Two Malay Myths

ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY
OF
GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
TWO MALAY MYTHS:
THE PRINCESS OF THE FOAM, AND THE RAJA OF THE BAMBOO
BY
W. E. MAXWELL, ESQ., M.R.A.S.
OCTOBER, 1881.
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TWO MALAY MYTHS.
THE PRINCESS OF THE FOAM, AND THE RAJA OF THE BAMBOO
By W. E. MAXWELL, Esq., M.R.A.S.
I N the thirteenth century A.D. the Muhammadan religion
spread from India to the Malay Archipelago. Many cen-
turies before, the commerce which was carried on between
India and the Eastern Islands had been the means of
familiarizing the inhabitants of the latter with the tenets of
Brahmanism. These had taken root among them, at all
events, wherever monarchies were established on the Hindu
pattern, and had, to some extent, modified the nature or
demon-worship which had previously been the sole religion
of the Malay tribes. When the religion of Muhammad was
established in the western regions, from which commercial
intercourse was carried on with the Eastern Archipelago, it
made its way gradually eastward. The Hindu rulers of petty
Malay States in Sumatra and in the Peninsula of Malacca
became converts, and the movement spread thenceforward
uninterruptedly. At the present day all the Malay com-
munities in reasonably accessible localities have embraced
the Muhammadan religion. Some have been Muslims for
centuries; among others, the adoption of this faith has been
a comparatively recent event. Some Malay races, like the
Dayaks of Borneo and the Battaks of Sumatra, still cling to
their primitive beliefs and customs.
Owing to their geographical position, Sumatra and the
Malay Peninsula have always been peculiarly open to Indian
influences, and they would naturally be early affected by any
religious or political movement working from India eastward.
Muhammadan civilization, therefore, in those countries dates
from an earlier period than in regions further east. The
Malays adopted the alphabet of Indian or Persian Muham-
l
2 TRADITIONS IN THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO.
madans (a modification in some respects of the genuine
Arabic alphabet), and a fairly copious Malay literature exists
written in this character.
Translations of Javanese romances, with accounts of the
marvellous adventures of the heroes of the Ramayana and
Mahabharata, are of little interest. Still less attractive are
modern translations of Hindi and Tamil stories, and of
Arabic works on law and religion. Purely Malayan literature
consists of a few short historical works, some codes of native
laws, and a certain amount of anonymous poetry.
Malay historical works are valuable chiefly because they
preserve some of the early legends which are current orally
all over the Archipelago from Sumatra to the Philippines.
They are the works of Muhammadan Malays, who, at the
time they wrote, collected all the traditions current about
the particular state or kingdom they were describing. They
relate as historical facts, which they no doubt believed to
belong to the history of their early kings, incidents and
adventures purely mythical, the origin of which it is not
difficult to trace in aboriginal traditions common to most
Malay tribes. I n this paper I propose to collect, for the
purpose of comparison, a number of different versions of a
myth which is very widely spread. The identity of the
ideas underlying the rude legends of heathen islanders and
the more ornate narratives of Muhammadan chroniclers will
not, I think, be questioned.
Starting first with the more civilized Malay States of the
north, I take the following narrative from a history of
Kedah:
1
Kedah.The early history of Kedah is found in a Malay
chronicle called Hakayat Marong Mahawangsa, or Hakayat
Raja Ber-seong, which has been translated into English.
2
Though evidently the work of a Muhammadan, it abounds
with supernatural details, many of these being palpably of
Hindu origin. The incident to which I wish to call atten-
1
Sometimes (following the Portuguese orthography) spelt Queda and Quedah.
The most northerly of the Malay States on the western side of the Peninsula of
Malacca.
2
Journ. Ind. Arch. vol. iii. p. 1.
TRADITIONS IN THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO. 3
tion occurs in the account of the reign of the sixth Kafir
Raja of Kedah, Raja Pra-ong Maha Potisat.
"The Raja set out with his four ministers (mantri), and
hunted as he travelled, securing an immense quantity of
game. One day at noon they all stopped to rest themselves
after the fatigue of hunting, and the King rested for a while
on the elephant on which he was mounted. "While thus
seated he happened to see a house, which was inhabited by
an old man and his wife, and he noticed that one bamboo
1
out of a number which were growing there was leaning
against the side of the house. This bamboo was slender
both at the bottom and at the top, but in the middle it was
as thick as the body of a deer. The King ordered it to
be cut down, and he took it back with him to his fort,
greatly pleased with his acquisition
"The bamboo which has already been mentioned had
been placed by the King near his own bed, for his affection
for it was so great he could not bear to be parted from it.
Wi t h every successive month its bulk increased, until at
length one day, at an auspicious moment, it burst, and
there came forth from it a male child of most beautiful form
and features. Every one was struck with wonder and amaze-
ment at seeing a human child issue from the bamboo. Raja
Pra-ong Maha Potisat at once took the child and ordered
him to be carefully nourished and brought up, and treated
him as his own son, assigning to him nurses and attendants.
And he called him Raja Bentangan Betong.
2
. . . .
"One day a very heavy flood swept down the Kwala
Muda river, and the Queen-consort of Raja Ber-seong,
3
on
going down to the bank, saw a small hillock drifting down
the stream from the upper reaches. I t looked exceedingly
beautiful as it approached, for it was quite white; but, when
it came close, it was apparent it was not a hill, but a
1
Buluh betong, a particular kind of bamboo.
2
According to Col. Low's version, Raja Buluh Betong, Journ. Ind. Arch. vol.
iii. p. 468.
3
"The tusked Raja," a nickname of Raja Pra-ong Maha Potisat. The
Kedah capital, according to this narrative, was then at Bukit Mariam on the
north bank of the Kwala Muda river.
mass of sea-foam. Then the Queen went down into the
water and looked closely at it, and took hold of it with her
hands. On doing this she found a female child in the midst
of the foam, which she carried home to the palace. The
child was named by the Queen ' Put r i Bahana Kirana,'
1
and
she was brought up by the Queen as her own daughter, and
nurses and attendants were assigned to her. Raja Pra-ong
Maha Potisat was greatly pleased with the beauty of the
child, which resembled that of Indra and of the dewa-dewa;
and, when she was dressed by the Queen in apparel suitable
for the children of kings, her loveliness was enhanced more
and more."
2
. . . .
The chronicler afterwards, in describing the various events
of the reign of Pra-ong Maha Potisat (who was the last
pagan ruler of Kedah, his successor being converted to the
faith of Islam), relates the marriage of these two super-
natural persons, whose subsequent histories are by no means
in keeping with the commencement of their lives. The
princess is unfaithful to her husband, and disappears from
the story after giving birth to an illegitimate son. Raja
Bentangan Betong dies of wounds received in battle, leaving
no children.
Perak.The chief incidents in the foregoing narrative are
found, mutatis mutandis, in the traditionary account of the
founding of the kingdom of Perak.
3
The following is a
translation of the local legend current among the people of
that state. I t is not found in a written form:
"Bagi nda Dai reigned in Johor Lama.
4
He despatched
a trusted counsellor, one Nakhodah Kasim, to sail forth and
look for a suitable place for a settlement, for there were
plenty of willing emigrants. Nakhodah Kasim got ready a
fleet of prahus and sailed up the Straits of Malacca, hugging
1
In Col. Low's translation, Putri Saloang. Kirana as a proper name is bor-
rowed from Javanese romances; see Van der Tuuk, Short Account of the Malay-
Manuscripts of the Royal Asiatic Society, p. 15.
2
Translated from a MS. in my possession.
3
Perak is the second Malay State on the western side of the Peninsula counting
from the north.
4
Johor Lama was the old capital of the State of Johor, which is the southern-
most of the Malay States of the Peninsula.
the coast, till he reached Bruas (a district and river in
Perak). While there, he saw that a brisk trade was being
carried on between the coast and the interior, imported goods
being despatched up the country and native produce brought
down from the inland districts. He made inquiries and
was told that there was a big river in the interior. His
curiosity was now aroused and he penetrated on foot into
the interior and discovered the Perak river. Here he
traded, like the natives of the country, making trips up and
down the river, and selling salt and tobacco
1
at the villages
by the river-side. On one of these trips he reached Tumung
in the north of Perak, and made fast his boat to the bank.
After a few days the Semangs (Perak was not yet populated
by Malays) came down from their hills to buy salt. They
came loaded with the produce of their gardens, sugar-canes,
plantains and edible roots and brought their wives and
families with them.
" A Semang girl, while her father was bargaining at the
boat, took up a sugar-cane and commenced to strip off the
rind with a knife; in doing so she accidentally cut her hand.
Blood issued from the wound, but what was the astonishment
of all around her when they saw that its colour was not red
but pure white! A report of this prodigy quickly spread
from mouth to mouth, and Nakhodah Kasim landed from
his boat to see it with his own eyes. I t occurred to him
that this was a family not to be lost sight of, he loaded the
father with presents and, in a month' s time, by dint of
constant attentions, he had so far won the confidence of the
shy Semangs that he was able to ask for the girl in marriage.
The father agreed and Nakhodah Kasim and his wife settled
at Kwala Tumung, where they built a house and planted
fruit-trees.
"Now, the Perak river overflows its banks once a year,
and sometimes there are very great floods. Soon after the
marriage of Nakhodah Kasim with the white Semang, an
1
Tobacco was first introduced into the Eastern Archipelago by the Portuguese
at Malacca in the sixteenth century. Anachronisms of this kind are common in
native histories.
6 TRADITIONS IN THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO
unprecedented flood occurred and quantities of foam came
down the river. Round the piles of the bathing-house,
which, in accordance with Malay custom, stood in the bed
of the river close to the bank in front of the house, the
floating volumes of foam collected in a mass the size of an
elephant. Nakhodah Kasim's wife went to bathe, and find-
ing this island of froth in her way she attempted to move
it away with a stick; she removed the upper portion of it
and disclosed a female infant sitting in the midst of it
enveloped all round with cloud-like foam. The child showed
no fear and the white Semang, carefully lifting her, carried
her up to the house, heralding her discovery by loud shouts
to her husband. The couple adopted the child willingly,
for they had no children, and they treated her thenceforward
as their own. They assembled the villagers and gave them
a feast, solemnly announcing their adoption of the daughter
of the river and their intention of leaving to her everything
that they possessed.
"The child was called Tan Puteh, but her father gave her
the name of Teh Purba.
1
As she grew up the wealth of her
foster-parents increased; the village grew in extent and
population, and gradually became an important place.
"One day some Semangs were hunting at a hill near the
river Plus, called Bukit Pasir Puteh, or Bukit Pelandok.
They heard their dogs barking furiously, but, on following
them up, found no quarry, only a large bamboo (buluh
betong), small at the top and bottom, and having one large
thick joint, which seemed to be attracting the attention of
the dogs. They split open the thick part of the stem and
found in it a male child, whom they forthwith took to
Nakhodah Kasim. The latter adopted him as his son, and
when the two children were grown up they were betrothed,
and in due time were married. The marriage was, however,
merely nominal, for Tan Puteh Purba preserved her virginity,
and Toh Changkat Pelandok, her husband, returned to his
native district, Plus. Nakhodah Kasim at length died,
1
Teh, short for Puteh, white; Purba, or purva, Sanskrit "first." This
name is also given to the first Malay raja in the Sajarah Malayu.
TRADITIONS IX THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO.
leaving Tan Puteh mistress of the whole of Perak. As he
lay dying he told her his history, how he had come from the
land of Johor, of the Raja of which he was an attendant, and
how he had been despatched to find a suitable place for a
settlement. He declared the name of his master to be
Sultan Mahmud of Johor, and with his dying breath directed
that a Raja for Perak should be asked for from that country.
1
"Tan Puteh now called one of her ministers, Tan Saban,
whom she had adopted in his childhood. He came of a
noble family, and belonged to the district called Tanah
Merah (Red Earth). A wife had been found for him by
Tan Puteh, and he had two children, both girls. Tan Saban
was commanded by his mistress to open negotiations with
Johor, and this having been done, a prince of the royal house
of that kingdom, who traced his descent from the old line of
Menangkaban, sailed for Perak to assume the sovereignty.
He brought with him the insignia of royalty, namely, the
royal drums {gandang nobat), the pipes (nafiri), the flutes
(sarunei and bangsi), the betel-box (puan naga tarn), the
sword (chora mandakini), the sword (perbujang), the sceptre
(kaya gamit), the jewel (kamala), the ' surat chiri,' the seal
of state {chap halilintar), and the umbrella (ubar-nbar). All
these were inclosed in a box called Baninan.
" On his way up the Perak river the new Raja stopped at
Selat Lembajayan for amusement. One of his attendants
happened to point out some fish in the water, and, in leaning
over the boat's side to look at them, the Raja lost his crown,
which fell from his head and immediately sank. His people
dived in vain for it, and from that day to this no Sultan of
Perak has had a crown. Near Kota Setia the Raja was
received by Tan Puteh, Tan Saban and all the chief men
of the country, who escorted him to Kota Lumut. Here he
was formally installed as Sultan of Perak under the title of
Ahamad Taj-uddin Shah, and one of the daughters of Tan
Saban was given to him in marriage. I t is this Raja to
whom the Perak Malays popularly ascribe the political
1
The portion of the legend with which we are chiefly concerned here, hut I
give the legend in extenso, as it has never before been published.
organization of the country under the control of chiefs of
various ranks, each having definite duties to perform. After
a short reign Ahamad Tajuddin Shah died, leaving one son
about two years old.
" As soon as the Sultan's death was known in Johor, a
nephew of his (who was afterwards known as Sultan Malik
Shah) started at once for Perak. Having reached his late
uncle's cistana (palace) at Tanah Abang, to which place the
capital had been removed from Kota Lumut, he called for
the nurses and attendants of the infant Raja and demanded
permission to visit his young cousin. He was accordingly
introduced into the prince's apartment, and seizing the child
by violence broke his neck and killed him. He then seized
the royal sword and other insignia and established himself as
Raja under the title of Sultan Malik Shah. By degrees all
the chiefs and people came in and accepted the usurper as
their sovereign, with the single exception of Tan Saban, the
grandfather of the murdered boy. His obstinate refusal to
recognize Malik Shah led to a sanguinary war, which lasted
for three years. Tan Saban was gradually driven further
and further up the Perak river. He fortified numerous
places on its banks, but his forts were taken one after
another, and on each occasion he retreated to another strong-
hold. His most determined stand was made at Kota Lama,
where he fortified a strong position. This was closely
invested by the Sultan's forces, and a long siege ensued.
During the siege an unknown warrior joined the Sultan's
army. He came from Pagaruyong in Menangkaban and
was the illegitimate son of the Great Sultan of that country,
by a concubine. I n consequence of his illegitimate birth
he was driven forth from his native country, having for his
sole fortune a matchlock (istinggarda)
1
and four bullets, on
each of which was inscribed the words,
i
This is the son of the
1
Another anachronism. So, cannons are mentioned in several places in the
Thousand and One Nights. See Lane's translation, vol. ii. p. 329, note 100. The
istinggarda (Portuguese espingarda) is the old-fashioned matchlock, specimens
of which may still be found in use among the Malays. In former times a bow
and four arrows may probably have occupied the place given to the matchlock
and bullets in this narrative.
concubine of the Raja of Pagaruyong; his name is Magat
Terawis;
1
wherever this bullet falls he will become a chief.'
Magat Terawis did not declare his name or origin to the
Perak men, but served with them as an obscure soldier.
At length, having selected an auspicious day, he asked one of
the Sultan's followers to point out Tan Saban to him.
This the man had no difficulty in doing, for Tan Saban was
frequently to be seen on the outworks of his fort across the
river dressed in garments of conspicuous colours. I n the
morning he wore red, at midday yellow and in the evening
his clothes were green.
2
When he was pointed out to
Magat Terawis, it was the morning, and he was dressed in
red. Magat Terawis levelled his matchlock and fired, and
his bullet struck Tan Saban's leg. The skin was hardly
broken and the bullet fell to the ground at the chiefs feet;
but, on taking it up and reading the inscription, he knew that
he had received his death-wound. He retired to his house,
and, after ordering his flag to be hauled down, despatched
a messenger to the opposite camp to call the warrior whose
name he had read on the bullet. Inquiries for Magat
Terawis were fruitless at first, for no one knew the name.
At length he declared himself and went across the river
with Tan Saban's messenger, who brought him into the
presence of the dying man. The latter said to him, ' Magat
Terawis, though art my son in this world and the next, and
my property is thine. I likewise give thee my daughter
in marriage, and do thou serve the Raja faithfully in my
place, and not be rebellious as I have been.' Tan Saban
then sued for the Sultan's pardon, which was granted to him
and the marriage of his daughter with Magat Terawis
1
Magat, a Malay title of Sanskrit origin. Mdgadha (Sansk.) =the son of a
Vaicja by a Kshatriya woman. In Malay magat is applied to a chief who is
noble on one side only.
2
A superstitious observance found among more than one Indo-Chinese nation.
" Le general en chef doit se conformer a plusieurs coutumes et observances
superstitieuses ; par exemple, il faut qu'il mette une robe de couleur diffe'rente
pour chaque jour de la semaine ; le dimanche il s'habille en blanc, le lundi en
jaune, le mardi en vert, le mercredi en rouge, le jeudi en bleu, le vendredi en noir,
et le samedi en violet."Pallegoix, Description de Siam, vol. i. p. 319.
Regarding the signification attached to various colours by the Turks and
Arabs, see Lane's Thousand and One Nights, vol. ii. p. 326, note 78.
1 0 TRADITIONS IN THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO.
was permitted to take place. Then Tan Saban died, and he
was buried with all the honours due to a Malay chief.
1
Magat Terawis was raised to the rank of a chief, and one
account says that he became Bandahara.
2
"Not long after this, the Sultan, taking Magat Terawis
with him, ascended the Perak river to its source, in order to
fix the boundary between Perak and Patani. At the foot of
the mountain Titi Wangsa they found a great rock in the
middle of the stream, from beneath which the water issued,
and there was a wild cotton-tree upon the mountain, which
bore both red and white flowers, the white flowers being on
the side facing Perak, and the red ones on the side turned
towards Patani. Then the Sultan climbed up upon the big
rock in the middle of the river, and drawing forth his sword
Perbujang, he smote the rock and clove it in two, so that the
water ran down in one direction to Perak and in the other to
Patani. This was declared to be the boundary between the
two countries.
" On their return down-stream the Raja and his followers
halted at Chigar Gralah, where a small stream runs into the
river Perak. They were struck with astonishment at finding
the water of this stream as white as santan (the grated pulp
of the cocoanut mixed with water). Magat Terawis, who
was despatched to the source of the stream to discover the
cause of this phenomenon, found there a large fish of the
kind called harnan engaged in suckling her young one. She
had large white breasts from which milk issued.
3
" He returned and told the Raja, who called the river
' Pe r a k' (' silver' ), in allusion to its exceeding whiteness.
Then he returned to Kota Lama."
1
This legendary war of Tan Saban with the second king of Perak owes its
origin probably to mythological accounts of the wars of Salivahana and Vikra-
maditya, which Hindu settlers, not improbably, brought to Malay countries.
Saban is a natural corruption of Salivahana.
2
Bandahara, treasurer (Sansk. bhandagara, treasure), the highest title given
to a subject in a Malay State.
3
This recalls the account in Northern mythology of the four rivers which are
said to flow from the teats of the cow Audhumla.
In a great many Malay myths the colour white is an all-important feature. In
this legend we have the white Semang and the white river. In others white
animals and white birds are introduced.
TRADITIONS IN THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO.
11
Palembang, Sumatra.The "Sajarah Hal ayu" a Malay-
history of the Kings of Malacca, places the scene of the inci-
dent in Palembang, a district in the south of Sumatra. The
following passage is translated from Dulaurier's edition of
the Malay t ext :
1
"One day there drifted down the Palembang river from
up-stream a mass of foam of great size, in which people
observed a female child of exceeding beauty. News of the
event was at once taken to the King, Sang Sa-purba, who
directed his people to take her. She was named by the
King ' Put r i Tunjung Buih,'
2
and was adopted as his daughter
and much beloved by him."
The princess mentioned here only appears once again in
the narrative, when she is given in marriage by Sang Sa-
purba to " a young Chinese of noble birth. "
The same native work contains the bamboo myth, but it is
introduced at a much later part of the narrative, and is
localized on this occasion in Champa, an ancient Malay
kingdom which once embraced the greater part of Cochin-
China, the chief settlement being in the south-east corner.
Champa."There was a betel-nut tree near the palace of
the Champa Raja, which blossomed and exhibited a large
receptacle for fruit, but the fruit never seemed to ripen.
The Raja then ordered one of his servants to climb up and
see what was in the pod. He ascended accordingly, and
brought down the pod, which the Raja caused to be opened,
and saw in it a male child extremely handsome and beautiful.
Of this pod's envelope was formed the gong named j ubang;
while a sword was made of its sharp ridge. The Champa
Raja was greatly pleased at the circumstance, and named
the child Raja Pogalang, and ordered him to be suckled by
all the wives of the rajas and paramantris, but the child
would not suck. The Champa Raja had a cow whose hair
was of the five colours, and which had lately calved, and
they suckled the child with the milk of this cow. This is
the reason that Champa never eats the cow nor kills it.
1
Collection des Principales Chroniques Malayes ; Paris, 1849.
a
" Princess Lotus-of-the-Foam."
1 2 TRADITIONS IN THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO
Raja Pogalang grew up, and the Raja of Champa gave him
his daughter Pobea to wife. After a short time, the Champa
Raja died, and Pogalang succeeded to the throne. After he
had reigned for a considerable time, he founded a great city,
which included seven hills within its bounds. The extent of
the fort was a day's sail in each of its four sides with sails
full distended with the breeze. The name of this city was
Bal, which in a certain cheritra is named Metakah, the city
of Raja Subal, the son of Raja Kedail."
1
West Coast of Borneo.In Western Borneo kindred
legends are current. The following extract is from a recent
work,
2
the author of which quotes the authority of Yette,
"Borneo' s Wester Afdeling" :
"Brawidjaja,
3
of the royal house of Majapahit, suffered
from an infectious disease, and to prevent contagion was
domiciled in a floating house or raft. A violent tempest
tore the raft loose from its moorings, and carried the prince
far out to sea, where he was exposed to great danger. The
current drifted him to the mouth of the Pawan river (called
Katapan) on the west coast of Borneo. The prince benefited
greatly by the sea-voyage, bathed daily in the river, a small
fish, with the head of a cat, called 'adong,' or 'blanguting,'
aiding materially his speedy return to convalescence by
repeatedly licking his feet, while an alligator, called Sarasa
r
provided for his daily wants.
" Whe n convalescent the prince went hunting with two
dogs he had brought with him. One day the dogs, barking
furiously, stopped before a thick bamboo stem, into which
the prince, after a long scrutiny, stuck his spear. This being
withdrawn, there sprang to view from the opening a
1
Malay Annals, Leyden, p. 208.
2
Jottings amongst the Land Dyaks of Upper Sarawak, Denison, Singapore,
1879.
3
Braicidjaja is the Dutch spelling. Bra-vijaya would be more correct
according to our ideas. This is perhaps a corruption of Brahma-vijaya {vijaya
Sansk. victory). It is noteworthy that the first sovereign in Ceylon history is
"Wijayo or Vijaya, and it would be interesting to ascertain if anything corre-
sponding in any degree to this legend is to be found in Sinhalese chronicles.
Unfortunately, no copy of Tumour's Mahawanso is at hand for reference in the
remote State in the Malay Peninsula in which these lines are penned. Raffles
mentions five sovereigns of Majapahit in Java named Browijaya (History of
Java, vol. ii. p. 85, 2nd ed.).
TRADITIONS IN THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO 13
beautiful princess, who, throwing herself at the feet of
Brawidjaja, besought him to spare her and the bamboo.
" The prince bore Put ri Butan (Betong?), as she was
called, to his raft, imploring her to share his lot with him,
and it may be inferred he had not long to sigh in vain.
Brawidjaja had found no other sign of the presence of human
beings, except that here and there wood had been cut. He
therefore again ascended the river some days journey further
up, but with the like result, till, at last, as he returned at a
rapid pace, a water-flower shot up suddenly above the stream,
from whence a whisper issued asking, 'Brawidjaja, what
news bring you from the upper country?'
"Droppi ng his paddle the prince seized the flower with
both hands; it opened, and the princess Lindong Buah
(Buih?) stood before him. The same scene was now enacted
as with Put ri But an; the prince obtained two wives, who
appear to have lived together in peace without jealousy,
sharing between them the proofs of his affection.''
Banjarmasin, South-east of Borneo.With certain changes
in the names of persons and places, the same story is related
in other parts of Borneo. According to a Malay manuscript
belonging to the Academy of Batavia, the first prince of
Banjarmasin was one Maharaja Surya Nata, who married
Put ri Jungjung (Tunjung?) Buih, a princess who had
miraculously sprung from the waves. He obtained this
nymph at the prayer of Limbong Mengkurat, whose father,
Ampu Jat Maka, had established a Hindu colony on the
river Negara or Bahan.
1
Current in a legendary form long before the days of
written records, these traditions have kept their places in the
minds of the Malays, ready, like most uncivilized races, to
associate with the history of their earliest rulers all kinds of
supernatural incidents. Comparison clearly proves their
mythical character, and, as we examine their details, the film
of history which thinly disguises them gradually disappears,
and we recognize myths which have a larger application
1
De Backer, L'Archipel Indien, p. 98 ; Tijdschrift voor Ind. Taal, 1860, p. 93,
and 1863, p. 501.
than simple incidents in the history of an obscure Malay-
State could pretend to. The river-born damsel first demands
attention.
Greek mythology, as well as that of India, has made us
familiar with the myth of the goddess whose birth-place is
the foam of the sea. If a faint reflex of the conception
which originated Aphrodite and Lakshmi is before us in this
Malay story, it must be admitted that it comes shorn of all
poetical associations. The laughter-loving goddess of the
Greeks and the beloved of Qiva, who gives prosperity to her
worshippers, have nothing in common with the child of the
Malay river except the place of their birth, the foam. The
days when the ancestors of the modern Malays may possibly
have worshipped Lakshmi, the favourite goddess of a sea-
faring people, belong to a remote past, of which we have no
records. I n legends like these, however, it is not un-
reasonable to hope to find vestiges of a former faith and
worship.
Two of the stories above quoted connect the lotus with the
river-born princess; in the Palembang legend her name is
Tunjung-buih,
1
"Lot us of the foam,'' and in the West
Borneo legend she is described as springing from a "water-
flower." These circumstances are strongly suggestive of
the Hindu goddess Lakshmi, "who dwells in the water-lily."
The myth of the Princess of the river is altogether separate
and distinct from that of the Raja of the bamboo, though the
two are often found connected or confused one with the other.
The Aryan origin of the former is supported by the fact that
it is current only in the more civilized Malay States, which
have undoubtedly been largely influenced by Brahmanism.
The latter is much more widely extended, and is found among
wild tribes who have been wholly unaffected by Hindu
influences. It has originated from an ancient (Turanian)
belief as to the mode of the creation of mankind.
The mythological account of the birth of Lakshmi pre-
sented to the Malays of Sumatrawho were probably
1
Tunjung^ lotus, is found both in Malay and Javanese.
TRADITIONS IN THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO 1 5
the first to come in contact with Aryanscertain points of
resemblance to their own legendary explanation of the origin
of man; and, as the former gradually took its place among
their beliefs, they confused it with the latter, and (as in the
Kedah and Perak legends) often made the two personages
man and wife. Borneo, as well as the Straits of Malacca,
possesses the Aryan legend, the Sanskrit word vijaya in the
name of the hero of the story sufficiently showing to what
quarter it must be ascribed.
I n the traditions to be hereafter quoted the bamboo myth
alone appears. This conception, as above stated, originally
explained the manner of the peopling of the earth by the
human race;
1
in a later stage of development it became
associated with the advent of particular Rajas. I t appears
in beliefs held by the wild tribes of the Malay Peninsula,
who are known in different localities by different names,
Benua, Semang, Sakei, Jakun, Udai, Mantra, Besisi, Alas,
Akei, etc. I t may be traced also in the traditionary accounts
of the creation handed down by tribes in Sumatra and in
islands as far east as the Philippines.
The Orang Benua of the Malay Peninsula.A writer who
made the wild tribes of the Peninsula the subject of scien-
tific observation and study
2
gives the following abstract of
the traditions of the Benua :
"The ground on which we stand is not solid. I t is
merely the skin of the earth ("kulit bumi ") . I n ancient
times Pirman broke up this skin, so that the world was
destroyed and overwhelmed with water. Afterwards he
caused Gunong, Lulumut, with Chimundang and Bechuak,3 to
rise, and this low land which we inhabit was formed later.
. . . . After Lulumut had emerged, a prahu of pulai wood,
covered over and without any opening, floated on the waters.
I n this Pirman4 had inclosed a man and a woman whom he
1
"The idea of deducing the origin of animals and men from eggs or seeds is
an obvious conceit, and so well suited to the infant state of philosophy that we
can account for its origin and extension."Prichard, Egyptian Mythology, p. 169.
2
Logan, Journal of the Indian Archipelago, vol. i. p. 278.
3
Mountains in Johor.
4
The Deity of the Benua.
had made. After the lapse of some time the prahu was
neither directed with nor against the current, nor driven to
and fro. The man and woman, feeling it to rest motionless,
nibbled their way through it, stood on the dry ground, and
beheld this our world. At first, however, everything was
obscure. There was neither morning nor evening, because
the sun had not yet been made. When it became light they
saw seven sindudo trees and seven plants of rumput samban.
They then said to each other, ' I n what condition are we
without children or grandchildren?' Some time afterwards
the woman became pregnant, not however in her womb, but
in the calves of her legs. From the right leg was brought
forth a male and from the left a female child. Hence it
is that the issue of the same womb cannot intermarry.
All mankind are the descendants of the two children of the
first pair. When men had much increased, Pinndn looked
down upon them with pleasure, and reckoned their
numbers.''
Further on the supernatural origin of the ancient line of
kings of the Benua is related :
" Whe n Pirman saw that the land abounded in men, he
considered it necessary to send a king to rule over them.
One day the sound of a human voice was heard to proceed
from a bamboo. I t was split open, and the ' Rajah Benua'
stepped out."
The author adds, " The kind of invention or imagination
displayed in the traditions respecting the origin of man and
the advent of the Raja Benua is similar to that exhibited
in traditions found in different parts of Sumatra, Borneo,
Celebes, and other islands of the Archipelago. The incidents
are different, but the character of the inventions is the
same."
Turning now to a locality sufficiently distant from the
land of the Benua, a group of islands off the west coast of
Sumatra, we find again the prominent characteristic of the
same tradition, namely, the generation of human life from
the interior of a closed receptacle. A Dutch official, who
visited the Mantawe Islands in 1847 and 1849, gives the
TRADITIONS IX THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO 1 7
following account of the belief of the inhabitants respecting
their origin:
1
Mantaive Islands."When these islands were still waste
and unoccupied by man, and served only as the haunts of
evil spirits, it happened once that a sinetu (or malevolent
spirit) went out to fish. Having cast his net into the water,
he brought up from the deep, in one of his first hauls, a
bamboo case closed on all sides. Curious to see the contents,
he opened it, and to his amazement there emerged from it
four small human forms, which exposed to the light of day
immediately grew to the ordinary stature of mankind.
Delighted with this unlooked-for acquisition, the spirit would
have taken the four men with him, considering them as his
lawful property. They, however, not relishing this, ran
away from him, and so effectually hid themselves that he
lost all trace of them. Tired with his fruitless search he
fell asleep, his head still filled with his wonderful draught,
no wonder then that he dreamt of it. He beheld, amongst
other things, his four men busy at a certain place cleaning
the high forest and turning up the ground, on which he
presently saw all kinds of fruit-bearing trees and plants
planted and flourishing. The four fugitives had dreamt the
same dream, and on awaking were astonished to find all the
fruits and plants of their dream-land lying beside them.
For the spirit, who had soon awoke, by following the indi-
cations of the place given in his dream, had succeeded in
tracing his runaways, and, while they were still asleep, had
gathered and placed beside them all the fruits. The four
wanderers, acting on the suggestions which had thus been
made to them, set to work, and after they had planted and
sowed, all the plants immediately became full grown and
bore blossoms and fruit. To protect these from vermin the
spirit changed himself into an iguana, without the four men
being aware of it, and placed himself in one of the surround-
ing trees to keep his watch. I t had not lasted long when a
1
Rosenberg, " De Mantawei-eilanden en hunne Bewoners" (Tijdschrift voor
Indische Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, uitgegeven door hel Bataviaasch Genoot-
schap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen, Jaarg. 1, Aflev. vi. vii. 1853); Logan,
Journal of the Indian Archipelago, vol. ix. p. 289.
o
1 8 TRADITIONS IX THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO
very large monkey came out of the jungle, who, in spite of
the presence of the iguana, eat up the greater portion of the
fruit. The men on their return, finding their loss and seeing
the iguana on a tree, asked him if he had done the mischief,
when he told how it had happened. Two of the men, how-
ever, discrediting his story, seized, slew, and eat him. They
had hardly finished their repast when they fell lifeless as a
punishment for their disbelief and cruelty. Their corpses
sank into the ground, and from the spot there sprang up the
Ipu tree, from the leaves of which the Mantaweans after-
wards learned to prepare the poison for their arrows. The
two survivors, husband and wife, lived long and happily,
and were the progenitors of the Mantaweans."
It is not necessary to dwell now on the details of this
singular growth of fable; it is sufficient to show by the
presence of the bamboo-myth in the Mantawe tradition
a probable community of origin between the inhabitants of
those islands and those of other Malay countries.
Lampung, S. Sumatra, Further south, the people of
Lampung, at the southernmost extremity of Sumatra, explain
their origin in a similar way. They say that their first law-
giver was a fugitive prince of the royal family of Majapahit,
named Naga Bisang. Some declare themselves to be the
descendants of this Naga Bisang and a bidyadari or nymph;
others carry back their origin to an egg which was divided
into compartments, each compartment containing a couple
of each race known to them.
1
Among other points of similarity between the nations of
the Philippine Islands and those of the inland parts of
Sumatra (especially where they differ most from the Malays)
noticed by Marsden,
2
the appearance of this same myth
receives a share of attention. It is impossible not to agree
with the author that "no doubt can be entertained, if not of
a sameness of origin, at least of an intercourse and con-
nexion in former times, which now no longer exists."
1
De Backer, L'Archipel Indien, p. 39; Tijdschrift, etc., 1856, t. ii. pp.
353, 358.
2
History of Sumatra, p. 302.
TRADITIONS IX THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO 1 9
Philippine Islands."The Tagalas" writes Marsden,
1
"say-
that the first man and woman were produced from a bamboo,
which burst in the island of Sumatra; and they quarrelled
about their marriage."
Another authority quoted by Marsden
2
gives a more
detailed account of the Tagala belief just noticed:
"Thei r notions of the creation of the world, and forma-
tion of mankind, had something ridiculously extravagant.
They believed that the world at first consisted only of sky
and water, and between these two a glede; which, weary
with flying about, and finding no place to rest, set the water
at variance with the sky, which, in order to keep it in
bounds, and that it should not get uppermost, loaded the
water with a number of islands, in which the glede might
settle and leave them at peace. Mankind, they said, sprang
out of a large cave with two joints, that, floating about in
the water, was at length thrown by the waves against the
feet of the glede as it stood on shore, which opened it with its
bill, and the man came out of one joint and the woman out
of the other. These were soon after married by consent of
their god, Bathala Meycapal, which caused the first trembling
of the earth; and from thence are descended the different
nations of the world.''
Celebes The island of Celebes furnishes a parallel story.
The following extract from a native history (the Galigas of
the Bugis) is taken from Raffles' History of Java:
"Bi t ara Guru was the eldest son of Dewata Pitutu by
Dewa Paleng'i, and inhabited the seventh heaven. Dewata
Pitutu had a brother called Guru Reslang, who held the rule
of the region under the earth. Dewata Pitutu had nine
children in all.
" Whe n Bitara Guru was sent down upon earth by his
father, Deivata Pitutu, he was provided with the following
articles, viz. Telating peba, Siri ataka, Jelarasa, Wampung,
Wanu, Chachu-bana.
1
Quoting an essay preserved by Thevenot, entitled Relation des Philippines par
un religieux ; traduite d'un manuscrit Espagnol du cabinet de Mons. Dom. Carlo
del Pezzo.
2
A. Dalrymple, author of the "Oriental Repertory."
"Fr om these, which were scattered about, everything
living and dead, in the animal, vegetable, and mineral
kingdoms, which are to be found in the country of Laicat,
originated. Preparatory to this, Dewata Pitutu, having
compounded a medicine, of which the juice of chewed betel
was an ingredient, rubbed Bitara Guru all over with it,
which immediately occasioned him to swoon. Dewata Pitutu
then put his son into a hollow bamboo, and having rolled
this up in a piece of cloth and caused the gates of the sky
to be opened, he hurling sent down his son to earth amidst
a tremendous storm of thunder, lightning, wind, and rain,
which arose on that occasion. Having reached about half-
way between the earth and sky, Bitara Guru (dreadfully
alarmed at the situation he was in) threw abroad all the
articles which had been given to him, agreeably to the
instructions of his sire. After his arrival on the earth,
Bitara Guru remained for three days and three nights shut
up in the bamboo without food or drink. By his exertions,
however, the bamboo at last burst, when getting out he
wandered through the woods till he came to the side of a
river, where he met with a king of the gods dressed in
yellow. One night there arose a violent storm of thunder,
lightning, wind and rain. On its clearing up there was
seen a fine country, with a superb palace and forts, and
houses, etc., of the most beautiful structure. I n this
beautiful country Bitara Guru sat himself down as sovereign
and gave it the name of Lawat "
The following legend comes also from a district in
Celebes:
"Between the province of Makassar and that of Mina-
hassa lies the state of Bolaang-Mongondoun.
1
Its population
numbers about thirty thousand souls, and is composed of
five races who acknowledge as their founder one Boudo
Langin, supposed to have been of Hindu origin. Local
tradition relates that he married a beautiful young girl
named Sandilang, and had by her two children. The elder,
1
The Dutch mode of spelling is preserved.
a daughter named Salamatiti, dreamed five times succes-
sively that she was about to become a mother, and truly-
enough one day she was delivered of a magnificent egg, in
which were reflected all the colours of the rainbow. This
egg was concealed close to a clear and transparent stream,
and there issued forth from it one morning a young man
skilled in the manufacture of weapons, and of the most
enlightened intellect. He was called Mokododoudout.
"About the same time an old man heard a singular noise
in the interior of a buluh-kuning (yellow bamboo); he split
it open, and the beautiful Put ri Bonia came forth from it.
Mokododoudout met this lovely damsel in a wood, and took
her as his wife. From this union sprang the race of the
Orang Bolaang, a name which signifies 'men of beyond the
s eas '"
1
Nusa-lant, Amboyna In a note appended to a vocabu-
lary of peculiar words met with in the Malay dialect of
Amboyna,
2
the author gives in Malay the history of the
early settlement of Nusa-lant, an island of the Amboyna
group, from the recital of a native chief. Here, again, the
incident which seems to be inseparable from all aboriginal
Malay traditions appears in a somewhat altered form. The
following is a translated extract from Van Hoevell's
account :
" I t happened once that the chief Latoemanoe descended
from the mountain and went to the beach at Amahoetai to
net fish. When he threw his casting-net into the salt water,
he brought up no fish, but merely a cocoanut. This Latoe-
manoe took, intending to carry it back with him to his
settlement, but he forgot it, and left it on the beach. On a
subsequent occasion he again went down to the sea-shore
to get some salt water, and he then found the cocoanut had
become a tree on which were some green fruit. On looking
up into the tree he saw a young male child sucking from one
of the cocoanuts. He returned at once to the mountain
1
De Backer, L'Archipel Indien, p. 88 ; Tijdschrift voor Ind. Taal, p. 267.
2
Vocabularium van vreemde woorden voorkomende in het Ambonsch-Maleisch,
door Van Hoevell; Dordrecht, 1876.
Ama-oena, and having collected all his followers, he went
down to the shore and took the child from the cocoanut tree,
and carried him back to the settlement on the mountain.
When the child grew up the people made him their Raja,
and called him Latoe Moctihoe"
The Kayans of Borneo. The only remaining kindred
legends which I shall quote belong to the wild tribes of
Borneo. At Bulugan, bounded on the east by the sea and
on the south by the river Karan-Tigu, near the cape Jarum,
a tradition states the god of thunder, Belaniyap, once created
a man, Alang-Bilung, and caused to issue forth from a tree
an egg which inclosed a woman, Suri-Lemloi. These two
persons begot the race of Dayak-Kayan, whom the Segais
attacked and brought under the sway of the chiefs of
Bulangan.
1
The Dayaks of Borneo.In the cosmogony of the Dayaks
the earth is supported on the head of a snake called Naga-
pusai. Batu-Jumpa, son of the supreme deity Hatalla, saw
upon the snake two eggs. He descended from heaven and
broke them, and a man and a woman issued forth from them.
These married, and had seven sons and seven daughters,
from whom the inhabitants of the world, the sea, and the
air are descended.
2
Here, then, in the rude traditional beliefs common to the
races of the Eastern Archipelago, a geographical expression
including twenty-five degrees of latitude, we have the con-
ception from which sprung the legends preserved to us by
the Muhammadan historians of Malay States. In the latter,
metaphysical ideas have altogether disappeared, and the
main incident survives, incorporated in the history of human
adventures. No longer accepted as a superstitious belief, it
has been unconsciously retained as an historical episode.
I t is interesting to notice that in Borneo, as in the Penin-
sula, the more civilized communities have both myths, while
1
De Backer, L'Archipel Indien, p. 44; Tijdschrift voor Ind. Taal, 1855, t. i.
p. 75.
2
De Backer, L'Archipel Indien, p. 280; Tijdschrift voor Ind. Taal, 1846,
t. iii. p. 133. This Dayak tradition resembles closely the belief of the Battaks of
Sumatra.
r
the purely savage tribes have only that relating to the
bamboo or egg. The Malays have their foam-born princess
as well as their Raja of the buluh betong, but the wild Benua
of the interior of the Peninsula own the latter only. So in
Borneo, in ancient settlements on the coast, legends like
that of Bra-vijaya are current, whereas the uncivilized Dayak
and Kayan tribes (though the bamboo myth has a place in
their traditions) know nothing of the more poetical legend of
the princess who emerged from the foam or lotus. The
limited diffusion of the latter conception tends to confirm and
establish the theory which ascribes to it an Aryan origin.
It s presence invariably denotes that Hindu civilization has
penetrated to the locality in which it is found.
The sudden production of completely developed life from
the interior of a closed cylindrical object is a conception
very similar to, though quite distinct from, the ancient
theory of the creation of the world from the divided portions
of an egg. Both are found among Malay races, but the
first is Turanian, and the second of Aryan importation.
I have found in Perak in the writings of Pawangs, or
medicine-men who practise a regular system of Shamanism,
a legend approaching very nearly to that contained in the
Manek Maya of Java. This work, which contains much of
the ancient mythology of the Javanese, describes how Sang
Yang Wisesa (the all-powerful) existed before the heavens
and earth were created. He saw a ball suspended over him,
and on his laying hold of it, it separated into three part s;
one part became the heavens and earth, another became the
sun and moon, and the third was man.
1
The archetype of this fable is found in Hindu mythology,
the resemblance of which in this particular respect to certain
beliefs of Grecian and Egyptian antiquity has been long
since pointed out.
2
1
Raffles, Hist, of Java, vol. ii. Appendix H.
" I n the egg the great power sat inactive a whole year of the Creator, at
the close of which by his thought alone he caused the egg to divide itself.
"And from its two divisions he framed the heavens above and the earth
beneath; in the midst he placed the subtle ether, the eight regions and the
permanent receptacle of waters."Sir W. Jones, Institutes of Menu.
"The production of the organized world was compared by some to the
I will conclude this paper with a translation of the
tradition of the Perak pawangs, or Shamans, regarding the
creation of the world. As may be supposed, it is inconsistent
with the teachings of orthodox Muhammadanism, the secret
science of these men, though firmly believed in by the
Malays, being acknowledged to be heretical and sinful:
l
" I t is said that in the days of the earliest pawang, in
ancient times, GOD was not yet called ALLAH, the Prophet
was not yet called Muhammad, the sky, earth, light, dark-
ness, the throne of GOD, the sun, the moon, the stars, the
clouds, heaven, hell, the world, and the firmament had not
yet taken visible form; spirits and mankind, the devil and
the angels had not yet appeared ; but the first and greatest
was Pawang Sadia,
2
who was wrapped in contemplation of
all within himself and without himself. (From him has
descended the practice of tilik, divination.) I n his abstrac-
tion were revealed to him all those things which have been
enumerated (the sky, the earth, etc.), even as they are at
the present day.
"And Pawang Sadia was exceedingly desirous of seeing
these things in a visible form. Pawang Asal
3
was then
created and he went into the presence of Pawang Sadia in
the form of an unggas.
4
And Pawang Sadia spake to the
unggas, using a sign which is called Kata awal pawang (the
word of the earliest paivang), and said, ' 0 ! unggas, who am
I ? ' And the unggas said, ' I do not know.' Then said
Pawang Sadia, 'I am Pawang Sadia, thou art Pawang Asal,
from thee is the origin of all pawangs, and from thee is the
germination of seeds, an idea which occurs in the Institutes of Menu and in
some of the representations of the Grecian schools. Hence also the celebrated
fiction of the Mundane Egg, or the egg produced spontaneously in the womb of
Erebus, containing in itself the elements which were afterwards distributed into
the various departments of the world."Prichard, Egyptian Mythology, p. 297.
1
The Teyp, or Manual, from which this extract is translated, belonged to
Raja Haji Yahya, of Blanja in Perak. It contains all kinds of mantra, forms
of spells or incantations for the propitiation of various classes of evil spirits, and
instructions and explanations as to their use. It opens with the tradition here
quoted, which is introduced in order to show the antiquity of the pawang's
profession. It is a curious jumble of aboriginal superstition and Hindu
mysticism, with a veneer of Muhammadan nomenclature.
2
Sanskrit sadhya, " accomplishment,'' " perfection."
3
Arabic asl, " origin," " extraction."
4
Malay unggas and ungkas, a bird.
origin of the earth and its contents, and from thee proceeds
the creation of spirits (Jin) and mankind, and from thee
originates the creation of the demons (sheitan) and the Devil
(Iblis), and from thee proceed all evils and remedies, and
from thee is the source of the candle and the incense, the rice
and the bertih, the tepong tawar and pemolih, the ambar-ambar
and the gagawar}
"Now at that time there was a Baluh Zat
2
which, after a
time, burst asunder in the middle, and Pawangs say that it
was not until after the Baluh Zat had broken that there
were heaven and earth, land, fire, water, and air, and that
the world then first took substance.
"After the breaking of the Baluh Zat the sky was formed
and the vault of heaven was set up, and the earth and the
mountains of Kaf became solid
"Then Pawang Sadia ordered the unggas to go and watch
the progress of the world, and to see what there now was.
So the unggas flew from the north to the south, and from the
east to the west, and returned immediately and came before
Pawang Sadia. Then said Pawang Sadia, 'O! Pawang
Asal, what have you seen?' And the unggas replied,
'There is nothing except a thickening in the midst of the
sea, but when I stepped upon it behold it was fluid as water.
It s name I do not know.' And Pawang Sadia said, ' That
1
"Bell, book and candle," The articles mentioned in the text are indis-
pensable to the pawang's trade. By means of them he divines secrets, prophesies
future events, combats evil spirits, and wards off misfortune.
Bertih is rice parched in the husk till it bursts forth from it with a slight
report. It is scattered about during all magic ceremonies. In Ceylon precisely
the same article is used by the professors of demon-worship, there called " devil-
dancers." I t is called in Ceylon porri, which is identical with puri, the Malay
name of a cake made of bertih.
Bertih, perhaps from Sanskrit varti, a magic ball ?
Tepong tawar is the name of the liquid and the bunch of leaves (often of seven
selected kinds) which are used in sprinkling places or objects which it is desired
to disenchant or disinfect.
Pemolih (from polih), a remedy, any kind of vegetable medicine.
Ambar-ambar, a term which includes all the elements used by pawangs to
counteract and render inefficacious, or harmless (ambar, or tawar), the spells or
machinations of demons, such as rice, incense, bertih, etc.
Gawar-gawar, or gagawar, ) leaves suspended to a horizontal cord stretched
across a path or doorway as a token that passage is forbidden.
2
Baluh Zat, "Cylinder of the Essence." Baluh is the hollow wooden
cylinder of a native drum. Zat means " nature," "essence," "substance." .
is the solidification of the eart h' The unggas continued,
' One other thing I saw, and that was a border encircling it.'
And Pawang Sadia said, ' That border is Bukit Kaf; go
thou and sprinkle it with tepong tawar, and thence go on
and do the same where the solid earth is forming, and apply
ambar-ambar to all that is in the water, and after that,
wherever thou findest solid matter on the surface of the
water hang up gagawar.'
"And the unggas went away and did as was directed by
Pawang Sadia, and after six periods returned. Then Pawang
Sadia asked, ' What has been accomplished?' And the
unggas said, 'The border has become like a wall of a bright
green colour, and the solid formation was spread out smooth
and clean, but, when the ambar-ambar touched it, it took a
variety of colours. There is an opening in one place, for
the border does not extend all the way round. At this place
I have suspended gagawar.
9
"Now the use of the gagawar was to restrain the wind
and the moving water from entering for seven days, so that
the earth might consolidate. And after six days had passed,
and the seventh day had arrived, the whole earth was solid."

Two Malay Myths

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Two Malay Myths

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ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY

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