A very small percentage of camphor trees contain any camphor. The hunters first test the tree by making a deep cut in the bark if there is a faint odour of camphor the tree is cut down and thoroughly examined but not otherwise.
The Camphor Language of Johore.
The chief interest attaching to the Kapur Barus in Johor lies in the superstitions connected with the collection of the camphor by the natives or orang Hulu (Jakuns of the Malays).
Amongst these superstitions the most important is the use of a special language, the subject of the present paper, which has been the means of preserving some remnants of the aboriginal dialects of this part of the Malay Peninsula. This language is called by the orang Hulu "Pantang Kapur," "Pantang" means forbidden or tabooed, and in this case refers to the fact that in searching for the camphor the use of the ordinary Malay language is "pantang," or forbidden. In addition to this there are restriction as to food, etc.,
This Camphor language is first referred to by Mr. Logan in his account of the aboriginal tribes of the Malay Peninsula (I. A. Journal, vol. 1, p. 293) and he gives a list of eighty words, thirty-three of which are Malay or derived from Malay.
In No 1 of this journal will be found some notes on the same subject by Miklucho-Macklay, and in No 3 Mr. Hervey, in an account of his trip to Gunong Blumut, refers to the same subject and gives a list of words collected by him which he compares with Mr. Logan's list. In No 8 of this journal Mr. Hervey, in his account of a trip up the Indau and its tributaries, again refers to the camphor language and discusses its connection with the aboriginal dialects of the Malay Peninsula.
