Page:Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje - The Achehnese - tr. Arthur Warren Swete O'Sullivan (1906).djvu/425

 sanctified by the prayer of the official teungku. This last indeed holds good of all feast of any importance; no leubè and few ulamas of consideration would venture to appear at such a feast and honour it with their prayer except on the special invitation of the teungku of the meunasah.

This feast is also frequently embellished by a Rapaʾi representation, when the givers are persons of means.

When the kanduri is over, some women, including the midwife, who is always invited on such occasions, fetch the child from the house and take it to the tomb of a saint (kubu kramat). Such tombs are to be found in the neighbourhood of almost every gampōng. They take with them as an offering for the dead some flowers and incense, and a piece of white cloth to renew or add to the coverings of the tombstones (salōb batèë). At the grave the child's head is solemnly washed (srah ulèë) either by the keeper of the tomb or by the women themselves, and thus the ceremony is brought to a close.

All such events in the family life form the occasions for vows. These are sometimes made without any special motive, but particularly in cases of sickness or misfortune, in the hope of furthering the well-being of him in whose behalf the feast is given. The Rapaʾi representations just mentioned may form the subject of such a kaʾōy or vow. It is also a common custom for the father or. mother to vow at the sickbed of a child which has not yet been "brought down," that in the event of its recovery they will not merely bring it to the nearest holy tomb to inaugurate its first contact with the earth, but will take it on a pilgrimage to the resting-place of one of the great saints of Acheh, such as the renowned Teungku di Kuala Abdōraʾōh, the saint of Singkel, or the holy Sayyid Teungku Anjōng buried in Gampōng Java. In such cases the child is escorted to the sacred spot by a great procession of men and women, and cattle are slaughtered and a feast given at the tomb.

Where the vow includes the expression of an intention to head the procession with geundrang, the two drums or geundrang and the flute (srunè) are marched in front.

It sometimes happens that when the time of the peutrōn arrives, the means of fulfilling the vow are momentarily lacking. Then the "descent" of the child takes place simply in the manner described above, and the fulfilment of the vow remains a debt to be discharged as soon as possible.