Denys, Descr. Dict. of Brit. Malaya, s.v. Gold. ↑
271
Vide Leyden, Malay Annals, p. 94. “He (the Sultan), also prohibited the ornamenting of creeses
with gold, and the wearing anklets of gold, and the wearing the koronchong, or hollow
bracelets of gold, ornamented with silver.”
Two legends, which connect the wild boar with the precious metals, have already been
mentioned, vide p. 188, supra. ↑
272
Vide v. d. Wall, Malay-Dutch Dict., s.v. Kawi, one of the meanings of which he explains as the
supernatural power of anything. He proceeds to explain bĕsi kawi as follows:—It is “a piece of
old scrap-iron with supernatural powers, belonging to the royal insignia of the former Kingdom
of Johor, now [then?] in the possession of the Sultan of Lingga. Whenever an oath was to be
taken by a subject, the Iron would be immersed in water for a time, and the patient [sic] had to
drink of this water before he took the oath. Whoever took a false oath would be affected by a
severe sickness, and in the case of a Chief the sickness affects the whole tribe.”
Bisa kawi is another (West Sumatran) form of this expression. Under Bisa III., q.v., v. d. W.
remarks that to say, “May you be struck by the Bisa Kawi” (lit. Poison of Kawi), is the ugliest
wish you can address to anybody, as it is supposed to bring upon the person so addressed every
possible kind of sickness. ↑
273
For examples vide the charms quoted in almost every part of this book. ↑
274
“It is a very general belief among Malays that Gulîga [and] Bûntat, viz. stones that are found in
the bodies of animals or contained in trees, have great magic and vegetable virtue. These stones
are worn as charms, and are also scraped, the scrapings being mixed with water and given to
the sick as medicine.”—Pubns. of the R.A.S., S.B., No. 3, p. 26 n. ↑
275
This idea recalls a similar superstition about what are called in the Straits Settlements
“breeding-pearls,” i.e. a kind of pearl which is supposed to reproduce itself when kept in a box
and fed with pulut rice for a sufficiently lengthy period.—Vide J.R.A.S., S.B., No. 1, pp. 31–37,
No. 3, pp. 140–143. ↑
276
“The Guliga, more commonly known as Bezoar, forms a recognised article of export from the
Rejang and Bintulu rivers in the Sarawak territory. These concretions are chiefly obtained from