Sbatmi are Malayan

Malay Peninsula

The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...

 amulet

Amulet

An amulet, similar to a talisman , is any object intended to bring good luck or protection to its owner.Potential amulets include gems, especially engraved gems, statues, coins, drawings, pendants, rings, plants and animals; even words said in certain occasions—for example: vade retro satana—, to...

s made from the seeds of the oil palm

Oil palm

The oil palms comprise two species of the Arecaceae, or palm family. They are used in commercial agriculture in the production of palm oil. The African Oil Palm Elaeis guineensis is native to West Africa, occurring between Angola and Gambia, while the American Oil Palm Elaeis oleifera is native to...

.

Shamanic healers (called 'bomoh

Bomoh

A bomoh or dukun is a Malay shaman. The bomoh's original role was that of a healer and their expertise was first and foremost an in-depth knowledge of medicinal herbs and tajul muluk or Malay geomancy...

' or 'tok pawang' in Malay

Malay language

Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...

) will identify the single sbatmi from a cluster of oil palm fruit and laboriously prepare it for rituals. The oil palm seeds are polished and then rinsed in holy water. It looks like a black pearl in its finished state. Accessories made of it are usually coated with a thin layer of gel due to its slightly acidic nature. Necklaces are the most common use of sbatmi as accessories.