Page:Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje - The Achehnese - tr. Arthur Warren Swete O'Sullivan (1906).djvu/349

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314

B. A keutapang-tree in the midst of the country.

Jati-trees in the forest.

Yonder gentleman (the bridegroom's father) hath charged us to come hither;

But as far as here (where we stand) sufficeth.

A. The buah-nona-tree in the midst of the moon.

If a branch falls therefrom it forebodes an earthquake,

Stand no longer in the front courtyard, Teukus,

Perhaps rain will come and your clothes be wet.

B. Glumpang-trees with abundant shadow on the border of the field,

Pomegranate-trees at the side of the gampōng-path.

Let us then return to the entrance of your gampōng-path,

That we may put up our umbrellas, and then our clothes shall not get wet.

A. What is that pōng-pōng[1] sound in the gampōng?

They are busy pounding the flour for a (wedding) feast.

Withdraw not, Teukus, to the entrance of the gampōng,

For there a cocoanut hollowed (by squirrels) may fall upon your heads.

B. A wag-tail on an apōng-tree,

A beo's nest in a jati-tree.

We bear respectful greetings from our fellow-villagers,

Now that we have come hither by the gampōng-path[2], let us return home again.

A. A brujòë's nest[3] in a panjòë-tree[4],

wood-peckers nest in a virginal cocoa-palm.

You shall not return, Teukus,

Until you first come and sit on the mat.

B. Under the house is an earthenware lamp,

Within the house is a lamp of brass.

We have come over the earth,

How can we ascend into the house, we should soil the mat!

A. Fresh and salt water mingle in the sea,

This water overspreads the swamps.

Even though it be soiled that matters not (to the owner),


  1. The sound of the rice-pounder in the leusōng or mortar.
  2. I. e., now that we have conducted the bridegroom to your gampōng, our task is completed.
  3. The bird called měrbah in Malay.
  4. A sort of wild cotton-tree.