The Malay boat launching ceremony
This short note by Syed Abu Bakar, Fishery Inspector Singapore, documents the Malay boat launching ceremony (Semah) as practised among pukat payang fishermen on the East Coast of Malaya (p. 181).
Summary
The article describes the full ritual procedure: the pawang (shaman) consults the guardian of the sea to fix an auspicious date, then performs the ceremony using offerings of a fowl, raw rice, beras kunyit, bertis, and pounded rice in water, sprinkled with five specified leaves (Daun Sēpuleb, Daun Juang, Daun Mēmbangun, Daun Ati, Daun Ribu) while circling the boat with a smoking incense pot. The boat is pushed into the water, anchored, and prayers are led by the pawang; a separate plate of betel leaf, nut, gambier, lime, a nipah cigarette, tobacco, a nail, a buah keras, and money in a multiple of three is then given to the pawang, who departs with pulot kunyit and cooked fowl (pp. 181–182).
Abu Bakar notes that the ceremony is not limited to new launches but may also be performed after accidents at sea, poor seasons, or even exceptionally good ones. He observes that the ritual combines pre-Islamic occult beliefs with Islamic prayer, and suggests the occult element will eventually be superseded by the religious one (p. 182). The note concludes with a brief comparative remark on the Chinese boat launching ceremony, which involves offerings to “Hai Leng Ong” including steamed pork, fowl, and duck (p. 183).