Omens and Dreams
The significance of ominous signs and dreams is a subject which possesses vast
ramifications, extending so deeply into every department of the Malay national
life, that it will be impossible to do it anything like full justice within the narrow
limits of this book. My object will be merely to indicate the main lines on which
these two important doctrines of the Malay natural religion appear to have been
developed.
Briefly, then, omens may be drawn either from the acts of men or the events of
nature. Examples of the ominous import attributed to the acts of man will at once
suggest themselves. Thus sneezing is said to be fortunate as tending to drive
away the demons of disease;^208 yawning is a bad sign, for obvious reasons, if
the breath is loudly emitted, but if a quiet yawn occurs when the stomach is
craving for food, it imports that it will soon be filled. So too stumbling is a bad
omen, especially if the person who stumbles is about to set out on a journey.^209
Then, again, “to be long in getting up after a meal is said to be a bad omen. It
means that the person, if unmarried, will meet with a bad reception from his or
her parents-in-law hereafter. The Malay saying in the vernacular is ‘Lambat
bangket deri tampat makan, lambat di-tegur mentuwak.’ Clothes which have
been nibbled by rats or mice must not be worn again. They are sure to bring
misfortune, and are generally given away in charity. ... When a Malay dinner is
served, the younger members of the family sometimes amuse themselves by
throwing rice into the pan from which the curry has just been taken, stirring it
round in the gravy that remains and then eating it. This is not permitted when
one of them is to be married on the following day, as it would be sure to bring
rainy weather. It is unlucky for a child to lie on his face (menyehrap), and kick