and if you do not succeed in turning it the first time, you can try again at the next
full moon, and so on up to three full moons. At night, if you succeed you will
(according to the Malay account) see the vision of a man, a sign, it is to be
supposed, that the charm has been effectual, and that the prayer has been heard.
The charm begins as follows:—
“In the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate!
May this nerve of stone pierce stone,
Pierce stone and split stone,
Pierce planks and go right through them,
Pierce water and dry it up,
Pierce the earth and make a hole in it,
Pierce the grass and wither it,
Pierce mountains and cause them to fall,
Pierce the heavens that they may fall,” etc.The charm concludes with the following magnificent boast:—
“Of Iron am I, and of Copper is my frame,
And my name is ‘Tiger of God.’”In a somewhat similar charm, a warrior prays that he may be
“Fenced with Hell-fire up to the eyes;”and another expresses the wish that his enemies may be
“Ground to powder like tin-ore after washing.”In actual warfare a number of rules are laid down, the observance of which is
supposed to be necessary in order to achieve success. As in several other
pursuits,^197 there is, of course, a “taboo” language of war (bhasa pantang
p’rang), of which the following are examples:—
Dagger (k’ris) = pisau (lit. knife).
Bullet (pĕluru sĕnapang) = kumbang puteh (lit. white beetle).
Ball of swivel-gun (pĕluru lela) = kumbang hitam (lit. black beetle).
Stockade (kubu) = batang mĕlintang (lit. transverse trunk), or balei