Again, in reaping, certain instruments are proscribed, and in the inland villages it is regarded as a great crime to use the sickle (sabil) for cutting the padi: at the very least the first few ears should be cut with a tuai, a peculiar small instrument consisting of a semi-circular blade set transversely on a piece of wood or bamboo, which is held between the fingers and which cuts only an ear or two at a time. Also the padi must not be threshed by hitting it against the inside of a box, a practice known as banting padi.
In this, as in one or two other cases, it may be supposed that the Pawang's ordinances preserve the older forms of procedure and are opposed to innovations in agricultural methods. The same is true of the pantang rule which prescribes a fixed rate of price at which padi may be sold in the village community to members of the same village. This system of customary prices is probably a very old relic of a time when the idea of asking a neighbour or a member of your own tribe to pay a competition price for an article was regarded as an infringement of communal rights. It applies to a few other articles of local produce[1] besides padi, and I was frequently assured that the neglect of this wholesome rule was the cause of bad harvests. I was accordingly sometimes pressed to fine transgressors, which would perhaps have been a somewhat difficult thing to do. The fact, however, that in many places these rules are generally observed is a tribute to the influence of the Pawang who lends his sanction to them.
In agricultural operations the animistic ideas of the Malays are clearly apparent: thus, before the rice is cut, a sort of ritual is performed which is known as puji padi, and which is regarded apparently as a kind of propitiatory service, a sort of apology to the padi for reaping it. The padi is usually
- ↑ In Bukit Senggeh the articles subject to this custom are priced as follows:—
Padi, ... 3 cents a gantang. Bēras, ... 10 cents a gantang. Kabong sugar, ... 2 1/2 cents a "buku" of two pieces and weighing a kati. Coco-nuts, ... 1 cent each. Hen's eggs, ... 0 1/4 cent each. Duck's eggs, ... 0 1/2 cent each.
