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sort of night-bird) or the sound emitted by a kind of cricket[1] called sawa which no one ever sees, or by the strong and continuous screaming (cheumeuchéb) of a kite (kleuëng).
A nocturnal visit (which in Acheh generally means one of thieves or adulterers) is foretold by the nasal kèt-kèt of the sareuëʾ bird. On the other hand the voice of the titilantahit, a little bird which haunts the jungle close to the gampōngs, is a sign of the long-deferred return of a relative who is on a journey.
The advent of other guests is announced by the flying into the house of a large brown butterfly, the bangbang jamèë (guest butterfly) or by water thrown out of doors making a plopping noise as it falls on the ground.
The cock is said to crow in a peculiar way when rain is at hand, and in a different manner when the sun has attained its midday altitude. For these reminders the Achehnese is grateful; but when the cock approaches him and gives vent to a peculiar shrill cry, it is believed that the bird hears the dead screaming in their graves as they suffer castigation at the hands of the angels. This makes the listener reflect in spite of himself on the punishments in store for him, and he angrily chases his mentor away.
The howling of many dogs[2] betokens, as in Java, an approaching epidemic.
Where one sets out with some special object in view, and meets a cat or a snake in an unusual place, he may just as well return home again, as he is doomed to failure in his enterprise; equally malang[3] or unlucky is he who on his way catches sight of another's nakedness.
Interpretation of dreams.Another special class of alamat consists in the revelations made by Allah to men in dreams, though these cannot be entirely depended on, as the Devil often suggests false dreams to the mind. In Arab science the interpretation of dreams forms the subject of a special branch of literature.
A famous work on this subject (taʾbīr) by an Arab named Ibn Sīrīn,
- ↑ We are reminded of the "death-watch" of English superstition, and the Irish banshee, though in the case of the latter the warning sound is believed to be caused by a spirit and not a living creature (Translator).
- ↑ There is a somewhat similar superstition in Ireland where the howling of a dog at night is believed to foretell the death of someone in the neighbourhood. (Translator).
- ↑ See also Vol. I p. 296.
