A large trapTrap for big game.p.184.
Trap for big game.p.184.
Trap for big game.
p.184.
Here it must be observed that, apart from the superstitious character of the fear the Sakais (especiallythose of the hills) have of the wind, this terror may be said to be almost justified.
The impetuous currents of air coming from below often bring amongst them the germs of various infections and in particular malarial fevers.
The poor natives in their ignorance of this, when they see their dear ones fall ill and often die after the wind's raging believe that it has brought into their village and left there, an invisible enemy.
TheAlà, sorcerer, physician, and magician of the local superstitions does all he can to keep unshaken the belief in spirits and exorcism. He fulfils the functions of his two-fold office with all the ignorance and the deception which is possible to him; ignorance, because he shares with the others a sincere terror of the Evil Spirit, and deception because he makes the others think that he can see the dreaded Being and has a certain power over him by means of words and gestures.
He is, upon a close and vigorous analysis, nothing but a vulgar swindler who obtains some sort of advantage by his artefices and succeeds in over-ruling his own people by giving advice which is often sought and always followed.
TheAlàis generally the son of anAlà, a circumstance that might lead someone, who is fond of similar studies, to make accurate researches in order to ascertain if imposture should be considered as a hereditary disease.
When the Evil Spirit, notwithstanding the cabalistic signs and mysterious words that proclaim theAlà'sprerogative in resisting and defeating him, has overcome and killed him, the corpse is not buried but is placed in an upright position between the roots of a tree notvery far from his late residence. For seven days continual watch is kept over it and it is provided with food, tobacco and betel.
An old tradition, which I have managed with difficulty to piece together from fragments unconsciously dropped now and then, pretends thatab antiquoa covenant was made between the tigers and sorcerers that after one of the latter had been dead a week his soul should enter a feline body.
If a son of the deceasedAlàwishes to succeed to his father's dignity, he must, at the end of the seven days established, go alone to keep watch over the corpse, taking with him a sort of incense-pan in which he burns a great quantity of perfumed resin in honour of the dead (an honour that is most opportune for his own nostrils!). He passes the night in this way, or it is believed that he does, for nobody sets himself the task of spying his actions or of learning something about the night's proceedings fearing that evil would overtake him in consequence.
Whilst still engaged in this sanitary act, the tiger, animated by the soul of the defunct sorcerer, presents itself to the man who is engrossed in his scientific vigil and feigns to spring upon him to tear him to pieces. But he continues to keep alight the sweet-smelling resin and does not betray his inward perturbation or give the slightest movement of fear, which would, without emission, cost him his life. Then the terrible scene changes; the wild beast suddenly disappears and encircled by a soft light two beautiful fairies come forward to teach the newAlàthe occult science of his chosen ministry including cabalistic words and medical art. The two elves then become the familiar spirits of the sorcerer who is in this manner consecrated.
No witness is allowed to be present. No profane eye may see those two good spirits.
If it happens that the aspirant never makes his return it is immediately decided that he showed he was afraid and had been eaten up by the not too fatherly tiger. It would be, at least, a sure proof that he had watched that night in the forest!
The succession of a son to his father in the office ofAlàis not obligatory but all the Sakais wish it to be so as otherwise the soul of the dead man would always remain in the body of a tiger and treasures of wisdom and power would be lost to the tribe he had belonged to.
Not all the villages have the fortune to possess anAlàof their own who—by the way—does not differ in his domestic life from any of the poor mortals around him. He has a wife, and children, makes poisons, chews tobacco andsirih, sleeps and goes out shooting. Those settlements that have noAlàin their midst go in search of one in the nearest encampment and the physician-priest responds quickly to the invitation by hastening to the spot indicated.
There being no ritual in the Sakai ceremonies, the simple functions of theAlàare very limited.
He has to mumble in an unintelligible manner mysterious words (the meaning of which he does not know himself) when a poisonous mixture is being boiled in order to render its venomous virtue more efficacious. He makes exorcisms against the evil spirits when the wind arises or a heavy storm breaks or he is called to visit a sick person.
In the latter case duties are merged in those of the physician's for whilst preparing some remedies with herbs possessing medicinal properties (of which he knows very few out of the multitude that grows in the Malai forests) he proceeds to exercise the authorityreposed in him, according to the Sakai beliefs by attempting to cast out the evil spirit from his patient.
This act is called thetay nak. He first asks the sufferer where the pain is, then making a sort of brush with some palm leaves he holds it in left hand. The right he closes loosely and lays it on the place that aches, puts his mouth to the opening left through the lightly closed fingers and begins to pull in his breath as hard as he can. Sometimes he is able in this way to draw out the demon which has caused the illness, from the patient's body into his hand and drives it away by energetically beating it with the brush.
The sorcerer is aware if the spirit has come out by a very pale light, which only he can see, though!
But if the malady is a serious one this cure fails, a sure proof that the spirit is one of the most dreaded class and must therefore be heroically fought by means of thechintok, as follows.
The village in which the afflicted person lives is closed in by numerous traps, and planted all round with poisoned arrows so that nobody can come near, even if someone were to succeed in crossing that originalcordon sanitairewithout any fatal consequence he would most certainly be killed inside it as it is feared that another evil spirit may be imported by an outsider, in aid of the one they are trying to get rid of.
Over the body of the infirm they form a canopy of medicinal herbs; theAlàand the company present paint themselves in the most horrible manner possible and as soon as it is quite dark (any sort of light is absolutely forbidden) they dispose themselves around the invalid and begin to madly beat their big bamboo canes. Their frenzy and the noise they make cannot be described; it makes one shudder, and the sound can be heard several miles off.
Sick man lying in a shelterAbandoned because of contagious disease.p.193.
Abandoned because of contagious disease.p.193.
Abandoned because of contagious disease.
p.193.
But it is intended to heal the poor wretch in the middle who, if he does not succumb to the violence of his disease, has a good chance of dying from the torture endured.
The diabolical concert lasts until the garrulous harbingers of the sun announce the dawn but is repeated after sunset for seven days during which period only the men are permitted to go into the forest in search of food.
If on the seventh day the patient is still alive he is left in peace unless a relapse should render another night of music necessary, and if he dies it is believed that the malignant spirit would not depart without taking the soul of his victim with him.
The most frequent illnesses to which the Sakais are subject are rheumatic complaints and very heavy colds which not rarely turn into severe bronchial and pulmonary ailments. Both are due to the cold at night against which they take no pains at all to protect themselves. Their huts shelter them from the rain but not from the air.
Some contagious skin diseases are also prevalent amongst them.
Directly somebody is seized with this malady a tree is selected at some distance from the settlement up which a little bower is hurriedly made and the person attacked is placed there and left with a little food at hand. Next day the relatives go to see if he or she is living and call out their demands, in a loud voice, a long way off. If there is a movement or an answer they go nearer and throw up some food but if there is no sign of life they hasten back and leave the corpse to decompose in the bower that now serves as a sepulchre.
No rites whatever are performed at the death and burial of an individual.
When the sufferer has breathed its last all the people in the village unite in making grand lamentations. They cry, moan and howl worse than at the proverbial Irish funeral, they blacken their faces with charcoal and daub it with other colours to frighten away the bad spirit whilst the family crowd round the dead body and let their tears flow freely, exclaiming:
"Alas! Look at us, don't leave us! Who will take care of us now! Who will defend us? Thou has departed before us and we shall follow thee".
The first moments of grief over they quickly destroy the hut visited by Death, then taking up the corpse they carry it into a thick part of the forest.
Here a grave is dug, from five to six feet deep and the body is placed in it, sometimes lying on its back, and sometimes in a sitting posture but always with its face turned towards the west. Some tobacco, betel and personal objects of the deceased are put near and then it is covered up with the ground. Sometimes these articles are strewn on the top of the grave and sometimes too instead of interring the corpse it is laid upon pieces of wood placed horizontally across the branches of a large tree, close to the trunk.
But whether buried or not, for seven days the dead person's relatives carry water, fruit, tobacco and sirih to the spot, over or under the last resting-place of their lost one, taking care to always keep a bright fire burning within the vicinity.
It is however with fear and trembling that this duty is performed and they regularly implore:
"Here is thy portion, but don't hurt us!"
Burial artifacts on the groundTomb of a woman.p.194.
Tomb of a woman.p.194.
Tomb of a woman.
p.194.
Finished the seven days mourning the memory of the dead fades, only awakening afresh when somebody passes by the burial place when they deposit there a part of whatever they have with them, game or fruit.
For the sake of truth, though, I must say that the grief of parents for a child is not so soon cancelled, for I have seen some moved to tears at the remembrance of one who had been dead perhaps for many seasons.
The immediate consequence of a Sakai's death is the forsaking of the village by all the survivors for fear that the evil spirit which has bereaved them of a kinsman may do the same with another.
Then follows the march in search of a desirable spot, as I have already described. Taking the children and the little domestic goods they possess upon their shoulders they troop away seeking suitable ground for the erection of their new huts. The Elder, as head of the immense family, gives the signal for stopping where he thinks best and if there is anAlàin their midst he consults with him about the choice of position.
When the site seems favourable a fire is quickly lighted and if the smoke goes up straight they settle there otherwise they continue their wanderings for the Sakai thinks that his whereabouts will be betrayed if the smoke is dispersed in the forest and that it will serve as a guide to some bad spirit—eager to do harm—that will cast its fatal influence over the company fleeing from the cruel spell of another.
Once the decision is made, with wonderful rapidity trees, and bushes are cut down and the huts are raised.
As in civilized countries. Death amongst the Sakais exacts an exterior manifestation of mourning, with thisdifference perhaps that with them it is much more sincere because they have not the comfort of a long expected and coveted legacy to make it a farce.
All ornaments have to be put aside; ear-rings, bracelets, necklaces, nasal sticks, flowers, tattooing etc, for a period of time determined by the Elder but generally for not less than six months.
Those in mourning are rigorously prohibited to sing, play, dance, marry and even (quite a Lenten sin) to eat fish and meat on the some day.
The Sakais observe all these prescriptions with the greatest strictness and are scandalized should any of them be infringed before the appointed time. Whoever violates them is judged a heartless being and if a woman loses all the consideration that was hers before.
The duration of mourning varies according to relationship. That for a father or a mother is the same, but it is shorter for brothers and sisters and for little children there is none at all.
In this respect the Sakais are not dissimilar to their civilized fellow-beings who measure their grief by the black clothes they wear and at the demise of a baby, notwithstanding its parents' desolation, make the church-bells ring out the liveliest tunes.[17]
When a little Sakai opens its eyes to the light of this world no religious ceremony greets its arrival.
The woman who is about to become a mother separates herself from the rest of the family and retires by herself to a hut apart, where the floor is very high. Nobody assists her at her confinement because there is perhaps no other event in the existence of a Sakaiso involved in tenacious and perilous superstition as is that of birth. Her own husband and the father of the new-born babe dare not cross the threshold of the hut or make the acquaintance of his child until a long time after, that is, until it has got some strength.
Burial artifacts on the groundGrave of a Sakai man.p.194.
Grave of a Sakai man.p.194.
Grave of a Sakai man.
p.194.
It is always feared that by entering the cabin the smell of the child may be carried into the forest by means of which the Evil Spirit would be able to trace it out and do it some mischief. And for the same reason the newly-made mother dare not have contact with any of the adults who go into the jungle to hunt or for other purposes, but has food and water taken her by the children.
It is superfluous to add that for a given time before and after a confinement the presence of a stranger in the village is not tolerated, worse still if he is a white man.
TheAlà, seconded by all, both males and females, is inflexible about this, asserting that it would be the death of the babe, and it is a prudent thing to accept the veto with a good grace and to obey the sorcerer's orders without hesitation. Sometimes a stranger is not even allowed to look upon a woman who is in an interesting state, as it once happened to me.
Another time upon arriving at a village where a child had been born a few hours before, I was flatly refused hospitality, some Sakais preferring to accompany me a long way off and there erect a hut for my use on the formal understanding that I should not for any motive whatever attempt to approach the settlement. Had I not kept to this condition I should probably have been killed.
One cannot reason with terror.
The hut in which the poor woman is fulfilling the noblest of Nature's missions is jealously guarded by day and by night.
Woe to the unfortunate individual who is found loitering around it if he is not one of the village!
The floor of the hut does not touch the ground that the odour of excrements may not penetrate into the earth and proclaim to the Evil Spirit: Here a babe is born!
The mother herself, with extreme caution places everything of this sort in vessels of bamboo which she hangs high up on the bough of a tree.
There the torrid sun quickly dries it all up and the smell emanating from it being diffused in the upper air the spirit cannot find out the sick woman or her child.
As soon as the period of gestation commences neither the woman nor her husband must eat the flesh of monkey or serpent in order not to transfer to the unborn child the tendencies of a quadruped or reptile.
They must also abstain from eating fish and meat on the same day and are obliged to be very careful not to enter a hut whilst it rains, this being always a very bad omen but especially so when an increase is expected in the family.
Another very bad sign is when thecep pluìsings near the encampment. The Sakais consider it quite as unlucky as the grating screech of the night owl (birds kept in awe by the Sakais as being in familiarity with the Evil Spirit) on the roof of a house, or the spilling of salt is believed to be in many countries we know.
A few days before her confinement the woman picks up some leaves of thebakaùwhich have fallen to the ground and makes a decoction with them. She drinks a little every day, continuing the cure even after child-birth. I do not know the wherefore of this but the women seem to think it exercises a particular effect upon them at this period.
Immediately the child is born its mother takes the fruit of thebuà kalunaand squeezes out a few drops into the little thing's mouth.
I have never been able to understand the reason of such a practice but believe that it is inspired by some superstition or hygienic rule of the natives.
The fruit of thebuà kalunais sweet but has also a rather tart flavour.
After seven days have passed the newly made mother leaves the hut and makes abundant ablutions that have the same character and scope as the religious duty imposed upon the Israelite women; that of respect for elementary hygiene.
From this moment the wife may return to her husband but she is not allowed to go into the forest and is obliged to wear upon her stomach a hot stone, which serves her as a cure and exorcism.
She returns to her faithful mate but she does not abandon her child whose separation from all other human beings, including its own father, cannot last for less than six months.
The birth and death of a Sakai, as here seen, is devoid of every rite or ceremony, as in the case of matrimony or divorce and do not require even the intervention of theAlà.
The fact of their being strictly forbidden, when kindling a fire, to lift their eyes from it until the wood has been well ignited and smoke proceeds from it would suggest the idea that there is either a superstition attached to this operation or that fire is also an object of veneration with them. But this concentration of thegaze may be simply a precaution (become a habit) not to retard the act of combustion by distraction of thought.
The only thing in connection with this custom I have succeeded in ascertaining is that the Sakais have no particular cult for the Sacred Fire like the priests of Baal the Brahmins in India and the Vestals of Rome but appreciate it as a means of cooking their food, preparing their poisons, of warming them during the night and of keeping wild beasts far from their huts. And I was convinced of this the first time I gave them matches and taught them their use.
Their wonder was mixed with satisfaction but had there been any pronounced religious sentiment they would have rejected the modern innovation and continued the old method of making fire.
I have here given a rough idea of the superstitions and beliefs of the Sakais as best I have been able to understand them from close observation and words inadvertently let fall now and then. They may be briefly summed up thus: a supreme terror of Evil spirits; a vague principle of the soul's transmigration (a strange degeneration from the primitive conception of the Pythagorean theory).
The people of the jungle are still under the thick shade of cerebral inertia. They have not yet seen the swift, bright light of a first doubt flash across the darkness of their brain giving to it a shock of unsuspected vibrations. As yet no glorious Prometheus has arisen amongst those primitive creatures far whom thediscouraging counsel of the Italian poet might seem to have been in part written:
Meglio oprando obliar, senza indagarlo,Quest'enorme mister dell' universo![18]
Meglio oprando obliar, senza indagarlo,Quest'enorme mister dell' universo![18]
The Sakais have no real religion; they only have fear for everything they do not understand or cannot. And yet in the practice of morality they are much more forward than other uncivilized and even civilized peoples.
Footnotes:[16]Pronouncedtay nakandchintok.—Translator's Note.[17]A custom in Italy when a little child is buried.Translator's Note.[18]Better by work to forget, without studying it,This tremendous mystery of the Universe.
Footnotes:
[16]Pronouncedtay nakandchintok.—Translator's Note.
[16]Pronouncedtay nakandchintok.—Translator's Note.
[17]A custom in Italy when a little child is buried.Translator's Note.
[17]A custom in Italy when a little child is buried.Translator's Note.
[18]Better by work to forget, without studying it,This tremendous mystery of the Universe.
[18]
Better by work to forget, without studying it,This tremendous mystery of the Universe.
Better by work to forget, without studying it,This tremendous mystery of the Universe.
decorative panel
Sakai arms—Shooting—Serpent catchers—The Sakai and his poisons—TOALANG, RENGAS AND SAGOL—SLÀ DOL, SLÀ PLEK and SLÀ CLOB—AKAR TOKA—Ipok[19]—An antidote—The LEGOP—The Nai Bretaks—The preparation of LEGOP—Curious and superfluous ingredients—The effects of LEGOP—Strange contradictions—Experiments—Poisons and antidotes—The settler and science.
The Sakai possesses only one weapon: the «blaù» (pr. blahoo) called «sumpitam» by the Malays.
This reveals the peaceful character of these forest inhabitants who never seek adventures or commit aggressions.
Collection of quivers and arrowsQuivers and poisoned arrows.p.203.
Quivers and poisoned arrows.p.203.
Quivers and poisoned arrows.
p.203.
The strong ugly knives which he procures from his brethren of the plain or manufactures for himself, and the little hatchets I have already described, are notfor him arms in the exact meaning of the word but are simply instruments necessary for those living in the jungle. He employs them for cutting down bamboos, creepers and trees and for preparing food, but very likely he would not know how to use them for an assault or in defence.
His weapon in this case is always theblaù(blow-pipe) which he carries about with him constantly even if he only goes just outside his hut.
It is a cane of bamboo from two metres and a half to three in length not very large in diameter but perfectly round, especially inside. At one end there is applied a mouth-piece similar to that of a trumpet.
Having introduced a dart the Sakai puts the cane to his lips and first drawing a very long breath he then blows into it with all his might. The little arrow flies out with the greatest velocity reaching to the distance of 40, 50, or 60 metres.
It is a pea-shooter but with the difference that the projectiles shot out are deadly in their effect, particularly so when in the hands of persons who, like the Sakais, seldom or never fail to hit the mark.
This dangerous weapon, which at first might be mistaken for a toy, is ornamented with designs lightly incised in the cane. It is kept with great care and when not in immediate use it is slipped into a bamboo of a larger size (this too decorated with incisions) which serves it as sheath.
The arrow is a little stick made of very hard wood of about 12 or 14 inches long and not much bigger than a big knitting needle. At one extremity is fixed a tiny cone made of palm-pith that stopping up the tube, receives the impulsion of the air blown into it so violently.
The other extremity finishes in an exceedingly sharp point (sometimes of bone or metal well inserted intothe wood) contrived in such a mode that when the dart strikes an object the point breaks off and remains there. The force of penetration is however so great that the body of a man standing 30 metres off may be pierced through without its being broken.
No animal, except pachyderms, can challenge with impunity the Sakai's arrow. It is always, and for all, a terrible messenger of Death, either in the precision of aim, the violence with which it hits, or the poison it inoculates.
In the same way as the aborigenes of Australia throw their boomerang with inimitable dexterity and security, the Sakai manages his blowpipe with a cleverness it is impossible to imitate or learn. The Malays, who have studied to make themselves masters of this weapon, are but poor shooters compared to their forest neighbours.
Together with theblaùthe Sakai always carries with him hislok(quiver) suspended from a girdle of bark, calledbò gnan(pr. bo nean).
This quiver is also composed of bamboo measuring from 3 to 7 inches round and 13 or 14 long. It is very rare that the darts are placed in it without being first enclosed in thin reeds, known by the name ofdamàwhich preserve the points and prevent the poison from being rubbed off as well as saving it from getting damp, when it would lose its force. In its turn the quiver is enclosed in thetchenkop, a covering of ratan or palm-fibres woven so intricately as to render it water-tight.
With his blowpipe ready the Sakai penetrates into the forest, creeping softly among the tall grasses and bushes. No rustling, no crackling of dry leaves denounces the presence of the man who advances cautiously under the broad green roof, casting keen and restless glancestowards the branches of the trees. His ear catches the faintest flapping of wings. From time to time he utters a cry like that of a bird or a monkey, and quickly a feathered biped, moved by curiosity descends from a higher to a lower bough; a monkey swings itself down in answer to the call, or a pretty little head with a sharp nose and bright eyes peeps out of a hollow in the tree.
Blowpipes and accessoriesBlowpipes, quivers and poisoned arrows.p.203.
Blowpipes, quivers and poisoned arrows.p.203.
Blowpipes, quivers and poisoned arrows.
p.203.
Very slowly and quietly the Sakai crouches down, lifts his blowpipe and fixing his eyes upon the black mark he has made at the end of the cane, he takes a long and steady aim.
The bird and the monkey 30 metres above him are trying to provocate another cry from the voice they heard before; the squirrel looks puzzled and uncertain but neither of the three suspects the mortal danger that awaits them from below.
The Sakai blows into hisblaù, the dart flies out with a slight whiz and perforates the victim's flesh. There is a cry and a fall, then the sportsman runs to pick up his prey.
Sometimes a wounded bird will fly away from the spot where it has been hit, but the savage knows perfectly well the infallibility of his poisons which will bring it to the ground in a few minutes, so he follows the way it has taken.
Something of the same sort may also happen with a monkey. Although it is usually cowardly enough to let itself fall a dead weight as soon as it is touched (so breaking all its bones) it may by chance cling to the bough upon which the Sakai shot it, but if the arrow itself does not succeed in killing it, the poison never fails to do so and nothing can save it from the fatal effect. The monkey holds on convulsively but thelegop'sinfluence cannot be resisted, there is a brief struggle against death and then the animal is precipitated heavily to the ground.
The Sakai runs to pick it up but perhaps is arrested by seeing an enormous boa constrictor twisting itself round the crushed body of the little beast.
But at this sight the hunter does not despair. He observes the surrounding trees with great attention and discovers that the one upon which he had found the monkey has a large hole beneath, where the huge reptile has taken up its abode.
He hurries away to let his comrades know, for a boa constrictor excites the spirit of gluttony amongst the Sakais.
They instantly and unanimously resolve upon its capture and accompany him to the scene.
Guessing nearabouts the length of the serpent they cut down a very strong bamboo cane that if not longer is not shorter than the reptile and at the end they fasten a stout piece of rattan ably folded into a noose.
Terminated his repast the boa retires to his den and settles down for a little nap that will help his digestion.
This is the right moment: two men, with great caution approach the hollow, keeping in their hands the knot made of the Indian cane. Very gently but with a rapid movement they lift up the snake's head and slip it through the noose. The snake gives a shake but it is too late. At a sign from the two who have disturbed its slumber, the others pull hard the bamboos that they are holding in their hands. The noose is pulled tighter and the boa constrictor fights furiously to get free. But the more it resists the closer the knot becomes. The struggle between captor and captured is not soon finished. The monster pulls, jumps, writhes, sometimes giving such sudden springs as to make the tenacious Sakais run here and there to keep their equilibrium and to stay out of its reach.
Two Sakai with blowpipesShooting poisoned arrows through the blowpipe.p.205.
Shooting poisoned arrows through the blowpipe.p.205.
Shooting poisoned arrows through the blowpipe.
p.205.
Often they strive so for more than an hour but at last the serpent is suffocated and is reduced to a lifelessmass. Then its victors carry it triumphantly to their village where it makes a banquet for almost all the inhabitants.
The Sakais would find but a scanty result from their hunting and shooting-, and their own lives would not be sufficiently protected if the forest did not provide them with an inexhaustible and infallible means of dealing death with their blowpipes and darts.
There is such a rich and varied quantity of plants growing in the jungle which produce poison, that Man has the choice of using the one he deems more adapted for this or that particular need.
The Sakai is enthusiastic over his poisons, so much is he engrossed in the science that it takes with him the post of a besetting. Like a maniac which always speaks of his strange fancies, so this poor savage speaks all day long of his poisons, and studies their qualities.
And they provide him with all the necessaries for his primitive existence for he utilizes them in shooting, fishing, and in setting traps for big and small animals, they are a defence for himself and the whole village where he lives, besides furnishing him with the means (by barter) of obtaining tobacco, rice or any other article that cannot be found in the forest.
All his best intellectual faculty is consecrated to the research and preparation of poisons because it must not be thought that he uses one instead of the other indifferently. Those with which he is most familiar are each used as the occasion may require.
Just as a gun is not loaded with the same sized shot when shooting small birds and partridges, the Sakai does not waste his strong poisons when a weaker one would be equally effectual.
His selection of one rather than the other is frequently regulated by the state of the atmosphere (damp being pernicious to venomous productions) and sometimes by the phases of the moon.
These plants are herbaceous, arboreous and often creepers, but not all those that grow in the forest, nor even those known to the savage for their efficacy, are yet in the knowledge of Science.
This is a very great pity as I fear that these medicinal treasures, which may contain miraculous properties, will be inevitably lost if a scientific study of this wild jungle produce is not quickly initiated.
The fever of colonization has attacked the forest and here and there it rages; for certain it will not be a long time before that vast extension of tropical vegetation with the extraordinary fertility of its soil will give place to plantations of Parah-rubber, gutta-percha, coffee, sugar, rice, tobacco, etc.
For this reason I shall be very pleased to give what aid I can to the cause of Science by means of notes, collections and specimens of paints and animals not yet thoroughly known or studied, should anyone feel inclined to respond to the offer before it is too late. Such help would seem to me a sweet chain of thought, linking the mind of the colonist in the remote depths of the Malay Forest, to the Mother Country and that civilization from which he has withdrawn himself.
The "giu u toalang" is one of the colossal trees of the Jungle for it reaches from 40 to 46 yards in height. It may be said that its whole organism is poisonous because its deadly properties have the same force in the juice under the bark as in the leaves, when they are rubbed or broken. If this sap finds its way underthe skin, in contact with the flesh or blood-vessels it has a quick and mortal effect. It seems to me that even the smell might produce fatal consequences but of this I am not sure, although it is a certain fact that it makes one feel very ill and the indisposition can only be cured by keeping the patient in a high temperature.
Almost the same poisonous power has the "giù u rangas", a tree of more modest dimensions, and the "giù u sagol" smaller still. It is dangerous to touch the leaves of these two plants because they bring about a severe irritation of the skin, covering it with pimples and little bladders, that itch intolerably, whilst the body becomes swollen. And yet the temptation to scratch must be resisted or ulceration follows with the probability of gangrene. When one is able to renounce the momentary relief procured by rubbing or scratching the inconvenience passes in a couple of days.
Thetoalang,rengas, andsagolare to be found scattered profusely over the forest but the Sakai does not interest himself in their venomous properties because he finds that those of which he already knows the secret fully satisfy his wants in promptness and effect. On the contrary he wages a continual war against these noxious plants beating them down and destroying them wherever he comes across them. He is very careful, however not to touch them with his hatchet but chops down one of the giants growing near which bears them to the ground in its ponderous fall.
As soon as the dangerous trees are down the trunk and branches of their involuntary assassin are pulled away and they are left on the spot for one or two months to dry, and when completely withered they are burnt.
There is also a large and varied number of plants in the forest whose leaves are very dangerous. I willmention for an example theslà dol,slà plekand theslà clobthe leaves of which, if eaten, may engender fatal consequences according to the Sakais.
In some the poisonous qualities are located only in the roots. Of thelegop, which belongs to this class I will speak further on, for now I will only name theakar tobà.
This root is first well pounded and then left to soak in some water for a few days after which the venomous liquid is thrown into a pond and a perfect massacre of big and little fish follows, all of which may be eaten without doing any harm to the persons.
What sort of poison this is I cannot say for it has never been made the object of special study. I have proved its utility in destroying insects and particularly the larva of mosquitoes and the little worms that ruin fruit and vegetables.
Theipokcalled "upas" by the Malays and "antiaris toxicaria" by botanists is a tree which supplies a poisonous juice to the Sakais of the plain. It is a colossus of the forest, and belongs to the nettle family.
It has broad, shiny leaves something like those of the magnolia, and numerous species are to be found in the Malay Jungle.
When the season is not too damp and there is a full moon the Sakais make some deep cuts in the bark of this tree and place some bamboo tubes around it in order to catch the sap which flows out abundantly. This juice has a gluey, resinous appearance and is white or yellow according to whether it is extracted from the trunk or from a young bough.
Upas branch and leavesA branch of the poison-tree "Upas".p.210.
A branch of the poison-tree "Upas".p.210.
A branch of the poison-tree "Upas".
p.210.
Then, whilst still in the thick of the forest, they light up a fire and boil the liquid during which process theAlà, who presides over the work, mutters the magicalwords without which the poison would not have the desired force.
It is not taken from the fire until it presents the aspect of tar, in thickness and colour. Finished to boil, some lemons are squeezed over it and after throwing in red arsenic and other drugs it is all stirred up together and the mixture is ready for use.
The substances added to theipok—with the exception of the arsenic—are not toxical but are only the expression of Sakai prejudices.
The flesh of animals killed with arrows dipped inipokare perfectly eatable after being cooked a little, but the precaution must be taken of cutting away for about an inch round the wound which turns purple immediately from the action of the poison.
An antidote againstipokpoisoning is found in the juice of a climber calledlemmak kapiting. By energetically rubbing the wound with this juice all baneful effects of theipokare checked.
I believe that it is amongst creepers that the most powerful poisons must be sought.
The Sakai is on confidential terms with thegiù u legop,giù u labor,giù u lampat,giù u masèand thegiù u loo, but thelamponandbroialare not forgotten either.[20]
The roots of these two plants yield poisons that are amongst the most terrible of those which abound in the forest.
It seems to me that the only difference passing between these creepers is in the intensity of virulence, but not in the nature of the venomous substances, and it is just for this that the Sakais favour thelegopand make it the centre of their primitive chemical studies because it furnishes them with the strongest and most fatal of poisons.
This parasite, as soon as it is long enough, clings to one of the superb vegetable kings of the forest, twining round it with a tenacious hold.
Its trunk is from 2 to 4 inches in diameter and gives vigorous life to about 5000 feet of its offspring.
Thelegopleaves are green, smooth and glossy, similar in form to those of the lemon, but they are larger. They are covered longitudinally by prominent nervures.
The fruit borne by this dangerous plant is of the size and form of a small orange, slightly depressed at the stalk and the opposite part. It is very black and hard to break, a hammer or its substitute being necessary to disclose its contents which consist in a great number of little seeds embedded in a scanty pulp.
All the Sakais extract and prepare poison from thelegopbut there is a tribe living in the most remote parts of the forest, severed from all intercourse with civilized beings, and in consequence pure barbarians, who are renowned for their ability in the preparation of the same, and whose products are considered much superior in strength.