On the use of the slow loris in Malay medicine
This note by H. N. Ridley documents the medical and magical uses of the slow loris (Nycticebus tardigradus) in Malay tradition, based on a Malay manuscript copied by the author.
Summary
Ridley situates the loris within a broader comparative framework of animal-based medicine and magic, drawing parallels with European practices of the 17th century (p. 31). He describes the animal’s uncanny appearance—large eyes, ape-like hands, nocturnal habits, and its characteristic gesture of covering its eyes—as the basis for its association with demons and supernatural vision among Orientals. Five Malay varieties are identified (Kongkang ayer, angin, api, orang, and puteh/Kayu), each attributed with specific magical properties, the rare white form being the most valued (pp. 31–32).
The core of the note is a Malay-language manuscript text (titled “Pasal Pergunaan Kong Kang”) with Ridley’s English translation, comprising eleven numbered prescriptions for the use of the loris’s tears, blood, gut, eyes, heart, backbone, leg bone, lung, and liver in contexts ranging from love charms and protection from thieves to obstetric aid and the taming of wild animals (pp. 32–34).