Page 221 - Malay sketches

MALAY SUPERSTITIONS

men placing each the middle joint of the fore-finger
of his right hand under the rim of the bowl on
opposite sides, and so supporting it about six inches
above the floor. The vessel being large and full of
water was heavy, and the men supported the strain
by resting their right elbows on their knees as they
sat cross-legged on the floor and face to face. It
was then that I selected one of the folded
papers,
and placed it on the cover of the vessel. The Chief
read a page of the Koran, and as nothing happened
he said that was not the name of the guilty person,
and I changed the paper for another. This occurred
four times, but at the fifth the reading had scarcely
commenced when the bowl began to slowly turn
round from left to right, the supporters letting their
hands go round with it, until it twisted itself out of
their fingers and fell on the floor with a considerable
bang and a great spluttering of water through the
" "
thin cover. That," said the Chief, is the name
of the thief."
It was the name of the person already mentioned
by him.
I did not, however, impart that piece of informa-
tion to the company, but went on to the end of my
papers, nothing more happening.
I said I should like to try the test again, and as
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