Chapter I: Front Matter

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INDO-CHINA AND ITS PRIMITIVE PEOPLE

_Photo by_] [_L. de Layougune._

The Tomb of a Radé Chief decorated with Statues of his Faithful Women.]

INDO-CHINA AND ITS PRIMITIVE PEOPLE

by

CAPTAIN HENRY BAUDESSON.

Translated by E. Appleby Holt.

With 48 Illustrations from photographs.

London: Hutchinson & Co. Paternoster Row

TO
PROFESSOR ANTOINE CABATON
A TOKEN OF REVERENCE AND AFFECTION

CONTENTS

BOOK I

_AMONG THE MOÏ_

CHAPTER I

AMONG THE MOÏ

General characteristics of the Moï--A legend as to their selection of
a home--The part played by ocean currents in the distribution of
races--Had primitive peoples a sense of direction?--Features of daily
life--The hut--The village--Clothing and ornaments--A primitive method
of kindling a fire _p._ 3

CHAPTER II

INDUSTRIES AND OCCUPATIONS

Agriculture--Industries--Weaving, iron and copper mining--Commerce
and industrial products--Food supplies--Fishing--How we once
fished with dynamite--Hunting--Various methods of big-game hunting--My
first elephant hunt--Some useful hints to big-game
hunters--Poisons--Arms and weapons of defence--The tiger, a dangerous
neighbour--A bathing tragedy _p._ 18

CHAPTER III

FAMILY LIFE

Diseases and their cure--Betrothal and marriage--Adultery--Divorce--A
Moï wedding--Birth--Childhood--The game of Pig-Snatcher _p._ 52

CHAPTER IV

SOCIAL LIFE

Property--Slavery--Utilitarian morals--A bashful race--The
Levirate--Law and custom--An amateur arbitrator--Principles
and practice of the Ordeal _p._ 75

CHAPTER V

RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND RITES

Similarity between the philosophical conceptions of uncivilized
races--Most of the ritual derived from magic--Dualism--Private
and public talismans--The Pi--The Legend of the Dog-King--
Totemism--Sorcery--Rebel Moï _p._ 98

CHAPTER VI

RITES AND SUPERSTITIONS (_continued_)

Tribal and proprietary signs--Tattooing and mutilation--Principles and
practice of the taboo--Its survival in modern Europe--The incarnation
of Spirits in stones, trees and animals--Belief in the magic powers
of the tiger--Animal poison--Bones as a charm--A protecting
ear--Ex-votos offered to the Spirit of the tiger--Superstitions about
monkeys--Hunting rites _p._ 116

CHAPTER VII

RITES AND SUPERSTITIONS (_continued_)

Agrarian rites--How Me-Sao, King of the Moï, opens the jar--Rites of
initiation and "coming of age" _p._ 137

CHAPTER VIII

BELIEFS AND RITES

The origin and observance of funeral rites--The ceremony of the
Commemoration of the Dead--Burial rites and various methods _p._ 161

CHAPTER IX

ART AND CULTURE

The relation between the evolution of artistic expression and social
development as illustrated by the Moï and the Laotians--The intimate
connection between Music, Dance and Stage--A Moï orchestra and war
dance--Deficiencies in the sense of sound due to lack of artistic
education--The effect of a gramophone--Predominance of the analytical
over the synthetic faculty--Exaggerated respect for form--Impression
produced by the stereoscope--Decorative arts--Sports, fêtes, and
public amusements--Extensive use of marks for ritual and other
purposes _p._ 177

CHAPTER X

INTELLECTUAL LIFE

The relations between the development of language and social
evolution--An enigmatic system of writing--Knotted cords, notches
in sticks and their accessories--The evolution of literature among
primitive races--Length of memory among races that have no written
records--Historical value of legends transmitted by oral
tradition--Nature of the more usual alterations to be met with
in documentary folklore--The most general legends, fables and
proverbs of the Moï _p._ 193

BOOK II

_THE CHAM_

CHAPTER I

THE CHAM

General characteristics of the Cham--A Mohammedan group--Its place
among ancient civilizations--Social life--Dress and ornaments--The
calendar--Rites accompanying the construction of a house, a cart, and
a junk--Agriculture and industry--Medicines--The use of narcotics
by criminals to stupefy their victims _p._ 225

CHAPTER II

SOCIAL AND FAMILY LIFE

Traces of the matriarchal system in the conception of the family--The
"Karoh"--Circumcision--Precautions against seduction--Rites incidental
to betrothal, marriage, birth and infancy _p._ 248

CHAPTER III

RITES AND SUPERSTITIONS

The beginnings of Islam in Indo-China--Rites which accompany initiation
into the priestly caste--The gods of Cham--Temples--Resemblance
between the architecture of the Cham and that of the Kmer--Phallic
rites--A visit to a royal sepulchre _p._ 266

CHAPTER IV

RITES AND SUPERSTITIONS (_continued_)

Agrarian rites--Tabooed ricefields--Secret ploughing--Sleeping
rice--Various uses of eagle-wood--How the Cham procure it--Public
festivals and holy days _p._ 297