The last of these spirits, the Pelesit (or house-cricket?), which is the Polong's "plaything" or pet, flies to and fro (rasok sini, rasok sana) till it finds the body which its mistress has ordered it to enter, harm only being done when it enters tail-foremost, as it generally does. It is occasionally caught and kept in a bottle by Malay women, who feed it either on parched or saffron-stained rice, or on blood drawn from the tip of the fourth finger which they prick for the purpose, and who, when they wish to get rid of it, bury it in the ground. When a sick person is affected by a Pelesit (one of the signs of which is to rave about cats) [548] the medicine-man comes and addresses the Pelesit (or Polong?), which has taken up its residence in the patient's body, with the words: "Who is your mother?" To this question the Pelesit replies, speaking with the patient's voice, but in a high falsetto key, and giving the name of the person who sent it, whereupon prompt measures are taken to compel the owner to recall it. It now only remains to describe the means employed by the Malays to secure one of these familiar spirits, which can be guaranteed to cause the greatest possible annoyance to your enemy, with the least possible trouble on your own part. Receipt for securing a Pelesit "Go to the graveyard at night and dig up the body of a first-born child whose mother was also first-born, and which has been dead less than forty days. On digging it up, carry it out to an ant-hill in the open ground, and there dandle it (di-timang). After a little while, when the child shrieks and lolls its tongue out (terjelir lidah-nya), bite off its tongue and carry it home. Then obtain a cocoa-nut shell from a solitary 'green' cocoa-nut palm (niyor hijau), and carry it to a place where Three Roads Meet, light a fire and heat the shell till oil exudes, dip the child's tongue in the oil, and bury it in the heart of the three cross roads (hati sempang tiga). Leave it untouched for three nights, then dig it up and you will find that it has turned into a Pelesit." [549] 2. BIRTH CEREMONIES In or about the seventh month of pregnancy (mengandong tujoh bulan) a "Bidan" [550] (sage femme) is engaged (menempah), the ceremony being described as follows:-- A copper vessel called cherana (which is something like a fruit-dish with a stand or foot to it) is filled with four or five peeled areca-nuts, a small block of gambier, a portion of lime (kapor sa-perkaporan), a "tahil" (sa-tahil) of tobacco, and three or four packets (susun) of betel-leaf, and carried to the Bidan's house, where it is presented to her with the words, "I wish to engage you for my child" (Ini'ku mahu menempah anak'ku), or words to that effect. [551]