The Staff Of Mountain God (Kayu Tas)

 

The darker stick is the male and the fairer one is the female.

 

 

The Tas wood or “Kayu Tas” is also known as “kayu hujan panas” (the hot rain wood) is meant to ward off wild animals or some people say that this type of wood can act as a subjugator and it works on human as well. There are two types of Tas wood differentiated generally by graphical locations:

 

·         Kayu Tas of Borneo

o   Wild or cultivated normally in highlands.

·         Kayu Tas of Peninsula Malaysia

o   Usually in the jungle of Perak, Kelantan and Trengganu

o   Harder to get as it is protected by law.

 

Other rarer Tas varieties are the red Tas and the yellow Tas.

Local believe that Kayu Tas can be distinguished into Kayu Tas Jantan (male) and Kayu Tas Betina (female). The male has a darker skin compared to the female ones. It is a taboo to use a Kayu Tas to strike another person as this action will cause the person to be barren. The only remedy is to dip a female Tas in water and drink the water.

 

A section of Kayu Tas can be kept in the house for protection from wild animals and human with bad intention alike. The Penan tribe burns the bark of female Tas to ward off evil spirits. Other than that, the Tas wood can also be made into ring or wear as amulet.