Seeking life in the trees and the rocks and the flashes of light from the river's
ripples, as dragon flies sail on pieces of wood to the village's end...ABA
 

~)0(~)0(~)0(~)0(~

In my years in the village, I did not have the luck of encountering that
enigmatic personality so closely associated with the Malay psyche,
namely the "Bomor" or Medicine Man extraordinaire...And now, in this
age of computers, super highways and modern five star Medical Centres
this personage is all but extinct in the minds of many people.

It would have been very interesting to actually witness a Bomor at work.
The village would have provided the perfect backdrop. Somehow
the dimly lighted night, the sound of the insects, the moon and
the rustling of the Nipah palms conjure just the right 
atmosphere for the perfect seance !

The nearest to a Bomor feat that I actually witnessed was an incident
that involved my Grand father, Ahmad, and his sister.
The latter, one afternoon took to fits and was squirming and shouting
gibberish on the matted floor of her house. As relatives crowded
the wooden house, there were talks of possession by an evil
spirit. My Grand Father was then summoned to the house.
On arrival, he proceeded to the kitchen where he heated up some
raw rice (still husked) on the stove. He then took some in 
his hand , muttered some words, and then threw the rice at the 
woman. With a firm voice, he beseeched the evil one to leave
her body. Miraculously, she came to herself a few
minutes after...

It is said that Magic is as old as time itself . It's practices is
prevalent among many peoples of the world, both in the
East and the West. At least one book I know of attempts to elucidate
the history and particular aspects of Magic among the various
communities of people (Idries Shah; Oriental Magic)

The following "Sacrificial Prayer of Tok Bomor Peteri"
is taken verbatim from John D. Gimlette's "Malay Poisons and
Charm Cures". Part of a much longer supplication in an elaborate
ceremony, the Prayer gives us some idea of the contours of the
Medicine Man's operation....

)0(

O God save me from the accursed Devil !
In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate,
I humbly make this sacrificial offering,
Yellow rice, a pancake, parched rice, a drop of water, a quid of betel.
That it may reach our mother on Earth and our father in Heaven,
Our first parents, our original teachers,
Living at ease on holy ground,
Reclining againts the two pillars
Of the holy graves at Mecca and Medina,
The House of God.

Teachers four and wise men three
May sins both great and small be forgiven,
I beg a bleassing for the ...(patient)
If his disease be acute, I pray you blunt it's sharpness,
If it be heavy, lighten it,
If painful, ease it,
If hot, cool it,
In the twenty Attributes and the twelve worlds,
In the seven Senses and the four,
Earth, Water, Fire and Air, the four Elements.
I pray you prolong his stride, extend his life,
Let his daily bread be plentiful.

O Spiritual Teacher keep well my secret,
I am a Physician,
I am the Bomor,
And this sacrifice is offered to the four Shaikhs, 
and the seven Miracle Workers.
O Shaikhs, ye control the four corners of the Earth,
And seven countries, with eight provinces.
From the rising sun to the setting sun,
From pole to pole,
Under the canopy of Heaven and on the face of the Earth
Ye control the frontiers and the districts,
Ye control the river reaches within this village.
O Wonder-working Seven ! Receive my humble salutation,
Wonder-Workers, growing, created, magical,
I pray you take the yellow rice, the pancake, the parched rice,
the drop of water, and the quid of betel
As a token of my confiding request.
If I be in the wrong, O Miracle-Workers,
Correct me, curse me, spurn me.
I pray you restore him to his former self,
Restore him fully to his previous health.

Now that I have addressed the seven Miracle-Workers
I approcah the low lying Earth,
To entreat the Raja Jin,
Father of all Jins, chieftain of all Jins,
He who lives a hermit in the pen of the Black Cow,
The Pillar, the Prop, the Fanner, the Leveller, the Mover, and 
Shaker of the Earth.

Left by Ina Jagak wrapped in the Rainbow,
Ancestors of Jin Dohor, of a thousand skin diseases, the seven spotted.
I conjure thee to recall thy thousand and forty followers
from the Earth,
Restrain them from mounting guard over the body of this son
of Adam....(the name of the sick man).
Recall all thy followers from village, field, jungle, sea and land.
Call them back from the four corners of the Earth,
The hundred thousand Jin and the hundred thousand Dewa,
And any Jins not already mentioned,
The Bomor and the Mindok will tell of them.
I pray you accept this sacrificial offereing,
It is not my sacrifice, but that of the learned Akmal Hakim.
Hail ! First of the Mindok,
Hail ! Earliest of the Peteri.

~END OF PRAYER ~

O Seeker ! That which is my beginning
is also my end
(Wahai Pencari ! Surut ku bermula di sini
dan pasang ku mati di sini )
                                                      -ABA