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HISTORY

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INDIAN ARC^IPELAGa

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/'/ 7ii^\ t^Y c ri'j' ^ ' -5-*

HISTORY

OF THE

INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO.

CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT

OF THB

HAMNEKS, ARTS, LAlfOUAGES, KELIGIOKS, IKSTITDTIOMS,
, AND COMMERCE OF ITS INHABITANTS.

JOHN CRAWFURD, F. R. S.

LAT£ DEtTI£H [iESIDENT AT THE COUBT OF
THE flULTAN OF JAVA.

WITH MAPS AND ENGRAVINGS.

IN THREE VOLUMES.

VOL. I.

EDINBURGH:

PHINTED FOR ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE AND CO. EniNBURGH;

AVD HUK8T^ ROBINSON^ AND CO. CHEAFSIDE, LONDON.

1820.

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ADVERTISEMENT.

The materials of the following work w6re
collected by the writer, during a residence
of nine years in the countries of which it
professes to give an account. In the year
I8O89 he was nominated to the Medical
Staff of Prince of Wales' Island, and,
during a stay of three years at that sta-
tion, acquired such a knowledge of the .
language and manners of the native tribes,
B8 induced his distinguished patron^ the
late Earl of Minto, to employ him on the
public service, in the expedition which
conquered Java in 181 L During a resi-
dence in that island of nearly six years,
he had the honour to fill some of the
principal civil and political ofSces of the
local government, and thus enjoyed op-
portunities of acquiring information re-
garding the country and its inhabitants,

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VI ADVERTISEMENT.

which no British subject is again likely,
for a long time, to possess. A political
mission to Bali and Celebes^ and much
intercourse with the tribes and nations
frequenting Java for commercial purposes,
make up the amount of his personal ex-
perience.

ThO sketches 6f Antiquities i^rere exe-
cuted chiefly by a Native of Java, and they
hate at least the merit of being drawn with
minute fidelity^ The Map wad compiled
Md engraved, wil^ great care, by Mt JoidtK
Wals^sh of the Admiralty, and the Author
hopes he does no more than justice to that
gentleman^ when he says, that it is the
completest yet submitted to the public^ In
the Appendix to the Third Volume a brief
estplanation is given of the nature of the
ttutterials from wliich it has been drawn.

EDINBURGH, March 18£0.

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CONTENTS

VOLUME FIRST.

Page
Iktboduction, . - . . 1

BOOK L

CHARACTEB.

Chap. I. — Physical Form of tiie Inhabitants of the
ArchipelagD, ' » - - 17

Chap. II.-««>ManDei« and Choiteter of the Indimi
Islanders, - . ', ^ . 87

Chap. III.«-«Doiiieedo CefomonieB and Familitf Vu

ages, - - - - - 85

Chap. IV. — Games and Amusements of the lo^fian
Islanders, .... 109

Chap. V. — ^Manners of Fowg^ Settlers, . 1S3
BOOK II.

ARTS.

Chap. I.— Useful Arte, - - - 156

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Vlll CONTENTS.

Page
Chap. IL-^Dress, - - - 206

Chap. III.— Art of War, - - 280

BOOK III.

PKOGRE88 IK SCIENCE AND THE HIGHEK AETS.

Chap. I.— Arithmetic, ... 252

Chap. II.— Calendar, ... 286

Chap. III.— Navigation and Gec^graphy, - 907

Chap. IV.— Medidne— Music, - - 327

BOOK IV,

AGRICULTURE.

Chap. I.— Xreneral Befioarks on the Husbandry of
the Indian Islands, ... 841

Chap. II.— Husbandry of the Materials of Food, 357

Chap. III.— Husbandry of Articles of Native Lux-
ury, .... 894

Chap. IV.— Husbandry of the Materials of Native
Manufactures and Arts, - - 469

Chap. V.— Husbandry of Articles chiefly for F<v-
reign Exportation, ... 472

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INTRODtrCTION.

That gnat regkn of the gIobe» whicii Eoropean
gngnfhen hare d i rtJa g ii Mhed bf ibeaameef the
Indian ArcUpelagOf beeame well known to tlie
mere mnlixeA fMMiieii of mankkid, lad was first
frequented by tbem much ebonk the seaie time tfait
thej disocnreted end knew America* From time
almeet immemomly Europe had, indeed, been aiip*
pBed, in the eourae of a ckemtoue and intricate
commerce, with some of its rarest pveductione, but
the rerj nasme irf* the coimtrj of those pnidtietians
Was unlcnown ; and, in regard to iJlknowled^ not
merely speculative or cnriousy cnr <baeoircry of the
Indian Ardiipelago is a tnnsadaion of history
as reeent as that of America. The Indian Archi*
pc^ago, at the moment of the discovery of both,
may be advantageously compared eten with the
Mew World itself, to which, in hctf its moral and
physical state bore a closer resemblance than any
odier portion of the globe. It was greatly inferior
to it in exteirt^ but in the singidantyi utMity, vn-

VOL. I. A

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t iMtBOOUCtlOKr

riety, and exteat of its ammal and vegetable {aro-
duetions, and ia Ihe civilizatioB and nmnber of it»
inhabitants, it was greatly superior*

To prepare the reader for the details which are
io be furnished in the course of the fdkming work»
reqpecting this interesting and indportant subdivi-
sion of the globe, I shall in this short introduction
lay before him a rapid sketch of the gec^raphical,
l^ysical, and moral features of the country.

The Indian Archipelago» whether from nnnber
or extent of particular islands, is by £eur the greatest
group of islands on the globe* Its length embraces
. forty degrees of longitude close to the line, namely,
from the western extremity of the island of Suma-
tn, te the parallel of the Araoe islands^ not includ-
ing in this estimate the greater portion of the im*
menae island of New Guinea^ and its breadth thirty
degrees of latitude, from the parallel of 11^ south
to 19" northy thus comprehending, with the inter-
vening seas, an area of 4^ millions of geographical,
or about 6^ millions of statute miles.

Its general position is between the great conti-
nental hmd of New Holland and the most southem
extremity of the continent of Asia. It is centrv-
cally situated with rei^ectto all the great and ciiii-
liaed nations of Asia, and lies in the direct and in^^
evitable route of the maritime intercouiw between
ihem« Its eastern extremity is withm three daya
sail of China} its western not above three weeka

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ridl from Al«bia. Ttadtf^ii sail ciMiera ship ftom
CSibia to the ficlieflt aad most centrical pGrtkn of
the Archipelago^ and ndt more than fifteen are ie»
quired for a dmilar Tbyage frdm Hfaid»teD» Tak«
ing a wider Tiew of ita gei^raphical relations, it
may be added, that the voysigd from Europe to die
western ertremity of the Arehipilago, may be
readily pa'fintned in ninety days, and has been
often done in less, and that the voyage from the
west coast of America may be effected in little
more than one half that time. Such are the exti»
ordinary advantages of the geographical and local
positions of these fine countries.

The following short abstract of the topography
of the Archipelago will serve our present purpose*
The Archipelago contains three idands of thejfrtf
rank in si2e, namely, Borneo, New Guinea, and
Sumatra. These are not only thef largest islands of
the Archipelago, but the greatest of our globe, ex*
ehiding, of course, the continent of New Holland.
Of the second rank, it contains a peninsula and an
isbtld, vie. Java and the Malayan peninsiila. Of
the ffiird rank> it cOntaiiis three islands, viz. Cde*
foesj liUion or Lueonia, and Mindanao, each of
them equal in sise to the gitetest island of Ameri-
ca. Of the Jifurth rank, it contains at least ax-
teen, which are as follow, beginning from the west-
ward, 1^2. Bali, Lambok, Sambawa, Chandana,
, Flores or M&ngsomi, Timur, Coram, Buroe, Gilolo^

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4 ZNTSOPy^TIOy.

Palawan* ^^proB, Skunar, Miiidoraf Vmmj^ Leyte^
and Zebu* Of the rekitiTe importiM«» value^ and
popuIooaiMi of libe different islands, tke ftiae it by
no meaQs a just test^ as a slight knowledge of thoae
enumerated will soon teach us. The princi|Md ad-
vantage of the great islanda arises from their ci^
city of affording large alluvial tracts* and consider-
able rivers, both of them frim the fiicilitSBS afforded
by them for raising a supply of food* the prindpal
circumstances which have contributed to proniote
popuktion md civilization. We discover, that the
great tribes which have influenoed the destinies
of the inferior ones* have all had their or^n in the
laiger islands, and the most considerable in the
most fertile. Many valuable ishmds of small sLie
are excluded from the above enumeration* which
wUl in the sequel demand a particular account.
Besides such* the ins^tion of the map will diacp*
v^ a vast number of minute isles and islets* of
which it may truly be said tliat they are irmimer-
aUt.

The whole Archipelago is arranged into^oi^
and chains of islands, with here and there a great
island intervening. Th^ islands are up<m tibe whole.
Uiickly strewed* which gives rise to innumerable
straits and passages which would occasion from their
intiicacy a dangerous navigation* were the seas of
the Archipelago not distinguished* beyond all others^
by the proximity of extensive tracts of landy— -bgr

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INTBODUCTION. 4

their pacific nature^— -and by the uniformity of the
prevailing winds and curreDts.

Five portions of the ocean which encompasa or
intersect the diffirent islands of the Archipelago
are of considerable extent^ and tolerably free from
islands. To these European nsvigators have givea
the name of seas. The fiist of these in CKtent
is that portion of the Qiina sea which lies between
B«mieo and the Malay peninsula; the second the
tract of waters between Borneo and Java called
tlie Javt seas; the third that lying between
Celebes on one side^ Boeroe and Coram on the
other, and the duun of islands to the sboth, of
which Timur and Tdnurlant are the most consps*
cuoas ; the fourth is the dear tract of ocean lying
b^ween Celebes and Borneo to the south and west,
and Mindanao and the Sooloo chain d* isles to
the UOTth, and which takes its name from the latter;
and the fifth and last the basin formed by the Soo*
loo clunn, Borneo^ Palawan, the south-west side of
tlie Philippines, and Mindanao*

The Bay of Bengal, and the Indian Ocean, wash
iiie western shores of the Archipelago, the Gn^
Pku^fic its southern and eastern shores, and the
China tfea its northern* The western boundary of
the Aftiiipelago is formed by the Malayau peninsula
and Sumatra. Here there are two approaehes only,
viz* the Straits of Malacca and Sunda* The southern
boundary of the Arohipelagoielcirmedbyalongchaili

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6 INTRODUCTION.

ef contiguous islands, the most oingulkr which
the physical form of the globe anywhere presents.
It commences with Java, and terminates nearly
with Timurlauty running in a straight line almost,
due east and west, in a course of 160Q geographical
miles. Tlie approaches into the Archipelago from
ihis quarter are numerous and narrow, proportion^
ate to the number of islands; and their idcimty ta
^ each other. The most important, either from their
safety, or their affording to the navigator the most
convenient access to the most frequented portions of
the Archipelago itself, or a thoroughfare ta countries
beyond it, are the straits between Java and Bali ;
between this and Lombok, between Lombok and
Sambawa; between Sambawa and Omba ; between
Ombo and Flores ; and between Tlmur and OmVay.
' The eastern boundary of the Archipelago is
more extensive, broken, and irregular, than any of
the rest« It is principally formed by the great
idands of New Gruinea, Gilolcu Mindanao, and
Luconia. The approaches from this quarter are
wider than from any other, and the largest are by
navigators denominated passages, as the Gilolo
passage, the Molucca passage, and the Mindanao
passage, which names readily direct ua to their
ntuationy. Towards the eastern and western end«
of New Guinea, there are narrow accesses to the
Archipelago, both of which receive the name of

Ihe illustrious navigator Dampien

^ n ...

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INTBODUCTIOH. 7

The nortliem barrier of the Arch^ebgo if
foniied by the great idands of Luconia, PalavmD,
and Borneo. There are unsafe and intricate
-fNusagea ftr the navigator between the principdi
dbam of the Philippines, Palawan, and Bomeot
:bttt the great thoroughfare of the Andiipelago»
corte^xmding with the straits of Sunda, lies to
the west of the Utter island by three channels,
formed by the two inferior islands of Billiton and
Banca^ in the passage between the great islands of
iBomeo and Sutnatra.

The whole of the Archipelago is situated with-
in the tropics. The equinoctial line runs near'*
ly throt^h its centre, and almost the whde, with
the exc^ion of the Philippines, is situated with^
in ten degrees on each side of it There is ne»
cessarily a general unif(»mity in climate, in ani*
mal and vegetable productions, and, of course, in
the character of the difibrent races of inhabitants.
Notwithstanding, this, a nearer acquaintance both
with the country and its inhabitants somi points out
to us that there is much divernty in both, and we
shall find that the whole is capable of being subdi-
vided into Jive natural and well-grounded divisions
0r classes. I shall briefly run over these, giving^
as I go along, the most prominent characters which
distinguish the <me firmn the other. In deliiieat-
ing these diaracters, I shall consider the more
dvilixed races only, fov the habits of the merv

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tiv«geft ef fiU cltm»te9 are nearly asaimilated, for
^kB iafluene^ef phyaieal and loeid cireuimtaMta cm
the charactar of imr speties^ does not beeome ob*>
WM and 3t«ikiiig until secirty has made eoan-*
imniAe adt anees. Begmmag from tke yfttt^
mbace etvflizi^Dn appears to liave origiBated, and
horn ivfaenee it apread te ihe easli the firak dm*'
WHS oetBpfelietida the Makyan Penin8sda^>«— the
ishmd 6f Ssvitfm^— -the ibhud of Java,-«^e
Maada of Bali and SoiBbok,«-aiid abaut two-
thirds of the western part of Biraao^ up to
4e paadkl of longikude 11^^^ ea6t4 The ani-
mal and vegetable productioiis of thb quarter ave
peenliar, and hate a hi|^er ofaaraeter of utility
timw thate ef the ether diidsiotis ; the soft is af
aoperior feittlity, and better suited fw rearing ve-
Unable iuod ef the first quality. The ci^iliaed
iuhahitaiits haw a genend aoeordatioe in nMument
Ipsgninge^ atid poKtieai iuathuticina; they are fiir
Uteve QivilBed diau tboae of die other divisions,
und have made considerable progress iu arts, aras%
tad letters. Kee is their fsod, and it is general-
1;^ abttodsnt.

The idhud ef Celehea is the centre of the s^
inmd grand division, wfaieh coittprdiendB» besides
ttat greet isimd itself, the suiaUer (mes on its
-eeast, as Bouton and Salay»,-*^he whale ehain of
Manda from the paraHei of east longftude 116"^ te
r» Mth the irtioie east coast of Botneo within

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tfeit mm0 lnit» «d up to iteut 8^ nf noeth la*
tituik»« The aauMl and v^gptaUe produotiom
of this quarter have genfiiaUy a peauliar charadMrt
the toil » ^ iB&iior fartilitf to that ^. the hil^
andlesi sukadtothe iwruigof lioeor^iapmof the
ivBt qualitjr^ The civilised inhabitants haw made
oonndmUeprogfessin the uaefiil j«t8» but their oir
vilisation ia of an infr nor type to that of the firrt di»
vision. In langnagfi aaamien^ and pelitieal n^t»
tions, they i^feeaiupriflin(^y among theaMelf^ but
diflSHT widely from their western neif^dioun. Riee
m their prinoipal fbod» but it is not abundant, and
gone sago is oecaaionaliy used*

The Mrd division differs in a most remarkaUe
mannm from all the restu Its extent is from the pn»
lallel of longitude 12V to 130^ £», and from south
latitudB 10^ to north Utitttde 3^ The ohMMter
ef the memoons is here ivverse^* The eastern
moDamMf whidi is dry and .medente to the weati
is hem rainy and haiateroHs } the westerly mon^
soon, reiig^ and w^ m the tv«o first divisieBs^ is
hare dry and temfimnte* The graaler nnoriicr of
the plants and aninuds nf the two fitst dhrisjow
dissypear in the tfairGU whana we have sfcravge pro«>
dmtiens, in both kingdenifi» unlosown to any other
parts ef the woirld* This is the native country of
4iie ekwe aad nntmeg^ and the only ocsmtry in tte
wnrU whieh. produces them in p«rfecti«i. For
raising th« higher eUsses of vt|^taUe foodi the

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M is of inferior fertil^. Riee is seuody pn*
duced at i^, and the staple food of the peofie is
sago. In language^ mannen, and pditical insti-
tations, the people of this quarter agree amoni;
themselves, and diffisr essentiallj from all their
neighbenrs. They are fiur inferior to the inhabit^
ants of the first two diviffions in eiviliaationj in
power, and in knowledge of useful arts. Thej
never acquired of themsel'ves the use of letters.

Tbe^fimHk division is the least distinctly cha^
racterixed, but points of cBssimilitude sufficient-
ly striking and obvious mark its character, to
enti^ it to be conudered separately. It ex.^
tends fimn the parallel of lie"" £. longitude to
about 198% and from porth kititude if" to 10% and
indttdes the north-east angle of Borneo, the great
island of Mindanao, «ul the Sodoo Archipelago.
The v^etable products of this division are in a
good measure peculiar, but partake, in some de*
gree, of the character of those of the three firat di*
visions united. Tlie dove and nutmeg are indi*
genous, but of imperlect and inferior quality* Sa-
go is very often consumed, but rice is, again, the'
prbdpal article of food. In civilisation the inha*
bkants are superior to those of the third division^
and inferior to those of the ^first, or even of thf
iecottcL Their language, manner^ and inatitu^
tions, are peculiar, agredng among themsdve%
msd ^&Samg from those of all didr neighboiurs.

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nrrB0DU€fnaN, 11

Tlie;^ aad hat dmrioa b tbe ivclLkiiomi
jgronp of the Fhilip^ei^ extending froni the p^
nUel of 10^ to 19^ of mfth latitude. A geogON
phical aituatiOD so di£Eefent fnwi that of all the
other countries c(F the Arcfaipebigo, prodiiees mufib
xdative difference of climate and produetian« Thia
£nak»i is the only portiim of the Awdifpnlnja
within the limit of the hoislevopa rqgioD of hnnir
canes, and this ciicmnstanoe alwe gifts e pecuhav
character to the country. The soil is of eminent
fertility, and rice is the food of the mora civilised
races. The mould is eminently favcsuraUe to the
growth of the tobacco j^iant and sugar-cane, but pro*
duces neither the pepper of the j£ra^ division, the
fine spieeries of the third, nor some of the delicate
imd peculiar fruits which charscteriae those count
fries of the Archipelago which lie within ten de»
grees of the equator, and whieh aie unknown to all
other r^ons of the ear&* The manners, the pof
Utical institutioiis, and, above all, the langiaige of
the inhabitant^ d^r in genius and form ftom
those of the inhabilants of all the other divisional

fiuehare the particular charaoters of the diffeient
^visions d diis great country. The more gene^
ml features of the whole ArelMpdagAi wd those
distinctive marks which characteme it from other
portionB of the umld, are easfly enwnerated.. It
Ims the common chasasters of other too^eal cohop
^riet^heity nioiitw% «n^ hawmt vegetirtioi^

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1^ iKimoBvenoN.

It i§ thrtagbtirt of a moantainous Bsture* and its
princqMkl mmnfrnw (nm #m wtrmiily to anotker
ue volcaaoes^ It is fwy gmemlly cohered with
4mp forests of sti^endous trets* Tho number of
gmssjr plaiM is ^ery swall, and them ars no arid
sandy dsseits* It is dial»guished fipom every clns*
ter «f islands in tha world, by the presence ^ pe*
liodtoal vnnda,' and fimm ali countries whatever by
thepeenUarebaraoterof th«w^ The Archipelago is
theonly country of Asia sttnatod upon the ofninoc*
tial iine, or very dose to it. If not the mostextensive,
it is at least themdies^^preiMf regioni-*4fae region of
most curious and vmrious production, and of highest
kidigenous population which exists am/mhere in
tfie immediate neigfabonrhood of the equator. The
tnsnlarity of the whole region, the contiguity of
the different islands, and the Aciltty and rapidity
<if the navigalioR, are also prominent and chaine*
tetistie features* The animal and wget^e p ro«
Aietsans of the Archipelago either diiinr wholly
linm thooe of other conntries, or are important^
Tarieties of then. In one qnsrter, even the prtn-
mpai article of food is such as man nowhere else
«disists upon* The productions of the ocean are
«et less ranarkaUe i^ abtmdaaeo and variety than
those <xf the land.

* The diatinctrreifoalures now described hnvenc;*
eesssr^ produced the most eitemrive influence on
die cheraieter sad dviliaation of the hahdbitantf .

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IMTBODUCTION. IS-'

The most abject races only— thoseexcluded by mora
powerful neighbours from the sea, are hunters, and
the shepherd state can have no existence at all in
countries destitute of grassy plams, and rendered
almost impassable by the deepness of their forests.
All migrations are by water. Their boats and
canoes are, to the Indian islanders, what the camel,
the horse, and the ox, are to the wandering Arab and
the Tartar ; and the sea is to them what the steppes
and the deserts are to the latter. The Indian island-
ers are, by necessity, navigators and fishermen, and,
from this condition, the progress of civilization a-
mong them is to be traced. When population ac-
cumulated in this stage of social existence, those
who were in the vicinity of fertile lands applied to
agriculture, and became in time the most numer*
ous and civilized races. The Indian islanders can
never effect conquests on more civilized neighbours
as did the barbarians of the north, from the want of
those provisions, the existence of which was implied
in the very nature of a Tartar camp, and the imk
possibility, therefore, of moving in great and over-
whelming bodies. Beside the incapacity arising
from this cause, it may be farther remarked, that
although barbarians may acqmre a sufficient skill in
military tactics, to prove an overmatch for a more
civilized enemy, they can never do so in naval tac-
tics, which in their nature being of a more com-
plex character, suppose a skill and progress in so-
VOL. I. ♦

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14 INTRODUCTION.

ciety» which mere barbarians never attain ; nor,
did they even attain them, could a- knowledge of
naval affiurs bo supposed compatible with that ne-
cessary for conducting land operations* A preda-
tory warfare is the only one suited to the genius
of the Indian islanders ; even their plundering in-
cursions they have scarce ever carried beyond the
limits of the Archipelago. These important facts
ought to be kept in n)ind in every attempt to trace
the history of their migrations, and in forming an
estimate of their character and state of society.

In discussing the general features of the topo-
graphy of the Archipelago, there are two promi-
nent and important facts regarding the condition
of the different races of inhabitants, which are of
great interest and importance. The first of these
refers to an original and innate distinetion of the
inhaUtants into two separate races. In the Indian
Archipelago there are — ^an aboriginal^ir or hr(mn
complexioned race,— and an aboriginal negro race ;
and, the southern promontory of Africa except-
ed, it is the only country of the globe which ex-
hibits this singular phenomenon. The second
fact is not of less importance, and relates to the
influence of food in forming the character of
the diflferent races. We may judge of the phy w^al
character of each country by the moral character
of its inhabitants, or of the latter by the former.
No country has produced a great or civilized race.

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INTftODUCTIOH. 15

but a cmmtry which by its feHility is ca|Mtbl6^bf
yielding a supply iA farinaceous grain of the fint
quafity. Man seems never to have made 'progress
in improvement, when feeding on inferior grains^
farinaceous roots, on fruits, or on the pith of treea.
The existence of fine spices, odoriferous gums^
and, it may be added, gold, gems, and the rarer
productions of the animal and vegetable kingdom,
has no tendency in the state of society in which
the Indian iskmders are, to promote civilization.
One might be almost tempted to think they were
prgudidal to it, for the very countries in which
they are most abundant, are among the least civi-
lized of the Archipelago. It is the country of the
cannibals of Sumatra which chiefly produces gold
' and frankincense ; that of those of Borneo which
produces gold, frankincense, camphor, and dia-
monds. The inhabitants of the Spice Islands never
acquired the use of letters, and were wandering al«
most naked in their spicy forests, until the Hindus,
the Javanese, Malays, and Arabs, in times compa*
ratively very recent, taught them to clothe them-
selves with some decency. The savages of New
Guinea, surrounded at this day by the most splen-*
did, beautiful, and rare objects of animal and ye«
getable nature, live naked and uncultivated. G-
vilixation originated in the west, where are situated
the countries capable of producing com. Man ia

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16 JKTKOBUCTUiy.

th^re mort impfored* and bb in^mnwiieBt de-
Qraae$» in a gfograpbieai ration as we go aigtwaid*
luitUy at New 6ttitiea» the tenunation of tiie Ar-
ahipelagOy we find the whole inhabitaoto an undi^
liiigayied race of gavages.

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it'' ibif l&kliait tal&riflji

i>*n' nl' %Se nri'WTi i^ui

BOOK I.

Character.

CHAPTER I;

i^HTSICAL FOftM OF THE INHABITANTS OF TH0
ARCfilPELAOO.

Two disiinct races of inhakbants exut^^a htaom and a negro^
race* — Their geographical dtstriHution^'^Difseription of the
brown race, — Stature.^^Shape. — Femtures^^^Their hair^^
Omplexion^-^Ckimpatison with other raees of tnen^^
The standard i^f personal beanty among them^^^Description
of the negro races,-^^ Account qf an indixndual by Major
Macinnes. — Sir Everard Home's account qf a Papuan
brought to England by Sir &• Raffles, — SonneratU account of
the PaptiasqfNew Guinea.^^The hkgro race to oU appear^
'once an inferior one to the brown-complexioned raee^r^Con^
jectures respecting the origin of the two raees^^^^Indian is»
landers possess robust constitutions.'^Diseases to which they
are HaUe.^Fevers^-^SmaU^x* — Venereal ditease.^^Gout
and Scrofula hantly' known.^^Cutaneous disorders very
prevdlent^^^Intestinal wdrms,^^Parturitiori.

1 HERE are two aboriginal races of human beings
hiliabiting the In<lian islaudsi as different from each

VOL. I. B

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18 FHYfllCAL FORM OF THE INHABITANTS

Other as both are from all the rest of their speeies*
This is the only portioH of the globe which pre-
sents so unusual a phenomenon. One of these
races may generaUy be described aa a brown-com-
plexioned people with lank hair, and the other as
a black, or rather sooty-coloured race, with woolly
or frizzled hair.

The brown and negro races of the Archipelago
may be considered to present, in their physical and
moral character, a cQvqpA^ pfyrfiilel with the white
and negro races of the western world. The first
have always displayed as eminent a rdative supe-
riority over the second as the race of white men
have done over the negroes of the west* All the
indigenous civilization of the Archipelago has
^ruD^ bfim them, and the negro race is constant-
ly £iund in the >ino8t aavage state. That race is
to be traeed ffrom one estremifty of the Ardupela-
go to another, but is necessarily least frequent
where the most civilized race is most numerous,
and seems uttc^rly to have disappeared wheie the
<iviUzation of the fairerracehas proceeded fiutbest,
as in Sumatn, Java, «nd perhaps Celebes, just as
the Caribs, and other savages of America, have given
way to the civilized invaders of Europe. The ne-
gro races of the Archipelago increase in numbers
in the inverse ratio of improvement, or, in other
words, as we procqed eastward* lin some of the
Spice J[j)l«n4s tjhfKT extiipf^ji^ is m^ltter of justory*

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oy inn AieaiiBtACM^ 10

Th«jr tie ikrt |Mriiietp«l raees in some af the iaUadt
tovvsMb New Oum^ and nearly the sole inkebit*
ants of the portion of that gieat island ktM^
mbkkf from iti phynoal cbarmcler» we have a right
to indiiide within the limits of the Archipelago.

A moije partiealar aeconnt of both must now be
given*

The brawn-eoleorad tribes agree so iraMihaUy
in appearanoe among theaMelves, that one general
imaiftifm willsoffioe for all, and the varieties may
geneiaUy be considered rather as ofegeets of curious
.than mfM ^sttnotion. Their persona are short,
squat, and robust. Their medium height may be
reekoned, Ibr th» men, about five fiaet two indies,
end for the women, Jour feet eleven inches^
which: gives about four inches less than the ave-
rage stature of Bturupeans. Their lower limbs
are r^her hacgi and heavy, but not ill^liormed.
Their anna are rather fleshy than museular. The
bosoms of the females are sQiall for the robust-
ness of their frames, and the whole bust wants
that elegance of symmrtry whii^ belcngs to the
womm of Hindustan. The face is of a round
ferm ; the mouth is wide ; the teeth, when not
discoloured by art, remarkably fine ; the chin is
.father of a square form ; the angles of the lower jaw
remarkably prominent ; the che^*bones are high,
«ttd the cheek consequently rathw hollow; the
\ is short and small, never prominent, but never

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so t^HTSICAL FORM OF tHE INHABITANTS

flat ; the eyes are 8mall» alvraya Uack, as with othef
orientals^ among whom any other colour would be
considered a monstrosity.

The complexion is generally brown, but taries
a little in the diflerant tribes. Neither elimatei
nor the habits (rf* the peoj^e, seem to hxre any
thing to do with it. The fairest races are gene-
rally towards the west, but some of them, $& the
Battaks of Sumatra, upon the Tery equator. Th^
Javanese, who live most comfortably, are amrnig
the darkest people of the Archipelago ; the wretch*
ed Dayaks, or cannibals of Borneo, among the
fairest.

The hair of the head with, the brown^odooired
race is long, lank, harsh, and idways Uaek. There
is a remarkable connection, it may here be ebsef^
ved, between the colour and texture of the hair
and tfa^ colour of the complexion. The hnir is
dark and harsh in proportion as the complexion is
dark, until, in the jet bkck African, it end in a
woolly or frizzled texture^ If, among Asiatic na^
tions, an individual be discovered with a complex:**
ion of remarkable fairness, we may reckon upon
finding the hair of a brownish hue, and of a soft
European texture.

The hair on every part of the body of the Indian
islandep, the head excepted, is scanty.- Oi the limbs
and breast of the male there is no hair at all, and die
beard is naturally very defectivcr The Mahomedsift

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OF THE ABCfllPELAOO. 21

priests^ in imitation of the Arabs, are. fond of wear-
ing a beard, but the utmost they can obtain, by
great care and assiduous culture, are a few stnig«
gling hairs, which make them an object of ridicule
to those who pride themselves on this supposed
evidence of manhoods The rest of the communi*-
ty pluck out» at an early period of life, what no
paiQs would render respectable^

To express snrprise at, or to attempt to account for
this scarcity of hair with the Indian islanders, would
be about as reasonable a3 to investigate the cause
why other races have a superfluity. The fact of a
scarcity of hair with a considerable portion of the
human species is now well ascertained, and, whe*
ther in the present instance it bear any analogy
to the defect of hair in the low^ animsls, common
to all tropical countries, is of little moment *

* The foUowiBg is the illustrious Dampier^t excelleot de-
scription of the brown-coloured race, in the persons of the
people of Mindanao : ** The Mindanayans, properly so called,
w^ men of mean statures, small limbs, straight bodies, and lit-
tle heads* Their faces are oval, their foreheads flat, with
black small eyes, short low noses, pretty large mpuths ; their
lips thin and red, their teeth b)ack, yet very spund ; their hair
b)ack and straight ; the colour of th^ir ^in tawney, but incline
ing to a brighter yellow than som^ other Indians, especially
t^e women. They have a custpm to wear their thumb-nails
very long, efpecialiy that oil their left thumb, for they do never
f ut it| but sprape |t ofUn."— Z)|nspi<r'# royapt^ VoU It

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t2 PHT8ICAI. TOAM OF THE INHABITANTS

Compared to Europeans, Arabs, Persians, IV*
tars^ Bennans, and Siamese, the Indian islandera
must he considered as an ill-looking race of people*
In person tbey are by no means so handsome al .
the Chinese nations, who resemble the latter, bitt
they hare much better features. These notions of
beauty are not relative, for the standard of beauty
among the Polynesian tribes is nearly the same
as among ourselves. The man that is considered
handsome, or the woman that is pointed out as
beautiful by an European, are the same that are
allowed to be so by their own countrymen. Even
with respect to colour, there is not that wide dif«
iin*ence which might be escpected in our tastes.
They admire fairness of complexion, though natu*
rally enough not the sickly hue of the European,
the only form iti which it is presented to their ob-
servation. Tbey admire the complexion of the

p. 335, S2fi^— Linschoten's account of the Javanc'se is also U>
lerubly faitiirul.-— '* Tht-se Juvans," says be, •• are of rerie
fretrull and obstinate nature, of Colour much like the Malay-
ers, brown, and not much unlike the men of Brasilia ; strong
|U)4 well set, big lilnmed, flatte faces, broiul thicke cheekes,
great eye-browes, smal eyes, little beard, not past three or
four hayres upon the upper.lippe and the chinne; the hayre
on their heades very thyn and short, yet as blacke as pitche,
whose picture is to be seen by the picture of the Malayen at
Malacca, b. cause they dwell and ttafficke muph together*"-^

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OF TBfE ARCHIPELAGO. 2S

half breed, and t&e Malays in their ptoetiy often
panegyrise a beauty of this^ class. The standard of
perfection in coloitr is virgin gotd, and a^ an En*
rtPpeen \owv compares the bosom of his mistress
to the whjteiiesa of snoW, the East Insular lo^er
cdttiparea that of his to the yeOownesa of the pre-'
Gio«s metd. It is with the view of attaining this
desifed complexion, that the Jaf anesfe, when iA Ml
dfeaSy siMur their bodiea With a yello# cosmetic.
The eoitij^exitfkl is scarce ever clear, and a bitf sh is
hardly at any time dilscemible in it. This, how-
eipeaCf only distingmshes them from! the Europeaii
raee, atnd not from any of the Asiatic ntces.

The Indian islanders most resemble in person
aaad compte^io^ft the people of Siam and Ava, but
they dififer remaifcaUy eveni from these, and are, in
diort, a very distioMt people, very lifte among them-
selves, but T«ry ui^e afl other people.

The PapM, * ai wooUy-haired race, of the
Indiaii islands, iH' a dwarf Aft'^an ^egro. A
full grown male brought from die nmuntaSbs of
Qaeda» and eKamined with great care by my
fnend Mqor Maeinnios^ pik)ved Co be no more
than four feet nine inches high» Among those
brought frcmi the other esttManty of the Ar^

* The word Papua is a corruption of Pua-pmif the comnKm
term by which the brown-complcxioned tribes desigi'iate the
whole n^gro i^BCe.

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JK4 PHYSICAL FORM OF THE INHABITANTS

cjupelagp^ from New Guinea a|id the adjacent;
islands, and lyhom I have sepn' as slaves, I do no(
think I eyer saw any that in stature expended five
feet. Besides their want of stature^ f^ey aie of
spare and puny frapies. The skin, instead of be^
ing jet black as in the ^^fiican, is pf ^ sooty cploun
Sir Everard Hoine, w)io carefully e|uimii|ed the in*
dividual broifght to England by Sir S. |U#S8,Qiake9
the following distinctions between (he Papuan and
African negro. '* His skin (spei^k^ng pf th^ fpr-
xner) is of a lighter colour, the woolly hair girows in
small tufts, and each hair has a spiral twist. The
forehead prises higher, ipd the hind head is not so
much cut off. The npse projects more from the
face. The upper lip is longer and more prominent.
The lower lip projects forward from the lower jaw,
to such an ei^tent that the chin fprms no part pf the
face, the lower part pf . which is formed by the
mouth. The buttocks are so much Ipwer than in
the negro, as to form a striking mark of distinction^
but the calf of thp. leg is as high as in th^ negro.''

It is only, indeed, in mere exteripr stamp that
the puny negrq of the Indian isliands bears any re-
scsmblance to the African, lyho, ip vigour of frame,
and capacity for enduring fatigue and ldx)ur, is
superior to all the rest of mankind, the European
race excepted.

The East Insular negro is a ^istinc^ variety of
the human species^ and evidently a very inferiiot^^

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OF THE ABCHIPELAGO. S5

one.* Their puny stature, and feeble fiwnes, can-
n^ot be aacribed to the poverty of their food or the
hardships of their ccmdition, fdt the lank-haired
races living under circumstances equally precarious^

* The yery wiyie race extends to the Andaman islands. '
Symes, one of the most iatell|geut and interestiyig of orieatal
travellersi renders the foUowii^ aiccarate account of tjl^e race.
f^ Tbe Andainaners are not more favoured in the conforma-
tion of their bodies, than in the endowments of their mind. In
fitature, they seldom exceed ^\e feet ; their Hmbs are dif pro-
portionaOy stender, their bellies protuberant, with high shoul-
ders and lat|[# heads; aiyip strange to find in this part of the
world, thej are a degenerate race of negroes with woolly hair^
flat noses^ and thick lips ; their eyes are small and red, their
skin of a deep sooty black, whilst their countenances exhibit
the extreme of wretchedness : a horrid mixture of famine and
fHDOcity* They go quite naked, and are insensible of any
idiame frqm e^cposfire/'-— Syve'^ Emiaay to Ava, p. 130,
ISlf— |n general, wheneyer the lank and woolly-haired
faces meet, there is a marked and wonderful inferioiity
in the latter. Close to the wretched inhabitants of the
Andamans, we have the superior race of tbe Nicobars, of
which Dampier gives the following interesting account :-»
f < The natives of this island are tall welUlimb'd men, pretty
long-visag'd, with blac|K eyey ; their noses middle proportion*
ed, and the whole symmetry of their faces agreeing very well*
Their hair is black and lank, and their skins of a dark copper
colour. The women have no hair on their eye-brows. 1 dQ
beliere it is plackt up by the roots : for the men had hair
gfowing on their eye«brows, as other people.*^ If we compare
the lank^haired race of New Zealand with the frizzled haired
race of New Holland, the same striking contrast is stiH pre^
• fented*

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2& PHT8ICAL TORlff OW THB IMHABITANTS

hwe TigtrMfl cdnsbitatiniis. Some id«ads tlafff
ei^oj alttoet exclmiTelyto thtniflehw, y«t th«y
lUnre ia no instaribe risen abore the modi algMt
Btate of bu^barisn. Whenevw they are encetmleiv
ed by the fairer races^ they are himted down Vke
the wild animals of the forest, and driren to the
monntains or iastnettes incapaMe of resiMance.

Such is the description which my own expe-
rience warrants me in giving of the negro raees«r
A more robust people are said to oociqpy New Gui-
nea and some of the islanda new it, but I have
seen none of them, and the apeoonts which voya-
gers have rendered of them are so indistinct add
imperfect, that it is utterly impossible to come to
any accurate conclusion respecting them. Fcurest,
who ha4 good opportunities of observing theesy »
as usual most unsaitisfecCory. Somiera^'s apeconnt
is the best» and I now transcribe it. ^ The Fk-
puans/' says he, ^ are the people who inhabit New
Guinea and the islands lying near to it. They are
not much known, and their country not UHicfa fv9^
quented. There k somefchii^. hideous ami fright-
ful in their ap pe a rance^ They are robust men of
a shining Uack colour. Their skins are neverthe-
less harsh and rough, and disfigured by marks like
those of the Elephantiasis. They have very large
eyes, flat noses, and very wide moukhs. Their lips^
OE^cially the upper one, very thi(^. Their hair
is much curled and frizzled, and of abrilfiant black.

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W THE ABCBimLACNI* 27

Gt fiery reiJ* * Thk deicrqilkijii is througlMNtf
^agueimd gweral^ and tW aawrtiOB that the hair
18 (MnBdames. of a^ fiery red lit the oeBeluflon of k^
throws diseredit on the whole*

The queskkm of the first origin of both the ne-
gro end browB-complexioned nees, eppears to me
to be one far beyond the conapaasof human leason.
By yery mperfidal obaerrers, the one has been 8up«
posed a colony from Aftiea^ and the other an emi-
gration from Tartary. Either hypothesk is too
absurd to beer the si^htest touch of exMtnnatiom
Not to say that each race is radically distinct from
the stock from which it is imagmed to hare pro*
ceeded ; the physical state of the globe^ the nature
of man^ and all that we know of his history, must
be overturned to render these violent suppositiona
posstbie.

The subject, nMwithstandtng, is one of such CU'*
rioiis speculation and interest^ that it cannot be
passed over altogether in silence. It is by acompa^
risen of laDguages,<^H>f customs and manner8,-^-*of
arbitiary institutions,-^--«id by reference to the gee*
gn^hieai and moral condition of the diftrent races
aknQ that we cajt expect to form any rational hypo^
thesis on this obscure subject. The only connection
in hmguage^ manners, and customs, which exists be-
twem the mlmbttants of the Archipehigo, and any

* V o^age ^ la Nouvcile Guin^c^ par M. SonntraU

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£B PHYSICAL FORM OF THB TKHABITANTS

distant people which cannot be satisfactorily as*
c'ertained, is that with the negro races of Mada-
gascar. At first view, therefore, we might be led
to think, that the negroes of the Archipelago had
emigrated from that country, or at least that they
were the same race of men. This supposition^
however, is soon disproved* The different n^o
tribes of the Archipelago have different languages
among themselves } and all their languages diffisr
completely from those of Madagascar, the agree-
ment between which, and the languages of the Ar-
chipelago, originates not in the negro languages,
but in those of the men of brown complexion. The
coincidences, in point of arbitrary custom, are to
be traced to the same source, as in the peculiar
practice of the worship of ancestors, and inthesin*
gular custom of changing names at different periods
of life. I have no hesitation in thinking, that the
extraordinary coincidences in language an(l cus-
stems, which have been discovered between the
people of the Archipelago and those of Madagas-
car, originated with the former. Every rational
argument is in favour of this supposition, and none
i^inst it. It is, in the first place, more probable^
that a numerous and civilized people should impose
their language upon a ruder and less powerful peo^
pie than the contrary. With the easterly monsoon,
and the trade-wind, the improved and commercial
races of the Archipelago might find their way to M^

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OF THJft AROni'BBAOO^ SO

dagaacar without any insuperable diffieolty ; but we
may pronounce it impossible, that the savages of
Madagascar, with hardly any vessel better than a
eanoe, Without a inonsoon at all, and in the direct
teeth of the trade-wind, should find their way to
the Archipelago. The critical examination of
language, which will be supplied in another part of
this work, will enable us to determine, that, as far
as language is concerned, the corresponding words
will be found pure in the Polynesian language, and
corrupt in that of Madagascar, a fact which leadjft
us at once distinctly to the real source^ We shaU
in vain refer to any known circumstance in the civil
liistory of mankind, for an account of this angular
connection. A few interesting hints are supplied to
us, however, from the collation of language. The
words of the languages of the Archipelago, discover-
ed in that of Madagascar, are not fundamental, but
Mch as imply advancement in civilization, as, for ex-
«nple, the numerals. They belong particular^ to
no living la&guage in the Archipelago. There are
-no Sanskrit words at all in the language of Mada-
^gaacar. The language^ in short, which is common
to both, is now a dead language, what I have cal-
led in another part of this work the great Polyne-
sian language. These facts point at a connection
of great antiquity, and lead me distinctly to assert^
that the connection which existed between Mada-
gascar and the Archipelago, <»iginated in a stirte
fif society and manners different from what qow

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00 PHYSICAL fOEK » THE IHHABf TAKT8

txistfly wd took place long he£are the iotercouiw
of the Hindas, not to say of the Anibi» with the
Indian Archipelago.

In our present state of knowledge, I fear w%
muet pronounce that the origin of the nations which
inhabit the Indian islands seems buried in unfit-
thomable obscurity, and hardly appears less mya*
terious than that of the indigenous plants and ani^
mais of the country they inhabit.

Having rendered this account o£ the personal i^
pearance of the Indian islanders, I shall take a view
of their constitutions in the relations of health
and disease* In treating of this subject, it is of
the more civilized tribes alone I shall speak, and
as it is one which peculiarly demauds precision,
my observations will chiefly refer to the Javanese
of whose condition alone, on matters so much in
detail, I can speak confidently.

The Indian islanders possess strong and robust
constitutions, c^ble in their own chnuUe of witb*
standing much fatigue and privation ; thetr minds,
from the moral agency under which they are forfla^
ed, certainly acquire a kind of premature ripeness
eadier than in Europe ; but their bodies do not
Pub^y comes mi at the same age as in Europe ;
the body continues to grow as long, women hear
children to as hite a period of life, and longevity, as
a proof of all the rest, I believe to be just as fre-
(jpient as there. These subjects will be discussed
at greater l^igth in the chapter on Pcpuktion $

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or THE ARCHIFELA€K>« 31

JVid to .the smfi pjUce I must cefer £qt aoooimts of
ik^ tdbiiive mprteJity at dj^BGareat age^^ whkk mil
h^ foviyd under the head of t]l^ checka to the i)i«
cceaa^ of populatiou*

In the diseases of the Indian lalaBdera, what will
atrike l^e Ei^ropeian observer most forcibly, is tb(e
.ain^lar freedom of tlvB people from inflammatory
disorders, from that long train of complainte most
^r^quent wd<Q3yost fatal in what we are pleaded to call
jte9ipei:ate^c]wate& They a,re'preserTedfrom these by
t]be flexibility of their fibres. The differeojce of their
fjrap^es and ours is sti^ingly illustrated in the effeot
prod^ced upon both by violent accidents, and sur-
real operations. Tl^y recover in sound health
from accidents under which an European would
^nk; but |et the same accident, as in the case of
a sMrglq^ Cjpen^on, faapgpen to both, when reduced
)b>y,wcki|fflV and ivhen the tendency to inflamma*
jtion Ha rcsmoved in the European^ the v^our of
poi^tution which belongs to the latter wiU often
enable him to survive an injury which would inevit5>
^bly prove fatal to the native of a warm climate. *

* << Itis a coramop custom in that place to haifaio with
the ef ectttJoQcr for miligatUig the puaishmoDt ; fqt there is
never a ^y b<^t the Jung orders a nose, eye, ear, band, foot,
or teaticle, to be cut off from some body or other ; and upon
these occasions the executioner gets money for doing his bui
siness handspmely, and with little pain ; for, if the criminal
does not eome up to his price, and pay him in ready money

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82 PHYSIC^At FORM OF THE INBTABITANTS

Exposure to the incleinency of the seasons, which
among us induces inflammatory disorders, brings' on
with the Iiidiai^ islanders chiefly fefvers and dysen-
teries; but it ought to be remembered, thiit as they
live in a climate far less variid)le, and, fot* them at
least, a much better cltniate than oursf, diseases in-
duced from thill cause are far lessr fmjuent there
than the parallel disorders in Euro]pe.

The fevers which prevail are retnittents and
intermittents brought on by marsh miasma^ iht
former often fatal, when: in particular seasons
they prevail as epidenfic. Contagious di^empers
brought on by animal effluvia are qttite unknown ^
and except the small-pox, the Indian islanders are
fortunately strangers to every species of pestilen:-
tial disorder of a fatal nature. To the opinion en-
tertained on this subject by the most accurate Eu-
topean observers wel ntiay add the testimony of the
natives themselves, who, when the^ most dtogeroui
epidemic rages, never recur to contagion as the

upon the spot^ he will cut the node, fo^ instance^ io deep^
that the brain may be seen through the wound, or mangle a
foot or a leg in two or three pieces, &c. In all these cruel
matilations, and even gelding itself, scarce any one djesy
though some of the ptersom thus maiihed are above fifty or
sixty years of fl(ge; and th^ only reme'dy they uise iir, to put
the wounded part immediately iotof water, afnd after it h'a]»
bled a little, wash it and bind it up With linen cloths.*^— -'tfar-
fu*i CoU^ion of Voyagei and Travels^ Vol. I. p'. t43.

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OF THE ARCHIPELAGO. S3

cause. So m3^rious a cause, if it had existed,
could hardly have failed to have laid a deep hold
of minds so superstitious. For a contagious disor*
der of this sort, I am not aware that any language
of the Archipelago has even a name.

The most fatal disorder among the Indian is-
landers 18 the smalUpox. Of the manner or the
time in which it was introduced I can find no re-
cord. It is probable that the Arabs brought it
with their commerce and religion, as the Euro-
peans did a still more loathsome disorder with theii-s.
In the town of Yugyacarta on Java, where the
whole mortality is one in forty-five, one tenth of
all the children bom die before fifteen years of age
of this ^aorder.

The venereal disease is firequent in every part of
the Indian islands, but particularly in Java. No
precise infortiiation can be obtained respecting
the time oi its introduction. * The Javanese allege
the time of its introduction into their island to have
been that of the last Hindu king, Browijoyo ; but
the death of that prince took place thirty-three years

* Within ten years o( the first appearance of the Portu-
guese in the Archipelago^ the diteate had spread throughout
the whole •f it, according to Pigafetla. — ^"^ Dans toutes les ties
de cet Archipel que nous avons visit^es rd^^ne la maladie de
Saint-Job, et bien plus iciqoe par-tout ailieurs, oil on Tappelle
Jorfranchi ; c'est*^ire, maladie PorH^ain.*' — P. 2 1 5r 2 1 6.
TOL. I. C

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Si PHYSICAL FOAM OF THB INHicBITANTS

prior to the first appearance of Europeans in the
seas of the Archipelago. This pretence of the Ja-
vanese, however, according to their vague chronolo-
gy, amounts to nothing more than ascribing the fact
to the more recent portion of their ancient story ;
and is such as has been followed in many other in-
stances besides the present. The venereal disease
is called by them the rqyal distemper, — ^a name
which, in all probability, they borrowed from the
Europeans, to whom the introduction of the dis-
order, there is little doubt, ought to be ascribed.

A disease, analogous to the venereal, called Patek^
prevails in Java. It is in fact the Yaws or Siwens,
and its introduction is ascribed to the Chinese.

Goutf the disease of luxury, and of those who
consume animal foo^ lailgely, is a malady unheard
of among the Indian islanders of any rank. Of
scrofula I have scarcely discovered any indications.
Stone is very rare ; and dropsies are not frequent.

Apoplexy, paralytic disorders, and epilepsy, are
rarer than in Europe.

Cutaneous disorders of many kinds, several
of them unknown to Europeans, are very common.
The natives themselves ascribe them generally to
the extensive consumption of fish \ and point out
several races of men nearly Ichthyophagi, whose
bodies, in consequence of their diet, are perpetually
covered by a loathsome scurf. *

* ** The Mindanao people are much troubled with a sort of
leprosie, the same as we observed at Guam. This distemper

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or THE ABCHIPSLAGO. 9S

Among cliildren the most frequent and fatal dis-
orders arise from worms in the intestine^ which
may be ascribed to the unrestricted and constant
use of raw v^etables and fruit. We. ace surprised
to find the Indian idanders wholly unaware that
teething is the cause of disease in in^ts* This
may possibly in some measuare be owing to theic
own want of observation^ but more likely in a great
degree to the extraordinary mildness of the symp-
toms of dentition in their climate.

runs with a dry scurf all over their bodies, and causeth great
itching in those that have it, making them frequently scratch
and scrub themselves, which raiseth the outer skin in small
whitish flakes, like the scales of little fish when they are
raised on end with a knife. This makes their skins extraordi-
nary rough, and in some you shall see broad white spots in
several parts of their body. I judge such have had it, but are
cured ; for their skins were smooth, and I did not perceive
them to scrub themselves ; yet I have learnt from Iheir own
mouths, that these spots were from this distemper. Whether
they use any means to cure themselves, or whether it goes
away of itself, I know not ; but I did not perceive that they
made any great matter of it, for they did never refrain any
company for it None of our people caught it of them, for
we were afraid of it, and kept off. They are sometimes troubled
with the small-pox ; but their ordinary distempers are feversi
agues, fluxes, with great pains and gri pings in their guts.
The country affords a great many drugs and medicinal herbs,
whose virtues are not unknown to some of them that pretend
to cure the sick^'^^Dampier's Voyages^ Vol. I. p. 334.

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36 PHYSICAL rORMi &C.

•

The process of parturition and childbearing a-
mong the nations of the Indian islanders is easy,
expeditious, and safe, compared to what it is in
Europe. A Javanese woman, it is always reckon-
ed, may sately go abroad in fire days after her
continement. I am convinced that comparatively
very few lives are lost in childbirth. *

* Those wens of the neck, called Goitres in Europe, are
very frequent throughout the Archipelago, among the inhabit-
ants t>f the valleys at the bottom of mountams, but can hardly
be called diseaset, as they are not attended by either pun or
inconvenience. They seem to be caused by the dense and
moist air breathed in these situations, since they neither occur
in the plains nor in the pure air of the mountains.

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CHAPTER II.

M^MNERS AND CHAEACTER OP THB IN0IAK
IflLAND£R8.

Clarification of the subject. — Bodili^ endomnmUs.'-^Indian
iJanders aihleit'c, but never active* — Defective in personal
deanliness, — Temperate in their diet* — Their indolence oc*
casiontd iy moral agencff^ and not consHiutianah^'Their

, fortitude. — InteUectualfiicukics.'^Comparison between thosa
4if the Indian islanders and the people qf Europe and the
continent of Asia^-^Are qfAm comprehension and narrow
Judgment* — AU their intellectual faculties in general JeeUe
"^Are good imitators j and have remarkahly delicate earsjbr
musical sounds, — Their faculties voeak from want of exer*
dsCf but not perverted bt^ false impressions^^^Moral and
social qualities, — Their virtuesr-^Distinguisied front the
more polished nations of Asia by their freedom from menda*
dty^f^Their probity and candour. — Are capable qfattach»
ment and gratitude. — Free from the spirit of litigation.'^
Not naturally cruel^-^is'ot irascible, — Seldom use opprobrim
ous language. — Hospitality. — Politeness. — Fretdwn from
bigotry. — Weaknesses of the Indian islanders.-'^Extraordi*
nary credulity and superstition. — Examples. — Revenge the
most prominent vice in the character of the Indian islanders*

— Running qf mucks. — Disregard of human life Indian

islanders accused of perfidy andfaithlessneu^-^Insecurity
of property^^Domestic relations^-^ State qf women muck
more favourable than among the more civilized nations qf
continental Asia. — Not usually secluded. — Female chastity.-^
Jealousy.f.^Anecdoies. — Relation between parent and child,
'-^Fraternal affection.^Friendship a tie unknown to them.

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38 MINNERS AND CHARACTER

— Attachment between chiefs and retainers^-^' Attachment
to their tribe &r society. — Attachment to their place o/
birth.

On the interesting and important sulgect of man-
ners and character, there is much diversity among
the different tribes ; but the general outlines a-
gree, and among the more civilized tribes, whose
manners alone are worth describing at large, the
diversity consists, in general, rather in degrees
and minute particulars than in any essential
difference. Whenever it is of practical import-
ance that the distinction should be noted, I shall
take care to record it as I proceed. The descrip-
tion of the manners of the islanders may be classed
under the three following heads ; 1 « An account of
their bodily endowments ; 2. Of their intellectual
qualifications ; and 3. Of their social qualities.
The Javanese holding the first rank in civilization
and numbers, and being the nation with which I
am most intknateiy acquainted, I shall hold them
chiefly in view when I attempt to delineate the
character of the Indian islanders.

The bodily constitution and personal appearance
of the Indian islanders have been already treat*
ed of, and, therefore, I shall confine myself in this
place to an account of those qualities of their
minds which are more immediately connected with
their physical constitution.

For a people below the middle size of Europe*

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09 THE INBIAN ISLANDBBfl. 89

aii8» and feeding almost solely on a T^table diet,
the Indian islanders are a strong and athletic people.
In their personal exertions they are slow and perse-
vering, but not active. It is not unusual to see por-
ters in Java carry a heavy load thirty nulea a-day
for several days suocessively , going at their qniokett
pace, seldom more than three miles an hour. They
never possess agility; they can neither run nor
leap; they never attempt feats of activity; and
among them one never sees any of those crowds i^
vagabonds that in other countries of Asia earn a
livelihood by tumbling and slight of hand.

Like all people in the lower stages of civilization,
the Indian islanders are defective in personal clean-
liness. The heat of the climate, and the preser**'
vBti<m of health, render it a matter of enjoyment,
and almost of necessity to bathe frequei^y. This
operation, therefore, they constantly perform, as
well in the foulest pools as in the purest brooks,
and both children and grown persons are to be
seen paddling in the water at all hours of the day»*

* " They always wash after meals, or if they touch aoy
thing that is unclean ; fur which reason they spend abundance
of water in their houses. This water, with the waahing of
their disbea, and what ether filth they make, they pour down
near their fire-place; for their chambers arc not boarded, but
floored with split bamboes, like lath, so that the water pre*
gently falls underneath their d veiling rooms, whore it breeds
maggots, and makes a prodigious stink. Besides this filthlness.

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40 MANNERS AND CHARACTER

NotwithsCaading thb, they seidom change iheh*
garments, which are charged with a load of animal
effluvia, and among the humbler cksses often per«
mitted to drop off in rags. To save appearances
in some measure, they are fond of wearing dark-
colonred cloths. Men and wMOda wear, in the
affected phrase of Gibbon, a profusion of ** popu-
lous" hair, the disposal of the inhabitants of which»
under very aggravated circumstances, is a most
nauseous spectade frequently presented in the streets
and highways*

In point of diet, all the Indian islanders are tern
perate, and even abstemious, if compared to Euro-
peans^ I do not mean to assert that they are sa-
tisfied with a pittance. Their frames are robust,
and they often labour severely ; but under all cir-
cumstances, a pound and a quarter of rice, a few
spiceries, and a meagre portion of animal food^
most frequently fish, is an ample daily allowance

thr s;ick people ease themselves and make water in their cham-
bers ; there being a small hole made purposely in the floor, to
let it drop through' But healthy sound people commonly ease
themselves and make water in the river. For that reason, you
shall always see abundance of people, of both sexes, io the
river, from morning till night ; some easing themsvlves, others
washing their bodies or clothes. If they come into the nver
purposely to wash their clothes, they strip and staml naked
till they have done ; then put them ou^ and march out again.
Doth men and women take great delight in swimming and
washing themselves, being bred to it fn)m their iofsncy/'-^
Dampiert Votfages, Vol. I. p. $29, 330.

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OF THE INBIAK ISLAKDEfiS. 41

Ibranaduh*^ Soneof the nwritiine tribes on a re-
ligious principle abstain from the use of farmented
Uquoni* The Javanese, who are restrained by no
such prejudice, notwithstanding, seldom commit
any excess in the use of them, so that the disgust-
ing speetacte of a habitaal drunkard is sdLdom pre-
sented among them« At their own feasts and enter-
taimnents, they occasionaUy drink heartily and even
to inebriety. The chieft on such occasions rise up
and dance, and in a bacchanalian frenzy often do
many extravagant things. About ten years ago,
the son of a chief of the province of Jipang, po&*
sessed with the belief of his own invulnerability, put
the matter to the test, and drawing his kris, killed
himself on the spot* Many examples of the same
kind have occurred. This practice of drinking
freely at public entertainments, now confined to
the Javanese, appears at one time to have been
common to all the tribes before their conversion to
Mahomedanism.

Against the Javanese a charge has been set up»
as agdnst the Americans, of coldness and apathy
on the part of the men towards the women, and

* '' They live very soberly, and for the moet part upon
rice, to which the richer sort may add a small matte;r of fish,
and a few herbs; and he must be a great lord indeed that
in a day's time eats a hen boiled or broiled upon the coals.
It is a common saying among them> that if there were two
thousand i.'hnstians in that country, all theur beef and fowls
wouM quickly be consumed/'— iSfovorintM's Voyoges^ p. 74S.

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4i MANNERS AND CHARACTER

the latter have been accused of partiality to
strangers. Whatever justice there may be in the
former accusation,— and to ascribe less warmth of
constitution to those who live almost exclusively
on vegetable food, than to those into whose diet a
larger share of animal fodd enters, — appears not «
unreasonable ; the latter seems highly improbable aa
a feature of national character with any people^
more particularly where the women are neither
treated with cruelty nor neglect.

The respective tribes may be counted industri-
ous or indolent in proportion to their civilisation
or barbarity. Wherever tranquillity and security
exist to any degree, the islanders are found to be
industrious like other people in the same circum-
rtances.^* Their frames are suited to the climate
they live in ; they have no constitutional liatless-
ness nor apathy, and wherever there exists a rea*
sonable prospect of advantage, they are found to

♦ *' They are endued with good natural wits, are inge-
niousy nimble, and active when they are minded ; but gene-
rally Tery lazy and thievish, and will not work except forced
by hunger. This laziness is natural to most Indians ; but
these people's laziness seero« rather to proceed , not so much
from their natural inclinations, as from the severity of their
prince of whom they stand in awe : for he dealing with them
very arbitrarily^ and taking from them what they get, this
damps their industry, so they never strive to have any thing
but from hand to mouth."— i>am/iffrV VojfogeSf Vol. I«
p. 32©. • •

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OF THB IKMAH IflLAMDEM. 4S

labour with vigour and perseverance* But as cr-
viliiation among even the most improved is but in
an early stage, and even ^ir best forms of gb*
vemment are wretched, and confer little security
on person and property, their charact^ feels t^ie
influence, and they may one and all be pro-
Bounced an indolent race, many of them to list-
leasness and apathy. Ordinary European obser-
vers perceiving this character, and malcmg ju>
allowance for the powerful agency under which it
is formed, hastily preoounee the whole ^race in-
curably and constitutionally indolent. The Dutch
have been &md of aiiiparing the Javanese to their
own favourite animal the buffalo, and denounce ,
them as dull, sluggish, and perverse. BotI» the
man and the animal, I believe, are calumniated*
It would be more just to observe, that the Java-
nese, like his bul&lo, is slow, but useful and in-
dustrious, and, with kind treatment, docile and
easily goveme J.

The Indian islanders are throughout gifled with
a laige portion of fortitude, but their courage con-
sists rather in sofFering with patience, than in brav-
mg danger. They are almost always superior to
the fear of death, and when their vengeance is
roused, are capable of acts of desperate vaIour»
bordering almost on insanity. *

■ '™ ■ ■ I ■!.■ I .11 .1. ■ I ^ ... .

* '* The punishmenu inflicted at Batavia are excesaiTcly

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44 MANKEE8 AND CHABACT^R

. With respect to their intellectual faculties, tife
Indian islanders may be pronounced slow of com-

aevere, especially such as fall upon the Indians* Impale*
ment is the chief, and most terrible.

** In the year 1769 I saw an execution of this kind, of a
Macassar slave^ who had murdered his master, which was
done in the following manner : The criminal was led, in the
morningjpto the place of execution, being the grass plat,
wWth I have before taken notice of, and laid upon his belly,
being held by four men* The executioner then made a
transverse incision at the lower part of the body, as far as the
M sacrum ; he then introduced the sharp point of the spike^
which was about six feet long, and made of j>olished iron,
into the wound, so that it passed between the back-bone and
the skin. Two men drove it forcibly up, along the spine,
while Ihe executioner held the end, and gave it a proper di«
rection, till it came out between the neck and shoulders.
The lower end was then put into a wooden post, and rivetted
fast ; and the sufferer was lifled up, thus impaled, and the
post stuck in the ground. At the top of the post, about
ten feet from the ground, there was a kind of little bench,
upon which the body rested.

** The insensibility or fortitude of the miserable sufferer
was incredible. He did not utter the least complaint, except
when the spike was rivetted into the pillar ; the hammering
and shaking occasioned by it seemed to be intolerable to him,
and he then bellowed out for pain ; and likewise once again,
when he was lifled up and set in the ground. 4Ie sat in this
dreadful situation till death put an end to his torments,
which fortunately happened the next day, about three o'clock
in the afternoon. He owed this speedy termination of his

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OP THE INDIAN ISLANDERS* 45

prehension) but of sound, though narrow judg-
ment. In quickness, acuteness, and comprehen-

nuaery to a light shower of rain, which continued for about
an hour, and he gave up the ghoBt half an hour afterwards.

** There have been instances, at Batavia, of criminals who
have been impaled in the dry season, and have remained
alive for eight, or more days, without any food or drink,
which is prevented to be given them by a guard who is
stationed at the place of execution, for that purpose. One
of the surgeons of the city assured me, that none of the
parts immediately necessary to life arc injured by impale-'N^
ment, which makes the punishment the more cruel and into-
lerable ; but that, as soon as any water gets into the wound,
it mortifies, and occasions a gangrene, which directly attack»
the more noble parts, and brings on death almost imme-
diately.

*' This miserable sufferer continually complained of unsuf-
ferable thirst, which is peculiarly incident to this terrible
punishment. The criminals are exposed, during the whole
day, to the burning rays of the sun, and are unceasingly tor«
mented by numerous stinging insects.

'^ I went to see him again, about three hours before he
died, and found him conversing with the bystanders. He
related to them the manner in which he had murdered his
good master, and expressed his repentance and abhorrence
of the crime he had committed. This he did with great
cmnposore; yet an instant afterwards he burst out in the
bitterest complaints of unquenchable thirst, and raved for
drink, while no one was allowed to alleviate, by a single drop
of water, the excruciating torments he underwent."— 6Y/jvo.
rinus*s Voyages^ p. 288 — 291-

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46 BANNERS AND CHABACTSE

siveness of understanding, they are far short of
the civilized nations of Europe, and in subtlety
they are not' less inferior to the Hindus and Chi-
nese.

When the Dutch speak of the intellectual ca-
pacity of the Javanese, they find it necessary to
qualify the favourable judgment which they pro-
nounce on individual characters, by such expres-
sions as '^ a respectable Javanese understanding,"
— "a sound Javanese judgment/' In render-
. ing an account of these people to a stranger, such
expressions are indispensably neoessary, for it must
be confessed that an Indian islander of the best
capacity is unequal, in most respects, to an indi-
vidual not above, mediocrity in a civilized commu-
nity. In matters connected with the ordinary
business of life, as it refers to their own situation^
their judgment seldom errs, but where a wider
range of thought is demanded, they are sure to
be bewildered, to act with indecision, . and betray
their incapacity.

All the faculties of their minds are in a state of
comparative feebleness ; their memories are treach-
erous and uncertain ; their imaginations wanton
and childish ; and their reason, more defective than
the rest, when exerted on any subject above the
most vulgar train of thought, commonly erro-
neous and mistaken. No man can tell his own age^
nor the date of any remarkable transaction in tbe

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OF THB INDIAN ISLANDERS. 47

history of his tribe or country. If a peasant has
been present at some remarkable transaction, such
as a murder or a robbery, and is examined ten days
after in a court of justice, the probability is, that
he can tell neither the hour of the day, nor the
day at which such transaction took place, still less
give a clear account of what happened.

The weakness of their reason, and the pruriency
of their imagination, make them to a wcmderful
degree credulous and superstitious.

Two qualities they possess in a degree which far
outstrips their other powers. — In common with all
semibarbarians, .they are good imitators ; but in
this respect they fall short of the Hindus* They
exceed these, however, and, I believe, all other se-
mibarbarians, in the second quality, their capacity
for music. They have ears of remarkable delicacy
for musical sounds, and are readily taught to play.
Upon any instrument, the most difficult and com-
plex airs.

Their faculties, such as they are, are not per-
verted by false impressions. They are weak from
want of exercise and culture, but not distorted and
diseased by the habitual influence of false refine-
ment and erroneous education, like most of the
other nations of Asia. Of the Javanese my inti-
mate knowledge of them entitles me to speak more
distinctly. TTiey have an abundant share of laud-

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48 MilNNERS AND CHARACTER

able curiosity,* and an anxious desire for knowledge*
The influence of this character was most remark-
ably displayed in the family of Adimanggohf chief
of the province of Samarang, a man, for vigour of
understanding, for sagacity and intelligence, far
superior to all his countrymen. This respect-
able chieftain bestowed the most unwearied atten-
tion upon the education of his whole family. His
wife, born a princess, whom, according to the cus-

* This curiosity is, to be sure^ apt now and then to take
an idle and ridiculous direction ; as whef^ Sir James Lancas*
ter, Elizabeth's ambassador, was requested by the king[ of
A chin to sing one of the Psalms of David^ at his audience of
leave. ** And when the general took his leave, the king
said unto him, '' Have you the Psalms of David extant among
you?*' The general answered, " Yea, and we sing tliem diuly.*'
'* Then," said the king, " I and the rest of the nobles about me
will sing a psalm to God for your prosperity ;"-«-and so they
did very solemnly. And after it was ended the king said,
** I would have you sing another psalm, although in your own
language ;" so there being in the company some twelve of us,
we sung another psalm ; and after the psalm ended, the ge*
neral took his leave of the king, the king showing him much
kindness at his departure, desiring God to bless us in our
journey, and to guide us safely to our own country, saying,
** If hereafter your ship return to this port, you shall find as
good usage as you have done." — Purchas^ Vol. I. Book ii.
p. l60« In all likelihood, the good M us8ulmans> on the above
occasion, chaunted a chapter of the Alcoran, mistaken by
the ambassador for a psalm of David.

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OF THE INDIAN ISLANDE&fi. 49

torn of the countryi he espoused while yet a girl^
he educated, to make him a rational and equal
companion, and both she and his three daughters
made proficiency in Arabic literature, and were
dulled in that of their own country. Two of his
sons, upon whom he had bestowed all the educa-
tion that Java could afford, were sent by him to
.an English seminary in Calcutta, under the pro-
tection of the late lamented Earl of Minto, where
jfcbey made surprising progress. The eldest, Ra^
den Saleh^ a youth about sixteen^ read and wrote
ihe English language with facility and propriety,
and, with the help of a fine ear, acquired so accu-
rate a pronunciation, that his languii^e could not
easily be discerned from that of a well-educated
English youth. That this was not a mere mecha-
nical acquirement, was satisfactorily proved^ by the
good wnse and acuteness of his observations ; and
it must be acknowledged, that, upon the whole, he
afforded a most flattering and interesting example
of what a liberal education might eflfect upon the
character of the inhabitants of the Indian islands.

An account of the moral and social qualities of
the Indian islanders may be conveniently arranged
under the three heads of their virtues^ their io^eoiit-
nesseSf and their vkes^ and the whole may be summed
jup by an estimate of their character in their domestic^
social, and political relations. To begin with their

VOL. I. D

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50 MANNERS AND CHARACTEll

virtues; they are honourably distinguished fh>ni ail
the civilized nations of Asia by a regard for trudi.
The British gendemen who had much intercourse
with the Javanese, were forcibly struck with this va-
luable feature of their character, and did not fail to
contrast their singular and unexpected candour with
the almost universal disregard of truth which cha-
racterizes the inhabitants of Hindustan. In courts
of justice the truth was readily elicited, and we had
seldom to complain of perjury or prevarication.
In a great number of cases the prisoner himself
would acknowledge his offence, and often, vnfch-
•mt a particle of extenuation, furnish an ample
detail of all the circumstances of his own crimina-
lity.

They have no capacity for intrigue, and, in their
conduct, we do not discover them at any time pur-
suing those dexterous expedients, and subtle practi-
ces, of which the whole lives of other Asiatic people
so frequently consist. The natives of Arabia, of Hin-
dustan, and China, find it an easy matter to cir-
cumvent them, and, while inferior in courage, and
often in real capacity, they seerp, in all ages of
their history, to have made a gainful business o£
the practice of their knavery.

The Indian islanders are capable of attachment,
gratitude, and fidelity, and it would be difficult to
quote among them any instances of the flagrant and

revolting violation of those virtues, by which the

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OF THE INDIAN ISLANDBE8. 51

Hindus have rendered their name so odious to £u-
ropeau*

jbi their external deportment they are grave, re-
served, catttioua, courteous, and obsequious. Their
flitftery is not artful, and they make very poor a^-
cophants. This portion of their character is di*
reedy referable to the despotic natws of their po-
lit^l institutions.

Tiie Indian islanders are neither litigious, avari-
eious, nor rapacious ; but, I think, sufficiently te-
naoiotts of their. r^hts. Considering the form of
government under vi^hich the ^vanese live^ I iwve
been surprised to find with what boldness they de-
mand justiee, and wifch what pertinacity they main-
tain their cause. A petition, for example, is not
unfifequently summed op by «ich expressions as the
following : ^* I have been wronged. I will not
submit to it, and I demand justice^'* It is in suing
for justice, rather than in defending themselves,
that this trait of character is chiefly exemplified.
This is because the accuser is generally in the
right* The iigury they have received, makes a
deep impression upon them, and all the bearings of
the aggression are &mil^r to their minds, so that
before the judge, while they (Hreserve decorum,
they often argue their cause in a t<Hie of vehement
though simple eloquence.

Excluding their conduct in a state of hostili-
ty towards the public enemy» and the excesses

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52 MANNERS AND CHARACTER

into which the wanton exercise of despotism se-
duces the possessors of Ht, they are not cruel
nor unfeeling. In their legal punishments there
are no symptoms of inhuman refinement, the ori*
gin of which can be traced to their own manners.
Even robbers neither mutilate, torture, nor mur-
der those whose property they take. The conduct
of superiors to their dependents is mariced by kind-
ness, gentleness, and consideration ; and even slaves
are never treated with a wanton barbarity. They
are not without sympathy for distress, and as
ready to relieve it as any people. A native of
continental India would see a man stru^ling fin:
life in the water and afford him no assistance. The
active exertions of a Javanese, a Malay, or native
of Celebes, would, under the same circumstances^
be exerted for his rescue.

They are good humoured and cheerful to a re-
markable degree, and owing to the habitual caution
which their manners impose, so little irascible, that
one seldom sees them rulffled. Between a fretful
expression, and the last degree of guilty excess,
there are few gradations.

' Gross and abusive language never occurs in
their intercourse. Their languages hardly affi>rd
any such expressions. The harshest words which a
Javanese will use towards an inferior, are *' goat*'
or '* buffido,'' words equivalent in their mouths to
goose or ass in ours*

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OF THE INDIAN ISLAKDBB8. 6S

Hospitality is a mtue very uniyenally jmctised.
In Java a traveller caa never be at a loss. The cus*
tmn of the country makes it a point of honour with
a Javanese to supply every stranger with food and
accommodation for a day and a night at leasts How
.natural hospitality is to their manners, may be seen
from the practice of it having thus grown into an
established usage. The practice of this virtue is
•extended to foreignerB, and an European never
fails to meet among them with a simple but affee^
tionate welcome, which he. will hardly h\l to con*
trast with the heartless and repugnant estrange-
menty under the same circumstances, of the na^^^
tives d conUnental India.*

* ^' Affter this the ciiiieas of Mindanao canie frequently «•
boardy to invite our men to their houses, and to offer us pagal-
lies. It wks a long time since any of us bad received such
friendship, and therefore we were the more easily drawn to ac«
cept of their kindnesses; and in a very short time m> st of our
meti got a comrade or two, and as many pagailies : especially
such of us as had good clothes, and store of gold, as many had,
vfao were of the number of those that accompanied Captain
Harris over the isthmus of Darien, the rest of Us being poor
enough. Nay, the very poorest and meanest of us could hardly
pass the streets, but we were even hailed by force into their
houses, to be treated by them ; although their treats were but
mean, vis, tobacco, or betel-nut, or a little sweet spiced water.
Yet their seeming sincerity, simplicity, and the manner of
bestowing these gifts, made them very acceptable. When we
came to their houses, they would always be praising the £ng«
lishy as declanng that the English and Mindanaians were all

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54t HANKERS AND CHARACTEB

In such a condition of society as that of the In-
dian islanders, the absence of public security, and
of a regular administration of justice, leaves in a
great measure the power of avenging injuries in
the hands of individuals* Every man has arms in
his own hands to avenge his quarrel or his wrong*
The point of honour is, in consequence of the exer-
cise of this privil^e, often as punctilioudy observed
by the peasant of Celebes as by a French or Eng-
lish gentleman* In the demeanour of the Indian
islanders there is a large share of natural politeness*
Among the more scrupulous, a contemptuous or
haughty manner, still less an abuave expression,
and, above all, a blow, will not for a moment be
tolerated* Hie kris is at hand ready to avenge
the insult. Every man knows this, and the result
is^ as already stated, a guarded demeanour and an
universal politeness. All the tribes of the Indian
islands pride themselves on this, and never offer an

one. This they expressed by putting their two fore-fiagers
close together, and saying, that the English and Mindanaians
were samo, samo, that is» all one. Then they would draw
their fore-fingers half a foot asunder, and say the Dutch and
they were bugeto, which signifies so, that they were at such
distance in point of friendship t And for the Spaniards, they
would make a greater representation of distance than for the
Dutch. Fearing these^ but having felt, and smarted from the
Spaniards, who had once almost brought them under."— -Z)am«
jner'i Voyages^ Vol. I. p. 358,359

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OF TH£ INDIAN ISLANDSBS. 5S

indignity even to a stranger who could not defend
himself.

I shall conclude this review of the virtues of
the Polynesian tribes, by remarking, that they are
neither bigoted nor intolerant with respect to any
cliiss of opinions or practice, civil or religious.
They bear no rancour towards strangers, but readi-
ly tolerate their opposite manners, customs, and
jreligipns.

Under the head of weaknesses^ I shall chiefly
consider the creduhty and superstition of the In-
dian islanders. There is indeed no people more sim-
jple, credulous, and superstitious. It would require
a volume to describe all the forms under which
these weaknesses are displayed, but as the reader
will become better acquainted with the charactw
of the people by being furnished with a few ex-
amples, I shall attempt to give him the necessary
information at some length, confining myself chief-
ly to such as have fallen under my own observation.
They believe in dreams, in omens, in fortunate
and unfortunate days, in the casting of nativities, in
the gift of supernatural endowments, in invulnera-
bility, in sorcery, enchantments, charms, phil-
tres, and relics. There is not a forest, a moun*
tisin, a rock, or a cave, that is not supposed the ha-
bitation of some invisible being, and not content
with their own stock of these, their comprehensive
&ith has admitted those of Western India, of Ara-

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66 MANNERS AMD CHARACTER

bia, and of Persia. To lend an implicit belief to
all these, characterizes alike the high and the low,
from the prince to the peasant. These supersti-
tions are generally harmless and ino&nsiye, but, at
other times, the delusions to which credulity ex^-
poses these people operate in the most dangerous
and formidable manner.

Of the less dangerous forms which it takes, I
shall give as an example the frequent practice of
professed robbers in Java of throwing a quantity of
earth from a newly op^ied grave into the house
they intend to plunder, with an implicit; belief in
its potency in inducing a deadly sleep. Having
succeeded in casting a quantity of this earth into
the house, and, if possible, into the beds of the inha-
bitants, they proceed withconfidencein their plunder.
It is not the robber alone that has an entire belief in
the efficacy of this practice ; the c<mviction is equal-
ly strong on the minds of those who are the ob»
jects of his depredations. Quantities of the earth,
carefully preserved in cases, have been repeatedly
brought to me in the course of my officiid duties
found on the persons of robbers, who did not fail,
when interrogated, to be very explicit in their
accounts of its effects.

The baleful effects of superstition on the minds
of an ignorant and untutored people, is exemplified
in the laws against sorcery, found in the ancient
code of Java, which is in force at this day in

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OF THE INDIAN IBLANBEB8. 57

Bali. The fdilowing is an examjde : — ** If a per-
son Wjdte the name of another on a shroud, or on a
bier, or on an image of paste, or on a leaf which
be buries, suspends from a tree, places in haunted
ground, or where two roads cross each other, this
is sorcery. If a man write the name of another on
a scull, or other bone, with a mixture of blood and
diaicoal, and places the same at his threshold in
water, this also is sorcery. Whateyer man does so,
dudl be put to death by the magistrate. If the
matter be very clear, let the punishment of death
be extended to his parents, to his children, and to
his grandchildren. Let no one esCSipe. Permit no
one rebted to one so guilty to remain on the face
of the land, and let their property of every descrip-
tion be confiscated. Should the parents or child-
ren of the sorcerer reside in a distant part of the
ceuntry, let them be found out and put to death,
and let their property,, though concealed, be sought
for and confiscated."

When the proper cord is touched, there is hardly
any thing too gross for the belief of the Indian is-
landers. This degree of infatuation is best known
to us, as it affects the character of the Javanese.
It is not improbable that, were we equally well
acquainted with the rest of the tribes, we might
discover examples of credulity equally surprising.
The more agitated and varied life which the ma-
i^ime USbtB pursue, and their more extensive in-

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58 MANNERS AND CHARACTER

tercourse with foreigners, may preserve them in
some measure from becoming victims to so dis-
eased a degi^ee of credulity as that of which the
Javanese afford such extraordinary instances. Two
of these of a most singular nature I shall now quote.
Some years ago it was discovered, almost by aoci«
denty that the scull of a huffah was superstitious-
ly conducted from one part of the island to ano«
ther ! The point insisted upon was never to let it
rest, but keep it in constant progressive motion.
It was carried in a basket, and one person was no
sooner relieved from the load than it was taken up
by another ; for the understanding was, that some
dreadful imprecation was denounced against the
man who should let it rest. In this manner the
scull was hurried from one province to another,
and after a circulation of many hundred miles, at
length reached the town of Samarang, the Dutdi
governor of which seized it and threw it into the
sea, and thus the spell was broke. The Javanese
expressed no resentment, and nothing furtlier was
heard of this unaccountable transaction. With
whom, or where it originated, no man could tdiL
In the month of May 1814, it was unexpectedly
discovered, that in a remote but populous part of
the island of Java, a road was constructed, leading
to the* top of the mountain Sumbeng^ one of the
highest in the island. An inquiry bdng set on
foot, it was discovered that the delunon which gma

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OF THE INDIAN I8LANDERS« 5Q

rise to tke work had its origin in the province of
Beasgfmnas^ ip the teiritories of the Susunan, that
tJie inftctkm spcead to the tenritory of the Sultan;
innn whence it extended to that of the European
pcmer. On examination, a road was fimnd con-
atnicted twenty feet broad, and from fifty to sixty
miles in extent, wonderfiiUy smooth and well made.
One pouit which appears to have been considered
necessary was, that the road should not cross riversf,
the OQiisequence of which was, that it winded in a
thousand ways, that the principle might not be in-
fijnged. Another point as peremptorily insisted
upon was, that the straight course of the road
should not be interrupted by any r^ard to private
lights ; and in consequence trees and houses were
overtunied to make way for it. The population of
whole distncto, occasionally to the amount of fivci'
aad six thousand labourers, were employed on the
XMd, «nd among a people disinclined to active ex-
wtkm, tkud laborious work was nearly completed in
two Months ; such, was the eflfect of the temporary
enthusiasm with which they were inspired. It ap-*
peared in the sequel, that a bare report had set the
whde work in moticm. An old woman had dreamt,
or foetoided to have dreamt, that a divine person-
age was about to descend from heaven on the moun-
tain Sumbeng. Piety suggested the propriety of
e o il Bteu c tin g a road to facilitate his descent, and.
divine vengeance, it was rumoured, would pursue

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60 MANNERS AND CHARACTER

the sacrilegious person who refused to join in the
meritorious labour. These reports quickly wrou^
on the fears and ignorance of the pe<^le» and
they heartily joined in the enterprise. The old
woman distributed slips of palm leaves to the 1ft-
bourers, with magic letters written upon them,
which were charms to^secure them against wounds
and sickness. When this strange affiiir was disco-
vered by the native authorities, orders were given
to desist from the work, and the inhabitants re-
turned without murmur to their wonted occupa-
tions.

It seldom, however, happens in Java that these
wide-spread delusions terminate so happily as in the
instances which I have quoted. They are much more
frequently accompanied by formidable ihsurreetioiis,
and take place in times ^f anarchy, or when a pro-
vince is goaded to resistance by excessive extortion,
or other form of malgovemment. When a pro**
vince is in this unfortunate situation, the most con-
temptible pretender will have a crowd of followers ;
and one of any talents will be sure to head a fbr-
midable revolt. Hence the crowd of pretenders
under the name of Kramatit that in all ages have
disturbed the peace of Java.* Hardly a year passes

■ Kramaa is a word of the Javanese Ungoage meatuog
" rebel."

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OF THE INDIAN ISLANDERS. 61

that some vagabond does not declare himself a king,
a saint, or a prophet, proclaiming his intention of
redressing some earthly grievance, or pointing out
some new road to Heaven. ' Some of those impos-
tors go the length of preaching a new religion,
whilst others content themselves with declaring their
lineal descent from some popular monarch of ancient
Javan story; The kingdom of Cheribon had, about
a dozen of years ago, in the worst days of Dutch
rule> become the victim of the grossest misma-
nagement ;• and in the course of a few years, se-
ven or eight of these impostors sprung up. One of
them, imagined by the Dutch authorities, from
Jiis pompous title, the credit he acquired with the
people, and the number of his followers, to have
been a person of weight and talent, was discovered,
<m his apprehension, to be a wretched old man,
' covered with rags and sores. Another was a boy
BOt above fourteen years of age. The most formi^^
dable was Bogus Rangerij who, after disturbing
the province for six years, was not apprehended
until 1812, during the British administration. This
person, a man of mean origin, without the advan-
tages of education, and of a capacity not above me-
diocrity, pretended to be the founder of a new reli-
^on. Amidst Mahomedans he decried the doc-
trines of Mahomed without art or caution, and yet
thd people crowded round his standard ; and, at

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HQ MANNEAS A^D CHARACTER

times, ten thousand followers have been known to
have attended him.

These more general delusions, as already men«
tioned, may, as far as our information, extends, be
considered to belong more particularly to the
character of the Javanese. On minor occasions^
the maritime tribes are not a jot less superstitious*
On the superstitious attachment to relics, they
even go beyond them. Among the people of Ce-
lebes this is carried to an extravagance not easily
credited. The regalia of the different states consist
of a parcel of rusty iron weapons, such as krisefl^
hangers, spears, and other still greater trifles, which
are held in the most religious veneration ; nay, the
possession of them is held indispensably necessary
to the security of the government ; no prince being
sure of the allegiance of his subjects that wants
them. The regalia of Macassar were, about forty
years ago, in the hands of the Bugis sovereigns of
Boni, and they consequently acquired such an ascen-*
dancy in the affiurs of the state of Macassar, that
the European supremacy was undermined, and the
power of the government of the Goa Macassars
nearly destroyed altogether. In 1814, 1 saw them
surrendered, with great pomp and ceremony, into
the hands of the British authority, for the purpose
of being restored to the Macassars. Day and
i^ight they were watched ; and at stated times fu-
migated and perfumed. The apartment in which

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OF THE INDIAN ISLANDERS. 63

they were deposited was entered with more awe and
solemnity than the people were wont to observe in
approaching their temples. Many chiefs of high
rank attended at the first presentation, who refused'
to be seated) as usual, on chairs, in the European
fashion, because the regalia were borne by slaves,
who squatted on the ground, and it would have
been sacrilege in their eyes to have been seated
higher than these objects of their veneration. The
reader will feel some surprise when he hears an
enumeration of some of the principal articles of
the Macassar regalia. They consisted of such
as the following :-^The book of the laws of Goa,
•^the fragment of a small gold chain,— a pair of
China earthenware dishes, — an enchanted stone,
-^ popgun,— Hiome krises and spears, — and, above
all, the revered weapon, called the sudang, a kind
of hanger or cleaver ; the express object of which,
according to the naked expression of the people
themselves, was •* to rip open bellies /'*

Upon the subject of the superstitious attachment
to relics, it may be remarked, as a singular fact, that
among the Indian islanders it never takes, as in £u«
rope, a religious form. The genius of Mahomedan-
ism, to be sure; it may be said, is peculiarly averse
to it -, but among a people so imperfectly convert-
ed, this would have been disregarded, had there
existed any tendency in the society towards the
worship of relics.

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64f MANMBaS AND CHARACTEft

Among the weaknesses af the Indian islttiders
may be mentioned their fondness for external show
and pomp, and the facility with which their judg-
ment is carried away by a parade of them. Those
conceraed in governing them are aware of this,
and external pomp and ceremony become import*
ant instruments of government* They are apt
enough, indeed, to measure, at once, a man's great-
ness by the richness of his trappings and decora*
tions, or the number of his retinue. Mr Marsden
states, that the Sumatrans consider that we have
degenerated from the virtues of our ancestors, be*
cause our men do not wear full-bottomed wigs and
laced coats, nor our women hooped»petticoats and
high head- dresses! *

• Dampier gives a most accurate representation of this fea-
ture of the native character^ in the following ludicrous anec*
dote : ** Among the rest of our men that did use to dance thus
before the general, there was one John Thacker, who was a sea-
man bred, and could neither write nor read, but had formerlj
learnt to ddnce in the music-houses about Wapping. This
man came into the South Seas with Captain 'Harris, and get-
ting with him a good quantity of gold, and being a pretty
good husband of his share, had still some left, besides what
he laid out in a very good suit of clothes. The general sup*
posed, by his garb and his dancing, that he had been of
noble extraction, and, to be satisfied of his quality, asked of
one of our men, if he did not guess aright of him ? The man
of whom the general asked this question told him he waa
much in the right, and that most of our ship's company ^

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W TBB niDIAK isLAinnst* OS

I am BOW to oflfer the iMder a portrat of the^
Tices of the Indian islanders, an invidious under-
taking, Imt I shall endeavour to delineate it with<»
out extenuating or amplifying.

Beoenge^ the vi(^ of all barbarians, is the most
prominent in the character of the Indian islanders.
They can hardly forgive an injury, and are capable
of harbouring the longest and the deepest Mooted
resentment. In a state of society where there is no
regular administration of justice, but Where the se**
eurity of every man's honour, life, and property^
depends in no small degree upon his own arm, wt
may almost hesitate whether to pronounce the pas-
sion of revenge a virtue or a vice. Without itf
at all events, society could not exist. All the
tribes of the Archipelago, without exception, are
tinctured more or less with this vice) bnt^ as
we may naturally suppose, its most baleiul influ-

of the like extraction, especially all those that had ^ti& clothes;
and that they came abroad only to see the worlds having mo*
nej enough to bear their expences whereirer thej came ; but
that for the rest, those that had but mean clotheSi they were
only common seamen. After this the general shewed a great
deal of respect to all that had good clothes, but especially to
^tAok Thadcer, tiH Captain Swan came tc know the business,
and manred all, undeceiving the general, and drubbing the
Dobleaian; forhe was so much incensed against John Tback-
er, thai he could never endure him afterwards, though the
poor fallow knew nothing of the matter/' — Dampier'k Voij»
age$t p. 861 f 86$.

rot.!. B

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66 MANNERS AND CHARACTKB

ence is felt among the most turbulent. It is most
remarkably di^ayed in the character of the people
of Celebe^y and least so in that of the Javanese,
whose government is most despotic^ and whose
pharaoter is necessarily most servile and tame«

The spirit of revenge, with an impatience of re-
straintt and a repugnanpe to submit to insult, more
or less felt by all the Indian islanders, give rise to
those acts of desperate excess which are ^jell known
in Europe under the name of mucks. * This pecu-
liar form of exacting revenge, unknown to all other
people, yet universal in the Indian islands, and
reo(^nized throughout by one and the same name, I
strongly incline to suspect may at first h^ve been of
arfoitnuy institution, and have spread like other
general customs by the influence of one great tribe.
A muck means generally an act of desperation, in
which the individual or individuals devote their
lives, with few or nochances of success, for the gra-
tification of their revenge. Sometimes it is con-
fined to the individual who has oflPered the injury ;
at other times it is indiscriminate, and the enthu-
siast, with a total aberration of reason, assails alike
the guilty and the innocent. On other occasions,
again, the oppressor escapes, and the muck consists
in the oppressed party's taking the lives of those

* This word has bt:en tiaturalizird in our uwn iuut^uai^e.
*^Jo run afrnick^ signifies to run fuAdly, and attack all that
we n eet.*'— »/oA;«oji. Pope appears to have givea'stanip and

corrency to it. ^ . '

* -• •

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6F THE INDIAN ISLANDERS. 67

dearest to him, and then his own, that they and he
may be freed from some insupportable oppression
and enielty. In the year 181S, the Bugis slave of
8 Creole Dutch woman at Surabaya in Java ran a
muck of this last kind. His wife, who had been '
more particularly the object of the cruelty of the
mistress, he first put to death, and after her his three
children. With the youngest infant he rushed out
into the street, holding the bloody axe with which he
had perpetrated the first murders in hishand»and,in
the presence of two English gentlemen, decapitated
the infant, on which he threw the weapon from him
into the neighbouring canal, and surrendered himself
tothe gentlemen, begging them to take his life. The
Indian islanders apply the word muck to the charge
of Europeans with the bayonet, but this arises from
their associating it with the partial charges made
now and then in their own mode of war&re, by a
few devoted and insulated individuals, and which
are real acts of desperation, in which the calcu-
lation of success is quite overbalanced by that of
failure.

The most frequent mucks, by fiir, are those in
which the desperado assails indiscriminately friend
and foe, and in which, with dishevelled hair and
frantic look, he murders or wounds all he me^
without distinction, until he behimself killed,-— falls
exhausted by loss of blood,— or is secured by the ap-
plication of certain forked instruments, >;(^ith which
expetf ence has suggested the necessity of opposing

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68 MANNERS AND CHARACTER

those who ran a nmek, and with which, therefore,
the officers of police are always furnished. One
of the most singular circumstances attending these
acts of criminal desperation, is the apparently un-
]»reme<Utated, and always the sudden and unex-
pected manner in which they are undertaken.
The desperado discovers his intention neither by
his gestures, his speech, nor his features, and the
first warning is the drawing of the kris, the wild
shout which accompanies it, and the commence-
ment of the work of death. In 1814, a chief of
Celebes surrendered himself to the British and a
party of their allies headed by a chief. He was dis-
armed and placed under a guard, in a oomfortaUe
habitation, and the hostile chief kept him company
during the night. His kris was lying on a table at a
little distance from hinti About 12 o'clock at night»
while engaged in conversation, he suddenly started
from his seat, ran to his kris, and having possessed
himself of it, attempted to assasanate his compa-
nion, who, having superior strength, returned a mor-
tal stab. The retainers of the prisoner, who were
without, hearing what was going on within, attack-
ed those of the friendly chief and the European
centinels with great courage, and would have
mastered them^ had not the officer of the guard *

^ My friend, Captain Alexander Macleod of the BeR|M
military service.

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OF THE INDIAN IStANPSBS* 69

rashed oat with his drawn sword^ and overpowered
thoto who were engaged with them. When he
entered the apartment where the chiefs were, he
foond the eaptive chief expiring, leaning on the
aim and supported by the knee of his opponent,
who, with his drawn dagger over him, waited to
give him, if necessary, an additional stab.

In the year 1811?, the very day on which the
fortified palace of the sultan of Java was stormed,
» certain petty chief, a favourite of the dethroned
sultan, was one of the first to come over to the
ecmquerors, and was active, in the course of the
day, in carrying into effect the successfal measures
pursued for the pacifieation of the country. At
night be was, with many other Javanese, hospitably
received into the spacious house of the chief of
the Chinese, and appeared to be perfectly sa-
tisfied with the new order of thii^^. The house
was protected by a strong guard of Sepoys. At
Bight, without any warning, b«t, startii^ from
his sleep^ he commenced havock, and, before
he had lost his own life, killed and wounded a
great number of persons, chiefly his countrymmi)
who were sleeping in the same apartment with
Inm. I arrived at the spot a few seconds after
this tragical affidr, and found it, as is usual on
ancb occasions, a very di^Bcnlt matter to obtain a
trae account of an affiur in ita own niiture sufficient*
]y strange and unaccoimfsbki. It was only after a

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70 > MAVNERS AND CHARACTBE

time that the real circumstances aa now narrated
transpired. .

Although we cannot always be sure when an at*
tack of this nature is to be made, one thing we may
be certain of« that whenever an Indian islander
is placed, with aims in his hands, in a situation
where he thinks his life or his honour in danger,
the chances are, that he will devote himself to be
avenged of those he deems his oppressors, totally
regardless of all consequences. In our intercourse
with them we must always be prepared for such 9
result, and the natives are themselves so fully aware
of this feature of chai^acter, that the very first step
taken with a prisoner, however trivial his offence,
is to disarm him.

Another vice incident to such a state of society
as. that of the Indian islanders, is a disregard for
human life. They live in a state of turbulence
and anarchy ; the empire of law is next to nothing ;
death is familiar to the people, and has few terrors
for them, and the great body are in such a state
of degradation, that they neither value the lives of
each other, nor are those lives likely to be valued
by their chiefs, who despise them in every thing
else. The exercise of the right of private re^
venge. and the law which acknowledges it, demand
life for life, but both accept a pecuniary com»
mutadon ; so that every man's life has its pricCj
and that, too, not a very high one. Murders and as^

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OF THE INDIAN ISLANDERS. 71

sassinatiQUs are frequent, therefore, in every country
of the Archipelago. A hired assassin may be had
in Java. for twenty shillings Sterling, provided the
person to be assassinated be a plebeian, but' hardly
any consideration will obtain one to assaslsinate a
chief. 1 do not mean to assert that the abominable
and cowardly practice of employing hired despera*
dos is frequent in any cduntry of the Archipelago.
A man generally takes vengeance with his own hand,
but should he choose the less dangerous course, he
will find those who are not reluctant to be employ^
ed. In the year 1812, when I was Resident at the
court of the Sultan, a Chinese hired a Javanese to
assassinate another Javanese who had offended him.
The agent perpetrated the murder, and claimed his
reward, — as far as I remember, about fifteen shil-
lings. The Chinese refused payment. The mat-
ter having sometime afterwards come to light,
the Chinese absconded, and the Javanese having
been apprehended, made, in my presence, accord-*,
ing to the frequent custom of his countrymen, a
fiill confession of every circumstance.

Perfidy and faithlessness are vices of the Indian
islanders, and those vices of which they have been*
most frequently accused by strangers. This sentence
against them must, however, be understood with
some allowances. In their domestic and social in-
tercourse, they are far from being a deceitful peOpJe,
but in reality possess more integrity than it is rea-

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72 MANNERS AND OHABACTBB

fonable to look for with so much miagoTenunent
and barbarity. It is in their intercourse with
strangers, and with enemies, that, like other barba-
rians, the treachery of their character is displayed.
In these relations, good faith and integrity of con*
duct are known only where good government and
civilization prevail, and, where they are absent^
we are sure to have the opposite vices* Of aH
the people of the East with whom Europeans
have had an extensive commercial intercourse, the
Indian islanders are by far the most uncivilised
and barbarous* The singular value of the products
of their country, and the peculiar convenience of
the countries they inhahit for commerce, have
given birth to an extensiveness of iatercom'ae al-
most incompatible with their state of civilization.
Those acts of piracy, and other lawless attacks on
the property of strangers, insidiously perpetrat*
ed in accordance with the spirit of the aggres*
ttOBs of all people in such a stake of society,
are the results. Among a hundred nations of
independent barbarians, the plunder of the stran-
ger and traveller are no more looked upon as
crimes, than among the tribes of the deserts of
Arabia ; as, among the latter, the same stranger,
forlorn and destitute, would find an hospitable re-»
ception*

In their social and domestic states thefts and
robberies are extremely frequent, yet it would not

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OF TUB mmAN nLAvosti. 79

be just te pronounce tiie Indian idondera a people
of a tbievish disposition. These crimes are per-
petratedj in general^ only by the meanest and most
abwdoned of the pec^le ^ and even the common
peasantry are remarkable more generally for ho-
nesty and fidelity than the opposite vices.

Having furnished this general picture of the
character of the Indian islanders, I shall now con-
sider their conduct and manners as they are more
particularly displayed in their domestic and social
converse*

The most prominent of the domestic relations
r^flpecka the condition of women. The institution
of marriages I need hardly observe, is an univer-
sal ordinance of the Indian islanders , and the lot
of women may, on the whole, be conudered as
more fortuiiate than in any other country of the
east. In general, they are not immured at all,
and when they are secluded, it is but partially, and
not with, that jealous restraint which haa become
proverbial with respect to the manners of the east.
The husband invariably pays a price for his wife a*
mong all the tribes-, but notwithstanding, women
are not treated with contempt or disdain. They,
eat wkh the men, and associate with them in all
respeets on terms of such equality, as surprise us in
auch a condition of society. This ecpiality between
the aexes, it is ranarkable enough, is perhaps moft
tiwraiighl J mx^niied among the most waciike

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7i MANMBRS AND CHARACt^R

tribes. Among the nations of Celebes^ the most
warlike of the Archipelago, the women appear
in public without any scandal ; they take an active
concern in all the business of life ; they are con-
sulted by the men on all public aflPairsi and fre-
quently raised to the throne, and that too when the
monarchy is elective. Here the woman eats with
her husband, nay, by a custom which points at
the equality of the sexes, always from the very same
dish, the only distinction left to the latter being
that of eating from the right side. At public fes-
tivals, women appear among the men ; and those
invested with authority sit' in their counsels when
affairs of state are discussed, possessing, it is often
alleged, even more than their due share in the de-
liberations.

The present sovereign of the Bugis state of
Lawu, in Celebes, is wife to the king of Sopeng^*
another Bugis state, but the king of Sopeng does
not presume to interfere in the affairs of the state
of Lawu, which are administered by his wife, its
own proper queen. The wife of the respectable
Macassar chief, Kraing Lembang Parangs is so*
vereign of the little state of Lipukasi, and has the
reputation of being one of the first politicians of
Celebes. I saw this renowned lady at Macas^
sarin 1814* She appeared to be about fifty years
of age, and had all the appearance of intelligence and
lesolution. Not many days before I saw her, she had

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C9 YBS IKblAH ISLAKDER8* ^9

presented herself amoi^ the warrion of her party
drawn out before the enemy, upbraided them for
their tardiness in the attack, in lofty terms, and
demanded a spear, that she might show them an
example. Encoaraged by her exhortations, it ap-
pears they went forth, and gained an advantage.

Celebes is not the only country of the Archi-
pelago in which women are raised to sovereign au-
thority. There is hardly a country of it in which
women have not at one period or another of their
history sat on the throne; and it may be remark-
ed, that the practice is most frequent where the
government is most turibulent.

In Java, the rank of women is not so distin-
guished as in Celebes, but they are treated, not-
withstanding, with much consideration, — without
coarseness, brutality, or n^lect; and mal-treat-
ment, to the extent of personal violence* is equally
unknown to the Javanese, and all the other tribes.
The Javanese women are industrious and labori-
ous beyond those of all the Archipelago, but their
labour, instead of being a slavery imposed upon
them by the men, becomes, through its utility
to the latter, a source of distinction. Their
faculties, indeed, exercised in the various branch-
es of domestic and agricultural economy, in
which they are so often employed, places their
understandings on many, points above those of

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70 HANKERS AND CHABACTSB

the men. The seclusion of women in JaWi^
takes place only among the better classes^ but
even with them it is not very rigid. They are
rather withdrawn from the publie gaze, and from
the stare of strangers, than immnred. British
gentlemen, after they became known to the nar
tive princes, were always admitted into their
harams to pay thdr respects to the princesses;
The wife and daughters of the chief of Samarang
made their appearance at the public parties given
by the British and the Dutch, where they acquit-
ted themselves with a delicacy and prcfprietj which
did honour to their high rank. The re^etable
chieftain himself, it may be remarked, was the
most punctilioQS Mahomedan, on essential points^
of all his countrymen.

It is only where the greatest intereourse; has
taken place with foreigners, and where the Arabs
and western Indians have left an impression of their
peculiar habits, that women are in any constderable
degree immured, as among the greater nnmber of
the Malay tribes.

Polygamy and concubinage are tolerrted in every
country of the Archipelago, that is, they exist a*
mong a few of the higher ranks, and may be look-
ed upon as a kind of vicious luxury of the great,
for it would be absurd to imagine, since the preju*
dice which supposed a numerical disproportion of
the sexes has been long ago abandoned, that po-

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or THE IKDUK IftLAVOIM. 77

lygatny or coQcubini^ should be as inatitutipn af-
fectiiig the whole hum of society. It miwt be ad*
mitted, however, that their preyalence among tho
h^her orders, those whose maimers give an ezam^
pie to the society, must contribute to degrade and
vitiate the female character. In the circumstances
under which the interoourse takes place, there are
some which conduce to mitigate its influence even
in this respect. The wife of the first marriage is
always the real mistress of the family, and the rest
often little better thaa her handmaids. No man
will give his daughter for a second or third wife
to a man of his own rank, so that, generally, no
wife but the first is of equal rank with the hus-
band.*

* The following picture of the cooditioo of women among
tlie tribes of the Archipelago is given by an excellent aotho*
rity 1—^ They did never stir oat of their own roooi whea the
general was at home, but as soon as he was gone out, they
would presently come into our room, and sit with us all day,
and ask a thousand questions of us coacemiug our English
wonen, and mxr customs. You may imagine that before this
time, some of os had attained so much of their languags as to
uaderstaiMl theUy and give answers to their demands. I re»
aember that one day they asked bow many wives the king of
England had ? We told them but one, and that our English
kws did aoi allow of any more* They said it was a strange
custom that a man should be confined to one woman ; some
«f them said it was k very bad law, but others a^ wd tt

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Ji XAimERS AND CHARACTER

It 18 on the subject of female chastity of all others,
that there is the greatest disparity in the manners
of the Indian islanders among themselres. Among
the peo^e of Sumatra, among the Malayan states,
in Borneo and the I^sninsula, and among the people
of Bali and Celebes, a nice regard to female virtue
prevails* In Java alone, there is a very general
laxity, and frequently a great dissolution of morals,
oh this point. In all the countries of the ArchK
pelago, divorces may, by law or custom, be readily
obtained. But,' in all but Java, they are very sel*
dom sued for ; in Java there is a very wantonness

wa8 a good law ; so there was a great dispute among them
about it. But one of the general's women said positively, that
oor law was better than theirs, and made them aJl silent by
the reason which she gave for it. This was the war queen,
as we called her, for she did always accompany the geneml
whenever he was called out to engage his enemies, but the rest
did not.

** By this familiarity among the women, and by often dis-
coursing with them, we came to be acquainted with their cm*
toms and privileges. The general lies with his wives by turns,
but she by whom he had the first son has a double portion of
his company ; fcr when it comes to her turn, she has him two
nights, whereas the rest have bim but ono. She with whom
he is to lie at night, seems to have a particular respect shewn
her by the rest all the precedent day ; and, for a mark of dis-
tinction, wears a striped silk handkerchief about her neck, by
which we knew who was queen that day.*'— Z>ffmpi>r'« Tq^
ages, Vol. I. p. 367, 368.

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0» THE INDIAN ISLAMDEES. 79

jon this pmnty nvhich in some cases is hardly short
of absolute prostitution. The caprice which gives
rise to them most frequently originates with the
women. It is not unfrequent to see a woman who,
before she is thirty, has divorced three or four hus-
bands ; 1 remember one case being pointed out to
me of a woman, who, at the moment, was living
with her twelfth mate. In Java food is abundant,
And the women beinglaborious, careful, and industri-
ous, can earn a subsistence independent of the men,
while the latter are iqfinitely more tame and ser-
.vile than any other people o( the Archipelago.
Does this state of things, and the absence of good
morals and education to counteract it, give rise to
the singular libertinism of the Javanese women ?

In the intercourse of the sexes the greatest ds-
solution of morals prevails among the higher lunks^
and chiefly in the great native towns of Java.
In these circumstances intrigues are frequent, and
some ladies of the very highest rank have been
known to have their paramours almost publicly,
and often with the connivance of the husband.
' Jealousy of their females cannot well be said to
be a vice of the character of any of the Indian is-
bnders. This is shown satisfactorily in the publi-
city allowed to the women,*-in the men rendering
them the subjects oi conver8ation,-*and in direct
^ecmtiadietipn to the practice of the nations of con-

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80 MANNERS AND CHARACTER

iiuental India, considering complimentary inquiries
afterthemasnot insulting, but courteous. Although,
however, they are not jealous of their women, they
are jealous of their own honour in their persons^
and ready to avenge, at the risk of their lives, the
.lightest insult offered to them. In the year 17i8f ^
the prince of Madura, having been driven from his
throne by his rebellious brother, resolved to throw
himself on the protection of the Dutch, and for
this purpose came, with his family, on board of a
Dutch frigate lying in the harbour of Surabaya.
The Dutch captain received him with courtesft and
as his princess came on deck, took the liberty, with
more freedom than delicacy, of embracing her by
kissing her neck, a practice perhaps authorized by
the then manners of his country, but hostile, past
(endurance, to oriental fastidiousness. The princess^
imagining her honour in danger^ screamed aloud,
and the prince, rushing upon the commander, poig-
luurded him on the spot. His followers commenc-
ed a muck ; the crew of the ship retaliated, and
being eventually successful, put the prince and
many of his people to death, and decapitated and sent
the head of the former to Surabaya. These parti-
culars are faithfully extracted from the native an-
nals.

Instances of the same kind have occurred among
the Javanese, but they are, as we might suspect.

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OF THE INDIAN ISLANDERS. 81

far less scrupulous than the rest, as the following
anecdote, extracted from Javanese writings, will
show. . In the year I7O6, the Susunan Pakubu-
wana being at Samarang, and having gained some
advantages over his rival, gave public dances and
entertainments, at which the wives and daugh-
ters of the chiefs attended. The men of high-
est rank danced, according to the custom of
their country, and the heir-apparent, who was a
sikilful performer, exhibited with the rest. The -
beautiful wife of Martoyudo, son of the chief of
Samarang, saw him, was charmed with his person,
and struck with an irresistible passion for him, which
she soon found means to communicate. The
young prince in consequence visited the lady, and
was in the habit of passing the night with her
when the husband was absent on the public guard.
One morning, the prince staying later than usualf
the husband retu:ned and found the lovers to-
gether. He discovered the rank of his wife's para-
mour, and, discreetly coughing, gave the prince
an opportunity to escape. The offended husband
contented himself with giving his wife a drubbing. '
She effected her escape, and complained of his
cruelty to the Susunan, who being made acquaint-
ed with the transaction, and feeling the delicate
nature of his own situation, at the moment con-
tending for a crown, sent for the injured husband,
and, presenting him with valuable gifts, requested
him farther to select for a wife the handsomest
VOL. I. ' F n \

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82 MANNERS AND CHARACTER

female of his own family, in reparation for the injury
he had received. The prudent husband was satis-
fied with the valuable consideration . he obtained
in the way of gifts, and was content to take back his
faithless spouse !

Of the second capital relation of domestic life,
the union between parent and child, it is iparked
among the civilized portion of the Indian islanders
by tenderness and affection on one side, and obe-
dience and respect on the other. Parental autho-
rity is exercised to the latest periods of life, and
filial duty willingly returned. I do not think I
ever heard of an instance of cruelty on the one side,
or of insolence or neglect on the other. They
themselves consider a father and child as almost
inseparable, and when the one is punished the other
seldom escapes. In the year 1811, the sultan of
Java put to death his prime minister, and shortly
after, without alleging any offence, his aged father,
though he held no public employment, and was al-
together unconnected with any state affair. The elder
son, and heir-apparent of the same chief, having in-
curred his displeasure, he degraded the prince's
mother, the senior queen, to the lowest rank of his
wives, and when still farther offended with the son,
he imprisoned her. When the young prince just al-
luded to came to the throne, he placed his mother far
above his own queens in rank and authority, and treat-
ed her, as I was often witness to, with a filial piety the
most exemplary. When the sons of the respectable

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OF THE INDIAN ISLANDEUS^ 83

chief of Samarang returned from Calcutta, he told
me that he thought the eldest scipewhat deficient in
respect to him^ on which he admonished him, in terms
that made such an impression on the youth, that he
had never afterwards cause to be dissatisfied with
him. It is, indeed, in the relation between parent
and child, that the character of the Indian islanders
appears most unexceptionable and most amiable*

Fraternal affection, particularly between child-
ren of the same mother, is warm and active. The
history of Java does not present those frequent con-
tests between brothers for power, which are so of-
ten presented in the histories of the western coun-
tries of Asia. When they do occur, the person
whose want of success decides him to be the rebel,
is found to be almost always pardoned, when his
accomplices forfeit their lives. In the year 1645,
in the reign of the sultan Tagalarum, the very
worst of a long line of bad princes, his brother
Fangeran Alit revolted against him, and was slain
in a tumult. The sultan feigned the deepest sor-
row on the occasion, and, as an expiation, wounded
himself in the arm. This conduct on his par;,
barbarous and extravagant as it may seem, may
be considered as a concession to public opinion.
— ^Batara Toja was elected queen of Boni in 171*>
and from affection yielded the crown to her bro-
ther. This unworthy person was deposed, and she
was a second time chosen, and a second time she
yielded the crown to another brother.

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Si MANNERS AND CHARACTER, &C.

Fnehdship, or the state of tninds unitecl by mu-
tual benevolence, is a relation or virtue unknown
to tbe Indian islanders. I am not aware, indei^,^
tbat any one of their languages has a native wt^rd
to express it. Their beneficence seldom ertenAs
beyond the narrow circle of their own relations and
families. The attachment of a chief to his retaitt*
ersis, however, often strong, and the retainers ire-
turn it with double interest, and frequently dis-
play much fidelity and devotedness.

To their society or tribe the more improved na-
tions of the Archipelago show a degree 6f fondness
which may be favourably contrasted with the un-
worthy apathy in this respect of the nations of
Hindustan. They are jealous in a considerable
degree of the independence of their country, yet
they are not heard to speak with enthusiasm on the
subject, and probably would not make any cokiSa-
derable sacrifice in its cause. It wdul<^, therefore^
be going a good deal too far, to bestow on the sen-
timent they feel the respectable name of patriotism.

To the si>ot of their birth they feel the fondest
attachment. This passion is strongest with the
agricultural tribes, from their more settled and less
adventurous habits. The Javanese can hardly be
persuaded, for any ambitious prospect, to quit the
tombs of their fathers, and to remove them un-
der any other circumstance, is literally tearing
them from the soil.

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CHAPTER ni.

DOMESTIC CEREMONIES AND FAMILIAR USAOES*

Marriages. — Pmod of contracting marriages,^^Courtship. —
Different descriptions of marriage, — Betrothing. — Pay-
ment of a price for the toife^^'Marriage ceremony^^Cwim
summation.'^Cerenumies at births, — Bestowing qfnames.^^
CbrcumGisim^^^Fimeral ceremonies^-^Appearance qfbury*
ing'groundsn^^Pious attachment of the natives to them,^-^
Worship of ancestors. — Exterior manners of the Indian
islanders^^^Peculiarities in this respect. — Modes of address
and salutation^f^-^Observances at meals^^Practice of ehettf
ing the betel and areca preparation^^^Practice of using
tobacco. — Use qf^formetiied liquors^-^Vse of opium.

In this Chaptor I shall endeavour to furnish the
reader with a sketch of the domestic and familiar
institutions and usages of the Indian islanders.
Upon all the^sew subjects, the variation among them
is far less surprismg than the agreement ; for, even
ih matters apparently of arbitrary institution, a
singular uniformity is discoverable. I shall, as on
other occasions, hold the manners of the Javanese
chiefly in view, taking care, as I proceed, to re-
nuffk such important varieties or differences as the
mannezs of other tribes may exhibit.

I shall commence with the ceremonies connect-

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86 DOMESTIC CEREMONIES AMl>

ed with marriage^ considered by the natives them-
selves to be such important concerns of life. Mar*
riages are seldom, if ever, consummated until the
age of puberty with the women, and not for two
or three years after it by the men. To marry
their daughters about that age is a point of honour
with parents, for obvious reasons, in a country
where inclination is not restrained by the disci-
pline of education and morals. At the age of
eighteen or twenty, a woman in Java is called an
old maid, and an old maid is a suspected thing
among the Javanese. No age, however, excludes
a woman from the chance of a husband ; if she
cannot, at the usual age, make an eligible match,
she will be sure in time to make some match or
other ;^ so that I never saw a woman of two and
twenty that was not or had not been married.
Prudential motives often induce the men to delay
marriage even as late as the age of five and twenty.
Widows marry at any age, even to fifty ; but they
marry men of coirespohding ages with themselves ;
widowers do the same thing ; so that among the
Indian islanders one seldom sees any of those
discordant matches, from disparity of ages, that
frequently occur in other countries of the east.
Examples are even afforded of unions where the
husband is younger than the wife, and those where
the ages are equal are sufficiently common. The
-present sultan of Java> at whose nuptials I was

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YAMILUR USAGES. 87

present, was married to his own cousin, a very
pretty and interesting young woman, three years
older than himself.

The courtshipj if it deserve the name, is con-
ducted, not by the parties themselves, but by tkeir
parents. Their youth, and the state of morals,
generally render this necessary. The slightest in-
terference of the young people themselves would in-
deed be deemed matter of the utmost scandal. Con-
versing with an old chief on this subject, he told me
that the bridegroom and bride were looked upon,
in his phrase, as puppets in tJie performance. ♦

Marriages are of three kinds. The first, which

* <* But little apparent courtship precedes their marriages*
Their mannerd do not admit of it ; the bujang and gadis
(youth of each sex) being carefully kept amnder, and the
latter seldom trusted from under the wing of their mothers
Besides, courtship, with us, includes the idea of humble
entreaty on the man*s side, and favour and condescension on
the part of the woman, who bestows person and property for
love. The Sumatran, on the contrary, when he fixes his
choice, and pays all that he is worth, for the object of it,
may naturally cofQsider the obligation on his side. But stiJl
they are not without gallantry. They preserve a degree of
delicacy and respect towards the sex, which might justify
their retorting on many of the polished nations of antiquity^
the epithet o^ barbarians. The opportunities which the
young people have of seeing and conversing with each other,
are at the binibangs or public festivals, held at the bcdei^ or
town-hall of the dusun. On these occasions, the unmarried
people meet together, and dance and sing in company. It

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88 DOMESTIC dEREMoNI^iS AND

is the most usual, takes place when the r&iik of
the parties is equal, or that of the husband is
superior to that of the bride ; the second, when
the rank of the wife is much superior to that of
the husband, and he is adopted into his father-in-
law's family ; and the third is a kind of imperfect
marriage, or concubinage, which legitimizes the off*
spring, without placing them upon an entire equality
with those of the higher descriptions of marriage.
There are no persons, indeed, stigmatized by the
name of bastards, in the state of society which
exists in the Indian isles.

In the two first descriptions of marriage, there is
no difference in the ceremony ^ and in the last,
there is no ceremony at all, the marriage consist-
ing in the mere repute of the parties living to-
gether*

In the regular marriages, the parties are always
betrothed to each other for a longer or shorter
time, sometimes not for more than a month, and
at others for a period of years. I shall describe
the marriage ceremony of the Javanese in detail,

may be supposed that the young ladies cannot be long with-
out their particular admirers. The men, when determined
in their regards, generally employ an old woman as their
agent, by whom they make known their sentiments, and
send presents to the female of their choice. The parents
then interfere, and the preliminaries being settled, a bimbang
takes place."— Marififen'^ Sumatra, pp. ft65, !

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FAMILIAR USAGES. 89

as an e:tainple of those of the other tribes, which
differ very h'ttle from it.

The father of the young man, when he ima-
gines he has found a suitable match for his son,
waits upon the father of the young woman, and
makes proposals. A negociation commences, chiefly
conducted by the women, which, if successful, ter-
minates in the betrothing; and a trifling gift is
presented by the future bridegroom, in earnest of
the engagement. Among the Javanese, it is usual-
ly a ring, or piece of cloth ; and the ceremony
is denominated the panmgsat^ or binding. The
earnest delivered by the Malays is a quantity of
prepared areca, which gives name to the ceremony.*
The second portion of the ceremony consists in
the family and friends of the bridegroom pay-
ing a visit at the house of the bride's father, and
presenting fruits and viands. The object of this
ceremony, which the Javanese term lamaran^ is to
give publicity to the intended nuptials.

In the common marriages of the Indian island-
ers, a price is universally paid by the husband for
his wife ; and the third branch of the Javanese
liiattiage cereitionies has reference to the arrange-
ments for this important business, which are made
ihe night before the nuptials. The gifts consist, ac-
cording to the circumstances of the parties, of
— * •- ■ ■ - - -

^ *!ne l^oid is pittdngy from Whence w« have the verK
fn^minangy to betroth.

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90 DOMESTIC CEREMONIES AND

money, jewels, cloths, kine, buSalos, rice, &c.' In
the common language of Java, the nature of the
transaction is plainly enough implied in its name,
patukouy or the purchase-money^ which, however,
with some regard to delicacy, is occasionally called
srahariy or the deposit. Among some tribes, the
money or goods go to the parents of the young
woman, without limitation ; but in Java they are
generally looked upon as a settlement or provision
for the wife.

The only portion of Mahomedanism in the
whole ceremony consists in the bridegroom's appear-
ing at the mosque on the forenoon of the marriage
day, with his father-in-law, when engaging for the
mas kawiUy a trifling sum prescribed by the Ma-
homedan law ; he is then married, and takes the
vows according to the Mussulman ritual of mar-
riage. This last is a concession to their present
form of worship ; the rest is entirely native.

All the native ceremonies are solemnized at the
house of the bride's father, and not at that of the
bridegroom's father. In some parts of the island
of Java, so much deference is paid to the bride's
inclinations, that if it be demanded, the husband,
if of a different village or district, must come and
xeside in the village of his spouse. When I was
Resident of Surabaya, in 1815, a peasant came in-
to the Court of Justice, claiming that his wife, a
young girl whom he had just married, might be

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FAMILIAR USAeSS. 91

ordered to cmne hmae to him, and reside in hia
v31age. Nothing appeared more reasonable. The
parties appeared parMmaOy in court j and the
lady was inflexiUe in her determination to con-
tinue in her own vlDage. An old man was ex-
ammed upon the cnsfom of the country, which.
he captained in favour of the claims of the wife,
observing, in an ilhistration quite eharMrterBtic of
the mannen of the people : '' It is not the wild
hei&r that goes in quest of the wild bull, but the
bull that goes in quest of the heifer !^'

With respect to the details of ceremonials, they.

differ not only in every country of the Archipelago^

but in almost every district of the same countiy.

In Java, suffice it to say, that they consist of public

processions, in which the bride and bridegroom^

with' their friends, parade the country, village, or

towir, — attended by music, — decorated in their

gayest attire,*--«iQd decked with the borrowed jewels

of the best part of the neighbourhood. As much

^ of the parade as possible is equestrian, and the

bridegroom is always mounted. The bride is con«

ducted in a kind of open litter.

In the marriage ceremonies of persons of rank,
a person dressed as a buffoon or satyr precedes the
procession, eKhilnting strange and fantastic ges^
tures. At the marriage of the young sultan of
Java, already alluded to, this ridiculous object pre-

VOJL. I. *

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98 DOMESTIC CERSMOVI^ AND

sented itself at. the me^t solemn and affecting ptut
of the ceremony*

When the parties finally meek at the house of the
bride's father, the bride rises to receive her lover ;
he conducts her by the . hand to a distinguished
seat, prepared for the occasion, where, as a pledge
or token of sharing his future fortunes with her»
he presents her with a little rice, and they eat
from the same vessel. This exactly corresponds
with the Roman confarreation* In some parts of
Java, the bride, in token of subjection^ washes the
feet of the bridegroom ; and in others, for the same
reason, he treads upon a raw egg, and she wq)es
his foot.

Petty deviations of this sort are numerous, but,
generally, not worth noticing. One practice, dictat-
ed bysuperstition,asit illustrates the character of the
people, may, however, be particularized. In some
parts of Java, when a man marries a second or third
wife he is made to advance with an ignited brand in
his hand, on which the bride pours water from i^
vase, to extinguish it. A Javanese informed me that
he was present at one of these marriages, and that
the bride, a widow, tired of the operation of pour*
ing the water on the brand, dischai^ged the vessel
and its contents full in her lover's face>*

* Eadem nocte> qud ceremoniae hae fiunt, matrinumium
consummatum eat. Inter tribus omnes, rea aestimationi att}?

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f AMILIAR USAOBi. 99

On tibe day after the marriage, the bridegroom^
takes his wife home to his father's house, where a
great feast is given to the friends and relations of
both parties.

. The endless variety of ceremonies at births it
would little interest Ae reader to repeat, and the
detail would afford bim no insigbt into the cha-
racter of the people. When a woman quickens of
her fiist child, tliis is the occasion of a festival ;
when the seventh month of her pregnancy is suc-
eessfuUy passed, this is one for another ; when the
umlMlical cord drops off, this is the occasion of a
third. It is on this last tbat the child receives a
name ; but tbey have no solemnity corresponding to
our baptism. A native, accustomed to our manners,
told me tbat they bestowed names upon tbeir chil-
dren with as little ceremony as we did upon our
doga or horses ! Those who have a smattering of

nens putatur, ut aponss, quam maxime potest, resisteret ; ac
ne uxor ipsa quidem, sed etiam consanguinei sui, pertinaciA
qui contentio haec sustineatar, gaudent. Matres Madu-
renses^ annulis acutis filias subs h&c causA dooant, ac sponsi
Yultus matutinos signa saepe offert^ quomodo baec arma usa
fuerint. Sponsos, ex altera parte, atque amici sui, felicem
ac citum hujus pugnae eventum, siout triumphum, celebrant-
Me ipso apud Yugyakartam remanente^ successus talis in cu*
bOi regie, tormentorum bellicorum displosioni, cogoatis suis
divulgatQS fuit

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94> DOMESTIC CEREMONIES AND

Arabic, and make pretence to superior piety,
give Arabic names to their children. This is
common with the Malayan tribes. The Jaranese
content themselves with native names. The love of
progeny with aD is declared in the freqnency of the
practice among the lower orders, thfoQghont th^
different countries of the Archipelago, of the fa-
ther and mother dropping their own names as soon
as their first child, particularly if a boy, is bom. Tf
the child, for example, be called, as is frequent
enough, by such names as '* the Handsome Qne,'^
or ** the Weak Qne,'*^&c. the parents wiD be cdM
the " father and mother of the handsome one, tor
the father and mother of the weak one,*' AcJ

The names bestowed among the Indian islanders
may frequently be considered as titles^ and art
changed at every promotion of one's state or cir-
cumstances.

From the age of eight to twelve years, th^
ceremony of circumcision is . performed on the
male children, and in Java, I do not know whether
the custom be general, a corresponding ceremony
is observed in regard to the young women. ^

• « They circumcise the males at eleven or twelve years of.
age, or older ; and many are circumcised at once. This cere-
mony is performed with a great deal of solemnity. There had^
been no circumcision for some years before our ,l>eing1ier^ ;,
and then there was one for Raja Laut's son. They chuse to

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FAMILIAR USAGES. 95

The Junerals of the Indian islanders who are
Mahomedans ar6 conducted with a decent soIeinni«
ty^usually without clamour and without ostentation.
When a person dies in the evening, the body
is kept until the following morning, but if he
die whilst the sun is up, it is usually interred
the same day. Tbe observances of the funeral
are almost purely Mohamedan. The body, after
the customary ablutions, is wrapped in white cloth,
and without a coffin deposited in the grave. A
simple mound of earth, and a temporary wooden
frame, mark the place of interment \ it 'A sel-
dom that the grave is covered by a stone, and still
rarer that there is any inscription. In Java
there is a beauty and simplicity in the native
burying grounds^ which will not fail to attract the
notice of a person of good taste. They are ge-
nerally in a romantic spot, particularly a hill, at
some distance from the village, and consist of

have a general circumcision, when the sultan or goiu-rdl, or
some other great person, hath a son fit to be circumcised ; for
"With him a great many more are circumcised. There is
notice given about eight or ten days before for all men to ap.
pear in arms, and great preparation is made against the solemn
day. In the morning before the boys arc circumcised^ pre-
sents are sent to the father of the child, that keeps the feast;
which, as I said before, is cither the sultan, or some great per-
son ; and about ten or eleven o'clock the Mahomedan priest
does bis office. He t^kes hold of the foreskin with two sticks,
and with a pair of scissorsj snips it ofF."— DawjowrV Voyages^
Vol. I. p, 339. /

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96 DOMESTIC CEKEMONIES AND

grores of the samboja tree, a plant which, evai
when youngs from the fantastic growth of its stem,
ha3 a venerable and solemn aspect. * The little
mounds of earth at the foot of each tree alone point

• " At their funerals, the corpse is carried to the place of
interment on a broad plank, which is kept for the public ser-
vice of the dusun, and lasts for many generations. It is cod-
atantly robbed with lime, either to preserve it from decay, or
to keep it pure* No coffin is made use of ; the body being
aiipply wrapped in white cloth, particularly of the sort called
kummums* In forming the grave, fkubur,) after digging to a
convenient depth, they make a cavity in the side, at bottom,
of sufficient dimensions to contain the body, which is there de«
posited on its right side. By this mode the earth litetaUy lies
light upon it ; and the cavity, after strewing flowers in it^ they
stop up by two boards, fastened angularly to each other, so
that the one is on the top of the corpse, w,hi]st the other jde-
fends it on the open side ; the edge resting on the bottom of
the grave. The outer excavation is then filled up with earlfa ;
and iitUe white flags, or streamers, are stuck in order «iouiid«
They likewise plant a shrub, liearing a white flower, called
kmnbangk4mU>oJa, (Plnmcra obtusa,) and in some pkces wild
marjoram* The women who attend the funeral make a
hideous noise, not mnch unlike the Irish howl. On the third
and seventh day, the relations , perform a ceremony at the
grave, and at the end of twelve months, that of tegga batu^ or
setting up a few long elliptical stones, at the head and foot;
which, being scarce in some parts of the country, bear a con-
siderable price. On this occasion, they kill and feast on a
buffalo, and leave the head to decay on the spot, as a token
of the honour they have done to the deceased, in eating to his
memory. The ancient burying-places are called krammatf
and are supposed to have been those of the holy men bj

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FAMILUB USAGES. 97

out where the ''rude fore&thers of the hamlet
sleep/'

Among the many customs common to the In-
dian islanders, there is none more universal than
the veneration for the tombs of ancestors. When
the Javanese peasant claims to be allowed to culti*
vate the fields occupied by his forefathers, his
chief aigument always ia, that near them are the
tombs of his progenitors. A Javanese, as I have
remarked in aRother place, cannot endure to be
removed from these objects of his reverence and
affection ; and when he is taken ill at a distance,
. begs to be carried home, at all the hazards of the
journey, that he may '' sleep with his fathers/'
The bodies of some of the princes who died in
banishment at Ceylon, I perceive, were, at their
dying request, conveyed to their native island.

In Java, conformably to this feeling, there is an
annual festival on the eighth of the month of Shawid,
held in honour of ancestors. On this occasion, the
men, womeUi and children, dressed in their decent-
est attire, repair to the burying grounds, and pass
the day in devotion, each family strewing the
tombs of its progenitors with the flower of the

whom their aocestors were conyerted to the faith. They are
held in extraordinary reverence, and the least disturbance or
violation of the ground, though all traces of the graves be
obliterated, is regarded as an unpardonable sacrilege." —
Marsden's Sumatroi pp. 287^ 238.
VOL. r. G

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98 DOMESTIC CEREMONIES AMD

siUasi or Indian iu&if a plant cultivated in consi«
derable quantity for this express occasion.

In exterior manner, the moat accompliflhed and
courtly of the Indian islanders fall far short of
that ease and elegance of address which is so ge-
neral with the natives of Persia and HindustaOt
and which, however hollow and insincere, must
excite some share of our admiration. There is a
sort of rigid awkwardness in all their forms of ad-
dress, particularly if compared* to the supple
graces which distinguish the manners of the na-
tives of Hindustan. It will be almost unnecessary
to dweH upon those particulars in their external de-
meanour, in which they agree with other orientals.
It is respectful to cover the head, instead of un-
covering it as among U8» It is respectful to sit
instead of standing. It is the very highest degree
of respect to turn one^s back upon a superior, and
of);en presumption to confront him. It is the
custom to sit crossJegged and on the ground.
When an infariw addresses a superior, his obeisanoe
consists in raising his hands, with the palms join-
ed before his face, until the thumbs touch the nose.
This he repeats at the end of every sentence, and
if very courtly, at the conclusion even of each clause.
When equals meet, their salutation is cold and
distant, but in the ordinary intercourse of life, a
relative superiority or inferiority of condition is
usually confessed, and a demonstration of it con-

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FAMILIAR USAQBS. 99

atantly takes place. If a son has been long absent
from his fiither, he throws himself at his feet and
kisses them. A demonstration of aflfectton, less
pnrfbond, wonld extend the embrace only to the
knee, bnt a very obsequious courtier will sometimes
take his monarch's foot and place it on his head*
The association between loftiness and humility of
mannoFi and physical superiority and inferiority, ap-
pears to be constantly present to their minds. An
inferior never stands upright before a superior. If he
stand at all, the body is always bent ; if he sit, it is
the same thing, and his eyes are fixed to the ground.
When he advances and retires, he moves as if on
aUUfouis, and crswls or creeps rather than walks.
There is one mode of demonstrating aflfection and
respect, particularly nauseous and indelicate. It
consists in the superior's offering to the inferior the
chewed refuse of the betel and areca preparation
as a mark of great affection, which the latter
swaUows witib much satisfaction. *
« - J . -^, . - - - - ■■ , ■ ' ' ' .

• ^* The Ung is poor, proud, ani beggarly ; he never
liih of visiting stmnger nerchaiits at ibeir coming to his port,
and then, according to custom, he must have a present.
When the stranger returns the visit, or has any business with
him, he must make him a present, otherwise he thinks due
respect is not paid to hiro, and in return of these presents, his
majesty will honour the stranger with a seat near his saered
person, and will chew a little betel, and put it out of his royal
mouth on a little gold sauceri and sends it by his page to th«

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100 DOMESTIC CEREMONIES AND

The salutation by touching the lips is wholly
unknown to the Indian ishmden. The parallel
c^emony with them both expresses and impliet3 to
smell. This is universal among all the tribes.
The same term always expresses, in every language^
the action of smellmg, and this singular mode of
salutation. The head and neck are the usual ob-
jects of the embrace, the performance of which b
always accompanied by an audible effort, corre-
sponding with its literal import.

At meals, not much delicacy of manner, is ob«
served by the Indian islanders. The direct grati-
fication of the appetite, without much regard to
the manner, is the principal object everywhere, in-
deed, out of modem Europe, where alone refine-
ment and sentiment attempt to throw a veil of de-
corum over every indulgence of mere sensual ap-
petite* Like other orientals, the Indian islanders
squat down, and eat on the ground, or on covers
little above its level. The naked hand alone is us-
ed to convey the food to the mouth, which, con-
sisting of rice of an adhesive character, which is
readily wrought into a ball, and offish, or other
animal food, cut into little fragments, renders su-
perfluous either knife, fork, or spoon. Ablutions

stranger, who must take it with all the signs of humility and
satisfaction, and chew it after him, and it is very dangerous
to refuse the royal morsel."— Ham Jfto»'* New Account of the
East Indies^ Vol. II. p, 72.

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FAMILIAR USAGES. 101

are carefully perfonned both before and after
meals. *

As connected with the domestic manners of the
Indian islanders, reference requires to be made to
the peculiar forms among them of using intoxicat-
ing or narcotic drugs.

The most important of the practices connected
with this subject, is that of chewing the prepared
areca and betel, t so wide -spread and universale
This is one of those customs of arbitrary institution
which, in all probability, originated with one tribe^
and from them was disseminated among the rest.
The names of both plants are nearly the same in
every language of the Archipelago, and they are
both indigenous. It is more likely, indeed, that
the use of the areca, the leading ingredient, like
that of the clove and nutmeg, was communi-
cated from the people of the Archipelago to

* ** They use no spoons to eat their rice, but every man
takes a handful out of the platter, and by wetting his hand in
water, that it may not stick to his hand, squeezes it into a
lump, as hard as possibly he can make it, and then crams it in-
to his mouth. They all strive to make these lumps as big as
their mouths can receive them, and seem to vie with each
otlier, and glory in taking in the biggest lump, so that some-
times they almost choak themselves." — Dafnpier*$ Voyages,
Vol. I. p. S29.

f The words areia and ieleUf almost naturalised in our
own language^ belong originally, I believe, to the Telinga.

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102 DOMESTIC CEREMONIES AND

the neighbouring nations, than that it was in-
troduced among them by foreigners. In coniir-
mation of this, it may be observed, that among
the Asiatic nations, the use of the preparatiiHi
diminishes in frequency as we recede from the
Archipelago, and that the neighbouring nations
are to this day supplied with a great share of their
C(msumption of the drug from that country. The
wide extent of the practice of chewing the betel
will surprise no one who considers the universal
fascination of narcotic drugs, and who adverts, in
confirmation of it, to the "wondeirfid history of the
dissemination of the tobacco plant.

The whole preparation consists, as is pretty well
known, of the pungent and aromatic leaf of a species
of pepper vine, which grows luxuriantly, and with
little care, in the Indian islands, a fact which im-
plies that it is indigenous ; a small quantity <^ ter-
ra japonica, an agreeable bitter astringent ; a mi*
nute proportion of quicklime ; and, above' all, the
fruit of the areca palm, which, in one or two of
the languages, we find distinguished by the name
of '* the fruit/' This last is gently narcotic, and
hence, I imagine, the charm which renders the
whole preparation so bewitching to those who use
it. Persons of all ranks, from the prince to the
peasant, are unceasingly masticating it, and seem to
derive a solace from it which we can scarce under-

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VAMILUB USAGES. 103

Standi and which Aej cannot explain. * When the
preparation^ through mastication, is mixed with the
saliw^ the latter assumes a dirty brownish red»
which colouia the teeth, gums, and lips, leaving,
aait dxies upon the latter, a black-coloured margin.
These nauseous particulars are, to the siltprise of
strainers, considered a beauty, such is the effect of
CQStmn. No mouth is thought handsome that is
not engaged in chewing the betel, and in their
poetBy a lo^er is often described comparing that of
his mistress to the fissure in a ripe pomegranate,
the aptness of the simile consisting in the compa-
rison of the stained teeth to the red grains of the
fruit, and of the black stain on the lips to the hue
which the broken and astringent rind assumes on
eKposiire to the air*

in common with the rest of mankind, the In*
dian ishmders luure adopted the use of tobacco.
The one name by which it is recognized in all the
languages of the Archipelago, and that the Ameri-
can, or rather the Enropean, points out firon^ what

* ^ They are always chewing wrtccOp a certua fruit, like a
pear cut in quarters, and foiled up in leaves of a tree called
htttrt^ {oT veteU^) like bay leaves ; which having chewed, ihey
spit forth. It makes the mouth red. They say they do it to
comfort the heart, nor could live without it.**— i^a/^to in
Purchasy Book ii. p. 38,

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104 DOMESTIC CEEBMOMIES AND

source it Was derived. ^ The practice of smok«
ing it was introduced in Java about the year I6OI9
according to the Javanese anHals, only forty years
after its first introduction into the southern coun-
tries of Europe, and but fifteen years after its in-
troduction into England. Most probdiily it was
introduced by the Dutch, who came, to Java but
five years before* Had the Portuguese taught the
natives the use of it, the era of its introduction
would have been earlier, from whence we may in-
fer, that the use of it, at an early period^ was not
common among that people themselves, t

The fascination by which all mankind are led to
the consumption of this plant, is no doubt owing
to its agreeable narcotic qualities ; but these quali*
ties, however alluring, would never have led to
the general use of it,' '' from China to Peru,'' had
it not been the only agreeable narcotic which may
be said to grow, and to grow with little eare or
trouble, in every climate, the circumstance al(me
which could render it cheap enough to be oonsum-
ed by all mankind. Could the tea plant have been

* The term by which the plant is known to the Javanese,
in the factitious language of ceremony, is somewhat whimsical.
It is sotOt which also means a game-cock. This points at the
estimation in which both the plant and animal are held.

f Neither Pigafetta, Drake, nor Cavendish, make mention
of tlie use of tobacco among the Indian islanders.

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FAMILIAR USAGES. 100

SO cultivated, we should certainly have found the
use of it not less universal.

The practice of smoking tobacco, first tried, has
been generally discontinued, and the Indian islaind*
ers now use it in a peculiar manner* The tobacco
is finely sbred, and a portion of it; in this form, is
pretty constantly held between the lips and teeth,
and, when the person wishes to speak, thrust be*
tween the latter and the gums, adding, in either
case, greatly, in the opinion of a stranger, to the
disgusting efiects of the betel and areca prepara-
tion.

The Indian islanders are well known to be pas-
sdonately addicted to the habitual use qf opium, and
yet the general use of this drug is but of compara-
tively recent introduction. They may have been
taught the use of it by the Arabs ; but the exten-
sive and pernicious consumption which now dis-
tinguishes the manners of the Indian islanders, is
to be asoribed to the commerce of the Europeans,
and to the debauching influence of Chinese man-
ners and example* Such is the universal taste for
this drug, that it is limited only by the price. It is
consumed, of course, in greatest quantity where it is
cheapest, and a very inconsiderable rise or fall in
price will augment or diminish the consumption in
a surprising degree, even in countries where the
people have been long accustomed to the habitual
use of it. It is, however^ a luxury, and a luxury

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106 DOMESTIC CEREMONIES AMD

very highly taxed, and, of course, the consuiap-
tion is far from being universal. The opium
jM^py is fortunately not a native of the Archipela-
go. Had it been so, a consumption of the drug xo-
extensive with that of the areca and betle prepara-
tion might be apprehended^ and the destructive
consequences to population and morals would be
certain* The habitual use of <^um is wholly un-
like that of the gentler narcotics, tea, coffee, are*
ea, and even tobacco, but is far more pernicious
than that even of any description of fermented li-
quor* As long as the use of it is restricted, it
produces no ill consequences, but it is more seduc-
tive than any other intoxicating drug, and the
free use of it more deleterious. The abuse of
it is soon discovered by those accustomed to ob-
serve its victims. It produces general emacia-
tion, a wild stare of the eye, a oough, a hectic, and
a total loss of appetite. The whole of the tribes
d the Indian islands invariably smoke, instead of
eating or chewing opium, like the Turks, and
other people of Asia. The case is eiactly reversed
with respect to it and tobacco. The mode of pre-
paring and using it is well described by Mr Mars-
den. '* The method of preparing it,'' says he,
'' for use, is as follows : The raw opium is first
boiled or seethed in a copper vessel ; then strain-
ed through a cloth, to free it from impurities ; and
then a second time boiled. The leaf of the tam^

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FAMILIAR USAGES. 107

baku^ dued fme, is mixed with it, in a ifuantitjr
sufficient to absorb the whole ; and it is afterwanfa
naade up into small ^s, about the size of a pea,
fiff smoking. One of these being put into the
smi^l tube that projects from the side of the opium
pipe, that tube is applied to a lamp, and the pill
being lighted, is consumed at one whi£Pw inflation
of the lungs, attended with a whistling noise. The
smd^e is nev^ emitted by the mouth, but usually
receives vent through the nostrils, and sometimes,
by adepts, througlHhe passage of the ears and eyes.
This preparation of the opium is called maodiat,
and is often adulterated in the process, by mixing
jaggri, or pne sugar, with it ; as is the raw opium,
by incorporating with it the fruit of the pisang, or
plantain."*

The Indian islanders, although addicted to the
use of intoxicating drugs more generally and more
extensively than any other people, yet have no strik-
ing bias for vinous or spirituous liquor. I look
upon this to be a constitutional matter, and the re-
sult of climate, for I believe the passion for spiri-
tuous liquor has never been known to exert a per-
nicious influence over the inhabitants of tropical
climates. Had such a passion been niU;ural to the
Indian islanders, the productions of their country

* Marsderis Sumatra^ p. 2779 S7S.

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108 DOMESTIC CEREMONIES, &C.

would have afforded abundant means of gratifying
it. They manufacture a sort of beer from rice, by
a cheap and expeditious process, and their many
palms affqrd a cheap and abundant supply of wine
of an agreeable taste, and, when in a state offer-
mentation, highly intoxicating. Of these resources
they cannot be said to take an undue advantage.
Some of the tribes are restrained, indeed, by re-
ligious motives, but others, who have no scruples
of this description, are sober, and although an
occasional debauch may be committed, habitual
drunkenness is so rare, that in my extensive inter-
course, I cannot remember a single example of it.

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CHAPTER IV.

GAMES AND AMUSEMENTS OF THE INDIAN
ISLANDERS.

Universal passion ofihe Indian islanders for flay,>^Examplei
quoted.'^-Gttmes of hazard^-^CAess.-^Combat of animals*
— Cock-^ghlingr-^Qjuail^hting^^Combat of warlike eric*
kets, Sfc-^Combat of the tiger and buffaio^-^Con^t of the
toildboar with rams and goats, — Games of exercise. — Tbur-
namentf* — The chace. — Manner in which it isJoUoxoed in
Celebes* — In Java, — Love of dancing, — Character of the
dances oj the Indian islanders, — Dijffereni descriptions of
it. — Intellectual amusements^^^The dranuu-^The Java*
nese the inventors of the Polynesian drama, — Different de^
scriptions of dramatic exhibitions, — Subjects of the Java*
nese drama, — Indian islanders passionately Jbnd qfdrama^
tic exhibitions, — An improved drama might be successful^
ly introduced among them^ as an instrument of civilization.

The Indian islanders, like all people unaccuston-
ed to regular and systematic occupation and indus-
try, are passionately fond of play, and those tribes
naturally carry it to the greatest degree of extrava-
gance whose habits and lives are most irregular
and unsettled. The Malays and inhabitants of
Celebes are, by their extravagant attachment to
gaming, distinguished beyond all the rest. Even
among the Javanese, though they lead lives of

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1 H) GAM£8 AND AMUSEMENTS

greater tranquillity, and are more in the exercise
of habitual industry, the passion is general, pervad-
ing all orders, from the prince to the peasant. In
illustration of the influence of this propensity, I
shall mention a few instances, from which the read*
er will judge of its extent. In the central and
most commercial provinces of Java, there is a class
of ambulatory labourers, usually denominated fia-
tOTf and these afford to the stranger the most strik-
ing example of the pernicious effects of this vice*
These persons are thoughtless and extravagant,
and by starts idle and laborious. No sooner have
they received their hard-earned wages, than they
Jarm a ring on the public street or highway^ sit
down deliberately, and squander it away* A per-
ason travelling through the most frequented roads
of Java is constantly presented with such scenes.
Such exhibitions, however, are not confined to this
more dissolute class. On a market day, in every
part of the country ^here open gaming is not abso-
lutely prohibited, men and women, old and young,
form themselves into groups in the streets of themar-
ket, &r the purposes of play, and the attention of
the stranger is soon attracted to these crowds, by the
tumultuary and anxious vociferation of the players.
Of the passion of the Javanese for play, we have
another striking illustration in the artifice resorted
to by the proprietors of treasure, or other valuable
property, to protect it at night frmn the depredation

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OF THE INDIAN I8L ANBERS. Ill

of thieves, when it is transported from one part of
the country to another. The only antidote to the
sujMne carelesmess and somnolency of the Javanese
is play, and the proprietor of the property, there-
fore, furnishes the party with a sum to gamhle for,
which insures a degree of vigilance which no in«
ducement of fear, duty, or reward, could com-
mand!

When engaged in play, we imagine the charac«
ter of the natives appears for the moment thorough*
ly changed, for their grave, orderly, and calm man-
ners, are changed into inqiatience, eagerness, and
boisterous noise.

Among the Malays and people of Celebes, the
influence of play is still more violent. After los-
ing their money, they stake their jewels, their side-
arms, their slaves, and, it is often alleged, men
their wives and children, or, in the last extremity,
their own personal freedom. With these tribes,
the disputes which arise at the gaming-table are
often terminated by the dagger, or generate in-
curable feuds between families.

Games of hazard are the favourites of the In-
dian islanders. They do not much practise games
of sedentary ddll, and games'of exercise are neither
congenial to their habits, nor to the climate they
inhabit.

Of games of hazard, the most common and most
gambling is a kind of chuck-farthing, acquired from

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112 GAMES AND AMUSEMENTS

the Chinese, the most debauched of gamesters.
From them, too, they have acquired the knowledge
of cards, and of a kind of faro. From the Portuguese
they have acquired the knowledge of dice, as the
name (daduj implies. Among the Javanese, the
only game of pure hazard of native origin, consists
in guessing the number of beans, of certain de-
scription, which the players hold in their hands. It
is called by them Talagatari.

Of the sedentary games of skill, the native ones
are a variety of descriptions played on checkers
resembling our draughts.

Of the celebrated game of chess, supposed'to
have been invented by the Hindus, I must on this
account say more than would otherwise be necessa-
ry. The collateral evidence afforded on this sub-
ject, from an examination of its history among the
Indian islanders, does not tend to corroborate the
hypothesis of chess having been invented by the
Hindus. The Javanese, the tribe with whom the
intercourse with the ancient Hindus was most bu-
sy, hardly know the game but by report, and even
thus far they know it only by its Persian name.
The Malays, on the contrary, know the game well,
and are fond of it ; but then they havd acquired it
in comparatively recent times, and in their mod^n
intercourse with the Telingas. The evidence of
language not only shows this, but shows also that
the Telingas must themselves have borrowed

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OF TBE IKBIAN IHLAKDERS. 1 1 S

k from the BersiaBs. Chatur^ the nmne of the
game, is Peroiaii^ and not Indian* Sah^ ** chedc^''
is the Persiaii word shah, king, and the only way
in which the Indian islanders con pronounce it.
Bidahf a pawn, is but a corruption of the Persiftn
word piadah, a foot-soldier ; ter, the Malayan
name of the castle, is of the vemaodar language of
Kalinga J md mat is not, as some have imagined, a
corruption of the Malayan word maH, dead, but the
true Persian word for check-mate, borrowed by our-
selyes, and still more accurately by the French.

Is it not probable, that, had the Hindus, when
they enjoyed a monopoly of the intercourse with
the Indian islanders, known the game of chess,
they would have recommended themselves to a
people passionately addicted to play, by instructing
them in this interesting game ? They did not in-
strufCt them ; and the probability therefore is, that
they themselves did not understand it. Sir Wil-
liam Jones acknowledges, that no account of such
a game exists in the writings of the Brahmans.

But i£ all the species of gaming, that to which
the Indian islanders are most fondly addicted is
staking on the issue of the combat of pugnacious
animals. The cock, from his superior courage, is
the great favourite ; and the diversion of cock-
fighting is most especially in vogue among the
Malays, the people of Celebes, and the Balinese.
To these tribes the *game-cock is such an object of

VOL. I. H

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114 GAMES AND AMUSEMENTS

interest) that their songs and poetry are full of his
praises. The breed most esteemed is the produce
of Celebes. The Javanese fight their cocks, like
the Mahomedans of Hindustob, without spurs;
the Malays, Bugis, and Macassars, with an artificial
^ur, in the shape of a small scjrthe, which, how-
ever, notwithstanding its barbarous appearance, is
in reality less destructive than the form in use
among ourselves.

Quail-fighting, more particularly among the Ja-
vanese, is extremely common. The most famous
breed is brought from the island of Lombok. It is
singular that it is the female, the male being com-
paratively a timid and small bird, which is used in
these bitter, but bloodless combats.

The Javanese do not disdain to be amused by a
battle between two warlike crickets, called, in their
language, ^Vzyig-AreA, nor hesitate to bet considerable
sums on the result. The little animals are excited
to the combat by the titillation of a blade of grass
judiciously applied to their noses I !

The puerility of the Javanese in matters of
this sort does not end here. They will risk their
money jon the strength and hardness of a parti-
cular nut, called the k&miri, and much skill,
patience, and dexterity, are consumed in the se-
lection and the strife. At other times the com-
bat, which is to decide the fortune of the parties^
is between two paper kites ; the object in this strife

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OF THE INOIAK ISLANDE1U3. 115

being the fall of the adversary by the destruction
of its string. In a favourable day, fifty or sixty of
these will be sometimes seen hovering over a Java-
nese city.

Other diversions, depending on the courage or fe-
rocity of animals, and independent of (diay, are com*
mon* Among the Javanese, the most interesting of
these is the combat of the tiger and bufiklo. The buf-
falo of the Indian islands is an animal of great size
and strength, and of no contemptible courage ; for he
is an overmatch for the royal tiger, hardly ever failing
to come off victorious in the fight with him. It must
be confessed that there is no small satisfaction in
seeing this peaceful and docile animal destroy his
ferocious and savage enemy. Neither are possess-
ed of much active courage j the tiger, indeed, is a
coward, and fights only perfidiously, or through
necessity. On this account, it is necessary to con-
fine them within very narrow limits, and farther,
to goad them by various contrivances. A strong
cage, of a circular form, about ten feet in diame-
ter, and fifteen feet high, partly covered at the
topf is for this purpose constructed, by driving
stakes into the ground, which are secured by being
interwoven with bamboo. The buffalo is first in-
troduced, and the tiger let in afterwards from an
aperture. The first rencounter is usually tremen-
dous ; the biiffalo is the assailant, and his attempt
is to crush his antagonist to death against the

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lis GAMES^AND AMUSEMENTS

Strong walls of the cage, in which he frequghdy
succeeds. The tiger, soon convinced of the su-
perior strength of his antagonist, endeavours to
avoid him, and when he cannot do so, springs in-
sidiously upon his head and neck. In the first
combat of this nature to which I was witness, the
buffalo, at the very first efibrt, broke his antago-
nist's ribs against the cage, and he dropped down
dead. The buffalo is not always so fortunate. I
have seen a powerful tiger hold him down, thrown
upon his knees, for many seconds ; and in a few
instances, he is so* torn with wounds that he must
be withdrawn, and a fresh one introduced. In nine-
teen cases out of twenty, however, the bufialo is the
victor. Afier the first onset, there is little satis-
faction in the combat ; for the animals, having ex-
perienced each other's strength and ferocity, are
reluctant to engage, and the practices used to goad
them to a renewal of the fight are abominable. The
tiger is roused by firebrands and boiling water, and
the bufialo, by pouring upon his hide a potent in-
Aision of capsicums, and by the application of a most
poisonousnettle, (kamaduy) a single touch of wfaiek
would throw the strongest human frame into a fever.
Wild hogs, which are in vast abundance in Java,
are ensnared and fought against rams and goats, a
ludicrous, but bloodless combat. The wild boar
of Java is an animal of little ferocity, and not much
strength.

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or THE INDIAN ISLANDEHS. 117

A combat between two bulls, sucb as the people
of Butan, and other countries to the north of Ben-
gal, ^ delight in, is a favourite exhibition among
some of the people of the island of Madura. I
have not heard that it is practised elsewhere*

Of games of exercise or amusement, displaying
address or agility, the Indian islanders are not
fond, and never excel in them. In all their exer-
cises they would rather sit than stand, even where
there is an obvious advantage in the latter position.
If, for example, a chief amuses himself with the
exereise of the bow and arrow, it is always sitting,
and not standing, that he takes the diversion. A
kind of foot-ball, called separaga^ is played by most
of the tribes, but is not a &vourite pastime..

When the monarch in Java, according to the
custom of the east, shows himself once a week to
his subjects, or the governors of provinces, ia
imitation of him, to their dependents, a kind of
awkward tilts are exhibited. The Javanese are bad
riders i their horses are clumsily, and badly, though
often goigeously caparisoned, and are too small in
size to possess the strength and action necessary to
make a fine display in a tournament* These Lilli«
putian justs, therefore, are a mock upon military
^exercises.

All the civili^ nations of the Archipelago have

* Turner's Account of an Embassy to the Court of the
Teshoo Lama.

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118 CAMES AND AMUSEMENTS

long passed that stage of society in which the chace
is pursued for subsistence. From the circumstan-
ces of the country, the probability indeed is, as
has been pointed out elsewhere, that the pro-
gress towards civilization was not in general from
the hunter state, but that of the fishenhan. Some of
the more abject tribes of savages, however, confined
to the mountains and forests of the interior, while
the fisheries of the coasts and rivers are in the occu-
pation of powerful enemies, pursue the chace as the
principal means of subsistence. The negro races
which inhabit the interior of the Malayan Penin-
sula hunt the deer, the hog, the monkey, and all
the animals of the forest, as the chief means of
livelihood, and use poisoned arrows to destroy their
game.

Of the civilized races who pursue the chace for
amusement, the most celebrated hunters are the na-
tives of Celebes, who are passionately fond of the
chace.

Celebes, contrary to the more usual character of
the other great islands, abounds in extensive grassy
plains free from forests, which aiSbrd the proper
cover and food for a variety of the best game, suck
as various kinds of deer, the wild hog and ox,
which are not disturbed by beasts of prey ; for in
Celebes the tiger and leopard, which are plentiful
in the western countries, do not exist. These
plains are looked upon as the common property pf

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OF THE INDIAN ISLANSteR^. 119

the tribe to whom they belong, and are so jealous-
ly guarded from the intrusion of strangers, that
it would be death to an alien to enter them* No
sooner is the rice seed cast into the ground, than
the chiefs and their retainers fly with enthusiasm
to the sports of the field. Persons of all ages join
in the divernon. A native, describing to me the
ecstasy of the hunters on these occasions, observed,
withthestrongest allusion which their mannerscould
suggest, that all care and anxiety were buried in
the tranqH>rts of the chace, a man then forgetting
that he had a family, and that he was a father. A
hunting party frequently consists of not less than
200 horsemen. A man of sixty has been point*
ed out to me, who, on such occasions, has hunted
down several stags in a day's chace. Although
pretty strict Mahomedans, at such times they will
not even disdain the pursuit of the wild boar, but
follow him with ardour.

The chace is pursued on horseback. The horses
of Celebes, though small, seldom exceeding thir*
teen hands high, are lai^er, and unite a greater
share of blood and strength than any other breed
oi the Indian islands. They are regularly train^
ed to hunt, and possess a considerable share of
fleetnessy and more of perseverance. They are
not encumbered by any useless weight, being rode
bare backed, with a very slight snaffle bridle.
The hunter is armed with a light spear, to tho

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120 GAMES ANP ASfUttMSMTS

skaft of whkh is at4;«ched n wove^Ue noose, mA
his principal aim is to east this adoae over the bonif
of the deer or wild balL When he sncce^ in
entangling the animal, he leaps off his horse^ and
ctispatehes him with his spear.

The chace is followed in Java with less ardow
and spirit^ 4md with much less skilL The game
has fled from the extenaiye plains of the central
portion of the island, which are highly e«ltivaite4
and highly peopled, to take shelter m the hilly
country, where they cannot be pursued. Here»
therefore, the chace hardly forms any portion of
the amusement of the people. In the ill peopled
districts of the eastern and western extremities of
the island, the chace is pursued on horsehaek aa
in Celebes, but the deer and wild hog are radhec
beset than foirly pursued, an attempt being mad^
to surround their haunts by a multitude of peasant-
ry assembled for the purpose, while, on their ap-
pearance, they are bayed by dogs, and mangled
with cutlasses.

The tiger is sometimes pursued by the JayaBese
with more skill, and in a manner peculiar to them-
selves. An extensive circle of spearmen is formed
round the known haunt of a tiger, which is gradual-
ly contracted, until the animal, hemmed in on all
sides, is compelled at length to attempt m. escape by
rushing through the phalanx of spearmen* In thiq
endeavour he is commonly killed through the num^

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OF THE JNDUN IftLANDEES. 121

bers asd dexterity of the hunters, ttd the for?
midiible length of their weapons*

An amusenumt of the same sort is often pve*
rented, in a more comfortable manner j before the
Javanese ^vereigns at their palaces, but from the
superior number and dexterity of the spearmen,
and the inferior courage of the entrapped tiger, it
is attended with less risk*^ Ammg a great many,
exhibitions of thi^ sort to which I have been wit*
ness, I never knew an instance in which the tiger
was not destroyed without the least difficulty.

The love of dancings in a variety of shapes, is
a favourite passion of the Indian islanders* It is.
somewhat more, mdeed, than an amusement, often
mining itself with the more serious busineas
of life. Dancing, as practised by them, is neithcor
the arty as it exists among the «iyages of America,
nor amoi^ the Hindus and Mahomedans of
Western India. Like the latter, they have pro?
fessed dancing women, who exhUiit for hire ; but,
like the former, they occasionally daiice them-
selves, and in public processions, and even more
serious occasions, dancing forms a portion of the
solemnities.

Whatever be the occasion in which dancing is
e9(hibited, it is always grave, stately, and slow,
never gay nor animated. As in all Asiatic dan*
cing, it is not the legs but the body, and especially
f;he arms, down to the very fingers, that are em-

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122 GAMES AND AMUSEMENTS

ployed. Dexterity, agility, or livelinessi are nerer
attempted. To the gravity and solemnity which
belong to the inhabitants of a warm dimate, any
display of agility would appear as indecorous, as
their stately and sluggish minuet dancing appears
insupportably tiresome to our more volatile and
lively tempers*

The dancing of the ^dian islanders may be con-
sidered as of three kind8,-^heir serious dances on
public occasions,-^he private dances of individuals
at festivities,— and the exhibitions of professed
dancers.

Of the first kind are the war dances of the
people of Celebes. If a warrior throws out a
defiance to his enemy, it is done in a dance in
which he brandishes his spear and kris, pronouncing
an emphatic challenge. If a native of the same
country runs a muck, ten to one but he braves death
in a dancing posture. When they swear eternal
hatred to their enemies, or fidelity to their friends,
the solemnity is accompanied by a dance. There is a
good deid more vivacity on these occasions than I
ever saw exhibited on any other of the same kind.

AH orders executed in the presence of a Javanese
monarch, on public occasions, are accompanied by
a dance. When a message is to be conveyed to
the royal ear, the messenger advances with a
solemn dance, and retreats in the same way. The
ambassadors from one native prince in Java te

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OP THE INDIAN ISLANDERS. 123

another follow the same course when ooming into
and retiring from the presence of the sovereign ta
whom they are deputed. When the persona
whose busiiiess it is to let the tiger loose from his
cage into the hollow square of spearmen, as above
mentioned, have performed their duty, and received
the royal nod to retire, an occasion, one would
think, when dancing m^bt be spared, they do so
in a slow dance and solemn strut, with some risk
of being devoured by the tiger, in the midst of
their performance.

Previous to the introduction of the Maliomedan
Mligion, it appears to have been the custom of all
the oriental islanders, for the men of rank, at
their public festivities, when heated with wine, to
dance. Upon such occasions, the exhibition ap-
pears to have been a kind of war dance. Ihe
dai^cer drew his kris, and . went through all the
evolutions of a mock fight. At pi^esent the practice
is most common among the Javanese, with every
chief of whom dancing, far from being considered
scandalous, as among the people of Western India,
is held to be a necessary accomplishment. * £e^

* In Dampier's time, ami I suppose to the present day, tli^
people of Mindanao followed the same practice. ^' Jt was not
long before the general caused bis dancing women to enter
the room, and divert the company with that pastime. 1 had
forgot to tell you, that they have none but vocal music hero
by what 1 could leant; except oiily a row of a kind of bell^

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1?4 GAMES AND AMUSEMENTS

spectable women n^ver join in it, and with that mXp
dancing is confined to those whose profession it is;
In the most crowded circle of strangers, a Javanese
dnef will exhibit in the mazes of the dance with an
ordinary dancing girl, or, in other words, with a
common prostitute. I have often seen the sultan
jDf Madura, a most amiable and respectable prince^
in this situation. The dance at such tiroes is no^
thing more than the slow and solemn^pacing exhi-
bited on other occasions.

The professed dancers differ little but in in-
feriority of skill, from the common dancing girls
of Hindustan. Those who have been often dis*
gusted with the latter, will find still less to in?
terest them in the former. The music to which *

Avitbout clappers^ sixteen in number, and their weight increas-
ing gradually from about three to ten pound weight* These
were set in a row, on a table in the general's house, where,
for seven or eight days together, before the circumcbion day,
they were struck each with a little stick, for the biggest part
.of the day making a great noise, and they ceased that morning.
So tliese dancing women sung themselves, and danced to their
own music. After this the general's women, and the sultan's
sons, and his nieces, danced. Two of the sultan's nieces were
about .18 or 19 years old, the other two were three or
four years younger. These young ladies were very richly
dressed, with loose garments of silk, and sm^l coronets on their
heads. They were much fairer than any women I did ever
^ee there, and very well featured ; and their noses, though but
small, yet higher than the other women, and very well pro»
portioned.*'~Dampier*« Voyages, Vol. I. p. 842.

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OF THE Iin)IAN ISLANDEES. US

thedancingis performed is, indeed^ generallyincom-
parably better than that of Western India, although
the vocal part of it is equally hajrsh and dissonant.
Now and then a single voice of great tenderness and
melody may be found, but whenever an effortis made
at nosing it for the accommodation of an audience, it
becomes harsh and unmusical. The songs sung on
such occasions are often nothing more than unpre-
meditated effiisions, but among the Javanese, to
whom I am now more particularly alluding, there
are some national ballads^ that might bear a compa-
rison with the boasted odes of the Persian minstrels.
The singular fact of the sovereign havings
among the Javanese, the most beautiful and admir-
ed of his concubines instructed to dance, and their
exhibiting their performance in public, accords
with what I have stated respecting the condition of
women among the Indian islanders. *

* Commodore Beaulieu's account of a dance exhibited be-
fore the king of Achin is somewhat peculiar, but very charac-
teristic : — '* Then came fifteen or twenty women, who ranged
themselves by* the wall side, and each of them having little
drums in their hands, sung their king's conquests, nuking
their voices answer the drums. After that there came in, at a
little door^ two little girls, very oddly dressed, but very hand-
some, and whiter than any I ever saw in so hot a country.
Upon their head they had a sort of hat, made of spangles of
gold, which glittered mightily, together with a plume about
a foot and a half high, made of the same spangles. This hat
buBg down upon one ear. They had large ear-pendants of
spangles of gold, hanging down to their shoulders. Their

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1S6 6AMES AND AMUSEMENTS

The intellectual amusements of the Indian island-
ers consist of listening to prqfessed story-teUers^

neck was covered with necklaces of gold, and upon Iheir
shoulders was a sort of jacket of gold» curiously engraraiy
under which was a shifl, or waistcoat of cloth of gold, with
red silk, covering their breast, and a very broad girdle, made
of gold spangles. Their girdle was tied above the haunches,
from which there hung a cloth of gold, with straight breeches
underneath, .which were likewise made of doth of gold, and
did not pass the knees, where several bells of gold hung upon
them.

'* Their arms and legs were naked, but, from the wrist to
the elbow, were adorned with bracelets of gold and jewels, as
well as from the ancle to the calf of their leg. At their girdle
each of them had a sword, the hilts and scabbards of which
were covered with jewels ; and in their hands a large &n of
gold, with several little bells about it. They advanced upon
the carpet with a profound gravity, and, falling upon their
knees before the king, saluted him, by joining their hands,
and lifting them up to their head ; then they began to dance,
with one knee upon the ground, making several motions with
their body and arms ; after that they danced upright, with a
great deal of agility and cadence, sometimes putting their
hands to their swords, another time making as ^ if they shot a
bow, and sometimes as if they had a shield and hanger in
their hands. This lasted about half an hour, after which they
kneeled before the king, and^ in my opinion, were pretty well
tired, for each of them had above forty pound weight of gold
upon her. However, they danced with a very good grace,
and if our French dancing-masters had seen them, they
would have owned their performance not to have been what
-^e account barbarous.'*~Harm'< Collection of Voyages^
Vol. I. p. 782.

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OF THE INDIAN ISLANDERS. 1^

or to ihose who make a business of rehearsing their
written compositions, and of dramatic peff(yrmance$.
The first will be described in another part of this
w<»*k. The last deserve a particular description
in this place. The Javanese are the inventors of
the Polynesian drama, and throughout the Archi-
pelago are celebrated for their skill in it. As the
rudest and earliest efforts of the stage, and as af-
fording interesting elucidations of the character and
manners of the people, these exhibitions deserve a
degree of attention which they are far from nmrit-
ing on their own account.

Among the Javanese there are no dramatic writ-
ings ; there is no stage, and no attempt at scenic
deception. The acting is of two kinds, in equal
esteem among the people themselves, one consist-
ing in the performance of living actors, and the
other in that of puppets. The first sometimes ex-
hibit without masks, but much more frequently
with them. They are invariably men, for women
never perform. The second are of two kinds, one
consisting of ordinary puppets,' much inferior, in
ingenuity, to those among ourselves, and the other
of certain scenic shadows, which are peculiar and
national. These last are monstrous and grotesque
figures, of about twenty inches long, cut out of a
stift' untanned buffalo liide, and commonly very
highly gilt and painted. In the representation
Ihey are moved by the prompter behind an ob-

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If 8 0A1CBS AND AMUSEMENTS

long screen, of ordinary whiie cloth, vtod^ed truts-
lucent by haying a lamp suspended behind.

All their acting may be considered as a kind o£
pantomime, for, even in the most perfect exhibi-
tions, there is little dialogue. Each player does
not study his part, or, at least, get it by heart ;
but the little he says he furnishes unpremeditated,
as his recollection of the story, or his fancy, may
assist him.

The great mover in the drama, whether mock or
real, is the prompter, or dalang^ as he is called in
the native language. This person's office is veiy
inadequately described by calling him the prompt-
er ; he is the soul of the whole drama, and his func-
tions are better depicted by comparing him to our
ancient bards or minstrels. He sits full in front of
the audience, holding before him one of the com*
mon metrical romances, from which, in the chaunt^
ing accents of the £a^^,he repeats, before the in-
terlocutors commence acting, the narrative of what
they have to perform. This practice he peraeveies
in from the beginning to the end of the {^y. He
does the same thing with the scenic shadows, sel-
dom venturing, however, to furnish a dialogue for
the puppets.

From this account of the Javanese drama, it
will be ea^Iy seen that a play or piece is not in-
tended to be* a skilful and interesting representa-
tion of the real business of the world, or of human

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ot THE nmuM lajuAXDBM. 129

pamoiis, eBlaymenta, and sufferings, but the nmple
and artless relation of a oommcm tale, some of the
most prominent adTratures of which are dramafcia*
ed in the representation, while the principal stremn
of the narrative is conducted by the relation of the
bard.

The acting, consistent enough with the mannen
of the people, is heavy and nouotonous. There tt
no life nor action in it, and nothing natural. The
players dance instead of walking, and when they
speak, it is in a counterfeit and fictitious tone <^
voice, hardly, in short, in the accents of human
beings. Their dresses are characteristic and pro-
per, generally in the ancient costume of the coun-
try, suitably to the parts they have to perform. A
full band of Javanese music, in the manner of a
chorus, constantly accompanies every kind of act-
ing.

The subjects of the Javanese drama are the
Hindu legends of the Kamayana and Mahabarat, ^
and those of the fabulous periods of their own his-*
tory. The empire of custom, so arbitrary among
all barbarians, renders it a rule not to be trans-
gressed, that the performance by scenic shadows
should be confined exclusively to the representa-
tions of Hindu story ; the true acting to the most
ancient portion of theif own legendary history, and
the ordinary puppet-show to the more modem.

Besides the more regular dramatic entertain-

VOL. I. I

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190 6AME8 AHD AMUffiHENTS

ments now alluded to, there are two ptliers occa-
sionally introduced, in the manner of interludes,
between the scenes of the more regular perform-
ances, which afford more amusement to the stran-
ger. One is an exhibition of buJFoonery, which I
have seen so well acted as to afford much merri-
ment. The only personages who eon bejacetidus,
by the rules of the Javanese drama, are Sdmar and
Bagongy the redoubted friends and servants of Ar-
juna and Rama. The acting of the persons who
represent these characters is less constrained, more
bustling, and more natural than that of any others.
So much drollery is frequently displayed as to con-
vince us that the Javanese have considerable comic
powers ; and that, if the sphere of their acting
were enlarged, and their talent cultivated, they
might make excellent comic actors.*

* The Siamese drama bears, in almost every particular, so
close a resemblance to that of the Jaranese, that it is impos-
sible not to suspect that both had a common origin,

'<* Les Siamois ont troissortes de spectacles de theatre. Celay
qu'ils appellent cdne est une daose & plusieurs entries, au soa
du violon & de quelqucs autres instrumens. Les danseurs sont
masquez Sc armez, & repr6sentent pKitost un combat qu'une
dause : & quoy que tout se passe presque en mouvemens Aleves
& en postures extrayagantes, ils ne laissent pas d'y m^ler de
temps on temps quelque mot. La pli^part de lears masques
sont hideaux & rcpresentent ou des bdtes moostrueuses, ou des
espcccs de diablcs* • Le spectacle qu'ils appvllbnt Lac6ne est

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OF TBE INDUK laLANBBRS. 131

The second description of acting is a kind of
pantonnmic exhibition of wild heasts, where the

nn poeme 'm£i6 de i'Epique & du drfRi8tiqae» qt^e dure troU
jours depuis huit hetires da matin jusqu*k sept du soir. Ce
sont des histoires en vers, s^rieuses, & ckant^es par plusieurs
actcurs toiijours pr^scns, & qui ne chantent que tour k tour.
L*un d'eux chante le rtU de Phistorieo, k les autres oem des
persouaget que i'hifttoire lait parler : jnais ce apot touS'boffliiiea
qui chantent^ & poiot de femmes* Le Ea6wn est uoe doable
danse d'hommes & de femmes, qui n'est point guerriere, mais
galante, et on nous en donna le divertissement avec les autres,
que j'ay dit cydessus que I'on nous avoit doiinez. Ces dan-
seura & ces danseuses 0(nt tout des ongles faux, 6c fort longs,
decuWre jaunes ils chantent des paroles en dansant; &ils
le peuvent sans se ftitiguer beaucoap, parce que leur mam^re
de danser n'est qu'une simple marche en rond, fort lente, & sans
aucun mouvement ^lev^, mais avec beaucoup de contorsions
lentes du corps & des bras, aussl ne se tiennent-ils pas j'un
Fauture. Deux hommes cependant entretiennent le spectatenr
par plusieurs scfttises que \*un dit an nom de toutesles dausean,
ic Tautre au nom des toutes les danseuses. Tons c^ aeljeurs
n'ont rien dje singulier dans leurs habits : seulemen^ ce^x qui
dausent au Rabam & au C6ne, out des bonnets de papier dor6
bauts & pointus ^ peu pr6s comme les bonnets de c6r^monie
des Mandarins, mais qui descendent par les c6tez jusqu'au
dessous des oreilles, & qui sont garpis de pierreries mal con*
tre&ites, & de deux pendans d*orellIe de bois dor6. Le C6ne
& le Rabam font toiftjours appelez aux funerailles, & quelqoe-
fois en d'autres reiKrontres ; <& 11 y a apparence que ces spec-
tacles n*ont rien de'R61igieux, puis qu*il est d^fendu aux Ta-
lapoins d*y assister. Le Liu^ne sert principalement pour so«
lemniser la f^te de la d^dicace d'un Temple neuf, lors qa'on y
place une statue neoYe de leur SommonapCodom '* La Lou*
^ bai, Tom. i* p. 148-^ 150.

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ISC ^ 6A1IB8 AND AMimEMnTS, fcc.

players, dilessed out in the figure oi the Veriotis
animals of the forest, personate their habits and
exhibit their manners. The matter is so well man*
aged as to make us almost believe that we are ill
the disagreeable company of the tiger, the leopard^
or the wild boar.

Whatever strangers may think of the dramatic
lentertainments of the Indian islanders, they excite
a deep and lively interest in a native audience. By
meari^ of them, even the most illiterate gain a con-
siderable acquaintance with the legendary history
of their country. The habit of listening to soch
performances convinces me that it would be no dif*
fieult matter to introduce among the Javanese at
least, a more improved drama. In the first instance^
such performances might be adapted to their
tastes, by being built on the foundation of their
own legends. A judicious paraphrase of The Tem^
pestf for example, composed on this principle, I
have little doubt would be eminently successful.
The effects of such exhibitions, as an instrument
of civilization, need not be insisted upon*

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CHAPTER V.

MANNERS OF FOREIGN SETTLERSt

Different descriptions of foreign colonists. — Sutlers from
Hindustan* — Their character, — The Chinese. — Their cha^
racier and manners* — Arab settlers. — European settlers. —
Cktrader -of the Dutch cdhmsts.-^O/tke SjmnssA colo^
niUSf

The object of this chapter is to fiimisli a biief
dcetch of tlie chuncter, hahite, and manneri, of the
principal foreign settlers among the I&diaa ialand*
ens. These cmsiflt o£ Indians^ Chmese^ Arabs, and
Dutch. Shxaggleri of other nations are found
among the Indian islandeta, but, inageiseiid view,
they are not deserving of a particufaur considerrtion«
The natives ofHindustim^ who visit the oriental
islands, are i^bttbitants of the western, but idiiedjr
of the eastern, coast of the Peninsula. Eurcqpeans
denomini^ them generally by the name of Chu-
lia, and the natives of the country call them, more
properly, Kaling. The numerous vessels of their
nation bring annually, with the setting in of the
westerly monsoon, shoals of these people, litemlly
to seek their fortanes in a country richer by n^^

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134t HANKERS OF FOREIGN SETTLERS.

ture than their owd» less occupied, and the natiyes
of which are easily circumvented. In their cha-
racter these adventurers are shrewd, supple, unwar-
like, mendacious, and avaricious. Trade is their
main pursuit, but when labour is well rewarded, as
in the British settlement of Prince of Wales Island,
they occupy themselves in day-labour. A large
portion of these emigrants return to India, but a
considerable one also colonizes in the country, in-
termarrying with the natives j for it is rarely that
the females of their own nation accompany them.
The motley race formed by these unions is a com-
pound character of no very amiable description, par-
taking of the vices of both parei^ stocks. They
are known by the name of P&ranaka% or half-Ksasts,
speak and generally write the language of both
parents, and, through their keenness, activity, and
endowments, contrive to enjoy a lai|;e share of the
patronage of the native princes in whose states they
are settled. This description of settlers is confined
to the western portion of the Archipelago, and,
comparatively, few of them are found beyond Su-
matra and the Peninsula. The eastern parts are
distant from their native country, and when they
reach it, they have there to encounter the active
competition of the Chinese, a race superior in en^ -
gy and talent to themselves.

Of all foreign nations, the Cfiinese have settled
in the greatest number in the Archipelago. Their

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HAHNBBS OK KOR£ION S£TTL£RS« 135

country^ overflowing with inhabitants, lies close
to the Indian islands, and a constant intercourse is
kept up between them* The Chinese junks never
£ul to bring a large supply of emigrants, and the
European trading ships frequently do the same
thing* But for the peculiar laws of China, which
check the pn^ress of emigration by interdicting
that of women entirely, we should long ago have
seen the principal portion of the Archipelago colo-
nized by this irace* Many of the Chinese return
to their own country, and the first intention of
every emigrant is probably to do so, but circum-
stances detain a number of them in the islands,
who, intermarrying with the natives of the coun-
try, generate a race inferior in energy and spirit to
the original settler, but speaking the language,
wearing the garb, professing the religion, and af-
fecting the manners of the parent country. The
Chinese settlers may be described as at once enter-
prising, keen, laborious, luxurious, sensual, de-
bauchedt and pusillanimous. They are most gene-
rally engaged in trade, in which they are equally
speculative, expert, and judicious. Their superior
intelligence and aM;ivity have placed in their hands
the management of the public revenue, in almost
every country of the Archipelago, whether ruled by
natives or Europeans ; and of the traffic of the Ar-
chipelago with surrounding foreign st&tes, almost
the whole is conducted by them. From China they

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136 1CANNER8 OP FORXION 8STTLBR&

hare imported into the Indiaa idaiids the agricul-
tural skill Vf hich distiuguiBhefl that country above
all others of Asia. This skill is adrantageously
transferred to the culture of tropical products, to
that of the sugar-cane, pepper, and indigo. In
the western countries, where there is least compe*
tition from the natives of the country, the Chinese
employ themselyes in handicraft, trades, and art
the best and most expeditious workers in wood and
iron^ They very seldom condescend to work as
day-labourers. They are the least conscientious
people alive ; the constant prospect of gain or ad*
vantage must be presented fo them to induce them
to fulfil their engagements, which they will always
evade when their judgment is not satisfied that an
adherence to them will be certainly profitable. * , f

. * The following singularly accurate portrait of the Chinese
colonists and traders of the Archipelago is given by Sir Tho-
mas Herbert, in the quaint language of his time : — ** The town
of its own growth affords little save rice, pepper^ aud cotton*
wool ; albeit, pepper for the greatest part is brought thither by
the infinitely industrious Chyueses, who each January come
to an anchor in multitudes at this port, .nnd unload their junks
or praws from Jamby in Sumatra, Borneo, Malacca, and other
places, making Bantam their magaeine ; out of which, for
rials, or by exchange for other commodities, they supply the
English, Dutch, and other nations. The Cbyneses are no
quarrellcrs, albeit voluptuous, vcnereousi costly in their sports,
great gamesters, and in trading too subtle for young merchants;

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HASIHEBS OF iOKKIGM BBTTLBBS* 187

The Chinefle who vuit the Indian idrnds^ and
settle in them^ are all from the maritime provin*
ees of Canton and Fokien. Thoae from the lat-
ter bear a much better character than those from
the former. They are rarely from the lowest or-
ders of society, and they are less gross and abject
in their manners. The principal bulk of the
settlers are in Java, Borneo, and the iitde island
of Penang ; but a few scattered families are to be
found in every country of the Archipelago In any
manner civilized.

oft tinies so wedded to dicing, ihat, after they have lost their
'Whole estate, wife and children are staked ; yet in little lime,
Jew-like, by gleaning here and there, are able to redeem their
loss ; if not at the day, they are sold in the market for most
adTantage/' — ^Herbert's Travels^ p. 3(}4. Darapier thus de-
scribes the same buay and extraordinary people, in bis account
of Achin: — '^ But of all the merchants that trade to this city,
the Chinese are the most remarkable* There are some of them
live here all the year long ; but others only make annual voya-
ges hither from China. These latter come hither sometime in
June, about ten or twelve sail, and bring.abundance of rice, and
several other commodities. They take up houses all by one
another, at the end of the town next the sea : and that end of the
' city is called the China camp, because there they always quarter,
and bring their goods ashore thither to sell. In this fleet come
several mechanics, viz. carpenters, joiners, paintci's, &c. These
set themselves immediately to work, making of chests^ drawer^iy
cabirietSy and all sorts of Chinese toys ; which are no sooner
finished at their working houses^ but they are presently set up

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1S8 MANNERS OF FORBIGK SETTLERS.

The Arab settlers are more considerable firom
their influence than their numbers. The ArabU
ans b^^ at a very early period to trade to the
Archipdago* In 1296, ^faen Marco Polo ^ visit*

ia shopsy and at the doors to sale. So that for two moDtbs
or ten weeks this place is like a fair^ full of shops' stuff, with
all sort of vendible commodities, and people resorting hither
to buy ; and as their goods sell off, so they contract themselves
into less Compass, and make use of fewer houses. But as
their business decreases, their gaming among themselves in-
creases ; for a Chinese, if he is not at work, had as lieve be
without victuals as without gaming ; and they are very dex-
terous at it. If before their goods are all sold, they can light
of chapmen to buy their ships, they will gladly sell them also,
at lea«t some of them, if any merchant will buy ; for a Chinese
is for selling every thing, and they who are so happy as to get
chapmen for their own ships, will return as passengers with
their neighbours, leaving their camp, as 'tis called, poor and
naked, like other parts of the city, till tlic next year. They
commonly go away about tlie latter end of September, and
never fail to return agam at the season, and while they are
here, they are so much followed, that there is but little busi*
ness stirring for the merchantf of any other nations; all the
discourse then being of going down to the China camp. Even
the Europeans go thither for their diversion; the English,
Dutch, and Danes, will go to drink their hoc-ciu, at some
China merchant's house who sells it: for they have not
tippling-houses. The European seamen return thence into
the city drunk enough, but the Chinese are very sober them*
selves."— Vol. II. pp. 136, 137.
• Marsdens Marco Polo, p. 6OI.

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ttANNEfiS OP FORfilGN SETTL«Rd« 139

ed Sttflfatm, he found many of the inhabitant of
the coast converted to the Mahomedan religion^
and about the end of the fourteenth century Ma-
homedanism had become the national religion et
some of the moat considerable of the western tribes.
Aralnan adventurers have settled in almost every
oeuMry of the Archipelago, and intermairyxi^
^th the natives of the country, begot a mixed
race, which is pretty numerous. Of all the na-
tions of Asia who meet on this common theatre^
the Arabs are the most ambitious, intriguing, and
bigotted. They have a strength oi character,
which places them far above the simple natives of
the country, to whom, in matters of religion, they
dictate with that arrogance with which the mean*
est of the countrymen of the prophet consider
themselves entitled to conduct themselves. They
are, when not devoted to spiritual concerns, wh<^ly
occupied in mercantile affairs, and the genuine
Arabs are spirited, fair, and adventurous merchants.
The mixed race is of a much less favourable cha-
racter, and is considered as a supple, intriguing, $xA
dishonest class.

The Dutch and Spaniards are the only Euro-
pean people who have colonized in the Indian
Archipelago, or at least who now exist there as
colonists. The Dutch are permitted freely to
pmrchase and hold lands, and in Java especially
may fairly be considered as naturalized. Tb6

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140 BfAHNXRS OF FOEBI6N 8KTTUM%

Creole and mixed races partake at leaat aa much
of the oative character as of that of the geuuiae
Hollander Without the means of acquiring a li->
beval eduoatloD, living under a suspicious and per*
verse m-der of government* as a privileged casue»
exercising a tyranny over the greiit body of the
population, and entirely served by slaves, ilKaii*
not be supposed that such untoward circumstances
should beget a character of many virtues. The
mixed races of the Dutch are» accordingly, with very
partial exceptions, a timid, servilei sensudt, indo*
lent, and uneducated people* Their manners and
habits will be best described in the language of «
Putch traveller of good sense and soimd ob^erva*
tion, who had ample o[^rtunity of noting them«
and who cannot be suspected of harbouring any
undue pn^udices against his countrymen^ About
the year 177<>> and there is not much diffisreaee
since, Admiral Stavorinus gives the fbllowingsketch
of the Dutch ccdonists of Batavia.

^* Europeans, whether Dutch or of any other na»
tion, and in whatever station they are, live at
Batavia, nearly in the same manner* In the morn-
ing, at five o'clock, or earlier, when the day
breaks, they get up. Many of them then go and
•tt at their doors ; but others stay in ther house,
with nothing but a light gowp, in which they
sleep, thrown over their naked limbs ; tbey diea
breakfast upon coi&e or tea ; afterwards they dress

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M AHMsms or FOSBiGir sBrrLEii. 141

and go eut, to ftttaDd to the Inisittess they tnsy
kttve^ Almost ati, who have any place or employ-
mrat, must be at their proper station, at or before
eight o'clock, and they remain at work till eleven,
er half past. At twelve o'clock they dine, take an
afternoon's nap till four, and attend to their busi-
ness again tifi nix, or take a tour out of t^e city in
a oarriage^ At hx o'clock they assemble in com-
panies, and "play or converse till nine, when they
return home; whoever chooses to stay .to rapper
sa welcome, and eleven o'clock is the usual hour
of retiring to rest. Convivial gaiety seems to
veign among them, and yet it is linked with a
kind of suspicious reserve, which pervades all
stations, and all companies, and is the consequence
of an arbitrsry and jealous government. The
least word that may be wrested to an evil mean-
ing, may bring on very serious consequences if it
reach the ears of the person who is a^rieved,
either in fact or in imagination. I have heard
many people assert, that they would not confide
in their own brothers in this counUy.

^ No women are present at these assemblies ;
. they have their own sepantfe companies^

^* Married men neither give themselves much
concern about their wives, nor show them much re-
gard. They seldom conv^w with them, at least
not on usdiil subjects, or such as concern society*
After having been manied for years, the ladies

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]4fi HANNSRS of BOKKGH 8BTTLSR8«

are often^ therefore, as ignoraiit of the world and
of manners as upon their we4duig-day. It is not
that they have no opacity to learn, but the men
have no inclination to teaeh.

^* The men generally go dreased in the Dutch
fiishion, and often wear black.

^' As^soon as you enter a house, where you intend
to stop for an hour or more, yon are desired by
the master to make yourself comfortable, by taking
off some of your clothes, &c. This is done, by lay-
ing aside the sword, pulling off the coat and wig,
(for most men wear wigs here,) and substituting
in the room of the last a little white night-cap,
which is generally carried in the pocket for that
purpose.

'* When they go out, on foot, they are attended
by a slave, who carries a sunshade (called here
sambreel or pajfong) over their heads ; but who-
ever is lower in rank than a junior merchant may
not have a slave behind him, but must carry a small
sunshade himself.

'' Most of the white women, who are seen at
Batavia, are bom in the Indies. Those who come
from Europe at a marriageable age are very few ia
number. I shall, therefore, confine my observa-
tions to the former.

*^ These are either the ofi^ring of European
mothers, or of cMriental female slaves, who, having
first been mistresses to Europeans, have afterwards

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MAKKEBS OP F(AtBIGK S£TTLBB8« I4S

been married to tliem, and have been converted to
ChristiBiiity^ or at least have assumed the name of
Christians.

'< The children produced by these marriages
may be known, to the third and fourth generation,
especially by the eyes, which are much smaller than
in the unmixed prc^any of the* Europeans,

<' There are likewise children, who are the off-
spring of Portuguese, but these never become en-
tirely white.

'' Children bom in the Indies are nicknamed
Uplaps by the Europeans, although both parents
may have come fr<Mn Europe.

" Girls are commonly marriageable at twelve or
thirteen years of age, and sometimes younger. It
seldom happens, if they are but tolerably hand-
some, have any money, or any to expect, > or are re«
lated to people in power, that they are unmarried
after that age.

^^ As they marry while they are yet children,
it may easily be conceived, that they do not pos^
sess those requisites whidi enable a woman to man-
age a family with propriety. There are many of
dem who can neither read nor write, nor possess
any ideas of religion, of morality, or of social in-
tercourse.

" Being married so young, they seldom get
many children^ and are dd women at thirty years
of age. Women of fifty, in Europe, look young

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144 MAMMSSS OF FOUION fiSTTLSB«#

er and fireaher than thoae of thirty' at Batavp.
They are, in general^ of a very delicate make» and
of an extremely fair complexion; but the tints of
Vermillion, which embellish our northern ladies, are
wholly absent from their cheeks } the skin of their
face and hands is of the most deadly pale white.
Beauti^ must not* be acmght amongst them; the
handsomest whom I saw would scarcely be thought
middling pretty in Europe.

*^ They have very supple joints, and can turn
their fingers, hands, and arms, in almost every di- '
rection ; but this they have in common with the
women in the West Indiesp and in other tvopicai
climates.

*^ They are commonly of a listless and lazy tem^
per ; but this ought chiefly to be ascribed to their
education, and the number of slaves, of both aexeit,
that they always have to wait upon them.

*' They rise about half past seven, or eig^t
o'clock in the morning. They q[>end the forenoon
in playing and toying with their female slaves^
whom they are never without, and in laughing and
talking with them, while a few mcMnents afterwards^
they will have the poor creatures whipt most un-
memfuUy for the merest trifle. They loU, in ^
loose and airy dress, upon a sofa, or sit upon a low
stool, or upon tlie ground, with their legs crossed
under them. In the mean time^ they do not
omit the chewing of pinang or betel, with which

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VAKHBaEta OF FMBIOH SETTLEiti* 1 45

fiiitom iiU die Indiim «vmien «^ thejr

likewise masticate the Avatobaeeo; tkis makes
idieJr apittle vf a enoiseii colottr» and when they
faaire dene it long, they get a Uad( border alcmg
tbeir Ups^ their teeth beeoine Uaek, and tiieir
mouths are very disagreeable, though it is pretend-
ed that this use purifies the memft^ and pseserves
iit»D the teoAaefa*

^< As the Indian women are really not deficient,
in powers of undenrtanding, they wwM become
wry ttsefel niMters of society, endearing wives,
aad good mothers, if they wew bit kept from fa-
aiiiarity with the daves in their infancy, and edu-
cated under the* immediaae eye of their parents,
who AmiJA be assiduous to incukuike, in their ten-
tier minds, the prineiides of true msrality, and po-
lished manners. But, alas! the parents are far
from taking wch a buitheMome task upon them-
selves* As soon as the child is bora, they abandon
it to the eave of a lemale slave, who genei^y
sucUesit,.and by whoii it is reared, tttl it attains
the age of nine or ten years. These nurses are
often but one remove above a bmte, in point of in-
leUeot ; -and the little innocents imbibe, with their
vdlk. all the pt«rj0(Ua«i and superstitious notions,
which disgrace the minds, cf their attendant^, wd
whidb are never era^ated during the remainder of
their lives, but seem to stamp them rather with

VOii. J. K

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146 MANNERS OF FOREIGN SETTLERS. '

the character of the progeny of despicaUe slaves,
than of a civilized race of beings.

** They are remarkably fond of bathing and ab-
lutions, and they make use of a large tub for this
purpose, which holds three hogsheads of water,
and in which they immerge their whole body, at
least twice a week. Some of them do this in the
morning, in one of the running streams out of the
city.

** In common with most of the women in India,
they cherish a most excessive jealousy of their hus*
bands, and of their female slaves. If they discover
the smallest familiarity between them, they set no
bounds to their thirst of revenge'against those poor
bondswomen, who, in most cases, have not dared
to resist the will of their masters, for fear of ill
treatment.

?* They torture them in various ways; they ha(ve
them whipt with rods, and beat With rattans, till
they sink down befope them, nearly exhausted:
among other methods of torturing, they make the
poor girls sit before them in such a posture, that
they can pinch them with their toes, in a certain
sensible part, which is the peculiar object of their
vengeance, with such cruel ingenuity, that they
faint away by excess of pain.

** I shall refrain from the recital of instances,
which I have heard, of the most refined cruelty
practised upon these wretched victims of jealousy.

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lAANIIEBS OF FDEEIGN SSTTLEBS. 147

by Indiaa womeo, and which have been related to
me by witneases worthy of belief; they are too rer
pugaant to every feding of humanity, and surpass
tiie usual bounds of credibility.

^' Having thus satiated their anger upon their
alavEs, their next object is to take equal revenge
upon their husbands, which they do in a- manner
Jess cruel, and more pleasant to themselves.

^ The warmth of the climate, which influences
strongly upon their constitutions, together with the
dissolute lives of the men before marriage, are the
causes of much wantonness and dissipation among
the women.

" Marriages are always made at Batavia on Sunr
'days, yet the bride never appears abroad bef<N:e
the following Wednesday evening, when she at-
tends divine service ; to be sooner seen in public
would be a violation of the rules of decorum.

'< As soon asa woman becomes a widow, and the
ix>dy of her husband is interred, which is general-
ly done the day after his decease, if she be but rich,
she has immediately a number of suitors. A cer-
tain lady, who lost her husband whUe I was at
Batavia, had, in the fourth week of her widowhood,
a fourth lover, and, at the end of three months, she
married again, and would have done it sooner, if
the laws had allowed of it.

^' Their dress is very light and airy ; they hftve a
piece of cotton cloth wrapped round the body, and
fastened under the arms^ next to the skin ; over

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148 MANNERS OF FOBKIGM 6ETTLKRS.

it they wear a shift, a jacket, and a chintz petti-
coat, which is all covered by a long gown or kfU^f
as it is called, which hangs loose, the sleeve come
down to the wrists, where they are fastened cloae^
^th siK or seven little gold or diamond buttons.
When they go out in state, or to a company where
they expeet the presence of a lady of a counsellor
of India, they put on a very fine mushn kab^^
which is made like the other, but hangs down to
the feet, while the first only reaches to the kneea.
When they invite each other, it is always with the
condition of coming with the long or short kabay.
Xhey all go with their heads uncovered ; the hair*
which is perfectly black, is worn in a wreath,
fsBtened with gold and diamond haiipins, whidi
they call a conili : in the fhont, and on the sides
of the head, it is stroked smooth, and renderad
shining, by being anointed with cocoa-nut oil.
They are particularly set iqpon this head-dress, and
the girl who can dress their hair the most to their
liking, is t\mt chief £ivourite among their slaves.
On Sundays tbey sometmes dress in the European
style, with stays and other fashionable incum-
tomces, which, however, they do not like at all,
being accustottted to a dress so much loeeer, and
more pleasaM in this torrid clime.

<* When a lady goes out, she has usually imur, or
more, female slaves attending her, one of whom
bears her beteUbox. They are sumptuously adorned

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MAMKEBS OF FORfilON SETTLERS. 140

with goM and sHrer, and this ostentatious luxury
the Indian ladies cany to a reiy great excess.
, *^ They seldom mix in company with the men,
exeept at marriage-feasts.

" The title ct my lady is given exclosivdy to
the wives of counseUors of India.

•^ He ladies are very fond of riding through the
streets of the town, in their cairiages, in the even-
ing. Formerly, when Batavia was in a more
flourishing cmidttion, they were accompanied by
mnncians ; but this is itttle customary at present,
no more than rowing through the canals that in-
tersect the town, in littie pleasure*boats ; smd the
going upon these parties, which were equaUy
enlivened by music, was called orBngbayen.***

The character of the Spanish ooloniiBts of Ma-
nila, formed under ciMiiaietances ecpially nnfa^
vourable with that of the Dutch of Batovia, is drawn
by M • Le Gentii as follows :

^ M. I'Oidor, Fiila Co$ta^ a iwry werthy man,

* SUnorinuis Voj^agei^ Vol. I, pp. 312-323. — Commodore
RoggeweiDy id 1722^ gives a ludicrous and unfavourable
account of the Dutch coiomsts of ^at tkne. ^ His
crew,^ he says, ^ were coutamiotted by their exam^e,^
all the lower st^t being as proH^te and lewd as it b
possible to conceive a people to be, insomuch, that the first
question many of them asked of strangers arrived from
Europe b, whether they have not brought some new oaths
over ; and whether they cannot teach them a more lively and
extravagant method of swearing— ^tfrm* Collection of
Voyages^ Vol. I*

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1^0 MANNERS OF FOREIGN SETTLERS.

with whom I afterwards became very intimate^
often said to me, that the Indies were detrimental
to morals. He counselled me, if ever I married
and had children, not to allow them to go to the
Indies. Two things only^ he added, ^rm and
hold together societies ; religion^ that is to say^
the fear of God ; and honour^ that is to say, the
idea one attaches to this word: that these two
things, which we must consider as the props of
societies, failing, one has no good to hope Jbr from
men ; that at Manilla these two props were crazy f
and very tottering.

** I cannot here help making one reflectbn. It »
a great pity that so fine a country, which appears
to be a terrestrial paradise, where nature seems to
be prodigal of her benefits f It is a great pity, I
say, that the state of manners make it a habitation
unfit for good men.

** It would be difiicult to mention a city where
the manners are more corrupt than at Manilla ; reli-
gion is unequal to bridle them. There is, to be
sure, an inquisition, but the conniption of manners
is not exposed to the censure of this tribunaL
One proof of this corruption, the only one of which
I can here be permitted to make mention, is the
abuse of the baths. The men and women, in fact^
bathe there together, a monstrous thing, which
all the eloquence of the preachers has not yet been
able to reform ; and never will this abuse reform
itself, as long as there is no police established at

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MANNERS OF FOREIGN SETTLERS. 151

Mamila.^ To be sure^ the women, when in {he
batJi, keep on their shirts, the men theirs, and
their drawers; but this does not prevent inde-
cency, a fact admitted by some women, who have
been known to remark, that, on coming out of the
bath, the men have their drawers so closely fitted
to the body, that one may see the form and colour
of the skin ; this one can more easily conceive, as
the cloth which they use at Manilla to make shirts
and drawers of is very fine and transparent. It is
true, that to bathe with the women, one must be a
relation, or familiar friend j and although this man-
ner of bathing be general, I have known some wo-
men who revolted at the custom, and admitted no
man into the bath when they were there.

^* One enjoysmuch freedom in the country houses.
The custom at Manilla, as in all hot countries, is
to take a nap after dinner ; for the purpose of this
indulgence they stretch many mats on the floor, and
all lay themselves down upon them, both men and
women, side by side, sleeping as they can. They
have likewise at Manilla an admirable secret for
bringing about assignations. Every body smokes,
women as well as men; they have for this purpose
little rolls of tobacco, made expressly for the pur-
pose, from four to five or six inches in length,
and about the size of the thumb. This they light

' * * "

• * The phaosophcr would hare made a vc^y poor legislator !

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159 MANNERS OF FORSI<3»H ftOTTLEM*

at •ne end, and smoke ftom tli# other, holding it
between the teeth or lips, ai done with a pipe.
One rarely meets women in die streets, parti-
cularly mestises, withont a segar in the mouth.
The men, who ai^ in quest of intfigoes, have one
likewise, but always extinguished ; when they meet
a woman who pleases thetti, they stop her, and ask
permission to light their segar ; the woman, with*
out any ceremony, takes the s^r and lights it by
means of her own. Dunng this time they enter
into a conversation, which the woman may oontinni
as long or as short as she pleases* This is evinced
by the longer or shorter time she takes to light
the segar.

** The preachers declaim much against this cus-
tom, but all to no purpose. Moreover, I am in-
clined to believe, that at the Confessional all mat-
ters of this sort, and others which I refrain fit>ni
mentioning, are treated very lightly, in proof of
which, I may add, that at Manilla it is not an*
common to t^e th<s priests themselves have children*
I there knew a priest, a very r^ular, and mighty
good ecclesiastic, who had two; they were girls of
seventeen and eighteen years of age, pretty, and
well made ; they were in a convent, and came
sometimes to see their father. It was at his own
house that I saw them, and made this discovery.

" The inquisition, as I have said, leaves the
inhabitants of Manilla to themselves in ail matters

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MANKSK8 07 lOBXIGN SBTTUR8« 153

tftbitfflort; and if one does not offend the moD^sf
if o&e wear a scapnUury, a rosary roimd the neck ^
if ooe couBta it moraing aiid evening, and goes to
niass twice a-day, he is excused at Manilla on many
pcHnte. This is about all the exterior form rf
worship of the inhabitants.

'* The fast during Lent, and at other times, or*
dained by the church, is, moreover, not very strict
at Manilla, for they breakfast, dine, lunch, and snp»

'* This custom surprised me in a singular manner
at my arrival } I thought it could only take {dace
at the houses of persons little scrupulous, but I
was not long without discovering that the practice
was universal.

<' I nsnally passed my evenings at the house of
the Father Don Estevan Jloxas y MeIo» Every
hottae in Manilla has^ in the evening, its company
or flocietyy which they call tertuUcu The canon
Melo had his ; it was well sdected ; the commis*
mtj ci the inquisition was often there. I soon
learnt sufficient Spanish to take a part in the con*
veraation, and to reply to the questions that were
proposed to me, as to our manners and customs.
About six in the evening, they sound the Angelm
at the same time in all the churches. The cathe-
drid commences, and at the same moment all the.
churches repeat it. Every one then repeats the
Angelas ; passengers are then obliged to stop in the
street, at the spot they happen to be in, to recite

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\54t MANNERS OF FOREIGN SETTLERS.

it* Immediately after this act of piety, one sees,
in the house where the tertulia is, the senruits
making their appearance, carrying each a cup of
chocokte, with biscuits in the saucer, which is ex-
pressly very lai^, and every one takes his refresh-
ment. I soon accustomed myself to this habit ;
often it was my only supper. With respect to the
Spanish, the chocolate does not prevent their sup-
ping ; it is true, that at Manilla they do not sup
till ten at night." *

Such is the state of manners and morals ge-
nerated in the hot^bed of vice and corruption, in
which the European character is placed, and it
would be a miracle, if any thing better were the
result. Under the most favourable auspices, the
^character of Europeans must suffer some d^ene-
racy and demoralization in so trying a situation as
that in which it is placed in the Indian islands ;
but it is, at the same time, equally certain, that a
mild and intelligent government, equal laws, and
such a freedom of intercourse as would constantly
place before the settlers the wholesome example of
manners, formed under circumstances more favour-
able to virtue than their own, must create a race
of men more improved, more intel%ent, and more
virtuous, than either the existing native or Euro-
pean population.

♦ YoyageB dang les Mere de Tlnde, par M. Le Gentil.

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BOOK II.

ARTS,

CHAPTER t.

USEFUL ARTS.

Intention of the present chapter. — Architecture.-^Great variety
of dvceUingZm — N<^modem architecture of durable materials,
and why. — Among the more ci'mHzed tribes, too di^inct eha*
raciers of dwellings oemr^^-DxioMings oftheugricukurel and
nunritime tribes.-— Nature of materials used for building.^—
The building called a Pandapa. — Description of a Javanese
palace. — A wllage and town described.-— Varieties of both*
— Character and description of the household Jumtture of
the Indian islanders. — A durable architecture never apptied
by the Indian islanders to works of public utility, and the
cause.--^Nature of ancient tanks.i'^Mahomedan buildings
dedicated to religion. — Ignorance of the modem Javanese
in architecture. — Art of weaving. — Its origin among the
Indian islanders. — Manufacture of cotton Jabrics ac*
quired from the Hindus. — The labours of the loom, among
the Indian islanders, confined to the women, an evidence of
barbarity^— Description and character of the process. —
Art of dyeing and painting cloth. — Indian islanders taught
the use of silk by the Hindus. — Working of metals. — Of

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166 USEFUL ART6.

gold.'^Siiver, a foreign metaL-^Manufaciure of iron.*-^
Description of tools, — Peouliar scarciiy qf tram in ike
Archipelago, and its consequences. — Chiefy employed in
the fabrication of voarlike implements, — Manufacture qf
the subordinate metals.'^Carpentery.^Boats and vessels*
— Art of fishing.'^Its importance and extent among the
Indian islanders^ and hoto pracUsed^i-^^In tohatjbrm^sh
prepared for use.'^Saliwm^Mam{factured chiefly in Java.
— Description qf the processes by vMch it is obtained* —
Saltpetre and gunpotoder* — General remarks on the arts
practised by the Indian islanders.

] T is not my object, in the present chapter, to
render a laboured detail of each particular art
practised by the people of whom I am furnishing
an account, but to supply such a general picture
as will enable the reader to form a just estimate
of their state of social improvement. In ren-
dering this account, I shall follow the natural
progress of the arts in the march of civilization^
beginning with those that are most simple and ne*

In this order, architecture^ is the first that pre-
sents itself. The wide extent of the Indian Ar-
chipelago aflPords examples of every species of hu-
man dwelling, from the thicket or tree, which af-
fords siielter to the savage negroes of the mountaina
of ^^ Peninsula and the cannibals of Borneo, to the
comfortable habitation of the Javanese peasant, or
the more splendid one which lodges his chief or

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i'ad NiiV/ rORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY

AiT J*, LKNOX

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n^i

Malay Hou.he.

Mai. AT Ho CMS

USEFUL ART8. 157

prince. ^ In 00 rade a state of society as that
which prevails eyen amongst the most civilised of

* An example of the variety of their dwellings is afforded
ill the extraordinary structures of the negroes of New Guinea,
of which Forrest gives the following account : — '^ We anchored
about four in the afUniooD^ close to one of their great
housesy which is built on 'po8t% fixed aoveral yards below
low water mark ; so that the tenement is always above the
water ; a long stage, supported by posts, going from it to the
land, just at high water mark. The tenement contains many
families, who five in cdbint on each side of a wide common
hall, that goes through the middle of it^ and has two doon^
one opening to the stage towards the land ; the other on a
large stage towards the sea» supported likewise by posts, in
rather deeper water than those that support the tenement
On this stage the canoes are hauled up ; and from this the
boats are ready for a launch, at any thne of tide, if the Ha*
raforas attack from die hind ; if they attack by sea» the Pa«
puas take to the woods. The married people^ aDmarried
women, and children, live in these large tenements, wliich^
as I have said^ have two doors ; the one to the long narrow
stage that leads to the land, the other to the broad stuge
which is over the sea, and on which they keep their boat«,
having outriggers on eadi side. A few yards from this sea
alage, if I may ad call it, are built, in a deeper water, ami
on stronger posts, houses where only bachelors live. I'his
is like the custom of the Batta people on Sumatra, and the
Idaaa or Moroots on Borneo, where, I am told, the bache*
lorn pre separated from the young women and the married
people-

** At Dory were two lai|^ teaemenu of this kind, about

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158 USEFUL ARTS*

the tribes^ great snd durable monuments of archi*
iecture are onlj consecrated to religion, and to a
religion directed by a powerful and artful bierar-
cby. Such monuments were constructed in Jaya,
as will be seen in the chapter on Antiquities, when
the Hindu religion flourished in that country,
bat the knowledge of this art has ceased with the
cause which gave birth to it, and this more im-
proved architecture does not belong to the state of
society of the present race of inhabitants. Indepen-
dent of this, it must occur^ that the extreme insecuri-
^ (rf* property, resulting from a barbarous ccuidition
of social existence, not only prevents the accumula-
tion of the wealth necessary to accomplish objects
of private comfort or luxury, but would be sure to
'prove an obstacle to its display ip a form calculat-
ed beyond all others to rouse the envy and exdt^
the avttice of despotic power.

It may farther be remarked, that the art of
constructing edifices of stone must, in the In-
dian islands, be looked upon not as one of native
growth, but of foreign introduction. In the mild
dimate of the Indian islands, where the materials

four hundred yards from each other, and each had a houae
for the bachelors, close by it ; in one of the tenements were
fourteen cabins, seven on a side ; in the other, twelve, or si^^
on a side." — Forresfs Voyage j pp. QB^ 96.

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USEFUL ARTS. 159

df simple bat sufficient dwellings occur in profiision*
in the bamboos, the palms, and abundant timber
every where at hand, it will soon occur that, reli-
gion excepted, nothing short of great wealth,
luxury, and security, would give rise to the con-
struction of expensive fabrics of masonry.

The ordinary habitations of the more improved
tribes of the Indian islands are of two descriptions —
those of the maritime — and those of the agricultu-
ral tribes. Of the first are those of the Malays, of
most of the people of Sumatra, Borneo, and Cele-
bes ; of the second, those of the Javanese, Balinese,
and others. The first are constructed on posts, and
the access to them is invariably by a ladder. In
the Malay language Rumak Tangga^ literally a
house with a ladder, means a dwelling-house, dis-
tmct from a granary or other outhouse. Dam-
pier's description of the houses of the maritime
tribes is so faithful and complete, that I shall not
hesitate to copy it : — ^** The manner of building,'*
says he, *' is somewhat strange, yet generally used
in this part of the East Indies. Their houses are
all built on posts, about 14, 16, 18, or 20 foot high.
These posts are bigger or less, according to the
intended magnificence of the superstructure. They
have but one floor, but many partitions or rooms,
and a ladder or stairs to go up out of the streets.
The roof is large, . and covered with palmeto or
palm leaves j so there is a clear passage, like a

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iGO USEFUL ARTS.

piazza, (but a fildiy cme,) under the houBe* Some
of the poorer people, that keep ducks or hens, have
a fence made round the posts of their houses^ with
a door to go in and out ; and this und^ room
serves for no other use. Some use this place ftr
the common draught of their houses, but building
mostly close by the river in all parts <rf'the Indies,
they make the river receive all the filth of their
houses ; and at the time of the land floods, all is
washed very clean.

** The sultan's house is much bigger than any
of the rest. It stands on about 180 great posts or
trees, a great deal higher than the common build-
ing, with great broad stairs made to go up. In the
first room he hath about @0 iron guns, all saker and
minion, placed on field-carriages. The general, and
other great men, have some guns also in their houses.
About '^0 paces from the sultan's house there is a
small low house, built purposely for the recq^tion of
ambassadors or merchant strangers. This also stands
on posts, but the floor is not raised above three or
four foot above the ground, and is neatly matted pur*
posely for the sultan and his council to sit on $ fiur
they use no chairs, but sit cross-legged, like tailors
on the floon" * Buildings of the second descrip-
tion are always constructed either on the leTel*

f Vol. I. pp. S2S, ^9.

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USEFUL ARTS. Ibl

ground, or on a slightly elevated terrace. This
distinction, trifling as it may at first appear, has iU
origin in the different circumstances under which the
two classes exist, and their different state of society.
The maritime tribes inhabit the marshy banks of
rivers and the sea coast, and for the purposes oi,
health their habitations must be raised from the
ground. They generally live in a state of greater
anarchy and violence than the agricultural tribes^
and therefore receive some isecurity from thid form
of their habitations, for, on retiring to rest, it is
the invariable practice to take up the ladder of the
dwelling, and thus render it so far inaccessible.
The Wperior salubrity, natural to the well cultivat-
ed countries of the agricultural tribes, renders the
precaution of building on posts unnecessary, while^
in their populous villages, where more tranquillity
reigns, the inhabitants receive mutual protection
from each other.

The grand materials of the structure of the houses
of the Indian islanders are the bamboo, the rattan,
the palmetto leaf, and wUd grass. The posts
which support the house are, according to circum-
stances, either of wood or bamboo. The walls are
made of plaited bamboo flattened, the roof of grass
or palmetto leaves; the first most common with
the agricultural tribes, , the last with the mftri-
time, because the plant is the native of marshy
lands, such as they usually inhabit. The beds con**

VOL. I. L

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16* USEFUL ARTS.

sist of a fixed frame of bamboos, a little elevated
above the ground, and there is generally a parti-
tion which divides the accommodation of the pa-
rents from those of the children. The house of a
peasant, in a populous part of Java, where ma-
terials are not the most abundant, will not exceed
the value of sixty days' labour.

After the house of the peasant, the most mate-
rial description of buildings among the Javanese
are what are called Pandapa, or Mandapa, a Sang-
skrit word, and, therefore, probably this modifica-
tion of building is of^ Indian origin* Every habita-
tion of the natives of Java, from the petty chief to
that of the sovereign^ consists of one or more of those
structures ; nay, the public halls in the villages and
towns are nothing else than such structures, and
even the Mahomedan mosques are of the same or-
der. The foll6wing is the description of a Panda-
pa : A roof thatched, or occasionally Covered with
shingles, four-sided, is supported by four wooden
pillars. Round this, the most material portion of
the building, there is an awning of a few feet in
depth, of light materials, supported by moveable
props of bamboo. Where privacy is required, the
whole is closed in by a temporary paling, and, for
convenience, divided into apartments by light par-
titions. Such a structure is always erected upon a
terrace, which, in the humblest kinds, is of simple
earth, but, in the better sorts, of flags, or indurated

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; i-f-K iiL'W YORK

;:<.::.<CLIBRART

J -15. Dr > r- «('N!3VTION5

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Jreasatas Jjouats,

Jatanksjb KoxrsKs

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USEFUL ARTS. l6S

mortar. Sometimes the wooden pillars are hand-
somely carved and painted, and at other times the
interior of the roof is similarly carved and orna-
mented« The principal Pandapa of the palace of
the sultan of Java, which is his hall of audience,
has, for example, the inside of the roof handsomely
carved, and painted with a deep vermiUion and
gold, which produces a very brilliant effect.

In Java, the only structures of masonry worth
noticing, except the antiquities to be afterwards
described, are the palaces of the native princes, called
Xaratan^ or Kddaton, words which, literally inter-
preted, mean, " the residence of princes." These
are in fact walled cities, the palace occupying the cen-
tre of the town, and being surrounded on all sides by
the habitations of the attendants, retainers, and other
followers of the prince, and the members of his fa-
mily. The empty spaces are occupied by the
prince's gardens, by tanks and ponds. The area
is intersected by an endless labyrinth of walls, the
whole being concealed, at any considerable dis-
tance, by a profusion of ornamental and fruit trees.
A sketch of these singular structures may be inte-
resting. — The great approach to the Karaton is in-
variably to the north, and through a square or court
of considerable extent, called the Alun-alun, a con-
stant appendage of evei7 Javanese palace. It is in
this open space that the Javanese sovereigns, once
in eight days, in conformity to oriental usage,
show themselves to their subjects* Here all tour-
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164 USEFUL ARTS.

naments are exhibited ; here all public processions
are made ; and here the retainers of the nobles
wait while the chiefs themselves pay their respects
to the sovereign. A row of Indian fig-trees adorns
each side of the square, and in the centre, sur-
rounded each by a wall,, are to be invariably seen
two spacious trees, of the same description, the
space between which is that allotted for public exe*
cutjons. These trees are considered almost sacred,
and may be looked upon as remnants of Buddhism,
for the Indian fig-tree is consecrated by the follow-
ers of that sect. Wherever these trees are found,
even in the most desolate parts of the country, we
are able to trace the palace or dwelling of some an-
cient chief or prince. A similar court to the one
now described is found, in miniature, to the south
side of the Kdraton.

After passing through the great square, we ar-
rive, at the Paseban^ a place shaded by a canopy,
supported on pillars, and intended to afford tempo-
rary accommodation to the nobility, while they
await to be summoned into the presence. From
the Paseban, a spacious flight of steps brings us to
the Sitingil,* a handsome terrace, in the centre of
which is one of the usual Pandapa. It is here that
the sovereign seats himself at all public festivals,
occasions when a degree of barbaric magnificence
is displayed, that makes some approaches to those

* Literally, « the high ground.**

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dreams of eartem grandeur which the mind of aa
European imbibes from books, but which are soon
dissipated by an experience of the tameness of the
reality.

From the SiUngilf the observer descends, by ano«*
ther stair, parallel to that by which he has entered^
and, by a variety of winding passages, is conveyed
through a series of gates, and brought, in succes*
sion, to the different palaces of the prince, each
dignified by pompous epithets, drawn from the co*
piousness of an exuberant language.

The walls of the most ancient Kdratons were
constructed of hewn stone, of which we have ex*
amples at Plrambanan. They were afterwards con*
structed of an excellent fabric of mortar, as at Mo^
jopahit ; in later times of a hewn sandstone, as at
Mataram ; and the present K&ratonsjxce construct*
ed, with little skill, of ill-burnt bricks, and ill-con-
cocted mortar. The only defences of the more
ancient seem to have been towers ; the more mo-
dem, in imitation of European fortresses, have their
moats, their bastions, their ramparts, their embra-
sures, and their parapets. Of the extent of these
walled cities we may form some notion by that of
thtf modem one of the sultan of Java, which is
three miles round, and contains a population of ten
thousand inhabitants. The largest of all was Mojo-
pahit. Between the two opposite gates, the ruins of
which still exist, there is a distance of about threfi

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166 USEFUL ARTS.

miles, which, if the enclosure was an equal-sided
square, would give a circuit of twelve miles-
Estimating its population in the same ratio as
Yugyakarta, it would therefore have contained not
less than one hundred and sixty thousand inhabit*
ants.

The residences of the Bopaiis^ or governors of
districts, are, in miniature, counterparts of the
royal dwellings. They have their Alun-aluriy or
great court, where they have, on Saturday even-
ing, their tournaments and games ; and where, at
festivals, their public processions are exhibited.
The pair of Indian fig-trees, where the sentence of
the law is executed, is seldom wanting to render
the* parallel complete. *

^ The following is the judicious and sensible picture of
the architecture of these people, which is given by the philo«
sophical historian of Sumatra:— '^ Id their buildio^ neither
8tone> brick, nor clay, are ever made use of, which is the
case in most countries where timber abounds, and where the
warmth of the climate renders the free admission pf air a
matter rather to be desired than guarded against ; but in
Sumatra the frequency of earthquakes is alone sufficient to
have prevented the natives from adopting a substantial mode
of building. The frames of the houses are of wood, the un«
derplate resting on pillars of about six or eight fee^ in
height, which have a sort of capital, but no base, and are
wider at top than at bottom. The people appear to have
no idea of architecture as a science^ though much ingenuity
is often shown in the manner of working up their materials,
and tfarey havci the Malays at least, technical terms corre«

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The habitations of the Indian islanders are never,
as in civilized communities, found single, and inso-

sponding to all those employed hy our house-carpenters.
Their conception of proportions is extremely rude, often
leaving those parts of a frame which have the greatest bear-
ing with the weakest support, and lavishing strength upon
inadequate pressure. For the floorings they lay whole bam«
boos, (a well known species of large cane^) o£ four or five
inches diameter, close to each other, and fasten tbem at the
ends to the timbers. Across these are laid laths of split bam-
boo, about an inch wide, and of the length of the room,
which are tied down with fihunents of the rattan ; and over
these are usually spread matts of different kinds. This sort
of flooring has an elasticity alarming to strangers when they
flrst tread on it. The sides of the houses are generally clos-
ed in with palupo, which is the bamboo opened, and render-
ed flat by notching or splitting the circular joints on the
outside, chipping away the corresponding divisions within,
and laying it to dry in the sun, pressed down with weights*
This is sometimes nailed on to the upright timbers or bam-
boos, but in the country parts it is more conmionly interwo-
ven or matted, in breadths of six inches, and a piece, or
sheet, formed at ot^ce of the size required. In some places
they use for the same purpose the kulitkayu, or coolicoy, as
it is pronounced by the Europeans, who employ it on board
ship, as dunnage, in pepper and other cargoes. This is a
bark procured from some particular trees, of which the bu-
nut and ibu are the most common. When they prepare to
take it, the outer rind is first torn or cut away ; the inner,
which affords the material, is then marked out with a prang,
pateel, or other tool, to the size required, which is usually
three cubits by one ; it is afterwards beaten for some time
with a heavy stick, to loosen it from the stem, and being peel-

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168 USEFUL ARTS* .

lated, but always grouped into villages or towns, of
greater or less extent. Eacb cottage in this
situation is invariably surrounded by a garden,
and shaded by a few fruit or ornamental trees, so
that the whole village is as if it were embosomed
in an orchard, and the cottages wholly hid from
view, the village appearing, to an unpractised eye,
no more than a simple grove of evergreens. The
assemblage of dwellings thus formed is constantly
surrounded by quickset hedges.

A town, even where it consists of many thou-
sand inhabitants, is no more than an aggregate of
villages, distinguished by the superior size of the

ed off, IB laid in the sun to dry, care being taken to prevent
its warping. The thicker or thinner sorts of the same spe«
cies of kulitkayu owe their difference to their being taken
nearer to, or rather from, the root. That which is used in
building has nearly the texture and hardness of wood. The
pliable and dcHcate batfc of which clothing is made is pro-
cured from a tree called kalawi, a bastard species of the
bread-fruit.

** The most general mode of covering houses is with the
atap, which is the leaf of a species of palm called nipab.
These, previous to their being laid on, are formed into sheets
of about five feet long, and as deep as the length of the leaf
will admit, which is doubled at one end over a slip or lath of
bamboo ; they are then disposed on the roof, so as that one
sheet shaU lap over the other, and are tied to the bamboos
which serve for raflers. There are various other and more
durable kinds of covering u&ed.^'-^Marsden's Sumatra^ pp.

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paUio BKMiqae, and ehanieterised by the palace of
the chief or priace, aad the great court y/fhkk
fronts it* *

* Sir Stamford Raffles gives us the following favourable
picture of a Javanese viUage :-<** The cottages, which I have
already described, are never found detached or solitary ; they
always unite to forAi villages of greater or less extent, accord*
ing to the fertility of the neighbouring plain, abundance of a
stream^ or other accidental circumstances. In some provinces^
the usual number of inhabitants in a village is about two hun-
dred, in others less than fifty. In the first establishment or
formation of a village on new ground, the intended settlers take
care to provide themselves with sufficient garden ground round
their huts Tor their stock, and to supply the ordinary wants of
their families. The produce of this plantation is the exclusive
property of the peasant, and exempted from contribution or
burden ; and such is their number and extent in some regen«
cies, (as in Kedu for instance,) that they constitute perhaps a
tenth part of the area of the whole district. The spot surround*
ing his simple habitation, the cottager considers his peculiar
patrimony, and cultivates with peculiaic cace* He labours to
j>lant and to rear in it those vegetables that may be most use*
ful to his family, and those shrubs and trees which may at once
yield him their 'fruit and their shade ; nor does he waste his '
efforts on a thankless soil. The cottages, or the assemblage of
huts, that compose the village, become thus completely screen*
ed from the rays of a scorching sun, and are so buried amid
the foliage of a luxuriant vegetation, that at a small distance
no appearance of a human dwelling c^n be discovered, and the
residence of a numerous society appears only a verdant grove
or a clump of evergreens. Nothing can exceed the beauty or
the interest which such detached masses of verdure^ scattered
over the fttce of the country, and indicating each the abode of.
» collection of happy peasantry, add to «!ccnpry otherwise rich^

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170 USEFUL AET8.

Such may be considered the usual appearance of
the villages of the Indian islanders. Local circum*

whether viewed on the sides of the mountains, in the narrow
vales, or on the extensive plains* In the last case, before the
grain is planted, and during the season of irrigation, when the
rice fields are inundated, they appear like so many small
islands rising out of the water. As the young plant advances,
their deep rich foliage contrasts pleasingly with its lighter tints;
and when the full-eared grain^ with a luxuriance that exceeds
an European harvest, invests the earth with its richest yellow^
they give a variety to the prospect, and afford a most refresh-
ing relief to the eye. The clumps of trees, with which art at-
tempts to diversify and adorn the most skilfully artanged park,
can bear no comparison with them in rural beauty or ptctU"-
ns({uetffecU"'^Rqffles's Java, Vol. L pp. 81, 82.

Mr Marsden's account of a Sumatran village is, ai usual,
distinct and faithful : — ** The dusuns, or villages, (for the small
number of inhabitants assembled in each does not entitle them
to the appellations of towns.) are always situated on the banks
of a river or lake, for the convenience of bathing, and of trans-
porting goods. An eminence difficult of ascent is usually made
choice of for security. The access to them is by foot .ways,
narrow and winding, of which there are seldom more than two,
one to the countfy, and the other to the water; the latter in
most places so steep, as to render it necessary to cut steps in
the cM or rock. The dusuns being surrounded with abun-
dance of fruit trees, some of considerable height, as the durian,
coco, and betel* nut, and the neighbouring country, for a little
space about, being in some degree cleared of wood for the rice
and pepper plantations, these Tillages strike the eye at a dis*
tance as clumps merely, exhibiting no appearance of a town
or any place of habitation. The rows of houses form com«

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Stances sometimes give rise to varieties and anoma*
lies. If a village, for example, be situated in an al-
pine or mountainous country , the vegetation is there
less luxuriant, and its protection less necessary to
the comfort of the peasantry. The site of the vil-
lage is then generally on the declivity of a hill, and,
being besides less obscured by the protection of
trees, the dwellings distinctly appear.

The most extraordinary appearances are present*
ed-by the towns of the maritime tribes, when situ-
ated on rivers of great extent, and in situations pe-
culiarly marshy and swampy. The town of Pa-
lembang in Sumatra, and Borneo in the great island
which takes its European name from it, are the
most remarkable examples of this. Some of the
dwellings in such situations are built on elevated
stakes, within high- water mark, and others are built
on moveable rafts of bamboo, moored to piles driven
into the banks of the river. The principal, and*

monly • quadrangle, with passages or lanes at intervals be-
tween the buildings, where, in the more considerable villages^
ii?e the lower class of Inhabitants, and where also their padi-
houses or granaries are erected. In the middle of the square
stands the balei or town hall, a room about fifty to an hundred
feet long, and twenty or thirty wide, without division, and open
at the udes, exceptmg' when on particular occasions it Is hung
with matts or chintz; but sheltered in a lateral direction by
the deep overhanging roof."— Afar<efe;i « Sumaira^ pp. 56, 56.

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172 USEFUL AETS.

indeed, almort the sole communicatiaii in tovms of
this mitiire, is necessarily by water. *

* Pigafetta, near three- bandred years ago, gives us the fol-
lowing faithful picture of the town of Borneo :— ^' La ville est
b&lie dans la mer m^me, except^ la roaison du roi, et de qud-
ques principaux chefs* £Ue contient Vingt-cinq mille feux ou
families. Les matsons sont confttruites de bois et port6es sur
de grosses poutres pour les garantir de Teau. Lorsque la ma-
ree monte, les fcromes qui vendeut les denrees n^cessaircs tra*
versent la ville dans des barques/'-^^Prgo/^/to, p. ]45.*-A
missionary, in the Lettrcs Edifiantes, gives us, in a description
of Achin, a beautiful and graphic account of the generality of
maritime and commercial towns :— *' Imaginea vous une fordt
de cocotiers, de bambous, d'anas, de baguaniers, an milieu de
laquelle passe une assez belle riviere toute couverte de bateaux;
mettez dans celte foret une nombre incroyable de maisons
faites avec de Cannes, dc roseaux, des ecorces, et disposes les
de telle maniere qu'elles forment tantdt des rues, et tant6t des
quartiers separ^s : coupez ces divers quartiers de prairies et de
boia : repandes par tou dans cette grande for^t, autant d'faom-
mes qu*on en volt dans vos villes, lorsqu'elles sont bien peu«
pl66s ; Tous vous formerez une id6e assez juste d'Achen ; et
Tous conviendrez qu*une ville dc ce go<kt nouveau pcut faire plal-
sir k des 6trangers qui passent Elie me parAt d'abord comme
ces passages sortis de I'imagination d'un peiiitre ou d'un poete,
qui rassemble sous un coup d*oeil, tout ce que la campagne a
de plus riant Tout est neglig6 et naturel, champ6tre et m^me
un peu sauvage. Quand on est dans la rade, on n'appercoit
aueuu vestige, ni aucune apparcnce de ville, parceque des
grands arbres qui bordent le rivage en cachent touted les raai*
sons ; mais outre le paysage qui est trds-beau, rien a*est plus
agr6able que de voir dc matin un infinite de petits bateaux de
J8

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Having described the dwellings of the Indiia
islanders, I shall say a few words respecting the
furniture of their houses, and a few will be enough
on a subject so limited. The necessary furniture
of an European dwelling has its origin in customs
totally different from those of the Indian islanders,
and in the necessities created by a climate the very
reverse of that in which they live. We sit on ele^
vated seats, and, when we eat, must be served on
tables of corresponding elevation* They sit and eat
on the ground, and require neither chairs nor tables.
To protect us from the cold, we require soft and
warm beds and thick coverings. All these would be
unsupportable nuisances in the climate of the Indian
islanders. Their food is served up on salvers, or
trays, of wood or brass. Their beds are no more
than the slight bamboo floor of the cottage, or^ at
best, benches of the same flimsy material, on which
a mat is laid, with a single small pillow. The pea-
sant retires to rest without undressing, and with the
sanmgf or principal article of dress, wraps himself
up, and thus receives some protection from the
bites of venomous insects.

In the dwellings of the chiefs there is generally.

pdcheurs qui sortent de la riviere avec le jour, ctqui ne rentrent
que Ic soir, lorsque le soleil se couche. Vous diriez un essaim
d'abeilles qui reviennent & la cruche charg^es du fruit dt ieur
travail."— Tome I.

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17* USEFUL ARTS.

in a conspicuous part of the house, a kind of state*
bed, rather for disj^y. than utility, and which isr
only used on occasion of public festivals.

Spoons, knives, and forks, they have no use for.
A few dishes of porcelain ware, imported from Chi-
na,^ are occasionally used as luxuries, but the more
ordinary table utensils are of brass. In cooking their
simple food, they use shallow iron pan^, called kwaJij
imported from China, or pots of a coarse domestic
earthenware ; and, among the ruder tribes, the
never-failing bamboo is employed even for boiling
their rice, the green cane resisting the ftre suffi-
ciently long to serve for the cooking of one mess
of rice.

Such is an account of the fuiiiiture of the dwel-
lings of the Indian islanders. Climate enables the
natives to dispense with much that Europeans term
necessaries and comforts, and the poverty which
results from bad government, precludes an indul-
gence in articles of luxury.

A durable architecture has never, as already re*
marked, been applied in Java, or any other coun-
try of the Ardiipelago, to works of public' utility.
To this day there is not a stone bridge on the
whole island ; not a sluice of durable materials ;
no artificial canals or wells ; and no tanks, or other
public works, to facilitate irrigation. Independent
of ignorance and want of skill on the part of the
Javanese, the circumstances of the country in which

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they dwell discourage the construction of such works.
From its hilly nature it necessarily abounds in
mountain torrents, against the violence of which
the most substantial works would hardly avail
at particular seasons. Tanks, wells, canals, and
artificial sluices, in the present relation of good
land to population, are superfluous in a coun-
try abounding in natural rills, the waters of
which are easily diverted for the purposes of irriga-
tion, by cheap and temporary embankments, with-
out recourse to those more solid, but expensive
means, which the poverty and ignorance of the Ja-
vanese peasant could ill supply. In different parts
of the island, the relics of three or four tanks are, in-
deed, still to be traced, but they are of inconsider-
able size, and were dedicated to religious purposes,
or had for their object to gratify the vanity of some
despot. The most considerable is that near the
palace of Mojopahit, an oblong square, the area of
which is six hundred thousand feet, and the depth
about twelve feet.

From the middle of the thirteenth century, ar»
chitecture was certainly on the decline in Java, as
in my account of the antiquities of the island I shall
attempt to trace, from its perfection in the more
ancient temples, to its decline in those of brick
and mortar, and its uncouth and disgusting bar-
barity in those constructed on the eve of the ex-
tinction of Hinduism. Since this last period, not a

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176 USEFUI* ARTS.

abgle monument deserving notice has betn erect*
ed. The Mahomedan mosques are coarsely and
inelegantly constructed of temporary materials.
The monument built as a tomb to the apos*
tie of the western districts, at Cheribon, the Arab
sheikh Maulana^ though of more durable mate*
rialsy forms no exception to this observation.
Though some Dutch writers affect to commend it^
and it be exhibited to the curious with a sufficient
air of mystery, it is a most contemptible structure,
that in Europe would do no credit to a country
church-yard.

The modem Javanese do not even understand
the art of turning an arch} and there is no struc-
ture, since the introduction of Mabomedanism^ in
which it is attempted ; yet, in all periods of Hin-
duism, the art was certainly understood. We dts*
cover it in every ancient temple; the remains of the
gates at Mojopahit exhibit handsome arches, and we
have arches even in the uncouth ruins of Suku and
K&tto, in themountain Lawu. To what is this dif**
ference to be ascribed ? Is the genius of Hinduism
mpre favourable to the art than that of Mahome*'
danism ; or rather, was not the Hindu hierarchy
more powerful, improved, and numerous, than the
mean and vagrant corps of trading adventurers who
propagated Mahbmedanism ?

The next most important art, in the order I am
pursuing, is the labour qftlie loom. The Indian

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UBSfUL AKT8* 177

$xe clothed wkh a fahrie of cotton^ tiie
art of mattttfactara^ whieh they acquired from* the
Hiadaa. Prenoos^ howerer, to their acqnoiiit*
anoe with Hub more improred maimiactiire, they
were not strangers to the labours of the looniy
whieh the minor races probaUy acquired from that
great Polynesisn naliont the existence of which I
shall endesnraur to prove in the chapter on Laa-
goages. The animals of their eountry afford no
fiir» and ibe indigenous plants no down for the fa*
bmation of cloflt, but the latter afibrd an abuH-
dast supply of filaceous barfc^ and it was £rom thia
material that their dotha must have been manufac^
tmed. As pvoofii that the Indjao islanders were
possessed of the art of weaving doth, and of the
prohdbilily of that art having been dissennBated
dffough the skiUef a paiticnlar native lribe> Imay
nsentioDt 1^ the words to spm and to meave^ those
wkkh espresa the loam, the sfmttle, the woof^ and
the warpf ars all native terms^ aad nearly the same
in aU the languages of the Ardiipelago wherever the
art of fabricating cloth by the process ef waving is
understood. The loom of the Indian islanders varies
esamtiaUy from that of the HindiiSy botthe roUers
for sepoiatiii^ the cotton from the seed, and the
^pmnhg-mkeely are exactly the same. The latter, as
well as the material of mann&cturey are known by
two Sanskrit names^ namely, jcmtra and kapas.
Janlra^ it ia re&tatkaUe, is in the parent huiguage

VOL. I. Hf

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178 USEFUL ARTS.

the common terai for machinery. How humUc
must have been the state of the mechanic arts among
the Indian islanders, when their instructors bestow-
ed such a name upon one of the earliest of ail me-
chanic inventions !

Among the Indian islanders, the labours ^
the loom, and the whole operation which the
raw material undergoes, from the moment it is
brought from the field, until it is fit for apparel,
is performed by women, and by women only*
ThisHs not only the case among the ruder tribes,
where the manufacture is intended for domes*
tic consumption only, but even obtains in those
parts of the country where cotton doths are an ar-
ticle of commerce and exportation. Such has bera
the state of the art in the early ages of society in
every country. The great nations of Asia^ the
Arabians, the Persians, the Hindus, and the Chip
nese, have long passed this sera in the arts, and
that the labours of the loom are still consigned to
women among the Indian islanders, is an unan-
swerable proof of a iiide state of society among
them.

The cotton 1$ separated from the seed by a pair
of small smooth wooden rollers, revolving in oppo^
site directions. This process is unskilful, and, there-
fore, tedious and expensive. The picking and card-
ing are little less so. A picul of cotton wool, or
13S^ lbs., worth eleven dollars, separated from the

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USEKJL AETS. 179

aeed, costs* before it is spHU into coarse thread, 24f,
dollars. The simple process of dyeing the yam
blue* with native indigo costs ten dollars more^
and before the same yam comes out of the loom,
in a fabric which is none of the finest, it has cost
sixteen additional dollars, or, in all, above 450 per
cent, upon the raw material. It takes SOO days la-
bour to separate the above quantity of cotton wool
from the seed, ^0 days additicmal labour to prepare
it for spinning, and 1000 days to spin it. Of coarse
cloth five spans Inreadth, ^a cubit is the common
day's work of a Javanese weaver. This is a pic-
ture of the rade condition of manufacturing in-
dustry, of the waste of labour and of time, which
results, in an uncivilized stage of society, from im-
perfection 'of machinery, from indolence, unskil-
fttlness, and the absence of the subdivision of
labour.*

* The process of w^aviog, and the hide apparatus with
which it is done, are faithfully described by Mr Marsden.
** Their loom or apparatus for weaving (tunun) is extremely
defective, and renders their progress tedious. One end of the
warp being made fast to a frame, the whole is kept (igbt, and
the web stretched out by means of a secies of yoke, which is
fsstened behind the body, when the person weaving sits down.
Every second of the longitudinal threads, or warp, passes •
separately through a se^ of r^ds, like the teeth of a comb, and
the alternate ones through another set. These cross each
other, up ao4 down, to admit the woof, not from the extre-
mities, as in our looms, nor effected by the feet, but by turn.

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180 USBFDL ABTS.

Tbe Indkn idanders are wholly uniequakteil
with the art* of mamifiuturing tine cloths>of any
kind; all their &bric8 are of coarse, subitantiali
but durable texture. Neither have they attained
the art of oommunicatinf; to then- cottons the
brilliant and fixed coloura which we admire so
much in the fabrics of continental India« Theb
{Mrincipai colours are blue and dark red, and they
have always a dusky and gloomy hue, totaUy des*
titttte of any elegance or brilliancy.

Oftcalico printing they are entirely ignoranti
but they hare a snigalar substitute for it. The part
not intended to be coloured, or that which forma
like ground in a web of dioth, they daub over with
melted wax. The doth thw treated is thrown
into the dyniig vat, and the inCersticea take tbe
colour cf the pattern. If a second or thk-d colour
is to be added, the operation is repeated on tbe
ground preserved by the first application of wax^*
more wax is applied, and the cloth is once, or of-
tener, consigned to the vat. The greater refine*
ment that is attempted, the more certain seems to
be the failure. This awkward sidistitute for print*

- *ag rigemwrnysf two tetslicbs wkieh )Mss between tiieai. Tlie
ftbattle (turak) k a hollow mnI, ahoat sixteea mdies Km^,
^eiMi^y wMinentsd on the oatside, and closed at oae endl,
Jiaviiig in k a taiiall trit of «tiek, on whicli is rolled the woof
ar tfaoot'WMiriAii'i Sumatra, p. 1S3.

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rSBFUXi ABTS. 181

uig eosti 100 per cent, at least, oa thq price of
the doth.

Unskflfiil 88 the mttnifactmring industry of the Ja«
vaasse is, it generally excels that of the 4}ther idand-
en. The natives of Cdebes, and the people of Bali,
are the only tribos besides that may be called con^
siderable monufacturera of cloth. There ia little
or no miety in their fifaricsy nor do they, like
the Javanese, aim at producing ^ny diversity of
manuluzture or pattern to gratify the taste or fimcy
of the consumer. Yk^ in consequence of the
superior quality of the cottons of those eastern
countries, the cloths isf Bali and Celebes, for fine-
ness and durability, rank before those of Java or
the western countries.

Though the soil of many parts of the oriental
islands, and particularly of Java, would seem fiivour-
able to tdke mulberry, and die mildness of the
dinate in 9II, would appear highly ferauiuble to
that of the silk tvorm, the branch of industry cocu
fleeted with them has never been cultivated in thpte
countfies. In Java, in particular, where the habits
of the population, and, above all, the inchurtry of the
women, appear so suitaMe to this deseriptien of in*
dustry, an experiment deserves to be tried. Under
the dsveetioB c( the indefatigaUe and enterprinng
Chinese, it eould hardly fail of success.

The Indian islanders, it is evident, wne taught
the use of silk by the Hindus, for the commodity,

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182 USEFUL ARTS*

both in: its raw and manufactored state, is cdkd
by every tribe that knows its use by the one name
ofSutrOf which is the pure Sanskrit one for the com«
modity. The raw material is at present brought
from China^ and from this the Malay women
manufacture a rich thick tissue, more distinguish-
ed, however, by the quantity of material which it
contains, than by the beauty of the workmanship.
Even the gold, and silver thread which it contains
is brought from China* The manufactured silks
of the Javanese ai-e still coarser, and far lesa
elegant.

The Indian islanders, frota very early times, ap^
pear to have been acquainted with all the useful
metals. An examination of their languages points
out, that the knowledge of the working of gold,
iron, and tin, metals which exist in the country, are
native arts, whilst the use of silver and copper,
the existence of the ficst of which is only suspected,
and that of the second very limited, they have
acquired from the Hindus, as their Sanskrit names
distinctly point out In Sumatra, where copper is
chiefly found, I discover that it is generally recog«*
nized by a nsU^ive name, but it is not by this, but
the Sanskrit one, by which it is called among the
more civilized tribes of the Archipelago, so that
the knowledge of it, we may conclude from this
fact, could not have been disseminated from a na-
tive source.

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U8BFUL ARTS« 18S

Gold, which e:Kirts in its native state, and
abounds in almost every* country of the Archipe-
lago, must have been 'the first of the metals of
which the use was acquired. In Java, massy or-
naments of this metal, with images of the same,
are very frequently discovered. No coins of. it
have, however, been found, nor do the Indian
islanders, in remote times, appear to have ap-
plied it to the purpose of a metallic coinage* Of
the art of gilding, they appear in all ages to
have been ignorant, neither has the metal been
applied to the purposes of plate. Its sole ap-
plication has been to trinkets and ornaments.
In the art of manufacturing these, like other
rude people, they far surpass their other efforts in
the mechanic arts. The filagree work of the Su-
matrans is highly curious, but in these cases it
may be remarked that all their effinrts are imper-
fect, for while the carved work of an ornament
is exquisite, the plain portion is as if it were unfi-
nished, for they are ignorant of the art of burnish-
ing the metal.*

* The filngree work of the Sumatrans is too curious
not to require a distinct account. We have it in the
following accurate detail by Mr Marsden :-^^' There is no
circumstance that renders the filagree a matter of greater
curiosity, than the coarseness of the tools employed in the
workmanship, and which, in the hands of an European,
would ftot be thought sufficiently perfect for the most ordi-

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184 VmSBVh AETB#

Tti0 Ixigh^ ^fforfeB of tlie drill of Uie Jndjaa
isbndan v iwkaivUy exerted on gold ; on the Inb

nary purposes. They are radely and inartificially formed bj
die goldsmith (jpandei) from any old iron he can procufe.
When you angage one of theaa to execute a piece of woik, kit
first requesi is uamdly tsr a pieoe of iion hoofiy la mak^liif
vire-dcawiDgiastnuneot; an dd hammer h«ad, aiiick in it
blopk, serves for an anvil; and I have seen a pair of tom-
passes composed of two old naiU tied together at one end.
The gold is melted in a piece dipriuk or earthen rice pot, or
sometimies in « emcible of their «wn making, pfco m a so n day.
In geneoii ^kmy usa no beUaws, h§t Horn the fiif wjib tli^
QMVA^ 4ihf0ffgh a joint ^ bamboo^ and if the qiifMStity of
melnl to be melted is considerabtei three qx four persons si^
round the furnace, which is an old broken imali or iron pot^
and blow together* At Padang alone, where the mannfiieture
k more considerable, they have adopted tlie Chinese belfc»ws».
Their ttatbed ef dimwiog the wire difien bot little tea tbaft
nted by Bttfoprws workmen* Wjken drawn IP a suCciettl
fineness, tb^y flatten it by beating it on tbeir anvil ; and when
flfittenedy they give it a twist, like that in the whalebone
handle of a punch ladle, by rubbing it on a block of wood,
with a flat stick. After twisting, they again beat it on the
anvil, and by these means it becomes flat wise with Indeolsd
edgea. With « pair 4>f nippefs they ioU d4»wn the end of tii»
wire, and thus form a leaf, or element of a flower, in their work
which is cut oiF. The end ie again Mded nnd cut ^, tiU
they have got a sufifiient number of lea^ies, wUcb are ail laid
on singly. Patterns of tbe flowers or foliage, in which thera
is oot much variety, are prepared on paper of the sixe of the
gold plate on which the fils^jjpee is to he laid. Acciudiflg t»
this, they begin lo dispose m the plate the laiger campait-

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vidhttUt 401^ the m^tk material of ulvtr tfa^f b^-
utow MttaUir paws. IUd« imagaa of Jtbia hiatal.

talents of the foliage, for which they use plain flat wire of a
larger «iae, and AH them up witii the leases before nentione^.
To Ak ftaftir vrnk* ^V ^^^itoy ^ gf nttnoui shImcbiio^, mtJk
^ tho «iiMiil ni4pM,wiib# Mack ipot ^fbft fpentioiMrfi
feaond to » pulp^ on 4 rQiigb'Btp«e« Tbia pulp th^y pl^ce ot
• young coconut, about the size of a walnut, the top and bot-
tom being cut off. I at first imagined that caprice alone
might hate directed them to the use of the coconut for this
p«rpoMs tat I havt jteoa wi ecte d on Oke frdlMBilf qf llie
jgiff of Ibe fvmg Mt bmg pecenar/ toteepibopalp »oai|,
^#b vouU ttberviae ipisedily become dry and unit for Ibe
work. After the leaves have been all placed in order» and
stack on bit by bit, a solder is prepared of gold filings and
borax, moistened with water, which they strew or daub over
4w plate with a feather, and then puUmg it iti the fire for a
ttmi^m»f Ihe ivhok JMOonet uailad. m$ kfmi ofm&rk mk
ft flri4 lAi^lbay cM iarmtg pap^n s when the work i$ open
they call it harang lru$m In ^ex^cuttng the lattei; the foliage
is laid out on a card, or soft kind of wood covered with paper,
and stuck on, as before de6cril>ed, with the paste of the red
seed ; and the work, when finished, being strewed over witii
tlwir toidar, it put into tba fire, whes the oanl ot soft wood
binai^ frnv^t ^ goM rtmsaaa fonaactBd. Tbo greatcvt
skill and attention is required in this operation, as the work is
often made to run by remaining too long, or in too hot a fire*
If the piftoe lie large, Aey soldef it at sevend times. When
the work i» finiibed, they give k that fine high colour they ao
jBiich adtaiify by as operatiaB wbieh they term aoyooi* Tbb
ooffsiits ii».BiJKiDg vilm% oofsmoo stlt, and alum, reduced to
powder imd nioisteiiedi lay^Dg the cognpMtm on the filagre«t

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186 OSEfUL ARTS.

however, have been discovered in Java, as ynH as
small coins, showing that the ancient Javanese
practised the art of working it.

The more difficult and important art of working
iron seems certainly one of native, and not of
foreign growth. The wosd for iron, and its modi-
fication steel, are indigenous, and the name of the
blacksmith, as well as the terms connected with his
art, as chiseljjilej axe^ scvw^ bellows^ naiU &c. are all
native. The whole of these are the same in every
language of the oriental islands, from whence may
be drawn one of the strongest arguments in fitvoor
of civilization having been disseminated through-
out from one common source.

Of the implements used by the native artists,
iSJaie only one which is peculiar, and therefore re-
quires description, is the bellows. I diall give it
in the gnphic, though quaint language of Dam*
pier, and along with it his whole picture of the
state of the mechanic arts among the tribes of the
Indian islands^ .

'^ There are but few tradesmen at the city of
Mindanao. The chief trades are goldsmiths,

anil keeping it over a moderate fire tintil it dissolves and be-
comeft yellow. In this situation the piece is kept for a longer
or shorter time, according to the intensity of colour they wbh
the gold to receive. It is then thrown into water and
deaosed."~jlfarMfaii'« Sumatra, pp. 178^ 179$ 190.

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ubsFUL ARtS. 187

Uacksmiths, and carpenters. There are but two or
three goldsmiths ; these will work in g<dd or silver^
and make any thing that you desire: but they
have no shop fumi^ed with ware ready made for
sale< Here are several bla^miths who work very
well, considering the tools that they work with.
Their bellows are much different from ours* Hiey
are made of a wooden cylinder, the trunk of a tree^
about three feet long, bored hollow like a pump,
and set upr^ht on the ground^ on which the
five itself is made. Near the lower end thare is a
small hole, in the ade of the trunk next the fire^
made to receive a pipe, through which the wind is
driven to the fire by a great bunch of fine feathers
fitftened to one end of the stick, which closing up
the uiaide of the cylinder, drives the air out of the
cylinder through the ^pe« Two of these trunks or
cylinders are placed so nigh together, that a man
standing between them may work them both at
once alternately, one with each hand. They have
neither vice nor anvil, but a great hard stone, or a
piece of an old gun, to hammer upon ; yet they
will perform their work, making both common
utensils and iron works about ships to admiration.
They work altogether with charcoal. Every man
almost is a carpenter, for they can work with the
axe and adze. Their axe is but small, and so made
that they can take it out of the helve, and by turn-
ing it, make an adze of it. They have no saws ;

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but when tktf mk^ plankt iheij sphk the tut m
tyHh and lodke » pliok of Meh ptrtt phwiiiig it
With the aw sod adm» ThisroqpiivMmvehpaiiiflb
and tikM up a gimfc deal of time } but thajr wonk
<Amp» and tha goodnew of the pkok thw hewedt
whiph hath ita grain preserved wftiva* inaha B a aiend a
fw their caet and pains/' *

The asistaoee of iron ore> of suffimat riehMas to
be woricad^ on aocmint of tha nietalt ie very lifliitMl in
the IndJan islands ( inJavathewlsabscdntelfnaan
fit fi>r this pnffpoie^ Wben»therefoi«»weadwrtte
this ciienmitanaef and to the limited inteMpnrBaia
anciant tioies wilh for^gners, we ahaU be inolinad
QimiM» that the uae of irwwaarather amatiar of
luxury than utility { and I am atrongly incUnad to
oonaidar the ahsenoe or scaraty of this aietal aaosiHe
of thamopt eUaient of the causes whieh alnkmeted
the pn^reas of the Indian islanders in oivili«itioo«
J}own to our own time* sudi has» in general* been
the high price of this commodity, that the Javn>-
nese do no mora than tip their instrumenta of agrw
eulture with it ; and the sandiest bit of the nMal»
whenexposedi is as liable to depredation as geld or
silver. The high repute in which blacksmitha
were held by the Javanese* and the high rank they
held, for th^ were oonsidered rather as a privi*
l^ed order than as artizans, may be addiieod in

• DanipicM^s Voyages, Vol. I. p. 331, 33?,

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VMOVh ABTB. ISO

tonobomtioa of tMs remaxk. Fmde^ iht mwi
for A bbcfcsQiitl^ in the Mali^ mi J&nmm hn-
goiigfd, maam also teamed mi. tki^. It k lygk-
ijr hnprobable that perwna 6iiiplo>f ad in niiiiiiterii^;
tt the hmiibler arte of life flfcrtnddy in a rode trtoke
of society, be io portiettleiiy hoQoarid wkhoot
Mme extnuirdibary chum. The piobeMlity is, thet,
in aoeient tineSf iron was ioleijr^ oi ahnost nuMff
eoi^ned to the purposes ef drese attd of war. The
vHSlaty of these artisans in aiittistapitig towards fa*
vDorite passions, was what made the volgar trade
of a Uaoksmith, in ail probeMlirf , so mneh in rt^
pnte in old times among die Javanese* *

The prineipal skill of the blacksnuth is displays
ed in tlie mannfaetnre of the spear and dagger, the
nstife arms ef the Indian islanders. It would
be aiiperflnona to desinibe these wcA known wea«

* Fdr the high value placed on iron we have abundant tes*
timony. ^' When they came to' bartering, they gave gold,
rtce, hogjs, hens, and divers other tbingBt for tome of onr trifles
of small value* They gave ten |MiOf of gold for fourteen pound
treight of ir«o. One pe$u% is in value a ducat and a half/'^—
FigafeUa in Pitrchas, Book 11. p. 40.—*' When I asked any of
the mea of Dory^tvby {hey had no gardens of plantains and kala«
vansaS) which two articles they were continually'bringiDg from
the Haraforas ; I learnt, aftet matiy interrogatories, that the
HanUbras supply them with these articles, and that the Papua
people do not give goods for these tiecessartes every time they
fetch them; but that an axe or a chopping knife given once to

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190 USEFUL AUTS.

pons, which are more iiithfally represented in m
drawing than by the most laboured deflcription.
The extraordinary demand for the dagger or kris
has given rise to a subdivision of labour in its fiibri-
cation, unknown to any other employment. The
manufacture of the blade, of the handle, and of the
scabbard, are each distinct occu(|)ations. The
shape of the kris varies with every tribe, nay, in
every district of the same country ; and there is,
according to taste and fancy, an endless variety,
even among the same people. The butthensome ex*
uberance of the Javanese language furnishes us with
fifty-four distinct names for as many varieties of the
kris, specifying, that twenty*one are with stndght,
and thirty-three with waving, or serpentine blades!
The essential portion of the weapon, the bkde,
has a handsome and imposing appearance, but is
far from being skilfully fabricated. If ever the
Indian islanders understood the art of tempering
iron, they have now lost it. The kris blade is but a

Harafora man^ makes his land or his labour subject to an eterr
oal tax of something or other for its use* Such is the yaloe
of iron ; and a little way farther easTt, I was told they often
used stone axes, having no iron at a11« If a Harafora loses
the instrument so advanced to him, he is still subject to tlie
tax ; but, if he breaks it, or wears it to the back, the Papua
man is obliged to give him a new one^ or the tax ceases.''— r
Forres fs Foi^age to New Guinea^ p. 109.

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USEFUL ARTS. " 19.1

bit of ordinary iron ; and there is not one in a
hundred that, when bent, recovers its elasticity.

The Indian ishmders have attempted the manu-
facture of muskets, but with little.sucoess ; for the
lock is a piece of complex machinery, far beyon4
their skill, and, indeed, has never been executed sue*
eessfully out of Europe. In the fabrication of the
less perfect, btit more simple matchlock>'they ha^
been more fortunate ; and in the armoury of the
Raja of Blelling, in Bali, I saw specimens which,
for richness and beauty, exceeded any thing of the
kind with which my experience had furnished me*
The entire barrels were richly inlaid with pure
gold, wroi^ht with much art, and some taste, into
flow^s and festoons, producing a very handsome
efl^t, and rendering the workmanship an ojbgect of
no small curiosity.

In the tools of the artisan, and the implements
of husbandry, iron is^ but very sparingly used.
They cannot fabricate files; the chisel and saw
are small and bad, and the axe is still more con-
temptible. The hoe and ploughshare are mere-
ly tifped with a little iron, which, in the last, with
the Javanese, is frequently cast metal; for they
have recently acquired the art of fusing iron in
small quantities, in one part of the country ; but the
^applioataon is confined, as yet, to this one purpose.

Copper and tin are seldom used in their pure
state, but most commonly alloyed in a kind of

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IStt USETOL AKT8.

heU metily whieh w applied to the pwpoio (if ]
fiustwii^ ntiAoal tnrtraments, ndcaimoii of muJl
cdibue, uaui^ for tho defence of their shipping.
The use of iMd ii oonfined to the manttfiK^twe of
mutkel bulkrts. It it dcrignsted in the different
hmgneges oi the Archipelago^ by aome a4jmict,
which iBiplieS} in the opinMt of the nativea^ a
nodificBticm of tin ; and it seems not to faan^e been
known to the Indian islanders^ until* along with
the use of gunpowder, they acquired it from the
Europeans. Quicknlver, tbou^ knoim by nam^
is not usedy as fsr as I am ae^piainted, in any of
tteir arts ; f<Mr, of gyding and plating they ate ig-
norant^ and equally so ef die mannlactme of niir«
MPS, and they have no oves of siher to be smelted
with it.

The working of wood is an art in which no rude
pe^»(e hare ever made any prcigfess, and perfec-
tion in it is of mueh later attdnment than in the fa*
brieation of the precions metals* The most bril-
Iknt fancy woods attain no lustre in the hands ef
the native woikmen of the Atchipelago, and are
hardly to be recogniaed as the same materials^ when
worked up by the cabineteiaken of Europe. The
handsomest specimens ef native manufacture of this
sort are the lais handles and betel boxes, and some
curious carved work is now and then disfdayed in
the piUars which support their Pcmdapas^ A con-
siderable share of barbaric magnificence is also dii-

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USEVUL AKT8. 193

played among the great* in their state heds, which,
as well as being curiously carved* are gaudily gilt
and painted ; but for the two last ornaments, the
natives are indebted to the ingenuity of the Chi-
nese, who are always the workmen.

The most considerable exhibition of carpentry is
displayed in their boats and shipping. Of these
fliere exists an endless variety, from the smallest
canoe, hollowed out of the trunk of a tree, for the
navigation of the rivers, to vessels of forty and
fifty tons, which navigate the Archipelago from
one extremity to the other. The variety, in form
and construction, is not less remarkable. Those of
each separate nation or tribe have a distinct cha«
racter, and the vessels of the same tribe, sometimes
on principle, but oftener from caprice, are very
various. The smaller class of vessels are usually
safe and swift, and may be considered extremely
well adapted to their purposes. As they become
larger they become uiisafe and dangerous, and
the &ilure of the native architect is constantly
proportionate to the magnitude of his attempts.
The materials of ship«buildingare so abundant and
so excellent, that the Archipelago is, from this
among many other causes, admirably suited, when
its population shall have acquired ingenuity and
civilksation, to become a great maritime and com*
mereial country. ^

* The following account^ from Daxnpier, is a most faithful
VOL. I. N

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19 i USEFUL ARTS.

There arc- two arts of the Indian islanders so in-
timately and immediately connected with the ac-

picture of the best description of the vessels of the. Indian
islanders : — " When the sultan visits his friends, lie is carried
in a small couch, on four men's shoulders, with eight or ten
armed men to guard him ; but he never goes far this way ;
for the country is very woody, and they have but little paths,
which renders it the less commodious. When he takes his
pleasure by water, he carries some of his wives along with
him. The proes that are built for this purpose, are large
enough to entertain 50 or 60 persons, or more. The hull ia
neatly built, with a round head and stern, and over the hull
there is a small slight house, built with bamboes ; the sides
are made up with split bamboes, about four foot high, with
little windows in them of the same, to open and shut at their
pleasure. The roof is almost flat, neatly thatched with pal-
meto leaves. This house is divided into two or three small
partitions or chambers, one particularly for himself. This if
neatly matted underneath, and round the sides ; and there ia
a carpet and pillows for him to sleep on. The second room
is for his women, much like the former. The third is for the
servants, who tend them with tobacco and betel-nut ; for they
are always chewing or smoaking. The fore and aHer parts
of the vessel are for the manners to sit and tow. Besides
this they have outlayers, such as those 1 described at Guam;
only the boats and outlayers here are largen These boats
are more round, like the half-moon almost ; and the bam-
boes or outlayers that reach from the boat are also crooked.
Besides, the boat is not flat on one side here, as at Guam ;
but hath a belly and outlayers on each side; and whereas at
Guam there is a little boat fastened to the outlayers, that

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USEFUL ARTS. 195

tual condition and history of the progress of society
among them, that they will demand details of
somewhat greater length than I have thought it
necessary to bestow upon the rest. These are the
arts of fishing and manufacturing salt, on which
the supply of food, and, consequently, the advance-
ment of population and civilization, so mainly
hinge, in regions of the nature of those inhabited
by the Indian islanders.

TTie seas of the Indian Archipelago are stored
with vast abundance of the finest fish, and the In-
dian islanders are expert fishermen. There is no
art which they have indeed carried to such perfec-
tion as that of fishing. The nature of the climate
allows them to practise it, with hardly any in-
terruption, from one end of the year to the other.

lies in the water^ the beams or bamboes here are fastened
traoBversewise to the outlayers on each side, and touch not
the water like boats, but one, three, or four foot above the
water, and serve for the bargemen to sit and row and paddle
on, the inside of the vessel, except only just afore and
abafl, being taken up with the apartments for the passengers.
There run across the outlayers two tire of beams for the
paddlers to sit on, on each side of the vessel. The lower
tire of thesp beams is not above a foot from the water ; so
that, upon any the least reeling of the vessel, the beams are
dipt in the water, and the men that sit are wet up to theit
waste, their feet seldom escaping the water. And thus, as
^Jl our vessels are rowed from within, these are paddled from
without/'— Diiwpier'* Voyages, Vol. h pp. 335, S3Q.

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196 USEFUL ARTS.

The fishing-boats proceed to sea with the land-
breeze/ at an early hour of the morning, and re-
turn a little after noon, with the sea-breeze. The
principal supply of fish is obtained by drag-nets,
and by traps or snares, consisting of inclosures,
formed with much labour and skill, by driving
stakes or palisades into water of several fathoms
deep, on banks much frequented by fish, and
to which nets are secured. These are to be seen
in great numbers along the north coast of Java,
through the straits of Malacca, and in many other
situations. Fishing with hand-nets is very frequent.
With the hook and line the islanders are less ex-
pert than Europeans, as their tackling is less skil-
fully fabricated.

The river-fish of the Archipelago is neither so
good nor so abundant as the sea-fish, and the fish«
ery is generally little practised.

In Java, but, I believe, there only, the salt maralies
of the coast have, in many situations, been embank-
ed for rearing and feeding sea-fish, and these af-
ford a large supply. I imagine the practice may
have been introduced from China, or some of the
countries lying immediately to the west of that
empire. In these ponds or marshes the fish are
easily taken for use with a hand-net.

River-fish are taken in various ways,— *by drag-
nets,— *by temporary dams of stakes, — and ooca-

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USSFUL ARTS. 197

Monally tliey are speared, or stupifi^ by casting
into the water some narcotic plant. *

It 18 not the practice of the Indian islanders to
eat their fish in a fresh state. It is almost always,
with a view to economy, salted and dried. In this
form it is not only consumed in large quantities by
the inhabitants of the coast, but forms a great ar-
ticle of internal commerce, and is transmitted, in
the course of traffic^ throughout the whole Archi-
pelago.

There is one mode of preparing and using fish,
of so peculiar a nature, but so universally in use,
that it is worth a detailed description* lliis pre-
paration, called by the Malays blachang^ and by
the Javanese tra$iy is a mass composed of small
fish, chiefly prawns, which has been fermented, and
then dried in the sun. This f^tid preparation, so
nauseous to a stranger, is the universal sauce of
the Indian islanders, more general than soy with
the Ji^anese. No food is deemed palatable with-
out it. That it has peculiar merit is unquestipn*

• <« Tbey steep the root of a certain climbing plant, called
tuba, of strong narcotic qualities, in the water wliere the fish
are observed, which produces such an effect, that they become
intonicaied, and to appearance dead, float on the surface of the
water, and are taken with the hand. This is generally made
use of in the basons of water, formed by the ledges of coral
rock which, having no outlet, are left fall when the tide has
^bhed.*'— iVfar«itfn> Sumatra, p« 1^6: •

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198 USEFUL ARTS.

able» for foreigners soon become as partial to it as
natives, and its use extends to every country of
the tropics from China to Bengal. Dampier de-
scribes it with perfect accuracy, as follows : '* Ba*
lachaun is a composition of a strong savour, yet
a very delightsom dish to the natives of this coun-
try. To m^e it, they throw the mixture of
shrimps and small fish into a sort of weak pickle,
made with salt and water, and put it into a tight
earthen vessel or jar. The pickle being thus weak^
it keeps not Uie fish firm and hard, neither is it
probably so designed, for the fish are never gutted.
Therefore, in a short time they turn all to a mash
in the vessel j and when they have lain thus a
good whilOf so that the fish is reduced to a pap,
they then draw ofi' the liquor into fresh jars, and
preserve it for use* The masht fish that remains
behind is called balachaun, and the liquor poured
off is called nuke-mum. The poor people eat the
balachaun with their rice. 'Tis rank scented, yet
the taste is not altogether unpleasant, but rather
savory, after one is a little used to it. The nuke-
mum is of a pale brown colour, iifblining to grey,
and pretty clear. It is also very savory, and used
as a good sauce for fowls, not only by the natives,
but also by many Europeans, who esteem it equal
with soy.** *

• Daropier's Voyages, Vol. 11. p. 2S.

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Java is the only country of the Archipelago
in which the manufacture of salt is eurried on to
any extent. . The processes by which the Javanese
obtain salt are Aot complicated operations, de^
manding a refined exercise of skill, care, and
ingenuity, but a simple art, well suited to the
people who practise it. In situations on the flat
north coast of the island of Java, where the soil is
of a clayey nature, and free from dark loam, both
requisite qualities towards the success of the pro-
cess, the salt water is admitted through a succes-
sion of shallow square compartments, in each of
which it receives a certain degree of concentration,
until arriving at the last, the water is completely
evaporated, and the salt left behind, requiring no
farther preparation, but fit for immediate use. The
salt thus obtilined, though discoloured by admix-
ture with some adventitious ingredients, is remarks
ably free from those septic, bitter, ^d deliquescent
salts, consequent to a more hasty evaporation. This
manufacture goes on during the whole of the dry
half of the year. Tothe success of the operation it is,
as already mentioned, ^ece8sary that the spil should
be of a clayey nature, to obviate absorptiou ; that the
shore should be fliat and oKtensiye, to give easy ad-
mission to the brine ; mad that high mountains
should be at « distance, that the process may not
be rendered difficult or precarious by the heavy
rains that 9ie consequent (o their vicinity. It is

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200 USEFUL ART*.

the abflenee of this combination of favourable cir-
cumstances, which renders the manufacture of «alt
impracticable in most of the other countries €i ihe
Archipelago.

On the boisterous south coast of the istand of
Java, the shelving nature of the shore, and the
porous quality of the soil, will not admit <^
the practice of the cheap process now deseribed*
and the natives have recourse to another, which, as
it is altogether singular, may be worth describing.
The sand on the beach being raked, and smoothed
into the appearance of ridges and furrows, as if -in-
tended for cultivation, the manufacturer having
filled a pair of watering-cans from the surge, runs
along the furrow, sprinkling the contents in a
shower upon the ridges. In a few minutes the
powerful effects of the sun's rays have dried the sand,
which is then scraped together with a kind of hoe,
and placed in rude funnels, over which is thrown a
given quantity of salt water, by which a strong
brine is immediately obtained. The peasants trans-
port this brine to their hovels, where it is boiled,
in small quantities, over an ordinary fire, and a
salt is obtained, which is necessarily impure in con*
sequence of the haste with which the operation is
performed. This inferior salt costs fourfdd as
much as the better product of the north coast.

The process of manufacturing saltpetre and gun^
powder will demand a short account. Saltpetre is

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USEFUL AETS* 201

obtained I7 boiling the soil of csYes fieqiiented by
bate and by birds^ chiefly swdloms. litis «oil is the
decomposed dung of these animals^ which commoq-
ly fills the bottom of the caves to the depth of
from four to six feet. * The supply thus obtained
k precarious and limited, and the cost of the nitre
consequently high. The commodity may always
be more cheaply imported from Hindustan than
manufactured. No country, indeed^ can vie with
the continent of India in the cheapness and facility
with which saltpetre is produced, for the climate
disposes to the ready formation of the salt, and the
soil employed haa in itself the extraordinary powers
of reproduction. From this circumstance, it hap-
pens, that while most other productions of the soil
are to the full as cheap in Java as in Baigal, saltpetre
is 3f times dearer ; for a hundred weight is pro-
duced in the former country for If Spuiish dollars,
and in the latter costs 5f.

Native sulphur is found in all the pseudo«volca*
noes of the Indian islands, in great [Murity and
abundance, and there is no want of the pr<^r
woods for charcoal. The high price of the princi-
pal ingredient, saltpetre, however, and the rude-

* ^< A cubic foot of this earth, measuring seven gallons,
produced, on boiling, seven pounds fourteen ounces of salt-
petre, and a second experiment gave a ninth part more."-^
Afanden's Sumtitra, p. 173.

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SOi USEFUL AKTI^«

ness <^ manufacturiiig industry, incident to the
state of society among the islanders, are sufficient
to explain the high price and unskilful manufac-
ture of gunpowder among them. Gunpowder is,
indeed, one of the most highly-prized of the Euro*
pean articles of import, which fact, in a word, ex-
plains the imperfection of their own. I have no
doubt that the Indian islanders were instructed in
the manufacture of gunpowder either by the Arabs
or Europeans, or at least that it is not of native in-
vention. The compound word which expresses it
is the same in every language of the Archipelago-
is not like parallel words of as general use, one of
the great Polynesian dialect, but a Malayan word,
that is, a word of the language of that people with
whom the western nations had their principal and
earliest intercourse. ^

Of the arts practised by the Indian islanders, I
have now furnished sufficient examples to enable
the intelligent reader to form a competent judg-
ment ; to be more particular, would involve me in
trifling details, whiich would serve no purpose but
to tire his attention. It will be seen, that, in the

* The word is ubat'badely which may be literally translated
gun materials. Ubaty in the Malay language, means medi-
cif)Cy remedy, and materials, or ingredients ; but in the other
Polynesian languages it has no signification bat in its com*
|»ounded form expressing gunpowder*

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tmOL ARM. 20S

jffts which niimster to the mefe necessilaes of life,
and in those which are calculated to gratify the un-
refined vanity of semi- barbarians, they have made
considerable progress. They raise a plentiful sup-
ply of food t holding the nature of the climate in
view, they are not ill housed ; and their skill in
jewellery enables them to supply themselves with
such trinkets as suit the taste of a semi-barbarous
people. As is always the case in a state of society,
where the degree of tranquillity and freedom do not
exist which i*ender the public the best patron of
the skilful artisan, the most ingenious artists are al-
ways found to be retainers of the great. * Like all
men in this state of civilization, they are excellent
imitators, and copy with astonishing accuracy. It
would be difficult, for example, to furnish a
Javanese with any specimen of European work in
gold or silver, which he would not imitate with
great precision, sometimes, indeed, with such
nicety, that it would almost baffie the skill of an
experienced artist to discover any difference be^*
' tween the copy and original. This accuracy of
imitation, however, it must be remarked, is con-
fined to labour purely mechanical, for when any
applicatioi) of principles is required, or when

* ** The king of Achin,'* says Bcaulieu, ** entertains three
hundred goldsmiths in his castle, besides a great mhny other
artisans.*'

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9M Un? I7L AET8.

the use of nice tools is impUedt their fiulore
is >coinplete. Their cabinet w(Nrk» in imitation
of that of Europeans, is never fully finished;
they cannot make a good lock ; they caimot tem-
per steel or iron, and, therefore, their cutlery is
rude to the last degree. They do not seem
ever to have been acquainted with the manufacture
of glass. I remember having once seen two
antique Hindu images of this material, found
in Java, but never hemrd of any other speci*
mens of the same kind, and must conclude they
were brought from the continent of India as
rarities. It is more surprising to find %he In*
dian islanders ignorant of the cutting or polish*
ing of the precious stones. Their diamonds are
cut for them by the natives of Coromandel, and
the rubies and sapphires, which they often wear,
they always use in their rough state.

With all these defects, defects inseparable from
their condition in society, the Indian islanders have,
as labourers and artists, many valuable qualities.
They are persevering and docile, have robust
frames, and are happily devoid of that incunu
ble bigotry, in the use of their own tools, and the
application of their own processes, which character-
ize the natives of India. European saws, chisels,
planes, and axes, are readily used by the* Javanese
artisan, and even day-labourers and husbandmen
do not refuse to work with European implements

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USEFUL ARTS. 205

when their superiority over their own is made ob-
vious to them. With this nation at least, we might
therefore expect, under favourable circumstances,
a progressive improvement in the mechanical arts.

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CHAPTER II.

DBESS^

PifMon of the subject. — Original dress of the Indian isiandn
ers* — Taught to clothe themselves in cotton Jabries by
the Hindus. — Enumeration of the principal portions rf
dress. — Varieties.'^Omamental portions of dress^^-Mode
qftoearing the hair.^^Fantastic practices for improving the
natural beauty of the body. — Practice of blackening and
jUing the teeth. — Of Jlattening the heady distending the
lobes of the earsj S^e^ — Use of cosmetics, wth the tiew of
improving the complexion^

(J NDER the head of Dres^ must not only be includ-
ed the manner of clothing for necessity or com-
fort, but such fantastic and extravagant practices as
ihe Indian islanders have recourse to, with the view
of embellishing or beautifying their persons. I shall
consider this curious subject under three heads.
1. Such parts of dress as are connected with utility
or comfort; 2. The extrinsic portion of dress
which relates wholly to vanity or luxury; and,
S. I shall treat of the fantastic practices to which
the Indian islanders have recourse, with the view
of improving the natural beauty of the human
body.

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DRESS. soy

Most of the savage tribes of the Archipelago go
in a state of perfect nakedness, with the exception
of that slight covering which human nature is no
where so wanting in delicacy as not to suggest the
propriety of supplying. Children of both sexes go
entirely naked every where to the age of six and
seven years. For such a covering as the rude savage
requires, the forests of a tropical climate afford
abundant and obvious materials. The original doth*
ing of all the inhabitants of the Indian islands was
probably the bark of a tree, cut and dressed into
the form of cloth, the same that is in universal
Use among the South Sea islanders, and which we
term Otaheitean cloth. Though sueh clothing has
generally given way to the use of cotton cloth,
traces of it may still be found among some of the
less improved and more primitive races.

Before the Indian islanders understood the use
of cotton in the fabrication of clothing, I think it
not improbable, as I have stated in another place,
that they manufactured cloth in the loom of the.
filaments of some of their native plants. I am
led to form such an opinion from the great va-
riety of such plants which exist in the Ah^hi-
pelago, and by a reference to the various dialects
of the people, which prove, that all words direct*^
ly eonnected with the process of weaving arc na-
tive, and not exotic terms. The plantain, or ba-
nana tree, most probably afforded the principal

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208 DRESS.

material of sueh fabrks. To this day the fibitms
matter of the plantaia is manufactared into cloth
in the Philippines, and the humbler classes are there
chiefly clothed with it.

The cotton plant, and the knowledge of the fii-
brie wove from its wool, were, beyond doubt, in-
troduced into the Archipelago by the Hindus.
Cotton now affords the grand material of the dress
of the Indian islanders every where.

With respect to the habit or garments of the
Indian islanders, two general remarks may be pre-
mised. In character, their dress is neither the
tight, close, neat habit of the Europeans, mm- the
loose flowing robe of the Asiatic nations of the
contment, but a sort of medium between t^e two.
It certainly wants the grace and elegance of the
latter. The principal portions of dress are nearly
the same for both sexes.

The earliert, and most indispensable portion of
dress, the covering of the waist and bins, is still
the most important. One description of it is near*
ly universal anmng all the tribes of the Archi-
pelago, and is common to both sexes. This is whsit,
in tha Malay language, is called a sartmg^ a w<h^
which literally means a covering or envelope, and,
in fact, describes its use. It is a piece of cloth,
generally coloured, six or eight feet long, and
three or four feet wide, usually sewed at botlt
ends. This sort of petticoat, which is common to

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DRBSS. 209

both sexesy is of the same breadth above and be-
low, and is not secured to the body by any perma-
nent contrivance, but the upper part being contract-
ed to the size of the waist, the superfluous portion^
as occasion requires, is twisted with the band, and
tucked .in between the rest of the garment and the
body of the wearer. With the Javanese, this portion
q{ dress, which they designate by the w<Hrds b&b&b
and dodotf is not secured at both ends, but occasion-
ally exposes the legs in walking, and falla in a dra-
pery down to the ancles^ The tribes of Sumatra
and Celebes consider it a scandal to expose the
knee, and with them it is always sewed at both
ends. When the latter wear, as they generally do,
a kind of short breeches, they occasionally disen-
gage the sarung from the loins, and throwing it
transversely over one shoulder, use it in the man-
ner of a Scots Highlander's plaid.

This principal portion of dress is not the only
one worn as a covering for the lower part of the
body* The Malay nations usually wear a pair of
thin drawers, and the Javanese, occasionally, either
a pair of similar drawers, which fall a little below
the knee, called panji-panji, or a pair of loose
pantaloons, Hke those of the Mahomedans of Hin-
dustan, called chdlana. These portions of dress
belong only to the mal6 sex, and over them the
sarung or dodat is always worn. The various
portions. of dresB now enumerated are usually 6xed

VOL. I. o

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by a aone cr 8a4ii ocMnmonly of silk, the owaufiw-
taie of the country, from the raw produce of Chiaft,
<Nr imported ready made, voder the appdbdon ef
ehinde^ from the penmsula of Hindustan*

The seecmd great portion of dress is the coat^
ealled by the Malays bij^Uf and by the J[avaiieae
k&kmbi and vMuktm. It is of mare varioiis
forms than the preceding article, but may genenl-
ly be described as a frock with deeves, longer or
shorter, acoording to the sex or nation of the
wearer* It seldom reaches below the hipfi^ with
the Jawmese men, and it has a row of biMtons in
front, and with the women of tiie same tribe, it
is open only at the neck, slipping over the head in
patting it on. With the MaUys of both sexes
the bqfM is entirdy open in fnmt.

The wnistcoat of the man, or bodiice ef the
women, is of considemble variety. The Maby
one is, with the 9ien, a ti^ vest, with a row of
buttons from top to faettmn, — with the womcB a
plain um^ai vest, intended to bSxxA conceafanuoit
and some protection to the bosom. The sarung
very frequently covers the latter, reaching to be-
neath the arms. With the male sex, tins portion
of dress is generally altogether wantbg among the
Javanescr and the women of that nation supply its
place by apiece of cloth called a kdmbanrollei round
the body and over the breasts, in such a manner as
to depress and ultimately to disfigure them» The

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211

Sandaift^ or tehabkattts of tile westetn Aiauntiiiw df
Jat»9 lea^e tbe bosom eirtirely naked, and experi*
ence neither shame nor scandal from being seen
in tfafis state of exposure.

The aneieM practice of the Indian islanders
tijth i^pect to the head, appears to have been to
lea^ it nneo'Tered ; l3ie Balinese stiH a^Uiere to
thia praictiee; Tt» Mahomedaoi tribes invaiiaMy
imar a cdight covering in imitation of the turban
of lite westeM nations^ It is, as its name ^ im-
j^Jesr a^ m^a hanfAserohief, whiok' usually leaves
- iftie eromif of the &ead bat^^^ CKa journeys a wide
umbrelk bat is'freqMmly aised by all olasoss to
profeot tfefem ftomi the sum!.

The legs are always bare with bothf sexes^ ailkL
very connnonly the ifeet too, thoiii^h now and then,
in iaattation of the^' Ara&s^ Ae men, aiatong so Ae of
the western tr9>es> wear ssaidiiiff.

The jManesoy as in othei" matters, tike Ab toad
ittdres^ and with them its refinements and eltrav»-
ganciea are earned to the gMcteM e&eess. Besides .
thek every day'swear, they divide the mcde dress into
thwe deseriptionsi which they^ respec<£i^ely dtenoini*
note ragapfBOraHj or the royd dress, pasfmanan^
or the court dress, and pri^uritan^ or the wur d^ess.
Tli& &ist ia nsed^ by the sovereign' on festive ooca-

• C(

Saputangan, handwiper."

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£12 DR£3S.

sionSy but by ail persons of inferior condition only
when bridegrooms. The second is used by courtiers
when in the royal presence, and the third by per-
sons of rank when they go abroad* or on journeys^
&c. In the royal or court dress, the upper part of
the body is bare, and smeared over with a yellow
cosmetic, and a profusion of gold ornaments is, in
defiance of Mahomedan precept, worn on the arms,
wrists, breast, and head. Their long hair is then
thrown down over the back in a loose twisted form, a
peculiar head dress, being a modification of the cowl
worn by the Arabs, is. used. This is a light cylin-
drical cap^ of five.or six inches high, and frequent*
ly of white cloth stiffened with starch, so as to be
translucent.

The adventitious and purely ornamental por*
tions of dress among the Indian islanders consists
of flowers,— of gold ornaments, — ^and of diamonds.
Pearls are never worn by them, and the other gems
very rarely, except in fingerrrings. Silver orna-
ments are held in very little esteem. Gold is
worn in the form of finger-rings, of bracelets, arm-
lets, ear-rings, and in that of plates for the breast
and forehead ; moiit of these, however, only on
festive occasions.

Among the men, it appears to have be^n the
ancient practice of all the races to qut the hahr
short, and the Balinese still continue to do so.

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DRESS.' 21S

Haying no covering for the head,* and the coarse
strong hair natural to them, standing erect liko
bristles, the men of this tribe have a ferocious and
forbidding look. Among the Javanese, both men
and women take a pleasure in cultivating the hair.
It is, indeed, the chief object of attention among
the women, with whom it is* bound in a knot be-
hind the head, called a g^lung. In full dress, the
hair is interwoven with flowers, which swell the
whole to an extravagant size. Wreaths of flowers
are, on such occasions, suspended from the ears
and other parts of the head. The flowers used at
such times are the malati^ or Arabian jessamine^
9nd the cMmpaka^ both of which, in Java, in the
vicinity of large towns, are extensively cultivated
for the purpose.

0( the extrinsic portions of dress, the kris
must 3iot be omitted. It is invariably worn by
the men of all ranks, whether dressed or undressed.
In, full dress two are often worn, and sometimes
tluree, and even four. The value and beauty of
the w^eapon is a test of the rank or wealth of the
wearer. Sometimes the wooden sheath has no
covering, and in the progress of rank and riches
it will have one of copper, of silver, of siutsoj of pure
gold, and of the latter metal set with diamonds.

* A small white fillet is worn round the head as the signal
of hostility, but on no other occasion.

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214 taUBSs.

Among artides of dims^ thou^ not iaiDHBdiate*.
Ijr appmded to the fienoii> may be included the
mdispeneaUe ones of the hetel-bos« and the urn-
bfeUa» die latter* according to its quality or colour^
being d»e chief nadc or oider of c^ceornebL-
lity,*

^ In Drake's voyages in Purchas, we have the following
ipery curious and accurate picture of the cofttume and rude
■MgnKicence of tbe islandefs. It is ike king of Ternate who
u d^cribed irr>^ Tl)c ]mgi^ U«t cjui^e in* gM^rded with twrive
launcesy /coverci) over with a rich canopie, embossed urith gold.
Our menj accompanied with one of their captunes, called
Marot rising to meet him, hee graciously did welcoqie and
entertaine them, Hee was attyred after the manner of the
OMWtfeyi hut ^aore taapluottsly than the rest. Ffom hit
waste downe to the ground was all cloth of g^d, and tH^ sawa
f ery rich t his legget )vere l^|^i^» hut on his fleet wese % pfiyre
of shooes, made of cordorant skinne. In the attyre qf his
head were finely wreathed hooped rings of gold, and about
his necke hee had a chayne of perfect gold, the links whefeof
were very great, and one fiAd double. On his fingers hee had
six very Mre jiBwefay siid Mtting in hif cha^re of estate, at hia
rjight h^nd |toi>d a puge with a fanne in his hand, bre^thiag
9nd gathering the ayre to the king. The fanne was in length
two foot, and in bred^h one foot, set with eight saphyres, richly
embroydered, and knit to a ataflb three foot in length, by the
whkh itht page did hold and mpoVe it. Our gentlemeb
haviBg deKverad their message, and received order acoMdingly^
were licenced to depart, being safely conducted backe againc
by one of the king's councell/'— PtircAof'^ Pilgrim, Vol. I.
Book d. pp. 55, 66.

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il5

Of theotfavagint praotices to which the Lndiaii
ishmden hav« recourse, with the view of im^Ting
the natural beaaty of the human fonn» the moit
lemarkable and univenal is that c£Jiling and blacks
ening the teeth. With the first tribe that practis-
ed it, it had its origin, no doubt, in that absurd pro-
pensity of ail savages, to attempt to improre tJie
natnnd form of the body by their own absurd and
extravagant efforts* This particular modification
>fif die practiee ia, however, so arbitrary in its cha-
racter, that it must, like many other cennson eua-
toms of the Indian islanders, be looked upon aa
the institution of the same tribe which spread ita
language and civiliaation over the whole improved
nations of die Archipelago. Baiharoua aa it may
q>pesHr to ns, it ia very probable that it was conai*
dered, in the progress of improvement, aa a mark
of dmlizaUan. None of the savage tribes, whose
hmguages have little or nothing in common with
those c^ the civilised nationa, observe the custom
of fiing and blackening the teeth. *

The teeth are filed and blackened at the age of
puberty, and the operation is a necessary prelude
to marriage. When they would tell us that a girl
haa arrived at the age of puberty, the common ex*

* The custom of blackening the leeth is common to thein*
dian islanders with many of the nations of the Continent, but
that of filing them is peculiar and national.

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216

DBE8S.

pn^ion is, '< She has had her teeth fiW-'' The
practice, as far as regards the men, is equivalent
ailiong us to throwing aside the boy's dress, and
assuming that of the man, and with the women, to
that perhaps of our young ladies making their first
appearance at public places. The ceremony with
the young women is often delayed for a year or two,
when there is no immediate prospect of a match
for them.

The operation is confined chiefly to the upper
canine teeth, the edges of which are filed down,
and rendered perfectly even, while the body of the
tooth is rendered concave. The patient is thrown,
for this purpose, on his back, and an old woman,
by a very tedious,* and rather a painful process,
grinds the teeth into the desired form with a bit of
pumice-stone. An indelible black is easily given,
after the loss of the enamel, by the .applicati(m of
an oily carbon, procured by burning the shell of
the cocoanut. The two middle upper canine teeth
are left white, and sometimes covered with a plate
of gold, the contrast which they form, in either
case, with'the jet black of their neighbours, being
looked upon as higfU^ becoming. A few indivi-
duals, more whimsical than the rest, have the teeth
filed into the appearance of a saw.

Habit has rendered the filing and blacking of
the teeth so familiar to those who practise it, that
they look upon it as a real beauty, and white teeth.

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BBSSS. 217

which they would otherwise possess in perfection,
are in great disesteem* They will sometimes ex-
press their contempt of white teeth by saying, that
^^men ought not to have teeth like those of dogs or
monkeys -y- and it may indeed be suggested, as a
thing not improbable, that the first institution of
the practice may have had its origin in a rude ef.*
fort of improvement, on the part of the first savage
tribe that began it, to distinguish itself from the
beasts of the field, and those ruder savages than
themselves, who nearly resembled the former. After
the young sultan of Java had had his teeth duly
filed and blackened, according to custom, one of
tlie chiefs asked me, with perfect earmestness, if I
did not think his higlmess's looks very much im-
proved ? and was surprised that I did not agree
with him. When the elder son of the chief of Sa-
marang, one of the very interesting youths who
were educated at Calcutta, visited Bali, the rajah
of Bielleng, one of the sovereigns of that island,
was informed of the circumstance, and asked his
opinion of him. He approved of his looks, man-
ners, and conversation, but added, ** it was a thou-
sand pities his teeth were white."

Of the universal practice of savages of staining
the skin to improve the beauty, or to give, in the
opinion of those who follow it, a more terrible as-
pect to the warrior,, there are not many relics
among the civilized nations of the Archipelago*

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S18 DBE88.

In the Fhilippinest the practice of tettodlng ap«
pears to be still oontiaued, and was at one time so
frequent, that the Spaniards gave to some islands
of the group, from this circumstance, the name of
the Pintados^ or islands of painted men.

Of practices of the same nature, less general, I
may mention that of some tribes of flattening the
noses and compressing the foreheads of infants
while the bones are yet cartilaginous ; the practice
of distending the lobes of the ears to a monstrous
sixe, and that of permitting the nail of one or mpre
fingers of the hand to grow to an extravagant
length, in imitation of the Chinese nations. None
pf these practices are general, and among the
more civilised tribes all of them appear to be
Ailing into disuse. The Javanese, for example,
ridicnle, and cpnsider as a deformity, the enor*
mously distended apertures in the lobes of the eara
of the women of Bali* It is not improbable that,
in the course of a little more civilization and refine-
ment, the absurd practice of filing and blackening
the teeth will also be abandoned.

The use of a coloured cosmetic to improve
the complexion is still continued by all the civi-
lized tribes, on festive occasions* Upon all oc-
casions of state and ceremony, the Javane^ of both .
sexes have the face and upper part of the body,
and limbs, (as far as their feelings of delicacy will
permit them to expose them,) covered with a yellow

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DEES9. 219

cosmetic, applied in a fluid fornif consisting of or-
piment and perfumed flowers. Many of those por-
tions of dress used on common occasions are discon-
tinued on these, and we may truly say of the Java-
nese, that, when in full dress, they are almost
Baked.

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CHAPTER III.

ART OF WAH.

Mode of conduciing tvars among aU savages nearly the same^—^
Civilized tribes may be described as an armed population. —
Native toeapons — Poisoned toeapons. — Use of the bow and
arrow, and of the sling.'^The spear* — The kris* — The
sword. — Fire arms.^^Cannon. — Small arms. — Military
character of the country inhabited by the Indian islanders,
and how it affects their mode of conducting wars.'^^DiffermU
descriptions of military force, — Modes of levying troops.-^
Of declaring war and organizing the miliary force. — Mode
offightingj^Mode of provisioning the army — Conduct to^
wards the dead, wounded, and prisoners. — Anecdotes m iU
lustration.

There is so little diversity in the mode of con-
ducting wars among communities in the lowest
stages of civil existence in every part of the. world,
that an account of it among one or two tribes is
an account of it among all. We are familiar with
^ the disgusting picture, as it presents itself among
the savages of America, and I rest satisfied, that
the hostilities of the savages of the Indian islanders,
did we possess the most intimate knowledge of
them, would afford very little variety. This

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igWMS.

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JbbOMjrA. AiM^JUrf tyOnjtau hCfjMi*

ART OF WAR* 221

knowledge, however, we do n^ possess in any
aatheBtic degree, for the peculiar circumstanees
und^ which we are placed, with relation to the
least improved portiwi of the inhabitants of the
Indian islands, deny us the means. They are
driven to a distance from us, by the persecution of
their more powerful and civilized countrymen,
and the peculiar ferocity of the manners of most
of theni is calculated to discourage all peaceable
intercourse with them. For these reasons, miy
account, of the art of war among the Indian
islanders will refer chiefly to the ^more eivilized
nations, and I shall only make <QOcasional reference,
Ibr illustration, to the art as it is managed by the
savage tribes. This object vavif be arranged un-
d^ the six following head^ — an account of their
weapons,— «of their mode of levying troops,~of
the provisioning and internal management aqd
clitcipline of the army,-^-of their mode of fighting,
— lof their treatment of the dead, wounded, and
prisoiier8,*-^and, lastly, of their use of the right of
conquest.

. There is no tribe or nation of the Indian islands
that has made such advance i^ social order, and is
possessed of a government of such vigour and in-
telligence, as to afford such protection to the lives
and properties of its subjects, as to exonerate them
6rom the necessity of bearing arms in their own de*
fence. From the age of puberty to death, every

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male is mned to protect hiflnttf, Us fiM3|( ori
dvv^tting, afftd mek is tbe imietfrntj evtm «f iim
pecantioiii that the uaMbiteBit am cempelled^ ligr
matiial protictiim, ahuagfs to Msociete ia villagw.
The iafasbitaMi «f the Indian iglaads are stnaily,
then^ an armed popolatien.

AHiong the savagea of all i»tiom» we find the use
of the ehab^ the sling, and the bow and $mm, die
first and universal weapena of all mankind. Tmihme
the indiaA islanders add the tube for diackaqpng
arrows, which are soiMtinies peisoned with • pi»
pared tegetable juice. The Balinese are Hke enlj
Ifribe, in mf d»gtee evviiiaed, which rttaiiiB ibm geu
send use of diis praclitte. The more powerful n»
tions have long gifen it up, we may presmne, rathor
from an exfperience of its ineffioaey, than fiwm aay
eenriction of the immondity or baseness of the
practice. The Javanese historians,, ia seadeoing aia
account of awiur conducted by the sultan; of Mato*
ram against the people of Bali and Mandnnganv aa
long ago aa the year l6S% mentioB the use of pee-
soned arrows on the part of the former, asanestna*
ordinary cireumstanee new to their countrymen, and
which excited at first some alarm. Thepoisott
made use of on^ such occasions it is known, by ex*
periment, mfust be applied* in considevable quaMi^
ty, and for a length of time, even to the smaUer
animals, to destroy Hfb, and this even where it ia
most skUiuUy prepared and most recently used-

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ART W WAE* St9

Whtt appliea after a sb^vt ^xponite to the abe^
thnni^ the wowtd of an anraw imaieiliately wikhf
diawa» tfce pKobabilily 18^ that it wcHdd luH; piore i^
tal to the kwnai frame once out of ten thouaand
tmo. lathe use of the bow and acrow» aad the
slingt I da not discover iha* the Indian idandera
have aovpiired any extiaordinary dexterity. The
Jataoeteare extremely ibod of the exercise of tho
beer and arroar as an anmsement, but are any
thinf bnt skilful in the nae of it, and seUoaa
f oeeeed in throaraiq^ the arrow abore a dosen
of yaida In the attack iqmi the palaoe of the
snitasi of Java in 18 IS, the Javanese threw stonca
from slings in great anmfaOTs, but withoat inflict*
ing aaerions wennd, or eten dangerous oantmsiony
in the period of two days*

The knowledge of iron nrast soon hai% k a
great measwe, supcneded the nse of these lose per*
fisaft weapcRBs, and given rise to that cf the apear
andkris. Thew »ay be jusdy styled the favourite
weapons ef the Indian islanders. They aden
tbrm in a thousand fimeifui ways, and take a pride
in wearing and disphiying then. A short spear is
in nse amosig the Malays^ and narion» of Celebes^
and, eocasionallyy by the latter, a kind of javelin^
fiv nsing as a missile we^qpom- The Javanese wield
a more fimnidable weapon^ often twelve, or even
fourteen feet long, in the nse of whieh they possess,
individually, a great dexterity. I have seen a Ja;ra«

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£24 ART OF WAR.

neae pierce a full grown tiger, ranging at liberty in
a square of considerable extent, to the heart, with
a single effort, and without parting with his spear.
It is difficult to imagine a more formidable wea-
pon for offence or defence, in the hands of reso-
lute men, taught by discipline to act in concert.

The Arm, or dagger, is a weapon fitter for assas-
sination than war, though it be quite improbable
that its use is to be ascribed to any such origin ;
neither can we ascribe it, with any propriety, to
the partiality of the islanders for a close encounter;
for such a supposition is contrary to what we know
of their mode of warfare, as well as of that of
all men in a similar state of society. The use of
the kris had, in all likelihood, as mentioned in ano*
ther place, its rise in amoremlgar, butmore efiec«
tual cause, the scarcity and dearness of iron, in a
country where, without supposing a foreign inter*
course, it must have been scarcer and dearer than
gold itself. It is not to be supposed, without a
cause so adequate, that the Indian islanders, any
more than other semi-barbarians, acquainted with
the use of iron, would have neglected the useful and
formidable sword for the trifling, ineffectual dag-
ger. That the Indian islanders have continued
the use of their favotiuite weapon after the cause
has, in a great measure, ceased to operate, need
not be attempted to be accounted for, to those who
are aware of the obstinate adherence of barbarians

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ART OP WAR, 225

to ancient habit and custom, particularly in an afiair
in which national pride and vanity are engaged.

The Javanese ascribe the invention of the kris
to Inak&rto Pati^ king of JanggolOj in the begins
ning of the fourteenth century of our time, in the
chronology of a civilized people a modem sera,
but with the semi-barbarians of the Indian islands,
the sra of fable and romance ; so that the asser-
tion, like that of the Greeks and Romans respect*-
ing the plough and the loom, amounts^ to no more
than a declaration of ignorance. The strict adher*
ence to a foreign costume in the sculptures of the
more ancient temples of Java, does not enable us
to trace the kris to their times, but the relaxation
of this principle in the temples in the moitntun of
Jjawu shows us several examples of it as far back
as the beginning of the fifteenth century.

In single combat, the spear and kris are used al-
ternately, the fight commencing with the first, and
ending with the second. A mock action of this
sort, with sheathed spears and wooden daggers, I
have seen at the court of the sultan of Madura,
maintained with considerable dexterity, and with
go much spirit, that it was necessary for a mo-
derator to stand by to part the combatants when
the duel had the appearance, as it often had, of be-
coming something more than fictitious. Practice
gives dexterity even with a weapon naturally so
contemptible as the kris. In the year 1813, when

VOL. I. p

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426 ART OF WAE.

80me English gentlemen were present at one of
the hunting excursions of the people of Celebes, a
wounded boar took shelter in a thicket, and kept
the huntsmen at bay. An aged chief who waa
present observed, that but for fear of defiling hi»
favourite kriSj he would attack him^ A young
fellow of the party thinking this a piece of gascon*
ade, and being less scrupulous in respect to kia^
weapon, made him a tender of it. The aged
huntsman accepted it, stole round the thicket, and
with a single blow laid the animal motionless at
his feet. In the same manner an alligator has
been often attacked and destroyed.

Bucklers appear naturally to have been in ear^
ly timiBS frequent, but have been much disoon»
tswied since the prevalent use of small arms.
Coats of mail, consisting of iron net-work, are
still used by the natives of Celebes, and affi>rd
same protection against the spear, the kris, and ar'
row. A chief of Celebes, conversii^ with me on
the subject, observed, with regret and disappoint-
ment, that they afforded no protection against a
musket ball t

The sword was not introduced into Java unt3
the year 1580, after the Portuguese had been near
seventy years engaged in the traffic of the eastern
islands. It was probably introduced earlier in the
western countries, where there was more inter-
course with Europeans, and where iron sooner b^

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ART OP WAR* 227 .

came, in consequence, abundant; The spear, and
not the sword, however, is still the favoarite wea^
pon of the horseman. *

Of the manner in which fire*arms were intnv-
duced among the Indian islanders, and of the pe-
riod when they first employed them, I can discover
no distinct record, nor does language affi>rd us
.any assistance in the inquiry^ As it is acknow-
ledged, however, that the nations of Asia were
acquainted with the use* of an imperfect artillery,
and with the invention of gunpowder, it is pos-
aible that the East Indian islanders were not
indebted to the European naticms for theii^ first
knowledge of fire-arms, but may have acquired
it in the course of their commerce with China*
The cannon of the Indiiln islanders were made
of brass, and not of iron* They are lo<^ed upon
with that veneration with which fear and %•
norance has induced all rude people to contemplate
tliose terrible and destructive engines. From the
aame p^ciple, the Indian islanders dignify each
pi^ with some strange and pompous name, as our •
European ancestors were wont to do*

The use of small arms the Indian islanders tm-
d<nibtedfy acquired from the Europeans* The
— -^- - - - -■ . ■ — - ■ .

* The sword is frequently sculptured on the ruins of anti-
quities in Java, but these are in design so puittly^xotic, that
no inference can be safely drawn from the fact.

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228 ABT OF WAIU

matchlock they call by its Portuguese name, the
£relock by a Dutch, and the pistol by a Dutdi
or English one. The matchlock was not employ-
ed in Europe for ten yiears after the Portuguese
conquered Malacca ; so that, if Eun^eans had
l>bserved the use of it among the islanders, they
could not have failed to have noted so extraoidi-
nary a fact, when so frequently engag^ in hosti-
lities with them.

A few small cannon, for the defence of shippmg,
are of domestic manufacture, but, in general, all
kinds of fire-arms, and every sort of ammunition
attached to them, are of European importation;
for, whatever is of their own fabrication is, as £»
merly observed, bad and inefficient, a fact which

#.f is sufficiently attested by the well known circum-

stance, that fire-arms and ammunitimi are in grea^
er demand in the Indian islanda than any other ar-
ticles of foreign importation.

In the use either of artillery or small aims the

. Indian islanders are extremely unskOfuI,^ andji^

• press that wonder at the dexterity of lEmx0jf^a»

which is the result of a c<mvictioa of thdr own ^-

I uoranMe. They are apt superstitiously to ascribe

to eyery European an instinctive knowledge of the
use of fire-arms. This inexpertness arises from the
want of practice necessarily incident to scarcity of
arms and ammunition, and to the practice of por*
suing the.chace by other means.

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ART OF WAH. 229

The mlitaryjbrce of the Indian islanders may
be divided into three descriptions, an infiintrjr» a
cavalry, and a navy.

The country of the Indian islanders is strictly
what is characterized in military language by thi
name of a clo9e country. It generally abounds in
woods, most frequently in stupendous forests;
the very habitations of max are thick groves of
trees; it abounds in mountains, fastnesses, mo-
rasses, and frequent rivers. A comparatively
trifling portion of it only is cultivated, and of that
portion the principal part is no better than a morasd
for half the year. Excluding the little that has
been done under European influence, they have
no roads, but in place of them, at best wretched
pathways. The maritime tribes inhabit the mouths
of rivers and the marshy coasts of the sea. They
are fishermen and petty merchants, and their chief
intercourse is naval. This character of the country
determines the description of military force em-
pikyed in their wars. Infantry is the prevailing
forcai and the fishermen naturally conduct their *
wars principally on water. Cavalry may be rather
looked upon as a matter of pomp and luxury than
an useful arm of war. The great and their retain-
ers are mounted upon horses, and in Java aiid Ce-
lebes they are numerous. The latter island, in
particular, oontains extensive plains, so unfrequent
in the rest, where horse might be employed for

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SSO ART OF WAR*

tho purposes of war with advantage. The hoi-ses
of that island, too, are superior in size and strength
to those of any other of the Archipelago^ and t^e
habit of following the chace on horseback makea the
people bolder and more expert riders than any of
the rest of the tribes. T^e Javanese are very had
riders, and in many countries of the Arcfaipdago,
the horse is unknown altogether. The very best of
the horses of the Archipelago are, however, it must
be noticed, under any circumstances, unfit for the
business of war, for they are too light and small for
the charge, being, throughout, ponies not exceed-
ing thirteen hands, and seldom equalling it. Such
as they are, I do not understand that any attempt
has ever been made to train them to chai^ in a
body, for thp purpose of overwhelming a mass of
infantry, or to use them to make the best of a vic-
tory ill pursuing a routed enemy, the only proper
purposes of a cavalry.

, The naval force of the Indian islands ia certain-
ly the niost formidable, and the bravest. A mari-
time life of any kind is, to a certain degree, a life
qf difficulty and hardship, which engenders a
large share of courage, activity, and enterprtaey
even without systematic discipline, which, except
with nomade tribes, or hunters, alone insuiea
them in a land force ; and, cottsequently, the
maritime tribes of the Archipelagq are mtundly
distinguished beyond thoae who Uve t^e tranquil
life of husbandmen, by superior courage and bar*

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ART OF WAR. 231

dihood. The Javanese, though more' civilizedy
and, therefore, more capable of subordination! and
better furnished with the munitbns of war, are
hardly a match for the inhabitants of Celebes.
In the year I672, as will be seen in the histo-
rical part of the work, a band of fugitives from
Cdebes, two thousand in number, laid waste the
eastOTH extremity of Java, and subjected some
of the finest provinces to their authority. The
sultan of Mataram sent a large force against them,
and a battle was fought, in which the Macassars
feigned a flight, and dispersed in the neighbouring
woods* The Javanese attempted no pursuit, and,
elated with their supposed victory, encamped on
the field of battle, without taking any precautions.
At night they were surprised by the Macassars,
and routed, without attempting any resistance.

T^ sultan of Mataram, incensed at the dis-
grace which thus befel his arms, fitted out a still
larger expedition, which he sent by his war-boats
to the east. The Javanese expedition effected a
landing, and was instantly attacked, on the beach,
by the Macassars, and totally overthrown, though
in a small degree supported by the Dutch. The
fugitives took tP their boats, but the Macassars also
taking to theirs, and having a still more marked su*
periority in this mode of warfare, they pursued the
discomfited Javanese, sunk and destroyed many of
their shipping, and thus gained a naval victory in ad-
dition to that which they had gained by land. It is

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232^ ART OF WABr

from'the Javanese writers that I borrow the account
of the defeat and disgrace of their countrynum.

In despotic monarchies, or in aristocracies equal-
ly arbitrary, where the great mass of the people is
in fi virtual, if not in a nominal state of slavery,
and all are armed for protection agamst the violence
of each other, it is not difficult to imagine how a
military force is commonly raised. Ih the deqiotic
government of Java the sovereign issues his man-
date to the governors of provinces, and from them
it proceeds, in succession, to the heads of vilhiges^
who select the peasants that are to form the levy*
The lands of the persons so selected are cultivated,
in their absence, at the expence of the village asso-
ciation, and they ^re provisioned by the sovereign
during the period of their service, but get no pay.
These form, of course,, an armed, but undisciplin*
ed mob. A better description of tnx^ are t^ose
about the person of the sovereign, for the purposes
of pomp and ceremony. These are bettw armed,
regularly paid by assignments of land, and have
some little discipline. The governments of all those
countries have the military character naturally
impressed upon them, throughout all their ^de-
tails ; no distinction is any where to be traced be-
tween civil and military employment; and the
titles^, offices, and authorities, under which the
people live, in the provinces and villages, are trans-'
ferred to the organization of their armips. Some
Indian names are applied to the superior offices.

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ART OF WAR. 233

The oommander-in-chitif among the Javanese i^
for example^ designated by the Sanskrit name of
JSenopajti, «nd the leaders of divisions by that of
fFadono^ both Sanskrit words.

Among the more warlike tribes of Celebes every
individual capable of be&ring arms must appear in
the field if summoned. War is there determined in
the council of the state, when the assembled chiefs
take a solemn oath binding themselves to the prose-
cation of it. This is one of the most imposing ce*
remonies of these semi-barbarians. The banner of
the state is then unfurled before them, and sprink-
led with blood. Each chief, in succession, dipping
his kris in a vessel of water, drinks of the conse*
crated liquid, and, rising from his seat, dances
round the bloody banner, with wild fantastic mo-
tions, brandishing all the while his bare weapon, as
if about to plunge it into the breast of his enemy.
In this attitude he repeats the oath in an enthusias-
tic tone, pronouncing some dreadful imprecation
against himself should he violate it, such as, — ^that
hia favourite weapon may prove more injurious to
himself than to his foe,— or that his head may
be cutiofFwhen he is' left on the field, — or that
his heart, should he fall in battle, may be de-
voured by his enemy. I was present during a
caremony of this nature, at Macassar, in 1814,
when the native allies of the European autho-
rity took m oath. tQ prosecute a war against the
jstate of Boni. I was particularly struck by the

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S34 ART OF WAR.

ingenious flattery with which some of the chieft
expressed their devotion to their new ally. " Ob-
serre me, yoa English/' said one, ^^ j^epared to
live and die with you. I am as a spear in your
bands, ready to do execution in whatever quarter
directed." " I shall be in your hands/' said ano-
ther, ^ like a Aene pf white thread, ready to as-
sume whatever colour the dcill of the dyer may
please to give it." Some of the most refined of
these flatterers, I afterwards learnt, were remaiic-
able for their want of good faith ! *

' I ■ til"

* A similar ceremony, as practised at Mind^oao, is very
happily described by Dampier. ** After this most of the men^
both in city and country^ being in arms before the hoase, be«
gin to act as if they were engaged with an enemy, having such
arms as I described* Only one acts at a time, the rest make
a great ring of two or three hundred yards round about him.
He that is to exercise comes into the ring with a gre^it shriek
or two^ and a horrid look ; then he fetches two or three }arge
stately strides, and falls to work. He holds his broad sword
in one hand, and his lence in the other, and traverses his
ground, leaping from one side of the ring to the other, and, in a
menacing posture and look, bids 4<ifiance to the enemy, whom
his fancy frames to him ; for there is nothing but air to op*
pose him. Then he stamps and shakes his head, and, grinning
with his teeth, makes many ruful face^* Theq he throws hia
lance, and nimbly snatches out his cresset, with which be
backs and hewi the air like a madman, often shrieking. At
Ifttt, being almost tired with motion, he flies to the middle of
the ring, where he seems to have his enemy at his mercy, and*
with two or three blows, cuts on the ground' as if he was cut^
ting off his enemy^ head. By this time he is all of a sweat,
iu>d withdraws triumphantly out of the ring, and presently

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ART OP WAR. 935

Tbe naval armaments of the mAntime states are
levied in the same manner, and necessity has point*
^ oot, in this situation, a peculiar strictness of
discipline. The lakshnana^ or admiral, on this
principle, has delegsted to him the whole power of
the sorereign when he proceeds on actual service*

The discipline of the arpnf is maintained by a
SMire violent and summary execution than ordinary
of those customary laws which obtain in the respec-
tive states in periods of peace, but, above all, by the
superstitious devotion ci the people to their lead*
ers, snd of these to their sovereign. There are
few punishments short of capital ones, and the lives
qf the people are held as nought. The opinion of
the chiefs on this last point is unequivocally exm
pressed in an anecdote which I shall have occa-
sion to relate in the chapter on the Hirtory of
Java, where a Javanese chief tells his Chinese
ally ^* that the lives of the people are consider**
ed by them of no conaequencie,'' and '< that he
may Mtemunate the soldiery if he but regBud the
lives of the commanders.'' The monarch, in his

another enters with the like shrieks and gesture. Thas they
coDtinne combating their imaginary enemy all the rest of the
day ; towards the conclutioQ of which the richest men act,
apd at last the general, and theli the sultan, concludes this ce^
remopy. He and the genera^, with some of the other great
ineiiy are in armour, but the rest have noiie»**'-^Dafnpier\
feyagetf Vol. I. pp. 339, 340. !

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£36 ART OF WAR.

turn, disregards the lires of the chiefs, and maiii-
tains discipline by the terror of frequent execmtioiis.
In the years 16S8 and 1629> the sultan of Mataram,
called by the Javanese the greats sent a aum«rous
force against the Dutch just established at Batavia,
with the view of expelling them from the island.
As is sufficiently known, the Javanese were compel*
led to raise the siege, with great loss* Sufficient bf»*
very was displayed, and no fault was ascribable to the
generals but want of success. This want of success,
however, the sultan punished by sending the public
executioners to the camp to take the lives of the
commanders. Baku Raksoj a chief who had distin-
guished himself by his gallantry, and had beevi
wounded in a gallant attempt to take the Europeaa
fortress by storm, was executed, and so was the
chief commander, the Rince Maduro RSjo. These
commanders themselves had not be^i idle in the
exercise of their authority, for when the Javanese
raised the first siege, the Dutch found 744 dead
bodies, decapitated or poignarded, and in other re-
spects mutilated. These unfortunate persons had
been executed for failing in an attempt to carry
the European fortress th|ree days before. When the
Javanese retreated the following year, a similar scene
presented itself, and the air was tainted by 800
putrid bodies, which thd Dutch found, disfigured
tvith wounds, and stretched out in rank and file.

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ART OF WAR, 237

in the attitude and position ih which they had suf-
fered death.

Of the cBfficult art of supplying an army with
subsistence^ understood only by nations in the high-
est state of civilization, it is needless to insist, that
the barbarians of the Indian islands are wholly igno-
rant. When in their own country, native armies
are maintained by irregular contribution, which
deserve rather to be called cj^tortion, and in that
of the enemy by a more avowed plunder. When
naval expeditions are undertaken, the prospect of
distress, from a dearth of provisions, becomes more
apparent to them, and a little more foresight is
then displayed. Every individual embarking fur-
nishes himself with a stock of provisions, and is
at his own charge like the feudal militias of our
forefathers.

The Indian idanders are capable of great efforts
of abstinence, and satisfied with a very moderate
allowance of what would appear to an European
very indifferent food. When hostilities appeared
.inevitid)le between the European power and the
sultan of Java, I was discoursing with a native of
good sense, on the probable consequences, and
urged that the want of provisions, resulting from
their improvident habits, would disable the Java-
nese from supporting a protracted contest. He
be^ed me not to build on any hope of this nature,
gtrongly remarking, that, <* in case of necessity, the

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238 ART OF WAR*

Javanese could subsist on tlie very leaves 6f trees/^
In many of their wars, they had, in fact, after the
country had been laid waste, fed on wild roots And
the tenider leaves of forest plants^ In their own
climate^ the vigour and suitableness of their frames
enable them to support a degree of fiitigue, expo-
sure, and privation, under which the constitutions
of Europeans, or even of the inhabitants of Asia,
of higher latitudes, would soon sink^ In the
island of Ceylon, a climate even worse than their
own, they are found by experience to be the only
description of foreign troops capable of withstand*
ing the inclemencies of a campaign.

Notwithstanding all this, their great improvi^
dence expesea them to much hardship and suffer*
ing, and is the piincipd cause of their inability to
effect any considerable and permanent conquest.
In the year l6l5, the ambitious projects of the
sultan of Mataram raised against him a host of
enemies, and the chiefs of the whole of the eastern
districts of Java, and of %U Madura, marched with a
very large force to attack him. They had not yet
reached his frontier, in their march westward, when
their entire stock of provisions was exhausted, and
the then desolate state of the country afforded them
no reliefi " They were," say the Javanese writeniy
^' compelled to feed on the bark of trees, and a few
wild roots which they gathered in the forests." It
w^ the inclement season of the periodical rains»

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ART OF WAR. 230

and want and &tigiie brought on the most fatal
disordero. The people of Mataram attacked them
in this state of distress, and few of this large force
returned to their own country*

Desertion as well as disease are inseparable
from armies so constituted, and so managed. The
Dutch assert, that of the first army of the king
of Mataram, which besieged their new capital of
Batavia. in 1638, the numbers, amounting, at
first, to 100,000, were reduced, when they rais-
ed the siege, chiefly by famine and desertion, to
10,000. In the following year, a still laiger ar^
my renewed the siege, and were soon reduced^
by the same means, to half their original numbers*
It is probable that these accounts are greatly
overrated, but the fact of prodigious mortality and
desertion is well authenticated, as well as pro-
bable.. The country in the vicinity of Batavia is
sterile and uncultivated, compared to the fertile
provinces occupied by the princes of Mataram^
and it is impossible it eould have aflPorded sub*
flistence to the improvident multitude thus, a»*
aembled within so narrow a compass.

From the peculiar character of the country they
inhabit, and their own condition in society, we are
not to look for a bold and decisive mode qf carrying
on tvar among the Indian islanders. Their hostilities
areconductedby artificeand stratagem, andtheyseek
forthat confidence which discipline does not afford

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«40 ART OF WAR*

them— tn the shelter of advantageow ground,— »
the cover of houses and palings,— *or in petty re-
doubts, when they are in an open eountry. They
are seldom wanting in individual oouraga, and
when, by such n^eans as now mentioned, they arie
supplied with the confidence which discipline alone
is adequate to confer upon a civilized army, they
may be considered as formidable enemies. Tley
appear pusiHanimous in offensive and open warfn^
but certainly respectable in a war of defence.
Were they capable of acting systematically and
perseverin^y on this principle, they might defy the
most numerous and most disciplined foreign in*
vader ; and, in fact, and throwing political intrigue
ouf of the question, have actually done so on seve-
ral occasions. It is on the same principle, that Eu-
ropean nations have found the prahus or vessels of
the Malays, and other maritime tribes, so dangerous
to attack. By running into shallow water, they
escape the eflPects of artillery, and when pursued
by boats, have been generally found more than a
match for the most gallant crew of British seamen.
The complex frames of bamboo, which form their
decks, give protection to their own crews, and an
opportunity, with their long spears, of attacking
their assailants ; and many tragical experiments
prove that it is either unsafe or impracticable to
attempt capturing them by boarding.
When hostile armies attack each other, they

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4ET OF W4K* 3il

coBtlracfc pcMgr fodMbti of two m* tbree feet in
heigliftt oapftUo of aflfordiag tlieoi proteetion ia
tfanr fiiMwite nttisg postim, egaiiiat iiiiiU lonM.
BMJ miMileweapotts, Thefowreooeupiedbytkeed-
TiBBoed pertiet ; end fixqai tbem • bnyer vm^ than
llie net wlk advanoe and chalfengt an utdrndual of
tiiB* opponto patty, and a aingle cmnbat wiU onsuet
The paniow ef liie potiea being liealed bytiie v^
mdt, tiMMO behind tbe entrencfamente will oeeananr*
idly quit their cover, and thus die aelion aceerding
to ciffcamstancet will become mora or leei gen^.
Commonly speakings their battles are a lenea of
personal, or at most of partial reneounters^ and
their armies are utterly incapable of any great or
concerted movementt by which the fiite of a baiUif »
or the fortunes of a nadon, might at once be decid-
ed-*

* *^ The sultan of Mmdanao sometimes makes war with his
neighbours die nofniUiaeers or AlCnorcs. Their, ittap^ms aie
awoEdt, lances^ and some hand^cre^seto. The cre&set i/eris) is a
amall thing like a bftyooet, which thej always wear in war or
peace, at work or play, from the greatest of tbem to the poorest
or meanest persons. They do never meet each other so as to
have a pitched battle, but they build small works or forts of
timber, wherem they plant little guas, and lie in sight of eadk
other two ar tkl«e months, akiniiiahiiia every day in smail
parties^ aad sometimes surprising a breast. work ; and what-
ever side is like to be worsted, if they have no probability to
eicape by flight, they sell their lives as dear as they can ; for
there is seldom any quarter given, but the conqueror cuts and

VOL. U 9,

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S4t AftT OP WAR.

It does not appear that either hnmanftyv w thr
laws of war, among even the moat civffiied nalioiisQf
die Archipelago, disclaim any possible mode of hos-
tility likely to injure an enemy. The Balinea^i
of the roost ciiilised tribes, we have already i
poison their darts, and others do the same tldag
with their krises. The sapfrfy of water is too
abmidant in the countries they inhabit to give them
any opportunity of attempting to poison streams or
wells, or wkhout doubt they would try it. In tlie
year 1629, the great sultan of Mataram achieved
the conquest of Surabaya by poisoning, or, at least,
rendering noisome, the stream of t}]« river which
leads to it, and thus ferbing the inhabituits to sub-
mit/ This feat is commended by the Janmese
writers as a masterpiece in the art of wm% and, of
course, not a hint is given of the baseness of the
transaction.

The conduct which the Indian ishmders observe
towards the dead, wounded, and prisoners, is :
ed by the same want of graerority, and the i
inhumanity, which on this subject is found to be
the invariable concomitant of all the early stages of
civilization. Some of die savages of Borneo de-
stroy their prisoners, and devour their fleib. Que
nation of Sumatra, acquainted with the art of writ-
ing, and possessed of books, are well known to be

hacks his enemi^ to pieces."— Z^awpitfr* Voyages^ Vol. L
pp. 537, SS8

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ABT 6r wjou 248

Amumg odinr tribes^ the mdb c^ene-

aMi ue piled at ticpliies round their bibitatioiiSt

Md it ii allied thi^ with some, a youth is not

entitled to a fvife, until he has produced the head

m[ an enemy. Among the people of Celebes^

.when an enemy faUa wounded, the victor strikes

'oflp his heady and plaetngit on thepoint ofaqiear»

bean it away in triumph to his party* This^ how«

ever, is £ur from being the utmost length to which

they proceed, for on sooie occasions they actually

go ao fiu* as to devour the heart of an enemy, either

to grat^ revenge, or aggravate their usual ferocity.

This pnctice is by no means unfrequeat, and there

is havdly a warrior of note who, at some period or

odwr, has not partaken of this horrid repast. I

saw eevend who had done so, and one person coolly

observed, that it did not differ in taste from the

o£Bd of agoator buffido, but another less hardened

iMsiired me, that he did not sleep for three nights

aftex his meal, so haunted was his imagination at

* the thou^ of what he had done.

It does eternal dishonour to the Dutch that they

permitted themselves to be quiet spectators of such

transactioos as these on the part of their allies.

' They weiie ia the habit of receiving from them bas-

- Jcetfuk ef their cneaues' heads as valuable gifts ! *

* In the secret journal kept by one of the governors of
.Macasssr, we have several entries recordin|r the receipt of such
picsents. I shall transcribe two of then :

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C44 ART Of WAS*

I do not find that the JwaaeM^ vAjba dMirka^
tile passioos are arouaed, are in any neapect leal S^
racious tlian their neighbuutv. In the kit gnat
irar in JaFa» MangkunSgaro havii^; guaed an adr
vintage oTer the Dutch, and Susunan at WMtU^ ia
the proTince of Pajang, announced hit attcfsaas to Us
€oa4}utor Mankuhumi, by latter, tranoutting to
htm, at the same time, '* the ears af the enravf kil-
led or taken in action." I shall tiandate the li«
tend account of it from a history of the war, written
under the eye of Mangkubumi« ^ The Pangemn
Adipati sent his father* a messenger without dekyt
fonmnling the ears and prisoners of the fanner
Jour strings. The messenger anivsad in due time
4it Baaaran, and presented what he was chaigiBd
with to the monarch. The prince, haviiqf nad

<• Thursday, January 29th, 1777.— In the morning tb«
Bom interpreter came to the castle, accompanied by a messen.
ger from Dalu Baringang, who preaeDted to hU esesArwy, in
a ba&l(et, four enemies' heails^ said to be tke beads of Kiaisif
Borisala, aad of three galaraag^,'' j(« raja and three inferior
chiefs.)

^' Friday, 30th. — Five heads more were broixght to his
excellency this morning, reported to be thoae of some chiefs
of the enemy, taken prisoners in the action at Tikere yeater-
day, whenlhey .were defeated^ and pmaaed with tiie last at tf«
ty men, by Arung Panchana.*'

* The terms son and father are here used, according to the
manners of the people^ to express ifae relatiTe ranka of the
parties.

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swtorvfAtu S45

tbb kilter, i^lsiided hk son for the netorj he bad
gttMd, Bod lor die ears and prisoners he had
tiusaiktetL He forthwith directed the ears to be
lifeedt and stewed along with the flesh of buffidoea^
and wkh spices, and he gaye the mixture to his
jteo[de, direetang them to eat it with rice. He
dU AiSf he said, beeaose his followers were not
pfMeiit in the fight, and had not obtained the
ears of an enemy in battle, and that, by thus pat-
taidi^ of theiti as food, they might not be put to
$hame because they were absent from the fight )
he wished as if it were to in^re his army with the
same feeKngs as if they had been actually engaged.
The people eat, one and all, and bowed in respe<Sk-
M ailence/'

The conduct of MangkunagCHro was not leas fe«
roetous on the same occasion. The Bugis and
Baiinese prisonere^ from the reputation of their
bravery, he ^ared to fight his future battles, but
those of the half breed of those pe<^e, and all his
Javanese prisoners, he massacred in cold Mood;
and it was the ears of those unfortunate persons that
Jke transmitted to Mangkubumi, and which became
liie naterials of the abomtndMe feast of the latter^

I shall relate one more of the actions of this
lame MangkunSgoro, who, it may be remarked,
was less ferocious than any of the contemporary
cUefs. I give it in the words of the historic
of his own action, conpiled, as usital^ under hts

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246 Allt OP WAB.

owti eye. Jayeng Rono, a man of hunble birA,
had been a retainer of MangkunSgoro, but quitted
him to follow the fortunes of his rival Mangkubu-
mi, after the quarrel of these chiefs. After a
time, Mangkubumi gave him his daughter in mar*
riage, in gratitude for which he made an attempt
to seize upon the person of MangkunSgorot but in
that attempt was taken prisoner, and exeeated.
The native writer gives the folldwing account of
the circumstances which attended his execution.
^* I ask thee, Jayeng Rono, said the prince, when
the prisoner was brought before him, whether yon
wish to live or die ; make your selection. Jo^eng
Rono replied. My lord, if posaUe, I entreat to
live ; it is true, I am a little man, and a mouthlU
of rice is ail I beg. The princess wrath was kind-
led when he heard these words, and he said, What
advantage has my father reaped in bestowing upon
you a princess ? when a man of low birth weds a
princess, he becomes n^ equal. Your wish to live
proves you doubly unworthy ; you bring shame on
your connection ; the country itself is dishonoured
by such behaviour ; and you must assuredly die. On
these words, the prince turned about to Jxgfo La^
tony a chief in attendance, and directed him to car*
rythe prisoner without. Joyo Latan understood
him, and did so accordingly, bearing, at the same
tiiQe, the royal sword. Jayeng Rono was stabbed
without delay, and his head severed fiom his body.

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AET OF WAR. 9V7

Jofo Jjdmk^ the chief who pot him to deith, de«
YQured his heart, for he had vowed to do to, should
be All into his hands, in revenge for Jayeng Ro^
no's having once carried off his wife a prisoner. In
his Airy he passed the poisoxied sword throogh the
body, up to the hilt. The prince writing about
t^ time to Samarang, took occasion to fwesent
the head of Jayeng Rono as a gift to the Holland*
en."

Slavery is the mildest lot of a prisoner of war*
The predatory expeditions of the Indian islanders,
are much more frequent than their conquests (
and in these the principal objects are to carry off
the cattle qpd women, and to lay the enemy's
country waste by fire and sword. When a smaller
state yields, without resistance, to the ascendancy
of a more powerful one, it is treated with modera*
tion, the conqueror usually contenting himself with
a trifling tribute, almost nominal ; for, between
this and abscdute spoliation there is no medium.
This is an event most likely to happen when the
conquerors and conquered have the same language,
manners, and polkical institutions. When these
di&r there is naturally more rancour on the one
side, and repugnance on the other, and the rights
of conquest are exerted with the last d^pree of seve«
rity. In the year 1640, the state of Macassar hav<>
iDg ccmquered the Bugis state of Boni, a Macassar
chief was appointed as viceroy over the people of Bot

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$4S AET OP WAK«^

ni, and ib^ were permitted to enjoy their own kws
and customs ; but in 16^, the Bugis hiif ii^ remit-^
ed, the whole nation were depriTed of theis national
institutions^ and declared to be in a Hate of dmery^
In the yeur I66O, they revolted again, and wera
assisted by the Bngis of Sopeng. Hie Maeassass
eonqoered them a third time* and soon redneei
the state of Sopeng to a similar condition of shu
very with that of Boni. We find, on these oeca«
ttons, the princes and diiefs cast in irons with the
ooomon prisoners, and ten thousand <^die «idis«
tiiiguisbed mukitude^ dixmt to be employed on s
trench, for cutting off* from the main land a Duteb
Ibrt situated on a little peninsdb*

When the people of Boni, in their turn, aeqwrw
ed the superiority, they used their victory with aa
little moderation. In lCi69, with the asststmce of
the Dutch, they defeated the army of Macasssr
at the island of Butung^ and the number of their
prisonefs being so great that they knew not how
tis dispose of them, they lefi^ five thousand on a de*
s^ isknd^ from whence the greater mimbsf word
afterwards taken away as slaves by the inhabitanta
of Butung.

The ntmibers and servUity of the population of
Java have, among them, rendered slaves of iiltle va-
lue, aud those in possesion of power baveexperitn*-
ced it to be more for their advantage to permit tJie
people to occupy themselves in the culture of a pro-

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dadDveadil. bitkemnBioiisoftheJanmdie,th<re-
i^rn^ we find the baodsomest of the women only caci
ried off for wives and eonenbines, the men being,
either pot to the sword or left, with the old women
and children, unmolested.

Among the more dvilized tribes, when pemMu
qent conquests are attempted, prudence has &•
tated to the Indian islanders, as to other eaatena
nations, the necessity of leaving the native chief in
nominal authority, and managing the government
through his i^gency. The princes of Mataram ma^
naged most of their conquests on this principle, as
those of Chcribon, Madura, and Suraba]f«, the
prinees of which became, in time, hereditary feuda-
tory ehiefs of provinces under their sway. In the
year 16SS, the prince of Surabaya, the first inde-
pendent chief of the eastern portion of Java, sub*
mitted to Mataram, spad sent his son and heir to
the eourt of the sultan to tender his submission.
On this occasion, says the native writer narradng
the transactiott, *' the young chief, his wives, and all
the ftsales of his family, with his companions and
retnuen, were brought to the foot of the throne
bound in coids,^ according <a cnstom/^ With the
Javanese it seems to be a pretty universal rulcy
and a matter of course, to put a chief to death who
is taken prisoner without surrendering himself, or
making conditions, and, even in the last case,
should prudence and interest not dictate an oppo*
site course, his life cannot be counted safe.

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250 ARTorwiUt.

* A generous treatment towards a Men ene-
my is a thing almost unknown^ and, as we have
dbeady seen, even the bmiies of the dead are treat*
ed with outrage. The page of Javanese story, that
with which I am best acquainted, affords but two
examples to the contrary. The first is the story of
a fallen chief of the province of Japan, whose open
and honourable hostility was commended by the
Great Stdtan, and to whose body he ordered a de-
cent interment. An accmint of this transaction vrill
be found in the historical department of the work*
The second example is of a more decided, and stiU
moreiavourable character. In an action fought
at Surabaya, in the year 1718, between the Susu*
hunan and his allies on one side, and the revdted
chief of Surabaya on the other, the former were
entirely overthrown, and Patffi Wiro Nagoro^
chief of the province of Tagal, of the party of the
vanquished, lost his life, after signalizing himself
by various acts of personal valour. This man was
esteemed by all parties, and his enemies, instead of
mangling and insulting his body, as usual, bestow-
ed a decent funeral upon it. The native annalist
states the fact as a remarkable occurxenoe*

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BOOK lit

PROGRESS IN SCIENCE AND THE HIGHER ARTS.

!Prom what ha^ been already stated respecting the
character and manners of the Indian islanders, the
reader will not expect to find that they have made
imich prc^ess in the sciences or higher arts*
Some, however, they have made, and a description
of it will be found highly curious and instructive*
I shall endeavour to furnish it in the three follow*
ing chapters; the first, rendering an account of
their arithmetic ; the second, of their calendar ;
the third, of their geography and navigation ; and
the fourth, of their music and medicine*

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CHAPTER I.

ARITHMBTIC.

Indian islanders ignorant of arithmetic as a scienee.>^^EmpUnf
Jbretgners as accountants^ and count by cutting notches on
dips qf'uiood, or tying knots on cords, — History of the ori"
gin of numbers among th e m* One system of numerals ge-
nerally prevalent Jrom Madagascar to Nen) Guinea^-^Bi'
nary scalc-^Qjuatemary scale^-^Qjuinary scale. — Senaty
scale. — Denary scale. — A thousand, the highest term gene-
rally knoxon to the native languages.'^ Sanskrit terms bar"
r&wedf and error in doing so^^^Ten thousand, the common
limit of the numerwal scale of the Indian itlanden,>-^ava-
neee sUone extend their terms as Jar as ten bilUons^^-^Prin-
ciples on which the numerals of the ceremonial dialect of the
Javanese are formed^"— Origin of the ordinal numbers and
Jractions^'-'Indian islanders acquainted unth the Hindu
digits. — Principle on tohich the Javanese digits arefnmed.
--^Vocabulary of the numerals qftvoelve langus^es-^-^Mea^
Sfsres used by the Indian islander s.-^Bulk, and not weit^hi,
ike principle on which measure is estimated.^-^Example in
the com measure of the Javanese^-^Dry and liquid meo'
sures. — Measures by weight, introduced by foreigners, chief-
ly by the Chinese, — Description of these — Gold measure. —
Measures of extent still more imperfect than those of gra-
vity, ^^Description of them.^'-^Land measure of the Java-
nese^^ Standards of exchangeable value. — Articles used &y
the ruder tribes for this purpose. — Introduction of metallic
currency .f^Tin coins^—'Brass coins — So silver coins an-
eiently used. — Gold coins.'^European coins. — Paper cur^
rency introduced by the European governments.

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T^^v 7^V7r YORK

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ARITHMSTIC. 96$

The Indian idaadera aro wholly ignorant of arith-
metic aa a scienoe, and, indeed, know nothing of the
commcQ rules of calculation. In their mercantile
transactions, they employ the Chinese and natives
of the east coast of the peninsula of India as ac-
countants; and, notwithstanding the knowledge
which the Japanese have of the Hindu numeral
characters, they frequently calculate by cutting
notches on slips of wood or bamboo, or by tying
loiota on a cord. In all pecuniary transactions the
women are more expert than the mai, and we find
them mostly employed as brokers and money
ehangers. *

The history of the origin of numbers among
tikem affords a more interesting sulqect of disquisi*
tion than their rude processes of calculation. Each
tribe appears originally to have possessed a distinct
^tem of numerals, and tracea of this may be de»
tected in almost all the languages. Indeed, those
of Tambora and Ternath very centrically situated.

• " When they have occasion to recollect, at a distance ol*
time, the tale of any comnjodities they are carrying to market
or the like, the country people often assist their memory by
tying knots on a strtag, which is produced when they want to
specify the number. The Peruvian Quipas were, I suppose,
an improvement on this simple invention/' — Martdens Su-
matrOf p. 19S.

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SM AlltTHMStie^

rataia thenit tiie fintundtnred, and the itft norijr
so ; but the influence of one perradii^ speech upon
•U the rest has in no dopaituMt been so complete
as in tiiat of the Btnnentfau Generally speaking, the
same numerals may be said to prevail from Madagas-
car to NewGoinea, and the Philippines, and eren to
hafre spread to the South Sea Isliuids. The gene^
ml question of the dissemination of the great Poly-
nesian language will afterwards be considered ; and
it will, at present, be sufficient to remark, that the
history of mankind afibrds no other example of so
wide a dissemination of a rude speech amimg sa-
vage and barbarous tribes, who never appear to
have been more civilised, and seldom more enter-
prising than we at present find them. The tribes
under whom this striking phcfnomenon is discover*
able form, to be sure, the most numerous portion
of the human race, connected by a proximity ef
insular situation, and the facility of intercoorae
which this situation naturally presents, will go fir
towards a rational explanation of it.

The prevalence of the great Polynesian, neoea-
sarily an obsolete and obscure language, aflbrds a
principal obstacle to the detection of the etymolo-
gies of the numeral terms. Many striking etyma-
logics may still, however, be detected, and were we
better acquainted with the ruder dialects in whieh
the Polynesian is least prevalent, I am convinced

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tbifc more importaiit and hrterestiiig dcrivalioiis
mi^t be traced.

The lowest term of daBsificatioii» the Unarjf
eeale^ is not ^soovemble by the examination of km*
guage to have been adopted by any of the tribes,
unless I «eept the wooUy'-haired races of the mmi&-
tains of the Malayan peniosida. These can coont
in their own hnguage na fiEurdier than two. For
one Aey have the word Naif and for two Be^
The word ^S^t Ifind, means in the veroaoidar lan^
guage younger brother or seeond bom* After two,
this raee reek<m by the oonmion Pdynesian imme*
nb, at least in their intei«eiirse witibt the more ci-
viKied races which surround them.

Evidence of the existence of the quatemmy
aeaie may be considered to exist in the Ende kn-
gui^t one of the' dialects of Flores* Hie term
vmiUf of unknown derivation, expresses the root
four, and agfat is called two. liENirs. It is probaUe,
that, were we fumiAed with more copious qpeei-
mens of these dialects, we might find the process
carried farther. *

Of the qtanary scale, or calculation by fives, even
the Polynesimi language itself affiirds relics. It is,
koiwever, very remarkable, that this evidence is not
derived fimn the civilised languages of the great
western tribes, but from the less cultivated ones of

* Raffieti'n JavOf Appendix, Vol. IF,

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996 AUTHMBTIC^

Uie minw tribes to the eAstwaid. In some of the
languages of Celebes, and of several of the Ma>
iDunding islands, we disoover the almost vmversal
tenn lor five, Imoh to be derived firem its natuial
•ettree, the aune word meaning, the hand. In thc^
£fule language almady quoted, the tema for sis
and seven are accordingly nothing else than Jfoe
mid oMf and Jive Mti two. Farther tnoes of the
prevalence of tUs claasifiMtion seem to have bea^
baaished by the encroadunent «(f the decinal seah^
which ultimately obtained in all*

The hmguage of the Sundas or mountameers of
Java abne contains evidence of the fiNmer eaat^
ence of the senarff scale of daasification* GinMpi
vrhieh is six in that lat^juage, means die com-
plete, terminated, evidently in relation te ifta
Iwming the term or limit of their first system of
numerals.

The denary scale has, in the progiess of sedi^,
as wkh other people, superseded the rest, ami k
now of imi versal prevalence. The language, howw
ever, in which it is clothed, is usually so pb o e b l a»
that it is not often we can trace a satisfiu^tory ety-
mology. In many of the languages, as the Mal^^
SundOj AcU, Mandar^ and jSiufe, the tenn Ar
nine means two^ and one short of, or taki
from. In the Achtnese, the etymology is
tinct, Sakorangy literally translated, being one
short or wanting ; and it is hardOy less so in

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AEITHMBTIC« 857

Malay» where Sambikm evidently meant one takra,
tiiat is, taken from the heup or whole.

The terms for ten^ for hundred^ and for ihwh
eandf have escaped my attempts to trace them to
their origin. Twenttfy ^urty^foTty^ are two teas,
three tens^ four tens, and the regular mode of form*
mg the intermediate terms consists in simply aflix-^
jng the digits. It is not improbable, but at some pa-
liod in the history of numbers^ the principal terms
were represented by specific terms. We have one
€xamfde of this in the word widak^ which is sixty
in the Javanese, and some other dialects. Aem«
Hants of the quinary scale are also to be discover-
ied in this department. Twenty-five is Lawe^ and
fifty i& Ek&t in Javanese. The same language
frequently counts by fives in the intermediate num-
bers, as will be seen in the specimen of the nume-
rab. By this mode of reckoning, which proceeds
as far as eighty«*five, Mrty-jvoe^ forty -five j &c. are
^expressed by saying, five short of forty, five shiHrt
4)f fifty, &c. From ten to twenty, the numeral
terms are formed by adding to the digit the inse-
parable partide waias or bUfs^ which I suspect to
lie the same as the Javanese word t&las^ done or
finished, in reference to the end of the scale. The
intermediate terms between twenty and thirty aie
fcnmed occauonally in a similar manner, by prefix-
ing the digits to the word SAror, the meaning of
which I have not been able to discover. From a

vol. J. R

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258 ARITHM£TIC«

hundred to a thousand, and from thia last term to
ten thousand, the denary scale proceeds, in geneh
ral, by the regular process of prefixing the minor
term to the greater. In forming the terms for
hundreds, we discover some relics of the quaterna-
ry scale in the occasional mode of reckoning hj
four hundreds, confined to the root, and its du-
plex eight hundred.

The langui^e applied to the terms of the denar
ry and other scales, we discover, from the examinar-
tiQH of language, to have been frequently borrow*
ed from the counters employed in calcuIatioBu
The words Sfji, Satu^ and Sabuah^ in Javanese^
Malay y and Manadu, though they appear, at firat
view, to be primitive words, really mean (me seed,
one stone or pebble, and one fruit The meaning
of the terms Lowe and Ekdi^ Pwenty^five sai^tyi^
in Javanese, are the first a thread or string, and the
second a skein of thread. Four hundred and eight
hundred are expressed in the Javanese^ and some
other languages of the western portion of the Ar-
chipelago, by the terms Somas and Domas, which
mean, <* one bit of gold, and two bits of gold/'
In the language of the Lampungs^ one of the na-
tions of Sumatra, the term for thousand is Paku,
a spike or nail. In the Macassar and Butung Ian*
guages,' I find that hundred is expressed by the
term BHangan^ meaning one tale or reckoning ;
implying, i ima^ne, that in one period of the hii»

. 10

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ABITHMETIC. 859

twy of the progneas of numbers, this wbs the ut-
most extent of their numerical scale. An exami-
naticm of the numerals of the more naked languages
of the ruder tribes, which are either wholly original,
or have borrowed little from the Great Polynesian,
would, had we an acquaintance with them, no
doubt, give still more important and interesting re-
sult3 than those I thus endeavour to point out.

A thousand is the highest term for. which the
languages have a native word, the Javanese except-
ed. The numbers above it are expressed by San-
skrit numerals, a procedure perfectly analogous to
that which has been pursued in other departments
of language. It is remarkable, that ail the tribes
nse these terms erroneously, having adopted for
ten thousand the term which should express a
hundred thousand; for a hundred thousand the
term which should express ten millions ; and for
one million the term which ought to express ten
thousand only. I h^ve the living authority of Mr
Colebrook for this statement. Whatever the
source of the error, its general adoption must be
looked upon as a certain procrf* that all must have
been instructed by one native tribe, that the error
was propagated through one native channel. The
Lampungs alone, a people of Sumatra already
mentioned, have not fallen into this mistake, and
use the term Laksa^ or a hundred thousand, in its
legitimate sense* This is one of those anomalies

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260 ARITHMETIC.

extremely difficult to be accounted for, which we
60 often discover in our examinttion of the affilia-
tion of the languages of the Indian islanders.
The same tribe, we have seen, has not adopted
the general term for thousand. Yet, in geogra-
phical situation, they lie immediately between the
Malays and Javanese, the two great civilized tribes
of the Aichipelago, from whom it is reasonable to
imagine, the less civilized must have borrowed the
principal features of improvement. Mere juxta*
position, as we shall often have occasion to remark,
will not often assist us in explaining the connec*
tion which exists between the different tribes.
Their intercourse has always necessarily been ma-
ritime ; and it is the course of navigation,— -the na-
ture of the monsoons, — ^and, perhaps, the commer-
cial or alimentary necessities of the people, that we
must consult in such examination, rather than the
topography and relative geographical bearings of
the countries they inhabit.

The numerical scale, even with the borrowed as-
sistance of the Sanskrit, extends, with the less civi-
lized tribes, as already remarked, no farther than
ten tliousand; with the Malays it extends to a
fnillion ; and with the Javanese, the most improv-
ed people, as far as ten billions.

The Sanskrit language is now and then discover-
ed to have made encroachments on the Polynesian
numerals in their lowest ranks} thus, the Balineae
use dasa fcr ten. In the ancient obsolete laxu

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, ABITHMETIC* S6l

guage of Java, the Sanskrit numerals, of the lower
denominations, are preserved in great purity, but
have made no impression on the vernacular lan-
guage ; and we may safely conclude, that they were
always confined to the recondite language of learn*
ing and religion^— *that their connection was extrin-
sic, and their introduction belonging to a much
more recent period than that of the great Polyne-
sian numerals.

The quaint ceremonial dialect of the Javanese^
we might expect to find, would throw some curious
light on the subject of numerals ; but it is not
much we gather from this source. One is formed
by affixing to the simple form of the numeral the
word tunggil alone by itself, and two^ by the word
Kaleh^ which is the preposition mth^ meaning, no
doubt, with another, the two words being used
as correlatives. The term for three is the Sanskrit
numeral* For^ur, we have the word kccwan^
which means a flock or herd oS animals, most pro*
bably pursuing the relation established in the first
two numerals. I am sorry that I have not been
able to detect the etymology of the word Gangsalp
which is used to express five, as, no doubt, it would
be found to be significant, and its etymol<^ in-
structive. The rest of the numerals do not di£fer
from those of the ordinary language. The decad
is formed by the Sanskrit term ; hundreds and
thousands by the usual native ones ^ and all tht

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262 ARITHMETIC*

intermediate numerals, by combining those no#
mentioned, upon the principle already described.

The ordinal numerals, and the fractions of num«
bers, are formed by very simple contrivances^ but
such as throw a curious light on the history of thia
department of language among the Indian islanders.
The ordinal number is formed, by prefixing to
the cardinal the particles Kd or Peng, and the
fraction, by converting this into a noun, and adding
the inseparable particle an. The Javanese form
the fraction by prefixing to the numeral, usually
in an abbreviated form, the verb Poro, to subdivide,
of which Prapatj a fourth, is an example.

On specific occasions, the fractional numbers are
sometimes borrowed from a natural reference to
the parts of the animal body. In the Javanese
language, and firom thence borrowed into others,
Sukti^ which means a leg or limb, is applied to a
fourth or quarter. In the same language, tike
word Jung is applied to the largest of their land
measures. Kihily a leg, expresses the largest
fraction of it or one-half; and Bahu^ a shoulder,
one-half of this last measure.

The Hindu digits have been known to the In«
dian islanders for many ages, and we can trace
them on monuments of stone and copper, as
far back as the beginning of the twelfth century of
our era, a period of six hundred years. The peo-
ple of the Indian islands had, at the time, no in-

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AJtlTBMETIC. 963

tercoune witii any other nation tKan the Hindus ;
and as such monuments have been dedicated ta
Hinduism, it is fair to infer, that they borrowed
them from the Hindus only.

Neither the ancient nor modem iigurate sym*-^^
hols, it is, however, to be observed, bear much re-
semblance to the Dewanagari figures. Six of
tbos, namely, 1, i!, 6, 7, 8, and 9t are formed bf
the letters of the alphabet in both, or by slight
modificatioiis of them. The remaining ones, name'*
ly, 3f 4, and 5, certainly have a remote semblance
to the Dewanagari digits, and possibly more to
AHne of their modified forms in the Deccan* I
conclude from this, that the Javanese employed the
letters of the alphabet in calculations before their
acquaintance with the Hindus } and that, upon this
occasion, the latter modified the signs which they
found, as they did with the alphabet, adapting them
to the perfection of the new scale.

^ I shall here subjoin a copious specimen of the
Polynesian numerals, that the reader may have an
opportunity of examining the princif^es of the ana-
lysis I have given of their history and origin. The
specimens of the Javanese, Malay, Bali, Sunda^
Biajuk, and Bugis, are given from my own col*
lection; those of the Lampung, Tambora, and
Temati, from that of Sir Stamford Raflaes ; the
Timun, from a collection by Lieutenant Owen Phil-

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ARITHICBXIC.

lips^ to inrhom I shall take another opportimity of
oflfering my acknowledgmeots ; the Majindttuie
and Pi^ua from Forrest's Voyage to New Guinea ;
the specimens of the Madagascar in their respect
tive orders, from Dhiry and Flacourt ; and that of
the Friendly Islands from Cook's hist voyage.

Should the reader derive either amusement or
instruction from the little sketch I have now given of
the history of the numerals of the Indian Islands^
he will owe it chiefly to the assistance I have derived
from the writings of one of the most ingenious and
original of writers or philosophers, Mr Leslie <tf
Edinburgh, whose treatise on the Philosophy of
Arithmetic has been my guide throughout^

English one

Eng}is& iwr

Javanese (o.) sa siji

Javanese (o.) loro

Javanese (c.) satunggil

Javanese (c.) kaleE

Javanese (a.) heko

Javanese (a.) dwi

Malay sa, sata

Malay dua

Bali sa

Bali dua

Sunda sa, seji

Sunda dua

Lampung sai

Lampung rua

Biajuk ije

Biiguk dawe

Bogis che^i

Bugis dua

Timuri eida

Timuri rua

Friendly Islan,tahaw

Friendly Islan.lua

Majindanao isa

Majindanao daua

Madagascar eser, isa

Madagascar roaa^ n£

Papua oser

Papua serou

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AMTBimiC.

465

English

Javanese (o.)

Javanese (c.)

Javanese (tu)

Malay

Bali

Sunda

LaropUhg

Biajuk

Bugis

Timuri

three

t&lu

tigo

tri

tiga

t&lu

tilu

talu

telo

t&lu

tolo

Friendly Islan. tokm
Majindanao tula
Madagascar talu, telou
Papua kior

English Jour

Javanese (o.) papat
Javanese (c)
Javanese (a.)
Malay

Bali

Sunda

I^rapung

Biajuk

Bugis

Timuri

sakawan

chator

aropat

papat

opat

epat

iSpa

na-ah

Friendly Islan. t' fa
Majindanao spat
Madagascar effutchs, effaU
Papua tiak

Englbh

Javanese (o.)

Javanese (c.^

Javanese (a.)

Malay

Bali

Sunda

lampuDg

Biajuk

Bujift

Tipauri

limo

gangsal

poncho

lima

lalima

lima

lime

lima

lema

Friendly Islan. niroa
Majindanao lima
Madagascar dimci luwi
Pq^ua rim

English

Javanese (o.)

Javanese (c.)

Javanese (a«)

Malay

Bali

Sunda

Lampung

Biajuk

Bugit

Timuri

Friendly Islan. vano

Majindanao anooi

Madag^iscar eanning, enem

Papua onim

English

Javanese (o.)

Javanese (c.)

Javanese (a.)

Malay

Bali

Sunda

Lampung

Biajuk

Bugis

Timuri

Friendly Islan.

Majindanao

Madagascar

Papua

sm>eH
pitu

sapto
tuju
pitu
tuju
pitu
tgu
pitu
hetu
• fidda
petu

fito, fitou
tik

English

Javanese (o.)

Javanese (c.)

Javanese (a.)

Malay

Bali

Sunda

Lampung

Biajuk

Bugis

Timuri

Friendly Islan.

Majindanao

MadagaKar

Papua

varu
tvalu

varlo, valou
war

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Google

96&

ARITBMmC

English

nine

English

Paodve

Javanese (6.)

songo

Javanese (o.^

rolas

Javanese (c.)

Javanese (c]

\ kalehwSlas

Javanese (a.)

nowo

Javanese (a.^

)

Malay

sambilan

Malay

duablas

Bali

siya

iBali

loras

Sunda

saJapan

Sunda

duawSlas

Lampung

siwa

Lampung

talublas

Biajuk

jalatien

Biajuk

duwe-w&las

Bugis

asera

Bugis

sapulcdua

Timuri

sioh

Timuri

sanulu-resai-rua

Friendly Islan.hiva

Friendly Islai

Majindanao

seaoiw

Majindanao

Madagascar

aeve, sivi

Madagascar

roepulo amb<

Fkpua

siou

English

ten

English

thirieen

Javanese (o.^
Javanese (c.)

puluh

Javanese (0.)

aiulas

doso

Javanese (c.)

tigow&Ias

Javanese (a.)

doso

Javanese (a.)

Malay

puluh

Malay

tigablas

Bali

dasa

Bali

t&lulas

Sunda

puluh

Sunda

t&iuw81as

Lampung

puluh

Lampung

Biajuk

pulo

Biiguk

telo-wXlas

Bugis

pulo

Bugis

sapuiot&lu

Timuri

nulu

Timuri

Friendly Islan

. ongo-furn

Friendly Islan

•

Majindanao

pulu

Majindanao

Madagascar

folo, foulo

Madagascar

folotalu ambe

Papua

samfoor

English

eleven

English

ttoenty

Javanese (0/ 1

saw&las

Javanese (0.)

rongpuluh

Javanese (c.

Javanese (c.)

kalehdoso

Javanese (a.

Javanese (a«)

Malay

sablas

Malay

duahpuluh

Bali

solas

Bali

duangdasa

Sunda

saw&las

Sunda

duahpuluh

Lampung

sablas

Lampung

manga puluh

Bi^uk

sablas

Biajuk

duwepulo

Bugis

sapuio-chedi

Bugis

duapuli^

Timuri

sanulu resai-

Timuri

ruanuluh

Friendly Islan.

[naida

Friendly islan^

Majindanao

Madagascar

iraicfooloambi

Madagascar

Toaafolo

Papua

[roepalo

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ABITHMETIC.

267

English

Javanese (o.)

Javanese (e«)

Javanese (a.)

Malay

Bali

Sonda

Lampi ng

Biajuk

Bugis

Tfmuri

friendly Islan.

Majindanao

Idadagascar

English

Javanese (a)

Javanese (c.)

Javanese (a.)

l^Maj

Bali

Sanda

Lampung

Biajuk

Bugis

Timuri

Friendly Islan

Blajindanao

Madagascar

English

Javanese (o.)

Javanese (c.)

Javanese (a.)

Malay

Bali

Sunda

Lampung

Biajuk

Bugis

Timuri

Friendly Islan.

Majindanao

Madagascar

tweniif'One
rongpuloh siji
kalehdoso
— ^-^satunggil
duapuluh satu
salikur

duapulub-sejiy
" — --[salikur
durvepulo ije
duapulo chedi

Uoentyjive

limolikur

gangsallikur

duapuluh lima
limalikur
duapuluh lima

duapulo lima

rowafolo dime

[amby
thirty

t&lungpuluh
tigangdoso

tigapuluh

t&lungdasa

tilupuluh

lalungapuluh

telopulo

t&lupulo

tolonula

telou pauio

English

Javanese (o.)

Javanese (c.)

Javanese (a.)

Malay

Bali

Sunda

Lampung

Biajuk

Bugis

Timuri

Friendly Islan.

Majindanao

Madagascar

ikiriy'ime
tftlungpukih siji
tigoB^^doso

[satuiiggil

tigapuluh satu

filupuluh seji
t&lungapuluh
tolopulo ije '
t&lupulo chedi
tolonula eida

English ihirty:fifoe

Javanese (ow) tftlungpuluh lima

Javanese (e.) kawansasor

Javanese (a.)

Malay

Bali

Sunda

Lampung

Biajuk

Bugis

Timuri

Friendly Islan.

Majindanao

Madagascar talup^o dime

[amby
English forty'Jwe

Javanese (o.) patpuluh limo

tigapuluh
t&lungdasa lina
tilupuluh lima
t&lungapuluh
telopulo tttlo
t&lupulo liaia
tolonulu lima

Javanese (c.)

Javanese (a.)

Malay

Bali

Sunda

Lampung

Biajuk

Bu|2is

Timuri

Friendly Islan.

Majindanao \tBaA3i^

Madagascar cffudifido (

kawandoso

-[gwtgsal
ampatpuloh
papatdasa [lima
opatpuluh Haul
pangapuluh
epalpulo limeh
api^ulo lima
naabnulu lema

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S68

ABTTHliETICr

English

Javanese (o.)

Javanese (c.)

Javanese (a.)

Malay

Ba]i

Sunda

Lampung

Biajuk

Bwgis

Timuri

Friendly Islan

Majindanao

Madagiscar

EngUsk

Javanese (o.^

Javanese (c)

Javanese (a.)

Malay

Bali

Sunda

Lampung

Biajttk

Bugis

Timuri

Friendly Islan.

Majindanao

Madagascar

seK
gang^aldoso

limahpuluh
limangdasa
Umapuiuh

sawi

lifnehpalo

limapulo

lemanulu

dimefolo

ewfdak sasor
gangsaldosa
— - — [g^ngval
limapuluh lima
limangdasa
limapulub lima
sawi lima
limehpulolimeh
limapulo lima
lemanulu lema

English

Javanese (o.)

Javanese (c«)

Javanese (a.)

Malay

Bali

Sunda

Lampung

Biajuk

Bugis

Timuri

Friendly Islan.

Majindanao

Madagttcar

dimefolo dime
[amby
way
swidak
n&mdoso

anampuluh

n&mdasa

gan&ppuluh

sawidak

jebawenpub

anangpulo

naennulu

cannkigfolo

English sixly^ve

Javanese (o.) pitusasor

Javanese (c.) nlimduso
Javanese (a*) [pmgsat

Malay

Bali

Sunda

Lampung

Biajuk

Bugis

Timuri .

Friendly Islan.

Majindanao

Madagascar

nampuluh lima
n&mdasa lalima
g&n&ppuluh lima
sawidak lima
jebawenpalo
anangpulo lima
naennulu Icma

enniogModime
[amby
*eventy^ve
wolusasor
wolttngdosa

tujupulohlima
pitu-dasalalimtf
tujupuluh lima
pitungiipuluh
ujupulo limeh
pitupulo lima
hetunuitt lema

English

Javanese (o.)

Javanese (c.)

Javanese (a«>

Malay

Bali

Sunda

Lampung

Biajuk

Bugis

Timuri

Friendly Islan,

Majindanao

Madagascar

English
Javanese (o.)
Javanese (c.)
Javanese (a.)
Malay
Bali
Sunda
I^ampung
Biajuk
Bugis
Timuri
Friendly Islan. tehou
Majindanao alos
Madagascar zawto^ latott
PApua samfoor uti»

fitofolo dime

[amby
hundred
hatus

soto

ratus

hatus

Fatus

latos

ratus

rata

atus

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AraTHMETICU

909

' Sngliali ' tiBoo hundred

Javanese (o.) rongatus, haUk

Javanese (c.) kaleh atus
Javanese ^a.)

Malay dua ratus

Bali hatak

Sunda dua ratus

Lampung rua ratos

Biajuk duwe ratas

Bugis dua ratu

Tiiauri rua-atus
Friendly Islan.
M<yindanao

Madagascar roaa zawto

English four hundred

Javanese (o«) papat-atus, mas

Javanese (c.) kawan-atus

Javanese (a.) i

Malay am pat latus

Bali mas

Sunda opat ratus, mas

Lampung pa ratoa

Biajuk epat ratus

Bugis ^pa ratu

Timuri naah atus

Friendly Islan.

Majindanao

Idadaga&par cffuch zawto

English thousand

Javanese (oJ) hewn
Javanese (c.)

Javanese (a.) sasra

Malay rebu

Bali iwu _

Sunda rewu

L4unpuQg paku

Biajuk rebu

Bugis s&bu
Timuri
Friendly Islan* kiru

eight hundred
wolung atus

English

Javanese (o.)

Javanese (c.)

Javanese (a.)

MaUy

Bali

Sunda

Lampung

Biajuk

Bugis

Timuri

Friendly Islan.

Majindanao

Madagascar varlo atus

dUapan ratus
do-mas
dlUapau ratas
walu ratos •
hanya ratus
arua ratus
walu atus

Majindanao
Madagascar
Papua

libu

arevoi arivou

samfoor, utia

rsamfoor
myrim
Iftkso

English
Javanese (o,)
Javanese (c.)
Javanese (a.)
Malay

BaU
I Sunda

Lampung

Biajuk

Bugis

Timuri ■

Friendly Islan. lau vari

Majindanao laksa

Madagascar

l&kso
lUksa
laksa

sapuluh paku

laksa

lasa

hundr. thoui
k»ti

English
Javanese (o.)
Javanese (c.)
Javanese (a.} k&ti

Malay k&U

Ball k&ti

Sunda k&ii

Lampung laksa

Biajuk — *.

Bugis k&ti

Timuri — — .
Friendly Islan. lau no%

Majindanao . k&ti
Madagascar

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«70

dRfTHNETiC.

English

Javanese (o.)

Javanese (c.)

Javanese (a.)

Malay

Bali

Sunda

Lampung

Biajuk

Bugis

Timuri

Friendly Islan.

Majindanao

Madagascar

Englbh
Javanese (o.)
Javanese (c.)
Javanese (a.)
•Malay
Bali
Sunda
Lampung
Biiyuk
B'ugis
Timuri

Friendly Islan.
Majindanao
Madagascar

million
yuto

yuto

yuta
yuta

— alon

ten millions
tr&ndro

wftndro

English

Javanese ^o.)

Javanese (c.)

Javanese (a.)

Malay

Bali

Sunda

Lampung

Bbguk

Bugis

Timnrl

Friendly Islan*

Majindanao

Madagascar

hundr, millions
boro

boro

English thoui.mHUam

Javanese (o.) plirti
Javanese (c.) ■
Javanese (a.) pSrti

Malay

Bali

Sunda •

Lampung ■
Biajuk — -

Bugis ■ ' ■

Timuri ..

Friendly Islan.

Majindanao

Madagascar ■

ten thous. milL
pSrtomo

English

Javanese (o.)

Javanese (c.)

Javanese (a.) partomo

Malay

Bali

Sunda

Lampung

Bi^uk

Bugis

Tlipuri

Friendly Islan.

Majindanao •

Madagascar •

English

Javanese (o*)

Javanese (c.)

Javanese (a.)

Malay

Bali

Sunda

Lampung

Biajuk

Bugis

Timuri

Friendly Islan*

Majindanao

Madagascar

hunUhous.mU*
gulmo

gulmo

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ABITHMBTICo ^1

Baglisli bSUont

Javanese (o.) kerno

Javanese (c.)

JavaAese (»«) kerno

Malay

Bali

Sunda

Lampung

BiHJuk

Bugis

Timuri

Friendly Islan.

Mttjiodanao

Madagascar

English re» iittiont

Javanese (o.) wurdo

Javanese (c.)

Javanese (a») wsrdo

Malay

Bali

Sunda

Laropuug

Biajuk

Bugis

Timuri

Friendly Islan.

Majindanao

Madagascar

Having rendered this account of the numerah
of the Indian iBhinders, 1 shall proceed to* give %
brief sketch of their measures of capaeity »— of bulk,
---of gravity, and of extent ; concluding with an ac-
count of their money or other standards of ex*
changeable value. On all these cnibjects, we dis*
cover the same rudeness which characterizes their
other institutions and their manners. As we find
them obliged to strangers in their higher improve-
m^itSy so on these humbler matters also their only
precise views are from foreigners.

In the native measures, every thing is estimated
by bulk, and not by weight. Among a rude peo«
pie, com would necessarily be the first commodity^
the value of which would render it a matter of ne«
cessity amd convenience to fix some measure for its
exchange or barter. The mann^ in which this is
effected among the Javanese will point out the im«

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272 ARITHMETIC.

perfection of their methods. Eice, the principal
grain, is in reaping nipped off the stalk, with a few
inches of the straw, tied up in sheaves or parcels,
and thus housed and sold, or otherwise disposed
of. The quantity of rice in the straw, which can
be clenched between the thumb and middle finger,
is called a G&g&m or handful, and forms the lowest
denomination. Three g&gibns or haodfuls make
one Pochangs the quantity which can be clenched
between both hands joined. This is properly a
sheaf. Two sheaves or Pochongs^ joined together,
as is always done foi* the convenience of being
thrown across a stick for transportation, make a
double sheaf or Gedeng. Five Gedengs make a
SonggOy the highest measure in some provinces, or
twenty-four make a Hamate the more general
measure. From their very nature, these measures
are indefinite, and hardly amount to more accura-
cy than we imply ourselves, when we speak of
sheaves of corn. In the same district, they are
tolerably regular in the quantity of grain and straw
they contain ; but such is the wide difference be*
tween different districts or provinces, that the same
nominal measure is often twice, nay three times^
as large in one as in another. Fbr the Hamat or
larger measure, perhaps about eight hundred
pounds avoirdupois, might be considered as a hk
average for the different provinces of Java. Thia

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ABITHMETIC. 878

may cwTey aome loose notion of the qaantities in*
tended to be represented.

For dry and liquid meamires, they have very na-
tprally recourse to the shell of the cooo*nut, and
the joint of a bamboo^ which are constantly at
hand* The first, called by the Makys a Chupa,
is estimated to be two and a half pounds avoirdupois.
The second is called by some tribes kukhf and is
equal to a gallon ; but the most common bamboo
measure is the Ganiung, which is twice this
amount.

To those exact and business-like dealers, the
Chinese! and in a less degree to the Arabs and
people of the east coast of the Indian peninsula,
the Indian islanders are chiefly indebted for any
precision which we find in their weights. In all
the traffic carried on between the commercial tribes
abd foreigners, the Chinese weights, though oeca-
nonally under native names, are constantly referred
to. The lowest of these, called sometimes by the
Bative name of Bungkaly but more frequently by the
Chinese one Tahilt varies from twenty fcfUr penny-
weights nine gnuns to thirty pennyweights and
twenty»one grains. Ten of these make a kaH^ or
about twenty ounces avoirdupois; one hundred
ImHs make a pikul^ or 133^ lbs. avoirdupois ; and
thirty pikuls one koyan. Of these, the kati and
pikul^ because they are constantly referred to in
conudeoihle mercantile dealings, are the <mly well

VOL. I. 8

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274 ARITHMETIC.

defined weights. The Aroyoit by Bome i»
reckoned at twenty jnkulSf by others at twenty-
seven, tw«nty-eight» and^even at for^. The
IXitch are fond of equalizing it with thw own
standards, and consider it as equal to a last or two
tons.

The BaharOf an Arabic weight, is occasionally
used in weighing pepper ; but its amount is very
indefinite, for in some of the countries of the Ar-
chipelago it amounts to ii9ii lbs* avoirdupois, and
in others to 560 lbs.

The nice operation of weighing gold, the only
native commodity which could not be estimated
by tale or bulk, must have given rise to the use of
weights even among the natives themselves* Grains
of rice are still occasionally used in weighing gdid in
Ae neighbourhood of the gold mines of Sumatn.
Whatever those were, they have now been generally
superseded by the more convenient processes of fo-
reignen* In this department, they seem to ham
beenchiefly indebted to the Telingas, who instructed
them in the use of the touchstone and the scale <^
ten test needles, (mutu.) From them, too^ they
have probably borrowed the use of the Saga, Rettig
or Indian pea, as a weight, and even the TakH
though usually considered a Chinese denomina-
tion, which, in we^hing gold, is ccmveniently
reckoned at two Spanish dollars weight. Twen-
ty«four of the scarlet peas, with a black spot, (rii«

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ARITHMETic. 275

kat,) make one Mas^ and sixteen Mas make a Tahil.
Theisie weights are certainly Hindu. The Rakat
is the Raktika or Retti, the Mas evidently the
Masha^ and the Tdhil the Tolaca or Tola; The
corruptions those words have undergone show, that^
unlike others of Hindu origin, they have not been
borrowed fi'om the pure fountain of the SansJorit. *

The foreign origin of the weightsi used by the
Indian inlanders f^ill be obvious endugh from a re-
capitulation of the terms used. The balance Is de-
rived from the western Asiatids, as its name Trazu
or Triyu implies. The Steelyard, as its name
Dadkm imports, is taken from the Chinese. The
KaU IS a Chinese word, and the Pihd is strict-
ly a Chinese weight, as its amount etoctly shows,
though the term happens in this case to be na-
tive. Its meaning, in the vernacular languages,
'is a natural load or burthen ; and when used in this
primitive sense, without reference to the Chinese
weights, is not found to exceed eighty pounds
avoirdupois.

The long measures in use among the inhabitants
of the Archipelago are still mdre undefined than
their measures or weights. Like all other people,
the terms they employ are borrowed from the parts
or members of the human body, as an inch^ a

^ * '* Colebropjc*? Treatise on the Weights add Measures ef
the Hindus."— ^.wVrfic Researches, VoL V.

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9J6 ARITHMETIC.

pigcr^ a span^ a cubit, a faJffiom, ^foot; and die
Oumgkal^ the highest member of the acale, which
implies the utmost length of the human body, from
the extremity of the foot of one side to that of the
hand of the opposite* None of these measures are
reduced in any country of the Archipelago to any
precise or determined standard. From the great
utility of the cubit, and its Sanskrit name, {hasta^}
I suspect that the Hindus may hare, at <Hie pe-
riod, used this measure with moro accuracy.

In countries where thero are no roads, where
the principal conveyance is by water, and where
the paths are circuitous and little frequented, it

' is not reasonable to suppose that any determi-
nate measure of considerable distances should
exist. Such contrivances^ although so fiimiliar to
Europeans, are the result of much improvement
and civilization. The Indian islanders, in travel-
ling, speak of a day's journey, which, with tderaUe
uniformity, may be reckoned at twenty Britisk
miles* By pointing to the situation of the aun,
when they begin and end a journey, they convey
some notion of the distance they have travelled.

. The Javanese, who perform^ from the nature of
their country, the most frequent journeys by land,
sometimes compute distances by the stages at
which a traveller carrying a burthen halts to rest
himself. These, which may be reckoned about
two miles and a half, they designate by the term

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AUTHMSTIC« £77

Uf^utan* In their writings^ but there only, we
find mentien made of the Indian Ytgana.

The modes of reckoning the superficial extent
of cultivated hmd (uncultivated they think no
more of computing than the skies that are over
them) is subject to the same vagueness as the rest
of their measures ; and here, from the character of
the intercourse which they have always had with
the strangersi who, in different periods of their
history, have been connected with them, they have
received no assistance. Those strai^rs were
chiefly occupied in commerce and religion. As
rulers, they were either not civilized enough, or
not powerful enough, to introduce useful improve*
ment ; and as colonists, they were never numerous
enough to take a principal share in the immediate
culture of the soiL

In the measurement of lands, it has been stated
that waste and forest lands are not computed. In
^ general, the same remark may be extended to all
cultivated lands of inferior value, that is, to dry
arable lands. In most parts of Java, it is the va-
luable lands, those which, either by natural or fac-
titious means, can be subjected to the fertilizing
process of submersion, that alone are deemed worthy
of being subjected to the rude and loose standard in
use. The progress of this matter may be curiously
traced as improvement advances. The Sundas or
mountaineers of Java use the indefinite expression

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278 A^ITHftllSTIC.

Luwakf in jeferewe to the meafturem^nt d'laiad;
and the Javanese, the term KotaaUf neither of
wl^ich is a bit more precise than if we were to apeak
of a field or a park. At other times we heiMr of the
land being estimated by the number of yokes of buf-
faloes necessary for its cultivation. The Sundas
term this a panchas^ and the measure, it may be ob-
Sf rv^, is similar to what is called in some parts of
Britain a plough-land. The estimated produce in
rice is another mode of reckoning among the same
people. The term Chaing expresses alike in their
language a measure of rice, varying in different dis-
tricts from about 1000 to 4000 lbs., and the quan^
tity of land calculated to yield such amount. The.
njitives of the island of Bali, on the other hand,
reckon by the seed, and talk of so many seed-
lands. The term which they use is wini^ which
implies a shec^ of seed-corn.

In the progress of society and despotism we find
no longer the existence of a private right of pro* <
perty in the soil, but the land belonging to the
sovereign, and the cultivator attached to it pre-
dially. This has given rise among the Javanese
to the division of land called a Chachah^ exj^ain-
edby the synonym Gawe^ing-wang, or ** a man's
labour.*' The word Chachah literally imports
count or census in the vernacular language ; and
this mode of measurement has reference to an
epumeration of the people made at some andent

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ARITHMETIC. €79

periodt ^th the view of a fiscal arrangement.
The chach ah Is multiplied by 35, and its duplexes*
upwards to many thousands. The words aj^lied
to such terms are the common numerals of the
language, and give us at once — the amount of the
Jand,— of its supposed population,^-and the rank
and income of the officer that presides.

The only measurement among these people
which has reference to the area of the land, is the
Javanese jung^ and its fractional parts proceeding
on the binary scale of computation, down to one*
sixteenth* ^Fhe literal meaning of the word Jung;
in the Javanese language, is a large boat or vessel,
and its application in the present instance may
have some fantastic allusion to the corresponding
immersion of the land in the element of water.
Its principal fractions, as mentioned in another
place, are denominated kikilf a leg or great mem-
^r, that is, one-half; and bahu, a shoulder, or
small member, that is, one-fourth.

Although the jtmg be a measure of the area of
the landi its amount is not fixed in any one pro-
vince, and differs widely in difierent provinces.
Sometimes the paseban^ or court-yard, before the
palaces of the native princes, which are said to
contain two jungs^ are considered the standard,
but these are themselves unequal. When mea-
surements have been actually attempted, the legal
standard is considered to be the staff-stick of the

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S80 ARITHMETIC*

banoaU or state umbrella of the superior ^ief»
but these again vary in length from nine to twelve
feet!

It remains to offer some account of the metallic
currency» or other standards of exchangeable va-
lue, employed by the Indian islanders. The most
marketable article of their native produce appears
among the Indian islanders, as in other rude pe-
riods of society, to have been first employed in
their commerce* Many of the ruder tribes still
continue to employ such articles in 'their dealings,
but coins, either native or foreign, have long been
used by the more improved. Some of the rude
tribes of Sumatra, Borneo, and other islands, em-
ploy, as a standard of value, cakes of benjamin, or
of bees'-wax. Salt, when scarce, is used by others.
Gold dust is used by the tribes in whose country
this precious metal abounds. The improved agri-
cultural tribes in their early history seem to have
used cattle and corn for this purpose. This wt?
the case with the Javanese. In the countries
which produce tin, this metal seems naturally
enough to have been had recourse to as coin. A
few coins of it are occasionally found in Java ; and
the pkhiSf a tin coin, still forms the small curren-
cy of several states, as Palenbang, Achin, Bantanif
Cheribon, and Queda. The pichis are small irre-
gular lamina^ with a hole in the middle for the
convenience of being strung. Five thousand six

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AHimillCTIC* SSl

hmidmd of this minitte coin are coBAidered equal
to a S^panish dollar* A braaa coin, impressed with
a nitii^r of fantastic figures and characters, which
are at. present nnintdligible, formed the most an*
dent money of Java, and great numbers of them
are still, from time to time, to be found* This
was the currency of the Buddhist sovereigns, whos6
empire was at MofopatdU The Mahomedras
who succeeded them coined a smaller money of
the same metal, on which is inscribed, in a circu-
lar dhrection, in the Javanese characters, the wordf
«< Pangeran Ratu^** or the Sovereign Prince.
This refers to Pangeran Sdbrang Ler, a chief who
reigned at D&mak in the beginning of the six*
teenth century. The Chinese and Japanese a]^
pear to have early introduced their brass coins in^
to the Archipelago, and these became current
under the name of Kdngtang. Many of them
are found in the ruins of ancient buildings in J»>
^ va ; and in the island of Bali they are still the
current and only coin.

The poverty and barbarism of the ancient na-
tives of the Archipelago is proclaimed by their ig-
norance of the precious metals as money. Among
the extensive and curious variety of ancient relies
which Java has afforded, and particularly when a
great variety of brass and tin coins has been found,
no gold coin has ever been discovered, and silver
coins only on one or two occasions. In 1814,

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Mf AiLTTBiame.

whUe diief of the pnmni^^ Siiuniiiig, a qaui^
of the latter, contaiiied in a tmall Tesselof earthen*
ware, was, for the first time, brought to myself,
foand near some Hiada ruins in the same, dis-
trict. Tliey consisted of small hntton^ahaped
pieces, eonvex on one side, and concave on die
other. Some rude characters are im^fessed on
lv)th sides, but too much defaced to beinteU^Ue.
Mr Marsden informs me that they bear much re-
semblance to some ancient Hindu coins in his pos-
session. Near the same situation a second sup-
ply of the same coins was afterwards found. This
proves nothrog but the intercourse which the
Hindus (rf* the Deccan had with Java iii early
times ; a fact determined by other and abundant
evidence of a more satisfactory nature.

The Mahomedaas, shortly after establvhing
their religion in the Archipelago, seem to have*
taught the natives the use of gold as a coin. All
the ^d coins which we discover are stamped with ^
Arabic letters, and bear the names of the Maho-
medan sovereigns by whom they were coined.
Coins of this description were struck at Achin,
Queda, and Macassar, termed mas from the name
of the metal. In Achin, the greatest of all the
commercial strtes of the Archipelago, the current
coins were jjnchis and mas, 1500 of the former be- *
ing equal to one of the ktter, which was, itself
equal to fifteenpence sterling. The value of thy

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AuraifBTie. fSS

yreckms: metal iiew$^ amon^ the Ariiinese, to have
been estisiated in higer quaatkiety . not by tale^
but wjeightfOr, »t Jeast, no eoins existed beyond
the mas. Five tahila ^ade a bungkal, and twen-

. ^y bungkals one kaU.

On the subjeet of then: eoina» the natives ^ the
Archipelago display the same facility m adopting
the institutions .a£ olJier people, whidi marki
^be rest of their ehanicter> and. which always dis-
tipguishes them in so remarkable a memier from
all the civilised nations of Asia, bnt especially the
Hindus. The Javanese had hardly been acquaint-^
ed with the Hollanders in die reign of the second
prince of the house of Mataram, when they adopt*
sd the Dutch doit, which has ever since conti«^
uued to be the smaller currency of the iidand*
As the principal money of the Ardbupelago, the
gpaqish dollar, or piece of e^ht, haa long been
established. From ita Dntch mme pMrnat^ a

Corruption of '^ Spamih mat^^ Spanish piece, we
may presume that the HoUanders were chiefly
instrumental in introducing it. JBeskles the Spa^
nish dollar, almost every silver or gold coin of
Europe, Asia, or America, may be found in circu-
lation in the Indian islands. This distracting
variety of coins, which chiefly prevails in Java,
ought to be banished. The Spanish dollar, and
its fractional parts, with a copper currency of cents
and half cents would be substituted with great
convenience and advantage*

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2gi AEITHMBTIC.

Of late jet^ the Europeati gov^mments of
Java made vaiiooa mjudicioiu attempts to establish
a pttp^ cunrency in that island. The. want of
credit and stability in these govermnents them-
selves, and the excessive issues of notes, occasicmed
to the public the greatest confusion and distress.
The notes were often at a discount in the market,
which reduced them to a fifteenth part of their no-
minal value. The establishment of a paper cur*
rency, notwithstanding these Mures, would be
productive of much advantage as a measure of eco-
nomy to the state, and of facility and dispatch in
commercial transactions. In framing regulations
for such currency, the ignorance, supineness, and
inexperience of the great buUc of the native popida-
tion should be considered. The notes should be con-
fined to laige paymoits,— they should be converti-
Ue into gold or silver at pleasure, — ^they should be
fidbricated with a skill adequate to defeat die clum-
sy forgeries of the Chinese ; and the inscription*
might, as well with this view, as for general infor-
mation, be in the Chinese, in two native languages,
and an European one.

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' ' ^ '

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-=^^^>>^iSt^

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CHAPTER 11.

CAUBNDAIU

formation tf a calendar malxs a certain step in thepn>grt»$
of cvoilixaiion anu>ng all naJtiong.,-^avanese^ the only na-
lion of the Archipelago that had a national calendar. — Ja*
vanese divisions of the day, — Week of Jive day$.^^Week of
seven days, — Civil year* — Rural year ; description of it,
-^ Hindu calendar and era — Era of Salivana still current

' in the island of Bali. — Houbo modijied hy the Javanese

• Lunar time of the Arabst adopted by all the tribes convert^
edto Mahomedanism except the Javanese, — Cydes^-^Edip-
ses. — Cahddar of the Bugis of Celebes.

An attention to the division of time, and the tor-
mation of a calendar! appear in all nations, and
among all tribes, to characterize a certain early pe*
riod of the progress of civilization* This period ap-
pears to be that in which religion begins to acquire
a powerful ascendancy over th^ minds of men, and the
national worship to assume a systematic fona. An
attention to the motions of the heavenly bodies, and
the regulations of the seasons, becomes in such a
itate of society a powerful instrument in the hands of
the priesthood ; and it is certainly from this cause
that the science of astronomy receives an attention,
which, in so rude a state of society, appears other*
wi^e premature. Religious motives gave rise then, in

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286 CALENDAB.

all likelihood, to the fonsation of a calendar i
the early Romans, the early Greeks, the Egyptians,
the Hindus, and Chinese, the most distinguished bw*
barians of the old wQriiL On the same pnncqide, the
most civilized nations of America had also their ca«
lendars, the Aztecs of Mexico, the Ptfuvians, and the
Muy seas of the plains of Bogota. Turning to the n**
lions whose history and manners I am writing, we
find an exactly parallel case. The Javanese, the
most civilized nation of the Archqpelago, had their
distinct national calendar.

It is probable, that the first calendar of all the
nations, whose names I have enumerated, was in-
vented among themselves; but that, in the progress
of the intercourse of mankind, that of foreigners
was superadded. With respect to the calendar of
the Javanese, language affords the most unques-
tionable evidence of this fact ; and it is probable^
that a similar explanation will account for the per<-
plexities of the Hindu calendar, which has borrow-
ed so largely from the Greek, of the Greek whidi
borrowed from the Egyptian, and of the Chinese
which borrowed fix)m the Hindu. With regard to
these nations, language will not afford, I imagine,
the same satisfactory evidence, for the Indian
islanders received the language of their instructors
from the purest and most uncorrupted channd;
and their simplicity of character hindered them from
disguising what they borrowed. The more un-.

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CALENDAR. 287

tradable idioms of the more dvilisEed nations of tiie
continent ^thor rejected a fore^ language alto-
gether* or tbe pride and interests of more artful
men led them to conceal the sources of their pla-

I shall now proceed to raider an account of the
Javanese calendar. The division of time among
the Javanese is partly native, partly Hindu, and
pertly Arabic ; we may even add, that it is in some
small part European. Of the different forms
borrowed from these various sources some are
ki use, but many obsolete. The Javanese have
uo esact mode of dividing the day, and neither
gnomon, hour-glass, or other contrivance for as-
certaining diurnal time. With reference, I ima-
gine, to the quinary scale of notation, they di-
vide the day into the following ten natural,
bat vague and unequal subdivisions: mornings
^frenoan, noon, qftemootiy decline of the day^
gunsetf evening^ night, midnight, decline of night
The vernacular language has specific names for
each of these. The civil day of the Javanese
thus commences with sunrise. For astrological
purposes, the day of twenty-four hours is divid-
ed into five parts, of each of which a principal
deity of the Hindu mythology is the regent.
Keference to the usual period of performing
the moat important of the familiar occupations
gf the husbandmen are not unfrequent modes of

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f88 CALENDAR.

feferring to the hour of the day. Thus, tbey
say, ^' when the buflalo is sent to the pas-
tures/' '* when the bufl&Io is brought back from
his pasture," or •* when the bu^o is housed,*'
&c. But the most usual mode of all is by point*
mg to the situation of the sun in the heavens,
when such and such an event took place, a prac-
tice sufficient for common purposes in latitudes
where the length of the day and night is almost al-
ways nearly the same. * The mode of determin-
ing the hour of the day by the length of the sha*
dow has not altogether escaped the observation cS
the Indian islanders, though it be not of Amiliar

* *^ To denote the time of day at which any circumstaiice
they find it necessary to speak of happened, they point with
their finger to the height in the sky at which the sun then
stood. And this mode is the more general and precise, as
the sun so near the equator ascends and descends ahnost
perpendicularly, and rises and sets at all seasons of the year,
witliin a few minutes of six o'clock.** — Marsden's Sumatra,
p. 194. — " The epochas of the day and the night, which cor-
respond nearly to our hours, 3, 9, 15, 21, astronomical time,
had no particular times. The Mexicans, to denote them,
pomted, as our labourers do, to the place of the sky where
the sun would be in folloiving his course from east to west;
this gesture was accompanied by these remarkable words^
Is Teotly there God mil be s an expression which recalls that
happy period, when the people emigrated from Aztlan
knew yet no other divinity than the sun, and were addicted
to no sanguinary rite.**— Vues dans tes C&rdiUeres dei AneUh
par Mon. Humboldt et Bonpkmd.

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OALBKOA R. 289

application. In some of their written composif*
tions, for example, I find a traveller described as
setting out on a journey, or arriving at the end of
it, when his shadow 'was so many feet long f Nei-
ther the Javanese nor any other of the tribes of
the 'Archipelago have adopted the Arabian or
Hindu subdivisions of the day. The European
division of the day into hours, which they designate
by the Persian word Jamy and into minutes and
seconds, has some currency among them, and the
more*inf(mned are aware of its convenience. With
more intercourse it would be universally adc^t*
ed.

The Javanese have a native week besides the
usual week of seven days borrowed first from the
Hindus and then from the Arabs, The original ,
Javanese week, like that of the Mexicans, * consists
of five days, and its principal use, like that of the

* " Each Mexican month of twenty days was subdivided
into four small periods of five days. At the beginning of
those periods every commune kept Jts fair> tianguiztlL The
Muyscas, a nation of South America^ had weeks of three
days. It appears ,that no nation of the new continent was
acquabted with the week or cycle of seven days whidi we
find among the Hindus^ the Chinese^ the Assyrians^ and the
Egyptians^ and which, as Le Gentil has very justly observ-
ed, is followed by the greater part of the nations of the old
wQrlAJ'^^HumbMtf Fues dans les CordiUeres des Andesn

VOL. I. T

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900 CALENDAR.

same peopde^ is to determine the markets or fiurs
held in the principal villages or districts* This ar-
bitrary period has probaUj no better foundation
than the relation of the numbers to that of the
fingers of the hand. The names of the days of
this week are as follow: Laggi^ Pahingj Pon,
Wagit KUwon. The etymology of these words
would assist our researches, but such is their an-
tiquity or obscurity, that, with the exception of
the term L&ggij which means s?weeU and which
interpretation is probably accidental, no vestige of
their derivation is discoverable. The Javanese
consider the names of the days of their native
week to have a mystical relation to colours, and to
the divisions of the horizon. According to this
whimsical interpretation, the first means white^
and the east; the second, red^ and the south;
the third, yellow^ and the west; the fourth, black,
and the north ; and the fifth, mia^ed colour, and
Jbcus, or centre.

It is highly probable, that, like the week of the
continental nations of Asia and Europe, the days
were named after the national gods. In an an*
cient manuscript found in Java, which will be af-
terwards referred to, the week of five days is re-
presented by five human figures, two of which are
female, and three male. As far as can be con-
jectured from the rudeness of the representations.

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CAUBmAlU Ml

two of the male figures are engaged in deeds of
violence, the first seizing a suppliant by the hair of
the heady and the second pointing a drawn sword
at another. The third holds a spear in his hand,
and is leading a bull, probably in reference to that
great step in the progress of society implied by tha
taming of cattle. The two female figures seeoa
engaged in peaceful occupations. One appears
holding a shell or horn to receive an oflfering from
a votary who is presenting it, and the other holds
in her hand what appears some production of agri-
cultural labour.

In reference to its application to the market-
days this week is called Pdkdnaih which means
market-time ; occasionally we hear it called Pan^
ehawarat which implies in Sanskrit a period of
five days, a name probably given to it in compara*
tively recent times, and in contradistinction to the
Hindu week of seven days*

The Hindu week of seven days was once esta«
blished in Java, and still prevails in the island of
Bali. The following names of the days of which
it is coipposed are almost purely Sanskrit, and
confirm the identity.

Diti> or Daitya Sunday

Soma Mondajr

Angara Tuesday

Badha Wednesday

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39^ CALENDAR.

Wraspati Thursday

Sukra Friday

Saniscfaara Saturday.

The different circamstances under whtch the
Indian islanders and the nations of the ooiitinrat
of Asia and Europe adopted these terms for the
days of the week, illustrates the different diaracten
and states of society of the people. The same ar-
bitrary number of this period,-— the nunes of the
days borrowed from the same mythological . per-
sonages, and in the very same order, decide the
identity of the week ; but it requires SQBue philo*
logical skill to determine that identity in the ori«
gin of the terms, which, with the civilited nations
of the continent, are translationSf hut, with the
simple tribes of the Archipelago, literal trimscr^ts^
which give us no trouble to decypher.

Except in reference to the markets, when tb^
native week is constantly used, the Arabic week,
the days of which are, as usual, called in their or-
der by the ordinal numerals of that language, is at
present current in Java, and every other Mahome-
dan country of ^he Archipelago.

Before the Javanese had any communication
with the Hindus, they seem to have had a civil
and a rural calendar. This curious fact we are en-
abled to ascertwi from the evidence of language.
From the innovations which we presume to have

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CALENDAR. 29S

been introduced bj the Hindus, and from the im-
perfect knowledge transmitted to us respecting in-
stitutions, the greater portion of which have no
longer any existence, much difficulty arises in de-
termining the precise nature of these calendars.
The slender knowledge I possess on this subject
I shall lay before the render, without attempting
any general reasoning on a subject for which my
knowledge is so incompetent*

The civil year af^aears to hare been divided in«
to thirty portions called Wuhh for each of which
thera was an appropriate name. These names
have been handed down to us, and are purely na-
tive. They are now api^ied to no purpose but
that of judicial astrology, and with this view the
whole thirty are divided into six dasses, while
each individual fVuku has for its regent a deity of
the Hindu mythology. The WuJms ^dthej^
regents are as follow :

1. Stnto Yaraa

2. Landap Mahadews

3. Wukir Kuwira

4. KarantH Purasangkara
a. Tola BtLju

6. Gombr«g CMra (Sakra)

7* Wmrig«alit Aapiara (Iswara)

8., Warig-agung Pancharasmi (Planet BudnJ

9* Julung-wangi Sambu

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CAIiXKDAIU

IFuku

10. Sungsang

11. Galungan

12. KuniDgan
IS. Langker

14. Mandniya

15. Julung-pHJiid

16. Pahang

17. Kurulut

18. Marake

19. TaiDbir

M. Madangkuogan
91. Matal
%2 Wuye
2S. ManahU
f4. Prangbakat
tt. Bala
t& Waku
97. Wayaqg

28. Kuiawa

29. Dukut

30. Watugunring

Begeni

Gana (Ganesa)

Kamajaya

Uma

Kala

ftrahaa

Mabeswara

Guritna

Wesnu

Suragana

Siwa

Aagnpati

Sakri

Kuwera

Chitragatra

Bayu

Daxga

Siogha^jalM

Dewi Sri

P&rrnaraja

Sukri

Antabaga & Naga-giri

It is remarkable that, in a language all the
proper names of which are significant^ we diould
hardly be able to trace a vestige of the derivation
of the names of the Wukw. For astrological pur-
poses the thirty wukua are divided into six pe-
riods, each of w;hi€h is considered to be unpro*
pitious to some pwrtion of animal or v^petaUe
nature. Thejirst is considered unpropitioua to
man, the second to quadrupeds, the tiiird to trees»

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CALEN0AB. 295

iiaefourA to birds, ihejifth to seeds or vegetables,
and tbe shth to fishes. Each of these 4iv]8ioii8
has been said to consist of thirty-five days or
seven Javanese weeks, which would make the ancient
Javanese year a cycle of SIO days. I rather sus*
pect that it consisted of twice that number, or
420, and that the Wukw expressed fortnights or
half lunations. This interesting point would be
determined by investigations conducted in the
island of Bali, where I hwe reason to believe
that this civil, or rather ritual year or period
atiU obtains. When I visited it, I regret that
my previous information did not enable me to
enter upon the investigation. The ekventb and
twelfUi Wukus are also the names of the two
great Balinese festivals, which follow each ether
at short intervals. They are periods of joy and
festivity ; and it will be seen, that, in the list of
the WukuSf they are appropriately under the pro*
tection of the Hindu Cupid axiA Venus.

The rural or rustic year of the Javanese is
much better known than the civil or religious
one. This year, in fact, still obtains in Bali and
Java, as applied to agricultural economy. It is
an embolimie year of 3G0 days, divided into
months or rather seasons, (^Mangsa in the Java*
nese language,} twelve in number of unequal
lengths. Hiese seasons are as follows :

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396 CALENDAB*

KosOf or the 1st, consuts of 41

Karo, or the ^d, S3

KatigOy or the 3d, 24

Kapat, or the 4th, U

KaliiDOy or the dtb, 26

Kanam^ or the dth* 41

Kapita,orthe7th, 41

Kawolu.orthe 8th, 26

KasongOy or the 9tb, 25

Kas&puluh, or the iOth, 25

Dafltoyor tliellth, 23

Sodoy or the l2th, 41

The first ten of these tenns are the ordinal
numerals of the vernacular language of Java, which
certifies the indigenous origin of this calendar*
The terms for the eleventh and twelfth seasons
are, however, not the corresponding numerals of
the Javanese, and their etymology has escaped my
research. I had expected to have found them
Sanskrit, but am assured, on a high authority,* that
to this source they cannot very obviously be tra-
ced. Did the year of the Javanese, at its first
institution, consist like that of the Romans of ten
months or seasons only, and were the two addi-
tional seasons added by thfi Brahmins to make the
year correspond with their own ? This rustic calen-
dar prevails in Bali as well as in Java, but it is remark-

• Mr H. T. Colebrooke.

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CALBNDAB. 297

able, that, in the former, the year is made to com*
mence with the eleventh season, instead of that
which is first in numerical order. According to
the Javanese arrangement of the seasons, the year
is made to commence with the winter solstice ;
and I presume that the Brahmins of Bali throw
its beginning back to April, to make it correspond
with the Hindu yean It is well known that,
about the period of the establishment of the Ma«
homedan religftonin Java, a new form of tlinduism
was introduced in Bali, that the Brahmins must
consequently hare acquired new influence, and
may he conjectured, therefore, to have improved
or innovated upon the calendar.

That the Javanese were the inventors of this
rural calendar is detennined by its application to
their climate, and to the peculiar modifications of
the seasons, which is applicable to no other great
country of the Archipelago. The evidence af>
forded by language is still more precise. In Baii,
an island in the same parallels of latitude, and with
corresponding seasons, the seasons are of the same
length, and the arrangement, except in the par-
ticular already alluded to, the same as in Java,
but the names of the seasons are not designated
from the vernacular language of Bali, but from
that of Java.

From the description of the rural economy of

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f98 CALEITOAR.

the people, we conclude, that, at the period of the
iBventJoii of the calendar, the Javanese had ac*
quired oongiderable dsill in agriculture. The sea-
sons aie principally determined by the culture of
the most improved branch of theb husbandry^ die
great riee crop, oultivated in the hot phuns on die
level of the sea.

The following brief description of the character
of the seasons, and the occupations of the husband-
man, are almost literally trandated from the writ-
ings of the natives.

The^r^^ season is characterised by the &IIing
of die leayea. Let the husbandman bum the dty
grass, and cut down the trees, for the cultivafcioa
of the mountain rice, {Humah.)

The second season is characterised by the com*
meficement of vegetation.

In the Mrd season wild plants are in Uossonu
Let the husbandman occupy himsdf in planting
the yam, pulses, and other secondary crops.

The Jburth season is the season of love, or of die
congress of sexes vrith wild animals. In this sea-
son high winds prevail, and the rivers b^in to
swell.

In thejfSj^ season, let the husbandman ^lepave
the implements of husbandry prepuratory to the
greiat rice culture, and let him adjust the water-
courses, and repair the dikes.

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CALBNPAIW 299

In the sisth season, let the husbandman employ
himself in ploughing^ and in sowing the great
rice crop.

In the seventh season, let him transplant th^
rice^ and ac^ust the water-courses.

In the eighth season, the rice plants begin to
blossom, and rise to the height of the dikes of ir-
rigation.

In the ninth season, the seed forms in the rico
l^ants.

The tenth season is characterized by the rice
turning yellow, and beginning to ripen.

In the eleventh season, the rice crop is ripe, and
harrest commences.

In the twelfth season the cold weather or win**
ter begins, and the rice harvest is finished and
housed.

Although the divisions of the rural year are
founded in a good measure on the character of the
seasons, and diqilay a minute acquaintance with
them, the arrangement is still in some degree arbi-
trfuy, for, on inspection, it will be seen that the
first and last seasons, and so on in this order with
the rest, exactly correspond, except in thei third
and ninth, apd the fourth and tenth, where there
18 a discrepancy of one day.

To determine the seasons is the business of the
Brahmins in Bali, and of the village priests in

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900 CALEKDAR.

Java. This is done by a gnomon of rude eon-
8tructi(Hi, having a dial divided into twelve parts.
This instrument, called a Banchet, is represented
in one of the plates.

A rural year, similar to the one now described,
appears to have at one time prevailed in Sumatra,^
and was probably a modification of that of Java.

The Hindus of the Deccan introduced into
Java and Bali, and most j^bably into Sumatra
also, their calendar and eras. The civil year in
Bali is at present the lunar embolimic year of Saka
or Salivana^ as its name, borrowed hom the Sans-
krit, distinctly implies, (Saka warsa chandra*J
The months are lunar months, considered as subdi-
visions of the solar year. The year of Saka in Bali

* In some dibtricts much confusion in regard to the pdrioil
of sowing is said to have arisen from a very extraorctinarj
cause.. ** Anciently/' say ti;c natires, ** it was regulated by
the stars, and particularly by the appeamnce (heliacal rising)
of the Biniang^ Buniakf or Pleiadei; but, after the introdue*
tion of the Mahomedan religion, they were induced to follow
the returns of the Puasa^ a great annual fast, and forget their
old rules. The consequence of this was obvious ; for the liu
nar year of the Hegha being eleven days short of the sydereal
or solar year, the order of the seasons was soon inverted ; and
it ia only astonishing that its inaptneas to the purpoaet of agri*
culture should not have been immediately discovered**'*—
MorsdeiCt Sumatra, p« 71«

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CALENDAR* 901

agrees with the same era, as most commonly re-
cognised in the Dedcan, being seventy-eight years
short of the vulgar time. This proves, that, in a
period of three centuries and a half, during which
the intercourse with the continent of India has
been interrupted, the priests of Bali have perform-
ed the intercalation with accuracy.

In the days of Hinduism in Java the same era
also obtained, and was even persevered in for 155
years after the introduction of Mahomedanism.
In the year 1555 of Salivana, or 1633 of ours, in
the reign of the Great Sultan^ the lunar year of
the Mahomedans was adopted, without adopting, .
at the same time, the year of the Hegtra. The
consequence is, that upwards of five years have
been apparently added to the year of Salivana,
and the present year 17^2 of that era is the 1747
of the era of Java. This is similm: to the change
effected by the innovations of the Mahomedans in
the era of the people of Bengal.

Vestiges of the existence of the months of the tro-
pical year of the Hindus are to be discovered in some
of the ancient monuments of Java, but they were
probably never current. The months were perhaps
always lunar, at least we find that the same term
almost invariably expresses month and moon in
every language of the Archipelago, and in every
. modification of dialect. Of the Hindu division of

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90S CALKNDAK.

the year into seaflona of two months, friiu^} and of
the monl^fl into fortnights, fpacsha^J I cim dis-
coverno relics among the Indian islanders.

In all the Mahetnedan countries of die Archi-
pelago except Java, the era of the flight of the
prophet has been uniTersally introduced, and eveiy
where the lunar time, and all its inconyeniendes,
with the Arabian names of the months and days
of the week.

With respect to the cycles and periods of the
Javanese and Balinese I have not much informa-
tion to supply* The native term Windu expresses
a cycle in the Javanese language. The first which
I shall mention is a period of seven years» each
year of which is distinguished, as by the Siamese,
the Tibettans, and others, by the names of am'^*
mals.

These names are as fbUow :

Mangkaraj the prswo.
Menday tbe goat.
Kalabangj the centipiedi
WiehitrAj the worm.
Mmiunat tke fish*
Woi^ the scorpion.
MaishOf the buffalo*

Most of these names are Sanskrit ; but, indepen*
dent of this evidence, we may infer from the num-
ber sevett the continental or^n of this cycle, for
we no where discover among the natives of the In-

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^ dkn Ulands a predilection for that number* This
Hindu period is new current under an Arabinn
form, each year being recognized by a letter of the
Arabic al[^abet. This, then^ in its present form,
is the Arabic xveek of years.
, The next cycle is one of twelve years, taking its
name from the twelve signs of the zodiac. The
Javanese and people of Bali received this division
of the eclyptic from the Hindus ; but the only use
they appear to have made of it is to give name to
the years ef this cycle of twelve years» which are
as follows: Mesa^ Mrua^ Mituna^ KarkuUh
SmghOf Kan^^ JulOy Wrkhika^ Danu, Makara^
KimihM^ Mina. These, with no extraordinary
deviation of orthography, ^re Sanskrit, and as dieir
names in that langw^ import^ are represented bf
a ram, a bull, a crab, a lion, a virgin, a balance, a
scorpion, a bow and arrowj a prawn, a water-pott
and a fidi« The only anomaly regards the sign
gemini or the twins, which is represented in the
Javanese signs by a butterfly. In 1813, I dis-
covered an ancient manuscript in Cheribon, con-
tuning rej^esentations of these agns, and a great
number of copper cups, bavii^ figures of them in
relief, have been found in the central and eastern
provinces of Java. Besides the signs of the zodiac,
we find represented upon these a variety of sym-
bolical figures which oinnot be decyphered, some
of men and some of animals.

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804 CALENDAR. ^

Two Other cycles, one of twenty and one ot
thirty years, are mentioned by the Javanese. It 19
probable that the first is a native period, fonnded
upon some revolution of the smaller divisions of
their time. The last is the great cycle of the
Mabomedans* The Hindu cycle of sixty years is
not, to my knowledge, known to any of the Indian
islanders.

Of the Yugas or great fabulous ages, or periods
of the Hindus, the Indian islanders know little
more than the names, and the legendary circum-
stances connected with them. These names, as the
Indian islanders pronounce them, are as follow:
Karta-yogOf Treta-yoga^ Dwa-para-yoga^ and
Kali-yogcu The specific duration of each is not
given, but the moderate period,~>moderate if com*
pared with the extravagance of the Hindu calcula^
t]ons,«-»of the whole is reckoned to be, to the pre*
sent times, 16,767 years, or to the commencement
^f the era of Saka^ 15,0^ years.

I was informed in Bali, that the Brahmins of
that island could calculate an eclipse from tables
in their possession, and the priests of Java, in the
days of Hinduism, had the same skill. All thil
knowledge was £rom India, and the superstitious
opinions an4 ceremonies Connected with the ap*
pearance of an eclipse, were borrowed from the
same country, and embodied with the popular wor-
ship. In every improved hunguage of the Ardii^i

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CAtBKDAl. S05

pelago^ an eclipse is called GnAana^ and the dra-
goxii which the Hindus sujqfMMe attempts to de«
your the luminaiy, Rahu^ both of them pure San*
akrit words. The Malays sometimes call an eclipse
^ the derouring by the dragon, makan Rahu.^*
Hiere is to this day hardly a country of the Aiv
chipelagO'in which the ceremony of frightening
^e supposed monster from his attack on the lumi-
nary is not performed. This consists in shouting,
in striking gongs^ but, above all| in striking their
stampers against the sides of the wooden mortar^
which are used by the villagers in husking their
com.

The Javanese are the only nation of the Archi-
pelago that had a native calendar, as far as we can
now ascertain. The Bugis, by far the most nu-
merous, and, generally, the most powerful and ci«
vilized nation of Celebes, though they have now
adopted the lunar reckoning of other Mahomedans,
had once a solar year of 365 days, and specific
names for each month. The year is said to have
commenced witk the l6th of May, and to hay^
consisted of twelve months, which, with the }eBgth
of each, were as follow :

Sanwaoft

80 da^.

Mangalompae

Sldayt.

Fadrowanae

Nayae

Sujewj

Palagunae

Pachekae

31 ■

Besakae

Pasae

Jetae

SO-

Mangaseraing

Mangaauteve

365

VOL. I.

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S06 CALEHDAlt*

When these tenns are examined, we ditanrer
that six of them at least are the Sanskrit names of
the Hindu months. They appear, however, which
is a singular fact, not to be in order the names of the
corresponding Hindu months, but to be! very wan-
tonly transposed. From this circumstance, from the
year commencing with May instead of April, and
from the positive numerical length of the months,
we may suspect that the fiugis year is the relic of
an indigenous calendar not very judiciously mo-
dified by the Hindus. Among the fiugis there is,
at the same time, no vestige of any' Hindu epocha
as among the Javanese. It is not improbable that
their mode of recording dates was by the length of
their kings' reigna as in China. Jt is on this prin-
ciple, probably, that we have to explain the care
with which, even in their rude annals, the length of
each sovereign's reign, before the introduction of
Mabomedanism, is given. Thus we have ** Latang
ri Suki reigned twenty-seven years.'* *^ King
.Botee reigned twenty-five years." << King J3o-
konge reigned thirty years," &;c. &c. We find no
such notices in the annals of any of the other
tribes, even in those of the more civilized Java-
nese.

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CHAPTER III.

KAVIOATIOM AND OSOOBAPHT*

Itidian i$landers^9m tieir geographical sknaiiont nacessarHjf
a maritime p€ople*^'Tkeir maritime enterprises have never
extended beyond those countries in the immediate neighbour^
hood of their oton. — Their voyages usually coasting voyages.
•^Favoured by the steadiness of the monsoons^ th&f occasion'
ally assume a bolder character.^^Derive some assistance
Jroin observing the heavenly bodies^ and now and then have
recourse to the eompassw^The compass knovm to them by
a native name. — Possibly acquired in their intercourse toitk
the Chinese. — Division of the circutnference of the horizon
by the Malays. — Inferences regarding their history and
origin to be dravanfrom the nature of the terms used.^'Di*
vision of the circumference of the horizon by tie Javanese
less perfisct*-^By the minor tribes^-^Jndian islanders have
no specific term to distinguish the monsoons. — Ignorance of
the Indian islanders on the subject of geography ^-^ Hardly
know any foreign country but by name.^' Very imperfect
knowledge of the countries they inhabit fhemselves^'^They
have no name by which to distinguish the whole group^^^
Generally ignorant of the insular form of the principal
islands* — The word island used by them in a very circum*
scribed sensc-^Principle on which names are given. — Hin*
dus and Arabs proved^Jrom the evidence of language, to
have been ignorant of the true geography and topography
of the Archipelago.

Ik rendering an account of the state of navigation
and gec^ra^y among the Indian ialandenii it will

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SOS NAVIGATION AND 6B0GRAPHT.

be their ignorance rather than their knowledge
that will constitute the principal matter of discus-
sion.

From the nature of the countries they inhabit,
the islanders are necessarily a maritime people. If
such a state had been one favourable to the progress
of society, we should have discovered among the In-
dian islanders a higher civilization than they are
found to possess ; but maritime skill is rather a symp-
tom than a cause of improvement, and the peculiar
advantages of their maritime situation, in the early
periods of their progress, would be of little service
to a rude people, ignorant of agriculture, and,
therefore, destitute of the only means of insuring
the ease and . comfort necessary to the progress of
civilization.

Favoured by the advantages of seas without tem-
pests, so narrow that every voyage is nearly a coast-
ing one ; and by the certainty and steadiness of
the periodical winds, the Indian islanders navigate
in very slender barques the whole extent of the
Archipelalgo, and among people sou rude may be
looked upon as the greatest of navigators. Tet
their enterprise has' never, if we except occasional
voyages to Siam, the countries which lie between
thiis last and China, and the well known voyages
to the coasts of New Holland, extended beyond
the limits of their own seas. The facilities a£Porded
t6 tlteir navigation in these disqualify them from

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KAVIOATION AND GEOGBAPHT. 309

contending with the perils of a new element, and
must be considered as hostile to the generation of
hardihood and intrepidity even at home.

The navigation of the Indian islanders, as just
observed, is nearly throughout a coasting one. The
shores, headlands, and other land-marks, are their
principal guides. During the most boisterous period
of the monsoons, or for protection against occasional
bad weather, their vessels, like the craft of the polish-
ed people of ancient Europe, can, from their small
size, be hauled ashore or brought into creeks. Every
little creek or inlet is with them a harbour. * The
e^iacious havens, which afford shelter to our ship-
ping, are not frequent in the Indian Archipelago,
but their absence is no inconvenience in the pre-
sent state of native navigation.

Trusting chiefly to the steady course of the
monsoons, both in respect to force and direction,
the most .enterprising of the Indian navigators fire*
quently pursue a bolder tract, and quitting sight
of land, make by a direct course for their port of
destination. The greater voyages of the commer-
cial tribes of Celebes are conducted on this prin-
ciple ; and in sailing the broader portions of the
seas of the Archipelago, European vessels often
discover their little 'projbs proceeding with confi-
dence at a great distance from land. The practi«

• PMIabukan^ '^ place of anchoring.*'

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310 NAVIGATION AND GEOGRAPHY.

ca] knowledge acquired by a long course of local
experience is their principal guide, but they re-
ceive some assistance from an observation of the
course of the heavenly bodies ; and the compass is
sometimes had recourse to. At what period tins in*
strument was introduced among them, or whether
they had any knowledge of the polarity of the magnet
before their intercourse with Europeans, it is difficult
to determine. The term by which the natives of the
western portion of the Archipelago, at least, de-
signate the mariner^s compass is a native one.
Tlie word is Pandoman^ which seems, by the
usual rule of etymology, to be derived from the
Javanese verb dom, to subdivide or partition,
possibly in reference to the appearance of the
card. While the Arabs and other western Asiatics
designate the compass by an European name, it ia
rather remarkable that the islanders should employ
a native one. The circumstance may, after all, be
purely accidental ; though it may be suggested, as a
conjecture not altogether improbable, that the Chi-
nese may have introduced to the knowledge of the
Indian islanders some toy founded on the polarity
of the magnet, the name of which would be ap«
plied to the mariner's compass when they acquired
the use of it from the Arabs. The Indian islanders
had unquestionably an earlier intercourse with that
people than with the Arabs or Europeans, but lan-
guage affords us no means of determining the ex-

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NAVIGATION AND GEOGRAPHY. 311

tent of the obligations to which the Indian island-
ers are under to the Chinese in matters of im-
provement, for the oral languages of China are so
dissonant, so disgusting, and so much unintelli-
gible to the people of every other country, .that
these seem always to reject them. This may be
the reason why the Indian islanders designate the
mariner's compass by a native term.

It will be a matter of curiosity to examine the
principle, and describe the mode in which the Indian
islanders divide the circumference of the horizon ;
and those who feel that a careful examination of
language affords the only rational means of ascer-
taining the eiEurly progress of society among a rude
people, will pardon the length to which the disqui-
sition will be pursued.. The Malays divide the
horizon into eight parts. The north is called
Utara^ and the south S&latan. The east, Timur,
and the west, BaraU are subdivided into three
parts each. The north-east is called Fadings the
true east Jatif and the south-east Tdnggara. The
north-west is called Laut, the true west Tdpatf
and the south-west Daya. Eight additional
points, making the whole sixteen, are occasion*
ally formed for technical purposes, by placing
the word samata^ literally an eye, but here ex*
pressing a point of the compass, between the
primary terms, as Barat sa^mata Utara, west-
north-west.

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1 12 NAVIOATION AND 6B00EAPHT.

An eyamination o^ the hiiguage in wbicb tboe
i^as are clodied, points at some curious raniks
which it is not foreign to our sulgect to describe.
Some of the terms have, indeedt apparently become
obsolete, but the meaning of others is sufficiently
plain. Among a maritime people like the Malays,
the division of the horizon must necessarily have a
reference to the winds, and the terms appear con*
sequently to be borrowed from this obvious
source. We can have no scruple in deciding that
the terms now used had not their origin in Menang^
kabaOi the parent country of the Makys, but with
the colony established in the Malayan Peninsula.
The first term, Utara or the north, is capriciously
enough derived from the Sanskrit. The second
term, S&latan or the south, must, I think, be bor-
rowed from Sdlat, a strait or narrow sea; and
here evidently refers to those straits which divide
Sumatra from the Malayan Peninsula. The name,
then, must have been bestowed by the people of
the Peninsula, and, of course, means the wind
from ** the straits ;" that is, from the south. Ac-
cording to the Malayan subdivision of the horizon,
the points have principally a reference to the east
and west. This determination has evidently a re-
ference to the monsoons which blow from these
quarters. Of these, the westerly monsoon, fmm
its strength and danger, assumes with the naviga-
tor the highest rank in interest and importance.

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NAVIGATION AND GEOGRAPHY. SIS

The tenn which, in Maky, expresses the west is
BaraL In Javanese, the same word means wind
in general ; fof which, in Malay, there is no spe«
cific expression. Is Barat a word of the great Poly-
nesian language, and from being a generic term,
did the Malays for distinction apply it specifically
to the west ? The word tdpatis added to it, to dis-
tinguish it from the north-west dxA south^west^ to
which, as already stated, the common term Barat is
also applied. The former is denominated Barat'
lout, or the west wind from the ocean. This also
points plainly enough to the country of the people
who gave the name. The north-west wind blows
upon the extremity of the Peninsula from the
open sea or great gulf of Bengal. The south-west
is caressed by adding to the common term the
word dU^a. The adjunct means in Malay deceit
or trick, and refers to the inconstancy and danger
of the winds blowing from this quarter. The term
may be ahnost literally rendered ** the deceitful
west}'' and it is unnecessary to remark, that it
aj^es, not to a people living in Sumatra, but in
the Peninsula. *

* ^* The louth-west monsoon, which prevails outside of
Achin-head^ from April to October, seldom blows far into the
strait, particalarly near th^ Sumatra side, for the force of the
monsotm being rtpclled by the mountains and high land,
stretching from Achio along the coast of Pedir, it is succeed-
ed by light irariable winds ajid calms^ with sometimes land

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614 NAYIGATIOM AKD QEOG&APUV;

The word Tiniur expresses^ in Malay, the easU
eriy quarter of the horizon, and I think has no
other meaning. I imagine it to be a word of the
ancient Polynesian language, and that its primitive
signification is preserved in Japanese, where it
meims youngs and figuratively mild or gentle,
justly enough applied to the easterly monsoon, in
contradistinction to the strength and maturity of
the westerly winds. The adjuncts Fading and
T&nggara^ the etymologies of which I cannot dis-
cover, express respectively the north-east and
south-east. There is a singular meteorologiGal
form of expression often used by the Malays which
requires to be observed upon. They use the cor-
relative expression Aids angin^ or above the wind,
and Bawah augin^ or beneath the wind ; the last
to express their own country, and the first all fo-
reign countries to the west of their own. I coa-
clude, that the reference here is to the westerly
monsoon, distinguished by its impetuosity, and>
therefore, its importance to the navigator; and

ireezes or hard squalls from the Sumatra coast at night,
ivhich require great caution. Sumatras or squalls from south-
westward are frequent in the south, west monsoon. The Sum
matras generally come off during Uie first part of the niglit,
and arc sometimes sudden and severe, and accompanied with
loud tbunder, lightning^ and nniT'^^^niiirgVi JXreotofy^
PartlL

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KAVIGATI017 AKD GEOGBAPHV. 31^

that the laBguage was first applied between the pa*
i^nt country of Menangkabaoj and the colony es-
tablished in the Peninsula ; the first, lying to the
west, being of course the windward country, and
the last of course the leeward. When, in process
of time, the intercourse between them was inter-
rupted,— when the colony became of more import-
ance than the parent state, and maintained a busy
intercourse with foreigners from the west ; it is not
difficult to imagine, that the people of the Penin-
sula, with whom alone "we are acquainted, should
have transferred it to these foreigners. The expres-
sions now alluded to are wholly confined to the
Malay language, and nothing similar to them is to
be discovered in the dialects of the other tribes.
In that language the east and the t\rest are occasion-
ally expressed by the terms " rising of the sun**
and '* setting of the sun,'* expressions parallel to
" the orient'* and " the Occident,** in the idiom
of European languages.

Among the Javanese, an .agricultural people^
Ae circumference of the horizon is divided with
less refinement and less minuteness than with the
Malays, a people of mariners. Tlie Javanese use
the words Wetan^ Kulon, Lor^ and Kidul, to de-
scribe the cardinal points of the compass ; and by
eorabining these in the same precise manner we
do ourselves, for the four principal intermediate
points, make the wl^ole eight. The only term here

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6l6 NAVIGATIOK AND eEOftRAPMT.

used, which can be traced to its origin, is Wettn
die east, which means root or source. The other
terms, in the original significations, had imdoubt*
edly a relation to this one. The loss of these
words, in their literal meanii^s, is one among
many proofs of the great changes which time has
produced on these languages*

The terms of the Sandsrit language for the
winds are not unknown to the Javanese, and they
employ the words Purwo, PachSm, Daksina, and
Taksinat to express the principal quarters of the
horizon, but more frequently in the sense of be*
ginning^ endf rights and l^. '

My want of acquaintance with the minor lan-
guages disqualifies me from entering into the same
discussion respecting them. Some hypothetical
notion respecting the source of the winds we may,
however, conclude from the little we do know,
seems to have been the basis on which the language
which describes the divisions of the horizon was
formed. In the Balinese language, for example,
we find the east expressed by the term Kangm,
which seems to mean root or origin of the
wind. In the Sunda, again, the south is assumed
as the root, and recognised by a term of the same
import, P&mangin.

The Indian islanders have no term to designate
the monsoons, a matter easily enough accounted
for. The monsoons are no unusual phenomenon in

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NAVIGATION ^KD OEOeBAFHT* 31?

tbeir country^ hot the common order of nature,
and could not excite the peculiar curiosity of a .
people not. living in the latitudes (^mrioNe winds.
The year is divided into a dry and a wet half, and
these are expressed by the native term Masa or
MangsOf meaning season, or by the Aimbic one
of the same signification Muskn^ which la the word
corrupted mmsoon by Europeans.

After this account of the knowledge which the
Indian islanders have of navigation, I diall proceed
to draw a similar sketch of their ideas on the sub*
ject of geography.

Of geography, as a science, they share the com*
mon ignorance of all Asiatics. The figure of the
earth, and the relation of its parts to each other,
are wholly unknown to l^em. They have never
passed the limits of their own countries for infor-
mation, and have little better than a sort of hear«
say knowledge of the countries of the strangers
who, from time immemorial, have frequented their
ports. The coast of Coromandel, Siam, Ava, *
China, Japan, Arabia, Turkey, and a few of the
commercial states of Eurqie, may be looked upon '

* It 18^ we may remark, the Malayan, and not the native
names of Ava and Siam which Europeans have borrowed.
ThU points oat the channel of our first acquaintance with
those countries. Oar traders first heard of them through
the Malays and their language.

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818 KAVIGATIQK AKD GEOGRAPHY*

as the only countries of the world of which e?exi
tiie names htre reached them.

Of the very countries they inhabit themsehes
tiie Indian isknders have but a very iiaperfecA
knowledge. Their navigatorsi as mere pilots, are in
possession of much useful practical knowledge, but
nothing can be more foreign to the character of
the people than to take a curious or scientific view
of the countries they dwell in. The practice of
classification and generalizing is so familiar to ci-
vilized man, that he finds it difficult to account, at
first view, for the supineness or stupidity of barba*
rians on subjects of this nature. Among the Indian
islanders, the absence of such vidws in matters of
gec^raphy aflfords a curious and interesting subject
of observation that deserves to be inquired into at
some length, as well because it throws much light
upon the character of the people, as upon the ac-
tual circumstances, physical and geographical, of
the countries they inhabit.

We may begin by observing, that, although
the islands designated the Indian Archipelago
agree remarkably among themselves, and diffio'
as remarkably from all other countries,-^though
the limits of the group, geographical as well as
moral, are strikingly well defined, the most ci-
vilized of the races of men who inhabit them
have no common name by which to distinguish
them. This, however obvious to us, would be am

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NAVIGATION AND 0£0G|IAFB7. 819

^ffini; of abfltraotioa fiu* beyond the iisiuil range of
their comprehension. From the same cauie aiises
their igiionuice of ^h^ insahrity of the principal
islands. They are either wholly unacquainted
with this fact, or they neglect it as matter, in their
circumstances, more qurious than useful. Nothing
can be more natural than such ideas on their
parts. * The usual words for island, Pulo and
NusOf ought strictly to be rendered into our
language '^ islet." The comprehensive word
which we apply alike to every tract of land sur*
rounded by water fiom Than^t to New Holland,
does not belong to their language or ideas. The
words pulo and nusa the Indian islanders hardly
apply to any portion of land, the insularity of whic]!
is not within the range of vision. For such tracts
they never fail to have specific names, usually bor*

0, , ■ ■ . I -.. ^ ^.W ■■■■y.«,.l I I ■■■.^,^

* '^ The ideas of geography among such of them as de
not frequent the sea are perfectly confined, or rather, th^
entertain none. Few of them know that the country they
inhabit is an island^ or have any general name for it. Habit
renders them expert in travelling through the woods, where
they perform journeys of weeks and months without seeing
a dweUiag* In places little frequented, where they haT«
occasion to strike out new paths, (for roads tbq^ have none,)
they make marks on trees, for the future guidance of them-
selves and others. I have heard a man say, ' I will attempt
a passage by such a route, for my father, when living, told
me that he had left his tokens there.' " — Marsden's Suma^
ira, p. 19s.

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aSO NAVIGATION AND GEOGRAPHY.

Tomei from the physical aspect of the countiy,
eammovly from its configuration. I shall, give a
Um ezamjdes. The island which, in v^ bad
taafee, we hare called Prince of Woks Isbmdf is
called by the Malays Pinang^ or the Areca nut,
from some imaginary resemblance of the shape of
the island to that fniit, and certainly not, as some
hare imagined, from the Areca being a eminent
article of the growth of the island, for the island
was uninhabited when the name was bestowed, nor
was even the tree found there in its wild state.
There are several desert islands in various parts
of the Archipelago, called ZT&i, or Uwij which
means a yam, thpugh they do nbt produce one ;
the allusion is to their form. A whimacal ewBk-
pie of the principle on which natoies are bestowed
is afforded in those of three or four little islands
towards the northern entrance of the harbour fonn-
ed by Pinang and the Queda shore. The first is
considered to bear some resemblance in shape to
the abdomen of a pregnant woman, and is there-
fore called Pido Buntings or the pregnant island ;
the second is called Pangil^ which means to call ;
the third, Sungsung^ which signifies to escort, or
accompany ; and the foutth, Bidan, signifying a mid-
wife. The whole hier(^Iyphical sentence, of course,
imports, '^ There is a woman in labour, send a mes-
senger with an esoort to call the midwife !'' The idea
of insularity is constantly present to the min^jb of the

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KAVI6ATI0N AND G£OGRAPHT* 921

iMitiT€8 when they mentloQ sueh iiicontoiderable
spots^ and the word implying ide or islet is inse-
pBrably prefixed; but this is, indeed, no more
than is done in our owp language, in similar cases.

In estimating the importance of a comitry,
it is population and actual culture only that are
emisidered; extensive wastes and forests enter
no more into the calculation th^n sky or water.
When an island, eyen an inponsiderfible one in
point of extent, is inhabited by ^ tribe consider-
able from civilization or numbers, the idea of in-
aularity is dropped, and the country takes its name
from such tribe. Such an island ip then called
'< the land*' of such and such a people, and not
the island. The small islands of Bali, Amboyna,
Temati, and Suluk, are, on this principle, called,
not the islands of the Amboynese, the Tematians,
apd the Suluks, but the laqds of these people, as
Tanah Ambun, Tanah Baliy &c.

When two or more civilized tribes inhabit one
island) the ino^t considerable givesi pame to the
lyhole, when the whcde, which does ];iot often hap«
pen among themselves, is spoken of collectively.
In this manner Java is called the land of the Ja-
vanese, Celebes the land of the Bugis, and The
Peninsuktj without any distinction which has refe-
rence to the peculiarity of its geographical form,
<< the land of the Malays.'* An European, on his
first arrival at Batavia, is a little surprised to hear

VOL. I. X

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aM KAVIOATIOK AND GtOHUimr^

the natives^ and the Dutch cdonkta foUiamiag
their exain[de, speak of goiog to or coming, from
Java, meaning by theise expres^ons, gonng to or
ooBiing from the central and eastern provinces of
the island, those portions occupied hy the Java^
nese race, strictly so called*

Tlie two greatest islands of the group, Borneo
imd Sumatra, are not occupied by any one race dis-
tinguished beyond the rest for numbers or civiliaa-
tion, and hence we nerer hear them called after any
one tribe in particular* The natives of Sumatra^
especially, are spoken of as if they inhabited sepa-
rate and even distinct countries» which b, indeed^
virtually true, for the only intercourse between those
who are not actual neighbours is by water. It is
possible too that the very great extent of these
islands may contribute to remove from the minds
of the natives, to a farther distance than usual,
the notion of continuousness and common connec-
tion.

In a few instances, and in the absence of a pre«
eminent tribe or nation, the name of a place wU
be occasionally applied as the common term for «
whole island. When the Javanese, prop^y se
called, speak of Sumatra, they call it the land of
JPakmbangj that being the portion of the island
with which they are best acquainted. In the saaM
manner they call Borneo Bargarmasin. It is on
a similar principle that Bcniieo, the i»ime of a

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NAVIGATION AND GEOGRABpT. ^

Malay state in the north-we$t part of that hnmense
island, has been generally applied to the whole.

From what has now been said, it is ndt to be
supposed that the natiTes are wholly ignorant of
the insular form of the great islands. Their con-
stant voyages must, as matter of curiosity, have
rendered them acquainted with this fact, and their
language evinces such knowledge. In the legen-
dary tales of the Javanese, we occasionally hear
Java called Nusa Jcma^ the island of the Java*
nese; Bali, Ni^sa Kambangan, or ^* the Floating
Island ;" and LomhoJc^ Sasak, or ^' die Raft.*'
Such terms are, however, only curiously applied by
the natives, and do not belong to the language of
ordinary life, — the language which is natural to the
usual current'of their habits and ideas.

Such are the principles on which the Indian
islanders bestow names on the countries they in-
habit. There are some apparent but no real ex-
ceptions. Bali is idly enough si^posed, and by
some of the literary natives themselves, to be de-
rited from the word which means to return^ in re-
ference to its being supposed that the natives^ after
muse adopting Mahomedanism, relapsed into ido-
latry. The true orthography of the two words,
which is cBfferent, destroys this conceit. It is
true that, in the polite dialect of. Java, die sy-
nonyms for them are the same, (wangsuli) but
the mere reaemblance of sound seems often to

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924 KA^IOATION AND 6E06EAPHY.

haiffe satisfied the inventora of that dialect, without
any reference to sense, of which we have many ex»
amples ; and, among others, a striking one in the
formation of the polite synonym for Malay, which
is made to agree, without any obvious reference in
meaning, with the verb ** to run.'' Another ap-
parent objection is in the name of the principal
island of the Philippine group, which European
, writers ^assure us confidently is derived from Ithe
resemUance e( the island in shape to the mortar
in which rice is ground. It is by no means
probable that the natives of the Philippines, more
barbarous still than their neighbours, should be
aware of the shape of the island they inhabited ;
but, independent of this, the orthogi-aphy of the
words is widely diflcrent. The one is l&sung^
the other Ltisong. The term, I have no doubt,
is Chinese ; for the Chinese, who destroy the
sound of all other native names of countries, or
use barbarisms of their own, apply the word Lu^
song familiarly and correcdy*

The Hindus and Arabs who visited die Archi-
pelago, I thiok it may be satisfactorily proved,
were as ignorant of the gec^raphy and topography
of the Archipelago as the natives theiAselves ; and
we do not discover from the evidence of language,
the only evidence that exists, that their views were
in any respect more comprehensive. They knew
the particular countries which produced the finer

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I norarfd ly WiffJ.i*

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NAVIGATION AND GEOGRAPHT. 826

spices,-— which yielded pepper, incense, gold, tin,
and ivory, — ^where food was most abundant,-*-and
where it was most profitable to plant their religion ;
but this was the extent of their learning. The Hin-
dus were sufficiently liberal in bestowing Sanskrit
names on moimtains, towns, districts, and vpinat
places,* but they looked no further. There is no
Hindu name for the whde Alrchipelago, for its
seas or straits, or for a single island out of the
whole group. . The little island of Madura is the
only seeming exception, but it actually is not one.
The name belongs only to a district, and strangers
alone apply it to the whole .island. In the lan-
guage of romance, the same island is occasionally
called by another Sanskrit name, Nwa Antara^ or
*^ the island lying betwixt," that is, betwixt Java
and the country of the Hindus. This name was,
of course, imposed on that portion of Java which
is immediately south of Madura^ a principal seat
of Hinduism, and might be quoted as a signal
example of the narrow views and geographical
ignorance of those who bestowed it,— 4iuit is, of

• These names are always xnythological, and not real
names, borrowed from the country of the colonists. Unless
Hmdos acted very differently from all other conquerors^
Hinduismi we may infer from this fact* was planted by per«
snasion, and not by the sword*

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996 NAVIGATION AND OEOGRAPHT.

the Hindu Mgoumers and colonists of the Indian

Of the geogri^hy of the Archipelago the
Arabs were at bast as ignorant as the Hindus.
They have not imposed a single name of their Uui-
gQage» eithor upon island, province, town» or
mountainy that is popular and current ; and, if we
«ieept the name Al Remi or Lameri^ wbaoh their
men iff burning have arintvaiily given to Sumatra,
perhaps none at all. When the Arabs ^eak col-
lectively of the Ardiipelago or its inhdliitsPDtB^ they
give to both the name of Jawu a cdrrqition of
Jitma^ Ja^ thus Mlowmg, with req^ct to the
whole, ^ smne ciwrse which the natives them-
sdves pursue with r^srt to eaoh partieukr vlapd;
thst is, ghring to it the name of the principal

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CHAPTER IV.

MEDICINE-^MUSIC.

Mkn vtmter9 ignortuU ^$mlpiun ami f^inHng^-r-StflU
^thfi medk^ art, and^h^tx^oUr^^ U$ fBraailk9ner$,^-^Na^
. 4ure qf their prescrifiums^^Advtmtages cffhe simple and
natural practice pursued inJebrUe disorders.-^Total igno*
ranee of the treatment of surgical disorders.'^State of music*
^^Description of musical instruments^-^Bands organMam.
-' -^tlksunMUr of Jaumen music*

Of feidptme mid pookiiig ibe Iwliaa ialai^dfirs
am it prarat abaohitely ignomt. XT the fgmvfl
ist BBftives designed And executed li^e bfiankilHl
templesy the niiiis of Mfiddbi xre atiU adoiire^ we
can have no hentation, howoTi^r, in :profDouncixig»
ihatt did :there exiat a deioand lor t^coit w 9culp-
tiue, d>undan€e6f kwauU4)epn>div^ Ofth«^-
capfeityito txtA in pamtiag .we Jbaw no ^ofport WU'^
tf of jnd^ng, for it is an art, idiichi in qq ag|e»^ in
. oomtnon with other Amtic pec^^ rtheiy ^ipear
to have practiaed.

Medicine and mtMC, the one h^ wcessity» the

odier for ami23ement,-haTe niadle more iWQig]:ess9

or been more practised. Of the first i1»y ace, in«

•deed, like other barbarians, eitsanely igOjprant a^

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328 MEDICIKE— MUSIC.

a science, but, in the last they have made a pro*

gress unusual in their state of society. Of these

two arts, therefore, some account will be interest*

ing. Beginning with medicine I shall premise

that the practitioners are the veriest of empirics.

They are generally old men or old women wholly

uaeduoated. I once questioned an old Javanese

doctor respecting his educstion, and he re^kd,

with perfect naivetSj that ^' he had never been

instructed in his calling, but that Grod^ as Ciccasion

required, suggi^ed his prescriptions to him from

time to time.*' As with other Asiatic people,

some smattering of phync is considered an accom*

plishment by persons making pretext to leam«

ing, and a few of die Malays, aocordingly, are now

and then f cmnd possessed of some of the metfieil

jargim of the Arabs ; but the practice of the ait

is not in the hands of SMch persons^ and perhaps it

is as well for patients that it is not.

Though possessed of many vegetaUe prodbe^
tions e£ great potencyr the Indian islanders hare
no distinct conception of Aeiv virtiies or applies-
tion* A gentleman well calculated to give anop«
nion on this sulgeof;» does not scrapie to prononnee,
that <f from the practice of the natives litdeis to be
learned; ihey emjdey the substances empirical^
ly, without any regard to quantity; their ignorance
in the science of medicine renders them incapable
of shewing the action of any substance on the h««

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JUmCINS— MUSIC.

SS9

naiir $^m/' ^< I have been directed by them/'
coBtinueft he, '^ to many snbjeets, but in none of
them haire 1 receiTed any dedstve and satisfaotory
aocount of their operatbn."* The practtce» in ge*
mriky nuqr be said to be confined to the exhilntiea
of a hw simples internally* and to the administra<»
tion of extelnal applicatiims, with chafing and fne^
tionsL' Spells and iooaatationsi as ineifectad and
as harmless as those, accompany this practice. To-
pical blood-letting is occasionally had recourse to,
bHt general blood-letting hardly ever. They ne«
ver feel the pulse, and are entirely ignorant of the
stxructure of the human body. If such practice be
productive of little benefit^ it must be admitted^
^Jisit it has the negative advantage of doing 4ittle
barm, and this is no smdU matter* A practi*
tionelr, mere rash than the rest, wfll imfortunately,
however, now and then be feuild whose practice
is bold enough to be misdiievous. One fatal case
of this nature fell under my own observation. In
tiie year 1«814, when administering Uie civil du*
ties of the province of Samarang, in Java, com*
pifint was made of a certain iinnale doctor fiir
4^roying one of her patients. The practi*
titunet admitted that the pati^it had sunk un^
4er the opexi^iim of her prescription, but con«

* Dr Horsfield on the Medical Plants of Java.-— Tranc. of
He Bat. 80ciety, Vol. VIIL

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teu^ddiat^ on all fonner oceas£aiii3» i^ luiA Imm
McoesifiiL The diseage irai imaiiityi and ikm&td
ftemnftion coBMlBd in IwUfligtliepaticnt^is heai
0ter apot of ignited sidphnrto bsing htm to lui
wmum. He strolled of ceunie irialentlj, fautaix
«wit laKagen employed to hoM hara omr thepmon-
Oita fiiuea rendered hia atniggleB inefiMStaal^ and
arhen tte dose was adminiatered to the aatisftotifln
0£ the pbysidan» aiiimation waa gone paat raatonu
ti#m

The aimpMcity of the practice naually pttrstwd
most he of ineakulahle benefit to the pedenft.
Thia aimpiieity eoEcludea the niwiimHtretMn of ve«
mediea preaeribed upon aueh enrooeoaa mid mfo-
duevonahypotheaeSyasneTer fid tobeiiM»eAby
barbarians when tliey b^n to apeoulate on die
theory of diaeaaea. It ia to the afaaenoe of andi
opinions that I think we oi:^t, in some UHmue
at leasts to ascribe the natural and ju dWon a piae-
tice Mlowed by the people of these -countriea in
all febrile diaorders* FamiliMriaed m their warn
dimate, and in a eeimtry abounding' m riv^ers or
hroolQi, to frequent bathings ^and aUutiona) At
Indian islanders naturaHy pursue in dclcneaa ^diat
haa oonduoed to their oomfbvt in hedth. The
<sold ifcflRision in femr, abdid knovation 'among itf^
has been jmictised from time immemorial by :tibe
Indian islanders* It is the Malaya who carry the
use of the cold-bath in febrile comphunta to ike

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MEDICime AND HUdlC. 831

gimtcftt fex^h. They useit not only in remittent
attd intenauttent fef en, but also in sniaU*poK. In
Ibe latlter txnnplaint the patient, exposed naked t0 a
akrtett of fmh air, ia oonatantly sprinkled ^h oold
^rftter from m brushy and even batked in a stream of
nonmg wwte. In 1810, six Malays, the eldest of
^hom was fifty, and ihe youngest at leofit fiw and
twenty, were under confinement at Penang on
^kaigea <d picacy. The whole of them wem
seized with small-pox, affinrding a striking presunp*
lion of 1^ tmfrequent retnms of the epidemic
m tSieir country, which was the terrilory of
Qveda where it borders on Kam. While iU in
the hospital, aiid co^red with the eruption, diey
ware diaoorei^d bathii^ in the iHnook whioh psd-
sed by ; lying down, in dbort, mdied m the tod*
ning stream. They were permitted to p c t ' sewie
m this jpuctiee, smd they i^ reootered.

In tturgicid disorders, where the advaatagea of
daence and skifi are less equitooal, the ignofanoe
of tiie In^n »ianders is attended whh aM the
bed consequences that might be expeded* FimH
iibt stmgdi of their constitutions, and the mo*
demtion of theilr lives, diey hate indeed freqpient
iMOVeriea fiM>m injuries under whkh EarspeoBB
HI any elimate would sink, and partieulerty in
4liHe wurm «nd damp regions where wounds
ate so apt to terminate in the fatal symptom of

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Sd2 MEDICINE AND MU6IC»

The most fatal effects of ignorance in the heal-
ing art are exemplified in venereal complaints.
The natives are unacquainted with the use of mer-
cury in the cure of this malady ; and although in
their excellent constitutions^ and under the ad-
vantages of a vegetable diet, many cures are pro-
bably effected without it» still many fall victims,
and even a stranger cannot pass some of the
highways without. observing many objects in the
last and most loathsome stages of this disorder.

The treatment of women ,in child-birth is ju-
dicious^ or at ieast discreet, for nothing is done to
impede the operations of nature. The facility of
the process of parturition in a warm climate, is the
most obvious and greatest advantage possessed by
its inhabitants over the natives of temperate re^
gions. The pains of labour are of such short con-
tinuance, and, consequently, produce so little ex-
hau9tion, while the tendency to inflammation in
the constitution is so small, that women, in many
parts of the east, are frequently seen going about
their usual domestic occupations in a few days,
nay, sometimes in a few hours, after child-birth.

After this account of the state of the medical
art among the Indian islanders, I shall proceed to
describe their Music. Each tribe has its distinct
national airs, but it is among the Javanese alone
that music assumes the semblance of an art.
These people have, indeed, carried it to a state of

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lf£DICIN£— *MUSIC. 333

improvement, not only beyond their own progress
in other arts, but much beyond, I think, that of all
other people in so rude a state of society. This is
most remarkably displayed in the construction
and composition of their musical instruments
and bands. These instruments are either 'ctind
instruments, stringed instruments, or instruments
of percussion. The two first are remarkably rude,
and it is only in the last that the perfection of Ja«
vanese music is to be discovered. I shall oflfer the
reader a short description of all these in succession,
and afterwards proceed to give a description of
their musical system. In doing this, I am happy
to say, that my own deficiencies are supplied by
the skill and learning of Dr Crotch, the well
known author of the ** Specimens of the various
Styles of Music.'' I supplied this gentleman with
a variety of Javanese airs, taken down by my friend
Mr Scott of Java, and he bad the advantage of in-
specting the fine collection of musical instruments
belonging to Sir Stamford Raffles at the Duke 6t
Somerset's. On the subject of Javanese music he
addressed a letter to me, the words of which I
shall quote without alteration on every material
point.

Of the wind instruments the rudest and earliest
is the Angkhmg. This instrument is confined to
the mountaineers of Java, particularly those of
the western end of the island. It consists of a

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9341 ifXDic«7£^^4roMC.

mmiber of tubes of Immboo e«e, cut M the end
like the barrelft of an Qigtn, and of graddated
lengths so as to form a f^uaxut or series of notes.
The tubes are leoselj placed in firames, s<» « to
move when die frame is shd^en ; and the whole of
its mde notes consists in nothing more than the
vibratiim produced bflhis motion. A traqp o£
fiMTty or fifty mountiuneers will be seen daneiBg in
wild and grotesque attitudes^ each individual ply-
ing upon an Angkiung^ himself and Us insbrob
meirt decked with feathers.

Among the mumai instruments of the neigh-
bouring island nf Bali ia a large vrind inatriwoeiil;,
in appearance l&e si Grerman flute, but in somd
and the manner in whi<^ it is Mown more rasem*
bling a clarionet It is aboutfimr feet in length,
and five or six of them ususily play m a band.
The suUng and m'dum ana aorta of flutes or fifes
in use among the Malay tribes^ pkyed alone» and
never in a band. Hiese, I think, are the oidy
native wind inatrumeiits known to the Indian
islanders at present* The fife or flute theyac-
quired firom the Hindus^ as its Sanskrit name
htmgd points Quti Trmnpets Uwj acquired firom
the Persians and Europeans, as we learn fima
their names, nafiri and sabmpret The mmik
a kind of native hantiMa or trumpal, whieh we
read of in native nomanoe, withoi^ evmr aeeing.

Of etraiged instiumenta they hape <2nie?, die

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335

fM/jwynHg, tJie trmMmgutf «tad tlie raM« Tlr
cA^MM^pMlf htti froM tan to fifteen wire rtring^
Had is played in the mennec of a harp. The
IrammgM is an iiMtniment reaemUiPg a gwttt;
which is occasienaUy found anong the Simdas er
mountaimefs of Java. This is <iie same sort cf
Jute which we hear of among the M4ays under
the name of iUkkapi. The rabah, an iilstrament
boROwed from the Fenians, is a smdl violih of
two strings phjed with a bow^ and producing pei^
fret intonation^ This k pbyed by the leader of
the hand in a Jattaese orehestia, but is wanting
hi the nmsie of those tribes who have had little b^
tereourae witli the western nadens of Asia. It is
a handsome little instnuftient, made of ivory, with
a front ef parchment.

The instruments of percussion are numeroosb
The drum is a native instrument, and recogmsed
hy many diftrent nssnes, aoeording to the dialects
of the people* Besides the native varieties, they
are indebted to the Aiaba and Europeans ftr
oters.' The native drum stnudL with the hand
is a rudb instrumeiit ; and Dr Crotch pronooncei^
wpon a very good one in the cdleetion of Sir Stam-
Ibid Aaffles, that '< liie sound ir leeUe and nn.
maniesl ?*

Next to the drum mey be mentietted the wA
known instruments called G<mg$. The wos4
wluch is correctly writtm gwigf is cMunon to all

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9S6 MfimciNE — uvsic.

the didects of the ArchipelagOy and its souroe nay
be considered to be the vernacular hngwge of
Java ; if, indeed, it was not originally borraiieil
from the Chinese. The gong is a compotttion of
eopper, zinc, and tiii, in proportioos which have
not been determined. Some of them are of enor*
mous size, being occasionally from three fee four
feet in diameter. They have a nob in the oentre^
which is strudc with a mallet covered at top with
cloth or elastic gum. They are usually suspended
from a rich frame, and the tone which they pro-
duce is the deepest and ridiest that can he imagisp
ed. Dr Crotch says of those he inspected^ ^< A
pair of gongs was suspended from the eenixe of
a most superb wooden stand richly carved, paint-
ed, and gilt. The tone of these instruments ex-
ceeded in depth and ^lality any thing I had ever
heard/'

Tlie next instrument of percnssicm to be meur
tioned may be described as a variety of small gOKig%
of which one is laid in a wooden frame upon atriiiga
to support it. These, according to their vaneties^
are called by the names of Ketuk and KampuL

A series of similar vessels or gongs, mnnged in
a double row upon a wooden frame» go under the
name of Kromo and Banang. '^ The tone of tUi
singuhur instrument,^' says Dr Crotch, <* is at
once powerfid^md sweet, and its intonation dev
and perfect.''

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MEDICINS-— MUSIC S9f

H&e last dass of mstniments of pereussiQii are
the staccadosy in tlie Javanese lai^uage called
GUmbang. Hiese a» of greater variety Aan
any of the iwt The first I shall mentioB is die
wuden staccado, kx Odmbang Kmfti. Hits con*
flists of a certain nundber of hssi of a hard sonor-
ous wood of graduated lengths, placed over a wood-
en trough or boat, and struck vnth a little ham-
mer. This instrument is common throu^^bont
every part of the Archipelago, particuhrly amoi^
the ^ilbUxf tribes, and is often ]^yed alone.

The second kind of staccado lesmbles tiiis, dif'
fering from it only in having the bars made of
metal instead of wood. They each assmne differ-
ent names in the copious language of Java, accord-
ing to the nttmA)er of bars, w notes, or other mo<^
dificatmns of their construction. The tone ^ the
wooden staccado is sweet, but not powerful ; that
of the metallic one stronger. A modification of
the latter is known by die name of Odnder. This
coQsiatB of thin plates, instead of bars (£ metal,
suj^ported by tightened cords, instead of resting on
the sides of the wooden boat or trough; be«
low each her diere is a bamboo tube to improve
tim sound. On the fidirication of all diose instru-
ments Dr Crotch observes, afler dewing those at
die Duke of Somerset's, that he *' was astonished
and drijghted widi their ingemous fabrication,
splendour, beauty, and accurate intimation.'^

vot. I. Y

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$3S MEDICINE — ^MUSIC*

The instrumeiits now deflcribed* accordiag to
their arnungem^ity the omission of some instra*
meats, or the insertion of others, are divided into
hands or cvchestras, pitched on the sune scale in
perfbct unison, and each f^propriated to sooie par-
ticular description a£ music, or some part.icriar
occasion. The word Gam&lan^ which we so ofl^i
hear in the mouths of the Javanese, eaqpresses
these bands or sets. There are no less than seven
of them. The first is called Manggimg^ and
is the simplest and most ancient. Some <^ the
principal instruments mentioned in the desmp*
' tion I have given are omitted in it ; it is ]^yed
at puUic processions^ The name of GamUan
Kodok Ngorek, or the band resembling *< tht
croaking of frogs,'' anamewhicbtt sometimes liean^
was probably given to it from its want of harmony,
after the Javanese became acquainted with the
'more improved and perfect ones.

The next band is the SSlendro^ the most per*
feet of all, whether for the number of instniaieDti
of which it consists, or the number of notes in each
oi these. The Pelag is like the SSiendro ; but
some of the instruments have fewer notes, and. all
are larger and louder. The Miring^ as its name
implies, partakes of the nature of the Salendro
and Pelag. These three bands are moie partkm-
lorly employed as accompaniments in the dUferenft
kinds of dramatic exhibitions.

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lite GiwtiOan Choro BdU^ or band according
to tlie fashion of Bali, omits the R&bah or violin,
ah instkiiment borrowed from the Mahomedans,
Ibr which, I presume, are substituted in the na-
tive country of it, the flutes or clarionets which I
have described. In other respects it resembles
the S/tkndrdt and has the instruments as large
ttd loud as those of the PeA^.

The S&katen is only distinguished from the
Felag by the still greater size and louder sound
ef the instruments. This is played only before
the monarch, and on very solemn occasions, such
as the great religious festivals.

The Srunen is the martial music of the country.
In tbis bond, as its name implies, trumpets are in-
trodoced, or some wind instruments similar to'
them.-«*A complete band of either kind will coi^
from two hundred to five hundred pounds Sterling.
- On the style and character of Javanese music,
Afie following are Dr Crotch's very interesting
dbaerviations : ** The instruments,'' he observes^
*^ are aU in the same kind of scale as that produc-
ed by the black keys of the piano-forte ; in which
scale so many of the Scots and Irish, all the Chi-
nese, and some of the East Indian and North
American airs of the greatest antiquity were com-
posed. The result of my examination is a pretty
strong conviction that all the real native music of
Java, notwithstanding some 'difficulties which it is

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340 iqsDiciNBF-^W7gie.

uzmecessary to partipuliwigei * i« c$fnpope4 iff «
common enharmoiuc scale* Tlie tiwm whidi I
have selected aie all in simple oimimpn tme.
Some of the cadences remind us of Scots vmm ftr
t^e bag^^ } oth^ in the minor l(ef , ha^ tk
flat seventh instead of the leading note or dmf
seventh,— Kme of the indications of antiquity* h
many of the airs the re<;urrpnce of the sfuue pas*
sages is wtfiil and ingeniouts. Tb9 irregul^ity of
the rhythni or m^Bsurp, wd th( reit^fation of the
same sound, are characteristic of oriental musa^
The melodies are in genera) wild, plaintii^ smA
interesting/^ It is alq^Qst wpieowary to add^
that the Indian ishmd^rs are unacqMaiiited with
the art d" writing musio^; ^ tmp^St of wlddi
there are a great viriotyt wpo handed deuR iron
memory*

In the plates acpompwiying thia ffuA ffiQ ba
found the scales or gamuts of the principal instru-
ments of percufiHon, ¥rith five Javanese tunes, luid
one Malay air, selected hy JJ^r Crotoh, to which
are added, by higiqelf, thf^ basses wd chorda.

* The dilBculties here alluded to are, in our present state
of infennatioiiy beUeved to be the consequence of some er-
ron which had found dieir way into the mginal manuscript
fttraisbedtoDrCnMb.

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Scale of the Gambang* Kayu or wooden Staccado

Gambang' g*aii$csa or metal Staccado •

The Bonang or Kromo, * Vote of the Gong-.

Xoteofthe
Cymbal

Band! Lori

f,h ,• ' '-'.•: /. J l.^f'u-j-tnUi' trr^'jm .

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: THE NEW YOiti
PUBLIC LIBRAHY

ACTOH, LENOX

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Ldmpong Keli

D.C.

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J^ im9h.T..U^^I'^i i»t rt«-*i»- trCfJfr

'^:^-

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Lonsfki

Malay tune

J'" n lu iij

Xaiihayh . nMufud Jy r4nuH»H* *-r*l$tv .

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BOOK IV.

AGRIGULTUSE.

CHAPTER i.

ei^fiAAL MM ABAS OHf THE AuM^AJ/Mt 6^ tHt:

TtftnAtf ishxtmii

^Mamdrdkarif tkHmeu md tartiiy if ihi htiikMry tf ike
Jmdiak UUtkitn^^Dhmefn of the iubfei4^-**^Sea9ans^^SoS.
'•^Descriptions of tUlagf.-^Cattle^ — ImflemenU of hus*
iandry^'^Irrigation.f^Dressings.'^Systemaiic roiaiion of
crops unknon>n-^General reflections*

TdS agricuhure of tbe fftdmn islands is unques*
tiotiaMjr more rieh atid Varicnif thab tbat of any
portioa of tbe globe. The indigettotts productions
of tbe cofmtry ar^ Tdudbkf and vsefvl ; many of
tbem 80 dnguiat tktft pef aihet part of tbe world
haa, &t perkaps ia eapaMe (»f producing tbem. To
llhe taried liat of MfiTe prodncta tbe connectioti wi(3i
aUraHgers has tMeA nA extenstve catalogue ; and
several of the useful vegetables of China, of the
coutttty of the Hindua, of Arabia, of Europe^ and
Attetitia^ are ttatundized in the Archipelago. Of

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342 GENERAL REMARKS ON THE

this highly interesting and important subject I
shall endeavour, without tiring the reader, to fur-
nish him with a full account. This will be com*
prised in five short chapters, under the follow-
ing heads: 1.^/, '^ General Remarks on the
Husbandry of the Indian Islands.;'' 2(/, '^ Hus-
bandry of the Materials of Food ;" 3d, '' Hua-
bandry of Articles of Native Luxury;" ^A,
<< Husbandry of the Materials of Native Manu-
factures and Arts ;" and, 6th, *< Husbandry of
Articles chiefly for Foreign Exportation." In thiti
comprehensive view of the husbandry of the Indian
islands it will be found, that the rich variety of
product which I have enumerated is far from being:
accumulated in one spot or island, and that, in ren-
dering an account of it, it will be necessary to em-
brace the )vhole range of the Archipelago. . The
agriculture of the di£Perent islands is often, notwith-
standing the apparent similarity of climate, as oppo-
site as if each country belonged to i^ different wne^

1 proceed to a detail of the first division of my
subject, premiaing, that I hold chiefly in view the,
husbandry of the great materials of food» md the
westera countries of the Archipelago, especially
Java, where that brauch of agricultural industry is
carried o|i ip a dc^gree of perfectiou unknown to
the rest.

In relation to agriculture, the only esseatiaUy.
useful division of reasons is into a wet and a diy*

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HUSBAtmRT OF THE JNDUV ISLANDS. S4S

llie year, as is sufficiently known, is divided, in
countries situated within the tropics^ almost equal-
ly into a wet and dry half. Hie sun is always
sufficiently powerful to quicken vegetable life ; it
is moisture alone that is wanted. The wet half
of the year is, therefore, naturally the season of
germination ; the dry that of fructification. They
may not unaptly be denominated the spring and
autumn of those countries. In relation to agri*
cultural purposes the climate is also varied accord-
ing to the elevation of the land i and> in countries
dose to the equator, the labours of agriculture are
pursued in the various climates which occur from
the level pf the ocean>and a heat of 84^ of Fahrem
beit's thermometer, to. an elevation of si^ thousand
feet, and a consequent diminution of 20 degrees
of temperature. The configuration of the land
occasions local vi^rieties. Where plains of con-
siderable extent occur th^ drought is^ greater thaii
U9i\al. In sqm^ situations the vicinity of moun-
tains occasions, an unusual fall of rain ; and in
others, the iatermption of the periodical winda
by extensive ranges of mountains occasions a to?
tal inversion of the seasons.

3uch is the strength of the sun's rays at all
times, that a great many of the productions of agri-
culture grow indiscriminately throughout, the year»
with the assistance of the incidental showers which
fUl even in the dryest seasons. Othefs require the

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dM cmnEEAX. otmaikh ok tbe

ooj^ims floods of iIm wok iOMm, orailifieialm'^a*
CkM, to 811(^7 dmr pioee. Tbk g^es me to «
most esMntttl iiituictioii in the ag^rieultare <tf all
ihofie cottiilrie8»-«-ft ditinen of the kiulMiidry, imd
even of the kodita^, into wet ainldry. The laa«
guagea of Europe have no terns to esqiress this
dislinctioB^ which in the Indian islands is so natu-
ral and obviiNuu The terms iMursh-knd and up-
land are not suffioiently eottprdiensiTe er disthict.
The iwds appropriated hy their sitiMkm to the lafet
eidtiim ere^ in the Javanese, and ^dmost all the
other langwges of Ae Archipebgo, tensed Shwa^
and the dry haads in the Jaifnnese TSgMl The
tropical year may mthont iaipropriety he said.to
consist of two agricnltural years, for within its ck«
cle two distincit mA indspradent cr<^ imiy, and
arejndeed very generally ndsed.

Of eowfttries so extensive, and of such wioas
geelogieal structure as the Indian isfamds, it woidd
he iii vain to attempt giving any ^nenl ddbn^
tion ef the soil. Tliose isknds «nd district^ of
whkh the geological formiition is secondary trap
rodCf are^ as in other parts of the world, renaii:*
able for their fertility. The existence of mountains
<^ consid^pahle elevation, and of plains of con«ter«
able extent, alternating with each oth«r, peihi^
centcibirte as much to the productiveness of the
soil as Its ebemieal oomposition. Meuntmis of
greut elevation attract the passing clouds, and

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HUSBAMMT Of THB nmiAll ISLAKD8. Mff

fioni the iides of tlirftt a» poured doim in Aom
etprntami regioiw pemaid riMow^ whieh wtm
sMims of ftttilitf fimn tiio dpuUe leMse of
WngiBg 8oil Iran tibe moatttiiMy ani ftffvub*
ioff water for imgtttion« To Ae oMeummoe of
d\ tiiefle eouBes Java oifos its poettllKr ftirtility.

The leait fertile islancbi or rather ^BabietB^ fer
many of the iaian^ are far too extensite ta he
comprehended m tins Iknked deflnMon, are those
of granitic and other primary formations with wUch
the metals abound. M<»e lunitod caases of in-
ferior ftrtiiily are the existence of low rangea of
hiHs^ of devfltioss unequal to attnet die pasiittp
doodsy and to ftoioee streams to ftftiliae the
neighbouring lands.

The deepest and richest moidds of Jora are the
aKuvial soils of the taMeys» at the foot of the lof*
tier monntams ; .there it is foond of a moat exknu
ojtt aar y dfiipth^ oooamonly ten and twelve ftet^
andnot nnfrequmtlyasmuchasfifly. TheriAesi
moulds are of aa ash oalonr. As we recede from the
mooAtains it takea a dsikor cokmr, prsbaldy eoii-
tmning too great an admixtnre of v^^itabto matw
ter, and is of inferior ftrtility. Die worst sois
are tf a red brick oolour^ eoMahi^ng a large per*
taon of oxyde of iron, and Utdo vq^etaUe niMM»
iSoeh soils prevmi in hflly traets of no great elov»-
tion. The best soils, indeed, are pei^hc^ neces-
sary for nosing in perfection the higher descriptiiHis

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916 OBntML KBMAMS 09 V89

of tlie Cereal griammj .p«tfihilariy ripe v bok s
{Mwerfui Ma and aboiidMit moulure ev^fjnfijbece
nndcesonetfBMdsfwslmli^ Ettttywhefe

tbe pbins and vmaaokmoA bx% eklier eo%eved with »
luxiiruait befbage or tall fovetto ; anil it. is prohft-
ble there afe fiw aeros in the estensiw r^^ioift of
the Indin ishm^ that, with a deaiie po|K4«tion
and m an inprored slal^ of aociety, are iBcapaUe
of yid^ng aome prodibctioQs wi^mtxj or uarful tft
man.

Tho tiUage of the iniproyed' trflMft is ^,Jbur
koMk. Suek la the parantpumt importaiuje apd
¥alue of the rice caltiuFe» th»t ail lands bear a vihie
IB r^Nrenee to their capacity of piodudng tbia
grain. Hiis is the constant test applied to then*
The jSrffI and loiveak ^aeription of tillage is that
which consists m taking a fugitive crop oC rioe
frwn forest lands, by cutting down the trees and<
bwmng tbenL alimg with the gn|SB and vndcr*
wood. In tbe languag^^k of the westei^ tribes
tUs is tenped kumfih or ki4m^* 1\ is onJly prac-
tiaed in xbtt least imprQ?ed pivots of the ^amxf^-
and in lands not yet appropriated* 1^9 of ooune,
implies the rudest begtBmings of figricultiKal in-^
dustry^ The waste ^f labour in this mode of
cnltttse, and the pre^iousness pf th^ lettAms, must
be suffimntly obvious. Lands of this descriptioa
no where yield rent The second de8crip4»o&of out--
tivated lands- ai« true uphold^ or lands in . ive^iei^

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BV8BAXlV/iY OF THE IHDIAK nCAVDS. 8^

cultivation, whidi c^aot, howtver^ bjr oatairal or
factitious means be floodedL Theae uhtmfs yield a
reiit, aad, by immemoml unge in Jam,. that jrent^
when rice ia the produet, is oonaidered to be ixne^
third of the iieat produce* The third -deacoftiam
of lands are such as reeeive the benefit of flooding
in the course of the periodica} rains. Thaae usud^
ly yield one abundant harvest of rice .every yeai^
but aeldwi Hoore. Tha^.^^f^'l^ and raost vaioable
description of \mi^ are such as may be flooded at
pleasure l^.aili^cial irrigation^ Theses bwdea
the cer(»ijity of their production,, often yield tno
Clops of marsh jice y^y ; and very geneidly
one crop of rice and a green .crop^ By ittmemorial
usage, the rent exacted from all lands whkh either
by natural or fite^tioua mans can be flooded^ ia
one half the neat produce ; and, ciBterU panbms^
such is their fertility, that the actual value of their
produce, in the presrat state of agrioultuaral indoa^
try, is si^^old that of dry lands.

The skill of the Jodian iidiandani in agriculture
is far greater thaa we j^uM be ledto expect in
their state of society* . In furnishing a sketch of
it, I shall Wd in view its most perfeet lecm» aa }^
is presented in Java. — The buffiilo and the ox are
the cattle employed by the Indian islanders in the
labours of agriculture. The horse, though abun«
dant, has never been had recourse tOb The bufl&*
lo is the javourtte, and the ox is not prevalent, ex*

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848 CQBMSIUUL BEMA1K8 OV THE

cept in the comMriei mhhh either aie now, or
w^e in former tifiies, tfce aeets ei tbe Hindii rdi«
gkm. In Jvrm the boflbks ^ powerful, heaty, and
dofv animal, deligluiiig fai mahshy mtoatiom, is
nturaUy preferred in fclie rich deq» plains where
the great riee ciopa are priticip^y raised. The
Ox, powttriing less Mrengtil), but more har^ood
aad aetirity, is used in the light u^and soib.

Suited to the state of soeiety, the imj^dements of
agriculture are ftw and shnfplew For gewrsl pur-
poses they may be said to consiGii of a'^ougfa, a
harrow, a ho6, a bill^ or Iftt^ge Jcniie, md a mkhu
The pkw^ eonaista in Java o^ t^fee parts^i — *
body, a beam, and a handle. JJke the Hindu
plough, it has no share^ * The ^oe jls tipped with
a few ounces of iron, and the eartb4ioard is carved
out of the body of the plough ; the wood is sub-
stantial teak ; the yoke is of bamboo cane. One
man conducts the plough, and with a long whip
guides the cattle, which nev^ exceed two in num-
ber. The Javanese harrow is a* krge rake with a
single Mwef teeth or tinob Over the beam of it b
placed a bamboo cane, on which the person ^o
gmdes dM harrow sits, as weU hr his owtr ease,

• The Malay word TangaUf which- ig eyideatljr derived
ftom Nangala in Saofikrit, would seem' to poiat out that the
Malays acquired the use af the pfough from the Uindua.
In the other dialectSi however, the term is native.

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Flatt i

Javeuttse- Ho^

«■ I

/^~~^\ \ J^^onese Sukie.

A€»&ICI71.TirKAI. IMPI^XMETTTS fcr.

Kru,r«9»d hy mn.t-^

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BVSBMMPW OF THS IVDIAK ISLANDS. Si9

4s lo giv? ike implasenC the necenoy weight to
ioBon the efiectwl per&manee of iti work. The
sfiine yoko md the wne catde are used for the
plough as the hmrrow. The hoe is wood, havmg
the ^dge tipped with a little iron. The handle is
about two £Mrt and a half l«ig, which, aceordtiig
to ^mt^MO nofcions, renders it somewhat less in-
90a¥enieiit thaa the shorter one used by the Hitt»
4iis> whidi COTipeb the worionan to perform his
labour half sitting. This tool is used as a hoe^
as li qpadOf as a shovel, aad as a pick^ue. All
Isboiir performed with it is tedious and expen-
sive. A blow upon a stone, or working upon an
indurated clod of earth, will often loosai the iron^
^r shiver the whole instrument mto fragments.
Tie Javanese sickle or reaping-knife is a very pe-
culiar instrument, which is better represented by
a drawing than by words. Its object is to nip off
separately each ear of rice, with a few inches of the
straw, for which purpose it is grasped in the right
hand, and the operation effected with a dexterity
acquired by habit, notwithstanding the imperfec-
tion of the instrument.

Of the Javanese implements of husbandry, as
well as of iheir agricultural processes in general, it
may be mentioned, that they are more perfect,
and hnply a greater degree of intelligence than
those of the Hindus, and perhaps, indeed, than
those of any Asiatic people, the Chinese and na-

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'S50 eansRAi. v;EirARKS on the

410I1S of their stamp of ciTifizatidii excepted.
This .is the more remarkable as the inidica*-
tions of cifiliaation among them in other maf>
ieiSy particularly in the arts more purely me-
lehanical, imply in general an inferiority. Have
not the advantages of dimate, soil, and water, pe-
culiar to the country of the Javanese, led that race
into an improvement in the science of agriculture
beyond their rank in the scale of general civiliza-
tion?

The agricultural stock of the Javanese peasant^
as now enumerated, is comparatively of small value.
-The following^ which are the prices in a part of the
country where the population is most dense and
food the highest, may be considered a fair estimate t

• A pair of bufPaloes,

L.2 10

A plough, with yoke,

A harrow.

Tiw hoes,

Tsro bills,

L.2 18 6

Upon the discovery or the introduction of tfao
culture of a vaUiable grain which grows by immer-
sion in water, — ^which draws a principal souEce of
its nourishment from that element,— and tbrougk
the agency of which the mechanical labours of the

• A pair of oxen cost ooly in the same place L« 1, ISa.

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fiU8B4l(2ia¥ OF TBS WDIAV ItLANDS. 961

kubvuliiiaB: are prodigiously ftcilitiited, wbile it
supersedes expensive dressings^ and almost the ne«,
cepsfty of reHOvatiag the fecundity of the soil
lt>y attentioa to rotation oi erops» principally
^ests the proeperity of the husbandry of the
ladian islands, and, indeed, of all countries ia
which rice is the chie^ material of food* Tho
important part of the agriculture of the Indiaa
uUnds^ tha:efore> necessarily derive all its ener-^
gy from irrigation, of which an account im
some detail becomes necessary. In whatever situ-
ation rice is cultivated by immersion^ the land
appropriated to this use is divided into small che*
^uers of an area not exceeding two or three hua«
dred square yards, surrounded by dikes not ez«
eeeding a foot and a ha]f high, the use of jvhich
is to retain the water of irrigation for the nourish-
ment of the Jdants. When the culture depends
jpn the periodical rains, the charge of diese dikes
constitutes, as far as irrigation is concerned, the
only care of the husbandman^ but the greatet
quantity of the com o£ Java is raised by the help
of factitious irrigi^on. The simple contrivances
put in e£fect by the natives to insure a suj^ly and
distribution of water on this principle are pleasing
specimens of indnstry. The sources of that sup*
ply ace, indeed, in general, so obvious and easy,
that a little industry and perseverance, rather than
«ffi«cks of skill and capital^ are riequired to insure

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35Q eriKEftAI. BEM AEKS OH THE

it. We discover neither in Jtva, nor in any odtfr
country of die Archipehgo, eny of those enormous
tuks of the southern part of Hindastnit on wfaidi
llie agricidture of whde provhices entirriy depAde.
Neither does any portion of theagricttltmeofdie
Indian idands depend on the overflowing of rivera^
as does that of Egypt and Bengal. The prineipal
care of the husbandman is to dam the broda and
momitain streams as they descend Aom the hill^
and before the difficulty has oecurred which would
be presented by their passage through the deq^
ravines, into which they would natunlly flow. Atmt
this ciiottmstanee Ae crests of the mountttna, and
the alleys at the foot of them, the lands of great-
est fertility, are also those best supplied witii wa-
ter } and here necessarily are presented the finest
and richest scenes of Javanese husbandry. The
slopes of the higher mountains and the smaller
hills are here formed into terraces highly culti-
vated, and the valleys rendered almost impaassible
from the frequency of the water courses. Not an
accessible spot is to be seen m tiie season duit ia
not covered with a rich harvest ; and if vre ttke
into accOunt--4^e briQiant tints of an equatorial
sky,— the vicinity of mountains of te<i thonsand
feet high, the more elevated portions of which aie
covered with forests of perpetnd verdure,-^vd]eya
thickly strewtsd vnth groves of flruit trees, hUHng
the cottages of the peasantry,-«-4egetber with the

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BUSBANO&T OP TBS DIXIUlK HlfAMBS. 95S

peciiliir riehness of the rioe crop itiilf» whkh ftr
excels that of all the other (kreal grMunOf we may
iioa^iae that rural iadiukry caaoot well be eontem-
plateU, in aay portion of the globe* to greater ad«
wiitage.

Occasionally the process of irrigatVMi is some-
what leas simple than now repramited. This
is the case when the largw rivers aie daomied af-
ter their descent into the plain. An officer of
the govenuncat then assumes the supnintendeiice
of the distribution of water, and receives in reoom-
pense a commission, payable in kind on the amount
q£ the crop. We shall see, in another pbK^, that
the sovereigns of Bali daim the land-tax on this
principle.

lu the existing state of society and rural indus-
try in Java, and other countries, it may be safely as-
serted, that the progress of agriculture chiefly reita
on the fiwilities afforded to the irrigation of the land.
The brooks and rivera of Java, for example, have
yet by no means been taken the greatest advantage
of, and in many situations^ tanka^ similar to those
of the Deccan, might be constructed with little dif#
ficulty. This is one of those sotgects^ the advan*
tsges of which the natvrea fully comprehend, and
such is thefar sprit and intelligenoe rehting to itt
that a very little encoiuagemmt indueM them to
undertake with avidity the fonnalMa of a diain, or
the cutting <tf a canal. With wonderiuUy littb hh

VOL. I. 2

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$54 GSKEBAL BfiHARXS OK THE

bear, I hxve seen an extensive tmct of waste^^and
corered in a few months, with a rich harvest We
cannot wonder that mm even in their state of so*
ciety shonld be Moused to exertion by an improve*
ment which multiplies the productive powa» of the
earth in a sextuple ratio.

The parsmount importance of the culture of
marsh rice makes every other species of tillage a
matter of secondary importance. The fertilising
process of irrigation almost supersedes the use of
other dressings, or at least causes them to be ne-
glected. None of the Indian islanders ever apply
any kind of manure directly to the land. In pro*
cess of time, when the rice lands are exhausted,
and the poorer lands are in more request, dressings
will be applied to the upland soils(, and the refine-
ments of agriculture will approximate them more
nearly in value to the lands capable of submer-
siDU^

Though no dressings be applied directly to the
land, some processes are pursued which, to a cer-
tain degree, are equivalent to them.. In reaping
the principal crops, particularly the rice crop, the
best part of the straw is left on the ground, and in*
to this ample stubUe the village cattle are turned
in until it be exhausted. During the short period
in which the land is permitted to lie £illow, the
cattle are constantly fed in the rice grounds, and,
as. the dung is not removed for the purpose of fu^l.

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HUSBAKBRT OF THE INDIAH ISLANDS. 3S5

as ayong the people of Hmdustan, the land hene-*
fits by this accidental dres^ng. To this it is to be
lidded, thftt, immediately before ploughing, the
whole of the remaining stabUe and dry weeds are
8]i«temstically burnt on the ground, and the carbo-
naceous refuse spread on tk% land as a manure.
It may be presumed that OKperience has ratified the
utility of a practice which is general, and which is,
in some respects, parallel to that of paring and
burning among our agriculturists.

The refinement in the science of agricultnrey
which consists in pursuing a rotation of crops, is
unknown to the Indian islanders. The Javanese^
however, at least, understand the advantage of re*
lieving the land by alternating green and white
crops, and in the most improved parts of the coun-
try pu|rsue it systematically. This rotation is per-
formed within the year. In the wet half they grow
a crop of rice, and in the dry half some species of
pulse, farinaceous root, or an annual cotton. In
the richer lands, and those which have a perennial
supply of water, the land is, however, scourged by
the perpetual succession of a double harvest of
rice.

The husbandry of the Javanese may be said to
exhibit, upon the whole, much neatness and orden
Two or more crops are never, according to the slo-
venly practice of the Hindus, cultivated in the
same field. Neither are the lands tilled in commcm

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959 ms»$MAL EBHAUMi &C.

aeoordiDg to die imctioe of that fingular people*
80 dettruoti?e to iodustry. The peanuit and his
family beatow their labours exclunvely on their own
poaaemons. The Jatanese puniie the labours of
agrieultwe with pleasure, and consider them rsAer
as an enfojmflsit than a ta^ It is here only thafc
their industry assumes an aetiye and systematie
i^hanieter. The women take a hrgp share of the
lahour* The work of the plough, the harrow, and
mattock, with all that concerns the important ope-
ratiens of irngation, are perfonned hy the mmr
hut Ihe lighter iabonra of sowing, trsnaplsnfeig^
xeapnig, and bousing, belong afanost exdusively to
ihewomen^

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CHAPTER 11.

HIISBAK9ET W THE HATB&IALS OF fOOIK

Cuiiivati^^ ofrice^^Tiii gram kH0bm, iy due MnU throitf^
out the Arckipelago^^MowUain and marsh ricer^CuUura
of fugitive crop& of mountain rice by burning the forest lands.

— Cultute of rice in dry arable lands Culture of rice Hfi

marsh lands by the periodicAl rains^r^Cultnrtofriee by ar^
iitUalirrigation^^Bmmgandtmfmng.^PHmldity afrke*
-^Maiae — PrUulty an obfeat qfadhu^e htfore ike diseavery
sif America. — Modes of culiure. — Fecundityn'^fulses.^^
Two chiefiy obfects qfattention^^^Cultivation of plants with
nutritwe roots ^^The yam or tgname^-^Sweet potaioe, or
BaUtea.'^tOhUang, or Javanese potatoe. — Tdas^^-^Euro^
pean esculent plants. — Wheat^-^^-Commonpotatoe^'-^arden
9iufi0^^Nativecutinaryplants,i-^neciiaanier.^^Theomon.
^^^The eapmum^i-^OU'gvnng ptants.^^The cocoa^nut^^
The ground pestachior^Ricinus J or Palma Christi^^^Sago,
'•^ts the prindpaljarinaceous food qfthepeopkqfthe eastern
portion of the Archipdago^^Cultvoation* — Native country
of the sago pahn asceriamedjrom the evidence ef language*
•^Mode cf reaping ike sago haroestj and preparing ikejh^
rina^^Mode qfpreparsitionjbr storing^-^Edi b le m uskaroomi
and Uforms generatedjrom the r^nse. — Feeundity qfsago*

The gulgecU of the present chiq^er are the Ce*
real gramina, pulaesy farinaceous roots^ oil-giving
plants,and sago*

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358 HUSBANDRY OF THE

Rice, (Oryzasativa^JzsvR suflBciently well known,
constitutes the chief material of the food of the
civilized people of the old world inhabiting the
countries within the tropics, and of the improved
tribes of the Indian islands with the rest. Of the
time and manner in which the culture of it was in-
troduced it would be in vain to look for any re-
cord. Ftom the evidence of language, the only
one which can be safely trusted in investigating
whatever refers to the origin and history of barba*
rous nations, two important facts are determined^
that rice is an indigenous product, and its culture a
native art,-^and that one improved tnbe taught and
disseminated that art. With trifling corruptions,
rice, in its two forms of husked and unhusked, are
known by the same terms fpadi, bras J in all the va-
riety of languages and dialects which prevail from
Madagascar to the Philippines, and these terms are
native, and bear no resemblance to those of any
known foreign language. The most refined and im-
proved form of culture fscpwahj is also very general-
ly known by the same term, and the details of hus-
bandry in regard to it are so identically the mme^
that we cannot hesitate to pronounce that they had
the same oiigin. We need only quote the pecu-
liar manner of sowing, — ^the invariable practice of
.transplanting, — and the singular practiceof reapinfg.
At the same time that the improved husbandry

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MATEAULS OF FOOD. 9^

which is implied in the culture of marsh rice ap-
pears to be traced to one origin, the more common
and humbler operations of agriculture, it may be in*
ferred from language, originated with each tribe in-
dependently of its neighbours. We may conclude
this from the distinct name, for example, which
every tribe generally has for the plough, the harrow^
the mattock, &g.

There are two distinct descriptions of ricQ culti*
vated throughout the Indian islands, one which
grows without the help of immersion in watei:, and
another for which that immersion is indispensably
reqiBsite. In external character* there is very lit*
tie difference between them, and in intrinsic value
not much. The marsh rice generally brings a
somewhat higher price in the market. The great
advantage of this latter consists in its superior fe-
cundity. Two very important varieties of each
are well known to the Javanese husbandman,
one being a large productive but delicate grain,
which requires about seven months to ripen, and
the other a small, hardy, and less fruitful one,
.which takes little more than five. The first we
constantly . find cultivated in rich lands, where
one annual crop only is taken, and the last in well
watered lands, but of inferior fertility, where two
crops may be taken. Both of these, but particular-
ly the mtffsh rice, is divided into a great number

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MO HUSBA1TBRT OF CTC

of siri^tarietM, * ch«raotertzed by bemg awoed,
or otherwise, having a long or round grain, or be-
ing m ediovr, biadL, red, or white, t

The rudeit^ and probably the earliese practised
BflMide of cultirating rice oonasts in taking from fo-
lest bmds a lu^tive cnf^ after bummg tiie trees,
grass, and uncferwood* The ground is tamed up
with the mattodk, and the seed phnted by dibbling
between the stumps of the trees. The period of
somng is the comtnsBeement of the rains, and of
nspifig that of the dry season. There is in this
mode of tjlli^ M> transptandng* The rice ts of
eouKse di that deeeription which does not require
immendon* Hm aiode of cultivating rice b ibUov^
ed oftly aipoog the asore savage tribes who want
skill and industry to undertake the more diflScolt
bnt productive modes, or among the mwet improved
tribes in such dry and sterile tracts as do not aflSard
laiads fitted for the btler. The practised traveUtr
noogniaes the traces of this culture hi a few green

* ** In almost every plant, culture, as it is more general-
ly difbied, induces numerous varieties/'^— 'iZipmar^j on Ae
Khubandry mtd Internal Commerce ofBengalj p. BS. Hie
moontsin rice does not exist in Bengal, but the varietiss eC
marsh rice are as numerous as.in the Indian islands.

f The most singular variety is that called by the Malays
Pulutf and by the Javanese Kattauj the (hyza glutinosa of
Bnmphius. This is never used as bread, but commonly pre-
pared as a sweetmeat.

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MATCEIALS OF VOOD. 351

patches aHiong the thick jfbrests of the momrtain
Tillages.

The second descriptioa of rioe tillage connsts
also in gromog moiuitaia m dry land rice. This
tillage differs from the last ofaieiy by the mtM^
tioQs in which it is practised. These sitMlioiie
ure the common upland araUe lands, kmdsy in
short, whieh» from their locality, cannot he suh-
jected to the process of flooding* The gnin in
this mode of culture is sown m the middle of the
dry season, by dibbling or by broad-cast, end reaped
in seven or five months, as the gram happens tor
he of tiie larger or smaller variety. In tins mode
of culture no hinds are of suffici»i fertility to
yield two crops within the year, and in poor lands
it often happens that a fallow of one, two, or even
tiuree years, is necessary to renovate the so9. An
European soon learns to distinguish this mode of
eulture, by the absence of the cheoqnered appear-^
aace produced in the marsh rice lands by the
dikes of irrigation,— by the superior extent of the
fields, — by their being frequently surrounded with
a» imperfect hedge,«--«n4 by the resemUance of
the cttl);ure itself to that of the grains of £u«
rape*

The culture of rice by aid of the periodical rains
is the third mode of tillage. Of course, the grain
is of that kind which requires submersion, and the
process of sowing and reaping is determined with

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362 HU6BANDET OF THE

jNrecision by the seasons^ With the first fiill of
the rains, the hinds are ploughed and harrowed, no
difficult task when the indurated soil is sofiened
or rather reduced to a liquid mud by the water of
irrigation. The seed is sown in beds, usually by
strewing very thickly the com in the ear. From
these beds the plants, when twelve or fourteen
days old, are removed into the fields, and thinly
set with the hand. This practice of transplanting
is universal. The pbnts are constantly immersed
in water until within a fortnight of the harvest,
when it is drawn off to facilitate the ripening of
the grain. The period of harvest is determined by
the nature of the grain, but usually takes pl^ce
towards the middle of the dry season.

The faurth a^d last mode of cultivating rice is
the most refined of all, and may be considered to
imply the highest improvement of the art pf bus*
bandry among these people. It consists in forcing
rice by artificial irrigation, and is found only to
p]<evail in the most improved parts of the Archi-
pelago, and in lands of the happiest situation**'

* The gnuQ is necessarily of the description which thnvea
in water only^ and this equally, whether in high or low situa*
tions. The illustrious Baron Humboldt is mistaken, or ra-
ther been misled by the erroneous report of Mr Titsiof^
when he imagines that the rice growing in Japan, Cbina^
and other places on the terraced slopes of nountaios, is the

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HATERULS OF POb'U. 368

This mode does not depend upon the seaisms, and
hence, we see in the finest parts of Ja^a, where itchief-
ly obtains, at any given season, and in the same di^
trict ; within, indeed, the compass of a few acres, rioe
in every state of progress. In one little field, or ra-
ther compartment, the husbandman is ploughing or
harrowing ; in a second he is sowing ; m a third
transplanting ; in a fourth the grain is b^innisg
to flower ; in a fifth it is yellow ; and in the sixth
the women, children, and old men, are busy reap-
ing. This is no unusual spectacle, but such as the
ordinary traveller may see ev^ day. Lands
which can be inundated at pleasure almost always
yield a white and a green crop within the year,
and to take two white crops from them, whether a
judicious practice or otherwise, is very common.
I have seen lands which have produced from time
beyond the memory of any living person two year-
ly crops of rice. When this practice is pursued^
it is always the five months grain which is grown.
The rapid growth of this variety has, indeed, ena-
bled the Javanese husbandman, in a few happy si-
tuations, to urge the culture to the amount of six
crops in two years and a half.

drj land rice. It b always the same as described in the
text. The difference between this and true mountain rice
culture could not be mistaken by any person that took pains
to inquire.

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S&k HUSBANDRY <^ THE.

RiM of whalerer deacriptioii is rasped snd stof-
fd in the flsme way. Tht whole field is not res|^
St once* but esch portion of the grain taken sue*
eeistTely as it ripens, so that, in the desiUtory man-
ner in which the operation is perfiHined» a very
small field with msny req^rs may ooenpy a pmed
of ten or twelve days in rea|^ng. With the singn*
laraiddealrsady mentioned, the earisni^ped off with
a few inches of the straw ittaohed, and forthwitii
tsansported to the villsge by the manual labour <rf the
reapers, for cattle or carriafite are very rsrely used*
At the villsge the com is sufficiently dried by a dsjy
m two's esposure to a powerful sun, wheat it is tied
np in sheaves or bundles, and deposited in the little
granaries of wieker winrk, one of whioh in Jai^a is
feund attached to every cottage, as repiesented in
one of the plates of this work« The operstiea of
threshing or treading out com by means of crttlci
18 never prsctised in the Indian islands. It sonui-
times, chiefly in the caee of mountain xkfh be*
comes neeessacy to separate the seed firsm the
strsfw, which is thei^ done by troading or rsdMr*
rubbing the flbeaf between the £iet, an ^ratssoiel^
fected with cmisideiable dexterity. Cemmofedy the
grain is stored for use, and tmn^wted to market
in the straw* Even when put into the mortsr to .
be husked, it has not until then been separated
from the straw. The natives seldom store husked
rice, for in this state the grain is highly perishable in

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MATEEIALS CF FOOD^ 865

a warm and damp climate, and with tkeir imperfect
meaM ef ieeuring it. On the contrary, with ita
thick impervious, hade, it is almost imperishable,
and will keep for years withCHit alteration, Thi^
operation tf huddng is performed by the women
in fairgt wooden mortars, with pestles of the same
material.

The fecundity of rice depends so much upon
circumslMuices, th^t it is not possible to state a
general result. We have toeonsider the quality of
the soil,---4be mode of husbandry pursued,— and
the nature of the grain, whether the larger and
more prodneti?e, or the smaller and less produc-
tive.

Kice cultivated in a Tbrgin sml, by burning the
treesp underwood, and grass, will, under favourable
CJfcuBistances, give a return of five and twenty and
thirty fold. Of mountain rice cultivated in ordinary
upland araUe lands, fifteen fold may be looked
vfen M a good return, in fertile s»)it8, when one
crop a year only is taken, marsh rice will yield a
ratuni of twtntj-five seeds. When a double crop
is taken, not more than fifteen or sixteen can be
expected. In the fine proimce of Kftdu, an
English acre of good land, yielding annually one
green crop, and a crop of rice, was found' to pro*
duce of the latter 641 lbs. avoirdupois of dean
grain. In the light sandy but well watered lands
of the province <xf Mataram, where it is the crai-
mon practice to exact two crops of rice yearly.

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366 HDSBANDBT OF THE

without say £iIlow, an acre was found to yield no
more thw ^8^ lbs. avoirdupois of clean rice, or
an annual produce of 570 lbs. These are the
results of several trials made by myself.

After rice. Maize or Turkey corn (Zea Maiz)
is the most important production of agriculture a*
mong the great tribes of the Archipelago. The
word JaguT^f which I imagine to be purely na-
tive, is the term by which this plant is known from
one extremity of the Archipelago to another.
There can, therefore, be little doubt, as in the case
of rice, that one tribe instructed all the rest in its
culture. As far as a matter of this nature is ca-
pable of demonstration, it may also be conjectur-
ed, that maize was cultivated in the Indian islands
before the discovery of America,* and that the
plant is an indigenous product. The name bears
no analogy to that of any language of America,
although, in respect to their other exotic produc-
tions, whether animal or vegetable, either the na«
tive term, or one which points at the origin of
them, is invariably preserved in the languages of
the Indian islanders. I need only enumerate
the pepper plant, — ^the mango fruit, — the pulse
called Kadakf — (^Phaseolus Mas^) the sheep re-

* *' It is no longer doubted among botanists," says the
Baron Humboldt, '' that Maize, or Turkey com, is a true
American grain, and that the old continent received it from
the new^'^Polkical E$iay an New Spain.

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MATERIALS OF FOOD. S&J

ceived from the Hindus, the orange and ground
pestacfaio received from China, the coffee received
from Arabia, and the pine apple, the tobacco plant,
the potatoe^ and the Turkey (Gallo-pavus) re-
ceived from America, through the medium of the
European nations.

Considered as ^n article of food, maize bears the
same rank in the Indian islands in relation to rice,
that oats or barley do to wheat in Europe. It is
considered as an inferior grain, and in the richest
parts of the country forms but an inconsiderable
portion of the food of the people. Of. late years
the culture, in Java, has greatly increased with the
increase of population, and as the lands fitted for
the culture of marsh rice had become scar<;e. Over
mountain rice, it has the advantage of being morq
fruitful and hardy. The use of dressings and a more
skilful husbandry, in other respects, would, however,
in a more improved state of society, give the moun-
tain rice a superiority, since, as an article of nou-
rishment, it is confessedly more agreeable. Maize
grows luxuriantly in every country of the Archi-
pelago, and in every climate of it, as well in the
hot plains on the level of the ocean and under the
equator, as in the highest elevations, in which the
labours of agriculture are pursued.* It thrives

* Maize does not suffer from cold until the ooean tempe*
rature falk to 45° of Fahrenheitt and no heat U injurioua
to it.

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368 HUSBANDRY OF THE

tolerably also in very indifferent .soils, and with
little care. Several varieties of it are known^ but
in an agricultural view, like the mountain and
marsh rice, the most important distinctions de-
pend on the periods they take to come to maturi-
ty. The smaller grain requires but five months
to ripen ; the larger takes seven. Their respec-
tive productiveness is in this proportion.

Maize, like mountain rice, is sometimes cultivat-
ed as a fugitive crop in forest lands, after the treea
and grass have been burnt. Now and then it ia
taken as a second crop in the dry season from marsh
rice lands, but the most usual mode of culture is ia
upland arable lands. The most usual season for
sowing is the dry season, but such is the hardihood
of the plant, and the equality of the climate, that it
is frequently sown and reaped at every seasoa of
the year.

Maize> in the agricultural economy of the Indian
islanders, is never separated from the ear, or re-
duced to meal for the purpose of being stored.
Ihisis, because it has never become in the Indian
islands an article of general traffic and demand.
In a few cases it k dried in the ear, and transport-
ed in this bulky and expensive form from one dis-
trict to another, but more commonly it is consum-
ed on the spot, either in its fresh state, or by boil-
ing the entire grains in the manner of rice.

Indian com is the most productive of all grains.

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MATBRIAI.9 OF VOOD. S69

In the Indian islands it is so carelessly cultivatedt
and indifierent lands are so commonly assigned to it»
that the full amount of its fecundity cannot be dis«
played. In the province of K&du in Java, I find
that four and five hundred-fold are not an unfre-
quent return. In poorer lands thq returns are of-
ten found not to exceed sixty and seventy seeds^
but one hundred may be looked upon as a fair
average in the common modes of culture in very or-
dinary lands.

Maize is remarkable for the local inequality of
its growth. It grows in the same field in patches,
thriving luxuriantly in one spot, and almost totally
filing in another. From repeated trials made by
myself in the thin soil of Mataram in Java, I
found that an £nglish acre of land, Which affi>rded
a double crop, yielded of the smaller grain 424.S5
lbs. avoirdupois of clean maize for each crop, or
848.5 lbs. annual produce. This was of grain
which did not yield above a hundred-fold for the
seed*

Millet, and other small grains, are i*aised in the
Indian islands in very small quantities, and do not,
therefore, deserve particular notice.

A variety of pulses form an important article of'
the husbandry of Java, and the other western parts
of the Archipelago* In Java, they are principally
cultivated as green crops in the dry season, in suc-
cession to marsh rice, in lands artificially irrigated.'

VOL. I. A a

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370 HUSBANDRY Of THE

The whole class of leguminous plants arti eallad by
the generic name Kachang.

The most commonly cultivated as green craps»
are two broad leaved plants called Kachca^gKddSle,
(Phaseolm max^) and Kochang Jjo^ (Phaseolui
radiaius.J The name of the first is a word of the
Telinga language, from which I infer^ that it hat
been introduced from India in comparatively recent
times* The obligations of the Indian islanders to
the Hindus, in matters of substantial utility, are not
great. Except pepper and cotton, there is no useful
vegetable production known by a Sanskrit name^
and, except the variety of pulse now motioned, and
perhaps the mango, none known by tfiy Hindu word
whatever. We must naturally sOppode from tibia*
that the Indian islanders were in possession of all
the useful plants* now known to them before tbeir
acquaintance with the Hindus, or at least that their
knowledge of agricultufe was acquired without the
assistance of the Indian cdonists. The KAdaJe is %
hardy grain. After the rice crop is off the grounds
the seed is sown among the stubble without any
other preparation of the land than a temporary
submersion in water.

The Kachang JJo, or green pulse, is a superior
grain to the last, but is more delicate* and requires
more care in the cultm*e. The Chinese colonista
manufacture Sqy from it, and it is &r tbeir cob*^
sumption chiefly that it is raised. Of the KMUe

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If ATKEUL8 OF W6D. 971

ten seeils am eonsideFed s good return, ind of the
other about seven may be an average.

In the Indian islands* there are cultivated a great
variety of plants with nutritive roots. The princi*
pal are the yam, the sweet potatoe, the k&nbmg^ or
Java potatoe, the arrow root, and the common po«
tatoe.

The yrnrn^ or igname of America, (Dioscorea
uhta^J known in the western parts of the Archi-
pelago by the name of Ubi^ or Um^ in the Temati
called Ima^ in the Macassar Lam^ in Ambo3rna
HeU^ and in Banda Lutu^ appears to be indigenous
in the Indian islands, and to have been cultivated
from time immemorud. * The varieties are very
numerous. The yam frequently grows to the enor*
mous volume of forty and fifty pounds weight. It
affiirds but a coarse and rather insipid aliment, and
is not much sought after by the natives. It is
diiefly cultivated in the poorer countries of the
Archipelago, where the cerealid are scarce or t un«
known<

* Several of the smaller islands are called after tbeoame
of this plant, and are known by it from the earliest ac-
quaintance of Europeans with the Archipelago.

f *^ In locis ubi Orjrza crescit* ubium, parum, vet fere vis
eoUtur. In Java et daleya magis ex oblectamento, et ad ob-
soniam qoam ernccessitate, a Celebe vero, et Boetona nbii
eultura quam maxima exarcetur, ac poiso per Moluccas,

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9}i HUaBANDftY W TS»

. A more taluaUe and more extensivdy cultivate
ed root is the sweet potatoes wfaieh, aftar mme^
ooBstitutes the noat important material of the ve-
getable food of the Indian islanders of the west.
This is the Batates of America, and the CSm-
volvulus batatas of botanists. In Jam, it is cul-
tivated in ordinary upland arable, or, in the dry
aeasoD, as a green crop in succession to rice. The
sweet potatoe of that island is the finest I ever
met with. Some are frequently of several pounds
wdght, and now and then have been found of
the enormous weight of fifty pounds. The sweet-
ness is nM disagreeable to the palate, though
considerable, and they contain a large portion
of fiurinaceotts matter, l^ing as mealy as the best
of our own potatoes. The natives are fond €i
thmxkf and in all the stalls and booths of the mar-
ket-places, they are exposed fcN* sale ready cocked,
as well as in th^ raw state.

There can be little doubt but this phnt was in-
troduced by £urq>eans, from the names which k
receives in eyery one of the native languages. The
Malays sometimes call it Batata^ but the Am-
boynese, the peo[rfe of Temati, of Amboyna, and
Banda, more frequently deagnate it the Gsstf-
Uan^ that is, the Spanish yan. The people of Bali

— " ! ■!>■ > ■ ■ I >■ III M ■■■■■■■■ — y^»«, >l^ 1^— ^w^^w

Amboyiuun, ct Baadam, usque in cubcUs insulss ad Samat
sitas, imiDo u^que ad NoTam Guiocam/'-^/^mipAfi Herh^
Amb. Tsm. V. p. 347.

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If ATBRIAL8 09 FOOD. 9^

and Java have drc^ped the generic term, and the
tatter corropt Castela into Cdtela.

A tuberous root, fOeymum iuteromm,J fre*
quentiy cultivated in Java, and much resemfaling in
appearance the American potatoe, is called in the
language of the country Kdntang. It is small,
round, and contains much £uinaceous matter^ but
has no great flavour ; it is an inhabitant of the hoi
plains*

The poisonous Manioc of America ('Jatropka
manihotj has been introduced into the Indian is-
lands, and may be seen growing wild in the hedges
but the natives of these countries, possessed of such
a variety of vegetable food superior to that which
the manioc aflfords, put no value upon it, and do
not cultivate it. The name by which it is known,
Uln B&landay * would seem to infer that it waa in*
troduced by the Dutch, and, at dl events, potnfai
out that it was introduced by Europeans

A species of Dioscarea (Dioseorea tryph/UaJ
exists abundantly in the wild state thrctughout ihe
Archipelago, and is occasionally cultivated for use.
The name of this plant in Malay and Javanese is
Qadung. In each of the o^er dialects of the Ar-
chipelago, it is biovm by a distinct and peculiar
name, which it is mmaoessary to repeat. This
plant, like the Manioc, requires a tedioos duldfica-
tion.

' ■ — ■ . *

, * A conruptioQ of UoUrikI.

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074 HUflBAMDET OF TBK

A great variety of avoid jdants (Arum) eiutsm
ihe Archipelago, llie one chiefly diltivyt^d ia the
Arum esctdenhm of limwus. The huabaodry of
diift plant is practised in upland fioU^^ md is chi^y
pursued where the cereal gramna an seaieew Iqt
the rich lands of the central and eastern part of
Java, we rarely, for example, see it, but in the pgorr
er lands of the west it is very frequent. The arrow
root is called in Javanese TalaSj in Malay KSiadi^
in Temati Bete^ in Amboynese Inan^ and in the
language of Banda KUdu. Trom this diversity of
name we pronounce it to be an indigenous product
of the Archqielago.

Of the plants of temperate r^ons alKodsig mai-
terials of subsistence iirtroduced into the Indim
islands, the number is small, and the prodnetioii
very lunited. The plains are too hot for them,
and their successful cultivation seems in Java to
require an elevation of 4000 feet above the level of
the sea. Java is the only country in which they
are at present raised, because the only country pos*
sessing elevated tracts of land in which Europeans
have co}oni2ed, however imperfect that aoiomxt^
tion. When, under a wise system of colonial ad^
ministration, Europeans are permitted freely to co-
lonize, we may expect an extensive cultivition of
ail their &vourite materials of subastenee.

Wheat, which the Malays, who only know it by
name, call Gandum, after the Persians, is called
by the. Javanese, who have been instructed by Eu«

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UATSBHAIS OV MW. SJS

vopetm in die culture of it, by the Dutch name of
Trigo. It is cnltif?ated by the Javanese precisely
in the same manner in which they (»iltivate moun-
tain rice, and^ before the ear is formed, a field of
die one is not to be distinguished from the other.
Fromtheignorant and cai^tess culture pursuedrinre*
gavd to it, the grain is d^k*coloured, nuall, and of
infisrior quality. . A more skilful husbandry would
xedr^s these defects, but it is probable that the cold
regions of the elevated tracts of Java may always
be used to greater advantage in raising other pro«
ductions, than in growing wheat, as the Indian
islands lie so near to Bengal, the cheapest country
in the world for wheat, and from whence, from its
vicinity, it is probable it may always be more oheap^
ly imported than reared at home«

The Dutch of very late years have introduced
the American ^potxitoe (Soiantm tuberosum) Auto
Java. Sudi is the supineness of the European
colonists, and their iinperfect occupation of these
oeimtries, that the event cannot be dated farther
back duuQ thirty years. In Malay, the potatoe is
called Ubi EuropUj or the Eurc^an yam, and in
Javanese KSntang Hokaukh or the Dutch KSn-
Umgf names which sufficiently describe its origin*
The potatoe reared in Ja^a is of good sise and ex-
cellent quality, being, I think, more delicately fl^
wured than those raised in Eun^, and much supe-
rior to those cultivated in any part of Hindustan*

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376 HirWAMBRT OF THE

They grow i^ndaotly without dresBings, and al«
most indiscriminately at every season of die year, so
tliat the care of storing them is unnecessary, and
£be fresh root is ready for the table at every sea*
son. During the British possession of the ishnd^
the cultune was gready extended from the increas-
ed demi^id for thera» and ^thin the last few yeaiv
the natives of the mountains and of the valleyv
near them have begun to use them as an article of
diet. But as the production of this root is c^i*
fined to the high lands, and the quantify of food
yielded by them firom a given quantity of land and
labour, is much smdler than affiirded by other tube-
fous n>ot9, as the yam, the arum^ and, sbove all,
the sweet polaitoe or Batates, it is evident 6iey
can never become, in those climates, an article of
general consumption.

In the same mountainous knds in which the
potatoe and wheat are cultivated, ar^ grown m
much perfection some of the garden stuffi of Eu-
rope. The most successfuUy raised are artidiokesb
cabbages, and peas* Tlie carrot has not succeeded
80 well. Turnips were only introduced fay the
English, who also introduced waler-cresses, whidi
latter thrive with a most extraordinary luxuriancet
not only in the hills but in the hottest plains.

The natives of the Indian, idands cultivate a
variety of indigenous culinary plants^ the most im«

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poitafti of iviiicli «re the eueamber, and the chihV
cm: cafisicum.

The cuctmker (Hmun) is extensively Mltii^ted
in fields like the more ordinary productions of
i^culture } in Java fireqaemly as a seccmd crop m
tbe dry season in succession to rice. The natives
are partial to them, and coumne them in hurge
quantities.

The oniont from its natiye name ^mvangt ap«
pears to be an indigenous product of the Indian
islands, but it is a native of the hills and tracts of
moderate elevationi and not of the plains, where
it does not tibrive. In the elevated lands of Java
it is extensively cultivated, and forms an article of
trade between these and the plains, and, indeed, of
CMfiiderable exportation from the island to the
ndghbouring countries*

. The capsicum or ckiU is a native of the Indian
idands, and constantly found in its wild state. It
is called by different names in the dil^rmt lan-
guages ; thus, in the Javanese it is Lombok, in the
Malay Oiubeif in the Bali Tabia. Rumphiiis
tells us, indeed, that the capsicum is called ChUi
by the nalives, and brace he argues its American
origin ; but, I imagine this learned and indefatiga^
ble person must have been misled by the barba*
reus jargon of the European colonists of Amboyna,
£ar no such name as this is known in any genuine
dialect of the Arch^elago^ Tlie same variety c^
names vrill be found to prevail with all the useful

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8JB BMIUKDEr tf tttS

plants jfyund akimdtmtbf' in their nU sMt, om
the rattan, the bamboo, the banana, and the
Aren^ palm, (Borassus gamuius^) while €be
higher cliisses of v^etable productmia, aa the
cereaiia and farinaceous roots, which, as in other
eoimtries, can rarely be traced to their wild state*
and have only been multiplied by the industry of
man, will be found distinguished by the same name
in every language of the Arbhipelago. The infe-
rence to be drawn from this curious fact, so of-
ten iklyerted to in this woric, is, that, tbrougk
the civiliwtion and influence of one tribes the
culture of the higher classes of vegetable food*
with other matters of improvement, was oemeHi*
nicat^d to the rest. In the less populoua dis«
tricts, the capsicum is cultivated in gardeu^
but in the more populous in fields, like the com-
mon productiotts of agriculture. The chiB is a
hardy plant that will grow almost any where.
Cidture appears to increase its siae, but to diminish
its pungency. The natives o£ the oountiy, idm
have little taste for black pepper, for doves, or nnt-
megs, tbeabundant productions of theircountry,and
so much in request among foreigners, use immense
quantities of the capsicum, the consumption of
which is as universal, and perhaps equal in ^panti-
ty to that of salt.

Among the Indian idanders there is a great
consumption of oil as an article <^ food* increased

by the total absence of any substkute drawn from

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MJOBMALB 09 M(HX 679

die aouml ktngdoiiu The plants whiehjA)rd <mI»
either for food or* the art8» are principally thi^
Coconut, tl^e Grou^ Pestachio, tlie PalfM P^riai,
9ifkd Sfsammn. ^i- ^^*l*

Hie coconut tree (Cocos ^ucififi^d) is cultivated
firpm one extremity of the Indian islanda to the
other» bat» like the other more taluable produc-
timis which afford nutriment tQ man, is not disco-
vendble in its wild state* Jn the «nel} uninhabit-
ed islands near the boasts of lai^er enes^ cocmiut
tre^ are fimnd in gfvat qnantities on the sbcHres
but never in the interior, which shews they have
been -floated accidentally to the fbima: ^chq the '
main-land,— that they are self-propagated^—and
not indigenous in diese situations.* Byoneorother
ofthb terms KUkgrn and Nyor, and sometimes
by both, the coconut is known in every coun-
try of the Indian islands from Sumatm to the
Hulq>pines; nay, these names exten4 ev^ to
Madagascar and the Friendly Ishmds, with other
piurtions of Australasia. How wonderful to dis-
cover this useful pUmt silently propagated over
many^ thousand leagues, apM>ng hundreds of
hartMorou^ tribes of diwwiilar languages, whose
very nfines* and situations ar^ unknown to ea^
other! The coconut grows most quickly, most
luxuriantly, and to the greatest size, near the sea
coast. The size of the tree and fruit diminish as

• Marsden's Sumatra, p. Siw

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3M HUSBANDRY OF THE

we go into the interior, and in the higher mem*
tains the tree is long in hearing fruk, and the fruit
is of a dwaifish size.* In lands favonnible to itg
growth it produces fruit in five years. It is grown
generally w the irregular gardens which surround
the cottages of the peasantry, of which^ for utili-
ty and ornament, it is the most distinguished pro-
duction. It is for the pulp of the nut that it 10
almost exclusively grown. This pulp, in its early
stages, is used in the cookery of the natives in a
great variety of forms, and when the nut ia in a
greater state of maturity, the oil is extracted from
it. This oil is the most esteemed^ and costly of
all that is in common use among the Indian island-
ers* When freshly expressed it is pure and taste-
less, but soon acquires a rancidity not disi^^reeable
to the natives of the country, but extremely ofllen-
dve to Europeans. It is too expensive {(» burn-
ing, and is» therefore, almost exclufively used as an
edible oil. The fibrous husk of the coconut ia
seldom in the Indian islands converted, as m Cey-
lon and the Maldives, into cordage, beoause the
fine country they inhabit aibsds other better and
cheaper materials. Neither is the shell used, ex-
0^ among the more savage tribes, fiir culinary w

* *' Here, said a countryman at Loyc, if I plant a coco*-
BUt I may expect to reap the fruit of it ; but in Lahun^ an
inland district, I should only plant for my great-grafid>chiUU
rcn/'— J/ar^ff^n'* Sttmctra, p. S6.

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MAT£&IAL8 OF VOOD. 881

Other purposes, a practice superseded by their
cheap pottery aad the use of meCaiyc vesflels.

Next to the coconut taree, the most eonsiderafale
source of the supply of oil is the ground pestoekio^
{AracMs hypogis^.) This is sometimes called by
the natives Kachang tanah, or grouud pulse, occa-
sionally Kachang Jo^n^ or Japanese pulse, but
more frequently Kachang China^ or Chinese pulse,
from which last name it is to be implied that the pro-
duction was introduced by the Chinese, ^t what
period this happened isnot detenmned, but I strong*
]y suspect it was long after the establishment of
Europeans in the Archipelago, and that the Chinese,
who, under the auspices of the Dutch, first culti-
vated the sugar cane for the manu&eture of sugar,
cultivated at the same time, as in their own conn*
try, the grcmnd pestaehio, to affi>rd an o$l-cake fbr
dressing the cane lands. From this subsidiary and
local empbyment it may have spread more gefieral-
ly among the natives of the Archipelago.

The ground nut is the hardiest and one of the
most valuable of all the producticms of Javanese
husbandry. It is usually grown in common dty
arable lands, and will, indeed, thrive tol«id>ly well
in such indiflferent soils as are, without a more iik-
proved system of management than is now prac-
tised, unfit f(Hr the growth of almost any other pro-
^^uction.

The natives ezpresa the oil by a tedious and ex-

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382 nt8B AKDRY OF THE

pensile proeess not worth detailing, but the Chi-
nese have instructed them in a more inteffigent
metiiod, whieh consists in grinding the seeds in a
simple mill, consistmg of two wooden rollers mov-
ed by the labour of cattle. The cake wluch re-
mains after expression is used by the Chinese as a
dressing to cane lands, as already mentioned, and
m the lands attached to their manufactories of su-
gar, we see the culture of the cane and ground
pestachio judiciously combined, as well with this
Tiew as to relieve the land by the occasional mterveit*
tion of a green crop. The leaf of the ground pes-
tachio res^nbles that of clover, and, like it, af-
fords exi^Uent food for cattle. The oil is gene-
rally conimed to culinary ui^e^.

The Ricinus^ or Palma ChrisHf is the next most
important of the plants which yield oil. It is tery
commonly knovm in the languages of the Archi-
pelago by the one name of JaraJc^ yet is assert*
ed by Mr Marsdento be found abundantly in its wild
state on the coasts. ^ It is a hardy plant, and
thrives alike in the burning plains and coldest parts
of the mountains. This is the only plant which
the Javanese almost ever intermix in the same
fields with other articles of cultivation. On this
principle it is frequently thinly interspersed in

"■ ' 1 1 M m \j^m T m -^

? History of Sumatra, p, 32^

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fields of mountain rice» with the growth or xMpiBg
of which it does not materially interfere. The
castor oil is never, I think, used medicinally' by
the Indian isUnders, but is the principal material
used in lamps.

Of all the productions of the Archipelago the
one which yields the finest edible oil is the KM-
narL This is a large handsome tree, which yields
a nut *of an oblong shape nearly of the siae of a
walnut. The kernel is as delicate as that of a fil-
bert, and abounds in oil. This is one of the most
useful trees of the countries where it grows* The
nuts are either smoked and dried for use, or the
<»il is expressed from them in their recent state.
The oil is used for all culinary purposes, and is
more palatable and finer than that of the coconut.
The kernels, mixed up with a little sago meal, are
made into cakes and eaten as bread. The KUnari is
a native of the same country with the sago tree, and
is not found to the westward. In Celebes and
Java it has been introduced in modem times
through the medium of traffic*

One important and singular article remains to be
described, the Sago Palm^ (Metroanflon sagu^J a
tree from which the inhabitantsof the eastern portion
of the Indian Archipelago derive the faxiaaceous
nutriment which other nations of the world derive
from the Cereal gramina^ or farinaceous roots. The
description, which is usefid to our present purpose.

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AS! HU3BAlfDBY OF THB

may be very shortly given. Except tiie Nipa^ it is
in stature the humblest of the palm tribe» its ex*
treme height seldom exceeding thirty feet i and, ex«
cept the GomuHf it is the thickest or ku^gest, a fuU
grown tree being with difficulty clasped between
both arms. In the early period of its growth^ and
before the stem has formed, this palm has all the
appearance of a bush of many shoots* Until thr
stem has attained the height of five or six*feet, it
is covered with sharp spines, which afford it profec-
tion against the attack of the wild hog, or other
depredation. When, from the strength and ma^
turity of the wood, this protection is no longer ne^
cessary, the spines drop off. Before the tree haa .
attained its full growth, and previous to the £mna^
tion of the fruit, the stem consists of a thin hard
wall, about two inches thick, and of an enonnova
volume of a spongy medullary matter> like that of
alder. * It is this medullary matter which affords
the edible farina, which is the bread of the island*
ers. As the fruit forms the farinaceous meduUa
disappears^ and when the tree attains full maturity*

* ^^ Exterius trunci lignum, seu potius cortex duos tantom
crassus est digitos,^*— Reliqua interior pars, replela est al*
ba, humida, ac fungosa medulla, qoam omnipotens Creator
hisoe iadigeois concessit loco oryso sen alius fhuneotiv eic
quibus panes pinsitur uti infra iDdicabitur*''<^-£ir»pAi9 Her-^
haritim Amboinense, Tom. I, p. 73.

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MATERIALS OF FOOD. S85

the stem is no more than a- hollow shell. The ut-
most age of the tree does not exceed thnty years.
The sago palm is an inhabitant of low marshy situ-
ations, and does not grow in dry or mountainous
places. A good sago plantation, or forest, is a bog
knee-deep.* There is but one species of this
palm, but four varieties, viz. — ^the cultivated, — the
wild, — on^ distinguished by the length of the spines
on the 'branches, — and one altogether destitute of
^ines» which last is usually called by the natives
the -Female sago. The first and last afford the
best farina, the second a hard medulla, from which
die farina is difficultly extracted, and the third,
which has a comparatively slender trunk, an in-
ferior quantity of farina*

The sago, like other pafans, is propagated from
the seed or fruit, which is of inconstant shape and
size, from that of a prune to that of a pigeon^s, and
that of a pullet's egg.

The true native country of the sago palm ap-
pears to be that portion of the Archipelago in
which the easterly monsoon is the boisterous and

.-^

* ** Arbor hcb optime crescit in cenoso seiiaquoso solo, obi
ad genua limo immerguntnr homines. In sabulosis qutdem
crescit etiam locte, si modo sint huroidi, hiocque ttaUs sagu
arboris sii?SD adco sant minute, ubi non unus-alterve aqiie
tiTalns adest**— AtmipAfi Herbarium Amboinetue, Tow. 1.
p. 77.

VOL. I. B b

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386 HUSBANDR7 OF TUB

rainy one. This geographical range embnees Ae
eastern portion of Celebes and Bomeo> — ^to the
north the island of MindaiUM), — ^to the south Timur,
and to the east ^eyf Guinea. It is most abun-
dant in the islands most distinguished for the pio-
duction of the clove and nutmeg, and its gdogni^
phical distribution seems co-extensive with that of
these spices. The great island of Ceram is» of ail
others, the most distinguished for the production of
the sago palm. Here it is found in immense forests
in its wild state. If this palm be an indigenous
product of the western countries of the Aiehjpe-
lago, as sometimes insisted upon, and not an exo«
tie, it is a very rare one, and the pith is seldom
extracted to be used as bread.

From attending to the various designati<ms un-
der which the sago palm is distinguished, some
v^ curious and interesting inferences may be
drawn. Of all the plants which afford a supply of
nutritious farinar for human aliment, the sago af-
fords at once the most obvious, easy, and abundant
one. The pith of the tree, when ground down in
a mortar, deposites the farina, at once, without diffi-
culty. Unlike, also, to the other great sources of
farinaceous food, it exists^ in nature in great a-
bundance, and it is probable^ such is the extent of
the native forests of it, that ages must have passed
away before the first savage^ inhabitants were ne»
cessitated to have recourse to any mode of culture.

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MATERIALS OF FOOD. 387

if he sago palm is not, therefore, as in the case Of
the cereaUa and the other useful and nutritive
plants, multiplied only by the industry of man^
through the instruction of one tribe, known erery
where by one common name; but each tribe
has its own vernacular term for it, and very com-
monly a distinct one for the farina obtained
from it. Thus, in the Temati language, the tree
is called Huda, in that of Amboyna, the tree La^
jda^ and the farina Sagt^maruka ; in Banda, the
tree is called Romiho, and the farina Sangyera ;
in Macassar the tree is called Rambiya^ and the
farina Palehu ; and in the Mindanao language
the tree receives the denomination of Ldbi. This
diversity of speech in the language of the people in
whose country the sago palm is indigenous, may
be contrasted with its meagreness in that of those in
whose country the palm is either little known or
an exotic. The term, both for the tree and for
ihejarina^ in all the languages of the western tribes
of the Archipelago is saguj* which appears to be
nothing more than an abbreviated form of the Am-
boynese term for the farma. This is just what
strangers would naturally do.. They took the
name of the commodity in its femiliar commercial
form, and, ignorant of distinctions, gave the name

* The Malays sometimes gWe the Macassar pamc of Ram*
hiya to the tree.

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388 • HUSBANDRY OF THE

of a part to the lyhole. In Java I have never seen
the sago tree, except when cultivated as an object
of curiosity, and it is there considered always as an
exotic.

It remains to give a sketch of the sago harvest,
if I may use such an expression, and the modes of
preparing the Jarina for consumption, with the se*
condary uses to which this palm is applied. There
is no regular fixed season for extracting the pith,
which is taken as occasion requires, and as the in-
dividual trees become ripe. The length of time
in which this happens depends on the nature of the
soil in which the sago grows. Fifteen years may
probably be reckoned an average time for the tree
to come to maturity. It is not, however, by a cal-
culation of the tree's age, but by its appearance, or
by an actual experiment on the pith, that the pe-
riod of maturity is determined. The inhabitants
of the Moluccas mark six su^s in the pn^ress of
the maturity of the medullary matter, the earliest
of which is marked by the appearance of an efflo-
rescence of $t mealy appearance on the branches,
and the last by commencement of fructification.
The pith may be extracted in wj of these stagei^
and sometimes the natives, trusting to their expe-
rience, proceed to the harvest from the mere appear-
ance which the tree presents. More frequently, how-
ever, a hole is bored in the trunk, and some of the
pith actually extracted, and its maturity examined.

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MATERIALS OF FOOD. 389

When the pith k ascertained to be ripe, the tree is
cut down near the root, and the trunk subdivided
into portions of six or seven feet long, each of
which is split into two parts. From these the me-
dullary matter is extracted, which, with an instru-
ment of bamboo or hard wood, is forthwith reduced
to a powder like saw-dust, llie process of separat-
ing the Jarina from the accompanying bran and fi*
laments is simple and obvious, and consists merely
in mixing the powdered medulla with water, and
passing the water charged with the forina through
^ sieve at one end of the trough in which the mix-
ture is made. The water so charged is made to
pass into a second vessel, where the farina falls to
the bottom, and, after two or more edulcorations,
is fit for use. * This is the raw sago meal, which

* The process described in the text it tliat practised in the
Molaceas* That practised at Mindanao is somewhat differ.
eot. Dampier describes it in his wonted simple and happy
manner. *' The valley s,'* say 9 he, ^^ are well moistened with
pleasant brooks, and small rivers of delicate water, and have
trees of divers sorts flourishing and green all the year. The
trees in general are very large, and most of them are of kinds
unknown to us* There is one sort which deserves particular
notice, called by the natives Libby trees. These grow wild
in great groves of five or six miles long, by the sides of the
rivers. Of these trees sago is made, which the poor country
people eat instead of bread three or four months in the year.
This tree^ for its body and shapp is much like the Palmetto

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390 HUffiAlTOBT OV THE

keeps, without further preparation, a month* Bor
further use» this meal is made into cakes, whieh
keep a long time. These cakes are formed in
moulds of earthenware, divided into oofqiartnioits.
The moulds are first heated, ami the dry meal be-
ing thrown into them, a hard cake is formed in a
few minutes, so that one heating of the moulds
serves to bake several series of cakes. These cakes,
according to the country in which they are made,
are of various forms and sizes. Those of Amboy-
na are half a foot long, and three or four inches
broad ; those of Ceram much larger, and exces-
sively hard. These cakes, strung on a filament of
cane, are the form in which the si^ is chiefly ex*
posed for sale in the markets, and that in whidi the
largest proportion of it is consumed. A consider-
able quantity of the sago meal fs also consumed in

tree, or the cabbage tree, but not to tall as the latter. The
bark and wood is hard and thin, like a shell, and foil of wbite
pith like the pith of an alder. This tree they cut down, and
split it in the middle, and scrape out all the pith, which ihej
beat lustily with a wooden pestle, in a great mortar, or
trough, and then put it into a cloth, or strainer, held over
a trough, leaTing nothing in the cloth but alight sort of iiQsky
which they throw away ; but that which falh into the trough
settles in a short time to the bottom like mod, and then tkj
draw off the water, and take up the muddy substance, where.
with they make cakes, which being baked, proves verj good
bread/*~Vo]. I. p. 310, Sll.

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MATERIALS OF FOOD. 391

tho &rm of a pap or panadOt whieb is coHuoooaly
eaten witib afi«h soup preparod for the purpose. *
Ear exportation^ tim finest sago meal is niixe4 with
mit^, and the paste is rubbed into small grains of
the siae and form of coriander seeds. This is the

* This faTourite dish of the nat'iYes of the spice islands is
iescribed as foUows by Rumphitis : ** None quoque agemus
de mlmblli pvlto Papeda ejasqne pn^Nunliooe ; quidbatest
ndlcalus qukten spectatoribusi detioiti tamen saporis, i^que,
sequeiiti prepaiatur modo ; accipe recentb farinae jagu-mon-
ta maDipulam, per partes infunde aquas callidse, continuo
agita^ statim turn acquiris tenacem pellacidam pultem coctum
amylum referentem, quae Portugallico yocabulo Papeda did-
tar, AmboiDeodbuB Lappia r^cata, utqae hiDC pala grate co«
saedatnr, pavatam debet esse condimeatum ex jure pisdam
Bocttuan dictum^ ex succo limooum acido, aromatib usque
confectum, cujus pauca pars patellae plans infunditur, sen
conchas presertim Nautali Majoris seu folio SenteUaruB pri'
ma cujus folia iastar patioae natura formaTit, dein Papeda
tenuibus badlfis tarn diu agitatur donee grumulus adhereat
4111 pnsdicto impontftr coadimeDtum, quantameuDque vdi-
mus, grumuli enim condimeuto obducti non sibi agglutinan-
tur, iique turn sine mastiratione sorbillando, quam calide fieri
possit, iogeruntur, frigidi enim nauseosi sunt, hocque puis
Papeda tali humectata condimento est grati saporis, appeti*
tuaa excitans, paucum yero dat nutrimentum, ac mox digeritur,
ita ut, licet pleno Tentre a measa recedamus, intm unam al-
teramTe horam consumptis sit : Gratissimus est dbus iiS| qui
antecedeoti iuebriati fuerunt die, Tapores enim dissipat, naa«
si|m kvit gulam, atque nauseabundo appetitium exdtat yen-
tf iculo.**— jRump/iu Herbarium Amboinense, Tom. I. p. 80.

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39S UU8BAMDRT OF THE

appearance oisago whidi we always see, and is too
well known to require fiirther description. In
whatever way prepared, the^fitrina of the sago is in-
feriOT in quality to the CereaUa, and the superior
rity of the latter is sufficiently confessed by the
preference shewn to them even by the natives cfthe
sago countries themselves. *

The di£Perent portions of the sago palm are ^
plied to various econcnnical uses. The hard wood of
the trunk, called Ktarunmg^ is used in their bmld-
ings, and in their bridges, as well as in making laige
troughs, and such vessels. The stem of the branch,
called Goto'^a&i, which is deeply channelled on the
upper surface, is of still more goieral applM»tion,
being used in house building, in fortification, and in
the palings of gardens and other inclosures. The
leaf is in general use as thatch. The bran, or re-
fuse of the pith, called Elay is used in feeding hogs.
When thrown into heaps, it putrifies, and an edible
mushroom of very delicate quality grows on the

* Forrest, after a long eulogy on sago bread, makes the
followiog acknowledgment : ^^ I mast own my crew would
have preferred rice, and when mj small stock which I car-
ried itomBahmbangan^ was near ex {Mended, I have heard then
grumble and say, ^ We most soon eat Papua bread/ "— JV»^
rett^s Voyage to New Guinea. Forrest's men consisted chief-
ly of Malays, natifes of the western portion of the Archi*
pclago.

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MATERIALS OF FOOD.

heaps. In the same heaps, as well as in the decay*
ed wood, a wonn of a white colour, with a brown
head, is generated, resembling a palmer-worm.
The natives of the Moluccas, like the ancient Ro-
mans, who held certain wood-worms dainties, con-
sider them great delicacies, and scmie Euri^ans,
who have conquered their first aversion, hare enter-
ed into jtheir tastes.

Of the fecundity of the sago palm, we want
means to speak with precision. Rumphius and
Vatentyn, with the inatt^fition to matters of
this nature which characteriaed their times, are
silent, and we cannot rely on more recent au-
thorities. The mass of nutritive matter aflford*
ed by the sago palm is certainly prodigious, and
far exceeds that of all other plants. Five and
eix hundred pounds weight, it appears, is not an
unusual produce for one tree. Allowing, however,
for the plants that perish, and for unproductive
or barren ones, perhaps we shall not err greatly if
we take the average rate of produce at three hun-
dred pounds avoirdupois. Supposing each tree,
then, to be 10 feet asunder, as is practised with
the other larger pahns, an £nglish acre will con-
tain 435 trees, and yield 1^,500 pounds avoirdu-
pms of raw meal, or above 8000 pounds a year.

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CHAPTER IIL

HUSBANDRY OF ARTICLES OF NATIVE LUXURY.

The Areca Palm. — The Sagwire or Gormuti Palm^^Palm
Wine, — Sugar manufactured from it. — GomuH. — Sago^-^

Beetd Pepper Gam6ir.—Tobacco^>^Fruits. — The Ba*

nana. — Epidermit manufaetwred into doth and Cordage,
^•^The Bread-fruit, — General Remarks on the Culture rf

Fruite^^The Manguetin The Durian.^The Jack Fruit.

•^The ChiimpHdak^'^The Mango. — Orange and Lime^^

The Pine Apple The Jamhiu-^The Guina^^The Pa-

paya — The Custard Apple. — The Dukuh, Langseh^ and
RiamUa^^The Rambuian.—The Pomegranate^^Iie
Tamarind.'^CalAash, Gaurd^'^Mehns and Cwmmbirs^f^
European Fruits^'^Flawers.

The sulject of this cfaapt^ is » rapid cketdb of
the husbandry of products yielding intoxicaiting
or narcotic juices, and of the culture of firuifs and
flowers.

Beginning with the fint subdivision of this sub-
ject, one of the most important articles is the Aieca
palm, (^Areca Catechu, L.) This tree is too wcU
known to require any long description. It is a
slender graceful palm between thirty and forty feet
high, which produces fruit at fr<»n five to six years

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HUSBANimT OF ARTICLES, &€• 399

•Id, and usually continues to bear to its twenty-
fifth year, when the leaves drop off and the tree
perishes. The fruit is the only part of this palm
applied to use, and it is et^ten both in its unripe
and mature state. In the former state it is green,
succulent, and has a small cavity containing a lit-
tle sweet-tasted fluid ; in the latter, it is of the siw
of a plumb, and of an orange coloiu** The extmor
part is now a soft spongy fibrous matter, the interu^
fk nucleus, resembling in shape, inse, internal struc-
ture and colour, a ^nutm^, Ibough usually largar
and always harder. The nut in this state is a great
object of commerce. Rumphius enumerates four
cultivated and three wild vaiieties of this palm.

The aieca is a native of all the countries of
Asia within the tropics, and ia an indigenous pro-
duct of Al the Indian ishmds. Like all other in-
digenous products found w9d in abundance, it is
found to be distinguished in each language by a
distinct term, every one of which is native. In
Javanese it is called Jambi^ m Malay Pinang^
in the Balinese BandOj in the dialects of Am-
boyna Buah^ PuOy and HueJi^ meaning << die
fruit, par excellence;*^ in Macassar Rapo^ in
Temati £ena,— 4hese examples are sufficient.
TEe word Areca^ which, through the Portu-
guese, has been naturalized in the other lan-
guages of £urope, is originally from the Telinga.
The physical distribution of the areca palm is more

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996 HU8BANDRT OF ARTICLES

extensive, but its geographical one more limited
tban that of the coconut. It thrives at a greater
distance from the sea, and in lands of greater
elevation. It is propagated from the ripest
seeds or fruits, first sown in beds, and afterwards
tranqilanted. These plantations are usually dose
to the villages, and are highly omamentaL It
thrives in ordinary soils, and in all situations, but
the neighbourhood of the sea is conducive to the
perfisction of the fruit, and the warmer and lower
the land, the more rapidly does the tree advance to
maturity. In the climate (Kf the Indian islands little
care is required in weeding or watering this palm.
No manure is ever used, nor is the culture of a pre-
carious and expensive nature, as in the countries of
the Deccan. * In the fifth and sixth year, as al'
ready mentioned, the areca produces fruit, which
appears in large bunches from three or four spa-
dicce, and the tree gives two crops, the whole an-
nual produce amounting to, not less at an average
than, fourteen pounds. As areca palms are planted
usually at the distance of seven feet and a half, it
follows that the produce of an acre is 10,841.^ lbs.
avoirdupois. This explains the extraordinary cheap-
ness at which the grower is enabled to sell the

* Buchanan^s Journey through Mysore, &c« the most va-
luable work on the statistics of India hitherto gifen to the
public.

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OF NATIVE LUXURY. 397

nut^ which k often as low as half a doUat* per ^-
cul of 138^ lbs. avoirdupois.

One of the'most useful and abundant of all the
palms is the Sagwire or Gomutiy (Borassus go^
mutus.) This afibrds the principal supply of that
saccharine liquor which is used so much by the na-
tives as a beverage^ or for the extraction of .su-
gar. The gomuti is the thickest of all the palms,
but shorter than the coconut. It is readily dis-
tinguished from all other palms by its rude and
wild aspect.* The fruits, which are about the size
of a medlar, and of a triimgular form, grow frmn
the shoots of fructification, on long strings of three
or four feet. The fruit is in such abundance tlmt
the quantity depending from a single shoot is more

^ Romphiua gifet us the following niagalar but accurate
deicriptioo of the appearance of this palm : ^^ Eodem fere
inodo ac Calappus crescit. Ejus autem trunous crassior
est, ac multo humilior, et vix altior Pinan^, ad radicem
squalls nee protnberans cujus coma atro.Yridis est^ in com p-
ta et adspectu tristis, unde facile ab aliis disimgaitar arbori-
bus. Trancusio annulos itidem quodammodo est divlsus
ineqnales, et hirsutus, qui per museum piuresque Filicnm et
Poljpodii species adeo obsessi et concreti sunt, ut y\i^ dig«
uosci possint, antequam a Tiffadoribus dcpurctur trnncus ;
ita ut silyestri ac tili forma hand male ebrium aemuletur rus*
ticum, qualis yariis consults ac panuosis Testimentis erigilat
ittcomptis intricatisque titubans capillis; ifiimo foedissimas
forms inter omnes est arbores," — Tom, I, p. ^7,

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398 HUSBANDRY OF ARTICLES

than 8 load for a man* The fleshy outer eo/fetta^
of this fruit is of a poisonous quality, or at lease
affi>rds a juice of a highly stimulating and eeirro^
uve nature, which, when applied to the skin, ooca*
sions great pain and inflammation. The inhabit-
ants of the Molucca were in the practice of using,
in their wars, in the drfenoe of posts, a liquor af-
forded by the maceration of the fruit of the gamutU
which the Dutch appropriately denominated HeU
water. The interior of the fruit, freed from this
noxious covering, is prepared and extensirely used
by the Chinese as a sweetmeat.

The principal production of this pahn is the
toddy J which is procured in the same manner as
from other palms, or in the following mode : One
of the spoUtuB or shoots of fructification is, on the
first appearance of fruit, beaten for three suoces*
sive days with a small sticky with the tiew of de-
termining the sap to the wounded part. The
shoot is then cut off a little way from the root,
and the liquor which pours out is%received in pots
of earthenware,-**in bamboos,— or other vesseb.
The gotnuti palm is fit to yield toddy at nine or
ten years old, and continues to yield it for two
years at the average rate lof three quarts a day.
When newly drawn the liquor is clear, and in
taste resembles fresh must. In a very short
time it becomes turbid, whitish, and somewhat
acrid, and quickly runs into the vinous fermenta-

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OP KATIVfi LUXURY. 999

tieiiy aequiring an mtoxicating quality. In tliia
state great quantities of it are consumed. A still
larger quantity is immediately applied to the pur-
pose of yielding sugar. With this view the li-
quor is boiled to a syrup, and thrown out to eool
in fflnall vessels, the form of whieh it takes, and in
this shape it is sold in the mari^ets. This sugar is of
a dark colour and greasy consistence, with a pecu-
liar flavour. It is the only sugar used by the native
population. The wine of this palm is also used by
the Chinese residing in the Indian islands in the
preparation of the celebrated Batavian arrack.

A production of great value is obtained from the
gomuti resembling black horse hair. It is found
between the trunk and branches, at the insertion
of the latter, in a matted form, interspersed with
long hard woody twigs of the same colour. When
freed from the latter it is used by the natives for
every purpose of cordite, domestic or naval. It
is superior in quality, cheapness, and dundbility, to
the cordite manufactured from the fibrous husk of
the coconut, and has been extensively applied,
particularly of late years, to European naval pur-
poses, eqiecially in the manufacture of cables and
standing ri^ng. •A .single palm in its lifetime
yields two crops of this material, each amountisg
in quantity to about an average of nine pounds
^ avoirdupois. The small twigs found in the hair-
like material are used by all the tribes who write

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400 HUSBAMDaY W ARTICLES !

on paper as pens, and they are the arrows used by
others to discharge, poisoned or oUierwise, from
the blow-pipes or arrow-tubes described in a fonner
part of this work.

Underneath the hair-like material is found a
third material of a soft gossamer-like texture, which
is put to use, and exported to China in consider*
able quantity. It is applied as oakum in caulkii^
the seams of ships, and more generally as tinder
for kindling fire. It is for this latter purpose that
it is chiefly in request among the Chinese.

Like the true sago palm, the gomuti affivds a
medullary matter, from which a farina is pre-
pared. In Java, it is the only source of this ma-
terial, which, in the western and poorer part of
the island, is used in considerable quantity, and of-
fered for sale in all themarkets. It is smaller in quan-
tity than the pith of the true sago tree, more diffi-
cult to extract, and inferior in quality, having «
certain peculiar unpleasant flavour, which the farina
of the true sago is without.

The gomuti palm is a native of the Indian Ax-
chipelago, and found, I believe, in no other coun-
try. It occurs abundantly in the wild state i in*
deed, except in a few situations, it is hardly ever
cultivated, nature producing it in an abundance suffi-
cient for all the present demands of the natives.
Like all plants found abundant in the state of na-
ture, the Gomuti is distinguished by names as nu*

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W NATIVE LUXURY. 401

merotttf 88 the Jmgfiiag^es of the countries which pro*
duce it. With the usiial copiowness of these lani-
guagest on familiar occasions, each useful part of
the plant is designated by a specific name. In Ma-
lay the tree is called Anao, the liquor Tuwak^ or
NerOt the soft down Barun, and the material
like horse-hair Ifu, or Gomuti. It is this last
name which our botanists hare improperly given to
the whole plant. In Javanese the tree is called
Aren^ the material like horse-hair Duk, the gossa-
mer-like substance KawuU and the sap Uigen^
which means the ^tweet material^ by distinction.
In the Amboynese language, the tree is called
Ncsma^ the material of cordage Makse. In the
Temirt;! language, the tree is called Seho^ in the
Bali Jahaka^ and in the Bima Noun. In the
Macaasiff hinguage, the tree is AfoncAono, the sap
Juro, and in the Mandar the tree is Akel, and the
sap Ki. The Portuguese, I know not for what
reason, and other European nations have f(^owed
them, call the tree and the liquor Sagwire. The
fruit and the hard black twigs are also known in
each language Jby specific names, which it were su«
perfluous to mention.

Unlike the coconut tree, the gamuH palm does
not thrive best in the neighbourhood of the sea,
nor on the hot plains on the level of the ocean. It
is rather an inhabitant of the mountains, loving the

vol* i# c c

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402 HUSBANDRY OF ARTICLES

narrow damp valleys of billy countries, particularly
the yicinity of brooks, or collections o( water.

Like otber palms, it is propagated from tbe seed.
Tbe Javanese allege tbat it is most favourably pro-
pagated through the seeds voided by the Ltctvak, or
MtiSOTigy a species of polecat, of which the fruit of
the gomuti is said to be a favourite food. Planta*
tions of this palm are to be found in the westers
hilly parts of Java.

The fecundity of the gomuti palm may be esti*
mated from the amount of its principal products.

The tree comes to maturity in ten years, and is
productive for two. In this time it will afford at
the rate of three quarts of sap a-day, with eight
lbs. of tinder material, and eighteen lbs. of the black
horse-hair-like material. This estimate is formed
from the produce of the wild tree, and of course sup-
poses no improvement from culture. It may be
readily imagined that the improvement in the
amount and quality of the cultivated plantations
would more than repay the labour of cultivation.
The rent which gomuti palms pay in Java to the.
proprietor is one-third the gross amount of the
principal produce or sweet liquor, the same as is
paid by all the secondary products of agricultural
industry, those raised in dry lands.

The Betel pepper (Piper betel J is a very im-
portant article of husbandry or horticulture. This
plant is too well known to require any description*

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OF NATIVE LUXURY. 40S

It is a pepper vine, reared solely for its aromatic and
pungent leaves, * which are used as a masticatory
with the nut of the Areca palm, and other occasion*
al ingredients.

Rumphius describes six species of this pepper, and
several varieties. Some of them are cultivated, and
Others grow wild in the forests. The plant appears to
be a native of the Indian islands, and, therefore, is
known in each language by a distinct name ; thus
in Javanese it is called Suro, in Malay Sireh^ in
the Temati BidOf in the Balinese Base, in Am«
boynese Amo. The word adopted in the Euro-
pean languages is from the Telinga, in which it
is indifferently pronounced Betl^, or hetri.

The Betel vine is found in every country of Asia
within the tropics, but the kinds cultivated are no
where found wild, so that many conjecture that
they have been changed from their original form
by cultivation. If we were to judge of the native
country of this plant by the facility or difficulty
with which it is reared, we diould conclude it to be
a native of countries near the equator. In the In-
dian islands it is easily reared ; in the countries of
the Deccan with more difficulty, requiring manur-

* The flavour of the betel leaf is very peculiar. Rum-
phius 8)fty8, " Odorem illius cum nulla possum comparare ne
peculiaris enim est odor ex herbaceo et aromatico mixtus."
Herbarium Amboineme, Tom. V. p. SS8.

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404t HUSBANDRY OF ARTICLES

ing, constant watering, and so much care, tbat the
culture is frequently in the hands of persons whose
sole profession it is ; * and in the northern parts of
Hindustan, again, it is grown almost with as much
difficulty as the plants of warm regions in our hot-
houses.

In Java, the husbandry of this plant is pursued
in separate gardens, and lands of the best descrip-
tion, usually in the immediate yicinity of the viN
lages, having a constant supply of water, are select*
ed for it. They are always in lands on the level

. of the sea, and such, in point of quality, as would
yield the largest production of rice.

The Betel is propagated by slips, and the vines
suj^rted by poles, or at other times by living trees,
di£Perent ones being used in different countries of
the Archipelago, some of which are found to favour
the quantity, but to deteriorate the quality, while
other kinds again diminish the quantity, but en*
hance the quality. The Randu^ the Dadap^ and
the Kelor, are used in Java, and occasionally the
areca palm. No manure is ever employed, and
not much hoeing or weeding. An attention to
irrigation is chiefly requisite.

The Betel vine affords leaves fit for use in the
second year, and continues to yield for more than

* Buchanan's Journey through Mysore.

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ar NATIVE LUXURT. 405

thirty, the quantity diminidKiiig as the plants grow
olden

An article of extensive ccHisumption and traffic
is a certain inspissated juice called Gambir^ (Gutta
gambir^) similar to the Terra JapcnicOy or Catecku^
the Kat of continental India. This is obtained, it
appears, from two different jdants, but chiefly from
a climbing or trailing plant, the Funis uncatus ci
Rumphius, and which is itself properly called Gam^
inr. The word which we incorrectly write Gutta
ought to be written G&tah^ which, in the Malay
language, is a common name for any gum, exuda*
tioD, or inspissated juice of a plant.

Of the cultivation of the Gambir plant my friend,
the late Dr William Hunter, has rendered a vny
interesting account in the Transactions of the Lin-
nsean Society. * The plant is cultivated in dry si*
tuations, and propagated from the seed. The seed-
lings are transplanted when about nine inches high,
and the plants grow to the height c^five of six feet.
At the end of the first year, they yield a snudl crc^^
and continue to yield two annual crops for twenty
or thirty years. The leaf yields the inspissated
juice, for which purpose it is boiled in iro;ti pots to
the consistence of a syrup. This syrup, when
taken off the fire, and allowed to oool, hecomea so^
lid« and, being cut into smal} square cakes, is fit

• Vol. IX, p. 213, andfoH.

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406 HUSBANDRY OF ABTI0LB8

for sale or use. The plants are placed Id the field
at the distance of eight or nine feet. The younger
leaves afford the whitest and best gambir^ and
the older a lyrown and inferior sort. In point of
quality, much depends also on the skill with which
the process of inspissation is conducted.

The gambir^ unlike other productions of agri-
cultural industry, is the growth of some Qf the more
western and poorer countries of the Archipeh^o.
It is not cultivated in Java,nor the islands to the east-
ward of it, but abounds on the eaat coast of Suma-
tra, at Siak, Kampar, and Indragiri; at Malacca, in
the island of Rhio, and on the west coast of Borneo.
The culture and manufacture is generally in the
hands of the Chinese. The coarser kind is export-
ed in larger quantity to China, to be used in tan-
ning leather, but the principal consumption is as a
masticatory with the Areca nut and Betei leaf.
The taste of the Gambir is peculiar, afiecting the
tongue at first with a mixed sensation of bitterness
and astringency, for which we have no name, but
which the Malays call K&latf and leaving a lasting
and not disagreeable sweetness.

Tobacco fNicotianaJ is of universal consump-
tion among the Indian islanders, and their domes-
tic husbandry supplies the whole of what they use*
Every where it is raised in small qiiantities, but it
is only in Java, Mindanao, and Luconia, that it is
raised as an article for exportation. The husbaadry

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OF KATIVE LUXURY. 107

pursued in Java is familiar to ine» and as it is some-
what peculiar, I shall describe it The seedlii^
are raised in beds in mountainous tracts of two and
three thousand feet of elevation above th^ level of
the sea, from which they ^re trai^s^aii^d into the
deep apd fertile soils of the plainjB. The husbandry
of rai2$ing the seedlings, and bringing the plants to
majturity, is not only prosecuted in di£Perent cli«
mates, but by different people, so that the sale of
the young plants is an object of traffic between the
mountaineers and the inhabitants of the plain*
The rearing of the seedlings in high lands is
found necessary to prevent the plant from de-
generating, a fact which seem^ to shew, that it
is a native of a colder climate than the .plains of
Java.

Tobacco is eitlai^r raised in ordinary upland ara-
ble, or in lands in which rice is raised by artificial
irrigation. The most abundant and least preca*
rious crops, as well as those of the finest quality^
are raised in the latter. Tobaccp is w}iat farmiers.
call a scouring crop, and every where the success-
ful culture of it requires the richest soils. In Java
it is only extensively prosecuted in jsuch, and the
chief jj^oduction we find to be confined to the very
fiinest provinces, the rich valleys of K&dUj Ladok^
and BantfumaSt towards the icentre of the island, and
at the feet of the lofty mountains which are there
foMud. Such is the wonderful ^rtility of thos^

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408 HUSBANDRY OF ARTICLES

lands, that crops as luxuriant as ore any where to
be found are raised without the help of maaore w
dressings, so indispensable in the husbandry of this
^ant in every other part of the world* Those lands
aflford year after year, alternately, a crop of rice by
far the richest I have ever seen, and a crop of to>-
bacco* The cxily relief they receive is a half year*'
ly fidlow, it never being the practice, in such situa*
tions, to plant leguminous, or other green crops in
succession to rice, as followed in other good lands.
The only dressing given is, the fertilizing kiiluence
of submersion £ram the water of irrigaticm. When
under a more improved husbandry, the practice of
using dressings to tobacco lands is introduced, it is
evident that the culture may be extended to an in-
definite amount. When tobacco is raised in such
lands as now mentioned, the young seedlings are
tranfl]|[4anted in June, or winter, and the crop is
reaped in October and November, before the rains
set in. The plants rise to the height of six and
eight feet, and are prevented from rising higher by
the practice of nipping the tops to favour the ex-
pansion of the leaves. The crop is reaped by be-
ginning with the lower and coarser leaves, and end-
ing with the smaller and more ddicafte top ones^
An essential distinction in the value of the fti^
duce is founded on this mode of reaping, and
three distinct qualities of it are consequently known
in commerce* The tobacco of Java is always shred

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OF NATIVE LUXURY. 40^

while green, «tfter the leaves have been freed
from the fibrous mid*r{b. Under the superintend-
ence of the Chinese, it is then very neatly packed
in small parcels, and deposited in baskets of a stand-
ard weight, for exportation.

Hie plant is called in all the dialects of the In-
dian Sdands by the Haytian name, or a corruption
of it,^ which is with some variation Titmaku of
DSmbaku. It is, indeed, the only word which is
the same in aU the dialects of the old world, a fact
which points out its origin, and the surprising fact
of its univenal and rapid dissemination, which
hardly affbrded time to corrupt or disguise its or-
thography. It was not propagated, like other ge«
nerally disseminated plants, by the slow progress of
ages, and interme£ately through a thousand
tribes of barbarians, but directly and almost mo*
mentarily by one people, and that people a civi-
lised one. In the year 1559) fifty-two years after
their first appearance in the Archipelago, the Por-
tuguese already planted tobacco in their own coun«
try. They must soon have sowed this favourite
plant in their new establishments. In the year
1601, the last year of the reign of the prince of
Matarsm, called Pan&mbahan Sedo Krapyakj the
practice of smoking tobacco was introduced in Java,
as mentioned in the native annals. The Dutch,
who (ire so partial to this mode of using the drug,
and who had been then five years in the island.

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410 HUS9ANDKY 07 AfiTIClES

must hgve instructed the natives in it. This pe-
riod corresponds with that in which the use of the
plant was making rapid progress in the northern
countries of Europe, being but Hfteea years later
than that of its introduction into our own. Sonne
have suspected, that the plant was known to the
natives before their connection with Europeans,
and that they even u$ed it medicinally. The tra-
ditipus of the natives are what are resorted to as
pro()ff but the evidence which depends on their
lubricious memories cannot weigh against the un-
varying testimony of language. *

Of the principal Fruits and Flowers used for
economical purposes by the Indian islanders, I am
now to render a very succinct account. Of the
fri^its, by far the most important is the Banana,
Indian fig or plantain, (Musa Paradzsica.) It is
the principal fruit oousumed by the Indian island-
ers, and from its nutritious quality and general
use, may, whether used in a raw or dressed form,
be regarded rather as an article of subsistence than

* '' A senioribus intellexi Javanis, qui illud a parentibus
iterum audiverant, tabaci plantam in Java fuisse notam, ao-
tequam ibi fuerunt Portugalli, h. e. ante annum Cfarnti 1496,
neutiquam vero ad suctionem, sed tantummodo ad usum me-
dicum, unanimo enim coni^ensu Indi adsentiunt sese tabaci
suctlonem ab Europseis didicisse.*'—- Atftirp^it. Herd* Am6.,
Tom. V. p. 225. The opinion in the text will be found a
material correction of that expressed in p. 104 of (bfs Tolume.

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OF NATIVE X^UXURT. 411

of oooadonal luxury. It is given in large quanti*
tiesy ev^n to infants at the breast. It no where»
however, in the Indian islands is an article of sub-
sistence of the first importance, as in the tropical
regions of America. Rice, maize, farinaceous
roots, and the farina of the .pith of palms, always
supersede the necessity of recurring to the use of
the banana, an inferior species of aliment. * I
think this important fact may be considered as
conclusive in favour of the superior physical capa^
city of the soil of these islands over that of tropi-
cal America, if, indeed, the difference, which is not,
however, probable, may not have arisen from aed-
dental causes having given to human industry a more
beneficial direction in the former than in the lat-

• ^'The banana** gays the Baron Humboldt,'* isfojal!
the inhabitants 6f the torrid zone what the cerea] gramina,
wheat, barley, and rye, are for the western Asia, and for En-
rope, and what the numerous varieties of rice af e for the
poyntries beyond the Indus, especially for Bengal and China.
In ^he two continents, in the islands through the immense ex-
tent of the equinoxial seas, wherever the mean heat of the
year exceeds 24 centigrade degrees, the fruit of the banana
is one of the niiost interesting objects of cultivation for the
subsistence of naan.'* This observation is extremely inacca«
rate, and very unlike M. Humboldt, who, to bqrrpw an ex-
pression of Mr Gibbor, is seldom a stranger i n any age or
country. The banana no where in equinoxial Asia, either
continental or insular, supersedes or even competes with
the cerealia.

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il2 HUMAKDBY OF AftTICXES

tar. Tfa^ coaner and laijper kindft of Bttuma are
roasted or othermse prqnred before being eaten.
In America they are dried in the son for preaer-
vation, and occaaonally reduced to meal ; bat in
the more civilized and less necessitous counttiea
of the Archipelago, we see such preparations onl j
as matters of curiosity, and the banana is there
used only in its raw state, as fruits among our*
selves, thou^ fiom ks cheapness and abundance^
more generally.

The Indian islands are the countries in which
the banana grows in greatest perfection, and is
found in greatest variety. There are at least six-
teen distinct c|iecies or varieties of tlie cultivated
banana, and £ve species of wild^ whereas in equi-
noxial America three species only are known in
all. Of the cultivated kinds some are laig^ coarse^
and not edible without preparation. The greater
number, however, are edible in their raw stat^
and some varieties acquire by careful eultivatioa
a very exquisite flavour. More generally, however»
the character of the fruit, at least to an European
palate^ is that of mild insipidity.

Of the wild banana^ one kind (^Mtisa ieatitis)
gi*ows in vast abundance in soipe of the most north-
em of the spice islands, and in the great island
of Mindanao ; in the Philippines forests of it are
propagated by nature for the use of man without
any culture. These natural groves or forests are

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OF KATIVE LUXURY. 415

considered as property, and from the fibrous bark
or epidermis is manufactured a kind of cloth in
frequent use with the natives. It also affords
the material of th6 most valuable cordage, which
the indigenous products of* the Archipeli^o yield.
This is known to our traders and navigators under
tbe name of Manilla rope^ and is equally aj^lica-
ble to cables, to standing, or to running rigging.

The names of the banana ixt the diidects of the
Arch^lago afford another pointed example of the,
fact, that wherever an useful plant is found abun*
dantly spread in the wild state, it has a distinct
name in each dialect. The name of the ba-
nana, unlike that of rice, maize, the sugar cane,
and other such productions, is hsu-dly tbe same in
any two languages. In Javanese it is OSdangy in
Malay Pisang, in the Balinese Biyu, in Sunda
Chawuk^ in Lampung Punti^ in Bugis UnH^ in
tbe Atui, one of the South Sea island dialects^
Maia^ in Madagascar Ovnche^ in Temati Kojfo^
in Banda and Amboyna Kula and Uriy and in
Ceram Term.

The Bread-Jrvit (Artocarpus incisa) is conu
mon in the Indian islands, bnt held in very little
consideration. There are two varieties, one with
seeds and one vrithout The last is the true bread
fruity but in size and quality is inferior to that
which constitutes the great material of food in the
€oath S^ ishinds. It is used by the natives as a

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414 HUSBANDRY OF ARTICLES

common esculent vegetable, and usually roasted
for the table*

The variety with seeds is a native of every part
of the Archipelago, being found in the wild as well
as cultivated state. The trae bread-fruit tree, on
the contrary, is found wild only in the eastern por-
tion of the Archipelago, and has been propagate
ed but in recent times in the western. It may be
strongly suspected, that the Malays and Javanese,
in their trading voyages to Banda, to which they
chiefly resorted for spices before the intercourse
with Europeans, brought it to the western parts^
The evidence of language will corroborate this
supposition. Throuj^hout the Archipelago the
seedy variety is known by a distinct name in
each language, as usual in such cases. In Ma-
lay it is called KUlawij in Bali Timbul, in
Macassar Gomasiy iii oiie dialect of Amboyna
AmakiVy in another UmarCj in Banda Sukuiu
utan, or the wild Sukun. The case is very differ-
ent with the true bread*fruiti Where indige*
nous and abundant, it is denominated in eacli
language by a distinct name, but where exotic, by
one general name, and that name, as will be seen^
is borrowed from the language of Banda, the
island from which the western tribes, it is probable,
brought it in the course of their commerce. In the
languages of the western islands, as the Javanese;
the Malay, the Bali, the Madura, the Suhda» tbi9
11

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OF NATITE LOXUllt. 415

Lampung, it is invariably Sukwij but in the lan-
guages of the countries of which it is a native, we
have such differences as the following. In the
Sugis it is called Kakara, in Temati Goma, in
one dialect of Amboyna Soun, and in another
Sune^ and in Banda Stikun.

Of Fruits^ more strictly so called, the Indian
islands afford by far the most curious, the richest,
and the most extensive variety of any portion of the
globe. The greater number are indigenous, and
some of the finest so peculiar, that all attempts to
propagate them in other countries, even of parallel
climates, have been found unsuccessful. Besides
indigenous fruits, several of the most delicate of
Other equinoxial regions have been introduced, and
are now naturalized. A few of the fruits of tem*
perate climates have also been admitted, and their
number and quality will increase in the progress
of European colonization.

A great number of the fruits of the Indian
islands grow wild, and it is but a very careless cuU
tivation that is bestowed upon any. The princi-
pal fruit trees are planted in an irregular strag-
gling manner about the villages. When planted
in groves or orchards, the best soils are not selected
for them ; they probably, indeed, do not require
the richest, for I have seen fine fruit and abun«
dant crops in lands considered unfit for raising
pain, or even farinaceous roots.

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416 HUgBANDRY OF AETICLES

The common peasantry cultivate only the moat
ordinary fruits, and the most delicate and richest
are found but in the gardens or orchards of the
great. These take pleasure in selecting the most
delicate varieties, but they are outdone by the su^
perior d^ill and attention pf the European colonists^
at whose settlements aret therefore, to be found
the greatest abundance of fine fruits. Batavia and
Malacca are ci»sid^red the most remaritable places
for fruit, and as matters of curiosity fifty difierent
sorts, without reckoning varieties, hare often been
produced at the same table. This is what could
Dot happen in any other part of the world.

The western countries of the Archipelago, thoae
most remarkable for civilization and the produc-
tion of the cereaUa, are also the most abundant ia
iruits. Several which are indigenous in these ap*
pear to have been introduced as exotics in compa^i
ratively recent times into the eastern islands.

With respect to the seasons of fruits, some, aa
the banana, the jack, the bread-fruit, and otherB»
ripen throughout the year. Of fruits usually raisp
ed in lands aa the level of the sea, the dry season
is the natural period of maturation, such as the
mango, the mangastin, the durian, &c. They
necessarily ripen later in more elevated situa*
tions, and as a second crop within the year ia
very frequent, it thus happens that the iuxurioua
may be suj^lied with these fine fruits atalli

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OF miTIVB LUZDBT. 417

This is safe to hiippen in every part of Jkfa^ where
cuhivatioii has been pushed into the more elevated
tracts of oolintry*

Of the indigenous fruits, the Mangustin (Gar^
cifda mangostanaj is the first in rank. It is the
most exquisite of Indian fruits, and, indeed* of
all known fruits. It seems to meet the approba^
tion of persons of the greatest diversity of tastes
in other matters, whether that diversity arises from
peculiarity of constitution, or from national habits
and antipathies. It is mildly acid, ami has an a-
treme delicacy of flavour, without being luscious
or cloying. In external appearance it has the
look of a ripe pomegranate, but is smaller, and
more completely globular. A rind about three
'lines in thickness, something hard on the out-
side, but soft and succulent within, encloses
large seeds, or kernels, surrounded by a soft semi**
transparent snow-white pulp, now and then hav-
ing a very slight crimson blush. This pulp is
the edible part of the fruit, and persons in robust
health may, virithout prejudice, eat a much larger
quantity of it than of any other fruit. *

* ^* Of all those fruits," says Dampier, after enumeradng
those of Achin^ '* the IVIangastan is, without compare, the most
iJelicate. This fruit is in shape much like the pomegranate,
but a great deal less. The outside rind, or shell, is a little
picker than that of the pomegranate, but softer, yet more

VOL. I. B d

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418 HUSBAKD&Y W AKTICLES

The Miingustin is the peculiar production of the
-Indian islands, and ail attempts to propagate it else*
where have proved unsuccessful. It has been of late
years tried at Madras and Calcutta, and attempts
to cultivate it in the Isle of France were made as
early as the year 1754. *

A wild variety of the Mangustin is found in the
woods of Java and Celebes, but the true Mangustin
appears to be a native of the western portion of the
Archipelago only. It refuses to grow in some of
the spice islands, and thrives but indifierently in
others. The latitude of Lusong, in the Philip-
pines, is the highest in which it is brought to
grow. It is not found in Siam, nor in Cochin
China. Like the more useful plants of rare occur-
rence in the state of nature, the Mangustin is uni-

britlle, and is of a dark red. The inside of the shell is of a
deep crimson colour. Within this shell the fruit appears in
three or four cloves, about the bigness of the top of a man's
thumb. These will easily separate each from the other; they
are as white as milk, very soft, and juicy, inclosing a small
black stone, or kernel/' — Vol. ILp. 125*

* ^' Le roangoustein, ce roi des fruits, selon tous ceux
qui en ont mang6, ne vient qu'^ la c6te de I'Est de Pinde, on
en apporta en 1754;, aTIsle de France, de jeunes plants ; il en
restait encore quelques uns en 1770, mais en si mauvais 6tat,
qu'il n'y a pas d'apparence que cet arbre reussisse jamais dai^
cette colonic*^' — Voyage par Man, Le Gentil, Tom* IL p.
690, 69h

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OF NATIVE LUXURY. 419

versally known by the same name, or very nearly
80, haying no other than ManggiSy Manggisif M
ManggustOy evidently modifications of otie teitn.
The wild fruit is known by diflferent names from
the cultivated, and those names differ in each lan^^
g^age.

The highest rank among the Indigenous fruits, iii
the opinion of the natives^ is given to the Durian^
CDurio Zibethinus^J not at all excepting even the
Mangustin, but most of strangers, froin its peculiar
and offensive odour, have at first a violent aversion
to it. When that aversion, however, is conquered,
many fall into the taste of the natives, and become
passionately fond of it. The tree which bears the
Durian is, among fruit trees, a lofty one. The
fruit, in external appearance, has some resemblance
to the bread fruit, but is bigger, and the spines of
the husk are larger and stronger. As it ripens, its
colour assumes a yellowish green. It is near the
size of a man's head, sometimes spherical, but oc-^
casionally oblongated. When ripe, it is easily divid-
ed with the grain, and, when opened, is found to
consist of five longitudinal cells, each containing
from one to four large seeds, as big as pigeons' eggs,
enveloped in a rich white pulp» itself covered with
a thin pellicle, which prevents the seeds from ad*
hering to each other. This rich white pulp is the
edible portion of the fruit. — To my taste, the Du-
rian excels all other fruits. Though extremely

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#M HUMANDBT OP ABn^LES

lieh and nutiitiou% and, one might almogt say,
futaking more ^ 8B animal than vegetaUe na-
tme^ it never doys, or palla on the i^ipetite, ao
that a taate for it rather increaaea than dimiaiahea,
and OBoe thoroughly acquired, continues finr life.
The large seeds when roasted, resemble chesnnts
in taate and flaTOur. *

a Dampier*8 description of the Durian is so inimitably ac«
curate, that I cannot refrain from giving it ^ The trees that
bear tiM Dorian^re as big as apple4ree«, fall of bougha. The
rikind is thick and rough ; the fruit is so lavge, that th^ grow
only about the bodies, or on the limba near the bodiei lilft the
cacao. The fruit is about the bigness of a large pumpkin, co-
yered with a thick green rough rhind. When it is ripe the
rbind begins to turn yellow, but it is not fit to eat till it opens
«i the top. Then the fruit in the inside is ripe, ana sends forth
«D tsBodUmi 9uni. When the rhind is opened, the frnit may
be split in four quarters ; each quarter bath several small cells
that enclose a certain quantity of the truiK according to the
bigness of the cell, for some are larger than others. The
largest of the fruit may be as big as a puliefs egg. "Tis as
white as milk, and as soft as cream, and die taste very deli*
cious to those thatareaecustomed to them, but those who have
not been used to eat them, will dblika them at first, because
they smell like roasted onions. This fruit must be eaten in its
prime, (for there is no eating of it before it is ripe,) aod even
then it will not keep above a day or two, before it patrifies,
and turns bkck, or of a dark cok>ur, and then it b not good.
Within the fruit there is a stone as b^ as a snaU bcm, whicb
bath a thin shell over it. Those that are mmded to eat the
stones or nuts roast them, and then a thin shell comes off;

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OF NATITS hVXVRYm 4M.

The Duriaii, like the Maqgiutm^ is peculiarly
the product q£ the IjmImui islaada^ aod will gnMjT
BO where eke* It will not eten grow iu the
neighbouring kingdomft of An and Siam, though
the envy of the people of these countries, the no-
narchs of which receive^ as valuable jp'esents, a km '
each season, from the Malay peiiin8ula.--*Ituviphiiis
enumerates but three varieties of the Durian, onei
of which, growing in Borneo, is larger than a raan^a
head, I do no( find that the Durian tree has ever
been detected in the wild state, another proof of
the extreme rarity, in the state of nature, of the
edible plants <m which man sets most value. In
the cultivated state, it grows readily enough in
ordinary soils, but is in too much estimation to
be cheap. It is, indeed, tfaie highest priced of all
the fruits of th<k Ardiipelago^ and ono Durian costs
more than a doeen c^ pine-apples. In all the Ian*
guages of the Archipelagp, the name which it bears
is, with slight modifications, Duridn, a word which,
in the Malay language, signifies an <* olgect with
spines or prickles.'' From this etymology it may
be conjectured, that the land of the Malays is the
original country of this extraordinary fruit.

which enclosf^s the nut ; and it eats like a chesnut."— YoL I.
SI 9, 3^0. The great navigator was certainly, by his descrip.
tion, one of the Europeans who conquer their first aversion tQ
the duriani for his lively acconnt is that of 9n 0mat0ur»

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4S2 HUSBANDRY OF ARTICLBS

Of the Jack frait {Artocarpus integrifoUa) two
species occur in the Indian ishuids, the conunon
Jaek^ and the Oi&mp&dak^ These two Bruits of
lyionstrous siee grow, unl&e most odiers, from the
trunk 8nd larger branches of the tree. The first
grows often to an enormous size. In Java I have
seen them so big that one was a complete load for a
froman going to market. Asthisfruitisinseascmall
the year through, — as it is very prolific, and, conse-
quently, cheap, — and as the taste, though too strong
to be agreeable to Europeans, is remarkably suited
to the native palate, it is consumed in huge quan-
tity, probably in greater quantity than any other
firuit, not even excepting the Banana. Contain*
ing a large quantity of saccharine and glutinous
matter, the Jack is highly nutritious. Rumphius
suspects that it is not an indigenous product of the
Indian islands, but that it was brought from the
continent of India by str^mger merchants. * The
name by which it is known in the languages of the
Archipelago is Nangka, a probable enough cor*
ruction of the Telinga word Jaka. t

• « Fructus hisfrequentiusaccrescitin septentrional ibus In-
due partibus quam in orientalibus, qui sine dubio per mercato-
res bac delatus est, quod probabile videtur, quum nullum
gerat oomen indigenum/'— Tom. I. p. 105.

f In the Macassar language it is called BSpU'^hidi, but this
is only an epithet meaning •* The rough fruit."

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OF NATIVE LUXURY. 483

The Ch&mpadak is a much smaller fniit than
the common Jack, more slender in its form, and of
a more oUong shape. The fruit is of a more deli-
cate flatour, sweeter, and is, to a small degree, of a
farinaceous consistence. By the natives it is much
more esteemed than the Jack, and bears a much
higher price* If the true Jaqk be a foreign plants
the Ch&mp&dak is strictly an indigenous produo*
tion, and is unknown beyond the limits of the In*
dian Archipelago. In the Malay language it is
called Champ&dakj in the Temati Towada^ and in
the Amboynese Anahan* It does npt thrive ii)
the close shady gardens which surround the Indiao
villages, and requires sunny, solitary situations.

The Mango (Mangifera IndicaJ is cultivated
in the islands as in other parts of India, but perr
haps not so frequently as in the southern pafts of
the peninsula of Hindustan. There are a great ^ny
varieties of the cultivated Mai^p, but ^t^ more
icequent than the rest. The comipoQ Maj)gp is
also found in the wild slate, ip w^iph there are two
varieties, besides a distinct speciep, the fetid Mango.

The Mango of the Indian islands, when culti-
vated with care, att^inis great perfection, and is of
exquisite flavour. Some raised in the gardens of
the Sultan of J^va, particularly of the variety cal-
led Dodol by the Javanese, I found superior to any
I had ever eaten in the Bengal provinces, and, I
am told, are not inferior to those of Malabar,

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4M HUSBAKBRT OP ARTICLX8

where the fruit is thoi^tto attain the lugheit pw«
iectimi.

Hie wild Mango exists in all the Indian islaadsy
but I stroni^ suspect that the coltnre <rf* this fvwM
was introduced from the continent of India m com*
paratively recent times. The name of the wild
and cnkivBted kind is yery generally different, and
. where it is so» the name of the latter, always the
same» happens to be the corrupti<m of a Sanskrit
word, through the medkun of the vernacular Ian*
gnage of Telinga. We may trace it throuf>:h ma-
ny corruptions. In Sanskrit it is MakapiUa,
which means ^' the great fruit.'* In the Telinga,
by the change usually made in that language, it
becomes MahampdMm, which is sUghtly changed
in Malay, the language of commerdal kitwcoursei
and that naturslly^which first received it, into Mitm*
plSm. In the Bonda language it is corrupted into
MaenpaUm. He Lampungs make it KUpMlam,
and the Javanese, abbreviating the Malay word,
gives us only the last syllable, or PMUkru The
cultivated Mango was unknown in Amboyna,
Banda, and all the rest of the spice islands, until
introduced by the Dutch as kte as the year 165&
The people of Banda then gave it the Telisga
name, but the other tribes the name of the wild
^ant, now affixing the adjunct Z/ton, or Jbresi^ to
the latter. Some of the western tribes fdUowed the
same course, Btpflying the name of the wild to the

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07 VATIfS LUXURY* 405

eultivated kind. It it remaikaUe that the Maky
word ManggOj which has passed into die Eurepeaa
lai^ages^ has no carrency amen^ the more genu-
ine Malays^ hA appeats to have been picked up by
ear traders at Bantam» or on 4he west eoastof Sama-
tnu I imagiiie it to be the name of the wild Mai^
m Malay, preserved by some of the tribes of that
pe<^e even after the introduction of the domesdo
kiiid. In the Baii langm^ the wild Mango is od«
led Fehf in Macassar Taipa^ in Temata Koawe^ in
Tador Kwak, and in Amboyna fFe^xve*

The Fetid Mango difSen so mueh in character
from the common Mango, that it never occurs to
die natives to class them together. It is sn ob-
ject of cidtBre, and, alAougfa oflfonsive, and al-
most disgusting to Eun>peans» relished by the na-
tives. In each laagnage it is known by a dia>
tiiict name, pointing out that it is indigenous
and Ireqnent. In Malay it is called Bacbang^ in
Javanese Kweni^ in the Balinese Batelj and in the
Menado language Dodeko.

The orange and lemon tribe is widely qmad
over the Indian islands. SkHne species are indi*
genous and others exotic. The culture of the
best kinds seems to have been introduced by fo-
leigners* The whole tribe is distinguished bys
generic name, and the species or variety described
by affixing an a^nct* In Javanese and others of
tJte western dialects this generic term is J&ruk}

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426 HUSBANDRY OF ARTICLES

in the eastern dialects it is Usi. It is remariuiUe
thatf in the Maky, the languages of Celebes and
other dialeets, the European mune Limao is fre-
quently substituted* This points out how much
the Portuguese must have contributed towards pro-
pagating these fruits.

The Indian islands are the native country of the
Fumplenoos or Shaddock^ (Citrm decumanus.)
Here it grows in the greatest perfection, and when
cultivated with care, as at Batavia, it is an exqui-
site fruit, and perhaps continues to please the Eu-
ropean palate longer than any other. The pum^
jplenoos was carried from the Indian islands to
Bengal since the establishment of Batavia, and
probably by the Dutch, as its name there, Bataxd
Nimbu^ or the Batavian lime, distinctly points out*
It was carried, from these countries to our West
Indian islands by the master of a trading vessel,
called Shaddock, whose name it continues to
bear.

The Citran is, I believe, an indigenous tree in
Java and other parts of the Archipelago, but is
viery little esteemed. The Lime exists in vast abun-
dance, and yields fruit throughout the year. I
think the true lemon, however, is no where cul-
tivated. Many varieties of orange are cultivated,
but the bitter one is not among the number. A
large variety, with a green rind adhering closdy to
the pulp, the cloves of which are difficultly s^a*

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OP NATIVE LUXURY. 487

rated, is grown 'on the hot plains, and is indigenous.
The best sort, however, is an exotic, having been
introduced either from China or Japan. In the
langijages of Celebes it is hence called Lemo Son*
galSa, or the Chinese, and in the Malay occasion-
ally Limao Japun, or the Japanese orange. The
cloves in this are loosely attached to each other,
and the rind still more loosely to the pulp. The
latter is of a bright yellow colour, and full of es-
sential oil. The native of a more temperate cli-
mate than that of the Indian islands, it requires
the cold of elevated tracts, and when cultivated,
as it is in Java, at an elevation, of four and five
thousand feet above the level of the sea, attains
great perfection. This is the same variety which
is cultivated in upper Hindustan, and the produce
of Java is equal to the finest of the gardens of
Delhi and Agra.

The Pine-apple (Bromelia ananas) grows in
great luxuriance, and with little care, in the Indian
islands ; yet it is fully equal in flavour, and gene-
rally from twice to thi*ee times the size of those
raised in our hot-houses. It is not much esteemed
by the natives, and Europeans very soon tire of it,
so that it is not often produced at their tables,
unless by-way of decoration. Fine-apples ^re
in season throughout the year, and such is their
abundance, that a good pine seldom costs more
than twopence.

There can be little doubt but the ananas was m-

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4S8 HUSBANDRY OF ARTICLES

trodaced by the Portuguese from America, and that
it is nqt indigenous in the Indian islands, though the
climate is so perfectly congenial to it, tliat in many
situations it is newfound in great quantities in
the wild state. The name by which, with one or
two exceptions, and with some slight modificationa
of spund, it i^ known, is the American one, (4fta«
nas,) In the Macassar and Bugis language it is
called Pandangj from the great resemblance of the
plant to the Pandanus. In one of the dialects of
Amboyna, that of Hitoe, the pine-apple is termed
Usi Bangala or Mangala^ which Rumphius tdls
us means the '^ orange of Bengal/' This would
seem to imply that the pine-apple had come to the
Moluccas through Europeans from Bengal, whidi
is improbable* Possibly the word Mangakf, here
used is a Sanskrit word, naturalized in some of
the Polynesian dialects, which means excellent or
superlative. We know that the pine-apple was in-
troduced into Bengal, or at least into upper Hin«
dustan, in the reign of the Emperor Akbmr, by some
Portuguese priests who brought the seeds from
Malacca.* As early as 1^94, it was cultivated in
China, to which it was brought from the western
shore of America through the Philippines.

Of the Jambu (^Eugenia) there are a gteat
many varieties, most of which, in the western parts

* Turner'* Embawy to Tibet, Chiip. L and Ayec a Akbaii

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OP NATIVE LUXURY. 4^

^ the AichipelagOy at least, are found wild and are
indigeiious. They are all tasteless and insipid
finitSy with the exception of the Jamhi KUngp
which, from its name, appears to have been brought
fin>m the Coromandel coast. This resembles in
shape a jargonelle pear, and is sometimes of a
dark purj^ but more frequently of a beautiful
^ink or light rose colour. In flavour it partakes
ef the rose. The substance is of a white colour^
light, uid somewhat sp(mgy. The taste is delicate
and Agreeable, so that this fruit may be consider-
ed as one of the very best of the Archipelago.
The genuine name Jambu is nearly universal m
all the languages, and is probably the corruption
of a Teliaga word.

The Guava (^Psidiumpomi/erum) now exists in
great abundance in the Indian islands both in the
wild and cultivated state. The cultivated varieties
at least, appear certainly to have been introduced
by Europeans, as they are no where to be found
but in the vicinity of former or existing European
settlements. Rumphius imagines that the guava
was early introduced by the Spaniards from Peru
through the Philippines, llie people of Temati,
who, by such means, must have been the first to re-
ceiw it, call it accordingly by a corruption of the £u*
ropean term Gu^awa, to assimilate the sound widi
their own pronunciation. Some of the tribes class
it with the Anona or custard apple, but more gene*

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490 HUSBANDRY OF ARTICLES

rally it is classed with the Eugeniaf and is catt-
ed by the different names of Janibu kumng, or
the yellow Jambu, Janibu byi^ or the seedy Jam^
bUy and Jambu Poriugalf or the Portuguese
Jambtu The fruit, which is wonderfully cheap
and abundant, is held in very little esteem.

The Papaya (Carica papiffa) exists in great
abundance throughout the Indian islands, and, like
the gtuwa^ was introduced by the Spaniards or
Portuguese. The terms by which it is known in the
different languages always imply a foreign source.
The most frequent is the Portuguese *name Papa-
ya* The people of Macassar, who probably receiv-
ed it intermediately from Java, call it Unti Jawa,
or the Javanese banana^ and the people of Bali
GSdanff Castila^ or the Castilian banana. The
papaya^ in the Indian islands, is extremely prolific,
and bears fruit the whole year round, growing
luxuriantly in the most indifferent soils, and ra-
pidly coming to maturity. The natives hold the
fruit in no esteem. At Temati they feed their hogs
with it, and call it *^ pigs* meat." * As it con-
tains a large quantity of saccharine matter, and a
great volume of nutritious food, it will probably be
generally applied, in a more advanced state of so-
ciety, and of the science of husbandry, to the fat-
tening of cattle.

♦ Rutnphiusy Vol. L p. 143.
12

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OP NATIVE LUXURY. 431

The Custard-appk of two varieties (Anona
sqtiamosa et reticulata) is very common. This is
aa exotic like the fruits just mentioned, and, like
them, ws» introduced by the Spaniards or Portu-
guese from America* The name is either the
American one Anona, abbreviated Nona ; or, Srika^
ya^ from the resemblance of the edible pulp to a
native dainty of that name made of milk and eggs,
in short, a custard, the same source from which
our own name is derived. The Dutcfh call it
^< the Chinese pear,'^ from believing it was first in-
'troduced into the Indian islands by the Chinese.

The true Cashew tree {Anacardium Occident
tale) is another plant of the tropical regions of the
new world, introduced by the Portuguese* A
wild variety is said by Rumphius to be found in
the Indian isles. The true kind is seldom found
beyond the vicinity of European settlements. The
Malays call it QffUf and the people of Amboyna
Buah Farmgij ** the European or Portuguese
fruit.^^ The harsh disagreeable fruit is hardly
eaten, and the nut is in little request, because the
country aflfords a great variety of edible kernels
more C(mvenient, abundant, and agreeable.

It may be remarked, that more of the fruits of
America have been transplanted into the Indian
islands than of those of the latter into America.
This has happened from two very obvious causes ;
the first is, that the voyage from the western coast

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43S HUSBANDRY OF ARTICLES

of America to the Indiaii Archipelago ifl short and
easy, the voyage back tedious and difficult ; the se*
eond, still mpre effectual^ is, that the fruits of the
Indian islands are delicate, perishable^ and difficult-
ly propagated in foreign countries, those of Aaoari-
ea coarse, hardy, and fit for almost any soil. There
is not one of the fruits of America, thougfai they
grow in luxuriance and perfection in the Indian
islands, that are held in any esteem by either na*
tives or foreigners. Even the pine*apple^ as already
noticed, is no exception.

The Langseh^ Rambehy and Dukuk^ are indi-
genous fruits, and, indeed, I believe wholly un-
known to all other countries. When of the best
and fullest growth diey are about the siae of a pi-
geon's egg. The two first are oblong ; «the drnkuh
round. They all consist of a skinny covering of a
dirty white colour, enclosing a number of ciovea
easily separated from each other. These doves
eonidst of a thick semitransparent pulp upon a
large greenish kernel. The pulp is the edible
part of the fruit, and is of an agreeaUe subacid
taste. The Dukufi is a much superior fiidt to the
ether two, and, indeed, next to the Mangottin and
Durian, is considered by the natives the finest
of their fruits. Europeans consider it the second
in rank of all the indigenous fruits.

The Rambutan (Nephelium lapauum) k an
indigenous and peeuliar fruit, about the siae of a

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OF NATIVE LUXURY. 433

pigeon's egg, consisting of a skinny red covering,
covered with soft spines, which encloses one large
kernel, enveloped in a small quantity of semi*
transparent rich subacid pulp, the edible part, of
the fruit. It is not much esteemed. The name,
in reference to the soft spines, is derived fr(»n the
Malay word Rambut, hair, from whence I c<m»
elude that the tree is either an indigenous product
of the country of the Malays, or was first cultivate
ed there.

The Pomegranate (Punica granitum) is found
in every civilized country of the Archipelago, but
I believe only in its cultivated state. Tlie tree
is smaller than in more temperate climates, the
fruit inferior, and, like that of Hindustan, little es-
teemed. The only good pomegranates which, in-
deed,. I have ever met with are those brought into
upper India by the caravans from eastern Persia.
This fruit in all the languages of the Archipelago
is called Ddlmoj from the numeral five, in refer-
ence to the five cells into which it is divided. As
a proof of the accuracy of this etymology, I may
observe, that the word is literally translated into
the Javanese language of ceremony, where it is
called Gangsalan.

The Tamarind^ (Tamarindtis Indica^) one of
the largest and most beautiful of trees, grows luxu-
riantly in most of the Indian islands, and appeara
to be a native production. It ig cultivated as well

VOL. I. EC

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4M HUSBAHDBT OF ARTICLES

&r its fruit 89 for the shade it affwds,, and in J^ra
IS tlie principal ornamental tree in avenues* To
attain perfection in its growth a good sail is necea-
sarjb ud aa the fhiit continues a tedious and unn-
suid time on the tree^ it is also neceaaary to itspuw
fection that its fructification should take place afc
such time as to avoid the periodical xains» which
would rot id on the tree. In the Mohiccas and other
countries of the Archipebgo this happas» and the .
fruit, therefore, never comes to maturity. The soil
end climate of Java bring the fruit to -the greatest
peifectionb and frt>m that island it is an article of
eai^port to the other countries of the Arehipeli^o
as well as abroad* Hence the tree and fruit are
called in the Malay language Asam Jawa, or the
Javanese acid. The trse, however, is indigenous
in most of the islands, and known in each. Ian*
guage by a distinct native term. In the Jiavaaeae
it is called Kamalp in the Sun& Qumpahu^ in
the Banda TamalakL The word Asant, common
to most of the languages as a synonhne, is an qn*
ihet of the languages of the western islands^ meap>»
ing saur^ from the tamarind being the acid in uni-
verssl use for almost every culinary mid medicinal
purpose.

The CalabfUfh the Gourd, the Pumpkm^ the
Mufk'^mehn, the Water-mdoti^ and a variety of
CMC^iSN^^r^t are cultivated in t^eArchi^ Hie
eidebMb, aa its neme Calakam impotti,. was^ intra-

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OF NATIVIE LUXURY. 455

duced by the Portuguese. The Pumpkin was aho
introduced by the same people, for it is ealled La^
bu Faringiy or the European gourd. The Wa^
ter-melon (Cucurbita cttruUus) appears to be an
indigenous product oi the Indiaii islands,' though
one not very abundant or generalty difl^ised. It
is very commonly known by the name of SAnang'
ka. The fruit is neither so abundant, so large,
nor so well flaTOured, as that which I have seen
on the arid banks of the Ganges^ the Jumnah, and
Other rivers ki upper India. The musk^melon,
introduced by the Portuguese, seems little suited
to the climate, at least to that of the hot plains,
and is of v^ bad flavour. It can hardy be said
to be yet naturalized.

The cucmnber is an indigenous plant, and, as
already mentioned in another place, is extensively
cultivated. It is consumed'rather as an esculent ve-
getable than as a fruit. It is sometimes boiled, but
more frequ«itly eaten raw from the hand, with a
little sate. It is more mild and less watery than *
the varieties cultivated in Europe, and may be
eaten in large quantity without prejudice. The
differ^at varieties are distingloished by difier^»t
names, but the generic name in all the languages
ia Twttmf thus affording another exiunple of the
prevalence of one term for a plant of extensive
culture, but rare eccmrrence in a stale of nature.

rhave in tUs dcetcb given an acconnt of the

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436 HUSBANDRT OF ARTICLES

principal fruits. A great many of minor Import-
ance remain unnoticed, which it would be foreign
to this work to describe*

; The fruits of colder countries have been in«
troduced into the Indian islands, where, as they
have received little care or attention, and have
not always been cultivated in the climate of ele-
vated tracts suited to them, they have seldom
thriven. The grape was probably introduced by
the Arabs, as its name, angur, implies. It is cul-
tivated in the plains, but is seldom of a good qua-
lity. In some of the elevated tracts of Java, it
might certaiinly be raised in perfection. The cul-
ture of the pear, the apple, and the peach, still less
suited to the climate, has been still more unsuc-
cessful. In 181S, my friend. Colonel Archibald
Campbell, brought the strawberry from Bengal,
which has since been cultivated with much success
in the mountainous regions.

The Indian islanders are passionately fond of
JlouerSy a taste easily gratified in a country which
abounds in indigenous plants affording them. Wo-
men are never considered to be fully dressed with-
out a profusion of flowers, and men also often
wear them. In the native writings we find constant
allusion made to them, and they are sculptured on
the walls of all their ancient temples in a profu-
sion which displays the national taste for them.
In the Javanese language ^iJUywer expresses what*

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OF NATIVE LUXURT« 401

ever is most beautiful. It is a synonime for a
beautiful woman, and the common, almost the only,
term for poetry.— -A considerable number of the
flowers which are cultivated, are the production of
shrubs or still humbler plants, but in opposition to
what obtains in northern countries, it may be ob-
served, that a great number, also, are the produce of
large trees. The prevailing colours are yellow,
and especially red. Blue, so frequent in temperate
climates, is seldom met with. The perfume of
such flowers as the Indian islanders are partial to,
is so heavy and powerful, as to be oppressive to
the senses of a native of colder regions. They,
on the other hand, have no taste for the lighter
and more elegant odours which we prize, as, for
example, that of the rose.

The flower-giving plants or trees, which are
most frequently cultivated for the market, are die
Ch&mpaka^ {Mkhelia champaka,) the M&lor or
MSlati^ (Ni/ctanthuSy) and the Tanjung^ {Mnu-
sops elengi.) The first and last are trees grown
in gardens. The M&lati is a shrub yielding a small
white flower. In Java it is cultivated extensively
as an object of commerce in the vicinity of large
towns. The Champaka is one of the few plants
introduced by the Hindus, as its name, which is
pure Sanskrit^ implies. Water lilies or lotoses
(Nymph(pa nelumbo) abound in all the standing
watei*s, and are particularly frequent in Java. The

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4S8 HUSBATOKT OF ABT10tm» &C.

gttentiott pmd te tiieiD hi fortaer thnes, on aeoomt
of their being oonsecnted in the Hindu mytiioio-
gy, is shown by the munber of SuMkrit synonimM
^plied to them.

The KSmbqfa, calM in Java SMmbqfa, {Pkime^
ria obtusa^) is cultivated m burying grounda,
where, from its peculiarity of appearance, it pra^
duces a very solemn eflfoct It grows in a atuiMdl
irregukr manner, so that, as Mr Marsden ob-
serves, it has even when young a venerable antique
iqipearance. The tree has a dark-colonred leaf,
and the flower is a large one, white vnthout uni
yellow within, emitting a strong but not un^ea-
sant odour.

The Stdasi or Hindu tulsi (Ocifmm) is a phat
with a peculiar strong aromatic odour, cultivated
ftr die express purpose of being used fiur strewing
en graves at die annual ^Mtival in honour of an-
eestors.

European flowers in die Indian islands loee Aeir
perfiime and dwinAe. The rose has but a 4iunt
smell though a pleasant one, and is not half the site
of the common varieties among us.

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CHAPTER IV.

nVBBAHUBY OF THfi M ATBSXAU OP IIATIVB MANU*
FACTCBBS AND ARTS.

HiuSandrjf </ «Mpn,f^-HiUor^ of the planL-^Tke Rami, a
species f^ Urtica. — Oiker plants affording jUaceous bark.-^
The Lontavy or tar palm, — The GMang^ a species ofpahn
affording materials for oordage^^^Tke Rmas^^^Tke Sth
lak^ a variety of U yieUing an eOUe fruii^^The Bamboo.
^The Nikmgja Sfecies qfpdti^ the liMd ffvskick ie ueei
M houm-^nildi^g.'^The Nipak^ a species qfp^lm^ which
supplies the thatch used by the maritime tribes, — Usefid
vooods, — The Teak, — Its physical and geographical distribu*
tion, — Parallel between ii and the otA.^^The Lingoa^r^In*
ferior tooods^^Fancy tooodsjor cabinetwork, — CrfuM.*^
Bamar^ cr rosbu^CsMtt'^homw'^TMUem tree-^Wmx trm.
*^Soap tree^^^Dyeiag dmgs.^JM^'-^Its history ^-^Ka'
sumtKU-^ Turmeri^'^^Sappan wood. — Morinda. — Logooood.
— Medicinal plants, — The Cubeh pepper, — Datura,~^The
Kamadu leaf, — The Upas^ or poison tree*

By far the most important of the subjects of this
chapter is the cotton plant, next to rice, indeed,
the most valuable article of the agriculture of the
Indian islanders. Two species of cotton are known

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440 HUSBANDAT OP THE MATERIALS

in the Indian islands, the shrub cotton, (Gossifpi'
urn hsrhaceum^) and the tree cetUm, fGossypium
arboreum.J Of the first there are a great many
varieties, distinguished by being annual or peren-
nial, — by the texture of the wool, — ^its proportion to
the 8eed,^^or its ccdour. In each island, we ge-
nerally find a peculiar variety. Thus we have the
cotton of Butung, which is the finest of all, the oot«
tons of different kingdoms of Celebes, of Timur,
of Mangarai, of Lombok, of Bali, and of Java. It
is remarkable that the cotton of the last iaLaad,
though the most fertile and improved country, ia
the coarsest and least valuable. A superior variety
is occasionally grown, however, in this last island
introduced of late years, as may be discovered from
the^vords ilfori, or Moorish, HoUmda^ Dutch, and
Angres^ or English, applied to it. This, however,
being a delicate plant, is not reared without difiScul-
ty. The shrub cotton is the chief object of culture,
and the tree cotton is only occasionally grown in
gardens, and near houses, for the shade it afiEbcds,
or for the use of its leaves as an esccdrat vegetable,
rather than for its wool.

The common cotton of Java is either grown
in upland soils, or as a green crop in the dry sear
son, in succession to rice. When grown in the lat*
ter way, it yields one crop, and then the plant pe-
rishes from the submersion it undergoes during the
rains. When grown in dry lands, it becomes pe«

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•? NATTVE MANUFACTUaBS AlID ARTS. 441

rennial, continuing to bear for two, three, or four
years, and beooming each year less prolific* When
cultivated in wet lands in succession to rice, the
plant is sown in the end of June, and reaped in
the beginning of November. This description of
husbandry is confined to Java, the plant every
where eke being reared in upland soils.

The great inconvenience of the varieties of cot-
ton grown in the Indian islands arises from the
quantity of seed they contain, and the obstinacy
with which the wool adheres to it. The seed in
the cconmon cotton of Java is in the proportion of
the wool as four is to one. In some of the better
varieties, this proportion does not exceed three to
one. The euftivation of varieties of cotton with
black seed, from which die wool could easily be
disengaged, would be one of the greatest improve**
tnents in the rearing of this valuable commodity.
At present, the cotton is separated by a small ma-
chine, consisting of two wooden rollers moving in
oppotiiBe directions, through the imperfection of
whidi the chai^ of freeing the wool from the seed
is enormous, the labour of one person being ade*
quale to the cleaning of no more than a pound and
quarter of cotton per day.

I am not aware that it is ascertained whether
the cotton plant be an exotic, or the produce of
these islands. In the language of Amboyna it is
called Aha, and in that of fianda Xaramboa^ hoUk

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of wUch aippNir to be native ta«iq» from wfaUk it
might be iii&md« that die '^ent is iiidi|;»0itt»
MoK of theae Iraguaget, boweverf eheiild be con-
ptred before this point is considered as decided^
In the hmgui^^ of tbe weekeift {WrtioBef tbe Ar-
diipelago^ Irem Maoessar to Siumtnw both iadu*
sive, the plant is universally Iqnown by tja^ Hindu
name K^fos. We may fttrly oonehideb from this
fret, that whether the plant be indig^Mins or nod
the culture of it must have been taught by the
Hindus, and I imagine^ unlike the intreduetion ef
other planti» that that of cotton hi^pponed ait that
early period, in which the Inditti idenders re-
eeived their religion from India.

Tbe Indiaft iskmds produce » great immber ^
phmtfl^ yidding a 61aceeiis baifcf whtdli affiNrdsnu^
teriak frr coidage* Ishffl giveadietohof afeir
of the prinotpal* The Rami { Rm i mf m mqfu$^
&umidi» J is a species <tf Urtioi^ or nettkt grewmig
to the height of five or six feet^ Tliis plant is
every where an elgect of oulturcb frr» fvem the
bark (rf'the stem is obtained the materiel itfan es-
ceUent cordage^ used by tbe Indian ishaidenp for
ahnoBt ewry pwpese frr which we use hempw but
particularly for the manufacture of fisbingHiets*
It is very genemlly recognised by one name {^m^
imj throughout the Archipelago.

Ga^a^ or hemp, (CamnabU SiUivihJ is eultml-
ed in every part of tibe Indian islands in smiU

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oFiffATtYX mKunsTAcrvmu Aim a;bts. 443

^tinlitiefl^ ii«t, liow^ver^ for the »niufactare ^
aordi^ Irat ibr feke uie of its jttioes as a inmMAMi.
Ilw pec^e of Indiit as its name pnelaiins, itttro-
«hieed this flaiit.

The Bagft^ {Gnetmn gnemm^J and the If^tm,
fHibiscuB UUmxMyJ are trees the bark of ^rfuck,
ttfter poimding or laacenitioQ, affoi^ a ilaceoiis
fliaterial oonrerted into rapes, ntanufiMilaied into
firibiilg-neCs, or ooeasioniJly into coarse bags.

The Gtugo CMorus fafgryeraj is exteninv^
\j cultiv«ted in some provinees of Java for the ma-
Mufeotuie of p^r. Tliis paper is hut unAillUly
maBiifactured, being of a dirty brown colour, and
in its texture uneven. It is more liable to ^ealAask
of the Ttrmes^ and other insectSi than either our
paper or that of the Chinese. If the paper of the ma-
imseri^ which I disooveted in the kii^dom of Cbe-
fftoB be of domestic mana&ctufe, and made from
the Ghgo^ the Jawneae urast hsm enoe pesiiesBed
the art of manufhcturiiig paper in greater perfectieti
tiian at present^ for it is in cdour end texture ftr
superior to enj thing at ptesmt to be seen.

The Lmtar, fBarmnus^M^erJ the T^, or
TWof Westem India, grawa abrnklantly in tjie In*
dian iakads^aad is prineqiaHj cultivated for its
palm wine, which is chiefly used ftfr the roaau*
facfemre of sugur. The wioedef the tfee is dark,
kaid, and tough, and wtf be pirt to many asefid
purpoles. It was upon the lea?es of d^ pahn

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4M HUSBANDRY QP. THE MATERIALS

that the Indianialanders principally wrote before,
the use of paper became common from commimtca-
tion with strangers. The leaf is for this purpose
cut into slips, about three inches broad, and from
twelve to eighteen inches long. These, after being
scratched upon with an iron stile, are filed together
as a book, by passing a cord through them at both
extremities. It is probable that the Indian islanders
were taught to write on the leayes of the palm by
the Hindus. The palm is known, as we might
expect to find, with a tree that is indigenous, and
very widely spread by a variety of native names.
In Java it is called Suxmlen^ in Timur, and some
gf the neighbouring islands, KolL Among the
tribes that wrote, or now write, upon its leaf, the
Sanskrit name has. made encroachment on the native
one* The people of Celebes call the tree Tala^
which is the true Hindu name. The Javanese
apply the compound native and San^rit word Hon-
to/, meaning leaf of the Tal^ to the leaf of thb
palmt as it is used for writing upon. In common
language, this last word, by a transposition of the
initial and final letters^ becomes Lontar, which cor«
ruption, it is singular enough, has been borrowed
by the Malays, and allied, not to the leaf, but to
the whole tree.

In describing the Coconut palm, and Sagwire»
the Cotfr and GomuH, those valuable materials of
cordage have already been noticed. The Gih

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OF NATIVE MANUFACTURES AND ARTS. 445

hang (Coryphay L.J is another palm, from the
mid-ribofthe leaves or rather branches of which an
useful cordage is obtained by pounding and beating
the dried stalk. This palm, which has been somet*
times called the wild Lontar^ yields a pith, which
affords, like the Gomutij or Sagwtre; a farina
resembling the true Sago^ but of inferior qua-
lity.

The Rattan (Calamus Rolang, h.J may be
considered as one of the most useful of the indige-f
nous plants of the Indian islands. In domestic
and rural economy, the Rattan is constantly used
for the purposes of ligature and cordage. There
are a great many vaiieties, from the size of a goose-
quill to that of several inches in diameter. The
Rattan is well known to be a prickly bush, sending
forth shoots of amazing length, which form the use-
ful part of the plant. The common Rattans yield
a small insipid fruit, occasionally prepared as a
sweetmeat. A variety of it, called the Salak^ af*
fords a fruit about the size of a pullet -s egg, which
consists of a hard stone, enveloped by a firm white
pulp, which is covered by thin husks, in colour not
unlike the back of an adder. This fruit has a
strong odour, a mealy and acid flavour, and is much
considered by the natives, who cultivate it exten*
sively m their gardens. No other variety of the
Rattan is cultivated, for the forests afford an abun-
dant supply, whether for domestic use or exporta^

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446 RUMAND&T or THS MATE&hUUI

tioii. Thelkwiiof Banico andSoHMtri, and of
flame pacts of Celebes^ nSbrd the beit and moit
aiMmdaiit ^mpfSj. The Raitttn of Jam am fiHPier
m quantiAy. and inferior in qua]ity.-^Tbe flwa^
eiiato \m iihe Indian islaBfds wherever ^k&it are fo*
and has generally in eaeh lai^age a didtittifc
The Malays call it RoUtn^ not MoUmgy m
it has been improperly written. This is the word
which has become naturalized in the Evn^ean lan-
guages. The Javanese cail it Piiiffalin, the Sun-
daa Kxffoe, the Bugis Raohang^ and tlie people of
Teniati Uri.

Of Canes a gre»t variety is fotmd in the Indian
i8kEd3* The most remarkable are the Bamboos^
(Arundo bambas^J which are found every where
IB the wild and cultivated state. Some are cohi-
vated for their beauty, and others for their utflity*
When they grow to perfection, forty or fifty feet is
a common height i occasionally they ace found as
quickset hedges round the vilfa^es, and at others
they are planted in dumps, perpetuating them-
selves by fresh shoots, without reqairiag to be le^
newed. To enumerate the different uses of the
Bamboo would be to touch upon almost every im-
portant operation connected vrith the domestic <^
rural economy of the pec^, their nova) architee*
ture, and their modes of cottdnct^ig' vrars. They
put the bamboo to every purpose to wbleh we ap-
ply cirdinairy woods, and use ithesidbs as ttrnporary

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OF NATIVE. MANUFACTURJBS AND ARTS. 4K7

ropM and ligatures^ The youog Aoots are mith
thMi a frequent, fimiiinU, and agraeaUe eacoknt
YCgetaUe^aDd qaaj be ehher boiled^ or lued wifth
Yiflu^ar aa & pidLle^-^The Bamhoo u ene of the in-
digenouA plaails wkich bat « diatUMfc name m each
laogoage^hacawe it ]«.oriiickG<»iunoiioccttnreQMm
the akate ef nature tkroughout, and of such obviatts
utility, that *^ the nations" had Bo need to be in-
atracted in its applacatwa hgr oae laee civilized be-
yond the rest. The following are specimena of this
diversity of name : Malay Buluk, Javanese Freng^
Sunda Am and Tamiar^^y Temati Tabatiko^ Am-
boynese Ute. The influence of the bngoage of a
more powerful tribe has nnw and then supplanted
Jkhe native term in a minor language.

Among the palms which sof ply materials in the
domestic economy of the nativefi^ the Nibimg^ {Cm^
yota wrens,) and the Nipah^ (Cocos rij/pa,) are of
great value. The nibung is the true aMMwtain
cabbage. The stem, which is slender, tall^and
perfectly straight, is used as posts in the arehitec*
tare of houses, and eapecially in the censtnsclien
of strong palings or fences. The outer porlioBi ef
the wood is hard an^ stvong, but the inner speogj,
from which circmnstanoe the tree may be exeamt-
«d» and then forma useful gwtteni or chann^ Ar
thet traasmisaion of water^ The t^ ef the tree,
the germ of the fiitwa foliage, is like that of all the
oibec painsi ediUe# and meie cUieate* than that of

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448 H08BAHDRT OF THE SfATERI Als .

the rest. Some of the coarser parts of this top
taste like a tender cabbage-stock, but other parts
are so delicate and agreeable, as to bear a nearer
likeness to a fresh filbert The Nibung is found
in almost all the countries of the Archipelago ex-
cept Java. Found in sufficient abundance in the
wild state, it is seldom cultivated. It has the fol-
lowing variety of names, Nibung in Malay, Andu-
du in Bali, Falun in Amboyna, fValut in Bum,
and Ramisa in Macassar.

The Nipah is a low palm, the trunk oi which
never exceeds a man's height, and is sometimes even
wanting altogether. It is the inhabitant of low
marshy situations. Like other palms it yields a
wine by the usual process, and in some parts of
the Archipelago, particularly the Philippines, it
IS cultivated for this purpose. Its principal nse^
however, is for the leaf, usually called Atap^ the
common term for thatch among the Malays, spe-
cifically applied to the leaves of this palm, because
among that people almost the only material used
for that purpose. The Nipah leaf is also used ibr
the fabrication of coarse mats. The small insipid
pulpy kernels are sometimes preserved as a sweet-
meat. This widely disseminated palm is called
in the dialects of the more western tribes Nipah,
in that of Temati Boho, in one language of Am-
boyna Parenoj in another Bulain.

No countries afford a greater variety or a great-
11

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OF NATIVE MANUFACTURES AND ARTS, 449

er abundance of excellent woods than the Indian
islands. Among these the Teak or Indian oaTc
(Tectona grancHs) justly takes the lead. Of this
wood there are several varieties^i tike the oak it
ttkes from eighty to a hundred years to come to
maturity, and to do so even in that time a good
soil is necessary. It will then often rise to a
height of eighty feet, and has been known to
attain a diameter of five, six, and even eight.
The teak, in Java, blossoms in the dry sea-
son, and the fruit forms in November, Imme-
diately before the setting in of the heavy rains*
It is one of the few trees which in these equinoctial
regions sheds its leaves at once like those of tem-
perate countries. With respect to the physical
^Kstribution of the teak, we ^nd it both in the
plains and mountains, though in the latter I think
Bot above three or four thousand feet above the
level of the sea. The wood of the mountain teak is
hard but stunted in its growth ; that of the plains
less firm but larger. This is what has been ob-
served with respect to the mahogany of the equi-
noctial regions of America. It grows in exten-
sive forests, and when in a favourable soil, almost
excludes every other tree. Its geographical dis-
tribution is comparatively limited. Java is the only
country of the Archipelago in which it abounds. It
is found in smaller quantity and of inferior size in the
island of Madura, and in the islets to the east of it, in
vol*. I. Ff

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450 HUSBANDRY OF TH£ MATERIALS

Bali, Sambawa» and Butung, the last beingitsfarthert
limit to the east. In recent times it has been in-
troduced into Celebes and Amboyna. The illus-
trious naturalist, Rumphius, introduced it into the
latter from Madura in the year 1676. It is not
indigenous in the Malayan penmsula, in Sumatra,
or in Borneo. * In the least fertile parts of Java it
either does not exist at all, or in small quantity,
and of puny growth. The great forests of it in
that island are in the rich central districts.— -Wher-
ever, within the Indian Archipelago, the teak tree
is found or known, it invariably bears the same
name, the Javanese word Jati, which word also
means in that language, ^* true, real," or ** ge-
nuine,'' but whether the adjective be derived from
the noun, or the noun from the adjective, it is not
very easy to determine. I diould rather incline
to think, that the adjective was the derivative.
The word, at all events, is not a foreign one, but,
I imagine, of the vernacular language of Java.
From this circumstance, as well as the abundance
and luxuriance of the tree in that island, I should
incline to believe, that the teak is indigenous in

* Of late yean a few plants of teak were introduced into
the Malayan state of Queda from Siam, and propagated with
some success. By Tcry recent accounts we are informed^
that it has been discovered in the forests of Sumatra in the
kingdom of Achin. It may be suspected, that the few^tiees
found there are exotics.

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OF NATIVE MANUFACTUR]^S AND ARTS. 451

those, and was spread from thence at unknown
periods among some of the neighbouring islands.
In quality the Java teak is considered inferior to
that of Malabar, and superior to that of the Bar-
man empire or Pegu.

It is a remarkable fact, ths^t, among the innu-
merable variety of woods which exist in both
worlds, from the arctic circle to the equator, two
only, the oak and the teak, should, by their
strength, durability, and abundance, be alone fit
for the higher purposes of the arts, domestic and
naval architecture, and the fabrication of great
machinery. A short parallel between these two
important woods may be useful and amusing. The
geographical distribution of the oak has a wider
limit than the teak. It exists in Europe, Asia,
and America, to within ten degrees of the tropic.
The teak exists in Asia only in the countries ly-
ing between China and Persia, within the tro-
pics, being found only in the southern penin-
sula of India, — ^in India beyond the Ganges to the
confines of China, and in the island of Java, with
one or two others of the great group. In compar-
ing the qualities of the two woods, those of the teak
will be found considerably to preponderate. It is
equally strong and somewhat more buoyant. Its
durability is more uniform and decided, and to in-
sure that durability it den^ands less care and pre-
paration, for it may be put in yse almost green

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452 HUSBANDRY OF THE MATERIALS

from the forest, without danger of dry or wet rot.
It is fit to endure all climates and alternations of
climate. The oak, on the contrary, cracks, and
is destroyed by such alternations, and particularly
by exposure to the rays of a tropical sun. ITie
oak contains an acid which corrodes and destroys
iron ; the teak not only has no such acid, but
even contains an essential oil which tends to pre-
serve iron. The great superiority of the oak over
the teak consists in its utility in the fabrication of
vessels for holding liquids. The strong odour
which the teak imparts to all liquids which are
solvents of the essential oil in which that odour is
contained, makes it unfit to be used for holding
them. It makes good water-casks, but is unfit for
holding wines, or any spirit, but arrack, to which
it imparts some of that peculiar flavour which some
persons affect to relish.

Next to the teak, the most valuable of all the
woods of the Indian islands is the Ltngoa^ {PterO'-
carpus draco.) Of this tree there are, according
to Rumphius, four varieties, chiefly distinguished
by the colour or texture of the wood. The tree
grows to an enormous size in the plains on a level
with the sea, and at the valleys at the foot of moun-
tains. It is principally a native of the eastern por-
tions of the Archipelago, the land of spices, and is
seldom found to the west. In the former, it is the
substitute of the teak, and is used in domestic and

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OF NAT1V£ MANUFACTURES AND ARTS. 453

paval arcl|itecti|r09 and in rural economy. It is
also cultiyated for its fragrant blossoms, which arp
much estepmed; even the wood of some varieties is
90 highly perfumedt as to be used as a substitute
for sandal* It is far 1^ strong and durable than
the teak» but handsomer in appearance, and, there-
fore, fitter for cabinet work. It is the enormous
excrescences growing from this tree which are ca)[-
Ipd Kajfubuka, ai^4 which are wrought into the ini**
mitably beautiful cabinet work, which equals ip
lustre the finest variegated marble. In the M^7
language the Lingoa is called Angsana^ in the
Ternati Mngu, in Macassar Patene, in Amboyna
Nala. The Bugis, unable to discriminate between
thi9 wqod and the sandal, call it ChUndana. In
the Bima language it is called Nara^ and in that
of Timur Sana and Na*

Among the ordinary woods of those countries
Tirhicht for econopiical uses, take the same rank as
firs and ^shes with us, may be mentioned the Bu
tpngoTy a species of (Tt^aria, vulgarly called by us
j^ooit, which is a corruption of Pokim^ the coQunqn
term for a tree in Malay, — ^thc M&rhaOf (Netrqsi-^
deros, R.) the Pinaga ; and, the Suren^ which last
is the Toon of Bengal. These trees are very cqm^
mon in those parts of the Archipel^o where the
teak does not exist.

Of fancy woods used in cabinet or fine work there
are many. For larger cabinet work the Sono is the

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454 HUSBANDRY OP THE MATERIALS

most frequently used. It is a brown*coloured wood^
some varieties of which are diversified by lighter
coloured streaks* It takes a good polish. One va-
riety is designated Kling or Telinga^ but I can
hardly believe it is an exotic. The wood of the Jack
or Nungka is frequently used in cabinet work. It
is of a yellow colour, of great size, durable, and
takes a good polish.

The TinuUca and K&muningy two woods of
close grain, which take an exquisite polish, are
used, in what the natives attach so much import-
ance to, the manufacture of kris handles. Particu-
lar pieces of the former occasionally assume a most
singular appearance, being alternately of a white
and black colour, strongly opposed to each other.
These portions are called Kayu-pelet^ or spotted
wood, and are used in making kris and spear han-
dles, beetel boxes, &c.

Ebony of several varieties is found in the In-
dian islands, but is of inferior quality to that of
Mauritius and Madagascar. The best occurs in
the eastern part of the Archipelago, viz. in
Boeroe, Gelolo, the eastern coast of Celebes,
and the western part of New Guinea. It is com*
monly called Kayu-arangf literally charcoal wood,
but figuratively " black-wood." In Temati and
Tidor, however, it is called by the specific name
of BotoUfio.

The forests of the Indian islands afford trees and

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OP NATIVE MANUFAXJTUBES AND ARTS. 455

plaats yielding gums or resins useful^ in the arts.
The most important of these products is Damar,
a kind of indurated pitch or turpentine, exud-
ing spontaneously from several trees. In al-
most every country of the Indian islands there are
trees which a£Pord damar. - Rumphius enumerates
four varieties. These produce different sorts of the
rosin, which take their names in commercial lan^
guage from their colour or consistence. One is
called DamaV'-batu in Malay, or Damar-selo in
Javanese, which means the stony rosin, and ano-
ther in common use Damar-pulehy or white rosin.
The trees which produce the damar yield it in a-
mazing qifdntity, and generally without the neces-
sity of making incisions. It exudes through the
bark, and is either found adhering to the trunk
and branches in large lumps, or in masses on
the ground, under the trees. As these often
grow near the sea-side or on banks of rivers, th«
damar is frequently floated away and collected
at distant places as a drift. The word Damar
is in most of the languages of the western part
of the Archipelago a common term for gum or re-
sin. It has come to mean also' a torch or link, that
is, an object containing resin. The words gum
and resin are expressed in some of the languages
of the spice islands by the words Solo and Kama.
Damar is used for all the purposes to which we
apply pitch, but chiefly in paying the bottoms of

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456 HUSBANDRY OF THE MATERIALS

ships and vessels. It is exported in laige quanti-
ties to the continent of India, especially to Ben-
gal.

In different parts of the Indian islands are found
vio^s w trailing plants, the milky juices of which.
beoQBi^t when in^ssated, a true Caoutchouc.
The late Dr Roxbuiigh, in the 5th volume of the
Transactions of the Asiatic Society, has rendered
an account of the botanical character of one of
these plants. The gum is sometimes used as a
toirehi and the Javanese, to soften the sound, wind
a little of it round the mallet with which their mu-
sical iustrum^its are struck. The plant which
yields this peculiar substance in Java .is. called in
the language of the country Bmdud*

A tree, fBMsia,J affording a very singular j^t)-
duction, a vegetable tallow, or concrete <ul, is very
frequent in the western countries of the Archipe-
lago. From the short notices contained in Rum->
phius, * it appears to be a tall straight tree, of a
raiooth ash-coloured bark, having leaves resembling
the K&nari. The nut also resembles that of the
latter tree, but has no hard shell, but under the
soft bark is found a hard medullary matter, of a
harsh, bitter, and disagreeable taste. This nuty by
boiling, affords the tallow, which is of a hard con-

* Herbar. Amboin*

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OF NATIVE MANUFACTUBES AVp ARTS. ^^

sistence, and of a yellowish coloun When obtain"
ed, it is poured into bamboo joints, and thus offer*
ed for sale. The tree is called by the Malays Ka-
wan, and by the Javanese Nyatu. It is certain
that, in a more advanced state of the arts, this n)a^
terial, which is cheap and abundant, will becoipe
of great utility in countries where there is natural'
i^a deficiency of animal fats and oils. It is not
improbable, also, that, with more commercial intel-
ligence and enterprise than can exist under the
present restricted intercourse of Europeans with
these countries, it might be expoited to Europe,
the manufactures of which create so great a demand
for tdlow and animal oils.

The fruit or nut of a shrub, called by the people
of the western part of the Archipelago Rarakf
(Sapindu$^J is constantly used by the natives in
lieu of soap. From the detergent virtues of this
singular fruit, we may conclude, that it contains a
large portion of some alkali in an uncombined
form. These comparatively unimportant produc>^
tions are mentioned as examples of the wonderful
variety and extent of the useful vegetable products
of these countries.

Of plants affordmg colouring materials applica-
ble to the art of dy^mg, there is a oonsiderable
number. Indigo flndigqfera tinctoriaj is the
most important and valuable. This plant exists
wild in different countries of the Indian Archipe-

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458 HUSBANDBT OF THE MATERIALS

lago, and, from the variety of native names, we may
conclude that it is indigenous*. In Javanese, for ex-
ample, it is called Tomf in Malay Tamm, and in
Menadu Entu. In some countries, however, the
local name is wanting, either from the plant being
exotic, or the culture of it having been introduced
by neighbours. The Sundas of Java call it by the
Malayan name, the people of fiali and Ternati by
the Javanese one. From the Sanskrit name of the
plant among the Bugis and Macassars, we might
be inclined to suspect that it had been introduced
by the Hindus. — Though the name of the plant be
constantly native^ that of the prepared drug is as in-
variably Indian. There is no other for the coloured
Fectda from one end of the Archipelago to another^
than the Sanskrit one, Nila. From this fact, lit-
tle doubt can 'be entertained but the Hindus in-
structed the natives of the Indian islands in the art
of preparing a colouring matter from the Indigo
plant.

Of the common Indigo plant, besides the wild
kind, there are in Java, where the plant is best
known, three cultivated varieties, the practical differ-
ences between which, as among the other great ob-
jects of husbandry, consist in the size of the plants
and the shorter or longer time it takes to come to
maturity. Besides the common Indigo, there exists
in the island of Sumatra another species, first
brought to the notice of European botanists by Mr

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OF NATIVE MANUFACTURES AND ARTS. 459

Marsden, and hence called Marsdenia tinctoria.
The Malays call it Tartm Akar. This plant, in-
stead of being a shrub imperfectly ligneous, with
small pinnated leaves, like the common indigo, is
a vine, or climbing plant, with leaves from three
to five inches in length. The Sumatrans use the
two plants indifferently in the manufacture of the
drug, but as the vine indigo is confined to this peo-
ple, no opportunity has yet occurred of instituting
an intelligent investigation into their relative me-
rits.

Indigo, in Java, is either raised as a second crop
after rice in low lands, or in upland soils, as the prin-
cipal crop ; in both cases, it is reared without the as-
sistance of dressings of any sort. The variety raised,
according tothe first description of husbandry, is the
smaller one, or that which takes the shortest time to
come to jnaturity, and that, according to the second,
the larger, or that which takes the longest time. It
is remarkable, that, in the hot plains, the indigo plant
seldom comes to seed, and that the little which it
yields is of a bad kind. Though the plant, there-
fore, be cultivated in the plain for the purpose of
manufacture, the seed is raised in elevated or hilly
tracts, which proves, that, in its physical distribu-
tion, it is not an inhabitant of the climate of the
plain, but of a more elevated region. — According
to the practice of the natives of Java, indigo is sown
about the middle of July, and the first crop is cut

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460 HUSBANDRY OF THE MATERIALS

}XL two montlis. The mapuf^tufing ^e^on cQn-
tinu^s two months, and thp pl^'Pt U cvi^ in ^iU
three times*

The native procesfi of maniif^ctiiriog is extreme-
ly nfde« The stalks and leaves having lain for
some days to macerate, ar^ then bpilei), and after-
wards mixed with some quicklime, and f^VU leaves
to fix the colour. In this s^miliquid state it is ap-
plied to use, and large quantities of it are so exported
by the Javanese to their ruder neighbours. Thp
practice of manufacturing the pure Fecula into a
solid mass is unknown to the naj^ives. The Dutch
colonists were in the habit of mapufacturing small
quantities of indigo of the finest qualit;y^ * but at
kn exorbitapt cost. The more intelligent methods
pursued by the English in Bengali were introduced
during the British occupation of the island* and
are at present attended with a sycce^ wh{ch might
be reasonably looked for ia a country possessing,

* Mr Gott of Leeds, distinguished, eren among the great
mannfacturers of this country, for skill, liberality, and enter,
prise, has informed me, that a quaddty of this Java indigo,
purchased by him in the London market during the last ivtir,
was the best he had e^er met with^ not exceptiqg the finest
samples from Guatimala or Bengal. I belie? e a M. Petel, an
ingenious French gentleman residing in Java, was the manu-
facturer of this remarkable drug. The process he pursues is
peculiar, apd, where advantageous, is judiciously fallowed at
present by ;ill the other European manu&cturers.

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OF NATIVE MASrUFAfcTURES AND A ATS. 46l

in an eminent degree, thfe rich soil required for the
grbwth of Indigo, and the command of water, so ne-
cessary fbt the manufacture. Of all productions
called colonial, indigo is the one which demands,
in the manufacture, the largest share of intelligence
and judgment. None of the Asiatic nation^ are
equal to the manufacture of a perfect drug, fitted
fot the markdt of Europe. Th6 Chinese, who can
manufacture good sugar, cannot manufacture good
indigo, which is the peculiar product of the skill
and civilization of Europeans.

Besides indigo, a considerable number of infe-
rior dyeing drugs are known to the Indian islanders.
The Kasumba, or SaffioweVj (Carthamus tlnC"
toriuSj) is one of the most considerable of these.
This is an indigenous plant of the Indian Archi-
pelago, and is found throughout the whole of it.
The culture of it seems to be most successfully
prosecuted in the island of Bali, from whence it is
an article of exportation to the neighbouring coun-
tries of the Archipelago. It grows also in con-
siderable perfection in the territories of Macassar
and Turateoj in Celebes, imd in the state of Bu
ma in S^bawa. Th6 colour which it yields is
a saf&on, for which its name indeed is the expres-
sion.

The Amotto of America CBia:a orellanaj is al-
so known and cultivated by the Indian islanders.
This plant, from the resemblance of thte colouring

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4f&t miSBAMDRT OF THE MATERIALS

matter to that of the last, is also called Kasumba,
with the addition of KSUngf meaning Telinga or
Indian, from which we may judge it to be an ex-
otic, introduced from the Deccan, or southern pe-
ninsula of Hindustan.

Turmeric (Curcuma Umga^ L.) is every where
cultivated in considerable quantity. Three va-
rieties are enumerated by Rumphius, a wild, and
two cultivated ones. It is an indigenous plant, and
is every where known by a native name, which
name is invariably borrowed from its yellow colour.
In Javanese, Malay, and Bali, it is called Kw^t,
in Amboynese Unin, and in Temati Gorachiy
which means ** golden." -Turmeric affords a beau-
tiful, but a very perishable colour, and is less used
as a dye than as an aromatic for seasoning food.

Several dyeing woods exist, and in great abun-
dance. The Sappan^ or Brazil wood, (Gsalpma
sappatijj is common to every part of the Archipe-
lago, but the production of Luconia^ in the Philip-
pines, and of the island Samhima^ are preferred.
The tree grows wild, but is also an object of culti*
vation. It exists in the greatest perfection in
the kingdom of Siam, and in the little state of
Champa depending upon it, from which last, as
an early intercourse is known to have taken place
between it and the Indian islands, we mi^t
suspect that the tree was imported. The fre-
quent native terms by which it is designated lead

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OF NATIVE MANUFACTURES AND A&TS. 463

US, however, rather to consider it an indigenous
product* In the Malay language it is called
Sapangj from which Sappan is evidently corrupt-
ed : In Javanese it is called SHchang, in Temati
Sum/Cs in Tidori Roro, and in Amboynese Lo^
Ian. The Sappan wood imparts the best red dye
which is known to the Indian islanders. It is ex-
ported to China and to Europe*

The Mcmgkudu (MorindaJ is a tree of mo-
derate size, found abundantly in every part of the
Indian islands, the roots of which are extensive-
ly employed as a dye-stuff for giving a red colour.
The Mangku4u is of two kinds, the small and large
leaved, (Morinda umbellata et citrifolia,') the roots
of the first of which only afford a dyeing material*
The produce of the eastern islands i^ considered
superior in quality, as a dyeing drug, to that of the
western, and hence we find the Mangkudu of Am-
boyna an article of importation into Java. Wher-
ever pepper and coffee are raised by the improved
methods taught by Europeans, the Mangkudu of
both varieties is used as props, or to afford shade
to these exotic plants* In the languages of the
western countries of the Archipelago, the tree is
named according to the idiom of the pronunciation
of the people Mangkudu^ BangkudUj or Wang*
kudUf the three initial consonants in these cases
|)eing commutable, and very arbitrarily used.
The UbaVf a species of red wood, resembling the

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464 HUSBANDRY OF THE MATERIALS

Hematoxylorif or logwood of Honduras, is abun-
datit, and is the substance with which the natives
tan and give a brown colour to their filing-nets.
It is a production of Sumatra.

The plants of the Indian islands afford none
which are of established reputation in our Materia
Medica^ but many exist which j^roduce powerful
efl^cts on the animal frame^ and which may be
found ultimately possessed of medicinal virtues.
The virtues of the American pl^its^were early ascer-
tained from tiie residence of Europeans, and their
intelligent inquiries, but of those of the Indian
islands, we continue at this moment almost as ig-
norant as at our first acquaintance with these coun-
tries* The little that has been written by Euro-
pean writers is vague and ubsatisfactory, and the
ignorant and careless empiricism of the natives
deserves to be wholly disregarded. Of the me-
dical effects of the plants of the Indian islands^
we can, indeed, hardly be said to know more
than that some of them are powerfully narcotic,
others cathartic, emetic, or diuretic, while some
act most powerfully, in some cases almost fatally,
when applied even to the external skin. Another
class affords a most subtle poison when introduced
into the cii-culation of the blood. Those of milder
operation exist also, and some are found which are
astringents, or bitters, or combine these qualities
with an agreeable aroma.

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OF KATIYB MANUFACTURES AXn> AETS. 465

I do* not know that specific virtues in the cure
of any disorcLer have ever been ascribed to any
of the plants of the Indian islands, unless I excef^
the recent and valuable discovery of the offects of
the Cubebi (Tiper cubeba,) in the cure of Go^
norrhcta. The cubebi called in the Javanese lan-
guage Ktimukus, aiid in Malay Lada b&rekotX .
or pepper with a tail or process^ is, like the
common black pepper, the production of a
vine. It is a native of the island of Java, and
grown there only. The cubeb has a very pe«
culiar aromatic odour, and singular taste, with-
out being very acrid. Taken in the dose of
about three drachms, repeated six or eight times
a-day, in the manner in which Peruvian baik, is ex-
hibited, it stops, without producing any sensible
effect on the constitution, the dischai^ of go*
norrhcea, and all the inflammatory symptoms, in
from twenty-four to seventy-two hours. If the
medicine be interrupted on the first disappearance
of the symptoms, they recur, and, therefore, it is
necessary to persevere in its use for some days af-
ter the appearance of disease is gone. Taken in
large quantity the cubeb proves mildly cathartic, and
has in some instances been alleged to create swelled
testicle. The use of this plant as a remedy in
gonorrhcea was unknown to the natives of the In-
dian islands, or to the Europeans residing among
them } and it is equally remarkable, that it mas

VOL. I. Gg

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466 HUSBANDRY OF THfi MATERIALS

•

known to the people of Bengal, from whom the
English, by accident, learnt the use oT it, while in
the occupation of Java.

Among the narcotic plants, the most remarka-
ble is the Daturay called by the Indian islanderst
Kdchubong. The fruit of this plant produces the
most complete stupor, though its effects are not
very lasting* Among the artffioc^ practised by
the knavery of the Chinese to circumvent the aim-
pie natives, the exhibition of the K&chubofng may
be reckoned one. When chief of the districts of
Samarang in 1815, I remember having met with a
remarkable example of this. A Javanese boatman in
his canoe, proceeding on his voyage on a river, was
accosted by a Chinese from the bank requesting a
passage, for which he tendered a fare and a share
of his food. The Javanese received him, and eat
heartily of the viands tendered to him by his passen-
ger. These were mixed with the Datura^ and im-
mediately induced stupor and heavy sleep. When
the victim of this piece of roguery awoke, he found
himself lying stark naked in a forest fifteen mflet
distant from the place where he had taken in the
Chinese,-— -robbed of his canoe, and all his property.
The accusation was made in my presence with
much nahetSy and the Chinese, after some hesita-
tion, acknowledged all the facts.

Among the substances proving violently stimu-
lant when applied to the external skin, the most

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Of NATIVE MANUFACTURES AND ARTS. 467

remaricaUe is the K&maduy (Uriica urens^) the .
large broad* leaf of a tree. A single, touch of
this terrible plant produces the most violent irrita-
tioiiy accompanied by excruciating pain, and even
I fever. It is the same which is used to irritate the
bttffido in his contest with the tiger.
• Of the plantis of the Indian islands two at leaist
nShrd a most subtle poison, either taken into the
stmnach or circulation, the Anchor and the Cfietik,
The word Upas in the Javanese, and some other
languages of the western portion of the Archipe-
lago, is not a specific term^ but the common name
for poison of any description whatever. The An-
char^ the most common source of the vegetable
.poison in use, is one of the largest forest trees of
the Archipelago,, rising to the height of* sixty and
eighty feet, straight and large, before it sends out
a single branch. It proves hurtfol to no plant
aiound it, and. creepers and parasitical- plants are
found winding in abundance about it. The 'poi-
son is in the outer bark, from which, when wound-
«d» it flows in the form of a milk-white sap. In this
state it is as deleterious as when, according to the
pvactice of the natives, it is mixed with the juices
of a .quantity of extraneous aromatics, and other
matters, such as black pepper, ginger^ arum, gala^n-
ga, &c. When applied to the external skin it pro-
duces intolerable pain and itching, with a kind of
herpetic eruption. The inner bark resembles coarse

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468 HU8BAMDET OF THE MAT£IIULS

cloth, and is frequently worn as siidi by the poorar
peasantryi and occasionally converted into ttrong
rope. Great care must,* faovfeyer, be taken in pr^arr
ing it, for if any particles of the poiaonoua jiiiee
remain adhering to it, when the doth beeomesi
moist, the wearer experiences intolemble itclung.

The Cheiik is a large creej^ng shrub, wil^ a
stem occasionally so big as to i^proadi to chi cha^
racter of a tree* It thrives in black rich moulds.
It is the bark of Ac root of this plant which afr
fords the upas or poison, which is an extract of
nearly the consistence of syrup, obtained by hoping
it with water. The Chetik is a more intense pd-
BOfi than the Anchor^ but, as far as we know, it is
confined to Java. The Anchor^ <m the oonfenry,
appears to exist in almost every country of the
Archipelago, being found in the Malay, peninsu*
la, in Sumatra, in Borneo,* in Bah, and in Cele-
bes, as well as, in Java. The Malays call this last
IpoK Both are found only in the deepest reeesKs
of the forest.

To produce the fullest effects, the upas poir
son, of either kind, must be recent and wdl
preserf ed. Exposure to the air soon destroys its
potency. Its effects depend en the strraigth
of the tmimal, and the quantity taken. Three
times the quantity taken into the circulation
are necessuy to produce the same eflfects taken
into the stomach. The momentary a^lication

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OF MATIYS MANUFACTURES AMD ARTS.

of Ik small quantity to the blood does not piove
&tal. It is necessary that the poison be in-
serted with a dart) and that the dart should
omtinue in the wound to give time for its ab-
•ofption* Thus ajqplied, the poison of the An»
char in its recent state kills a mouse in ten mi«
nutesi — a cat in fifteen, — « dog within an hour,*r
and a buffido, one of the laigest of quadrupeds, in
something more than tvto hours. The effects of
the poison of the Chetik are far more violent and
sudden. Fowls, which long resist the poison of ;
th^ Anchor, die often in less than a minute from
that of the Chetijc* . It kills a dog in sis or seven
minutes* The train of symptoms induced by the
operation of these poisons, is said by Dr Hors-
field) the author of all our accurate knowledge on
this subject, to be essentially different. Probably
they differ less in quality than in degree. The -
symptoms of the Anchor are restlessness, quick-
breathing, increased flow of saliva, vomiting, alvine
discharge, slight twitches, laborious breathing, vio*
lent agony, severe convulsions, and death. The
Chetik acts more directly on the nervous system
and brain, and, after a few primary symptdms, de-
stroys life by one sudden effort. — The most bar-
barous of the* Indian islanders, in their wars «with
Europeans and each other, as mentioneil in other «
parts of this work, discharge arrows poisoned with
the juice of the Ancfiar. These may, indeed.

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,470 HUSBANDRY OF THE KATERIAJLH

produce an aggravated wound, and much debiUtj^
but I doubt whether the wound of a poisoned ar-
row has ever proved immediately fatal. The darts
charged vnth«it are not barbed, and, therefore, in-
stantly removed from the wound, yet, to. destroy
the life of so comparatively weak an animal as a
dog» takes an hour whenr the dart is continued in
the wound and deliberatjely applied. Rumphius
describes the Dutch soldiers as suffering severely
from the effects of this ppison in the wars conduct- .
ed by them about* the middle of the seventeenth
century, at Amboyna and Macassar, until a reme-
dy was discovered in the emetic qualities of the
Radio: iosicaria or Bakung. The assertion of
the discovery' of a remedy throws a doubt upon the
' whole, for it is surely alt^ether unreasonable to
expect, that clearing the stomach by an emetic*
• should prove an antidote to a subtle poison, taken
. into the circulation, and acting upon the nervous
system. * The Dutch soldiers were probably more
frightened than hurt. In the perfidy of the prac-
tice of Using poisoned weapons, and the mysterious
and secret operation of a poison, there is something
to appak the stoutest heart, and abundant materials
for terror and superstition. When our soldiers.

^ Dr HoAfield on the upas poison, m the Transactions of
the Bat. Society^ Vol. VIL Rumphii Herb. Amh. Tom. IL
ami VI.

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OF NATIVE MANUFACTUnES AND AttTS. 471 '

both Indian and European, proceeded on an ex-*
pedition to Bali in 1814, they expressed serious
apprehension for the pbisoned darts of the BaUw
nese. The same fear was entertained' by the* same
people for the krises of the Javanese, until we dis-
covered that that people never poisoned their wea-
p<ms, and that the kris was a very inoffensive, nay^
very useless one. Such, unhappily for fiction, is
the true account of the upas tree, the bark of
.which is used by the natives of Jbhe countries in
which it grows as wearing apparel, and beneath the
shade of which the husbandmto may repose himself
with as much security as under that of cbco-palm*
or bamboo. Every thing we know of the true hi«-
tory of the upas tree proclaims the egregious men-
dacity of the man who propagated the fable respect-
ing it, which has obtained currency in Europe, and
the extraordinary eredulity of those who listened
to his extravagant fictibn. **

* A Mod. Foeiih, a Freoch surgeon, was the inTcntor of
tke tale, and Dr Darwio, the most distinguished of those who
believed and propagated it. — See ^* Botanic Garden.^\

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CHAPTER V.

HU&BAND&T OF ARTICLES CHIEFLY FOR VOREIGN
EXPOHTATION.

Sugar- Canev^Culture*'-^HiHori/.'--'Matu^aetureofSttgar^'^
Of Arraclc-^Black Pepper. — HUton^ — CuUure. — Fecun^

dUy Coffee. — CuUure — Fecundity. — The Clove — Be-

tcription^^^Geographfcal Distribution*^^ Name. -— Histo^

• jy, -— CuUure, — Fecundity Nutmeg. — Deuriplion, —

, Geographical Distribution, — Hiitoryand Name. — Culture*
''^Fecundity.^-^Forced cuUure of the Clave and Nutmeg ex^
plamed,r^^Mas8oy.'^Clove''bark^--'CayU'puH. -^^ Cassia^~^
Cardamom.^^Gingtr, — Camphor. — > Benzoin. — Ligmmi
Aloei.^'^-Sandal Wood*

The Indian islands produce a great yariety of ve-
^ getable substances less in demand^ among the na-
tives than foreigners. The bare . mention of the
names of black pepper, cloves, and nutmegs, not
to particularize minor articles, is associated with
some of tliB most, interesting and important events,
both in the commercial and civil history of our
species. In the commercial language of Europe,,
most of the articles which compose this chapter are
known by the vague name of Colonial Productions.

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^ HUSBANBKT OF ARTICLES, &C. . 473

This dedgnation^ however, independent of its in-
accuracy, is a great deal too limited, for it is not
in the markets of Eurq^e alone that the produe-
. tions of the Archipelago are in demand ; they
are also in request in everypart of Asia, from Japan
to the Hellespont.

I shall begin my account of this interesting sub-
ject with the husbandry of the Sugar-cane^ (Arunr
do saccharifera.) There exist in the Indian
idands several varieties of this production. Three
may be considered as indigenous, and a fourth has
been introduced by Europeans. The indigenous
varieties are chiefly distinguished by the size and
colour of the stem oi the cane. One is of a pale
yellow colour, having joints five inches long ; a se-
cond is a small cane, tiot above an inch thick, of a
greenish yellow colour ; imd the third, the most re-
markable, has a brown or purple coloured stem„
and is often two inches in diameter. The exotic
variety is a cane introduced by the Dutch into Ja*
va from the West Indies in very late times. This
is the kind principally used in the manufacture of
sugar. The purple-coloured cane, because it tinges
the sugar, is unfit for this purpose.

In Java sugar-cane,, though it may, for the con-
sumption of the natives, be cultivated in any sea-
son, is, for the manufacture of sugar, planted by
slips in the months of July and August, and
cut in those of May and June. Two Ratoon

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474i HUSBANDRY OF ABTICLE8 * '

crops (^Bungke) are usually taken, and sometimes «
third. — Sugar-cane^is usually cultivated in dry ani^
ble lands of some little elevation, and never in the
finest soils of the country, those fit for growing,
the great rice crop, so that the culture does not in-
terfere with the immediate production of food. A
rich dark loam yields cane which is most prodactive
in sugar, and a soil in some measure sandy, and to
a smalldegree of a gravelly nature, tibat which affi)rd8
sugar of the whitest and best quality. In the west-
em districts of Java, the Chinese apply the oiUcake,
the refuse of the press, from the manu&ctnre of oil
from the ground pestachio, as manure, but in the
more fertile eastern districts, no manure whatever
is employed| but, after yielding three successive
crops, it is then the practice, as land is plenty, to
allow the ground a fallow /or two seasons. In Ja-
va and the Philippines, where alone sugar is map
nufactured to any extent from the cane, the ma-
nufacture is solely in the hands of the Chinese.
The process pursued is similar to that of the
West Indies, which has been so frequently de-
scribed, only that the machinery is ruder, and less
expensive. The cylinders of the mill are of wood
inst^ of iron, and the boilers of iron instead of
'copper. The latter are imported from China.
The machinery is always moved by cattle, and ne-
ver by water. The sugar of Java and Manilla k
always clayed, and the manufacture of muscavado

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* » €HISFLT FOR POBBION XXP0RTA7I0K. 475

is not practised. The size of the works may be
estimated from the quantity of sugar manufactured
by them, which is commonly from' 950 cwts. to
9400 in five weeks, the usual duration of the
manufacturing season.

The sugar-cane is certainly an indigenous pro-
duction of the Indian islands, but to what particu^ '
lar sp<rt it originally belonged has not been deter-
mined. I am not aware, that, any more than the
valuable cerealia^ it has yet been d^ected in its
wild state, like them^'and all other useful plants,
rendered abundant only by the industry of man, we
find it in every language and dialect from Sumatra
to Ne^ Guinea, and the Philippines, known by one
name, which, with very slight variations, easily ac«
counted for is Tabu* Thi&is a native term unknown,
•as far as our infofmation extends, to any language^
ancient or modem, beyond the pale of the Archipe*
lago, and we can, therefore, from analogical it^ason-
ing, entertain no doubt but the sugar-cane is an in-*
digenous product of these countries. Although ihe
cane be a native of the Indian islands, the art of ma«
nufacturing sugar fropi it is certainly a foreign art»
and appears to have been unknown to the natives in
all periods of their history. There is no name for su-
gar in any dialept of the Indian islands but^a foreign
one, and this foreign one, Gtday is pure Sanskrit.
We might conclude from this, that the Indian isl-
anders acquired* in their early intercourse with the

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476 HUSBANDRY OF ARTICLES

HinduS) the knowledge of extracting sugar from
the juice of the cane. This, however, I imagine,
was not the case. When Europeans first became
acquainted with the natives of these islands, they
found them ignorant of the manufacture of sugar
from the cane. The Hindu word Gula is, indeed,
equally applied to palm sugar as ito that of the cane.
I therefore suppose, that the Hindus instructed
the Indian islanders only in the simple process of
manufacturing the former, and that the manufacture
of the latter was introduced by the Chinese under
the Auspices chiefly of Europeans, and in times com*
paratively very recent. The natives of the coun-
try, indeed, to this day, are unacquainted with the
art of extracting sugar from the cane, which they
rear solely with the view of using it in its raw
state, as a common esculent vegetable. — An Enf^- *
lish acre of cahe in middling land, cultivated with«
out manure, produces in Java 1985 lbs. avoirdu-
pois of clayed sugar. The best lands will give an
average of 1815 lbs. Rich cane juice yields Sl^
per cent, of sugar, middling 25, and the worst
SOf ; or, on an average of all, 95 per cent.

The cost of manufacturing sugar, in a country
where the land is so fertile, and food so cheap, is
remarkaUy moderate. A sugar mill, along with a
hundred and twenty pair of working bufialoes for the
labours of the field and mill, and with agricultural
implements, is thought to be wo^h •! 2,000 Spanish

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CHIEFLY r6& VQRfilGN^SXPQBTATION. 477

dollars* Th^ mill is equal to the manufacture of
the pi:oduce of 198^ English acres, and will yield
S277 cwts. of clayed sugar. The cost of thesugar
ma§ be easily estimated from these daia :

Sp-DoUtti,.

Interest of capital at lU per cent, on Spa*
nisii dollars 1S,000, is - 1200

Kent of land, and land-tax, at S^fy per
acre while in cultivation, - 545

Calculisited expeiice of culture and manu-
facture, * - 1355

IVofit at 10 per cent, on capital and out-
lays, . . 1510

4610

Deduct molasses sold to the natives of the
country for the manufacture of sweet-
meats, - ' - . 400

4210

By this estimate, which is on a liberal scale, it wiir
be seen that good clayed sugar may be manufac-
tured in Java at Spanish dollars l-pVo" P^*" ^^^-j ®^
at the exchange of 4s. 6d., 8s. 4d. neaily. In
the district* where this estimate has hee$. made, the
manhfacture is carried to a great extent. The
price of common rice, such as that us^d by the na-

* Kuclffs in the eastern provinces.

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%78 HU8BAKD|IY 01? ARTICLES

tivest is 41 J cents of a Spanish doUaf, per 100 Iha.
avoirdupoist and common day labour is rewa|^dedat
the rate of two dollars a month. The best work-
ing buffaloes^ the strcmgest and finest cattle o^the
•couptry, cost no more than ten Spanish dollars a
pair*. The profits which would accrue to the
Planter from combining the manufacture of arrack
are not estimated, for this is injudiciously made an
object of monopoly.

Of the celebrated Batavian arrack, which so
much excels all liquors of the same name, I shall
now give a short account. It is made from a mix-
ture ^of molasses, palm-win^» and rice» in the fol-
lowing proportions :
Molasses, - - « 6'i parts

Toddy, or palm-wine^ - 3

Rice, - * 35 •

100

100 parts of these materials yield SS^ parts of dis-
tilled proof arrack.

The process of manufacture is as follows : The
rice is first boiled, and after cooling a quantity of
yestia added to it, and it is pressed into baskets, in
which condition it is placed over a tub, or^bs,
for eight days, during which time a liquor flows
abundantly from the mixture. At the end of that
time, the liquor so distilled is taken out, and mixed

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CHIEFLY FOR FOR£IOK«£xi»0&TATI0N. 479^

mth the moliisses and palm^wine, which had been
previpnsly combined. The mixture remains in a
fltnall vessel for one day only, when it is removed
int^ large fermenting vats, in whrch it remains for
seven. When, at the termination of this period;
the process of fermentation is over, the liquor is
finally rembved into the stills, and, according to
die number of distillations it undergoes, becomes
' arrack of the ^nt, second, or third quality in com-
merce.

^ The manufacture of arrack is conducted sepa-
rately ft^ta that of sugar, the arrack distillers' usu-
ally purchasing their- molasses from the sugar ma-
nufacturers at the rate of about a dollar and a half
a piculf deliverable at the distillery. The best ar-
rack is manufactured at the rate of seven Spanish .
dollars per picul, or 2-/^ dollars per cubic foot.*

It is ixot very easy to determine with whom ori-
ginated the manufacture of this singular spirit. It
is evident enough, from the nature of one of the
materials, the molasses, that it is not a native ma-
nufacture. The name Arakis Arabic, but among
the natives it is not confined to this particular m($f
dification, but applied generally to every kind of
spirituous liquor. '

A valuable and important product of the Indian
islands is Black Pepper, f Piper nigrum, lu.J Ex-
cept tlie western portion of the peninsula of India,
they are the only countries in the world that yield
this remarkable product. The pepper vine is too

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480 HUSBANfiRT.OF ARTICLES

well known to demand a very particular description*
It is a hardy plant, the leaves of which are of a dark
green, lieart-shaped and pointed* It inclines to
twine round any neighbouring support, and tjien
throws out fibres at each joint, by which it adheres*
In this situation it will climb to the height of
twenty-five feet. The branches are short,| and
brittle. From these appear the clusters of fruit
resembling bunches of currants, but larger, more
rigid, and harder, every grain adhering to the com-
mon stalk. The fruit is at first green, but as it n*
pens, becomes of a dark red ; and grows finally black,
and sjirivelled, as 'we see it,»a3 an article of com*
merce. With die irregularity which belongs to all
fruit-bearing trees in the warm and humid regions
near the equator, the season of fructification with
the pepper vine is uncertain, and it generally yields
two crops a year. With the first fall of the perio-
dical rains, it usually begins to flower, and the
largest crop is ready to be reaped about the con^
elusion of the wet season.— In the Indian islands
there are enumerated three varieties of pepper^
"which, like the other material products of culture,
are chiefly distinguished by the longer or shorter
time they take to come to maturity, and to live, —
and by the greater or smaller amount of their
produce. •

The pepper vine, notwithstanding the luxuriance
with which it grows in the Indian islands, does not
appear to be an indigenous product. I condnde that

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CHIEFLY FOR FOR]£lGN EXPORTATION. 481

it was introduced by the Hindus in early times
from Malabar, the only other country iipthe world
which produces it. The arguments for this opi-
nion are as follow. In Malabar it is found abun-
dantly in its wild state in all the forests, but, on the
other hand, it is no where found wild in the Archipe-
lago.— rThe produce of Malabar is of higher flavour
and value than that of the Indian islands.— There
is no specific native term for pepper in any of the
languages of the Archipelago. — Those which qi-
pear so, as the terms in the Malay and Madurese
languages are, in fact, the common terms for the
whole genus, and strictly require some a^unct to
complete the sense. — M&richay the only specific
name in use, and which is current with the Ja-
vanese, the Balinese, and people of Celebes, is pure
Sanskrit. * In corroboration of these arguments*
we may further remark, that the pepper vine is on-
ly cultivated in those parts of the Archipelago which
lie nearest to the continent of India,— 4hat it di-
minishes as we recede from it,— and that, where the
distance becomes considerable, it disappears alto-
gether.

The culture of pepper is simple and oertain. Of
all products known ,to us under the name of colo^
nialy it is that which, in climates congenial to it.

* It U remarkable enough, that this word, in the original
language, is the generic term*
you I. H h

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482 HUSBANDRY OF ARTICLES

grows in the most indifferent soils. Indigo, sugar-
cane, tobaccot and even cotton and coflfee, demand
soils of high fertility, but pepper flourishes in com-
paratively indifferent ones, nay, indeed, appears to
attain the highest perfection in such. Those coun-
tries of the Archipelago, therefore, we may re-
mark, which are not noted for the production of
the articles above enumerated, and for that of rice,
are those in which pepper comes to the greatest
-perfection, such as the south-west coast of Sumatra,
the n(»th coast of Borneo, and the eastern coast of
the Malayan peninsula. Java, so famous £or the
fertility of its soil, produces the worst fepptx of the
Archipelago.^ The pepper vine, in its native coun-
try, is an inhabitant of the mountains, and in the
Indian Archipelago, we find it cultivated only in
dry upland soils, and never in the rich hot loams
fitted for the growth of marsh rice.

Either in its wild or cultivated state, when the
vine is suffered to creep on the ground, the fibres
which, when it is trained, adhere to the prop,
strike into the ground, and become roots, and in
this situation it never bears fiiiit. To enable it to
do so, it must be trained, upon seme tree or pole.

* The pepper vine flourishes in thdse countries of the Ar«
chipelago, the mountains of which Areprimary rock, and is of
inferior quality, or unknown, where the geological fomatioii
is secondary.

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CHIEFLY FOR FOREIGN EXPORTATION. 488

A variety of trees are used for this purpose in
different countries. In Malabar the Mango,
the Jack, and Erythrma^ are in use. Among
the Indian isbinds, the vegetating props are
sometimes poles of dead timber, as used in the
culture of hops, and the vines are occasionally sup-
ported by the Areca, and even the Coconut palm*
Where, however, the culture is pursued by, or on
account of, Europeans, the business is conducted
more systematically. The gardens are laid out into
regular squares, and the only props used in these are
the Dadap fEfythrina coraUodendron) and the
MangkudUf {Morinda citrifoUa.) The land
chosen for a pepper garden is a piece pf forest land
similar to that from which, after the felling and
burning of the timber, a fugitive crop of mountain
rice is taken, as described in another chapter of this
book. After the ground is broken, and prepared, the
vegetating props are planted at regular distances, l^
cuttings usually two feet in length. The distance
between each, iir Penang, according to the improv-
ed practice of the Chinese, is seven feet and a half,
but the native planters of Bencoolen place them as
near as six feet. Six months after the planting of
the vegetating props, the vines are planted. This
. is done by cuttings or slips of the vine from the
horizontal shoots that run along the ground at the
foot of the old vines. A singular operation, con-
sidered to be equivalent to transplanting, is invar

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484 HUSBANDRY OF ARTICLES

riably performed on the young vines ; this is cal-
led " laying down," and consists in detaching the
vine from its prop, and burying it at the foot of
the prop, in a circular pit, eighteen inches in dia-
meter, leaving no more above ground than the top,
which is fixed to the prop. At Penang, this ope-
ration is performed in the eleventh or twelfth
month, but at Bencoolen, not until the second or
third year, on the first appearance of fructification.
After this operation, which is always performed in
the wet season, the plant shoots up along the prop
with redoubled rapidity.

There is considerable variety in the period of the
vines first bearing fruit, and in the whole duration of
its bearing. It usually, however, yields fruit in the
third year, is in ftill bearing in the fifth, — and con-
tinues stationary for eight or nine years. After its
fourteenth year, it begins to decline, and is not
worth attending to after the twentieth, though
it will live to the thirtieth. In a rich soil,
and a warm temperature, the progress of matu-
rity and decay are most rapid. In poor soils,
and colder climates, the contrary effects will take
place.

There are, as already mentioned, two crops,
which, in point of time, are, extremely irregidar,
and in some situations run into each other in such
a manner, that the reaping is pursued nearly
throughout the year. In reaping the pepper

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CHIEFLY FOR FOREIGN EXPORTATION. 4t83

harvest^ the reaper nips off the Amanta^ or clus^
ters, when the iirst berries of each cluster ap«
pear red, though the rest be still green. The
clusters are thrown into baskets, where they re«*
main for a day. They are then spread on mats,
and trodden with the feet, to detach the fruit
from the stalks. Afler this the pepper is win-
nowed to separate it from dust, and broken
grains. This, with exsiccation in the heat of the
sun, is the whole process of preparing this hardy
product. White pepper, as is now well enough
known, is black pepper blanched. The process of
blanching consists in the simple immersion of the
grains, choosing the ripest and best, for eight or
ten days in water, a running stream, if procurable,
being preferred for this purpose.

The fecundity of the pepper Tine has been as-
certained with considerable accuracy, in conse-
quence of the large share which Europeans have
had in the culture. According to the careless
husbandry of Bencoolen, occasioned by the injudi-
cious principles of forced culture, the, average pro-
duct of pepper vines of all ages, and reckoning up-
on the inequalities of soil and season, is somewhat
under 6^ ounces avoirdupois per vine.

With the free enterprise of Europeans, and the
skill and economy of the Chinese cultivator, the
average produce of pepper vines at Penang is not
less, under the same circumstances, than a pound

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486 Ht^SBANDRY OF ARTICLES

aad a half» which is at the rate of 1 l6l lbs. per acre.
In Malabar the produce of a single vine cannot be
estimated higher than 7|- ounces avoirdupois, * and
supposing the vines to be planted in the same man'
ner, and at the same distances, as at Penang, the
produce of an acre in that country would be no more
than 348 lbs. In the Indian islands the culture
is simple. The plant requires little watering, and
no manure. In Malabar tlie culture is both com-
plex, slovenly, and precarious, and frequent water-
ing and manuring are requisite. We are not sur-
prised, therefore, when we find that the pepper of
the latter is greatly dearer than that of the former.

The next important article of this branch of our
subject is Coffee. This interesting plant was in-
troduced into Java from Arabia, in the year 1723,
by the Dutch governor. General Zwardekroon, and
is still nearly confined to that fine island. The
Malays, who, from their intercourse with the Arabs,
have long known the berry, call it by thd Arabian
name of Kawah, but the Javanese understand no
other than the European one, Coffee.

Of coffee I believe there is but one species, and
no other varieties than such as are superinduced by
culture and climate. In iti^ native country^ Arabia,
it appears to be an inhabitant of the mountains. A

* BuchaDatrs Joarney through Mysore^ Vol. II. p. 404,
466.

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CHIEFLY FQS FOREiaK EXPORT ATIOK. 48?

hardy |ilaat, it will thrive in the hot plains under
th6 equator, on the level of the ocean, but the
fruit degenerates, and it apf>roxiinate8 to its native
perfection, in proportion aa it is cultivated in a cli-
mate resembling its parent one. In the hot plains
of Java, the fruit soon cornea to maturity, is yield^
ed in great quantity, but is large, spongy, and com-
paratively insipid* As we ascend the hills to a
very considerable elevation, — ^the plant progressive^
ly comes slower to maturity, — contiDoes to bear for
a longer time,~and bears a smaller quantity of her-*
ries, which are of less size, bui of finer quality.
I suspect the same observation now made respect*
ing coffee might be extended to all vegetable pro-
ducts of delicate flavour ; thus the pepper of the In*
dian islands is of inferior flavour to that of the pa-
rent country Malabar, — the nutmegs of Sumatra,
Penang, or the West Indies, inferior to those of
Banda,-^the cloves of Bourbon to those of Amboy-
na* The probability is, that no skill in culture will
ever enable the exotic product to equal the indi«^
genous one in any of these cases.

The culture of the coffee plant in Java is some-
what peculiar, and, therefore, a short sketch of it
, will be necessary. The best situation for coffee
gardens are the vallies in the neighbourhood of the
higher mountains, at an elevation of three and four
thousand feet above the level of the sea. A rich
dark loam, with an admixture of sand, is the fittest

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488 HUSBANDRY OF ARTICtEft

soil. In some thin clayey soils the plant pine^ —
the leaft instead of a dark green, is of a sickly yeU
low, and little or no fruit is produced. The lands
fitted for the growth of coflEee^ in Java are such as^
in the present ratio of land to population, are ap-
plied to no other use, and are, of coarse, very a-
bundant. The seedlings are taised in beds or nur-
series, and transplanted, ^most as soon as they
appear above ground, into new beds about a foot
asunder, and under the protection of sheds construct-
ed for the purpose. When eighteen months old
they are removed into the gardens, where they are
planted at regular distances, from six to eight feet,
as the soil happens to be less or more fertile. In
a fertile soU, the plants growing luxuriantly de-
mand most room. The most striking peculiarity
in the culture of coffee in Java is the f^antii^ of
trees with the coffee plants, with the view of aflbrd-
ing them shade and protection from the direct
rays of the sun. llie tree used for this purpose
is the same as that so frequently used as a vege-
tating prop for pepper, the Dadap, (Etytkrina.)
They are planted by cuttings at the same time
with the young coffee plants. How this practice,
which is unknown in the parallel climate of the
West Indian islands, was introduced, or why it
is persevered in, I am at a loss to understand*
In the hot plains, where, indeed, it is the practice
to plant them thickest, it is reasonable to believe

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CHIEFLY FOR FOREIGN EXPORTATION. 489

that their shade impMyes the flatvour of the berry,
but in the colder regions, thel^e is good ground to
think that they are altogether superfluous, and
that they needlessly augment the charge of pro-
duction« Of late years^ since the monopoly has
been less rigidly aotforeed, the natiyes have been
in the practice of planting coffee in their hedges,
where it is found to produce large crops of
berries in no measure inferior to the more ela«
borate produce of the regular gardens. Weed-
ing and hoeing are the principal cares of the
cultivator* Wh^i the plants have attained their
full siae, not much attention to the former is re-
quisite, as the thick shade of the plants, ex-
cluding the sun, suppresses the growth of weeds.
Three hoeii^, annually, are the utmost that the
plants receive. No pruning is practised^ as in the
West Indies, but the plants permitted to shoot in
wild luxuriance. The plant in liable to few, hard-
ly, indeed, to any accidents or diseases, when a ju-
dicious selection of land is made. *

* In the West Indies, coffee walks, as thej are there cal.
led, are Terj apt to suffer from northerly winds : *< Thej, tbe
coffee plants,'* says Edwards, *< will thrire in any situation,
proTided it be screened from the north wiuds, which often
destroy the blossom, and sometimes in the after part of the
year, when these winds prevail most, entirely strip the tree
of both fruit and leaves ; blasting in a moment all the hopes of
the planter." — History of the fVest Indies^ Vol. II. p. 288.

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490 HUSBANDRY OF ARTICLES

Coffee plants afford a snail crop in the third
year, and a full one in the fourth. If in elevated
situations, they will continue to bear for twenty
years, but, in the plain, not above half that tiaie.
The season of bearing is very variable from year
to year, even in the same situation, and difference
of climate induces still greater variations in this re-
spect. The crop is, however, generally reaped in
the course of the dry half of the year. * This is
done by plucking the ripe berries one by one with
the hand, an operation usually left to the wom^
and children. There are two modes of drying
the cofiee, the most approved of which consists in
placing the coffee on hurdles, under which a slow
wood fire is kept up during the night, while fiwh
air is constantly admitted, and the berries frequent-
ly moved to {Movent fermentation. !6y the other
method the berries are dried in the sun. By the
first method the colour and flavour of the beans
are best preserved. The usual mode of separating
the coffee from the husk, is pounding in a bag of
buffalo hide and winnowing, by which the purpose
is perfectly well effected.

• The appearknce of the coffee plantations in the season of
flowering is extremelj beautiful. The white blossoms are in
such profusion, that the plants appear as if loaded with a
heavy fall of snow. M. Humboldt has noticed this, and, in-
deed^ it occurs with pleasure to erery natiTe of a northern
country who sees a rich coffee garden.

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CHIEFLY FOR FOUEIGN EXPORTATION. 491

The Datch growing coffee, by the system of com-
puhioUj ** by means not very phSandiropic/' ag
M* Humboldt calls it, found that, on a medium of
the coflfee culture in all situations, and of every age,
the average produce of a plant did not, from year to
year, exceed a pound and a quarta*. Sufficient
time has not yet elapsed since more freedom hai
been given to the coffee culture, to enable us to
determine what improvement in the fecundity of
the ^ant might be effected by the car^ and econo^
my of free culture ; but, it may be remaiiced, that
the produce of the unweeded and neglected gar-
dens of the eastern districts of Java, when they
M\ to the care of private individuals, were found
to average for each plant not a pound and a quar-
ter, but two pounds. A parallel result, it has been
already noticed, has been the consequence of a
free culture of pepper. Some plants in their ma^
tunty, and in favouraUe situations, are found to
yield crops of thirty and forty pounds; * An acre

* Edwards obserTes of the elaborate culture of the West
Indies : ** Id rich and spongj soils, a single tree has been
knomn to yield from six to eight pounds of coffise. I mean
IV hep pulped and dried. .In a different situation, a pound
and a quarter from each tree, on an average, is great yield*
ing ; but then the coffee is infinitely better in point of fla«
▼our."— i/M*. of the West Indies, Vol. II. p. 289- The pro-
duce of lands on the continent of America more nearly resem.

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492 HUSBANDRY OF ARTICLES

of ground planted with coffeei the plants at the
distance of six feet, (a greater distance being sup«
posed to be compensated by superior Acunditj,)
and each plant being supposed to yidd two pounds,
the annual produce will then be 2420 lbs.» wUch
excels that of Jamaica as 100 is to 62^. The
price to the grower in Jamaica, under the most fii-
vourable circumstances, was L.4 per cwt., accord-
ing to Edwards. In Java, under a system of unre-
stricted culture, and security, by which the natives
would be reconciled to this branch of husbandry,
it might be raised for onejourth of this cost.

The Cocoa has of late years been introduced
into Java and the Philippines, but in the former
at least has only been hitherto cultivated in small
quantity for the domestic consumption of the Eu-
ropean colonists. That island, Krom its rich soil
and the humidity of its climate, appears to be pe*
culiarly well suited for the culture. As, however,
from the nature of the plants the culture is preca*
rious and tedious, we may pronounce, that it is fit-

bles those of Java. ** In plantations well weeded tindnater*
edy and recently culiiTated/' says Humboldt, ^^ wc find trees
bearing sixteen, eighteen, ande?en twenty poaikls of coiee;
In general, howcTer, a produce of more than a pound and a
lialf, or two pounds, cannot be expected from each plant,
and even this is superior to the mean produce of the West
India islands/'— HumAoAfitV Personal Narrative^ Vol. 17.

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CHIEFLY FOR FOREIGN EXPORTATION. 49S

ter for the care of the enlightened and intelligent
European colonist, than for the indolent and short:*
sighted labour of the native inhabitants. ^

I come now to offer some account of the more
peculiar and almost exclusive products of the In-
dian islands, and shall begin with the finer spice-
ries, and first vrith the Clove^ (Caryophzdus arO'
(maticus.) ** The clove tree/' 'says Rumphius
** appears to me the most beautiful, the most ele»
gant, and the most precious of all known trees/' *
In form it commonly resembles the laurel, and
sometimes the beech. Its height is about that of
an ordinary, cherry tree. The trunk is straight^
and rises to the height of four or five feet before
it throws out branches. The bark is smooth, thin,
and adheres closely to the wood, which is hard and
strong, but of an ugly grey colour, and, therefore,
not suited for cabinet work. In the commence*-
ment of the wet season, which is the month of
May in the native country of the clove, the tree
throws out a profusion of new leaves. Soon after
this the germs of the fruit are discovered at the ex-
tremities of the young shoots, and in the four
following months the cloves are completely formed.
The fruit, at first of a green colour, assumes in
time a pale yellow, and then becomes of a blood

* Herbarium Amboinese, Tom. II. p. 1.

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494 HUSBAKDRT OF ARTICLES

red colour, if of the most ordinary variety. This
is the period when the clove is fit to be used as a
, spice, and, of course, the period of the clove har*
vest. It is not, however, the period of the full
maturity of the fruit, which requires three weeks
longer to perfect itself, and serve for the pur-
poses of propagation. In this short period the
fruit swells to an extraordinary size, loses much of
its spicy quality, and contains a hard nucleus like
the seed of the bay. This state of the fruit is
what Europeans call the Mother clove, and the
natives Poleng. — ^There appear to be five varie-
ties of the clove, viz. the ordinary cultivated clove,
—the clove called the female clove by the natives,
— which has a pale stem, — ^the Kiri^ or loory
clove,— the royal clove, which is very scarce,— and
the wild clove. TTie three first are equally
valuable as spices, the female being considered
fittest for the distillation of essential oil. The
wild clove has hardly any aromatic fiavour, amd is,
of course, of no value. *

* The followiDg curious, but somewhat fanciful, description
of the clove-tree, is given bj Sir Thomas Herbert : '^ The
clove tree differs in proportion, according to the place where
it receives its vigour ; some are comparable to the Baj, whi<^
it resembles, the leaves only somewhat narrower, others to
the Box, or such lilce trees of humble stature ; 'tis most |iart
of the year green, having leaves long and smaU, distending into
many branches. It blossoms early, but becomes exceeding in-

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CHIEFLY FOR FOBEIGK EXPOBTATION. 49^

Of all useAil plants the clove has periuqps the
most limited gec^rspkical distributkm. It was
originally confined to the fire Molucca islands, and
chiefly to Machian. From these it was ccmvey-
ed to Amboyna a yery short time only before the
arrival of the FcHtuguese. The portion of An*
boyna called Leytimur, and the Uliasser islands,
prodw^ no cloves until the arrival of the Dutch.
By these the cultivation is now restricted to Am-
boyna, every effort bemg made to extirpate the
plant elsewhere* To what distance fimn the pa-
rent country the culture might be successfully ex-
tended, there has been no opportunity of ascef-
taini^g. Rumphius informs u% that the plant is
not partial to large islands, and does not answer
well in Oelolo, Ceram, Beuroe, or Celebes. It is
probable, that Beuroe and the Xula isles are the ut-
most western limit of the successful culture of the
dove. The writer just quoted in&Nrms us, t3tat the
Javanese and Macassars, when they were the car-
riers in the spice trade to the western eraporia of
the Archipelago^ conveyed to their own country.

constant in complexion, from a yirgin white Yarying into other
cofonrs, for in the morn it shews a pale green, io the ooeridi-
an a distempered red, and sets in blackness. The cloFes ma-
nifest themselTes at the utmost end of the branches, and in
their growing cTapordte such sense. ravishing odours as if a
compendium of nature's sweetest gums were there extracted
and united." P. 370.

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496 HUSBANxmr of articles

with great care, young clove plants, and mother
cloves, from which trees were reared that pro-
duced nojrtdt * Through the speculative enter-
prise of Europeans, the clove has in later times
been cultivated so as to bear fruit in some of the
western parts of the Archipelago, in the Mauri-
tius, and in the West Indies. They have been
cultivated for near fifty years in the Mauritius,
where they bear fruit, of inferior quality and high
price, 6f which l^e unimpaired existence of the
Dutch monopoly affords an unanswerable argu-
ment. The &ct seems to be, that, like the grape,
but in a much higher degree, the clove may be
raised at a heavy expence, and of inferior quality,
in «h1s and climates little suited to it. How won-
derfully restricted the soil and climate of the clove
is, may be gathered from this well-known fact,
that, in the parent islands, the tree yields fruit in
llie seventh and eighth year of its growth, and
grows almost spontaneously without care or cul-
ture ; whereas, at Amboytia, where it is an exotic,
it does not bear until the tenth and twelfth, and
demands very considerable attention.

In almost all the languages of the Archipelago,

* '* Uode apparet,** says Rum phi us, ^* quod summus re.
rum arbiter sapienta singulae regionisuas collocaverit divitias,
caryophyllosque in MoIIucccnsium regno constituent^ extra
quod nu]Ia bumanaiodu stria propagari, yel perfect! coli pos*
sunt.** Herb. Amb., Tom. II. p. 4*

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CHISFLT FOR FOREIGN fiXPORTATION. 407

the clove is known by one of tUeae two names^
Chdngkeh, and Bungah— or Buah-Lcmang. ' It is
a remarkable fact, but one which admits of sotne
explanation, that these are foreign terms, and do
not belong to the languages of the inhabitants of
the parent country of the clove. It turns out,
on examination, that the natives of the Moluccas
neither at present use, nor, in any period of their
history, appear to have used, this elegant aromatic,
though so much sought after by distant nations,
both of warm and temperate regions, and even by
the greater tribes of the Archipelago itself. * We
cannot then be surprised that 9k foreign name should
generally have superseded the native ones, for a com-
modity chiefly interesting to foreigners, who taught
the value of it. The name of the clove in several
of the languages is naturally derived from the strike
ing resemblance of the fruit to a nail. This appears
also to be the origin of the Chinese name Theng-^
hiOf which means odoriferous nails. The Chi-
nese ti-aded to the Archipelago very early for this
commodity, and it is highly probable, that, the
word Changkeh^ used by the. people of Java and
Celebes, is a corruption of the Chinese name, t

* The natiyes, Rumphius sajs, rarelj if efer use the clore
as food, but now and then mix it in small quantities io the
formation of an unguent used as a cosmetic, and occasionally
with their tobacco.

f Herb. Amb. Tom. IT. p. 3.

VOL. I. I i

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49t HUSBJUffBET OF AMTlCLm

With r^aid t9 the second nstne, wUch is by some
tribes called Buah, and by others Bvngahy words
vAd^ mean, the one finite and the other Jower, we
aMyobserw, that the teim Jemer is, by a natural
mistake, applied to it by l3tat more distant caces, bat
^firtiU tnofe coneotiy fay the natives of the country,
Valentyn tells us, that Lasooang is im abhreriaticii
of SdUMongf **gp]dj** the compound, meaning
<^the g<dd-fniit or floWer/' because itbrought wealth
to the natives. Notwithstanding this explanation,
it mutt, however, be remarked, that the woid JLa^
wangf or at least Lwwanga^ is the name of the
dove in the language of the Telingas, the condiie*
tors of the early trade in spices from the weaby
frmn whom it might have passed into the languages
of die western tribes, as the Chinese name did id-
to tkoee of the east. The only genuine natipoc
name I can discover, is that of the people of Ti«
dor, who call it Gamode.

The clove neither thrives wdl near the aea»
where it suffers from the spray, nor in the higher
mountains, where it suflfers from the cold. The
sml which suits it is a dark loam, having under^
neath a layer of a dusky yellow earth, intennixed
with gravel. A sandy soil, a hard clay, and the
wet ground in which sedges grow, are to be avoid-
ed. — The tree may be propagated either directly
from the mother cloves, or by transplanting the
young plants found in the dove gardens from the

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CHIEFLY FOR FORKION EXPORTATION. 499

Mtural propagatioki of the seed. * Those raised
bf the first method grow luxuriaodtly, but are tl^
leged to yield more leaves than fruit, and grosdng
remarkably straight, to be difficult to climb for the
purpose of reapng the harvest. The trees propa<»
gated«by the latter method are prrferred, but the
eulture is laborious, and the success of the opera-
tion uncertain, until the plants have attained, the
height of five or six feet. The young planta. at
first require the shade of other trees, and must,
therefore, be planted among them. As they grow
up these other plants must be removed^ leaving
here and there a few fruit trees, such as the Mna^
rif the coconut, &c. the neighbourhood of which,
it has been discovered, is favourable to the cdove.
The clove trees must themselves be kept pruned^
and care be taken that they are not choaked with
weeds, or by too many of the fruit trees just men-
tioned, in failure of which attention the plants wiM
languish, or degenerate into wild cloves.

Such is the culture requisite in Amboyna, a ami
and climate foreign to the plant, where comparative-
ly much care and attention are required. In iti iMk>
tive country, on the contrary, the clove grows luxu-

* Besides those plants propagated by the falling of the ripe
seed from the trees, others are propagated by birds which use
the clove as food, such as a white and a green species of
pigeoa, and^e caaaawary.

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500 HUSBANDRY OF ARTICLES

riantly and almost spontaneously, bebg ftapagsiei
and coming to perfection with hardly am/ cukure.
In its native country the dove tree, as already
mentioned, begins to yield fruit in the seventh or
eighth year, but at Amboyna not until the tenth
or twdifth* Examples are given of clove trees liv-
ing to the age of 100 and 130 year$, but the or-
dinary life of one in Amboyna does not avecsge
above 75. Much depends upon the nature of the
soil and ground in which the tree has t^en root.
The clove, though. generally a hardy plaut, suf-
fers from excessive drought, and is apt to be de-
stroyed by the depredations of a worm which in-
sinuates itself into the wood and kills the tree.
In particular seasons thousands perish from this
cause.

The reaping of the clove harvest is perfectly
simple. When the fruit begins to grow red, the
reaping is begun. The ground underneath the
tree is clean swept. The nearest clusters are taken
off with the hand, and the more distant with the
assistance of crooked sticks. Great care is neces-
sary that the trees, in this operation, should notl>e
rudely handled, as any injury offered to them in
this way, it is ascertained^ would prevent them from
bearing for years. — The curing of the cloves con-
sists in placing them for some days on hurdles,
where they are smoked by a slow wood fire, which

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CHIEFLT FOR FOREIGN RXMRTATIOK. 501

gites them a farown colour^ and afterwards drying
them in the sun, when they turn black, as we see
them, as an article of commerce. In some places
they are scalded in hot water before being smoked,
but this practice is not common. Such cloves as
casually fall on the ground, and are picked up in
small quantities, the cultmilors do not think it
worth while to subject to the process of smoking,
and they are merely dried in the sun. They are
discoven^le by their shrivelled appearance and are
of inferior value. The period of harvest is from
October to December.

Of the fecundity of the clove it is not very easy
to speak distinctly. The produce from one year
to another is very unequal. At intervals of from
three to six years they usually yield one extimrdi-
nary crop, but then a year now and then inter-
venes when they yield none at all ; in others
they will give a double harvest. Some extraordi-
nary instances of fecundity in particul^ trees are
quoted. Rumphius and Valentyn tell us of a re»
maikable tree, a hundred and thirty years old»
which one year gave the enormous crop o£ deven
hundred pounds, and another year half this quan-
tity. ^ About the proportion of two-thirds of a

♦ A correspondent, who resided (wcnty-four years iti Am-
boyna, and was intimately accjuamtcd ^\ih the natare of the
clove culture, has the following passage in a letter to me on

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50t' HUSBAKDBT OF ARTiCLES

cloTe parie are eonsidered to be beniiig trees, tke
remaining third being allowed for barren and young
trees. According to tihie present mode of coltorey
perhaps, it will not be safe to average the prodoc^ ,
tion cSM trees at above five pounds. From die
inequalities of the ground in which the doves are
usually cultivated, the trees are not planted at te-
gular distances, and the distances, from the j««e-
tice of interspersing common fruit trees with the
cloves, and the inattention to economy in the ap-
propriation of the land, which is the consequence
of a superabundance of it, is very considerable.
Twenty-four feet may bo considered as an average*
Aceordii^ to these data, the produce of an acre
will be 375 lbs. avoirdupois, and deducting one<
eighth for young trees under ten yean, S28 Ifaa.
By airee culture, as in the case of pejqier, a nnick

the subject: ^* A cloye tree, well weeded and taken care of,
will produce from fife to twenty pounds, and a produce of
about seyen pounds maj be reckoned upon for eertnn. Onf
iIm otker hand, a tree thai is negleeCed will «ot give atevs
two or thvee po«qd«« As an evimple of extimofdmry p«o-
dttcuveness, I remember, many years ago, a cloye tree ad La*
riqoe, on the west side of Ambojna, which regularly gaye a
crop of from forty to sixty pounds a year, but much more
|n particular seasons, as the year 1788, when it gave 140
pounds. This tree, the trunk of which was eight feet in dia-
meter, was held sacred by the natives, and by them alleged to
be 150 years old. It gradually decayed ai^d withered, and in
the^ear 1793 finally died.'*

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CHI£rLT Ma FOREIGN SXPOftTATlON. 50$

larger pmditce thsn here stated wouIcl» no. dwh(t
be abtained, and this would be enhmoed by
tolerating the growth of the tree in its native an^
congenial dime, the proper Moluccas^ instead of
abturdlf, not to say iniqpiitouflly, foroii^ it in a
soil wltete it reqoirea move eare^ labour^ and oil**
penoeto raise it

The Nutmeg trtt (Nux n^fristk^) ia now tq
be described.. It grows to the hei^t of fiNljE
and fifty feet^ with a well branehed st<Wt end
in appearanee much resembles the cbve^ though
lest acuminated at tQp» and that the fanmehes
extend more in a ktend direfrtion. Tbe buii
is imoothy and estemally of a duU aslMoloiir^ iskr
termixed wkh green.. Within it is red i»d sue*
cttfenL The leaves reaemble those ^ the peaiTi
hot an sharper and bcger, having theur ujq^ siu>
face of a dark green, and their under of a grey co-
lour, the common character of the leaves of all the
nut tribe. When rubbed or chewed they emit a
fine aromatic odour. If the tree be wounded or
a branch lopped off, a liquor of a blood-red colour
iames^ which gives an indelihie stain to clothe
From such an accident the tree pines, sickens, a»d
bears no more fruit. The first appearances of the
fruit are little white or yellow heads, which ex-
pand into small flowers resembling those of the
lily of the valley. In the midst of this flower ap«
pears a small red pistil, which in time expands in-

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604t HUSBANDRTOF ARTICLES

to the fruit, which, in all, takes nine months to eome
to maturity. The tree bears throughout the year,
the same plant having flowers and fruit in every
stage. The firuit is about the size, and has much
the appearance, of a nectarine. It is marked all
round by a farrow, such as the peach has on. one
side only. The outer coat of this firuit is smooth,
and when young of a lively green. As it ripens it
acquires a red blush like a ripe peach, and bursting
at the furrow, exhibits the nutmeg with its reti-
culated coat the mace of a fine crimson coloor.
The external pulpy covering is about half an inch
thick, of a firm consistence, succulent, and to the
taste austere and astringent. Appearing through
the interstices of the mace is the nutmeg, which is
loosely inclosed in a thin d^eU of black glossfr ap-
pearance, not difficultly broken. * Of the nutmeg

* ^^ The natmeg, like trees most excellent, is notTery lofty
ia height, scarce rising so high as the cherry, by some it is
resembled to the peach, but ▼ariea in form of leaf and grain,
and affects more compass. The nut is clothed with a defensive
husk like those of a baser quality, and resembles the thick
Tiad of a walnut, but at full ripeness discoTers her naked
purity^ and the mace chastely entwines (with a vermillion
blush) her endeared fruit and sister, which hath a third coaty
and both of them breathe out most pleasing smells* The
mace in few days, (like choice beauties,) by the sun's flAmes,
becomes tawny ; yet^ in that complexion, best pleases the
rustic gatherer.''--;$f> Thomas Herbert's Travels^ p. 370*

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there are in the Indian islands at least eight kinds,
which appear only to be varieties, though general-
ly permanent ones. The only important distinc-
tion is e&cted by culture. All the cultivated
kinds are high-flavoured ; the wild ones much less
80. The shape is of little consequence, as long
and short ones of the domestic varieties are found,
though the wild be usually ,tbe former. The
same tree seldom bears flowers with a pistil and
stamen, which gi*ow usually on distinct trees. The
trees bearing the male flowers yielding no fruit,
the ignorant planters are often in the habit of cut-
ting them down, but fortunately they are too nu-
merous for their efforts.

The limits of the geographical distribution of
the nutmeg are much wider than those of the
clove. This tree is found even beyoi;id the li--
mits of the Archipelago, having been discovered
in New Holland, in the southern peninsula of In-
dia, and in Cochinchina. The produce of all
these countries is, however, utterly tasteless and
without flavour, and for all useful purposes, the geo-
graphical limits of the country of the nutmeg are
nearly as limited as that of the clove, and, in fact,
they are almost the same. Well flavoured nutmegs
are found in New Guinea, in Ceram, Gilolo, Ter-
nati, md all the circumjacent islands, as well as in
Amboyna, Bouroe, &c. The Dutch have endeavour-
ed, pretty successfully, to extirpate them in thesQ

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506 HUSBANDRY OT ARTICLAI

their native country, and to confine them to three
of the little clnaterof the Banda isles, riz. Pofo Aj,
Banda, and Nera.

The same singular fact noticed regarding the
clove, that is not an object of consumption in the
countries where it grows, is equally to be observe
of the nutmeg. While these two plants excited
the curiosity of the most distant nations of the
eailh, and stimulated them to enterprises the most
momentous, they were utterly neglected by the na^
tires of the countries which produced them ahnost
spontaneously. From this cause it is, that the name
by which they are generally known, as in the case
of the clove, is not a native but a foreign one, — a
name borrowed from the language of those who
traded in it, ^ of those who taught the natives thdt
it was of any utHity. This name Fah, or ^* the
fruit," is Sanskrit, according to the corruption which
it must undergo in the pronunciation of the Poly*
nesian languages, but whether directly imposed by
the Hindus, or intermediately by the Javanese, who
are known to have supplied the demands of the Hin-
dus at the western emporia with it, it is not easy t0
detemfine. This general term appears, however,
only to have superseded the native ones, if we may
judge from the example of the language of Temati,
in which the indigenous name Gasori is still pre-
served. In all the languages of the Archipelago,
the mace is called *' flower of the nutmeg," an

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error which could sot have originated with the
peofde in whose country the nutmeg grew, and who
mu^ have been familiar with its appearances* Rum*
phius informs us» that, in the languages of the Dee-
can, the name for the nutmeg, Jaifol^ means *^ Ja*
▼a&ese flowers/' the Javanese having, according to^
him, persuaded the inhabitants of Western India
that the nutmeg was the produce of their own coun-
try. * The word abbreviated Ja^l^ common to
most of the vernacular knguages of India, is, how-
ever, I believe, correctly written m Sanskrit Jati^
pkul^ which means the flower of the JatL If JmH
here meana the teak tree of Java, the mistake may
still have had the origin ascribed to it by Rumphius.
The nutmeg tree comes to maturity in nearly the
same time aa the clove, or in its ninth year, and
its life is nearly of the same duration, averaging
dbout seventy-five* It is prc^agated with some-
what more difficulty, at least by artificial means,
and ia alleged to be in all respects, in the propor-
tion of one-third, more expensive to rear. The
trees^ which are transplanted into the nutmeg
parks, are generally such as have been prc^uigated
from the fruit by a certain blue pigeon, called by
the natives of Banda FmIof, by the Malays the

* ^^ Id Decana Jaifol quod denotat flores JatancnseSy quum
fallaces Javanihominibus persuadtTent fractus esse io sua pa*
Uia crc6ceiites.*'>-^&fri. Amh.TomAL p. 16.

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50& HUSBANDRT OF ARTICLES

Nutmeg-birdf and by the Dutch the Nut^ater.
This bird, extracting the nutmeg from its pulpy
covering, devours the whole entire* The mace
only is digested, and the nutmeg, in its shell, be*
ing voided, is readily propagated by the assistance
of the bird's dung, when it falls in a shady place.
The practice of transplanting is usually followed
and performed commonly in the third year, but
may be done later, and such is the hardihood of
the plant, that if the earth be carefully lifted
with the tree, and the tap-root not injured, it may
safely be removed, indeed, at any age. The
nutmeg*tree, in every period of its growth, re-
quires the shade and protection of other trees, and
in the parks is consequently always interspersed
with the common forest trees, against cutting which
down, in the Banda isles, there is an express law.

Although the nutmeg bears throughout the
year, there are still three distinct periods for reaping
the crop, or three harvests ; — one in April,— one
in July, and August, in the midst of the periodi-
cal rains, — and one in November. The first affords
the best fruit, the second the largest quantity ; the
third is a sort of supplemental harvest to the se-
cond.

The fruit is discovered to be ripe by the blush
on the pulpy covering, and by its bursting. The
outer covering being thrown away, the nuts are
carried home, and the first part of the process of

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cui'mg them cdna^fStsiuT^s^lpu^^ ^he in.ac6 from ' '
the Dutmeff. .^he .iphUfSydrfba^^ w hick ihe fot" * '
xner undergoes is ao>ne ^avs drying m the sun, when *'
the rich crimson, cfa^ge^ intb.a dull red, and utti-« :
mately into the dpsky. yellpiv^ which we see mace*
have as an article of commerce. The curing of the
nutmegs is aprodes^-of some delicacy^ for they are
much more liable tid injiify th^n the clqves, a pecu-
liar insect, called the nutmeg-insect, never failing to
fonn within them, if they be not.'weli cured, andoft(;n ,
forming, indeed, in spite of every attention. They
are first dried for three days in the sun, taking care
to remove them in the evening from the dews of •
the night. After this, laid upon hurdles, they
are daily smoked by a slow wood fire for three
months, at the end of which time they are freed from
the shells, * and dipped twice or thrice in lime-wa-
ter, or rather a thick mixture of lime and water,
made of fine shells, which issupposed to secure them
from the depredations of insects and worms. Af-
ter this last process, they are fit for the market.

Nutmegs in commerce are divided into two sorts.
The first and most valuable are those which
are regularly plucked from the trees as they ri-' ;
pen, and the second, or inferior, consist of such

* The wild nutmegs, of which considerable quantities are
sold, in despite of the monopoly, are alyaiysibrought to mar- 'y-^ -

ket in the shelJ. >' . : V-^v.-

xs-

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510 • ' .HfeSBAKART OF ABTtQVa

m fall from the treei atid, tram the delicacy of the
fitiit, sustain injury l3y*'Iyi|ig for any time on the
moist earth. The first are always sent to the su*
perior market of Europe, the last reserved for the
India market.

Good nutmeg trees, well taken care of, will give
annually a produce of from ten to fourteen pounds
of mace and nutmegs together. The average pro-
duce of nutmeg plantations of every sort, making
allowance for unproductiye trees, is ascertained to
be 65 ounces avoirdupois a tree, including mace
and nutmeg. * The trees are planted at the dis-
tance of twenty-four feet, and, therefore, the pro-
duce of an English acre is d04|^ lbs. But, from
this, ah eighth is to be deducted for young trees
under ten years old, which gives the real product
of the acre at 466f lbs. avoirdupois, or two piculs
exactly.

In the eastern part of the Indian Archipelago
are to be found several minor spicy products, fonnd
in no other part of the world, of which a brief ac-
count is now to be ^ven. The first of these,
which I shall describe, is the Massoy bark-tree,
«ore correctly misoi^ the Cortex oninus of Rum-
phius. The tree is tall, straigitt, and thick, hav-
ing a smooth bark of a pale grey colour, which

* MaoQscript of Mr HopkiDs, io the coilectioo of the Earl
ofMinto.

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CHIEFLY 90B FOBEION EXPORTATION. 311

14 tbe only useful part of the plant The lea¥e8
are six or seven inches long, two or three broad,
and sharp-pointed. Tbe fruit is in clusters of
thesizeof grapes, but more resembling the Langseh.
They have an aromatic odour like tbe bark, but
iainter. The bark of commerce is of two kinds,
the produce of one tree. The best is the tbiokast,
and is obtained from the lower part of the trunk ;
the inferior from the upper part, and the larger
branches.

The Massoy bark-tree is a native of the western
coast of New Guinea, in the country of Woni,
corruptly termed Onin, and has been found no
where else. In the language of the country, it
is called Aycora ; Misoi is its commercial appella-
tion among the traders from the west«

This aromatic is rarely used for culinary pur-
poses, but chiefly as an ingredient in the cosmetics
used by the natives of the western part of the Ar-
chipelago, particularly the Javanese and Malays.
To these people its consumption was at one time
confined, but in more recent times it has been in
request by the Chinese and Japanese. For com-
mercial purposes, the bark is usually cut into pieces
of two feet and a half long, and tied into bundles
or fiiggots of five-and-twenty or thirty such pieces.
The Culitkman^ properly KuUt-lawang, fJLau*
ru8 euUtlawoih L.) is a species of laurel much re-
sembling the Cassia lignea. The tree is tall.

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512 HUSBANDRY OF ARTICLES

Straight, and thick. The fruit is not ofben seen.
It appears without any distinct flower, and resem-^
bles a small acomy— is of a grey colour, and smooth.
The bark, the only useful part, is smooth, and of
an ash-colour. Internally this is paler than the mi-
soi bark, that of the trunk being in thickness a-
bout an inch, and that of the larger branches, which
is the best, one half of this.

The geographical distribution of this tree is much
wider than that of the last, or of the clove or nut-
meg. It is found through every part of the Indian
Archipelago, from Sumatra to New Guinea, and
Mindanao, bat is most abundant, and of the best
quality, in the native country of the clove and nut*
meg. Besides its more common and commercial
appellation of KuUt-lawang, or Clove-barky which
it receives from the resemblance of its taste and
fragrance to that of the clove, it is, as with other
plants, known by names commensurate with its dif-
fusion. Thus in Javanese it is called Sendok, in
Amboynese Salakary in the Ceramose Tejo, and .
in the language of Aru Ej/k.

More abundant than the Misoi bark, the clove
bark is less valuable, bearing only half the pri(;^ ol
the former. Its principal use is as a cosmetic,
though the Javanese and fialinese occasionally use
it for culinary purposes. By distillation, it yields a
fragrant essential oil, and a strong distilled water.

Plants which are mere shrubs in northern cii-

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CHIEFLT fOB FOHBIOW SXFOIITATION. 51 S

matefl^ assume^ as is well known, tlie appearaace of
trees in the warm climates of the equator^ A re*
nuurkable eziunple of this is affiurded in the Cayu-
puU trees {Melaleuca lewadendron) of the In-
dian islands, which are gigantic myrtles. Therti
are tkree of these, the two largest of which only
afford subjects for economical uses. The bark cf
the largest of these affi)rds the material with which
the native shipping of the Moluccas are caulked, /
and the leaf of the smaller, by distillation, the
fragrant essential oil which has been used for me-
dical purposes, sometimes Intemally as a powerful
sudorific, but more frequently externally as an use^
fill embrocation, under the ignorant and corrupt
denomination of (JqjepuL The larger sort is a
mountain tree, and grows in extensive continuoos
forests, excluding most of other plants ; the smal-
ler thrives near the sea-coast. ^They are all found
as far west and north as the south-eastern coast
of Borneo, but abound chiefly in the country of
the clove and nutmeg, and especially the islands of
Bouroe and Ceram.

These trees are easily distinguished iu the forest
by the whiteness of their bark, which has some re-
semblance in structure and appearance to that of
the birch. This white colour gives to the tree its
commercial and vulgar name of Kayu-ptUif which
means literally ** white wood.*' Besides this more
current name, it is known in Malay under that of

VOL. I. , K k

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iil% HUSBAN1»BT OF ARTICLB8

GSiam^ in Temati by that of Bqjule, in Amboyna
by the various appellations of Kilam, Han^ and
Elan, and in Ceram by that of Sakelan.

The Cinnamon tree is not a native of the Indian
islands, but the Cassia tree is found in the more
northern parts^ as in the Philippines, Majindanao,
Sumatra, Borneo, and *parts of Celebes. Rum-
phius has remarked, that the trees which yield
cinnamon, cassia, and clove bark, though so much
alike, are hardly ever found in the same countries. *
The cinnamon tree has, in recent times, been in-
troduced into the Indian islands, and grows inxn-
riantly, but this is not enough,— it must grow as
cheaply, and of equal quality, with that of the
country which produces it in the highest perfec-
tion, to be useful as an article of agricultural in-
dustry.

Of aromatics more generally dififased, se-
veral are common to the Indian islands with
other countries. The Cardamom (^Amomum car-
damotnum) is a native of Java, where it is both
cultivated and found wild in the woods. The Ja-
vanese name Kapulaga is the only one I can dis-
cover for it, from which circumstance it is probable
that it was originally confined to that island. In
the year I67O, it was propagated in the Moluccas,
where it thrives sufficiently well. The Carda-

• Herb. Amb. Tom. II. p. 66.

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CHIEFJLT FOR FOBBiaN EXPORTATION. 515

wmoA of the Indian idinds^ whether from careless-
nets in the culture, or otherwise, are much inferior
to those of Malabar*

Ginger (Amomum zmziberj is extensively
diffused through the Indian isles, and of pretty ge-
neral use among the natives, who n^lect the finer
q^ioes. The great and smaller varieties are culti-
vnted, and the sub-varieties distinguished by their
brown or white colours. There is no production
which has a greater diversity of names. Beginning
£rom the west, the Malays call it Alia, the Java-
nese and Balinese Jahi^ the Macassars Xe^a, the
people of T^mati fForaka, those of Tidor Gara^
those of Amboyna Siwe^ and those of Banda Sohi.
This diversity proves, as usual, the wide diffu*
sion of the plant in its wild state. The Ginger of
the Indian Archipelago is inferior in quality to
that of Malabar or Bengal.

Several very singular products are next to be
described, most of which are peculiar to the Indian
islands, and which either as perfumes, or for ima^
gined medical virtues, are in some repute among
the natives themselves, but in much higher among
foreigners, particularly the greater nations of the
East. These are Malayan camphor, benzoin, lig-^
num aloes, and sandaUwood.

The tree which yields the Malayan camphor, the
Dryobalanops camphor a of Colebroke,* is known

* Asiatic Researches, Vol. XII.

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516 • lavmtuDtLr 4» AwncLM

to be a iorg« tree, etpul to any of the huge feml
trees of the oountrws in which it grows^ It ii not
a laurel like the camphor tree of Japan, as was
once gnpposed^ but of a class remnkaUe for rarfn-
eufl and aromatic production, the same whidi
yields danun" and atmihur substances. It appem
to be an inhabitant to£ the pkin) growing aesr
the sea-coast. Its geognphieal bonndariea are ok*
tremely limited. It is. fomid no where m the
world bnt in the two great idatida of Sumatoa
and Borneo. £ven in lliese it is not fonnd to the
south of the line, and to the north not beyond the
third degree of latitude. The nse&i portion of tike
tkee is an essantial oil found in sottie indhidnal
^nts in tf concrete, in others in a fluid -fomi, in
fiasures of the wood. The first is chiefly of ▼alue
as an artiele ef commerce. The tree is not cnl*
tivated, and as many exist without m^ camphor,
we may infer that it is abundant in the forests.
The camphor is only obtained by cutting it domi,
and ettracting the drug from the fissurea. It is
separated firom impurities by steeping, washmg^ and
filtration through siefes.

We are ifiot possessed of the genuine name of the
tree in any native language. The demand for the
drug it yields, like that for the dove and nutmeg, h
owing not to the taste of the natives, but the whan
of more civilised people. It is m request among the
Persians, the Hindus, the Arabs, but, above allt

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CHIEFLY FOR nmUOll SUORTATION. 517

tke CliiMse, whose ivwilth, it is, that nS$m
the price to ita pregent oxerbilaat height* The
OMnmodity is, eeeordingly, recognifBed by a fore^
narme* This name Kapitr » either a oorruptioii
of the Benin Kapur^ or of the original Sanskrit
Ktarfurm. Hie word Baruif derived from the
vane of the principal mart of the commodity in
Sumatm, has been alBied by ttnd^s to discrimi*
nate between it and the parallel produce of Japai^
obtained by a dieaper prooess from the oamj^ior-
Riding laurel. The price of Malay camphor^
compared to that of Japan, is in the ratio of 90
to 1, an extravagant disproportion, which raises
probably rather from the superstitious virtues as-
cribed to the first by the consumer, and, from
a production linuted in proportion to the de-
mand, than from any intrinsie difference in their
real qualities. *

The next article is the Frankincense of the La-
dian islands, or Benxoin, (JSiyraa benzoin.) The
tree which produces this gum does not grow to
any considerable size. It is an inhabitant of the
hot plains, and grows in rich moist lands, such as
are fit for the growth of marsh rice. It is a native
of the same countries with the camphor tree, hav-
ing a geographical limit a little inore extended than
it, as it is occasionally found to the south of the

• Marsden's Smnetra, p. 150*

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^.1 8 . r HPBB AUDRT OF iMmCLfSS

line. Borneo and Sumatra are the only countries
which produce it» and the territory of Bomeo^pro-
per in the one, and that of the Battas in the other,
the only portions of these. The benxoin tres^ un
like the camphor, is an object of cultivation. The
plants are propagated from the seed, a small bromi
nut, and are productive in the seventh year. The
gum is obtained by making incisions in the bark,
when it exudes, and is scraped off, as practised with
the opium poppy. During the first three years the
gum is of a clear white colour ; after this it becomes
brown ; and, finally, afler bea^ring ten to twelve
years, the tree being exhausted, it is cut down, and
by scraping the wood, a very inferior production is
obtained. The gums obtained in these different
stages are distinguished in commerce, and are va^
luable in the order I have stated them. The
more considerable and civilized of the tribes of
the Indian islands consume benzoin in consider-
able quantity as an incense, but the greater quan-
tity produced is expoited to the Mahomedan and
Catholic countries of the west. Chiefly an article
of external commerce, and confined to such nar^
row limits, it has but one name, or at least only
one which is current. This is a native term*
and is at full length Kaminyan, or abbreviated
Mimfan.

Of the tree which yields the incense so much
in requebt in the cast, and which we designate by

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CHIEFLY FOE FORBIdN EXfrOKTATION, 519

the diftrefnt names of Jgalokin, Agila wood, Ea-^
gk wood, and Lignum ahes, veiy little is known.
The lignum aloes of commerce is a kind of unc^
tuous substance^ understood to be a decayed or
diseased part of the tree, which emits in burning
a fine fragrance. If it be a native of the Indian
islands, the countries which produce it have not
yet been ascertained. To the islanders it is known
by two names, Gharu and K&lambak. The first
is Sanskrit^ and Rumphius justly suspects the se-
cond to be derived firom the Chinese name Kilam
bac. The countries known to produce this sub-
stance are Siam, and the different states lying be-
tween it and China, particularly the little king-
dom of Champa. The great consumption of it is
HI China and Japan.

Sandal wood (Santalum) is a native of the In-
dian islands, and is found of three varieties^ — ^white,
yellow, and red, the two first being most esteemed.
The sandal wood tree is a native of the mountains.
From Java and Madimt eastward it is scattered in
small quantities throughout the different islands,
improving in quality and quantity as we move to
the east, until we reach Timur, wheie the best and
largest supply occurs. In the language of Ti-
mur, sandal-wood is called Aikamenil, and in that
of Amboyna Ayasru. In the western countries,
where it either does not exist at all, or exists in small
quantity and of bad quality, it is universally known

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tfSO KUaMDKt OF ARTICUSi &C«

by the Sanskrit name Chanda$uh fitm wbenoe it
may be fiur to infer, that its u«e was taught by the
Hindusy when they projiag^ted their idi^Qp in
the ceremonies of which it is frequently employed.

EKD Off VOLUMC FIRST.

Printed by George Ramsay and Company,
Bdinbiirgh, 1819.

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THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
&BFEREHGB DEPARTMENT

Tliis book » under do eircumstftaoes to be

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