Note 685 — Chapter III · SYMPATHETIC MAGIC (continued 3)
Reading edition
Van Schmidt, “Aanteekeningen nopens de zeden, gewoonten en gebruiken, etc., der bevolking van de eilanden Saparoea, Haroekoe, Noessa Laut,” etc., Tijdschrift voor Neêrlands Indië, Batavia, 1843, dl. ii. pp. 523–526. The customs and beliefs on this subject in the adjoining island of Amboyna seem to be identical. See J. G. F. Riedel, op. cit. pp. 73 sq. According to Riedel, if the pot with the afterbirth does not sink in the water, it is a sign that the wife has been unfaithful.