Note 127 — Chapter V · Magic Rites connected with the Several Departments of Nature (continued 2)

I may add that the dried penis of the squirrel (chula tupei) is believed to be a most powerful aphrodisiac, and that many Malays believe that squirrels are occasionally found dead with this organ caught fast in cleft timber.

Mr. H. N. Ridley, in a pamphlet on Malay Materia Medica, already referred to, says:—

“Many things are used as aphrodisiacs by the natives.... Among them are the ovipositor of a grasshopper, which is popularly supposed to be the male organ of the squirrel; Balanophora, sp., a rare plant growing on Mount Ophir, and the Durian (Durio zibethinus).” Mr. Ridley regards the use of Balanophora for this purpose as an illustration of the “doctrine of signatures.” ↑