Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 13, 1902.djvu/175

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Malay Spiritualism.
161

Plenteous be our fruit, our rice-crops be plenteous.
Fruit, fruit, fruit, fruit, hurrah!"

The conclusion of the song about the Kledang (a kind of fruit) runs:

"Plenteous be durians, mangostins be plenteous.
Plenteous the rambai, plenteous the pulasan,
Plenteous the tampoi, plenteous the kundang,
So for nine years may fruit not fail us."

And the conclusion of the Monkey-song runs:

"Tell ye of the monkey, that fruit may be plenteous.[1]
Fruit, fruit, fruit, fruit!"

There are, however, two other songs which refer to different subjects; the first is a Bathing-song for the little maidens of the tribe, which concludes with the following passage:

"The 'little folk'[2] dance within the Balei,
Fruit be plenteous, the season plenteous,
Fruit be plenteous, fruits that are diverse,
Every day be fruit in plenty.
Every month be fruit in plenty,
Every year be fruit in plenty!
Go not back from the solemn promise,
From the rites that in the Book are written,
Fruit! fruit! fruit! fruit!
Such is the custom of Jungle-dwellers,
The custom of folk that with drink make merry."

A passage which brings it into line with the animal and fruit songs. I think these passages are conclusive as to the connection for which I contend.

But the song that interests us most nearly is that of the Fish-trap (lukah), which seems to me to have a distinct relation to the Fish-trap dance of the civilised Malays.

"Ting ting hât is the small-waisted Fish-trap,
The trap that was made by Mamat Alang.
The trap is set in the river yonder.
Enter it, O fish, that with scales are covered.
The Tapah fish, and the fish Sabarau,

  1. Lit., Fruit plenteous.
  2. I.e., the maidens or girls of the tribe.