Malay Magic by Walter William Skeat

The Malay Pantheon (a) Gods A careful investigation of the magic rites and charms used by a nation which has changed its religion will not unfrequently show, that what is generally called witchcraft is merely the débris of the older ritual, condemned by the priests of the newer faith, but yet stubbornly, though secretly, persisting, through the unconquerable religious conservatism of the mass of the people. "There is nothing that clings longer to a race than the religious faith in which it has been nurtured. Indeed, it is impossible for any mind that is not thoroughly scientific to cast off entirely the religious forms of thought in which it has grown to maturity. Hence in every people that has received the impression of foreign beliefs, we find that the latter do not expel and supersede the older religion, but are engrafted on it, blent with it, or overlie it. Observances are more easily abandoned than ideas, and even when all the external forms of the alien faith have been put on, and few vestiges of the indigenous one remain, the latter still retains its vitality in the mind, and powerfully colours or corrupts the former. The actual religion of a people is thus of great ethnographic interest, and demands a minute and searching observation. No other facts relating to rude tribes are more difficult of ascertainment, or more often elude inquiry." [151] "The general principle stated by Logan in the passage just quoted receives remarkable illustration from a close investigation of the folk-lore and superstitious beliefs of the Malays. Two successive religious changes have taken place among them, and when we have succeeded in identifying the vestiges of Brahmanism which underlie the external forms of the faith of Muhammad, long established in all Malay kingdoms, we are only half-way through our task." "There yet remain the powerful influences of the still earlier indigenous faith to be noted and accounted for. Just as the Buddhists of Ceylon turn in times of sickness and danger, not to the consolations offered by the creed of Buddha, but to the propitiation of the demons feared and reverenced by their early progenitors, and just as the Burmese and Talaings, though Buddhists, retain in full force the whole of the Nat superstition, so among the Malays, in spite of centuries which have passed since the establishment of an alien worship, the Muhammadan peasant may be found invoking the protection of Hindu gods against the spirits of evil with which his primitive faith has peopled all natural objects." [152] "What was the faith of Malaya seven hundred years ago it is hard to say, but there is a certain amount of evidence to lead to the belief that it was a form of Brahmanism, and that, no doubt, had succeeded the original spirit worship." [153] The evidence of folk-lore, taken in conjunction with that supplied by charm-books and romances, goes to show that the greater gods of the Malay Pantheon, though modified in some respects by Malay ideas, were really borrowed Hindu divinities, and that only the lesser gods and spirits are native to the Malay religious system. It is true that some of these native gods can be with more or less distinctness identified with the great powers of nature: the King of the Winds (Raja Angin) for instance; "Mambang Tali Harus," or the god of mid-currents (the Malay Neptune); the gods of thunder and lightning, of the celestial bodies, etc.; but none of them appear to have the status of the chief gods of the Hindu system, and both by land and water the terrible Shiva ("Batara Guru" or "Kala") is supreme. Yet each department of nature, however small, has its own particular godling or spirit who requires propitiation, and influences for good or evil every human action. Only the moral element is wanting to the divine hegemony--the "cockeyed," limping substitute which does duty for it reflecting only too truthfully the character of the people with whom it passes as divine. I will first take, in detail, the gods of Hindu origin. "Batara (or Betara) Guru" is "the name by which Siva is known to his worshippers, who constitute the vast majority of the Balinese, and who probably constituted the bulk of the old Javanese." [154] In the magic of the Peninsular Malays we find Vishnu the Preserver, Brahma the Creator, Batara Guru, Kala, and S'ri simultaneously appealed to by the Malay magician; and though it would, perhaps, be rash, (as Mr. Wilkinson says), to infer solely from Malay romances or Malay theatrical invocations (many of which owe much to Javanese influence), that Hinduism was the more ancient religion of the Malays, there is plenty of other evidence to prove that the "Batara Guru" of the Malays (no less than the Batara Guru of Bali and Java) is none other than the recognised father of the Hindu Trinity. [155] Of the greater deities or gods, Batara Guru is unquestionably the greatest. "In the Hikayat Sang Samba (the Malay version of the Bhaumakavya), Batara Guru appears as a supreme God, with Brahma and Vishnu as subordinate deities. It is Batara Guru who alone has the water of life (ayer utama (atama) jiwa) which brings the slaughtered heroes to life." [156] So to this day the Malay magician declares that 'Toh Batara Guru (under any one of the many corruptions which his name now bears [157]) was "the all-powerful spirit who held the place of Allah before the advent of Muhammadanism, a spirit so powerful that he could restore the dead to life; and to him all prayers were addressed." Mr. Wilkinson, in the article from which we have already quoted, deals with another point of interest, the expression sang-yang, or batara, which is prefixed to guru. After pointing out that yang in this case is not the ordinary Malay pronoun (yang, who), but an old word meaning a "deity," he remarks, that so far as he has been able to discover, it is only used of the greater Hindu divinities, and not of inferior deities or demi-gods. Thus we find it applied to Shiva and Vishnu, but never to the monkey-god Hanuman, or a deity of secondary importance like Dermadewa. Such inferior divinities have only the lesser honorific "sang" prefixed to their names, and in this respect fare no better than mere mortals (such as Sang Sapurba and Sang Ranjuna Tapa) and animals (such as, in fables, Sang Kanchil, Mr. Mousedeer; and Sang Tikus, Mr. Rat). "The expression batara is also limited to the greater Hindu divinities (except when used as a royal title), e.g. Batara Guru, Batara Kala, Batara Indra, Batara Bisnu, etc. Thus the expressions sang-yang and batara are fairly coincident in their application. [158] But there are a few deities of whom the honorific sang-yang is used, but not batara, e.g. sang-yang tunggal, 'the only God,' sang-yang sokma, etc. "Thus batara would seem to be limited in use to the actual names of Hindu deities as distinct from epithets describing those deities. "Batara Guru" would seem to be an exception--the only one--to this rule, and to point to the fact that the original meaning of guru had been lost sight of, and that the expression had come to be regarded only as a proper name." Occasionally, as is only to be expected, the Malays get mixed in their mythology, and of this Mr. Wilkinson gives two examples, one of the identification of Batara Guru (Shiva) with Brahma (Berahmana), and another of the drawing of a distinction between "Guru" (Shiva) and "Mahadewa," which latter is only another name for the same divinity. Such slips are inevitable among an illiterate people, and should always be criticised by comparison with the original Hindu tenets, from which these ideas may be presumed to have proceeded. Mr. Wilkinson quotes an extraordinary genealogy representing, inter alia, "Guru as the actual father of the Hindu Trinity," and also of "Sambu" (whom he cannot identify), and "Seri, who is the Hindu Sri, the goddess of grain, and, therefore, a deity of immense importance to the old Javanese and Malays." On this I would only remark that Sambu (or Jambu) is the first portion of the name almost universally ascribed to the Crocodile-spirit by the Peninsular Malays. [159] It would be beyond the scope of this work to attempt the identification of Batara Guru (Shiva) with all the numerous manifestations and titles attributed to him by the Malays, but the special manifestation (of Shiva), which is called "Kala," forms an integral part of the general conception, whether among the Malays or Hindus, and is, therefore, deserving of some attention. The Malay conception of Batara Guru seems to have been that he had both a good and a bad side to his character. Though he was "Destroyer" he was also "Restorer-to-life," [160] and it would appear that these two opposite manifestations of his power tended to develop into two distinct personalities, a development which apparently was never entirely consummated. This, however, is not the only difficulty, for on investigating the limits of the respective spheres of influence of Batara Guru and Kala, we find that the only sphere, which is always admitted to be under Kala's influence, is the intermediate zone between the respective spheres of influence of Batara Guru (as he is called if on land, "Si Raya" if at sea) and a third divinity, who goes by the name of "'Toh Panjang Kuku," or "Grandsire Long-Claws." Now Hindu mythology, we are told, knows next to nothing of the sea, and any such attempt as this to define the respective boundaries of sea and land is almost certain to be due to the influence of Malay ideas. Again, the intermediate zone is not necessarily considered less dangerous than that of definitely evil influences. Thus the most dangerous time for children to be abroad is sunset, the hour when we can "call it neither perfect day nor night"; so too a day of mingled rain and sunshine is regarded as fraught with peculiar dangers from evil spirits, and it would be quite in keeping with such ideas that the intermediate zone, whether between high and low water-mark, or between the clearing and primeval forest, should be assigned to Kala, the Destroyer. In which case the expression "Grandsire Long-Claws" might be used to signify this special manifestation of Shiva on land, possibly through the personality of the Tiger, just as the Crocodile-spirit appears to represent Shiva by water. [161] We thus reach a point of exceptional interest, for hunting, being among the old Hindus one of the seven deadly sins, was regarded as a low pursuit, and one which would never be indulged in by a god. Yet I was repeatedly told when collecting charms about the Spectre Huntsman that he was a god, and, explicitly, that he was Batara Guru. This shows the strength of the Malay influences which had been at work, and which had actually succeeded in corrupting the character, so to speak, of the supreme god of this borrowed Hindu Trinity. [162] The Batara Guru of the Sea, who by some magicians, at all events, is identified with Si Raya (the "Great One"), and, probably wrongly, with the God of Mid-currents [163] (Mambang Tali Harus), is of a much milder character than his terrestrial namesake or compeer, and although sickness may sometimes be ascribed to the sea-spirit's wrath, it is neither so sudden nor so fatal as the sickness ascribed to the wanton and unprovoked malice of the Spectre Huntsman, or Spirit of the Land. Fishermen and seafarers, on the other hand, obtain many a favour from him, and even hope to make friends with him by means of simple sacrifices and charms. Si Raya (or Madu-Raya) is said to have a family, his wife's name being Madu-ruti, and his children "Wa' Ranai," and "Si Kekas" (the scratcher), all of whom, however, have their own separate spheres of influence. The "Great One" himself (Madu-Raya) rules over the sea from low-water mark (at the river's mouth) out to mid-ocean; and if his identity with "'Toh Rimpun `Alam" is accepted, [164] his place of abode is at the navel of the seas, within the central whirlpool (Pusat Tasek), from the centre of which springs the Magic Tree (Pauh Janggi), on whose boughs perches the roc (garuda) of fable, and at whose foot dwells the Gigantic Crab, whose entrance into and exit from the cave in which he dwells is supposed to cause the displacement of water which results in the ebb and flow of the tide. [165] The only other divinities (of the rank of "Mambangs") which are of any importance are the "White divinity," who dwells in the Sun, the "Black divinity," who dwells in the Moon, and the "Yellow divinity," who dwells in the Yellow Sunset-glow, which latter is always considered most dangerous to children. When there is a decided glow at sunset, any one who sees it takes water into his mouth (di-kemam ayer) and dislodges it in the direction of the brightness, at the same time throwing ashes (di-sembor dengan abu) saying:-- Mambang kuning, mambang k'labu, Pantat kuning di-sembor abu. This is done "in order to put out the brightness," the reason that it must be put out being that in the case of any one who is not very strong (lemah semangat) it causes fever. (b) Spirits, Demons, and Ghosts The "Jins" or "Genii," generally speaking, form a very extensive class of quite subordinate divinities, godlings, or spirits, whose place in Malay mythology is clearly due, whether directly or indirectly, to Muhammadan influences, but who may be most conveniently treated here as affording a sort of connecting link between gods and ghosts. There has, it would appear, been a strong tendency on the part of the Malays to identify these imported spirits with the spirits of their older (Hindu) religion, but the only Genie who really rises to the level of one of the great Hindu divinities is the Black King of the Genii (Sang Gala [166] Raja, or Sa-Raja Jin), who appears at times a manifestation of Shiva Batara Guru, who is confounded with the destructive side of Shiva, i.e. Kala. This at least would appear to be the only theory on which we could explain the use of many of the epithets or attributes assigned to the King of the Genii, who is at one time called "the one and only God"; at another, "Bentara (i.e. Batara), Guru, the Genie that was from the beginning," and at another, "the Land Demon, the Black Batara Guru," etc. The following is a description of this, the mightiest of the Genii:-- Peace be with you! Ho, Black Genie with the Black Liver, Black Heart and Black Lungs, Black Spleen and tusk-like Teeth, Scarlet Breast and body-hairs inverted, And with only a single bone. [167] So far as can be made out from the meagre evidence obtainable, the spirit thus described is identifiable with the Black King of Genii, who dwells in the Heart of the Earth, and whose bride, Sang Gadin (or Gading), presented him with seven strapping Black Genii as children. [168] Altogether there are one hundred and ninety of these (Black?) Genii--more strictly, perhaps, one hundred and ninety-three, which coincides curiously with the number of "Mischiefs" (Badi), which reside in "all living things." The resemblance, I may add, does not end here; for though the Genii may do good, and the "Badi" do not, both are considered able to do infinite harm to mortals, and both make choice of the same kind of dwelling-places, such as hollows in the hills, solitary patches of primeval forest, dead parasites on trees, etc. etc. As to the origin of these Genii, one magician told me that all "Jins" came from the country "Ban Ujan," which may possibly be Persia; [169] other magicians, however, variously derive them from the dissolution of various parts of the anatomy of the great snake "Sakatimuna," of the "First Great Failure" to make man's image (at the creation of man); from the drops of blood which spirted up to heaven when the first twins, Abel and Cain (in the Malay version Habil and Kabil) bit their thumbs; from the big cocoa-nut monkey or baboon (berok besar), and so on. The theory already mentioned, viz. that the Black King of the Genii gradually came to be identified with Kala, and later came gradually to be established as a separate personality, appears to be the only one which will satisfactorily explain the relations subsisting between the Black and White Genii, who are on the one hand distinctly declared to be brothers, whilst the White Genie is in another passage declared to be Maharaja Dewa or Mahadewa, which latter is, as we have already seen, a special name of Shiva. This White Genie is said to have sprung, by one account, from the blood-drops which fell on the ground when Habil and Kabil bit their thumbs; by another, from the irises of the snake Sakatimuna's eyes (benih mata Sakatimuna), and is sometimes confused with the White Divinity ('Toh Mambang Puteh), who lives in the sun. The name of his wife is not mentioned, as it is in the case of the Black Genie, but the names of three of his children have been preserved, and they are Tanjak Malim Kaya, Pari Lang (lit. kite-like, i.e. "winged" Skate), and Bintang Sutan (or Star of Sutan). [170] On the whole, I may say that the White Genie is very seldom mentioned in comparison with the Black Genie, and that whereas absolutely no harm, so far as I can find out, is recorded of him, he is, on the other hand, appealed to for protection by his worshippers. A very curious subdivision of Genii into Faithful (Jin Islam) and Infidel (Jin Kafir) is occasionally met with, and it is said, moreover, that Genii (it is to be hoped orthodox ones) may be sometimes bought at Mecca from the "Sheikh Jin" (Headman of Genii) at prices varying from $90 to $100 a piece. [171] Besides these subdivisions, certain Genii are sometimes specifically connected with special objects or ideas. Thus there are the Genii of the royal musical instruments (Jin Nemfiri, or Lempiri, Gendang, and Naubat), who are sometimes identified with the Genii of the State (Jin Karaja'an), and the Genii of the Royal Weapons (Jin Sembuana), both of which classes of Genii are held able to strike men dead. The only other Genie that I would here specially mention is the Jin `Afrit (sometimes called Jin Rafrit), from whom the "White Man" (a designation which is often specially used in the Peninsula as a synonym for Englishman) is sometimes said to have sprung, but who belongs in Arabian mythology to a higher class than the mere Genii. Before leaving the subject of Genii, I must, however, point out the extremely common juxtaposition of the Arabic word "Jin" and the Malay "Jembalang." From the frequency with which this juxtaposition occurs, and from the fact that the two appear to be used largely as convertible terms, we might expect to find that Jin and Jembalang were mere synonyms, both applicable to similar classes of spirits. The process is not quite complete, however, as although the expression Jembalang Tunggal (the only Jembalang), is found as well as Jin Tunggal, the higher honorific Sang Raja or Sa-Raja is never, so far as I am aware, prefixed to the word "Jembalang," though it is frequently prefixed to "Jin." Of the other members of the Malay hierarchy who owe their