XVII
MALAY SUPERSTITIONS
There are more things in heaven and
earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy
MALAY superstitions are the survival of a time to the advent of the gospel of Islam, and their strong hold on the people is only another proof of the conservative tendencies of the race. What was the Faith of Malâya seven hundred years ago it is hard to say, but there is a certain amount of evidence to lead to the belief that it was a form of Brahmanism and that no doubt had succeeded the original Spirit Worship.
I do not propose to attempt to enumerate all the various forms of superstition, their name is legion, but only to describe a few that are both curious and interesting.
I have already referred to what is known as běrhantu, the practice of a kind of witchcraft for the
192
