The Jakuns believe that there is a "bisan," or spirit, which presides over the camphor trees and without propitiating this spirit it is impossible to obtain the camphor. This "bisan" makes at night a shrill noise, and when this sound is heard it is a sure sign that there are camphor troes near at hand. (This "bisan" is really one of the Cicadas which are so numerous in the Malayan jungles).
When hunting for camphor the natives always throw a portion of their food out into the jungle before eating as an offering to the "bisan"
No prayers are offered up, but all food must be eaten dry, i. e., without sumbul, or stewed fish, or vegetables. Salt must not be pounded fine; if it is eaten fine the camphor when found will in fine grains; but if eaten coarse the grains of camphor will be large. In rainy weather the cry of the 'bisan' is not heard. At certain seasons regular parties of Jakuns, and sometimes Malays. go into the jungle to search for camphor and they remain there as long as three or four months at a time. Not only must the men who go into the jungle to search for the camphor speak the "Pantang Kapur," but also the men and women left at home in the Kampongs.
The camphor occurs in the form of small grains deposited in the cracks in the interior of the trunk of the tree. Camphor is only found in the older trees, and not in all of these, and to obtain it the tree must be cut down and split up. There are certain signs which indicate when a tree contains camphor, one of which is the smell emitted from the wood when chipped. A man who is skilled in detecting the presence of camphor is called Penghulu Kapur. The camphor when taken away from the tree is washed and all chips of wood and dirt carefully removed and it is then sold to Chinese traders at Kwala Indau at prices varying according to the quality from $15 to $10 per katti.
The Camphor language consists in great part of words which are either Malay or of Malay origin, but contains, as above mentioned, a large number of words which are not Malay but which are presumably remnants of the original Jakun dialects which are apparently almost obsolete otherwise in the Indau and Sembrong districts of Johor.
