a string of shredded tree bark (daun t’rap).
The following is a list of the leaves generally used:—
- Leaves of the grass called sambau dara, which is said to be the symbol of a
“settled soul” (ʿalamat mĕnĕtapkan sĕmangat), and which hence always forms
the core of the bouquet.^22
- The leaves of the sĕlaguri, which appears to be “a shrub or small tree with
yellow flowers (Clerodendron disparifolium, Bl., Verbenaceæ; or Sida
rhombifolia, L., Malvaceæ, a common small shrub in open country),”^23 which is
described as one of the first of shrubs (kayu asal), and is said to be used as a
“reminder of origin” (pĕringatan asal).
- The leaves of the pulut-pulut (the exact identity of which I have not yet
ascertained, but which may be the Urena lobata, L., one of the Malvaceae),
which is said to be used for the same purpose as the preceding. - The leaves of the gandarusa (Insticia gandarusa, L., Acanthaceæ), a plant
described as “often cultivated and half-wild—a shrub used in medicine.”
The selection of this plant is said to be due to its reputation for scaring demons
(ʿalamat mĕnghalaukan hantu). So great is its efficacy supposed to be, that
people who have to go out when rain is falling and the sun shining
simultaneously—a most dangerous time to be abroad, in Malay estimation,—put
a sprig of the gandarusa in their belts.
- The leaves of the gandasuli (which I have not yet been able to identify, no
such name appearing in Ridley’s plant-list, but which I believe to be a water-side
plant which I have seen, with a white and powerfully fragrant flower).^24 It is
considered to be a powerful charm against noxious birth-spirits, such as the
Langsuir.
- The leaves of the sapanggil (which is not yet identified).
- The leaves of the lĕnjuang merah, or “the common red dracæna” (Cordyline
terminalis, var. ferrea, Liliaceæ).^25 This shrub is planted in graveyards, and
occasionally at the four corners of the house, to drive away ghosts and demons.