(pantang) may come near it.^105 The Imām, Bilal, or Khatib, or in their absence
the Pah Doja, or Pah Lĕbai, is then summoned, and early notice of the funeral is
given to all relations and friends to give them an opportunity of attending.
Meanwhile the preparations are going on at the house of the deceased. The
shroud (kain kapan) and plank or planks for the coffin are got ready: of coffins
there are three kinds, the papan sakĕping (the simplest form, generally
consisting of a simple plank of pulai or jĕlutong wood about six feet long by
three spans wide), the karanda (a plain, oblong plank box, of the same
dimensions), and the long (consisting either of two planks which form a sort of
gable with closed ends called kajang rungkop, or the long bĕtul, which is like
three sides of a box with its sides bulging out, both ends open, and no bottom).
Varnish or paint is forbidden in Malay coffins, but the planks are washed to
insure their cleanliness, and lined with white cloth (alas puteh). About three
inches of earth is put into the karanda ordinarily, but if the coffin is to be kept,
about a span’s depth of earth, quicklime, and several katis^106 of tea-leaves, rush-
piths (sumbu kumpai), and camphor are also deposited in it, in successive layers,
the rush-piths at the top. Afterwards when the corpse has been laid on the top,
tea-leaves are put at front and back of the corpse as it lies.
The next operation is to wash the corpse, which is carried for this purpose into
the front or outer room. If there are four people to be found who are willing to
undertake this disagreeable duty, they are told to sit upon the floor in a row, all
looking the same way, and with their legs stretched out (bĕlunjor kaki), the body
being then laid across their laps (riba). Several men are then told off to fetch
water in jars, scoop it out of the jars and pour it on the body in small quantities
by means of the “scoop” (pĕnchĕdok ayer), which is usually a small bowl,
saucer, or cocoa-nut shell (tĕmpurong). It frequently happens, however, that this
unpleasant task finds no volunteers, in which case five banana stems are turned
into improvised “rollers” (galang), on which the body is raised from the floor
during the process of washing (mĕruang). When the body is ready for washing, a
chief washer (orang mĕruang) is engaged for a fee of about a dollar; this is
usually the Bilal or Imām, who “shampoos” the body whilst the rest are pouring
water on it. The body then undergoes a second washing, this time with the
cosmetic called ayer bĕdak which is prepared by taking a handful of rice (sa-
gĕnggam b’ras), two or three “dips” of lime (cholek kapur),and a pinch of
gambier (gambir sa-chubit)—the last three being the usual concomitants of a
single “chew” of the betel-leaf—and pounding them up together with the rice.