Malay Magic Being an introduction to the folklore and...

“In Crawfurd’s Dictionary of the Malay Archipelago161 I find the following:—‘Agila, the Eagle-wood of commerce.—Its name in Malay and Javanese is kalambak or kalambah, but it is also known in these languages by that of gharu or kayu gharu, gharu-wood, a corruption of the Sanskrit agahru.... There can be no doubt but that the perfumed wood is the result of disease in the tree that yields it, produced by the thickening of the sap into a gum or resin.’

“This ‘Eagle-wood of commerce,’ under its more familiar name gharu, is one of the rarest and most valuable products of our Malayan jungles, and the following notes may be of interest. They are the result of inquiries amongst the Malays and Pawangs in Ulu Muar and Johol, and I am indebted to Mr. L. J. Cazalas for much assistance in obtaining the information contained in them.

“The gharu-tree is a tall forest tree, sometimes reaching the size of fifteen feet in diameter. The bark is of a silvery gray colour, and the foliage close and dense, of a dark hue. The Malay name for the tree is “tabak,” and no other may be used by the Pawang when in search of the kayu gharu.162 Gharu, the diseased heart-wood of the tabak, is found in trees of all sizes, even in trees of one foot in diameter, thus showing that the disease attacks the tree at an early stage.

“The gharu is found in pockets, and may sometimes be discovered by the veins which run to these pockets. In other trees the veins are absent, which renders the process of searching more difficult. The tree is generally cut down and left to rot, which exposes the gharu in about six months.

“Many tabak-trees do not contain gharu at all. To select the right trees is the special province of the Pawang or wise man. The tabak-trees are under the care of certain hantu or wood-spirits, and it would be hopeless for the uninitiated to attempt to find gharu; even the Pawang has to be very careful.

“Homali hamali164 matilok (mandillah ?) serta kalam mandiyat serta teboh. Turun suhaya165 trima suka turun kadim serta aku kabul kata gharu mustajak166 kata Allah Berkat la ilaha il’allah. Hei Pŭtri Belingkah,167 Pŭtri Berjuntei, Pŭtri Menginjan168 aku meminta isi tabak. Ta’boleh di surohkan, ta’boleh lindong kapada aku kalau di-suroh di-lindong-kan biar dŭrâka kapada tuhan.”

“He then proceeds to search for a likely tree, and upon finding one he again burns incense and repeats the spell as above. The tree having been cut down, the next thing is to separate the gharu from the sap-wood. The best way is to let the tree rot, but the Pawang is often “hard-up,” and does not mind wasting some of the gharu in his hurry to realise.