriage by a vow of its parents.
The following is a description of the rite of tonsure (bĕrchukor), at which I was
present in person:—
“Some time ago (in 1897) I received, through one of my local Malay headmen,
an invitation to attend a tonsure ceremony.
“When I arrived (about two P.M.), in company of the headman referred to, the
usual dancing and Korān-chanting was proceeding in the outer chamber or
verandah, which was decked out for the occasion with the usual brilliantly
coloured ceiling-cloth and striped wall-tapestry. After a short interval we were
invited to enter an inner room, where a number of Malays of both sexes were
awaiting the performance of the rite. The first thing, however, that caught the
eye was a gracefully-draped figure standing with shrouded head, and with its
back to the company, upon the lowest step of the dais (g’rei), which had been
erected with a view to the prospective wedding ceremony. This was the bride. A
dark-coloured veil, thrown over her head and shoulders, allowed seven luxuriant
tresses of her wonderful raven-black hair to escape and roll down below her
waist, a ring of precious metal being attached to the end of each tress. Close to
the bride, and ready to support her, should she require it, in her motherly arms,
stood the (on such occasions) familiar figure of the Duenna (Mak Inang), whose
duty, however, in the present instance was confined to taking the left hand of the
bride between her own, and supporting it in a horizontal position whilst each of