appearance of a Malay grave, with the headstones complete.... To this sacred
spot constant pilgrimages are made by the Malays, and the lower branches of the
tree rarely lack those pieces of white and yellow cloth which are always hung up
as an indication that some devout person has paid his vows. The Chinese also
have great respect for this kramat, and have erected a sort of sylvan temple at the
foot of the tree.” Mr. Bellamy tells how one Raja ʿAbdullah fell in love with a
maiden named Miriam, who disappeared and was supposed to have been taken
by the spirits (though she was really carried off by an earlier lover named
Hassan). Raja ʿAbdullah died and was buried at the foot of the fig-tree. Mr.
Bellamy concludes: “If you ever happen to see a very big crocodile at the mouth
of the Selangor river, floating listlessly about, be careful not to molest it: it is but
the buaya kramat, which shape the spirit of Raja ʿAbdullah sometimes assumes.
When walking along the pantai (shore), if you chance to meet a very large tiger
let him pass unharmed. It is only Raja ʿAbdullah’s ghost, and in proof thereof
you will see it leaves no footmarks on the sand. And when you go to see the new
lighthouse at Tanjong Kramat, you may perhaps come face to face with a very
old man, who sadly shakes his head and disappears. Do not be startled, it is only
Raja ʿAbdullah.”^10
In No. 2 of the same volume of the Selangor Journal Mr. Bellamy refers to
another kramat—that of ’Toh Kĕtapang—which he appears to localise in Ulu
Selangor.
It is by no means necessary to ensure the popularity of a kramat or shrine that
the saint to whose memory it is dedicated should be a Malay. The cosmopolitan
character of these shrines is attested in the following note which I sent to the
Selangor Journal^11 about the shrines in the Ulu Langat (Kajang) district of
Selangor:—
“The chief kramats in the district are ‘Makam ’Toh Sayah’ (the tomb of a
Javanese of high repute); ‘Makam Said Idris,’ at Rekoh, Said Idris being the
father of the Pĕnghulu of Cheras; ‘Makam ’Toh Janggut’ (a ‘Kampar’ man), on
the road to Cheras; and ‘Makam ’Toh Gerdu or Berdu,’ at Dusun Tua, Ulu
Langat. ’Toh Berdu was of Sakai origin.”
I have never yet, however, heard of any shrine being dedicated to a Chinaman,
and it is probable that this species of canonisation is confined (at least in modern
times) to local celebrities professing the Muhammadan religion, as would