Malay Magic: Being an introduction to the folklore and popular religion of the Malay PeninsulaSkeat, Walter William
Religion
Malay Magic: Being an introduction to the folklore and popular religion of the Malay Peninsula
Skeat, Walter William
Magic -- Malay Peninsula; Malays (Asian people) -- Folklore; Malays (Asian people) -- Social life and customs
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]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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