Malay Magic _ Being an introduction to the - Walter William Skeat

(ʿelmu) you must meet the ghost of a murdered man. Take the midrib of a leaf of
the ‘ivory’ cocoa-nut palm (pĕlĕpah niyor gading), which is to be laid on the
grave, and two more midribs, which are intended to represent canoe-paddles, and
carry them with the help of a companion to the grave of the murdered man at the
time of the full moon (the 15th day of the lunar month) when it falls upon a
Tuesday. Then take a cent’s worth of incense, with glowing embers in a censer,
and carry them to the head-post of the grave of the deceased. Fumigate the
grave, going three times round it, and call upon the murdered man by name:—

‘Hearken,   So-and-so,

And assist  me;

I   am  taking  (this   boat)   to  the saints  of  God,

And I   desire  to  ask for a   little  magic.’^5

Here take the first midrib, fumigate it, and lay it upon the head of the grave,
repeating ‘Kur Allah’ (‘Cluck, cluck, God!’) seven times. You and your
companion must now take up a sitting posture, one at the head and the other at
the foot of the grave, facing the grave post, and use the canoe-paddles which you
have brought. In a little while the surrounding scenery will change and take upon
itself the appearance of the sea, and finally an aged man will appear, to whom
you must address the same request as before.”

(b) High Places

“Although officially the religious centre of the village community is the mosque,

there is usually in every small district a holy place known as the kramat,^6 at
which vows are paid on special occasions, and which is invested with a very
high degree of reverence and sanctity.

“These kramats abound in Malacca territory; there is hardly a village but can
boast some two or three in its immediate neighbourhood, and they are perfectly
well known to all the inhabitants.