Gutta-percha
The trees from which Gutta-percha is taken are also supposed to be inhabited by
a spirit; but this, the Gutta-spirit, being far less dangerous than the Eagle-wood
spirit, fewer precautions are taken in dealing with it. In the invocation addressed
to the Gutta-spirit, the petitioner asks for the boon of a drop of the spirit’s blood,
which of course is an indirect way of asking for the tree’s sap.
Here is a specimen of the charms used by the gutta-collectors:—
“Ho, Prince S’ri Bali,
Prince S’ri Bandang,
I wish to crave the boon of a drop of blood;
May the yield be better than from this notch of mine.(Here the speaker notches the tree.)
“If it be not better
You shall be a rebel unto God,” etc.^184