Page:Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje - The Achehnese - tr. Arthur Warren Swete O'Sullivan (1906).djvu/294

 his cattle loose to graze there. The owner of an umòng may indeed employ this land for intermediary crops and protect his plantations by running a fence round them. Should he neglect this last precaution, no attention will be paid to complaints on his part against persons whose cattle have destroyed his property.

On the other hand the rule is very strict in regard to the depredations of cattle from the moment the padi is sown until the harvest is complete. If an animal trespasses during that period on a ricefield, the owner of the latter has the right to get rid of it without giving any warning, not by slaughtering it in the ritual manner, which would make it fit for food, but by running it through with a spear or cutting off one of its hoofs or the like. This happens pretty frequently and thus everyone must look carefully after his cows and bullocks and buffaloes for the 8 months, more or less, during which "the land is closed" musém pichéʾ or kòt blang. This harsh rule protects the padifields, which would otherwise be exposed to constant danger through carelessness or malice.

Gardens and other tilled enclosures do not require such protection. If an animal is so wild as to cause actual damage to the fences, then the person aggrieved must first warn its owner. The latter can then easily take measures to prevent a repetition of the trespass; but should he fail to do so, he too must expect that some angry cultivator will one day render the offending animal harmless for good and all.

The musém luaïh blang, the period of the year when the land stands open to men and cattle, is also the appointed time for the setting up of tomb-stones (pula batèë), for the burning of lime (tōt gapu) and in the highlands for the piercing of the ears of young girls (tòb glunyuëng). It is generally believed that the rice of a whole field would be spoilt if tombstones were erected on the graves of departed relatives, or lime burnt in its neighbourhood, during the period between seedtime and harvest. It is also thought that the holes in the ears would never attain the width desired by the Achehnese women, if made during the time when the ground is "narrow", or "closed".

In the beginning of the musém luaïh blang every gampōng holds on a day fixed by its authorities, its kanduri blang or field-feast. This religious feast is intended to assure the continuance of the prosperity of the common land which has just yielded its harvest.

The viands for this feast, such as rice, meat etc, are brought together