"Go and kill the pair and bring the cub here," he
said. Again the boy was successful. Laki Mae did not like this and was
angry.
In the evening "Porcupine Leg" said to his brother: "I have a long time
understood that father is angry with me. Tomorrow morning I am going away.
I am not eating, and I will look for a place to die." His brother began to
weep, and said he would go with him. Next morning they told their father
they were going to hunt for animals and birds. But when they did not
return in the evening, nor later, the mother said: "I think they will not
come back." Half a month later many men attacked the kampong. Laki Mae
fought much and was tired. "If the boys had remained this would not have
happened," the people said angrily to him. In the meantime the human son
began to long to return, and he persuaded "Porcupine Leg" to accompany
him. They both came back and helped to fight the enemy, who lost many dead
and retired.
NOTE. - This story is also found with the Penihings, from whom undoubtedly
it is derived. Laki, see No. 10. Tehi, see No. 12.
17. SEMANG, THE BAD BOY
(From the Long-Glats; kampong Long Tujo)
A woman called Daietan had one child, Semang, who was a bad boy. He was
lazy, slept day and night, and did not want to make ladang nor plant any
banana nor papaya trees. His mother angrily said to him: "Why don't you
exert yourself to get food?" Semang said: "Well, I will go tomorrow to
search for something to eat."
At sunrise next morning he went away in a prahu, paddling up-stream. He
reached a kampong, and the name of the raja here was Anjangmaran. He could
find no food, so he went on to the next kampong, and to another, but had
no success, so he continued his journey, and then arrived at the fourth
kampong. There were no people here. It was a large kampong with many
houses, and grass was growing everywhere.
He went up into a room and there he found all sorts of goods; salt, gongs,
many tempaians (large Chinese urns) in which paddi was stored, and
tobacco. Semang said to himself, "I am rich. Here is all that I need." And
he lay down to sleep. In the night Deer (rusa) arrived and called out: "Is
there any one here?" He ascended the ladder and lay down near the cooking
place. Semang heard him, but was afraid to move, and slept no more. In the
night he heard Deer talk in his sleep: "Tomorrow morning I am going to
look for a small bottle with telang kliman. It is underneath the pole in
front of the house."
Semang said: "Who is talking there?" Deer waked up and became frightened,
ran down the ladder, and got into Semang's prahu, where he went to sleep.
Before dawn Semang arose and walked down toward the prahu. On his way he
saw an ironwood pole in front of the room, went up to it, and began to dig
under it. He found a small bottle which he opened, and he put his first
finger into it. He was astonished to see that his finger had become white,
and he said: "This must be good to put on the body." He poured some into
his hollowed hand and applied it all over his body and hair. His body
became white and his clothes silken.
Pleased with this, Semang ascended the ladder, gathered together all the
goods that he had found in the room, and began taking them to the prahu.
There he found Deer asleep, and killed him with his spear. After bringing
all the goods from the house to the prahu, Semang started down-stream.
Owing to the magic liquid his prahu had become very large, and carried
much, much goods, as well as the dead deer.
He travelled straight for the kampong, where he caught sight of his
mother. "O, mother!" he cried, and went up the ladder carrying the bottle.
He washed his mother with the liquid. She became young and beautiful, and
it also gave her many beautiful garments. By the same aid Semang made the
room handsome. Everything became changed instantly. The ceiling was of
ironwood, and the planks of the floor were of a wood called lampong, which
resembles cedar. Large numbers of brass vessels were there, and many gongs
were brought from the prahu, besides a great quantity of various goods.
The mother said: "This is well, Semang." She felt that she no longer had
cause to be troubled; that whatever she and Semang might need would come
without effort on their part.
NOTE. - According to Long-Glat belief, the deer, called in Malay rusa,
possesses a magic liquid which enables it to restore the dead to life. The
name of the liquid is telang kliman (telang = liquid; kliman = to make
alive).
18. ADVENTURES IN PURSUIT OF MAGIC
(From the Long-Glats, kampong Long Tujo)
Once there lived a woman, Boamaring, who was Raja Besar in a large kampong
where people did not know how to work. They could not make ladangs nor
prahus. Everything they needed came to them of its own accord, and the
rajas of the neighbouring kampongs were afraid of her. This is the way it
came about.
She heard a rumour of a musical instrument which could play by itself, and
which had the power of bringing all necessary food. She said to her
husband, whose name was Batangnorang, "Go to the limit of the sky and
bring the instrument that plays by itself." Putting on tiger skin, and
carrying his parang and sumpitan, Batangnorang went into a small prahu
which was able to fly, and it flew one month, to the end of the sky.
