indication of a larger supply of camphor.”—Garcia in the Historia Aromatum (1593), quoted in
J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 26, p. 37.
“The camphor is so far considered as a barang larangan that nobody is allowed to go and
collect it without having a special permit from the Sultan. This permit is only given after the
Sultan has made sure that a good Pawang accompanies the party, a man who is able to know
from the outside of a tree whether it contains camphor or not.
“The gratuity to be given to the Pawang is not fixed by law, but is settled beforehand on every
expedition; also the share of the Sultan.
“The regulations which have to be observed when collecting camphor are most strange; for
instance, those who go on the expedition are not permitted during the whole time of its
duration to wash or bathe; they have to use a peculiar language, which differs from ordinary
Malay. Compare what is known on this point of similar usages amongst the Battaks.
“The collectors have to go on through the jungle until the hantu kapur (the camphor spirit), a
female, appears to the Pawang in his dreams, and shows him the direction in which success
may be expected.”—J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 17, pp. 155, 156. This account has reference to Siak, in
Sumatra. ↑
184
Vide App. lxxxix. ↑
185
These last five lines contain allusions to the implements with which the Pawang does his work;
the Ivory Cup is the tagok, a bamboo vessel in which the sap of the Blossom-shoot is received.
The Ivory Bath is the copper in which the cocoa-nut sugar is made, the name given to it being
an allusion to the chemical change which accompanies the process. ↑
186
Inche Muhammad Jaʿfar, of Malacca. ↑
187
[In 1893 these months extended from the 17th May to the 14th July.—C.O.B.] ↑
188
[In 1893 from the 16th May to the 13th June.—C.O.B.] ↑
189
In what may be called the “dry” method of planting rice (bĕrhuma or bĕrladang) the
ceremonies naturally differ somewhat, as the forest has to be felled, if not every year, at least
more often than is the case with the “wet” system; and the rice-seed is not sown in nurseries (as
a rule), but either scattered broadcast or planted with the dibble whilst the ground cultivated is