Chapter VIII: Part I: The Primary Varieties of the Human Species (5)

We may now consider some of the moral attributes of the Malay race; and in doing this there is no better a division of the different forms of their civilization than the one indicated and illustrated by Dr. Prichard. The two areas which we have just considered--the peninsula of Malacca, and the Island of Sumatra--have sufficiently shown that there are, _at least_, two degrees in the civilization of their occupants.

The civilization of the kingdom of Atchin, and of the proper Mahometan Malays in general, is a _derived_ civilization, introduced by the conquerors, the traders, or the missionaries of Mahometan Arabia; in which we have a literature consisting, to a great extent, of annals, an Arabic alphabet, and no very prominent traces of any original paganism.

At any rate we have Mahometan culture as the result of Mahometan influence, the propagators having been Arabs.

The civilization of the Jokong, and of tribes still wilder, like those of Korinchi country, and other mountaineer districts both of the Peninsula and Sumatra, is the primitive civilization--such as it is--of the unmodified Malays. Without saying, that it is nowhere tinctured by Mahometan elements, it is still an indigenous, and an inferior culture. Hence, even without reckoning the Samangs as Malay, we have two types of moral character, and two types of social development--the Jokong type, or the type of the unmodified Malay, and the proper Malay type of the Mahometans of Malacca, Menangkabaw and Atchin.

But these two types are not the only ones. Savage as are the Battas, and nearly as they approach in this respect to the unmodified Malays, they exhibit signs of a second influence. Notwithstanding their imperfect Mahometanism, the influence alluded to is not Arabic. The same influence appears in the Rejang and Lampong Sumatrans as well. I allude to their alphabets. These are _Indian_ in origin.

For Sumatra, then, and Malacca, we have in different degrees of development--

1st. The original Malay civilization, if so it can be called.

2nd. The same as modified by Indian influences.

3rd. The same as modified by Arabic influences, engrafted, in some cases, perhaps, on the original Malay rudeness; but more frequently upon an Indian modification of it.

This order is chronological; _i.e._ the primitive stage was (of course) earlier than the Indian, and the Indian earlier than the Arabic.

Another principle of arrangement is the relation which the three developments bear to each other. In Malacca and Sumatra the Indian development is the most insignificant, the Mahometan the most important.

To observe how far the ratio between these types varies in different portions of the Malay area, is one of the chief points in our future investigations.

Dr. Prichard would study the three forms of Malay development in Sumatra, in Java, and in the Philippines. In Sumatra for the Mahometan aspect, in Java for the Indian, and in the Philippines for the phenomena of indigenous growth and progress. In the main, this view is a right one. A Philippine language, of all the Malay language, is the richest in inflections, perhaps also in vocables; and the Philippine civilization, as found by the first Spanish missionaries, was on a level with that of any other non-Mahometan or non-Indianized tribe. It was also essentially Malay. Marsden remarks upon the great similarity between the few facts known of the early Philippine Mythology and that of the Battas. So that thus far the Philippines are Malay; and Malay in its most _developed_ form; also in its more _indigenous_ form. Still they are not wholly Malay; at least their development is not wholly independent of extraneous influences. Though there is little about them Mahometan, their alphabet is _Indian_ in origin.

Borneo, perhaps, is the most unmodified Malay island of the Archipelago.

Hence, such remarks as require to be made upon the moral characteristics of the Malays in general, as well as the necessary notices of their manners and customs, must be taken from these two islands, as they are supplied by them respectively.

_The primitive mythology of the Battas._--One of the few and fragmentary accounts which we possess of any of the primitive creeds, is the following one of the Batta theology:--

"The inhabitants of this country have many fabulous stories, which shall be briefly mentioned. They acknowledge three deities as rulers of the world, who are respectively named, _Batara-guru_, _Sori-pada,_ and _Mangalla-bulang_. The first," say they, "bears rule in heaven, is the Father of all mankind, and partly, under the following circumstances, Creator of the earth; which from the beginning of time had been supported on the head of _Naga-padoha_; but growing weary at length, he shook his head, which occasioned the earth to sink, and nothing remained in the world excepting water. They do not pretend to a knowledge of the creation of this original earth and water; but say that at the period when the latter covered every thing, the chief deity, _Batara-guru_, had a daughter named _Puti-orla-bulan_, who requested permission to descend to these lower regions, and accordingly came down on a white owl, accompanied by a dog; but not being able, by reason of the waters, to continue there, her father let fall from heaven a lofty mountain, named _Bakarra_, now situated in the _Batta_ country, as a dwelling for his child; and from this mountain all other land gradually proceeded. The Earth was once more supported on the three horns of _Naga-padoha_; and that he might never again suffer it to fall off, _Batara-guru_ sent his son, named, _Layanglayangmandi_ (literally "the dipping swallow"), to bind him hand and foot. But to his occasionally shaking his head they ascribe the effect of earthquakes. _Puti-orla-bulan_ had afterwards, during her residence on earth, three sons and three daughters, from whom sprang the whole human race.

"The second of their deities has the rule of the air, betwixt earth and heaven; and the third that of the earth; but these two are considered as subordinate to the first. Besides these, they have as many inferior deities as there are sensible objects on earth, or circumstances in human society; of which some preside over the sea, others over rivers, over woods, over war, and the like. They believe, likewise, in four evil spirits, dwelling in four separate mountains; and whatever ill befalls them they attribute to the agency of one of these demons. On such occasions they apply to one of their cunning men, who has recourse to his art; and by cutting a lemon ascertains which of these has been the author of the mischief, and by what means the evil spirit may be propitiated; which always proves to be the sacrificing a buffalo, hog, goat, or whatever animal the wizard happens on that day to be most inclined to eat. When the address is made to any of the superior and beneficent deities for assistance, and the priest directs an offering of a horse, cow, dog, hog, or fowl, care must be taken that the animal to be sacrificed is entirely white.

"They have also a vague and confused idea of the immortality of the human soul, and of a future state of happiness or misery. They say that the soul of a dying person makes its escape through the nostrils, and is borne away by the wind; to heaven, if of a person who has led a good life; but if of an evil-doer, to a great cauldron, where it shall be exposed to fire until such time as _Batara-guru_ shall judge it to have suffered punishment proportioned to its sins; and feeling compassion shall take it to himself in heaven: that finally the time shall come when the chains and bands of _Naga-padoha_ shall be worn away, and he shall once more allow the earth to sink; that the sun will be then no more than a cubit's distance from it, and that the souls of those who, having lived well, shall remain alive at the last day, shall in like manner go to heaven, and those of the wicked be consigned to the before-mentioned cauldron, intensely heated by the near approach of the sun's rays, to be there tormented by a minister of _Batara-guru_, named _Suraya-guru_, until, having expiated their offences, they shall be thought worthy of reception into the heavenly regions."[52]

_Cannibalism._--Of all the tribes of the old world those of the Oceanic stock have most generally, and, I fear, most justly, been accused of cannibalism. For the sake, however, of giving the full benefit of any modified form of this horrible habit to nations that have been improperly charged with feeding on the flesh and blood of their fellow-creatures, it must be remembered that the simple fact of human flesh being tasted, does not constitute cannibalism--_i.e._, habitual cannibalism. It has been tasted by savage tribes under three different influences.

1. As a mark of honour--Sir Walter Raleigh writes of the Arawaks, that this was showing posthumous respect.

2. Don Ruy de Guzman, writes of the Charruas, that they were not cannibals; and what Don Ruy de Guzman states has not been definitely contradicted. Nevertheless, it has not been denied that after their discoverer and enemy, Solis, had been killed in war, his body was tasted, if not eaten. This, however, was exceptional; and was done, not for the gratification of appetite, but in the way of revenge. Charles II. disinterred the judges of his father on the same principle; that is, he did a thing against his own nature and against the usage of his compatriots, under a violent stimulus.

3. Human flesh is eaten, as _food_, in some cases under incipient famine only; in others, from absolute appetite, and with other food to choose from. This last is true cannibalism.

Of cannibalism so gratuitous as to come under the last of these categories, I know of no authentic cases: that is, I know of no case where the victim has been other than a captured enemy; but then I believe that the feast is one of the _certaminis gaudia_.

The evidence is, in my mind, in favour of the Battas of Sumatra being cannibals in the most gratuitous form in which the custom exists.

_Head-hunting_.--No trophy is more honourable, either among the Battas of Sumatra, or the Dyaks of Borneo, than a human head; the head of a conquered enemy. These are preserved in the houses as tokens; so that the number of skulls is a measure of the prowess of the possessor. In tribes, where this feeling becomes morbid, no young man can marry before he has presented his future bride with a human head, cut off by himself. Hence, for a marriage to take place, an enemy must be either found or made. To this subject I shall return when treating of Borneo.

_Running-a-muck._--A Malay (and with the exception of the old Berserks, of the heroic ages of Scandinavia, I know of no one else with whom the same is said to occur in an equal degree) is capable of so far working himself into fury, of so far yielding to some spontaneous impulse, or of so far exciting himself by stimulants, as to become totally regardless of what danger he exposes himself to. Hence, he rushes forth as an infuriated animal, and attacks all who fall in his way, until having expended his morbid fury he falls down exhausted. This is called _running-a-muck_. It is evidently, if real, a temporary form of maniacal excitement; but probably, so much under the control of the will, if strongly exerted, as to be capable of being either checked or guarded against; a so-called _uncontrollable impulse_, to which, if men yield in England, they are either hanged or locked up.

_Gambling._--This habit, or rather passion, is shared by the Malays, the Indians, the Chinese, and the Indo-Chinese; quail-fighting and cock-fighting being the forms in which it shows itself. A Malay will lose all his property on a favourite bird; and, having lost that, stake his family; and after the loss of wife and children, his own personal liberty: being prepared to serve as a slave in case of losing.

_Slavery_.--Although recognised by the Mahometan religion, and part and parcel of a social system like that of even the most advanced Malays, this, in its _worst_ forms, is less general than we are prepared to expect. Where there are savage tribes in the inland parts of large districts, and where there are small islands in the neighbourhood of large ones, where--in other words--the normal condition of society is a state of war, slavery exists, with a slave-trade superadded. In settled islands, however, like Celebes and Java, it is generally from debt, and the consequent forfeiture of personal liberty, that the supply arises. As such it is limited both in degree and severity.

_Maritime Habits_.--Nothing would be expected, _a priori_, more than that tribes like the Oceanic should be essentially nautical in their habits. Their insular position,--their wide dispersion equally indicate this. And such is the reality. With the exception of the Negrito portion, all the Oceanic islanders in contact with the ocean, are maritime in their tastes: many, indeed, of the Negritos are so. None, however, are more so than the natives of the Indian Archipelago; and, of these, the proper Malays are the most. The _Phœnicians of the East_ is a term that has been applied to them; and it has been applied justly. The primitive vessel is a _prahu_; a long canoe, rowed sometimes by fifty rowers. In the pirate localities this takes the form of junk with sails, netting, and brass guns. Of the piracy, however, of the Indian Archipelago, more will be said hereafter.

_Narcotic stimulants and masticatories._--Chewing the betel-nut is almost universal in some of the Malay countries; the use of opiates and tobacco being also common.

The nut of the _Areca catechu_, is wrapped in the leaf of the _piper betel_, the first being astringent, the second pungent. The addition of lime completes the preparation. This stimulates the salivary glands, tinges the saliva red, and discolours the teeth.

_Bodily disfigurations under the idea of ornament._--Of the well-known stories of the little pinched-up feet of Chinese women I said nothing; waiting until I came to a ruder stage of society, before I noticed any of those numerous imaginary improvements upon the human form, which are almost invariably found amongst the lower tribes of our species. The Malay dress is becoming; but the Malay habit of permanently disfiguring parts of the body under the idea of ornament, is of sufficient prominence to take place amongst the characteristics of the branch.

_a._ _Tattooing._--This is sometimes limited, sometimes general: sometimes over the whole body, sometimes confined to the arms only. In Africa the patterns vary with the tribe. In certain Malay districts, an approach to this distinction may be found; for instance, we hear in Borneo of some tribes that always tattoo, of others that partially tattoo, of others that do not tattoo at all. Nay more; the habit of tattooing seems in some cases to go along with certain other habits--by no means naturally connected with it. Thus certain of the Borneo non-tattooed tribes never use the _Sumpitan_, or blowpipe; whilst others are tattooed, and use it. So at least Sir J. Brooke was informed; although I think the careful peruser of his journal will find that the coincidence is not always complete.

_b._ _Depilation._--Malay, but continental as well.--Depilation is effected either by quick-lime or tweezers. Generally, I believe, the parts of the body which are meant to be kept smooth are rubbed with quick-lime; and the isolated hairs that afterwards appear, are plucked out carefully by tweezers in detail.

_c._ _Filing the teeth, dyeing the teeth._--A Malay habit. There are not less than three varieties of this operation.

1. Sometimes the enamel, and no more, is filed off. This enables the tooth to receive and retain its appropriate dye.

2. Sometimes the teeth are merely pointed.

3. Sometimes they are filed down to the gums. This is the case with many of the Sumatran women of Lampong.[53]

It may be doubted whether this last be wholly due to the process of filing down.

Dyeing may follow filing, or not, as the case may be.

In Sumatra, where a jetty blackness is aimed at, the empyreumatic oil of the cocoa-nut is used. Even, however, if no dyeing follow, the teeth will become black from the simple filing, if the chewing of the betel-nut be habitual.

_d._ _Distension of the ears._--Many of the tribes that file their teeth, also distend their ears. Both are Malay habits. In some parts of Sumatra, when the child is young, the ear is bored, and rings are put in. Here the process stops in England, and the civilized world. In other parts, however, the rings are weighted, so as to pull down the lobe; or ornaments, gradually increased in diameter, are inserted; so that the perforation becomes enlarged.

Simple perforation may extend to a mere multiplication of the holes of the ear. In Borneo, the Sakarran tribes wear more earrings than one, and are distinguished accordingly; "when you meet a man with many rings distrust him" being one of their cautions. Mr. Brooke met a Sakarran with twelve rings in his ear.

_e._ _Growth of the nails._--In Borneo, the right thumb-nail is encouraged to grow to a great length. So it is in parts of the Philippines.

Such are some of the more prominent Malay customs, others will present themselves, as other islands come under notice.

_Was Sumatra or Malacca the original country of the Malays?_--The _primâ facie_ is in favour of the island having been peopled from the continent.

The traditions, perhaps, indeed, the _histories_ of the Mahometan Malays complicate this view. According to the earliest accounts, Malacca and Singhapura were built by settlers from Menangkabaw. The two commonest accounts of the Mahometan Malaccan settlement, although disagreeing in certain details, agree in this. In _one_ sense then, at least, Sumatra is probably the parent state: it is probably the quarter from which the more civilized Malays of the coast invaded Malacca; and, if so, is also the earlier civilized locality. But this may be the case, without invalidating the _primâ facie_ evidence in favour of the continent being the birthplace of the stock. The Malays of the Jokong type have never been derived from Sumatra; on the contrary, it is very probable that the earliest Sumatrans were offsets from Malacca.

At any rate, the Malaccan origin of the earlier Sumatrans, and the Sumatran origin of the later Malaccans, are perfectly compatible doctrines.

As to the presumed date of the Malaccan settlements, it has already been placed in the thirteenth century. Whether this be an historical fact or not, it is certain that when Marco Polo, anterior to any Portuguese voyager, visited Sumatra, and described it under the name of _Java Minor_, the kingdom of Atchin, at least, was powerful, flourishing, and Mahometan.

JAVA.

_Languages._--1. Sunda, spoken by one tenth of the population,
and limited to the western side of the island.

2. Javan proper, falling into

_a._ The Archaic dialect.
_b._ The Court dialect.
_c._ The popular dialect.

Culture of Indian origin; which, after attaining its full
development, was replaced by Mahometanism, is the leading fact
in the ethnography of Java.

Or--changing the expression--of the three forms of development
the proper Malay, the Indian, and the Arabic, it is the
_second_ which is paramount in Java.

The details of its displacement by Mahometanism are historical
rather than ethnological. Neither are they well ascertained
even as historical facts. The date, however, is some part of
the fifteenth century.

So exclusively have the Indian elements of the Javanese history and archæology riveted the attention of scholars, that the Mahometan influence on one side, and the remains of the primitive Malay development, have been thrown in the back ground.

The Indian elements still extant, are referable to the three following heads. 1. Language. 2. Literature. 3. Art.

1. _Language._--Notice has been taken of the existence in Java of a _court_ dialect, the _Bhasa Krama_ or _Bhasa Bhilem_. This, perhaps, is a phenomenon more redolent of Hindostan, than of the proper Malay kingdoms. The _Bhasa krama_, however, is by no means the preeminently Indianized portion of the Javanese language. The _Archaic_ Javanese is the famous _Kawi_ language. The Kawi language was described by Sir Stamford Raffles as Sanskrit, that had taken a Javanese form in respect to its grammar; and it is from the notices of Raffles and Crawford that the details of the Kawi language were first made known. This view has been reversed by Wilhelm von Humboldt. His great work on the Kawi language supplies reasons for considering the Kawi, as ancient Javanese, loaded with Sanskrit vocables.

2. _Literature._--The Kawi language, an Indianized archaic, or poetical dialect, is the vehicle for that portion of the older Javanese literature which is most based upon Sanskrit models. The great poem in Kawi is the _Bhrata Yuddha_, an imitation of the Mahabharata. The Javanese annals, whether in Kawi, or Javan, in all probability deserve the low opinion that Mr. Crawford entertains of them; as there is no department in literature where a Sanskrit model would be more out of place, than for historical composition.

3. _Remains of ancient art._--Palaces, tombs, images of Hindu gods, are all numerous in Java, and all evidence of a previous Hinduism. Some of the inscriptions are not only Kawi, but Sanskrit.

To these may be added, the still living witnesses to the original Hindu worship. The Bédui of Bantam, and the people of the Teng'ger mountains still retain it, although in a corrupted form. Of the latter, the following is a description taken from Sir S. Raffles' _History of Java_.

"To the eastward of _Surabáya_, and on the range of hills connected with _Gúnung Dasar_, and lying partly in the district of _Pasúruan_, and partly in that of _Probolingo_, known by the name of the _Teng'ger_ mountain, we find the remnant of a people still following the Hindu worship, who merit attention, not only on account of their being (if we except the _Bédui_ of _Bantam_) the sole depositaries of the rites and doctrines of that religion existing at this day on Java, but as exhibiting an interesting singularity and simplicity of character.

"These people occupy about forty villages, scattered along this range of hills, in the neighbourhood of what is termed the Sandy Sea. The site of their villages, as well as the construction of their houses, is peculiar, and differ entirely from what is elsewhere observed on Java. They are not shaded by trees but built on spacious open terraces, rising one above the other, each house occupying a terrace, and being in length from thirty to seventy, and even eighty feet. The door is invariably in one corner, at the end of the building, opposite to that in which the fire-place is built. The building appears to be constructed with the ordinary roof, having along the front an enclosed veranda or gallery, about eight feet broad. The fire-place is built of brick, and is so highly venerated that it is considered a sacrilege for any stranger to touch it. Across the upper part of the building rafters are run, so as to form a kind of attic story, in which are deposited the most valuable property and implements of husbandry.

"The head of the village takes the title of _Peting'gi_, as in the low-lands, and is generally assisted by a _Kabâyan_, both elected by the people from their own village. There are four priests who are here termed _Dúkuns_ (a term elsewhere only applied to doctors and midwives), having charge of the state records and the sacred books.

"These _Dúkuns_, who are in general intelligent men, can give no account of the era when they were first established on these hills; they can produce no traditional history of their origin, whence they came, or who entrusted them with the sacred books, to the faith contained in which they still adhere. These, they concur in stating, were handed down to them by their fathers, to whose hereditary office of preserving them they have succeeded. The sole duty required of them is again to hand them down in safety to their children, and to perform the _púja_ (praisegiving), according to the directions they contain. These records consist of three compositions, written on the _lontar_-leaf detailing the origin of the world, disclosing the attributes of the Deity, and prescribing the forms of worship to be observed on different occasions. When a woman is delivered of her first child, the _Dúkun_ takes a leaf of the _alang_ grass, and scraping the skin of the hands of the mother and her infant, as well as the ground, pronounces a short benediction.

"When a marriage is agreed upon, the bride and bridegroom being brought before the _Dúkun_ within the house, in the first place bow with respect towards the south, then to the fire-place, then to the earth, and lastly, on looking up to the upper story of the house where the implements of husbandry are placed. The parties then, submissively bowing to the _Dúkun_, he repeats a prayer, commencing with the words, '_Hong! kendága Bráma ang'-gas siwang'ga ána ma siwáha sangyang g'ni sira kang_,' &c.; while the bride washes the feet of the bridegroom. At the conclusion of this ceremony, the friends and family of the parties make presents to each of krises, buffaloes, implements of husbandry, &c.; in return for which the bride and bridegroom respectfully present them with betel-leaf.

"At the marriage-feast which ensues, the _Dúkun_ repeats two _púja_. The marriage is not, however, consummated till the fifth day after the above ceremony. This interval between the solemnities and the consummation of marriage is termed by them _úndang mántu_; and is in some cases still observed by the Javans in other parts of the island, under the name, _únduh mántu_.

"At the interment of an inhabitant of _Teng'ger_ the corpse is lowered into the grave with the head placed towards the south (contrary to the direction observed by the Mahometans), and is guarded from the immediate contact of the earth by a covering of bambus and planks. When the grave is closed, two posts are planted over the body: one erected perpendicularly on the breast, the other on the lower part of the belly; and between them is placed a hollowed bambu in an inverted position, into which, during seven successive days, they daily pour a vessel of pure water, laying beside the bambu two dishes, also daily replenished with eatables. At the expiration of the seventh day, the feast of the dead is announced, and the relations and friends of the deceased assemble to be present at the ceremony, and to partake of entertainments conducted in the following manner:

"A figure of about half a cubit high, representing the human form, made of leaves and ornamented with variegated flowers, is prepared and placed in a conspicuous situation, supported round the body by the clothes of the deceased. The _Dúkun_ then places in front of the garland an incense-pot with burning ashes, together with a vessel containing water, and repeats the two _púja_ to fire and water; the former commencing with, '_Hong! Kendága Bráma gangsi wang'ga ya nama siwáha_," &c.; the latter with, "_Hong! hong gang'ga máha tirta ráta mejil saking háti_, &c.; burning _dúpa_, or incense, at stated periods during the former; and occasionally sprinkling the water over the feast during the repetition of the latter.

"The clothes of the deceased are then divided among the relatives and friends; the garland is burned; another _púja_, commencing with, "_Hong! áwigna mastúna ma sidam, hong! aráning_," &c., is repeated; while the remains of the sacred water are sprinkled over the feast. The parties now sit down to the enjoyment of it, invoking a blessing from the Almighty on themselves, their houses, and their lands. No more solemnities are observed till the expiration of a thousand days; when, if the memory of the deceased is beloved and cherished, the ceremony and feast are repeated; if otherwise, no further notice is taken of him: and having thus obtained what the Romans call his _justa_, he is allowed to be forgotten.

"Being questioned regarding the tenets of their religion, they replied that they believed in a _Déwa_, who was all-powerful; that the name by which the _Déwa_ was designated was _Búmi Trúka Sáng'yáng Dewáta Bátur_, and that the particulars of their worship were contained in a book called _Pángláwu_, which they presented to me.

"On being questioned regarding the _ádat_ against adultery, theft, and other crimes, their reply was unanimous and ready--that crimes of this kind were unknown to them, and that consequently no punishment was fixed, either by law or custom; that if a man did wrong, the head of the village chid him for it, the reproach of which was always sufficient punishment for a man of _Teng'ger_. This account of their moral character is fully confirmed by the Regents of the districts, under whose authority they are placed, and also by the residents. They, in fact, seem to be almost without crime, and are universally peaceable, orderly, honest, industrious, and happy. They are unacquainted with the vice of gambling and the use of opium.

"The aggregate population is about twelve hundred souls; and they occupy, without exception, the most beautifully rich and romantic spots on Java; a region in which the thermometer is frequently as low as forty-two. The summits and slopes of the hills are covered with Alpine firs, and plants common to an European climate flourish in luxuriance.

"Their language does not differ much from the Javan of the present day, though more gutturally pronounced. Upon a comparison of about a hundred words with the Javan vernacular two only were found to differ. They do not marry or intermix with the people of the low-lands, priding themselves on their independence and purity in this respect."

BALI.

As in Java, the people of Bali took a civilization from India. Unlike the Javanese, they have retained it to the present day.

SUMBAWA, ENDÉ, OMBAY.

At Bali and Java, the type is unequivocally Malay. At Timor it is Malay also, but altered. The Timorians are considerably darker than the Javanese; their features are coarser, their lips are sometimes thick, and their hair often frizzy. In the islands between, occur numerous transitional forms; both in feature and language.

In respect to this last, the islands at the head of this section afford three remarkable vocabularies. 1. The Timbora, from a district of Sumbawa; 2. The Mangarei, from a part of Endé, or Floris; 3. The Ombay, from the island so called; the inhabitants of which are described by Arago as black cannibals with flattened noses and thickened lips.

In each of these vocabularies, Malay words form the greater proportion. In each of them, however, are also found Australian vocables.

The following, from the three _very short_ vocabularies of these three languages, are what I published in the Appendix to Mr. Jukes' Voyage of the _Fly_.

1. Arm=_ibarana_, Ombay; _porene_, Pine Gorine dialect of Australia.

2. Hand=_ouine_, Ombay; _hingue_, New Caledonia.

3. Nose=_imouni_, Ombay; _maninya_, _mandeg_, _mandeinne_, New Caledonia; _mena_, Van Diemen's Land, western dialect: _mini_, Mangarei: _meoun_, _muidge_, _mugui_, Macquarie Harbour.

4. Head=_imocila_, Ombay; _moos_ (= hair), Darnley Island; _moochi_ (= hair), Massied; _immoos_ (= beard), Darnley Islands; _eeta moochi_, (= beard) Massied.

5. Knee=_icici-bouka_, Ombay; _bowka_, _boulkay_ (= forefinger), Darnley Islands.

6. Leg=_iraka_, Ombay; _horag-nata_, Jhongworong dialect of the Australian.

7. Bosom=_ami_, Ombay; _naem_, Darnley Island.

8. Thigh=_itena_, Ombay; _tinna-mook_ (= foot), Wioutro dialect of Australian. The root, _tin_, is very general throughout Australia in the sense of _foot_.

9. Belly=_te-kap-ana_, Ombay; _coopoi_ (= navel), Darnley Island.

10. Stars=_ipi-berre_, Mangarei; _bering_, _birrong_, Sydney.

11. Hand=_tanaraga_, Mangarei; _taintu_, Timbora; _tamira_, Sydney.

12. Head=_jahé_, Mangarei; _chow_, King George's Sound.

13. Stars=_kingkong_, Timbora; _chindy_, King George's Sound, Australia.

14. Moon=_mang'ong_, Timbora; _meuc_, King George's Sound.

15. Sun=_ingkong_, Timbora; _coing_, Sydney.

16. Blood=_kero_, Timbora; _gnoorong_, Cowagary dialect of Australia.

17. Head=_kokore_, Timbora; _gogorrah_, Cowagary.

18. Fish=_appi_, Mangarei; _wapi_, Darnley Island.

It is considered, that this list, short as it, is calculated to contract the broad line of demarcation, implied in the following extract from Marsden:--

"We have rarely met with any Negrito language, in which many corrupt Polynesian words might not be detected. In those of New Holland or Australia, such a mixture is not found. Among them no foreign terms that connect them with the languages, even of other _Papua_ or Negrito countries, can be discovered; with regard to the physical qualities of the natives, it is nearly superfluous to state, that they are Negritos of the most decided class."

TIMOR.

The multiplicity of languages, or dialects, spoken on the island Timor, has been noticed by most voyagers. Some have put the mutually unintelligible forms of speech as high as thirty. Unfortunately the details of this variety are not known. Such Timor vocabularies as we possess, represent the language of Koepang; the locality where the contact with the trading world both of the East and West, is greatest, _i.e._, with the Dutch and with the Malays. This makes the language Malay--though less Malay than the Malay of Sumatra, Celebes, and Borneo; the points wherein it differs being, frequently, points wherein it agrees with the Bima, Savu, and Endé, and other intermediate islands. Nevertheless, it is highly probable that the Timor of Koepang no more exactly represents the languages of some of the wilder mountaineers of the interior, than the Malay of Kedah exactly represents the languages of the Samang or Jokong.

When the wilder inhabitants are represented at all, they are represented as approaching the character of the Negro.

On the other hand some are fairer than the generality. Both these are phenomena that we have either seen before, or shall see in the sequel--in the Samang of Malacca, and the Dyaks of Borneo, as well as in Durville's Arafuras of Celebes.

In one particular village, near the north-eastern extremity, Mr. Earle found red hair, a specimen of which was in the possession of Dr. Prichard. In noting this, we must also note the habit of colouring the hair, which will be shown in the sequel to be a Papua custom.

Curly hair also was met with by the same observer; and so was coarse bushy hair; those tribes where it was found being the tribes that suffered from the oppression of the others, and which supplied them with slaves.

TIMOR LAUT.

From an English sailor who lived sometime in Timor Laut as a prisoner and a slave, I had the opportunity of collecting a few facts concerning Timor Laut, or _Timor of the Sea_. The numerals, which was all he knew of the language, were Malay. The people he described as dark, but not so dark as some of the slaves, whom they were in the habit of either purchasing or stealing. He knew of no second race, nor of any second language in the island.

THE SERWATTY AND KI ISLANDS.

For the Serwatty and Ki Islands, the best, indeed, nearly the only information, is to be collected from the voyage of the _Durga_, and from subsequent observations by Mr. Earle, the translator of the Voyage, and himself an independent investigator. Here, with one exception, the personal appearance was that of the Javanese and Bugis.

The language throughout, which was particularly investigated, is Oceanic, _i.e._, approaching the Malay or the Polynesian. The Kissa dialect, the one best known in detail, exhibited some letter-changes, which will be found frequent in the Polynesian, viz., _h_ for _s_, _k_ for _t_, _w_ for _b_, along with the ejection of the final _ng_.

ENGLISH. KISSA. BUGIS.

_Stone_ wahku bahtu.
_Heavy_ werek beret.
_Heart_ akin ati.
_Dead_ maki mati.
_Slave_ ahka ata.
_Yam_ ubi uwi.
_Feather_ huhu bulu.
_Milk_ huhu susu.
_Hard_ kereh keres.[54]

MOA.

Moa is one of the Serwatty group; and it forms the exception just noticed. In Moa, and in Moa alone, did Mr. Earle find the coarse bushy hair, the dark complexion, and the muddy sclerotica that suggested the idea of a Papua[55] intermixture. The Moa people are oppressed and kidnapped by the natives of the neighbouring island of Letti.

Subsequent enquiry showed that they had migrated from the south side of Timor.

THE ARRU ISLES.

Like the last, the Arru Isles are known to us, from the voyage of the _Durga_, and Mr. Earle's notices. He especially excepts them from the category of the Ki and Serwatty groups. In the Arru Islands, he recognised Papua characters, and refers them to Papua intermixture. In the southern part of the group this is most conspicuous.

Timor, and the Arru Islands bring us to Australia, and New Guinea, parts of Kelænonesia, or true Negrito areas. How far the transition from the Oceanic tribes of the Protonesian to the Oceanic tribes of the Negrito type, both in the way of language and physical conformation, is abrupt or gradual, is to be studied in the islands last enumerated. At present we will return to Java, and follow the Malay population in a different direction, _i.e._ from south to north, rather than from east to west.

BORNEO.

Of all the portions of the Indian Archipelago, the vast island of Borneo, the greatest in the world after Australia, and lying under the Equator, presents us with the Malay development on the largest scale.

In the exceeding paucity of the elements of Indian culture it stands in remarkable opposition to Java, and even to Celebes and the Philippines, whilst the Mahometan influences are extended but little beyond the large towns and the coast. Hence the central parts are Malay in the most unmodified form; even as the Batta districts of Sumatra are Malay.

Our knowledge, however, has by no means been proportionate to the number and variety of facts capable of being elicited. Indeed, with the exception of New Guinea, Central Africa, and parts of South America, Borneo has been, to the ethnologist, the darkest area in the world. That there were Mahometan Malays in the towns, that there were pirates on the coast, and that there were _Dyaks_ in the interior has, until lately, been the sum of our information. As far as it goes this is true. In addition, however, there has been (and continues to be) a belief in the existence of _Blacks_ in the more inaccessible parts of the mountains, especially the Kenebalow range.

As to the vocabularies, scanty as they were (and are), they have always been sufficient to prove a Malay origin, for such tribes as they represented. Whether, however, the population was homogeneous throughout, or whether there was a second (so-called) race, analogous to the Samangs of Malacca was uncertain.

The publication of the observations of the Rajah of Sarawak, and of his visitors, has dispelled much darkness. Still the light is imperfect; or, rather, it is partial. What we now know we know in detail, and on authoritative evidence; our knowledge being, chiefly, for the north-western coast, from Pontianak, on the Equator, to the parts round the Kenebalow mountain on the northern extremity of the island.

I shall just give so much of Sir J. Brooke's observations as bear upon those points wherein the ethnology of Borneo either explains or differs from that of Sumatra.

The Borneo equivalents to the Battas of Sumatra are the Dyaks; a term applied by the Mahometan Malays to the non-Mahometan portion of the population. The utter absence of an alphabet is the first point of distinction. The _comparative_ absence of a Hindoo mythology is the second. Fragmentary and distorted as is the Hindu Pantheon in Sumatra, it has had still less influence in Borneo. However, it exists in the terms _Jowata_ and _Battara_ (at least), and in certain _real_ elements of the Dyak creed as well. These names are connected with the cosmogony--when Jowata took the earth in both hands, and the right handful became man, the left, woman. Below the earth is Sabyan; where the houses are fitted up with moskito curtains, and where there are other creature-comforts besides. Euhemeristic elements are superadded. The memory of great chieftains is held in superstitious reverence; Beadum being one of them. Numerous details in the way of superstitions, regarding charms and omens, and the ceremonies attendant upon births, deaths, and marriages, fill up the picture of the paganism of Borneo. I am not aware, however, that any of them, curious as they are, are of sufficient importance to indicate either new ethnological affinities in respect to the tribes that adopt them, or to induce us to refine upon old ones. Indeed, the customs, as between tribe and tribe, are far from being uniform; as, for instance, in regard to the burial of the dead. Some burn the corpse, but without any ceremonies. Others place it in a light coffin, suspended on the bough of a tree, and so leave it. In some cases the forms are few or none. In others they are preeminently elaborate.

As a mark of distinction between different tribes, two customs take a prominent place: the habit of tattooing, and the use of the sumpitan.

The first is either general, or limited to certain parts of the body. In some tribes it is not adopted at all.

The second is a pipe, about five feet long; with an arrow made of wood; thin, light, sharp-pointed, and dipped in the poison of the upas-tree. As this is fugacious, the points are generally dipped afresh when wanted. At least five arrows can be discharged in the time required for loading and firing a musket. For about twenty yards the aim is so true, that no two arrows shot at the same mark will be above an inch or two apart. The utmost range is one hundred yards. The poison is virulent, but not deadly.

In many cases the use of the sumpitan (which is by no means universal) and the habit of tattooing go together.

Numerous other _differentiæ_, equally important (or unimportant), may be collected from any of the recent works on Borneo.

_Head-hunting._--This is one of the Malay habits, which is better studied in Borneo than elsewhere. The earliest writers describe the Dyaks as being cannibals, and something more; as being hunters of their kind, not merely for the sake of an unnatural feast, but simply for the sake of collecting heads as articles of _virtù_. Something of this sort, in the way of gratuitous bloodshed, we have seen in Sumatra, and something of the sort we shall find in the Philippines, and (I fear) elsewhere also.

In Borneo it is one of the essential elements of courtship. Before a youth can marry he must lay at the feet of his bride elect, the head of some one belonging to another tribe, killed by himself. According, then, to theory, every marriage involves a murder. I believe, however, that the practice is less general than the theory demands. Still a morbid passion for the possession of human heads is a trait of the Dyak character. Skulls are the commonest ornaments of a Dyak house, and the possession of them the best _primâ facie_ evidence of manly courage.

There is, then, a continual cause of bloodshed on land, and there is piracy by sea; the northern parts of Borneo, and the Sulu Archipelago, being the chief seats of the latter. Indeed the corsairs that give a dangerous character to the Indian Archipelago are almost all from these parts.

These two forms of warfare, the chronic state of hostility for the parts inland, and the system of robbery on the high seas, supply some of the elements of an explanation of the system just noticed; to which may be added the division of the population into a multiplicity of distinct tribes. Still, it is so good a rule to receive with scepticism all accounts that violate the common feelings of human nature, that I allow myself to believe that causes, as yet imperfectly understood, modify and diminish a practice so horrible as the one in question. That it should be so general as the theory demands is incompatible with the proportions between the male and female population, which are much the same in Borneo as elsewhere. So it is, also, with the express statement of Sir J. Brooke, who says, that the passion for heads has much diminished amongst certain of the Sarawak tribes. In one case, an offer of some was refused; the reason alleged being that it would revive fresh sorrows. The parties who thus declined, gave a favourable account of some of the customs by which the horrors of a Dyak war were abated:--

"If one tribe claimed a debt of another, it was always demanded, and the claim discussed. If payment was refused, the claimants departed, telling the others to listen to their birds, as they might expect an attack. Even after this, it was often the case, that a tribe friendly to each mediated between them, and endeavoured to make a settlement of their contending claims. If they failed, the tribes were then at war. Recently, however, Parimban has attacked without due notice, and often by treachery, and the Sow Dyaks, as well as the Singè, practise the same treachery. The old custom likewise was, that no house should be set on fire, no paddy destroyed, and that _a naked woman_ could not be killed, nor a woman with child. These laudable and praiseworthy customs have fallen into disuse, yet they give a pleasing picture of Dyak character, and relieve, by a touch of humanity, the otherwise barbarous nature of their warfare.

"_Babukid, bubukkid, or mode of defiance._--I have before mentioned this practice of defiance, and I since find it is appealed to as a final judgment in disputes about property, and usually occurs in families when the right to land and fruit-trees comes to be discussed. Each party then sallies forth in search of _a head_; if one only succeed, his claim is acknowledged; if both succeed, the property continues common to both. It is on these occasions that the Dyaks are dangerous; and perhaps an European, whose inheritance depended on the issue, would not be very scrupulous as to the means of success. It must be understood, however, that the individuals do not go alone, but a party accompanies each, or they may send a party without being present. The loss of life is not heavy from this cause, and it is chiefly resorted to by the Singè and Sows, and is about as rational as our trials by combat."

This babukid must be a check of a permanent sort.

_Houses._--With certain of the Dyak tribes the houses are not huts, nor yet mere dwelling-houses of ordinary dimensions. They hold from one hundred to two hundred persons each; and are raised above the ground on piles. This form of domestic architecture is important in itself; and it is also important, because it appears again in New Guinea, and has already been found in Java.

The conclusion which we come to from our present _data_ in respect to Borneo is, that the whole population is Malay, in the way that the Sumatran population is Malay; _i.e._ within comparatively narrow limits.

_a._ There is no tribe so different from the Mahometan Malays as the Samang are from the Malays of Malacca.

_b._ Still less is there any representative of a lower form of humanity; such as the fabulous Orang Gugu and Orang Cúbu of Sumatra are said to be; although, as in Sumatra, there are reports of the kind.

The tribes described by Mr. Brooke are chiefly the Lundu, Sakarran, the Sarebas, the Suntah, Sow, Sibnow, Meri, Millanow, and Kayan; also the Bajow, or Sea-Gipsies, who live as wanderers (pilots or pirates, as the case may be) on the ocean, and are found on Borneo, the Sulu islands, Celebes, and elsewhere.

The vocabularies given by Sir J. Brooke are--1. the Suntah; 2. Sow; 3. Sibnow; 4. Sakarran; 5. Meri; 6. Millanow; 7. Malo; 8. Kayan. These last are extended very nearly to the centre of the island.

In the way of intermixture, the nations that are most in contact with the Borneans, especially the Mahometan Malays, are the Arabs and Chinese.

CELEBES.

_Languages or dialects._--_a._ The Bugis.[56] _b._ The
Macassar. _c._ The Mandhar. _d._ The Harafura of Durville (Qu.
the Turaja of Crawfurd and Raffles).

_Alphabet of the Bugis._--Like, but probably formed
independently of the Tagala alphabet of the Philippines;
Sanskrit in origin.

Although the Mandhar and Macassar languages, or dialects, are less developed as the instruments of literature than the Bugis, and although the area over which they are spoken is less, whilst their commercial importance is inconsiderable, there is no reason to believe that they represent a civilization different in _kind_ from that of the Bugis.

This is not the case with the fourth dialect. I have called it the Harafura of Durville, because the only vocabulary known to me has been collected by that voyager. It is Malay, as truly as the Dyak of Borneo is Malay; whilst those who speak it, although called Harafuras, are Dyaks in frame and complexion. They were seen by Durville; and especially described as being fairer in complexion than the other inhabitants of the island. I have little doubt but that the Harafuras of Durville are the Turajas of Crawfurd and Raffles.

The Bugis, however, represent the learning, and the commercial activity of Celebes.

At present they are Mahometans. In A.D. 1504, when they were visited by the Portuguese, they were beginning to be so; their missionaries being the Mahometans of Sumatra and Malacca, and the religion, which was displaced, being Hinduism.

How far this came direct from India, or how far it came by way of Java, is uncertain. The results were the same for the two islands--in kind, but not in degree. An alphabet, and a literature, indicative of Indian influence, are common to both Java and Celebes. In the first island, however, they are the more developed. Inscriptions have hitherto been found in Java alone. The remains of temples have been attributed to Celebes, but they have not been described, and they have not been seen by Europeans.

The safe inference is, that the Hindu civilization extended itself somewhat later to Celebes than it did to Java; and that it took root less generally.

The Bugis are essentially maritime and commercial; and their name in the latter department is a good one; they being active, enterprising, and men who consider themselves bound by what they say.

_Bugis approach to a constitutional government._--I am following, implicitly, both the facts and the deductions of Sir J. Brooke, who writes from personal knowledge of the island of Celebes, which he visited from his Rajahship of Sarawak, in giving prominence to what may be considered the nearest approach to a _constitution_, that is to be found in any Malay area.

One of the kingdoms into which the southern limb of Celebes is divided is the kingdom of Wajo. Beginning with the lowest ranks, the so-called constitution of Wajo is as follows:--

_Servitude._--This is of a mild form, and of the domestic kind. Although so extensive in respect to its _numerical_ dimensions, as for one freeman to have, sometimes, upwards of fifty slaves, an export or import trade is unknown. Debt creates the usual supply; since by incurring an amount which he cannot discharge by means of his property, the debtor forfeits his personal freedom. As this forfeiture extends to his family, bondsmanship becomes hereditary.

_Freeman not of noble birth._--The lowest sort of political power exercised by a _freeman not of noble birth_, seems to be the power of holding meetings, where opinions may be stated, but where resolutions can not be passed. The practical bearing of this seems to be, that the higher magistrates have a means of knowing the feelings of the population at large upon any particular measure. Such meetings are convened by the special representatives of the people, _i.e._ of the not _noble_ portion of the state--the _Pangawas_.

_The Pangawas._--These are rude analogues of the _tribunes_ of the Roman constitution. They are elected by the people. They, alone, can convene certain councils. They have a _veto_ upon the appointment of the _aru matoah_, or sovereign magistrate. The details as to the state of the towns and villages, and the number of the population is in their hands. No summons to military service is valid without their consent. The number of pangawas is three.

_The Council of Forty._--A council of forty arangs, or nobles of inferior rank, is appealed to in cases of importance and difficulty by the--

_Six hereditary Rajahs._--Of these, three are civil, and three military. With these rests the election of the--

_Aru Matoah_, or chief magistrate.

Reversing the view here taken, and looking at the Wajo constitution from its highest elements downwards, the form becomes as follows:--

Aru Matoah.
The six Rajahs, of which the _Aru Beting_ is chief.
Council of Forty.
Three Pangawas.
General Council, or Meeting.

I must confess, that in the details both of the Wajo and Boni Constitutions, as given by Sir J. Brooke, I find several difficulties and inconsistencies. I presume, however, that each is accurate in the main points, and also that it is (so to say) _more of a constitution_ than could easily be found in any Malay parts elsewhere.

The Boni Constitution, just mentioned, is that of another of the Bugis kingdoms. It is the same in principle as that of Wajo, but less attended to in practice.