Page:Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje - The Achehnese - tr. Arthur Warren Swete O'Sullivan (1906).djvu/292



As a subsidiary object of astromical or meteorological observation the Achehnese employ the Pleiades, the "group of seven stars" which they say now consists of six only, since one of the seven fell from the sky in olden times.

There is a well-known Malay pantun which runs as follows:

"Seven stars, six only now remain.

"One has fallen into Manjapahit.

"Athirst is my body as though I had fever,

"Increased still more by (other) sickness".

These "Seven Stars" or "Many people" are well adapted occasionally to replace the Scorpion, as their place in the heavens is directly opposite that constellation and they are thus often visible when observation of Kala is rendered impossible through the scorpion being below the horizon, or difficult owing to a partially clouded sky.

When the Pleiades set at about the same time as the sun, this is according to the Achehnese a sign of bad weather at sea. This happens in keunòng 15, that is to say in May.

When this constellation rises very early in the morning (as is the case in the beginning of July, i. e. about keunòng 11 or 9), then the favourable time for the sowing of the padi has begun. The conclusion of seedtime on the other hand is denoted by the Pleiades having already at early dawn reached an altitude which is defined as follows: if one who, at about 5, points exactly in the direction of the Pleiades, has to raise his arm so high that the bracelets rattle on his wrist, then seedtime is over.

The Prophet of old forbade the heathen Arabs to say, "we have got rain from this or that constellation," as there lurks in this saying a depreciation of God's omnipotence. In like manner pious Achehnese are wont to admonish their fellow-countrymen against regarding the keunòngs as the cause of drought and rain. For all that they recognize that it is Allah's established custom to cause a definite state of the