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THE

HISTORY

JAVA.

BY THE LATE

SIR THOMAS STAMFORD RAFFLES, F.R.S.

rORMERLT LIEUTENANT-OOVERNOR OF THAT ISLAND AND ITS

DEPENDENCIES, AND PRESIDENT OP THE SOCIETY OF

ARTS AND SCIENCES AT BATAYIA.

IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. I.

SECOND EDITION.

LONDON:
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE-STREET.

MDCCCXXX.

Y-.;"' '■'-'' - ■■ ■ 'i

BUilNL JAN 2 7 1910

/^HARVARD^
UNIVERSITY

V^libraryJ

GILBERT AND RIVINOTON, PRINTERS

ST. John's square, London.

HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS

THE PRINCE REGENT.

SIR,

The gracious permission which I have received
to dedicate these volumes to your Royal High-
ness, affords me an opportunity of interesting
your Royal Highness in favour of the amiable
and ingenuous people whose country they de-
scribe. The high respect they entertain for
British valour and justice, and the lively gra-
titude they retain for the generous system of
British Legislation, will, I am sure, give them a
strong claim upon your Royal Highness's good
opinion.

A 2

iv DEDICATION.

To uphold the weak, to put down lawless
force, to lighten the chain of the slave, to sus-
tain the honour of the British arms and British
good faith ; to promote the arts, sciences, and
literature, to establish humane institutions, are
duties of government which have been most
conspicuously performed during your Royal
Highnesses regency. For a period of nearly
five years, in which I have had the honour, as
a servant of the East India Company, to pre-
side over a mild and simple people, it has been
my pride and my ambition to make known to
them the justice and benevolence of my Prince,
whose intentions towards them I could only
fiilfil by acting up to the principles of the Au-
thority which I represented, and by doing every
thing in my power to make them happy.

To those who judge that the right to express
their sentiments requires no more than sincerity,
or that their praise is of a value to overbalance
the disrespect of offering it, I shall leave the
usual language of dedications. Conscious that
the assurances of respect and of loyal attach-

DEDICATION. V

ment can never be offered to your Royal High-
ness by the humblest British subject, without
meeting a gracious reception,

I have the honour to be.

With profound veneration and respect,

SIR,

YOUR ROYAL HIOHNESS's

Most faithful and most dutiful servant,

THOMAS STAMFORD RAFFLES,

London^ June 1, 1817.

As it is possible that, in the many severe strictures
passed, in the course of this work, upon the Dutch
Administration in Java, some of the observations
may, for want of a careful restriction in the words
employed, appear to extend to the Dutch nation and
character generally, I think it proper explicitly to
declare, that such observations are intended exclu-
sively to apply to the Colonial Government and its
Officers. The orders of the Dutch Government in
Holland to the Authorities at Batavia, as far as my
information extends, breathe a spirit of liberality and
benevolence ; and I have reason to believe, that the
t)rranny and rapacity of its colonial officers, created
no less indignation in Holland than in other countries
of Europe.

For such, and all other inaccuracies, as well as for
the defects of style and arrangement which may appear
in this work, an apology is necessary ; and in the
circumstances under which it has been prepared, it is
hoped that an admissible one will be found. While
in the active discharge of the severe and responsible
duties of an extensive government, it was not in my
power to devote much time to the subject : the most

Vll

that I could do^ was to encourage the exertions of
others^ and to collect in a crude state such new or
interesting matter as fell under my personal observa-
tion. I quitted Java in the month of March in
last year : in the twelve months that have since
elapsed^ illness during the voyage to Europe and sub-
sequently^ added to the demands on my time arising
out of my late office, and the duties of private fnendT
ship after an absence of many years, have made great
encroachments ; but engaged as I am in pubUc life,
and about to proceed to a distant quarter of the globe,
I have been induced, by the interest which the sub-
ject of these volumes has excited, and the precarious
state of my health, rather to rely on the indulgence
of the public than on the attainment of leisure, for
which I must wait certainly long and, possibly, in vain.
Most sincerely and deeply do I regret, that this
task did not fall into hands more able to do it justice.
There was one *, dear to me in private friendship and
esteem, who, had he lived, was of all men best cal-
culated to have supplied those deficiencies which will
be apparent in the very imperfect work now presented
to the Public. From his profound acquaintance with
eastern languages and Indian history, from the un-
ceasing activity of his great talents, his other pro-

* Dr. J. C. Lbyden, the bard of Tiviotdale, who accompanied the
expedition to Batavia in 181 1, and expired in my arms a few days after the
landing of the troops.

VIU

digious acquirements^ his extensive views, and his
confident hope of illustrating national migrations firom
the scenes which he was approaching, much might
have been expected ; but just as he reached those
shores on which he hoped to slake his ardent thirst
for knowledge, he fell a victim to excessive exertion,
deeply deplored by all, and by none more truly than
myself.

My acknowledgments are due to the Right Honour-
able Sir Joseph Banks, Bart., the venerable President
of the Royal Society, for his kindness luid encourage-
ment ; and particularly so to Mr. Charles Wilkins,
Librarian to the East-India Company, as well as to

Mr. William M arsden, for many su^estions, of which
I regret that I have not been enabled to avail myself

so much as I could wish, in consequence of the haste
with which the work has been got up. I am also
indebted to Mr. Thomas Murdoch, not only for access
to his valuable library, but for illustrations firom Por-
tuguese authors, which the reader will find in the
Introduction and Appendix.

For all that relates to the Natural History of Java,
I am indebted to the communications of Dr. Thomas
HoRSFiELD. Though sufficient for my piupose, it
forms but a scanty portion of the result of his long
and diligent researches on this subject. Of this, how-
ever, I am happy to say, that the Public will shortly
be able to judge for themselves.

In sketching the state of the Dutch East-India
Company, and the measures adopted by the Dutch
government respectmg Java, subsequently to the year
1780, I have availed myself of much very valuable
information communicated to me by Mr. H. W. Mun-
Ti^oHEj President of the Supreme Court of Justice at
Batavia ; and as, in the course of this work, I have
often been obliged to condemn the principles and
conduct of the Dutch colonists, I am anxious to
acknowledge the distinguished merit of this excellent
magistrate, and that of Mr. J. C. Cranssen, President
of the Bench of Schepenen, both selected by the late
Earl of Minto to be members of the British Council

in Java.

The English came to Java as friends. Holland had
ceased to be an independent nation, and for the time
there could be but two parties, the one English, the
other French. The emissaries of the late ruler of
France had perverted the minds of the majority :
many were doubtful on which side they should rally.
At this critical juncture these two gentlemen declared
for England and the ancient order of things ; and to
the influence of their decision and conduct is to be
ascribed, not only the cordiality and good understand-
ing which soon prevailed between the English and

Dutch, but in a great measure also that general tran-
quilUty of the country, without which the re-transfer

of it to the rule of its former masters might have
been impracticable.

Of the wisdom and benevolence which determined
the late Earl of Minto to place two members of the
Dutch nation at the Board of the British Council in
Java^ it is unnecessary to speak. The measure was in
the same spirit which uniformly actuated that en-
lightened and virtuous statesman, my revered patron
and ever lamented friend. The selection of the two
gentlemen whom I have mentioned, was no less
advantageous. To their countrymen it was peculiarly
so, and I am happy to have this opportunity of pub-
licly expressing my acknowledgments to them for the
good counsel, firm support, and unwearied exertions,
by which they were distinguished while members of
the Board.

ORTHOGRAPHY.

The principles of Orthography, recommended by
Sir William Jones, and adopted by the Asiatic Society
at Calcutta, have been adopted in this work, with
some slight modifications. The consonants preserve
the same sounds generally as the same letters in the
EngUsh alphabet : the vowels are used as in Italian.
To avoid confusion, the emphatic syllables are alone
accented, and the inherent vowel a has invariably
been adopted.

€4

xvi INTRODUCTION.

The first voyage made by the Dutch was in 1595, in which
jrear their first fleet, under the command of Houtman (who

" covered sea; and they think that whoever shall proceed beyond
" those straits, will be hurried away by strong currents, so as never to be
*' able to return, and for this reason they never attempt to navigate it, in
" the same manner as the Moors on the eastern coast of Africa do not
" venture to pass the Cape of Currents."

The following is the substance of a note inserted in Jono de Barroe,
Decadas, p. T^-'TT, vol. 4, part Ist, 8vo. Lisbon 1777*

" The island of Java is divided into many kingdoms along the northern
" coast; and beginning to the eastward, those of which we have any
*' account are — Paneruea, OvaUe, Agasai, Paniao (whose king resides in
the interior, and has a supremacy over those just mentioned), Beredam,
Sodaio, JStbam, Cc^oum, Japara (the capital of this kingdom is called
Ckertmkamay three leagues from the sea coast, near to which Japara is
** mtuated), Damo, Maryam, and Matarem.
"* In the mountainous interior live a numerous class of chiefs, called
Gunos ; they are a savage race, and eat human flesh. The first inha-
bitants were Siamese, who about the year 800 of the Christian era, on
their passage from Siam to Macassar were driven by a great storm on
" the island of BdU, Their junk being wrecked they escaped in their
** boat, and arrived at Java, until that period undiscovered ; but which,
on account of its sise and fertility was immediately peopled by Panara,
son of the king of Siam : and the city of Passaraan, called after his
" own name, was founded at a very good seaport, and this was the first
" settlement on the island. -
*'' The Javans are proud, brave, and treacherous, and so vindictive,
that for any slight oflTence (and they consider as the most unpardonable
the touching their forehead with your hand) they declare amok to
revenge it. They navigate much to every part of the Eastern Archi-
pelago, and say that formerly they used to navigate the ocean as fiEir as
" the island of Madagascar (St. Laurence).

" The city of Bintam, or Banta, which is in the middle of the opening
" of the straits of Sunda, stands in the centre of a large bay, which
*' from point to point may be about three leagues wide, the bottom good,
" and the depth of water from two to six fathoms. A river of sufiicient
depth for junks and galleys, falls into this bay, and divides the town
into two parts. On one side of the town there is a fort, buih of sun*
" dried bricks : the walls are about seven palms thick, the bulwarks of
" wood, weU furnished with artillery.

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INTRODUCTION. xvii

had been previously employed by the Portuguese in the East
India service), sailed direct to Bantam. At this period the

" The 'island of Sunda is more mountainous than Ja\'a. It has six
" good seaports : Ckiamo, at the extremity of the island ; Chwatara, or
** Cartwam ; Tcmgaram, Cheginde, Pandang, and Bintam, which have a
** great traffic, on account of the trade carried on, not only with Java, but
" with Malacca and Sumatra.

.*' The principal city of this kingdom is called Daro, situated a little
** towards the interior, and we are assured that when Henriquez Leme
" first visited it, this town had upwards of fifty thousand inhabitants,
" and that the kingdom had upwanls of one hundred thousand fighting

" men. •

" The soil is very rich. An inferior gold, of six carats, is found.

'* There is abundance of butcher's meat, game and provisions, and tama-

** rinds which serve the natives for vinegar. 'The inhabitants are not

'* very warlike, much addicted to their idolatries, and hate the Maho-

*' medans, and particularly since they were conquered*by the Sangue Pdti

%* Here four or five thousand slaves may be pxu'chased, on account of
** the numerous popidation, and its being lawful for the father to sell the
** children. The women are handsome, and those of the nobles chaste,
** which is not the case with those of the lower classes, lliere are
*' monasteries or convents for the women, into which the nobles put
*' their daughters, when they cannot match them in marriage according
*' to their wishes. The married women, when their husbands die, must,

as a point of honour, die with them, and if they should be afraid of

death they are put into the convents.'*

>'* The kingdom descends from father to son,* and not from uncle to
" nephew, (son of the sister), as among the Malabars and other infidels

** in India.

•* They are fond of rich arms, ornamented with gold and inlaid work.
•• Their krises are gilt, and also the point of their lances. Many other
•* partiailars might be added (but we reserve them for our geography ♦),
" concerning the productions of this island, in which upwards of thirty
" thousand quintals of pepper are collected annually."

• Barros often alludes to his Treatise on (leography, in which he had
described particularly all the countries mentioned in his Decadas ; but it
never was published, having been left in an imperfect state at his death.

VOL. I. a

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xviii INTRODUCTION.

Portuguese were at war with the king of Bantam, to whom
Houtman offered assistance, in return for which he obtained

Decad. iv. Chapter 13.
In the year 1522, Jofge. Albuquerque, governor of Malacca, equipped
a vessel to carry He nrique g Lerne, with a competent suite and certain
presents, to the king Skmiam above mentioned, -for the purpose of
establishing a commercial intercourse. Leme was weU received by the
king, who was fully sensible of the importance of such a connection, in
'* the war in which he was then engaged with the Moon <Mahomedans) ;
and, therefore, he requested that, for the protection of the trade, the
king of Portugal should erect a fortress, and that he would load as
many ships as he chose with pepper, in return for such merchandize as
the country required. * And further, he (the king) obliged himself, as a
pledge of his friendship, to give him annually a thousand bags of
pepper, from the day on which the building of the fortress should

'* commence.

• •••••

** These things being concluded and presents exchanged, Leme re-
*' turned to Malacca, where he was well received by Albuquerque, who
" immediately communicated the result to the king of Portugal, who

*' approved of all that had been done.

• •••••

" Francisco de*S4 was in consequence dispatched with six vessels^ (the
names of which and of their conmianders are enumerated)/ with which
he called at Malacca, and accompanied the expedition against Bintam
(then in the possession of the expelled king of Malacca), on leaving
<* which he was overtaken by a dreadful storm, and* one of his vessels,
" commanded by Dironte Coelho, reached the port of Calapa (where the
<' fort was to be built), where she was driven on shore, and*all the crew
perished by the hands of the M<m>fb (Mahomedans), who were then
masters of the country, having a few days before taken the town from
the native king, who had concluded the treaty with the King of Por-
tugal, and given him the site on which to erect the fortress.*

• • • • • # *^

." But although the intended establishment on Java was thus frus^
** trated, the Portuguese continued to have intercourse with that island,
** at which they frequently touched on their vo3rage to and from the
" Moluccas."-

Decad. iv. Book i. Chapter 14.
«* In August, 1526, Antonio de Britto, on his return from Temati to

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INTRODUCTION. xix

permission to build a factory at Bantam, which was the first
settlement formed by the Dutch in the East Indies.

" Malacca, touched at the port of Paneruca, where he found his coun-
" trymaDy Jono de Moreno, who had twenty AJalay jimks under his
" command. From thence he proceeded to the town of Tagasam, whose
" inhabitants were at war with the Portuguese, and had captiu^d a junk
laden with cloves, which he had dispatched to Malacca, and they even
attempted to take the vessel in which he himself was, which occa-
sioned his quitting that place, having however first captured a junk
" laden with provisions/'

Decad. iv. Book i. Chapter 17.
In July, 1528, Don Garcia Henriquez appears to have touched at
the port of Paneruca, (Panarukan) for the purpose of taking in pro-
visions on his way to Malacca ; and it also appears, that the king or
chief of P^uieruca sent ambassadors to the Portuguese governor of
*' Malacca in the same year 1528.''

The following is the substance of a description of Java from the De-
cada of Diego de Couto. — Deca4- iv. Book iii. Chapter i.

*Couto describes the wreck of a Portuguese vessel, and the destruction
of her crew by the Moors, who had just become masters of the kingdom
of Sunda, in nearly the same words as Barros. He then proceeds to
state, that Francis de S4 ran before the storm along the coast of Java, and
collected his scattered vessels in the port of Paneruca, and gives a general
description of Java in nearly the following words.*

'* But it will be proper to ^ve a concise description of this country,
'* and to shew which were the Greater and the Lesser Java of Marco
" P(do, and clear up the confusion which has prevailed among modem
geographers on this subject.

'/ The figiure of the island of Java resembles a hog couched on its fore
legs,* with its snout to the channel of Balaberao, and its hind legs
towards the mouth of the Straits of 8unda, which is much frequented
by our ships. This island lies directly east and west ; its length about
one hundred and sixty, and its breadth about seventy leagues.
'/ The southern coast Xhog's back^is not frequented by us, and its bays
and ports are not known \ but the northern coast (hog*s belly) is much
frequented, and has many good ports : and although there are many
shoals, yet the channels and the anchorages are so well known, that
" but few disasters happen.
• " There are many kingdoms along the maritime parts,* some of them

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XX INTRODUCTION.

Following the example of the Dutch, the English East
India Company, immediately after their incorporation by

" subordinate to the others ; and beginning at the east (head oi the hog),

*' we will set down the names of such as are known : OvaUe, Paneruoa,

" Agasai, Sodayo, Paniao (whose sovereign resides thirty leagues inland,

" and is a kind of emperor over these and others hereafter mentioned).
Taboo, Berdoao, Cajoao, Jap€ara (whose principal city or town is called
Cerinhama, three leagues inland, while Japara is situated on the sea

*' shore), Damo, Margao, Btmta, Sunda, Andreguir (where there is much
pepper, which is exported by a river called Jande). * In the moun-
tainoiis interior there are many kings, called Gtmos ; they live among
rugged mountains, are savage and brutal, and many of them eat

" human flesh." •

* " These mountains are exceedingly high, and some of them emit flames
like the island of Temati.* Every one of these kingdoms 'which we

" have named'has a language of its own ; yet they mutually understand
each other, as we do the Spaniards and Galicians.*
" The kingdom of Sunda is thriving and abundant ; it lies between
Java and Sumatra, having between it and the latter the Straits of
Sunda, Many islands lie along the coast of this kingdom within the
Straits, for nearly the space of forty leagues, which in the widest are
about twenty-five, and in others only twelve leagues broad. Bamim m

" about the middle distance. All the islands are well timbered, but have
little water. A small one, called Macar, at the entrance of the Straits^
is said to have much gold.

" The principal ports of the kingdom of Sunda are Banta, Achi, Chm-
catara (or, by another name, Caravao), to which every year nsoit
about twenty Sommas, which are a kind of vessel belonging to CMes-

" hec (Cochin China), out of the maritime provinces of China, to load
pepper. For this kingdom produces-eight thousand bakars, which m
equal to thirty thousand quintals of pepper annually.

Bantam is situated in six degrees of south latitude, in the middle of
a fine bay, which is three leagues from point to point. The town in
length, stretching landward, is eight hundred and fifty fathoms, and the
seaport extends about four hundred. A river capable of admitting
junks and gallies, flows through the middle of the town : a Mnall

" branch of this river admits boats and small craft.

** There is a brick fort, the walls of which are seven psJkns thick, with

" wooden bulwarks, armed with two tiers of artillery. The anchonge is

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INTRODUCTION. xxi

Queen Elizabeth in 1601, fitted out a fleet of four ships, the
command of which was entrusted to Captain Lancaster, who

" good ; in some places a muddy, in others a sandy bottom, the depth

" finom two to six fathoms.

" Hie King, Don John, conceiving that if he had a fortress in this

situation he should be master of the Straits, and of all the pepper of

those kingdoms, recommended it strongly to the lord admiral to have a

fort built by Francisco de Sa ; and even now it would be perhaps still

more important as well for the purpose of defending the entrance against

the English and the Turks, as for the general security of the trade and

commerce of those parts, which is the principal value of India. And it

was the opinion of our forefathers, that if the king possessed three

fortresses, one in this situation, one on Acheen head, and one on the

coast of Peffu, the navigation of the east would in a manner be locked

by these keys, and the king would be lord of all its riches ; and they

gave many reasons in support of their opinions, which we forbear to

repeat, and return to Java.

The island of Java is abundantly furnished with every thing necessary

" to human life ; so much so, that from it Malacca, Acheen, and other

neighbouring countries, derive their supplies.

The natives, who are called Jom ^Javans), ''are so proud that they
** think all mankind their inferiors ; so that, if a Javan were passing along
the streetr and saw a native of any other country standing on any
hillock or place raised higher than the ground on which he was walking,
if such person did not immediately come down until he should have
passed, the Javan would kill him, for he will permit no person to stand
above him; nor would a Javan carry any weight or burthen on his
head, even if they should threaten him with death. *

They are a brave and determined race of men, and for any slight
offence will run amok to be revenged ; and even if they are run through
and through with a lance, they will advance until they close with their
adversary. •

• ** The men are expert navigators, in which they claim priority of all
** others ; although many give the honour to the Chinese, insisting that
" they preceded the Javans. But it is certain that the Javans have sailed
" to the Cape of Good Hope, and have had intercourse with the island
" of Madagascar on the off side, where there are many people of a brown
" colour, and a mixed Javan race, who descend from them." *
Then follows the refutation of a ridiculous story told by Nicolas

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xxii INTRODUCTION.

galled from London in 1602, first to Acheen (Ache) on Su-
matra, where he procored part of his cargo, and entered into
a treaty \\\\h the king, of which a copy is yet in existence.
From Aclteen he went to Baniamj and settled a factory there,
which was the first possession of the English in the East
Indies. Captain Lancaster brought home a letter firom the
king of Bantam to Queen Elizabeth in 1602, which is still in
the state j)aper office.

In 1610, the first Dutch governor general, Bolt, arrived at
Bantam, and finding the situation of his countrymen in that
province not favourable to the establishment of a permanent
settlement, removed to Jdkatra. On the 4th of March, 1621,
the name, of Batavia was conferred upon the new establish-
ment of the Dutch in Jakatra^ which firom that period be-
came the capital of their East Indian empire.

In 1683, the English, who had hitherto maintained a suc-
cessful rivalry with the Dutch, withdrew their establishment
from Bantam,
•Intlicyear 1811, Holland having become a province of

Couti, the Venetian, about a tree that produced a rod of gold in its pith«
at which some well informed Javans, of whom Couti inquired, laughed
very heartilj.

•" Marco Polo mentions the greater and the lesser Java. We an of
" opinion, that the Java of which we are treating is the lesser, and that
" the island of Sumatra is the greater Java'; for he says that the greater
" Java is two thousand miles in circumference, and that the north star is •
" not visible, and that it has eight kingdoms, Talek, BasfM, Camara^
Dragtyao, Lambri Farq/kr, from which it is very clear that he means
Sumatra, for it has nearly the dimensions which he assigns it. TThe
north pole is not visible, as this island lies under the equinoctial line,
*• which is not the case with any of the islands situated to the northward,
" on all of which the north star is seen : and it is still more evident
•' from the names of the kingdoms, for there cannot be a doubt that
Camara is the same as Camatra (the 9 being soft like s). Dragofao
(which is pronounced Dragojcmg) or Andreguir, and Lambn, still reUin
" their names on that island."

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INTRODUCTION. xxiii

France, the French flag was hoisted at Batavia ; and' on the
11th Septembery,in the same year, the British government
was declared supreme on Java, by a proclamation of that
date signed by the>£arl of Minto, ( Governor General of
BengaL* On the 17th of (the same month, a capitulation was
entered into, by which all the dependencies fell into the hands
of Great Britain.*

On the 13th 'August, 1814, a convention was entered into
by viscount Ckstlereaghyi'on the part of his Britannic Majesty,
restoring to the Dutch the whole of their former possessions
in the Eastern Islands; and'on the 19thiAugust, 1816, the flag
of the Netherlands was again hoisted at Batavia. *

Without adverting to the political importance to Great Bri-
tain of the conque'st of Java, or to the great commercial ad-
vantages which both countries might eventually have derived
from its remaining in our hands, I shall merely notice that the
loss of it was no immediate or positive evil to the Dutch. For
many years prior to the British expedition, Holland had
derived little or no advantage firom the nominal sovereignty
which she continued to exercise over its internal affairs. All
trade and intercourse between Java and Europe was inter-
rupted and nearly destroyed ; it added nothing to the commer-
cial wealth or the naval means of the mother country : the
eontroul of the latter over the agents she employed had pro-
pcHlionally diminished ; she continued to send out governors,
counsellors, and commissioners, but she gained firom their in-
quiries little information on the causes of her failure, and no
aid firom their exertions in improving her resources, or retard-
ing the approach of ruin. The colony became a burden on the
mother country instead of assisting her, and the Company
which had so long governed it being ruined, threw the load of
its debts and obligations on the rest of the nation.

It might have been some consolation for the loss of imme-
diate profit, or the contraction of immediate debt, to know,
that such unfavourable circumstances were merely temporary ;

xxiv INTRODUCTION.

that they arose out of a state of political relations which
affected internal improvement, and that the resources of the
colony were progressively increasing, and would become
available when peace or political changes should allow trade
to flow in its former channels. Whether the Dutch could not
indulge such prospects, or whether the system on which the
internal government of their eastern dominion was conducted
was in itself ruinous under any circumstances, a view of the
financial and commercial state of Java before the conquest,
and of the causes which led to the losses and dissolution of
the Dutch East India Company, will assist the reader in de-
termining.

In tracing these causes, it is hardly necessary to go further
back than the period of the Company^s history immediately
preceding the war of 1780. The accidental calamities of that
war brought it to the brink of ruin, and its importance in the
past transactions of the country being borne in mind, a general
concern existed in Holland for its preservation, and for the
restoration and maintenance of its credit. With the view of
affording it the most effective and beneficial assistance, in-
quiries were set on foot, not only to discover some temporary
means of relief, but to provide a more permanent remedy for
threatened decline. It is impossible to ascertain what might
have been the result of the measures which w.ere then in con-
templation, as the convulsed state of Europe, and especially
of Holland, subsequently to this period, left no room for their
operation, and did not even admit of making the experiment of
their efficiency. The fi'ee intercourse of the mother country
with her colonies was interrupted ; the trade was thrown into
the hands of neutrals ; several possessions were lost for the
want of due protection, and those which remained were left to
support or defend themselves in the best way they could, with-
out any assistance or reinforcement firom home.

For ten years preceding the year 1780, the average annual
sales of tlie Company amounted to upwards of twenty millions

INTRODUCTION.

XXT

of guilders, which was considerably more than in former years,
and the prices of the different articles were nearly the same as
they had been from the years 1648 to 1657, when the sales
only amounted on an average to about eight millions a year;
it was therefore clear, that the decline of the Company was
not to be attributed to the decrease of trade.

On an examination of the Indian books, it was found, that
from the year 1613 to 1696, the profits in India, though mode-
rate, had always kept equal pace with the profits in Europe.

From
1613

To
1653.

To
166a

To
1673.

To
1683.

To
1693.

The total profiu were

Guilde'ri.
101,704,417

76,177,755

Guilders.
142,663,776

117,616,961

Guilders.
206,072,335

161,271,745

GuUders. Gulldersi
259,250,969 322,735.812

212,282,020 274,4]6,30r;

Nett Profiu. •••

25,526,662

25,046,815

44,880,590

46,968,949

48,319,506

Thus, on an average of forty years till 1653, the annual pro-
fits were about 640,000 guilders a year ;

Of fifty years to 1663....about 500,000 do.

Of sixty do to 1673 750,000 do.

Of seventy do to 1683 670,000 do.

Of eighty do to 1693 600,000 do.

In the year 1696, the nett profit from the same year (1613)
amoimted to only 40,206,789 guilders, being fiill eight millions
less than it had been in 1693, only three years preceding ; and
the average nett annual profit fit)m 1613 was reduced to
484,371 guilders. But from 1697 to 1779, comprehending a
like period of eighty-three years, the losses were so exorbitant
as to overbalance and absorb, not only the contemporary, but
all the preceding profits in Europe, and even a large amount

xxvi INTRODUCTION.

of fictitious profit stimulated to screen the government in

India.

The nett amount of profits calculated firom 1613^ amounted

Quilders.
In 1697 to only 88,696,527

In 1703 31,674,645

In 1713 16,805,598

In 1723 4,838,925

In 1724 1,037,777

In 1730 there was already a total loss of 7,737,610, and in
the year 1779 this loss amounted to 84,985,425.

The Company used to send yearly to India, before the com-
mencement of the war of 1780, twenty ships of about nine
hundred tons each, and eight or ten of about eight hun-
dred tons each, which, to the number of twenty-two or
twenty -three, returned with cargoes : four firom China, three
from Ceylon, three firom Bengal, one fix)m Coromandel, and
twelve or thirteen from Batavia. They annually exported
to India provisions and other articles of trade to the amount of
two millions six or eight thousand florins, and in cash from four
to six millions, and sold yearly to an amount generally of
twenty or twenty-one millions ; and it was estimated that the
Indian trade maintained, directiy and indirectly, all the ex-
ternal commerce of Holland, employing a capital of about two
himdred and sixty millions of florins.

From the inquiries of a commission appointed by the go-
vernment of Holland, in the year 1780, to ascertain the real
state of the Company's finances, and to report how far the na-
tion would be warranted in giving its fiuther support to the
credit of an institution which had so rapidly declined, it ap-
peared that in 1789, the arrears of the Company amounted to
seventy-four millions of florins, and that this amoimt had since
increased to eighty-four or eighty-five millions, of which sum
no less than 67,707,583 florins had been advanced by the
nation.

INTRODUCTION. xxvii

The Commissioners, however, being of opinion, that the
affairs of the Company were not irretrievable, recommended
a further loan of seven millions of florins.

A meritorious servant of the Company, Mr. C. Tetsingh,
had offered to the Commissioners a memorial, in which he
proposed that the Company should abandon the trade to
private merchants under certain restrictions ; but on this pro-
posal the Commissioners stated that they were not then pre-
pared to offer an opinion.

This Commission, in reporting upon the manner in which
the Company^s affairs had been managed in India, declared
that " they could not conceal the deep impression which the
" same had made upon their minds, and that they could not
'' fix their thoughts upon it, \^dthout being affected with sen-

" timents of horror and detestation." " When," said they,

" we take a view of our chief possession and establishment,
^^ and when we attend to the real situation of the internal
*^ trade of India, the still increasing and exorbitant rate of
^ the expenses, the incessant want of cash, the mass of paper
^' money in circulation, the unrestrained peculations and
" faithlessness of many of the Company's sen^ants, the con-
" sequent clandestine trade of foreign nations, the perfidy of
" the native princes, the weakness and connivance of the
" Indian government, the excessive expenses in the military

department and for the public defence ; in a word, when

we take a view of all this collectively, we should almost
" despair of being able to fulfil our task, if some persons of
" great talents and ability among tlie directors had not
" stepped forward to devise means by which, if not to eradi-
" cate, at least to stop the further progress of corruption, and
" to prevent the total ruin of the Company."

The improvements proposed by the directors extended to
every branch of the administration abroad. They proposed,
first, with regard to the Cape of Good Hope, the yearly
arrears of which settlement had latterly amoimted to a million
and a half of florins, that the same should be reduced to one

xxviii INTRODUCTION.

half of that sum. With regard to the further eastern posses-
sions, the measures proposed for consideration were chiefly
the following.

To confine the Company's future trade to opium, spices,
pepper, Japan copper, tin, and sugar, as far as the European
and Japan markets woidd require. To abandon the trade to
Western India to the Company's sen ants and free merchants,
imder payment of a certain recognition. To abandon several
factories in that quarter, and to reduce the rest to mere resi-
dencies. To make considerable reductions in the establish-
ment on the coast of Malabar and in Bengal. To reduce the
establishments on the coast of Coromandel to three factories.
To abandon the establishments on the West coast of Sumatra,
and to leave it open to a free trade. To diminish the ex-
penses at Ceylon by a reduction of the military force, and by
every other possible means to animate the cultivation and im-
portation of rice into that settlement. To open a free trade
and navigation to Bengal and Coromandel, under the superin-
tendence of the Company, on paying a certain recognition.
To encourage, by every means, the cultivation of rice in the
easternmost possessions, and especially at Amboina and
Banda, for the sake of preventing the inducements of a clan-
destine trade, which the importation of rice to those places
might afford. To abandon several small factories to the
eastward. To adopt a plan for the trade of Malacca proposed
by Governor De Bruem. To introduce a general reduction
of establishment at Batavia and elsewhere. To introduce
new regulations with regard to the sale of opium at Batavia.
To improve the Company's revenue, by a tax upon salaries
and a duty upon collateral successions. And finaUy, to send
out commissioners to India, with full powers to introduce a
general reform in the administration.

In a memorial subsequently submitted by the Commis-
rioners, which formed the basis of all the measures recom
mended and adopted at this time, for tlie better administration
of affairs in India, after shewing that, from the year 1770 to

INTRODUCTION. xxix

1780, the Company had on the whole of its trade and esta-
blishments on the coast of Coromandel, Bengal, Malabar,
Snrat, and the western coast of Sumatra, averaged a profit of
only 119,554 florins a year, they recommended the introduc-
tion at Batavia of a public sale of the spices, Japan copper,
and sugar, wanted for the consumption of Western India,
and the establishment of a recognition of ten per cent, on the
piece goods from Bengal, and of fifteen per cent, on the piece
goods £rom Coromandel. Under such a plan of firee trade,
they calculated that, after the diminution of the Company^s
establishments in Western India, and the abolition of several
small forts and factories to the eastward, it was highly pro*
bable that the administration in India would, in future, cover
its own expenses, and thereby save the Company firom utter

min.

It was on these calculations that the Commissioners

appointed by the States of Holland founded their hopes of
the fiiture relief of the Company, and with these prospects
they closed their report, the care and future fate of the Com-
pany devolving firom that time chiefly on the Commissioners
appointed at their recommendation to proceed to India, in
order to carry into effect, on the spot, the reforms proposed.
Of these new Commissioners, Mr. Nederburg, then first advo-
cate to the Company, was appointed the chief.

The Indian Commissioners sailed firom Europe in the year
1791. At the Cape of Good Hope they made such changes
and reforms as may be said to have fully efiected the object
of their commission. The importance, however, of the Cape
being comparatively small, it is not necessary to enter into
any detail of the measures adopted there. The more momen-
tous part of their trust was undoubtedly to be discharged in
India, where they arrived in 1793.

If the talents of these Commissioners were to be estimated
by the benefits which resulted fi-om their labours, we may
safely pronounce them to have been incompetent to the task
they had undertaken ; but such a criterion cannot \rilh any

r»

XXX INTRODUCTION.

justice be applied. A continuance of peace with Great
Britain was of course reckoned upon in all their calculations,
and war with that power broke out almost immediately
afterwards.

With regard to the abandonment of several forts and fac-
tories to the eastward, to which their attention had been par-
ticularly directed, the result of their deliberation and inquiry
was, that the continuance of the Company's establishment on
Celebes was indispensable for the protection of the Moluccas;
that at Timor reductions had been made, in consequence of
which the revenues covered the expenses;^ that after mature
investigation the Japan trade was shewn to yield a nett profit
of 200,000 florins ; that with regard to the West Coast of
Sumatra the revenues had been made to exceed the expenses,
and the pepper collected in that neighbourhood left still some
profit to the Company.

With respect to the institution of public sales at Batavia
for Japan copper, spices, and sugar, on the introduction of
which it was supposed the establishments in Western India
might be for the most part reduced, they were of opinion,
after deliberating with the Council of India, and after a per-
sonal inquiry into the actual state of the private trade at
Batavia, that chiefly for the want of an adequate means
among the purchasers such sales were entirely impracticable,
and that it would therefore be preferable, after making some
partial reductions in the expense, to continue the establish-
ment in Bengal and the coast of Coromandel, but that Cochin
on the Malabar coast might, perhaps, be advantageously
abandoned *.

To determine the mode in which the trade with India
should in future be conducted, those Commissioners assumed
a general calculation of the receipts and disbursements which
would occur at home and abroad, on the supposition that the
Company should, in future, navigate with hired vessels only,

* This is the factory which by the recent convention has been ex-
changed with England for the Island of Banka.

INTRODUCTION. xxxi

md that all marine establishments should be abolished. The
result of this calculation was in abstract as follows. The
estimate may be considered as affording an interesting view
of the hopes and prospects which were at that time enter-
tained of the resources of the Eastern Islands.

The whole estimate was jGramed on the principles of mono-
poly, and with a view to an increase of the trade on the one
hand, and a reduction of expenses on the other. The quan-
tity of coffee stated at eighteen million pounds, was calculated
upon the produce which might be expected after two years.
In the calculation of the quantity of pepper, an augmentation
of 1,500,000 pounds beyond the produce of the preceding
year was anticipated, from the encouragement given to the
growth of that article in Bantam and other parts of Java.
With regard to the sugar, calculated at 8,000,000 of pounds
for the home cargoes, it is stated, that the actual deliveries

From Batavia at that time amounted to ....6,000,000 lbs.

From Ch6ribon 600,000

From other ports in Java 1,000,000

7,500,000 lbs.

Supposing therefore the home cargoes 8,000,000 lbs.

The demand for Surat 8,600,000

For Japan 900,000

For the consumption of the Company's o^^-n
establishments 200,000

The quantity required would be 12,600,000 lbs.

Or 6,100,000 pounds more than the actual produce. Tlie
whole of that quantity, however, the Commissioners felt con-
fident might be produced in three years, by encouraging the
manufacture in the Eastern Districts of Java. Among the
retrenchments was a tax upon the salaries of all civil servants,
which reduced the average salary of each to the sum of fifteen
Spanish dollars per month.

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xxxiv INTRODUCTION.

These Commissioners seemed to entertain no very fitTOur-
able ideas of the benefits which would arise to priyate tnde
from the license it already enjoyed. As a measure much
more beneficial to the general trade of Europe and to the
Company, they proposed, in lieu of it, to throw open to indi-
viduals, under certain restrictions, the trade and navigation
firom Europe to Bengal and Coromandel.

Thus we see these Commissioners sent out with the view
of introducing something like free trade on Java, coming to a
resolution to take away from it even the little private trade
which it had previously been allowed to enjoy.

The Company's trade with continental India had already
been so much encroached upon by foreigners, that it was
judged expedient no longer to exclude the Dutch free trader
from his share in the spoil ; but it was hoped, by increased
strictness, to preserve entire to the Company the excluuve
trade in spices, Javan coffee, pepper as far as it was the pio-
duce of her own possessions, Japan copper, the opium which
was consumed in Java and in the Moluccas, and Javan sugar.

The trade of the Dutch Company has thus been brought to
the period, when its monopoly was proposed to be almost
exclusively confined to Java and the Eastern Islands, includ-
ing Japan. The causes which operated to destroy the Dutch
influence on the continent of India, are too well known to re-
quire any particular description.

The Dutch had long maintained a decisive superiority, as
well on the continent of Asia, as among the Indian i<f 1a ndg,
imtil the active exertions of their competitors in trade suc-
ceeded in undermining and overturning their monopoly ; and
as it was natural their weak side should sufier first, it was on
the continent, where their establishments were far removed
from the chief seat of government, and where they had not
been able to insure to themselves those exclusive privileges
from the princes of the country which they had exacted from
the weaker princes of the Eastern Islands, that other nations,

INTRODUCTION. xxxr

chiefly the French and English, first endeavoured to intro-
duce themselves.

After reciprocal jealousies had for some time prevented
bofli nations finom making any considerable progress, a suc-
cessful war at last turned the scale entirely in favour of the
English, whose influence, from that period, has been para-
mount in continental India, and the Dutch East India Com-
pany was no longer able to enforce its system of exclusive
trade there.

Without inquiring into the practicability of realizing the
flattering estimate made out by the Indian Commissioners, or
the policy which dictated a still more rigorous monopoly of
the produce of the Eastern Islands, it ought to be remarked,
although it seems never to have been adverted to by the
Commissioners, whose calculations and plans were exclu-
nvely of a commercial nature, that the original situation of
the Company as a mere mercantile body, looking out for trade
and not dominion, had undergone a material alteration, by
the acquisition it had made from the middle of the last cen-
tury of considerable territorial possessions, especially on the
island of Java.

To use the words of one of the most enlightened men who
now adorns his country, and is prepared to give energy to a
better state of things*, ^^ these territorial acquiidtions became

to the Company a soiurce of new relations. In consequence

of them, new rights were acquired and obligations of a
" novel kind were contracted, as well with regard to the
^* territories themselves as the population upon them. The
** nature of these rights and duties might have been deemed
*^ worth inquiry ; and as all these territorial acquisitions were
^^ made by a delegated authority derived from the government
^^ at home, it was frurther worthy of investigation how far the
^* government itself was entitled to a direct share in the
^' acquisitions made, and how far it was bound to controul

• Mr. Muntinghe.

K O

xxxvi INTRODUCTION.

^^ and superintend the exercise of those duties which were
^' newly contracted. A consideration of these points would
*^ have led to the important question, how far, on a renewal
** of the Company^s charter, it would be requisite to alter and
^^ modify its conditions according to existing circumstances,
^^ and especially how far it would have been expedient, in
^^ future, to leave the Company the exclusive trade, and at
** the same time the uncontrouled sovereignty over the same
" country."

But however natural it may be, at the present moment, to
consider questions of this kind, it was perhaps at that tim^
beyond the common coiurse of human thought to entertaiii
doubts on the subject From an honourable regard for an-
cient institutions, the mercantile system of the Company was
still considered with reverence and respect; it had been al
all times the boast and pride of the nation ; the services which
the Company had rendered to the state in its earlier days, and
the immense benefits which the government had been enabled^
by its means, to spread among the community at large, had
rendered the East India Company and all its privileges, ob»
jects of peculiar care and tenderness. The rights of sove*
reignty which the Company afterwards acquired, were ob-
tained by degrees and almost imperceptibly. Every acqui-
sition of the kind had been considered, at the time, merely as
the means of increasing its mercantile profits, and all its terri-
torial rights were looked upon as subservient to its mercantile
system.

In consequence of these ideas, after the whole of the
northern and eastern coast of Java had been added to the
Company^s territorial dominions, by a cession in the year
1749, no step seems to have been taken for improving these
acquisitions, by any direct use of the supremacy obtained.
Some contracts were instituted with the native chiefs, for
delivering gratis, or at the lowest possible price, such articles
as would serve the Company's investments at home ; but

INTRODUCTION. xxxrii

taxation, the levy of produce, and the management of police

and justice in the inferior courts, were left to the care and

conscience of the natives themselves.

Arguments in favour of this system may perhaps be drawn
from the respect due to the native usages and institutions,
and from a supposed want of power, on the part of the Com-
pany, to assume any direct controul over the native popula-
tion. But whatever influence these ideas may have had on
the conduct of the Company, it may be affirmed that an
European government, aiming only to see right and justice
administered to every class of the population, might and
ought to have maintained all the native usages and institu-
tions, not inconsistent with those principles ; and that the
power, for want of which it withheld its interference, would
have been supphed and confirmed by the act of exercising
the power which it possessed, and by the resources it might
have been the means of drawing firom the coimtry.

Considering, therefore, the propensity inherent in every
native authority to abuse its influence, and to render it oppres-
sive to the population at large ; the ascendancy of Europeans
in general, even over the class of native chieftains ; the scan-
tiness of many of the establishments proposed in the plan of
the Indian Commissioners ; the manifest inadequacy of the
remuneration of the civil servants which it recommended,
and the narrow scale on which all expenses were calculated ;
no very durable benefits could have been reasonably expected
£rom it The discretionary power being left in the hands of
the native chieftains, the whole of the lower class of the popu-
lation would have remained at their disposal ; the ascendancy
of the European servants would have subjected both to pecu-
lations, which the insufficiency of their salaries would con-
stantly have tempted them to practice ; the administration of
justice not meeting with a proper remuneration would have
been ineffectual, perhaps corrupt; the reduction of the

xxxviii INTRODUCTION.

military establishment would have left the possessions an
easy prey to the first invader; and the original sources of the
Company^s revenues in India remaining the same, it seems
probable, that in a short time, the same scenes which had
hitherto met with so much reprobation, would have been
acted over again, and to a still more disgraceful extent

But of whatever merit might have been the plans suggested
by the Commissioners in India on the 4th July, 1795, the
calamities which had already befallen the mother country
were followed by an event, which it seems the Commissionen
had hardly dared to suspect, and which, in every case, would
have frustrated all their designs. This was the dissolution of
the Company, in consequence of a resolution taken to that
effect on the 24th December, by the body then representing
the government of the United States of Holland.

New views of policy were of course suggested by this im-
portant change. In the year 1800 there appeared a small
volume, entitled ^' A Description of Java and of its principal
** Productions, shewing the Advantages to be derived there*
^* from under a better Administration, by Mr. Dirk Van
" Hogendorp," in which the writer, after observing that the
true state of Java and its importance to the mother country
had hitherto been little known, or at least that no correct
ideas had yet been formed in Holland with regard to its value,
fertility, population, and advantageous situation for trade,
establishes,

^* 1. That the system on which the trade in India had
'* hitherto been conducted and the possessions administered,
** was no longer good under present circumstances, but con*
*' tained in itself the seeds of decline and ruin.

'^ 2. That the exclusive trade was in its nature injurious,
** and naturally caused the ruin of die colonies.

" 3. That under a different system, those colonies would
•* flourish, and yield much greater advantages than ever.

INTRODUCTION. xxxix

** 4. That a revenue, founded on the principles of freedom
'^ of trade, property in the soil, and equality of imposts, could
^ be eaflily introduced.

^ 5. And finally, that all the benefits which would thereby
'* accrue to the mother country, firom the territorial revenue,
^ the duties on trade, the industry and wealth for which that
^ trade would fiimish employment, and the treasures which
^ the distiibution of produce throughout Europe must bring
'^ into the mother country, would greatly exceed the highest
^ advantages tliat could be calculated upon, even under the
^ most favourable prospects, by the means of the taUen Ckmi-
*^ pany or a continuation of its former system."

Many parts of this pamphlet abound in violence and
invective, and others are too highly coloured ; but with these
exceptions, it may be safely asserted that it contains a more
correct view of the state of society, and of the resources of
the country, than any paper which had preceded it, and the
author is most justly entitled to all the credit of having
chalked out to his countrymen the road to honour and pros-
perity, in the future administration of the Dutch East-Indian
colonies.

Having, in the course of the foregoing sketch of the de-
cline and fall of the Dutch East-India Company, exhibited a
statement of these resources, under the mercantile system of
the Company, it may be interesting also to state what, in the
opinion of Mr. Hogendorp, the island of Java alone was
capable of affording eventually, under a system founded on
the principles of property in the soil, freedom of cultivation
and trade, and the impartial administration of justice ac-
cording to equal rights. " When the exclusive and oppres-
" sive trade of the Company, the forced deliveries, the feudal
" services, in short, the whole system of feudal government,
" is done away with, and when the effects of this important
" revolution are felt in the certain increase of cultivation and
" trade, then," observes Mr. Hogendorp, " the limits of pro-

xl INTRODUCTION.

^*' bability will by no means be exceeded, in estimating the
^ aggregate of the revenues of Java, in progress of time, at
" twelve millions of rix-dollars, or twenty-four millions of
** guilders, annually."

This statement, calculated with reference to the com-
parative produce of the West India Islands, has been gene-
rally considered by the colonists as exhibiting a very exag-
gerated view, of what the island could, under any circum-
stances, afford, and by many as too wild a speculation to
deserve attention ; but to this it should be added, that the
plan on which it was founded, viz. an entire change in the
internal management of the country, was considered as
equally wild and romantic by those who declaimed the
loudest against the possibility of these advantages accruing,
and that notwithstanding the doubts then entertained of its
practicability, that measure has been actually carried into
effect, without producing any one of the consequences de-
picted by the advocates of the old system, and as far as a
judgment can yet be formed, with all the advantages anti-
cipated by Mr. Hogendorp.

It is not surprising to find, that the enlightened views of
this \mter were never acted upon, when we find it asserted
by a commission, who sat at the Hague in 1803, composed of
the highest, and perhaps best qualified persons in the state of
Holland, and of which he was himself a member (of course a
dissenting one), that ^* it appeared to them to have been ad-
** mitted generally, and without contradiction, that according
*^ to ancient regulations, of which the first institution was lost
^^ even among the Javans themselves, the manner in which
" that people are used to live rests on principles, with which
** a free and unlimited disposition of the ground and its pro-
^^ ductions is absolutely inconsistent ; that they were, for
^^ their parts, convinced that such a change could not be
^^ effected, without causing a general fermentation among all
** classes of people ; that though, in this case, violent mea-

u
u

INTRODUCTION. xli

^ smes might suppress an insoirqction, they would rather
^ advise to bid an eternal farewell to Java, than to resort to
^ sach means ; that if they adverted to the question in a com-
^ mercial point of view, the same uncertainty, the same
^ dangers presented themselves. These arose from the
^' natural disinclination of the Javan to work, which has been
" observed by many eminent persons ; the danger of new
^monopolies, which would fall heavier upon the common
^ people than the present forced deliveries ; the exorbitant
^ charges to support a great number of native chiefs and
^ priests, who are at present provided for and ought to be
supported ; an undoubted deficiency in the revenues, and a
considerable expenditure during the first years, without the
probability of a remedy. All this,*' say they, " seems to
*' forebode a neglect of the cultivation ; and after long and
** laborious researches, we are compelled to lay it down as a
" general principle, that property of the soil among the
^ common Javans, and the abolition of public services, cannot
^* be adopted as the basis of an improvement, of which the
^^ internal management of Java would be susceptible. The
" contingents and forced deliveries ought therefore to be con-
** tinned and received on account of the state, which has suc-
" ceeded to the prerogatives of the former Company *."

Marshal Daendels, who was recalled firom the government
of Java only a few months before the British conquest, and
who was by far the most active and energetic governor who
had for a long time been at the head of the colony, has written
an account of his own administration, of the state in which he
found the island, of the measures he proposed and executed,
of the improvements which he projected or carred into effect,
of the revenues that might be expected, and of the expendi-

• Report of a Committee appointed to investigate East India afiairs
made to the Government of the Batavian Repuhhc, dated 3l8t of August
1803, consisting of Messrs. Murman, Sic, Ponloe, Verhuell, D. Van Ho-
gendorp, Nederburgh, and Voute.

xlii INTRODUCTION.

lure that the public service required. Although he enters into
gome free and bold strictures on the conduct of the Conunis*
sionersy the estimates they formed, and the policy they recom-
mended, he does not seem himself to have avoided many of
the faults which rendered their policy objectionable, or io
have entertained any hope of establishing a more liberal syfr*
tem. Forced services and contingents, and all the tyranny
which they render necessary, still constituted the greatest part
of the ways and means of the colonial treasury, and the grand
source of profits for the Company.

The difficulties he had to struggle with, and the peculiar
habits and character formed by his profession, seem to have
determined his proceedings, more than any matured scheme
of general administration, or any deliberate principles of go-
vernment He thus describes the situation of the colony on
his arrival : *^ A powerful enemy threatened us by sea, and the
'' Javan princes, acquiring audacity in proportion as they saw
^^ proofs of our weakness, thought the moment had arrived for
*^ prescribing the law to their former superiors. The very ex-
'^ istcnce of our dominions on Java was thus in the greatest
^' danger. Our internal resources of finance were exhausted^
'^ while a stagnation of trade, caused by the blockade of our
'^ shores, cut off all hopes of procuring assistance from with*
^^ out In the midst of such disastrous circumstances, and the
^^ failure of so many attempts to introduce reform, and to main-
^^ tain the dignity of government, I found it necessary toplac€
^^ myself above the usual formalities, and to disregard every
^* latVy but that which enjoined the preservation of the cdomy
" entrusted to my management. The verbal order which I re-
^^ ceived, at my departure from Holland, had tliis for its ob-
^^ ject, and the approbation bestowed upon my attempts to
" carry it into execution, encouraged me in the course of pro-
" ceeding which I had began."

The situation in which the Marshal found the colony is

justly drawn ; but the result of liis operations, and the condi-

INTRODUCTION. xliii

Am in which he left the gerenmieiit to his successor, are de-
soibed in coloarg by far too flattering. His partiality for his
own walk, and the conscionsness of haying made great exer-
tions to accomplish it, seems to have influenced his mind too
easily, in convincing him of the advantage and success of the
aeasares he had adopted. '^ In spite,^ says he, ^^ of aU the
^ obstacles I encountered, I obtained the following results. I
^ made the general government the centre of authority, from
^ which every inferiin: authority descended in a determined
^ proportion, with a definite responsibility and a salutaiy con-
^ trool. Into aU the local and subordinate administrations,
^ clearness and simplicity were introduced ; agriculture was
^ encouraged, protected, and extended ; general industry was
'' promoted ; the administration of justice and of the police
" was put on a sure footing ; the means of defence weje in-
** creased as much as possible ; many works were undertaken,
^ both for the service of government and other useftd ends ;
^ new roads were made and old ones improved ; the condition
^ of all the inhabitants, as well native as European, was ame-
** liorated, and every cause of misunderstanding removed ; the
*^ relations of the colonial government with the courts of the
** native princes were regulated on principles, conformable to
^ the dignity, and conducive to the interests of the former;
^ and, in fine, the revenues of the colony were so augmented,
'^ that after every deduction for internal expenditure, they will
^* fiimish a surplus of five millions, free of all charge, as a nett
** return to Holland.''

Marshal Daendels, in his memoir, sufficientiy showed the
fallacy contained in the report of the Commissioners, con-
cerning the estimated revenue and profits of the Company.
Instead of the receipt of 1,250,000 florins, accruing from the
profit of the sale of opium (as marked in the table which I
have transcribed), he assures us that not one farthing was
actually obtained. Many of the conclusions of the Com-
missioners, concerning the temper of the inhabitants, the

xliv INTRODUCTION,

nature of the soil of particular districts, and the general re-
sources of the island, he satisfactorily proved to be founded
on erroneous information or mistake ; and it is only to be
regretted, that he did not carry the same spirit of impartiali^
into the formation of his own reports, which he requires in
those of his predecessors, or anticipates from his successors^ an
examination, equally rigorous, and a measure of justice equally
strict as that to which they were subjected. Had this been
the case, we should not have been offered such financial
results as make the revenue of the island amount to 10,789,000
rix-dollars, and its expenditure only 6,790,000, leaving t
balance of five millions of profit. It may be interesting to
compare his estimate with* the table already exhibited.

INTRODUCTION.

xIt

ICATBD RSCKIPT8.

Rix-donara.

d 2,000,000

land unfEurmed 500,000

m« 1,120,000

360,000

fiOO pihdSt at

Dan 4,500,000

OOOpihds... 160,000
OOOpihUs... 400,000
per, 35,000

250,000

1,000,000

250,000

10,790,000

B8TIM ATXD XXPBNDITUEB.

Riz-dollan.

Civil appointments 1,000,000

Land forces l,227»000

Manufactory of powder,

f oundery of balls, and

arsenals 180,000

Hospitals 80,000

Marine 250,000

Fortifications, &c 200,000

New works 400,000

Justice and police 150,000

Transports and freights.. 300,000
Transport of Company's

servants, recruits, &c.

from Europe 300,000

Purchase of native articles 300,000

Package 100,000

Interest •. 400,000

Unforeseen chaiges .... 903,000

5,790,000
Which being subtracted
from 10,790,000

Leaves a nett profit,
Riz-doUars 5,000,000

>te on this source of revenue. Marshal Daendels says that he is
the evils arising from the use of this drug, but that the Javans
ted tQ it, that no prospect of success could be entertained
roject for reducing its consimiption. Yet even while he is
obserA'ation, he tells us that the Commissioners fixed the sale
;sts, and that he in his estimate has only taken it at 800. It
rds reduced to less than 300 chests, without any fear of dis-
any danger of illicit trade.

CONTENTS

VOLUME L

TAGS

.Tioif iii

s ^.•., Vll

vcnov • • • . •■«« ••■« «... xiii

CHAPTER I.

plucal Situation of Java — Name — Extent and Form — ^Divi-
H— Harbours — Mountains and Yolcanos— Rivers and Lakes —
Ttl sqjpearance of the Country — Mineralogical Constitution —
ms and Climate — Metals — Minerals — Soil — ^Vegetable and
lal Kingdoms 1

CHAPTER n.

of tbe Natives — Javans compared with the Mald]rus and
JB— Comparative Progress of the three Races— Foreign In-
ce — Persons of the Natives — Manners — Population — In-
lity of it accoimted for — Population Tables — Increase of
ihUion — Foreign Settlers — Chinese— Bdgis — ^Maldyuis — Moore
rabfl — Slaves — Gradations of rank among the Javans — ^Their
itations. Dress, and Food 62

CHAPTER ni.

ance of Agriculture to Java. — Soil — State of the Peasantry —
J of Rice — Subsistence of the Peasantry — ^Dwellings — Agri-
tral Stock — Implements of Farming — Seasons — ^Different kinds
■and — Rice Cultivation — Maize, &c. — Sugar — Coffee — Pepper
digo— Cotton — ^Tobacco— Tenure of landed Property 117

CHAPTER IV.

ictures — Handicrafts — ^Bricks — ^Thatch — Mats — Cotton Cloths
yes — ^Tanning — Ropes — Metals — Boat and Ship-building —
rr — Salt— Saltpetre Works — Gunpowder, &c. — Felling and
iporting of Teak Timber — Fisheries • 182

xlviii CONTENTS.

PAOB

CHAPTER V.

Commerce — ^Advantageous Situation of Java for Commercial Inter-
course — Importance of Batavia in particular— Native Trade-
Roads and Inland Carriage — Markets — Influence of the Chinese-
Coasting Trade— Exports and Imports — ^Trade with the Archi-
pelago — China — Kamtschatka — Western India — Europe, &c. —
Dutch Commercial Regulations — State of the Eastern Islands —
Advantages which they possess — Causes of the Depression of the
Nations and IVibes which inhabit them — Ji^>an Trade 210

CHAPTER VI.

Character of the Inhabitants of Java — ^Difference between the Stindas
and the Javans — ^The Lower Orders — ^The Chiefs — Nature of the
Native Government — ^Different Officers of State— Judicial Estab-
lishments and Institutions — Laws, and how administered — ^Police
Institutions and Regulations — Military Establishments — Revenue. 272

CHAPTER VII.

Ceremonies of the Court — ^Deference paid to superior Rank — Regalia
— Processions — Pomp — Rank and Titles — Ambassadors — Cere-
monies attending Births, Marriages, and Funerals — ^Account of the
People called K41ang, and of the Inhabitants of the T^ng'ger
Mountains — ^The Bedui — Festivals — ^Amusements — ^The Drama—
Wiyangs — ^The Dance — ^Tournaments — ^The Chase — ^Tiger Fights
— Combat of Criminals with Tigers — Bull Fights, &c. — Games of
Skill and Chance— Other Customs and Usages ^«. . . . 343

CHAPTER VIII.

Lan^tuage — Little known to Europeans — Different Languages or
Dialects — Those of Sdnda, Maddra, and B&li, compared with that
of Java Proper — ^The polite Language, or Language of Honour —
The Kawi, or Sacred and Classic Language — Numerals — Chandra
Sangkala — Literature — Compositions in the Kawi Language, and
in the modem Javan — Influence of Hindu Literature — Introduction
of Arabic Literature — Poetry — ^The Brata Yud'ha, a Poem — Music
— Painting — Sculpture — Architecture — Arithmetic — Astronomy. . 396

AN ACCOUNT

OF THE

ISLAND OF JAVA,

CHAPTER I.

Gfognqtkieal Sttuation of Java — Name — Extent and Form — DivUions —
Harbomn-^Mountains and Volcanos — Rivers and Lakes — General Ap-
pearoMce of the Country — Mineralogical Constitution — Seasons and
CUmate-^Metals — Minerals — Soil — Vegetable and Animal Kingdoms.

The country known to Europeans under the name of Java,
or Java Major, and to the natives under those of Tana
(the land) JduHiy or NUsa (the island) Jaicuy is one of the
largest of what modem geographers call the Sunda Islands.
It is sometimes considered one of the Malayan Islands, and
forms a part of that division of the Oriental Archipelago which
it has been lately proposed to designate as the Asiatic Isles.
It extends eastward, with a slight deviation to the south,
from 105° 11' to \\4P 33' of longitude east of Greenn-ich, and
lies between the latitudes 5° 52' and 8° 46' south. On the
south and west it is washed by the Indian Ocean ; on the
north-west by a channel called the Straits of Sunduy which
separates it from Sumatra, at a distance in one point of only
fourteen miles ; and on the south-east by the Straits of Bdlij
only two miles wide, which divide it from the island of that
name. These islands, and others stretching eastward, form
with Java a gentle ciune of more than two tliousand geogra-
phical miles, which with less regularity is continued from
VOL. I. B

2 SITUATION OF THE ISLAND.— NAME.

Achccn to Pegu on one side, and from Timor to Pap^j or
New Guinea, on the other : they constitute on the west and
south, as do Bdnkay Biliton^ the great islands of Borneo and
Celebes, and the Moluccas on the noith, the barriers of the
Javan Seas and the Malayan Archipelago. From the eastern
peninsula of India, Java is distant about one hundred and
forty leagues, from Borneo about fifty-six, and from New
Holland two hundred.

To what cause the island is indebted for its present name
of Java ^ {orJdwa as it is pronounced by the natives) is uncer-
tain. Among the traditions of the country (which are moie
particularly mentioned in another place) there is one, which
relates, that it was so termed by the first colonists fix>m the
continent of India, in consequence of the discovery of a
certain grain, called ^rtira-M^wf,^ on which the inhabitants are
supposed to have subsisted at that early period, and that it
had been known pre>dously only under the term of Ntftsa hdra-
hdra or N^a kindanffy meaning the island of wild unculti-
vated waste, or in which the hiUs run in ridges.

In the tenth chapter of Genesis we are told, that *^ the isles
of the Gentiles were divided in their lands ; eveiy one afker
his tongue, after their families, in the nations : '' and in the
twenty-seventh chapter of Ezekiel we find among the rich
merchants, those of Javan ** who traded the persons of men,
and vessels of brass, to the market of Tyre, and who going to
and fro, occupied in her fairs, brought bright iron, cassia, and
calamus." But we shall leave it to others to trace the con*
nection between the Javan of Holy Writ and the Java of
modem times. It appears, that the Arabs, who had widelj
extended their commercial intercourse, and established their

* The primitive Athenians were called lones or laones cHerodotus, lib. L
&c.) This name is thought to have been given to them from Javan, whidi
bears a great resemblance to Idwv. This Javan was the fooiih son of
Japheth, and is said to have come into Greece after the confusion of Babel*
and seated himself in Attica ; and this report receives no small confirxnatioa
from the divine writings, where the name of Javan is in several places put
for Greece. See Daniel x. 20. xi. 2. where the vidgar translations render
it not Javan, as in the original, but Gra^cia. The Athenians afterwards
named Asia the less Ionia. — Potter's Archax)logia Gneca.

* Panicum Italicum.

NAME. 3

religious faith over the greatest portion of the Indian Archi-
pelagOy long before the Europeans had navigated round the
Cape of Oood Hope, designate the whole of the nations and
tribes which inhabit those regions by the general term of the
people of Jawif as in the foUowing passage taken fix>m one of
their religious tracts : — ** The people of Jawi do not observe
with strictness the rule laid down for keeping the fast, inas-
much as thej eat before the sun sets, while the Arabs continue
the fsurt; until that luminary has sunk below the horizon.^
Jawa or Jawi is also the name by which Borneo, Java, Su-
uuAniy the Malayan Peninsula, and the islands lying amongst
them, are known among the nations of Celebes, who apply
the BUgis dimioutive Jawa-Jawdka, or Java minor, to the
Moluccas, Ambony Bdnda^ Timor ^ and EmJU, Jabadios In-
sulsBy from t/oia, and diby div or dioy has been employed in
the largest sense by Europeans, and it is probable this was
once generally the case among the Asiatics, with the terms
Ja^Hiy Jaway Jawiy and Jaha^ which, as the appellations of

' Ths term Zapag^iss Zohtqa Mems also to have been t eomiptioii from
Jama, and ta have been used with the same latitude, accordisg to the fol-
lowing notices by Major Wilford. ** There was a constant intercourse^
both by sea and land, between the kingdom of MagatPhi and China, on
the authority of Chinese history ; and they traded to an island and king-
dom, called Founan, to the eastward of Siam, during the third and fourth
eenturiea. This was probably a Malay kingdom ; but we cannot ascertain
its sitioition. It seems that the Malay emperors and kmgs, as those of
2s€ffaffi mad Fknmam, did what they could to introduce trade and te amin g
into their dominions, but their exertions proved ineffectual ; at least they
were not attended with much success ; and their subjects soon reb^)sed into
their famer mode of life." .... "There are two countries called Maha*
ntjm, which are often confounded together; the first, at the bottom of the
Green Sea, including Bengal and all the countries on the bonks of the
Ganges ; the second comprehended the peninsula of Malacca, and some of
the adjacent islands in the seas of China. In these countries the emperor,
or king, ahrays assumed the title of Maharaja, even imtil this day. Their
cooDtry, in general, was called Zapagi or Zabaja, which is a corruption
from Java or Jaboy as it was called in the west, and was also the name of
Sumatra, according to Ptolemy, who calls it Jaba-diu, and to Marco Polo.
In the peninsula of Malacca was the famous emporium of Zaba : Zubaja,
in Sanscrit, would signify then Zaba. The empire of Zabaji was thus
called, probably, from its metropolis, Zaba^ as well as the principal islands
near it. 2Ma was a principal emporium even as eariy as the time of
Ptolemy. It remained so till the time of the two MussiUman travellers of

n e\

4 NAME.

pe()])le inhabiting the countries beyond Uie continent or dis*
tiint, some have derived from the word jaity of very general
acceptation in eastern languages, and meaning beyond^
distant ^

Tt is, perhaps, in consequence of these names having em-
braced the whole, or at least several of the islands collectively,
that the accounts given by Marco Polo, and other early Euro-
pean voyagers, of particular islands, as Java Major and Java
Minor, are so inconsistent with one another. The countiy
described by Marco Polo as Java Minor, seems, beyond doubt,
to have been the eastern coast of Sumatra ; but that expression,
" or Little Java," is now applied exclusively to Bdli^ as
" Great Java " is to the island we are now describing. It is
on the latter only, if we except what has been observed of the
names given to the Archipelago generally by the natives of
Celebes, that the islanders themselves apply the name of
Jaway in any of its forms, to their own countiy. It has there
even a still more confined application, being generally limited
to the eastern districts of the island, which may be considered
as Java proper, in contra-distinction to the western districtBy
w hich are for the most part inhabited by a people called Si^nda^
from whom the Straits and Isles of Sunda have been named by
Eiux)peans.

"WTicther Sumatra, Java, or any other island of the Archi-
pelago, or the whole or several of them collectively, may not
have fonned the Taprohane of the ancients, is perhaps still an
undecided question, notwithstanding the claims to this dis-
tinction which have of late years been rather admitted than
proved in favoiu: of Ceylon. The most striking fact detailed
in the accoimts which have reached us of this ancient comitry,
and one which, from its natiure, is least likely to hare been

Renaudot, and probably much longer. It is now called Batu Sabar, upon
the river Jehor, which is as large as the Euphrates, according to thete
travellers ; who add, that the town of Calabar, on the coast of Coromandd,
and ten days to the south of Madras, belonged to the Maharaja of Zabi^
llie wars of this Maharaja with the king of Alkoner or countries near Cape
Comorin, are mentioned by the two IVfussulman travellers in the ninth cen-
tury, and it seems that, at that time, the Malayan empire was in its
greatest splendor." — Asiatic Researches, vol. ix.

* Others again have derived the term Jawa from Yaca, which in Sanscrit
means barley, whence Java has occasionally been termed the land of bailef •

NAME— MAP. 6

disfigured or perverted by the misrepresentations or prejudices
of travellers, is, that it was bisected in nearly equal portions
by the equinoctial line, and that to the southward of it the
polar star was not visible. How can this statement be evaded,
or in any way applied to Ceylon ? Major Wilford seems in-
clined to consider Taprobane as derived from the Sanscrit
words tapa (penance) and vana (forest or grove), a derivation
equally £ivorable to the claims of the Javans, tapa and wana^
or wonOj having the like signification in their language ; and
if^ as there is reason to believe, an extensive intercourse sub-
sisted in very remote times between Western India and these
islands, where was there a country that could more invite the
retreat of holy men, than the evergreen islands which rise in
endless clusters on the smooth seas of the Malayan Archi-
pelago, where the elevation and tranquillity of devotion are
fostered by all that is majestic and lovely in nature ?

Although in Sumatra no traces of their residence have yet
been discovered, except in the language and customs of the
people ; on Java, which is almost contiguous to it, it is abun-
dantly attested by monuments still existing in stone and brass.
In few countries, with which we are yet acquainted, are more
extensive ruins to be found of temples dedicated to an ancient
worship. If tradition may be trusted, every mountain had its
tapa^ or recluse, and the whole energies and resources of tlie
country would appear to have been applied to the construction
of those noble edifices, the ruins of which still strike the spec-
tator with astonishment and veneration.

That these splendid and magnificent piles were erected
under the superintendance of a foreign people, more skilled
in the arts than the rude and simple natives of the islands,
can scarcely be doubted; and that they were sacred to the
rites of the Hindu religion, according to some persuasion
or other, is equally clear, from the numerous images of deities
and attributes by which they are adorned, many of which are
still preserved in their original state. Further investigation
may perhaps establish Java and Sumatra, or rather the Ma-
layan ports (in which general term we may include all the
islands containing the Malayan Ports) as not only the Ta-
probane or Tapavana of the ancients, but also Uie Sacred
Isles of the Hindus.

« MAP.

The map of Java which accompanies this work has been
drawn principally from actual surveys^ many of which weie
made by order of the British Goyemmcnt on the island. The
first map of Java which was presented to the public, and
fix>m which nearly all those, which have subsequently been
engraved, are copies, was published by Yalentyn,* and
consists of seven sheets. As, at that period, little more was
known of the island by the Dutch than some parts of the
coast, the country in the immediate vicinity of their capital,
with perhaps the province of Bantam^ the authcMr had no
materials for making a map of the whole island, which coold
pretend to much authority or value. Most of the land in the
immediate vicinity of Bata^ia having been sold to Europeans^
was of necessity surveyed, in order to ascertain the difierent
boundaries ; but it was only a short time before the arrival of
Marshal Daendels, in 1808, that any steps appear to have
been taken by the local authorities, to procure correct §t»r
tistical and topographical information of the other man
important districts of the island. Something to this efiect
was done during the administration of Mr. Engelhard, late
Governor of the North-east Coast, but it was only during the
government of the Marshal that these objects were pursued
with much energy or success.

At the period of the arrival of the English, topographical
surveys of Semdrang and several of the eastern districts bad
been completed; and although somewhat deficient in ac-
curacy of measurement and neatness of execution, yet as they
appeared sufficiently correct for many valuable purposes, and
as the Government was anxious to obtain, without loss tf
time, a better acquaintance with the geography of the counliyi
it was determined to make some sacrifice of accuracy to the
considerations of economy and expedition, and to survey the
other districts upon the same plan. While these surveys weie
in progress, the territorial interest which the European govern-
ment obtained in the central provinces, induced them to turn
their attention to the improvements of which the Solo River
might be susceptible. This river, the most considerable in

* Bcschryving vau Groot Djawa of tc Jaca Major door F. Yalentyn.—*
Amsterdam, 1726.

MAP. 7

the island, passes through S^ra-k^ia, the capital of the Susu-
kAman^ or (as he is termed by Europeans) Emperor of Java,
ami discharges itself into the sea near Gr^sik. An actual
wrvey was accordingly made by a British officer of expe-
lience, particulariy mstructed to ascertain how far it might be
practicable to improve its navigation by the aid of artificial
cuts and dams.

A greater object soon called for more extensive measures.
When it was determined to introduce an entirely new system
ot internal management, by the abolition of feudal service,
and the establishment of a more permanent property in the
soil, it was deemed essential that a detailed survey should be
made of the different districts successively, in which the new
system was to be introduced. This was intended to form the
basis of a general agricultural survey of the coimtry, then
about to be made. In several of these districts this detailed
survey has been completed; and, with the exception of the
provinces still under native jurisdiction, and called Native
Provinces, nearly the whole of the land on Java, not in a state
of absolute forest, has been measured with more or less accu-
racy. Of the native provinces but a very small part has been
actually surveyed : with regard to the rest, the materials from
which the present map is taken, were principally obtained
fixmi observation made during occasional routes through them.
The southern division of Bantam being principally forest, has
not been actually surveyed y neither has the island of Madura
been yet surveyed by Europeans : the eastern part of it was
measured by the natives, and it was principally upon their
authority that the map now presented of that island was
drawn. The best charts of both the north and south coast
have been consulted. The three harbours of Wyn Coops Bay,
Cheldchapy and Pachitanj on the latter, are laid down from
actual survey, as well as the entrance to the harbour of Sura-
bdya. On the whole, therefore, although the map now
engraved is far from perfect, and of course suffers from tiie
reduction necessary to adapt it to the rest of the .work, it is
presumed that it will aid the reader in most of the geographical
objects to which this volume will refer, and that its superiority
over those that have previously appeared is such as to justify
its publication.

H EXTENT— FORM.

•

The length of Java, in a straight line drawn between its ex-
treme points, (Java Head, and the south-east point of the island)
is five hundred and seventy-five geographical, equal to six hun-
dred and sixty-six statute miles : its breadth varies from one
hundred and seventeen geographical, or one hundred and
thirty-five and a half statute miles (between the south-west
point o( Pachltan bay and the north ^omt o{ Japdra) tofort^*
eight geographical or fifty-six statute miles, (between the
mouth of the Senhju river and the MaraMyaj five degrees
cast of Tegal) ;^ and it is estimated to contain an area (rf
about fifty thousand statute miles.

Numerous small islands are scattered in its immediate
vicinity, particidarly along the northern coast, and contribute,
with tlie projecting points and headlands inclosing the dif-
ferent bays, to form harbours of various capacities. The most
important of these islands is that of Madura^ which is sepa-
rated from tlie main land of Java by a strait in one part not
more than a mile broad, and senes to form the important
harbour of Surabaya. This island has the appearance rf
being a continuation of tlie main land of Java, and having
been long subjected to the same political authority, has gene-
rally formed one of the provinces of the Javan empire. In
length Maihtra is about seventy -nine geographical, or ninety-
one and a half statute miles ; and its narrowest part is about
twenty-seven geographical, or thirty -one and a quarter statute
miles. Tlie small islands lying to the east of it are considered
as its dependencies.

Tlie fonn of Java is chiefly remarkable for the rcctangularitj
of its outline, which is such tliat the island might be divided
into i\\c or six parts, each a rectangular parallelogram drawn
bv an unsteadv hand. Its western and northern coasts abound
with bays and inlets. Tlie outline of Maihira is more regular,
especially on the nortlieni coast.

The coast from Bantam to the river Cln'-manoky about two
degrees in length on the north, is nearly ])arallel to Uiat which
extends from Wvn Co<)j)s Bay to a point about twenty miles

^ Tlie breadth is a few miles le8s between C*heribon and the south
roast, occasioiiod by the deep bay of Cheldchap^ and also in the eastern
tcriniiiation of ihe island lieyond .Surabaya, where it only averages forty.
five ccoffraphical milc^.

FORM— DIVISIONS.

rest of Niisa kambdng^an^ the breadth throughout being
boat serenty-eigbt geographical miles ; and from the same
Knnt to the river Manchingan^ a distance of about one degree
nd three-quarters, the coast is nearly paraUel to that which
ies between Ch^ibon and Semdrangy the breadth throughout
leing about fifty-seven geographical miles. From the west
x»int of Japdra to point Pdngka on the north, distant from it
iboat two degrees, and along the corresponding coast on the
Kmth, the average breadth is seventy-three geographical miles ;
ind from Suriibdya to the north-east point of the island, dis-
ant about one degree and a half, and along the south coast
yppoate to it, the avers^ breadth is forty-five geographical
ailes.

At the time when Europeans first visited Java, the whole of
he island acknowledged the supremacy of one sovereign : but
here was a period in its history when it was nearly equally
livided under the independent administration of two powers,
me established in the eastern, and the other in the western
listricts ; and as there is a marked distinction between the
lescendants of these two nations, the most general division of
he country is still into the western and eastern districts, to
he latter of which alone the term Java is applied by the
latives. They are separated by the river Losdrty which forms
he boundary between Ch&ribon and Bribes; and all the
vestem, the northern, with a few of the inland districts and
he Island of Maduray are under the immediate authority and
idministration of the European government The rest of the
sland remains subject to the native princes, and on that
iccount is designated on the map and elsewhere, vriih more
«gard to convenience than correctness of language, as the
Sative Provinces.

The provinces under Eiuopean authority have latterly been
li^dded into fifteen residencies, or separate administrations,
exclusive of the seat of government, which, as they will
3e frequently referred to in the course of this work, it may be
convenient to notice in this place.

Commencing from the west, the province, or as it is usually
ermed, the kingdom of Bantam (properly Bdntan) occupies
he first place. This extensive province forms a large portion
)f the island. It is washed on three sides by the sea. At the

10 DIVISIONS.

east it joins with tlie environs and highlands of Batavia and
the district of Chi-dnjury and on the west it is bounded bj
the Straits of Simda ; and in this quarter comprises depen-
dant islands scattered along its shore, and the two harboanof
Mew and Merdky which, with other bays, deeply indent the
coast. Bantam, the native capital of this province, has been
latterly deserted by the European establishment for Si r ai i§
(commonly called Ceram), an elevated and healthy atalian
about seven miles further inland.

Next in succession towards the east is the divinon of
Batavia, which comprises what formerly constituted the
native province of Jdkatra or Jokdrta. The northern part of
this division, towards the coast, includes the city of Bataviai
populous and important on account of its excellent roads 6r
shipping, its advantageous position for European commeroe^
and sus being the long established seat of the Dutch govern"
ment, but less fertile and healthy than the m(»re eaaten
provinces of the island.

South and east of the division of Bata\ia and its enviniBi
lie what are termed by Europeans the Preanger (Pridn^em)
Regencies,^ the central and southern districts of whichf
stretching fix>m Bantam to Cheribon, are extremely moan-
tainous. This extensive portion of the island, which nov
includes a large part of Cheribon, consists of the diatricte
of Krdwangy Chidsem, Paman^Jcan^ Kdndang*aAr^ and
Dramdyu or IndramdyUy along the northern coast, and of the
inland and southern districts of Chi-dnjur^ Bdndumg^ jStt*
medang, Lim-bdng^any and SUka-pfira ; tlie southern eoait,
firom the boundary of Bantam to that of Ch^bon, being
included within the subdivisions of Chi-dnjury and S^kth
piira.

To the eastward of these districts, and crossing the idand
from north to south, is the province of Cheribon^ divided
into ten principal districts. To the south is the island of
Nu^ui'kamhdnffan which fonns the harbour of Cheldchap*

East of Cheribon, as before noticed, it is only the northern
and some of the inland districts, that are immediately subject

^ The term regencies is adopted from the title of Regent, given by ibi
Dutch to the chief native authority in each district.

DIVISIONS. 1 1

to the Euitq>ean authority. These, during the British go-
remxaent of the island, were comprised under the adminis-
tralions of TegiUy PakalAng*anj Semdrangy Japdra^ and
Retmbdmg^ which under the Dutch East-India Company con-
stituted what was termed the goyermnent of the North-east
Coast J the seat of which was at Semdrangy and of Gresikj
SurabdffOj Pcufkruatiy BisAkij and Banyuwdngiy which, with
Bankdlang and Sikmenap on Madiiray constituted, under the
same authority, the division of the Oost Hooky or East Point
of the island, of which Surabdya was the principal station.
Inland of Semdrang and PakalUngany and bounded by those
divisions, and by the provinces of the native princes, is si-
tuated the rich and fertile district of KedHy which, with the
mose eastern districts of Grobogatiy Wirosdriy BldrOy Jipangy
Jdpat^ and Wirasabay stretching inland from Semdrang to
SwrabdyOj were ceded to the British government in the year
1812.

The capitals of all the northern districts bear the same
name with the districts themselves, and are generally situated
on small rivers at no great distance from the sea.

The Natite Pboyinces are divided between two native
sovereigns : the Susuh^naUy or Emperor of Java, who resides
at S^ra-k^rtay^ on the Solo River; and the Sultan, who
resides at Yitg'^ya-k^rta^ near the south coast, in the province
otMatdrem. These provinces comprise several of the richest
districts of the island, among which are BdngumaSy Rdmo^
BagaleUy and Matdremy to the west ; and Mddiofiy Jagardga^
Sukawdtij Pranardgay K^rtasdnay Blitary and Kediriy to the
east ; and with the exception of the small district of PachUany^
which has been recently ceded to the European government^
occupy the whole of the southern coast from Ch&ribon ta

' Siira-k&ia or Sura-k^ta di ningWat, is the name given to the seat
of empire ; but as the capital was only removed to its present site about
the middle of the last century, it is still frequently called Soh, the name
of the village in or near which this capital was established.

• This capital is indifferently turned Yokya, Jokya, Juju, 'Ng^yug^ya, or
Yug'ya-kerta, and is the Djojo-Carta, according to the Dutch ortho-
graphy. The turn Yvg*ya has been selected, on account of its nearer
ai^roximation to the supposed derivation of the word from the Na-ynd-ya
of the Ramayan.

12 HARBOURS.

Mdlangy a distance of not less than two hundred and fiAjr
miles, and form about a fourth part of the whole island.

The districts near the coasts are generally separated firom
each other by rivers ; those in the interior often by ranges of
hills and moimtains. The districts are again divided, each
subdivision including numerous villages.

Tlie principal harbour of the island is that of Surabdjfa ia
the eastern districts, fonned by the approaching extremities of
Java and MadAra, It is broad and spacious, secure againflt
the violence of the sea and wind, and may be rendered im-
pregnable to any hostile attack.

The next in importance is tliat of Batavia, more propeily,
perhaps, called the roads of Batavia, which are sheltered hj
several islands lying in the outer part of the bay. These
roads, however, not admitting of any means of permanent
defence from the attack of a superior naval force, the Dutch
government, during tlie late war, were induced to fortify the
small harbour oiMerak Bay, on tlie north-west coast of Bantam.

Along tlie northern coast, there are perhaps other positiool
which aduiit of being im})roved into convenient harbours ; hot
where tlie whole coast affords excellent anchorage at neailj
all seasons of the year, and where vessels of any burthen can
approach all the principal stations, at a convenient distance
for the barter of their merchandize, the purposes of commerce
are in that respect already sufficiently provided for. The set
being usually smooth, and tlie weather moderate, the natiTe
vessels and small craft always fmd sufficient slielter at the
change of the monsoon, by running mider some of the nu-
merous islands scattered along this coast, or passing \xp the
rivers, which, tliough in general difficult of entrance on ac-
count of their bars, are for tlie most part navigable to such
vessels, as far up as the maritime capitals, through which they
run.

The south coast, (m account of its exposure to tlie open
ocean, tlie consequent high swell or surf which breaks on it,
and its general want of good anchorage, is seldom visited by
shipf)ing. But even here harbours may be found ; and those
of CheUivhap and Pavhlian might, no doubt, be frequented
with safety, wen* it considonMl desirable to attract conuufrcial
a<lventurcrs to this side of tlic island.

MOUNTAINS AND VOLCANOS. 1;3

issing from the coast to the interior of the country, the
iger cannot fail to be struck with the bold outline and
unent features of its scenery. An uninterrupted series or
e of large mountains, varying in their elevation above the
ioin five to eleven, and even twelve thousand feet,*^ and
biting, by their round base or pointed tops, their volcanic
in, extend through the whole length of the island.
he first of this series, commencing from the westward, is
bantam. This mountain ( CrUnung-kdrang ) ^ though of
erate elevation compared with otliers on the island,"
sen at a considerable distance from sea, and is a well
vn landmark to mariners. It lies due south of the town
antam, at a considerable distance from the sea.
he next mountain of the series is the Sal4ky the eastern

of which is connected with tlie Ged^ or Panarang^o^
lied about fifty miles south of Batavia. These two mouii-
\ are seen from the roads of Batavia, and, from the appear-

they exhibit, are usually termed by mariners the Blue
ntains.
tim the eastern part of the Ged^y the volcanic series sepa-

into two independent branches, one of which inclines to
outh ; the other proceeds almost due east, slightly verging
e north. The former breaks into an irregular transverse
5, which extends across the island, till it approaches the
lem branch, from whence the general series is continued
I easterly direction as far as the mountain Sind&rOj the
em of the two mountains known by mariners as the Two
bers. The mountain SULmbing, or Sinddri (the second of
Brothers), is somewhat further to the south.
; a short distance from the eastern foot of the mountain
hing are three large volcanos, in a direction almost north
south, dividing the large series transversely ; these are
Qountains Ung^drang^ Merbdbu, and Merdpi, The next
mo, in an eastern direction, is that of Japdray which

lie height of tbe mountain Arjunay in the eastern part of the island,
den determined at 10,614 feet above the level of the sea; and this
tain is by no means so lofty as those of Semiru and Tegdly the exact
\ of which has not yet been ascertained.

lie height of this mountain has been ascertained to be 5^263 EngUsh
)ove the level of the sea.

14 iMOUNTAINS AND VOLCANOS.

deviates more than any other from the reg^ular series, and
forms a peculiar peninsular appendage to the island. The
series is then continued in an easterly course fiom the Mer^
as far as the mountain Teldgaw^rung, which is in contact
with the ocean at the eastern end of the island.

The several large mountains comprised in this series, and
which are in number thirty-eight, though different finom eich
other in external Agure, agree in the general attribute of tqI-
canos, having a broad base gradually verging towards the
summit in the form of a cone.

They all rise from a plain but little elevated above the kvd
of Uie sea, and each must, with very few exceptions, be con*
sidercd as a separate mountain, raised by a cause independent
of that which produced the others. Most of them have been
formed at a very remote period, and are covered by the vege-
tation of many ages ; but the indications and remains of their
former irruptions are numerous and unequivocal. The craten
of several are completely extinct; those of others contaiB
small apertiu-cs, which continually discharge solphuieooi
vapours or smoke. Many of them have had irruptions during
late years.'*

'* To the above general observations, which are made on the snthoritf
of Dr. Horsfield, it may not be uninteresting to subjoin a more psrtkiir
account of two or three of the volcanos which have been piraiwin^ }fj fhn
gentleman; those of Tdnkubam-Prahu, Papanddyang, and (hbUmr MCt
therefore, extracted from a paper published by Dr. Horifield in Ae
fiatavian Transactions.

" Tankuban-Prahu. — ^This mountain (which has derived its hm
** from its appearance at a distance, resembling a praku, or boat^ tonal
** u|Miide down) forms a vast truncated cone. Its base extends to a vciy
" great distance, and it belongs to the largest mountains of the isbsi,
'* forming one of its most interesting volcanos. Although it has had so
'* violent eruption for many ages, as is evident from the progress of vcgc^
** tat ion, and from the dqrth of black mould which covers its sides, in
** interior has continued in a state of uninterrupted activity.

*' llie crater is one of the largest, perhaps the largest, of the island. It
** has, in general, the sha]>e of a funnel ; but its sides are very imgukr.
" Tlie brim, or margin, which bounds it at the top, has also diffiensi
*' degrees of elevation, rising and descending along the whole coursssf
** its circumference. The perpendicular depth at the side, where I ds-
*' scended (in the south), is at least t^vo hundred and fifty feet: in dK
** west the margin rises considerably higher. The regular circumfeRwe

MOUNTAINS AND VOLCANOS. 15

the mountains of the larger series above described,
extensive ranges of mountains of an inferior eleva-

m crater I estimate one English mile and nearly an half. The south

of the interior crater^ near the top, is very steep. I foimd it im-
ible to descend, without the assistance of ropes tied to the shruhs
M xnaigin. It consists here of small fragments of lava. About one-
i of its depth it becomes more oblique or inclining, and the lower

coBsists of large piles of rocks, through which the descending
mis of water have excavated a winding channel. The east side de-
ids gradually about one-half of the depth, where it is terminated
ipUy by a perpendicular pile of large rocks, which continues to the
om. The north side is more gradually shelving than the others^
is partly covered with v^etation. The west side is one peipen-
ilar pile of rocks. The nucleus of the mountain consists of large
068 of basaltes, in which the volcanic opening is situated ; and the
s exhibit piles and strata of this stone in every possible variety of
^oration. In some places the rocks have the appearance of a
ikr wall, which is suddenly diversified by large fragments suspended
■rently by a small base, and threatening to fall down every instant,
aetimes they rise in an oblique manner, and appear to have been
KMMd by art. But 1 shall not attempt a minute description of the
KMition of the rocks and the strata which form the internal walls of
crater^ which, without an accurate drawing, would be tedious and
xely intelligible. The surface of the rocks which line the interior of

crater is completely calcined, generally of a white colour, some*
BB inclining to grey or yellow. In many places small fragments of
I adhere to and cover the rocks of basalt : these are of different sizes,
. of great variety of form and colour ; but the most are calcined or
Dty or the surface like the rocks themselves. The different sides of

internal crater are excavated in many places, by furrows made hj
descending water, which penetrate to a considerable depth, and ex*
e more completely the interior basaltic composition. The bottom
the crater has a diameter of three hundred yards, but is not com*
tely regular ; its form depends on the gradual meeting of the sidea
9W. Its surface is much diversified : it is strewed, like the sides,.
h immense blocks of basalt, the interstices between whkh are ex*
ated, in a similar manner, by the streams of the descending water,
ifear the centre, somewhat inclining to the west side, it contains an
sgular oval lake, or collection of water, whose greatest diameter is
rly one hundred yards : it dilates into several branches. The water
diite, and exhibits truly the iippearance of a lake of milk, boiling
h a perpetual discharge of large bubbles, which rise with greatest
xfrom the eastern side. The heat is 112° of Fahrenheit's scale:

apparent boiling arises from a constant development of fixed air.
I water has a sulphureous odour ; its taste is astringent, somewhat
ne. Shaken in a bottle it explodes ita fixed air with great violence.

1(J MOUNTAINS AND VOIX^ANOS.

tioii, sometimes comiected witli Uie larger series, and some-
times independent of tliem, which are also for the most part

" Tlie sides of the lake, to some distance, are lined by a white aluminoni
" earth, most impalpably fine, and very loose, on which accoont it is
" ver)' difficult to approach the water. In attempting to examine its
" temperature, and to collect for analpis, I sunk into the earth to a
" considerable distance, and found it necessary to dispose large fragmenli
" of basaltes before I was able to pass over it. This earth consisti of the
" clay (alumine) of the lavas dissolved by the sulphureous steams on the
" bottom of the crater ; it is of the purest kind, and divided to a dtfpnt
*' minute almost beyond conception. Laige quantities have been sevenl
** times thrown out of the ancient craters of the island. One eruption of
** this substance occurred in the year 1761 from the mountain Ged^r it
" was considered as an eruption of ashes.

'* I was witness to a similar eruption, which occurred from the moos-

" tain of Klut, in the month of June last year. The earth very mock

" resembled ashes, and was so impal])ably fine and light, that the commoo

" breeze of the monsoon carried it from this mountain, situated in the

" longitude of Surab&ya, to Batavia and farther westward. It posseseed

'* the ])roperties of the purest clay, and being mixed with water becnw

" viscid and ductile. It can easily be formed into vessels, and if proev-

" able in large quantities, might usefully be employed in the arts. AH iti

" properties indicated sufficiently that it was the alumine of the hm^

" divided in an extreme degree by the causes above-mentioned. The Jft-

" vancsc are not wholly unacquainted with the properties of this cartL

'* it is a custom amongst silversmiths to collect the ashes thrown out bj

similar eruptions, for the puqiosc of making moulds for the finest woiIbi.

" Towards the eastern extremity of the lake are the remaining ontktt

of the subterraneous fires : they consist of several apertures, from whkh

" an uninterrupted discharge of sulphiu^ous iTipours takes place. Two

" of these are larger than the rest ; they are several feet distant from Mck

other. The apertures are of an irregular oblong form, and covend

with crystals of impure sulphur, which form from the discharged n-

pours, and adhere to those incrustations of the aluminous earth wfaick

" have formed themselves in a great variety of configurations (hollows,

" tul>es, &c.) near the apertures. 'ITie ^'apours rush out with incredibk

** force, with violent Kubtorrancous noises, resembling the boiling of u

" immense cauldron in tlie bowels of the mountain : their colour is wfaitr,

" like the concentrated vai)ours of boiling water. The apertures cannot

*• be a])])roached without the greatest danger, as their true extent cannot

•* be discovered : they are surrounded by incrustations of sulphur adhrr-

" ing to fidicate lamiucr of the aluminous earth, which are extmwlr

*' brittle, 'llie greatest diameter of the large opening is nearly ti|eh'f

" inches.

** To give an adequate description of the interior of this crater wooU
" furnish matter for an able |>cn : the force of the impression is u

<«

MOUNTAINS AND VOLCANOS. 17

nic Numerous ridges of hills traverse the country in
OS directions, and the surface of the idand in general,

np8» by the recollection of the danger which has been overcome in
Mnding to the bottom^ Every thing here contributes to fill the mind
li the most awliil satis&ction. It doubtless is one of the most grand
Icfiific scenes which nature affords ; and, in the present instance,
CEKlent of the crater, as well as the remains of the former explosions,
ided a view and enjoyment which is not in my power to describe.
*APANDATANQ. — ^Thc Pspand&yang, situated on the western part of
dbtrict of Cheribon, in the province of Suka^fmra, was formerly one
die largest volcanos of the island ; but the greatest part of it was
iDowed up in the earth, after a short but very severe combustion, in
jear 1772. The account which has remained of this event asserts,
t near midnight, between the 11th and 12th of August, there was
erved about the mountain an uncommonly luminous cloud, by which
ippeared to be completely enveloped. The inhabitants, as well
at the foot as on the declivities of the mountain, alarmed by this ap-
nmce, betook themselves to flight ; but before they could all save
raaelves, the mountain began to give way, and the greatest part of it
imXtffeU ta and disappeared in the earth. At the same time, a tre<
ndons noise was heard, rcsemblmg the discharge of the heaviest
noil. Immense quantities of volcanic substances, which were thrown
; at the same time and spread in every direction, propagated the effects
the explosion through the space of many miles.
t is estimated, that an extent of groimd, of the mountain itself and
hnmediate oivirons, fifteen miles long and full six broad, was by this
amotion swallowed up in the bowels of the earth. Several persons,
% to examine the conation of the neighbourhood, made report, that
7 found it impossible to approach the mountain, on account of the
t of the substances which covered its circumference, and which were
9d on each other to the height of three feet ; although this was the
h of September, and thus full six weeks after the catastrophe. It is
9 mentioned, that forty villages, partly swallowed up by the ground
1 partly covered by the substances thrown out, were destroyed on this
asion, and that 2,957 of the inhabitants perished. A proportionate
mber of cattle was also destroyed, and most of the plantations of cot-
i, indigo, and coffee, in the adjacent districts, were buried under the
icanic matter. The effects of this explosion are still very apparent on
\ remains of this volcano ; but I defer an account of it, till I have had
opportunity of making a more minute examination.
SuNTua. — ^The whole of the eastern part of this mountain is com-
tely naked, and exposes to view, in a striking manner, the course of
t lavas of the latter eruptions : the top is a regular cone, and covered
h loose fragments of la^a. I shall give a very concise abstract of the
lervations on the mountain, and on the different streams of lava which
'e lately flowed from its crater. I could distinctly trace, from the

>L. I. C

IH iMOUNTAINS AND VOLCANOS.

iudepeiidcntly of these more stxikiug features, is iii most parts
undulating and uneven, except on the sea coast

" base of the conical top to the roots of the mountain, fire different emp-
*' tions. The latest stream of la^'a which I examined (the mountain
" has since had a later eruption) was thrown out in 1800. Its coone
** along the top cannot be distinctly observed, being completely covered
" with sand and small fragments of lava, which generally riae towards the
*' end of an eruption. At the place where the stream first appeared dis-
" tinctly, it was about five yards broad and completely even on the lur-
" face : having proceeded about twenty yards further it gradually widened,
" and was formed into a connected stream, higher in the middle, the ndei
" tapering or inclining towards the top, forming a ridge with a pointed or
" sharp back. As the stream arrived at the foot of the mountain, it apnid
*' more and more, and pursued its course to the eastward, about mx hmi-
" dred yards over the adjacent country. Its greatest breadth, firom unrdi
" to south, is about one hundred and sixty yards, and it terminates abn^idj
" by a rounded margin, consisting of large blocks of lava piled upon mA
** other, nearly perpendicularly, to the height of fifteen to twenty feet.

" This stream of Ioxvl, like all the others of later date which I have cx-
" amined on the island, does not consist of a connected mass of fluid lava,
'* united like a stream of melted metal ; at least on the surfoce where it it
" exposed to ^-iew. It is made up of separate masses, which have an ir-
" regular (generally oblong or cubical) shape, and lie upon each other si
" ' loose disjointed clods,' in an immense >'ariety of disposition. In soiae
" of these fragments I think I could observe a tendency to assume the re-
'* gular basaltic figure. During its course down the steeps of the moon-
" tain, the stream, as has been obser\'ed, forms the long connectsd ridge
" (which has been described above, in the account of the volcanoSp as g^
*' nerally covering the sides) ; but hanng arrived at the foot and sproid
" more at large, these lumps of lava dispose themselves, in some instUKei,
** in plains, bounded by deep vallies : now they rise to a consideraUs hoght,
" and form a steep perpendicular eminence ; then again they are piled upon
'* each other more gradually, and appear rising by steps and divisioiit.
** But to give an accurate description of the arrangement of these fiag-
" ments of lava would be unncoeHsarily prolix, and would require^ to be
** clearly understood, a ^ood drawinf(. In different places, the sulphureous
" vapount have forced their way through the interstices of the blocks of
** lava. The sides of their outlets (whose form is very irreiodar) is covered
" with a white calcareous crust ; and the heat is so great, tliat small piecei
" of pa])er thrown into them are immediately singed.

*' lliis stream of lava is bounded on the north by another, of the same
** nature and disportition, thrown out of the mountain (according to as
** estimate made from the commencement and progress of vegetation upon
"it) about thirty yean ago. In its coiuvc along the sides of the moun-
" tain it forms the same pointed ridges above descril)ed. It affords a plain
** demonstration of the manner in which the surface of lava is decompooed

RIVERS AND LAKES. li)

A countiy which abounds in mountains is seldom deficient
in rivers ; accardin^y, no region is perhaps better watered.
Java is singularly favoured in the number of its streams. The
»ze of the island does not admit of the formation of large
rivers, but there are probably fi%, that in the wet season,
bear dofwn rafts charg^ with timber and other rough produce
of the countiy, and not less than five or ox at all times
navigable to the distance of some mDes firom the coast. It

*' and rendered fit for vegetation. A third district of lava bounds the new
" atream first described in the south : it is more extensive than the others,
and oonrista of several distinct regions, probably thrown out during one
emption (which appears to have been more violent than the others), bat
in successive periods shortly following each other. It extends farther
to the eastward than the others, and covers a great portion of the foot
of the moimtain. V^etation has already made considerable progress
iq>on it : in the vallies between the separate streams of lava are found
" not only plants but also small shrubs. At one place, near the termina-
" tion of this stream, the lava is piled up in two irregular ridges to the
height of twenty feet ; and at a small distance from its eastern extremity,
in a spot which has escaped the effects of the later eruptions, and is
covered by pleasant wood, are three di^rent hot wells, within the cir-
" cumference of a quarter of a mile. In the south, this district of lava is
bounded by a recent stream, which appears to have been thrown out in
ISOO, by die same eruption which produced the first mentioned stream.
" It differs from the others only in the colour of its lava, which has a
" reddish hue : it is less considerable in extent than any of the others, and
" cannot be traced far from the foot of the mountain. The fifth stream
" of lava which I examined is still farther towards the south, and is one
of the oldest which have been discharged from the eastern part of the
crater. Near the foot of the mountain, vegetation has made greater
" progress than in any of the other districts of lava.

'* The colour of the recent lava of this mountain is jet-black or grey :
" one of the streams only has a reddish colour. Its texture is very loose,
" and its fracture very porous. The smaller fr-agments have much the
appearance of the scoriae of a blacksmith's forge : on being thrown
against each other, they emit a sound tike two bricks coming into
contact. The interior crater of this mountain, as it has remained after
" the eruption of 1800, is less interesting than the others which I have
" examined Its shape is somewhat oval, the greatest diameter being
" about one hundred yards : its depth is not very considerable. Its stnic-
" tare, in general, is similar to that of Tankuban-prahu. It has one re-
" mainiTig aperture, which discharges with great force hot sulphureous

<«
<«

€€
€€

" vapours."

Bataoitm Transactions, vol. ix.
C 2

•20 RIVERS AND LAKES.

would be vain to attempt numbering those which arc precious
to the agriculturist ; they arc many hundreds, if not thousands.

The largest, and most important river on the island, is thai
of S6lOy or as it is termed by the natives, Beng*dwan (the great)
Sdloy which takes its rise in the district of Kaddwang^ and
after collecting the waters of the surrounding hills, becomes a
stream of considerable depth and breadth at Sura-k^ia^ where
it is fiurther increased by the waters collected from the adjap
cent districts. Its general coiu'se from the capital is in an east-
north-easterly direction, till it discharges itself by two principal
outlets into tlie sea, near Gr^sik and Siddyu, After leaving
Matdreniy it traverses the provinces of Sukawdiiy Jagardga^
MadioUy Jipangy Bl6ra^ TubaUy SiduyUy and Gr^sik,

At Awiy near the boundary of Mddion and Jagardgay on the
eastern side of the river, a large branch from the souUi-eastem
provinces, commonly called the river of Mddion y unites itself
with that of SolOy and from hence its course, which in various
places has been rapid, and in a few places impeded with rocks,
is calm, regular, and steady to its discharge. It has been esti-
mated, that the extent of the windings of this river is not less
than tlirce hundred and fifty-six English miles, from S^hra*
k^rta to Gr^siky which in the chart only gives a straight line
of one hundred and forty English miles, and during its whole
course no serious impediment appears to its navigation.

Tliis river is of great importance to the inland trade of many
of tlio eastern provinces. During the rainy season, boats of
considerable size convey the produce of an extensive tract of
country to the sea ; and, except during the montlis of August,
Se])teinber, and October, and in seasons uncommonly dry, it
bears down boats of middling or small size during the whole
vcar, from a considerable distance above Sftra-k^rta. The
boats employed in tlie navigation of the river are of veiy
difliTont sizes, and of a ])eculiar constniction : tlicy are veiy
long in proportion to their breadth, have flat bottoms, and
draw verj' little water, lliosc generally used in conveying
tlie j)roduce from (me village to another in tlie vicinity of
Sura-k^^riay corry only a few tons, and have a temporary
covering of straw mats, or kdja/ig ; others, more carefully
coiiKtructed, have a regular roof of planks and a chamber or
cabin which can be closed, and convev from fifty to one

RIVERS AND LAK£S. 21

tons. These are generally used by individuals in
ventures to Grisik and Surahdya, The largest, which
property of the prince, load nearly two hundred tons,
e employed in transporting the produce of several of
rior provinces, consisting chiefly of pepper and coffee,
\ky and return laden with salt and foreign merchandize
ironsumption of the interior. They require a consider-
fpth of water, and can only pass when the river is
by continued rains. They mostly depart from Stkra-
I the month of January. Their course down the river
: they generally arrive at Gr^sik in eight days ; but
Q perform but one voyage in a season, as they require
bur months to work up the stream.
river of Surabaya^ the second in magnitude of the
dand, rises near BdtUy in the vicinity of the southern

the mountain Arjdna. It is near its source called
dntas. Near the capital of Mdlang it receives two

from the eastward. There it first takes its course

the most southern provinces of the island, when wind-
nd the mountain Kdwi it returns again to the north,
ig near its curvature niuncrous augmentations from the
d ridge of mountains. The chief of these is the L^sti^
ierable river coming from the east, which joins it near
ndary of Mdlang and Sering*at. Continuing its course
ihem direction, it traverses the provinces of Rdwo and

being joined on the way by the river Rdwo : here it
its utmost magnitude, and is distinguished by the name
fdwan Kediri. From the capital of this district to its
p it is navigable for boats of very considerable size, and
rse is steady and uninterrupted. Having crossed the
of Wirasdba and Jdpariy it enters that of Surabdya,
larges itself into the ocean by five outlets, which fonn
Y separate rivers. The first of them, taking an easterly

is called the river Piinang : then follow those of
}ldng*ing, Sido-k^riy Keddng^ and lastly of Wdno-krdnOy
igain subdividing sends ofl* the branch which passes

ral smaller rivers, which fall into the sea between S^

f and Ldsemy are highly important for the conveyance

timber from the central forests to the coast ; and the

22 RIVERS AND LAKES.

waters from some of tliem being directed into canals, particu-
larly through the low district of Demdky tend considerably to
increase the inland navigation of the coimtry.

In the western districts, the principal rivers which discharge
themselves into the sea on the northern coast are the CAi-
kdndiy which forms the present boundary between Bantam
and the environs of Batavia ; the Chi-ddniy which discharges
itself below Tdng^ran ; the Chi-tdromy which fiedls into the
sea below Krdwang ; and the Chi-mdtwky which forms the
present boundary bot^'een Dramdyii and Ch&riban. The
principal rivers which discharge themselves by the south coast
are the Chi-mandiriy which falls into the sea at PaUbHan*
rdiuy or Wyn Coops Bay ; the Chi-tdnduiy which diaembogoei
near XiUa-kambdng^an ; and the SerdgUy which taking its
rise in the moimtain Dieng or PrdhUy traverses the rich dis-
tricts of Bdnyumasy and falls into the sea a short distance to
the east of Cheldchap ; but these rivers, though of consider-
able depth, are choked up at their mouths by heavy banks or
bars, and in consequence of the heavy i^urf which constantly
breaks on tlie southern coast, are dangerous at their en-
trance.

Along the northern coast, almost ever}' district has its prin-
cipal river, and most of them are navigable up to the maritime
ca])itals for native vessels of considerable burthen ; but they
all have the disadvantage of being partially blocked up tt
their discharge by extensive bars and mud-banks, an eril
which is extending with the increase of agriculture, by reason
of the quantity of soil necessarily washed down in the proceai
of irrigating the land for the rice cultivation. Most of them
require the application of jetties or piers to deepen the pas-
siiigos at tlieir entrance.

There arc no lakes of any considerable size on Java, for
that name cannot be given to the rdirasy or swamps, wUck
though swelled to a considerable size in the wet season, are
for the rest of the year either dried up or choked by vegetation.
Of tliis descri]>tion are two extensive tracts; one inland of
Japdray usually termed by the Dutch the Binnen Zee^ at
inland sea ; and another in the district of Semdrang. In
IhUjhn alwi (one of the native provinces on the southern side
*»!' the island) there is a lake which supplies the neighbouring

RrVERS AND LAKE.S. 23

Hmtiy with fish, and along the coast of which a traffic ift
imed on in boats.

Extensive swamps are also found in some parts of the native
tovinces, and in the mountainous districts of the SUnda
xmtry. Several very beautiful lakes, of small dimensions,
re discovered among the hills, and some of them can evi-
ently be shewn to have been formed of the craters of extinct
idcanos.

The general aspect of Java on the northern coast is low, in
lany places swampy and overgrown with mangrove trees and
DtheSy particularly towards the west The southern coast,
Q the contrary, consists almost entirely of a series of rocks
ad cli^ which rise perpendicularly to a considerable height,
a the interior, stupendous mountains stretch longitudinally
urongfaout the island, while others of an inferior elevation,
nd innimierable ranges of hiUs rmming in various directions,
srve to form and confine plains and valleys of various eleva-
ons and extent On the northern side, the ascent is in
eneral very gradual, from tlie sea-coast to the immediate
ase of the mountains ; particularly in the western parts of the
(land, where it has the greatest breadth, and where the
lountains are situated far inland. In approaching the moun-
lins, which lie at the back of Batavia, there is a gradual but
hnoet imperceptible acclivity for about forty miles. In other
arts, where the mountains and hills approach nearer to the
oast, the ascent is of course more abrupt, as may be observed
1 the vicinity of Semdrattg.

Although the northern coast is in many parts flat and unin-
siesting, the interior and southern provinces, fi-om the moim-
linous character of the country, may be reckoned amongst the
lost romantic and highly diversified in tlie world ; uniting all
le rich and magnificent scenery, which waving forests, never-
uling streams, and constant verdure can present, heightened
y a pure atmosphere and the glowing tints of a tropical sun.

The largest of the elevated plains are ; in the west, that of
Idndungy formed between the two ranges of volcanos which
»ranch off firom the foot of the mountain GetU ; and in the east,
hose usually termed the plains of Sdlo and Kediriy which ex-
end along the central districts fix>m the Merdpi to Kediri and
he site of the ancient capital of Mejapdhit These are of con-

21 GENERAL APPEARANCE

siderable magnitude^ and with the exception of the Talky
of Ked'ti and the province of Bdnyumaitj througfa which the
beautiful river of Serdyn bends its winding and romantic
course, are perhaps the richest parts of the island. The law-
landsy however, are not without their claims to that distinc-
tion ; especially the flats of Demdk, once an extensive swamp,
and the Delta of Surabdya. Large tracts, particularly in the
mountainous ranges of the western districts, still remain in a
state of nature, or where the ground has been once cleared of
forest, are now overrun with long and rank grass. In the
central and eastern districts, the country is comparatively wdl
clothed with cultivation.

Quitting the low coast of the north, in many parts unhealtfaj,
the traveller can hardly advance five miles inland without
feeling a sensible improvement in the atmosphere and climate.
As he proceeds, at every step he breathes a purer air and
sun-eys a brighter scene. At length he reaches the lii|^-
lands. Here tlie boldest forms of nature are tempered by the
niral arts of man : stupendous moimtains clothed with iJbim-
dant hancst, impetuous cataracts tamed to the peasant's wiL
Here is perpetual verdure; here are tints of the biigfateit
hue. In the hottest season, the air retains iiB fireshness ; in
the driest, the innumerable rills and rivulets preserve much of
their water. This the mountain fisurmer directB in endlesi
c(m(hiits and canals to irrigate the land, which he has laid
out in terraces for its reception; it then descends to the
plains, and spreads fertility wherever it flows, till at last, faj
numerous outlets, it discharges itself into the sea.

Almost all the mountains or volcanos, in the large
before noticed, are found on examination to have the
general constitution : they are striped vertically by sluop
ridges, which, as they approach the foot of the mountain, take
a more winding coiurse. These ridges alternate with valleys,
whose sides are of a very various declivity. Large xocks of
basaltes occasionally project, and in several instancea the
valleys form the beds of rivers towards the tops of the
volcanos ; in the rainy season they all convey large volmmet
of water.

Next in importance to this extensive series of piimaiy
mountains, there are various ridges of smaller moimtaiiiSi

OF THE COUNTRY. 25

ills, extending in different directions, with nearly an equal
«e of elevation ; sometimeft originating from or connected
i the primary volcanos, sometimes forming independent
pea, and arising separately and at a distance from the great
*n. These, which have been termed secondary mountains,
igh eridently of a volcanic nature, differ in many parti-
n of their constitution from those of the larger series,
y generally extend in long narrow ridges, with but a
terate elevation, and their sides arc less regularly composed
he vertical ridges above mentioned. In most cases, a
tified structure and submarine origin may be discovered.
(y are generally covered with large rocks of basaltes ; and
wme instances they consist of wacken and hornblende,
ch is found along their base in immense piles.
[ills of calcareous constitution, with only a moderate de-
i of elevation, occur in smaller ridges, often wiih a flat or
dar top ; or in steep rocks and eminences. These are
etimes found in the centre of the island, covering the
anic districts, but much more frequently near the northern
southern shores.

[ills of a mixed nature, partly calcareous and partly vol-
te, are also found. The southern coast of the island
Bists almost entirely of them, rising in many places to the
Mndicular height of eigh^ or one hundred feet, and some-
» much higher. These, as they branch inward and ap-
ich the central or higher districts, gradually disappear,
give place to the volcanic series, or alternate with huge
Bes of basaltic hornblende, that appears to assume a
dar stratification. At the base of these, or in the beds of
rivers which proceed from them, are frequently found
0US silicious stones, as common flints, prase, homstone,
«r, porphyry, agate, cornelian, &c.

alluvial districts, evidently of recent origin, are noticed in
sral parts of the island. These are formed from the sedi-
It and near the discharge of large rivers, and at the borders
lie calcareous ridges, which are in many instances partially
*red by them : their boundary can easily be traced, and
t of them are still in a state of constant progression.
tmg other phenomena are mineral wells of various tem-
ilure and impregnation ; weUs of naphtha^ or petroleum ;

•2(i (lENERAL APPEARANCE

and rivers arising, in a few instances, from the craters of vol
canos, impregnated with sulphureous acid *.

* Mineral wells, of ^'ariou8 qualities, are found in almost every part of
the ialand. As an instance of the hot wells, the following account of those
found in Cheribon is selected. " At the village of Bongos (situated about
" ten miles to the north-east of Kartmff-Sambong) I directed my route to
*' the large mountain, in order to examine part of the hills along its fooC,
** called the hills of Pana-^angan, and several hot wells which are found
" near their borders. On approaching these hills, after a very gentla
** acclivity covered entirely by calcareous stones, I vtry soon came to the
" spot of the hot wells, lliey are found on a gently inclining plain, about
" one hundred yards in circumference. This plain b perifectly white;
" and on approaching it, it is perceived at some distance by a sulphureooi
'* vapour, arising from the whole neighboiu^ood. The water aprinfi
" from several apertures, but their temperatures are not equal; tht
*' hottest indicates the degree of one hundred and thirty of Fahrenheit'i
*' scale. They all contain a very large quantity of calcareous earth in
** solution and suspension, which coming into contact with the air^ im-
*' mediately separates^ and adheres to the surrounding objects, or is pit-
** cipitated to the ground. The branches of the shrubs in the vicinity an
** all enveloped by a stalactical incrustation. The water from the diflfennl
** wells gently descending the white calcareous plain, is collected in a
*' rivulet below. A large number of calcareous rocks are found in ths
** vicinity of the plains; some are covered with elegant crystals of cal-
'* careous spar, others have a coralline appearance, and some have the
** fracture of alabaster. On proceeding up the hills, immense irrqinbr
** blocks of calcareous rocks are found strewed about in the vaDejs.
'* About one hundred yards above this district are several wells of "•p^*^**,
*' or petroleum. It rises in small plashes of water, about twelve or
" eighteen inches in diameter, upon which it drives its black speckv,
*' emitting the peculiar odour of the petroleum. The earth in the drcmn-
" ference of these plashes is strongly impregnated with this oil : it is vcfy
" tough, and from that immediately bounding apertures, the naphtha flows
*' out on its being pressed ; some portions exactly resemble asplnilam.
'* A considerable space of ground is occupied by these wells. The stonss
** arc all calcareous. A few hundred yards above this spot, the borden
** of the hills become very steep. I examined them to some extent, lliey
" are composed exclusively of calcareous stones. Several extensive sta-
** lactitic caves are found at no great distance above the wells; they
'* exhibit the u<4iial appearances of calcareous caves and vaults. Tlw
** process of incrustation is continually going on. In some places, deep
" perforations extend into the heart of the hills." — Essay on ike Miat-
mlfHjy of Java, bij Dr. IlnrsJieM. Bat. Trans, vol. ix. •

Among other objects of curiosity, which can only be illustrated by par-
tinilar deHcription, arc the exitlosions of mud, situated between the district
of Grobugan on the west, and of Blora and Jipang on the east. By the

OF THE COUNTRY. 27

'"rom these, and all other investigations yet made, the con-
ation of Java appears to be exclusively volcanic. From

fn tfaey are termed Bl^d^, and are described by Dr. Honfield ae salt
t.

Hieee salt weDs/' he observes, " are dispersed through a district of
miitrj several miles in circumference, the base of which, like that of
tfaer parts of the island which furnish mineral and other saline waters,
fimestofie. They are of considerable number, and force themselves
pwsrdi, through apertures in the rocks, with some violence and ebul-
tioii. The waters are strongly in^tregnated with sea-salt, and yield
[KXi evaporation very good salt for culinary purposes. (In quantity
3C less than two hundred tons in the year.)

Abcmt the centre of this limestone district, is found an extraordinary
itesBic phenomenon. On i^jproaching it from a distance, it is first
scov e red by a large volume of smoke rising and disappearing at
tervsls of a few seconds, resembling the vapours arising from a violent
irf : a dull noise is heard, like that of distant thunder. Having
hrBDced so near, that the vision was no longer impeded by the smoke,
large hemispherical mass was observed, consisting of black earth,
ued with water, about sixteen feet in diameter, rising to the height of
pcnty or thirty feet in a perfectly regular manner, and as it were
lahed up, by a force beneath ; which suddenly exploded with a duU
nse, snd scattered about a volume of black mud in every direction.
ftcr an interval of two or three, or sometimes four or five seconds, the
snispherical body of mud or earth rose and exploded again. In the
me manner this volcanic ebullition goes on without interruption,
lowing up a globular body of mud, and dispersing it with violence
Toof/tk the neighboming plain. The spot where the ebuUition occurs
nearly circular and perfectly level, it is covered only with the earthy
vtides impregnated with salt water, which are thrown up from below ;
e circumference may be estimated at about half an English mile. In
der to conduct the salt water to the circumference, small passages, or
itterSy are made in the loose muddy earth, which lead it to the bor-
fs, where it is collected in holes dug in the ground for the purpose of
aporation.

A strong, pungent, sulphureous smell, somewhat resembling that of
rih-oil, is perceived on standing near the explosion ; and the mud
cently thrown up possesses a degree of heat greater than that of the
rrounding atmosphere. During the rainy season these explosions are
ore violent, the mud is thrown up much higher, and the noise is
ard at a greater distance.

This volcanic phenomenon is situated near the centre of the large
un which interrupts the large series of volcanos ; and owes its origin
the general cause of the numerous volcanic eruptions which occur
L the island." Bataman Trans, vol. ix.
These salt wells, as Dr. Horsfield terms them, and other phenomena

28 lillNERALOGICAL CONSTITUTION

the vast Asiatic chain of mountains, one branch of which
terminates in Ceylon, proceeds another, which traversing
Arakan, Pegu, and the Malayan peninsula, extends to Su-
matra, Bdnka^ and BHitoiiy where it may be said to disappear
On Java no granite has been discovered. In its constitution,
as in its direction, it may be considered as the first of a series
of volcanic islands, which extend nearly eastward firom the
Straits of Simda for about twenty-five degrees.

At what period the island assumed its present shape, or
whether it was once joined to Sumatra and J9a/i, is matter
for conjecture. The violent convulsions which these islands
have so often suffered, justify a conclusion that the face of the
country has been firequently changed, and tradition mentions
the periods when Java was separated fix>m those islands;*

connected with them, appear to be precisely of the same description Mthe
mud volcano at Macalouba, in Sicily, and the eniptions described by
Pallas, at Tainan and Kercha (the boundary of Europe to the south-esrt
of Little Tartar)') and no doubt owe their origin to similar causes thi
extrication of gas, as well described by Dallas, in his Thmslatioii of the
History of Volcanos, by the Abb^ Ordinaire," page 249* All the phs*
nomenon described in this work, as well in Sicily as at Tainan sni
Kercha, are to be found in Java, where, on the hypothesis of the Abb^
" the vitriolic acid liberating a great quantity of fixed air from the
" with which this aigillaceous and limy mass is impregnated, is o1
" escaping copiously, by a general bubbling on the surface of the plain,
" when the substances are sufficiently diluted by rain/' &c.

On the hypothesis of the Abb^, it may, therefore, be doubted wfacdiv
the assertion " that the Bl^degs owe their origin to the general canae of ^
numerous volcanos on the island, is correct." Pallas conceivea thai ^
phenomenon at Kercha and Tainan may be explained by supposing a deep
coal mine to have been for ages on fire, that the sea broke in upon it, thil
the water was turned into steam, and that the expansion ooeMOoed
thereby, and the struggle of the different gases to get free, force the upper
surface, &c. but there seems no necessity for admitting the action of fin;
the mud he describes is only luke-warm, this is precisely the case in Jar^

It is remarkable that in Java, as in Sicily, in the vicinity of thcM phe-
nomena, '* the countr}" around is of calcareous earth ; briny springs and
salt mines are found in the neighbourhood ; some beds of oil of petro-
leum arc also obHer\'ed floating on adjacent stagnant waters."

* llie tradition is as foUows : — " It is related, that in former timet the
" islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali, and Sumbawa were united, and aftcnraidi
*' separated into nine different parts ; and it is also said, that when three
** thousand rainy seasons have passed away, they will be reunited.**

OF THE COUNTRY. 29

I essential difference which has been found in the
logical consdtation of Java and Sumatra, would seem
sate a different origin, and to support the opinion that
two islands were never united. Whether, at a period
emote, the whole Archipelago formed part of the
mt of Asia, and was divided from it and shattered into
; whether they were ori^nally distinct from the main
nr whether they were formed at the same time, or sub-
lly, are questions we cannot resolve. Yet, when we
on the violence of those dreadfril phenomena* which

epantion of the lands of Palembang (Sumatra) and Java

tee in the Javan year 1 1 14

qwradon of the lands of Bali and Balembangan on Java in 1204
epeiation of the lands of Giling Trawang4n and Bali in. . . . 1260
qwration of the island of Selo-Parang and Sumbawa in. . 1280

See Chrtmoloffical Table, umier the head <* History of Java:'
irder to give the reader some idea of the tremendous ^nolence with
■tore sometimes distinguishes the operations of the volcano in
poDBt and enable him to form some conjecture, from the occur-
f recent experience, of the effects they may have produced in past
alioit account of the extraordinary and wide-spread phenomena
mipanied the eruption of the Tomboro mountain, in the island of
«, in April 1815, may not be iminteresting. Almost every one is
with the intermitting convulsions of Etna and Vesuvius, as
in the descriptions of the poet and the authentic accoimta of
xaliflt, but the most extraordinary of them can bear no comparison,
; of duration and force, with that of Tomboro. This eruption
I perceptible evidences of its existence over the whole of the Mo-
ands, over Java, a considerable portion of Celebes, Sumatra, and
to a circumference of a thousand statute miles from its centre,
ulous motions, and the report of explosions; while within the
; its more immediate activity, embracing a space of three hundred
oond it, it produced the most astonishing effects, and excited the
inning apprehensions. On Java, at the distance of three hundred
. seemed to be awfully present Thejsky was overcast at noon-day
>uds of ashes, the sun was enveloped in an atmosphere, whose
lie " density he was imable to penetrate ; showers of ashes covered
les, the streets, and the fields to the depth of several inches ; and
b darkness explosions were heard at intervals, like the report of
or the noise of distant thunder. So fully did the resemblance of
es to the report of cannon impress the minds of some officers, that
apprehension of pirates on the coast vessels were dispatched to
lief. Superstition, on the other hand, on the minds of the na-
BS busily at work, and attributed the reports to an artillery of a

M) iMlNERALOGlCAI. CONSTITUTION

have occurred in our own times in the smaller islands of the
volcanic series, and view this range, as it is now presented to

diiTerent description to that of pirates. All conceived tkst the efiecti ts-
perienced might be caused by eruptions of some of the numerous vokmoi
on the island ; but no one could have conjectured that the showen «f
ashes which darkened the air, and covered the ground of the eaatem dii-
tricts of Ja\*a, could have proceeded from a mountain in Sumbawa, at Ae
distance of several himdred miles. Conceiving that it might be intenrtay
and curious to preserve an authentic and detailed account of the iMdam^
tion that could be gained of this wonderful phenomenon, while the efol
was still recent and fully remembered, I directed a circular to the diflcRBt
Residents, requiring them to transmit to the Government a statement «f
the facts and circumstances connected with it, which occurred within tUr
own knowledge. From their replies, the narrative drawn up by Mr.
Assey, and printed in the ninth volume of the Batavisn
was collected ; the following is an extract from that paper :—

" The first explosions were heard on this island (Java) in the
** of the 5th of April : they were noticed in every quarter, and continoed
*' at intervals until the following day. The noise was, in the fiml iutucf,
'* universally attributed to distant cannon : so much so, that adetachaot
*' of troops was marched from Djocjocarta, under the apprehension tlati
** neighY)ounng post had been attacked ; and along the coast boats wwt
*' in two instances dispatched in quest of supposed ships in distRSi. Oi
" the following morning, however, a slight faJl of ashes removed all doilil
'' as to the cause of the sound ; and it is worthy of remark^ that as tk
" eniption continued, the sound appeared to be so dose, that in
" district it seemed near at hand, and was generally attributed to
*' tion either from the mountains Merapi, Klut, or Dnnno. From the fiA
'* the sun became obscured ; it had every where the appearance of bo^g
" enveloped in a fog. llie weather was sultry and the atmospbera dosi^
'* and still the sun seemed shorn of its rajrs, and the general itiDncii aai
" pressure of the atmosphere seemed to forebode an earthquake. Tlii
" lasted several days, llie explosions continued occasionalljp but Im
** inolently, and less frequently than at first Volcanic ashes also
" to fall, but in small quantities, and so slightly as to be hardly
*' tihle in the western districts, lliis api)earance of the atmosphere con-
tinued, with little ^'ariation, until the 10th of April; and till ther.it
does not appear that the volcano attracted much observation, or wm
*' considered of greater importance than those which have occasiona&y
** burst forth in Java But on the evening of the 10th, the emptiona wcie
" heard more loud and more frequent; from Cheribon eastward the air
" }>orame darkened by the quantity of falling ashes ; the sun was neariy
*' darkened; and in some sitiuitions, iMuticularly at Solo and RcmbsBf,
many said that they felt a tremulous motion of the earth. It was
ventally remarked in the more eastern districts, that the ezploflioiu
tremendous, continuing frequently during the 1 1th, and of such viokaer

4«

««

OF THE COUNTRY. 31

us on the map of the worid, a conjecture might perhaps be
hazaidedy that the whole may have once formed but the

* » to shake the houses perceptibly. An unusual thick darkness was re-
' maiked all the following night, and the greater part of the next day.

* At Solo candles were lighted at 4 p. m. of the 12th; at MUgelan in
' K^du, objecU could not be seen at three hundred yards distance. At
' Gr^sik, and other districts more eastward, it was dark as night in the
' greater part of the 12th April, and this saturated state of the atmosphere
' k awD id as the doud of ashes passed along and discharged itself on its

* wmj. Thoa the ashes that were eight inches deep at B^yuw&ngi were
' but two in depth at Siimenap, and less in Gresik, and the sun does not

* teem to bare been actually obscured in any district west of Sem&rang.
** All reports concur in stating, that so violent and eztensire an erup-

" tion has not happened within the memory of the oldest inhabitant, nor
" within tradition. They speak of similar effects, in a lesser degree, when
** an eruption took place from the volcano of Karang Asam in Bali, about
" seven yean ago, and it was at first supposed that this mountain was the
" seat of the eruption, llie Balinese on Ja^'a attributed the event to a
" recent dispute between the two Rajahs of Bali Baliling, which termi-
" Dated in the death of the younger Rajah by order of his brother.

" llie haziness and heat of the atmosphere, and occasional fall of vol-
« cinic ashes, continued until the 14th, and in some parts of the island

* until the 17th of April. They were cleared away universally by a heavy
' bSL of rain, after which the atmosphere became clear and more cool ;
' and it would seem that this seasoni^e relief prevented much injury to
' the crops, and removed an appearance of epidemic disease which was

* beginning to prevail, lliis was especially the case at Batavia, where,
' for two or three days preceding the rain, many persons were attacked

* with fever. As it was, however, no material injury was felt beyond the
' diatricta of Banyuw&ogL llie culti^'ator8 every where took precaution
*■ to shake off the ashes from the growing paddy as they fell, and the timely
' rain removed an apprehension very generally entertained, that insects

* would have been generated by the long continuance of the ashes at the
' root of the plant. In Rembani^, where the rain did not fall till the I7th,

* and the ashes had been considerable, the crops were somewhat injured ;

* but in Banyuw4ngi, the \aji of the iBland on which the cloud of ashes

* spent its force, the injury ii'as more extensive. A large quantity of
' paddy was totally destroyed, and all the plantations more or less injured.
' One hundred and twenty-six horses and eighty-six head of cattle also
' perished, chiefly for want of forage, during a month from the time of
' the eruption.

" From Sumbawa to the part of Sumatra where the sound was noticed,
' is about nine hundred and seventy geographical miles in a direct line.
' From Sumbawa to Temate is a distance of about seven hundred and
' twenty miles. The distance also to which the cloud of ashes was carried,

* so quickly as to produce utter daikness, was clearly pointed out to have

3> iMINERALOGICAL a)NSTITUTION OF THE a)UNTRY.

southern side of one large island or continent, within which
mu( h of the main land has fallen in, and subsequently dis-
appeared on the influx of the sea.

** been the island of Celebes and the districts of GMsik on J«fm : tlMfa-
" mer is two hundred and seventeen nantical miles distant from tlia aeit
** of the volcano ; the latter, in a direct line, more than three hundnd gwh
" gn4>hical miles."

The following is an extract from the reports al Lieotenut Ow«n FUU
lips, dated at Dima on the island of Sumbawa. " On my trip towards ^

western part of the island, I passed through neariy the whole of Donpa

and a considerable part of Dima. The extreme misery to which ^
** inhabitants have been reduced is shocking to behold. There were 813
" on the road-side the remains of several corpses, and the mariu of wfasn
*' many others had been interred : the villages almost entirely deserted sad
" the houses (alien down, the surviving inhabitants having dispersed tk
'* search of food. The Rajah of Sang'ir came to wait on me at Dompo^
" on the 3d instant The sufiering of the people there ^)pears, from Ik
** account, to be still greater than in Dompo. The fJEunine has been so
" severe that even one of his own daughters died from hanger. I pn-
" sented him with three coyangs of rice in your name, for which he i^
" peared most truly thankfuL

** As the Rajah was himself a spectator q£ the late eruption, the foD0V>
•* ing account which he gave me is perhaps more to be depended iqMNi tkm
" any other I can possibly obtain. About 7 p. m. on the 10th of April.
" three distinct columns of flame burst forth near the top of the Tombom
" mountain (aU of them apparently within the verge ol the crater), md
" after ascending separately to a very great height, their tops mulsd
" in the air in a troubled confused manner. In a short time, the wliob
" mountain next Sang*ir appeared like a body of liquid fire, extendiiig il>
" self in every direction. The fire and columns of flame continued toii^
" with unabated fury, until the darkness caused by the quantity of fUliqf
** matter obscured it at about 8 p. m. Stones, at this time, fUl very thick
" at Sang'ir ; some of them as large as two fists, but generally not kigcr
" than walnuts. Between 9 and 10 p. m. ashes began to £di, and aooa
" after a violent whirlwind ensued, which blew down nearly every house is
** the village of Sang'ir, carrying the ataps, or roofs, and light parts awiy
'* with it. In the part of Sang'ir adjoining Tomboro its effects were much
" more violent, tearing up by the roots the largest trees and carrying thsn
" into the air, together with men, horses, cattle, and whatever else cane
" within its influence. (This will account for the immense number of
'* floating treeft seen at sea), llie sea rose nearly twelve feet higher thaa
" it had ever been known to do before, and completely spoiled the oaljr
'* small spots of rice land in Sang'ir, sweeping away houses and evay
'* thing within its reach. The whirlwind lasted about an hour. No ex*
*' plosions were heard till the whirlwind had ceased, at about II a. m.

Prom midnight till the evening of the 1 1th, they continued without m-

«i

METALS^ MINERALS^ AND SOIf.. 88

lie constitiition of the island is tmlavourable to metals.
the examinations hitherto made confirm this assertion,
. it may be laid down as a general position, that no metals
or, in such a quantity, or with such richness of ore, as to
vid the operations of the miner. The only notice we have
Sie existence of gold or silver is contained in the first vo-
le of the Transactions of the Batavian Society ; and the
mpts on the mountain of Parang j in 1728, and on the
femindung^ in 1744, were soon abandoned. Iron pyrites
Kmd in small quantity in several districts, as well as red-
le ; which, however, often contains so little iron, as scarcely
lenre for the common purpose of paint The existence of
pcuiy in the low lands otD&maky where it is distributed in
mte particles through the clay of the rice-grounds bound-
one of the principal rivers of that district, has not been
tsidered as an indication of a mine, or of the ores of that
taL

f o diamonds are found, nor other precious stones, but many
lerals of the schorl, quartz, potstone, feldspar, and trap kind.
By mostly exist in mountains of secondary elevation, towards
aonthem shores of the island, sometimes in extensive veins ;
separate Augments are carried down by the rivers, and
od fiur firom their original deposition. Prase is foimd in very
ensive veins ; homstone is also abundant in particular situa-
is, as well as flint, chalcedony, hyalite, common jasper, jas-
•agale, obsidian, and porphyry.

lie soil in Java is for the most part rich, and remarkable for
depth ; probably owing to the exclusively volcanic constitu-

rmisnan ; after tbat time their violence moderated, and they were only
said at intenralB« but the explosions did not cease entirely mitil the
^th of July. Of the whole villages of Tomboro^ Tempo containing
KHtt forty inhabitants is the only one remaining. In Pek4t^ no vestige
' a house is left : twenty-six of the people, who were at Sumbawa at
le time, are the whole of the population who have escaped. From the
est particular inquiries I have been able to make, there were certainly
It fewer than twelve thousand individuals in Tomboro and PelUit^ at
m time of the eruption, of whom only five or six survive. The trees
id herbage of every description, along the whole of the north and west
les of the peninsida, have been completely destroyed, with the excep-
m of a high point of land near the spot where the village of Tomboro
ood."
OL. I. I>

i\ I SEASONS AND (LIMATE.

lion ol* the country, aiid ilic constant accession of new mould,
which is washed down the side of its uiunerous mountauw. It
lias the character of being in a high degree richer than the or-
dinary soil of the Malayan countries in general, particulariy of
Siuiiatra and tlie Malayan peninsula. The best soil resembles
the richest garden-mould of Europe ; and whenever it can be
exposed to the inundation necessary for the rice crop, requirei
no manure, and will bear without impoverishment, one heavy
and one light crop in the year : the poorest, with this adrviF
tage, will yield a liberal return to the husbandman. In anislawl
of such extent and variety of surface, the soil is necessarily va*
nous, but its general character is that of extraordinary ferdUtf.
'File red and very light soil of the western districts is geneial^
considered inferior to the dark brown and stiffer soil which pn-
vails in the eastern. The best soil is usually found near the
beds of rivers, in tlie valleys, and on the slopes of the laigeit
mountains : the worst on the ranges of low calcareous UDi^
which run through different paits of tlie island.

The seasons, in all the countries situated within aboni tea
degrees of the equator, agree in this : that as one eternal sua-
mer prevails, they are not distinguished as hot and cold, bill as
wet and dry. On Java the seasons depend upon the periodicd
winds. The period of the setting in of these winds is not delH^
mined within a few weeks ; but generally the westerly windii
which are always attended with rain, are felt in October,beeoae
more steady in November and December, and gradually sidft-
side, till in March or April they are succeeded by the eaileriy
winds and fair weather, which continue for the remaining hilf
year. The heaviest rains arc in the months of December and
J anuary , and the driest weather is in July and August; at which
latter period, also, the nights are coldest and the days hottHt
'Die weather is most unsettled when the season is changing,
particularly at the first setting in of the westerly winds : but
those violent storms and hurricanes, which are so often felt in
theWcKt ludics and in higher latitudes, are here unknown. ^I^th
the exception of a few days at these periods, or when the wes-
terly winds are at their height, vessels of any description may
ride in safety in most of the bays along the northern coast of
the island ; and on shore, the wind is never so violent as to do
daniago. 'llninder-stomis are, however, frequent, and the

SEASONS AND CLIMATE. 35

ihtning is extxi ly vivid. In the Wcinity of the hills,
ddlBewheie during the diy seascm, seldom a day passes with-
i thunder and lightning ; and although these grand exhibi-
tis of natme cause less consternation in general within the
ipics than beyond them, it cannot be denied that they are de-
veidwe of many lives. Earthquakes are to be expected in a
Icanie country, and are frequent in the vicinity of the vol-
DOS ; but the European towns have never sustained any se-
ns injury from them.

Dniiig the rainy season there are many days free from
owers. The mornings are generally clear, and although the
IBS sometimes c<mtinue without intermission for several days,
id frequently fall in torrents, they are not marked on Java by
at decided character, either of permanence or violence, which
stinguishes the periodical rains of the continent of India ;
itthesr is the dry season distinguished by that excessive aridity
bieh attends the hot seasons of that country. Even in July
id August, the atmosphere is refreshed by occasional showers,
A the landscsqpe is at all times of the year covered vrith the
il^blest verdure. The thermometer of Fahrenheit has been
lown to rise along the northern coast as high as 90^ about three
the afternoon, and even higher, particularly in the large and
w capitals of Batavia, Semdranffy and SurabAffa ; but from
iservations made during a course of some years at Batavia, and
iblished. under the authority of t Dutch government, it has
wbl found usually to range bel TO and 74f in the evenings

tdmomingSy and to stand al: >ut8d** at noon. By similar ob-
nratkms at Semdrang, ihe sai ae thermometer, placed in a spa-
Diis BJoA open apartment, has averaged 87 ^^ at noon.
At a distance inland of not more than thirty or forty miles,
here the ascent is gradual^ and of fifteen or twenty or less
bere it is rapid, the thermometer frdls from five to ten degrees
wer. AtCAt'-^eftkf, situated about 40 miles inland of Batavia,
id Chi-pdna9j about twelve miles further, on the opposite
jpe of the mountain Ged^^ the thermometer ranges generally
tween 60 and 70^. In the morning, at six o'clock, it is some-
nes as low as 57® ; and in the afternoon, at three, its usual
ight is firom 67 to 70% but seldom rising to 72". On some of
e hills inland of Semdrangj on which Europeans frequently
dde during the dry season, at an elevation of about four

D 2

30 SEASONS AND CLIMATE.

tliousaiul feet, the Uiermometer is frequently seen as low u
45^ and generally, in the clear season, ranges from 50 to W^
and on the summit of one of the mountains (Sind&ro) it has
been obsen'ed as low as 27^ *. Ice, as thick as a Spaniih
dollar, has been found; and hoar-frost, denominated h6km
itpaJty or the poisonous dew, has been observed on the trees and
vegetation of some of the higher regions.

l)y its insular situation, the climate of Java enjoys the be-
nefit of land and sea breezes, which in its least fiivouied paiti
subdue the fierceness of the tropical rays, while the great de-
ration of its interior affords tlie rare advantage, that from IIm
sea-shore up to the tops of the mountains, there is, almost froH
one end of the island to the other, a regular diminution of IIm
temperature, at the rate of two or three degrees of Fahienhflit
for every ten miles.

The general inference which has been drawn by professioiiil
men, fix)m the experience which the occupation of Java by IIm
Britisli has afforded, is, that with the exception of the town of
Batavia, and some parts of the northern coast, the idaad of
Java stands on a level, in point of salubrity, with the healdueit
parts of British India, or of any tropical country in fhe worid

The principal stations of the British army, compoeed of
Europeans and Sepoys, were at Weltevreden, within tlms
miles of the tcnvn of Batavia, and at Semdrang and Surab^Kj^
spots certainly less favourable to health than the rest of the
island taken generally ; but detachments firom it have cecap
sionally done duty in every district of the island.

Tlie tables included in the Appendix f, will shew, that not-
withstanding the troops laboured under many disadvantages
and privations, in point of accommodation, &c. to which thcj
would not have been subjected in a more permanent aettle-
inent, and that they were otherwise exposed to diseases oncon-
nected with those of the climate, the average casualties wen
not excessive. From the 1st November, 1813, to the saae
month in 1814, Uie average number of troops is stated to hare
been 7,470, the deaths 504, making a proportion of 1 to 14-8:
the average number of sick in the same period was 862, making

* Batavian Transaction!*, vol. viii. Introductory DiscourBe.
f S«rc Appendix A.

s£;ason8 and climate. 37

a proportion of sick to well as 1 to 8. From the beginning of
Norember 1814 to the same month in 1815, out of an average
number of troops stationed in different parts of the island, in
C(xps and detachments, amounting to 7,487, there were 252
deadis, 63 of which were caused by fever, 123 by dysentery,
and 65 by other diseases, making an average number of deaths
of 21 per month, or in the proportion of one death to thirty men
in the year, a proportion not exceeding that of some of the
healthiest possessions in temperate climates.

To this general result may be added the comparative casual-
ties in his Majesty^s 78th regiment, during the period of its
being stationed in India and Java. This regiment has occa-
sionally been cantoned at each of the principal stations, and
has remained on the island from the first conquest of Java. By
the table will be seen the number of rank and file of which this
regiment consisted at different periods^ since 1797 to 1815, and
the number of casualties in the same periods. It might not be
proper to select the years in which it landed on the continent of
India or on Java ; but those in which it was stationed in either
oountiy may be brought together, as fit subjects for comparison.
By calculation, upon the data of the table, it will appear, that
fiom December 1800 to December 1801, the deaths were to the
mnnber of troops as 1 to about 20^ ; in 1801 -2, as 1 to 12 ; in
1803-4, as 1 to 5i ; in 1804-5, as 1 to 8^ ; in 1805, as 1 to about
20 ; in 1806-7, as 1 to 28 nearly; in 1807-8, as 1 to ^4^ ; in
1809-10, as 1 to about 23; in 1811-12, as 1 to 3| ; in 1813-14,
as 1 to 6 ; and in 1814-15, as 1 to about 20 nearly. The places
at which the regiment was stationed at these different periods
will be seen by the table ; and the cause of the unusual mortality
that prevailed in 1811-12, and which exceeds any of the years
cm the continent, will be found in an extract fi*om the letter of
Dr. Currie, the sui^on, inclosing the return. The mortality in
the last year was as 1 to 20 in the regiment, and among the whole
troops, according to the data above, as 1 to about 30 ; a low
estimate for climates, whose characters stand higher for salu-
iirity than that of Java.

That the climate of Java, in general, is congenial to the
buman firame, at least to that of an Asiatic, is corroborated by
he great extent of its native population, compared with that
)f the surrounding islands, notw^ithstanding the checks which

:)S SEASONS AND CLIMATE.

it experienced both from the native princes and the E u ropean
gm-eminent ; and the convincing proof which the records of
the British anny now afford, are perhaps snfficieat to lenwrs
the unfavourable impresrion which existed against the dimaie
of the island, as affecting Europeans.

At the same time, however, that Java has to boast tUi
general character of high salnbritv, oompaimtively with odw
tropical climates, it is not to be denied that ihm are sons
spots upon it which are decidedly unhealthy. Tlieae are to be
found along the low swampy marshes of the northern ooait,
which are mostly recent encroachments upon the aea: the
principal of these is Batavia, the long established cq>ital of
the Dutch eastern empire.

The climate of this city has ever been considered aa one of
the most baneful in the world. It has even been designated
the storehouse of disease ; with how much jnstice, is too woe-
fully demonstrated by the writings of those visitors who hare
sun'ived its perils, and the records of the Dutch East-Indis
Company itself. If we may credit Raynal,* there perished
between the years 1714 and 1776, in the hospitals of Bataris,
alx>ve eighty-se>'en thousand sailors and soldiers. From the
table, No. 1, imperfect as it is, on account of the loss of manj
of the registers at the period of the British conquest, it wiD
be seen what a large proportion the deaths bore to the whok
)>c)pulation ; and ftom the table, No. 2, of the same Appendii,
discovered among the Dutch records, it appean furiheri thit
the total amount of deaths in this city, from the year 1790
to the year 1753, was in twenty-two years more than a millkm
of souls.

To those who are acquainted with the manner in which the
aflairs of the Dutch East-India Company were managed
al)roa<l, tlicrc will perhaps be no difficulty in laying rather
at the door of tlie colonists, than of the nation, the crime of
maintaining a commercial monopoly, at such a dreadful ex-
pence of lives as resulted from confining the European popu-
lation witliin the narrow walls of this unhealthy city. Tliat
the sacrifice was made for that object, or to speak more cor-
roclly, under that ])rctext, for the private interests of the

• Raynal. v^l i. |mgc 29 J.

VEG£TABL£ KINGDOM. 39

lonisls who w ;ie entrusted with its details, can scarcely be
ibted. From the momeiit the walls of the city were de-
the .draw-bridges let down, and free egress and
to and from the country was permitted, the population
pm to migiate to a more healthy spot, and they had not to
aboFe one or two miles beyond the precincts before they
ad themselyes in a different climate. But this indulgence,
it gare the inhabitants a purer air, so it gave them a clearer
igfat into the resources of the country, and notions of a freer
amerce, which, oi all things, it was the object of the local
renmoent and its oB&cets to limit or suppress.
Sec&uaiy might have first determined the choice of the
it £ar the European capital ; but a perseverance in the po-
f of confining the European population within its walls,
or so many direfiil warnings of its insalubrity, cannot but
d to the inference, that either the monopoly of the trade
s considered a greater object to the nation tlian the lives
fhe inhabitants, or that the more liberal views of the go-
nment were defeated by the weakness or corruption of its
mta.

>f the vegetable and animal kingdoms, as of the mineral,
shall content ourselves with such an account as may be
pessary to convey to the reader a general notion of tlie
nre of the country and its resources, referring the man of
BDce to the intended publication of Dr. Tliomas Horsfield,
gentleman whose sole attention has, for the last seven years,
m. directed to the natural history of Java.
Fara is distinguished not only by the abundance of its
fetation, but by its extraordinary variety. U])wards of a
oaand plants are already contained in the herbarea of
. Horsfield, of which a large proportion are new to tlie
mralist. Between the tops of the mountains and tlie sea-
irey Java may be considered as possessing at least six
tinct climates, each furnishing a copious indigenous botany,
ile the productions of evei^- region in the world may fmd a
igenial spot somewhere in Uie island,
i^egetable productions, which contribute to Uie food and
tenance of man, are found in great variety. Of thesis tlie
si important is rice, which forms the staple grain of the
intry, and of which there aie upwards of a hundred

40 VfiOETABLE KINGDOM.

varieties. Maize, or Indian com, ranks next, and is prin-
cipally cultivated in the higher regions, or in those tracts
where the soil is unfavourable to the rice cultiration. Tlw
bean, or kdchang^ of which there are many varietiesy is an im-
portant article of food. Of the sugar-cane, which is used lij
the natives only in its raw state, they distingnish ei|^
varieties, an account of which, as well as of the cnltiratiaii of
coffee, pepper, indigo, tobacco, &c. will be fimnd in ths
chapter on agriculture. Aniseed, mitngii, cnmmin-aeed,
mdricha (black pepper), chdbi jdwa (long pepper), kmrnAkm
(cubebs), socha dilichos, and mendeking^ plants of considerabk
importance, may be considered as indigenous to the island,
and are collected for various uses in diet and medicine.

Besides the cocoa-nut and other productions more geneialljr
known, there are many trees growing spontaneously, of which
the seeds and kernels are used as food; the principal of these
are the petifj^ngkol^ and kdfnlandingaHj several species of tke
mimosa, and the pUcJuing and kamirL The biead-firnit tne
grows on Java, and is of the same species (although inferior in
quality) with that of the South Sea Islands: but the fruit it
comparatively very little esteemed or employed as an article
of food.

Of tuberous roots, besides those furnished from the prindpal
genera, convolvulus, dioscorea, and arum, are those from die
biingkwang (dolichos bulbosus), the roots of which are mndi
esteemed by tlie natives, and the k^tang jdwa (ocymma
tuberosum) or Java potatoe. Most of the numerous rarietiet
of the convolvulus and dioscorea, which furnish food fiir the
natives, have been enumerated in one of the first volumes of
tlie Batavian Transactions. The jatropha manihot, called
uwi blnnda, or wAdoj has been propagated through all parts
of Java, and is found growing in the hedges.

The true sago of Amboina and Uie Eastern Islands, is found
only solitary' in a few low and marshy situations, and the pre*
paration of it from the pith of the tree is not known to the
inhabitants of Java : the leaves only arc employed for covering
houses; but from the are/f, or sagurus nunphii, which grows
abundantly in even- part of the island, and on account of its
\iirioiisly exttMisivo ust^s, ranks next in importance to the
r<K.'oa-nut, u substance is prepared, similar in all respects

VEGFTABLB KINGDOxM. 41

I true sago of the Eastern Islands. The tops of various
of the palm kind, which are sought after in other parts
( East as food, are, on account of the abundance of rice
idler esculent vegetables, but little regarded in Java ; but
mng shoots of many varieties of the bambu are used in
i^ of the natives. Wheat and potatoes, with almost every
m of European v^^tables, are cultivated with success,
le oil-giving plants a particular account will be given
describing the agriculture of the country.
mtf in common with the Malayan islands in general,
ids in indigenous firuits. *^ No region' of the earth,*'
res Mr. Marsden, ** can boast an equal abundance and
iety of indigenous firuits.*' The mang^tinj which on
ODt of its acknowledged pre-eminence amongst Indian
» has been termed the pride of these countries; the
m^ or d6renj to which the natives of these islands are so
mately attached; the rdmbuiany the Idnseh or Idnsebj
an extensive variety of the jack, the mango, the plan-
the guava, the pine-apple, the papaw, the custard-apple,
lomegranate, and almost every species of firuit which
I within the tropics, are here found in the greatest variety,
iamarind tree is general. The island also produces many
i of oranges, citrons, lemons, and in particular the piun-
XM (known in Bengal under the name of the Batavian
X, ot lime, and in the West Indies as the shaddock),
es the 9dumf kUdung^ p€u:hUan^ and a variety of others,
enerally known to Europeans, but well calculated for the
Of the mango, at least forty varieties are enumerated ;
lid raspberry, which is found in the higher regions, is
lestitute of flavour ; one kind, in particular, with dark
/-coloured firuit, approaches in taste to the European
es. In some of the mountainous tracts are to be found
les, Chinese pears, and some other firuits imported from
n, the Cape of Good Hope, and China.
long innumerable flowers which bloom in perpetual suc-
m throughout the year, and impregnate the air of these
ries with their firagrance, those of the champdka^ tan-
meldtif kandng*a and ndgasdriy hold the first rank ;
ire used by the natives in the ornament of their persons,
re remarkable for their firagrance. The myrtle and rose

42 VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

arc found iu the gardens of Europeans. A great variety
of ornamental trees and shrubs, many of them overlooked m
the catalogues of Rhumphius and Van Rheede, hare been
noticed, as deserving cultivation for their utility as wdl
as beauty.

The medicinal plants of Java have been described in m
account published in the Batavian Transactions : among these
are many which are employed in the daily practice of the
natives, of which a large proportion have not been subjects of
investigation or experiment by Europeans, and others wUch
had not previously been botanically described or classed.
In a country hitherto imperfectly explored, and abounding in
profuse vegetation, it was natural to calculate on the discoveiy
of many useful medicinal plants; and anumg upwards of
sixty, described, for the first time, by Dr. Horsfield, he paiti-
cularly notices several, as likely to become most vakuhk
articles in general medicinal practice.

Besides abundance of coir, termed sep^t by the natives, pie-
pared from tlie fibres wliich surround the cocoa-nut, and gur
muti (called diik)^ prepared firom those of the dren tree, both
of which are well known, another species of palm, the geb&tig^
also yields valuable ropes, the fibre of wliich is obtained ficn
tlie large petioles or stalks of the leaves by pounding and
beating. Intelligent natives assert, that ropes prepared firon
these are particularly valuable, exceeding in strength all other
kinds of equal size. Tlie fibres and ropes are called &«.
The cotton shrub (gossypium herbaceum) is universal; and
hemp, though its uses are unknoim to the Javans, is found in
the gardens of foreign settlers. Besides these, the island
afTonls various kinds of vegetables, the fibrous bark of which
is made into tliread, rope, cloth, &c. ; but they are never col-
tivated, and when required for use arc collected in their wild
state. Tlie general denomination, in the Ja\'an language, of
the inti'nial bark of all vegetables which can be manuiactoFBd
into cords, tliread, &c. is lulub. This being freed, by beating
or maceration, from the adhering particles of tlie exterior baik,
yields tlio fibrous substiiice, which is twisted by the most
simple ]>p>cess, coiiimonly bv the liands alone. The trees
which ailbrd the ifilnh an.' the Wfint, which is vcrv abimdaiit.
and is niuniifactURHl into n»|)es lor sill i-ommon domestic pur-

VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 43

poses ; the melinfUy the baric of which is called bdgu ; and
ihe bindoj which affi)rds ropes of superior strength and
durability.

Of the bambusa, the pring-dpusy the stem of which may be
considered arborescent, furnishes the cheapest ropes. These
are made with great expedition, being split into thin strips,
which are twisted on the qx)t into cords fit for all common
pmpoaes, although tfiey are serviceable only for a few days.
lliej aie unifisxmly used, in travelling, for securing baggage,
ftc. Among shrubs principally employed for these purposes
are the werHngy urU-urisaUj daliimpangy che-pldkan and
^tte^ ; among plants, the wid6ri and rami ; the fibres of the
latter afford very strong and durable cords, which are chiefly
employed lor nets or lines, and used in fishing : they greatly
resemble the sunn of western India, and would probably
be found to answer the same purpose, as well in fiimishing
the bags called in India gunny -bags, for the transportation of
goods, as for the manufacture of paper in Europe. This
remark applies also to the Mub of several of the other shrubs
mentioned. Several species of pisanff or plantain yield the
materials for ropes and cords of various fineness, accord-^
nig to the methods employed in preparing them. In the
Manilla Islands, cables are made firom these fibres ; and in
the first volume of the Batavian Transactions a mode is
described of preparing fi:t)m them a substance resembling
cotton. The leaves of the ^nanasy or pine-apple, contain also
abundance of usefiil fibres, which are easily separated in a
bundle, after scraping off the coriaceous substance. It is very
fine, and the separate fibres are employed by the natives
in sewing without any preparation ; but it may also be spun,
and is made into a kind of stulT resembling silk, gauze, &c.

Mats are made from several species of pandanus, from
a kind of grass called m^fidang, and from the leaves of various
palms, particulariy the gebiing. The latter affords the most
common kinds, coarser and less durable than the others, as
well as bags (straw sacks) resembling very coarse mats.

The paper in common use with the Javans is manufactured
bom the glttgo^ (moms papyrifera.)

A variety of vegetable substances aie used in dyeing : the
principal of which, however, are the /ow, ot indigo, which is

44 V£GE1^ABLE KINGDOM.

extensively cultivated throughout the island ; and the wong*
kAdUy which affords a lasting scarlet A black dye is obtained
fix)m the bark of several exotic trees, united with the rind
of the mang^tin firuit A yellow dye is also obtained finom
an exotic wood, heightened by the addition of the baik of
the ndngka tree, and a variety of the mango.

Extensive forests of thejdtij or teak of India*, are firandin
almost all the eastern provinces ; but the most valuable and
important are in the central districts, situated inland, between
Semdrang and Siddyu, and particularly in the durtricts of
Bloray Jipang, and Paddnff*an,

Of the teak tree there is but one species known, the ieciona
grandis of Linnseus, the iekka of Van Rheede, and the jatos of
Rhumphius. Its natural history has been already fiiUy de-
tailed, and all the kinds generaUy enumerated are merely vap
rieties. These are usually distinguished among the natives of
Java by names derived from the quality and colour of the
wood. The principal are thejdii kdpur^ the chall^ teak, and
a kind varying in colour, and on account of its ezcellenoe
termed ya/< sung*gu^ or the true teak. The former is the most
common : its wood is of a whitish hue, and it sometimes con-
tains calcareous concretions in nodules or streaks. This sort

* It is remarkable that the teak tree, which, as far as oar informalioB
yet eictends, is not to be found on the peninsula of Malacca, or on So*
matra or the adjacent islands, should grow in abundance on Java and
several of the islands which lie east of it : as on Madto and ita depen-
dent islands, B41i, Sumbdwa, and others. Sumbdwa produces a conaldn'-
able quantity. The whole of the hills on the north-east part of thil
island under Bima are covered with it ; but from the constant dwnand fbr
the timber* the trees are seldom allowed to grow to more than a foot m
diameter, except in the forests exclusively appropriated to the use of the
sovereign. In D6mpo, which occupies the central division of the
island, the teak cannot be used by any but the sovereign, and the
are in consequence allowed to attain their fuU size. The timber is here
uncommonly fine, and by the natives considered superior to that of Java;
but the forests being surrounded by steep hills, and the population but
scanty, it cannot l>e transported to the sea-coast without great labour and
expense. On Oelebes the teak tree is only known in a few spots. The
princii>al forest is in the district uf Mario ; and this does not appear to be
indigenous, as the natives assert tliat the seed from which the forest bat
grown, waH brought from Java about eighty years ago by one of tbe
sovereigns of Taiit-te.

VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 45

is chiefly employed for common domestic pmposes, and
though inferior in quality to many others, fix)m its abundance
and comparative cheapness, is perhaps the most generally use-
foL The jdti 9ikng*gu is harder, closer, and more ponderous,
and particularly selected for ship-building. The colour of
the wood is of different shades, from light to intense brown,
with a cast of violet verging sometimes to red or black. If the
stem is covered vrith spines, or rather pointed scales, it is
ctSleAjdti dUrij but in its texture and quality it agrees with
the jdti gf^nge'ffu. Besides these the natives distinguish, as
jdii g&mbol, those excrescences or protuberances which are
produced from a variety of the jdtiy furnishing materials for
handsome cabinet-work.

The teak tree on Java grows at a moderate elevation above
the level of the ocean. It is generally conceived, that the tim-
ber afforded by forests growing on a soil of which the basis is
limestone, and the surface uneven, gravelly, or rocky, is the
hardest, the freest from chalky concretions, and in all respects
the best ; but in laying out a teak plantation, a soil consisting in
a great proportion of black vegetable mould, is always selected
for the purpose of obtaining a rapid growth. The teak tree is
dender and erect It shoots up with considerable vigour and
rapidity, but its expansion is slow. Like all other trees afford-
ing useful timber of a close grain, it is many years in arriving
at maturity. Under favourable circumstances, a growth of
from twenty to twenty-five years affords a tree having about
twelve inches diameter at the base. It requires at least a cen-
tury to attain its perfection, but for common purposes, it is
usually felled when between thirty and fifty years old *.

Notwithstanding the extent to which cultivation has been

* The Dutch, apprehensive of a failure in the usual supply of teak
ttmber, have long been in the habit of forming extensive plantations of
this tree ; but whether from a sufficient period not having yet elapsed for
the trial, or that the plantations are generally made in soils and situations
iU calculated for the purpose, experience, as far as it has yet gone, has
shown, that the trees which are left to the operations of nature, attain to
greater perfection, even in a comparatively barren soil, unfit for any other
cnldvation, than those which are with great care and trouble reared in a
fertile land. Their wood is more firm, more durable, and of a less chalky
tttbetance than that of the latter.

40 VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

carried in many districts of the island, large portions of iU
surface are still covered with primeval forests, affording ezod-
lent timber of various descriptions. Besides the teak, then
arc several kinds of wood or timber employed finr various do-
mestic purposes, as the siren (the tuna of Bcoigal), of which the
wood is very light, stronger and more durable than all other
kinds of similar weight produced on the island : as the gnin
is not fine, it is not employed in making furniture, but it is use-
ful for chests, trmiks, carriages, &c. ; its colour is red, and its
odour somewhat resembling that of the cedar. Its weight is
probably inferior to that of the larch. — ^The wAng^ or
is often used instead of teak : the grain is somewhat
when in full blossom it is perhaps the most beautiful tree
isting. — ^The wtidang or bdyuVj a light and tolerably ducaUe
wo(nI, is employed for masts and spars of small vesschi ; but
the surface must be well covered with resinous substances to
prevent its splitting. — ^The gintAngan is employed in the same
manner, but grows to a larger size ; the colour of the wood and
bark is red. — ^The lamp4an or Idban is light but durable, and
affords materials for the handles of the spears or pikes borne bj
the natives. — The nangka abounds in several districts when
teak is not found, and is almost exclusively used in the oon-
stniction of houses, and other domestic purposes : the wood is
more close and ponderous than the siren, which it otherwise
resembles ; it takes a tolerable polish, and is somctiines em-
p1oye<l for furniture. The colour is yellow ; but it is made to
receive a brownish hue, by the application of the young teik-
heaves in polishing : its bark is used as a yellow dye^-The
itirrn resembles the nangka, but is generally of rare occunenoe,
though in some tracts it fiumishcs the only timber : its use in
the neighbouring islands, particularly on Sumatra, is well
known. — ^Thc kusumbi is uncommonly heavy, hard, and close :
it supplies anchors for small vessels, blocks, pestles, and nume-
rous similar utensils. — ^The stiwur is a very beautiful and use-
ful wood ; the colour resembles that of mahogany, but the grain
is closer, and it is more ponderous: its chief use is for handles
of tools for carpenters and other artificers, for machinery, es-
pecially for the teeth of the wheels of mills, and other pur-
poses where a hard and durable wood is required. On ac-
count of its scarcity, it is uniformly cut down on Ja%'a b^bie

VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 47

irriYeft at the necesBary size for cabinet-work. Forests of it
m <m the hills of Bait, opposite the Javan shore^ whence it
NHDiight over by boat-loads for sale.

rbe pUang is a very hard wood, and employed in the
tem districts, instead of lignum-vitae, for the construction
liipsf «block8y &c. — ^The punff is equally hard, and unifonnly
[doyed by the natives for pegs in constructing their proAti^.
[lie wdli k^kun is equal to the kusdmbi in weight, and
ieeda it in hardness : it is employed for anchors, naves of
eels, machinery, &c. — ^The tang*gnlun \a a hard wood of a
le grain, and employed by turners for various small works. —
B kelimpit is a very large tree : sections are employed by
natives for cart wheels. — Thejaran is a white wood taking
tool easily : the natives prefer it to all others for the con-
icticm of their saddles, which consist principally of wood. —
e demdlo affords a light wood, which is made into planks,
I employed where durability is not much required. — ^The
od of the keddwung is whitish and moderately hard. — ^The
oii is a yellowish and hard wood : it is employed for the
idles of axes and various utensils. — ^The jdnglot is consi-
ed by the natives as the ton^est wood produced in the
ind, and is always employed for bows when procurable :
t tree is of a moderate size. — The b^fulo is a light wood,
ifiil for canoes. — The s^tnl is a light close-grained wood,
1 easily worked: it resembles the s^ren,
Por iMHisehold furniture, cabinet-ware, &c. are employed —
t w6no kUng of the MaldpuSf the colour of which is a deep
Kwn, inclining to black: — the sdno kombangy which has
ae resemblance to the lingua wood of the Moluccas : — the
1^9140^, dark brown ; andj^rono-^ocfo, resembling the walnut,
ih scarce : — the wer'ny of a brown colour, of a close sub-
nce and light, abundant in some districts : — the mentduis
\j^mb€rity the wood of which is white and fine-grained,
iformly used for inlaying: — the randu k^ningy yellowish
i close-grained : — and the ing'asy of a brownish red colour,
1 very brittle.

Por the hilts and sheaths of knses, the natives make use of
timdkoy of which the black and white variegated fragments
called p^leL These are of various kinds. — The anAmatiy

48 VEGETABLE KINGDOM.

variegated white and black, is also employed for canes, han-
dlesy and spears, &c. and is very heavy. — The Uk^y yeUowish,
closed and marble, — the mdngu^ — the dti dii, — the krdmima$^
— ihe p&rwO'kiining and several others, are emplojred fiir the
same purposes. — The kamdning is of a brownidi colonr and
very fine grain : — the iayikman resembles the last and is veiy
much esteemed : — the w6ni steldga affords a reddish wood.

Among the most extensively useful productions ought not
to be forgotten the bdmbu, or prfnffy which abounds on JavSy
and seems, from the greater luxuriance and variety by which
it is here distinguished, to find the soil and climate more oon-
genial to its growth than those of any other country. It blos-
soms in different parts of the island. The rattans frStanJ of
Java arc on the whole inferior to those of Sumatra and Borneo:
the improved state of cultivation is un&vouraUe to their
growth and propagation.

Many woods afford excellent fuel. The charcoal prepared
from the kummbi is equal perhaps to that of any other wood
VTiih which we are acquainted, and is universally preferred in
cooking, and in the other branches of domestic economy.
Charcoal, for gunpowder, is uniformly prepared from the eeUi
oricntalis, called dnxfgrung.

Among the useful trees must be noticed : the soi^-tree, of
which the fruit is used to a very great extent in washing linen:
— the kasdmaky ftom the bark of which is made a varnish ibr
umbrellas : — the sdmpangy from the resin of which the natives
prepare a shining varnish for the wooden sheaths of krises ^—
the cotton-tree, from which a silky wool is obtained for stnfimg
pillows and beds: — the wax -tree, which, though scarce on Javi,
grows abundantly on some parts of Madura : (the kernel, bj
expression, produces an oil, which some time after becmnes haid
and l)ears a resemblance to wax ; it may be burnt in lamps or
converted into candles, and affords an agreeable odour) : the ben*
dud, a shrub producing the substance of which the elastic gum,
connnonly called Indian-rubber, is prepared. The art of pre-
paring it in this form is however unknown in Java. Torches
are made of it, for the use of those who search for birds* nests
in the rocks, and it serves for winding round the stick em-
ployed to strike musical instruments, as the gomg^ &c. to soften

V£G£TABLE KINGDOM. 49

KNmd. The minyak kdwon or ntdtu is a veiy useful tree,
:h grows solitary in all, and abundantly in some parts of
sland, and produces a kind of tallow.
dmary or resin, is distinguished by the inhabitants of these
lines into two kinds : ddmar-batu or s^la, and ddmar-putiy
piising numerous varieties obtained from different trees,
e of these are, however, produced on Java. Besides the
mala, which is very limited as to its place of growth,
Candramj and a peculiar resin employed by the natives
Famishing the wooden sheaths of their krises, called
oan^j few odoriferous resins are found. The camphor-
which abounds on Sumatra and Borneo, is unknown on
L The wood oil, distinguished among the Malays by the
e of krAunnff (which in Java is applied to all resinous or
substances employed in the construction of vessels), is not
itive of Java, but it grows abimdantly on Banka and
latra.

one of what are called the finer kinds of spices, namely,
nutmeg, clove, and cinnamon, are indigenous to Java; but
few trees which have been planted in the gardens of
opeans have thriven well : and, from the nature of the soil
climate, there seems little doubt that the nutmeg and clove,
articular, might be extensively cultivated throughout the
id, did it suit the policy of the European government to
it of their general introduction.

be vine was once extensively cultivated in some of the
em provinces of the island, in which the soil and climate
ear well calculated for its growth ; but an apprehension, on
part of the Dutch East-India Company, that its cultivation
Tava might interfere with the wine trade of the Cape of
)d Hope, induced them to discourage it, and the prepara-
. of wine from the grape was strictly prohibited. Lieutenant-
onel Mackenzie, when noticing the vast quantities of ashes
iwn up from the different volcanos, makes the following
srvation on the eastern part of Java. " The soil of the
ountry is evidently enriched by the ashes and earth
mitted by these eruptions, and there is reason to conclude,
^hat persons well acquainted with the south of Europe
ssert, that the vines of Italy and tlie Cape would thrive in
erfection, in a soil and climate so well adapted to them."
OL. I. E

50 VEGETABLE KlNODOiM.

Among the vegetable productions of Java, none has excited
more interest than the celebrated upaSy or poison-tree. Mr.
Marsden, in his history of Sumatra *, has referred to rariou
concurring authorities, in refutation of the veiy extramdinaiy
tales told of this tree ; and, in this general account of the pro-
ductions of Java, it may perhaps be sufficient to refer the reader
to the particulars contained in the subjoined note f.

• Page 176, third edit.

t Although a serious refutation of the gross imposition prutised on the
people of Europe, by the romance of Foersch on the subject of the upii^
or celebrated poison-tree of Java, may at this day be in a great meume
superfluous, as the world has long ceased to be the dupe of bis story, and
as regular series of experiments have been instituted, both in Fmoe and is
England, to ascertain the nature and potency of the poison ; yet it mtf
not be altogether displeasing to the reader to see in this place an ■^rtV"*^
accoimt of the poison, as drawn out by Dr. Horsiieldat my request, and pub-
lished in the seventh volume of the Batavian Transactions. Almost every
one has heard of its fabulous histor}', which, from its extravagant mtmv,
its susceptibility of poetical ornament, its alliance with the cmeltiet of •
despotic government, and the sparkling genius of Darwin, whuee prnpoei
it answered to adopt and personify it as a malignant spirit (in bia Lives of
the Plants), has obtained almost equal currency with the wonders of tk
Lema Hydra, the Chimera, or any other of the classic fictions of antiquity.

*' Although the account published by Foersch, in so far as relates to the
" situation of the poison-tree, to its efiects on the anntnmding co un t r y,
** and to the application said to have been made of the upas on
*' in different parts of the island, as well as the description of the
" ous substance itself, and its mode of collection, has been demonitnted
" to be an extrax^agant forgery, — the existence of a tree on Java, firom the
" sap of which a poison is prepared, equal in fatality, when thrown into the

circulation, to the strongest animal poisons hitherto known, is a fart

which is at present my object to establish and illustrate. Hie tree wliiA
" produces this poison is the anchar, and grows in the eastern eati e m i t y
'* of the island. The work of Rhumphius contains a long account of the
" upas, under the denomination of arbor toxicaria. The tree does not
'* grow on Ainboyna, and his description was made from the information
" he obtained from Makasar. His figure H'as drawn from a branch of
" what is called the male-tree, sent to him from the same place, and esta*
" blishes the identity of the poison-tree of Makasar, and the other Eaalcn
" Islands, vnih the anchar of Java. The simple sap of the arbor toxicaria
" (according to Rhumphius) is harmless, and requires the addition of se-
" vera! substances, of the afilinity of ginger, to render it active and mor-
" tal. In so far it agrees with the anchar, which, in its simple state, ii
" tuppoMed to l>e inert, and before being employed as a poison, is subjected
'* to a prefMuration which will he described after the history of the tree.

«c
«c

ANIMAL KINGDOM. 51

Of the useful or domestic quadrupeds it may be obser\'ed,
that neither the elephant nor the camel is a native of Java :

" Betides the true poison-tree, the upas of the Eaetern IslaodB, and the
" SBi^ar of the Javans, this island produces a shrub, which, as far as ob-
" senrationa have hitherto been made, is peculiar to the same, and, by a
" different mode of preparation, fiimiahes a poison far exceeding the upas
*' in violenee. Its name is chetak, and its specific description will succeed
" to that of the anchar : the genus has not yet been discovered or des-
''cribed.

" DaacaipnoN or the Amchar. — ^The anchar belongs to the twenty-first

" daas of linnKus, the monoeda. The male and femak flowers are pro-

** dooed in catkins (amenta) on the same branch, at no great distance

"^ frosn cadh other : the female flowers are in general above the male.

^ The chasacters of the genus are :— Maijb flower ; calix, consiBting of se-

** wool scales, which are imbricate. Corol ; none. Stamens ; filaments

" many, very short, covered with scales at the receptacle. The receptacle,

*' on which the filaments are placed, has a conical form, abrupt, somewhat

''foimded above. — Fsmalx flower; catkins, ovate. Calix; consisting

'^ of a nmodber of scales (generally more than in the male), containing one

" flower. Corol ; none. Pistil ; germ single, ovate. Styles ; two, long,

slender, and qireading. Stigmas ; single and acute. Seed-vessel ; an

obhmgdn^M, covered with the calix. Seed ; an ovate nut, with one cell.

Srmpiwic DiBacRiPTioN.^The anchar is one of the laigest trees in the

^* loreets of Java. Hie stem is cylindrical, perpendicular, and rises com-

*' pisiely naked (o the height of sixty, seventy, or eighty feet. Near the

sni£soe of thegnrand it spreads obliquely, dividing into numerous broad

^ apprmdages or wings, much like the canariimi commune (the canary-tree),

md aeveral other of our laxge forest treea It is covered with a whitish

haricy shgfatly bursting in longitudinal furrows. Near the ground this

baik is, in old trees, more than ludf an inch thick, and upon being

.wofnnded yields plentifully the milky juice irom which the celebrated

** poiaan is prepared. A puncture or incision being made into the tree, the

joifie or aap aiq>ears ooiing out of a yellowish colour (somewhat frothy)

** from oldy paler or nearly white from young trees ; exposed to the air,

its snrfiKe becomes brown. The consistence very much resembles milk :

it is more thick and viscid. This sap is contained in the tru^ bark (or

cortex), which, when punctured, yields a considerable quantity, so that

*' in a short time a cup-full may be collected from a large tree. The inner

** htak (or liber) is of a dose fibrous texture, like that of the moms pa-

pyrifera, and when separated from the other bark, and cleansed from

the adhering particles, resembles a coarse piece of linen. It has been

^ worked into ropes, which are very strong ; and the poorer class of peo-

«' pie employ the inner bark of the younger trees, which is more easily

*' prepared, for the purpose of making a coarse stuff which they wear in

** working in the fields. But it requires mudi bruising, washing, and along

** immersion, before it can be used, and when it appears completely puri-

£ 2

«<
««

€g
€€

4€

6*i ANIMAL KINGDOiM.

the former is rarely imported, the latter imknown. Neither
the ass nor mule is found ; but the island has a fine breed of

** fied» pereons wearing this dress being exposed to rain, are affected witli
" an intolerable itching, which renders their flimsy covering inauppoitaUe.
" It will appear from the account of the manner in which the poiaon is
" prepared, that the deleterious quality exists in the gum ; a small portion
" of which still adhering, produces, when exposed to wet, this imtating
" effect : and it is singular, that this property of the prepared haik is known
" to the Javans in all places where the tree grows, while the prepuition of
" a poiaon from its juice, which produces a mortal effect when introdooed
" into the body by pointed weapons, is an exclusive art of the inhalntinti
" of the eastern extremity of the island. The stem of the ancfaar having
" arrived at the above-mentioned height, sends off a few stout bnundies,
" which spreading nearly horizontally with several irregular corveSy dividi
" into smaller branches, and form a hemispherical, not very regulary crown.
" Previous to the season of flowering, about the beginning of June, thi
" tree sheds its leaves, which reappear when the male flowers have com-
" pleted the office of fecundation. It delights in a fertile, not very ele-
" vated, soil, and is only found in the largest forests. One of the ezpe-
" riments to be related below was made with the upas prepared by myidf.
" In the collection of the juice I had some difficulty in inducing the in*
" habitants to assist me ; they feared a cutaneous eruption and iw^^imwa,
" tion, resembling (according to the account they gave of it) that produced
" by the ingas of this island, the rhus vemix of Japan; and the riini
** radicans of North America. The anchar, like the trees in its neigli-
** bourhood, is on all sides surrounded by shrubs and plants : in no ia-
'* stance have I observed the ground naked or barren in its immediate dr-
" cumference. llie largest tree I met with in Balambangan, was so dosdy
" environed by the common trees and shrubs of the forest in which it
" grew, that it was with difficulty I could approach it. Several vines sod
" climbing shrubs, in complete health and vigour, adhered to it, and ai-
" cended to nearly half its height ; and, at the time I visited the tree sod
" collected the juice, I was forcibly struck with the egregions misrepie-
*' sentation of Foersch. Several young trees spontaneonsly sprung from
** seeds that had fallen from the parent, put me in mind of a line in Dar-
•* win's Botanic (warden : —

" * Chained at his root two scion-demons dwell ;"

'* while in recalling his beautiful description of the upas, my vicinity to
" the tree gave me reason to rejoice that it was founded in fiction.

•' Descsiptiox of tub Chetik. — ^ITie fructification of the chetik it
'' still unknown : after all possible research in the district where it grows,
** I have not been able to find it in a flowering state. It is a laige
" winding shrub. I'he root extends creeping a considerable dirtance
*' parallel to the surface, sending off small fibres at different curves, while
'* the main root strikes perpendicularly into the ground. The stem.

ANIMAL KINGDOM. 53

small horses (jdran)^ strong, fleet, and well made. A still
finer breed is imported from Bima, on the neighbouring

' iHiich in general is shrubby, sometimes acquires the size of a small tree.
' The poison is prepared from the bark of the root. The chetik grows
' onlj in dose, shady, almost inaccessible forests, in a deep, black, fertile
' Tcgetable mould. It is very rarely met with even in the wildernesses
' of Bakunbangan.

" Prbpa&ation of thb Poison from thb Anchar. — ^This process
' was perfonned for me by an old Javan, who was celebrated for his
' wapmoT skill in preparing the poison : about eight ounces of the jUice
' of the anchar, which had been collected the preceding evening in the
' usual manner, and been preserved in the joint of a bambu, was care-
' fany strained into a bowl. The sap of the following substances, which
' bad been finely grated and bruised, was carefully expressed and poured
' into it, viz. arum (nampu), kempferia galanga (kenchur), anomum
' (boDigli) a variety of zerumbed, common onion and garlic, of each about
' half a drachm. The same quantity of finely powdered black pepper was
' then added, and the mixture stirred. The preparer now took an entire
' froit of capsicum fructicosum or Guinea pepper, and having opened it,
* he carefaBy separated a single seed, and placed it on the fluid in the
' middle of the bowl. It immediately began to reel round rapidly, now
' forming a regular circle, then darting towards the margin of the vessel,
' with a perceptible commotion on the surface of the liquor, which con-
' tinued about one minute. Being completely at rest, the same quantity
' of pepper was again added, and another seed of the capsicuma laid on as
' before. A similar commotion took place in the fluid, but in a less
' degree, and the seed was carried round with diminished rapidity. The
' addition of the same quantity of pepper was repeated a third time,
' when a seed of the capsicum being carefully placed in the centre of the
' fluid, remained quiet, forming a regular circle about itself in the fluid,
' resembling the halo of the moon. This is considered as a sign that the
' preparation of the poison is complete.

'* Prxparation of the Poison from thb Chetik. — ^The baric of
' the root is carefully separated and cleared of all the adherent earth, a
' proportionate quantity of water is poured on, and it is boiled about an
' hour, when the fluid is carefully filtered through a white cloth ; it
' is then exposed to the fire again, and boiled down to nearly the consis-
' tence of an extract ; in this state it much resembles a thick syrup.
' The following spices, having been prepared as above described, are
' added in the same proportion as to the anchar, viz. kempferia galanga
(kenchiu*), (sunti), anomum zing^er (shai), common onion, garlic, and
black pepper. The expressed juice of these is poured into the vessel,
which is once more exposed to the fire for a few minutes, when
the preparation is complete. The upas of both kinds must be pre-
served in very close vessels."
Dr. H. then details the particulars of twenty experiments made on dif-

«<

54 ANIMAL KINGDOM.

island of Sumbdway which by competent judges has been said
tu resemble the Arab in every respect except size, lliey

ferent anim&lB with these poiBons, as well in their simple state as pro-
cured from the bark, powerfully prepared in the mamier as aboire staled,
in which the violence of the poison was manifested i and eondndea with
some general observationB, from which the following are eztncted :

" The operation of the two difierent poisons on the animal system Is
" essentially different. The first seventeen experiments were made with
** the anchar. The rapidity of its effect depends in a great degree upon

the size of the vessel wounded, and on the quantity of poiaofi earried

into the circulation. In the first experiment, it indoced death m
*' twenty-six minutes : in the second, which was made with the sap
" collected at Pdigar, in thirteen minutes. The poison from dxf-
" ferent parts of the island has been found nearly equal in activity.
" The common tndn of s3rmptoms is; a trembling and shivering of
** the extremities, restlessness, erection of the hair, dischsages from
*' the bowels, drooping and fiEuntness, slight spasms and convolsioiis,
** hasty breathing, an increased flow of saliva, spasmodic cmitractioiM of
'* the pectoral and abdominal muscles, retching, vomiting, excremen-
" tatious vomiting, frothy vomiting, great agony, laborious hreathmg,
*' rei)eated convulsions, and death. The effects are nearly the same oa
'* quadnipeds, in whatever part of the body the wound ia made. It some-
*' times acts with so much force, that not all the sy m p t oms enumerated
** are obser^'ed. In these cases, after the premonitory symptoms (tremon^
*« twitchings, faintness, an increased flow of saliva), the convulsiona come
** on suddenly, and are quickly followed by death. The upas iqipcars to
*' aflert qiuulnipeds with nearly equal force, proportionate in aome d fg tfff
** to their size and disposition. To dogs it proved mortal in most czperi-
** ments within an hour; a mouse died in ten minutes; a monkey in
*' seven ; a cat in fifteen ; a buffalo, one of the largest quadmpeds of the
'* island, died in two hours and ten minutes.

'* If the Mimple or imprepared sap is mixed with the extract of tobacco,
" instead of the spices mentioned, it is rendered equally, perhaps more,
** active. Even the pure juice, unmixed and unprepared, appean to act
** with a force equal to that which has undergone the prqiarative process.
'* Birds are very differently aflfected by this iwison. Fowls have a peculiar
** ca})acity to rettint its eflfects : a fowl died in twenty-four houre after the
** wound ; others have recovered after being partially aflfected.

*< The eighteenth and succeeding experiments were made with the
*' {MiRon prepared from the chetik. Its operation is far more violent and
** rapid than that of the anchar, and it aflfects the animal system in a dif-
" ferent manner. While the anchar operates chiefly on the stomadi, all*
** mentary canal, the respiration and circulation, the chetik is detemdned
*' to the brain and ner\'0UH system : a relative comparison of the sppssr*
** ancen on dissoction, demonstrates in a striking manner the psctdiar
" n|)eration of each. A general view of the effects of the chetik on qua-

ANIMAL KINGDOM. M

leldom exceed thirteen hands, and in general are below this
tandard.

' dropedB is giyen in these expmments. After the previous symptoms
ci feintness, drowsiness, and slight convulsions, it acts by a sudden
bapaiae, which like a violent apoplexy prostrates at once the whole
nerrous system. In two of these experiments this sudden effect took
place in the sixth minute after the wound, in another in the seventh
numile : the animals suddenly started, fell down head foremost, and
eontiniied in convulsions until death ensued. This poison affects fowls
in a much more violent manner than that of the anchar. They are first
affected by a heat and itching of the breast and wings, which they shew
by violently pecking those parts ; this is followed by a loose discharge
from the bowels, when they are seized with tremors and fluttering of the
wiiigs, whidi having continued a short time, they fall down head fore-,
most, and continue convulsed till death. In some instances, particulaiiy
young fowls, the poison acts with great rapidity ; death has frequently
occurred within the space of a minute after a puncture with a poisoned
dart.

** Taken into the stomach of quadrupeds, the chetik acts as a most
violent poison ; but it requires about thrice the period to produce the
same effect which a wound produces. But the stomach of fowls can
resist its operation. Having mixed about double the quantity generally
adhering to a dart with the food of a fowl, it consmned it without
shewing any marks of indisposition. The poison of the anchar does by
no means act as violently on quadrupeds as that of the chetik. I have
given it to a dog : it produced at first nearly the same symptoms as a
poDcture; <4>pre8sion of the head, twitchings, faintness, laborious
respiration, violent contraction of the pectoral and abdominal muscles,
fee. which continued nearly two hours ; but after the complete evacua-
tion of the stomach by vomiting, the animal gradually recovered.
" I have but little to add concerning the operation of the anchar on the
human system. The only credible information on this subject is con-
tained in the woik of Rhumphius, who had an opportunity of person-
ally observing the effect of the poisoned darts and arrows as they were
used by the natives of Makasar, in their attack on Amboyna about the
year 1650. They were also employed by the inhabitants of Celebes in
their former wars with the Dutch. Speaking of their operation he says,
' the poison touching the warm blood, it is instantly carried through
' the whole body, so that it may be felt in all the veins, and causes an
' excessive burning, particularly in the head, which is followed by
* fiainiing and death.' This poison (according to the same author)
possesses different degrees of virulence, according to its age and state
of preservation. The most powerful is called upaa raja, and its effects
ue considered as incurable ; the other kinds are distributed among the
ioldiers on going to war. After having proved mortal to many of the
Dutch soldiers in Amboyna and Makasar, they finally discovered an

5(i ANIMAL KINGDOM.

The bull and cow (sdpi or Umbu) are general, bat much
more so in the central and eastern districts than in the wes-
teni. The breed has been greatly improved by the species
introduced from continental India. But the animal of moit
essential and general use in the agriculture of the countiy is
the buffalo (kdbu, maisa^ or mending J^ a particular accoont
of which will appear in the chapter on Agriculture. Groati
(wed^H) arc numerous and of a small size : sheep (called here
Eun)pcan goats) arc scarce and small. As in other suhiy
climates, the latter have a coarse wooUen coat, which \%
employed for stuffing saddles, pillows, &c. but it is in so little
request that the inhabitants are rarely at the trouble of shearing
for it. Tlic hog (ch^leitg) is reared principally among the
Chinese.

Of beasts of prey may be enumerated several species of the
tiger, as tlie mdchan lOrcfig (felis tigris), mdchan gogor (a
variety), mdchan iiUul (probably the small leopard of Pennant),
mdchan komhang and kuicnk^ the smallest kind, called tiger-
cats. Tlie jackal, and several varieties of the wild-dog; as
the dan fcditar, dsu djag^ or dsn klki ; and among other wild
quadrupeds, the rhinoceros, and bdufengy or wild Javan ox,
tlie wild'hog and the stag : tlic last, as well as tlie rib-&ced
and axis deer, is tamed and fattened for food. The aggregate
number of mammalia on Java have been estimated at about
fifty, llie habits and manners of the larger animals, the
tiger, leopard, black tiger, rhinoceros and stag, and two species
of deer, tlie varieties of the wild-hog, &c. are sufficiently known;
but the hdnfengy or Javan ox, the Javan buffalo, the varieties
of the wild-dog, those of the weasel and squirrel, and most of
the other smaller quadnipeds, still present ciuious subjects fiir
the study of the naturalist. Next to tlie rhinoceros, which

" almost infallible remedy in the root of the radix toxicaria of Rhmn-
•* j)hius, which, if timely applied, counteracted, by its riolent emetic
'* effect, the force of the upas. An intelligent Javan of Banyuwangi
'* informed me, that a number of years ago an inhabitant of that district
'* waK wounded in n clandestine manner, by an arrow thrown from a Uow-
'* ]>ipe, in the foro-ann, near the articulation of the elbow. In about
'* fifteen minutoH he became drowsv ; after which he was seiied with
** vomiting, became delirious, and in less than half an hour he died. From
•• the exiHTiments above related, we may form an analogous estimate of
** its probable effect* on man." Bnfnrinn Tranx/ictions, vol. vii.

ANIMAL KINGDOM. 57

etimes (though rarely at present) injures plantations, the
1-hogs are the most destructive animals. They are often
toned (or intoxicated, according to the quantity they con-
e) by the kdldk kdmbingy or by the remains firom the
Miration of brom. The practice of suspending rags im-
pmted with urine, at small distances around the plan-
-gOBj is universal over the whole island. These Aninrmlg are
[ to have so violent an aversion to this odour, that even

^.feeble barrier" is useful in preserving the plantations. .
[ask, called dedesy is procured firom the r€u4.
Itfaough the same qualities are ascribed to them here as in
sr countries, bezoars are comparatively scarce in Java;

those occasionally found in the maritime capitals are
bnnly brought firom other countries. The hog-deer and
obar pigeon are not natives ; and although wild-hogs, in
ch bezoars are said to be found, are very abundant, they

never examined or approached by the natives. Every
nordinary concretion, calculus, ossification, &c. found in

part of an animal, is called mustikay which corresponds to
bezoar of the Arabs, Persians, &c. A concretion of feathers
id in the stomach of a fowl is called mtistika dyamy and is
^fully preserved. A stony concretion, discovered acci-
tally by the rattling of a human skull exposed for many
re to the action of the sun, has been denominated mustika
ngj and the most salutary virtues ascribed to it Ana-
ms to the bezoars, must be considered the horns of the
loceros, whose virtues are highly prized.
Lmong the domestic fowls, or poultry', are the turkey, which
comparatively scarce, and chiefly raised for the tables of
ropeans ; the goose, which is very common near all the
tblishments of Europeans ; the b^heky or duck, abundant
every part of the island; the common fowl and pigeons,
ong the birds of prey, the eagle is not found ; but there

several varieties of the falcon, of which the jdko wuru
the largest ; also the carrion crow and the owl. Of tlie
rot kind, two only, the b^tet and selindity are found on Java.
J peacock (merdk)y is very common in large forests. Tlie
ober of distinct species of birds has been estimated not
Uly to exceed two hundred, of which upwards of one hun-
i and seventy have been described, and are already con-

58 ANIMAL KINGDOM.

lained in the collections made on account of the English Eail
India Company.

The dorsal feathers of the white heron, and the vent fealhcn
of the sdndang I4w4y are employed, as substitutes for ostiidi
feathers, by the natives, for plumes, &c. It is very rarely that
the feathers of geese, &c. are employed for beds or pillows, As
silky cotton of the kdpok being preferred on account of its
coolness. For ornamenting the arrows of the natives, At
feathers of some of the falcon tribe are chiefly employed.

Among the interesting subjects which still remain open tat
search, are the habits and constitution of the hinindo eica-
lenta, the small swallow which forms the edible nests, anm-
ally exported in large quantities from Java and the Easten
Islands for the Cliinese market These birds not only abomd
among the cliffs and caverns of the south coast of the islandi
but inhabit the fissiu^es and caverns of several of the mountains
and hills in the interior of the coimtry. From every obwrra*
tion which has been made on Java, it has been inferred, thil
the mucilaginous substance, of which the nests are formed, is
not, as has been generally supposed, obtained from the ocean.
The birds, it is true, generally inhabit the caverns in the vi-
cinity of the sea, as agreeing best witli their habits, and aflbid*
ing them the most convenient retreats for attaching their nests
to ; but several caverns are found inland, at a distance of fertf
or fifty miles from the sea, containing nests similar to those on
the shore. From many of their retreats along the southem
coast, they have been observed to take their fli^tin an inland
direction, towards the pools, lakes, and extensive marshes co-
vered with stagnant water, as affording them abundance of
their food, which consists of flies, musquitos, gnats, and small
insects of every description. Tlie sea Uiat washes the foot of
the clifTs, where they most abound, is ahnost always in a state
of the most violent agitation, and aflords none of those sab-
istances which have been supposed to constitute the food of the
esculent swallow. Another species of swallow on this island
forms a nest, in which grass or moss, &c. are merely aggla-
tinatcd bv a substance, exactiv similar to that of which exclu-
sivoly the edible nests consist. This substance, from what-
ever part of these regions tlie nests be derived, is essentially
uniform, differing only in the coloiu-, according to the relative

ANIMAL KINGDOM. 59

of the JnesU, It exhibits none of those diversities which
t be expected, if it were collected casually (like the mud
•■ployed by the martin, and the materials commonly employed
fanesl-making), and appUed to the rocks. If it consisted of

substances usually supposed, it would be putrescent and

Dr. Horsfield thinks that it is an animal elaboration^ per-
kqis a kind of secretion ; but to determine its nature accurately,
il diooldbe caiefuUy analyzed, the anatomy of the bird should
be investigated, and its character and habits watched.

The kayman of the Dutch, the bodya of the Malays, and the
Mjfo or bdpU of the Javans, which abounds along the shores
sod in the principal rivers of the island, resembles more the
cnoodile of Egypt than that of the Ganges, or the American
affigalinr. The character of the lacerta crocodiles, as given in
Ae SysEtema Naturae, applies to the Javan crocodile, with this
difaen ce, that in the latter the two crests of the tail coalesce
fowards the extremity, in which respect it agrees with that of
fte Ganjges ; but its head and jaws are broad, and rounded,
la its manners, habits, and destructive qualities, it resembles
the largest animals of this genus. Next to the crocodile in size
is the i^wak of tlie Malays, or menfdwak or selira of the
Javana. It scnnetimes attains the length of six or seven feet,
and lives near tibe banks of rivers and marshes. Its character
agrees with those of the lacerta monitor. It is erroneously de-
nominated the guana by Europeans. The eggs of this animal,
as well as of the crocodile, are eaten by the natives, and the
6t is collected for medical purposes. A small lizard, the
Ompiom of the Javans, is erroneously called the chameleon, in
consequence of the property of changing its colour. It has the
specific characters of the guana, but is much smaller, seldom
exceeding eighteen or twenty inches in length. There are
various other lizards.

Two varieties of the turtle, p4nyu and p^yu kombanyj are
found in the seas surrounding Java. Both yield the substance
called tortoise-shell, but they are seldom taken of sufficient
size to render it valuable : the flesh is excellent Another
kind, of which the species is unknown, renders a thicker shell.
Kuro is the name of the common land-tortoise, which is found
very abundantly in particular districts.

60 ANIMAL KINGDOM.

Besides the raiia esculenta, green fix>g (kddok ijk o( ihe '\
Javans) which is frequently eaten, and the kddok benjuy then *■
is the common toad, kodoky and the bdnkonffBJxd kintel. He ^
frog-fish (rana paradosa), or a variety of it, is also found on the ^
island, and has been exhibited in the same supposed metip ^'
morphosis as in other countries. No noxious quality of aaj ^
of these animals is here known. '

It is uncertain whether the boa constrictor be found on Jam -
The serpent usually called the ul<ir sdwa is a species of coluba^ f
and has been described in one of the volumes of the BataTua ]f
Transactions ; but several other species are found which anife >
at a very large size. One of them, the ular Idnanffy is raj '
much dreaded by the natives, and said to be poisonous. Of Ae :
ular sdwa there are several varieties, one of which, ulartAm
mdchan^ is most beautifrdly variegated. Upwards of twenlf \
serpents are enumerated as poisonous. The ^lar IdmpeJtk
found at or near the discharge of large rivers into the oceaip
and is more abundant in some districts than in others. Hue
is greatly dreaded by the natives ; its bite however is raidy
mortal, and the effects are comparatively slow, death sddiMi
occurring within twenty-four hours from the time of its in*
fiiction. No remedies which desen'^e notice are known by Ae
natives : charms and superstitious applications are genenDj
resorted to. The most remarkable serpent is the Alar kdJai^
or kdrang, Tlie Ctlar Idnang^ and some of the varieties tffar
sdita are slender, and possess considerable agility. According
to the accomit of the natives, they frequently ascend trees, and
suspending themselves by the extremity of their tail, seize
upon small animals passing below ; but the true ^lar eotra of
tlie K astern Javans is slow, tliick, and imwieldy. Nothing
which could illustrate its supposed power of fascination hu
been noticed.

Of the fish most common] v used for food bv the natives,
many of which are excellent and abundant, tliirty-foiu" species
of river fish, seven foimd chiefly in pools or stagnant watere,
and sixteen sea fish, are already enumerated by Dr. Horsfield.
The classes of amphibia and pisces, doubtless, afford many
new subjects for investigation. Valent\Ti enumerates five hun-
dred and twenty -eij^ht uncommon kinds of fish found in the
\*aterR of tht» Kastern Islands.

ANIMAL KINGDOM. 01

Honey and wax are produced by three species of bees,
babiting the largest forests, but they are both collected in
■7 inconsiderable quantities. Bees are occasionally domes-
ated by the Arabs and Indians near the large settlements^
It nerer by the natives. Silk-worms were once introduced
f Ac Dutch near Batavia, but attention to them did not
ctend among the natives. The chrysalis of the large atlas
fards a coarse silk, which is however not collected for use.
b die fruit, several insects, and to the com while in the ear,
peculiar species, generally known by the name of wdlang-
imgU, are most destructive. The latter has in some years
eitroyed the growth of whole districts, and occasioned partial
mdty. The natives attempt, in some instances, to extirpate
by burning chaff and brimstone in the fields. There are
scxpioDS and centipedes, but their bite is considered of little
nsequence : the natives generally apply a cataplasm of
uons to the wound. The class of insects affords many new
ijects ; specimens of most of the genus papilio, and many of
lier genera have already been collected.
Java does not afford the same opportunities for beautiful
Oections of shells as the Moluccas, Papua, and other Islands.
QDg the nortbem coast, few shells are found of beauty or
(iehr, and the corallines have mostiy lost their integrity by at-
iob; bat the extensive bays in the southern shore contain
Dj of these objects in a state of beautjr and perfection.

CHAPTER IT.

Ori^n of the Nirftcef — JmMmt compared with Maldfim aad BigU^^Oi
rative Progress of ike three Races — Foreigm h^taemes Ptrmms ^
Natives — Manners — Population — InequaUty qf it aeeosmted fo r ft
tion Tables— Increase of PopulatuM— Foreign Settlers— Ckiuete Bi
Mtddyus — Moors — Arabs — Slaves — GradatUms qf RcmJb among tke J
— Their Habitations^ Dress, and Food,

.The inhabitants of Java seem to owe thdr origiii to the i
stock, from which most of the islands lying to the Boutkcl
eastern Peninsula of Asia appear to have been first peo]
This stock is evidently Taitar, and has, by its niHBamHi
wide-spreading branches, not only extended itself ova
Indian Archipelago, but over the neighbouring CoMtii
*^ To judge from external appearance, that is to say, :
^ shape, size, and feature,*' observes Dr. Francv BqgIm
in his Notices on the Birman Empire *, ^ there is tmrn
'* extensive nation that inhabits the east of Asia. It inel
*^ the eastern and western Tartars of the Chinese antfaoora,
'^ Calmucs, the Chinese, the Japanese, and other tribes i
*^ biting what is called the Peninsula of India beyond
" Ganges, and the islands to the south and east <^ tibi
*^ far at least as New Guinea.** — ^' This nation,** adds the i
author, ^ may be distinguished by a short, squat, id
'' fleshy stature, and by features highly different from thoi
" an European. The face is somewhat in shape of a lose
*^ the forehead and chin being sharpened, whilst at the c1
" bones it is very broad. The eyebrows; or superciliaiy lid
**" in this nation, project very little, and the eyes are
*^ narrow, and placed rather obliquely in the head, the
** temal angles being the highest The nose is veiy si
'^ but has not, like that of the negro, the appearance of h
^^ flattened, and the apertures of the nostrils, which in

* Asiatic Researches, vol. v. page 219» octavo edition.

ORIGIN OF THE NATIVES. GS

** European are linear and parallel, in them are nearly cir-
** cnlar and divergent, for the $epium narium being much
^ thickest towards the lace, places them entirely out of the
^ parallel line. The mouths of this nation are in general well
** shaped; their*hair is harsh, lank, and black. Those of
^ them that live even in the highest climates do not obtain the
** deep hue of the negro or Hindu ; nor do such of them as
** fire in the coldest climates acquire the clear bloom of the
^ European.''.

• But althon^ the Javans are to be included* under this
general description, it does not follow that they bear an exact,
cr Teiy striking resemblance, in person and feature, to the
Chinese or Japanese, nor even that they are liable to be con-
fiRmded with the Birmans or Siamese.* From the former.
Meed, they aie fiur removed by many obvious characteristics;
Ihoo^ more nearly resembling the latter, they possess
peculiarities, which mark them out to the most careless
as a race distinct and s^>arate for ages, though still
f^'"'"g general traces of a common origin. As we approach
flie limits of savage life, and recur to that inartificial, unim-
ftmred state of society^, in which the primitiv<e divergence may
be siqipoeed to have taken place, we shall find the points of
naemblance increased, and the proofs of a common descent
■nltqplied. The less civilized of the tribes inhabiting the
idands, approach so nearly, in physical appearance, to that
portion of the inhabitants of the Peninsula, which has felt least
of Ae Chinese influence on the one side, and of the Birman and
on the other, and ^exhibit so striking an affinity in their
and customs, as to warrant the hypothesis that the tide
of popidation originally flowed towards die islands, firom that
quarter of the Continent lying between Siam and China.* But
at what era this migration commenced; whether, in the first
inatance, it was purely accidental and subsequently gradual ;
or whether, originally, it was undertaken from design, and
accelerated, at any particular periods, by political convulsions
en die Continent, we cannot at present determine with any
certainty, as we have no data on which to rely with con-
fidence. It is probable, however, that the islands were peo«
pled at a very remote period, and long before the Birman
and Siamese nations rose into notice.

04 ORIGIN OF THE NATIVES.

Whatever opinion may be formed on the identity of the
tribes inhabiting these Islands and the neighbouring Penin-
sula, the striking resemblance in person, feature, language^
and customs, which prevails throughout the whole Archipe-
lago, justifies the conclusion, that its original population issued
from the same source, and that the peculiarities which distin-
guish the different nations and communities into which it is at
present distributed, are the result of a long separation, Iocs!
circumstances, and the intercourse of foreign traders, emi-
grants, or settlers.

Excluding the Philippines, as distant from the scene of
our present obsen-ations, it may be noticed, that of the three
chief nations in these islands, occupying respectively Jan,
Siunatra, and Celebes, the first has, especially by its monl
habits, by its superior civilization and improvements, obtained
a broader and more marked characteristic than the othen
Both the Malayan and Biigi^ nations are maritime and cam
mercial, devoted to speculations of gain, animated by a spirit
of adventure, and accustomed to distant and hazardous enter-
prises ; while the Javans, on the contrary, are an agricultural
race, attached to the soil, of quiet habits and contented diqNK
sitions, almost entirely unacquainted with navigation and
foreign trade, and little inclined to engage in either. Thb
difference of character may perhaps be accounted for, by tibe
great superiority of the soil of Java to that of the otlur
two islands.

It is to be regretted, that our information on the state and
progress of society in these islands is scanty, as Europeani
only became acquainted with them when they were on their
decline. The Malayan empire, which once extended over aD
Sumatra *, and the capital of which is still nominally at Me-
ndng-kdbaU on that island, had long been dismembered ; but
its colonies were found established on the coasts of the Penin-
sula and throughout the Islands, as far east as the Moluccas.
The Mahometan institutions had considerably obliterated their
ancient character, and had not only obstructed their improve-
ment, but had accelerated their decline. Traditional histocr
concurs with existing moniunents, in proving tliem to have

• »Sec Miu-sden> Sumatra.

ORIGIN OF THE NATIVES. «;>

faimeilj made considerable advances in those arts, to which
their industry and ingenuity were particularly directed, and
ibej still bear marks of that higher state of civilization which
tbqr once enjoyed.

What the Malayan empire was on Sumatra, in the western
part of the Archipelago, that of Guah or Mengkasafj was on
Cekbes in the east ; but the people of this latter nation, whom
we may generaUy designate by the name of BUgis, had not
been equally influenced by foreign settlers nor exposed to the
inroads of the Arab missionaries, and they consequently main-
tained their ancient worship and their native institutions for a
kmger period. Like the Mal^yuSj they sent forth numerous
colonies, and at one period extended the success of their arms
as &r west as Acheen on Sumatra, and K^ddah on the Malayan
peninsula, and in almost every part of the Archipelago, Ma-
layan and Bdffis settlers and establishments are to be found.

The Javans, on the contrary, being an agricultural people,
are seldom met with out of their native island. At one period
of their history, indeed, their power seems to have been ex-
erted in acquiring or perpetuating foreign dominion, and they
seem to have sent out colonies to Borneo, the Peninsula, Su-
matra, and probably Celebes : but when Europeans became
acquainted with them, their external influence appears to have
been contracted, and their sovereignty nearly confined within
the limits of Java itself. Their foreign establishments thus re-
ceiving from them no protection, and deriving no advantage
from nominal obedience, declared their independence : and,
having but little communication with the mother-country,
soon became assimilated to the character, and merged into the
body of the Malayan nation.

The comparative advancement of these three nations in the
auts of civilized life, seems to be directly as the fertility of the
soil they occupied, or the inducements they held out to foreign
intercourse ; and inversely, as the indulgence of their own
roving, adventurous spirit, and piratical habits. The arts
never fix their roots but in a crowded population, and a
crowded population is generally created only on a fertile terri-
tory. Egypt, from the fertility of soil and the consequent
density of its population, led the way in science and refine-
ment among ancient nations ; while the sterile tracts conti-

VOL. I. F

iHi PERSONS OF THE NATIVES.

guous to Uiat favoured land have been inhabited^ from prin
times, by dispersed tribes of miimproved barbarians. In
manner, Java having become populous from iU natural
tility, and having, by its wealth and the salubrity ol
climate, invited the visits of more enlightened strangers,
made great progress in arts and knowledge ; while the B
being more deficient in these advantages, have been left
siderably behind in the race of improvement They maj
claim, however, to the most originality of character.

It will be the object of another part of this work, to i
the source of that foreign influence, to which these t
nations are principally indebted for their civilization: '.
therefore, it may not be necessary to advert to the cun
stance further, than by generally observing, that from we
Asia they received the rudiments and impulse of improven
an inference abundantly justified by the extensive remau
the arts, institutions, and languages of that country, whicl
still to be found throughout the Archipelago.

< The inhabitants of Java and Madura are in stature n
below the middle size, though not so short as the BUgii
many of the other islanders. They are, upon the whole,
shaped, though less remarkably so than the Maldyma^'
erect in their figures. Their limbs aic slender, and the n
and ankles particularly small. • In general, they aUow the 1
to retain its natural shape. The only exceptions to this dl
vation are, an attempt to prevent the growth, or to reduo<
size of the waist, by compressing it into the narrowest lii
and the practice still more injurious to female elegano
drawing too tightly that part of the dress which coven
bosom. Deformity is very rare among them. The fiyrehe
high, the. eyebrows well marked and distant fiN)m the <
which are somewhat Chinese^ or rather Tartar, in the fb
tion of tlic iiuicr angle. Tlie colour of the eye is dark ;
nose small and somewhat flat, but less so than that ol
islanders in general. The mouth is well formed, but the
are large, and their beauty generally injured by the practit
filing and dyeing the teeth black, and by the use of loibi
tiri, &c. Tlie cheek-bones are usually prominent; the b
very scanty ; the hair of the head generally lank and b
but sometimes waving in curls, and parti^y tinged wi
deep reddish brown colour. The countenance is mild, ji

PERSONS OF THE NATIVES. 07

and thoughtfiil, and easily expresses respect, gaiety, earnest -
UBUy iDdifference, bashfulness, or anxiety.
• In complexion, the Javans, as well as the other eastern
idandersy may be considered rather as a yellow than a copper-
ecdoured or black race. Their standard of beauty, in this
icqMCty is '^ a Tirgin-gold colour :*! except perhaps in some
few districts in the mountainous parts of the country, where a
nddy tinge is occasioned by the climate, they want the degree
of r&d requisite to give them a copperish hue. It may be
observed, however, that they are generally darker than the
tribes of the neighbouring islands ; especially the inhabitants
of the eastern districts, who may indeed be considered as
having more delicate features, and bearing a more distinct
impressian of Indian colonization, than those of the Western
or SUnda districts. The Si^ndas exhibit many featiu^s of a
mountainous race. They are shorter, stouter, hardier, and
more active men, than the inhabitants of tlie coast and eastern
districts. In some respects they resemble the Madurese, who
display a more martial and independent air, and move with a
bolder carriage than the natives of Java. A considerable dif-
fifkence exists in person and features between the higher and
kmrer classes ; more indeed than seems attributable to differ-
ence of employment and treatment The featiu^s and limbs
of the chiefs are more delicate, and approach more nearly to
those of the inhabitants of Western India, while those of the
common people retain more marked traces of the stock from
which the idands were originally peopled. In colour there
are many different shades in different families and different
districts, some being much darker than others. Among many
of the chiefs a strong mixture of the Chinese is clearly dis-
cernible : the Arab features are seldom found, except among
the priests, and some few families of the highest rank.

The women, in general, are not so good-looking as the men ;
and to Europeans many of them, particularly when advanced
in years, appear hideously ugly. But among the lower orders,
much of this deficiency of personal comeliness is doubtless to
be attributed to the severe duties which they have to perform
in the field, to the hardships they have to undergo in carrying
oppressive btffdens, and to exposure in a sultry climate. On
the neighbouring island of Bdli^ where the condition of the

F 2

(iM POPITI.ATJON TABI.KS.

wnnicn among the peasaiitrv does not ap})ear by any means so
oijpressed and de«p*aded, tliey exhibit considerable personal
beauty ; and even on Java, the higher orders of tliem being kept
within-doors, have a very decided superiority in this respect

In manners the Javans are easy and courteous, and re-
spectful even to timidity ; they have a great sense of propriety,
and are never nide or abru])t. In their deportment they are
pliant and graceful, the people of condition carrj-ing with
them a considerable air of Fashion, and receiving the gaze
of the curious without being at all disconcerted. In their
delivery they are in general veiy circumspect and even slow,
though not deficient in animaticm when necessarj'.

• Here, as on Sumatra, there are certain mountainous dis-
tricts, in which the peo])le are subject to those large wens
in the throat, tenucd in Eurojie f/offres.* Tlie cause is gene-
rally ascribed by tlie natives to the (juality of the water ; but
there seems good ground for concluding, that it is rather to be
traced to the atmosphere. In ])roof of this it may be men-
tioned, that there, is a village near the foot of the Teng'gar
mountains, in tlie eastern part of tlie island, where every
family is afflicted by this malady, while in another viUagCi
situated at a greater elevation, and tlm)ugh which the stream
descends which serves for the use of botli, there exists no such
deformity. These wens are considered hereditar}' in some &-
milies,* and seem thus independent of situation. A branch of
the family of the ])resent Adipdti of Bdnditng is subject to
them, and it is remarkable that they prevail chiefly among the
women in that family. Tliey neitlier produce positive sufieriDg
nor occasion early death, and may be considered rather as de-
fonnities tlian diseases. It is never attempted to remove them.

'File population of Java is veryunequally distributed, whether
we consider the fertility or the extent of the districts over which
it is s})read. llie great ma.ss of it lies in the eastern and na-
tive districts, as will be perceived from the annexed tables.

llie table No. 1., is compiled from materials collected by a
cimunittee appointed on the first establishment of the British
govennnent, to enqum* and re])ort on the state of the countr}'.
It will be foimd to illustrate, in some degree, the proportionate
numbers of the different ranks and cla«ssi*s of sfKrietv in the
island. Beyond this, however, it cannot be depended upon,
a< the returns of which it is an abstract were made at a period

POPULATION TABLl'S. 69

when the Dutch system of administratiou provisionally re-
mained in force ; and every new enquir}' into tlic state of the
coontn' heing at that time considered by the people as a pre-
lude to some new tax or oppression, it became an object with
them to conceal the full extent of the population: accordingly
it was found to differ essentially in amount from the results of
information subsequently obtained on the introduction of the
detailed land-revenue settlement, when an agreement witli each
individual cultivator becoming necessary to the security of his
possession, he seldom failed to satisfy tlie necessary enquiries.
Tie table No. II., here exhibited, at least as far as regards the
European provinces, may therefore be considered as faithful a
riew of the population of the comitry as could be expected, and
as such, notwitlistanding the inaccuracies to which all such
accounts are liable, it is presented with some confidence to tlie
public.

It was formed in the following maimer. A detailed account
of the peasantry of each village was first taken, containing the
name of each male inhabitant, with other particulars, and from
the aggregate of these village lists a generaJ statement was con-
structed of the inhabitants of each subdivision and district. An
abstract was again drawn up from these provincial accounts,
exhibiting the state of each residency in which the districts
were respectively included, and the totals of these last, col-
lected into one tabular view, constitute the present abstract
The labour of this detailed sun^ev was considerable, for as
each individual cultivator was to receive a lease corresponding
with the register taken, it was necessary that the land he rented
should be carefidly measured and assessed *.

• The Javan mode of taking account of population is by the number
of chacha, or *' families." as it is usually rendered, though the word strictly
means '* enumeration." When the sovereign assigns lands, it is not usual
for him to express the extent of land, but the number of chacha attached
to it. But as the population of the land so granted varies, the original
ex])ression becomes inaccurate. In the native provinces, the number of
chachas reckoned is almost invariably less than the number actuidly exist-
ing, a clear proof, if the original census was correct, that in those pro-
vinces population has increased. An account of the number of chachas
was taken some few years back by the Sultan of Yugya-ke'rta, with a view
to a new distribution of the lands ; but the measure wa.s very mipopular,
and no accurate results were obtained. The Dutch relied, entirely upon
this loose Hy><tem of enumeration.

IS"

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ims^piiyiiii 5 '»

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UAmisammi «i n

iiiiBSiiBap II II

IIHIIllllIP B II

IHIIiHIlffiili i II

f H|j!!6p.|«ME|| Si IS

M|ii.p.tm«}i»| K| 5*

ill

iPl
III

:lj

3ll.

til
i

POPULATION. 71

By the last table, it appears that m some districts the popu-
lilioD is in the ratio of two hundred and eighty-one to a square
oile, while in others it is not more than twenty-four and three
quarters : in the districts of Bcmyuwdngi it is even as low as
leren. Hie soil in the eastern districts b generaUy considered
WKpmat to that in the western, and this circumstance, added
to the superior facilities which they affoid to commerce, may
tore to account for their original selection as the chief seat of
the native government, and consequently for their denser po-
pulation at an early period.

This diiproportion was also promoted by the policy of the
Dutch Company. The Dutch first established themselves in
the western division, and having no confidence in the natives,
cndeaTOured to drive them firom the vicinity of Batavia, with
die view of establishing round their metropolis an extensive
nd desert barrier. The forced services and forced deliveries,
lUch extended wherever Dutch influence could be felt, and
of which more will be said hereafter, contributed to impoverish,
md thereby to depopulate the country. The drain also of the
ionounding districts, to supply the place of the multitudes
idu) perished by the unhealthy climate of Batavia, must have
wen enormous ; and if to these we add the checks to popula-
ion, which were created over Bantam, the Pridng*en Regen-
ries, and Ch^ribon, in the pepper and cofiee cultivation, of the
lature of which an account will be given when treating of the
igricultuie of the country, we need go no fiirther to account for
he existing disproportion. It was only about sixty years ago
hat the Dutch government first obtained a decided influence in
he eastern districts, and firom that moment, the provinces sub-
ected to its authority ceased to improve, and extensive emigra-
ions took place into the dominions of the native princes. Such
vere the effects of this desolating system, that the population
if the province oi Banyuwdngi^ which in 1750 is said to have
(mounted to upwards of eighty thousand souls, was in 1811
educed to eight thousand.

The Pridng*en Regencies, firom their inland situation and
Qountainous character, may probably have at all times been
ess closely peopled than other parts of the island, and their
Dsufficient population would fiumish no proofs of the oppres-
icms of government, did we not observe extensive tracts, nay

72 POPULATION.

whole districts, exhibiting the traces of fonner cultivation, now
lying waste and overgrown witli long rank grass. Cheribon
and Bantam have shared the same fate. These provinces, ac-
cording to autlientic accounts, were at Uie period of the first
establishment of the Eun>pean government, among the richest
and most populous of the island. In 1811 tliey were found in
a state of extreme poverty, affording little or no revenue, aud
distracted by all tlie aggravated miseries of continued insur-
rections.

If we look at Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, the capitals
of the British government in India: if we look at the great
cities of everj' nation in Europe ; nay, if we even confine our-
selves to the capitals of the native princes on Java, we shall
ihid that po])ulation has always accumulated in their vicinity.
And why was not this the case with tlie Dutch cai)ital ? The
climate alone will not ex])lain it. Bad government was the
principal cause; a system of policy which secured neither
person nor property — selfish, jealous, vexatious, and tyranni-
cal. It is no less true tlian remarkable, that wherever the
Dutch influence has prevailed in the Eastern Seas, depopula-
tion has followed. The Moluccas particidarly have suffered at
least as much as any part of Java, and the population of those
Islands, reduced as it is, has been equally oppressed and de-
gi'aded.

It was fortunate for the interests of humanity, and for the
ini])()rtance of Java, that tlie native governments were less
op])rossive than the sway of tlieir European conquerors, and
that tlicir states aflbrded a retreat from a more desolating
tvrannv. It has been ascertained, tliat, on the first establish-
iiu*nt of the Dutch in the eastern part of the Island, the inha-
bitants of whole districts at once migrated into the native
provinces. Ever}- new act of rigour, every unexpected exac-
tion, (K'c-asioni'd a further migration, and cultivation was
transferred to tracts which had previously scarcely a family on
them. 'Jliis state of things continued down to the latest date
of tlie Dutch government. During the administration of
Marshal Daendels, in the years 1808, 1809, and 1810, nearly
all the inhabitants of the province of Dewak^ one of the richest
in the eastern districts, fled into the native provinces ; and
M hen an order was given for the rigid enforcement of the cofiee

P()PUI^\TION. 7:3

mooopolyy eveiy district suffered in its population, in propor-
tioD to the extent of service levied upon it Of the sacrifice of
fires by thousands and tens of thousands, to fill the ranks of the
Dutch native army, and to construct roads and public works,
we shall speak more at large hereafter.
•Hie total population of Java and Madiira appears^firom the
Table No. 11./ to amount to^ 4,615,270, of which about foui*
minions and a half may be considered as the indigenous popu-
htiiHi of the country, and the rest as foreign settlers.* Itine-
lants, who are principally found along the coast in the different
maritime and commercial capitals, are not included ; neither is
the nautical population, which cannot be estimated at less than
9D,000 souls; so that the whole population of these two
idands may, perhaps, be taken in round numbers at not much
less than five millions. Of these.not less than three millions
are in the provinces immediately subject to European autho-
rity, and upwards of a million and a half in the provinces of
the native princes. '

While the British were in possession of Java, there is reason
to believe that the population of the Island was rapidly increas-
ing ; that of the provinces immediately under the European
authority was certainly augmented by the return of nionerous
families firom emigration : but previously to that period, no such
authentic registers were kept as might enable us to ascertain
with precision the variations in the number of the inhabitants
during the Dutoh government

Nothing can more completely shew the vague and defective
information formerly attainable on this subject, than the loose
and contradictory statements published by those who took
most pains to be well informed, and who felt it their duty to
collect all the light that could be attained. In some accounts
which have met the public eye, the population of Java is placed
on a level with that of the most powerftil European states, and
assumed as high as thirty millions, while in others, where one
would expect more accuracy *, it is rated at only a million.
The most respectable authorities t state tlic population about
a century ago at three millions; but the slightest reflection will
convince us, that such an estimate must have proceeded upon

• Colquhown'8 Statistical Account of Great Britain. f Valentyn.

74 POPULATION.

data merely coDJectural, for from our knowledge of the Dutch
maxims of administration we may safely say, that until reiy
lately, they never thought it an object to prosecute statiatic
enquiries, and that if ever they had done so, under the M
system, they could have obtain^ no results deserving of con-
fidence or credit

About the year 1750, a certain number of families wm
assigned by the stipulations of a treaty to one of the native
princes * ; and on his death, about thirty years afterwards^
when an account was taken of this population, it appeared
that the number of families had nearly doubled. But this in-
crease cannot be taken as the average increase of the Island,
for at this period the native provinces received a considerable
accession to their numbers, in consequence of the emigrations
from the Dutch territories.

If any inference can be drawn from this and other corres-
ponding circumstances, it would seem, that notwithstanding
tlic drains on the existing race, and the preventive checks to
an increase, which were experienced during the latter years of
the Dutch administration, the island was actually more popu-
lous in 1811, when it was surrendered to the British, than in
1750, when at the termination of a destructive war, the Dutch
acquired the greatest portion of it from the natives.

To support the opinion of an increase within the last half
century (which is every where asserted) we have the assurance,
that during that period the greatest internal tranquillity pie-
vailed in the provinces subject to native administration ; that
no years of scarcity and fieunine were experienced, and that the
island was blessed with genial seasons and abundance of sub-
sistence. But to place in the opposite scale, we have the
government oppressions to which wc formerly alluded, and
which one would suppose sufficient to coimteract the natuiml
tendency of these advantages. As demonstrative of the strength
of tliat principle of ]>opulation, which could even maintain its
stationary amoiuit in conflict with political drains and discou-
ragements, it may be proper to mention cursorily a few of them.
Great demands were, at all times, made on the peasantry of the
island, to recruit the ranks of the Dutch army, and to supply

* Tlie grandfather of the present Prince Prang HetAwe.

POPULATION. 75

the many other wants of the public sendee ; the severities and
coBiequent mortalitj to which the troops were liable, may be
cakolaled, from the reluctance of the unfortunate wretches,
idected as victims of military conscription, to engage in the
duties of a militaiy life. Confined in unhealthy garrisons,
eqKMed to unnecessary hardships and privations, extraordinaiy
ctioalties took place among them, and frequent new levies be-
came necessaiy , while the anticipation of danger and suffering
produced an aversion to the senice, which was only aggravated
Ij the subsequent measures of cruelty and oppression. The
CQOScripts raised in the provinces were usually sent to the me-
tropolis by water; and though the distance be but short between
any two points of the island, a mortality, similar to that of aslave-
diipin the middle passage, took place on board these recepta-
cles of reluctant recruits. They were generally confined in the
stocks till their arrival at Batavia, and it is calculated that for
every man that entered the army and performed the duties of a
soldier, several lives were lost Besides the supply of the army,
one half of the male population of the country was constantly
held in readiness for other public services ; and thus a great
portion of the effective hands were taken fix>m their families,
and detained at a distance from home, in labours which broke
their spirit and exhausted their strength. During the adminis*
tralion of Marshal Daendels, it has been calculated that the
construction of public roads alone, destroyed the lives of at
least ten thousand workmen. The transport of government
stores, and the capricious requisitions of government agents of
all classes, perpetually harassed, and firequently carried off
numbers of the people. If to these drains we add the waste of
life occasioned by insurrections, which tyranny and impolicy
excited and fomented in Ch^ribon, the blighting effects of the
coffee monopoly, and forced services in the Pridng^en Regen-^
cies, and the still more desolating operation of the policy pur-
sued and consequent anarchy produced in the province of
Bantam, we shall have some idea of the depopulating causes
that existed imder the Dutch administration, and the force of
that tendency to increase, which could overcome obstacles so
powerful.

Most of these drains and checks were removed during the
short period of British administration ; but it is to be regretted

7(; POPULATION.

(so far as accurate data on Uiis subject would be desirable) that
there was not time to leani satisfactorily the result of a dif-
ferent system, or to institute tlie proper registers, by which
alone questions of population can be determined. The only
document of that kind, to which I can venture to refer as au-
thentic, is a statement of the births and deaths that occuired in
the given general population of tlie Pridntfen Regencies fiir
one year. From this account it would appear, that even in
these Regencies, where, if we except Batavia, the checks to
})02)iLlution are allowed to be greater than elsewhere, the births
were to the total existing population as 1 to 39, and the deaths
as 1 to 40 very nearly ; that the births exceed the deaths by
618, or about 1 in 40, in a population of 232,0009 and tliat, at
that rate, the population woidd double itself in three hundred
and seventy-five years. A slow increase, certainly, compared
with England, where tlie births, in tlie three years ending
1800, were to the persons alive as 1 in 30, and the deaths as
1 to 49, and where, consequently, the nation would double
itself in one hundred and sixty years (or taking the enumera-
tion of 1811 as more correct, where the population would be
doubled in eighty years) : but not much slower than that uf
France, wliere, according to the statements of numbers in 1700
and 1790, about tlu*oe hundred years would l>e required to
double the uihabitants. It has been estimated that the popu-
lation in some more favourable districts woidd double itself in
iil'tv vcars. One inference cannot fail to be drawn from the
register to which I have referred ; that the births and deaths,
though they nearly a])proach each otlier, are low, compared
with the existing numbers ; and that, consequently, the cli-
mate is healthy, and the marriages not ver}' prolific, as far as
this district is c<mcemed.

In the absence of authentic documents, which would have
t'nabltMl us to resolve many interesting (piestions regarding the ^
population, such as the number of children to a marriage, the
ordinary length of life, the projxirtion of children that die in
infancy and at the other stages of life, tlie ratio between the
births and deaths, and the consequent ratt» of increase, the
dl'ect of ]u)lvganiy and nHilti])lied divorces, the comparative
licallhiness ofthr timiis and the villages, and several others, —
1 shall stale a few observations on scmie of these heads, and a

POPULATION. 77

few bets tending to shew, that under a l)etter system, of
goremment, or by the removal of a few of the checks that pre-
fioiisly existed, Java might, in a short time, be expected to be
better peopled.

The soil is in general extremely fertile, and can be brought
to yield its produce wiih little labour. Many of the best spots
idll remain uncultivated, and several districts are almost desert
and neglected, which might be the seats of a crowded and
happy peasantry. In many places, tlie land does not require
to be cleared, as in America, from the overgrown vegetation of
primeval forests, but offers its ser\'ices to the husbandman,
ahnost free from every obstruction to his immediate lal>ours.
The agricultural life in which the mass of tlie people arc
engaged, is on Java, as in every other country', the most
favourable to health. It not only favours the longevity of the
existing race, but conduces to its more rapid renewal, by
leading to early marriages and a numerous progeny. Tlic
terai of life is not much shorter than in the best climates of
Europe. A very considerable number of persons of both
sexes attain the advanced age of seventy or eighty, and some
even live to one hundred and upwards ; nearly tlie same pro-
portion survive forty and fifty, as in other genial climates.

\l1iile life is thus healtliy and prolonged, there are no
restraints upon the formation of family connexions, by the
scarcity of subsistence or the labour of supporting children.
Both sexes arrive at maturity ver}- early, and the customs of
the country, as well as the nature of the climate, impel them
to marry yoimg; the males at sixteen, and the females at
thirteen or fourteen years of age : though frequently the women
form connexions at nine or ten, and, as Montesquieu expresses
it, " infancy and marriage go together." Tlie conveniences
which the married couple require are few and easily procured.
The impulse of nature is seldom checked by the experience of
present deficiencies, or the fear of future poverty. Subsistence
is procured witliout difficulty, and comforts are not wanting.
Children, who are for a very short period a burden to their
parents, become early the means of assistance and the source
of wealth. To the peasant who labours his field witli his own
hand, and who has more land than he can bring into cultiva-
tion, they grow up into a species of valuable property, a real

78 POPULATION.

treasure ; while, during their ixkfSsmcy and the season of help-
lessness, they take little firom the firuits of hisindustxybnt bam
subsistence.

Their education costs him little or nothing ; scarcely any
clothing is required, his hut needs very little enlargement, and
no beds are used. Many of them die in in&ncy from the
small-pox and other distempers, but never from scanty food or
criminal neglect of parents. The women of all classes sucUe
their children, till we ascend to the wives of the regents and
of the sovereign, who employ nurses.

Though women soon arrive at maturity, and enter early into
the married state, they continue to bear children to an ad-
vanced age, and it is no uncommon thing to see a grandmother
still making addition to her family. Great families are how-
ever rare. Though there arc some women who have borne
thirteen or fourteen children, the average is rather low than
otlicmisc. A chdchaj or family, is generally less numeroos
than in Europe, both from the circumstance that the young
men and women more early leave the houses of their parents
to form establishments for themselves, and from an injudicious
mode of labouring among women of the lower ranks. Mis-
carriages among the latter are frequently caused by over-
straining themselves in canning excessive burdens, and
performing oppressive field-work, during pregnancy. Tlie
average number of persons in a family does not exoeed fimr,
or four and a half. As the labour of the women is almost
equally productive with that of the men, female children
become as much objects of solicitude with their parents as
male : they are nursed with the same care, and viewed with
the same pride and tenderness. • In no class of society are
children of cither sex considered as an incumbrance, or the
addition to a family as a misfortune ; marriage is thereibre
almost universal. An unmarried man past twenty is seldom
to l)e met with, and an old maid is considered a curiosity.
Ncnther custom, law, or religion, enjoins celibacy on the priest-
hood, or anv other order of the communitv, and bv none of
them is it ])ractised. Although no strictness of principle, nor
strong sense of moral restraint, prevails in the intercotirse of
the sexes, prostitution is not common, except in the capitals.*

As the Javans are a quiet domestic people, little given to

POPULATION. 79

adventure, dismclined to foreign enteiprize, not easily roused
to violence or bloodshed, and little disposed to irregularities
of any kind, there are but few families left destitute in con-
sequence of hazards incurred or crimes committed by their
natnral protectors. The character of blood-thirsty revenge,
which has been attributed to all the inhabitants of the Indian
Archipelago, by no means applies to the people of Java ; and
thougji, in all cases where justice is badly administered or
absolutely perverted, people may be expected to enforce their
rights or redress their grievances, rather by their own passions
than by an appeal to the magistrate, comparatively few lives
aie lost on the island by personal affirays or private feuds.

Such aie a few of the circumstances that would appear to
have encouraged an increase of population on Java. They
furnish no precise data on which to estimate its rapidity, or
to calculate the period within which it would be doubled, but
they allow us, if tranquillity and good government were en-
joyed, to anticipate a gradual progress in the augmentation
of inhabitants, and the improvements of the soil for a long
course of time. Suppose the quantity of land in cultivation
to be to the land still in a state of nature as one to seven,
which is probably near the truth, and that, in the ordinary
circumstances of the country, the population would double
itself in a century, it might go on increasing for three himdred
years to come. Afterwards the immense tracts of unoccupied
or thinly peopled territories on Sumatra, Borneo, and the nu-
merous islands scattered over the Archipelago, may be ready
to receive colonies, arts, and civilization from the metropolis
of the Indian seas. Commercial intercourse, friendly rela-
tions, or political institutions, may bind these dispersed com-
munities in one great insular commonwealth. Its trade and
navigation might connect the centre of this great empire with
Japan, China, and the south-western countries of Asia. New
Holland, which the adventurous BUgis already frequent, and
which is not so fax distant from Java as Russia is from
England, might be included in the circle, and colonies of
Javans settled on the north, might meet with the British
spreading from the south, over that immense and now imcul-
tivated region. If we could indulge ourselves in such reveries
with propriety, we might contemplate the present semi-bar-

yo POPULATION.

barons condition, ignorance, and poverty of these innomerable
islands, exchanged for a state of refinement, prosperity, and
happiness.

I formerly alluded to the oppressions of government, as the
principal checks to the increase of population on Java. Thae
are many otliers, such &s the small-pox, and other diseases,
which are common to tliat country with the rest of the woild.
From the scattered state of the population, any contagioui
distemper, such as the small-jiox, was formerly less destruc-
tive on Java, than in coimtries where the inhabitants are
more crowded into large toA^Tis, and it is hoped that, from
the establishment for vaccine inoculation which the British
govcnmient erected, and endeavoiured to render permanent, its
ravages may, in time, be entirely arrested. The diseases most
peculiar to the coiuitry, and most dangerous at all ages, are
fevers and dysenteries : epidemics are rare. There are two
moral causes which, on their first mention, will strike eveiv
one as powerfully calculated to counteract the principle of
poi)ulation : I mean tlie facility of obtaining divorces, and the
practice of j)olygamy. A greater weight should not, however,
be given them than they deserve after a consideration of all
the circumstances. It is true, tliat separations often take place
on the slightest grounds, and new connexions are formed mth
equal frivolity and caprice ; but in whatever light morality
would view this practice, and however detrimental it would be
to i)opulation in a different state of society, by leaving the
children of the marriage so dissolved to neglect and want,
it has no such consequences on Java. Considering the age at
which marriages are usually contracted, the choice of the
partiis cannot be always expected to be considerate or judi-
cious. It may be obsi^n-cd also tliat the women, although they
do not appear old at twenty, as Montescjuieu remarks, certainly
sooner lose tliiit influence over their husbands, which depends
U])on their beauty and personal attractions, than they do in
colder climates. In a<Uliti()n to this, there is little moral
restraint among many classes of the community, and the
religious maxims and indulg(*nces acted u]>on by the priest-
hood, in regulating matrimonial sanctions, have no tendency
to ])n>duce constancy, or to n*])ress inclination. Dissolutions
of marriage are, therefore, verj* frequent, and obtained upon the

MARRIAGES. 81

slightest pretences ; but, as children are always valuable, and
as there is very little trouble in rearing or providing for them, no
change of mate, in either party, leads to their abandonment or
neglect. Indeed, the ease of supporting children, which renders
the practice less detrimental to the increase of population, may
be one of the principal causes why it is generally followed and
so little checked. No professed prostitution or promiscuous
intercourse is the consequence of this weakness of the nuptial
tie. It is rather brittle than loose ; it is easily dissolved, but
while it remains it generally insures fidelity.

Polygamy, though in all cases it must be injurious to popula-
tion and happiness, so far as it goes, is permitted on Java, as in
other Mahomedan countries, by religion and law, but not prac-
ticed to any great extent. Perhaps the ease of obtaining
matrimonial separations, by admitting of successive changes of
wives, diminishes the desire of possessing more than one at a
time.

It is plain, likewise, that whatever be the law, the great
body of the people must have only one wife ; and that, where
there is nearly an equality of number between the sexes, in-
equality of wealth or power alone can create an unequal distri-
bution of women. On Java, accordingly, only the chiefs and
the sovereign many more than one wife. All tlie chiefs, from
the regents do^nawards, can only, by the custom of the country,
have two; the sovereign alone has four. The regents, however,
have generally three or four concubines, and the sovereign
eight or ten. Some of the chiefs have an extraordinary
number of children ; the late Regent of Tuhan is reputed to
have been the father of no fewer than sixty -eight Such
appropriations of numerous women as wives or concubines,
were owing to the political power of native authorities over tlie
inferior classes ; and as, by the new system, that power is
destroyed, the evil may to a certain extent be checked. If we
were to depend upon the statement of a \%Titer whom Mon-
tesquieu refers to, that in Bantam there were ten women to one
man, we should be led to conclude with him, that here was a
case particularly favourable to polygamy, and that such an
institution was here an appointment of natiure, intended for the
multiplication of the species, ratlier than an abuse contributing
to check it. There is not the least foimdation, however, for the

VOL. I. <'

H'2 FOREKiN SETILHRS.

report Tlie })roportiuii of males an<l females bom in Baiitam,
and over the whole of Java, is nearly the same as in Europe, and
as we fmd generally to exist, wherever accurate statt*ments can
be oljUiined. From the information collected in a ven* careful
suney of one part of the verj- province in question, the prepon-
dtrrance seemed to be on the side of male children to an extra-
ordinary degr(»c; the male children being about forty-two
thousand, and the females only tliirty-five tliousand five hun*
dred. Tliere were formerly, it is true, great drains on the male
po])ulation, to which I have before alluded, and which, in the
advanced stages of life, might turn the balance on the other
side ; but as they were never so destructive as to render poly-
gamy a })olitical institution, so that institution was not carried to
such an extent, as to render it a peculiar obstacle to the progrev
of population. Upon the \^'hole, we may conclude that in Java,
under a mild government, there is a great tendency to an in-
crease in tlie number of inhabitants, and to the consequent im-
provement and importance of the island.

besides the natives, whose numbers, circumstances, and cha-
racter I have slightly mentioned, there is on Java a rapidly
increasing race of foreigners, who have emigrated finom the
different surrounding coimtries. The most numerous and im-
portant class of tliese is the Chinese, who already do not fiJl
far short of a hundred thousand ; and who, with a system of free
trade and free cultivation, would soon accumulate tenfold, by
natiual increase within the island, and gradual accessions of
new settlers from home. They reside principally in the three
ca])iUils of Batavia, Samdrang^ and Surabaya^ but they are to
be found in all the smaller capitals, and scattered over most
])arts of the country. A great pn)])ortion of them are descended
from families who have been many generations on the island.
Additions iu'e gradually making to their numbers. They arrive
at Hatavia from China, to the amoimt of a thousand and more
annually, in Chinese junks, carrying three, four, and five hun-
dre<l each, without money or nisoiu-ces ; but, by dint of their in-
dustry, soon ac(|uire com])arative opulence. . There are no
women on Java wlio come directly from China; but as the Chi-
nese often marr}' the daughters of their countn'raeii by Javan
women, there results a numemus mixed race, which is often
scarrrlv distinguishable from the native Chinese. TlieChinerc

FOREIGN SFTTLERS. s:3

on their arrival generally marry a Javan woman, or purchase
a slave from the other islands. The progeny from tliis con-
nexion, or what may be termed the cross breed between
the Chinese and Javans, are called in the Dutch accounts
femAkans. Many return to China annually in the junks, but
by no means in the same numbers as they arrive.

The Chinese, in all matters of inheritance and minor affairs,
tie governed by their ovra laws, administered by their own
chieft, a captain and several lieutenants being appointed
by government for each society of them. They are distinct
from the natives, and are in a high degree more intelligent,
more laborious, and more luxurious. They are the life and
soul of the commerce of the countiy. In the native provinces
they are still farmers of the revenue, having formerly been so
throughout the island.

Although still numerous, they are considered to have much
decreased since the ci\dl war in 1742, during which not only
a large proportion of the Chinese population was massacred
by the Dutch in the town of Batavia, but a decree of extermi-
nation was proclaimed s^ainst them throughout tlie island.

The natives of the Coromandel and Malabar coast, who
reside on Java, are usually termed Moors. They appear to be
the renmant of a once extensive class of settlers ; but their
numbers have considerably decreased, since the establishment
of the Dutch monopoly, and the absolute extinction of the
native trade with India, which we have reason to believe was
once very extensive. Trading vessels, in considerable numbers,
still continne to proceed from the Coromandel coast to Su-
matra, Penang, and Malacca, but they no longer frequent
Java.

B4igi8 and Maldyus are established in ail the maritime
capitals of Java. They have their own quarter of the town
allotted to them, in the same manner as the Chinese, and are
subject to the immediate authority of their respective captains.

Among the Arabs are many merchants, but the majority arc
priests. Their principal resort is Gr^sik^ the spot where
Mahomedanism was first extensively planted on Java. They
are seldom of genuine Arab birth, but mostly a mixed race,
between the Arabs and the natives of the islands.

There is another class of inhabitants, either foreigners them-

(i -2

^4 SLAVICS.

selves, or the immediate descendants of foreigners, whose
peculiar situation and considerable numbers entitle them to
some notice in the general sketch of the population : I mean
the class of slaves. The native Javans are never reduced to
this condition ; or if they should happen to be seized and sold
by pirates, a satisfactory proof of their origin would be suffi-
cient to procure their enfranchisement. The slave merchants
have therefore been under the necessity of resorting to the
neighbouring islands for a supply, and the greatest number
have been procured from Bali and Celebes. The total amoimt
may be estimated at about thirty thousand. According to the
returns obtained in 1814, it appeared that the follon-ing weie
the numbers in the principal divisions of the island.

At Batavia and its environs 18,972

In the Semarang division 4,488

In the Surabava division 3,682

ToUl 27,142

Tliese slaves are the property of the Europeans and Chinese
alone : the native chiefs never require the sen'ices of slaves, or
engage in the trafhc of slaveiy. The Mahomedan laws, which
regulate their civil condition, and permit this abomination in
all its extent, arc modified by the milder prejudices and more
humane temper of the country'. The Dutch, who, like us,
valued themselves on tlieir political liberty, are here the great
pn)moters of civil servitude, and carried witli them into their
(^astern empire, the lloman law regarding slavery' in all its
extent and rigour. But although they adopted principles that
adniitti'd of the most cniel and wanton treatment of slaves, I
woulil nc»t be underst(H)d to say, that they carried these prin-
ri])les into comiiion practice, llie contraiy was almost uni-
versally the case, and the condition of slaves on Java, where
the y were employed principally in domestic offices, formed a
complete contrast to tlie state of those employed in the West
India ])Iantations. It is remarked by Montesquieu, that "in
'^ despotic countries, the condition of a slave is hardly moie
" burdensome than that of a subject," and such has been the
case in Ja\a. 'llie grounds on which the Dutch justified the

SLAVES. 85

practice of making slaves, was not that they could not com-
mand the services of the natives with a sway sufficiently ab-
solute^ and that they were compelled to seek, beyond the
fimits of the island, for unfortunate agents to perform what
{he natives shewed a reluctance to undertake, but that they
fimnd the class of foreigners more adroit and docile than the
Javans in the conduct of household affairs, and that having
reduced them to the state of property, they remained in the
fimiily for life, and saved the trouble of a new training.

Upon the conquest of the island by the British in 1811, the
condition of this class of its subjects excited the attention of
government; and though we could not, consistently with those
rights of property which were admitted by the laws that we
professsed to administer, emancipate them at once from servi-
tude, we enacted regulations, as far as we were authorized, to
ameliorate their present lot, and lead to their ultimate freedom.
Steps were immediately taken to check frurther importation,
and as soon as it was known that the horrid traffic in slaves
was declared a felony by the British parliament, it was not
pennitted for an instant to disgrace a region to which the
British authority extended. The folly and perfect uselessness
of slavery on Java has been often pointed out by Dutch com-
missioners and Dutch authors ^.

* It is remaiked in the text, that the condition of the slaves on Java
is very different from that of the same class in the West Indies. The
fonner are employed rather as administering to the luxuries than the ne-
of their proprietors ; and, with few exceptions, exclusively for
purposes. There are some who having taught their slaves when
yooDg to embroider, or exercise some useful handicraft or trade, obtain
a Uvelihood by means of their services, and some few employ their slaves
on their estates, or let them out to hire ; but the general condition of the
slaves is that of domestic servants.

The regulations and colonial statutes respecting slavery seems to have
been framed on the principles of humanity, and with attention to the
genius of the Christian religion ; yet, in consequence of the supplemen-
tary force of the Roman law in the Dutch system of legislature, there
appeared to be one capital defect in the code, viz. that a slave was con-
fliiiered as a real property, incapable of personal rights, from which con-
sideration the ill-treatment of a master towards his slave was not so much
estimated on the principle of personal injury, as that of a proprietor
abusing his own property ; and although a slave, under such a system,
might obtain a portion of property for himself with the consent of his

8(5 SLAVES.

Having thu» attempted a brief description of the diflfereut
classes of the Asiatic population of tlie island^ 1 shaU proceed

maiitcr, his possession was alwa)^ precarious, and depended on the
cretiun of his propnetor (in the saine manner as a ptadimm adceuiUimm
with the Romans), becoming only the unlimited property of the dave* if
the master allowed him to keep it after his emancipation.

It ^Tis conceived, that considering the cii'il law only m a supplemcnl
to the positive law, continued in force on Java under the proflamation
of the Earl of Minto of 11th September 1811, the code respecting dareiy
mijrht, together with the other i>arts of legislation, be amended and «!»•
blishcd, on principles more consistent with humanity and good sense, by
a declaration, that slaves in future should not be considered as objects of
real profierty, but as objects possessing personal rights, and bound only
to unlimited sendee ; and that, in consequence thereof, slaves shodld
never be transferred from one master to another, without their own con-
sent given before witnesses or a notary, lliat a master should possev
no other power over his slave, than to exact service in an equitable
manner ; that he should inflict no corporal chastisement on him after he
had attained a certain age, nor beyond such a degree as would be given
to his children or common apprentices ; that all personal wrongs done to
a sLave, either by his master or by others, should be estimated by the
common rules of personal injuries, and not by the principle of a pro-
prietor abusing his own property ; tliat the punishment for murder com-
mitted by a master on his slave, should be the same as that of murder
committed on a free person ; that every slave should have a right to
acfjuire property of his o^ti, by his private industry or labour, or by the
bounty of others ; that this property should never be removesble at the
discretion of the master ; that by this property the slave should always
have a right to redeem his liberty, after having continued with his niMter
for the term of seven years, and on paying the sum which, on estimatioa,
sul)jcct to the approval of the magistrate, should at the time be thonglit
an adequate eqmvalent for his personal services.

These fumUimental alterations in the code were submitted by the locd
government to a higher authority, at a period when the principal pn^
priotors evinced a concurrence in the measure ; but the provisional tenure
of the government, and the expectation of the early transfer of the island
to the crowTi, induced a delay, until the re-establishment of HoUand as a
kingdom precluded the adojition of so essential a change.

The excuse oflTered by the colonists for the origin and continuance of
slavery on Ja\'a is, tliat on the first establishment of the Dutch in the
Eastern Islands, there did not exist, as in Western India, a class of peopis
calculated for domestic service ; that they had, in consequence, to create a
class of domestic serA'ants, in doing which they adopted the plan of rearing
children in their families from other countries, in preference to those in
tluir immediate noighb<mrhiM)d, who. from their connexions and the ^^Kita
nf ilieir relatives, could never lie de|>cnded u|ion. \\*hether neccnity die-

«<
If

TITLES. 87

to a short detail of the habitations, dress, food, and domestic
economy of the natives ; but, in order to enable the reader to

tated this STstem in the earlier periods of the Dutch establishment, or not,
is at least doubtful ; but it is certain that this necessity no longer exists,
nor is there the shadow of an excuse for continuing on Java this odious
traffic and condition. The Javans, during the residence of the British on
Java* have been found perfectly trustworthy, faithful, and industrious ;
and the demand was alone wanting in this, as in most cases, to create a
mffident 8iq>ply of competent domestics. The continuance of the traffic
Cor one day longer serves but to lower the European in the eyes of tlie
natxre, who, gratified with the measures adopted by the British govern-
ment in its suppression, stands himself pure of the foul sin. To the cre-
£t of the Javan character, and the honour of the individual, it should be
known, that when the proclamation of the British government was pub-
lished, requiring the registration of all slaves, and declaring that such as
were not registered by a certain day should be entitled to their emancipa-
tion, the Pan&mbahan of Sdmenap, who had inherited in his family do-
mestic slaves to the number of not less than fifty, proudly said, " Then
" I win not register my slaves — they shall be free : hitherto they have
" been kept such, because it was the custom, and the Dutch liked to be

attended by slaves when they visited the palace ; but as that is not the

ease with the British, they shall cease to be slaves : for long have I
** Celt shame, and my blood has run cold, when I have reflected on what I
" once saw at Batavia and Sem^rang, where human beings were exposed
** for public sale, placed on a table, and examined like sheep and oxen."

The short administration of the British government on Java has fortu-
nately given rise to another class of domestic servants. The numerous offi-
ceiB of the army, and others whose funds did not admit, or whose temporary
Rsidence did not require a permanent establishment of servants, for the
ZDost part usually took Javans into their service ; and though these might
in the first instance, not be so well acquainted with European habits, as
daves who had been brought up from their infancy in Dutch families, yet
they gpradually improved, and were, in the end, for the most part very ge-
Dcislly prefeired. Let not, therefore, necessity be again urged as a plea
for continuing the traffic.

The measures actually adopted by the British government may be
summed up in a few words, llie importation was, in the first instance,
restricted within a limited age, and the duty on importation doubled. An
annual registry of all slaves above a certain age was taken, and slaves not
registered within a certain time declared free. A fee of one Spanish dollar
was demanded for the registry of each slave, the amount of which consti-
tuted a fund for the relief of widows and orphans. On the promulgation
of the act of the British legislature, declaring the further traffic in slaves
to be felony, that act, with all its provisions, was at once made a colonial
law. Masters were precluded from sending their slaves to be confined in
jail at their pleasure, as had hitherto been the case, and all committals

SS DWELLINGS.

understand some of tlie tenns in the tables, and likewise in the
subsequent observations, it may not be improper simply to
state the names and titles expressive of tlie diflcrcnt grailations
of rank, leaving a more particular account of the power and
autliority with wliich tlicy are connected to another opportu-
nity. 'Ilie sovereign, who is either called SuJtuhuHaH^ Su-
siinan, or Sultan y is tlie fountain of honour and the source of
all distinction. His family are called Piimf^ann^ his queen
RdtUy the heir apparent Pmuj^ran adipdtij and the prime
minister Rdden adipati. Governors of provinces, called by
tlie Dutch Ret/entSy are styled by the natives Bopdtis^ Tm-
munyungs^ or Atiy\ih^iH ; and are ranked among the chief
nobility of the country. All the inferior chiefs, including those
termed Rddettx^ Mdnfris, Defttdnt/Sy lAraa^ and others, except
tlie heads of villages, termed Kiiwus, Biikula^ Pating^giSy &c.,
who are elected by the common people out of their own num-
ber ibr the performance of specific duties, may be considered
as pfftt'te ttobles/ie.

Tlie cottage or hut of the i>easant, called thnnh IhndsaHj
may be eslimatod to cost, in its first construction, from two to
four ni])ocs, or from five to ton shillings English money. It
is invariably built on the ground, as on continental India, and
in this respect differs fnim similar stnictures in the surround-
ing islands. The sle(»ping places, however, are generally a
little elevated ab(»ve the level of the floor, and accord in sim-
l)lieily with the otlier parts of the dwelling. Tlie sides or walls
are generally fonned of hdmbas^ flattened and plaited together:
partitions, if any, are constructed of tlie same materials, and
the roof is either thati^hed with long grass, with the leaves of
the Nfpfty or with a kind of bdmht sirap, Tlie form and size
of these cottages, as well as the materials employed in their

were recjuired to be made through the magistrates, in the same w*^""^^ as
in the case of other otfcnders.

'Iliese general re^ilationn, with the more rigid enforcement of the pro-
hil)ition of further importations* , and of such iNurts of the code of regula-
tions for nmi'li orating the condition of the slaves as had become obeolete,
were all to which the local f^ovomment felt itself competent ; but it gave
its sanction to an institution Net on foot by the EngliHli, and joined in by
many of the Dutch inhaliitants, which took for its basis the principles of
thr African ln*(titution. and directed its immediate care to a prorition for
the numerous slave* restored to libertv.

DWELLINGS. 89

construction, vary in the difierent districts of the island, and
with the different circumstances of the individuals. In the
eastern districts, where the population is most dense and the
land most highly cultivated, a greater scarcity is felt of the
requisite materials Uian in the western, and the dwellings of
the peasantxy are consequently smaller and slighter. In the
latter, the frame-work of the cottages is generally made of
timber, instead of bdmbus, and the interior of them, as well as
the front veranda, is raised about two feet from the ground.
The accommodations consist of a room partitioned off* for the
heads of the family, and an open apartment on the opposite
side for the children : there is no window either made or re-
quisite. The light is admitted through the door alone ; nor is
this deficiency productive of any inconvenience in a climate,
where all domestic operations can be carried on in the open
air, and where shade from the sun, rather than shelter from
the weather, is required. The women perform their usual oc-
cupations of spinning or weaving on an elevated veranda in
front, where they are protected from the rays of a vertical sun
by an extended projection of the pitch of the roof. In some
of the mountainous districts, where the rains descend with
most violence, the inhabitants provide against their effects, by
constnicting their roofs of bdmbus split into halves, and ap-
plied to each other by their alternate concave and convex sur-
faces, all along the pitch of the roof, from the top down to the
walls. On the whole, it may be affirmed that the habitations
of the peasantt}' of Java, even those constructed in the most
mifiivourable situations and inhabited by the lowest of the
poople, admit of a considerable degree of comfort and conve-
nience, and far exceed, in those respects, what falls to the lot
of the peasant in most parts of continental India.

The class of dwellings inhabited by the petty chiefs are
termed umah chMuk or Amah joglo. These are distinguished
by having eight sloi>es or roofs, four superior and four se-
condary. Their value is from seven to eight dollars, or from
thirty-five to forty shillings.

The largest class of houses, or those in which the chiefs and
nobles reside, are termed umah tiimpang^ and arc of the same
form as the preceding ; they are generally distinguished from
them by their greater size, which varies with the means and

J)0 DWELLINGS.

rauk of tlie possessor, and usually contain five or six rooms.
llio supports and bcaiits are of wood. The value of such a
habitation, calculated to answer tlic circumstances of an ordi-
nary chief of the rank of a Pdtehy or assistant to the governor
of a province, may be about fifty or sixty dollars, or firom ten
to fifteen pounds sterling.

In tlie European provuices, the size and comfort of these
dwelliugs have of late been very essentiaUy contracted, by the
rigid enforcement of the monopoly of tlie teak forests, which
were formerly open to the natives of all classes.

Brick dwellings, which are sometimes, though rarely, occu-
pied by tlie natives, are teniied umah gedong. This kind of
building is for tlie most part occupied by the Chinese, who
invariably construct a building of brick and mortar whenever
they possess tlie means. Tlie Chinese kdmpongs may always
be til us distinguished from those of the natives.

The cottages, which I have already described, are never
found detached or solitary : they always unite to form villages
of greater or less extent, according to the fertility of the nei^»
boui'ing plain, abundance of a stream, or other accidental cir-
cuinstaiices. In some provinces, tlie usual number of inhabi-
tants ill a village is about two hundred, in others less than
fifty. In the first establishment or formation of a village on
new ground, tlie intended settlers take care to provide them-
selves with sufficient garden ground round their huts for their
stock, and to supply the ordinal}' wants of their families. The
produce of this plantation is the exclusive property of the
peasant, and exempted from contribution or burden ; and soch
is tlieir number and extent in some regencies (as in KedA kn
inslauce), tliat they constitute perhaps a tenth part of the area
of the whole district. The sjiot surrounding his simple habi-
tation, the cottager considers his peculiar patrimony, and culti-
vates with peculiar care. He labours to plant and to rear in it
those vegetables tliat may be most useful to his family, and
thosi* shrubs and trees which uiav at once yield him their fruit
and thrir sliade : nor does lie waste his efforts on a thankless
soil. Tlie cottages, or the assemblage of huts, that compose
till' village, become thus coinpletiriy screened from the rays of
a scorching sun, and are so 1)uried amid tlie foliage of a lux-
uriant vegetation, that at a small distance no a))|>earaiicc of a

DWELLINGS. J>1

human dwelling can be discovered, and the residence of a nu-
merous socie^ appears only a verdant grove or a clump of ever-
greens. Nothing can exceed the beauty or the interest, which
inch detached masses of verdure, scattered over the face of the
country, and indicating each the abode of a collection of
happy peasantry, add to scenery otherwise rich, whether
viewed on the sides of the mountains, in the narrow vales, or
OD 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
iidiage contrasts pleasingly with its lighter tints ; and when
die fiill-eared grain, with a luxuriance that exceeds an Euro-
pean harvest, invests the earth with its richest yellow, they
give a variety to the prospect, and afford a most refreshing
leUef to the eye. The clumps of trees, with which art attempts
to diversify and adorn the most skilfully arranged park, can
bear no comparison with them in rural beauty or picturesque
effect

As the population increases, the extent of individual appro-
priations is sometimes contracted ; but when there is sufficient
untenanted groimd in the neighbourhood, a new village is
throvi'n out at some distance, which during its infancy remains
under the charge, and on the responsibiUty of the parent vil*
lage. In time, however, it obtains a constitution of its own,
and in its turn becomes the parent of others. These depen->
dent villages are in the eastern districts termed dbUku^ and in
the western or SUtnda districts chdntilan.

Eveiy village forms a community within itself, having each
its village officers and priest, whose habitations are as supe*
nor to those of others as their functions are more exalted. To
complete the establishment in most large villages, a temple is
appropriated for religious worship. Here is found that simple
form of patriarchal administration, which so forcibly strikes
the imagination of the civilized inhabitants of this quarter of
the world, and which has so long been the theme of interest
and curiosity of those who have visited the Indian continent.

In the larger villages, or chief tov^Tis of the subdivisions, in
which the Kdpala chtHa^/y or division-officer, resides, a square
j)lacc, corresponding with the dlun dlvn of the capital, is re-

l)-2 DWELLlNiiS.

sencd ; and, in like manner, the mosque is found to occupj
one side, and the dwelling of the chief another. The villages,
whether large or small, are fenced in by strong hedges of
bdmbuy and other quick growing plants. All the large towns
and capitals are fonned on the same principle, each hut and
dwelling being sunrounded by a garden exclusively attached to
it. In this respect, they are but large villages, although usually
divided into separate jurisdictions. A newly-formed village
contains but a few families, while in the capitals the popuk-
tion often amoimts to several thousand souls. SAra-k^rta^iht
ca])ital of the chief native govenunent, though its population
is estimated to exceed one hundred thousand, mav be termed
an assemblage or gnnip of numerous villages, rather than what
in fiUroi)eau countries would be called a town or city.

In the larger towns, however, and in the capitals, consider-
able attenticm is paid to the due presen'ati(m of broad streets
or roads crossing in different directions. Tlie inland capitals
in the Siitida districts are distinguished by an extreme neat-
ness and rogidarity in this respect ; and although both these,
and the greater native capitals at Soio and Yftgy^ii-k^rta^ may
have been laid out principally at the suggestion of Eun)peans,
it may be obsened, that the same ccmveniences are also to be
found in the extensive capital of BaHyAviatt^ the planning of
which must be ascribed entirelv to the natives.

The dwelling or ])alace of the prince is distinguiHhed by the
tenns kadiiton or krdtitn^ being contracticms, the former pn>-
bably from ka-iUitu-miu^ and the latttT from kti-ratu-Ham^ the
j)lac'e olthe Ddtti or Rata (jmnce). lliose of the Regents or
Bopdtis (nol)les entrusted with tlie government of provinces),
are styled ddlam ; a tenn which is ap])lied to the inmost hall
or chamber of both buildings ; and by which also, particularly
in the St'tnda districts, the chiefs themselves are oflen dis-
tinguished.

The krdlnft^ <»rj)alace of the prince, is an extensive square,
surr<)un<led by a high wall, without which there is geueradly a
moat or ditch. In the front, and also s(mietimesin the rear, au
extensive ojk'u square is reserved, surrounded by a railing,
wliifh is tcTined the dlnn dliut. On the wall of the krdton^
whieli may be considered as the rampart of a citadel, arv
usually |)lant4'd cannon ; and within it, the space is di\ideil

DWELLINGS. 93

by rarious smaller walls, which intersect each other, and fonn
squares and compartments, each having a particular designa-
tion, and answering a specific purpose ; separate quarters
bemg assigned within the walls to all the families who may
be considered as attached to the person of the sovereign, or
fliat of the princes. The circumference of the wall of the
krdiam of Y^igy^a-kMa is not less than three miles ; and it was
estimated that, at the period of the assault in 1812, it did not
contain fewer than from ten to fifteen thousand people. That
of Sihra-k^ta is neither so extensive, nor so well built. After
crossing the dlun dlun, or square in front of the kratatt^ tlie
principal entrance is by a flight of steps, at the top of which it
is usual for the new sovereign to be invested with his authority,
and on which he is seated on those occasions in which he
shews himself in public. This is termed the setingely from
teti'ingely the high ground. On these occasions, the Panged-
ran$ and nobles are ranged below. Proceeding into the inte-
rior of the building, and after descending a flight of steps, we
find the next principal gateway or entrance is called the brojo
ndlo. After passing another court, the next gateway is termed
kamandungan ; and beyond this again is the last passage, dis-
tinguished by the term s'rimendnti. Still farther on, in the
centre of a square, is the hall, mend^po or hAngxaly of the
prince. On one side of the square are two small mend&pos^ or
open sheds, called bdn^sal peng^dpity where the Pang^^ans
assemble to wait the appearance of the sovereign in the prin-
cipal mendopo ; and on the opposite side is the dwelling, or
imah tumpang^ of the prince, termed prdbo yOkso. The
hangsalj or mendopoj is a large open hall, supported by a
double row of pillars, and covered with shingles, the interior
being richly decorated with paint and gilding. The ceiling of
the menddpo of Yugy'a'k&rta is remarkable for its splendour
and richness, being composed according to that peculiar style
of architecture frequently observed throughout Java, in which
several squares, of gradually decreasing sizes, are arranged one
above and within the other ; a style which is general among
the Hindus, and strongly marks the architecture of the Burmans
and Siamese.

In the centre of the dlun dlun^ and in front of the setingel^
are two tcdringen trees (the Indian fig or bavynn)y called

!»l FtRNITlRE.

n^arivifen kiiruntf^ which have l)cen considered as the sign or
mark of the royal residence from the earliest date of Javan
historw

In the dwellings of the nobles and governors of pro\'ince8|
the same fonn and order, with some slight modifications, are
obscned. Tliesc have likewise the alun dlun in front The
outer entrance corresponding with the selingel of the krAifm
is however with them denominated the iatranff sekHing^ the
second pamdomjy and the tliird reg<tl^ within which is the
mendopo, or dalam. Tlie mosque forms one side of the Mnn
til fin.

The furniture of the houses or huts of the lower orden
is very simple, and consists of but few articles. Their bed,
as with the Sumatrans, is a fine mat with a number of pil-
lows, having some party-coloured cloths generally extended
over the head, in the fonn of a canopy or valance. They nei-
ther use tables nor chairs, but their meals are brought on large
brass or wooden waiters, with smaller vessels of brass or china-
ware for the different articles 8er\-ed up. They sit crocs*
legged, and, in common with other Mahomedans, only lue
the right hand at their meals. Tliey usually take up their food
between the finger and thumb, and throw it into their mouth.
Spoons are used only for liquids, and knives and forks veir
rarelv, if at all.

In tlie dwellings of the higher classes, the articles of furni-
ture are more numerous and expensive. Raised beds, with
many pillows piled one above the other, and mats and carpets,
are connnon in all ;but, in Uie Eiux)i)ean provinces, many of the
rooms of the chiefs are furnished with looking-glasses, chairs,
tables, &c. Most of these were at first introduced for the ac-
connnodation of Euro])ean visitors, but are now gradually bo-
coming luxuries, in which the chiefs t.ike delight.

Tliev an* i)arti:i] tr) illuminations, and, on davs of festivily,
oniauuMit the grounds adjacent to their dwellings with much
taste and design, by working the young shoots of the cocoa-
nut, the hfirnhft, an<l various fh>wers, in festoons and other con-
trivan<*es. The cano])v or valance over the table, l>ed, or other
I)lace selec-ti'd for any j>articular ])uri)ose, is universal. This
< anc»])y is generally of chintz, from Western India.

In all the ])r(»vinces under the Kun)pean government, the

DRES5>. 95

chiefs have seTeral rooms fitted up in the European style, for
the accommodation of the officers of government, and none of
them hesitate to sit down at table with their visitors, and join
in the entertainment

The natives of Java are in general better clothed than those
of Western India. In many provinces of the interior, and in the
elevated parts of the island, warm clothing is indispensable.
They are for the most part clothed from the produce of their
own soil and labour ; but there are parts of their dress which
they willingly derive from foreign countries. Blue cloths and
chintzes, in particular, have always formed an extensive article
of importation from Western India ; and the chiefs consume
considerable quantities of broadcloths, velvet, and other fabrics,
in the jackets, pantaloons, and other articles of dress, in imita-
tion of Europeans. Persons of condition are particular in
being what they conceive well-dressed. A sloven is an object
of ridicule ; and, in point of expensive attire, they may be con-
sidered as restricted only by their means. Although the general
character of the native costume is preserved, they seemed in-
clined to adopt many of the more convenient parts of the
European dress ; and, in proof of their having but few preju-
dices on this score, it may be observed, that, on occasions
when the population of the country has been called out in the
Native Provinces, the assemblage of the proyincials presented
themselves habited, many of them in cocked hats and stockings
of Europeans, forming a most grotesque appearance. By the
institutions of the country, a particular kind of dress is assigned
to each different rank ; and there are some patterns of cloth, the
use of which is prohibited, except to the royal family : but
these sumptuary laws are for the most part obsolete in the
European provinces, and gradually becoming so in those of
the native princes, particularly since those princes have en-
gaged by treaty to discontinue their enforcement. There are
also distinctions of rank expressed by the different modes of
wearing the kris, which will be treated of hereafter.

It is part of the domestic economy, that the women of the
£unily should provide the men with the cloths necessary for
their apparel, and from the first consort of the sovereign to the
wife of the lowest peasant, the same rule is observed. In
every cottage there is a spinning-wheel and loom, and in all

!M« DRKSS.

ranks a man is accustomed to pride himself on the beauty of a
cloth woven either by his wife, mistress, or daughter.

The ])rincipal article of dress, common to all classes in the
Archipelago, is the cloth or sarong^ which has been described
by Mr. Marsden to be ^^ not unlike a Scots highlandcr^s plaid
" in a])pearance, being a piece of party-coloured cloth, about
" six or eight feet long and three or four feet wide, sewed
" together at the ends, ibnning, as some writers have descrilied
" it, a wide sack without a bottom." With tlie Malat^Mx^ the
sdrony is either worn slmig over the shoulders as a sash, or
tucked round the waist and descending to the ankles, so as to
enclose the legs like a petticoat, llie patterns in use among
the MnUiyufi or Btitfis are universally Tartan ; but besides
these, the Javans pride themselves in a great variety of uthen,
the common people only wearing the Tartan pattern, while
others prefer the Javan hdtek or painted cloths. On occasions
of state they wear, in lieu of the sdrotfg or jdrif * (the ordinary'
cl<»th of the country, which diflers from the xtfr/>//// in not being
united at tlie ends), a cloth tenned dodoly which is made either
of cott(m or silk and much larger. Tins is worn in the same
way ; but from its size, and the maimer of its being tucked up,
it falls in a kind of drapery, which is ])eculiar to Java.

The men of the lowest class generally wear a pair of coarse
short drawers, reaching towards the kn(»e, with the jdrit or
cloth folded round the waist, and descending below the knees
like a short petticoat. This clotli is always tucked up close
round the waist, while the labourer is at work or moving
abroa<l, but loosened, and allowed to descend to its full length.
when in the i>resence of a superior. It is fastened round the
waist by a narrow waistband or belt (sdhttk). In general, the
Javans are also jirovided with a jacket /^Av////w//>/V, having short
skM'ves reaching U\ the elbows. This is either white, or miire
frecpiently of light and dark blue stripes. A handkerchief
or the (ikat) is alwavs folded romid the head. With the Ma-
Idtjiis this handkercliief is generally of the Tartan pattern, but
among the Javans it is of the hdlvk cloth, and put on more in tlie
manner of a turlian than the handkerchief of a Maldyu\%: the
rrown (»f the head is covered with it, and the ends are tucked

• railed by I he .^1aIAyu!i lain pthjanif or ka'^n Irpris,

DRESS. 97

in. While abroad, they generally wear over it a large hat of
leayes or of the split and plaited bambti, which shelters them
like an umbrella from the sun and rain. A coarse handker-
chief is usually tucked into the waistband, or a smdl bag is
siiiq>ended from it, containing tobacco, siriy &c. The kris or
dagger, which is uniTersally worn by all classes, completes
the dzess. To that of ike labourer, according to the work he
may be employed upon, is superadded a large knife or hatchet
finr catting wood, brushwood, or grass.

The women, in like manner, wear the cloth tucked round
their loins, and descending in the form of a petticoat as low as
the ankles. It is folded somewhat differently from the cloth
worn by the men, and never tucked up as with them. The
waistband or girdle by which they fasten it, is termed iUlat
Roimd the body, pafssed above the bosom and close under the
arms, descending to the waistband, is rolled a body cloth called
kimi^m. They also commonly wear a loose gown reaching to
the knees, with long sleeves buttoning at the wrists. This
gown is almost invariably blue, never being of any variegated
pattern, and ais well as the jacket of the men is usually termed
kaldmbi. The women do not wear any handkerchief on their
head, which is ornamented by their hair fastened up in a
^ung or knot, and by an appendage of large studs, either of
bofiklo horn or brass, which they use for ear-rings. Both men
and women, even of the lowest class, wear rings on their
fingers. Those worn by the men are either of iron, brass, or
copper; those of the women of brass or copper only. The
value of a man's dress, as above described, may be estimated
at about five rupees, twelve and sixpence ; and that of the wo-
men at about six rupees, or fifteen shillings.

The children of the lower orders go naked, from the age of
fifteen or eighteen months to six or seven years ; but the chil-
dren of persons of condition always wear the jar it round their
loins, together with a jacket.

The higher orders wear dijdrit^ of about seven or eight cubits
long and about three cubits wide, which with the men is folded
once round the loins, and allowed to descend to the ankles in
Ae form of a petticoat, but so as to admit of the leg being oc-
casionally exposed when set forward in the act of walking.
VOL. I. H

98 DRESS.

The part which is folded in front commonly hangs aomewhat
lower than the rest of the garment. The sdbuk or waistband
is generally of silk of the chindi or patdl^ pattern. When at
leisure within-doors, the men usually wear a loose cotton gown
descending as low as the knees ; but when abroad, or in at-
tendance on public service, they for the most part wear a
jacket of broad cloth, silk, or velvet if procurable, frequently
edged with lace and ornamented with filagree buttons. This
jacket is called sikapan (from $ikap ready) as it intimates,
when worn, that the party is ready for duty. The jacket used
by the Regents or chiefs of provinces, and other officers of
distinction, closely resembles the old Friesland jacket, as
worn about two centuries ago, and is probably modified, if
not entirely taken bam it Under the jacket the men always
wear a vest, usually of fine white cloth, with a single tow of
filagree buttons, buttoning close to the body ajid at the neck
like a shirt If the party is upon a journey or without doors
in the sun, the Mdang or shade, which is usually of broad cloth
or velvet, is fixed over the face, having much the appearance
of a large jockey cap. The petty chiefs, particularly in the
western districts, instead of this shade wear a large hat, in the
form of a wash-hand bason reversed, made of split bambu of
various colours, and highly varnished to throw off the tain.
This is fastened by a string under the chin, in the same man*
uer as the hat of the common people.

The dress of the women of the higher classes does not in
fashion difier essentially firom that of the lower orders, but the
articles are of finer texture and better quality, and gold sUids
and rings, ornamented with coloured and precious stones, are
substituted for those of copper and brass. Both men and wo-
men of condition wear sandals, shoes, or slippers in the house ;
and in the European districts, the Regent and other chiefs,
when in attendance on the public officers, on journeys or
otherwise, usually superadd to the native dress tight cloth or
nankeen pantaloons, with boots and spurs, according to the
European fashion.

It is difficult to estimate with precision the value of the
dress of tlie higher orders. That of an ordinary petty chief
and his wife costs about fifty Spanish dollars, or between

DRESS. 99

tprelf^e and thirteen pounds sterling, including the iiri box,
which is a necessary appendage. The siri box of the man is
termed ep^^ that of the woman chepHri.

Neither men nor women cut their hair, but allow it to grow
to its natural length : in this they differ from the MiUAyus and
B^git^ who always wear it short The men, except on par-
tieolar occasions, gather it up on the crown of the head, twist
it round, and fasten it by means of a semicircular tortoise-shell
comb fixed in front ; but among the higher classes, it is con-
lidered a mark of the greatest respect to let it flow in curls in
the presence of a superior. The princes and chiefs at the na-
tiTc courts usually confine it on the neck, and allow it to de-
scend down the back in large curls ; but in Cheribon and the
S^nda districts, the chie&, on occasions of ceremony, let their
locks flow in curls and ringlets loose over their shoulders. The
women confine their hair by gathering and twisting it into one
large gkkng or knot at the back of the head, in the manner of
perfinnning which there are several modes, distinguished by as
many names. The short down encircling the forehead is
lometimes cut or shaved, to give the brow a better defined
appearance, when the hair is combed back, and on particular
occasions the fine hair in the same place, which is too short to
be combed back and gathered in the knot, is turned in small
curis like a fiinge. All classes, both of men and women, apply
oils to their hair. The women firequently use scents in dress-
ing it, and on state days ornament it with a great variely of
flowers, diamond-headed pins, and other jewellery. Both sexes
perfume their persons with different species of fin^ant oils, as
the ldng*a chanddna (sandal-wood oil), Idn^a kandng^Oj
Idm^a ffdruy Idng^a gandapuray and Idng^a jeruj and adorn
the skin with a variety of powders called bdr^ ; as the b6ri
kuning (yellow powder), b&ri ^ang (black), bor^ sdri, and
bor^ k^lambak. To these may be added the general use of
musk, termed by them d^dea. In the houses of the higher
orders, dupa or incense of benjamin, and other odoriferous
gums, is generally burnt

The priests generally dress in white, and imitate the tur-
bans of the Arabs.

Such is the ordinary costume of the bulk of the population,
as it is usually seen in all that part of the island peculiarly

H 2

100 DRESS.

called Java. In the western or Sunda districtSy the common
people are by no means so well supplied with articles of dress
as in the eastern. They are often seen with little or no cover-
ing, beyond a piece of very coarse cloth tied round the waist
The Regents or chiefs of provinces in these districts generally
wear, when on public duty with the officers of the European
:govemment, a velvet cap ornamented with gold lace, differ-
ing in fashion in each province, but usually calculated to
shade the face from the direct rays of the sun. In the eastern
districts the chiefs, on similar occasions, wear the cap called
Jcuiiiky which will be more particularly mentioned as part ci
the court dress.

Besides what may be thus termed the ordinary dress, two
grand distinctions are noticed in the costume of the Javans :
these arc the war dress and the court dress. The former con-
sists of cheldna or pantaloons, buttoned from the hip down to
the ankles ; the kdtok, short kilt or petticoat of coloured siU
or fine cotton, descending just below the knee ; and the dmien
or girth, rolled tightly round the body seven or eight timet.
like a military sash, and securing the whole body from behm
the arms to the hips : this is made either of silk or veiy fine
cotton. Over this is drawn a tight vest without buttons
termed sangsangy and over this again the ordinary vest oo
kOtan ynih buttons, buttoning close round the body and neck
the sikapan or jacket being worn over the whole. The iHdung
or shade for the face, is usually worn on this occasion, as wd.
as shoes or sandals. The ang^ger or sword belt, which goa
round the waist, also forms an essential part of the war dreai
in which the peddng or sword is suspended on the left udc
Three krUes arc usually worn in the waist on these occasions
one on each side and the other behind. These consist of tht
krU which tlie wearer particularly calls his own, the krU whicl
has descended to him from his ancestors, and the krU whicl
he may have received on his marriage from his wife's fathei
Tlie latter is often placed on the left side for inunediate use
Tliis dress is worn in going into the field of battle, on whicl
occasion it is the custom to appear in the richest attire thei
means admit, and to wear the rings and the other valuaUn
jewels or trinkets which they possess.

In the court or full dress, the shoulders, arms, and body

DRESS. 101

down to the waist, are entirely bare ; the drapery descending
fron& the loins downwards, cheldna^ and what may be worn on
the head, being the only covering. When a subject, whatever
be his rank or family, approaches his prince, he must wear
ckeldna or pantaloons of coloured silk or of fine cotton, widi-
out buttons ; and instead of the jdHt or ordinary cloth, he
must wear the dddoty a cloth which is of nearly double the
dimensions. This is put on, however, nearly in the same
manner as the jdritj but so as not to descend on the right
side further than just below the knee, while on the left it falls
m a rich drapery, imtil it touches the ground in a point. The
9abuk or waistband must be of gold lace, the firinged ends of
which usually hang down a few inches, and the party must
only wear one kris^ which is tucked in the waistband on the
right side behind, while on the left he wears a weapon, or
rather implement, called a w^dungy in the shape of a chopper,
together with a small knife, indicative of his readiness to cut
down trees and grass at the order of his sovereign. On his
head he must wear a peculiar kind of cap (kulukjj said to have
been introduced by the Sultan Pdjang in imitation of the scull-
cap of the Arabs ; it is made of cloth, and either white or light
blue, stiffened with rich starch : on more ordinary occasions,
and generally, except in fiill dress, the chiefs prefer a cap of
the same form made of black velvet, ornamented with gold,
and sometimes a diamond on the crown. The part of the body
which is left uncovered is generally rubbed over with white
or yellow powder. The sovereign Umself is usuaUy habited
in the same manner on state occasions, his body and arms
being covered with a bright yellow powder. When women
approach the sovereign, besides having their hair ornamented
with diamonds and flowers, they must wear a s^mhong or sash
round the waist, which generally is of yellow silk with red at
the two ends. It is brought once roimd the body firom behind,
and the long ends are allowed to descend towards the groimd,
one over each hip.

Since the loss of the makdtaj or golden crown of Majapdhity
which disappeared on the banishment of Susiinan ^angkH-
raty both the Susiinan and Sultan, on public occasions, when
they have to meet the European authorities, wear a velvet hat
or cap of a particular fashion, somewhat different, at each

102 DRESS.

court ; that of the Susiknan resembling what \% distinguished
by the term of the Madiira hat in consequence of its being still
worn by the Maddra family, and that of the Sultan having a
golden ffofikla affixed at the back, and two wings of gold ex*
tending firom behind the ears. They both wear breeches,
stockings, and buckles, after the European fashion.

Thejdmang or golden plate, which was worn over the fore-
head, as well as a variety of golden ornaments round the neck
and arms, and which formerly formed the most splendid part
of the costume, are now disused ; except at marriages, or in
dramatic or other entertainments, when the ancient costume of
the coimtry is exhibited in all its rich and gorgeous variety.

*The following picture of a Javan beauty, taken from one of
the most popular poems of the country, will serve better than
any description of mine, to place before the reader the standard
of female elegance and perfection in the island, and to convey
an accurate idea of the personal decorations on nuptial occa-
sions, in dances and dramatic exhibitions ; it will at the same
time afford a representation of what may be considered to have
formed the full dress of a female ofdistinction, before the inno-
vations of Mahometanism and the partial introduction of the
European fashions. The extravagant genius of eastern poetxy
may perhaps be best employed in pourtraying such fantastic
images, or celebrating such extraordinar}' tastes.

^ Her face was fair and bright as the moon, and it ex presse d
" all that was lovely. The beauty of BtidenPatri fiur ex-
** celled even that of the widad^fri D^wi Rdti : she 'shone bri^t
^' even in the dark,* and she was mthout defect or blemish.

** So clear and striking was her brightness, that it^ashed to
*^ the sky as she was gazed at : the lustre of the sun was even
" dimmed in her presence, for she seemed to have stolen from

him his refulgence.- So much did she excel in beauty, that

it is impossible to describe it.

" Her shape and form were nothing wanting, and«her hair
" when loosened hung dovm to her feet, waving in dark curis:
" the short front hairs were turned with regularity as a fringe,
" her forehead resembling the r^^W/Jira stone. Her eyebrows
" were like two leaves of tlie hnho tree ; the outer angle of the
" eye acute' and slightly extended; the ball of the eye frill, and
" the ui>per eyelash slightly curling upwards.

DRESS. 103

"• Tears seined floatiiig in her eye, but started not Her

^ nose was sharp and pointed ; her teeth black as the kSni'

^ bang; her lips the colour of the newly cut mangitstin shell.

** Her teeth regular and brilliant ; her cheeks in shape like the

** fruit of the d^ren ; the lower part of the cheek slightly pro-

^ tmding. Her ears in beauty like the ^i^n/f flowers, and her

^ neck like unto the young and graceful gddung leaf. *

*** Her shoulders even, like the balance of golden scales; her

" chest open and full ; her breasts like ivory, perfectly round

^ and inclining to each other. Her arms ductile as a bow ; her

'* fingers long and pliant, and tapering like thorns of the

" forest. Her nails like pearls ; her skin bright yellow ; her

^ waist formed like the pdtram when drawn from its sheath ;

'^ her hips as the reversed limcts leaf. •

•^ like unto ihepidak flower when hanging down its head,
*^ was the^ shape of her leg ; her foot flat with the ground; her
^ gait gentle and majestic like that of the elephant Thus
" beautiful in person, she was clothed with a* chindi pat6la/oi
" a green colour, fastened round the waist with a golden liUut
^ or ^^^estus : her outer garment being of- the miga mendAng
^ (dark clouded) pattern. Her k&mban (upper garment)
*^ was of the pattern yin^'^omanV^^g^cl with lace of gold ; on
^ her finger she wore a ring, the production of the sea, and her
^ ear-rings were of the pattem-nd/o brdngto.

^ On the front of the ear-studs were displayed the beauties

^ of the segdra miiitcAar pattern (emeralds encircled by rubies

^ and diamonds) y and ^she bound up her hair in the first

^ fisushion, frustening it with the glUng (knot) bobokdran/ and

^ decorating it with the green chdmptMca flower,' and also with

^ ihegdmbirf meldti, and minor flowers; and in the centre

^ of it she fixed a golden pin, with a red jewel on the top, and

'^ a golden flower ornamented with emeralds. Her necklace

^ was composed of seven kinds of precious stones, and most

^ brilliant to behold ; and she was highly perfiuned, without

^ it being possible to discover from whence the scent was

** produced.

" Herjdmang (tiara or head ornament J was of the fashion
** s&do sdler and richly chased; her bracelets were of the
^ pattern glang-kdna^ and suited ihejdmang. Thus was the

104 DRESS.

" beauty of her person heightened and adorned by the splen*
" dour of her dress."

. To this we may add, from one of the popular versions of the
work called Jdya Langkdra the notions which the Javans
have of the virtues, beauties, and dress, that should adorn a
yoimg man of family. *

* '^ In a youth of noble birth tliere are seven points which
^ should strike the observer, and these are indispensable. " In
^^ the first place,* he should be of good descent r in the second,
^^ he should -possess imdcrstanding^; in the third, he should
^^' know how to conduct himself.* In the fourth place, he
^^recollccti what he learns in the sdstrasi in the fifth, his
'^. views must be enlarged; in the sixth,- he must be religious; •
*^ in the seventh, he must exert the qualifications he possesses
^^ imhcsitatingly. These are the seven points which must
** strike the immediate attention of the observer.

- " In his heart and mind he must be quiet and iranqiul. He
*^ should be able to repress his inclinations, and to be nlent
^^ when necessary: never should he on any acconnt tell a
^^ falsehood. He should not think long concerning propertf,
^' neither should he fear death : in his devotions he shoukl be
'^ free from pride, and he should relieve the distressed. •

'^ It should be observed by all, that whatever he nndertakes
*' is quickly executed. He should quietly penetrate other
" men's thoughts and intentions ; his inquiries should be dis-
'^ creet, intelligent, and active. Whenever he meets with an
^^ able man, he should attach himself to him as a fiiend, and
'' never leave him till he has dra^^n all his knowledge from
^' him ; and in whatever he does, his actions should be rather
" what is generally approved, than the result of his mere wilL
^' As long as he lives he must continue to thirst after more
^' knowledge ; and he must constantly guard his own conduct,
that men may not say it is bad. His recollection should be
clear and distinct, his speech mild and gentle; so that peo-
pled hearts may be softened, and possessing these qualifica-
** tions his dependants may praise him.

^' His appearance and stiiture should not be deficient The
^' light of his countenance should be sweet, like that alBaidra

DRESS. 105

•* Atmdra (the god of love) when he descends to the earth.-
^ When men look upon hun, they should be struck with the
•* idea, * how great would he not be in war ! * In the form of
^ his bodj no part should be ill shaped. • His skin should be
^ like unto virgin gold before it has undergone the process of
** fire ; his head rather large ; his hair straight and long. His
** eyes wateiy and ready to overflow ; his brows like the imbo
^ leaf; his eyelash like the tdnjung flower ; his nose sharp
* and prominent, with but little hair above the upper lip ; his
'lips like the newly cut mangiistin shell; his teeth as if
^painted, shining and black like the k&mbang ; his breast
'^ shoulders wide. •

^ A bright circle shoidd irradiate his face and breast, and
**' he should stand unrivalled. • Whatever he says should make
**' an impression on all who hear him, and his speech should be
** playful and agreeable.*

^ He should wear the cheldna chfndiy with a dark green
^ dddot of the pattern gddong-eng'iikup /-his sash of golden
^ lace. His kris should have the sheath o^fthe sdtrian fieusliion,
** and the handle should be that of tihhg*gdksmi. The sttrnp-
** ing (an imitation of flowers or leaves which hang over the
^ ear) should be of gold, and of the fashion sHrengpdti (brave
*^ to death J ; -and on his right thumbs (palginaj.he should at
^ the same time wear a golden ring." •

•In common with the Sumatrans, and other inhabitants of
the Archipelago and southern part of the peninsula, both sexes
of all ranks have the custom of filing and blackening the teeth,
it being considered as disgraceful to allow them to remain
" white like a dog's." The operation is performed when the
children are about eight or nine years of age, and is a very
painful one. The object is to make the fix)nt teeth concave,
and by filing away the enamel, to render them better adapted
for receiving the black dye. This extraordinary and barba-
rous custom tends to destroy the teeth at an early age, and
with the use of tobacco, siri, and lime, which are continually
chewed, generally greatly disfigures the mouth. The Javans,
however, do not file away the teeth so much as is usual with
some of the other islanders ; nor do they set them in gold, as
is the case with the Sumatrans. Neither do they distend the

100 FOOD.

lobe of the ear, to that enormous extent practised on Bali and
elsewhere; and which is observed in the representations of
Biidh. This has been discontinued since the introduction of
Mahomedanism.

Compared with the western Asiatics, the Jarans have but
few prejudices regarding food. They are Mahomedans, and
consequently abstain rigidly from swine's flesh, and commoolj
from inebriating liquors ; and some few families, from the re-
mains of a superstition which has descended to them fion
their Hindu ancestors, will not eat of the flesh of the bull or
cow ; but yfiih these exceptions, there are few articles which
come amiss to them. Tliey live principally upon yegetabia
food, and rice is on Java, what it is throughout Aua, the chief
article of subsistence ; but fish, flesh, and fowl are likewise
daily scncd up at their meals, according to the circumstances
of tlic parties. With fish they arc abundantly supplied ; and
what cannot be consumed while fresh, is salted, or dried, and
conveyed into the inland provinces. They do not eat of the
turtle or other amphibious animals, but none of the fish
kno^-n to Europeans are objected to by them. The flesh of
tlie buflalo, the ox, tlie deer, the goat, and various kinds of
poultr}', are daily exposed for sale in Uieir markets, and axe of
vcT}' general consumption. The flesh of the horse is also
highly esteemed by the common ])eoplc ; but the killing of
horses for food is generally prohibited, except when maimed
or diseased. The hide of the buflalo is cut into slices, soaked,
and fried as a favourite dish. Tlie flesh of the deer, dried and
smoked, is well known Uiroughout the Malayan Archipelago^
under the term dindingj and is an article in high request on
Java.

I1ic dairy forms no part of domestic economy of Java, neither
milk itself, nor any preparation from it, being prized or used
l)y the natives : a circumstance wry remarkable, considering
that they w(nre imdoiibtedly Hindus at one period of their his-
tory ; and tliat, if so essential an article of food had once been
intnxluced, it is probable it woidd always have been cherished.
No goo<l reas(m seems to be assigned for their indifieience to
milk ; except perhaps the essential one, that the cows of Java
afiord but a \cTy scanty supply of that secretion. The udder
of a Javan cow is sometimes not larger than that of a sheep,

FOOD. 107

d fleems to ai tl bat a baie subristence for the calf; yet the
dUo giTes a larger qoantityy and butter mghee might equally
\ prepared from it The cows of the Indian breed are dis-
Bguiahed by a hump between the shoulders and a larger
Her ; and it has been found that the secretion of milk can
I acreaaed, as it is observed that where particular care has
taken by Europeans even of the Javan cows, they have in
time afforded double the usual quantity. It has been
BBJectured, that on the introduction of the Indian breed by
le Hmda colonists, the use of milk was forbidden, in order
Mt the number of cattle might more rapidly increase ; but
he Javans have no tradition to this effect. It is however re-
mkable, that an absolute aversion to this aliment exists on
lial part of the continent of Asia, in which many popular
Higes are found similar to those of the east insular nations.
B a recent publication it is stated of the people between Siam
Bid China, who are not, by the bye, very nice in what they eat,
' quMls ne se permettent pas le lait des animaux, et quUls ont
' poor cette boisson la repugnance que pent inspirer la boisson
' da sang. Cette repugnance va meme jusqu'a exclure du
' nombre de ses alimens le beurre et le fromage *y

Salt is obtained in abundance throughout eveiy part of the
dand, but being manufactured on the coast, is proportionally
d^ier in price in the inland districts. The sugar used by the
latives is not prepared from the sugar-cane, but from the aren
ad other palms. It is manufactured by the simple process
f boiling down the tari^ or liquor which^exudes from these
lees, which are tapped for the purpose.

None of the palms of Java ftimish the worms which are
nployed for food in other eastern countries, but similar
onns are found in various kinds of rdiaUy sdlaky &c. which
e considered as dainties, not only by the natives, but by the
hinese and by some Europeans : they are called g^don,
^anns of various species, but all equally esteemed as articles
food, are found in the teak and otiier trees. White ants, in
eir different states, are one of the most common articles of
3d in particular districts : they are collected in different
lys, and sold generaUy in the public markets. Their exten-

* Ezp08^ Statistique du Tonquin, Sec. voL i. p. 126.

108 COOKING.

sive nests are opened to take out the chiysalis ; or thej
watched, and swarms of the perfect insect are conducted i
basins or trays containing a little water, where the^ •
perish : they are called Idron,

The cooking utensils are, as might be supposed, of the n
simple kind, and either of coarse pottery or copper. B
after several poundings in a trough or mortar, is genen
dressed by steam, though not un&equently boiled in a n
quantity of water. In the former case, it is remarkable fin
whiteness and consistency when dressed ; and in this stal
is publicly exposed for sale in the markets and along the h
roads. Indian com is usually roasted in the ear, and oflie
for sale in the same manner. Other aliments are for the n
part prepared in the manner of curry, termed by the MalA
gulai: of these they have almost an endless variety, (
tinguished according to the principal ingredients. Bedi
what may be considered as the principal dishes, they exoe
a variety of preparations of pastry and sweetmeats (particnL
of the k^ianjf of which many are by no means unpleasaa
an European palate. They are fond of colouring their pas
as well as other articles of their food. They occasion
make their rice yellow and broi^n, and even turn their boi
eggs red for variety.

Black pepper, as among the MaldyuSy is scarcely ever iv
on account of its supposed heating quality. The n
common seasoning employed to give a relish to their insi
food, is the lombok ; triturated \\\ih salt, it is called jrfM
botli by the Malay u^ and Javans, and this condiment is in
pcnsable and universal. It is of different kinds, accordinj
Uie substances added to increase or diversify its strengtl
pungency ; the most common addition is trdsif denomini
by the MahhjuSy blachattg, Tlie name Mlab is given
various leaves and kernels, mostlv eaten raw with rice
sdmbel : many of tliese substances possess a pungency
(Hlour intolerable to Europeans. If several vegetables
mixed together, and prepared by boiling, they constitutes
is called yV/;^yV//7, or greens for the table, of which there
several distinctions. The various legumes are of great
portaiice in the diet of tlie natives. Padom&ro^ pin^dang^
semiiTy are dishes to which the flesh of the buffido or fowl

COOKING. 109

iddedy and which resemble the Indian cuny. R4jak is pre-
|Ked firom unripe mangos and other finiits^ which, being
fHiledy receive the addition of capsicum and other spices, and
flna constitntes a favourite dish with the natives, though very
teigreeable to Europeans.

The Chinese prepare firom the g^deU a species of soy, some-
lint infisrior to that brought firom Japan. The kdchang-iju
k M^j usefiil as a general article of diet, and is a good
■bstitole for various legumes, which form the common
aomishment of the continental Indians : it contains much
idnaceous matter. TVdsi or bldchang is prepared in many
■toatiofis along the northern coast, but is mostly required for
fte Gonsamption of the interior. It is prepared firom prawns
or shrimps, and extensive fisheries for the purpose are esta-
blished in many parts of the coast The shrimps being taken,
■e strewed with salt, and exposed to the sun tiU dry ; they
ne then pounded in wooden mortars, dressed, and formed into
msflses resembling large cheeses : in this state they constitute
•B article of trade, and are distributed through tfie country.
Hie putrescent fluid remaining afler the expression strongly
iiqiregnated with the odoiu* of the shrimps, is evaporated
to the consistence of a jelly, and affords a favourite sauce
caDed/^iff. An inferior kind of irdsi is prepared firom small
fiah, and, when made into the form of small balls, is called
Uinyek. Trdsi blUro is of a reddish coloiu*, and much
esteemed at the native capitals. Another kind of p^tis is
prepared firom the flesh of the buffalo, chiefly in the interior
disticts.

Salted eggs are also an important article in the diet of the
Javans. The eggs of ducks being most abundant, are chiefly
preserved in this way. The eggs are enveloped in a thick
covering made of a mixture of salt and ashes in equal parts,
or salt and pounded bricks, and being wrapped each in
a large leaf, they are placed on one another in a tub, or large
earthen vessel. In ten days they are fit for use; but they
are generally kept longer in the mixture, and, being thoroughly
impregnated with salt, can be kept many months. In some
districts, the eggs of the Muscovy duck are particularly
employed for the purpose.

In preparing their food, the Javans may be considered

110 MEALS.

to observe the same degree of cleanliness which is usual with
Asiatics iu general ; and in point of indulgence of appetite^
tlicy may be, perhaps, placed about midway between tibe
abstemious Hindu and the unscrupulous Chinese. In a
coimtry where vegetation is luxuriant, and cultivation is
already considerably advanced, it follows that there moil
be an abundant supply for a people who subsist principally cm
vegetable productions; and it may be asserted, that, except
where the manifest oppressions of government, or the eflGecta
of civil discord, for the moment deprive the labourer of Us
just reward, there are few countries where the mass of dw
population are so Well fed as on Java. There are few of the
natives who cannot obtain their kdtiy or pound and a quarter
of rice a day, witli fish, greens, and salt, if not other articles^
to season their meal. Where rice is less abundant, its place
is supplied by maize or Indian com, or the variety of beaai
which are cultivated ; and even should a family be driven
into the woods, they would still be able to obtain a bare sob*
sistence from the numerous nutritious roots, shoots, andleaves^
with which the forests abound. Famine is unknoift-n; and
although partial failures of the crop may occur, they ara
seldom so extensive as to be generally felt by the whole com*
munity. Thus abundantly supplied, the Javans seem by no
means inclined to reject the bounties of Providence : they are
always willing to partake of a hearty meal, and seldom hare
occasion to make a scanty one. Yet among them a glutton is
a term of reproach, and to be notoriously fond of good living
is sufRcient to attach this epithet to any one.

The Javans, except where respect to Europeans dictates a
different practice, cat their meals off the ground. A mat kept for
tlio puri>()Re is laid on the floor, which, when the meal is over,
is again carefully n)lle<l up, with the same regularity as the
table-cloth in Kunipe ; and a plate of rice being served up lo
each person pn^sent, the whole family or party sit dovin to par-
take of the meal in a social manner. A principal dish, con-
taining the sdmMy jdttfjany or oUier more highly seasoned
pn^paration, is then handed round, or placed in the centre of
the company, from which each ]>erson adds what he thinks
proper to the allowance of rice before him.

Water is the ])rincipal and almost exclusive beverage^ and,

MBALS. Ill

people of condition^ it is invariably boiled firsts and
fmenHj drunk warm. Some are in the habit of flayouring
fte water with cinnamon and other spices ; but tea, when it
can be procured, is drunk by all classes at intervals during
flieday.

On occasions of festivals and parties, when many of the chiefs
tee assembled, the dishes are extremely numerous and crowded ;
isd hospitality being a virtue which the Javans cany almost
to an excess, due care is taken that the dependants and re-
tainers are also duly provided for. These, particularly in the
Uf^Uands of the Sunda districts, where the people are Airthest
Rmoved firom foreign intercourse, and the native manners are
eonsequently better preserved, are arranged in rows at inter-
vals, according to their respective ranks; the first in order
fitting at the bottom of the hall, and the lowest at some dis-
tance without, where each is carefully supplied with a bounti-
fid proportion of the feast : thus exhibiting, in the mountainous
districts of Java, an example of rude hospitality, and union of
the different gradations of society in the same company, similar
to that which prevailed in the Highlands of Scotland some
ceaturies ago, where, it is said, ^^ those of inferior description
^ were, nevertheless, considered as guests, and had their share,
*^ both of the entertainment and of the good cheer of the day.''
It is at these parties that the chiefs sometimes indulge in
intoxicating liquors, but the practice is not general ; and the
use of wine, which has been introduced among them by the
Dutch, is in most instances rather resorted to firom respect to
Europeans, than firom any attachment to the bottle.

The Javans have universally two meals in the day ; one
just before noon, and one between seven and eight o'clock in
the evening : the former, which is the principal meal, corres-
ponding with the European dinner, and distinguished by the
term mdngdn-dwany or the day meal; the latter, termed
mdngdn w€ng4y or evening meal. They have no regular meal
corresponding with the Eiuropean breakfast ; but those who
go abroad early in the morning, usually partake of a basin of
coffee and some rice cakes before they quit their homes, or
purchase something of the kind at one of the numerous wd-
ranys^ or stalls, which line the public roads, and are to the
common people as so many cofke or eating-houses would be

11-2 FERMENTED LIQUORS.

to the European ; rice, coffee, cakes, boiled rice, soupB, leadj
dressed meats and vegetables, being at all times exposed in
them. Wliat is thus taken bv the Javans in the morning to
break the fast, is consideted as a whet, and termed aarap,

Bv the custom of the countrv, good food and lodging ara
ordered to be provided for all strangers and travellers arriving
at a village ; and in no countr}' are the rights of hospitalitjr
more strictly enjoined by institutions, or more conscientiondj
and religiously observed by custom and practice. '^ It is not
'^ sufficient,^' say the Javan institutions, ^* that a man should
^^ place good food before his guest; he is bound to do more:
^ he should render the meal palatable by kind words anA
^' treatment, to soothe him after his journey, and to make his
'* heart glad while he partakes of the refreshment.** This is
called bojo krdmo, or real hospitality.

The chewing of betel-leaf (^irij^ and the areka-nut (plnang)^
as well as of tobacco (tambdko)^ and gdmbir^ is common to
all classes. Tlic ttiri and phiang are used much in the same
manner as by the natives of India in general. These stimu-
lants are considered nearly as essential to their comfort, at
salt is among Europeans. The commonest labourer contrives
to procure at least tobacco, and generally iffri ; and if he can-
not afford a Kiri box, a small supply will be usnally found in
the comer of his handkerchief. Cardamums and cloves com-
pose part of the articles in the nlri box of a person of am-
dition.

Tlie inhabitants of Java, as a nation, must be accounted
sober ; although Euro]>eans, in onler to .serve their own pur-
poses, by inducing some of the chiefs to drink wine to excess,
have succeeded, to a certain extent, in corrupting the habits of
sf)me individuals in this respect. Two kinds of fermented
liquor are however ])repan»d by the Javans, called hddek and

hrom : the foniier fn)ui rice ; the latter almost exclusivelv

•

from k/^tan or glutinous rice. In making Mdek^ the rice pre-
viously boiled is stowed with a ferment called ragi^ consisting
of onions, black pepper, and ca])sicum, and mixed up into
small cakes, which are daily sold in tlie markets. After fre-
quent stirring, the mixture is rolled into balls, which are piled
upon each other in a high earthen vessel, and when fermenta-
tion has commenced the htidek exudes and is collected at th(

OPIUM. 113

faottom. The remaining rice, strongly impregnated with the
odour of fermentation^ has a sweetish taste, and is daily offered
fersale in the markets as a dainty, imder the name of tapi^,
Bidek is, in comparison with br&my a simple liquor, produc-
ing <mty slight intoxication: it is often administered to chil-
dbon to dislodge worms from the intestines. In making brdm,
^ kitan is boiled in large quantities, and being stewed with
n(y», remains exposed in open tubs till fermentation takes
flace, when the liquor is poured off into close earthen vessels.
It is generally buried in the earth for several months, by which
the process of fermentation is checked and the strength of the
Kqaor increased: sometimes it is concentrated by boiling.
The colour is brown, red, or yellow, according to the kind of
kHan employed. Br&m^ which has been preserved for several
years, is highly esteemed among the natives, constituting a
powerful spirit, which causes violent intoxication followed by
^erere head-ache in persons not €u;customed to its use. The
substance that remains after separation is a deadly poison to
iWls, dogs, and various other animals. Arrack is prepared by
distillation : an inferior kind, made in a more simple and eco-
Domical manner, is called chiu. Both are prepared by the
Chinese, and a particular account of the method employed will
be found under another head *. A kind of small beer is made
at Sura^k&rta in a mode similar to the European process of
brewing, by exciting fermentation in a solution of Javan sugar,
with several spices and the leaves of the pdri instead of hops.
When fresh, the liquor is sprightly, and not unpleasant to
the taste; but it cannot be preserved longer than four or
five days.

The use of opium, it must be confessed and lamented, has
struck deep into the habits, and extended its malignant in-
fluence to the morals of the people, and is likely to perpetuate
its power in degrading their character and enen ating their
energies, as long as the European government, overiooking
every consideration of policy and humanity, shall allow a paltry
addition to their finances to outweigh all regard to the ultimate
happiness and prosperity of the coimtry. It is either eaten in
its crude state as mania, or smoked as madat or chdndu. In
the preparation of mddat, the crude opium is boiled down

♦ Chapter IV. Wanufactiires.
VOL. I. I

114 OPIUM.

with the leaves of toliocco, siriy or Uie like, and used in a Bticliy
or somewhat liquid state. In chdndUy the opium is meielj
boiled down witliout any admixture, to a stiU thicker consis-
tency, and rolled into small balls or pills, in which stale, when
dr}', they are inserted into bdmbusj and thus smoked. The
cnide opium is eaten principally by the people in the interior
of the country, in the provinces of the native princes : the
opium prepared for smoking is used along the coast, and gene-
rally in the other islands of the Archipelago ; it is prepared
by the Chinese. The use of opium, however, though earned
to a considerable extent, is still reckoned disgraceful, and per-
sons addicted to it are looked upon as abandoned characten,
and despised accordingly. The effects of this poison on the
human frame are so well described by the Dutch commis-
sioners who sat at the Hague in 1803, and who much to thdr
honoiu" declared, ** that no consideration of pecimiary advan-
^^ tage ought to weigh with the European government in alloir-
^^ ingits use,'' that together with the o])inionof Mr.Hogendoip,
who concurred with them, I shall insert their statement here.
Tlie wish to do justice to authorities, whose views were so
creditable to their country and their own character, and the
importance of their opinion to an extensive population, will
plead an apology for the length of the extract which I now
present.

^^ The opium trade,*' obsen-e the Commissioners, " requires
'* likewise attention. The English in Bengal have assumed an
'^ exclusive right to collect the same, and they dispose of a
considerable number of chests containing that article an-
nually at Calcutta by public auction. It is much in demand
'^ on the Malay coast, at Sumatra, Java, and all the islands
^' towards tiie east and north, and particularly in China,
'^ although the use thereof is conAned to tiie lower classes.
'^ llie effect which it produces on the constitution is different,
'' and depends on tiie quantity that is taken, or on other cir-
'* cumstances. If used >vith moderation, it causes a pleasant,
** yet always somewhat intoxicating sensation, which absoriM
*' all care and anxiety. If a large quantity is taken, it pro-
" duces a kind of madness, of which the effects are dreadful,
" eK])ecially when the mind is troubled by jealousj, or in-
*^ flamed wiUi a desire of vengeance or other violent passions.
At all times it leaves a slow poison, which imderminea the

OPHJM. 115

^fiiculty of the soul and the constitution of the body, and
'^ xenders a person unfit for all kind of labour and an imago
^ of the brute creation. The use of opium is so much more
^ dangerous, because a person who is once addicted to it can
^ never leave it off. To satisfy that inclination, he will sacri-
*^ fice every thing, hi^ own welfare, the subsistence of his
** wife and children, and neglect his work. Poverty is the
** nataral consequence, and .then jt .becomes indifferent to him
" by what means he may coi^^nt his insatiable desire after
''opium; 90 that, at last, he ^o longer xespects either the
** {poperty or life of his fellow-creature.

^ If heare we were to follow the dictates of our own heart

*^ only, and what moral doctrine and humanity prescribe, no

" law, however severe, could be contrived, which we would

^not propose, to prevent at least that in future, xio subjects

" cf this Republic, or a( the Asiatic possessions of the state,

** should be disgraced by trading in that abominable poison.

** Yet we consider this as absolutely impracticable at present

" with respect to those places not s^lgect to the state. O^um

** is one of the most profitable articles of eastern copuneice :

** as such it is considered by our merchants ; and if the navi-

" gation to those parts is opened to them (which the interest

^ of the state forcibly urges), it is impossible to oppose trading

^' in the same. In this situation of affairs, therefore, we are

^ rather to advise, that general leave be given to import opium

'' at Malacca, and to allow the exportation from thence to

^ Borneo and all the eastern parts not in the possession of

" the state."

" Opium," says Mr. Hogendorp, " is a slow though certain
'' poison, which the Company, in order to gain money, sells
** to the poor Javans. Any one who is once enslaved to it,
** cannot, it is true, give it up without great difficulty ; and if
" its use were entirely prohibited, some few persons would
" probably die for want of it, who would otherwise languish
" on a little longer : but how many would by that means be
" saved for the fixture. Most of the crimes, particularly mur-
" ders, that are now committed, may be imputed to opium as
^' the original cause.

" Large sums of money are every year carried out of the
" country in exchange for it, and enrich our competitors, the

u
it
u

116 OPIUM.

" English. Much of it is smuggled into the interior, which
^' adds to the evil. In short, the trade in opium is one of the
^^ most injurious and most shameful things which disgrace the
present government of India. It is therefore necessary at
once, and entirely, to abolish the trade and importation of
opium, and to prohibit the same, under the severest pe-
*^ nalties that the law permits, since it is a poison. The
*^ smuggling of it will then become almost impracticable, and
'* the health, and even the lives of thousands, will be pre*
** served. The money alone which will remain in the countiy
'^ in lieu of it, is more valuable as being in circulation, than
'* the profit which the Company now derives firom the sale
" of it

*^ This measure will excite no discontent among the Javans,
'* for the princes and regents, with very few exceptions, do
^* not consume any opium, but, as well as the most respectable
'' of their subjects, look upon it as disgraceful. The use of
'* opium is even adduced as an accusation of bad conduct,
*^ and considered as sufficient cause for the removal or banish-
" ment of a petty chief."

CHAPTER III.

bforUmee ofAgricuUurt to Java — SoU — State of the Peataniry — Price of
Bice — Sulmsience qf the Peasantry — DweUinff — Agricultural Stock —
b^lememts of FarmiHg — Seasons — Different Kinds of Land — Rice Culti-
vstion — Maize, ^e. — Sugar — Coffee — Pepper — ItuHgo^^Cotton^-^Tobacco
— TeMire qf Landed Property.

The island of Java is a great agricultural country ; its soil is
the grand source of its wealth. In its cultivation the inhabi-
tants exert their chief industry, and upon its produce they
rely, not only for their subsistence, but the few articles of fo-
reign luxury or convenience which they purchase. The Ja-
Tans are a nation of husbandmen, and exhibit that simple
structure of society incident to such a stage of its progress.
To the crop the mechanic looks immediately for his wages,
the soldier for his pay, the magistrate for his salary, the priest
for his stipend (or jdkat)^ and the govermnent for its tribute.
The wealth of a province or village is measured by the extent
and fertility of its land, its facilities for rice irrigation, and the
number of its buffaloes.

When government wishes to raise supplies firom particular
districts, it does not enquire how many rupees or dollars it
can yield in taxes, but what contribution of rice or maize it
can fiunish, and the impost is assessed accordingly : the officer
of revenue becomes a siureyor of land or a measiurer of pro-
duce, and the fruits of the harvest are brought immediately
into the ways and means of the treasury. When a chief gives
his a.ssistance in the police or the magistracy, he is paid by
so much village land, or the rent of so much land realized in
produce ; and a native prince has no other means of pension-
ing a favourite or rewarding a useAil servant. " Be it knoiiini
" to the high officers of my palace, to my Bopdtis (regents),

118 IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURE.

" and to my Mdntris {petite ftoblesse)^^ says a Jaran patent
of nobility granted by Sultan Hamdngka BfAana^ " that I
^^ have given this letter to my sen-ant to raise him from the
'^ earthy bestowing upon him, for his subsistence, lands to
'^ the amount of eleven hundred chdcfiaSy the labour of eleven
" hundred men.'' By the population returns, and by the
number of leases granted under the late settlement, it appeaiSi
that sometimes there is not more than a tenth part of the in-
habitants employed in any other branch of industry. Out of
a population of 243,268 in the Pridng*en regencies, 209,125
are stated as employed in agriculture. In Surabaya^ the
proportion of householders who are cultivators, is to the rest
of the inhabitants as 32,618 to 634 ; in Semdrang^ as 58,206
to 21,404; in Rembang ii is as 103,230 to 55,300; and in
other districts there are considerable variations : but it rarely
happens, that the people employed in trade, in manufactures,
in handicrafts, or other avocations, amount to a half of those
engaged in agriculture, or a third of the whole population.
The proportion, on an average, may bo stated as three and a
half or foiu- to one. In England, it is well kno^ii, the ratio
is reversed, its agricultural population being to its general
population as one to three or two and a half. By the surveys
lately made under the orders of the British government, we
are enabled to describe the processes of Javan agriculture,
and to state its results witii more acciuacy and in greater de-
tail, than can be attained on many subjects of superior public
interest. If we avail ourselves of these means pretty largely,
it is not so much in tlie hope of increasing the stock of agri-
cultural knowledge, as of assisting the reader to form an esti-
mate of the character, habits, \%'ants, qpd resources of the
Javan.

llie soil of Java, though in many parts much neglected, is
remarkable for the abundance and variety of its productions.
With very little care or exertion on tlie part of the cultivator,
it ^-iolds all that the wants of the island demand, and is
capable of sui>pl\-ing resources far above any thing that the
indolence or ij^orance of the people, either oppressed under
the despotism of their own sovereigns, or harassed by the
rai>acit y of stran^'ers, have yet permitted them to enjoy. Ly-
iii;^ under a troj»ical sun, it pnMluces, as before obscrred, all

SOIL. 119

the froiU of tropical climate ; while, in many districts, its
moantains and eminences make up for the difference of lati-
tude, and give it, though only a few degrees from the line, all
tlie adrantages of temperate regions. The bdmbuj the cocoa-
not tree, the sugar-cane, the cotton tree, and the coffee plant,
bere flouririi in the greatest luxuriance, and yield products of
Ae best quaKty. Bice, the great stiq>le of subsistence, covers
die slopes €d mountains and the low fields, and gives a return
of thirty, fcNT^, or fiffy fold ; while maize, or even wheat and
lye, and the other plants of Europe, may be cultivated to ad-
rantage on high and inland situations. Such is the fertility
of the soil, that in some places after yielding two, and some-
times three crops in the year, it is not necessary even to
ehange the culture. Water, which is so much wanted, and
which is seldom found in requisite abundance in tropical re-
gions, here flows in the greatest plenty. The cultivator who
has prepared his sdwahy or rice field, within its reach, diverts
part of it firom its channel, spreads it out into numerous canals
of irrigation, and thus procures firom it, under a scorching sun,
the verdure of the rainy season, and in duo time a plentiful
harvest. Nothing can be conceived more beautiful to the eye,
or more gratifying to the imagination, than the prospect of the
rich variety of hill and dale, of rich plantations and firuit trees
or forests, of natural streams and artificial currents, which pre-
sents itself to the eye in several of the eastern and middle pro-
vinces, at some distance firom the coast. In some parts of
Ked&j Banyumdsy Semdranffy PasHruany and Mdlangy it is
difiScult to say whether the admirer of landscape, or the cul-
tivator of the ground, wQl be most gratified by the view. The
whole country, as seen firom mountains of considerable eleva-
tion, appears a rich, diversified, and well watered, garden,
animated with villages, interspersed with the most luxuriant
fields, and covered with the freshest verdure.

Over far the greater part, seven-eighths of the island, the
soil is either entirely neglected or badly cultivated, and the
population scanty. It is by the produce of the remaining
eighth that the whole of the nation is supported ; and it is
probable that, if it were all under cultivation, no area of land
of the same extent, in any other quarter of the globe, could
exceed it, either in quantity, variety, or value of its vegetable

1-20 SOIL—STATE OF 'mE PEASANTRY.

productions. The kind of husbandr}* in diflerent districtft (;
shall be mentioned afterwards more particularly) depends upon
tlie nature and elevation of the ground, and the facilities for
natural or artificial irrigation. The best lands are those si-
tuated in the vallies of the higher districts, or on the slopes of
mountains, and on the plains stretching from them, as such
lands are continually enriched ^nih accessions of new earth
washed down from the hills by tlie periodical rains. The
poorest soil is that foimd on the ranges of low hills, termed
k^ndangj extending along many districts, and particularly in
tlic southern division of the island ; but in no part is it no
sterile or ungrateful, as not to afford a liberal return for the
laboiu: bestowed ui)on its cultivation, especially if a supply
of water can be by any means directed upon it

But when nature does much for a countr>', its inhabitants
are sometimes contented to do little, and, satisfied with its
common gifts, neglect to improve them into the means of dig-
nity or comfort. Tlic peasantry of Java, easily procuring the
uecessaries of life, seldom aim at improvement of their condi-
tion, llicc is tlie principal food of all classes of the peo]>le,
and the great staple of Uieir agriculture. Of this necessary
article, it is calculated tliat a labourer can, in ordinal}* cir^
cuinstanccs, earn from four to five katiH a day ; and a kuti
l)(.'ing equivalent to one poimd and a quarter avoirdupois, is
reckoned a sufTieieiit allowance for tlie dculy subsistence of an
adult in these regions. The labour of the women on Java is
estimated almost as highly as Uiat of Uie men, and tlius a mar-
ried e()U])le can maintain eight or ten persons; and as a family
seldom exceeds half that number, tliey have commonly half
of their earnings applicable for tlie purchase of little comforts,
for implements of agricidture, for clotliing and lodging. The
two last articles cannot be expensive in a comitry where the
children generally go naked, and where the simplest structure
possible is suflieiuiit to afford the requisite protection against
the elements.

'Ilie price of rice, which thus becomes of importance to the
labourer, varies in different parts of the island, according to the
fertility of the district where it is produced, its situation with
regard to a market, or its disUinee from one of tlie numerous
provineial capitals. As the means of transport, by which the

SUBSISTENCB-AGRICULTURAL STOCK. 121

ttNmdanceofone district might be conveyed to supply the de-
kiencies of another y and to equalize the distribution of the ge-
Mxal stocky are few and laborious, this variation of price is
maetiiiies very considerable : even in the same district there
ire great variations, according to the nature of the crop. In the
Native Provinces, apikul (weighing 133^ lbs. English) some-
tmies sells below the fourth part of a Spanish dollar, and at
other times for more than two Spani^ dollars ; but in com-
9um years, and at an average over the whole island, including
the capital, the estimate may be taken at thirty Spani^ dol-
ing the k&yan of thirty pikulsy or three thousand kdtis. A
km of rice, according to this estimate, may be sold to the
coDsomer, after allowing a sufficient profit to the retail mer-
clumt, for much less than a penny.

But though the price of this common article of subsistence
may be of some consequence to the Javan labourer, when he
wants to make any purchase with his surplus portion, he is
rendered independent of the fluctuations of the market for his
necessary food, by the mode in which he procures it. He is
generally the cultivator of the soil ; and while he admits that
law of custom, which assigns to the superior a certain share
of the produce, he claims an equal right himself to the re-
mainder, which is generally sufficient to support himself and
his family : and he sometimes finds in this law of custom,
sanctioned by the interest of both parties, a security in the
possession of his lands, and a barrier against the arbitrary
exactions of his chief, which could scarcely be expected
mder the capricious despotism of a Mahomedan government.
Ln addition to this reserved share, he raises on his own ac-
X)unt, if he is industrious, within what may he termed the
cottage farm, all the vegetables, firuit, and poultry requisite
or his own consumption. His wife invariably manufactures
he slight articles of clothing, which, in such a climate, the
common people are in the habit of wearing. What can be
»pared of the fiiiits of their joint industry firom the supply
)f their immediate wants, is carried to market, and exchanged
or a little salt fish, dried meat, or for other trifling com-
brts, hoarded as a store for the purchase of an ox or a
3uflalo, or expended in procuring materials for repairing the
but and mending the implements of husbandry.

122 AGRlCULTUItcU. STOCK.

The fanning stock of the cultivator is as limited as his
wants are few and his cottage inartificial: it usually consists
of a pair of buffaloes or oxen, and a few rude implements
of husbandry. There is a small proportion of sheep and
goats on the island ; but, with the exception of pooltiy, no
kind of live stock is reared exclusively either for the but-
cher or the dairy. By the returns made in 1813 of the
stock and cattle of the provinces under the British govem-
ment, containing a population of nearly two millions and s
half, it was found that there were only about five thoossnd
sheep and twenty-four thousand goats. The number of buf-
faloes, by the same return, and in the same space, was
stated at 402,054, and of oxen at 122,691. Horses aboimd
in the island, but are principally employed about the capitals,
and not in husbandry, further than in the transport of produce
from one district to another.

The buffalo and ox are used for ploughing. The former is
of a smaller size than the buffalo of Sumatra and the Penin-
siila, though larger tlian that of Bengal and of the islands
lying eastward of Java. It is a strong tractable animal, ca-
pable of long and continued exertion, but it cannot bear the
heat of the mid-day sun. It is shy of Europeans, but submits
to be managed by the smallest child of the family in which it
is domesticated. Tlie buffalo is cither black or wliite: the
fonner is larger and generally considered superior. In the
Sunday or western and mountainous districts, nine out of ten
arc white, which is not at all tlie case in the low countries ; no
essential difference in the breed has been discovered to be
connected with this remarkable distinction of colour. The
usual ]mce of a buffalo in the western districts is about
Iwenty-foiu" rupees for the black, and twenty rupees for the
white ; in the eastern districts the price varies fix)m twelve to
si\t(H'n rupees. The Siinda tenu for a buffalo is miUkding;
the Javan, mtiifta and k^ho: and in compliment to Lal^n,
tlie prince who is 8U])posed to have introduced cultivation into
the Siinda districts, that prince and his successors on the
Siinda throne are distinguished by the appellation M^ndittg
ox Miiha, The name of the individual sovereigns enters into s
compoiuid with these general terms for the dynasty, and thev
are called Mdisa-faU*api, Miinding-sari^ and so of others.

AGRICULTURAL STOCK. 123

The ox of Jffra derives ifs origin from the Indian breed.
Tiro varieties are common : that which is called the Javan ox
hm cmisiderably degenerated ; the other, which is termed the
Rsngftl or Sonet ox, is ^tingoished by a lump on the
Aoridery and retains in his superior strength other traces of
fe origiaL The hull aAttr castration is used as a beast of
bnden, for the drstught, and sometimes for the stall. Cows
nt dttedy employed in husbandry, and are pardcidarly useful
t(^lhe|MK)rer class ; but in the $dwah and the extensive inun-
liied pkmtalions of the low districts of the island, the superior
bulk imd strength of the bufBado is indispensable. E^astward
of PoMtrtfan, however, the lands are ploughed by oxen and
e9irs exclusively. The wild breed, termed bdni^ffj is found
principally in the forests of that quarter and in Bdlij although
it occurs also in other parts ; a remarkable change takes place
b the appearance of this animal after castration, the colour in
a few months invariably becoming Ted.

The cows on Java, as well as throughout the Archipelago,
remarkably degenerate from those properties, for which, in a
state of domestication, they are chiefly prized in other quarters
of the world, and afford little or no milk beyond what is
barely sufficient for the nourishment of the calf: but the
draught ox does not partake of a similar change, and in the
central and eastern districts, particularly where the pasture is
good, becomes a strong active animal. The degenerate do-
mestic cows are sometimes driven into the forests, to couple
with the wild bdnt^ffy for the sake of improving the breed.
A single pair of oxen, or buffaloes, is found sufficient for the
joke both of the plough and harrow ; and these form by far
the most expensive part of the cultivator*s stock. The price
of a draught ox, in the central and eastern districts, in which
they are more generally used in agriculture, varies from eight
to sixteen rupees, or from twenty to forty shillings English,
and a cow may be piurchased for about the same price.
Either from the luxiuiance of the pasture, the greater care of
the husbandmen, or a more equal climate, both tlie buffalo and
the ox are usually in better condition on Java than in many
parts of India: indeed, those miserable half-starved looking
animals, with which some of the provinces of Bengal abound,
are never seen in this island, except, perhaps, occasionally, in

124 IMPLEMExNTS OF FARMING.

some of the few herds belonging to Europeans, in the vicinity
of Batavia.

IhifTaloes, however, more than other domestic animals, are
subject to an epidemic disease, the S3rmptoms and nature of
which have not been hitherto carefully noted, or salisfisictorily
explained. It prevails throughout the whole island, and
generally re-appears after an interval of three, four, or five
years : it makes great ravages in the stock of the peasantay,
and is checked in its progress by no remedies which have
hitherto been discovered or applied: it is of an infections
nature, and excites great alarm when it appears : it bears dif-
ferent names in different parts of the island. As the bull and
cow are not liable to this disease ; and as, in addition to thia
advantage, they are less expensive in their original purchaaey
tliey are preferred by many of the natives.

For draught, the buffalo and cow are employed; and for
burden, tlie horse (particularly mares) and the ox. In level
districts, and in good roads, the use of the latter is preferred.
The usual burden of a horse is ratlier less than three hundred
wciglil, and that of an ox ratlier more than four ; but in
mountainous districts, and where the roads are neglected, one
half of this weight is considered as a sufficient, if not an ex-
cessive load.

The comparatively higher price of cattle on Java than in
Bengal has been accounted for from the demand for them
as food, and the absence of extensive commons on which to
feed them.

When implements of husbandr}' are mentioned in British
agricidture, many expensive instnnnents, and complicated
umehiiicr}' suggest tliemselves to those acquainted with its
practical details. From the preparation of the ground for
receiving the seed, till the grain comes into the hands of the
miller, labour is economized and produce increased, by many
ingenioiLs processes and artful contrivances, of which a Javan
could form no conception. He could form no idea of the
fabrication or advantages of our different kinds of ploughs ; of
our swing ]>lougliK, our wheel ploughs, and our two-furrow
ploughs ; {){' our grubbers, cultivators, and other instruments
for ])ulverizing the soil ; of our threshing and winnoming
machines, and other inventions. A plough of tlie simplest

IMPLEMENTS OF FARMING. 125

construction^ a harrow, or rather rake, and sometimes a roller,
with 2Lpdchuly or hoe, which answers the purpose of a spade ;
an drity which serves as a knife or small hachet ; and the and
atdj a peculiar instrument used by the reapers, are all the im-
plements employed by him in husbandry ; and the total cost
of the whole does not exceed three or four rupees, or from
Krea to ten shillings.

The plough fwalukuj^ in general use for the irrigated

land, consists of three parts, the body, beam, and handle. It

is generally made of teak wood, where that material can be

prorided, or otherwise of the most durable that can be found :

the yoke only is of hdmbu. Simple as it is, it appears, both

in its construction and durability, superior to the plough of

Bengal, as described by Mr. Colebrooke, from which it differs,

in having a board cut out of the piece which forms the body,

for throwing the earth aside. The point of the body, or sock,

is tipped with iron, which in some districts is cast for the

pnipose. There is another kind, of more simple construction,

in use for dry and mountain cultivation : this is termed brujuly

and consists of but two parts. Both kinds are so light, that

when the ploughman has performed his moming^s work, he

throws the plough over his shoulder, and without feeling any

inconvenience or fatigue, returns with it to his cottage. For

gardens, and for small fields adjoining the villages, the small

l{Jcu china or Chinese plough, is used with one buffalo : the

cost for a good plough seldom exceeds a rupee and a half.

The harrow (gdru)y which is rather a large rake having only

a single rough row of teeth, costs about the same sum, and is

in like manner made of teak where procurable ; except the

handle, beam, and yoke, which are of hdmhu. When used,

the person who guides it generally sits upon it, to give it the

necessary pressure for levelling or pulverizing the soil.

The pdchul is a large hoe, which in Java serves every pur-
pose of the spade in Europe, and is consequently, next to the
plough, the most important implement in Javan husbandry.
The head is of wood tipped with iron ; and the handle, which
is about two feet and a half long, frequently has a slight curve,
which renders it more convenient for use : its price is about
half a rupee. The drit, or weeding knife, costs about eight
pence ; and the dm dni, with which the grain is reaped.

1*2G SEASONS.

about three pence. The latter is a small instrument of peculiar
shape. The reaper holds it in a particular manner, and crops
off with it each separate ear, along with a few incites of the
straw. This mode of reaping has been immemoriaIly|»actiMd
and is universally followed. 8ome of the most intelligent peo*
pie being questioned respecting the origin of this operose pnh
cess, answered, that it was reported to have been .establidwd
in ancient times as a s'ldmatj or gratefiil acknowledgment for
an abundant harvest ; that when his field was covered wiA
tlie bounty of Ceres, no reaper could refuse her ithis acknow-
ledgment ; and that the religious discharge of this obligatioD
was guarded by the belief, that if he ceased to offer this tribole
of his labour at the season of harvest, the field would not con*
tinue to yield him the same abundant return.

The lands are ploughed, harrowed, and weeded by the men,
who also conduct the whole process of irrigation ; but the
laboiu" of transplanting, reaping, and (where cattle axe not
used for the purjiose) of transporting the different crops fion
the field to the village, or from the village to the market, de-
volves upon the women.

Besides the two general divisions of the year, marked out
by nature in the great changes of the earth and the atmoo-
pliere, tiiere are other periodical distinctions, depending on lesi
obvious or more irregular phenomena. These variations haT«
been ascertained by a reference to tiie course of the heavenly
bodies, or the calculations of the wtiku^ which are described
in another part of this work. It is the office of the village
priest to keep this reckoning, and to apprize the cultivatoa
when the term approaches for the commencement of the dif-
ferent operations of husbandry. Of these minor seasons of
the year, the first, commencing after the rice harvest which
falls in August or September, lasts forty-one days. During
this season the leaves fall from the trees, vegetation is inter-
ni])ted, and the only field labour performed is the burning of
grass and vegetables, as a preparation of the Ugal or gdgatt.
In the second season, which lasts twentj'-five days, vegetation
again resumes its vigour. The tiiird, which lasts twenty-four
days, is considered the most proper for planting sweet po-
tatoes, yams, and such other vegetables as usually fonn the
second crop ; tiie wild flowers of the forest are now in bloaaom,

SEASONS. 127

and the period of what is tonned dry cultivation comm^ices.
The fourdi, which lasts also twenty-four days, is the natural
aeascm for the pairing of wild animals : high winds now ppe-
fwlf the rains descend, and the rivers begin to rise. During
Ae fifUl, which lasts twenty-six days, the implements o{
hnsbaiidiy are prepared, and the water-courses examined and
iBDewed : this is the commencement of the wet cultivation.
In the sixth season the ploughing of the adtcahs and sowing
of the bibU for the great rice crop takes place : this season
lasts fi>rfy-one days. In the seventh, which also lasts fcnrty-
one dajrs, pdri is transplanted into fields, and the courses of
the water properly directed. In the eighth, which lasts
ttrenty-six days, the plants shoot above the water and begin
to blossom. In the ninth season, which consists of twenty-
fiye days, the ears of the grain form. In the tenth, also con-
sisting of twenty-five days, they ripen and turn yellow. The
eleventh, which lasts twenty-six days, is the period for reap-
ing; and in the twelfth, which consists of forty-one days, the
Iiarvest is completed, the produce gathered in, and that dry
clear weather prevails, in which the days are the hottest and
the nights the coldest of the whole year. The accurate as-
sigmnent of the number of days by the natives themselves to
the different operations of husbandry, affords such complete
infcmnation on this interesting subject, that any finlher ac-
count would be superfluous. It may, however, be proper to
observe, that the periods above described chiefly refer to the
progress of the principal rice crop, as influenced by the annual
lains ; but there are many lands rendered quite independent
of these rains, by the vicinity of streams which afford a plan-
tifiil supply of water at all times of the year. In many favoured
situations, it is even common to observe at one view the rice
fields in almost every stage of their cultivation ; in one, wo-
men engaged in planting the newly prepared soil, and in
another, the reapers employed in collecting the firuits of the
harvest

Lands in Java axe classed under two general divisions ;
lands which are capable of being inundated directly firom
streams or rivers, and lands which are not so. The former
are termed sdwahy the latter tigal or gdga. It is on the
sdwihs that the great rice cultivation is carried on ; and these

128 DIFFERENT KINDS OF LAND.

admit of a subdivision, according to tlie manner in which the
land is irrigated. Those which can be irrigated at plea-
sure from adjacent springs or rivers, are considered as the
proper sdwah ; those which depend on the periodical rains
for the whole or principal part of the water by which they are
fertilized, are termed sawah tudahan. The former are by far
the most valuable, and lands of this description admit of two
heavy crops annually, wiUiout regard to any particular time of
the year: the fields seldom exceed forty or sixty feet in
breadth, and the water is retained in them by means of a
small embankment of about a foot in height. On the slopes
of the mountains, where this mode of cultivation is chieflr
found, these fields arc carried gradually above each other in
so many terraces, for the piupose of irrigation, the water ad-
mitted in the upper terrace inundating each of them in its
descent. The t^gal lands are appropriated to the culture of
less important crops, such as the moimtain rice, Indian
com, &c.

Tlie vast superiority of the siiwah^ or wet ciiltivation, ovei
that of legale or drv', is shewn in their relative pro<luce, and
may be still fiurtlier illustrated by a comparison of the renta
which the two descriptions of land are calculated to afford
The quantity of U*gal land, or land fit for maize, as compared
with tliat of xawah land, varies in different districts. In Cft^-
ribofif the U*gal land, by the late sur\-ey, amounted only tc
2,511, while the sdwan exceeded 16,000. In T^i the pro-
portions were even more widely varied, the nimaber a
jftngs of the former to the latter being as 891 to 11,445. Ii
Surabaya they were as 1,356 to 17,397 ; in KedA and BexAk
tliey were nearly equal, being respectively as 8,295 to 10,757
and as 6,369 to 7,862.

llie succession of crops, next to the facility of irrigation
depends upon the quality of the soil, which in the native pro
vinces is divided by the cultivators into three principal kindu
tana Uidu^ tana Unchad^ and tana piiftir, Tlie first is the best
consisting of rich vegetable mould, and a certain proportion t
sand, and exists chiefly near the banks of large rivers ; the sc
ecmd is ahnost pure clay, and is found in the central plains ; an<
tlie third is alluvial, and covers the maritime districts. Thi
term pada^ p^r^ng is applied to the obli(|ue tracts enriches

RICE CULTn^ATIOxN. 1'20

with a fertile mouldy which form the accUvities of hills, and
fiom which the water readily disappears. Tana Iddu will
bear a constant succession of crops. Tana linchad yields
only a single annual crop of rice : during the rainy season the
soil constitutes a stiff mud, in which the plants find the re-
quisite moisture and display all their luxuriance ; when it is
afterwards exposed to the rays of the sun, it bursts into ex-
tcnsiTe fissures, which admitting the scorching heat by which
tkey were produced, become detrimental to every species of
vegetation.

Besides the annual crop of rice which is raised on the
9aiwah lands, a variety of plants are raised upon them as a se-
cond or light crop within the same year. Among these are
sereral species of kdchang or bean, the cotton plant, the in-
digOy and a variety of cucumbers, &c. But the more gene-
rally useful and profitable vegetables require nearly the same
period as the rice, and only yield their increase once in a
season : they mostly grow in situations, on which the supply
of water can be regulated, and a continued inundation pre-
vented. Among the most important are the gUd^^ kdchang
p^nden^ or kdchang chinu^ kdchang ijuy k^d^le, jdgung or In-
dian com, jdgung chdntel^ jdwa-tvilty jdliy wijen^ jdrak or
palma christi, t&rongy and k&ntang jdtoa.

In f€g(d lands of high situations a particular method of
planting is sometimes practiced, which produces a result si-
milar to a succession of crops. Together with the rice are
deposited the seeds of other vegetables, which arrive at ma-
turity at different periods, chiefly after the rice harvest. The
most common and useful among these is cotton ; and, in some
tracts, great quantities of this valuable product is thus ob-
tained, without any exclusive allotment of the soil. Next to
this are various leguminous and other plants, which do not
interfere with the rice. No less than six or eight kinds of
vegetables are sometimes in this manner seen to shoot up pro-
miscuously in a single field.

Rice, however, as has been repeatedly observed, is the
grand staple of Javan, as well as Indian cultivation, and to
this every other species of husbandry is subordinate. The
adjacent islands and states of Sumatra, Malacca, Borneo,
Celebes, and the Moluccas, have always in a great measure

VOL. r. K

1 30 RICE CULTIVATION.

depended on the Javan cultivator for thdur supply, and the
Dutch were in the habit of transporting an annual quantity of
between six and eight thousand tons to Ceylon, to Coroman-
dely to the Cape, and their other settlements. Even at the
low rate at which it generally sells, a rerenue of near four
million of rupees, or about half a million sterling, has been
estimated as the government portion of its annual produce.

According to the modes of ciiltivation by which it has been
reared, this grain is called pAri sdwahy or pdri gdga ; cones*
ponding, with some exceptions, to the pddi sdttahj and p&M
Iddang of Sumatra. In the western, and particulariy the
Sdnda districts, the term gaga is changed for Hpar^ the term
gdgay in tlicsc districts, being only occasionally applied to the
grain which is cultivated on newly cleared mountainous spots.

The lowland and the mountain rice, or more correctly
speaking, the rice raised in dry lands and the rice raised in
lands subjected to inundation, are varieties of the same species
(the oriza sativa of Linnaeus) alUiough both of them are per-
manent : but tlie rice planted on the mountainous or diy
ground does not thrive on irrigated lands ; nor, on the con-
trary, does the sawah rice succeed on lands beyond the reach
of irrigation. The mountain rice is supposed to contain in
the same bulk more nourishment than Uie other, and is more
palatable ; but its use is limited to the less ]>o])uIous districlB
of the island, Uie greater proportion of the inlmbitants depend-
ing exclusively on the produce of the sdwahs^ or wet ctdttva-
tion, f(ir their support.

Stavorinus asserts, that tlie mountain rice is not so good as
tliat of the low lands. Mr. Marsdeu informs us, on the con-
trary, that the former brings the higher price, and is consi-
dered of superior quality, being whiter, heartier, and better
flavoured grain, keeping better, and increasing more in
boiling. " The rice of the low lands," he sa}'8, ** is more
^^ prolific from the seed, and subject to less risk in the cul-
^^ ture ; and on tliese accounts, rather than from its superior
^^ quality, is in more common use than the former.^ In
general, th(* weighti(?st and whitest grain is preferred; a pre-
ference mentioned by Bontius, who includes in the character
of the best rice its whiteness, its clearness of colour, and its
]ireponderating weight, bulk for bidk. Dr. Horsfield con-

RICE CULTIVATION. 181

ceires that Stavoriiius formed his opinion in the low northern
maritime districts of Java, and Mr. Marsden from a more
extensiTe observation. Many intelligent natives state^ that
ihey prefer the mountain rice whep they can procure it, on
account of its whiteness, strength, and flavour ; and that they
are cmly limited in its use, by the impossibility of raising as
much of it as can satisfy the general demand, all the moun-
tain or dry rice not being sufficient to feed one*tenth of the
population. In less populous countries, as in many parts of
Sumatra, the inhabitants can easily subrist the whole of their
Bombers exclusively on moimtain rice, or that produced on
Iddang^f which are fields reclaimed from ancient forests for
the first time, and from which only one crop is demanded.
Tbe grain here, as in the mountain rice of Java, is highly
flavoured and nutritious ; but in countries where the popu-
lation is crowded, where a scanty crop will not suffice, and
where a continued supply of new land cannot be obtained,
the peasantry must apply their labour to such grounds as
admit of imintemipted cultivation, and renew their annual
fertiUty by periodical inundations, even although the produce
is not so highly prized.

In the sdwahs of Java the fidids ard previously ploughed,
inundated, and laboured by animals and hoeing, until the
mould is converted into a semifluid mire : they then are con*
sidered fit to receive the young plants. No manure is ever
used. Oil-cakes (hUngkil)^ which are by some writers sup-
posed to be used for this piurpose generally, are only employed
in the gardens about Batavia. One of the chief charac-
teristics of the soil on Java, is an exemption from the neces-
sity of requiring manure : on the sdwah lands, the annual
inundation of the land is sufficient to renovate its vigour, and
to permit constant cropping for a succession of years, without
any observable impoverishment.

In the cultivation of the sdwahs^ the plants are uniformly
transplanted or removed from their first situation. In those
of tegal or gaga^ they grow to maturity on the same spot
where the seed was originally deposited, whether this be on
high mountainous districts, or on low lands, the distinction of
sdtcah and gdga depending exclusively not upon the situa*

K 2

132 RICE CULTIVATION,

tion of the field, but in the mode of culture, whether wet
or dry.

In raising rice in the sdwahs^ inundation is indispensable
till it is nearly ripe. The seed is first sown on a bed pie-
pared for the purpose, about one month before the season for
transplanting it, and tlie plant is during that time termed
libit . Two methods are in use. According to the first,
called Urity the ears of pari arc careiully disposed on the soft
mud of the seed bed ; in the second, called ng^^bevj the sepftp
rated seeds are thrown after the manner of broadcast in
Europe. In by far the greatest portions of the idand, the
ground is prcpare<l, the scc<l sown, and tlie plant removed,
diuing the course of the rainy season, or between the months
of November and March. In situations where a constant
supply of water can be obtained from springs, rivulets, or
rivers, two crops arc produced in the course of twelve or
fourteen months; but tlie advantage of double cropping,
which exhausts the soil without allowing it time to recover,
has been considered as very questionable. If in some situs-
ations commanding a su])ply of water, the earth is aUowed to
rest after the preceding harvest, during the latter end of the
rainy seascm, and the transplantation made in the months of
June and July, it generally yields more profitable crops than
the common method of working tlie sdwah. This, which is
tenned f/ddu by tlie natives, has been recommended by the
cx))eriencc of European planters.

Irrigation is exclusively effected by conducting the water
of rivers and rivulets from the more or less elevated spots
in tlie vicinity, and in this respect, differs materially in its
])rocess from that of Bengal, for although considerable labour
and ingenuity are exercised in detaining, regulating, and dis-
tributing the supply, liy means of dams, called banddn^amM^
no machiner}' whatever is employed in raising water for agri-
cultural puq)oses in any part of tlie island.

The ricc^ grown on sdwahSy is of two kinds, pari ginja and
pari ddlam. In the fonner, the har\*est takes place four
months after the transplantation ; in the latter, six months.
Pari (j^nja having the advantage of a qiucker growth, is
(hen*rore often planted when the rainy season is far advanced.

RICE CULTIVATION. 133

Pari ddlam is more prolific, and ^rields a grain of superior
qoali^, comprising those Tarieties in which the ears are
longer and more compound. The varieties of each kind are
fttinct and permanent

The subvarieties are verj numerous, amounting, wiih those
of k&tany to more than a hundred. KHan is a distinct variety,
with very glutinous seeds, seldom employed as an article of
fiiod, except in confections, cakes, and tiie like. Of the
fvieties of the pari g&n»ha^ mentik and anchar bdntap are
preferred* Of the pdri ddlam^ those of krentiklan and sUka
nAuU are most esteemed, being remarkably well flavoured
and fit for keeping. S*ldmat jdwa yields also rice of good
qoality. The bearded kinds of pdri are always preferred for
keeping, as the grains do not readily fall off. Near SULra-
iMa, the principal native capital, close to tiie site of the
feraier capital K^ta-^roj there is a peculiar tract inundated
by water firom a fountain at Ping^ging^ which is said to
produce a grain of very superior flavour, from which the table
of the Susuhunan is supplied. Suka ndndi is the kind uni*
formly preferred for these plantations.

For pdri gdga^ whether in high or low situations, the
ground is prepared by ploughing and harrowing, and the
seed is planted after the manner called setting in some parts
of England. The holes are made by pointed sticks, called
p&nchoSf and into each hole two seeds are thrown. Only
careless husbandmen, or those who cannot procure the
requisite assistance in their labour, sow by broadcast. In
high situations the earth is prepared before the rains com*
mence : the seed is sown in the months of September or
October, and the harvest takes place in January and February
foUowing. Gdgas of low situations are planted about a
month after tiie harvest of the sdwah is got in, and frequentiy
receive temporary supplies of water from a neighboiuing
rivulet In high situations, to which water cannot be carried,
they are sufficientiy moistened by tiie first rains of the season.
During their growth, tiiey receive several hoeings firom the
carefiil husbandman.

As the grain ripens, an elevated shed is frequentiy erected
in the centre of a plantation, within which a child on the
watch touches, from time to time, a series of cords extending

134 RICE CULTIVATION.

from the shed to the extremiticB of the field, like the radii ol
a circle, aiid by this cheap contrivance, and an occasiona]
shout, prevents the ravages of birds, which would otherwise
prove highly injurious to the crops. These little elevated shedi
in the mterior, and particularly in the district of Bdnjfumdt^
are very neatly constructed of matting.

The reapers are tmiformly paid, by receiving a portion ol
the crop which tliey have reaped : this varies in different paiti
of the island, from the sixth to the eighth part, depending on
the abundance or scarcity of hands ; when the bar^-est is ge-
neral through a district, one^fifth or one-fourth is demanded bj
the reaper. In opposition to so exorbitant a claim, the infln-
encc of the great is sometimes exerted, and the labourer if
obliged to be content with a tenth or a twelfth.

The grain is separated from the husk by pounding seven]
times repeated. The first operation is generally performed in
wooden troughs, in the villages near which it grows, and be-
fore it is brought to market The pari being thus converted
into hras or rice, afltenvards receives repeated poundings, ac-
cording to the condition or taste of the consumer.

With the exception of the rice raised in 8t\wah9y all othei
produce is cultivated on dry grounds, either on the sawaik
fields during tlie Ary season, or on i^gal land, at all times ex-
clusively approjiriated to dry cultivation. The principal ar-
ticle next to rice, as affording food to man, is maize or Indian
com, tenned jagung. It is general in every district of Java
but is more particidarly an object of attention on AfaiUtra
where, for want of mountain streams, the lands do not in ge*
niTul admit of irrigation. In the more populous parts of Java
likewise, where the sdtrahs do not afford a sufficient supply o:
rice, tlie inhabitants have lately had recourse to the cultiva*
tioii of mni/e. It is now rapidly increasing in those Ion
ranges of hills, which, on account of tlie poverty of the soil
had hitherto been neglected, and is becoming more and mon
a (iivourite article of food. In the more eastern districts, itii
procured from the ]nha))itantsof 3/nr/i/raiu exchange for rice
It is grnerally roasted in the ear, and in that state is cxposec
while hot for public sale ; but it is never reduced to flour, o:
stored for anv considerable time.

'Ilie zea waiz^f or comuion jagung^ is a hardy plant, am

MAIZE CULTIVATION. 135

grows on any soil. In common with every other production
of Jara it thriyes there most luxuriantly; nor is there any
reason to believe, that the Javan soil is less adapted to it than
that of Spanish America, where Humboldt estimates its pro-
duce at a hundred and &fty fold. It is planted in fertile low
hnds in rotation with rice, and in high situations without in-
tennission, often forming in the latter the chief, if not the only,
inppoirt of the inhabitants. There are three dififerent kinds,
Astinguished £rom each other by their respective periods of
ripening. The first kind requires seven months, and is a
luge rich grain ; the second takes only three, and is of inferior
quaH^; and the third, which seems valuable only on account
of its rapid growth, ripens in forty days, but has a poor small
grain. They may be planted at all seasons of the year ; and of
the two inferior kinds, several crops axe often raised firom the
woe ground within the year.

Of other cerealia, ihejdgung chdntel is raised very partially
in particular districts, at no great distance from the capitals of
the interior, and mostly for the purpose of preparing from it,
by fermentation, a liquor sometimes drunk by the natives ; as
& general article of food it cannot be eniunerated. The jdiva-
tM and jdli are still more confined in their use ; although the
natives have a traditicm, that on the first arrival of the Indian
colonists on Java, the former was the only grain fotmd on the
island : it yields a pleasant pulp, and is made into several arti-
cles of confectionary. As a principal article of food, or a sub-
stitute for rice, Indian com can alone be considered.

In times of scarcity, the natives make use of various kinds
of the plaintain (musajj also the yam (vbioUhe Malays, and
uwi of the Javans), the sweet potatoe, kaiilo (convolvidus ba-
tatas), the varieties of which are described in one of the early
volmnes of the Batavian Transactions, and a number of legu-
minous vegetables, the various kinds of beans (kdchanyjj
together with a species of grass with minute yellow seeds,
called iiiton, which in ancient times is said to have formed a
principal article of food, and the dried leaves of some other
plants ; but, happily, these times seldom occur, and the use of
the jdgung chdntel and jduki-unU, as well as of the various
roots and leguminous vegetables to which I have alluded, is
too limited to produce any sensible effects on the inhabitants.

136 COCOA-NUT.

lliose natives who make use of the Indian com exclusivelv,
inhabit the highest districts, where the purity of the atmo-
sphere contcracts any injury which their health might other-
wise sustain from die want of rice.

From the dren (sagurus rumphii), which grows abundantly in
many parts of Java, a substance is prepared, similar in all re-
spects to the true sago of the Eastern Islands. Itisparticulariy
useful in times of scarcity, when large numbers of these valuable
trees are felled, for the purpose of collecting the pith. The
sap yields an excellent sugar of a dark colour, in common use
with the natives. The wine or ftiwak (toddy) prepared fiom
it is superior to that obtained from most other palms.

A very agreeable pulp is prepared fix>m the pith of this tzeey
pounded with water, and exposed one night to spontaneouf
evaporation : it is eaten with palm sugar, and found by no
means unpleasant by Europeans. The tuberous roots of a
species of cucurma, t^mu Idwak^ grated and inftised in water,
yields a similar pulp. Both are denominated pdti, and daily
oiFered for sale along the roads and in the interior.

All the varieties of tlie cocoa-tree, noticed on Sumatra, are
to be foimd on Java, were its quicker and more luxuriant
growth is accotmted for by the superiority of soil. The prin-
cipal varieties of the cocoa-nut are enumerated in one of the
early volumes of tlie Batavian Transactions.

Of the oil-giving plants there are many. The kdckoMg
fforinf/ of the Malay countries, or, as it is indifferently termed
by Uie Javans, kdchang chUm^ p^nden^ oxtdna, is cultivated
almost exclusively for the purpose of obtaining its oil, near the
capitals of the principal districts, both central and maritime.
It requires a ver}' strong soil for its support, and as the culti-
vation is profitable, the lands which produce it yield hi^
rents. It is never employed as an article of food by itself; but
what remains of it aller the oil is expressed, forms an ingre-
dient for the seasoning of rice, in one of the common dishes of
the natives. The oil is obtaine<l by grinding the seeds be-
tween two grooved cylinders, and then separating it cither by
expression or boiling. The former is chiefly used by the
Cliinesc, and yields as a refuse the oil-cakes, which I formeriy
observed were employed as manure in some of the gardens
near llatavia. Where these cylinders are not in use, the fol-

SUGAR-CANE. 187

kming mode is adopted : the nut having been taken from the

ground, is dried by exposure to the sun for a few days ; after

irldcb the kernel is extracted, and reduced, by successive

beatings in the Javan U^ung or mortar, to a grain sufficiently

nan to pass through a sieve ; it is then boiled by steam, and

luning been allowed to cool for twenty-four hours, is put into

a basket, and in that state placed between two oblong planks,

nUdi, being joined together at one extremity, are forced to

meet at the other, on the principle of a lemon-squeezer. The

oil exuding from the interstices of the basket is caught on an

ox's hide, placed below to convey it to an earthen receiver.

Hie jdrcJCf or palma christi, is cultivated in nearly the
same manner as maize, and thrives on similar soils: from
tUs plant is obtained most of the oil for burning in lamps.
In extracting the oil from this as well as from the cocoa-nut,
TarioQS processes are employed, most of which tend to acce-
loate the rancidity of the oil. A pure cold drawn oil is not
bown. In the cocoa-nut, if the oil is obtained by expres-
sion, the broken nuts from which it is made are exposed till
putrefaction commences. In other cases they are grated, and
water being poured upon them, the parts mixed with it form
fdntetif a white milky fluid, which is evaporated till the oil
alone remains. As this process requires much time and fuel,
a more economical method is often resorted to : the milky
floid is left exposed for a night, when the oily parts rise to the
top, and being separated from the water are purified by a very
short boiling.

Of the sugar-cane, or according to the native term, t^bu
(the name by which it is designated, not only on Java, but
throughout the Archipelago), there are several varieties. The
lark purple cane, which displays the greatest luxuriance,
uid shoots to the length of ten feet, is the most highly prized.
3y the Javans the sugar-cane is only cultivated to be eaten
Q an unprepared state, as a nourishing sweetmeat. They
re imacquainted with any artificial method of expressing
rom'it the saccharine juice, and, consequently, with the first
laterial part of the process by which it is manufactured into
ugar. Satisfied with the nourishment or gratification which
tiey procure from the plant as nature presents it, they leave

138 COFFEE.

the complicated process to be conducted exclusively by tho
Chinese.

The cane, as in tlie West Indies, is propagated by cuttings
of about a foot and a half long, which are inserted in the
grouiul in an upright direction, previously to the setting in of
the rains. The Chinese occasionally use oil-cake for enrich-
ing tlie lands; but where the plant is only raised for con-
sumption in its fresh state, no manure whatever is thought
n^qiiisite; and a good soil, without such preparation, will
yield three or four crops in succession.

The cane is extensively cultivated for the juice in the vici-
nity of Batavia, where there are numerous manufactories,
principally owned by the Chinese. It is also cultivated for
tliis purpose in considerable tracts at Jdpara and PatArwM^
and partially in other districts of the eastern provinces, whoe
mills are established for expressing it Previous to the dis-
turbances in Chdribotiy sugar likewise was manufactured in
that district in considerable quantities, and furnished an im-
portiint article of export.

llie coffee-plant, which is only known on Java by its
European appellation, and its intimate connexion with Euio-
ro])ean despotism, was first introduced by the Dutch early in
the eighteenth centur}', and has since formed one of the arti-
cles of their exclusive monopoly. The labour by which it is
planted, and its produce collected, is included among tho
op})ressions or forced scr\'iccs of the natives, and the delivery
ojf it into the government stores, among the forced deliveries
at inadecjuate rates. Previously to the year 1808, the cultiva-
tion of cofiee was principally confined to the S^nda districts.
Tlierc were but comparatively few plantations in the eastern
districts, and the produce which they were capable of yield-
ing did not amount to one-tenth part of the whole; but,
under the administration of Marshal Daendels, this shrub
usuq)ed tlic soil destined for yielding the subsistence of the
peo])le ; aycry other kind of cultivation was made subservient
to it, and the withering effects of a government monopoly ex-
tended their influence indiscriminately throughout 6\'exy pro-
vince of the island.

in the Sitnda districts, each family was obliged to take

COFFEE. 139

eaxe of one thoafiand coffee plants ; and in the eastern districts,

vbete new and extensive plantations were now to be formed,

on soils and in situations in many instances by no means fa*

iromable to the cultivation, five hundred plants was the pre*

Mribed allotment No negligence could be practised in the

execution of this duty: the whole operations of planting,

cleaning, and collecting, continued to be conducted under the

Immediate sujierintendance of European officers, who selected

the spot on which new gardens were to be laid out, took care

that they were preserved from weeds and rank grass, and re*

eeived die produce into store when gathered.

A black mould intermixed with sand, is considered the best
mxl tot the coffee plant In selecting a situation for the gar-
dens, the steep declivities of mountains, where the plant would
be ettdangered either by the too powerful heat of the stm or
an entire want of it, or where torrents in the rainy season
might wash away the rich earth necessary for its growth, are
avoided. The best situation for them is usually considered to
be in the vales along the foot of the high mountains, or on the
gmtle declivities of the low range of hills, with which the
{nincipal mountains are usually skirted ; and it is found that,
cmteris paribus j the greater is the elevation of the garden, the
longer is the period of its productiveness, and the finer is the
berry.

Having selected a proper spot for the garden, the first ope-
ration is to clear the ground of trees, shrubs, and the rank
grass or reeds, the latter of which, termed galdga^ are often
found in these situations, and generally indicate a rich soil.
In clearing the ground, it is the practise to collect together
into heaps, and bum the trees, roots, and other rubbish found
on it, the ashes of which serve to enrich the soil : when the
trees are very large, the heavy labour of tooting them up is
avoided, and the trunks being cut about five feet from the
groimd, are left in that state to rot, and in their gradual, de^
cay still further to enrich the land. As soon as the ground is
thus cleared, it is levelled by three or four ploughings at short
intervals, and laid out to receive the plants. A fence is
planted round them, about twelve feet from their outer row,
generally ofihejdrakj or palma christi, intermixed with either
the dddapy or the silk cotton tree ; and, in low situations, out-

140 COFFEE.

side of this a ditch is dug to carry off the water. These opi
rations commence in August or September, and by the tioD
the ground is in perfect readiness for planting, the heayy rain
are nearly over. It then only remains to select the youn
plants, and prepare the dddap which is intended to shad
them.

Of the dddap tree there are three kinds ; the serdp^ ddr^
and wdru : but the first is preferred on account of the greatc
shade it affords. It is propagated by cuttings, and in selecl
ing them for the coffee plantations, care is had that they ax
taken from trees at least two or three years old, and that the
be three or four feet long, of which one foot at least must b
buried in the ground. After the dddaps are planted, holes ar
dug, from a foot and a half to two feet deep, for the receptioa
of the coffee plant, which is then removed from the seed plac
or nursery, and transplanted into the gardens.

In coffee gardens of four or five years old, are found quaa
tities of young plants, tliat have sprung up spontaneously frtm
the ripe berries dropping off the trees, and when these can b
obtained about fourteen inches long, of a strong healthy stem
large leaves, and without branches, they are prefexred ti
others : but as the plants thus procured are seldom found ii
sufficient quantities, nurseries for rearing them are formed m
follows : When the berries are allowed to remain on the shnil
aflcr maturity, they become black and dry : in this state the]
are plucked, and sown in seed beds lightly covered witl
earth: as soon as two small leaves appear, the plants an
taken from the bed, and transplanted, about a foot asunder
imdcr the cover of sheds prepared for that purpose ; in about
eighteen months, these plants are fit for removing into the
garden or plantation where they arc destined to yield theii
fniit In taking the young plant up, the greatest care is ne<
cessary not to iujiue the roots, esj)ecially the tap root, anc
with this view it is generally removed with as much earti
attached to it as possible. This precaution has the additional
advantage of not too suddenly bringing the plant in contact
with a now soil.

Tlie plantations are generally laid out in squares. The dis<
tance between each plant varies according to the fertility ol
the soil : in a soil not considered fertile, a distance of six feel

COFFEE. 141

ispres^redy and in each interval is a dddap tree for the pur-
pose <^ affording shade ; but in a rich soil, where the plant
grows more luxuriantly, fewer dddaps are necessary, and the
fixats are placed at a greater distance from each other.

On Java a certain degree of shade seems necessary to the
health of the coffee-plant, especially in low situations and
during its early age ; and the dddap is found better calculated
for affording this protection than any other shrub in the coun-
tij. It is a common sajdng, that where the dddap flourishes,
there also will flourish the coffee : but they are not always
constant or necessary companions ; for in high lands many of
(he most floiuishing gardens are to be observed with very few
ddd^qfs. The coffee tree yields fruit for a period of twenty
years, yet in the low lands it seldom attains a greater age than
nme or ten years (during six or seven of which only it may
be said to bear), and the fruit is comparatively large and
tasteless.

About the end of the rainy season, such coffee plants and

dddaps as have not thriven are replaced by others, and the

plantations cleaned: this latter operation, in gardens well

kept, is generally performed three or four times in the year :

but the tree is never cut or pruned, and is universally allowed

to grow in all its native luxuriance. In this state, it often in

favoured situations attains the height of sixteen feet, and

<\ plants of not less than eight inches broad have frequently

been procured from the trunk. The general average produce

of a coffee-tree is not estimated at much more than a kdii^ or

a poimd and a quarter English, notwithstanding some yield

from twenty to thirty kdtis.

There does not appear to be any fixed or certain season
for the coffee to arrive at maturity. In the Sunda districts
the gathering usually commences in June or July, and it is
not till April that the whole crop is delivered into store. The
season, however, generally gives what is termed three crops ;
of which the first is but small, the second the most abundant,
and the third, being what is left to ripen, may be considered
rather as a gleaning. When the berries become of a dark
crimson colour, they are plucked one by one, with the assist-
ance of a light bdmbu ladder or stage, great care being taken
not to shake off the blossoms which are still on the tree, or to

142 COFFEE.

pluck the unripe fruit The women and children usually col-
lect the crop, while the husband is elsewhere engaged in
harder labour. Attached to every principal Tillage, near
which there are coffee plantations of any extent, there is a
drying-house, to which the newly gathered coffee is broaght :
it is Uicre placed on hurdles, about four feet from the floor,
imdcr which a slow wood fire is kept up during the night
The roof oftlie drying-house is opened in the mornings and
evenings, to admit the air, and the berries are frequently
stirred to prevent 'fermentation. As the heat of the sun is
considered prejudicial, the roof of die house is closed during
the day. This operation is repeated till the husk is quite dry.
The berries dried in this way are small, and of a sea green or
greyisli colour, and are supposed to acquire a peculiar flavour
from the smoke, although it does not appear that any parti-
cular kind of wood is used for fuel. When dried in the sun,
the bean becomes of a pale bleached colour, is larger, speci-
fically lighter, and more insipid to the taste than the former.
llie most common mode of freeing the bean from the husk
is, to ponnd tlie berries when dry in a bag of buffalo's hide,
great care being taken not to bruise the bean. A mill of sim-
ple constniction is sometimes used, but is not found to answer
so well. The coffee being tlien separated from the husk, is
put into bags or baskets, and kept on raised platforms till
the season of deliver\\ when it is carried down to the store-
house, sometimes by men, but generally on the backs of buf-
faloes and mares, in strings of fifteen hundred or two thousand
at a time.

In iho Sihida districts there have been, for many yean
past, three principal depots for receiving the coffee from the
cultivators ; nz, at Buitenzorg^ Chikan^ and Karang-^dmbang.
From Bnitemorg it is either sent direct to Batavia by land
in carts, or by the way of Linkong^ whence it is forwarded in
boats bv the river Chi-ddfff. From Chikdn the cofTcG is sent
in boats dcm-n the river Chi-idram^ and tlience along the sea-
coast to Butavia. From Karang-ndmhang it is sent down the
river Chi^rndtiok to Indra-mdyUy where it is received into ex-
tensive warehouses, and whence it is now generally exported
for the European market.

Under this svstem, the Sunda districts were estimated to

COFFEE. 143

dkoA an ax gQ produce of one hundred thousand pikuls of
cue hundred and thir^-three pounds and a quarter each, and
Hwaa calculated that the young plantations in the eastern
distiicta, when they should come into bearings would produce
an equal quantity ; but in this latter quarter, many of the
gardens had been fixed on ill-judged spots, and the inhabit-
ants were averse to the new and additional burden which this
GoUiiYation imposed upon their labour. Had the system,
dievrfore, even been persevered in, and enforced by a despotic
anthority, it is questionable, whether the quantity anticipated
in the above estimate, or even one half of it, would have been
obtained fix>m the eastern districts. The SUndas living in an
inland and mountainous country, and having been long ac-
customed to the hardship of the coffee culture, are less sen-
sible of its pressure than the rest of their countrymen : time
and habit have reconciled them to what was at first revolting,
and what must always be considered as unjust ; their modes of
life, their arts, their domestic economy, and other social habits,
have all adapted themselves to a species of labour, which
was at first forced upon them ; and a state of servitude, which
the philosopher would lament as a degradation, is scarcely
felt to be a grievance by them. Instances, however, are not
wanting, in which the usual measure of exaction having been
surpassed, they have been awakened to a sense of their wretch-
edness. A government of colonial monopolists, eager only for
profit, and heedless of the sources fi-om which it was derived,
sometimes subjected its native subjects to distresses and priva-
tions, the recital of which would shock the ear of humanity.
Suffice it to say, that the coffee culture in the Sunda districts
has sometimes been so severely exacted, that together with
the other constant and heavy demands made by the European
authority on the labour of the country, they deprived the un-
fortunate peasants of the time necessary to rear food for their
support. Many have thus perished by famine, while others
have fled to the crags of the mountains, where raising a scanty
subsistence in patches of gdnga^ or oflener dependent for it
upon the roots of the forest, they congratulated themselves
on Uieir escape firom the reach of their oppressors. Many of
these people, with their descendants, remain in these haunts
to the present time : in their annual migrations from hill to

144 COFFEE.

hill, they frequently pass over the richest lands, which slill
remain uncultivated and invite their return ; but they prefer
their wild independence and precarious subsistence, to the
horrors of being again subjected to forced services and forced
deliveries at inadequate rates.

It is difficult to say what was the recompense received by
the cultivator previous to the year 1808. The complicated
system of accounts which then prevailed, seemed only calcu-
lated to blind the government, and to allow the European
commissar}' to derive an income of from eighty to one hundred
thousand dollars (25,000/. per annum), at the expence of the
authorities by whom he was employed, and the natives whom
he 0})presscd. This, in common with most of the establish-
ments on the island, imdcrwent a revision in the time of Mar-
shal Daendels ; and it was then directed, that the cultivators
should receive on delivery at the storehouses, three rixdollan
copper for each mountain pikul of two hundred and twenty-
five pounds Dutch, being little more than one dollar per hun-
dred weight, or one half-penny per pound. Tliis same coffee
was sometimes sold at Batavia, within fifty miles of the spot
where it was raised, at twenty Spanish dollars the hundred
weight, and has seldom been known to bring in the European
market less than eleven pence the pound. Tliis, however,
was deemed a liberal pa}nnent by the Dutch, though in some
cases it had been transported over sixty miles of an almost im-
passable countr}% where two men are required to cany a hun-
drt'd-weiglit of coffee, on their shoulders, at an expence of la-
bour which one would suppose at least equal to this remune-
ration.

lender the administration of the British government, the free
cultivation of cofiee, in common with that of all other articles,
was ]>cnnitted to the inhabitants of Bantam, Chdrilnmy and all
the eastern districts ; and at the time when the island was
again coded to the Dutch, arrangements were in progress for
cxt(*nding the same provision Uiroughout the S^nda districts,
under a conviction, that the quantity produced would not be
less under a system of free cidtivaticm and free trade, than un-
der a system in which it was found necessan^, as one of the
first acts of European authority, to compel the native princes to
direct '^ the total annihilation of the coffee culture within their

. PEPPER. 145

" dominionSy" and to secure by treaty with Uiem the destruc-
tion and confiscation of all coffee found in the hands of the
natives *. A considerable portion of the peasantry , as already
obsenred, have long been accustomed to the cultivation, and it
18 owing to their skill and experience, as much as to any direct
siq)enntendence or interference of the European officers (who
geoerally derive their information from the native chiefs, and
have little more to do, than occasionally to ride through the
garden with a pompous suite, keep the accounts, and examine
the coffee as it is received), that the coffee has so long been
fiffnished for the European market ; the experience obtained
in the eastern districts, during the last three years, proves at
least that coercive measures are unnecessary. There are many
parts of Java, particularly the Priang*en regencies, where the
soil is peculiarly and eminently adapted to the cultivation ;
and although it is difficult yet awhile to fix the exact rate at
which the coffee might be produced under a free system,
it may be calculated to be raised for exportation at about forty
shillings per hundred weight.

Of the quality of the Javan coffee, in comparison with that
of other countries, it may be observed, that during the last
years, it has invariably maintained its price in the European
market in competition with that of Bourbon, and rather ex-
ceeded it, both of them being higher than the produce of the
West Indies. During the last years of the British administra-
tion on Java, and after the opening of the European market
agadn afforded a demand, about eleven millions of young
coffee shrubs were planted out in new gardens.

Pepper, which at one time formed the principal export from
Java, has for some time ceased to be cultivated to any con-
siderable extent. It was principally raised in Bantam, and
the dependencies of that province in the southern part of
Sumatra ; and in the flourishing state of the monopoly, these
districts furnished the Dutch with the chief supply for the
European market

But the system by which it was procured was too oppres-
sive and unprincipled in its natinre, and too impolitic in its
provisions, to admit of long duration. It was calculated to

♦ Sec Treaties of the Dutch with the Native Princes.
VOL. I. L

140 INDIGO.

•

destroy Uie energies of Uie country, and with them, the source
from whence tlie fruits of this monopoly proceeded. In the
year 1811, accordingly, neither Bantam nor its dependencies
furnished the European government with one pound of this
article.

That pepper may be produced on Java, and supplied at a
rate equally moderate with that at which other productions
requiring similar care are furnished, cannot admit of a doubt,
and this reasonable price may be estimated at about six or
seven Spanish dollars (thirty to thirty-five shillings) ihepikmL
The plant grows luxuriantly in most soils, and when once
reared requires infinitely less care and labour than coflTee.
The cultivation of it on Sumatra and Prince of Wales* Island
having been so accurately and minutely described by Mr.
Marsden and Dr. Hunter, it would be unnecessary here to de-
tail the system followed on Java, as it is in most points the
same. Tlie only peculiarity regarding it which may deserve
notice is, that on this island the plant is allowed to grow to a
much greater size, entwining itself round the cotton trees, fine-
quentiy to the height of fifly and sixty feet

Indigo, called torn by the Javans, and by the Sil^mdoi
idrunij is general, and raised in most parts of the island.
The indigo prepared by the natives is of an indifferent quality,
and in a semi-fluid state, and contains much quick-lime ; but
that prepared by Europeans is of very superior quality.

An inferior variety, denominated fom-mentr, having gffinllCT
seeds, and being of quicker growth, is usually planted as a
second crop in s&tcahsy on which one rice crop has been
raised. In these situations, the plant rises to the height of
about three feet and a half. It is then cut, and the cuttings
are repeated three, or even foiu* times, till the ground is again
required for the annual rice crop. But the superior plant,
when cultivated on Ufffal lands, and on a naturally rich soil,
not impoverished by a previous heavy crop, rises in height
above five feet, and grows with the greatest luxuriance. The
plants intended for seeds are raised in favoured spots on the
ridges of the rice fields in the neighboiurhood of the villages,
and the seed of one district is frequentiy exchanged for that
of another. That of the rich mountainous districts being
esteemed of l>est quality, is occasionally introduced into the

INDIOf). ' 147

low lands, and is thought necessary to prevent that degene-
r^ion, which wonld be the consequence of cultivating for a
kmgtinie the same plant upon the same soil. In the province
of Maiiaremy where indigo is most extensively cultivated, it
is sold in the market in bundles, as low as eight-pence the
fUaU weight; but in the vicinity of Semaran^^ and in dis-
tricts where it is not produced in great abundance, it bears
an advance upon this price of fifty per cent

The climate, soil, and state of society on Java, seem to
ofkx peculiar advantages to the extensive cultivation of this
plant; and under the direction of skilful manufacturers, the
dye stuff might form a most valuable and important export
for the European market. The periodical draughts and inun-
dations, which confine the cultivation and manufacture in the
Bengal provinces to a few months in the year, are unknown
in Java, where the plant might, in favoured situations, be
cnltirated nearly throughout the whole year, and where at
least it wonld be secure of a prolonged period of that kind of
weather, necessary for the cutting. The soil is superior, and
a conunand of water affords facilities seldom to be met with
elsewhere ; while, firom the tenure on which the cultivators
bold their land, and the state of society among them, advances
on account of the ensuing crop, which in Bengal form so
nnnoos a part of an indigo concern, are here unnecessary,
and would be uncalled for.

The dye (nUa blue) is prepared by the natives in a liquid
state, by infusing the leaves with a quantity of lime : in this
state it forms by far the principal dye of the country. Besides
the quantity of it consumed within the island, it is sometimes
exported to neighbouring countries by native traders, and
sold at the rate of firom a dollar and a half to three dollars
the pikuly according as the plant may be in abundance or
otherwise.

It is impossible to form any idea of the rate at which this
species of dye can reasonably be manufactured for the Eu-
ropean market, firom the prices paid by the Dutch, both
because the article was one of those classed by them imder
the head of forced deliveries, and because the regents, who
were entrusted with its exclusive management, not fully under- ^

I IS COTTON.

standing the process of making it, conducted it always in a very
expensive way, and were frequently exposed to entire failures.

llie cotton of tlie country, distinguished by the name of
kapas jdicay is a variety of the gossypium hcrbaceum; but it
is inferior to that generally cultivated on the Indian continent,
which is also found on Java, and called by the Javans kdpag
miiri. The plant of the former differs from the latter, in
having a smaller stem, and in yielding a material, both of
coarser fibre and in less quantity. There is a third variety,
with a subarborescent stem, called kapas t&hon^ which is
very scarce. Trials remain to be made, to determine how
far the cidtiux; of the Indian cotton might be extended, so as
to supersede the Javan cotton. The inferior kind, which
forms the principal, and indeed with the mass of the people
the only material for clothing, is cultivated in almost eveiy
part of the island. The soil, however, is not considered as
universally favourable to its growth : many of the low lands,
consisting of a clay, which bursts in the dry season, are unfit
for it ; and on several of the more fertile districts, where the
plant itself flourishes, littie cotton is obtained from it : the
declivities of the hills, in which the mountain rice is raised,
yield in general the best and most abimdant supply. At
])resent, scarcely a suflficient quantity is produced on the
island to employ the female part of the inhabitants; and one
district often depends upon another for the principal part of
what it uses. The cotton of Banyumas is exported to Bar
galcHy to Tegaly and the western parts of Maidrem, where
it is manufactured ; the environs of Wong^go^ Adi4angA^ and
other places towards the southern hills, supply both the
capitals in tiie interior; Kediri^ PrandrdgOj and the vici-
nity, likewise furnish considerable quantities for other
parts of the island. In Uie Siitida districts, the principal
sup])ly is received from the east and west Jdmpang. TTie
culture of cotton, and Uie manufactiure of yam, are in some
dt'gree promoted hy an ancient custom, which imposes on
over}' householder or village a certmn contingent of cotton
yam for the sovereign, or for the person who holds Uie land
on his account : this custom is called pangumpleng. The
chiefs on Java, and particularly on Bdiij frequently wear a

TOBACCO. U9

skein of cotton yam entwined round the handle of die kris ;
a custom which sufficiently indicates the respect paid to this
species of cultivation.

The Jaran cotton is a hardy plant, which grows to about
the height of a foot and a half. It is generally planted on the
Mowahs after the reaping of the rice crop, and yields the
cotton in less than three months. The Indian cotton grows
to a larger size, and produces a material of an infinitely supe-
rior quality ; but it is more delicate in its nature, must be
watched with greater care, and requires a month longer to
attain to maturity. Cotton cultivated on tegaly or dry land,
is considered as generally better than that raised as a second
crop on sdwah ; and this mode of cultivation has been ad-
duced as the cause of the superiority ascribed to the cotton
of Bdliy and other more eastern islands.

Tobacco,* termed by the natives tombdkuy or sdtay is an
article of very general cultivation, but is only extensively
raised for exportation in the central districts of Kedu and
Bdnyumds : as it requires a soil of the richest mould, but at
the same time not subject to inundations, these districts hold
out peculiar advantages to the tobacco -planter, not to be
found on the low lands. For internal consumption, small
quantities are raised in convenient spots every where ; but
the most eastern districts and Madura are principally sup-
plied from Pugar, Bantam receives its supply from Bdnyu-
fndsj by means of native traders from Pakalungan visiting
that port in small craft. The produce of Ked^ is conveyed
by men to Sevndrang^ the great port of exportation.

In Kedu it forms, after rice, by far the most important
article of cultivation ; and, in consequence of the fitness of
the soil, the plant grows to the height of from eight to ten feet,
on lands not previously dressed or manured, with a luxuriance

• This article has never been a contingent or forced delivery with the
Dutch ; and its extensive cultivation in the district of Kedu gives a proof
of what the natives will do if not interfered with by European monopoly.
The Kedu is, in consequence of this cultivation, by far the richest pro-
\nnce in the island, giving an annual revenue to the government, in money,
of half a million of rupees. This important district was never subjected
to the Dutch government : it was transferred to the British in 1812, and
immediately fell under the Revenue System.

150 WHEAT, POTATOES, &c.

seldom \vntnessed in India. Cultivated here alternately with
rice, only one crop of either is obtained within the year ; but
after the harvest of the rice, or the gathering of the tobacco-
leaves, the land is allowed to remain fallow, till the season
again arrives for preparing it to receive the other. The yoimg
plant is not raised within the district, but procured firom Uie
high lands in the vicinity ; principally from fhe district i)t
Kdli-bebeVy on the slope of the mountain Dieng or Prdku^
where it is raised and sold by the hundred to the cultiyators
of the adjoining districts. The transplantation takes place
in tiie montii of June, and the plant is at its full growth in
October.

Wheat has been introduced by the Europeans, and cul-
tivated with success to tiie extent required by the European
population. It thrives in many parts of the interior of the
country: it is sown in May, and reaped in October; and,
where the cultivation has been left to the Javans, the grain
has been sold at tiie rate of about seven rupees tiie pikuL

Potatoes have been cultivated during the last forty years,
in elevated situations, near all tiie principal European
ments, and are reckoned of a quality superior to those
narily procured in Bengal or China. Few 06 the natives,
however, have as yet adopted them as a common article of
food. Besides potatoes, most of tiie common culinary vege-
tables of Europe are raised in the gardens of tiie Europeans
and Chinese, It must be confessed, however, that they dege-
nerate, if perpetuated on the soil without change ; and that
tiicir abundance and quality depends, in a great measure, on
the supplies of fresh seed imported from Europe, the Cape,
or otiier quarters.

Having now given an account of the different lands of
produce raised within the island, and the arts of husbandry
practised by the natives, I shall conclude this short sketch of
Javan agriculture by an account of the tenure of landed pro-
perty, tiie rights of the proprietor and tenant, tiie proportion
of the produce paid for rent, the division of farms among the
inhabitants of nllages, and the causes that have obstructed
or promoted agricultural improvements.

Tlie relative situaticm, rank, and privileges of the village
fanner and tlie native cliief in Java, correspond in most in-

TENURE OF LANDS. 161

stances, with those of the Ryot and Zemindar of Bengal ; but
the more frequent and more immediate interference of the
sorereigny in the former case, with any tendency to established
usage or prescriptive claim, has left no room for that difference
c^ opinion, concerning proprietary right, which exercised the
ingenuity of the highest authorities in the latter. In Bengal,
before the introduction of the permanent revenue settlement,
there were usages, institutions, and estabUshed modes of pro-
ceeding with regard to landed estates, that rendered it doubt-
fbl in which of the three parties more immediately interested,
the proprietary right should finally and lawfully be settled.
The claim of the Ryot to retain the land which he cultivated,
so long as he paid the stipulated contribution, seemed to raise
his character above that of an ordinary tenant rcmoveable at
pleasure, or at the conclusion of a stipulated term. The
situation of the Zemindar, as the actual receiver of the rents,
standing between the sovereign and the cultivator, although
merely for the purpose of paying them over with certain de-
ductions to the sovereign, and his frequently transmitting the
office with its emoluments to his children, although held only
during pleasure, gave his character some affinity to that of an
European landholder. And lastly, the sovereign himself, who
ultimately received the rents, and regulated them at his plea-
sure, and removed both Zemindar and Ryot, in case of negli-
gence or disobedience, was arrayed with the most essential
attributes of proprietary right, or at least exercised a power
that could render any opposite claims nugatory. Thus the
Ryot, the Zemindar, and the Sovereign, had each his preten-
sions to the character of landholder. After much cautious in-
quiry and deliberate discussion on the part of our Indian
government, the claims of the Zemindars, rather perhaps from
considerations of poUcy than a clear conviction of their supe-
rior right, were preferred. In Java, however, except in the
cases of a few alienated lands and in the SUnda districts, of
which more will be said hereafter, no such pretensions are
heard of, as those which were advocated on the part of the
Zemindars of western India ; although inquiries to ascertain
the equitable and legitimate rights of all classes of the people,
were known to be in progress, and a plan was declared to be
in contemplation for their permanent adjustment. From every

152 TEiXURE OF LANDS.

inquiry that was instituted under the British goTemmeiit, and
every fact that was presented to Uie view of its officers, it ap-
peared that, in the greatest part of the island, in the eastern
and middle districts, and in short in those provinces where
rent to any considerable amount was attainable, there existed
no proprietary right between that of the sovereign and that of
the cultivator, that the government was -the only landholder.

There are lands, indeed, which contribute nothing to the
state, some on which the cultivator pays no rent whatever,
and others of which the rent remains in the hands of his im-
mediate superior; but the manner in which individuals ac-
quire, and the tenure by which they hold such lands, form
illustrations and proofs of the proprietary right of the sove-
reign. As his resources arise almost entirely from the share
of produce which he exacts, and as he considers himself in-
vested with an absolute dominion over that share, he burthens
certain villages or estates with the salaries of particular offi-
cers, allots others for the support of his relatives or favourites,
or grants tliem for the benefit of particular charitable or reli-
gious institutions ; in tlie same manner as, before the Conso-
lidation Act in this country, the interest of particular loans
were fixed upon the produce of specific imposts. Here the
alienation shews the original right : the sovereign renounces
the demand to which he was entitled ; he makes no claim
upon the farmer for a share of the crop himself, but orders it
to be paid over to those whom he thus appoints in his place,
so far as the gift extends. With the exception of the Sinda
districts, as already stated, and a comparatively inconsider-
able portion of land thus alienated on different conditions,
the proprietary right to the soil in Java vests universally in
the government, whether exercised by native princes or by
cohmial authority, and that permanent and hereditary interest
in it so necessary to its improvement, those individual rights
f)f pn>]>erty which are created by the laws and protected by
tlic govenmient, are unknown. Witli these exceptions, nei-
tlier law nor usage autliorizes tlie oldest occupant of land in
Java to consider the gnmnd which he has reclaimed from
waste, or the farm on which he has exerted all his industry,
as his own, by such a tenure as will enable him, and his suc-
rcsisors for c\ cr, to reap the fniits of his labour. He can have

TENURE OF LANDS. 153

no tide, even to a definite term of occupancy, but from
the capricious servant of a capricious despot, who himself is
not legaUy bound by his engagement, and whose successor is
not eren moraUy bound by it

As a matter of conyenience, the same cultivator may con-
^Boe to occupy tiie same portion of land for life, and his
diildren, after his decease, may inherit the ground which he
cultivated, paying the dues to which he was liable. The
head of a villa^, whether called Bukuly Peting*giy or Luraky
may be continued in the collection of the village rents for
life, and may be succeeded in ofiice by his heirs ; the supe-
rior officer, or Demdng^ with whom he accounts, may likewise
hold his situation for a long period, and transmit it to his
fiaumily ; but none of them can stand in the possession against
the will of their immediate superior, or of the sovereign, by
any claim of law or custom.

Little of the revenue collected from the occupants is trans-
mitted to the government treasury ; the greatest part of that
which is raised, and which, in other countries, would come
into the hands of government, for subsequent distribution
among its servants and the support of its various establish-
ments, is intercepted in its progress by those to whom the
sovereign immediately assigns it The officers of police, of
justice, of the prince's household, and, in short, public ser-
vants of all classes, from the prime minister down to the
lowest menial, are paid with appropriations of the rent of
land.

To this general principle of Javan law and usage, that tiie
govenmient is the only landholder, there are exceptions, as I
mentioned before, in som'e districts of the island. These are
chiefly in the districts inhabited by the SUndaSy who occupy
the mountainous and woody coimtry in the western division
of the island. Among tiiem, private property in tiie soil is
generally established; the cultivator can transmit his pos-
session to his children : among them, it can be subdivided,
without any interference on the part of a superior ; the pos-
sessor can sell his interest in it to otiiers, and transfer it by
gift or covenant He pays to his chief a certain proportion
of the produce, in the same manner as the other inhabitants
of Java; because, in a country without trade or manufactures.

154 TENURE OF LANDS.

labour or produce is the only shape in which he can con*
tribute to support the necessary establishments of the com-
munity. So long as he advances this tribute, which is one-
tentli or one-fiflh of the gross produce, he has an independent
right to the occupancy of his land, and the enjoyment of the
remainder. The reason why the landed tenure of these
districts differs, in so important a particular, from that of the
most extensive and valuable part of the island, may periuqps
be explained from their nature, without resorting to any
original difference in the laws of property, or the maxims of
government Where the population is small in proportion to
the extent of soil, and much land remains unoccupied, the
best only \^ill become the subject of demand and appro-
priation, ^rhe latter alone is valuable, because it jrields grest
returns for little labour, and therefore offers inducements to
engage in its cultivation, in spite of many artificial disad*
vantages : it alone can afford a desirable surplus, after main-
taining the hands that call for its fertility, and consequently
tempts power to reserve unalienated the right to this surplus.
On the other hand, when waste ground is to be reclaimed,
when forests or jungle are to be cleared, or when a sterile and
ungrateful spot is to be cultivated, the government have less
interest in resen'ing the surplus, and must offer superior
inducements of immunity, permanency, or exemption, to lead
to cultivation. On tliis principle, the tenure of land in the
Siinda districts, and on some parts of the coast, may be
accoimted for. It may be concluded, that many of these
lands were reclaimed from waste by the present occupiers or
their immediate predecessors, and their rights to possess them,
which is similar to that which the discoverer of an miap-
])ropriated field, forest, or mine would have, by nature, to as
many of their products as he could realize by his labours, has
not been crushed or interfered with by the sovereign ; a for-
bearance, probably, more to be attributed to motives of pru-
dence than to the restraint of law. Nearly coincident with
this conclusion is the su])]K)sition which assumes, that before
the introduction of the Mahomedan system, and the encroach-
ments of (les]>otic sovereigns, all the lands on the island were
oonsidert'd as the proi)erty of those who cultivated tliem ; but
that, as the value of the most fertile spots became more appa-

TENURE OF LANDS. 155

rent, while the labour which had been originally expended in
ckazing them, and constituted the title to their original occu-
puicyy was gradually forgotten, the government found induce-
ments and fiunlities to increase its demands, and thus became
possessed of the rights of some by violence, while it rendered
tibose of all unworthy of being preserved. The land tenures
of the Swnda districts, according to this hypothesis, are only
wrecks of the general system, which have been protected
against encroachment, because they did not so powerfuUy
invite rapacity. Whatever truth there may be in this opinion,
the fact is undoubted, that in the mountainous and less fertile
districts of Java, and in the island of Bdliy where the Maho-
medan sway has not yet extended, individual proprietary right
in the soil is Ailly established, while in that portion of Java
where the Mahomedan rule has been most felt, and where
proprietary right amounts to the greatest value, it vests
almost exclusively in the sovereign.

The situation, however, of the cultivator in the Sunda
districts, who is a proprietor, is not much more eligible than
that of the tenant of the government : he may, it is Irae,
alienate or transfer his lands, but while he retains them, he is
liable to imposts almost as great as they can bear ; and when
he transfers them, he can therefore expect little for surren-
dering to another the privilege of reaping from his own soil,
what is only the average recompense of labour expended on
the estate of another. The Revenue Instructions, therefore,
hearing date the 11th February 1814, and transmitted from
the local government to the officers intrusted with the charge
of the several provinces subject to its authority, lay down the
following general position : ^^ The nature of the landed
'^ tenure throughout the island is now thoroughly understood.
'^ Generally speaking, no proprietary right in the soil is
^' vested, in any between the actual cultivator and the sove-
'^ reign ; the intermediate classes, who may have at any time
" enjoyed the revenues of villages or districts, being deemed
" merely the executive officers of government, who received
" these revenues from the gift of their lord, and who depended
" on his will alone for their tenure. Of this actual proprietary
" right there can be no doubt that the investiture rested
" solely in the sovereign ; but it is equally certain, that the

15(> TENURE OF LANDS.

^^ first clearers of the land entitled themselves, as a just
'^ reward, to such a real property in the ground they thus in a
'^ manner created, that while a due tribute of a certain share of
" its produce was granted to the sovereign power for the pro-
^^ tection it extended, the government, in retom, was equaUy
'^ bound not to disturb them or their heirs in its j>ossessioiL
^^ Tliis disposal of the government share was thus, therefore,
'^ all tliat could justly depend on tlie will of the ruling
'^ authority ; and consequently, the numerous gifts of land
'^ made in various periods by the several sovereigns, have in
*' no way affected tlio rights of the actual cultivators. All
" tliat government could alienate was merely its own revenue
or share of the produce. This subject has come fiilly under
discussion, and the above result, as regarding this island,
" has been quite satisfactorily established.^ It is remarked,
in a subsequent paragraph of the same instructions, '* that
" there have been, it is known, in many parts of the countiy,
'^ grants from tlie sovereign of lands in perpetuity, which are
'^ regularly inheritable, and relative to which the original
*' documents still exist Of these, some have been made for
" religious purposes, others as rewards or provision for rela-
^' tives or the higher nobility. These dienations, as far
^^ as it was justly in the power of the sovereign to make, must
'^ certainly be held sacred ; but their extent should be clearly
^' defined, that the rights of others be not compromised by
" them. Tlie government share, when granted, will not be
" reclaimed ; but tlie rights of the cultivator must not be
" affected by tliese grants. Such proprietors of revenue, as
'' they may be termed, shall in .short be allowed to act, with
^^ regard to the cultivators on their estates, as government acts
*^ towards those on its own lands, that is, they shall receive a
" fixed share of the produce, but whilst that is duly delivered,
" diey shall neither exact more nor remove any individual
'* from his land." It is remarked by Major Yule, the British
resident, in his Rc^port on Bantam, that there, ** aU property
" in the soil is vested exclusively in the hands of the sovereign
*' power ; but in consequence of its having been long cus-
" toniary to confer grants of land upon the different branches
" of the royal family, and other chiefs and favourites about
*' court, a very small ]K>rtion was loft without some claimant

TENURE OF LANDS. 157

"" or other. The pusdkas granted to the relations of the

** Sultan were considered as real property, and sometimes

** descended to the heirs of the family, and at others were

^ alienated from it by private sale. To effect a transfer of

*^ tkis nature, the previous sanction of the Sultan was neces-

''my, after which the party waited on the high priest,

''or Mangku-bumij who made the necessary inquiries,

*^uA deUvered the title deeds to the purchaser, in which

^ were specified the situation, extent, boimdaries, and price

" of the land sold. A register of sales was kept by the

** priests, the purchaser paying the fees; and it rarely oc-

^ cimed that lands sold in this manner were ever resumed by

" the crown, without some adequate compensation being made

"to the purchaser. Pusdkas given to chiefs for services

" performed, were recoverable again at pleasure, and always

" reverted to the crown on the demise of the chief to whom

" they had been granted : in all other respects, the same pri-

"lileges were annexed to them as to the former. The

" holders of pUsdka lands were very seldom the occupants ;

^'they generally remained about the court, and on the

"approach of the rice harvest deputed agents to collect

" their share of the crop. They do not let their lands for

^ specific periods. The cultivators are liable to be turned out

''at pleasure, and when ejected, have no claims to com-

'' pensation for improvements made while in possession, such

'' as water-courses, or plantations of firuit trees made by

" themselves or their parents."

^^ We must make a distinction^* say the Dutch Com-
missioners appointed to investigate this subject in 1811,
" between the Priang^ regencies, the province of Cheribany
" and the eastern districts. Throughout the whole extent of
" the Priangen regencies exists a pretended property on
" uncultivated lands, on which no person can settle without
" the consent of the inhabitants of that d^sa^ or village. In
" the sdwah fields, or cultivated lands, every inhabitant, from
" the Regent down to the lowest rank, has a share, and may
" act with it in what manner he pleases, either sell, let, or
otherwise dispose of it, and loses that right only by leaving
the village in a clandestine manner.

In the province of Cheribofiy according to the ancient

158 TENURE OF LANDS.

^^ constitution^ each district and desOylike thePrian^iiregen-
*^ cies, has its own lands ; with tlie difference, howeveT, that
^^ whilst those regencies are considered as belonging to viOagei
^' and individuals, here the villages and lands are altogether tbe
^^ pretended property of the chiefs, or of the relations or
'' favourites of the Sultans, who even might dispose of the
^^ same, with one exception, however, of that part aUotted to
*^ the common people. Sometimes the Sultans themselTcs
*^ were owners of desas and chiefs of the same ; in which
^^ case the inhabitants were better treated than in the former
*^ instances. If an individual thought himself wronged by the
*^ chief, who citlier sold, hired out, or otherwise disposed
of his lands, he took his revenge, not on that chief, but on
the person who held possession of the property. To cono-
^' borate this statement it may be mentioned, that the lands in
^^ the district of Cheribon were for the most part farmed out
'^ to Chinese, who increased their extortions in proportion as
the chief raised his farm or rent, and thus almost deprived
the common people of all their means.
^' On the north-east coast of the eastern districts, no person
^' can be called a proprietor of rice fields or other lands : the
*'*' whole country belongs to government, and in this light do
^' all the Aegents consider it The rice fields of a regency
^^ are divided among the whole of the population : in the
'^ division the chiefs have a share, according to their rank,
" occupations, or taxes they are paying.

'^ The chief enjoys his lands as long as he holds his station;
the common people fj^r a year only, when it fidls to the
share of another inhabitant of the </e«a, or \'illage, that all
^' may reap a benefit from it in turn. The ideas of the Javans
^^ concerning tenures, thus appear to be of three kinds : in
'^ the Sufid/i division they consist in allotting to the villages
*^ of imcultivated, and to individual persons of certain portions
*^ in the cultivated or siiwah fields : in Cheribon^ the sultans
^' and chiefs, as well as the common people, assert pretensions
**' to similar allotments : in tlie eastern districts, on the con-
" trar}', nol>ody pretends to the possession of land ; every
*' one is satisfied with the regulation laid down, but if a man^s
'^ share is withlu^ld, he is apt to emigrate. No person con-
siders himself boimd to ser\'itude. The Javans, however.

«k

TENURE OF LANDS. 169

** in the Prian^en regencies, in Cheribony and in the eastern
** districts, pretend to have an unquestionable right to all
" the firuit trees and Hri plants, at or near their kdmpung

^ There is not,*^ says Mr. Enops, another of the Dutch

Conmiissioners, ^' a single Javan, who supposes that the soil

" is the property of the Regent, but they all seem to be sen-

^ nble that it belongs to goyemment, usually called the so-

^Tereign among them ; considering the Regent as a subject

^ like themsdves, who holds his district and authority from

'^tfae soTereign. His idea of property is modified by the

^ three kinds of subjects to which it is applied : rice fields,

"ffdjias, and fruit trees. A Javan has no rice fields he can

^ call his own ; those of which he had the use last year will

^ be exchanged next year for others. They circulate (as in

'^ the regency of SemdrangJ from one person to another, and

^ if any one were excluded, he would infallibly emigrate. It

" is different with the ffdgaSy or lands where dry rice is culti-

" rat^ : the cultivator who clears such lands from trees or

^ bnishwood, and reclaims them from a wilderness, considers

^ himself as proprietor of the same, and expects to reap its

^ fruits without diminution or deduction. With regard to fruit

** trees, the Javan cultivator claims those he has planted as his

" legal property, without any imposts : if a chief were to tres-

^ pass against this right, the village would soon be deserted.

'^ The Javan, however, has not, in my opinion, any real idea

^* of property even in his firuit trees, but usage passes with him

^ for a law. All dispositions made by the chief, not contrary

^^ to custom or the ddat^ are considered as legal, and likewise

** all that would contribute to ease the people, by lessening or

^ reducing the capitation tax, the contingent, the feudal ser-

^ vices, in short all the charges imposed upon them. A dif-

" ferent system would be contrary to custom. Whatever fa-

" vours the people is legal, whatever oppresses them is an

" infraction of the custom."

The tenure of land in the native provinces is the same ge-
nerally as in the eastern districts. Thus stands the question
with regard to the proprietary right to the soil in Java ; but
it is of more consequence in an agricultural point of view, and
consequently more to my present piu^ose, to inquire how that

KiO TENURE OF LANDS.

right is generally exercised, than in whom it resides. Though
the cultivator had no legal title to his lands, there might still
be such a prevalent usage in favour of his perpetual occupancv;
as would secure him in the enjoyment of his possession, and
enable him to reap the fruits of his industry equally with the
protection of his positive law.

But unfortunately for the prosperity of the people, this wif
far from being generally the case. The cultivator had little
security for continued occupancy, but the power, on his put,
of enduring unlimited oppression without removing from un-
der it, or the interest of his immediate superior in retaining a
useful slave ; and as he could not expect to reap in safety the
fruits of his industry, beyond the bare supply of his necessi-
ties, he carried that industry no farther than his necessities
demanded. The sovereign Imew little about the state of his
tenantry' or the conduct of his agents, and viewed the fonncr
only as instruments to create the resources, which the latter
were employed to collect or administer. All his care was to
procure as much from the produce of the soil and industry of
his subjects as possible, and the complaints of the people, who
suffered under the exactions of these chiefs, were intercepted
on tlicir way to the throne, and pehaps would have been dis-
regarded had they reached it The sovereign delegates lus
authority over a province of greater or less extent, to a hifjtk
officer csdlcd Adipdtiy Turning* gung^ or Ang*ebdi, who is him-
self paid by the rent of certain portions of land, and is respon-
sible for the revenues of the districts over which he is ap-
pointed, lie, in his turn, elects an officer, called Demdmg or
Mdntridesay to administer the sub-divisions or districts of the
])rovince, to appoint the chiefs, and to collect the rents of sere*
ral villages. The village chief, Bukul^ Lurahj or whatever
desi^aticm he bears in the different parts of the island, thus
appointed by his immediate superior, is placed in the adminis-
tration of the village, required to collect the government share
of the crop from the cultivator, and to account for it to the De-
vuing. In some provinces, tlie village elects its own chief,
ciilk'd Pvi\ng\ji^ who exercises similar functions with the
Ih'ikul appointed by government, as will be aflerwards more
]>artieularly obser^'ed in tlie accoimt of the native administra-
tion. As all the officers of government, of whatever rank, are

TENURE OF LANDS. 161

paid their a aries in the produce of the land, the Bukuls and
die Demdngs become responsible for the share of the appro-
priations of villages to this account, as much as if it went into
the goTemment treasury. They are themselves paid by the
leseiration of a certain share of what they collect, and of
course are always ready to please their employers, and to in-
crease their own emoluments, by enforcing every practicable
exaction. Everjr officer has unlimited power over those be-
low him, and is himself subject to the capricious will of the
torereign or his minister. When the Regent maJces any new
or exorbitant demand upon those whom he immediately su-
perintends, they must exact it with an increased degree of
rigor over the chiefs of villages, who are thus, in their turn,
I forced to press upon the cultivator, with the accumulated
weight of various gradations of despotism.

The Bukuly or the Peting^gi is the immediate head of the
rillage, and however much his authority is modified in par-
ticular districts, has always extensive powers. To the culti-
vators, he appears in the character of the real landholder, as
thej have no occasion to look beyond him to the superior, by
whom he is controlled. He distributes the lands to the dif-
ferent cultivators on such shares, and in such conditions, as
lie pleases, or as custom warrants, assesses the rents they have
to pay, allots them their village duties, measures the produce
of their fields, and receives the government proportion. He
sometimes himself cultivates a small portion of land, and in so
far is regarded only as a tenant, like the rest of the villagers.
He is accountable for all the collections he realizes, with the
reservation of a fifth paH for his trouble, which share must be
viewed merely as the emoluments of office, and not as the
rent of the landlord, or the profits of a farmer. He sometimes
holds his situation immediately of the sovereign, or by the
election of the cultivators ; but more generally firom the in-
termediate agent of government, whom I have mentioned
above, to whom he is accountable for his receipts. By his
superior he may be removed at pleasure ; although the local
knowledge and accumulated means, which are the conse-
quence of the possession of office, generally insure its dura-
tion to his person for a considerable period, or as long as his
superior himself retains his power.
VOL. I. M

162 TENURE OF LANDS.

The lands which he superintends and apportions rang
six or seven to double that number o( jungs^ or firom f
fifty to an hundred acres English, and these are <
among the inhabitants of his village, generally varyin
about two acres to half an acre each. That this minuf
sion of land takes place, may be she^n firom the surveyi
under the British government in the eastern provinces,
nearly resemble those under the dominion of the native p
and consequently may be taken as indicating the genen
of the island. Ihe inhabitants in the agricultural dist
the residency of Surabaya amount in all to 129,938 :
compose 33,141 families, of which 32,618 belong to th
of cultivators, and 523 belonging to other professions pa
a ground rent for their houses. The area of the provinc
tains about twelve hundred square miles, or 34,955
about 20,000 only of which are cultivated, so as to bee
any consequence in the division of lands among the vi
the nmnber of which amount to 2,770. By a calci
founded on tliese data, it would appear, that each
averages about twelve families, that a family falls consic
short of the average of four, and that a little more than
Jungs are allotted to a village. In Kedu the popi
amounts to 197,310, the number of villages to 3879, a
quantity of cultivated land to 19,052 jungs; so that
province there are about hvejungs attached to a villagi
a village is inhabited by fifty-one souls, or about tw(
thirteen families. In Gresik, the number of villages a
to 1396, the quantity of cultivated land to 17,018 jun^
the population to 115,442 souls. In Proboling*o and i
the numbers are — of inhabitants, 104,359 ; of villages
of cultivated land, 13,432 jungs. In these two last tl
portions varv', the number o( jungs to a village in the
being more tlian twelve, and of inhabitants more than <
or about twenty families ; and in the latter, the propor
more than <me hundred and twenty souls to a villag
sessed of more tlian sixteen jungs of land. It would
iwrfluous to state any more examples. In different p
the island, there are variations within certain limits ; I
quantity of land occupied by one cultivator seldom exc
bdhuy (or tlie quarter otajung)^ altliough the quantity oc<

TENURE OF LANDS. 1G3

il hj a Tillage, as will be seen by the above instances, varies from
il fire to sixteen, according to the extent of the population.
si The land allotted to each separate cultivator is managed by
■| himself exclusively ; and the practice of labouring in com-
immi which is usual among the inhabitants of the same vil-
lage on continental India, is here unknown. Every one,
generally spealdng, has his own field, his own plough, his
oim buffaloes or oxen ; prepares his farm with his own hand,
or the assistance of his family at seed-time, and reaps it by
the same means at harvest. By the recent surveys, when
ereij thing concerning the wealth and the resources of the
country became the subject of inquiry, and means were em-
ployed to obtain the most accurate information, it was ascer-
tained, that the number of buffaloes on that part of the island
to which these sturveys extended, was nearly in the proportion
of one to a fomily, or a pair to two families ; and that, includ-
ing the yokes of oxen, which are to those of buffaloes as one
to three, this proportion would be very much exceeded. In
8ome provinces, more exclusively devoted to grain cultiva-
tion, the number of ploughs, and of course oxen or buffaloes,
oeariy amounts to one to a family. In other cases, where
they fall much short of this proportion, a considerable part of
the inhabitants must be engaged in labours unconnected with
agriculture, or the cultivators must be engaged in rearing
produce, where the assistance of those animals is not required.
Thus in Japdra and Jawdna^ where^the number of inhabitants
is 103,290, or about twenty-six thousand families, the number
of ploughs amount to 20,730, and of buffaloes to 43,511;
while in the Batavian Regencies, where the coffee culture
employs a considerable part of the inhabitants, the number of
families is about sixty thousand, and of ploughs only 17,366.
The lands on Java are so minutely divided among the inha-
bitants of the villages, that each receives just as much as can
maintain his family and employ his individual industry.

** A time there was, ere England's griefs began,
** When ev'ry rood of ground maintain'd its man ;
'* For him light labour spread her wholesome store,
'* Just gave what life requir'd, and gave no more :
"His best companions, innocence and health ;
*' And his best riches, ignorance of wealth."

M 2

164 TENURE OF LANDS.

But sitoated as the Javan peasantry are, there is but liU
inducement to invest capital in agriculture, and much labo
must be unprofitably wasted : as property is insecure, the
can be no desire of accumulation ; as food is easily procure
tliere can be no necessity for vigorous labour. There exisi
as a consequence of this state of nature and of the laws, fc
examples of great affluence or abject distress among the pe
santry; no rich men, and no common beggars. Under tl
native governments and the Regents of the Dutch Compan
there were no \^Titten leases or engagements binding for
term of years ; nor could such contracts well be expected
be formed with an officer, who held his own place by so u
stable a teniu-e as the will of a despot The cultivator ba
gained with the BAkul or Peting*gi for a season or for t^
crops, had his land measured off by the latter, and paid
stipulated portion of the produce either in money or in Ids
WTicn the crop had arrived at maturity, the cultivator, if li
engagement was for so much of the produce in kind, c
down his own share, and left that of tlie landlord on tl
groimd.

Hie proportion of the crop paid as rent varied with tl
kind of land, or produce, and the labour employed by tl
cultivator. In the sdwah lands, tlie share demanded by tl
landlord rarely exceeded one-half, and might fall as low ;
one-fourth, according as the (juality of the soil was good >
bad, or the laboiur employed in irrigating or otherwise pr
paring it was greater or less. In tet/al lands, the rent pa
varied from one-tliird to one-fifth of tlie produce ; a dimin
tion to be attributed to the imcertainty of the crop, and tl
necessity of employing more labour to realize an equal pr
cluce than on Uie other s[)ecies of cultivation. In cases whc
there was a second crop of less value tlian Uie principal rii
or maize cro]), no additional demand was made upon tl
additional grain roajwd by the farmer.

If such rates had been equitably fixed, after a delibeni
estimate of the pro])ortion between the labour of the cultivat
and his produce, and if fnmi the best kind of sdwah no mo
than the half had been required, with a scale of rents din
nishing as labour increased or tlie soil deteriorated, the )>e.
sant coidd have had no reason to conqilain of tlie exactioi

TENURE OF LANDS. 165

of gOYemment A Jung of the best sdwah lands will produce
between forty and fifty dmats of pdriy each dmat weighing
about one thousand pounds. Suppose a cultivator occupied a
tpiarter of a jung of such land, he would reap ten dmatSy or
ten thousand pounds of pdri^ and allowing a half for the go-
Tenunent deduction, would still retain five thousand pounds,
which is equal to about eight quarters of wheat The best
iiwah lands return about forty-fold ; sdwah lands of the se-
cond quality yield from thirty to forty dmats the jung ; and
they are considered of inferior quality when they yield less
than thirty. From these last, two-fifths or one-third was re-
qniied as the landlord's share. Tegal lands were assessed at
one-third, one fourth, or one-fifth of their produce, according
to their quality, and their produce in value is about a fourth
of gdttah lands of the same relative degree in the scale. In
Bengal, according to Mr. Colebrooke's excellent account of
its husbandly, " the landlord's proportion of the crop was
" one-half, two-fifths, and a third, according to the difference
" of circumstances." The value in money of a crop of rice
grown on a jung of the best land under the wet cultivation,
may amount to one hundred and sixty Spanish dollars ; and
on a hdhu (the space occupied by an individual cultivator),
forty dollars. I formerly stated the price of the implements
of husbandry, the price of buffaloes or oxen, the expence of
building a house, and providing it with the necessary ftimi-
tnie. The whole farming stock of a villager may be purchased
for about fifteen or sixteen dollars, or for little more than a
third part of the produce of his land in one year. The price
of labour, the price of cattle and of grain, as well as the fer-
tflity of the soil, varies in different parts of the island ; but,
in general, it may be laid down as an indisputable proposi-
tion, that from the natural bounty of the soil, the peasantry
might derive all the means of subsistence and comfort, with-
out any great exertion of ingenuity, or any severity of toil, if
their government made no greater demand than the shares
stated above.

But besides the rent which the cultivator paid for his land,
he was liable to many more grievous burdens. The great
objection to a tax levied on land, and consisting in a certain
share of its produce, arises firom the effect that it has in ob-

106 TENURE OF LANDS.

structing improvements ; but there were other imposts ai
contributions exacted from the peasantry, which were poi
tively and immediately oppressive. A ground-rent for houM
called pachumplanffy was prevalent over many parts of tl
island, amounting in the provinces subject to the natii
princes, to one-sixth or seventh of a dollar for each dwellix
or cottage. The cultivator, in some parts of the country, ii
stead of paying this tax, was obliged to pay for his fruit tzec
In some districts tliere was a capitation tax ; arbitrary fini
were levied in others, and contributions on the birth or ma
riage of the children of the superior, regent, or the princ
There were several charges made on the villages, that had
more immediate reference to their own advantage, but whic
nevertheless were felt as burdens ; such as contributions f
the repair of roads, of bridges, for the maldng or repair
water-courses, dams, and other works necessary for irrigatio
Demands on the inhabitants for charitable and religious ol
jects or institutions are universal, though not very oppressiv
Every village has its priest, who depends upon the contrib
tions of the peasantry for his support, receiving so much rii
or pari as his salary. The taxes on the internal trade of tl
country extended to every article of manufacture, produce,
consiunption, and being invariably farmed out to Chinei
who employed every mode of extortion that their ingenui
could invent, or the passive disposition of the people woa
allow them to practice, constituted an inexhaustible source
oppression: to these we may add the feudal 8er\ice8 ai
forced deliveries required under the Dutch government.

Tlie following observations extracted fit>m two reports, d
one on Bant am y at the western side of the island, and tl
other on PaHuruan^ almost at its other extremity, were ni
hap]iily by no means inapplicable to the greatest part of tl
inti^miediate space, and contain by no means an exaggerati
re])resentation. ^' The holders of punaka lands in Banta
" were very seldom the occupants ; tlicy generally remain<
'' about court, and on the a])proach of Uie pari harvest d

puted agents to collect tlicir share of the crop. But wh
" proportion their share woidd bear to the whole produi

doi'K not appear to be well defined: it is by one stati

at a fiOh, and bv some (which I suspect to bo nearest tl

TENURE i)F LANDS. 167

^ truth) at as mnch as the cultivator could afford to pay, the
" agents of the proprietors being the judges of the quantity.
" The proprietors of the pusakas have also a claim to the
" services of the cultivators : a certain number of them are
^ always in attendance at the houses of their chiefs, and on
" joumies are employed in carrying their persons and bag-
** gage. The lands not pusaka used to pay the same propor-
" tion of produce to the Sultan as the others did to the pro-
" prietors ; but the cultivators of the royal dominions laboured
^ under greater disadvantages than the others. Every chief
" or favourite about court had authority to employ them in
^ the most menial offices ; and chiefs possessing pusakas,
" often spared their own people and employed the others.
" The Sultan always had a right to enforce the culture of any
^ article which he thought proper to direct ; and, in such
^ cases, a price was paid upon the produce, which was
" generally very inadequate to the expences."

" It may be very desirable," says Mr. Jourdan, in his re-
port on the completion of the settlement of Pasuruan, ^* that
" I should mention a few of the oppressions from which it is
" the object of the present system to relieve the people. I
*^ cannot but consider the greatest of these, the extent of the
" personal service demanded, not only by the Tumung^^ung
^ and his family, but the Mdntris and all the petty chiefs,
" who had trains of followers that received no stipendiary re-
^ compence. These added to the individuals employed in the
" cofiee plantations (to which they appear peculiarly averse),
" in beating out the rice for the contingent, in cutting grass
^ for and attending ihejdyang aekdrs^ post carriage and letter-
** carriers, may be calculated to have employed one-fifth of
"the male population of the working men. Another great
" source of exaction was the large unwieldy establishment of
^jdyang sekdrs^ and police officers : the former were liberally
"paid, the latter had no regular emoluments. Both these
classes, however, quartered themselves freely in whatever
" part of the country their functions demanded their attend -
" ance. This was equally the case with any of the Regent's
^ family or petty chiefs who travelled for pleasure or on duty.
" Whatever was required for themselves and their followers,
" was taken from the poor inhabitants, who have now been so

168 TENURE OF LANDS.

*^ long accustomed to suck practices, that they never dare i
'^ complain or to remonstrate. The European authority d
*^ not escape the taint of corruption. Monopolies, nnpai
^' services, licences, forced or at least expected presents, wea
^' but too common even in the best times, and must have coi
^' tributed to estrange the affections and respect of the natiT^
^^ from that power which should have afforded them protei
^' lion. From this faint sketch it will be deduced, that whil
^^ the men of rank were living in pampered luxury, the poi
^^ provincials were suffering penury and distress."

The Dutch Company, actuated solely by the spirit of gah
and viewing their Javan subjects with less regard or coniddf
ration than a West-India planter formerly viewed the gan
upon his estate, because the latter had paid the purchai
money of human property which the other had not, employe
all the pre-existing machinery of despotism, to sqoeez
from the people their utmost mite of contribution, the lai
dregs of their labour, and thus aggravated the evils of a capri
cious and semi-barbarous government, by working it with a
Uie practised ingenuity of politicians, and all the monopolizin
selfishness of traders.

Can it therefore be a subject of siurprize, that the arts c
agriculture and the improvement of society, have made n
greater advances in Java ? Need it excite wonder, that th
implements of husbandry are simple ; that the cultivation i
imskilful and inartificial ; that the state of the roads, whcr
European convenience is not consulted, is bad ; that the na
tiu-al advantages of the country are neglected ; that so littl
cnteq)rize is displayed or capital employed ; that the pea
sant^s cottage is mean, and that so little wealth and know
ledge are among the agricultural population ; when it is con
sidered, that the occupant of land enjoys no security fo
rea])ii)g tlic fruits of his industry; when his possession i
liable to be taken away from him eveiy season, or to suffe
such an enhancement of rent as will drive him from it ; whei
such a small quantity of land only is allowed him as nill yicli
him bare subsistence, and every ear of grain that can b
spared from the supply of his immediate wants, is extorter
fn)m him in the shape of tribute ; when his personal service
are rec^uired impaid for, in the train of luxury or in the cul

TENURE OF LANDS. 169

tore of articles of monopoly ; and when, in addition to all
these disconragementSy he is subject to other heavy unposts
Hid impolitic restraints ? No man will exert himself, when
actinir for another, with so much zeal as when stimulated by
Us own immediate interest ; and under a system of govem-
laent, where every thing but the bare means of subsistence is
KaUe to be seized, nothing but the means of subsistence will
be sought to be attained. The Dutch accuse the Javans of
indolent habits and frandulent dispositions; but surely the
qypiessor has no right to be surprized, that the oppressed
appear reluctant in his service, that they meet his exactions
with evasion, and answer his call to labour with sluggish in-
difference.

The mode of dividing land into minute portions is decidedly
fiiToarable to population, and nothing but those checks to the
progress of agriculture, to which I have referred, could have
limited the population of Java to numbers so disproportioned
to its fertility, or confined the labours of the peasantry to so
small a space of what would reward their industry with abund-
ance. The cultivated ground on the Island has already been
estimated at an eigth part of the whole area. In Probollng^o
ftnd Bes4kiy the total number oi jungs of land amount to
775,483, the total of land capable of superior cultivation
I7ifi75jung8f while the space actually cultivated amounts
only to 13,432 jungs. In Rembdng^ the land belonging to
Tillages is about ^OfiOO jungs^ and not the half of that quan-
tity is under cultivation. In Pasuruan, the same appearances
are exhibited. From this last district the Resident's report on
the settlement states, as a reason for his assessing the same
rent on all the land, ^^ that the cultivated part bearing so
*^ small a proportion to the imcultivated, the inhabitants have
" been enabled to select the most fruitful spots exclusively :
** hence arises the little variety I have discovered in the pro-
" duce." Cheribofiy Bantam, the Priang^en regencies, the
eastern comer of the Island, the provinces under the native
governments, and in short the greatest and most fertile dis-
tricts, furnish striking illustrations of this disproportion be-
tween the bounty of nature and the inefficient exertions of
man to render her gifts available, to extend population, and to
promote human happiness ; or rather they supply an example

170 TENURE OF LANDS.

of unwise institutions and despotic goyenunent, counteracting
the natural progress of both.

AVhen the British arms prevailed in 1811, the attention of
government was immediately turned to the state and intercstt
of its new subjects. It saw at once the natural advantages of
the Island and the causes which obstructed its prosperitv,
and it determined to effect those changes which, having suc-
ceeded in Western India, and being sanctioned by justice and
expediency, were likely to improve those advantages and to
remove those obstructions. In consequence of the instructions
of Lord Minto, the Governor-General, w*ho was present at the
conquest, and took a great interest in the settlement of the
Island, no time was lost to institute inquiries and to collect
information on the state of the peasantry, and the other points,
the knowledge of which was necessary, before any attempt to
legislate could be vidsely or rationally made. The following
principles, laid down by his Lordship, were those on which
the local government acted.

^' Contingents of rice, and indeed of other productions, have
^^ been hitherto required of the cultivators by government at
^^ an arbitrary rate : this also is a vicious system, to be aban-
^' doned as soon as possible. The system of contingents did
" not arise from the mere solicitude for the supply of the peo-
*^ pie, but was a measure alone of finance and control, to

enable government to derive a revenue irom a high price

imposed on the consumer, and to keep the whole body of
*' the people dependent on its pleasure for subsistence. I le-
^' commend a radical reform in this branch to the serious and
*^ early attention of government. The principle of encomBg-
*^ ing industiy in the cidtivation and improvements of lands,
^* by creating an interest in the effort and firuits of that indus-
^' iTVy can be expected in Java only by a fundamental change
" of the whole system of landed property and tenure. A wide
" field, but a somewhat distant one, is open to this great and
*^ interesting im])r()vement ; the discussion of the snbiect,
" however, must necessarily be delayed till the investigation
" it requires is more complete. I shall transmit such thoughts
** as I licive entertained, and such hopes as I have indulged
*' in this grand object of amelioration ; but I am to request
^ the aid of all the infonnation, and all the lights, that this

TENURE OF LANDS. 171

^ Island can afford. On this branchy nothing must be done
*^ that is not mature, because the exchange is too extensive
^ to be suddenly or ignorantly attempted. But fixed and im-
^ mutable principles of the human character and of human
^ association^ assure me of ultimate, and I hope not remote
^ success, in views that are consonant with every motive of
^ action that operate on man, and are justified by the practice
** and experience of every flourishing country of the world."

In compliance with these instructions, the object of which
was embraced with zeal by the local government, to whom his
lordship entrusted the administration of the Island, a commis-
aon was appointed, under the able direction of Colonel
Mackenzie, to prosecute statistic inquiries; the results of
idiich, as corrected and extended by subsequent surveys, wiU
frequently appear in the tables and statistic accounts of this
work. The nature of the landed tenure, and the demand
made upon agriculture, in all the shapes of rent and taxes,
were ascertained ; the extortions practised by the Dutch
officers, the native princes, the regents, and the Chinese, were
disclosed ; the rights of all classes, by law or usage, investi-
gated ; the state of the population, the quantity and value of
cultivated land, of forests, of plantations of cotton and coffee,
the quantity of live stock, and other resources of the country
sabject to colonial administration, inquired into and made
known. The result of these inquiries, with regard to landed
tenure, I have given above ; and, as it will be seen, it was
such as opposed the rights of no intermediate class between
the local government and the beneficial changes it contem-
plated in behalf of the great body of the people. After attain-
ing the requisite information, the course which expediency,
justice, and political wisdom pointed out was not doubtfiil,
and coincided (as in most cases it will be found to do) with
the track which enlightened benevolence, and a zealous desire
to promote the happiness of the people would dictate.

The peasant was subject to gross oppression and undefined
exaction : our object was to remove his oppressor, and to limit
demand to a fixed and reasonable rate of contribution. He
was liable to restraints on the fireedom of inland trade, to per-
sonal services and forced contingents : our object was to com-
mute them all for a fixed and well-known contribution. The

172 TENURE OF LANDS.

exertions of his industry were reluctant and languid, becf
he had little or no interest in its fruits : our object was to
courage that industry, by connecting its exertions with
promotion of his own individual welfare and prosperity,
pital could not be immediately created, nor agricultural f
acquired ; but by giving the cultivator a security, that wl
ever he accumulated would be for his own benefit, and wl
ever improvement he made, he or his family might enjoy i
motive was held out to him to exert himself in the roai
attain boUi. Leases, or contracts for fixed rents for term
years, in the commencement, and eventuaUy in perpetc
seemed to be the only mode of satisfying the cultivator, i
he would not be liable, as formerly, to yearly undefined
mands ; while fi-eedom fi-om all taxes but an assessment on
crop, or rather a fixed sum in commutation thereof, w<
leave him at full libertv to devote the whole of his atten
and labour to render his land as productive as possible.

In conformity with these views, an entire revolution wai
fected in the mode of levying the revenue, and assessing
taxes upon agriculture. The foundation of the amended i
tem was, 1st. The entire abolition of forced deUverie
inadequate rates, and of all feudal services, with the e
blishmcnt of a perfect firecdom in cultivation and trade :
The assumption, on the part of government, of the immed
superintendance of the lands, with the coUection of the
sources and rents thereof: dd. The renting out of the land
assumed to the actual occupants, in large or small estates,
cording to local circumstances, on leases for a moderate tc
In the course of the following years (1814 and 1815) it
measures were carried into execution in most of the distr
luider our government, with a view to the eventual establi
meiit of a peri)etual settlement, on the principle of the ryoltc
or as it has been tenncdon Java, the iidng-dlit system.

The principles of land rental and detailed settlemcmt w
few and simple*. After matiure in([uir}', no obstable.appea

* These principles were contemplated as just and practicable by m Di
authority (Van Ilogendorp) who resided on Java, and criticiaed fr
the measures of administration, as will appear from the following eztr
from a work, which only came into my possession subeequently to the
troduction of the new system by the British government. '* IV opg rt;

TENURE OF LANDS. 178

to exist, either in law or usage, to the interference of govern-
ment, in regulating the condition of the peasantry ; and it was

the soil must be introduced by granting all the cultivated lands to those
who have hitherto cultivated them, or, in other words, to the common
Javans. AU the rice fields belonging to each d^ should be distributed
among its inhabitants, and the gardens or spots of ground in which
their cottages stand, should also, in future, be their personal property.
Correct registers hereof should be kept, and certificates given to the

difoent owners. Who can produce a better and nearer right to the
' personal possession of the land, than he who has cultivated and made
' it productive ? And is there a country in the world where the natives

are happy, free, and well settled, without having a property in the soil ?

Our own country, and all the kingdoms of Europe, afford the most di-
' rect proofs of this : they flourish in proportion as property is more or
' less secure and equaUy divided among the inhabitants of each. AU
' Europe groaned under the feudal system of government : all Europe
' has freed itself from it ; but by various means and in different degrees
' Why, therefore, can similar changes not be brought about on Java ?
' Every thing urges us to make them, and the results must be important
' aod most advantageous to us. Java is alone able to relieve our com-
' monwealth from all its difficulties.

" In order to collect a land-tax properly, a general and correct survey
' should, in the first instance, be effected in all the districts belonging to

OS, according to an established land measure, to be introduced generally

* throughout Java ; for this is, at present, very irregular. All the lands

* should then be divided into three classes, first, second, and third class,
' according to the proportionate fertility of the soil, and according to the
' same proportion the land-tax should be established. I am very ready
' to admit, that this will naturally be difficult and troublesome ; but what

system of government is exempt from these inconveniences ? and par-
ticularly in this country, where it is necessary to effect a radical change
and reform, in order to produce any beneficial results? But with dili-
gence, zeal, and deliberation, all difficulties may be overcome ; and even
should the survey not be exactly correct in the first instance, it might
be improved from year to year. The word^im^ is now used by the
Javans for a certain measure of land ; but this differs so much in different
districts, that it is impossible to ascertain how many square roods of
land ajung ought to contain. The name might be retained, however,
after having found by experience how many square roods, in general or
on an average, are contained in ^jtmg, the proportion might be once for
all established, introduced throughout the island, and fixed as the regu-
lar land measure of the country. It would be difficult, and as yet un-
Decessary, to calculate how mBnyjungs of land our territories on Java
contain, and how much might be collected as a land-tax from each jtm^,
in order to ascertain what this tax would amount to. I think it should
be taken as a principle, that the land-tax can and ought to produce as

174 TENURE OF LANDS.

resolved, therefore, that it should take into its own hands the
management of that share of the land produce which was al-
lowed to be its due, and protect the cidtivator in the enjoy-
ment and free disposal of the remainder. The undue power
of the chiefs was to he removed, and so far as they had a
claim for support, founded either on former sen'ices or depri-
vation of ex])ected employment, they were to be remunerated
in another way. llie lands, after being sun-eyed and esti-
mated, were to be parcelled out among the inhabitants of the
villages, in the proportions established by custom or recom-
mended by expediency. Contracts were to be entered into
with each individual cultivator, who was to become the tenant
of government, and leases specifpng the extent and situation
of tlieir land, with the conditions of their tenure, were to be
granted for one or more years, with a view to permanency, if
at tlie end of the stipulated tenn, tlie arrangement should be
foimd to combine the interest of the public revenue with the
welfare and increasing prosperity of the occupant. If that
was not the case, room was thus left for a new adjustment,
for a reduction of rate, or for any change in the system which
might adapt it more to the uiterests and wishes of the people,
witliout jjrt^udice to the rights of government.

1*his exi)eriment hazarded nothing, and held out every
prf)spect of success ; it committed no injustice, and compro-
mised no claim. Tlie peasantr}' could not sufTer, because an
ass('ssment less in amoimt, and levied in a less oppressive
manner tlian formerly (all rents, taxes, and sen'ices included),

" much as the head-money, (namely, a rix-dollar per bead) : the hnd-ttz
*' would then yield an annual and certain income of at least two miUioni
*' and a half of rix-dollars. I'^ver)' spot of ciiltivated ground being mea-
sured and nettled to which clasM it Mongn, every owner will correctly
know, how much he must ])ay for land-tax annually, and be completely
at liberty to plant his land with whatever he may prefer, and may con-
«< ceive most conducive to his advanta«;e. I am of opinion, that during
the first years it would he difficult, on account of the scarcity of specie,
or rather its absence from cirnihition, to collect the land-tax; but, in
the same way as with the head-money, it would be expedient, in the fint
years, to be somewhat indulgent in the collection, or else to receive
produce in lieu of money, which might lie done in this tax better than
the capitation. But after five years of good administration, I am cer-
tain that the land-tax woulil 1>e fully and without difficulty collected.

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TBNURE OF LANDS. 175

ins required of them: the chiefs could not complain^ because
ihey were allowed the fair emoluments of office, and only re-
strained firom oppressions which did not so much benefit
Qiemselves as injure their inferiors. Most of the latter were
not only allowed an equivalent for their former income, but
employed in services allied to their former duties, — thecollec-
tiofD of the revenue, and the superintendance of the police.
As the cultivator had acquired rights which the chief could
not violate, as the former held in his possession a lease with
flie conditions on which he cultivated his farm, no infringe-
ment of which could be attempted on the part of the latter
with impunity, no evil could result from employing the chiefs
incoUectingthe revenue of districts, while, from their practical
knowledge of the habits and individual concerns of the pea-
ttntiy, of the nature of the seasons and the crops, they were
the fittest persons for the office. For these services it seemed
most expedient to pay them, either by allowing them a certain
per-centage on their collections, or by allotting them portions
of land rent free. The village constitution (which will be
more particularly noticed in treating of the institutions of the
country) was preserved inviolate ; and the chiefs or head men
of the villages, in many instances elected by the free will of
the yillagers, were invariably continued in office as the inmie-
diate collectors of the rents, and with sufficient authority to
preserve the police, and adjust the petty disputes that might
arise within them ; the government scrupulously avoiding all
unnecessary interference in the customs, usages, and detcdls of
these societies.

In looking at the condition of the peasantry, and in esti-
mating the fertility of the soil, the wants of the people, and the
proportion of produce and industry that they formerly were
accustomed to pay for supporting the establishments of go-
remment, it was thought reasonable to commute all former
^nrdens into a land rent on a fixed principle ; all sdwah lands
)eing estimated by the pdriy or unhusked rice, they could
)roduce, and all legal lands by their produce in maize. The
bllowing (as stated in the eighty -third article of the Revenue
ustructions) was considered as the fairest scale for fixing the
pvemment share, and directed to be referred to, as much as
ossible, as the general standard:

170 TENURE OF LANDS.

For Sdwah Lands.

1st sort One-half of the estimated produce.

2d do Two-fifths ditto.

dd do One-third. ditto.

For Teffal Lands.

1st sort Two-fifths of the estimated produce.

2d do One-third ditto.

dd do One-fourth ditto.

" Government," it is said in the eighty-fifth section,
" tliink it necessary" to declare explicitly, that they wiD be
*' satisfied when the land revenue shall be productive to them
'' in these proportions, determining at no fiiture period to
^' raise the scale ; so that the inhabitants, being thus exactly
acquainted with what will form the utmost demand on
them, and resting in fiill confidence that government will
^^ not exact any thing fiirther, may in that security enjoy their
possessions in undisturbed happiness, and apply their ut-
most industr}' to tlie improvement of their lands ; assured
that, while they conduct themselves well, that land will
^* never be taken from them, and that the more productive they
^' can render it, tlie more beneficial it will be for themselves.**
Tlie government share might either be received in money or
in kind from tlie sdicah lands ; but the tegal produce, though
estimated in maize, was always, if possible, to be commuted
into numey at the lowest price in the market ; and as coltiya-
tors generally held portions of both, this rule, it was con-
ceivi'd, could not be considered generally as a hardship.

In the first settlement, leases were only granted for a year,
or at the utmost three years, and were given to intermediate
renters ; but in the more detailed settlement of 1814, after
sufficient information liad been collected on the state of the
country, government detennined to act directly with the indi-
vidual cultivator, and to lay tlie foundation of a pcnrmanent
system. By this latter period, the experiments have been
tried to a certain extent, and had succeeded beyond the most
sanguine expectation. Difficulties met us in the way, but
thev were bv no means insunnountable ; there were at first
imperfections in the system, but they did not affect its prin-

TENURE OF LANDS. 177

ciple, and were easily removed. By the zeal, the ability, and
industry of the yarious officers entrusted with the execution
of the dufy, whatever was practicable in furtherance of the
object in which they felt deeply interested, was accomplished.
In the course of the years 1814 and 1815, the new system
was introduced into Bantam^ Cheribotiy and the eastern
districts, over a population of a million and a half of culti-
vators, not only without disturbance and opposition, but to
the satisfaction of all classes of the natives, and to the
manifest increase of the public revenue derivable from land.
In several joumies which I undertook into the different
proTinces, for the purposes of examining in person the effect
of the progressive system of reform which I had the hap-
piness to introduce, and of lending the sanction of official
aathority to such modifications of it as local circumstances
might render advisable, I was a pleased spectator of its bene-
ficial tendency, and of the security and satisfaction it univer-
saQj diffiised. The cultivator, protected against all vexatious
exactions, and no longer at the beck of a tyrannical chief
who made unlimited demands upon his personal services, was
beginning to feel additional stimulants to his industry, to
acquire a superior relish for property, and to acknowledge
that government and power were not always the enemies of
the lower ranks of society, or as they modestly call them-
selves, the little people ftiang-halitj. The British adminis-
tration of Java, with all its agents, having watched the
progress of the amended system at first with vigilant anxiety,
at last saw it nearly completed with success, and rejoiced in
its beneficial operation on the prosperity, improvement, and
happiness of the people. During the two years that we
retained possession of the island, after the greatest part of its
arrangements were carried into effect, we had daily proofs of
the amelioration they were producing. The cultivation was
extending, the influence of the chiefs appeared to be pro-
gressively weakening, and the number of crimes, both from
the superior industry of the people now become interested in
the result of their labours, and from the contented tranquillity
produced by an increase of the means of subsistence, as well
as from the amended system of police (mentioned in another
part of this work), was gradually diminishing. Without

VOL. I. N

178 TENURE OF LANDS.

troubling the reader with further details, I may mention that,
in the beginning of Deeember 1815, a few months before I
left tlie island, not satisfied witli my o\ra obsen^ation or the
vague report of otliers, I circulated specific queries to the
different residents, on tlie comparative state of cultivaUon in
tlie different provinces, before the introduction of the detailed
settlement, and at tlie latest date to which an answer could
be returned, and on the comparative number of crimes at the
same two periods, and the return was as gratifying to huma^
nity and benevolence as it was corroborative of the opinions
previously formed. I shall quote a few extracts firom these
reports. The Resident at Cherihon ^^ cannot, from certain
*' data, tell what progress has been made in extending the
'^ cultivation of that province, but thinks it has been con-
'^ siderable ;*' and adds, ^* I have no doubt but that a few
" years of the aniende<l system of govermnent would render
^' tlie district of Cherihon^ so notorious for crimes, one of the
^' most ilomishing and valuable in any jiart of the island.**
Tlie Resident of Tegal is nearly in similar circumstances
witli regard to autlientic dociunents, but gives a very favour-
able opinion, both with regard to the increase of industi}' and
the reduction of crimes. Tlie return from KedA is more
definite : it states a positive increase of tegal land to the
aiuoimt of tliirty-six jttttgs, but a much greater increase of
produce from improved cidture. The revenue afforded a
siifiicieiit proof of the latter fact. The same favourable
account is given of tlie state of i)olice and the diminution of
crime. No data are given in the report from PakaldHy*aH to
ascertain tlie additional quantity of rice lands brought into
cultivati(m; but an opinion is expressed, tliat it has in-
creased; and an assurance is afforded, tliat tlie culture of
indigo and tobacco has sensibly extended. As an evidence
that the means of subsistence are raised in greater abundance
than formerly, their price has ver\' considerably diminished.

A commission wliicli was appointed to inquire into the
state of tlie revenue, report from Japdra the great facility
there was in collecting the revenue mider the amended
system, and certify its beneficial effects in extending cul-
tivation, securing tranquillity, pnimoting iudiistrb*, and
dimuiishing crimes, llie same commission conclude their

TENURE OF LANDS. 179

repOTt of Grisik with aimilar assurances of the happy results
of the levenua, and judicial arrangements for the prosperity
of that province. The Resident of Rembdng gives an in-
crease of cultivation of fifly-two jungs of sdwah and about
thirteen of Ugal land, and accounts for the smallness of this
increase firmn the comparative sterility of the soil, and the
precarious supply of water. Indigo had not increased, but
tobacco had to a great degree. The vigilance of the police,
and the ameliorating effects of the revenue settlement, are
seen, it is said, in the improved state of morals. In Surabdya
it is stated, that during the time the amended system had
been in action, there had been an increase of three hundred
and twenty government jungsy making upwards of two thou-
sand English acres. In the residency of Passman there is
an increase of cultivation to the amount of three hundred and
six jungs : this, however, does not comprehend the whole
advantage that the new system produced in that province, for
mdostiy had been so much promoted by it, as to obtain two
crops within the year, on many of the lands where the
cultivator was formerly content with one. It is needless to
enter into any further particulars, to shew the advantages of
the regulations adopted with regard to the settlement of the
landed revenue.

By a steady adherence to a system w^hich, even in its
origin, was productive of such fruits, by continuing to the
peasant the protection of laws made for his benefit, by
allowing fidl scope to his industry, and encouraging his
natural propensity to accumulate, agriculture on Java would
soon acquire a different character: it would soon become
active and enterprizing ; there would soon be created a dif-
ference in farms and in the circumstances of individuals;
capital would be fixed and augmented in the hands of the
skilful and the industrious among the cultivators ; the idle
and the indifferent would relinquish their possessions in their
favour ; roads, intercourse, and markets would be increased,
the organization of society would be changed, and an im-
proved race would shew themselves, in some measure, worthy
of the most fertile region of the globe. What Egj^t and
Sicily were in different ages to the south of Europe, Java

180 TENURE OF LANDS.

might become to the south of Asia and the Indian
pelago. From the exertion with which the British gorem-
ment endeavoured to lay the foundation of such improro-
ments, at first amid the embarrassments of a recent conqnesl,
and latterly with the prospect of only an intennediate pos-
session ; firom the attachment it cherished for a people whoie
gratitude it deserved and acquired, and from the interest that
every fiiend of himianity must feel in the anticipation of
seeing this highly favoured island, the metropolis^ the granaiy,
and the centre of civilization to the vast regions between the
coast of China and the Bay of Bengal, it might have been
expected, that those who were instrumental in introducing
the late arrangements, should watch with peculiar anxiety the
first movements of the power to which the colony was trans-
ferred, and should look into the regulations for ^ts Indian
empire for the support, or the death-blow, of the most ani-
mating hopes. It must therefore be with peculiar satisfSaMrtion
that we see, with regard to the fireedom of cultivation, the
Dutch government sanctions what we had done, and gives
our regulations permanency by embodying them in its colonial
policy. In articles seventy-eight and seventy-nine of the
fundamental laws for the civil, judicial, and mercantile admi-
nistration of India*, we find the following enactments. " The
firce cultivation of all articles of produce which may be
raised in the possessions of the state in India, is granted to
the inhabitants of these possessions ; with the exception of
cloves, nutmegs, and opium, and without prejudice to the
regulations which might be adopted concerning the con-
tingents and forced deliveries, which on a resumption of
these possessions out of the hands of the English, wiU be
found to be continued in force. All the firuits of cultivation
raised within the possessions of the states beyond the
forced deliveries, and every kind of produce not com-
prehended under the exceptions mentioned above, are to be
the la^\'ful property of the cultivator. The firee unrestrained
disposal thereof belongs to him of right, as soon as the land
rent assessed thereon, either in kind or money, shall be

• Dated 1815.

TENURE OF LANDS. 181

It is the duty of the Indian administration to
^mamtain him in these rights/* Let him be maintained
IB those rights, and the Dutch government will realize a
lerenue tax beyond the amount of their former assessments,
without, as formerly, disgracing the Europeans m the eyes of
&e Asiatic, by their weakness, corruption, and injustice.

CHAPTER IV.

Manufactures — Handicrafts^Bricks — Tkatck — Afa/#— Gt>lto»— Clof A#-
Dyes — Tannin ff — Ropes— Metals — Road and SAtp-Mldm^ — Piq^r — Si
— Saltpetre IVorks — Gunpowder, ^. — FelHng and TnauporHmg qf TVi
Timber — Fisheries.

It is here proposed to state the progress made by the Jarai]
in a few of the common arts and handicrafts, and in one c
two of the more extensive manufactures; (heir docility i
working under European direction, and some other obsern
tions, which could not be so appropriately placed in any othc
part of tliis work. I have already had occasion to notice th
limited skill and simple contrivances with which they cair
on the labours of agriculture, and prepare (he produce of th
soil for consiunption, in the various ways that their taste o
their habits require. In a country like Java, where the struc
ture of society is simple, and the wants of the people are fen
wlicre there is no accumulation of capital and little divisioi
of professions, it cannot be expected that manufacturing ski]
should be acquired, or manufacturing enterprize encouraged
to any great extent. 'The family of a Javan peasant is almos
inil(»|)endent of any labour but that of its own members. Th
funiiture, the clothing, and almost every article required fori
family, being prepared within its own precincts, no extensin
market of manufactured commodities is necessary for the sop
j)ly of the island itself ; and for foreign trade, the produce o
their soil is more in demand than the fruits of their skill or in
dustry. In a countr\' where nature is bountifid, and where u
nuich of her bounty can be collected with so little labour U
pay for manufactures from abroad, there is but little encoa
ragement to withdraw the natives from the rice field, ihi
forest, or llie coffee-garden, to the loom, the forge, or tlM
worksliop ; and it is not in tliis respect, certainly, that i
rliange of their habits would be beneficial. Tliis short noticf

MANUFACTURES— HANDICRAFTS. 183

of Javan manufactures^ therefore, must be very limited, both
in the number of the articles that it embraces, and in the im-
portance that Europeans may attach to them : for Java can
neither send us porcelain, like China ; nor silks, shawls, and
cottons, like Western India. To a nation, however, so much
accustomed as we are to the exertions of manufacturing skill
and perfection of manufacturing machinery, it may not be un-
interesting to see the simple means, by which a half-civilized
people accomplish the objects which we attain by such expe-
ditious and ingenious processes. The most experienced naval
architect may be interested by the manner in which a savage
scoops his canoe.

The Javans have names in their language for most of the
handicrafts. The following enumeration of terms applied to
trades and professions will shew the extent to which the di-
vision of labour is sometimes carried, while the foreign extrac-
tion of some of them may, perhaps, serve to point out the
source whence they were derived.

1. Pdndi or Smpu Iron-smith and cutler.

2. Tiikang-kdyUy or mergdngso ....Carpenter.

3. Merdng^giortukang-werdngko Kris-sheath maker.

4. Tukang^kir Carver.

5. ■ ■ deder Spear-shafl maker,

6. ■ » Idmpet Mat maker.

7. . hMot Turner.

8. n, b^to Brush maker.

9. ' fi>dtii or jelog^ro -..Stone-cutter.

10. ■ ■ ■ — Idbur Lime maker.

11. ' ndtah wdyang Wayang maker.

12. gending Musical instrument maker.

13. keming^an Brazier.

14. Saydng, or tukung'tambdgo ....Coppersmith.

15. Kemdsany or tukdng-mas Goldsmith.

\%. Kundi Potter.

17. Tukang 6rd Distiller.

18. — jiUd Bookbinder.

19. tenun Weaver.

20. — — — bdtik Cotton printer.

ai. — medal ..Dyer.

1 84 HANDICRAFTS— STRUCTURES.

22. Tukang Ung*o Oil maker.

23. ni&ro-wedi Diamond cutter.

24. deluwang Paper manufacturer.

25. pdndom or girji Tailor.

26. sulam Embroiderer.

27. jdit Sempstress.

28. 8ung*ging Draftsman.

29. chat Painter.

30. pdsah Tooth filer.

I shall proceed to describe a few of the manufactures of t
island, without attending much to the order in which it mi(
be proper to arrange them. The construction of a habitat
is among the first and most necessary arts of uncivilized m
as the perfection of architecture is one of the most conyinc:
proofs and striking illustrations of a high state of refinemi
I have already described the hut of the peasant, and h
mentioned tliat it is generally constructed of wood. Such sir
tiires suit the climate of the country, and save the labour of
people ; but they are not rendered necessary by an igncnrau
of more durable materials.

Bricks are manufactured in almost every part of the isla
being generally employed in the better sort of buildings,
only by Europeans and Chinese, but by the natives of ra
Tlic quality of the clay varies greatly in different districts,
is all obtained firom the decomposition of the basaltic stoi
and possesses different degrees of purity, according to the ]
portion and nature of the other earths which are adventitim
mixed with it In some parts of the island it is very p
and might be advantageously employed in the manufacttun
porcelain ; but the natives arc imacquainted with the p
ciples of this art : some instruction in the glazing of tl
pottery would be of ver}' general benefit They are m
quainted with tlie process of making glass.

Cut stones arc, at present, but rarely used by the Javj
and stone-cutting is almost exclusively performed by
Chinese. But altliougli the Javans do not, at present, post
or ])riietice any considerable skill in this art, the extensive
mains of ediiiccs constructed in stone, and of idols carved f
the same materials, afford abundant testimony that the art

THATCH— MATS. IM

arcbitectaie, sculptmrey and statuary in stone, at one period
reached to a reiy high pitch on Java. As, howeyer, these
arts hare long been lost to the Javans, the consideration of
them rather falls within the department of antiquities than that
which we are now upon.

In the vicinity of Gresik there are several hills composed of
a soft white stone, which hardens on exposure to the air.
Stones are here cut in the quarry into regular squares of va-
rious sizes, from that of a brick to the largest tomb-stone.
They are principally required for the latter purpose, and in
the cemeteries of Gresik and Madura the inscriptions upon
them are very neatly executed. Beyond this, the skill of the
natives in stone-cutting does not at present pretend.

The covering of the native houses is generally of thatch.
In the maritime districts, dtap^ or thatch, is made almost ex-
clnsively firom the leaves of the nipa or buyu. In the prepara-
tion, the leaflets separated from the common petiol are em-
ployed. Being doubled, they are attached close to each other
on a stick of three feet in length, and when thus arranged
are placed on the roof, like shingles or tiles. The leaves of
the gebauffy on account of their fan-like form, are differently
airanged : they constitute large mats, which are chiefly em-
ployed for sides of houses or for composing temporaiy sheds,
but they are too large and brittle to form durable dtap. In the
interior districts, where nipa does not grow, the houses are al-
most uniformily thatched with a species of long grass called
alang-alang (the Idlang of the Malay countries). Near large
forests, where bdmbu abounds, the natives cover their houses
with this reed. The leaflets of the cocoa-nut cannot be made
mto thatch, but wherever the sago and nipa grow, it is made
from their leaflets.

An article of household furniture in use among all classes,
and displaying in some cases considerable beauty and deli-
cacy of execution, is matting. Mats are made from several
species of pandanus, from a kind of grass called mandongy
and from the leaves of various palms. A species of the latter
affords the most common kinds, coarser and less durable than
others, as well as bags (straw sacks) resembling coarse mats :
the leaves being divided into laminae, about one line in breadth^
are woven in the same manner and on the same frames as

186 MATS— COTTON.

coarse linen. These fibres, called dgelj are iometimes mana-
facturcd into twine, which possesses but little strength. Hie
mats or bags, called karong^ are much inferior to the gonny-
bags of India.

llie coarsest kinds of mats, employed chiefly by the lower
class, arc called in the central districts kl690 bdngko; those
prepared firom grass, kldtio mdfidong; and the others, kl690
psdntrem (from the place where they are made). The mate-
rials of all these are plaited by hand. The kl&so psdnirem
are of superior quality, and in use through the central and
eastern parts of the island ; especially among the natives of
the first class, with whom they constitute the principal fiimi-
turc of tlie dwelling-house. A person of the highest rank
aspires to no luxury, more delicate or expensive in this way,
than the possession of a bed composed of mats from psdntrem,

A kind of umbrella hat worn by the common people, and
imiversal in the Sunda districts denominated ckdpeng, is also
manufactured in this manner, principally fit>m bdmbu^ dyed
of various colours, which being shaped in the form and of the
size of a large wash-hand basin worn reversed, is rendered
impervious to the wet by one or more coverings of varnish.

A great part of the manufacturing ingenuity of every people
must be displayed in collecting the materials, or arranging
the fabrics of those articles of clothing, required for protec-
tion, decency, or ornament Whether these materials are de-
rived from the fleece, the finr, or the feathers of the laign
animals, from the covering of an insect, the bark of a tree, or
the down of a shrub, they have to undergo several laborioua
and expensive processes before they are fit for nse ; and in
conducting these processes, or forming machinery for render-
ing them more expeditious, complete, and easy, the superior
manufacturing skill of one nation over another is chiefly
evinced. Tlie sheep on Java, as in all tropical climates, loses
its fleece before it can be used with advantage. The silk-
worm has never succeeded, although no reason can be given
why it should not, and therefore the chief material of Javaa
clothing is cotton.

Cotton, in itn rough state, is called kdpas^ and when cleaned
kapok. Tlie process of separating the seeds is performed by
means of a giii/tg^an^ which is a roller, consisting of two

COTTON CLOTHS. 187

urooden cylinder rerolving in opposite directionsy between
which the fibre is made to pass. This operation is very te-
dionsy two days being necessary for one person to clean a kdtif
equiralent to a pound and a quarter English. After the se-
paration of the seed, it is geblek^ or beaten with a rattan, and
jNMt or picked. The finer sort is then bowed after the Indian
manner; this operation is called wus&nu The cotton thus
prepared is afterwards pulled out and drawn round a stick,
when it is called pusuh. To perform the process upon a
angle kdti will employ one person about two days. The
cotton is now ready for spinning Cngantijy and requires ten
additional days' labour of one person, to conyert the small
quantity aboye mentioned into yam, when the result is found
to be three tukal^ at hanks, of the ordinary kind.

Preyious to the operation of weaving, the yam is boiled,
and afterwards dressed and combed wiUi rice-water. When
diy, it is wound round a sort of reel, termed Hngan^ and pre-
pared for weaving. These are the last operations it undergoes
till it is put into the hands of the weaver, and requires, in
ordinary circumstances, three days for its completion. Four
days are required even by an expert weaver, and five or six
by an ordinary one, to manu£au;ture a sdrang, or piece of cloth,
a fathom and a half long and five spans broad (equal to three
square handkerchiefs of the ordinary size worn on the head).
Ilie cloths thus prepared, while uncoloured, are distinguished
by the term Idwan,

The spinning-wheel is termed jdntroy and the spindle k(si.
The loom, with all its apparatus, is called dhah dbah ten&n^
the shuttle ir&pong^ the woof vfwm^ and the warp pdkan^
Both machines resemble those described on the continent of
India, but are neater and much better made : the loom espe-»
ciaUy is more perfect : the weaver, instead of sitting in holes
dug in the ground, invariably sits on a raised flooring, gene-
rally in fi-ont of the house, her legs being stretched out hori-
zontally under the loom. The price of the spinning-wheel
varies from less than half a rupee to a rupee, and that of the
loom firom a rupee to a Spanish dollar. The operations of
spinning and weaving are confined exclusively to the women,
who firom the highest to the lowest rank, prepare the cloth»
of their husbands and their families.

188 COLOURED CLOTHS— BATIK.

Coloiired cottons (jdrit) are distmguished into Uri or Uri
ging'gangy those in which the yam is djed previously to
weaving; and bdtiky those which are dyed subsequently.
The process of weaving the former is similar to that of the
gingham, which it resembles, and need not therefore be de»
tailed ; but the latter, being peculiar to Java, may desenre a
more particular description.

The cloths termed batik are distinguished into bdtik idtmr
puiiy bdtik Idtur irangy or bdtik Idtur bang^ as the ground
may be either white, black, or red. The white cloth is jfirst
steeped in rice water, in order to prevent the colour with
which the patterns are intended to be drawn, firom running,
and when they are dried and smoothed (calendered), com-
mences the process of the bdtik j which gives its name. This
is performed with hot wax in a liquid state, contained in a
small and light vessel, either of copper or silver, called ckdni*
iftgy* holding about an ounce, and having a small tube of
about two inches long, through which the liquid wax runs
out in a small stream. This tube, with the vessel to which it
is attached, being fixed on a stick about five inches long, is
held in the hand, and answers the purpose of a pencil, the
different patterns being traced out on both sides of the doth
with the running wax. When the outline of the pattern is
thus finished, such parts of the cloth as are intended to be
preserved white, or to receive any other colour than the
general field or ground, are carefully covered in like «miwig«
vrith the liquid wax, and then the piece is immersed in what-
ever coloured dye may be intended for the ground of the pat-
tern. To render the colour deeper, cloths are occaaoniBn}
twice dipped. The parts covered with wax resist the opera-
tion of the dye, and when the wax is removed, by being
steeped in hot water till it melts, are found to remain in theii
original condition. If the pattern is only intended to conaisi
of one colour besides white, the operation is here completed;
if anotlicr colour is to be added, the whole of the first ground
which is not intended to receive an additional shade, ii
covered with wax, and a similar process is repeated.

• These vessels for large patterns are sometimes made of the cocoa-noi
shell, and then hold a proportionally larger quantity.

DYES. 189

in order to render the dye fixed and permanent for the
scarlet or blood-red colour, the cloth is previously steeped in
(hI, and after five days washed in hot water, and prepared in
the usual way for the bdtik. In the ordinary course, the pro-
cess of. the bdtik occupies about ten days for common pat-
terns, and jQrom fifteen to seventeen for the finer and more
Taiiegated.

A very coarse kind of cloth, which serves for curtains or
hangings, is variously clouded, and covered sometimes with
rode figures, by the art of colouring the yam, so as to produce
this effect when woven. For this purpose, the strands of the
yam being distributed in lengths equal to the intended size
of the cloth, are folded into a bundle, and the parts intended
to remain white are so tightly twisted round and round, that
the dye cannot penetrate or afiect them. From this party-
coloured yam the designed pattern appears on weaving. The
cloths so dyed are called geber.

The sashes of silk, called chindiy are dyed in this manner,
as well as an imitation of them in cotton, ceiled jdng^ffrang.

Of the several kinds of coloured cottons and silks there is
a Tery great diversity of patterns, particularly of the batik j of
which not less than a hundred are distinguished by their
appropriate names. Among these are the patterns exclusively
wom by the sovereign, termed bdtik pdrang rusay and bdtik
tdwaty and others which designate the wearer, and are more
or less esteemed, as well on this account as their comparative
beauty of design and execution.

With the exception of blue and scarlet or blood-red, all the
dyes of the inhabitants are liable to fade, and the processes
offer nothing worthy of investigation or remark.

In dying blue, indigo, the palm wine of the dreuy and va-
rious vegetable acids are employed.

Black is obtained fi*om an exotic bark called tingH, and the
rind of the mangustin fiiiit. In making the inferior infiision
for this and for various other dyes, the chaff of rice, called
merdngy is employed.

In dying green, a light blue is first induced, which is after-
wards converted into the requisite hue, by infiision in a de-
coction of tegrdng (an exotic wood), to which blue vitriol is
added.

100 DYEti,

Teg^rdng alone affords a yellow colour, and generally i
qualified by receiving the addition of some bark of the ndngh
and pleni'doddL

A beautiful and lasting scarlet and blood-red is obtainei
from the roots of tiie wdng-kudu. The yam or cloth is fin
boiled in the oil of wijen or kamiri: being washed in \
decoction of merdng or burnt pari chaff, it is dried, and sub
sequently immersed in an infusion of tiie roots of w&nffJcudm
the strength of which is increased by the addition of the bajri
jiraky a variety of the fruit kepundung. In the preparatioi
of this dye, the roots of the wdng-kudu are bruised and wd
mixed with water, which is then boiled until it is reduced tn
one third, when it is fit for use. No light red or rose colou
of durability is produced by the Javans : they employ for thi
puipose the kaaomha kling.

In several of the maritime districts, the Maldgus impart i
beautiful crimson colour to silk, by means of the gumlak tern
bdlu or emhdluy but with this Javans are unacquainted.

The kdpas jdwa^ or Java cotton, in its raw and unclcanci
state costs from about three halfpence to three pence the kdii
according to its quality, and the kdpas m^ri from six to eigfa
pence. The price of each advances sometimes fifty per cent
beyond this, when the production is scarce or out of season.

A kdii of unclcancd Java cotton is calculated to produce
two and a half tukul or hanks of coarse, and three and a hal
hanks of fine yam ; and a kdii of kdpa^ miri^ five hanks o
the latter. Tlie value of tiie former is from three to fbui
pence, and of the latter from seven to ten.

lliree hanks and a half of coarse yam, and from five U
nine of fine, make one sdrong^ or three head handkerchiefr
the price of which, undyed, is from half a rupee to foui
Spanish dollars ; it* dyed, tiie ging'*ams bring from one rupee
to four Spanish dollars, and the batik from a rupee and a hal
to six Si)aiiish dollars for the same quantity.

Anotiier kind of coloured cottons, in imitation of the Indiar
chintz, is also prejiared ; but it is not held in much estima*
tion, on account of the superiority of tiie foreign chintzei
imported, and the uncertainty of tiie colours, which lh<
natives allege will not stand in tiie same manner as those
which have undergone the process of tiie batik^ frcquentl}

TANNING. - 191

frding in the sec< i waabing. In these cloths, the patterns
bemg carved on small wooden blocks are stamped as m India.
Thej serve as coverlids, and are employed as a substitute for
the Indian palempore, whe the latter is not procurable. The
pice is about four rupees.

The natives of Java, like those of every other country,
must have been, firom the earliest times, in the habit of manu-
fictming various articles of leather ; but the art of rendering
it more compact, more tough, and more durable, by the appli-
cation of the tanning principle, has been acquired only by
their connexion with Europeans. They now practice it with
considerable success, and prepare tolerable leather in several
districts. There are two trees of which the bark is parti-
cularly preferred for tanning ; one in the maritime districts,
the oUier in the intericnr. These, with some others which are
occasionally added, contain very large quantities of the
tamiing principle, which makes excellent leather in a short
space of time. Of this native article, boots, shoes, saddles,
harness, &c. are made in several parts of the island ; but
in the greatest perfection at Sura-kerta^ where the prices are
moderate, and the manufacture extensive and improving.
Neither the leather nor the workmanship of these articles
is considered much inferior to what is procured at Madras
and Bengal. The prices are moderate : for a pair of shoes
blf a crown, for boots ten shillings, for a saddle firom thirty
to forty shillings, and for a set of harness for four horses firom
ten to twelve pounds.

Neither flax nor hemp is cultivated for the purposes of
manufeu^ture. The latter is sometimes found in the gardens
of the natives of continental India, particularly at Batavia,
who employ it only to excite intoxication ; but the island
affords various productions, the fibrous bark of which is made
into thread, ropes, and other similar articles. These are, with
one or two exceptions, never cultivated, and when required
for use, may be collected in sufficient quantity on spots where
they are of spontaneous growth. A particular account of
these has already been given in the first chapter, when de-
scribing the vegetable productions of the island.

To enable rope or cord which is often exposed to water or
moistiu-e, as fishing-nets, cables, and the like, to resist its
influence, the sap exuding from various trees is employed.

192 METALLURGY.

No manufactures are calculated to show more cleailj
extent to which the arts of life are carried in a country, t
those in which the metals are used. Without the knowie
of iron, our dominion over nature would be veiy limited j

may be seen in the case of the Americans at the discorer

• ■

the western hemisphere. The manufacture and use of i
and steel has been known over the Eastern Islands, as wel
in the western world, from time immemorial. The rari
iron implements of husbandry, the common implements i
tools, the instruments and miUtary weapons now in use ami
the natives of these regions, are fabricated by themseh
The importance and difficulty of the art may be gathe
from the distinction which the knowledge and practice o:
conferred.

The profession of a smith is still considered honoura
among the Javans, and in the early parts of their histc
such artizans held a high rank, and were largely endo¥
with lands. The first mention made of them is during *
reign of the chiefs of Pajajdran^ in the eleventh century,
the decline of that empire they went over, to the numbei
eight hundred families, to Majapdhity where they were kin<
received, and a record is presened of the names of the he
master-smitlis. On the destruction of that empire in t
fifteenth centur}-, they were dispersed, and settled in diffem
districts of the island, where their descendants are still d
coverable. They arc distinguished by the term Pdndi.

Iron is cast in small quantities of a few ounces, and us
occasionally for the point of the ploughshare. The metal
rendered fluid in about half an hour : charcoal is invarial
used, and the operation is termed sing^i or chitak.

Tlie bellows, wliich is peculiar, and believed to have be
in use at the time of Pajajdran and Majapdhity and of whi
a representation scidptured in stone was found in the recent
discovered ruins at Suku (whicli l)ear date in the fourteen
century of the Javan aTa), appears to be the same as tli
described by Dam])ier *, in liis account of Majirnddnao ai
the neighbouring islands. ^^ Their bellows,** says this fait
ful and intelligent traveUer, ^' are much different from oui
^' lliey are made of a wooden cylinder, the trunk of a trc

• Dampier*A Voyage, vol. ii.

METALLURGY. 193

** about three feet long, bored hollow like a pump, and set
** D^ght on the ground, on which the fire itself is made.
** Near the lower end there is a small hole in the side of the
** tronk next the fire, made to receive a pipe, through which
" the wind is driven by a great bunch of fine feathers fas-
" tened to one end of the stick, which closing up the inside
" of the cylinder, drives the air out of the cylinder through
** the pipe. Two of these trunks or cylinders are placed
" 80 nigh together, that a man standing between them may
" work them both at once, alternately, one with each hand."
This account so exactly corresponds with the Javan bellows,
that no further description is necessary. The Chinese bellows
aie partially used. The wages of a man skilled in iron-work
are sometimes as high as a rup^e a day.

Cuflery of every description is made by the smith. The
most important manufacture of this kind is the kris^ or dag-
ger, of the peculiar form well known to be worn by all the
more civilized inhabitants of the Eastern Islands.

The price of a kris blade, newly manufactured, varies firom
half a rupee to fifty dollars; but the same krisy if it is of good
character, and if its descent can be traced for three or four
generations, is firequently prized at ten times that sum. A
pdndi employed to manufacture a good kris blade, if the ma-
terials are furnished, is paid three dollars for the job.

The manufacture of sheaths or scabbards (sarong) for the
kris constitute an exclusive profession; and the manufac-
torers are called tukang merdng*gi^ or mergdngso. These men
attend at the public market, where they occupy a parti-
cular quarter, in which may be seen people employed in the
finishing or repair of every part of the mounting necessary for
this instrument; some upon the handle, others upon the
sheath ; some in applying the paint and lacquer, others
attending with a prepaiation of acids and arsenic for cleaning
the blade, and bringing out the appearance of the pdmury a
white metal obtained firom Biliton and Celebes, which is
worked up \vith the iron, in order to produce the damasked
appearance of the blade.

Copper is manufactured into the kettles and pots employed
by the natives for cooking ; most of the other domestic vessels
VOL. I. o

194 CARPENTRY.

are of brass, which is manufactured into various other artick
from the smallest, such as buttons, ear-studs, and other om
ments, in imitation of the gold patterns, to braBS guns of coi
siderable calibre, employed for the defence of smaU ressdi
A very extensive foundery of this kind is established at Cfriml
From the specimen of the casts in brass, copper, &c. whichir
occasionally dug up near many of the ruinous temples sacred ft
the ancient worship of the country, we may assert, that gm
proficiency was once attained in this art : like that, howefd
of stone-cutting, it has very much declined.

Gold and silver, as is well knoi^vn, are wrought by the in
lives of the Eastern Islands into exquisite ornaments ; and tb
Javans arc by no means behind their neighbours, the Snos
trans, in tlic knowledge of this manufacture. They do not
however, usually work the gold into those beautiful filigre
patterns, described as common among the Malayui on So
matra, nor is their work generally so fine.

Diamond-cutters, and persons skilled in the knowledge (
cutting precious stones, arc also to be found in the principi
capitals.

Car\'ing in wood is followed as a particular profession, an
tlie Javans may be considered as expert in all kinds of ca
penter's work, but more particularly in cabinet-work. The
imitate any pattern, and tlie furniture used by the Europcai
in the eastern part of the Island is almost exclusively of the
workmanship. Carriages and other vehicles are also mannf ^i^
tared by the natives afler tlie European fashion.

Boat and sliip-building is an art in which the Javans ai
tolerably well versed, particularly the former. The latter
confined principally to those districts in which the Europeai
have built ships, for the Javans have seldom attempted tl
constniclion of square-rigged vessels on their own accoun
'llio best cari)ontcrs for ship-building are found in tlie distric
oi Rnnhdttg diixA Gresiky but small native vessels and boa
are continually constnicted by the natives in almost erei
district along tlic north coast.

When the quantity of teak timber, and tlie advantages i
Java in resi)ect of ]>orts and harbours, are considered, ll
most Haltering ])ros]>rcts are held out, that this Islan

PAPER. 105

y, in time, be able to supply shipping to an increasing
ctmmerce of its own, and perhaps aid the dock-yards of other
Hales.

Among the articles, the making of which may be interesting
Id Emropeans, from the difference of the materials used or the
yrocess employed, is that of paper. The paper in common
mB with the Javans is prepared from the (j^luga (moms papy-
lAna) which is cultivated for this purpose, and generally
eaDed the deluwangj or paper tree. Having arrived at the
age of two or three years, the young trees are cut while the
btik easily peels off, and the fragments are portioned about
twdve or eighteen inches in length, according to the intended
ttze of the paper. These fragments are first immersed in
water about twenty-four hours, in order that the epidermes
may be separated ; this being effected, the fibrous tissue of
ihe inner bark is rendered soft and tractable by soaking in
water, and by long and repeated beating with apiece of wood.
Doling the intervals of this process, the firagments of the bark
are piled in heaps in wooden troughs, and the affusion of fresh
water is repeated till all impurities are carried off. The sepa-
Tate portions, which are about two or three inches broad, are
flien attached to each other on a plane surface, generally
formed by the trunk of a plantain tree, and the union of the
fibres is finally effected by continued beating. The quality
of the paper depends upon the care employed in the prepara-
tion, and on the frequent affusion of fresh water. By apply-
ing successive layers to the spots which are bare firom the
defect of the fibres, and beating them tiU they unite, an uni-
hrm thickness is attained. The paper which is intended for
writing is momentarily immersed in a decoction of rice, and
lendered smooth and equal, by being rubbed to a polish on a
plane surface. Such paper as is intended for common do-
mestic purposes, for packing goods, &c. does not require this
operation : in this the fibrous contexture of the bark is quite
obvious ; it much resembles a species of paper brought from
Japan, and manufactured from the same tree, and was for-
merly employed instead of cloth by the poorer inhabitants. The
process of manufacturing is strikingly like that in use among
the inhabitants of the South Sea Islands, for the preparation
of their cloth. The cultiu^e of this plant, as well as the manu-

o 2

196 2iUGAIU-ARRACK.

facture of paper, is chiefly confined to particular distri*
where it forms tlie principal occupation of the priests, n
gain a livelihood by it.

Large quantities of a coarse and homely sugar, dist
guislied by the name of Javan sugar, are prepared from t
cocoa-nuty dreiiy and other palms. The average quantity
liquor extracted from one of these trees during a day a
nighty is about two quarts, and this is estimated to give fn
three to four ounces of sugar. The trees begin to yidd
at about six or seven years of age, and continue to do so 1
ten or twelve years. The process of preparing the sugar
extremely simple : it consists merely in boiling the liquor
an earthen pot for a few hours, and afterwards pouring it ii
smaU cases made of leaves and prepared for the purpose,
which, when cool, it attains a due consistence.

Sugar from the cane is manufactured by the Chinese alon
the process followed resembles that of the West Indies. T
juice is cxpfessed between two rollers, sometimes turned bj
water-wheel ; but in all cases the machinery is rude and i
perfect The quality of the sugar made on Java is considei
to be equal to that of Manilla and the West Indies : it cc
tains as much of the saccharine principle as the latter, and
brought to a drier state. It difiers from the sugar of Beng
as much in its quality as in the mode of preparing it, but c
be brought to market at about the same price. Considera]
quantities are sent to the Malabar coast, but the principal <
portation is to Japan and Europe.

The manufactory' of Batavian arrack, the superior quality
which is well known, is also conducted by the Chinese : 1
])roccss is as foUows : About seventy pounds of ketan (glv
nous rice) is heaped up in a small vat ; round this heap
I)i1e one hundred cans of water are poured, and on the 1
twenty cans of molasses. After remaining two days in tl
vat, the in^cdicnts are shifted to a larger vat adjoining, wb
they receive the addition of four hundred cans of water a
one hundred cans of molasses.

'llius far tlic ]nocess is carried on in tlie open air. Ii
se])urate vat witliin doors, forty cans of palm wine or tod
from the cocoa-nut tree, lure immediately mixed iiith ni
hundred cans of water and one hundred and fifty cans of n

SALT. 197

Both preparations being allowed to remain in this
tiate for two days, the former of these preparations is carried
to a still larger vat within doors, and the latter being in a vat
placed above, is poured upon it, through a hole bored for the
pnpose near the bottom. In this state the preparation is
iBowed to ferment for two days, when it is poured into small
Mrthen jars, containing about twenty cans each, in which
it remains for the further period of two days : it is then
Alined.

The liquor drops into a tin vessel under ground, from whence
it is ladled into receiving vessels. This is the third or com-
mon sort of arrack, which by a second distillation in a smaller
stiQ, with the addition of a small quantity of water, becomesi
ike second sort, and by a third distillation, what is called the
first sort The third or common sort is called by the Chinese
nchewy the second tdnpOy and the first kiji^ the two latter
being distinguished as aixack dpi. When cooled, it is poured
into large vats in the store-houses, where it remains till it is
convenient to put it into casks.

Hie whole process, therefore, to the completion of the first
lort, does not require more than ten days, six hours being
sufficient for the original preparation to pass through the first
ttilL The receivers of the stills are of copper, and the worm
consists of about nine turns of Banka tin.

The proof of sufficient fermentation is obtained by placing
ft lighted taper about six inches above the surface of the liquor
in the fermenting vat ; if the process is sufficiently advanced,
the fixed air rises and extinguishes the light.

To ascertain the strength of the spirit, a small quantity of
it is burnt in a saucer, and the residuum measured. The dif-
ference between the original quantity and the residuum gives
the measure of the alcohol lost.

Among the most important manufactures of Java, both
viewed in its relation to the comforts of the inhabitants and
the interests of the revenue, is that of salt. In almost every
comitry it is an indispensable commodity, but particularly
where the people subsist on a vegetable diet, as in India and
the Eastern Islands; and wherever government has seen it
necessary, it has been converted into a source of taxation.

Nearly the whole of the north-east coast of Java and Md-

198 SALT.

dura abounds with places well calculated for its man
lure, and unfit for any other useful purpose. The quanti
ready manufactured has for many years exceeded the den
both for home consumption and exportation, and might I
creased ahnost ad libitum.

On Java the principal salt-pans are situated at PdkiSy h
ncinity of Batavia ; at Bavtamy CheriboUy Tegal; at Wi
and Brdhang^ in the Semdrang districts; at Parades
Renihung ; 'dt Seddgu, Gresiky andSimdmi; on Madm
Sdmpangy Pamdkasan^ and Simenap. Salt is also mani
tured at several places along the south-coast, but of ini
quality, and by a dilTerent process. About two hundred
are annually procured in the interior, from the BlidegSj a
ready described. The principal supply, however, is firoD
north-coast, where the quality of the salt, and the facility
which it can be manufactured, give it a decided advanta|
demand and cheapness.

The process of manufacturing the salt on the norih-coi
very simple, and depending on evaporation by the heat o
sun alone, may be favourably contrasted with the com]
tivcly expensive process adopted in the Bengal provii
Resen^oirs are filled firom the sea at high tide, and in 1
the water is allowed to remain for several days ; this l
found ncccssan' to prevent the salt firom being bitter.
tlion conveyed by means of canals and sluices to the j
wliich are distributed in compartments and banked in, s
to contain the sea- water, much in the same manner as the
fields. If tlie weather be dry and the sun clear, five dayi
found sufficient for the process of evaporation in the p
after which the salt is collected together in heaps, wbc
usually remains five days longer before it is brought into s

Under the Dutch government, tlie manufacture of salt
fanned out to Chinese as an exclusive privilege ; and to t
farms, under tlie plea of enabling tlie farmer to comma
sufficient number of hands for conducting his undertal
an<l enabling him to make his advances to government, en
sive tracts of rice land were attached, over tlie popidatio
which the farmer was allowed unlimited authority. By a
tinned extension of these tracts, a population far more m
rous than the work at Uie salt-pans required was wrested ]

SALT. 199

the administration of the regents and transferred to the
Clunese : as they found their advantage in renting out the rice-
fields, and employing the people in the transport of goods and
oOier laborious offices of the country , the farms of course sold
Sx more money. Under this system, it is difficult to say what
was the actual cost of the salt to the farmer: the manufacturers
were partly remunerated in land and partly in money, and the
mode varied in every district ; but this remuneration seldom
UBOimded to more than a bare subsistence.

It was the practice of these farmers-general to underlet to
other Chinese the privilege of selling salt, supplying them with
the article at a certain rate, and these under-farmers sold the
salt again to the petty retailers in the public markets at an ad-
TSDced price. The price of the salt, after passing through the
hands of the farmers, varied not only according to the distance
from the place of manufacture, but according to the capital
and q)eculation of the under-farmer ; if he adopted the liberal
sjstem of obtaining small profits upon a large sale, the market
wag abundantly supplied at a low rate ; but if, on the contrary,
he traded on a small capital, and enhanced the price by in-
^ciently answering the demand, the price became propor-
tionaDy exorbitant. In some places, as at Saldtiga and
Vn^arangy through which the salt was transported by inland
carnage to the poptdous districts of the interior, the price was
Bometunes as high as one hundred and twenty, and even one
( bondred and forty Spanish dollars per kOyanj while along the
coast, as at Cheribon and Stirabdya, it was as low as thirty,
and at GrSsik twenty-five. The average in the year 1818,
when the farming system was abolished, may be taken, one
district with another, at about fifty-seven Spanish dollars the
kdganj or rather less than thirty dollars per ton.

The quantity usually calculated for the annual consump-
tion of Java and Madura^ including about one thousand
kdyang estimated to be manufactured in the native provinces,
is sixteen thousand k&yans^ or thirty-two thousand tons. Un-
der the arrmigements now adopted for the manufacture and
sale of this article, the average rate at which the manufac-
turers are paid is about six rupees the kdyan^ including the
charges of transport to the dep6ts, and the sale price varies
from twenty -five to thirty-five Spanish dollars, according to

200 MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY.

the distance from the principal depots ; an adequate
by means of smaUcr depots is insured in every part
country.

The salt of Java exported to the other islands of the
pelago, competes with that of Siam and the Coromande
and generally supersedes it, both on account of its qua]
cheapness. 'Die exportation is free to all places excej
gal, where, on account of its interference with the mc
there established, it has, since the conquest of Java, bee
necessary to prohibit its importation under penalty of
cation.

The salt of the south coast being maniactured by a ;
which is much more expensive than that employed
north, and at the same time being inferior in quality, it
consumed in places which tlie latter is prevented from
ing by the difficulty of conveyance or inland tolls and
bitions ; and it has consequently been calculated, t]
north coast salt, if allowed to pass toll free through the c
would in a short time supersede that from the south
ther. The inferior quality of tlie latter is caused by th<
tity of the sulphate of magnesia it contains, which rei
by its bitterness unpleasant for culinary purposes.

Of late years, the value of the manufacturing industr
country' may be in some degree appreciated from the ase
it has afforded to the European government, when, in
quence of the war, tlie importation of European artic
become insufficient for the public service. Broad el
being procurable for tlie army, a kind of coarse cottoi
was manufactured by the Javans, with which the who]
was clotlied. At Semdrang were established five o
manufactories, having seventy or eighty looms each,
two of them made cotton lace, and supplied the army
with epaulets, shoulder-knots, tassels, &c. There we
wise manufactures of cotton stockings, tape, fringes, cai
boxes, sword-belts, saddles, bridles, &c. and in shor
thing that coidd be required for the dress and accoutr
of both cavalry and infantry.

Under (European superintendants were established «
works, powder-mills, foundries for shells, shot, anvi
and manufactories of swords and small arms ; and wli

SALTPETRE. 201

added, that the French goTemment found means, within the
the resources of Java alone, to equip an army of not less than
fifteen thousand effective men, besides a numerous mihtia in
ereiy district, and that, with the exception of a few European
sapenntendants in the more scientific works, all the articles
were manufactured and supplied by the natives, it is not ne-
cessary to adduce any further proof of the manufacturing ability
(^the country.

Saltpetre is obtained in many parts of the island, and gun-
powder has long been manufactured by the native inhabitants.
A sal^>etre manufactory was established near Gresiky under
the superintendance of European officers, which it was calcu-
lated would furnish annually two thousand pikuls of that ar-
ticle to government, at the rate of eight rix-dollars per pikuly
of one hundred and thirty-three pounds English. The im-
portance of this estabUshment is manifest in the following ob-
Sf^ations of Colonel Mackenzie.

" I considered that one day would be usefiilly employed in

" viewing the saltpetre works, which a very few years back

^ had been established here, at the risk, and by the zeal and

** ingenuity of private individuals,with the view of supplying

^ this colony with that necessary ingredient for gunpowder.

*'The best sulphur is supplied from a mountain near the

^ straits of Bali. For further details of these mines ; of the

^ manner in which the nitre is obtained, by an ingenious ap-

^ pUcation of the latest European improvements in chemistry ;

^ of the sulphureous crater of the mountain, whence the sul-

^* phur, in its utmost purity, is supplied ; of the reports of the

" French engineers, last year, on the improvement of the gun-

*' powder of Java ; of the wood selected for the best charcoal,

'* and of the present state of the manufactory and powders-mills

" at Semdrangj I must refer, at present, to several papers col-

" lected by me on this subject, which may be usefully appli-

'* cable to our manufactures of gunpowder in India. Passing

*' over these and other considerations, I shall only observe, that

*' of these mines, one of them is cut in caverns into the soft

^^ white calcareous rock ; and another, more regularly designed,

" supported by pillars or masses of the native rock, covers re-

" gularly formed beds of the native earth, which being impreg-

" nated with the native nitre, saturated with the evacuation of

QO-2 TEAK TIMBER.

^' tlie numerous bats that haunt these cavezns, and mixed with
" a compoimd of wood ashes, supplies the liquid that ifi boiled
^* in largo kettles, and aflerwanls left to cool and ciystaUizc.
'' 'J he whole process is carried on, in a regular mamiery under
^^ the direction of the first executor of this really grand woric,
" who now resides at Surabaya *."

The labour of felling the teak trees and transporting the tim-
ber from the forests, gives cm])loyment to a veij- considerable
population, who are distinguished from those employed in other
avocations, by the term of bldndang people, or foresters. The
teak timber was formerly delivered to the government as a con-
tingent, by the regents of those districts in which the principal
forests were situated, the quantit}' being regulated according to
the sup]>osed extent of the different forests, and the means of
cutting and transporting the wood. Previously to the year
1808, the amount of this annual contingent was eight thousand
eight hundred beams of different sizes, according to the wants
of tlie public sen-ice, of which more than three thousand were
delivered from the central forests o( Remhang,

Tlie cutting and dragging of tlie timber delivered in contin-
gent was performed by the inhabitants of the villages adjacent
to the forests,and tlie buffaloes required were left to be provided
by the regents. For this scn-ice, in the Rembing districts,
four hundred cutters and labourers, and four hundred and
twelve pair of buffaloes, were appropriated for the supply of
three thousand one hundred beams annually, a p roportion
which varied in the other districts, only according to the dis-
tance of the forest from the timber yard on the coast, where
payment was made for timber on deliver}', at the rate of sixteen
pence for cutting and conve^nng a beam of from eighteen to
twenty feet long and from nine to ten inches brood, forty-eight
stivers for a beam of from thirty-one to thirty-six feet long and
from thirteen to fifleen inches broad, and for others in propor-
tion. Ill is was the regular and only payment made for the
contingent timber ; but when the demands of government ex-
ceeded the fixed contingent, which was generally tlie case, the
rxcesK was paid for at an advance of fifty per cent, on these
})rices. Crooked and other timber for ship-building was paid

* Journal of Colonel Mackeniie» 1812.

TEAK TIMBER. 20S

tf at about the same rate, but calculated according to a fixed
taUe by the weight

Under this system, the regents rented out many of the vil-
lages adjoining the forests to individuals, and sold, on their own
iccount, such timber as was not of proper quality to be deli-^
reied to government. As the demands of government increased,
as well as those of the European residents, who were many of
tiiem coDcemed in ship-building and in the sale of timber, the
forests near the coast were soon exhausted of their best timber,
and as it became necessary for the cutters to go further into the
interior, the labour and expense increased, but without any
corresponding recompense to them, for the government never
nised the price. Individuals, however, did so ; and the conse-
quence was, that government finding no regulations they could
Bake for the internal management of the forests sufficient to
ensure them an adequate supply, were contented to believe that
a greater quantity than was actually fiimished could not be cut
without injury to the forests ; although, at that very time, the
delireries to individuals in the eastern districts were estimated
at not less than fifty or sixty thousand beams per annum, the
coast was lined with Java-built trading vessels of every de-
scription, and these, as well as the rough timber, were fre-
quently sent for sale to a distant market.

In the year 1808, however, in common with all the other
departments on the island, this important one was newly orga-
liized by Marshal Daendels, who placing the highest value on
the forests, and determining to prevent the abuses which had
previously existed, removed all the population which had for-
merly been engaged in the forests in the different parts of the
idand from the controul of the native regent, as well as the
local European authority, and placed them, with the villages
and lands to which they were attached, imder a separate
board or administration for the forest department This change
effectually secured government in the monopoly, and suc-
ceeded in the prevention of the abuses which had formerly
existed : but in the degree that it had this effect, it also
operated to the serious injury of general commerce and the
domestic comfort of the inhabitants ; for every one was now
obliged to buy the timber from government, at a high mono-
poly rate fixed by general regulation, and the timber could

204 TEAK TIMBER.

only be obtained in comparatively small quantities, seldom of
the dimensions required, and only at the fixed staples. Ship-
building, and even boat-building, which had before been car-
rie<l to the greatest extent along the whole coast, was discon-
tinued, and the cottage of the native, which had formerly co»t
a few rupees, now cost ten times the amount if built of de-
sirable materials.

Under the administration of the Board of Forest, whose re-
sidence was fixed at Semdranffy and who were altogether
independent of the local authorities, was now placed a popu-
lation of nearly one hundred thousand souls, exclusively de-
voted to the labours of the forests ; and as no revenue had
been given up by the arrangement, and a small annual deliveiy
of iron, salt, and gimpowder, to the foresters, was the only
payment made, considerable profit was expected to result
from it to the government. It was found, however, after the
establishment of the British government, that the timber which
had been cut, and of which there was an immense quantity on
hand, was not of a description required for the building
of coasting vessels, and could not compete in Bengal with that
of Pegu, without such a reduction in the monopoly price, as
added to the loss occasioned by so large a proportion of the
population, who were set apart for this duty and contributed
notliiug else to the revenue, the extent of the establishment
necessary to enable the government to be the sole timber
merchant, and the abuses connected with it, would amount to
more tlian all the profits that had been calculated on. The
coasting trade was perishing for want of vessels, and the forest
department was a losing concern. Under these circumstances,
it was judged expedient to include the population of the Blan^
do/ff/s in the general arrangements for the release of the
])easantr>' from feudal bondage, and the establishment of a
fixed rent from the land, in lieu of all ser^'ices and paj-ment
fonnerlv rendered.

The poo])le who lived near tlie forests, and had long been
in the habit of cutting and dragging Uie timber, still however
continued in this employment, an annual contract being made
with tliem for their services in the forests, in remuneration for
which a remissi(m of rent was granted. The largest and most
valuable forests are, under this system, resen-ed for the exclu-

TEAK TIMBER. 205

sire use of goyernment ; others of less value, and the limits of
wliich can oe easily defined, have, in consideration of a recog-
nition of ten per cent, ad valorem on the timber when worked
vp^ been thrown open to individuals engaged in ship-building,
who generally contract with the people of the adjoining vil-
lages, to cut and deliver the timber at fixed prices : a mode
which has also been occasionaUy resorted to by government,
especially for the inferior and small kinds of timber, shingles,
pipe staves, &c. which are allowed to be cut iu particular
fiirests.

The industry which has been excited by opening these faci-
lities in procuring timber, and the impetus which it has
afforded to trade, may be estimated by this fact, that within
the last few years have been launched no less than ten to
twelve square-rigged vessels, of firom one hundred and fifty to
four hundred tons, and that many more of larger dimensions
were about to be built, when the restoration of the colony was
announced*

It need hardly be observed, that due precautions have been
taken for the preservation and renovation of the valuable
forests, which so far firom being exhausted, are capable of
supplying besides crooked and compass timber for ship-build-
ing, forty or fifty thousand beams in the year without injury.
European overseers are appointed, and one general superin-
tendent is placed over the whole.

As illustrative of the importance attached to these forests
by the Dutch, and of the capabilities of the island for ship-
building, it may not be uninteresting to annex an extract firom
Mr. Hogendorp's appeal to the authorities in Holland on this
subject.*

* *' fiatavians ! be amazed ! hear with wonder what I have to com-
** municate. Our fleets are destroyed, our trade languishes, our naviga-
'* tion is going to ruin — ^we purchase with immense treasures, timber and
** other materials for ship-building from the northern powers, and on Java
" we leave warlike and mercantile squadrons standing with their roots in
" the ground. Yes, the forests of Java have timber enough to build a
** respectable navy in a short time, besides as many merchant ships as we
** require. Hemp would grow as well as in Bengal, and as labour is as
" cheap in Java, we may consequently presume that it would require little
" trouble to establish manufactures of canvas and cordage there in a
*• short time. But, at any rate, Java already produces at a very low price

QOi} ThMBER.

The Blandofig people or foresters are generally employei
ill cutting or in dragging timber during eight months out c
the twelve, but they are obliged to watch the forests the whol
year through : they are regularly relieved, and half the work
iiig men are at all times left disposeable for the lice fieldi
llie Blandoftg people have always been accustomed to tfa
work, and generally have their viUages near the princip^
forests. It is one of the advantages of the system of contract
iiig with the people for land payments, that in emcrgcncic
tlicy are ^villing to lend tlieir o^^-n buffaloes to assist those c
government in dragging heavy timber, which could not b
removed othcmise without great expence, while their childiei
at other times watch and attend the cattle belonging to gc

« cayar and gamuti cordage, which answers very well for cablen, bawten
" and rigging. To build ships at Java for the mother countr)% it is on!
** necessar}' to send out skilful and complete master-builders with a fr
" ship carpenters ; for common workmen are to be had on Java in nun
** l)er8, and at a very low rate, as a good Ja^-a carpenter may be hired i
" five stivers a day. The princi])al objection that could be made is, thi
" the shores of Java being very flat and level, are not well adapted fc
" building, and still less for launching ships of heai'y burthens, but thi
** difficulty may be easily overcome : on the islands before Bata\na, an
particularly Brunt and Cooke's Island, wharfs, or even docks, may I
constructed at little exi)ence. The same may be obser\'ed of one of th
islands off Jaimra and at (iR'sik, besides many other places in the caster
division, in the harbour which is formed by the isluid of Madeira, an
which is sheltered from ever)' wind.

*' llie resident of Remb&ng, and sometimes of Jawina, are almost th
only I'2uroi)eans who build 6hi})s, for it is too difficult and dangerous fc
others to undertake it, under the arbitrar}' government at present exis)
ing in Ja\'a, imder which nothing can flourish or succeed. But tfa
< 'hincse, who are favoured in every thing, are well an'are how to tor
" this also to their own advantage, and to build a great number of vessel
all along the coast, from fifteen to two hundred tons burthen, forwhic
they get the timlMT almost for nothing, by means of renting the forei
villages. It is easy to imagine, how these avaricious bloodsuckers us!
the forests, and manage to get all they can out of them. In spite <
all this, however, the forests of Jai-a grow as fast as they are cut, an
would be inexhaustible under good care and management
"At Uonibay, Surat, and Demaun, and other places along the cotit c
Malabar, at Dengal, and at Pegu, the I'^nglish build many large and fin
'* shipK, which last a length of time. es))ecially those of Bombay and Mi
'* labar built, although 1 believe the wood produced there, however gooi
•* is not e(|ual to the teak of Ja^*a.**

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TIMBER— FLSH£R1£S. 207

▼emment. In short, the resources of the village are at the

disposal of government, for a land payment considerably less

than one-third of the expence of hired labourers, whom it

Would be difficult to procure, and still more difficult, firom the

character of the people, to retain in constant and unremitting

cmplojrment.

Under the system of granting remissions of rent, it has been
calculated that in the districts ofSemdrangy where the assess-
ment is comparatively high, on account of the vicinity to a
large capital, a remission of eight rupees and a half, or about
twenty shillings, being the average amount paid annually by
each cultivator, government obtains a man's hard labour for
mx, months of the year. But as the inhabitants of the same
^village are generally accustomed to labour in the fields alter-
nately, and thus to assist each other, it has been found ad-
^risable to make the remissions of rent for the Blandongs to
the village as a community^ in order to avoid the delay and
endless vexation which would ensue, in adjusting the petty
claims of each individual.

In the maritime districts on the north-east side of the
island, a very large proportion of the population is employed
in the fisheries, and so moderate are the seasons, that except
peifaaps for a few days at the change of the monsoon, they are
^dom interrupted by the weather.

The sea fish is taken either by the net, in stakes (undijy
cr with the hook and line : the most considerable quantity is
of course procured by means of the two former, generally dis-
tinguished by the term mdyang^ whence prdhu mdyangy fish-
ing boat. The whole apparatus of the hook and line is called
fdnchinffy the usual term for angling among the Maldyus,,
The fishing-boats quit the shore at about three or four o'clock
in the morning, and are driven out by the land breeze beyond
right before day-light. At about noon they are seen return-
ing with the sea-breeze, and generally reach the shore by two
in the afternoon. The stakes along the whole of the northern
coast, wherever the banks and projecting land admit, are very
extensive : they are often fixed in several fathom water, and
constitute a very important property. They are usually closed
in the night.
Nets are principally made of rami, though sometimes of

208 FISHERIES.

gaddny^anj and even of cotton. They are steeped in an in-
fusion, which not only darkens their colour, but is considered
essentially to contribute to their strength. Fish that is not
eaten or disposed of while fresh, is salted and dried in the
sun, or smoke-dried at a short distance from a fire, and in
that state forms an extensive article of internal commerce.
Besides the abundance of fish thus obtained from the sea, ex-
tensive tracts of countr}', salt marshes, and inlets of the sea,
have in several parts of the island been converted into fish-
ponds (tdmbaj. These ponds are to be found in most of the
low maritime districts : those at Gresiky which are the most
extensive, appear to have been first estabhshed during the
visit of one of the early Mahomedan princes of the island in
the fifteenth centmy. - The bdndeng is generally considered as
the richest and highest-flavoured fish known in these seas:
the young fry are taken in the sea, and transferred to these
ponds, where they grow and fatten for seven months, when
they are fit for the table. An annual supply of young fish
from tlic sea is found necessar}' to keep up the stock in the
tanks ; and, whether from a desire to raise the value of the
fish so obtained in tliem, or othen^ise, the natives generaDy
affinn, that the fish rarely attains its full size in the sea. The
extent and value of these nurseries for the fish may be esti-
mated from the rent paid for those at Gresikj which arc the
proj)erty of government.

The river fish are taken by a variety of methods : one is to
tlirow a number of branches of trees into a deep part of the
river ; here the fish collect : tliey are then surrounded by
stakes, or tlie branches are taken out, and the fish easily
caught ; tliis metliod is tenned rumpon. Bdmbu fences are
sometimes tllro^\ll across the rivers at night, and so con-
stniclcd that tlie fish are easily entrapped as they pass down
the stream : this method is called pdsang ttdd&tig. The rivers
and jH)ii(ls are frequently dragged by nets of dificrent sizes.
Tlie cocttliis i/idiciis, and otlier intoxicating drugs, are some-
times thrown into the river, after which tlie fish are foimd
floating on the surface and easily taken ; this method, tenned
////»f/, is prohibited on large rivers : when the fish are after-
wards driven down the river by a number of men into a snaro
laid below, the usual tenn is jdmprong. In the western dis-

FISHERIES— PEARLS. 209

y hictSy a fishing party of this description affords a very favour-
r ite amusement on great occasions. A time is selected when
the river is moderately low ; temporary stands made of the
tranks of small trees or stout bdmbus are then thrown across,
each consisting of three piles, fastened together at the top and
expanding below, the bottoms being pointed so as to fix in
the ground. On a small stage on each, just above the surface
of the water, are piled a few stones, by which they are steadied
while the current is allowed a firee course below. The piers
' or stages thus formed, answer well for the construction of a
temporary bridge over the rocky or stony bed of the most
irregular river. A coarse matting, made of bdmbu or some
other material, is then carried from one to the other, so as to
shut the current in within a narrow space, across which a
temporary platform and shed is thrown, with a sloping floor
rising above the surface of the water, to where the party is
assembled. The drug having been thrown into the river, a
cxmsiderable distance higher up several hundred people now
enter the river, and driving the half-intoxicated fish before
them, they come floundering one after the other on the bdmbu
stage, to the no small amusement of the party collected, fish
of a considerable size Uterally jumping into their laps. On
these occasions, when the entertainment is given to Europeans,
a great concourse of people attend, a feast is prepared, and
the wild and antic music and dance of the mountaineers, per-
forming on the dnklang and rude drum, give great peculiarity
and zest to the amusement Fish are sometimes struck at
night by torch light, both at sea and in the rivers ; but this
method is not very general.

Pearls are obtained in the vicinity of BdnyuwdngHj where
the privilege of fishing for them is farmed out by the year, as
well as in the vicinity of Nusakanibdng'*any on the south side of
the island ; but they are generally of the description called
seed pearls, and of little value.

VOL. I.

CHAPTER V.

Commerce — Advantageous Situation of Java for Commerci^ hUe r e omrm "
Importance of Batavia in particular — Native 1\rade-^Roadg and bUamd
Carriage — Markets — Influence of the Chinese — Coasting 'Drade'—Baports
and Imports— Trade with the Archipelago— China^^Kamtsekatka — Wetterm
India — Europe, Sfc. — Dutch Commercial Regulations — State qftheEmsUm
Islands — Advantages which they possess — Causes of the XXpremcMi ^ tk§
Nations and Tribes which inhabit them — Japan Thade,

From the importance which the Dutch, in the days of their
greatness, attached to their East-India commerce, of which
Batavia was the emporium, and the importance which this
commerce conferred upon them, fix)m the desire excited in the
other nations to obtain a share in its advantages, and the crimes
committed to maintain its undivided monopoly, some idea may
be formed of its magnitude and value. When the French
troops, in the summer of 1672, under Liouis XIY. had OTemm
the territory of Holland, with the rapidity and irresbtible jforce
of the sea after bursting the dykes, the Republic formed the
magnanimous resolution of transporting its wealth, its enter-
prise, and its subjects to another hemisphere, rather than sub*
mit to the terms of the conqueror, and fixed upon Batavia,
already the seat of its eastern commerce, as the capital of its
new empire. They could have found shipping in their own
ports for the transport of fifty thousand families ; their countiy
was inundated with the ocean, or in possession of the invader;
their power and political importance consisted in their fleets
and colonies ; and having been accustomed to maintain their
naval superiority by the fruits of their eastern trade, and to
buy tlie com of Europe with the spices of the Moluccas, they
would have felt less from a removal of their seat of empire
from tlie north of Europe to the south of Asia, than any people
who ever contemplated a similar change ; while, at the same
time, the very project of such an extraordinary emigration, and

COMMERCE. 211

the means they had of carrying it into effect, give us the highest
ideas of the independent spirit inspired by their free govem-
ment, and of their commercial prosperity, derived, in a great
degree, fix)m their eastern establishments and connexions.

The same advantages which the Europeans derived from
the navigation of the Mediterranean, the inhabitants of the
Malayan Archipelago enjoyed in a higher degree; and it can-
not be doubted, that among islands lying in smooth and un-
ruffled seas, inviting the sail or oar of the most timid and in-
e]q)erienced mariner, an intercourse subsisted at a very early
period. To this intercourse, and to the fertility of the soil of
Java, which soon rendered it an agricultural country, must be
attributed the high degree of civilization and of advancement
m the arts, which, from the monuments of its progress which
still exist, there is every reason to believe it once attained.
In short, to adopt the expressions of Dr. Adam Smith, when
speaking of a very different country *, Java, ^^ on account of
" the natural fertility of its soil, of the great extent of its sea-
^ coast in proportion to the whole of the country, and of the
" number of its navigable rivers, affording the conveniency of
** water carriage to some of its most inland parts, is conve-
^ niently fitted by nature to be the seat of foreign commerce,
^ of manufactures for sale to the neighbouring countries, and
*^ of all the improvements which these can occasion.^'

But thou^ there can be little doubt that Java very early
emerged from barbarism, and rose to great commercial prospe-
li^, to determine the precise time at which these events took
place is perhaps impossible ; and to approach the solution of
the question would involve an inquiry that will be better re-
served till we come to treat of its languages, institutions, and
antiquities. If, in the consideration of these topics, it should
be made to appear, that, in very remote ages, these regions
were civilized firom Western India, and that an extensive
Hindu empire once existed on Java, it will be reasonable to
infer a commercial intercourse still earlier than the communi-
cation of laws and improvement.

In the remarkable account of the rich commodities conveyed
to ancient Tyre, it would appear that there were many articles

* Great Britain.

r-2

212 COMMERCE.

the peculiar produce of the Malayan States ; and in that g^ven
by Strabo of the importations into Egypt, cloves, which we
know to be the exclusive produce of the Moluccas, are ex-
pressly mentioned. The same taste for the fine kinds of spices,
and the same desire to obtain them, which prompted Euro-
pean nations successively to make themselves masters of these
islands, must in all probability have operated, in a very re-
mote period, on the merchants of Hindustan, and even of
coimtries lying farther to the westward, who had already
found their way into tlic gold regions ; and if the hypotheas,
which places Mount Ophir on Sumatra or the peninsula of
Malacca, cannot be maintained, it will at any rate be ad-
mitted, that previously to the discovery of America, no country
was known more rich in gold than the Malayan Islands, and
that, on tliat account, they were peculiarly attractive to fo-
reigners, who could not be supplied from any other quarter.

ITie Arabs, it is known, had in the ninth century, if not
long previously, made themselves acquainted uiith these
countries; and the Chinese, if we may trust the Javan
aimals, had visited Java at the same period. According to
Kempfer, the Maldyus in former times had by far the greatest
trade in tiie Indies, and frequented, with their vessels, not
only all the coasts of Asia, but even ventured to the shores of
Africa, and particularly to the great island of Madagascar;
" for," adds this autlior, " John de Barros in his Decades,
^^ and Flaccourt in his History of Madagascar, assures us,
that the language spoken by the inhabitants of that large
African island is full of Javan and Malayan words: sub-
sisting proofs of the commerce with these two nations,
about two thousand years ago the richest and most pow-
" crful of Asia, had carried on with Madagascar, where they
'* had settled in great numbers."

Wliatever credit we may attach to tliesc statements and
inferences, rcsj)ccting the commerce of these islands before
they were visited by Europeans in the fifleenth century, it is
certiiin that, at this j)eriod, an extensive trade was estabUshcd
at Malacca, Acheen, and Bantam, then the great emporiums
of the Eastern Archipelago. Hitlier the rich produce of
Sumatra, Borneo, and the Moluccas, was conveyed in the
small trading craft of the country, and exchanged for the

€C

COMM£RC£. 213

produce of India and China. These ports were then filled
with Fessels from every maritime state of Asia, firom the Red
Sea to Japan. The Portuguese, who preceded the Dutch in
India, and who had fixed upon Goa^ on the coast of Malabar,
as the capital of their eastern settlements, selected Malacca
as the most convenient station for conducting and protecting
their trade with the islands, and erected it into a secondary
capital. The Dutch finding this desirable station pre-
occupied, and being foiled in their attempts to dislodge their
rirals, first established a commercial settlement at Bantam,
and subsequently subdued by force of arms the neighbouring
province of JakatrUy (or Jokdrta)^ on which, as will be after-
wards mentioned, they built the fortress, the city, and the
port of Batavia.

Nor was it without reason that they selected this spot for
fte capital of their new empire. " What the Cape of Good
Hope is,*' says Adam Smith, " between Europe and every
part of the East Indies, Batavia is between the principal
countries in the East Indies. It lies upon the most fre-
quented road firom Hindustan to China and Japan, and
is nearly about midway on that road. Almost all the ships,
too, that sail between Europe and China, touch at Batavia ;
and it is, over and above all this, the centre and principal
mart of what is called the country trade of the East Indies,
** not only of that part of it which is carried on by Europeans,
** but of that which is carried on by the native Indians, and
** vessels navigated by the inhabitants of China and Japan,
** of Tonquin, of Malacca, of Cochin China, and the Island
** of Celebes, are frequently to be seen in its port. Such ad-
** vantageous situations have enabled these two colonies to
** surmount all the obstacles which the oppressive genius of
** an exclusive company may have occasionally opposed to
** their growth : they have enabled Batavia to surmount the
** additional disadvantage, of perhaps the most unwholesome
** cUmate in the world."

It would be as diflScult to describe in detail the extent of
the commerce enjoyed by Java*, at the period of the esta-

♦ It is said that when the Dutch first established themselves in Java,
three hundred vessels of not less than two hundred tons each, were accus-
tomed to sail to and from the port of Jap&ra, in Java, if not belonging to
that port.

214 COMMERCIAL STATE.

blishment of the Dutch in the eastern seas^as itwould be painful
to point out how far, or to show in what manner, that com-
merce was interfered with, checked, changed in its character,
and reduced in its importance, by the influence of a withering
monopoly, the rapacity of avarice armed with power, and the
short-sighted tyranny of a mercantile administration. To
convey an idea of the maritime strength of the native princes
anterior to this date, as giving a criterion by which to judge
of the trade of their subjects, it may be sufficient to state that
warlike expeditions, consisting of many hundred vessels, are
often reported to have been fitted out against Borneo, Su-
matra, and the peninsida. In the art of ship-building, how-
ever, they do not appear to have advanced beyond the con-
struction of that sort of vessel adapted to the navigation
of their own smooth seas, and now to be met with in all their
ports and harbours ; nor do they seem to have had any know-
ledge of maritime geography beyond the shores of their own
Archipelago, and the information which they gained from the
reports of the Arabs, or the traditions of their own more
adventurous ancestors. This circumstance would lead us to
infer that the trade of Java was carried on chiefly in foreign
vessels, and through the enterprize of foreign adventurers.
The habits of the people had become agricultural ; they had
nearly deserted an element which they had no powerftil
temptation to traverse, and on which they could reap little,
compared with what they could draw firom the fertility of their
own territory'. Leaving therefore their ports to be filled, and
their commodities to be carried away by the MaldjfU9, the
BUgifty the Indians, the Chinese, and the Arabs, they for the
most part contented themselves with enjoying the advantages
of a trade, in which they inciured no chance of loss; and
thus, though their o>\'n country yielded neither gold nor
jewels, they are said to have been plentifully supplied with
these and otlier valuable articles on their own shores, in
cxchtuigc for tlie produce of their tranquil industry and their
fertile soil. Tliis kind of traffic was almost entirely anni-
hilated, or at least verj- much diverted fix)m its ancient course,
by the restrictive system of Dutch colonial policy. Some
branches of it were, it must be allowed, partially encouraged
by the influx of European capital and the demand for par-
*cular articles which bear a high price in the European

COMMERCIAL STATE. 215

market ; but this was an inadequate compensation for the loss
of that commerce, which may be said to be as much the
growth of the country as any of its indigenous plants. In
Older to show to what insignificance it was reduced under
Dutch oppression, and what tendency it has to improve under
a better sjrstem, it is only necessary to compare its state
during the latter years of the Dutch government, before the
blockade, and afterwards during the short interval of British
administration. For the first of these purposes, I have drawn,
in the introduction to this woik, a short sketch of the condition
of the Dutch East India Company, for a considerable period
previous to our arrival; and I now proceed to give some
account of the external and internal trade of Java, as it
existed at tlie time when we restored it to its former
masters.

The extent of this commerce, since the 'establishment of
the British government, and since a greater freedom of trade
has been allowed, may, for a want of a better criterion,
be estimated fi'om the amount of tonnage employed since the
beginning of the year 1812, at which period the operations
of the military expedition had ceased, and the transports were
discharged.

In the year 1812, the number of square-rigged vessels
which entered the port of Batavia amounted to 239, and their
aggregate tonnage to 48,290 tons, and in the same year the
native craft amounted to 455 vessels, or 7,472 tons, or together
55,762 tons. The quantity cleared out during the same year
was 44,613 tons of shipping, and 7,762 of native craft,
making together 52,375.

In the year 1813, the number of square-rigged vessels was
288, and the tonnage 51,092, the native craft amounting to
796 vessels, or 13,214 tons, or together 64,306 tons.

In 1814, three hundred and twenty-one ships, or 63,564
tons, cleared out with 568 native vessels, or 9,154 tons,
shewing the total tonnage of Batavia during this year to
have amounted to 72,718 tons.

The returns for the following year have not been received,
but they are estimated to exceed either of the two former
years, and not to have fSsdlen much short of one hundred
thousand tons ; and it may be noticed, that during one year
after the first accounts were received of the successes of the

216 COMMERCIAL STATE.

allied armies against France, no less than thirty-two ships,
measuring fifteen thousand tons, cleared out, and earned
cargoes, Uie produce of Java, to the London market.

The average annual tonnage which cleared out firom the
port of Surabdyay for the three last years, amounted to about
thirty thousand tons, and the native tonnage trading to the
neighboiuing port of Gr^sik is estimated to have even ex-
ceeded that quantity.

At the small port of S'&menap, situated at the east end uf
Madtiray which is a principal resort for the native trade, the
tonnage which cleared out was

Small prahus and vessels. Tmmage.

For 1812 3,705 15,230

1813 4,752 33,769

And the estimated value of the same,

Imports. Exports.

For 1812 Rupees 625,628 Rupees 396,820

1813 740,080 492,020*.

The value of the imports and exports of Semdrang, on
which duties were actually collected at that port, were

Imports, Exports,

For 1812 Rupees 555,044 Rupees 167,101

1813 1,530,716 985,709

1814 686,330 549,038

Tlie native tonnage which cleared from Rembdng was as

follows :

In 1812 862 vessels or 8,058 tons.

1813 1,095 ditto 8,657

1814 1,455 ditto 12,935

The trade from the other minor ports was inconsiderablci
the efl'cct of the regulations passed in 1813 being yet hardly
felt. From Pakalungan the tonnage which cleared was for
1812, 5,962 tons, and for 1813, 4,679 tons, the imports being
about 150,000 nipees, and the exports 300,000 rupees in each
year; from Te(jal for 1812, 2,445 tons, and for 1813, 1,926

• Tlie greatest part, or rather nearly the whole of theec exports and
imports, consisted of colonial produce, of articles of subsistence, or native
nianufacturcfl, mutually exchanged between the two islands of Maddra and
Java. Not a tenth i)art of the imports came from beyond Java.

!^ 3

COMMERCIAL STATE. 217

Ions, the imports being about IH),000, and the exports about
60,000 rupees in each year.

The amount of tonnage which touched at Anyer^ on the
way through the Straits of Sunday to and from Europe, Africa,
aad America, was

In 1812 ^ 73 ships 29,460

1813 73 87,546

1814.; 125 56,942

By an official return made in March 1816, it appears that
the total quantity of tonnage in vessels boarded on their pas-
sage through the Straits of Siinday amounted in 1812 to
45,000 tons; in 1813, to 56,000 tons; in 1814, to 64,000
tons; and in 1815, to 130,000 tons; to which, adding a third
for vessels which passed without being boarded, the whole
amount of tonnage for these four years, would be 390,000, the
quantity in the fourth of these years being nearly triple that
of the first

The commerce of Java may be considered under the two
general divisions of the native and the European, the former
including the internal and coasting trade, with that of the
Malayan Archipelago in general; the latter comprehending
that carried on by Europeans and Americans with India,
China and Japan, Africa, America, and Europe.

Java has already been described as a great agricultural
country. It has long been considered as the granary of the
Eastern Islands.

The southern coast is for the most part inaccessible, and

seldom visited by traders ; but along the north coast there axe

no less than thirteen principal ports, besides numerous other

mtermediate and less considerable ones, frequented by native

vessels at all seasons of the year. Many of these are sheltered,

and form safe harbours in all weather, as Bantam, Batama,

Rembdng, Gresik, and Surabaya, Even where the vessels

lie in an open roadstead, the wind is seldom sufficiently strong

to render the anchorage unsafe. Several of the rivers are

navigable for many miles into the interior, and most of them

are capable of receiving native vessels into the heart of the

\oyfTk, through which they generally run; but the rivers of

Java, as well as those of the eastern coast of Sumatra and the

western coast of Borneo, are for the most part obstructed at

218 NATIVE TRADE.

their entrance by extensive bars, which preclude the admission
of vessels of any very considerable burthen. Hers have been
run out in many places, to remedy this inconvenience ; bat in
consequence of the quantity of soil annually carried down,
the bars or banks are continually increasing, and in some
places, as at Tegalj have nearly blocked up the communica-
tion between the rivers and the sea.

The produce and manufactures of the country are conveyed
firom one district to another and to these maritime capitals,
either by water or land carriage. The principal navigable
rivers to the westward, are those which disembogue them-
selves below Tdng^ran^ Krdwangj and Indramdyu^ and the
produce brought down by them is usually conveyed to Batavia.
To the eastward, the great S6lo river, which is navigable firon
Sura-k^rta, affords, with the Kedlrij the principal and only
outlets from the native provinces by water towards the northern
coast. Down the former, which empties itself by several
mouths, near Gr^sikj into the great harbour of Surabdya^
during the rains, large quantities of the produce of the richest
provinces of the interior are conveyed. The boats employed,
which are of considerable burthen, return with cargoes of salt
This river runs through many valuable teak forests, and con-
sequently affords the means of easy transport for the timber;
an advantage which is also derived from several smaller rivers
on the northern coast, particularly in the neighbourhood of
the principal building yards. Facilities of the same kind are
also found at most of the sea ports, which are generally seated
on rivers passing through forests in the interior, down which
timber required for house-building and the construction of
small crail is floated with ease. An inland navigation is
carried on to a considerable extent, by means of small canals,
in Demdk and some of the neighbouring districts, where it is
common, even during the harvest, at the driest season of the
year, to obsen-e innumerable boats mth their light sails cross-
ing an extensive, flat, and highly cultivated country and tra-
versing the corn-fields in various directions. In the rich and
fertile delta of Siirabdga, the whole produce of the adjacent
country is conveyed by water carriage, generally on light
rafls constructed of a few stems of the plantain tree.

Goods not conveyed by water carriage, are usually

ROADS AND LAND CARRIAGE. 219

OD the backs of oxen or horses, or on the shoulders of men and
wmnen, carts not being generally used, except in the western
distzicts, where the population is thin, or in some of the
moie eastern districts, particidarly those recently under
Ciimese direction. The cart of the western districts, termed
pedaiif is of clumsy construction, running on two large solid
wheels, from five to six feet in diameter, and from one to two
inehes faroad, on a rerolying axle, and drawn by two buffaloes.
It is the ordinary conveyance of goods to the capital, within a
range of about sixty miles from Batavia.

Few countries can boast of roads, either of a better descrip-
tion, or of a greater extent, than some of those in Java. A
hig^ post road, passable for carriages at all seasons of the
year, runs from Anyer^ on the western side of Bantam, to
within twenty miles of Bdnyuwdngiy the eastern extremity of
the Island, being a distance of not less than eight hundred
Kngl^ft^ miles. Along this road, at intervals of less than five
miles, are regular post stations and relays of carriage horses.
A portion of it towards the west, which proceeded into the in-
terior, and passed over some high and mountainous tracts,
was found to occasion great delay and inconvenience to pas-
sengers, and to impose an oppressive duty upon those inha-
bitants, who, residing in the neighbourhood, were obliged to
lend the use of their cattle, or the assistance of their personal
labour, to aid carriages in ascending the steeps ; this part of
the line has therefore been abandoned, and a new road has re-
cently been constructed along the low lands, fix^m Batavia to
ChSribonj by which not only the former inequalities are
avoided, but a distance of fifty miles is saved. This route is
now so level, that a canal might easily be cut along its side,
and carried on nearly through all the maritime districts of the
eastward, by which the convenience of inland navigation
might be afforded them, for conveying the commodities con-
tinuaUy required for the consumption and exportation of the
capital. Besides this main road firom one extreme to the
other, there is also a high military road, equally well con-
structed, which crosses the Island fix)m north to south, leading
to the two native capitals of SHra-k^ta and Yug^ya-keriay
and consequentiy to within a few miles of the South Sea.
Cross roads have also been formed wherever the convenience

2-20 PUBLIC MARKETS.

or advantage of Europeans required them ; and tbere is no
part of the Island to which the access is less difficult But it
is not to be concluded, that these communications contribute
that assistance to agriculture or trade on Java, which such
roads would afford in Europe : their construction has, on the
contrary, in many instances, been destructive to whole dis-
tricts, and when completed by his own labour, or the sacrifice
of the lives of his neighbours, the peasant was debarred fiom
their use, and not permitted to drive his cattle along them,
while he saw the advantages they were capable of yielding re-
ser\'ed for his European masters, that they might be enabled
to hold a more secure possession of his country. They were
principally formed during the blockade of the Island, and
were intended to facilitate the conveyance of stores, or the
passage of troops necessary for its military defence. The in-
habitants, however, felt the exclusion the less, as good inferior
roads were often made by the side of these military roads, and
bye-roads branched off tlirough all parts of the counti}', so that
the internal commerce met ^dth no impediment for the want
of direct or convenient lines of communication.

Nor is it discouraged by the want of understood or estab-
lished ]>laces of exchange. Bazars or public markets (here
called i){*kau) are established in every part of the country, and
usiiallv held twice a-wcek, if not oftener. The market davs
ore in general regulated by what arc called pdsar days, being
a week of five days, similar to that by which the markets in
South America appear to be regulated. At these markets are
assembled frequently some thousands of people, chiefly women,
on whom the duty devolves of carrying the various productions
of the country' to these places of traffic. In some districts, ex-
tensive sheds are erected for the accommodation of the people;
but, in general, a temporary covering of thatch, to shelter them
from the rays of the sun, is made for tlie occasion, and thought
suflicient. Where the market is not held \Wtliin a toivn of
considerable size, the assemblage usually takes place under a
large tree, in a spot occu])ied from immemorial usage for that
])uq)osi\ In these markets tliere are regular quarters appro-
priated for the grain merchant, the cloUi merchant, venders of
iron, brass, an<l co]»per ware, and dealers in the various small
manufactures of the country', as well as those of India, China,

PUBLIC MARKETS. 221

and Europe. Prepared eatables of every kind, as well as all
die firoits and yegetables in request, occupy a considerable
ipace in the £eut, and find a rapid sale. In the more exten-
dve bazars, as at SdlOy the kris handle makers have their par-
ticalar quarter, and in an adjoining square, horses and oxen
are exposed for sale.

Small duties are generally levied in these bazars, the col-
lection of which was formerly farmed out to Chinese ; but it
being found that they exacted more than the settled or au-
thorized rate, and that they contrived, by means of the in-
fluence which their office conferred, to create a monopoly in
their own favour, not only of the articles of trade but of many
of the necessaries of life, that system has latterly been re-
linquished wherever practicable, and government has taken
the management of that portion of the public revenue into its
own hands. In the bazars, accordingly, regulated under the
immediate superintendence of its officers, extensive sheds are
built, and a small compensation only is required for the use of
them by those who there intend to expose their goods for sale.
This duty is collected at the entrance into the market-place,
and is taken in lieu of all other taxes or customs whatever,
formerly levied on the transit or sale of native commodities.
It is to be regretted, that this improvement had not been ex-
tended to the native provinces, where every article of produce
and manufacture is still impeded in its progress through the
country to the place of consumption or export, by toll duties
and other impoUtic exactions, and charged on its arrival there
with heavy bazar duties, to the discouragement of industry
and enterprize, and the depression of agriculture and trade,
in a degree not compensated by a proportionate benefit to the
revenue *.

• " The bazars," observes Mr. Hogendorp, ** now produce a large, and
" even an incredible amount, which however is melted away in the hands
of the native regents and also some European authorities ; but the
Chinese, to whom they are mostly farmed out, derive the greatest profits
" from them, both by the money which they extort from the Javans,
and by the monopolies in all kinds of produce, and particularly of rice,
which by these means they are enabled to secure to themselves. The
abuses on this point are horrible, and almost induce me to recommend
** that the markets should be made free and open."

22i> COASllNG TRADE.

Almost all the inland commerce, beyond what is thus caxried ^
on though the medium of bazars, is under the direction of the
Chinese, who, possessing considerable capital, and frequently
speculating on a very extensive scale, engross the greater part
of the wholesale trade, buy up the principal articles of export
from the native grower, convey them to the maritime capitals,
and in retiun supply the interior with salt, and with the prin-
cipal articles imported from the neighbouring islands, or fion
foreign countru^s. The industry of the Javans being directed ■■
almost exclusively to the cultivation of the soil, they are satii- *
fied if they can find an immediate market for their smpliu
produce ; and Uie Chinese, fit>m their superior wealth and en-
tcrprizc, offering them this advantage without inteiferingwith
their habits, have obtained almost a monopoly of their pro-
duce, and an uncontrolled command of their market for foreign
commodities.

The trade carried on by native vessels along the coast, with
tlie neighbouring islands, and with the peninsula of Malacca,
has been even more shackled than that placed under the im-
politic restraints of interior regulation ; and if it exists now to
any considerable extent, it is owing only to the great natural
advantages that attend it. Independently of the dangers to
which the peaceable unprotected trader has so long been ex-
posed, from the numerous pirates who infest the Eastern Seas,
and who for many years have been in the habit of annually
sweeping the coast of Java, the various restrictions, penalties,
and prohibitions established by the Dutch government, in
order to insure their own monopoly, closed all the minor ports
against him.

Among these restrictions, none operated more forcibly to
prejudice the native trade than the rigid and enforced monopoly
of the teak timber; an article of produce mth which Java
aboimds, and of which the shipping of the Archipelago had,
from time immemorial, been principally constructed. Tlie
facilities for building and repairing vessels along the coast,
while the sale of timber was unrestricted, not only allowed a
more abundant supply of 8hi])ping at a cheap rate for the con-
venience of the native trader, but attracted the beneficial visits
and the intercourse of foreigners, and encouraged a species of
trade, which under the recent system has been lost The

COMMERCE. 223

B^gis and Arabs of the different eastern ports, narigating in
large yessels, were induced to give them an annual repair on
Java; and ratlier than depart in ballast, frequently carried out
cargoes, the profits of which alone, independently of their
lefit, would not hare been sufficient to tempt them to the
qiecolation. These adyenturers not only imported consider-
able quantities of gold-dust to defray the expence of their re-
pairs, but many other articles the produce of the Malayan
islands ; for which they in return exported large quantities of
salt and other bulky commodities, which would otherwise
hardly repay their freight In consequence of the stop put to
this kind of intercourse, the Malayan States were principally
supplied with salt from Siam and the Coromandel coast, or
manufactured the article for themselves, while an accumulat-
mg undemanded surplus for many years remained on Java un-
saleable. Of the nature of the restrictions under which the
mtemal commerce and the native trade in general were placed
until lately, some idea may be formed from the amount of the
duties which were exacted at Ch&ribon prior to the introduc-
tion of the land revenue settiement *.

These, with still heavier and more vexatious duties and ex-
actions, were levied on trade in other districts of the island.
Constant requisitions were made by the Dutch government
for the services of native vessels, at rates far below a just com-
pensation to the owner, and the native traders were forbidden
to traffic in any of the articles of Dutch monopoly ; considera-
tions which incline us rather to express our surprize, that
there shotild have been any native trade at all, than that there
should be so littie as now exists.

The coasting trade is carried on in vessels belonging chiefly
to Chinese, Arabs, and Bugis (natives of Celebes), and in
smaller Malayan prdhtisf. The enterprize of the Arabs,

* See account of Ch^ribon.

t Although but few of the natives of Java venture their property in
foreign speculations, the natives of Java form the crews of all coasting
Tenels belonging to Chinese, Arabs, or Europeans, and it is of them almost
exclusively that the class of common sailors, known in the east under the
general denomination of Malays, is composed. Here it may not be im-
proper to notice the manner in which European vessels have hitherto been
rapplied with such crews, and to point out the probable causes of that

224 COMMERCE.

Chinese, and Btigis is very conspicuous. They are in general
fair traders, and Europeans acquainted with their several

atrocious conduct with which the Malayan sailor is so genendly re-
proached.

A reference to the maritime customs of the Maldytu will shew the mui-
ner in which the outfit of a native vessel in the Eastern Seas is effected *.
Each individual on board has a share and interest in the concern, ind
among themselves the maritime population is distinguished for good futh
and attachment. In the vessels either commanded or owned by Chinese or
Arabs, the same principle is attended to ; and although the common sailon
in these generally receive wages, the petty officers, who are also g^enenDj
Javans, have some trifling interest in the cargo, the conmion men are pro-
tected by them, and the policy of the commanders induces every possible
attention to the usages, prejudices, and comforts of the crews. They ire
able to assimilate more nearly with them, and to enter more immediatdj
into their feeling and their wants, than it is possible for Europeans to do,
and as they do not possess the authority to obtain crews by force, it is only
by a character for good treatment that they can insure an adequate supply
of hands. These vessels na\'igate throughout the whole extent of the
Archipelago, to Malacca and Acheen on one side, and to the Moluccas
and New Guinea on the other. They are manned exclusively by Javans,
usually called Malays, and no instances occur of the crews rising either
ui)on the Arab or Chinese conunander : they are, on the contrary, found
to be faithful, hanl working, and extremely docile. How is it when
Malays are employed in vessels belonging to Europeans ? The Javans are
originally not a seafaring people ; they have an aversion for distant voyages,
and retpiire the strongest inducements to quit the land, even for a coasttni;
expedition in the smooth seas of their oiivn ^\rchi()clago, beyond which, if
they ever engage themselves on board a colonial vessel, they make an ex-
press agreement, not to be carried : Euro()ean vessels in want of hands for
mori' distant voyages to Euro|)e, India, and China, have been compelled
therefore to resort to force or fraud, as the means of obtuning crews.
The Duti'h government were in the liabit of employing people, known among
the Javans by the term «e7o/i^, as kidnapi)crs, who prowled about at night,
pounce<l upon the unwary peasant who might l)e (>assing along, and hurried
him on ship>boar(L When the direct influence of government was not used,
the native regents or chiefs were employed to obtain ])eople for the crews of
vessfls : this they did sometimes in the same manner, though more frequently
condemning to sea as many as were required, by an indiscriminate diraft on
the neighbouring ])opulation. The native chiefs were perhaps paid a cer-
tain head-money, on what may have been considered by the European
commanders as nothing more tlian crimpage. The people who were leiied

* See a paper on the Maritime Institutions of the Malayan Nation, in
the twelfth vohune of the Asiatic Researches.

COMMERCE. 225

characters can rely on their engagements, and command
tbdr confidence. Many of them, particularly the BUgis^ are
possessed of veiy large capital.

By means of the coasting trade, the produce of the maritime
and inland districts is conveyed to Batavia^ Semdran^y and
Surabaya^ the principal ports of consumption and exportation;
and in return those districts receive iron, steel, and other ar-
ticles of foreign produce and manufacture from abroad. The
western districts being but thinly inhabited, do not yield a
sufficient supply for the consiunption of Batavia ; and on this
account, as well as its being the principal mart of foreign
commerce, the trade of the ea^em districts is attracted to it,
in a higher degree than to any of the other great towns in their
own immediate neighbourhood : but owing to the unhealthi-

were addom of a seafaring class, but almost entirely landsmen, in many
inttK&ces perhaps opium smokers, or persons obtained from the lowest and
most worthless part of the conmiunity. Once embarked, their fate was
sealed for ever, and due care was taken that they never landed again on
Java, as long as their services as sailors were required.

In this manner are obtained that extensive class of sailors, denominated
Malays, who are foimd on board almost every coimtry ship in India, and
inhabit the sea-ports in considerable numbers, particularly Calcutta, where
tbey have a distinct quarter allotted them. They are taken from their home
against their will, and in violation of all their views and habits. In general,
neither their language or customs are in the least understood by their new
master, for though most of the commanders in the eastern trade may speak
the Malayan language, and be accustomed to the Malayan character, they
know nothing of the Javan language, and but little of the manners, habits,
and prejudices of the Javan people.

That numerous instances have occurred, in which they have appeared
the foremost in mutiny and in the massacre of their officers, will not be
denied ; but it is well known, that many instances of ships being cut o£f
by the Malay crews, have been occasioned by the tyrannical and inhuman
character of the conunanders ; and however dreadful the massacre, some
excuse may be made on the score of provocation, for a people low in the
scale of moral restraint and intellectual improvement. In some cases they
have been made the instruments and dupes of the villany of others, and
have merely followed in the track of cruelty. In general, so httle care
seems to be devoted to the comforts of these people, and so much violence
offered to their habits, that a person accustomed to observe the course of
human action, and to calculate the force of excited passions, is almost
surprized to find the instances of mutiny and retaliation are so few.

VOL. I. Q

2'2G COMMERCE.

ncss of tiic climate, the loss occasioned by the paper money,
which the native traders of other islands could never under-
stand, and the various vexations and impositions to which they
were subjected, these latter invariably prefer the more eastern
ports of Senuirantj and Surabaya^ or rather Gr^ftik^ in the im-
mediate vicinity of the latter, which has always been tlie prin-
cij)al establishment and residence of the Arabs.

Tlie Btff/is im})ort into Java from the other islands, Malayan
camjdior, tortoise-shell, edible birds'-nests, bees'-wax, cloth
called sdroft(/s, ol' a veiy strong texture, their own manufacture,
and-gold dust, which they lay out in the purchase of opium,
iron, steel, Europe chintzes and broad cloth, and IniUan piece-
goods, l>csides tobacco, rice, salt, and otlier productions and
manufactures of Java, with which they return eastward during
the favourable monsoon.

The Arabs navigate square-rigged vessels, from fifty to five
hundred tons burden. The Chinese also have many brigs,
besides tlieir j)eculiju' description of vessels called junks, as
well as native-built praJnts, lliey extend their voyages to
Sumatra, the Straits of Malacca, and eastward as far as the
Moluccas and Timor, collecting birds'-nests, camphor, bich de
i/mr, and other articles, making Java a grand depot for the
produce of all the countries to which they resort. Through-
out the whole of Java, trade is usually conducted bv the
(.'hinese : many of them are ver\' rich, and tlieir means are
increased by their knowledge of business, their spirit of en-
ter] )rize, and their mutual confidence.

If a cargo airives too exten.sive for the finances of one
individual, several Chinese club together, and ]mrchase the
goods, each dividing according to his capital. In tliis manner
a ready market is alwa} s o})en at Java, without the assistance
of Kuro]K*an merchants, and strangers arc enabled to transact
their business with little trouble or risk.

The obj(H-tions which have been made to the political
influence of the Chinese and Arabs in the KiUitem Islands,
do not ecpially ai)])ly to them as traders. In this last capacity,
and subject to regulations which ])revent them from uniting
the ])owcr of a chief with the tem])t*r of a merchant, and
despotism with avarice, their value cannot be too highly rated.

COMMERCE. 227

The perseyering industry and speculative turn of the Cliinese
is too well known to need description ; and the Arab traders
w here what they are all over the world, keen, intelligent,
lid adventurous. The Bugis have long been distinguished
mong the Eastern Islands for the extent of their speculations
od the fairness of their dealing.

Java exports, for the consumption and use of the other
lands of the Archipelago, including the Malayan ports on
e peninsula, rice, a variety of vetches, salt, oil, tobacco,
nber, Java cloths, brass ware, and a variety of minor articles,
e produce of her agricultiu'e and manufactures, besides oc-
sionally, as the market admits, a considerable quantity of
iropean, Indian, and Chinese goods. Almost the only ar-
les for which Java is at present dependent on its neighbours
3 gdmbiry imported from Lingen (Ling'^ya) and Rhio,
lere it is produced to the annual amount of from twenty to
irty thousand pikuls^ — and pdmur^ the metal used for
masking the Javan kris^ of which a small quantity is im-
rted from Billion and • C^lebes^ where alone it is found,
le following articles, the exclusive produce of the Eastern
ands, are collected at its principal ports, for re-exportation
India, China, and Europe : tin, from iBdnka ; gold-dust,
ijnonds, camphor, benjamin and other drugs, edible birds'-
sts, bich de mar^ rattans, bees'-wax, tortoise-shell, and
eing woods, from Borneo and Sumatra; sandal and other
e woods, nutmegs, cloves and mace, coarse, wild and
maged spices, kdyu-pieti and other pungent oils, from the
>luccas ; horses and sapan wood, from Sumbdwa ; BUgis
>ths, and many collections for the Chinese market, from
lebes. Cloths are also sometimes imported from Bdliy and
pper is collected at Bdnjermdsin^ on Borneo, and from
eral of the Malayan states.

rhe tin brought to Java is almost exclusively from the
lies of Bdnka, This metal is also exported from several
the other islands, and from the peninsula of Malacca,
ence these countries have been considered the Temala of
demy, timdh being the Malayan word for tin; but the
intity obtained from all other sources falls far short of
at is procured on Bdnka^ which exports to the annual

Q 2

228 COMMERCE.

amount of thirty thousand pikuis, or nearly forty thousand
cwt. of this metal. The mines on Bdfika are worked by
Chinese, who deliver the metal into the government stores id
slabs, at the rate of about eight Spanish dollars tlie pikuly of
one hundred and thirty-three pounds and a quarter.

A very extensive branch of trade is carried on by a direct
communication between Java and China, entirely upon Chi-
nese capital, in a description of vessels called junks. From
eight to ten of these vessels arrive annually from Canton and
Amoi, with cargoes of teas, raw silk, silk piece goods, var-
nished umbrellas, iron pots, coarse china-ware, sweetmeats,
nankeen, paper, and innumerable minor articles, particulaily
calculated for the Chinese settlers. Tliey arc from three to
eight hundred tons burthen, and sail at stated periods, gene-
rally reaching Batavia with the north-east monsoon, about
the month of Januar}'. Of all the imports from China, that
which produces the most extensive effects on the commercial
and political interests of the country is the native himself:
besides their cargoes, these jimks bring a valuable import of
from two to five hundred industrious natives in each vessel.
Tliesc emigrants are usually employed as coolies or labourers
on their fu'st anival ; but, by frugal habits and persevering
industry, they soon become possessed of a little property,
which they employ in trade, and increase by their prudence
and enteq)rize. Many of them, in course of time, attain
sufficient wealth to render themselves indei>endent, and to
enable them to remit considerable accmnulations yearly to
their relations in China. As these remittances are generally
made in the valuable articles, such as birds^-nesls, Malayan
cam])h()r, />/V// de mar^ tin, opium, pepper, timber, leather
hides, indigo, gold and silver, tlie return cargoes of these
vessels amount to iui almost incredible value.

The quantity of (»dible birds'-nests alone, annually exported
from Java to China on vessels of this description, is estimated
at not less than two hundred pfkuhj of which bv far the
largest proportion is the i)r()duce of the Javan rocks and hills.
It is well known that tlu se are the nests of a species of
swallow (Inrundo esculonta) common in the Malayan islands,
and in great demand for the China table. Tlieir value as a

COMMERCE. 2^29

hamyy in that empire, has been estimated on importation to
be weight for weight equal with silver. The price which
these nests of the best quality have of late years brought in
the Canton and Amoi market, has been forty Spanish dollars
per kdti^ of rather more than a pound and a quarter English.
They are usually classed into first, second, and third sorts,
differing in price from forty to fifteen Spanish dollars, and
eren to ten and less for the most ordinary. The price in the
Batavian market rises as the period for the departure of the
jnnks approaches ; but as the principal produce of Java is
still a monopoly in the hands of government, it is difficult to
fix the price at which they might be sold under other circum-
stances. Generally speaking, however, they sell throughout
the Eastern Islands considerably lower than they are calcu-
lated to do in China, which may be accounted for by the
perishable nature of the commodity, and the great care neces-
sary to preserve them from the damp, as well as from breakage.
On this account, they are seldom bought by European traders.
Birds'-nests consigned by the Javan government to the Can-^
ton factory in 1813, sold to the amount of about 6Ay pikuls^
at an average rate of about twenty dollars per kati : but this
was at a period when the China markets were unusually low.

The quantity of birds' nests obtained from the rocks called
Kdrang bdlangy on the southern coast of Java, and within the
provinces of the native princes, is estimated, one year with
another, at a hundred pikuls, and is calculated to afford an
A^nmial revenue to the government of two hundred thousand
Spanish dollars. The quantity gathered besides by indi-
viduals, on rocks and hills belonging to them, either in private
property or held by farm fi^m the government^ in other parts
of the island, may amount to fifty pikuls; making the extent
of this export not less than one hundred and fifty pikuls^
besides the amount of the collections from the other islands
of the Archipelago.

In the Malayan islands in general, but little care is taken of
the rocks and caverns which produce this dainty, and the nests
procured are neither so numerous nor so good as they otherwise
would be. On Java, where perhaps the birds are fewer, and
the nests in general less fine than Ihosc to be met with in
some of the more Eastern Islands, both the quantity and

230 COMMERCE.

quality have been considerably improved by European manage
ment. To effect this improvement, the caverns which th
birds are found to frequent are cleansed by smoking and th
burning of sulphur, and the destniction of all the old nest
The cavern is then carefully secured from the approach c
man, the birds are left undisturbed to form their nests, an
the gathering takes place as soon as it is calculated that th
young are fledged. If they are allowed to remain until egg
are again laid in them, they lose Uieir pure colour and tram
parency, and are no longer of what are termed the first sor
They are sometimes collected so recently after their formatini
that time has not been given for tlie bird to lay or hatch he
e{rp:s in them, and these nests arc considered as the mo«
superior ; but as the practice, if carried to any extent, wool
prevent the number of tlie birds from increasing, it is seldoi
resorted to, where the caverns are in tlie possession of thos
who have a permanent interest in their produce. ^luch c
their excellence and peculiar properties, however, de])end a
the situation of the place in wliich they are formed. It ha
often been ascertained, for instance, tliat the same bird form
a nostof somewhat different quality, according as it construci
it in the deep recesses of an unventilated and damp caven
or attaclies it to a i)lace where the atmosphere is drj-, and th
air circulates freely. Tlie nature of the different substance
also to which they are fixed, seems to have some inHuenc
on their properties. Tlie best are procured in tlie decpet
cavonis, (the favourite retreat of Uie birds), where a nitrou
dain])ness continually prevails, and where being forme
against the sides of the cavern, they imbibe a nitrous tasU
\\'ilhout which they are little esteemed by the Chinese. Th
principal object of the proprietor of a birds' -nest n)ck is i
presene suflicient numbers of the swallows, by not gatherin]
the lU'sts too often, or abstracting those of the finer kinds ii
tof) great numbers, hst tlie birds should (piit their habitation
and eniigrate to a more secure and inaccessible retreat. It i
not unusual i'or a Kuropean, when he takes a rock under hi
su])erinteiHleiK'e, after ridding it of the old nests and fumi
gating i\w caverns, to allow the birds to remain undisturbed
two, three, or even more* v(»ars, in order that lliey niav mill
tiply for his future advantage. ^V^len a binls'-nest rock ii

COMMERCE. 231

once brought into proper order, it will bear two gatherings

in the year : this is the case with the rocks under the care of

tbe officers of government at Kdrang hdlang.
In the Ticinity of the rocks are usually foimd a few persons

accustomed from their infancy to descend into these caverns,
in order to gather the nests ; an office of the greatest risk
and danger, the best nests being sometimes many hundred
feet within the damp and slippery opening of the rock. The
gatherers are sometimes obUged to lower themselves by ropes
(as at Kdrang hdlang J over immense chasms, in which the
8urf of a turbulent sea dashes with the greatest violence,
threatening instant destruction in the event of a false step or
an insecure hold. The people employed by government for
this purpose were formerly slaves, in the domestic service of
the minister or resident at the native court. To them the
distribution of a few dollars, and the preparation of a buffalo
feast after each gathering, was thought sufficient pay, and
the sum thus expended constituted all the disbursements
attending the gathering and packing, which is conducted by
the same persons. This last operation is however carefiilly
superintended by the resident, as the slightest neglect would
essentially deteriorate the value of the commodity *.

Although the Malayan camphor, which is the exclusive
produce of Sumatra and Borneo, is much stronger than the
camphor from China, it has not yet been considered an
article of extensive export for the European market. It is
always, however, in the greatest demand in China, where it
is either consumed, or as has been supposed by some, it un-
dergoes a certain process previous to its re-exportation under
a different appearance. It is not known in what manner the
China camphor for the European market is prepared ; and
unless the Malayan camphor is used in the composition, it
seems difficult to account for the constant demand for it in
China, whence it is never re-exported in its original state.
Whatever value may be set on the Chinese camphor, that

• From a course of experiments recently undertaken, and a careful
examination of the bird, by Sir Everard Home, Bart., there is every
reason to believe that the nature of the substance of which the edible
birds'-nests are composed will be satisfactorily explained. .

232 COMMERCE.

ex})orted from Japan is of a Ktill superior quality, and more
ill demand for the European market.

Bich de mar is well known to be a dried sea slug used in
the dishes of tlie Chinese : it is known among the Malayan
Islands by the name of Mpang, and collected on the shores
of nearly all the islands of the Archipelago. It usually sells
in China at from ten to fifty dollars per pikul^ according to its
quality, but being an article still more perishable than the
birds'-nests, and very bulky and offensiye, it seldom composes
the cargoes of European yessels. It would be very difficult
to ascertain the average price, as it yaries according to the
difficulties experienced in collecting it, and the immediate
demand in the market, for its perishable nature will not
admit of the excess of one season being laid by to meet the
deficiency of another. It requires constant care on the
voyage, and a leaky vessel frequently loses a whole cargo.

Stic-lac, used in dying, is procured in many parts of Java,
and can easily be obtained in a quantity' sufficient to meet the
demand. The insect which yields it abounds in the Bantam
districts, and the lac prepared is considered of good quality;
but it is not an article wliich appears to have attracted much
attentitm.

The trade between Java and China in vessels belonging to
Enroj)eans, at present consists principally in carrj-ing out tin,
pepi)er, s])ices, rattans, and betel -nut, for the China market,
and receiving in return a few articles of China produce in de-
mand for the European market, a balance of cash, and a supply
of manufactures re([uired annually at Batavia ; but it is calcu-
lated that cottcm, rice, and timber, which may be considered as
the sta])le produce of Java, might be exported to China mith
advantage.

A small ([uantity of Javan cotton lately sent to China, was
sold *at a higher rate than the ordinary' prices of the cotton
from Western India *. Cotton-yani is an article sometimes

• Mr. Ilo^cnrlorp mnkes the following? observations on the cotton of
Java. ** This article of produce, which now, in order to provide the Com-
** pany with a few hun(lre<l pikuls of cotton-yam at a low rate, is only
** pr(»(hictive of vexation ami oppression to the poor natives^ might be
** made of the grcatesst vahie, both to Java itself and to the mother coun-

COMMERCE. 233

exported to China, but in the exi.«ting state of society on Java,
the exportation of the raw material is likely to be attended with
the greatest advantages. Some writers have estimated the ca-
pability, of Java to export raw cotton almost incredibly high,
but it must be admitted, that although the soil is not univer-
adly favourable, yet few countries afford greater general
advantages for the cotton cultivation, it being practicable to
raise it to a great extent, without interfering with the general
grain produce of the country. It could be grown as a second
crop on the rice fields, being planted shortly after the harvest,
and attaining maturity before the season again comes round for
irrigating the lands. Nothing can convey a higher idea of the
richness of the soil of Java, and of the advantages of its cli-
mate, than the fact, that during one half the year the lands
yield a rich and abundant crop of grain, more than sufficient
for the ordinary food of the population, and during the other
half a valuable staple, which affords the material for clothing
them, and opens in its manufacture a soiu'ce of wealth and of
continual domestic industry through the year.

Enterprising individuals, merchants of Batavia, have not
heen wanting to engage in the valuable fur trade, hitherto car-

" try. The plant grows in abundance and of good quality, especially if
the best kinds of seeds are procured from the Coromandel Coast and
the Isle of France. The oiltivation of cotton is not at all injurious to
any other branch, for after the rice harvest is the best season for plant-
the cotton, and before the rains, when the fields are again ploughed for
rice, the cotton is ripe and gathered.

" Little of it is comparatively planted at present ; indeed only the ne-

** cessary quantity, after providing the natives with coarse cloths, for the

** government contingent. In rough cotton there is no trade at all : but^

** in fact, what trade is there on Java^ except the monopoly trade of the

Chinese ?

" Let us but suppose the cultivator to have a property in the soil, Ind

* that he, as well as the trader, were at liberty to buy and sell, how soon

** should we see the Javan planting cotton directly after his rice was

** reaped. After being cleaned by machinery and screwed into bales, it

** might be exported to China and Europe.

" There is no doubt that the Javan cotton would be as good at least, if

*• not better, than the cotton of the English, whether from Bombay, Ma-

** dras, and Bengal, and it might certainly be produced cheaper ; but even

*' suppose that, when cleaned and picked, it cost ten rix-dollars a p^kul,

** the Javans would stiU be well paid."

234 COMMERCE.

ried on principally by the Americans, between Kamtschatluk
and China. Mr. Timmcrman Thyssen, an enlightened Dutch
gentleman, whose name for honourable dealing and extensire
business has always stood high among the merchants of Ba-
tavia, has entered into more tlian one speculation of this kind.
Vessels fitted out from Batavia took in furs at Kamtschatka,
which were intended to be exchanged in China for dollan;
but the dangers of tlie passage in one instance, and the infor-
mality of tlie papers in another, rendered tliis bold and pro-
mising enterprize productive of but little pecuniary advantage.
Nothing, however, has occurred, to prove that the adventure
woidd not have fuUy answered its intention in time of peace,
the principal difficulties which attended and frustrated it
ceasing with the war.

Since the conquest a very extensive trade has been carried
on by the English country' ships importing from Calcutta,
Madras, and Bombay, all kinds of piece goods, opium, and
other articles, the returns for which have been usually made
by bills, gold-dust, bees' -wax, tin, Japan camphor, sago, and
teak timber.

Tlie piece goods of Western India have always formed an
extensive article of import into Java, and the annual value of
those latterly imported cannot well be estimated at less than a
million of dollars. Those generally meet a ready sale, at an
advance of from thirty to forty i>er cent, upon the prime costin
India, and much more when the sujiply is scanty.

In consequence of these heavy and valuable importations,
the returns to Bengid were till lately made principally by bills,
obtainable either from government, or individuals desirous of
purchasing colonial pnnluce for tlie Eiuropean market by
means of funds in Western India. But there are also several
articles, which experience has proved well calcidated for
making their returns direct to Bengal, particularly Japan cop-
per and teak timber. Java is known to abound ^nth valuable
teak forests, jind the (piality of the wood has been considered
as suj)erior to that of IVgu or the Malabar coast. The restric-
tions under which this exi)()rt was formerly jdaced as a go-
vernment monopoly, i»re vented its finding its way beyond the
]nnne<liate Dutch dependencies ; but the extent to which it
was even then si^nt to the Moluccas, to Malacca, and to the Capo

COMMERCE. 235

jood Hope, where all the public buildiogs are constructed
^EFan teals, sufficiently attests the value and extent of the
sts, as well as the good quality and durability of the
lA This valuable, but bulky article of export, is always
emand for ship-building in Bengal, and has afforded to
oaerchant a very liberal profit on exportation, after paying
present government prices, which are calculated at some-
g above ten per cent, upon the actual expence of cutting
dragging the timber from the forests to the port of export-
1. During the last two years, large ships have taken car-
te Bengal, and afforded very handsome profits. From the
hbourhood otR^mbdng^ where permission has been given
idividuals to cut the timber, on paying a duty of ten per
. on the estimated value when worked up, it has not only
1 exported at a cheap rate to Bengal, but several ships
5 been constructed of it, while along the whole line of coast,
I Semdrang io' CrT^siky small vessels and country craft are
iched every month.

ut although the direct trade with Bengal has thus been
lys against Java, the demand for sugar in the Bombay
ket always affords the means of a circuitous return of
itaL Large quantities of Javan sugar have been exported
Bombay during the last four years, principally on the
ming ships in ballast touching at Batavia on their way
1 China, and these cargoes have afforded considerable
it A lucrative trade in this article is also sometimes
ied on by the Arabs to the Red Sea, and particularly to
;ha; but Arab traders, of sufficient capital for these
jnsive speculations, have, by the effects of the former
lopoly on Java, long been driven out of the market, and
cient time has not been given for them to retiun.
he extensive produce of this fine island in sugar and
ee of superior quality, and the pepper and various other
lies, either yielded by it or collected from the ntigh-
ring countries, such as sago, tin, Japan copper, spices,
hants' teeth, sticlac, long pepper, cubebs, tortoiseshell,
I, diamonds, Japan wood, ebony, rattans, indigo, &c.
ent fine subjects for commercial speculation to all parts of
ope and America, the Cape of Good Hope, and the Mau-
.s; and the more so, as from the extensive native and

236 COMMERCE.

European population, a very considerable and constant de-
mand exists for the produce and manfactures of Europe, not
only for the consumption and use of the island itself, but to
supply the neighbouring Malayan states by way of barter.

llie quantity of sugar seems to depend almost entirely
upon the demand, and is likely * at all times to equal it, few
coimtries affording equal advantages for its manu&ctoie.
Owing to the want of a demand for this kind of produce, for
several years antecedent to the conquest, many of the manu-
factories were discontinued; but since the trade has been
opened, and the demand renewed, many of them have again
commenced working, and the quantity produced in the year
1815 was not less tlian twenty thousand ^^/ri/Z^.

The manufacturers being no longer compelled to deliver
their produce to government, can afford to sell the sugar at
Batavia at from four to six Spanish dollars (or from twenty to
thirty shillings) per /?«A m/, the quality being distinguished into
first, second, and third sorts, of which the first may be bought
in the market for exportation at six Spanish dollars per /^fX'v/,
or about twenty-five shillings the himdred-weight The
quality of this sugar is altogether different fix)m the sugar in
Bengal, and is said to be equal to that of Jamaica, being
manufactured in a great measure according to the same
pro(!ess. While the European market is open for coffee and
other light articles, the sugar of Java is always in demand for
dead weight, and large quantities have recently been sold in
the liondon market as high as ninety and one hundred shil-
lings per hundred-weight *.

* By an official statement of the quantity of sugar manufactured it
Batavia and the various residencies of the island of Java, from the year
1779 to the year 1808, it appears that

In the year 1779 it was 30,131 pikuU.

In the year 1800 106,513

In the year 1801 107,498

In the year 1808 94,903

that during the first fourteen of these years, the quantity made and deli-
vered over to the Company for export to Holland, Persia, &c. amounted
to 642,234 jnkuls, or to an average of 47,874 annually, two of these )-ean
l>ein^ almost entirely un])roductive, on account of the non-payment to
the manufacturers of money, to enable them to carry on their bosinest.
During the latter half of the period, or from 1794 to 1808, the quantity

COMMERCE. 237

The quantity of coffee deliveied to government in the year
1815, exceeded seventy thousand pikuls ; about thirty thou-
sand pikuls more may have been exported by individuals, and
the produce is greatly on the increase *,

manufactured and delivered over to the Company amounted to 917,598
fOmUy averaging 65,542 annually. All the sugar for export, during this
period, as stated in the text, was delivered over at fixed rates to the
government, and was placed under laws of the strictest monopoly. To
shew the great practicability of an increase to almost any extent, we may
idduce the sudden start in the supply occasioned by the American de-
mand in 1800. In. no preceding year had this article of produce been
ddiver^ over to the Company to a greater amount than 67>552 pikuls,
and in that year the quantity sold at Batavia to Americans alone,
amounted to 91»554, and for the subsequent years averaged 100,000
p{kuls, and sold for 900,000 Java rupees, or 11,000/. sterling. The prin-
cipal part of this was manufactured at Batavia> the quantity supplied by
Jamana, Japdra, Ch&ibon, Surabdya, and Semdrang, being but propor-
tionally small till 1803, when Japdra contributed to the exports of the
island in this article 12,219. In 1804, the same province supplied 21,175
pikuU. The disadvantage under which the manufacturer laboured, by
forced deliveries at inadequate rates, need not be here insisted on, though
it must be taken into the account in any estimate of the attainable in-
crease of the manufacture.

* Mr. Hogendorp makes the following observations on the coffee and
pepper of Java : — '* In comparing the produce of the West Indian islands,
according to their proportionate extent, population, and expenses of
cultivation, I have frequently left off in the middle of my calculations ;
** but I am sure that Java, on a very moderate calculation, can without
difficulty yield fifty millions of pounds of coffee annually.

For a long period, the planting of coffee was confined to the Batavian
«' high and Pridng'en lands, and to Ch&ibofiy on the principles of that
** short-sighted and self-destroying policy and spirit of monopoly, by
" which the company and the government of Batavia have ever been
** characterized. It is only of late years that it has been permitted to
*' extend and revive the cultivation in the eastern districts. But the Com-
** missioners, in May 1796, ordered that the cultivation should be abo-
** lished ; and in the month of September in the same year, this order was
'* countermanded, and the planting of coffee ordered to be promoted in
" the most rigorous manner possible. But what is to be expected from a
" country, where the natives are so treated, so oppressed ? To-day the
" Javan is ordered to plant his garden with coffee trees : he does so, and
" although well aware how little he will get for the fruit, he sees them
** grow up with pleasure, considering their produce as a tribute which he
*' must pay to his master for enjoyment of protection ; but now, when
they are about to bear fruit, he is ordered to root them out ; he does

€€

€t

238 COMMERCE.

The Batavian arrack is well known in the European market,
and was at one time imported in considerable quantities into

'' so, and four months afterwards he is again ordered to plant othen!
** Can a more infamoius t)Tanny be imagined? Can it be credited, thatanj
" government should act so madly, so inconsistently ? And yet this i«the
** plain and real truth. But how can stupid ignorance, which by tbe
** vilest means, by base meanness, mercenary marriages, and every kind
** of low trick, rises into ])ower and importance, and then becomes by
*' wealth luxurious, and by flattery intoxicated, act otherwise? And will
" you, Batavians, continue to trust in such hands as these, your \'aluaUe
** possessions and interests in India ?

" Pejiper grows but slowly on any soil, and is so nice with regard to it,
" that in some places, where to all appearance there would be an abund-
** ant produce of the plant, it will not grow at all. The vine requires
** four or five years to produce fniit. The improvident Javan, who under
** the i)resent despotic administration, can and will scarcely provide for
" his daily subsistence, finds this too long a delay bet^'een his labour and
" its reward : having, therefore, no suflScient motive to pursue the culti-
** vation cheerfully or actively, he can only be driven to it by force ; but
" let him once experience the advantage of property in land ; let him see
** the trader ready with ])lenty of money to purchase the fruits of his
** labour ; let him, if he should still be idle, obsen'e his more industrious
** neij^hbour Jicquire wealth, by the sale of those articles which he sloth-
** fully declines to cultivate, and with it procure the necessaries or conve-
** niences of life, and he will soon be induced, by emulation and the desire
" of ameliorating his condition, to plough and plant bis ground. The
** Island of .Java will then produce a considerable quantity of pepper, for
" which, if the cultivator obtains twelve rix-dollars perpfhtl, he will be
** amply j)aid.

** Althon^rh every thing goes on with difficulty at first, and it cannot be
" denied that it will require time and trouble to stimulate the Ja\*ans,
'* who are now confounded, as it were, Mith tjTanny and oppression, to
*' iiidustr)' and emulation, it is notwithstanding equally certain, that an
** improved system of administration, founded on property -of the soil,
*• frct'dom of j)erson and trade, would by degrees, though i)erhaps much
•' (piicker than may be imagined, bring about such a change, and that
" .lava might and would produce as much pepper for exportation annually
*' as coftee, or about two hundred thousand />i'A:m/!j, which will bring three
*' thousand six hundred rix-doUars into the coimtr)'."

In the year isoi, it was estimated by one of the first commercial houses
in Ihirope, that the following quantities of i>epper might l)C obtained from
diiferent j>orts of the ArchijH'higo.

" PoKTs and V LAV EH where V EWER is (o be had: — estimated in Marek 1801.

•• At Bmcoolen, belonging to the English, may be had about twelve
** hundred tons of i>epper per annum.

COMMERCE. 239

e continent of Europe. It is distilled in a great measure
m molasses, in which respect, as well as in the process em-
ojed, it differs so materially from the arrack of continental
dia, that it cannot with propriety be considered as the same
iiit : it is in fact vastly superior to it, and capable of com-
ting in the European market with the rum of the West
dies. Its price at Batavia, where any quantity can at all
les be procured, is for the first sort about sixty Spanish dol-
«, for Qie second sort fifty, and for the third thirty Spanish
Dars the leaguer ; the first sort, which is abore proof, thus
ling by the leaguer of one himdred and sixty gallons, at the
e of about twenty-pence the gallon. In consequence of the
ihibitory duties against the importation of this article into
eat Britain or British India, this branch of commerce has
terly declined, and many of the distilleries hav^e been dis-
itinued.

rhe Dutch possessions of Ceylon, the Cape of Good Hope,
i the Moluccas, dependent on the government of Batavia,
rays received their principal supplies of rice firom Java, and

' At Priuce of Wales Island^ belonging to the English, may be had at

^resent only one hundred tons per annum : in a few years it will be five

lundred tons.

' At Susu, on the west coast of Sumatra, belonging to the King of

Vcheen, may be had one thousand tons per annimi.

' At Acheen and its ports, belonging to the King of Acheen, may be had

bout one thousand tons per annum : the Danes often go to tbese two

K>rts.

' At Tringano and Kalanton, belonging to a Malayan prince, may be

lad about two thousand tons per annum : the Eiu'ope Portuguese ships

iften call at these ports on their way to China.

' At Palembang : the Dutch have a small fort here, and oblige the king

send all his pepper to Batavia ; it may be about seven himdred tons

ter anniun.

'' At Lampung, on the south point of Sumatra : the Dutch have a small

ort here, and they send all their pepper to Batavia ; it may be about five

lundred tons.

' At Bantam may be had five hundred tons : this belongs to the Dutch.

' At Bdnjer-mdsin, on the south-west of Borneo : the Dutch have a

ort here, and the rajah sends all his pepper to Batavia : it may be about

welve to fifteen hundred tons per annum.

' At Chintabun, near Siam, belonging to the King of Siam, may be had

)ne thousand tons per annum : this goes to China in the king's junks.'

240 COMMERCE.

considerable quantities have of late been occasionally ex-
ported to those places, as well as the Coromandel coast, with .
great advantage. During a scarcity of grain in England, the -=
Java rice has also found its way to that market *.

From Europe the most important imports, and those in con- ^
stant demand for the native population, arc iron, steel, copper, «
printed cottons of a peculiar pattern, and woollens. Of iion,.^
not less tlian from one thousand to fifteen hundred tons aie-m
annually imported, which is worked up into the implements oS
husbandr}% and into the various instruments, engines, and uten —
sils, required in the to^^s and agricultural districts. The prices
has varied, during tlie last four years, from six to twelve Spanish^
dollars : the average has been about eight dollars per hun-
dred weight for the English, and about nine per hundred weight:,
for the Swedish iron. The small bar iron is always in demands

* ** Ceylon^ it may be obsen'ed, will coiuiume two thousand ktiyans
annually (four thousand tons). There is also a ready market at the
Ca])e of Good Hoi>e, for one thousand koj'ans a year. A scarcity of this
** grain frequently happens on the coast of Coromandel, when the impoit
*' of it from Java wiU yield great profit, if the traders are permitted to
" ex])ort it. The general freedom of commerce and navigation, and the
encouragement such freedom holds out to the merchant, will establish
and extend a ready communication and friendly relation betweed Bataria
'' and the trading places of India. In the article of rice, Java poasenet
'* advantages KU|)enor to Bengal ; for although this grain ia generally very
** cheap there, yet the navigation from and to Bengal is always more
" difficult than that from and to Java, from whence, at all seasons of the
year, the {lassage may be made to most (Nuts of India : and in Bengal
it often happens, that the rice is very scarce and dear, and even that a
famine rages there. On the island of Java, on the contnryp ahhoogh
** the cToim may sometimes partially fail in a few places, a genenl and
** total failure never liap|)ens : at least there is no instance of it on reooid.
** U may also be considered, whether the exportation of rice from Java
to Eurofie mif^ht not become an object of speculation. The caigo of
a Hhip of five hundred lasts, or kOyans, would only cost fifteen thtrntan^
rix-<lollarA, which cannot be reckoned at more than thirty thooaand
guilders ; and the k6)'an l>eiiig calculated at three thousand 6ve hon-
" dred pounds, the only question would be, what wouKi be the value of
" one million seven hundred and fifty thousand |>ounds of rice in Europe,
antl if tlu' utidi'rtakin^ would ufiord a reasonable ^n ? Even Cliina is
soiiiot lines much in \v:iiit of rico, and the cx])ort of it to that country
would (jften, if not ahvay;*, turn out very advantaf^eous." — Hogndorp.
Rico wa.M exported 1>oth to Kn^land and China, during the proTisional
adiii'mistration of the Urittsh K^nxnuncnt on Java.

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COMMERCE. 241

in the market, in consequence of its convenience for working
up into the different implements required. Steel is also
in demand, to the extent of two or three hundred tons
annually.

English printed cottons, of peculiar patterns adapted to the
taste of the natives and Chinese, and white cotton sheeting
cloth, always meet a ready and extensive sale ; but the great
objection to the former is the want of permanency in the
colours, a disadvantage which all the English printed cottons
labour under. A very extensive and valuable assortment of
these cottons, imitated after the Javan and Malayan patterns,
was recently imported into Java by the East India Company,
and on the first sale produced \ery good prices ; but before a
second trial could be made, the natives had discovered that
the colours would not stand, and the remainder were no
longer in any demand. Would it not tend greatly to the im-
provement of the British manufacture, and consequently
greatly extend the export, if the enquiries of scientific men in
India were directed, in a particular manner, to an observation
of the different dye-stuffs used in Asia, and to the manner fol-
lowed by the natives in different parts, for fixing the colours
and rendering them permanent ?

Broad-cloths, velvets, glass ware, wines, and in short all
articles of consumption and use among Europeans, may on
Java be considered also, in a great measure, in demand by the
native population, who firee from those prejudices which pre-
clude an expectation of the introduction of European manu-
facture into Western India, generally indulge in them accord-
ing to their means. The climate of many parts of the Island
renders the broad-cloth, particularly at some seasons of the
year, an article of great comfort, and among the higher orders
it is usually, as with Europeans, worn as a jacket : sometimes
this is of velvet. A constant demand, limited only by the means
of the purchaser, is also daily increasing for gold-lace and the
other European manufactures used in dress, fiumiture, sad-
lery, &c. ; it may therefore be easily conceived, to what an
extent the demand for these articles is likely to be carried,
among a native population of more than foiu: millions and a
half of souls, advancing in wealth and intelligence.

It is unnecessary to notice the extent of the articles re-

VOL. I. R

242 COMMERCE.

quired from Europe by the European population, as they are
the same in all parts of India. The demand is, of course,
partially affected by the extent of the military force, and by
the wants of the officers ; but where there is a permanent re-
sident European population, of not less than a thousand souls,
generally in good circumstances, it may be inferred that the
demand is always great

A continual traffic is carried on between Batavia, the Isle of
France, and the Cape of Good Hope, by which the latter in
particular is supplied with timber, rice, oil, and a variety of
articles of consumption, the voyage being frequently effected
in five weeks. While the Bourbon coffee bore a higher price
in the European market, considerable quantities of coffee
were sent from Java to that island, and from thence re-ex-
ported as Bourbon coffee.

Tlie American trade was carried to the greatest extent
during the existence of the anti-commercial system of the
late French ruler, when American traders purchased the Java
coffee at the rate of eighteen Spanish dollars the pikul at
Batavia, and by a circuitous route imported it into France,
at an advance of one hundred per cent During this period,
Uie 23urchases of the Americans in the market of Batavia
amomited in some years to nearly a million sterling, for which
they obtained principally sugar, coffee, and spices*

Having thus given some account of the internal and ex-
ternal trade of Java as it at present exists, of the adrantages
for an extensive commerce which it enjoys, of the articles
which it can supply for the consumption of other countries,
and those which it receives in return for its own consumption,
and of the places with which its dealings are or might be most
profitably conducted on both sides, I might now be expected
to enter into the history of that trade since the subjection of
tlie Island to tlie Dutch, the regulations enacted and enforced
by them, for restraining or directing it, and the fluctuations it
has undergone diuing two centuries of a rigid monopoly ; but
this inquiry would lead me to swell tliis part of the worii: to a
disproportionate size. I shall now merely present my readers
with a few extracts from the orders made in 1767, and strictly
enforced throughout the Archipelago, for regidating the trade
and nangation of the dominions subject to Batavia, and with

COMMERCE. 243

abstract of the amount of exports and imports during

f the subsequent years.

1 persons whatever,'' says the first article of those

^ are prohibited, under pain of deaths fix)m trading
e four fine kinds of spices, unless such spices shall be
bought of the Company/' Opium was placed under
me restrictions, and enforced by the same penalty,
portation of pepper, tin, and Japan copper was pro-
, unless bought for the Company ; and the importation
I not permitted, except for sale to the Company, under
lalty of confiscation, and a fine of four times the value
urticle. The import and export of Surat silks and of
loihs, were strictly prohibited under the same penalty,
cotton yam and all other sorts of it, Semdrang arrack,
stamped gold, were prohibited firom being exported
he penalty of confiscation. No port was open to any
^ming from the northward or firom the Moluccas, ex-
itavia. No prdku or vessel was to carry any greater
Y of gunpowder and shot, than might be permitted, .
;alarly entered in the pass given to the party, under

of confiscation of the vessel, and the infliction of a
I punishment similar to that inflicted for theft. All

belonging to the coast of Java were strictly prohibited
iling firom any part of the coast where there was not a
ay's Resident No navigation was allowed to be ear-
by the vessels of Bdnka and Bilitony except to PaJ^m-
AR navigation firom Celebes and Sumhdwa was pro-

under pain of confiscation of the vessel and cargo,
lel firom the latter place could pass Malacca, and the
ly's pass to proceed to Siak was given only once in a
three vessels firom Batavia, two firom the coast of Java,

firom Cheribon. The China junks were only permitted
at Batavia and Bdnjer-rndsin. No trade or navigation
jr was permitted beyond the west point of Bantam,

a pass from Batavia. Such are the most important
^•►one articles of restriction, serving to shackle every
nt of commerce, and to extinguish every spirit of en-
, for the narrow selfish purposes of what may be called
ticism of gain. After perusing them, the reader will

244 COMMERCE.

rather be inclined to think the following amount of the trades^
too highly stated, than be surprised that it is so low.

The precious metals have always been a great article oS
import into Java, as well as into the other regions of the East —
In 1770 there was imported into Java from Holland, cash andJ
bullion to the amount of 2,862,176 Java rupees*, and the sumss-
iraported from other quarters in the same year, and raised by —
bills of exchange on Holland, amounted to 1,419,565 rupees^
making in all 4,281,742, or more than half a million sterling.
The amount imj^ortcd in that year was almost as great as that
in any subsequent year till 1803, when the importation of
precious metals was estimated at 7,617,122 rupees, or nearly
a million sterling. This period corresponds with that of the
greatest exportation of sugar by the Americans, who, no
doubt, imported the precious metals in exchange for their
cargoes, as the quantity brought from Holland in the same
year amoimted only to 448,370 rupees. In the following year
(1804) the quantity imported was 6,499,001 rupees, of which
none at all came from the mother-country. In forty years,
from 1770 to 1810, the total of the imported precious metals
amounted to 118,607,472 Java rupees, or nearly three millions
annually upon an average. A great portion of this was re-
exported to India, China, and the Dutch possessions in the
Archipelago, to pay for tlie articles brought to Batavia for the
sui:)ply of the European demand. The quantity of goods im-
ported from all quarters of the globe, exclusive of cash and
bullion, amounted in the year 1770 to the value in Spanish
dollars of 2,350,316, and Uie exports to 3,318,161, leaving a
balance in favour of the exports of 867,845 Spanish dollars.
A great part of the exports was destined for Holland, and a
great part of tlie imports came from Holland. The imports
from Holland were again re-exported to China, Japan, the
Spice Islands, &c. from which, and from Bengal, Ceylon, the
coasts of Coromandel and of Malabar, and the Cape of Good
Hope and other eastern countries, tlie otlier shipments came,
and to which the other exports proceeded. The profits on
the sale of that portion of the imports of 1770, disposed of in
the market of Batavia for the consumption of Java, are stated

• The rupees are throughout calculated at thirty stivera each.

COMMERCE.

345

at 7,895 Spanish dollars, so that, so far as the import trade
'^as concerned, Batavia only became the entrepdt between
the mother-country and her other possessions or stations of
commercial resort in the Indian seas. The exports of Java
almost every year exceeded the imports, as will appear from
official returns which follow.

Tears.

Exports.

Imports.

Excess of Exports.

Excess of Imports.

1771
1772
1773
1774
1775
1776

1777

1778

1779

1783
1784
1785
1786

1787
1788

1789
1790

1791
1792

Spanish DoDars.

3,122,197
2.909,371
3,193,912
3,184,641
3,083,773
3,319,070
3,139,678
2,440,042
2,274,308

2,788,702
2,921,274
2,670,468
2,495,038
2,634,049
3,700,209
2,956,240
3,011,040
3,771,263
1,172,670

S^NUiish DoUan.

3,116,374

2,170,741

2,789,869
2,941,011

2,692,420
2,305,228
2,006,561
1,776,674
2,075,022

1,914,202
2,781,833

2,654,687
2,639,663

2,506,267
3,017,853

2,840,127
3,073,801

3,098,849
1,295,959

Spanish Dollars.

5,823

738,630

404,043

. 243,630

391,353

1,013,842

1,133,117

663,368

Spanish DoDars.

430,714

874,500

139,441

15,781

144,624

127,782
682,356
116,113

672,414

62,761

123,289

There was, of course, a lamentable falling off in the foreign
trade of Java after the commencement of the war of the French
revolution : some of the best markets were almost entirely
closed to it, and the intercourse with the mother-coimtry was
nearly destroyed. The total of exports to Holland and her
eastern possessions, from the year 1796 till 1806, amounted
in value to only 7,097,963 Spanish dollars ; the imports to
3,073,894 Spanish dollars; leaving a surplus of exports of
4,024,069 Spanish dollars. The Americans began to frequent
the market of Batavia in 1798,* and through them principally
was the trade carried on till the conquest of the Island by the
British, except during the short interval of the peace of
Amiens. No specie (with which Holland chiefly paid for her
eastern commodities) was imported from the mother-country

246 STATE OF THE EASTERN ISLANDS.

from 1795 downwards, except during 1802-3 and 1808-4,
during which there was only the very inconsiderable sum of
about half a million of nipees imported.

It is impossible to convey a just idea of the native or foreign
trade of Java, without adverting to the commercial and poli-
tical state of the other islands of the Archipelago. Of these it
may be stated generally, that the interior is possessed by the
natives, collected imder leaders who have taken advantage of
the great extent of the coimtr}% in proportion to its popula-
tion, to render themselves independent of tlie lawful sovereign;
that the coast is occupied, in many places, either by pirates,
by some of the ruder tribes whom it is dangerous to invade,
or by adventurous traders, chiefly Mal4yu8 and B^gis. These
traders arrive in well-armed vessels, which some of them re-
main to protect ; others travel up the countr}', not unfrequently
to the distance of a hundred miles, and at the change of the
monsoon return to their companions, charged either with plun-
der, or with the fruits of a commerce carried on "wiih the na-
tives at an exorbitant profit. Tlie pirates, as they drive the
peaceable and honest trader from the coast, recruit their num-
bers from among the seafaring men to whom he used to give
employment, llie decay of commerce is accelerated; and
the natives retreat into the interior, where, for want of a
market, they cease to collect the rich productions of their
country, and rapidly sink into poverty and barbarism. The
sea and the coast remain a scene of violence, rapine, and
cruelty. The moutlis of the rivers are held by lawless ban-
ditti, who interrupt the trade of tliose who inhabit their banks,
and capture the vessels destined for the inland towns: the
bays and harbours are entirely within tlieir power ; and in
these smooth seas they are never driven a moment from their
stations, or diverted by danger from tlieir predatory vigilance.
'riie sovereigns of the coimtr}' have too little authority over
their nominal subjects ; and tlieir resources are too confmed
for them to oppose any eflectual resistance to these outrages.
All restraints are witlidi*awii by the divisions and weakness of
the native goveninients ; and men, rendered des]>erate by the
experience of lawless violence, are induced to join in the sys-
tem of plunder against which they can fuid no protection.

This extensive, rich, and beautiful clustre of islands is thus

STATE OF THE EASTERN ISLANDS. 247

deprived of all the adrantages which it might derive from the
sea with which it is surrounded; its harbours become the
letreats of marauders^ instead of the resort of peaceful com-
merce ; its seafaring people are reduced to a state of nature.
Where force decides right, no sovereign is possessed of para-
mount authority to sweep this pest from his shores ; no vessel
is safe, no flag is respected. The trade is thus confined to
desperate adventurers only, to whom the existence of piracy is
more advantageous than the unmolested security of naviga-
tion, as the danger which it creates drives away all compe-
titors of a less daring character, and gives them a monopoly
of these ports. It is too true, also, that European traders have
materially contributed to the strength of the pirates, by the
supply of arms and ammunition. At the port of Sambas^
European vessels had not dared to touch openly for twenty
years ; but such means of resistance as the pirates were found
to possess in two recent attacks upon it, could never have been
collected without large supplies from British traders.

The small colonial craft, so necessary for the prosperity of
these regions, cannot without great risk venture beyond the
coast ; while armed Malayan and Bugis prdhus^ and a few
European speculators, engross most of the trade.

The above observations apply more particularly to the coasts
of Borneo and the adjacent islands ; but they are, in a great
measure, applicable to many parts of Sumatra. The imfor-
tonate king of Acheen, who has long been intimately con-
nected with the British establishments, is a young man of
estimable qualities, with a title ancient and undisputed, though
perhaps a weak prince. All his chiefs acknowledge his autho-
rity, though none submit to his control. Native traders from
the coast of Coromandel, and Europeans from Pinang, fre-
quent every river ; and the profit derived from their dealings
furnishes the inhabitants with inducements and means to
throw off their allegiance. The king, too feeble to reduce the
revolters, is only able to keep up a state of continual alarm
and warfare, to which the mutual jealousies among the petty
usurpers themselves mainly contribute. The trade of his do-
minions is in a great measure carried on like smuggling, by
armed boats running out at a favourable moment, hiding them-
selves from danger, or fighting their way through opposition.

248 STATE OF THE EASTERN ISLANDS.

as occasion may require, and la>nng their account with mak-
ing up for frequent losses by exorbitant profits. In some
places, these almost independent bands are commanded by
Malabar chuliahs; and, in most instances, the petty chiefs
whom they eleyate to authority are foreign yagrants. Those
places which, firom their vicinity to the residence of the king,
are least able to resist his power, are supported in their
opposition by the interests of the English traders; and it
is not to be forgotten, tliat when he made a partial attempt
to regain his authority over all the neighbouring country, they
petitioned the European authority to prevent, by its inter-
ference, his levying a duty upon his own subjects. The
petition was attended to ; and the king was compelled, by the
command of strangers, to forego the only means by which he
could have prescned his dominions from anarchy and confii-
sion. At the period, therefore, when the resources of his
kingdom would have been unfolding themselves, by the im-
proving industr}*- of a well-regulated population, it is falling
into decay, through the personal imbecility and political
weakness of the monarch ; and, breaking into detached firag-
ments, is about to form as many separate principalities, as
foniierly there were independent governments throughout all
the Archipelago*.

Tliat there has been, at some time, a more extensive com-
merce on the shores of the Archipelago is highly probable,
and that tliere might be cannot be doubted. Tlie great
resources, vegetable and mineral, with which they abomid,
such as spices, cam])hor, gold, and diamonds, and the faci-
lities which they enjoy for navigation, offer means and
inducements of tlie highest nature. Tlie general character of
the people, also, as far as it can be ascertained, appears

* If current report is to be credited, the fate of this unfortunate prince
has l>een at last sealed ; and the undiHputed successor of " that great and
'* puissant kinf(," to whom Queen li)liza1)eth gave an assiuance, ** thai
*' far from ever having cause to re])ent an intercourse with the English, he
" should have a most real and just cause to rejoice at it ; " and to whom,
on the part of the English nation, she gave a pledge, " that her promitet
** were faithful, because the conduct of her subjects woM be prmdtmi mi
** sincere'* — has been obliged to abdicate his throne in favour of the ton of •
Pinanff merchant !

STATE OF THE EASTERN ISLANDS. 249

equally favourable to commercial intercourse. They are
represented as mild, inoffensive, not indisposed to industry,
free from any obstinate prejudices of superstition, and
altogether of a different temper from that of the few who
remain in a constant state of warfare on the coast.

Another favourable circumstance is the existence of sove-
reigns, whose rights, however infringed, are in principle
aicknowledged, and who have never been known to favour,
what must be considered the chief misfortune of these
countries, and the source of almost all the rest, the horrible
system of piracy. The evil is manifest, and the remedy
is not of difficult discovery. Were legitimate and acknow-
ledged sovereigns assisted in resuming their due authority,
piracy and rebellion might be destroyed, these shores would
be peopled with their native inhabitants, whose industry,
awakened and invited by the opening of a safe navigation to
the capitals, would in fleets of small vessels, so essential to
the prosperity of the Eastern settlements, bring the produce
of the interior down the innumerable rivers, and commu-
nicate to countries, beyond the reach of foreign adventurers
the comforts of civilised life.

A few years of repose to these islands, and of safe uninter-
rupted commerce, with its attendant blessingps, would repay
with gain incalculable, what they now claim from the bene-
volence and philanthropy, if not from the justice of Euro-
peans, who have so essentially contributed to their degra-
dation. If left neglected, without capital, \^4thout a safe
navigation, almost without laws, the government disunited,
the people groaning under vassalage and slavery, these races
must descend still fiurther in the scale of degradation, until
scarcely a vestige will remain to vindicate the records of their
history ; and their political existence will only be testified by
acts of piracy perpetrated on defenceless vessels, which from
accident or ignorance may visit their inhospitable shores.

In all their Eastern settlements, the favourite policy of the
Dutch seems to have been to depress the native inhabitants,
and give every encouragement to the Chinese, who, generally
speaking, are only itinerants and not children of the soil, and
who follow the almost universal practice of remitting the
fruits of their industry to China, instead of spending them

250 STATE OF THE EASTERN ISLANDS.

where they were acquired. The Chinesei in all ages equally
supple, venal, and crafty, failed not, at a very early period, to
recommend themselves to the speculating Hollanders. They
have, almost firom the first, been their agents; and in the
island of Java, in particular, they acquired firom them the
entire monopoly of the revenue farms and government con-
tracts. Many of the most respectable Dutch lEamilies were
intimatclv connected with the Chinese in their contTacts and
specidations, and whole provinces had been sold in perpe-
tuity to some of tiiem, the extensive population of which were
thus assigned over to their unfeeling oppression, for the pur-
pose of raising temporary supplies of money.

On Java, the Chinese have been generally left to their own
laws and the regulations of their OH-n chiefs ; and being, for
the most part, merely temporary residents in the country, they
devote themselves to the accumidation of wealth, without
being \cr\ scni])ulous about the means of obtaining it : when,
therefore, they acquire grants of land, they generally contrive
to reduce the peasants speedily to the condition of slaves.
Tlie improvement of the people, which was never much
attended to by the Dutch, was still less so by the Chinese,
and the oppression which they exercised in the vicinity of
Batavia had opened the eyes of the Dutch themselves. A
report of the Council of Batavia, a short time prior to the
landing of tlie English, accordingly states, that *' although
" tlie Chinese, as being the most industrious settlers, should
^' be the most useful, they on the contrary have become a
^' very dangerous ])eople, and are to be considered as a pest
** to the country ; for which evil,** they add, " there appears
^* to be no radical cure but their expulsion from the interior.**
Wherever the Chinese formed extensive settlements in Java,
the native inhabitants had no alternative but that of aban-
doning the district or becoming slaves of the soil. The mo-
no])()lisiiig s])irit of the Chinese was often very pernicious to
the ])r()(liice of the soil, as may l>e seen even at this day in
the innnediate vicinity of Batavia, where all the public
inark(*ts are farmed by them, and the degeneracy and poverty
of the lower orders are i»n)verbial.

The C/hinese of Batavia are a very numerous body, and
possess considerable wealth. They are active and u

STATE OF THE EASTERN ISLANDS. 251

enterprising and Bpecnlative in the highest degree in the
smallest or most extensive concerns, and equally well adapted
for trade or agriculture; but, at the same time, they are
cunning, deceitful, covetous, and restless, and exceedingly
unwarlike in their habits and dispositions. This is the cha-
racter given of them by Mr. Hogendorp, who, in considering
the injurious consequences of their extensive influence on
Java, has drawn a very just and able representation of it*.

* '' We, the Batavians/' says Mr. Hogendorp, *' or rather our good
" and heroic ancestors, conquered these countries by force of arms. The
*' Javans, who are immediately under our jurisdiction, acknowledge the
** Batavian nation or the East India Company as their lord or sovereign ;
but by so doing, although they resigned their political rights, they still
retained their civil and personal liberty, at least their right thereto.
'* But what relation do the Chinese bear to us, and what are the rights
they can require from us ? As foreigners and itinerant traders, this
may be easily defined, but as inhabitants and settlers a further inquiry
becomes necessary. To political rights, or to a share in the government
and revenues of the countf^, they have not the slightest claim, and as
inhabitants, they cannot even claim the enjoyment of the same civil or
personal privileges as the Javans : in the first place, because they are
not natives of the country ; secondly, because they take no interest in
the welfare or preservation of the country ; thirdly, because they only
endeavour to derive their gain at the expense of the Europeans as well
as the Javans, in order to return to China with the profits they make,
" or at least to send as much of it as possible to their fEuoiilies there ;
** fourthly, because they have no regard whatever to the welfare of our
*^ country, and would be quite indifferent to the English, or any other
nation, driving us from Java. For these reasons, I conceive that the
Chinese have not the same right as the Javans to the freedom or pri^
vUege of citizens. The basis of all civil communities is incontrovertibly
the sacrifice of a part of the liberty, rights, and even property of each
individual, for the enjoyment and security of the remainder ; and this
remainder, when fixed, forms the civil freedom and privileges of such a
community. Not only are the Chinese quite exempt from this sacrifice,
" but they are also, by the corruption of the Batavian government, much
" less burthened than all the other inhabitants, even the Europeans, and
" are besides favoured with considerable privileges and exclusive means of
" gaining wealth. These are facts, which no one who is acquainted with
" Batavia can or will contradict

" Were impartial justice to be adhered to, the Chinese would be looked
upon and treated only as foreigners, who are suffered and admitted, as
long as it is not injurious to our interest and safety, to settle in our
coimtry and imder our protection, seeking in trade or agriculture their
' means of subsistence and emolument, and to whom, on account of their

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252 STATE OF THE EASTERN ISLANDS.

In all the Malayan states, the Chinese have made the
greatest efforts to get into their hands the farming of the port

numbers, it is allowed by our indulgence, as long as thtj conduct
themselves well and peaceably, to preserve and practise their own
manners and customs, and even in particular places, to dwell together
under their own chiefs.

** All the Chinese who come to Jai^a every year in such vast nomben,
in the junks from China, or in other vessels from neighboiuiDg placet,
are the refuse of their nation, and principally from a province, the natives
of which are considered by their o\ni countrj'men the worst of the
whole empire. These peo])le come half naked and poor in the extreme :
they add, therefore, so many more to the population, which must be
supported by the countr)', to which however they contribute nothing.
It must be acknowledged, they are, particularly at first, very active, in-
dustrious, inventive, and frugal. At Batavia they exercise almost every
useful art, trade, and handicraft, they cultivate and produce the best ve-
getables, they work the stigar-m'dls, and appear therefore to be uncom-
monly useful and perhaps indlspensible.

" llie trade in the interior, wholesale and retail : the trade to sea, to the
oi)p()site shores, and elsewhere in the Straits, is entirely in their hands,
and is almost wholly carried on by them. In all considerable places on
the coast, as well as in the interior of Ja^'a, they have distinct towns,
called kampongs, where they live imder their own chiefs, and follow
their own customs and manners. Finally, they have exclusively all the
farms of the government taxes and revenues, both in the Companv's
districts and in the dominions of the native princes: by which means
they are complete ma.sters of aU trade, internal and foreign ; and are en-
al)led to make monopolies in every thing, which they do accordingly in
the most extensive manner. The burthens they have to bear are, on the
contrar)', ver>' trifling ; in fact, almost nothing : especially because they
arc cxem])t from all feudal and personal sen'ices, which are so op-
j)ressive to the Javans.

** To what can this imi)ropriety and injustice be ascribed but to the go-
vernment of Batavia ? 'Vhe Chinese have obtained all these favours and
j)rivile;;es })y making con**iderable presents, and thus ^acrificin^ the in-
teie>ts of the Company and the naticm to their selfishness and ai'arice.
'I'hese ar})itrary governors of the Kast Indies have marie the Chines
])ossessors of .lava: for I undertake to prove, that the wealth of the
Chinese on that island amounts to ten times as much as the property
of <dl the Europeans added together, and tliat their profits every year
]>ear the same proj)ortion.

*• With reference to their numbers and character, I am of opinion that the
following resoluticms regarding them might l>c adoptcii : That the Chi-
nese on .lava should be allowed to remain, and even tliat further arrivals
of them should l)e |)ennitted ; care being taken, however, to keep them
in good order, that they shoidd be prevented from injuring the Javans.

I-

STATE OF THE EASTERN ISLANDS. 253

duties, and this has generally proved the ruin of the trade.
In addition to these circumstances it should be recollected,
that the Chinese, from their peculiar language and manners,
form a kind of separate society in every place where they
iettle, which gives them a great advantage over every com-
petitor in arranging monopolies of trade. The ascendancy of
the Chinese requires to be cautiously guarded against and
restrained ; and this, perhaps, cannot be better done, than by
bringing forward the native population, and encouraging them
in useful and industrious habits.

Some of these observations regarding the Chinese are, in a
bigh degree, applicable to the Arabs who frequent the Ma-
layan countries, and under the specious mask of religion
prey on the simple unsuspicious natives. The Chinese must,
at all events, be admitted to be industrious ; but by far the
greater part of the Arabs are mere useless drones, and idle
consumers of the produce of the ground : affecting to be
descended from the Prophet and the most eminent of his fol-
lowers, when in reality they are commonly nothing better

'' either by force or fraud : that they be not more favoured than others :
** that they should contribute a proportionate and equitable share towards
" the revenues of the state for their enjoyment of the rights of
citizenship, in the same manner as other inhabitants, which can best be
effected by means of a capitation tax. Uncultivated and uninhabited
lands might then be granted or sold to the Chinese, as well as to the na-
tives, to establish sugar-mills or plantations. By these means, every
practicable use and advantage would be derived from them, as an indus-
trious and active people, without doing any injury to the other inhabi-
tants, and especially the Javans as natives of the country : and because
" they have no interest in our national welfare, they should be made, as
an equitable compensation, to pay a higher rate to the state. In other
respects, they may be completely subjected to our laws, and may be
" treated with kindness as well as justice.

" The niunber of Chinese on Java is much greater than is generally
" imagined, and annually more of them arrive by thousands. . By con-
** nexions with the native women, their families increase in inconceivable
numbers. These half-Chinese retain the language, religion, manners,
customs, and even the dress of their fathers ; and are generally called
** Pemakans, although that name is also frequently applied exclusively to
" those Chinese who embrace the Mahometan religion ; and these, as a
'' separate class of people, have their own chiefs, or sometimes confound
" themselves with the Javans, and can only be distinguished by their
" lighter complexion."

r«

t€

tt
f<

€4

ti
I*

2 j4 state of the EASTERN ISLANDS.

than manumitted slaves, they worm themselves into the
favour of the Malayan chiefs, and often procuie the hi^est
offices under them. They hold like robbers the offices which
they have obtained as sycophants, and cover all with the
sanctimonious veil of religious hypocrisy.

Under the pretext of instructing the Maldyus in the prin-
ciples of the Mahometan religion, they inculcate the most
intolerant bigotry, and render them incapable of receiving
any species of useful knowledge. It is seldom that the East
is visited by Arabian merchants of large capital, but there an
numerous adventurers who carry on a coasting trade firom port
to port, and by asserting the religious claims of Sheikh, gene-
rally obtain an exemption from all port duties in the Malayan
states. They are also not unfrequently concerned in piracies,
and arc the principal promoters of the slave-trade.

This may serve, in some degree, to iUustrate the necessity
of establishing an equal and uniform system of port rega-
lations throughout the whole of the Malayan countries ; for if
the Chinese, on the one hand, are permitted to farm import
and export duties in different ports, they have every facility
allowed them to form combinations, in order to secmne a
monopoly to Chinese traders ; and on the other hand, if the
Arabs, under religious pretexts, are entirely exempted from
duties, they may baffle all competition, and engross the trade
of the Malayan countries to the exclusion of European
traders altogether.

Let the Chinese and Arabs still trade to the eastward.
Without them, the trade would be reduced to less than one-
Uiird of even what it is at present, for it is only throogh the
stimulus which they give to the industry of the country that
its resources arc to be developed : but let their trade be rega-
lated ; and above all, let tlicm not be lefl in the enjoyment of
iiuumnitics and advantages, which are neither possessed by
Europeans, nor tlie indigenous inhabitants of the country.
Since tlie reduction of tlic Dutch influence in the East, several
of the ports formerly dependant on them have almost become
Arab colonies. Tlie evil is obviously increasing every day,
and can only be checked by encouraging the native popula-
tion, and regulating on equal terms the duties of the Malayan
ami other Eastern jmrts.

STATE OF THE EASTERN ISLANDS. 255

In many other respects besides those which we have stated,
he commercial policy adopted by the Dutch, with regard to
be £astem islands and the Malayan states in general, was
ontraxy to. all principles of natural justice, and unworthy of
ny enlightened and civilized nation *.

^ Among the exports from Java for the Emt>pe market, no particular
odce has been taken in the text of the extent of the spice tnule, the pro-
noe of the Moluccas having, during the provisional aihninistration of the
Iritish government, been conveyed direct from Amboina to the port of
london, without being landed and re-assorted at Batavia, as was formerly
tie case under the Dutch government.

The sovereign Prince of the Netherlands has, by a solemn act, abandoned

k right to the feudal services of his native subjects in the Eastern Archi-

eli^o, but has at the same time reserved to the state the exclusive mono-

oly of the spices. It may perhaps have been deemed expedient, in aid of

be finances of Great Britain, that this odious monopoly should have been

ermitted to remain for upwards of five years imder her uncontrolled do-

linion ; and that, while the cloves on Amboina were raised by forced ser-

ices, the nutmeg gardens on Banda should have been cultivated by slaves.

liere may have been reasons also which induced her to continue the system

f extirpation in the neighbouring islands, and to act up to those stipula-

ions for depressing these unhappy countries, for which the Dutch have in

Q ages been so justly reprobated. But now that the sovereign, to whom

bey are again ceded, has recommenced the Dutch administration in the

Saatera seas, with an appearance of something more like justice, humanity,

nd aoimd policy than we have been in the habit of witnessing for the last

wro centuries, it is to be hoped that the profits of two annual cargoes of

pices, whatever they may amount to, will never be considered of sufiicient

mportance to tempt a great and magnanimous nation longer to trample On

be hallowed rights of humanity, and to persevere in a system, which, while

t may have afforded a temporary profit, has tended to degrade, depopulate,

nd destroy the fairest countries in creation. If the nutmeg and dove

reea were allowed to grow where Providence would seem to have ordained

bat in their natural course they should, and this trade were opened to a

:te commerce, nutmegs might perhaps be procured as cheap as betel-nut,

nd cloves as cheap as pepper.

*' In the Spice Islands," observes Adam Smith, " the Dutch are said to

' bum all the spiceries which a fertile season produces beyond what they

' expect to dispose of in Europe, with such a profit as they think sufiicient.

In the islands where they have no settlements they give a premium to

those who collect the blossoms and green leaves of the clove and nutmeg

trees which naturally grow there, but which this savage policy has now,

it is said, completely exterminated. Even in the islands where they

have settlements, they have very much reduced, it is said, the number

of those trees. If the produce even of their own islands was much

256 STATE OF THE EASTERN ISLANDS.

From authentic accounts it appears, that they attempted to
destroy and eradicate from a vast range of countries the most p
advantageous produce of the land, in order to favour their own
petty traffic, and burnt a large proportion of the residue, in
order to keep up their monopoly price in Europe on a small
proportion of this j)roduce. Against errors of this kind, it is
to be hoped the more enlightened policy of the present en
will be an effectual preventive ; but there are others, so in-
terwoven vrith the interests of these islands, and so local in
their nature, that they may not so easily attract the attention
of Uie governing power.

One feature of the Dutch policy in the Eastern Isles seenu
to have been the exclusion of aU foreign trade, whether Eu-
ropean or native ; excepting at certain specified ports under
their own immediate control. This policy was as much con-
nected with the general government of the country', as with
the commercial profits of the Company ; for in an Archipelago
of such unparalleled extent, inhabited by tribes of such va-
rious characters, formidable in a high degree from their veiy
want of civilization, it was necessary to bring forward some of
the most powerful and most favourably situated of these nu-
merous states, and to hold them answerable for the proceed-
ings of the several dist^cts under their influence. Sach viewi
gave rise to the establishment of certain regular and deter-
mined trading ports, and led to the Wgilant suppression of all

** greater than what suited their market, the natives, they tiupect» nught
" find means to convey some part of it to other nations ; and the bert way,
" they imagine, to secure their own monopoly, is to take care that no mon
*' shall grow than what they themselves cany to market. By diflmnt
" acta of oppression, they have reduced the population of the Mokxcat
*' nearly to the number which is sufficient to supply with fresh pfforiaioas
" and other necessaries of life, their own insignificant garriaona, and such
" of their ships as occasionally come there for a cargo of apicea. Under
" the government of the Portuguese, however, these islanda are said to
** have been tolerably well jieopled."

Had Dr. Smith written at the present day he might have heightened the
picture by obHen'ing, that so far from even being able to supply the ganiaons,
these islands have long l>cen considered incapable of rusing sufficient aap-
plics for their own subsistence ; they have for many years depended almost
entirely on Java for rice and the common necessaries of life, and latterly
supplies have been sent to them from Bengal.

STATE OF THE EASTERN ISLANDS. 257

)Utempt8 at competition and independence on the part of the
inferior states.

Had this measure been combined with a liberal encourage-
ment of the home trade, as it may be denominated, between
these privileged ports established by the Dutch, and the va-
rious countries under their influence, little doubt can be enter-
tained that it would have tended materially to promote the
civilization and general improvement of all the neighbouring
nations. Very difierent, however, was the object of the Dutch
agreements with the difierent rajas of the Eastern Archipe-
lago. In some cases it was to secure a monopoly of all the
tin, pepper, camphor, and other saleable articles produced in
their dominions ; in others it was to bind the chiefs them-
selves to destroy the only saleable articles that their country
could furnish, lest the monopoly price of the Dutch should be
injured by a greater quantity of such produce being brought
to market The Dutch genius, though exclusively devoted to
commerce, has never yet been able to discover the truth of
the maxim, that in the long run it may be as gainful ** to make
*^ small profits on large sales as large profits on smaller sales ;"
their policy, on the contrary, has not been inaptly compared
to a man putting out one of his eyes to strengthen the sight of
the other.

It must be admitted, that the line of conduct pursued by
the English towards the Malayan nations, had by no means
been of a conciliatory or prepossessing character. Our inter-
course with them had been carried on almost exclusively
through the medium of adventurers Uttle acquainted with
either the country or people, who have been frequently more
reniarkable for boldness than principle *. Indeed, the want
of any settled basis of traffic, and the long indifierence of
the British government to the complaints of either party,
had produced so many impositions, reprisals, piracies, and

* This general remark is not intended to apply to the traders of Pinang
(Prince of Wales' Island), who are in general well-informed and most ho-
nourable in their dealings, possessing great experience in the trade, and
acquaintance with the habits and character of the natives : but this esta-
blishment is comparatively of recent date, and the very general view here
taken has reference to the intercourse which has subsisted during the last
century.

VOL. I. s

258 STATE OF THE EASTERN ISLANDSl.

murders, that any eastern trader must have felt himself verj
much in the situation of a dealer in spirits, tobacco, and
blankets, among the Indians of North America. It was the
remark of Mr. Farquhar, than whom no man is more exten-
sively acquainted with the interests and resources of East in-
sular India, that the indifference of the British government
must have originated solely in the want of information or in-
correctness of knowledge ; since it is not improbable, that the
riches of Sumatra and Borneo are equal to those either of
Brazil or New Spain ; and it is only from the disadvantage!
under which we had hitherto entered into the competitioii,
that these great sources of wealth had so long been engrossed
bv other nations *.

The doctrine, that a colony should always be considered ft
distant province of the mother-country, has been foreign to
the political creed of the Dutch ; and at any rate the radical
want of strength in the government of Batavia may have pre-
vented them firom venturing to act upon it. Of course, they
must always have contemplated the prosperity of the eastern
tribes with the invidious regret of a rival shopkeeper, and r^
gardcd Uieir progress in ciWlization with the jealousy of ft
timid despot. 'Flie fact sufficiently establishes the truth of
this remark.

Indopendently of the effects of the European influence just
described, the causes which have tended most to the depres-
sion of the Malayan tribes, and the deterioration of their cha-
racter, are the civil commotions to which every state is liable,
from the radical want of strength in the sovereign ; the con-
stant wars between the petty cliieflains and heads of villages;
the ill-drfined succession to the throne, from the doctrine of
l)rinio^eniture being imperfectly recognized; the prevalence
of i>iracy in all the Eastern Seas ; the system of domestic da-
vm', and all its concomitant evils, as wars for the purpose of
j)r()curing slaves, and the want of confidence between family
and family, man and man ; the want of a generally-established
and rccofj^iized system of laws, civil and criminal ; the want
of a similar system of commercial regiUations respecting

» See an able report on the Eastern Islands, by R. T. Fan|iihar» Eiq.
late Lieutenant.(invcrnnr of Prince of Wales' Island.

DEPRESvSION OF THE MALAYAN TRIBES.— PIRACY. 269

t duties, anchorage, and other charges, to prevent arbi-
y exactions and impositions in the yarious Malayan ports ;
1, finally, the monopoly of the trade assumed by the Ma-
an rajad. Had Java remained permanentiy annexed to

British crown, the redress of these evils would have been,
% great measure, in the power of the English nation : the
lertaJdng would have been worthy of their general charac-
, and there was no other nation that could have possessed

means in an equal degree, even if it had indeed possessed

inclination.

rhe prevalence of piracy on the Malayan coasts, and the
lit in which it was viewed as an honourable occupation,
rthy of being followed by young princes and nobles, is an
1 of ancient date, and intimately connected with the Ma-
an habits. The old Malayan romances, and the fragments
their traditional history, constantly refer with pride to pira-
il cruizes.

[n addition to other causes, which I shall not stop to specify,
t state of the eastern population, and the intolerant spirit of
I religion of Islanij have eminentiy tended to increase the
ictice. The Arab Sheikhs and Sayeds, whatever doc-
les they failed to inculcate, never neglected to enforce
( meril of plundering and massacreing the infidels ; an abo-
nable tenet, which has tended more than any other doctrine
the K&ran to the propagation of this religion. Numerous
i various are the tribes of the Eastern Isles which have not
braced the religion of Islam to this day, and consequentiy
! reckoned infidels: cruizes against such were, and are,
istantiy certain of receiving the approbation of all the Arab
x^hers settied in the Malayan countries. The practice of
acy is now an evil so extensive and formidable, that it can
put down by the strong hand alone ; though precautions
unst its recurrence might be taken, by rendering, under the
item of acknowledged ports, every chieftain answerable for
. owntemtoiy.

Connected with this evil, though of much wider extent, is
J system of slaver}- in the Malayan countries, which, to ap-
r the energetic language of Mr. Pitt to this subject, has been
Qe of the least efficient causes of keeping down these re-
ins " in a state of bondage, ignorance, and blood." In the

s -2

^200 PIRACY.— SLAVERY.

boj^inning of the year 1805, the Marquis Welledey alx)-
lishcd slavery throughout India ; and, on the 4th of June,
1811, the Earl of Minto, by an order to emancipate all the
government slaves at Malacca, and to direct that hereafter no
slaves should be purchased or received on account of govcm-
lucnt, gave to the Malayan nations an earnest of his senti-
ments on the subject. It is certainly to the credit of ow
countrymen in tlie East, that they have ever opposed all at-
tempts to introduce the abominable slave traffic into our set-
tlements there. It was prohibited at Madras by an act of the
Governor and Council, of so early a date as 1682.

Tlie sources of slaveiy in tlie Malayan countries are chieflv
piracy at sea, captivity in war, man-stealing along the coast,
and the penalties enacted in the Malayan law respecting deMs
and sundiy misdemeanors. Tlie siuiiving crews of vesseU
which fall into tlie hands of the pirates are generally dis]K)sed
of by sale at the first ^narket. llie captives taken in the con-
stant wars which the Malayan chieftains carry' on against each
other, are generally employed in domestic occupations, tend-
ing cattle, and cultivating the ground, where there is no oppor-
tunity of bringing them to market This, however, is seldom the
case, since such numbers are constantly required by the Arabs
and Chinese traders, and heretofore by tlie Dutch. Many of
the Arab trading vessels are almost exclusively navigated by
the slaves of the owner; and in Uieir progress from island to
island, they find little difficulty in recruiting their crew, by
ri'ceiving ])resents of slaves, or if that should fail, by kidnapping
the unfortunate natives. This fonus a strong argument against
admitting the unrestricted range of the islands to either Chinese
or Arab traders ; fur while this is permitted, the abolition of
the system of kidnapping would be absolutely impossible,
'llie i)agan tribes in the vicinity of tlie Mahometans, such as
those on IJdiiy and some of tlie tribes of Celebes, the /linro/dnM,
the black Papuan or oriental negroes, the original inhabitants
oi' Ildiamtihiniy Coram ^ and other easterly nations, are in a
gr(>at measure the victims of the kidnapping system, and being
infidels are considered as fair booty.

Nothing has tended more decidedly to the deterioration of
the Malayan character, than the want of a well defined and
generally ackiiow ledged svsteiu of law and commercial regn-

MAHOMETANISM. 261

ation. The Malayan nations had, in general, made consider-
ible progress in civilization, before the introduction of the
if ahometan religion among them : they had, accordingly,
egolar institutions of their own, some of which were probably
f considerable antiquity, derived firom the continent of
ndia, and consequently radically different firom those of the
Liabs.

Some difficulty appears to have occurred in adapting these
ostitutions to the general tenor of the Mahometan law, and
Qany anomalous ones appear accordingly to have sprung up
Q different states. These occur in every part of jurisprudence,
rhether commercial, civil, or criminal, and are recited in the
7ndang undang and Adat Maldyu^ which are the systems of
iational law among the Maldyus. They vary considerably
nom each other in different states, and still more firom the
eneraUy acknowledged principle of Mahometan law, as
Bceived by the Arabs. Hence there is, in almost every state,

constant struggle between the adherents of the old Malayan
sages and the Hdjis, together with other religious persons,
rho are desirous of introducing the laws of the Arabs, in
rder to increase their own importance.

Among the numerous and important evils which result firom
iia complex and ill-defined system, may be reckoned its
ffbrding an opening for the caprice and iyroimy of the
ilers, and producing a general insecurity both of person and
roperty.

The state of the Moslem religion is very different here firom
^hat it is in the old Mahomedan states, such as Persia, Turkey,
r Arabia. In many of the Eastern Islands paganism still
nnains : in some districts there are many Christians, and the
hinese swarm in every Malayan country, and live inter-
lingled with the Mahomedans. This mixture of religion and
ibes has tended, in some degree, to soften the intolerance of
le Mahomedan system among the Malayan nations, and
either tlie positive authority of Islam y nor the persuasions
r their Arab teachers, have hitherto been able to induce
lem to abandon entirely their own peculiar usages and cus-
•ms. With some of these usages, especiaUy those which
late to wrecks on the Malayan shores, and the commercial
gulations of the different ports, it becomes incumbent on

202 PROCmESS OF CHRISTIANITY.

the supreme European authority to interfere. In revising
these, the opportunity might perhaps be taken to procure the
abandonment of some of those maxims and usages, which
have the strongest tendency to prevent their improvement, and
counteract Uic habits of civilized life.

A circumstance highly injurious to the commerce of the
Malayan nations is the trading monopoly, which in most of
tlie Malayan ports is actually assumed by the chiefs. Of this
monopoly there is no trace in the Undang lindnng of th^"
Maldy^iSy or in the fragments of their history which have wt
come to light, and it is a question whetlier this pemiciniu
practice has not been copied from the monopoly regulations
of the Dutch. Where this svstem has been fiiUv carried into
effect, it has generally succeeded eifectually in repressing
industry- and counnercial cnterprize ; and where it has been
for some time established, its e^'ils have been felt so deeply,
that it may be presumed the Malayan chiefs might be induced
to relinquish it in favour of a regulated commerce, whenever
they might regain the power of collecting regular duties in
lieu of it. The Malavan laws and customs arc fortunatelv of
a very diflbrcnt kind from tliose adopted among the great
nations of the continent in their vicinity. Tlicse nations
especially the Siamese and Cochin Chinese, have long been
accustomed to look up to the Chinese, uith whom they coin-
cide in religion and manners, and from whom they liavo
adopted their exclusive maxims of foreign intercourse. The
Mdiiii/us, on the other hand, though accustomed to look up
to the Arabs as their religious instructors, seldom hesitate to
admit the superiority of both the Europeans and Chines*
both to tliemselves and to the Arabs, in the arts of life and
general science ; and it is certainly our interest to encourage
them in this mode of thinking, and to prevent the increase of
the Arab iniluence among them.

'llie Dutch nation a])pears to have piuisued, as a principle
of p()li(*v, the ])ropagation of C-hristianity among the Eastern
Islands. The same object had been previously followed by
the Portuguese with great success, and there arc now several
small islands in the Malayan Archipelago, inhabited almost
exehisivrly bv Christians of the Catholic persuasion. In
iiitniy other islands the IVotestant j^ersuasion has made con-

BORNEO. 263

siderable progress, and teachers, in the flourishing times of
the Batavian Regency, were dispersed over all the low chain
of islands which extend from Bali and Lumbok (SdsakJ to
the great island Timor. The islands in which the Christian
fidth has been most extensively difiused are the great island
End^ or Meng* ardiy the great island of Timor, and the several
small islands in the vicinity, and Amboina. In many of these
islands the natives having no written character of their own,
have been instructed in the Roman character, and taught to
read Malayan and other dialects in it There have also been
various formularies printed for their use, and translations have
been executed for them in some of their languages, which
have little or no affinity to the Malayan. The propagation of
Christianity among these islands is obviously liable to none
of those objections which have been urged against its mis-
rionaries on continental possessions. A great proportion of
the natives are still pagans, under the influence of a wild and
almost unintelligible superstition, the principles of which are
not recorded in books, but are handed down, like stories of
ghosts, fairies, and witches, with all the uncertainty of tradi-
tion. In most instances, the people, though they stand in
great awe of the priests or enchanters, or dealers with invisible
spirits, are very little attached to the superstition in which
they are educated. Many of them are said to be very desi-
rous of procuring instruction, and in some places they look
up with a degree of veneration to the Mahomedans, as a
people who have received something which they still want.

These observations on tlie Malayan Islands in general,
apply to no part of the Archipelago more than to the im-
portant and great island of Borneo.

Borneo is not only one of the most fertile countries in the
world, but one of the most productive in gold and diamonds*.

* Gold. — From a calculation recently made, it appears that the nmnber
of Chinese employed in the gold mines at Mentrada and other places on
the western side of Borneo, amounts to not less than thirty-two thousand
working men. When amine affords no more than foiur hengkdls (weighing
about two dollars each, or something less than a tahit) per man in the year,
it is reckoned a losing concern, and abandoned accordingly. Valuing the
henghal at eighteen Spanish dollars, which is a low rate of estimation, and
supposing only four hmgkals produced in the year by the labour of each

26'4 BORNEO.

Its camphor is the finest known, and it is thought capable of
producing every kind of spice. Its eastern coasts, which

man, the total produce is 128,000 bengkaU, worth 2,224,000 Spanish
dollars, equal to 556,000/., at the rate of five shiUings the dollar. But it
is asserted, that upon the general run of the mines, seldom less than lix
bengkals per head has heen obtained, and in very rainy seasons seven.
Taking the medium at six and a half bengkals, the 32,000 Chinese will
procure 208,000 bengkals, which at eighteen Spanish dollars the bengkalis
3, 744, 000 Spanish dollars, equal to 936,000/. Such is the result of a very
moderate calculation of the produce of these mines. According to an citi-
mate made in the year 1812, the annual produce of the mines on the west
coast of Borneo was estimated at 4,744,000 Spanish dollars, being an ex-
cess of a million sterling. The quantity of gold procured on Sumatra, the
supposed golden Chersonesus of the ancients, is according to Mr. Marsden
about 30,800 ounces, which, at 4/. sterling the ounce, is worth 123,200/.,
equal to 492,800 Spanish dollars.

With respect to the disposal of the gold from the mines of Borneo, it
may be obsen^ed, that every native Chinese, whether employed in the
mines, in agriculture, as merchant or artificer, manages every year to remit
at least the value of one tahil, more or less, of gold to his relations in
China. These remittances are generally made by the junks in gold, as it
saves freight, is more easily smuggled on shore without the notice of the
rapacious Mandarin, and remitted over-land to the residence of their fami-
lies. Taking the Chinese male population who can thus remit at doubk
the numl)er employed in the mines, and supposing one half to be bom in
the countr}', most of whom may not remit to China, this remittance would
amount to 34,000 bengkals or tahils, which at eighteen Spanish dollars is
612,000 dollars, or 153,000/.

It is calculated that, one year with another, at least five hundred Chinese
return in the junks to their native country with a competency. Se^'eral
have been kno\\'n to take away one thousand bengkals of gold, many from
three to five hundred, but ver)* few return before they have cleared a com-
petency of two thousand dollars, or from one hundred to one himdred and
twenty tnhil of gold. This goes partly in gold ; though they prefer invest-
ing a part of it in tin from Banka, opium, and other articles. Say, how-
ever, that they remit one half in gold, five hundred men, at one thousand
dollars each, will give five hundred thousand dollars, which added to the
small family remittances, accounts for an amount exceeding one million of
dollars, or 2r)(),()00/. Tliis calculation, however, seems to be far within
the mark, and gives less by one h<df than what is usually stated to be re-
mitted to China from the Dornean mines, which has been estimated att
loose guess at two millioiw of dollars, or 500,000/.

A further ainoiuit of not less than the value of n million of dollars
(2.")O,0O()/.) is suppofc^ed to find its way annually to Western India, and
principally to Bengal, riV Batavia, lilalacca, and Pinang, for the pur-

B(JRN£0. 265

d in sago, also furnish a greater quantity of birds' -nests,
igy and other commodities in great demand in the

r opium and piece goods. The surplus enriches Java and some of
sr idands, in exchange for salt, tobacco, coarse cloths, &c.
e mines are worked with so little ezpence of machinery^ the funds
ty for commencing an undertaking of the kind are small ; and as
perty of the soil belongs to the first occupant, almost every Chinese
become a proprietor, but from the mode by which their services are,
Irtt instance, secured by the council of proprietors or kongsis. A
f half-starved Chinese, enchanted with the prospect of wealth on
len shores of Borneo, readily find a passage in the annual junks
i firom the mother-country to Borneo, at ten dollars a head. On their
being unable to pay the passage money, and the tax of a dollar per
(tabhshed by the native authority, while their inunediate wants of
sthing, and habitation, are urgent and imperious, the proprietors of
68 find it easy to engage their services for three or four years. In
[&er cases, agents are employed to obtain men from China, on stipu-
reements, to work for a number of years ; the usual rate of payment
liners so engaged is not considered to average less than five Spanish
I month. No sooner, however, are these engagements concluded
iir masters, than a number of them club together with the funds
re been able to save, and commence a new mine upon their joint
, in a few years acquiring a competency to return to their native

ONDS — ^There appears to be no just foundation for the idea, that
aonds of Borneo are inferior to those of Golconda. Many of an
quality have no doubt foimd their way into the market, because
18 perhaps less skiU and judgment in the selection ; but the value of
Is here, as well as every where else, depends upon their shape, size,
sr, and in this respect the diamonds of Borneo will bear a com-
with those of any country yet known. Indeed, as far as we may
om the present state of our information, the L&ndak mines alone
"oductive, and its diamonds as precious, as any other in the world,
rincipal mines where diamonds are regularly dug for on Borneo,
id in any considerable quantities, are those of hkadak, S^mgau, on
t river Lawi, and the districts of Banjer-m4sin. Diamonds have
asionally found within the limits of Borneo Proper, at Mdtan and
a. The mines of Landak are as ancient as the Malayan dominion
lands, those of Sangau are of more recent date, and those of Banjer-
e said to have been first discovered in the reign of Sultan Sepoh,
[>m the present sultan is the fourth in descent,
inds are not only found in the bottom of rivers when dry, but at
Df craggy hills and mountains. The pdrits, or mines, are dug to
I of from one to five fathoms only ; but experience has invariably
hat the deeper they are dug, not only are the diamonds more abun-
t superior in size, shape, and water. The soil which produces

:i66 BORNEO.

Chinese market^ than the other islands of the East ; but the
interior has never been explored by Europeans. It may be

diamonds is known from a species of earth called by the natiTes Mor or
Idbor-gig^gi, This is sometimes black, sometimes white, red, onmgey and
green : it is a species of earth which stains the dothet of the labourer, and
is distinguished by many names.

At L4ndak there are ten pdritM worked by Chinese, and in each firam
twenty to thirty labourers employed As a general average, eight Chincss
are supposed to find about eight bau^kals of diamonds in a year. From two
to three hundred of the smallest sort are supposed to go to a bmffktd, va-
lued at from twenty to twenty-four rupees. This is independent of the
larger ones, which are casual. So far back as the year 1738, the Dutch
annually exported from the produce of these mines, diamonds to the vifaie
of from two to three hundred thousand dollars.

Few courts of Europe could perhaps boast of a more brilliant display of
diamonds than, in the prosperous times of the Dutch, was exhibited by
the ladies of Batavia, the principal and only mart yet opened for the Bor«
nean diamond mines, and whence those known in the European world hare
been procured. With the decline of the Dutch government, however, the
demand has decreased, and the mines are now almost neglected, the nn-
merous diamond-cutters not being able to obtain a livelihood. Formeriy,
when more Chinese were employed in the mines of L6ndak, <ii»moiiil«
from ten to thirteen carats were common in the public markets. The
Pang^ran of L&ndak now wears one of eighteen, and another of fourteen
carats and a half. SSince Java has been in the posaesrion of the English,
rough diamonds from Borneo have been sent to England, and, even in a
very unfavourable state of the market, turned out an advantageous remit-
tance.

Among the larger diamonds which these mines have produced, it may
not be uninteresting to mention, that the great diamond now in the pos-
session of the Sultan of M4tan, which has been seen and ezanuned by
Europeans, weighs three himdred and sixty-seven carats : it is of the shape
of an egg indented on one side. It is, however, uncut; and, on this
accoimt, it may be difficult to say, whether it will become the largest cat
diamond ever known ; for the famous diamond of Aurung Zebe, called
the Mogul, in its rough state weighed seven hundred and ninety-five
carats, and vnis then valued at 600,000/., but when cut was reduced to
two hundred and seventy-nine carats. This celebrated diamond, known
by the name of the Matan diamond, was discovered by a dayak, and
claimed as a droit of royalty by the Sultan of the country, G<!iru-Lf&ya ;
but was handed over to the Pang^ran of Tiandak, whose brother having
got possession of it, gave it as a bribe to the Sultan of Sdkad&na, in order
that he might 1>e placed on the throne of L&ndak : the lawful prince, how-
ever, having fled to Ikmtam, by the aid of the prince of that country and
the Dutch, succeeded in regaining possession of his district, and nearly
destroyed Sukadana. It has remained as an heir-loom in the fiunily ol

BORNEO. 2(57

conjectured, that the ignorance of the state of the country is
one of the principal causes that no European settlement on it
has hitherto proved advantageous, but has generally been
abandoned after a short trial. The only exception to this
observation is the Dutch settlement of JBdnjer-mdsiny which
continued from 1747 to 1810, when it was formally aban-
dcmed by Marshal Daendals to the Sultan, by agreement, for
the sum of fifty thousand Spaaish dollars. The Sultan soon
after sent an embassy, inviting the English to settle; and
previous to the conquest of Java, the Earl of Minto received
the ambassadors at Malacca, and accepted their invitation.

The only territory to which the Dutch had any claim on
the island of Borneo, was the coast from Sukaddna to Mem-
pdwa ; this territory they acquired by virtue of a cession from
the Sultan of Bantam in 1778. They destroyed Sukaddna,
and established factories at Pontidna and Mempdwa, which
however they abandoned as unproductive after a period of
fourteen years.

In no other part of the island of Borneo has there been
any European settlement. The English, in 1772, intended to
have estabUshed a factory at PdsiVy but they abandoned the
design on some commotions taking place in that state. Its
object was to make Pdsir a depot for opium and India piece
goods, and for the contraband trade in spices. In 1774, a
short time after the first settling of Balambdngan, Mr. Jesse
was deputed as Resident to Borneo proper, and concluded a
treaty with that state, by which he acquired for the settlement
of Balambdngan the exclusive trade in pepper, stipulating in
return to protect Borneo from the piratical incursi(His of the
Siilu and Mendandwi men. Neither of the parties, however,
fidfilled its agreement, though the Residency at Borneo was
continued for some years after the first breaking up of the
settlement of Balambdngan in 1775.

On the north-east of Borneo proper lies a very considerable
territor\% the sovereignty of which has been long claimed by
the Sulu government ; a very considerable part of this, together
with the islands off the coast, have been for upwards of forty

these princes for four descents, and is almost the only appendage of ro3ralty
now remaining.

208 BORNEO.

years regularly ceded to the English by the SAlujf^ and han
also at different periods been assumed by them, without any
objection on the part of the government of Borneo proper-
This ceded district, extending from the river Ki-manis on the
north-west, which forms the boundary of Borneo proper^ to
the great bay on the north-east, is undoubtedly a rich and
fertile country, though in a rude and uncultivated state, and it
is admirably situated for commerce, notwithstanding the dif-
ferent failures of Balambangan may seem to indicate the con*
trary. Balnmbdngan is one of the small islands off the
northern extremity of the island of Borneo, and incladed in
the Siilu grant to the English. It would be foreign to the
present object to enter into any details concerning the histoiy
of the settlement of Balumbdngan^ but it may be proper to
mention, that all the gentlemen who were engaged in the last
attempt were convinced that the bottom of the great Maludtt
Bay would have been infinitely preferable as a settlement on
every account. Balamhdngan is exactly analogous, in every
rcsj)ect, to Pinang ; it does not admit of territorial extension,
and must exist, if at all, by commerce solely. Maluduy on tlie
other hand, is a dependi'ncy on the island of Borneo, which
admits of any degree of territorial extension, may always sub-
sist any imniber of inhabitants by its own produce, and is said
to communicate, by a land carriage of little more than forty
miles, vnih the central lakes in tlie vicinity of the gold coun-
tries.

From every inquir}% however, and the result of some expe-
rience, and much reflection, it may be stated, that no settlement
whicli is founded on a commercial, instead of a territoria]
basis, is likely to succeed in that quarter. We have already
acquired territorial rights, and therefore the only question
seems to be, whether these cannot be turned to advantage, as
well by cultivation as by commerce. The Ddgakn^ or original
inhabitants of Borneo, are said to be not only industrious, but
j)arliciilarly disj>()sod to agriculliu'e, and so manageable, that
a li and ill] of Malagus have, in numerous places, reduced many
tliousan<ls of tlieni to the condition of peaceful cidtivators of
tlie ground. Indeed nothing seems wanting but a govern-
nient stnmg enough to afloril efficient protection to ]>erson and
])ropcrty. In the cas<» of the DdyakHy it must be considered as

BORN£(). -269

an adTantagCy that they have not hitherto adopted the religion
of Islam, and would consequently be more ready from the
first to regard us as their friends. It ought to be calculated
among the inducements to form a settlement on Borneo, that
in that quarter our territorial arrangement would interfere
with the claims or the rights of no European nation. To recom-
mend, however, the immediate establishment of a settlement
at this particular spot, and on a basis so new, would obviously
be premature, as notwithstanding the length of time we oc-
cupied BalambdngaUy not only the interior of Borneo was
almost unknown, but until lately, even a great part of its
coasts. This supineness in the government of Balambdngan
is perhaps not unexampled. The want of local information
has, indeed, often proved fatal to the infant settlements of the
English. " Colonies and settlements of every kind," says the
author of the Letter on the Nagrais Expedition, " must at
" first be attended with many difficulties, which however a
" judicious perseverance will surmount, if there be not some
original fault in the establishment. It must be obvious to
every one, that the English never made a settlement, in
" which they were not impeded by some unforeseen difficul-
^^ ties, so as at least frequently to make abandoning the infant
** establishment appear the most prudent step, without even
" hoping any return for the prodigious expense which may have
" been incurred by the undertaking." — "Various reasons," adds
that author, " may be ascribed for this event ; but incapacity
" in the person entrusted with the management, and the
" want of previous examination of the place, seem to me the
" most common and the most considerable." Without stop-
ping to inquire how far the want of success in our several at-
tempts to settle Balambdngan may have been fairly attributable
to either of these causes, it may be confidently asserted, that
the last establishment failed chiefly from its being solely of a
military nature, without either professional merchants or mer-
cantile adventurers being attached to it.

These observations respecting Balambdngan apply to it
chiefly as a territorial estabUshment ; but there is no doubt
that it would speedily attain commercial importance. Many
of the commercial advantages which recommended its selec-
tion still exist, to an equal or greater extent ; especially those

270 JAPAN TRADE.

which related to Cochin China, Champa, and Cambodia. But
this digression has ahready exceeded its reasonable limits, and
it is necessary to revert to the more immediate pcnnt vmAer
consideration, the commerce of Java. Any account of this
commerce would be imperfect, which after stating the extent
to which it is carried, and the mode in which it is conducted
with the adjacent islands in the same Archipelago, sbcmld
omit to mention the advantages of an intercourse with Japan,
and some notices on the Japan trade.

The history of the Dutch connexion with that countiy is
well known, and can never be forgotten. Perhaps there is not
such an instance in the annals of commerce, of the disgrace-
ful arts to which mercantile cupidity will resort, and the de-
gradation to which it wi\l submit for the attainment of its
object, as in the Dutch proceedings at Japan ; nor is there,
perhaps, a more remarkable example of the triumphant sue*
cess, and complete disappointment of commercial cntcrprize.
As it may be interesting to many readers to see an authentic
histor}*^ of the origin, fluctuations, and decline of the Dutch
Japan trade, and as even a veiy succinct statement of it would
swell this chapter to a disproportioncd size, I have placed a
short history of it in the Appendix to this work, to which I
beg leave to refer those who have any curiosity for such de-
tails*. From the year 1611, when the Dutch established
commercial relations with Japan, till 1671 (a period of sixty
years), their speculations were unrestricted and their profitB
were enormous. This was the golden age of their trade : they
opened a mine of wealth, and they fondly thought it in-
exhaustible, as well as rich and easily wrought In 1640, the
Company obtained a return in gold, that yielded a profit of
upwards of a million of guilders, lliey had been accustomed
to j>r()cure, for some time previous to 1663, a return of silver
to the extent of two hundred chests of one hundred pounds
eacli, and it was suggested that it would be desirable for as
iiiaiiy chests of gold of tlic same weight to be sent in future.
Tlie golden and silver ages of Japan commerce being juist,
th(* latter half of the seventeentli century began with what the
Dutch called its brazen age, that is its export of copper, which

* See Appendix B.

JAPAN TRADE. 271

has ever since continued the staple of the Japan market The
trade was on the decline during the whole of the last cen-
tury, and had become of so little importance about 1740, that
the Company deliberated upon the expediency of its total
abandonment. From employing, as at one time, eight or nine
ships, and exporting copper alone to the amount of more than
thirty thousand plkuls, of one hundred and twenty-five pounds
each, it diminished to the use of two vessels, and the purchase
of cargoes of five or six thousand pikuls. The Appendix con-
tains an account of the nature of the trade, and the result of the
Dutch adventures of 1804-5 and 1806, and of our own in 1813.

CHAPTER VI.

Character qf the inhabitants of Java — Difference between the Suntku md Ik
Javans—The Lower Orders— The Chiefs— Natwre qf the NoHm Gown-
ment— Different Officers of the State— Jndidal EstabUskmemU and iuli-
tutiofis — Laws, and how administered — PoHee JnttOuHons and Regnktkmt
— Military Establishments — Revenue.

Having, in the foregoing pages, attempted to introduce the
inhabitants of Java to the reader, by an account of their per-
son, their manners, and emplo}inent in the principal depart*
mcnts of agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, I shall
now endeavoiu: to make him, in some degree, acquainted with
their intellectual and moral character, their institutions, go-
vernment, and such otlier particulars as may contribute to
enable him to form some estimate of their relative rank in the
scale of civilized society.

From what has been stated of their progress in the manu-
facturing and agricultiu'al arts, their general advancement in
knowledge may be easily estimated. Tliere are no establish-
ments for teaching tlie sciences, and there is little spirit of
scientific research among them. The common people have
little leisure or inclination for impronng their minds or ac-
quiring information, but they are far from being deficient in
natiural sagacity or docility. Their organs are acute and deli-
cate, their obsenation is ready, and tlieir judgment of cha-
racter is generally correct. Like most Eastern nations, they
are enthusiastic admirers of poetry, and possess a delicate ear
for music. ITiough deficient in energj-, and excited to action
with difliculty, the eflect probably of an enervating climate
and a still more enenatiiig government, they are capable of
great occasional exertion, and sometimes display a remarkable
])ersevrrance in surmounting obstacles or enduring labours.
'Iliough ignorant and unimproved, they arc far from wanting
intelligence in the general objects of their pursuit, and fre*

CHARACTER OF THE JAVANS. 273

quently astonish Europeans by the ingenuity of their expe-
dientSy and the facility with which they accomplish difficult
operations by apparently inadequate means.

People in a rude state of society are not always prepared
to admit their inferiority, or inclined to adopt manifest im-
proTements : what is much beyond their skill or their power,
may excite their wonder, but does not always tempt their
imitation. This is more peculiarly the case, where national
pride or religious prejudice stand in the way ; and the con-
tempt of imbelievers, with which the Mahomedan system in-
spires its votaries, leads them usually to undervalue the arts
in which others excel, or the instruction which they com-
municate. The Javans, though far from deficient in national
pride, and though Mahomedans, are free from this senseless
and pernicious prejudice, and are ready to acknowledge the
superiority of the Europeans, as well as disposed to imitate
their arts and to obey their direction. No people can be more
tractable ; and although their external appearance indicates
listlessness and sometimes stupidity, none possess a quicker
apprehension of what is clearly stated, or attain a more rapid
proficiency in what they have a desire to learn. The restraints
under which conversation labours by the necessity of using
different dialects in addressing different orders of society, as
well as the respect paid to superiority of rank, prevents them
from such a frequent intercourse of thought and opinion as
might otherwise be expected, and often renders them, to ap-
pearance, reserved and taciturn, although in fact, they are
social, cheerful, and good humoured.

An uninstructcd people are often credulous, and the Javans
are remarkable for their unsuspecting and almost infantine
credulity. Susceptible of every impression that artifice may
attempt to make upon them, and liable to every delusion propa-
gated by the prejudiced or the designing, they not inaptly
compare themselves to a piece of pure white cloth, on which
any dye or shade of colour may be laid. They lend an easy
credence to omens, to prognostics, to prophets, and to quacks.
They easily become the dupes of any religious fanatic, and
creddt, without scruple or examination, his claim to super-
natural powers. Their profession of Mahomedanism has not
relieved them from the superstitious prejudices and observ-

VOL. I. T

274 CHARACTER OF THE JAYANS.

ancea of an anterior worship : they are thus open to the ac-
cumulated delusion of two religious systems.

They are great observers of lucky or unlucky days, or na-
tural phenomena, and undertake no journey or enleiprize
without attending to them. It is unlucky to go any where
on the day that you hear of the death of a firiend : the si^
of two crows fighting in the air is unlucky : two small birds
(called prenjak) fighting near a house, afford a prognostic of
the arrival of a firiend firom a distance. Explosions or noises
heard from the mountains not only excite terror for their im-
mediate consequences, but are thought to forebode some great
calamity, unconnected with the convulsions of nature, of
which they are the symptoms, such as a sanguinary war, a
general famine, or an epidemic sickness. The eclipses of die
sun and moon powerfully excite this superstitious spirit, and
induce many absurd notions and observations. Earthquakes
fiimish certain prognostics, according to the day of the month
on which they happen. In none of their superstitions^ how-
ever, is there any thing of that gloomy, dark, or malignant
cast, which distinguishes those of less fieivonred ftlimi^^ or of
more savage tribes.

Although, on many occasions, listless and unenterprising,
their religious enthusiasm is no sooner excited, than they
become at once adventurous and persevering, esteeming no
labour arduous, no result impossible, and no privation painfiiL
We \i'itnessed an instance, both of their simplicity and of their
energy, connected with this part of their character, which ex-
cited our astonishment. The population of some of the dis-
tricts of Bdnyumds contributed their voluntary labour, in
1814, to the construction of a broad high road, from the base
to the summit of one of the loftiest mountains on the island
(ilic mountain S€imbing\ and this extraordinary public woik
was almost completed, before intelligence of its commence-
ment reached the government It was in consequence ex-
amined, and foimd to bo a work of immense labour and care,
but without the least appearance of object or utility. Upon
enquiring into the motive of such a singular undertaking, it
was Icamt that a general belief prevailed, that there was a
very holy man at tlie top of the mountain, who would not
come Acmn till there should be a good road made for

CHARACTER OF THE JAVANS. 275

The MaMrese are said to believe, that the spirits of the dead
revisit the earth; but this does not appear to be a Javan
8iq>erstition.

Their prejudices are neither very numerous nor unjdelding,
and seem generally to have originated in some laudable feel-
ing or amiable weakness. Their nationality, which is very
strong, although it deUghts in the traditionary narratives of
ancient Javan exploits, and supports a hope of future indepen-
dence, which they are not backward to express, does not lead
them to despise the character, or to undervalue the acts of
strangers. They have a contempt for trade, and those of
higher rank esteem it disgraceful to be engaged in it ; but the
common people are ever ready to engage in the labours of
agriculture, and the chiefs to honour and encourage agricui-
toral industry. Those of the highest rank and greatest autho-
rity, generally attend at the opening of new sdwdh fields,
p^orming part of the work with their own hands, and lead-
ing their inferiors or dependents, as they express it, to pay
respect to the earth, in whose honour they also observe an-
nually the sedSka bUmiy or feast to the earth. It is in the
same spirit that the buffalo, as the chief assistant of the hus-
bandman, is viewed with such pecuHar regard, that in some
of the interior districts, new-bom infants are sometimes car-
ried to be breathed upon by them, firom a superstitious belief
that such a ceremony will render them fortunate.

Notwithstanding the despotic nature of their government,
and the feudal principles on which it rests, the Javan must
be conddered as a patriarchial people, still retaining many of
the virtues, and all the simplicity, which distinguish that
state of society. Their village settlements constitute detached
societies, under their local chief and priest, and the same in-
ternal concord prevails in these littie associations which cha-
racterises patriarchial tribes. Vicinity and daily intercourse
afford opportunities of conferring real assistance and acts of
kindness : injustice and even violence may sometimes be com-
mitted against the inhabitants of other villages, but very sel-
dom by the inhabitants of the same village against each other.
The patriarchial spirit of the Javans may be further traced, in
the veneration which they pay to age, the respect and acqui-
escence with which they receive the maxims or the counsels

T 2

276 CHARACTER OF THE JAVANS.

of experience, the ready contented submission which they
shew to the commands of their immediate superiors, the
warmth of their domestic attachments, and the affectionate
reverence with which they regard and protect the tombs and
the ashes of their fathers. To the same description of feel-
ings may be referred that consideration for ancestry, that
attention to tlie Kne of descent, and that regard to the histoiy
and merits of distant kindred, which in the meanest people
appears often to assume the character of family pride.

These observations apply principally to the inhabitants of
villages, at some distance from the seats of the princes or
regents, and the contagion of the larger capitals, and more
particularly to the people of the SUndu districts. Those of
higher rank, those employed about court, or in administering
to the pleasures or luxuries of the great, those collected into
the caj)itals or engaged in the public service, are frequently
profligate and comij)t, exhibiting many of the vices of civiliz-
ation without its refinement, and the ignorance and deficien-
cies of a rude state without its simplicity. The people in the
neighbourhood of Batavia are the worst in the Island, and
the long intercourse >vitli strangers has been almost equally
fatal to tlie morals of the lower part of Bantam. The popu-
lation collected at Oie native capitals is naturally influenced,
to a certain extent, by the vices of the court ; but the further
they are n^moved from European influence and foreign inter-
course, Uie better are their morals and the happier are the
people.

In attempting to exhibit some of the more striking features
of the Javan character, it becomes necessary to distinguish
between the privileged classes of society and the mass of the
people. liong continued oppression may have injured the
character of the latter, and obliterated some of its brighter
traits ; but to the fonner, the constant exercise of absolute
dominion has done a more serious injur}', by removing every
salutary restraint on the passions, and encouraging the growth
of rank and odious vices. In the peasantry we observe all
that is simple, natural, and ingenuous : in the higher orders
we sometimes discover violence, deceit, and gross sensuality.

Where not comipted by indulgence on the one hand, or
stupified by oppression on the other, the Javans appear to be

CHARACTER OF THE JAVANS. 277

a generous and warm-heaxted people. In their domestic re-
lations they are kind, affectionate, gentle, and contented ; in
their public, they are obedient, honest, and faithful. In their
intercourse with society, they display, in a high degree, the
virtues of honesty, plain dealing, and candour. Their inge-
nuousness is such, that as the first Dutch authorities have
acknowledged, prisoners brought to the bar on criminal
charges, if really guilty, nine times out of ten confess, without
disguise or equivocation, the fiill extent and exact circum-
stances of their offences, and communicate, when required,
more information on the matter at issue than all the rest of
the evidence. Although this may, in some degree, be the
result of the former use of torture, it cannot be wholly so.

Though not much addicted to excess, and of rather a slow
temperament, they are in general liberal and expensive,
according to their means, seldom hoarding their wealth, or
betraying a penurious disposition. Fond of show and pomp,
they lay out all their money, as soon as it is acquired, in the
purchase of articles of dress, horses, splendid trappings, &c. :
but they possess a quality which is not always joined with a
love of splendour, either in nations or individuals ; they are
cleanly in their persons, and pay the greatest attention to
neatness, as well as to glare and finery.

Hospitality is universal among them ; it is enjoined by
their most ancient institutions, and practised with readiness
and zeal. The Javans are exceedingly sensible to praise or
shame *, and ambitious of power and distinction ; but their

• The inhabitants of these Islands are strikingly alive to a sense of
shame ; a feeling, which is heightened by the influence of a tradition
among the Maliyus, that, on the first establishment of the Malayan nation,
the islanders stipulated, that neither they nor their descendants should
ever be put to shame. The tradition runs as follows :

*' Then Ampu and Moling made obeisance to Sangsapurha (a prince
*' who had arrived in Sumatra from Western India, and who is supposed
** to have founded the Malayan empire) and represented to him that De-
" mang Lebar Daon (chieftain broad leaf of Palembang), had a daughter.
*' Sangsapurba accordingly sent to ask her in marriage ; but he excused
" himself, alleging, that she would probably be struck with sickness, and
'^ that he would only resign her to him as a wife on certain conditions.
** These conditions were, that, on Sangsapurba marrying his daughter, all
" the family of Demang Lebar Daon should submit themselves to him ;

278 CHARACTER OF THE JAVANS.

national oppressions or agricultural habits hare rendered
them somewhat indifferent to military glory, and depnTcd
them of a great portion of their ancient warlike energy. TTicy
are more remarkable for passive fortitude than actiTe courage,
and endure privations with patience, rather than make exer-
tions with spirit and enterprize.

Though living under a government where justice was sel-
dom administered with purity or impartiality, and where, of
course, we might expect to see the hand of private violence
stretched out to pimish private wrong, or a general spirit of
retaliation and insidious cruelty prevailing, the Javans are,
in a great degree, strangers to unrelenting hatred and blood-
thirsty revenge. Almost the only passion that can urge them
to deeds of vengeance or assassination, is jealousy. The
wound given to a husband's honour by seducing his wife, is
seldom healed, the crime seldom forgiven ; and what is re-
markable, the very people who break the marriage tie on the
slightest caprice, or the most vague pretence, are yet un-
commonly watchful over it while it remains entire. They are
little liable to those fits and starts of anger, or those sudden
explosions of fuiy, which appear among northern nations.
To this remark have been brought forward as exceptions,

" but that Sangsapurba should engage, both for himself and his pocterity,
*' that they should receive a liberal treatment ; and, in particular, that
" when they committed a fault, they should never be exposed to shame
" nor o})probrious language, but if their fault was great, that they should
** be put to death according to the law. San ff sapurha ngreed to these con-
** (litions ; but he requested, in his turn, that the descendants of Demtmg
" Ijehar Daon should never move any treasonable practices against his
" descendants, even though they shoidd become tyrannicaL * Very well,'
*' said Danang Ijebar Daon ; * but if your descendants break your agree-
*' 'ments, probably mine will do the same.' lliese conditions were mu-
*' tually agreed to, and the })arties swore to perform them, imprecating the
" divine vengeance to turn their authority upside doHn who should in-
** fringe these agreements. From this condition it is, that none of the
*' Malayan rajas ever expose their Malayan subjects to disgrace or shame :
** they never bind them, nor hang them, nor give them opprobrious
*' lan^a^e ; and whenever a raja exposes his subjects to disgrace, it is the
** certain token of the destruction of his country. Hence also it is, that
** none of the Malayan race ever engage in re)>ellion, or turn their faces
** from their o^^'n rajahs, even though their conduct be bad, and their pro-
*' ceedings tyrannical." — Malayan Annals.

CHARACTER OF THE JAVANS. 279

those acts of yengeance, proceeding from an irresistible
phrenzy, called mucksy where the unhappy sufferer aims at
indiscriminate destruction, till he himself is killed like a wild'
beast, whom it is impossible to take alive. It is a mistake,
however, to attribute these acts of desperation to the Javans.

That such have occurred on Java, even during the British
administration, is true, but not among the Javans : they have
happened exclusively in the large towns of Batavia, Semd-
ramgy and Surabdyay and have been confined almost entirely
to the class of slaves. This phrenzy, as a crime against
sociely, seems, if not to have originated under the Dutch,
certainly at least to have been increased during their admi-
nistration, by the great severity of their punishments. For
the slightest fault, a slave was punished with a severity which
he dreaded as much as death; and with torture in all its
honid forms before his eyes, he often pieferred to rush on
death and vengeance.

Atrocious crimes are extremely rare, and have been prin-
cipaUy owing to misgovemment when they have occurred.
In answer to what has been asserted concerning robberies,
assassinations, and thefts, it may be stated, that during the
residence of the English, an entire confidence was reposed in
the people, and that confidence was never found misplaced.
The English never used bars or bolts to their houses, never
travelled with arms, and no instance occurred of their being
ill used. The Dutch, on the contrary, placed no confidence :
all their windows were barred, and all their doors locked, to
keep out the treacherous natives (as they called them), and
Ifaey never moved five miles abroad without pistols and
swords. What could be expected by a government that
derived a principal part of its revenue by the encouragement
of vice, by the farms of gaming, cock-fighting, and opium
shops ? After the two former were abolished by the English,
and the local government had done all in its power to dis-
courage the latter, a visible amelioration took place in the
morals of the lower ranks.

Hordes of banditti, formidable for their numbers and au-
dacity, formerly infested some parts of the country, particularly
the provinces of Bantam and Ch6ribon ; but since they have
been dispersed by the strong hand of government, the roads

280 CHAILVCTER OF THE JAVANS.

of Java may be travelled in as much security as those of
England.

Much has been said of the indolence of the Javans, by
those who deprived tliem of all motives for industry. I shall
not again repeat what I have formerly on several occasions
stated on tliis subject, but shall only enter a broad denial of
the charge. They are as industrious and laborious as any
people could be expected to be, in their circumstances of
insecurity and oppression, or as any people would be required
to be, with their advantages of soil and climate. If they do
not labour during the whole day, it is because such perse-
vering toil is imnecessar}% or would bring them no additional
enjo}Tiients. The best refutation of the charge of indolence
is to be found in the extent of their cultivation, the well
dressed appearance of tlieir rice fields, and the abundant
supplies of their hanxsts. They generally rise by daylight :
at half-past six they go out to the rice fields, where they
employ their buffaloes till ten, when they return home, bathe,
and refresh themselves with a meal. During the violent heat
of the noon tliey remain under the shade of their houses or
village trees, making baskets, mending their implements of
husbandr}', or engaged in otlier necessary avocations, and at
about four return to the sdwahs to labour them, without
buffaloes or other cattle. At six they retiun to tlieir homes,
sup, and spend the remainder of their time till the hour
of rest (which is generally between eight and nine) in Uttle
parties for amusement or conversation, when the whole village
becomes a scene of quiet content and pleasure. The same
round of toil and relaxation is observed during the season for
giu*dcn culture, dry field labour, or otlier employments.

Under this system, the villagers seem to enjoy a greater
degree of happiness than they could derive firom tliose in-
creased means tliat would result from increased exertion. I
can bear testimony to tlieir general cheerfulness, contented-
ncss, and good humour, for having visited their villages at all
seasons, and often when least expected or entirely unknown,
I have always found them either pleased and satisfied with
their lot when engaged at their work, or social and festive in
their hours of ])leasure. One observation generally made and
admitted, would seem to militate against this part of the

CHARACTER OE THE JAVANS. 281

in character ; they are remarked to be envious and jealous
ne another's success : but if this trait of character be with
culty reconciled to their general reputation for contented-
i and benevolence, it is surely still more inconsistent with
indolent apathy with which they are often charged.
, will appear tluroughout their history, that when strongly
ted by the animosities of the constant wars in which they
J engaged, they were frequently guilty of acts of great
»arity : such as decapitating a vanquished enemy, and
faig his head about Uke a football. In war and politics,
h id not to be said in their favour, stratagem and intrigue
g relied upon in preference to discipline, courage, or good
i: even 'the Chinese, during what is called the Chinese
on Java (A.D. 1750), would appear to deserve a higher
lacter for bravery and good faith than the Javans. But it
sasonable to attribute this, in some measure, to the de-
ling influence of European despotism. A great disregard
he little people is shewn throughout their poUtical his-
, as is particularly exemplified in the instance of a mock
le that was fought between the Chinese and Javans, near
rdranffy in order to impose upon the Dutch. The Chinese
led to know how they should act upon the occasion,
ttack the whole army of the Javans by surprize," said the
m negociators, ^' but be careful not to kill any of the
defs or great people, and it will be a sham fighf
f their nationality it may be observed, that ever since the
arrival of Europeans, they have neglected no opportunity
ttempting to regain their independence. A reference to
chapters on history will be sufficient to illustrate this, as
as to shew the national feeling on the encroachments
assumptions of their European rulers. In the great
\e of national independence all would unite, but they
1 hardly to be sufficiently advanced in civilization to effect
I an object, without the risk of relapsing into many bar-
ties, from the practice of which they have been weaned,
. long continuance of established government and general
quiUity. Quiet and peaceable as the Javans now are,
J they once roused to insurrection, their blood would
lily boil, and they would no doubt be guilty of many
isses.

282 CHARACTER OF THE JAVANS.

I might illostrate the Javan character atill farther bj a
comparison of it with the Malayaiii hj ahewing, fipom the
remains of those customs that are to be referred to an anterior
and milder sjrstem, how much it has been altered bj the
introduction of Mahomedanism, and by giving an estimate of
the effects produced upon it by the goremment of the Dutch ;
but this would anticipate some observations which will be
more appropriate in other parts of this work.

Of the causes which have tended to lower the character of
the Asiatics in comparison with Europeans, none has had a
more decided influence than polygamy. To all those noUe
and generous feelings, all that delicacy of sentiment, that
romantic and poetical spirit, which virtuous love inspires in
the breast of an European, the Javan is a stranger, and in the
communication between the sexes he seeks only convenience,
and little more than the gratification of an appetite. But the
evil does not stop here : education is neglected and fuuly
attachments are weakened. Among the privileged oiden,
the first wife is generally selected by the Mends of the party,
fix)m motives of interest, and to strengthen family MlliJiiM^
and tiie second is rather to be considered as the object of the
husband's choice. But if his circumstances admit of it, he
has no scniple to entertain other women as concubines, who
hold an honourable rank in his household. The progeny
firom these connections is often immense. It has already
been stated, that a Javan chief has been known to have
upwards of sixty acknowledged children; and it too oAm
happens, that in such cases sons having been neglected in
Uieir infancy, become dissipated, idle and worthless, and
spring up like rank grass and overrun the country, or serve
but to fill up a long and useless retinue. Fortunately fi>r the
peasantry', who are the mass of the population, they have
escaped Uiis deteriorating institution ; and perhaps much of
the comparative superiority of the character of the peasantry
over that of tlic higher orders is to be attributed to this
advantage. Tlie higher orders have also been move exposed
to the influence of Mahomedanism and European innovation ;
and if the former has removed firom their usages some traits
of barbarism, and tended to the do'elopement of their intel-
lectual qualities, it has introduced Mahomedan rices ; and

CHARACTER OF THE JAVANS. 983

the European power having gradually obtained its supremacy
OTer the island, rather by stratagem and intrigue than by open
conquest, it is probable that the necessity under which the
natives found themselves to resist its encroachments by
similar means, has poweifully contributed to corrupt their
natural ingenuousness. It is not at the court of the sovereign,
penned up as he now is, and kept like a bird in a cage by
the intrigues and power of the European authority, that we
are to look for the genuine character of the people ; neither
is it among those numerous chiefs and petty chiefs attendant
on the European authorities, who by continual association
have, in a great degree, assimilated with them. What we
have said of the Javans must therefore be considered, as
more particularly applicable to the peasantry or cultivators,
who compose three-fourths of the whole population, and is
to be received with some reserve in its application to the
higher classes.

Thus far I have given a faithful representation of the people
as they appeared to me ; but it may be amusing to the reader
to read the Javan character, as transcribed fix>m the impres-
sions of the Dutch. The following is an official account* of
this people given by a subject of that nation, which has contri-
buted so much to depress and degrade them.

If the Javan is a person of rank, or in affluent circum-
stances, he will be foimd superstitious, proud, jealous,
vindictive, mean, and slavish towards his superiors, haughty
and despotic towards his . inferiors and those un£)rtunate
beings that are subject to his orders, lazy and slothful.
The lower class is indolent and insensible beyond con-
** ception, and although certain persons, who presume to be
** perfectly acquainted with the characterof the Javan, maintain
*^ the contrary, still I am convinced by daily experience, that the
*^ Javan in general is most shockingly lazy, and that nothing
^* but fear of his superior, and apprehension of being punished,
** or momentary distress or want, can compel him to labour. If
^* left to himself, he will do no more than what is absolutely
** requisite to furnish the necessaries of life, and as he needs

* See Report on the Districts of Jap4ra, by the Resident Domick, ia
the year 1812.

284 CHARACTER OF THE JAVANS.

'' but little, his labour is proportionate : yet as soon as he 1
" a sufficiency for foiu: days, or for the next day only, nothi
" will put him in motion again but force or fear.

" Cowardly, vindictive, treacherous, inclined to rob and
" murder rather than work, cunning in evil practices, and i
" accoimtably stupid (supposed intentionally,) if any good
" required of him. These are the principal traits of the Ja^
" character.

" The MaldyUy speaking of him as an inhabitant of t]
^^ island, because I am unacquainted with the character
'^ those living at a distance, is possessed of a little more a
^' rage and activity, fond of small trade and travelling, a
" but seldom a robber like the Javan, whom in other respe^
" he veiy much resembles. A MaldyUj who is a little ci
" ning, vniWy as soon as an opportunity offers, commit a firai
" especially when he has had some loss which he wishes
" retrieve."

Others of the colonists, and some particularly who are lik<
to have greater influence with the restored government, ent
tiiined more correct, because more favourable opinions oft
Javans, coinciding nearly with those which I have stated
my own.

llie following extracts are intended to convey some noti
of Javan ethics. The first is from a popular work, call
Raja Kapa-kapa *.

" It is incumbent upon every man of condition to be w
" versed in the history of former times, and to have read
" the chirlla (written compositions) of the country: first, 1
" different Rdmay the Rrata yHdhay Arjuna wijaya^ Bh
" suchi ; secondly, the different accoimts of Prtw/i ; third
" the Jugfil viuday Praldmbangy and Jdya langkdra ; aJ
" to know their different times, as well as the mode of striki
" the gdmelau ; he must know how to count the yea
" months, and days, and comprehend the Sangkala^ undt
" stand the Kdwi language, and also must be clever in all

Niuiig^ging Painting ;

Ukir ukir Caning in wood;

Pdndi Iron-work;

* See a further account of this work under the head Literature.

JAVAN ETHICS. 285

" Kemdsan Gold-work ;

** Arg^nding Musical instrument maMng;

" MWdng*gi Kris-sheath making;

" N^gapus Compositions (literary) ;

^ GA di' f Sewing with the needle ;

^ \ working;

" Anydra-wedi retna Jewellery;

« Any&dur^am f In gildmg ai»d the applica-

I tion of quicksilver.

" And he must also be skilled in horsemanship, and in the
^ management of an elephant, and have courage to destroy
^ all bad men, and drive away all women of loose cha-
** racter."

The'iVl/t sdsira is a work of the greatest celebrity on Java :
the original is in the Kdwi language, but there are many ver-
sions. The following is translated from a modem version in
the present language of Java. *

" I^raise be to Batdra GurUy who is all powerful ! to Batdra
" VishnuX^Jf^i^nuJ J who purifieth the minds of men! and
" to Batdra Surtax who enlighteneth the world ! May they
" render their divine assistance to the author who com-
^^ poseth this work, Niti Sdstra^ which contains an account
" of the truths to be foimd in the sacred writings, and
" which are highly necessary to be known by all public
" officers.'
'* 'A man who cannot regulate his conduct according to cir-
^ cumstances, and to the situation in which he may be
** placed, is like unto a man who has lost the senses of
** taste, and*enjoyeth not the advantage of sirtf for such a
^ man doth not shine in the world, however fair may be his

appearance.

**• A man who is ignorant of the sacred writings, is as one who
" has lost his speech ; for when these become the conversa-
" tion of other men, he will be under the necessity of re-
" maining silent.-

** 'It is an abomination to the Divinity to worship him in an
'* unclean place*; and the man who does so may be com-
" pared to one who eats another man's bread without his
" consent. The food is im wholesome to him, even as if he
" ate of his own bread with aversion, in which case he re-

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286 JAVAN ETHICS.

^^ sembles the poor man who overeats himself and after

" wards suffers from hmiger.

^^ .A woman who takes not a husband imtil her hair become

grey and her teeth fall out, is despicable in her own eyes

because men will no longer feel any inclination to her.-

^^ A man, to be accounted able, must Imow how to adapt hi

'^ words to his actions and his actions to his words, so tha

he may give offence to no one, but render himself agree

able to his companions : he must also know how to com

mand in war, and to inspire his followers with cou

rage.

In order to obtain this distinction, a man must conduc

'' himself towards his equals even as a lover conducts htm

^^ self towards his mistress ; for as the lover cannot obtaii

^' his object without flattery and indulgence, so most w*

^^ strive to obtain the good will of mankind by flatterin]

^^ them occasionally, and by indulging them in those thing

^' to which they are most inclined, and which consists, i

^* we are in company with religious men, in treating of reli

^^ gious matters, and if in company with warriors, in treat

^^ ing about war. This will not only make them like us th

'^ better, but at the same time, excite them to excel in thei

" profession.

The subtle nature of the snake, and the venom of its poison
*^ as well as the ferocious disposition of the tiger, may b
*^ removed by sympathetic remedies; the wild etepdiaD
^' may also be tamed by means of the well-known smal
^' iron hook : but the fierceness of the warrior, when one
'^ in close engagement, is not to be tamed, unless his enem;
^' surrender ; and even then not entirely, for although th*
^^ vanquished surrender, it is to be inferred that he still haz
^^ hours resentment for the loss of his freedom, and the ccm
" queror must keep a lively watch over the vanquishecl
" lest he still oppose him.

It is well known that waters, however deep, may be fa

^' thomed ; but the thoughts of men cannot be soundec

^^ In order to know the nature of another, we must atten

tively obscr^'c his appearance, his manner of speaking

and his judgment ; and if a man gives himself out as

holy man, it must be proved by his observance of the sei

JAVAN ETHICS. 287

^ vice of the Deitj and his knowledge of the sacred writ-
" ings.

^ Such a man is distinguished, who is able to expound all
^ abstract expressions.

^ A rich man, who maketh not use of his riches in procuring
^ fer himself good food and clothing, is an abomination,
^ and ought not to be admitted into the society of the
" learned or men of rank ; neither ought a man, who has
^ leamt a profession or studied religion, but who still con-
^ tinues attached to his idle and vicious propensities.

^ (The man who adyances in jears, and he who is too lazj to
^ labour, and does nothing but eat and sleep, is like a sheep,
^ which is useless except on accoimt of its flesh. •

''It is said, that neither the ravens nor the gaddrho birds,
^ are good for man ; but much less are such men who hav-
^ ing once embraced a holy life, return to worldly pursuits,
^ or such as can find it in their hearts to seduce the wives
*^ and daughters of their friends to commit adultery.

^ The water in a vessel which is only partly fiill will by the
^' least agitation splash on the sides: -experience also
'^ proves, that the cow which has the loudest voice gives
^ the least milk. So it is with men : those who have
^' least understanding or wealth make the greatet noise and
^ show*; but in reality they are inferior, and all they say
^ and do vanisheth like smoke.

''^Friends must be faithful and forbearing towards each
^ other, otherwise the consequences will be &tal to both.
'^ Of this we have an example in the &ble of the tiger and
" the forest *

^ The forest and the tiger lived together in close friendship,
^ so that no one could approach the forest, for the tiger was
'* always in the way ; nor the tiger, for the forest always
'^ afforded him shelter. Thus they remained both undis-
^ turbed, on account of the mutual security they afforded
'* to each other ; but when the tiger abandoned the forest
'' and roamed abroad, the people seeing that the tiger had
'' quitted it, immediately cut down the forest and converted
'^ it into plantations: the tiger, in the meantime, taking
" shelter in a village, was seen by the people, who soon
" found means to kiU him. In this manner, both parties.

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288 JAVAN ETHICS.

^* by abandoning their mutual duties to each other, were
" lost-
" A child ought, in every respect, to follow in the footsteps of
*^ its father ; but this is seldom the case; either among men
^' or animals in general. Among the latter, however, there
*^ are three sorts which follow their parents in eveiy le-
^^ spect : all kinds of fish, firogs, and tortoises. The first
and second spawn in water, which is carried away until
the yoimg are produced, when they again join their pa-
rents : the last lay their eggs in holes, and as soon as
^^ the young are hatched they follow the old ones into the
" water.
*^ Man, although he is borne in his mother's womb a long
^^ time, and after his birth is taken care of and nourished,
*' still seldom follows in the footsteps of his parents. If his
father is a holy man, he ought to follow the same profes-
sion ; but instead of this, children do not generally attend
" to the advice of their parents, nor to the lessons of the
" sacred writings, or those given by holy or good men.
" That men of rank should do every thing in their power to
" attach the lower class of people to them, is not only pro-
" per but necessar}', in order to keep them faithfullv tO
" tlieir duty. To this end, therefore, men of rank ought KP
" be indulgent and liberal towards their inferiors, like ^
'* woman who implores the assistance of man to brin^
^' forth children and support her ; but not like a tigress tha^
^^ brings forth its cubs, nor the snake which brings forth sc^
" many young, that sometimes having no food for them aC
for herself, she devours them.
^' Man is pleased with the dddot cloth (apparel), and womeik^
are proud of their bosom ; but a good man prefers the-
sacred writings, which may lead him to the life to come.
Proi)erty obtained by man's o\^ti labour is valuable,- but
more valuable is that which is obtained by a man^s blood
" in time of war : of less value is property inherited fix)m
a man's parents. Of little value is the property taken
" from a man's parents or his \*'ife, but still less valuable is
" that which comes to a man from his children.
" It is the duty of the chief of the nation to inquire into every
*' thing which can affect his subjects; to know whether

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JAVAN ETHICS. 289

" they are prosperous or not, if every one attends to his
'^ duty, if they are skilfiil in the execution of it or not, and
^ in all cases to taJce measures accordingly, never losing
^ sight of justice. He must, as far as possible, be lenient
^ in the punishment of the guilty, and liberal in the reward
" of the deserving ; particularly in the field of battle, when
** in sight of the enemy, when presents ought then to be
" distributed to the soldiers (praj^ritjy in order to animate
** them ; for if ever so justly treated, they will not, except
** they have been obliged by their commander, either be

so fidthflil, or risk so much in an attack against the

enemy.

Highly prejudicial is it for the chiefs to discover fear before
^ their enemies, for in that case the men will also be afiraid ;
'^ but when the chiefs conduct themselves in such a manner
^ as to shew they do not fear the enemy, then the men are
" animated by their example.

A*chief should keep his plan of attack as secret as possible,
" because the knowledge of it may enable the enemy to be
^^ on his guard, and turn the measures taken to his own
'' advantage. He ought not to challenge his enemy to give
^ battle, as in that case the enemy will have an opportunity
^* of preparing himself for the same : but he should attempt
^ to surprize him, and rush upon him like a fire, that quickly
'^ and without much noise consumeth all with which it
^^ comes in contact.

The most formidable enemy of a man is his own conscience,
" which always brings his crimes before his eyes, without
^* leaving him the means of avoiding it
The most valuable and lasting firiendship is that which
" exists between persons of the same rank.
The severest misfortime which a man can suffer, is to be de-
** prived by force, of the land upon which he lives and
*' which he has cultivated, or to have his wife and children
" taken from him by force.

Man loveth nothing more than his own children, and he
" always esteems his own feelings in preference to those of
" others.
Of all birds the chiong (miner) is the most highly prized,

VOL. I. u

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jyn JAVAN ETHICS.

^' because it has a beautiful appearance and can imitate
" the speech of man.
^' 'A woman who loves her husband so tenderly, that at his
'^ death she wishes to die with him, or surviving never
'^ marries again, but lives as if she were dead to the world,
" is valued above all others of her sex.
'* ''Die lessons of our parents arc like the lessons of the ten
^' wise masters. No master can be called wise, unless he
attends to what is written, as well on sacred as on worldly
subjects.* Such a master may be justly called a superior
'^ mortal ; for it is a difficult task to learn and to attend to
'' the same, even as difficult as to catch and tame a wild
" elephant on the edge of a precipice without injury.
Melancholy is it to see a yoimg man of condition miac-
" qiiainted with the sacred writings ; for, be he ev<»r so
*^ gracefidly formed or elegant in his manners, he remains
" defective ; like the wurawdri flower, which, notwith-
^^ standing its fme appearance and bright red colour, emits
'' no fragrance whatever.

No man can be called good or bad, until his actions prove
*'*' him so. Tims if a man declares that he has never taken
^^ any but delicious food, it will be shewn in his appearance.
^^ If he is stout and well looking, then may he be credited ;
'' but if, on the contrar}', he is poor and lean, then it is im-

]iossible that he should have lived on good food.
In like maimer, when a man pretends to be the friend of
mankind, it must be proved by his behaviour when he
receives the visits of others. If he receives his guests
w ilh kindness and hospitality, then is he the friend of
mankind, otherwise he is not so. And further, if a man
pretends to have fasted and i>raycd, and to have become
a holy man, it will be known whether he is really so,
by the success which attends the prayers which he puts
u]) for auoUier : if tlie Deity hears tliem not, then is he a
'' deceiver.

A cali'qiillar has its poison in its head, a scorpion in its
tail, and a snake in its teeth, but it is unknown in what
part ol' the body the poison of man is concealed: a bad
man is tlierefore considered poisonous in his whole frame.

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JAVAN ETHICS. 291

** • A child which is indulged by its parents in every thing, is
^* like a young fish in a clear and pure stream, in which
^^ it grows and sports, unconscious whither it may lead. '
^^ • As the strength of a bird is in its wings, so does the power
^* of a prince consist in his subjects* ; but then only through
** the means of persons properly informed on the following
** points. First, how a country ought to be properly ad-
ministered; secondly, how to please a prince; thirdly,
how to prepare all delicacies for him ; and fourthly,
how to preserve discipline and direct the conduct of an
army.
The dread of the subject should be such, that the orders of
the prince should be to him like a clap of thunder, that
may be heard far and wide.-
A man who does evil to his companions acts against the
sacred writings and the lessons of his instructor : he can
*^ never enjoy prosperity, but will meet with misfortunes in
^* all his proceedings. Such a man is like a piece of por-
** celain, which when it falls to the groimd breaks into many
" pieces and can never be rendered perfect.
** <A field without pasture is not firequented by cattle, neither
'^ does a river without water contain fish. An instructor
^* who knoweth not how to perform the duties of his situa-
^* tion can have but few disciples, and a prince who pays
little regard to his country and subjects, will in time not
^* only lose his fame and glory, but his authority also.
It is well known that a man cannot take the goods of this
world with him to the grave, and that/man after this life
** is punished with heaven or hell, according to the merits
^^ of his actions in this life : a man's duty, therefore, re-
'^ quires of him to remember that he must die ; and if he
" has been merciful and liberal in this life to the poor, he
" will be fewarded hereafter.* Happy is the man who
" divides his property equally between himself and the in-
'^ digent, who feeds the poor and clothes the naked, and
^* relieves all who are in distress ; he has hereafter to expect
" nothing but good.
" "The following animals, as being injurious to the health of
" man, are not proper to be used by him as food : rats,
*^ dogs, firogs, snakes, worms, monkeys, lizards, and the like

u 2

29-2 JAVAN ETHICS.

A handsome man is an ornament to the community^ and

one that has good manners besides, is an ornament to his

'^ prince ; but he who understands the sacred writings is

*^ the pride of the community and a delight to his prince.*

A prince who wishes to know his subjects well, ought to

^^ be attentive to their manners, actions, and courage ; and

'' as gold is known by the touchstone, or broken into pieces

^' in order to ascertain its intrinsic value, so ought a prince

" to try his subjects, before he intrust them with the charge

" of his women or treasure, and make himself acquainted

" wiUi their valour and knowledge : for a person who does

^' not possess the qualifications required for this purpose,

is unworthy to associate with people of condition, and

much less to be the servant of a prince.

t' If a man violates the law, he may for the first offence be

^^ punished by a pecuniary fine, for the second by punish-

'^ ment affecting his person, but for the third offence he may

" be punished with death.

" A joy generally followed by sorrow is that which we feel in

" borrowing money. We feel happy in having obtained what

'^ we wished, but as soon as our creditors come for their mo-

'^ ney, our joy is converted into grief; and that is the gpreatest

^* when the money is spent, and we have not wherewith to

^^ satisfy our creditors : then arise quarrels and iU wiU, and

^^ yet no sooner are these settled than we again have re-

^^ course to the old habit of lending and borrowing.

^' * Laughing and joking at our companions is also a bad cus-

'^ tom, for it generally begets quarrels, and is thus the cause

of grief..
Should medicine be mixed with poison, we would naturally
separate the poisonous parts before we swallowed it, and
'^ we would also clean rusty metal in time before it becomes
^^ rusty and corroded. In the same manner i^c should dis-
tinguish between the good and bad actions of man, re-
warding knowledge and opposing evil : and be it recol-
" lectcd, that a woman, however low her birth, if her man-
ners are amiable and her person good, may without im-
propriety be made tlie wife of a great man.
'^ ' Riches only tend to torment the mind of man, and some-
times even to death ; they are therefore, with justice, dis-

JAVAN ETHICS. 298

regarded and despised by the wise. They are collected
with pain and troubles in afterwards administering them ;
for if we neglect to watch them properly, thieyes will
^' come and steal them, and the loss occasions as much
^ grief as the point of death.

** Therefore is it adviseable to give part of our property to
'^ the poor and indigent, who will thence naturally become
^' under obligations to us, and not only assist in guarding
** our property against all accidents, but pray that our pro-
** perty may increase, being themselres interested in our
^ success, and our names will be blessed by our children
** and grand-children.

*' "As dykes cannot long resist the force of water, unless the
^^ water is allowed a free current and a place to pass
^^ through, so riches cannot long be enjoyed, unless em-
*' ployed for charitable purposes ; but, on the contrary,
** they will turn to the injury of the possessor, both here
^* and hereafter, who will be exposed to the wrath of all the
** nine deities. •

'^ JBatdra guru is cool, still colder is the moon ; but the cool-
'* ness of neither is to be compared to that which is instilled
'^ by the voice of a holy man. Fire is hot, still hotter is the
** sun ; but neither is to be compared to the heat of a man's
** heart

'^ Like those flies and birds, which fly in the air to procure
'^ food, and still continue to feed on filth and dirt, is the
^^ man of bad character ; for although he may have the
^' means of procuring an honest subsistence, still will he
*^ continue to take what he should not, by unlawftd means,
^^ to the prejudice of others. But a good man wishes the
^' success of another, and is happy when his brother pros-
" pers.

'^ As the .moon and stars enlighten the night, and the sun en-
" lighteneth the day, so do the Holy Scriptures enlighten
^' the hearts of men ; and a son who is superior in know-
" ledge to his father, is a light to his family.

" A child accustomed to nothing but amusement, neglects
" the lessons of its parents. The child on this account,
" often abandoned to its fate, becomes a dangerous subject;
" it is therefore essential that a child should be kept under

294 JAVAN ETHICS.

" subjection while it is yet time to prevent its committiD^
^* any bad acts. For this purpose these rules should bt
" attended to :
" • A child under five years of age may be indulged in mani
" things ; but afterwards it must be kept under strict subjec
" tion, and instructed in the knowledge of the Holy Writ
^' ings until its tenth year, when a commencement may b
" made to instil that sort of knowledge which will form th<
" intellects for the benefit of society. After the sixteentl
" year further instruction must be given in the higher an<
** more important branches of knowledge.-
Man should always bo on his guard against the commis
sion of wicked acts, for the end of them is always paii
and misery.

" *A man must, on no account, listen to the advice of a woman
" be she ever so good ; for the end of it will be death an<
'* shame : but he must always consult his own mind ii
" what he has to do or not to do, never losing sight of th
" lessons of his instructors.* Thus, not only will he obtaii

knowledge, but his actions will be good.
Riches, beauty, knowledge, youth, and greatness often leat
" a man into error ; he, therefore, who is blessed with an;
^' of them ought to be, at the same time, humble and ge
" ncrous, for then he will excel ; otherwise, his virtues \*t]
" be hidden.
" As the man who advances by fair means fix>m poverty t
riches, OT from insignificance to greatness, is rewarded i
this world, so will he who is generous and kind-hearte
" be rewarded hereafter in heaven. So will the warrio
'^ killed in battle, who is like a conqueror, enjoy all the de
lights imaginable; while a deserter is despised by al
" men, and covered with shame and disgrace, because h

deserted his comrades in the moment of danger.
No man ought to be termed a hero but he who has ahread
concjuered a hundred heroes ; nor should any man b
tenned a holy man until he can boast of surpassing I
virtue a hundred holy men : for as long as a hera has nc
c()n(iuered a hundred heroes, or a holy man has not sui
])assed a lumcbed other holy men in virtue, he can neitiR'
'' hv considcTcd as a real hero or holv man.

n
li

JAVAN ETHICS 295

^ Hie signs of the approaching end of this world will be all

^ kinds of deprayity among mankind ; that is to say, the

** wise will turn foolish, the holy men will become worldly,

** children will abandon their parents, princes will lose

^' their empires, the little will become great, and commit

'* depredations ; in short, every thing will be in confusion,

^^ and an entire revolution take place.

In the beginning every thing was at rest and quiet. During

** the first thousand years princes began to start up, and

** wars arose about a woman named Dewi Daruki : at this

** period writing was first introduced. One thousand five

** hundred years after this another war began, about a wo-

** man named D&wi Slnta, Two thousand years after this

** a third war broke out, about a woman named Detm Dm-

** pddi : and two thousand five hundred years afterwards

*^ another war took place, about the daughter of a holy man

" not named in history.

** Every man can thus see what has been the first cause of
" war. 'Even as the roots of trees and the course of rivers
*^ cannot run straight, but wind here and there, so cannot
*^ a woman be upright : for the saying is, that a raven can
" sooner turn white, and the* ^aw/aw^-plant (a^water lily)
" grow from a rock, than a woman can be upright -

^ A perfect man should be, in firmness and ability, equal to
^^ eight women ; and to satisfy a woman, a man must be
" able to please her in nine difierent manners.*

'^ A bad man is like a fire, which inflames every thing which
" approaches it; we, therefore, ought n ver to go near it
'' with an intention to extinguish it A good man, on the
" contrary, is like a sweet-scented tree, which continues to
^^ produce flowers and firuit, pleasant to the taste and smell
" of every one, and the fragrance of which remains in the
" wood even after the tree is cut down and rooted out

" When a harlot begins to feel shame, then is her improve-
" ment approaching; but when a holy man begins to
" meddle with worldly afiairs, then is he about to become
" a worldly man himself.

" When a prince allows encroachments to be made on his
" territories, it is a sign that the loss of both his court and
^^ lands is nigh at hand.

296 GOVERNxMENT.

^'' A man may receive instruction from his g^u (instnictur)
'^ until his twentieth year : after which he should apply
'^ himself to study until his thirtieth year ; at which time
^' he ought to know every thing necessary, as well for this
'' world as for tliat to come. '
" The art of elocution may properly be reckoned superior to
^' all others, because happiness and misery, fortune or mis-
*' fortune, very often depend upon it : it is, therefore, ne-
^' cessary to use prudence in speech.
'*- A man who does not eat siri (betel) does not shine.
'* Married people who have no children ought to lead a re-
" tired life, and people without fortune should not attem);!
^' to make a shining appearance : they should look pale
'^ and melancholy, like unto the dullness and quiet of a
" country without a prince.*
^' These are the qualities necessary to constitute a good
" housewife : — She must be weU-made and well-mannered,
^' gentle, industrious, rich, liberal, charming, of good birth,
'' upright, and humble. A stingy, curious, dirty, foul-
^' mouthed, vulgar, false, intriguing, lazy, or stupid woman,
'' is not only entirely unfit for a housewife, but will never
" be beloved by a husband."

Intimately connected vnUti the character, moral and intel-
lectual, of a people, are its civil and political institutions. In
a coimtry like Java, the frame of society is so simple, the
hand of power is so universally felt or seen ; rank, wealth,
and authority are so identified, and the different classes of the
commmiity are so referable to each other, by contrast or re-
ci])rocal influence, that it was impossible to give any account
of the state* of the peasantr}*, or of the tenure and distribution
of the land, Tiithout introducing some notices conceming
g.>vemment and revenue. As Uiero is little division of labour
among a rude people, so there is no division of power in a
des]>otism : the des])ot is proprietor, all the rest is property.

The Island of Java appears at different times to have been
divided into states of greater or smaller extent. History in-
forms us, that it was at one period under the sway of one
])rinci])al chief, and at otiiors subject to two or more. In the
fonner case, the provinces into which it was divided were ad-
ministered, as they are stiU, by subordinate and delegated

GOVERNMENT. 297

governors ; and in the latter, many of them composed inde-
pendent sovereignties. In all these cases, the form of govern-
ment and the privileges of the people were the same ; the
only difference between a state co-extensive with the Island,
and one limited to a few districts, consisting in the different
extent of territory or number of subjects at command. In
looking at the map, the divisions of the Island now under
European dominion, and those under the native princes,
can easily be traced. Bantam (the sultan of which surren-
dered his rights to the British government for a pension of a
few thousand dollars), and Cheribon, an extensive province
to the eastward of Batavia, enjoyed till lately a nominal inde-
pendence ; but the only great native power on Java, till the
establishment of Yug^ya-kerta about sixty years ago, was that
of the Susuhunan^ or as he is termed, the Emperor of Java;
and a slight sketch of his government, of the maxims by
which it is regulated, and the officers it employs, will be suffi-
cient for my present purpose.

The sovereign is termed either SusuhAiian or Sultan, both
demoninations adopted since the establishment of Mahome-
danism: the titles previously employed were Kiai Oede^
Prdbu, Bromijdyaj &c. as will be perceived on reference to
the list of Hindu princes in the historical details. The line
of succession to the throne is from father to son, but the
rights of primogeniture are not always allowed or observed.
If there is no direct descent, the claims of collateral branches
of the reigning dynasty are settled by no law or uniform cus-
tom. Females have sometimes held offices of power, but
have never occupied the throne since the establishment of
Mahomedanism. The chiefs of districts and the heads of
villages are sometimes women ; in that case widows continued
in the office of their deceased husbands.

The government is in principle a pure unmixed despotism ;
but there are customs of the country of which the people are
very tenacious, and which the sovereign seldom invades.
His subjects have no rights of liberty of person or property :
his breath can raise the humblest individual from the dust to
the highest distinction, or wither the honoiurs of the most
exalted. There is no hereditary rank, nothing to oppose his
will. Not only honours, posts, and distinctions, depend upon

2U8 (iOVERiNMENT.

his pleasure, but all the landed property of his dominions re-
mains at his disposiily and may, together with its cultivators,
be parccUed out by his order among the officers of his house-
hold, the members of his family, the ministers of his pleasures,
or the useful servants of the state. Every officer is paid by
grants of land, or by a power to receive from the peasantry t
certain proportion of the produce of certain villages or dis-
tricts.

When a sovereign enjoys unlimited power, he generally
in eastern countries siurendcrs it for ease and pleasure,
and his servant, luider tlie name of Vizier or some other
title, becomes tlie despot. Tlie highest executive officer or
]>rime minister in tlie Javan government is called Rdden Adi'
pdli : he usually rules the country while his master is satis-
fied with flattery, ^^'itli pomp, and the seraglio. lie is in-
tnisted yyiih power so great, as even, in particular cases, to
extend to the royal family. All communications to and from
the sovereign are made through him : he receives all reports
from different parts of the coimtry, and issues all orders. The
2)<)\ver and imj^ortance of tliis office has, however, nataiully
lessened of late years, since the European government has
assumed the right of nominatuig the person who shall fill it:
tlie sovereign naturally reposes less confidence in a prime
nunister so nominated than in one of his o^'n choice ; and if
he does not take an active p<irt himself in the politics of his
couil, he is generally under Uie influence of an ambitious
member of his own family, by which means the Rdden Adipafiy
or pii me minister, Uiough lefl to conduct th^ details ofgovem-
ment, is oflen ignorant of many of the intrigues carried an in
the place.

'Tlie gradations of power and rank arc as follow.

Alter the royal family, which includes tlie prince or sove-
reign, called Susuhihian or Sultany and the sons and daughters
of llie sovereign, called Paiujeriuks^ tlie heir apparent being
called PdfHjeran Adipdtiy come tlie nobility, and at their head
tlie Rdden AdipdlL

The nobility or privileged orders may be classed under the
two general divisi(»ns oi Bopdlin^ <ind their immediate assistants
or PdlrliSy and Mdnfrh or public officers. Boputi is tlie ge-
neral term given t<» the governors of proviuces, l>eing tlic

GOVERNMENT. 299

plural of AdipAti. This, however, is rather a title of office
than of mere rank, as these governors are sometimes Tumung*-
gvmgSj AfCgehdis^ and of still inferior rank. Adipdti appears
to be the highest title below royalty. The dignity of this
title, as weU as that of others, is again raised, by prefixing
the epithet iiTtaf (venerable) or Mas (golden), as Ktai-adipatiy
Kiai'tumufMfgungj Mas-adtpdtiy Mas-tumung^gung, Rdden-
iumung*gung is also occasionally used, to express a rank
above an ordinary TumUng^gungy in the same manner as
Rdden Adipdti.

These officers, when appointed to the administration of
provinces, are called Regents by the Dutch. Since the inno-
vations of Europeans, the distinctions above referred to have
been a good deal confounded. In the Siinda districts, where
the absolute sway of the native sovereign has long ceased to
be felt, and in the eastern provinces, which are subject to
Europeans, the Regent assumes the state of a petty sovereign,
and is the fountain of honour. The power and rank attached
to particular titles, especially those of inferior importance,
differs in some degree in almost every province.

The sons of the Regents, or of those who may be properly
termed the nobles of the country, are usually called RddenSy
and in the Sundu districts invariably so ; but there is properly
no hereditary nobility, no hereditary titles, although few people
have a greater respect for family descent than the Javans ;
custom and consideration, in this as in other cases, generalTy
supplying the place of law.

Nearly the sa^^e form of government is followed in the
administration of each particular province as is observed in
the general administration of the country, every Adipdti^ or
governor of a province, having a Pdtehj or assistant, who acts
as his minister. In general there is a Pdteh-luary and a
Pdteh'dalam ; one for conducting afiairs abroad or pubUc
business, the other for the superintendence of the household.

The same union of the judicial, revenual, and executive
authority, which exists in the sovereign, descends to the
governor of a province ; and if there are subdivisions of the
province, it descends to each head of the subdivision. This
is also the case with each village ; the consequence of which
is, that every chief, of whatever rank, has an almost absolute

300 GOVERNMENT.

power over those below him. The only exception to this, and
the only part of the Javan constitution which wean th^
appearance of liberty, is the mode of appointing the heads oif
villages ; these are elected by the people, as will be hereafter
more particularly described.

In every considerable province or district there are seveiml
subdivisions over which an inferior chief presides : the dis-
trict of Semarangy for instance, has several. Although this
absolute authority is vested in the diflTerent chiefs, according
to their ranks, it is dangerous for a public functionaiyy what-
ever be his rank, and even for the Susuhiinan himself, to violate
what is called the custom of the country ; and the ancient Hindu
institutions are revered and generally followed by all classes.
The priests also exercise a considerable influence; and
although the power of the Jdksa^ or law officer, is essentially
reduced since the establishment of Mahomedanism, and t
great part of his authority transferred to the Panghilu or
Mahomedan priest, he is still efficient, as fiu: as concerns the
police and minor transactions. The observations which
follow on the administration of justice and the judicial in-
structions established by the British government, wiU explain
the present nature of his duties.

In the suite of every governor of a province, of his Pdiek,
or assistant, and of every public functionary of importance,
are numerous petty chiefs, generally classed as Maniris^ bnt
having various titles, as DemdngSj Liras^ Kliwangf &c.
varying in authority and relative rank in different districts.

'rhree-foiurths of the island having been long subjected to
tlic European authority, and the provinces which still remain
under native administration having been divided under two
distinct authorities, and their original constitution otherwise
departed from, it would be impossible to lay down a scale of
rank for the different titles of honour, which should be appli-
cable to every part of the island, but the subject wiU be
resumed in a future chapter.

llie following obser\'ations of Mr. Hogendorp, who resided
on Java not many years before the arrival of the English, and
was employed in a commission of inquiry into the state of
the island, are extracted from a report or memoir which he
drew up for the use of the Dutch government, recommending

€€
€1

GOVERNMENT. 301

a poKcy similar to that which we subsequently pursued. They
ccmtain a just account of the principles of the Jayan govem-
nent, and of the state of the Regents under the Dutch
Company. After remarking, in perhaps too broad and unqua-
lified terms, that the structure of the government is feudal, he
proceeds to state :

1 he first principles of the feudal sjrstem, which form the
basis of the whole edifice, are : that the land is the pro-
perty of the sovereign ; that the inhabitants are his slaves,
and can therefore possess no property, all that they have
*^ and an that they can obtain belonging to the sovereign,
*^ who aUows them to keep it no longer than he chooses ;
and that the will of the prince is the supreme law.
^' These are the real fimdamental principles of the feudal
system : 'for though the English and French kings could
not always maintain their despotic sway, but were some-
'^ times opposed, hostilely attacked, and even forced by arms
^' to treat for terms with their subjects, this was only the
^* natural consequence of the acknowledged rule, that
" tyranny destroys itself; and it is only necessaiy to revert to
^' what James and Charles of England, in so late a period,
^ thought their divine rights of royalty, to ascertain what
^^ were the rudiments of the feudal form of government : and
^^ even now, notwithstanding the numerous changes and

revolutions which have happened in England, the most
surprizing traces of that system are to be found, since
in that country^ so fi^e, no individual soever possesses a
foot of land in absolute property (allodium), but merely
firom the king (feodum), to whom only belongs the d&minum

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^* absolutum et directum^ although subsequent laws and

'^ regulations have rendered this title more imaginary than

** real.

*^ The same system of government has been continued

" in the Company's districts, under the pretext of allowing
the natives to retain their own laws and customs, but in
reality from ignorance and self-interest. Although they

" were too ignorant to effect any improvement, they knew
perfectly weU that this plan was the best adapted to pro-
mote their own interest and advantage.

The princes of Java, as well as those of Europe in

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30-2 GOVERNMENT.

'' fonncr timcR, and as a natural effect of the same cause,
^' were also almost continually at war with their chief vassak,
^' until the Dutch power and influence re-established and
^^ maintained the general tranquillity. This, however, has
^' never had any effect on the system of government itselff
'^ and the subject who dethroned his sovereign and then snc-
^' ccedcd him, thought that he had thereby obtained the same
^' divine right of property in the lands and persons of his
^^ subjects, as his predecessor had possessed.

" The princes allotted the lands to their chiefs and imme-
^' diate dependents, as rewards for military and other services.
^' 'lliese chiefs (termed by the Dutch regents) again sab-
^' divided the lands among others of inferior ranky on the
^' same conditions, and so on, down to the poor labourer who
^' cultivated the land, but to whom a very small proportion
^^ of the fruits of his labour was left for his own support

'^ The exclusive administration of the country was con-
^' ferred on the regents, an appellation given to the native
^' chiefs, who had acquired their lands from the Dutch, by
'^ contract or agreement, binding them annually to deliver
^' partly for payment and partly not, a quantity, in some cases
^' fixed, in others uncertain, of the produce of such lands,
^' obliging them also to the performance of feudal senrices,
'' both of a militar}' and other nature.

'^ The titles of these regents are either Adipdii^ Humtn^"
*• (/iififfy or Antfebdi, The Prince of Maduray styled Pamam'
*' hdltaUy and the Prince of S&menapy who is called Pamgi'
^^ rdfiy are however only regents as well as the rest. Tlw
'^ IVince o{ Madura enjoys that title as being of the imperial
family, and the Prince of Simetmp purchased his hy t
" large payment to a Governor-General.

Tliese regents are only ofRcers of government, and possess
not the smallest right to hereditar}' possession or successioiL
^'et when one of them dies, he is in general replaced by one
of liis sons, considered most fit for the office, provided he
can afionl to ])ay the customary present to the govemor of
(lie north-east coast of Java; for if he is unable to do thiSf
(»i* if anv other person offers a more considerable simii s
^'frtence is easily found to exclude the children in faTonr
of thi> more liberal purchaser.

GOVERNMENT. 303

" These presents form a principal part of the emoluments
" of the governor of the north-east coast, and consequently
^ all new appointments of regents are for his advantage.
The present chief regent of Samarang paid 50,000 dollars
for his promotion, and all the children of his predecessor
were superseded. The others pay in proportion to the
value of their regencies ; and as this is arbitraiy and un-
certain, it is easily to be conceived, that they find means
to recover the amount of their place-money *.
** These Regents although very proud, are, with very few
exceptions, ignorant and idle persons, who give themselves
little concern about their lands and their people ; of whom,
indeed, they frequently know nothing, but only endeavour to
squeeze and extort firom them as much as possible, both for
their own subsistence and pleasure, and to satisfy the cupi-
dity of government and of their immediate superiors. They
leave the administration of affairs entirely to their PatehSj
who are also appointed by the Dutch, and are held account-
able for every thing f,

* This payment is regularly termed by the Dutch, ampt-geld, or place-
noney, being money paid for the purchase of an office. By the Javana
it is termed soroh, which, in its more general acceptation, means a bribe.

\ With whatever fidelity this character of the Javan regents may have
i>een drawn by Mr. Hogendorp, in the year 1800, it most certainly did not
ipply to them in the year 1811, nor in the subsequent years of the British
government on Java ; for, however negligent and corrupt many of them
may have been rendered, by the system of government which prevailed
mder the Dutch East India Company, the changes effected during the
idministration of Marshal Daendals soon induced a character for energy
ind activity. His government was military and despotic in the extreme,
md the regents were considered to hold a military rank, and required to
szert themselves in proportion to its importance. They did so, and works
of the greatest magnitude were constructed by their exertions. The chiefs
were found active and intelligent, the common people willing and obedient.
With regard to their character under the British Government, it would be
ui act of injustice, if not ingratitude, were I to neglect this opportunity
of stating, that, as public officers, the Regents of Java were almost uni-
eersaUy distinguished by an anxiety to act in conformity with the wishes
of the government, by honesty, correctness, and good faith ; and as noble-
men, by gentlemanly manners, good breeding, cheerfulness, and hospitality.
[n the observations made upon the Javan character in the text, I have
spoken of the Javans as a nation generally j but I might select instances
where the character of the individual would rise very far above the general

304 (iOVERNMENT.

^*' To their brothers, wives, children, and other near rela-
tions, they assign villages or d^saSy sufficient for their main-
tenance, for all these consider themselves bom not to work,

standard which I have assumed. I might, for instance, notice the intellec-
tual endowments and moral character of the present Panambdkan of 5im«-
nup, Ndta Kasuma. This chief is well read, not only in the ancient history
of his own country, hut has a general knowledge of Arabic literature, is
conversant with the Arabic treatises on astronomy, and is well acquainted
with geography. He is curious in mechanic^, attentive to the powers of
mechanism, and possesses a fund of knowledge which has foirpriaed and
delighted all who have had an opportunity of conversing with him and of
appreciating his talents. Of his moral character I have given an instance,
in the manner in which he liberated his slaves. He is revered, not only for
his superior qualifications and talents, but also for the consideration and
attention he pays to the happiness and comfort of the people committed to
his charge.

Of the capacity of the Javans to improve, of their anxiety to ad^TUice in
civilization, and of the rapidity with which they receive knouiedge and
instruction, an instance might be given in the case of the two sons of the
Recent of Semdrang, Kidi Adipdti Sura Adimangdla. 'Riis Regent, who,
next to the Panambdhan of Sumenap, is the first in rank as well as character,
shortly after the establishment of the British government on Ja^'a, sent his
sons to Bengal, in order that they might there receive an education supe-
rior to what they could have had at home. They remained there for about
two years under the immediate protection and patronage of the late Earl of
Minto, and on their return not only conversed and wrote in the English
language with facility and correctness, but evinced considerable proficiency
in every branch of knowledge to which their attention has been directed.
The eldest, in partinilar, had made such progress in mathematics before he
quitted Calcutta, as to obtain a prize at a public examination, and had
acquired a general knowledge of the ancient and modem history of Europe,
{particularly in that of (ireece and Rome. He is remarked for his gracefnl
and polite manners, for the propriety of his conduct, and for the qmcknesi
and correctness of his observation and judgment. As this is the first
instance that has been afforded of the capacity of the Javan character to
improve under an European education, it may enable the reader to forai
some CHtimate of wliat that character was formerly in more propitious
times, and of what it may attain to hereafter under a more beneficent
government. Among aU the English on Jovb., who have had an oppor-
tunity of conversing with this young nobleman, there has not been one
who has hesitated to admit, that his mind, his qualifications, and conduct,
would be conscjicuous among their own countrymen at the same age, and
tl'at, a«» an accomplished gentleman, he was fitted for the first societies of
ICurope. This young man, Rdden Sdleh, is now about sixteen years of
age, and when the British left Java was an assistant to his father as Regent
ol Sem-trnng.

GOVERNMENT. 305

^' and look upon the peasantry as only made for the purpose
** of providing for their support

^* In order to collect the rice and other kinds of produce ,

** which they are by contract obliged to deliver to the Com-

** pany as contingents, they compel the inhabitants of the

^^ district to furnish as much of it as is at all possible, with-

*^ out any fixed ratio or calculation, and without any kind of

^ payment, leaving them scarcely what is absolutely neces-

** sary for their own support and that of their families, and

** even sometimes not nearly so much, especially in the event

^^ of failure in the crops ; on which occasions the miserable

*^ inhabitants desert by hundreds to other districts, where, at

** least in the first instance, they may expect a less rigorous

" treatment Several regents also, when distressed for money,

** are compelled by want, to let out many of their best desas

** to the Chinese : these blood-suckers then extort firom such

" villages as much as they can possibly contrive, while the

*^ inhabitants of the other desas are alone obliged to deliver

** the contingent required firom the whole aggregate. It may

" easily be conceived, how oppressively this demand must fall

^^ upon those unhappy individuals ; and how greatly these

*^ and other acts of injustice, which are the natural conse-

^' quences of the present faulty administration, must tend to

** the ruin of the country, it would be superfluous reasoning

" to prove,"

The only restraint upon the will of the head of the govern-
ment is the custom of the country, and the regard which he
has for his character among his subjects. To shew what that
character ought to be, what is expected of a good prince, and
what are the reciprocal duties of a prince, prime minister, and
people, I may here quote a few sentences out of the Niti
Prdjay a work in very high esteem, and constantly referred to
by the Javans.

^^ A good prince must protect his subjects against all un-
^^ just persecutions and oppressions, and should be the light
" of his subjects, even as the sun is the light of the world.
^' His goodness must flow clear and fiill, like the mountain
" stream, which in its course towards the sea enriches and
" fertilizes the land as it descends. He must consider that
" as the withered foliage of the trees awaiteth the coming of

VOL. I. X

3()() GOVERNMENT.

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rain to flourish anew, so are his subjects waiting for his
benevolence, to be provided with food, with raiment, and
with beautiful women. If, on the contrary, a prince neg-
lect.s to extend his benevolence and protection towards his
subjects, he exposes himself to be abandoned by them, or
at any rate to lose their confidence ; for it is an imdeniable
truth, that no one will be faitliful or attached to a man upon
wliom no dependence can be placed.

" When a prince gives audience to the public his conduct
must be dignified. He must sit upright and not in a bend-
ing postiu-e, and say little, neither looking on one side or
the other, because, in this case, the people would not have
a proper sight of him. He must assume a pleasing appear-
ance, \\ hich will enable him to observe his subjects who
siuTound him, and then enqmre if any one has any thing to
say to him ; and if there is, he must animate him to speak
openly.

" In his discourse he must not speak loud, but low, and with
dignity, and not more than is necessarj' for the purpose; for
it does not become a prince to witlidraw his words if once
given, and much less to give them another turn.
" It is, above all, the duty of a prince to take notice of
every thing going on in his country and among his subjects,
and, if possible, to tuni every tiling to a good end : if he
])asses over unnoticed the least crime, he may create nu-
merous enemies. It is further the duty of a prince, besides
knowing the merits of his subjects and the state of his
country, to explain all abstract and difficult expressioiis,
particularly such as occur in \\Titings.
^^ It is a disgrace to a prime minister for any hostile attack
to be made on the country intnisted to his charge without
his knowledge, or that he should be careless or inattentive
to the same, rather thinking how to obtain the favour of his
prince than to secure tlie safety of the country. So it is
wlien he does not understand how to administer the couatnr

•

properly, or fails to invent what is useful ; when he makes
many promises, but fulfils few ; when he is careless with
regard to public affairs, and talks much about what is of no
consequence, seeking to be admired by the people, and
putting on fair appearances when his intentions do not cor-

GOVERNMENT. 307

respond ; when he cares nothing about the misfortunes of
his inferiors, provided he gets money himself; when, finally,
be is not faithful, but deceitful. Such a prime minister is
like the hawk, which soars high in the air, but descends
low on the earth to seize and steal its food.
** But a good prime minister is he who is upright in his
heart, moderate in his fear of the prince, faithftdly obedient
to all his orders, kind-hearted, not oppressive to the people,
and always exerting himself to the utmost for the happiness
of the people and the welfare of the country.
^^ And a prime minister is good beyond measure who can
always please his prince in every thing that is good ; who
knows every thing that is going on in the country, and
takes proper measures accordingly ; who always exerts
himself to avert whatever is likely to be injurious ; who
considers nothing too trifling to merit his attention ; who
accumulates not wealth, but offers to his prince whatever
comes in his way that is curious ; who heeds not his own
life in effecting what is right ; who considers neither Mends,
fiunily, nor enemies, but does justice alike to all ; who caies
not when he is praised or reviled, but trusts to the dispen-
sations of Providence; who possesses much experience;
who can bear poverty, and cares not for the enjoyment of
pleasures ; who is polite to every one ; who with good will
gives alms to the poor and helpless ; who consults much
with his brother officers, with whom he ought always to
advise on affsdrs of business. Against such a prime mi-
nister it is impossible for any one to speak, for he will be
feared at the same time that the people will become attached
to him : the people will then live quiet and happy, perform
their labours with cheerfulness, and wish that his adminis-
tration may be lasting.

" A prime minister ought, nevertheless, not to be too con-
fident in this, but always remain on his guard against the
designs of bad men.

" There are many examples of such prime ministers:
among which is Bdja Jajahan^ (prime minister of Mesir
Egypt,) to whom all the people of the country, great and
small, were much attached.

" Whenever his brother officers intended to visit the prmce

X 2

30ft GOVERNMKNT.

for the purpose of papng their respects, they always as-
sembled at the prime minister's house, where they generally
partook of a meal : after this they proceeded to the court,
followed by the prime minister on foot, dressed in white,
\^'ith only three attendants,' carrying a spear and other ar-
" tides of state before him. By this conduct he supposed
" that he was screened from reproach, and that he was freed
" from enemies; but at the very time there were enemies
" conspiring against his life, as was afterwards discovered :
" therefore ought a prime minister not only to be virtuous,
'^ but cautious also, and always armed against his enemies, in
" the same manner as a sportsman arms himself against wild
" beasts.

" A subject going into the presence of his prince must be
clean and well-dressed, wearing proper chelana (panta-
loons.) He must have a good girdle and a sharp Xrr^, and
" be anointed with aromatic oils. He must range himself
with his equals, and convince them of his abilities and
good breeding ; because from this it is that he has to ex-
pect favour or disgrace, grief or joy, happiness or misery;
for a prince can either exalt or humble him.

A prince is like a dalang (wdyang player,) his subjects
like wmjangsy and the law is as the wick of the lamp used
" in these entertainments : for a prince can do with his sub-
jects what he pleases, in the same manner as the ddkmg
acts \vitli his icayangs^ according to his own fancy ; the
prince having the law, and the dalang the lamp, to prerent
'* tliem from going out of the right way.

In like manner, as it is incumbent on the dalang to make
magnanimity and justice the principal subjects of his repre-
sentation, in order tliat the spectators may be instructed
and animated thereby, so shoidd a prince, a prime minister,
" and chief officers of the court, direct the administration of
th(^ country' with such propriety, that the people may at-
tach themselves to them ; they must see that the guilty are
punishe<l, that the innocent be not persecuted, and that aU
** ])i'rs()ns falsely accused be immediately released, and re-
** niuneratcd for tlie sufferings they may have endured."

'llie judicial and executive powers are generally exercisen
by the same individual. The written law of the island* ac-

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ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. 809

cording to which justice is administered and the courts are
regulated, is that of the KoraUy as modified by custom and
usage. The Javans have now been converted to the Maho-
medan religion about three centuries and a half, dating from
the destruction of the Hindu kingdom of Majapdhit, in the
year 1400 of the Javan aera. Of all the nations who have
adopted that creed, they are among the most recent converts ;
and it may be safely added, that few others are so little ac-
quainted with its doctrines, and partake so little of its zeal
and intolerance. The consequence is, that although the Ma-
homedan law be in some instances followed, and it be consi-
dered a point of honour to profess an adherence to it, it has
not entirely superseded the ancient superstitions and local
customs of the country.

The courts of justice are of two descriptions: those of the
PanghAlu or high priest, and those of the Jdksa. In the
former the Mahomedan law is more strictly followed ; in the
latter it is blended with the customs and usages of the
country. The former take cognisance of capital offences, of
suits of divorce, of contracts and inheritance; they are also,
in some respects, courts of appeal from the authority of the
Jdksa. The latter take cognisance of thefts, robberies, and
all inferior offences ; its officers are employed in taking down
depositions, examining evidence, inspecting the general police
of the country, and in some measure acting as public prose-
cutors : these last functions are implied in the title of the
office iX&fMj jdksa meaning to guard or watch *.

* The following description of the office of a Jdksa, and of the qualifi-
cations requisite for fulfilling bis important duties^ is taken from the Niti
Prdfa, a work already referred to.

** A Jdksa must, in all cases, be impartial, to enable him to weigh all
*' causes which come before him with the same exactness as merchandize
" is weighed in a scale, and nicely balance the equilibrium, nothing add-
•* ing or taking from either side.

" He must be above all bribery, either by words or money, and never
" allow himself to be induced to commit an act of injustice; for were a
" Jdksa to commit an act of this kind, the consequences could not but be

highly injurious to the country.

•* He must not accept presents of any kind from the parties whose cause

comes before him, not only because he cannot expect to derive advantage
•* therefrom, but also because the public vrill hold discourse concerning
** him highly injurious to his reputation.

310 ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.

At the seat of government are supreme courts of the Pan*;-
hulu and Jdksa: to these there is an appeal from similar but
inferior tribunals, established mthin each proTince. Petty
tribunals, under like names, are even established under the
jurisdiction of a Demdngy or chief of a subdivision, and some-
times of a Bdkoly or head of a village ; but in these the au-
tliority of the Panghulu and Jdksa extend no further than to
take down evidence to be transmitted to some higher autho-
rity, to settle petty disputes, and perform the ordinar)' cere-
monies of religion, inseparable among the Javans, as well as
all otlier Mahomedans, from the administration of justice.

Such however is the nature of the native government, th;;t
tliesc officers are considered rather as the law assessors or
council of the immediate superior officer of the executive go-
vernment, than as independent ministers of justice. In such
cases as come before them, tliey examine the evidence, and
point out tlie law and custom to the executive officer, who is
himself generally too ignorant and indolent to undertake it
When the evidence is gone through, and the point of law as-

" All causes in dispute must be decided upon by him with the least pos-
sible delay, according to law, and not kept long in suspense, to the in-
jury of the parties concerned, lest he be considered like a holy man, who,
for the sake of money, sacrifices his good name.
" A Jdksa must inquire into every circumstance relating to the eanses
brought before him, and duly investigate the evidence ; after whkh be
must take the cause into consideration. He must not, in the least, listeo
to what is false, and on all occasions must decide according to tntth.
*' A Jnksa who attends to all these points is of high repute. Of less re-
pute is a Jdksa who, in the decision of causes which come before him,
listens to the advice of others : such a one is like that kind of bird,
which in order to procure for itself the necessary food, dives under
water, without thinking of the danger to which it is exposed of losmg
its life from the want of air. But entirely unfit for employment is s
Jdksa wlio is haughty in his demeanour, and at the same time low
enough to take advantage of persons who come before him : such s
one is like a bat, that in the dark steals the fruit from the trees; or like
a sportsman, who though destined to chase what is useful only, indis-
criminately destroys whatever comes in his ifv'ay, whether useful or not
In the same manner is it with a priest who every day attends at the
temple, for no other puq)ose but to make profit by* it: or with a writer,
who knows not how to make any thing but by the prostitution of hi«
writings ; or with the head man of a village, who imposes upon the vil-
lagtr^ ; or a dcvntcr, who gains his livelihood by necromancy.'*

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ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. 311

certained, the whole is brought before him, at whose discre-
tion it rests to pass judgment. It is however admitted, that
in matters of little moment, where his passions and interests
are not concerned, the division is frequently left to the law offi-
cers ; but in all matters of importance he will not fail to exer-
cise his privileges of interference.

The court of justice in which the Panghulu or high priest
presides, is always held in the serdmbiy or portico of the
mosque ; a practice, which, as it inspires the people with a
considerable share of awe, appears judicious. It is also con-
yenient for the administration of oaths, which among the
Javans are always administered within the mosque, and usu-
ally with much solemnity. The forms of the court are re-
gular, orderly, and tedious; all evidence is taken down in
writing, and apparently with much accuracy.

The court, at least at the seat of government, consists of the
Pan^hulu^ the officiating priest of the mosque, and four indi-
viduals, also of the religious order, called Pdteh nagdriy
meaning literally the pillars or supports of the country, to
whom, after the examination of evidence in capital offences,
the point of law and decision is referred. At the seat of go-
vernment the sovereign or his minister passes judgment

The court of the Jaksa at the seat of government consists of
the head Jaksa^ who may be styled the law officer of the
prime minister, and the Jdksas of his Klfwons or assistants,
for they too have their law councils. The fimctions of this
court being of less importance, of a more mixed nature, and
less solemn because less connected with religion, are still
more subject than that of the Panghulu to the rude interfer-
ence of the executive authority *.

* The following was the usual course of proceeding in Jdpara, and ge-
nerally in the provinces subjected to European authority, previous to the
interference of the British government. The plaintiff went to the Jdksa
and made his complaint. If the case was important, the Jdksa took down
the deposition in writing in the presence of witnesses, summoned the ac-
cused, and communicated the deposition to him. The latter then either
acknowledged or denied the facts, witnesses were examined, and the pro-
ceedings of the smt laid before the Regent, who after perusal transmitted
the same to the Panghulu for his advice, with which the latter complied,
referring at the same time for a sentence to some of the collections on

312 ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.

The Javan code of law is divided into two departments^ that
of the Mahomedan law and that of custom and tradition. The
former is distinguished by the appellation of Atictfin dU^dk^the
commands of God, from the Arabic ; the latter by the Jaran
words yudha nagdra^ meaning consideration for the countiy,
or in other words, allowance for the state of society.

The decisions in Mahomedan law are chiefly goided by se-
veral works in the Arabic language. In all the coials of
Java these works are said to be consulted in the Arabic lan-
guage, but reference is more frequently made to a collec-
tion of opinions extracted from them, and translated into the
language of the country.

The law of custom is chiefly handed down by oral tradition,
but has in part been committed to writing in the following
performances.

The earliest work relating to jurisprudence which is now
referred to, is that of Jugul Muda Pdtehy or minister of Sri
Ma Pung^gung {o{ Mendang Kami'ilan)^ now Wirosdri: it is
computed to be about six hundred years old. The second
bears the name of Raja Kdpay said to have been the son of
Jugul Muda, and like him minister of his sovereign Kandid-
nan, also prince oi Mendang KamUlan,

By the authority of the Sultan of Demdky the first Maho-
medan prince, a compilation of the Javan laws was made, in
which they were in some measure blended with the Mahome-
dan jurisprudence. Probably this was intended to pave the
way to an entire introduction of Mahomedan law. The body
of regulations, &c. compressed in these codes is curious, from
the laborious refinement of their distinctions, fit>mthe mixture
of moral maxims and illustrations vriih positive law, from the
most incongruous combinations, and from their casuistical
spirit. In the Appendix will be found the translation of a
ino(l(^m version of the Suria Aleniy a work of this description
in high repute, as well an abstract of the laws and regulations
said to have been in force in the earliest periods to which
Java tradition refers*.

Mahomedan law. The Regent ha\'ing compared the sentence with the law
and with equity, and finding? the same correspondent with both, judgment
was pronounced by the Jdksa.
' Sec Appendix ('.

ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. 313

The proclamations (indang-ikndang)y and the laws and
regulations (anger dngeran) of the sovereign, form another
source of deviation from the Mahomedan law. Collections
of these have been committed to writing.

The prince, by himself or his officers, is always supposed
vested with a discretionary power of adapting the Mahomedan
law to the circumstances of society, a prerogative liberally
exercised. This power, which sanctions every deviation from
the letter of Musselman law, the Javans also express by the
term of yudha nagdra. The krising of criminals instead of
beheading them, the combat of criminals with tigers, the
severe penalties for infractions of the sumptuary laws of the
Javans, the constant commutation of corporeal punishment
for a pecuniary fine, and in the case of persons of rank found
guilty of murder, the commutation of the strict law of retalia-
tion for a fine, without regard to the wishes of the relations of
the deceased, if the latter be of no consideration, were among
the deviations from the Mahomedan law sanctioned by the
Yudha nagdra.

Such was the composition of the courts, and the code of
laws that existed on Java before the arrival of the Dutch, and
remained unchanged at the conquest of the island by the
British. The Dutch legislated for the colonists, but took
little interest in the system by which the judicial proceedings
of their native subjects were guided, excepting in so far as
their own advantage or security was concerned in them. The
following statement contains the changes introduced by the
Dutch.

Besides the colonial laws and regulations, enacted from time
to time by the Governors and Council at Batavia ; besides
some standing orders of the Court of Directors, and some
rules and provisions contained in the successive charters of
the Company, and in what was called the article brief; the
Dutch law, which was always considered the foundation of
the colonial law, was of authority, as far as it remained unaf-
fected by these institutions.

A collection of the colonial statutes and regulations, called
the Pla^cart Book of Batavia, and an abstract of them, en-
titled the Statutes of Bataviay were made under the authority
of the colonial government; but as the latter never underwent

314 /VDMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.

a regular promulgation, the rules contained in it were not con-
sidered as possessing the force of law, except in so far as they
might be foimd to be conformable to the orders, proclamations,
and regulations of tlie Indian government, or of the Directors
of the East India Company.

The power of the Directors and of the Council of Batavia
to enact local laws and regulations, seems not to have been
very circumspectly defined in the first charters of the Company,
those charters conferring on them, in general terms only,
authority to provide for the administration of justice and esta-
blishment of police.

But from the nature of the occasion it seems evident, that
this power of making colonial laws, as far at least as related
to the Council of Batavia, coidd only have been a limited
one, to be exercised with considerable discretion, and only
upon points requiring an immediate provision, subject always
to the approbation of the authorities at home ; and even the
Directors could hardly be considered to have possessed a
greater extent of legislative power, than was necessary for the
sccimty of their new territories, and of their rights and pri-
vileges, or to have been authorised to deviate wantonly from
the established law of the coimtry, or neglect the dictates of
justice and equity.

In the great variety of matter comprehended in the colonial
statutes, no subject seems to have occupied more attention
than the laws respecting slavery. These, as already observed,
appear to have been formed in general upon principles of
humanity and consideration for tlie condition of the unfortu-
nate beings to whom they related.

In consequence of a resolution of the year 1760, the Council
of India ordered that the customs of the Mahomedans, in mat-
ters of inlieritance and successions ab intestate &c. should be
sanctioned and published.

In civil matters, natives and Chinese in tlie districts iif
Batavia seem to have been governed by the same laws as the
luin)])ean inhabitants.

Crimes connnittcd bv natives or Chinese in tlie citv of
Batavia and its environs, had, from the first settlement <if tlie
Dutch on tliu island, always been tried by European judges,
and according to Euro])ean law.

ADMINISTIL\T10N OF JUSTICE. 315

In Bantam the criminal jurisdiction over the natives was
left to the Sultan, and that over the Chinese resident there,
was exercised as at Batavia according to the European law.

The Jakatra and Pridn^en Regencies seem formerly to
have enjoyed a peculiar and fortunate state of tranquillity.
Almost entirely removed from every commimication and in-
tercourse with Europeans, Chinese, and other foreign settlers
found in the neighbourhood of Batavia, engaged in agricul-
ture, and ruled by their own native chiefs, these districts seem
to have been in a high degree free from crime ; but whenever
enormities did happen, the offenders were sent down to Ba-
tavia, and tried according to Einx)pean law. It is to be ob-
served, however, that on the first submission of those districts
to the Company, their chiefs or regents reserved to themselves
the jurisdiction over the inhabitants of their respective dis-
tricts ; but this stipulation appears to have been disregarded
in the latter times of the Dutch Company, and under the late
administration of Marshal Daendals, a court was established
for these districts, the rule of which was European law.

From Ch^ribon the Chinese were amenable, as from Bantam
and Batavia ; but the natives were subject to a landraad (or
local court), of which the Resident was president, and the
Sultans members ; and this court was, partly at least, directed
by a papdkam, or native code, compiled under the sanction of
the government.

In the Eastern districts of the island, the Javans seem
always, in criminal matters, to have enjoyed their own laws,
founded on ancient custom and the precepts of the Koran.
Of these laws the Council of Batavia caused abstracts to be
printed, for the guidance of the great landraad or high court
at Semdrangy to which all the Javans in the European pro-
vinces, from Losdri to Banyuwdngi were amenable.

Under the native government, the prime minister (Rdden
Adipdti) is the head of the police, as well as every other de-
partment of authority. The higher class of ftmctionaries is
most frequently to be found in those parts of the country most
remote from the seat of government, where, as governors of
provinces, they possess some extension of powers. The great
and fertile provinces near the capital, on the other hand, are
divided into small appropriations, of from two hundred to one

316 ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.

thousand chdchas, or families, placed under the administration
of dinsion officers, whose authority is limited to the duties of
police.

Each village is possessed of a distinct organization within
itself, has its chief, its Kabdyan or assistant, and if of any
considerable size, its priest, whose advice is frequently had
recoiu^c to, and who generally decides petty disputes, espe-
cially respecting divorces and matters of inheritance. The
chief of the village is not without his share of judicial au-
thority, and often takes upon himself to punish by fine and
imprisonment In each village the inhabitants keep regular
nightly watches and patroles.

The manner in which these little societies have been le-
cently formed in the districts to the east of Sarabdyu, where
the European authority had not interfered, and where the in-
fluence of the Mahomedan government was scarcely felt,'will
tend to illustrate their nature and constitution.

The frequent wars, in which the people had been engaged
with the inhabitants of Bali and Madura^ as well as with the
Dutch, had reduced those provinces to a state of wilderness
towards the middle of the last century. The encouragement
held out to the people of the neighbouring island of Madura
brought over several adventurers, who were allowed to occupv
the land they cleared ; first rent-free, and afterwards at a fixed
assessment. If several persons came together, their leader
was invested with the authority of Peting*gi over the new
village which they formed. When individuals associated to
constnict a >nllage, the chief was elected by themselves, sub-
ject to the approval of the landlord ; and they possessed the
privilege, common in all the districts east of Surabdgaj of
annusilly electing their chief, or Feting* gi.

'Die nature of the duties rendered by this person was so
essential to the well-being of a village, tliat tliis privilege was
in<»st intimately connected with its existence. Whenever a
new assessment was imposed on the lands, it was the business
of the 7V//////V//, if the amount was too high, to represent the
mailer to the su])erior, and to state tlie inability of the people
to make good the demand : the consequence was, either a
redurtion of assessment cm tlie part of tlie principal, or
ilesertion on that of the people. But when the amount of the

ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. 817

assessment was considered reasonable (and any amount less
khan three-fifths seems to have been so considered), the
Peiing*gi had to assemble all the people, and to distribute to
each, in the common presence of all, his individual propor-
tion of land, with a statement of the produce to be paid. He
had to keep a roster of all duties required of the people, and
to see that every man took his proper turn. When the harvest
ripened, he had to watch the collectors, that they exacted no
more from each man than his proportion ; and the cultivator,
that he did not embezzle any part of the due of government.
In large villages he had an assistant, called a Kabdyan^ who
represented him during his absence, and with the Kamituah
and Mudin (priest), formed a court for settling petty village
disputes; subject, however, to a reference, if the parties
should be dissatisfied.

It was customary for the people of the village to cultivate
the lands of their Peting*gi without payment. This and the
honour of chiefship rendered the office an object of village
ambition; while an annual election, and the fear, if turned
out, of being called upon to justify his conduct, rendered this
officer generally a steady and carefiil representative of his
constituents.

All strangers passing through the country were expected to
apply to the Peting*^ for the assistance they required ; and
if payment was tendered, all procurable necessaries were
furnished. The Petlng^gi also took charge of the strangers*
property, examined the same in the presence of the other
head-man, and was bound to return the whole undiminished
the next morning, or to pay the value. If, however, the
stranger preferred keeping his property under his own charge,
and rested himself for the night under some of the pubUc
sheds, the loss he might sustain fell on himself alone, and all
he could procure from the village was assistance. to trace the
offenders.

It was customary, as well to deter beasts of prey as thieves,
for a part of the men of each village to keep a night watch
round it, and to perform this duty in successive rotation.

Such appears to have been the internal regulation of these
villages ; and it seems to have been framed according to the
ancient usage of the island, the similarity of which to that of

318 ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.

Western India has been adduced as a strong instance of one
conimon origin *.

* With the exception, perhaps, of the right of election, which I hire
not seen noticed in any account of (Continental India, the constitution of
the Javan \nllage has a striking resemhlance to that of the Hindui,
according to the following statement in the Fifth Report of the Houte of
Commons on Indian Affairs. *' A village, geographically considered, is a
tract of country comprising some hundreds or thousands of acres of
arable and waste lands ; poUtically viewed, it resembles a corporatioi
or township. Its proper establishment of officers and servants consists
of the following descriptions : the Potail or head inhabitant, who has
generally the sui)erintendance of the affairs of the village, settles the
disputes of the inhabitants, attends to the police, and perfonns the
duty of collecting the revenues within his village, a duty which his
personal influence and minute acquaintance with the situation and con-
cerns of the people render him the best qualified to discharge. The
'* Kumum, who keeps the accounts of culti\^tion, and registers every
thing connected with it. The Tallier and Totie, the duty of the former
appearing to consist in a wider and more enlarged sphere of action, in
gaining information of crimes and offences, and in escorting and pro-
'* tecting persons travelling from one village to another; the province of
the latter appearing to be more immediately confined to the village,
consisting among other duties in guarding the crops and assisting in
measuring them. The boundary man, who preserves the limits of the
village, or gives e\'idence respecting them in cases of dispute. The
superintendant of tanks and iivater-courses, distributes the water there-
from for the purposes of agriculture. The Bramin, who performs the
village worship. The schoolmaster, who is seen teaching the children
in a Wllage to read and write in the sand The calendar Brttmm or
astrologer, &c.

These oflicers and servants generally constitute the establishment of
a village ; but in some parts of the country it is of less extent, some
of the duties and functions above described being united in the same
person : in others it exceeds the number of individuals which have been
described.

Under this simple form of municipal government, the inhahitants of
the country have lived from time immemorial. The boundaries of the
villages have been but seldom altered ; and though the \'illage8 them-
selves have been sometimes injured, and even desolated by war, famine.
and disease, the same name, the same limits, the same interests, and
" vvvn the same families, have continued for ages. The inhabitants give
'* themselves no trouble aliout the breaking up and division of kingdoms;
while the village remains entire, they care not to what power it is
tran«iferred, or to what sovereign it devolves; its internal economy
I cinains unchanged. 'Vhe Potail is still the head inhabitant, and still

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ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. 319

It follows from the above, that each village has in itself the
naterials of a good police, and that a right of choosing their
chiefs gives to the people a considerable share of real liberty*.
This right of election in the inhabitants of the village, as
Wore observed, would appear at one time to have been
general throughout the island. It is still respected in the
districts of Surabaya^ where the office of Peting^gi was
always elective, for although the same person might hold it
for many years, a ballot for the situation was regularly held
at specified periods, varying from one to three years f.

The right of election is also clearly acknowledged in the
listricts of Japdra and Jawdna. ^* That the Peting^gi is
^ elected by the inhabitants of a village," observes the officer
rlo introduced the settlement into those districts X^ ^^ there
cannot be a doubt ; and even the right of election is
foregone by the people, though I have not met with a
single instance of the kind, it may be taken for granted,
that it is so only, in consequence of the influence of the
Regent, to serve some particular purpose. While the
Peting^gi continues in office, he is looked up to and obeyed
by the people of the village to which he belongs as the im-
^ mediate chief. He generally occupies the paseban usually
^ to be found in villages of consequence, and has two or
' more men, inhabitants of the village, appointed to attend
* him wherever he goes. A Petin^gi was usually elected for
^ one year, during which time he could not, according to the
^^ ancient usage, be removed, except in consequence of some

** acts as the petty judge and magistrate, and collector or renter of the
" village."

In examining the interior of a village on Java, we find that, in common
with the Hindu usage, it possesses a constitution within itself, indepen-
dent of the supreme governing power. Here, as in Western India, it will
be fotmd that each village possesses its Peting*g% or chief; its Kabayan,
who is the deputy or assistant to the head of the village ; its Kamitwih or
elders, generally men who have formerly heen chiefs of the village ; its
Mudin or priest ; its Ulu-ulu or Kapala Bandang^an, or superintendent of
water-courses ; its Jent-tulis or writer, &c.

* See Report of IMr. Hopkins on the districts of Surabdya.

t See Report of Colonel Adams on Surabdya.

X Mr. Mc. Quoid. See his Report on the Districts of Japdra and
Jawdna.

3-20 ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.

^^ gross misconduct, but if his conduct was such as to gire
** satisfaction to the inhabitants, they continued him ftr
*^ several years. As far as I could leanii** continues the same
officer, ^^ the Regent, or other superior native authoritr,
^^ seldom interfered in the election of a Petin^gi; but it wu
^^ generally understood, that although he could not force a
^* Petlng*gi upon them who was dishked by the people, his
^^ confirmation was required before the person elected coald
" act with effect"

In the Stinda districts of CheriboH and Tegdlj the appoint-
ment to this office is invariably made, if not by the election
of the villagers, generally from among themselves, and always
with their concurrence. It is a common practice for the
people of a village, even where the right of election is not in
use, to represent in a body the conduct of their chief, if incor-
rect ; and it has always been necessary for the chief native
autliority to remove him, if the complaints were justly
founded.

A reference to the judicial regulations in the Appendix*
will show how desirous the British government on the island
has been to protect the privileges of these societies, and in
particular the right of electing their chief.

Wlien the British authority was established on the island,
it was immediately seen that something must be done to
supply the deficiencies, and to correct the imperfections of
the native code. All the other changes in contemplation for
the encouragement of industry and for the abolition of oppres-
sive and impolitic exactions, would have been nugatoiy,
witliout such an improvement in the judicial and police regu-
lations, as would secure, by a full and impartial adixninislxation
of justice, the rights and privileges about to be conferred. It
would have been in vain to define the limits of power, to issue
directions for guiding the conduct of public ser^^ants in their
transactions with the people, or to have abrogated the oppres-
sive privileges of the chiefs, and to have assured the people
of the intention of government to protect them against all
invasion of their rights, either by open ^dolcnce, by the
exaction of senices, or by oppressive contributions, without

* Ap))endix D.

ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. 321

establishing effective means of obtaining redress when
aggrieved. The system acted upon was at once barbarous
and revolting. Practices prevailed under the sanction of
native law, which were abhorrent to the criminal jurisdiction
of any enlightened nation, witiiout being at all necessary to
the due administiation of justice *. I allude particularly to
torture and mutilation. These the Earl of Minto immediately
abolished, by his proclamation of the 11th September 1811,
in which, besides this beneficial and humane enactment, he
laid down clearly and distinctiy the Uberal and enlightened
principles which should guide the local government in the
subsequent revision of the civil and criminal code of the
colony. The result was the enactment of the code of judicial
and police regulations which will be found in the Appendix
to this work f. The outlines of these regulations, and the
principles which dictated them, are contained in a Minute
which I recorded on the 11th February 1814, when they were

* AmoDg many others, the following enactments, which were in force
in some of the Eastern districts when the English arrived, will serve to
shew the barbarities of the law then existing, in its operation on the
people, and its leniency towards the great.

" Any person murdering his superior shall be beheaded, his body quar-
** tered and given to the wild beasts, and his head stuck upon a bambu.

** Any person disobeying his superior and attempting to murder him,
" may be killed by the superior, without giving any intimation thereof to
** the chief town.

Any person daring to destroy any public advertisement promulgated

by government shall forfeit his right hand.

A Demdng, or other chief of a d^a, being acquainted with any con-
spiracy tending to the injury of the state, and not giving intimation

thereof, shall be punished by losing one ear, his head shall be shaved^
** and he shall be banished.

" Any person- daring to offer violence to a priest in the mosque or
" among the tombs shall forfeit one hand.

*< If a woman kills a man she shall be fined 500 reals batH,
If a superior kills an inferior he shall be fined 1000 doits.
If a person puts out the eyes of another he shall be fined 500 reals

batu ; if one eye only 50 reals."

There were also different fines for maiming different parts of the body.
For cutting out the tongue, 500 reals ; for knocking out the teeth, 25 ;
** for breaking the thimib, 500 ; for breaking the finger, 100 ; and the
like. See CoUection of Native Laws at Banyvwangi.

f Appendix D.

VOL. I. Y

•• b

32-2 ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.

completed and promulgated; and the following qnotatioiu
from that document may be sufficient to put the reader ^id
possession of the change which was effected.

*^ It was essential, in conducting the revenue axrangemenU,
^^ that the measures taken for the establishment of a good
^^ and efficient police, and the full and impartial adnunit-
** tration of justice throughout the island, should presenre an
" equal pace.

^' Rights were not to be bestowed and defined, without
^* a suitable provision for their being effectually guarded
** against any invasion ; and it became an object of the fint
^* moment, to form such an adequate and consistent code of
^^ regulations, as should serve, in every instance, to guide the
^^ executive officers of government in the performance of their
^^ duty, and to make known, and secure to the people, the
^^ means of obtaining redress, whenever they felt themselTei
" in any way aggrieved.

^^ The system found existing on our first arrival was at once
^^ complicated and confused. In the principal towns there
*^ were established courts, but these were constituted in all
^^ the troublesome formalities of the Roman law ; and in the
^^ different residencies were provincial courts, styled laud-
*^ raadsy where the native form and law was left to iaike its
^^ course, with all its barbarities and tortures.

" The Dutch government, proceeding entirely on the sys-
" tern of commercial monopoly, paid vcrj- inferior attention to
'^ their internal administration. They h&d little other con-
^^ nexion with tlicir best subjects, the cultivators of the soil,
^^ tlian in calling on them, fi*om time to time, for arbitraiy and
*^ o])prcssive contributions and sen'iccs ; and for the rest, gave
^' them up to be vassals to tlie various intermediate antho-
'* ritics, the Regents, DemanySy and other native officers.
" Tliose eitlior at first purchased tlieir situations, or stipu-
" latod fur a certain tribute, in sen'ice or money, in conside-
" ration of which all the inferior classes of inhabitants were
'* made over, to be (h'ult with by them as most pleasing to
" themselves. Policy, and the common attention to their own
" good, suggested to these a certain equity of procedure, and
" it was generally tlie custom to leave each village to its own
" nmnrtgoment, ^ith respect to police and settling the petty

ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE- 823

" quarrels that occurred within its limits ; but for the con-
** tinuance of what was good in such a system, there was no
^ security whatsoever, and oppression and injustice must have
" constantly occurred. Where the will of the lord was the
" paramoimt law, his vassals could only have depended on
^' his natural goodness of disposition for being equitably
** treated. No remedy was afforded where the reverse was
** the case, and they possessed, in short, no security, no firee-
•* dom whatsoever.

** On the propriety of the measures to be adopted by us to
** remedy such evils, no doubt could exist.

" The first proclamation of the enlightened founder of the
•* present government adverted immediately to this subject
'^ As a step that could not, consistently with British ideas,
*^ admit of a moments delay, it instantly ordained, th^at torture
*^ and mutilation should no longer make part of any sentence
** to be pronounced against criminals ; and it then proceeded
" to define clearly the relative situation of the English and
** Dutch inhabitants, laying down rules for the future gui-
** dance of government concerning them. This proclamation,
** dated 11th September, 1811, has long been before the world,
" and it would be superfluous, in this place, to dwell on that
** love of justice and benevolence of disposition, which is to
" be traced through every part of it It forms the basis of the
" present respective European rights in this colony *.

" As a continuation of the measures so ably sketched out by
^^ my predecessor, I issued the proclamation, dated the 21st
" January, 1812. .

" In this I attempted to simplify the clumsy and unwieldy
" structure of the former courts, by abolishing some, lessening
" the number of the judges in the remaining ones, and by de-
" fining, as accurately as I could, the limits of their respective
" jurisdictions.

" It was found that, formerly, there were separate courts
" for investigating the conduct of the immediate European
" sen^ants of the Dutch Company, and of Europeans not in-
" eluded in that service. This distinction, as Lord Minto
" observed, never could have been grounded on any sound

♦ See Appendix D.

3-24 ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.

" principle, and it being resolved, that justice, under the
" Britisli government, should be administered equal and alike
" to all classes and denominations, tlie judicial power of the
" College of Schepenen was abolished, and transferred to the
" jurisdiction of tlie courts of justice.

" Tlie great number of judges who, under the Dutch ad-
" ministration, formed a coiut, was reduced in each to a pre-
'* sidcnt and three members.

*' One court was established in each of the three principal
" towns, Batavia, Semarang, and Surabaya, the jurisdiction
" of which extended over its European inhabitants ; proceed-
" ing, in civil cases, in the mode before established, but in
" criminal ones, so as to conform as much as possible to that
" established in Great Britain ; in all cases confronting the
" prisoner with the evidence, and a jury being called to judge
" of the fact on tlie evidence so adduced.

" To relieve these courts from numerous inconsiderable
" causes, courts, of the nature of Courts of Requests, were
" also established in these three tornis, for the recovery of
** small debts.

** For matters of police within the towns, magistrates were
" apj)(>iiited ; but they were ordered to confine themselves
" entirelv to tliis branch.

*' An abuse which had been discovered to be usual, the
'* compounding crimes and offences, in consideration of a sum
" of money paid to the Fiscal or otlier oflBicer, had also met
** with Lord Minto's most severe reprehension, as being one
'' of an abominable nature, and to be suppressed \iithout
" (U'lay. llie practice was accordingly strictly prohibited,
" and consonantly with British ideas was termed scandalous.

'* '111 us much had been done with regard to Europeans,
'* and it has been foimd fullv sufficient

" But with respect to the native inhabitants of the Island,

it was to be expected that much greater changes would be

necessarv.

" In the first instance, it was ordered that coiuts should he
*' (Established in the difierent districts, in which the chief
'' civil authorities should ])resi(le, aided by the Regents and

olluT native officers, for the puq)ose of hearing and tr)'inf^

all causes in which natives only were concerned; the

ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE 325

amount of their civil decisions, when exceeding fifty dollars,
*• being submitted for confirmation to the courts of justice ;
** and all criminal cases, of a capital nature, being made over
** by them to judges of circuit, who were ordered to be sent
" on this duty twice a year, firom among the members of the
** superior courts.

" Thus much was known not to militate either against the
** principles of universal and natural justice, or against the
** particular laws and usages of the country ; and thus much
" was only, at first, done, because it was resolved to obtain
the ftdlest knowledge of the subject, with regard to the
manners, habits, and institutions of our native subjects,
** before we established one general code of regulations for
** the internal administration of the country.

" In effecting this grand object, it was ratiier my wish to
** have it maturely and well done, than by accelerating it too
" much, to run the risk of taking up a crude system, which
" would require to be afterwards re-considered, and perhaps
entirely new modelled.

" On the principle, however, which would eventually guide
me, there was no doubt, nor is it necessary for me to dilate
on the impolicy, the inconvenience, or the injustice, of sub-
jecting the natives of Java to any other laws, than those of
their ancient government and established faith.
" The tranquillity of the country and the duties of police
** have been provided for, by preserving the original consti-
tution of the villages, and continuing the superintendence
and responsibiUty in the hands of those, whose rank enables
them to exert a due influence, and to command respect.
For the administration of justice, the duties of the Resident,
" as judge and magistrate, have been considerably extended.
In civil cases, the mode of proceeding, and the establish-
ment of petty courts, axe founded on the practice of the
country; in criminal, the jurisdiction and authority of the
Resident has been considerably extended. Hitherto, his
" duties had been strictiy confined to police ; but considerable
" delay and injury to the parties accused, as well as to the
" witnesses, had been occasioned by allowing all causes of a
" higher nature to lie over for the Court of Circuit : and as
" the separation of the collection of the Revenue would afford

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326 ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTIGB.

^^ more time to the Resident, it was resolved to extend the
" criminal jurisdiction of the Provincial Courts to all cases, in
^^ which the punishment for the crime alleged does not amount
^^ to death. In these courts, which instead of being termed
" Landraady as heretofore, are now styled the Residenfs
" Courts, the Panghidiiy or chief priest, and the superior,
" JdksGy or native fiscal, attend to expound the law. Tie
" Bopdtis, or Regents, with their Pdteh/ty are prescmt, to aid
^' and assist tlie Resident with their opinion in the course
" of the investigation, but they have no vote in the decision*
"If the opinion of the law officers appears to the Resident to
" be according to substantial justice, and is in accordance
" with his own opinion, the sentence is immediately carried
" into effect, j)rovided the punishment does not extend to
" transportation or imprisonment for life.

" In cases where the punishment adjudged is more con-
" sidtTa])le, or wherein tlie opinion of the law officers may be
" at variance witli that of the Resident, a reference is to be
" made to the Lieutenant Governor ; and in all cases where
the punishment for the crimes charged is of a capital nature,
the ])risoner is committed to jail, to take his trial before the
" Circuit Judge.

" On the first establishment of the Courts of Circuit, it was
" directed that the President and one other member of the
Courts of Justice, should proceed once in six months, or as
much of\ener as circumstances might require, to the difTerent
Residencies in their several jiuisdictions, for the trial of
oilenders. Much inconvenience, however, was foimd to
" arise from the absence of tliose members of the courts from
" the towns in which thev were established, as it necessarilr
'^ followed, that all civil business was at a stand while ther
*' were Jiway. On the other hand, to prevent delay on the
** trial of criminals, it was necessary that they should Wsit the
Residencies more frequently than once in six months.
" To remedy this in future, and to provide for the prompt
and due administration of justice among the native inhabit-
ants, in a manner that is not repugnant to their notions of
" right and wrong, one member of each of the courts of justice
** lias b(H»n appointed a Judg«* of Circuit, who will be present
''in each of the Residencies at least once in every three

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ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. 327

** montliSy and as much oftener as necessary. In the mode
of proceeding, they are to avoid the formalities of the Roman
law. A native jury, consisting of an intelligent foreman
" and four others *, decide upon the fact : the law is then
** taken down, as expounded by the native law ojQBcers, and
** the sentence, with the opinion of the Judge of Circuit, and
" on the application of the Dutch and Colonial law on the
** cases, is forwarded for the modification or confirmation of
** the Lieutenant Governor.

" Hitherto the jury required by the Court of Circuit did
" not exceed five in number, and these, as justly observed,
" * were chosen firom a class of men (Europeans) who had no
** * conmion feelings, no common rights ; who were, in no

* shape or consideration, the equals of the person tried.

* The law was the law of Europe. The jury, under their

* best prejudices, were influenced by that law ; and its

* meanings and penalties were applied to people who reason

* in a different manner, and who often never knew any thing

* of the laws of Europe, before they found themselves its
** * convicted victims.'

" The general jurisdiction of the Courts of Justice at Ba-
tavia, Semarang, and Surabaya, is now confined to Euro-
peans and foreigners and to the inhabitants of those towns
*^ and their suburbs ; and a line has been drawn, which dis*
^* tinctly separates the police of the country from that of the
** towns.

*^ Collections of the different law-books and institutions of
** the country are now making, and a native establishment
^* has been formed at Buitenzorg, imder my immediate super-
** intendence, for examining and revising the judicial pro-
^^ ceedings, and for affording to the native inhabitants that
" facility of appeal, which the remoteness of the Government,
^^ and the rules of Dutch administration, did not formerly ad-
" mit of, but which is so consonant to the principles on which
" the new system of internal economy has been established."
Under the native government, the whole of the male popu-

* The number required to compose the jxaj was fixed in conformity with
the ancient usages of the country, in which five persons are considered
necessary to assist in the deliberation upon any matter of importance.

328 MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT.

lation capable of bearing arms was liable to militarjr service ;
but the number of people required to cultivate the land, and
to perform other pubUc services, did not admit of more than
one-tliird being spared for military purposes, except in cases
of extraordinary emergency. The extent of the force perma*
nently kept up by the sovereign in time of peace Taried, of
course, wiih the probability of approaching hostilities : when
this was smallest, the number seldom exceeded what was
required for the state and pomp of the court, and might have
amounted to four or five thousand men. Until within the last
sixty years, when the Dutch first obtained a supremacy over
the whole island, the provinces under the native administra-
tion had for several centuries been in a continual state of war-
fare ; but since that period the military spirit has been gra-
dually subsiding, and, by the existing treaties with the native
princes, they are restricted in the number of troops which they
may maintain. Those of the Susuhunan are limited to a body
guard of one thousand men : such fiurther number as may be
required for the tranquillity of the countiy, the European go-
vernment undertakes to fiimish.

Before the native sovereign was under tiiis restriction, he
used to raise the requisite force by a demand upon the go-
vernor of each province for a specified number, to be furnished
at a certain time, varying according to circumstances. The
governor or chief of tiie pro\dnce apportioned this demand
among the subdivisions, and the village chiefs selected from
among the villagers as many as were required of them ; and
thus, in a country where every man wears a kria or dagger,
and the spear or pike is tlie principal military weapon, an
aniiy, or rather a numerous armed mob, was easily collected
in a few days. The men furnished from the villaiges, and of
whom the mass of every large army necessarily consisted,
were distinguished from the soldiers by profession fprajmrit)^
by the term drahafij or prajurit draJian, During their ab-
sence from home, tliey were provisioned by tiic sovereign, and
their wives and families were maintained by the head of the
village, who required of tlic remaining cultivators to assist in
working their fields or gardens.

The sovereign, as the head of the military and the founUuu
of military honour, assumes among his tides that of Semapdii^

MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT. 828

or lord of war. When an army is to be raised, he appoints a
certain number of his chiefs to be ividdfuiSj or commanders of
corps of three hundred and twenty men. Under each widdna
are four lurahs or tindihsy who command companies of eighty
men, and have each two subaltern ojfficers, called babdkals or
sesdbaiSy each having the command of forty men. The unddncLS
were remunerated for their services by grants of land, to the
amount of a thousand chdchaSy from which they had again to
make assignments for the maintenance of the inferior ojfficers,
who were always nominated by them.

When troops march through the country, or supplies are
required, a demand is made upon the neighbouring districts,
which are obliged to contribute according to their means,
without payment. When in an enemy's country, the troops,
of course, subsist by plunder, the disbursement of money for
provisions or supplies being unknown.

The native armies of Java consisted chiefly of in&ntry, but
the officers were invariably mounted, and when cavalry was
required, each province furnished its quota : the troops,
whether on foot or mounted, joined the army properly equipped
for action. It was thus imnecessary for the sovereign to keep
up a store of arms. Each village has its provision of spears,
and sometimes of fire-arms ; the officer of subdivision keeps a
further reserve for contingencies; and as the chief of the
province is responsible for the proper equipment of the men,
he generally has also a further store to supply any deficiency.

Of the different weapons used in Java, the most im-
portant and the most peculiar to the Eastern Islands is the
kriSy which is now worn by all classes, and as an article of
dress has already been noticed.

The Javan kris differs from the Malayan, in being much
more plain, as well in the blade as in the handle and sheath :
it differs also in the handle and sheath from the kris of Ma-
dura and Bdliy as may be seen in the plate. The varieties of
the blade are said to exceed an hundred ; and as a knowledge
of the kris is considered highly important by the Javans, I
have, in a separate plate, offered specimens of the most
common.

In the plates are also exhibited the different kind of spears,
darts, and other weapons, either said to have been in use for-

330 MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT.

merly, or actually used at the present daj. These are tba
bow and arrow (gendeita, panaj which are seldom used in
modem days, except on state occasions. The arrows^ termed
chdkray paspdiiy irisula, wardyang, diwdlj rdda deddli^ and
others of a similar form, as well as the clubs called inddn^
gdduy and dSuda^ are represented as the weapons used by the
gods, demigods, and heroes of antiquity, and are constantly
referred to in the mythological and historical romances of
the Javans, and exhibited in their scenic and dramatic enter-
tainments. The tulup and pdser represent the tube and the
small arrows which are rendered poisonous by the lipas : these
have not been used on Java for centuries, but they are comnMm
in less civilized islands of the Archipelago, and particulaily
on Borneo. Tlie ganjing is an iron bar, formerly used by the
Javans. The bandrinyy or sling, is still used with consider-
able effect, and was employed in resisting the British tnx)pf
in 181*2. The peddng^ banddly badik^ goldkj mentdk^ Idmang
or klewdngy and chundrikj are varieties of the sword. The
k(idUtrdnchang is a weapon which was formerly general on
Java, but not now much used. The wedAng is a peculiar
weapon, in the shape of a chopper, worn on occasions of stale
by all chiefs when in presence of the sovereign. Of spears
and darts, there are several varieties distinguished by different
names. Small round shields are still in use ; the long shield
is not. Tlie matchlock exhibited in the plate is arepresenta^
tion of a piece maimfactured on Bdli,

Besides these instruments of war, the Javans have long been
acquainted with the use of cannon, muskets, and piBtoIs.
Previous to the reduction of Yugga^kertaj in 1812, by the
British forces, the Sultan cast brass guns of considcssble
calibre, and at Gresik they are still manufactured for export-
ation. Round the krdton of Sura-kerta are mounted several
ver>' large pieces of artillery, and great veneration is paid to
some of them supposed to have been the first introduced on
the island : two, in particular, are considered to be part of the
regalia. For nuiskets and pistols they arc principally indebted
to Europeans. Gunpowder they manufacture, but to no con-
siderable extent, and the quality is not esteemed.

From an army raised only on emergency, and composed of
people who do not make the military life a profession, much

MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT. 881

discipline cannot be expected. The veneration, however,
which the common people pay to their chiefs, the well de-
fined gradations of rank, and the devotion with which all
classes are willing to sacrifice themselves in support of their
ancient institutions and independence, seem to render the
Javan troops, while acting under their own chiefs, orderly
and tractable. In their tactics and conduct they endeavour
to emulate the examples given in their ancient romances ; and
in the plans for their pitched battles, the march of their armies,
and the individual heroism of their chiefs, they strive to imi-
tate the romantic exhibitions contained in the poems of an-
tiquity. In the great Matdrem war, for instance, the result
of which was the establishment of the present family on
the throne, the disposition of the army is said to have been
in the form of a shrimp or prawn, as represented in the
plate. This form is termed mangkdra^ or the shrimp which
hides its soul, alluding to the sovereign who is in the centre
and not to be approached. The plan of this order of battle
is said to have been taken from the poem of the Brdta YHdhay
and was adopted by Bimdnyti^ the son of ArjUna. The dirdda
mdta is another form, said to have been used by the army
otAstinay and has likewise been adopted by the modem
Javans *.

Of the bravery and heroism required of a soldier, some no-
tion has been given in the account of the Javan ethics ; and
a reference to their history, for the last three centuries, wiD
abundantly prove, that although unacquainted with those
evolutions and tactics which contribute so largely to the
power of an European army, the Javans, as soldiers, have
not been deficient, either in personal courage, or in such mi-
litary principles as might be expected from the general state
of society among them, and as are well suited to the nature
of the coimtry and the weapons they are accustomed to carry t»

* In joining the battle it is usual for the warriors to shout, and for the
trumpets (sarenen), gongs, and drums used in the martial music of the
country to be sounded.

t The following verse from the N^ti Sdslra Kdwi may be adduced, uk
further illustration of the notions entertained by the Javans regarding the
bravery of a soldier :
" The brave man who has been successful in war obtains his heart's desire.

332 MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT.

It is the national boast, that it was not so much by force of
anns as by intri^e and stratagem, that the Dutch obtained
the superiority iii the country. The histoiy of the Dutch ad-
ministration on Java ^^lll abundantly testify this, and at the
same time prove, that among Asiatics there are few nations
who have fought more obstinately in support of their inde-
pendence than tlie Javans. It was by corrupting and bribing
the chiefs, and so\^'ing disunion among them, that the Dutch
succeeded in dismembering an empire, already shaken, at the
period of their arrival, by tlie constant wars which attended
the establishment of Mahomedanism. Tlie comparison which
has been drawn bv tlie Javans tliemselves of their own cha-
racter, in contrast with that of the Dutch, may serve to illus-
trate tlie nature of the military feeling still existing in the
country. " The Dutch," say they, " are superior to the
^' Javans, inasmuch as they have good heads; they can cal-
^^ culate, and they understand policy better, but then thej
'^ have cold hearts : tlie Javans are poor simple beings, but
" tlicy love tlieir country and will never quit it ; their hearf
" glows and often bums."

Tlie phrenzy generally knoira by the term muck or dmok/u
only another fonn of that fit of desperation which bears the
same name aincmg the military', and under the influence of
which they rush upon the enemy, or attack a battery, in the
manner of a forlorn hope. The accounts of the wars of the
Javans, as well as of tlie MaUiyuSj abound with instances of
warriors running amok ; of combatants, giving up all idea of pre-
sening their own lives, rushing on the enemy, committing indis-
criminate slaughter, and never suirendering themselves alive*.
I^von at present, there are to be found among the Javans men
who profess to be and are considered invulnerable ; and there
are some who, by a dextrous manner of receiving the spear,

" Tlie >)rave man who dies in war is received into heaven and cheriihedby

tho Widadaris.
'* If a man in cowanlly in war and die, the keeiiers of hell Kiie upon hid

in a ni^o :
" Slioukl he not die, he is reprobated and despised by all good men, eren

to his face."

* It is on those oocaxions that the parties frequently increaM their dat-
piTatioii )>y the use f>f opium.

MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT. 838

lier such artifices, completely impose upon the too cre-
( people. Nothing is so easy as for an artful man to
ide the common Javans that he possesses supernatural
At the present day this pretension, and the artifices
dch it is supported, are more generally of a religious
5, but diuing the wars, every fortunate chief was consi-
as partially vested with it.

B general term for a soldier is prajurit : the guards of
Dvereign are distinguished by the term tant&mo. Sara
s the name given to those who carry fire-arms. Gdndek
le couriers or messengers who convey the orders of the
danders. In every army there is a certain number called
hela^ whose duty it is to prevent the body of the troops
deserting, and to see that every man does his duty. Pdna
m is the term by which the youths who accompany their
rrs and relations to battle are distinguished. Semut g4tat
e general term for attendants, retainers, and followers of
rmy. But besides distinctions of office, there are others
ly of merit and honour : those are called niutra who are
;ted as superior to their comrades in person and strength :
pratcireng are those who have once distinguished them-
38 in battle : magdtishy those who sacrifice all other pros-
s in Ufe in order to pursue the love of arms : truna-l&yangj
mt youths : jdga mra, those whose courage is undisputed,
who keep a good look out : judi pdti, those who hazard
r lives in battle, as they would hazard a die in any com-
i game of chance ; literally, who play with death : nir-
ly those who are above a sense of pain or fear : jdyeng
r, flowers of victory *. This latter term was chosen by
'shal Daendels for the native militia raised for the service
le Dutch government during his administration.
1 the Dutch armies the Javans were considered as inferior
le other islanders as soldiers, and fi-om the faciUties offered

" As to their military character, it is certain," says Plutarch, " they
ere able commanders, both by sea and land. But as the champions,
bo in one day gain the garland, not only in wrestling, but in the pan-'
ation, are not simply called victors, but by the custom of the games,
.e flowers of victory j so Cymon, having crowned Greece with two vic-
ries gained in one day, the one at land, the other at sea, deserves some
•eference in the list of generals." — Langhome's Plutarch : Cimon and
Ulus compared.

834 REVENUE.

for desertion while serving on Java, it waswith great difficulty
that they could be disciplined. The men were invariably
raised by conscription, and instances have occurred of their
deserting by companies. Under the British a corps of about
twelve hundred men was raised, with little prospect of ad-
vantage for the first two years ; but, by the perseverance and
ability of the ojfficcr who commanded Ihem, they afterwards
became a well-disciplined corps, and on all occasions behaved
themselves with fidelity and courage when called into action.
As individuals, they are, for the most part, physically weaker
than the Mal/iyus and other islanders ; and as a nation, their
agricultural habits have considerably obliterated the militaiy
character which they once possessed. Their country, how-
ever, particularly in the interior, is naturally very strong, full
of ravines and fastnesses, and their mode of warfare is per-
haps the best adapted for its defence. Were the whole
energies of the nation united under one chief, with the expe-
rience which they now have of European tactics, it may be
assumed that they would render it impregnable to any open
attack, either of an European or an Asiatic force ; but, unfisr-
tunatcly for their independence, it has been their lot, as their
history vfill shew, to be continually disunited, either by re-
ligious or political feuds. Their greatest resistance appean
to have been made against European influence. They main-
tain \iith pride, that although virtually conquered, they still,
as a nation and as individuals, pertinaciously adhere to their
ancient institutions, and have a national feeling, very different
from that which is usually to be found among a conquered
people.

llic subject of revenue, for the support of the various es-
tablislunents under tlie native government, has been so re-
peatedly touched upon, and came so much into view in the
account given of Javan agriculture, that many further details
hero would ai)pear tedious and unnecessar}'. All public ofli-
ccTs, it has been often observed, from tlie highest chief to the
lowest menial, are remunerated by grants of land revokable at
])leaKiure, and all expences of tlie courts of justice, all police
and niilitarv senices, defraved out of the same fund. There
IS no public treasury. AVlien public works arc to be executed,
or supplies are to be furnished, each village is called upon tn

REVENUE. 886

famish its quota of men, of provisions, &c. ; and on the equit-
able regulation of these services and contributions depends
the reputation of the native chief. The land constitutes the
mdy treasury of the prince, and this is valuable according to
its fertility, and the extent and number of its cultivators.
There are, to be sure, certain general taxes and imposts levied
throughout the country : but these appear to have been of
comparatively modem introduction, and unconnected with the
genuine principles of the Javan government The nature of
several of these imposts and taxes has been explained in treat-
ing of the landed tenure and the condition of the peasantry.
The following statement, extracted from the Report of a Dutch
commissioner *, appointed to inquire into the subject of taxa-
tion in the year 1812, though it refers to the particular pro-
vince of Surabaya^ may be considered as applicable to the
greater part of the island ; and I here produce it in preference
to any more general or more concise account of my own, be-
cause it will shew that the opinions I have so often expressed,
concerning the oppressions of the Dutch authorities, the pa-
tient submission, the industry, and other good qualities of the
lower classes of Java, are not peculiar to the EngUsh, but en-
tertained by some of the subjects of a government \^hich pro-
fited by the abuses complained of, and must have been anxious
to conceal their enormity.

^^ The ordinary taxes annually levied in the district of Sti-
" rabdya are as follow :

^^ i. The grabdg ot peUkj or as it is sometimes called, the
^^ chdcha or capitation tax, is generally levied at the rat& of
*' four rupees for each chdcha a year ; that is to say, for such
" a quantity of profitable land as may be cultivated by one
" family.

" 2. The contingent or contribution of rice to government,
" being from fifteen to nineteen pikHU of clean rice fix>m each
^^ jiingy according to its situation and fertility.

*^ 3. Pari pdnajung (from which, however, are excused
" the distant districts), consisting generally of three dmais of
" pdriy equal to from eight to ten kdti of rice, from each^un^.
'^ This is destined for the maintenance of those Mdntris and

* Mr. RothenbuUer.

336 REVEiNUB.

*^ chicfft who were not at all or insufElciently provided with
" rice fields of their own.

'^ 4. Pari pagondikan^ levied only in the districts near the
^' capital, consisting generally of two goings or double heaps

of pari. This was destined for the extraordinary expences

of the districts ; as the maintenance of the govemment, state

prisoners, native ambassadors from the opposite coast, and
" the like.

^' 5. Pari pakdnak^ consisted of three gedings from each
^^jvfgy destined for the maintenance of those who sufierintend
^' the direction of the water-coutses, &c.

^' 6. Pari zakat^ consisted of one dmai of pdri from each
^^ j^*^f/j ^nd was destined for the maintenance of the church
" and chief priests.

" 7. Pitrahy consisted in the payment of twenty kdii of rice
'^ from each jungy also destined for the maintenance of the
" priests.

'^ 8. Mdidman. This consisted of a payment made to the
^^ Regent or chiefs of the districts, at each of the three festivals
^^ of Mulut Puasa^ and Besdr^ of ten kdii of rice, and three
'^ and a quarter stivers in money from each jtfff^, one large
'^ fowl, five eggs, four cocoa-nuts, one bunch of plantains:
'^ and from those who held three or fonrjungn^ was fuithiT
'^ required a bottle of oil, to add to the solemnity of the cerc-
^' mony, to which persons of this condition were universally
" invited.

'' It is easy to conceive, that the common Javan was not
^' able to make any money after paying these taxes and con-
^' tributions, at least not so much as he wanted for himself and
'* family ; particularly if we take into consideration, that it is
^' very seldom one man is the sole proprietor of AJmng alone,
" but that it is often divided between three and four persons,
'^ and that, witli the most successful han-est, such a jtrng
" (Iocs not pnuluce more than tliirty to thirty-five dmais of
" pdri. With all tliis, however, the common Javan would
" feel himself satisfied, if he had no other taxes to pay, having
'' generally a good many fruit trees, and a little cottage farm,
'^ in which he cultivates siri^ &c. and sometimes a small fish-
" pond in the vicinity of his dwelling, which is usually free
'^ of tax. But this is not the case ; he must submit to other

REVENUE. 337

oppressions, which not being regulated, are for that reason
the heavier, because they are called for in an arbitrary way,
^* and because self-interest does not fail to seize eveiy pos-
" sible opportunity of extortion.

" When a chief has occasion to travel, when a marriage,
** birth, circumcision, recovery from illness, or any such sub-
** ject of festivity, occurs in his family, it is advertized imme-
" diately to the subordinate towns and villages, the inhabit-
** ants of which feel themselves obliged, each in proportion to
*^ his means, to carry him fruits, rice, fowls, and even buffaloes
^' and money. These are called free presents, but in fact, are
** as much an obligatory contribution as any of the others ; to
'^ say nothing of the many demands for fowls, eggs, ducks,
" fruits, &c. for which payment is made, but always at a rate
** fax below their value : or of the numerous fines Which are
^^ continually exacted frx)m the people, in compensation, or as
** hush money for disputes and offences of every description ;
'^ the taking away of bdmbuSy and sometimes of fiuit trees,
" when wood is required, either for government or the chief;
^* to which must yet be added, that for the execution of the
" duties of government, and on the conveyance of orders,
^^ MdntriSj and other subordinate chiefs, were continually, in
^* the neighbourhood of the villages, just like so many vora-
** cious birds, who think themselves entitled not only to take
^^ something for their trouble, but to be provided during their
** stay with every thing gratis, even opium, if they require it
'^ This custom, adopted on Java, extends to every other chief,
^* although not in employment, and even to the Regents, their
'^ relations, &c. None of these persons will pass through a
'^ town or village, without demanding what be wants for his
^^ maintenance or jouiTiey ; and very often he asks what he
** does not want, to the great oppression of the common Javan.
Much is wasted by this practice, and no particular advan-
tage appears to resiQt from it.

We must, indeed, be astonished to sec all the oppres-
sions, &c. to which the common Javan must submit It
is usually said, indeed, that the Javan is not accustomed
^^ to an easy life, and ought not to have more than barely
^^ enough to keep him alive, with many more such expres-
^' sions; but this is not the manner of reasoning of any well-
TOL. I. z

833 REVENUE.

'^ thinking man, who, though he sees very well the imperfec-
'^ tions and weak nature of the Javan, yet bears in mind that
^' he is a man like himself; who, although he has been con*
^' quered, it is true, by the greater valour and knowledge of
'^ the European, has still an equal right to be treated like

^^ a man.

'^ But, alas ! these are not all the vexations and oppressions
^' which fall to the lot of the common people, who bear all
^^ ^-itliout murmuring. The feudal service was as grievous as
^^ almost all the other charges imited. The origin of those
^^ ser\'ices must be sought for in the feudal system of the native
" government, long ago adopted tliroughout Java. It was
^^ considered that all the land was the property of the prince,
^' who only made provisional assignments thereof to his sub-
^^ jects, in remimeration for military and other services len-
'^ dcred. This was the cause of all the lands being divided
'' into as many allotments as coiQd be cultivated, called
*^ chdchaSy each of a size to be cultivated by one -man. A cer-
^^ tain number of these was assigned to the different chiefs,
^^ according to their rank ; the custom of the countiy fixing not
^^ only the amount of contributions to be paid from the pro-
^' duce, but the number of men to be constantly kept in
^^ attendance upon them. The lands thus assigned to chie&
^^ were exempt from service to them, and the inhabitants
" were only expected to watch the villages, to make and re-
'^ pair tlie roads, and to perform other general sen^ices of the
^' state. Tliis was the situation of the people with regaid to
^' sen ice, when tlie coast districts were first ceded to the
'^ Eiuropeau government. The system of trade and fixed con-
'' tributions did not admit of any change, and the
" were at that time of very little consequence, and such
^^ could be performed without oppression to the inhabitants;
'^ but the case is now quite different Successively and par-
" ticularly of late years, much heavier sendees have been dc-
" mandcd than were ever before known, and it naturallv
'' follows, that the Javan must be kept more at work than
'^ before. Besides, it is not possible to apportion those ser-
'^ vices equally, on account of the situation of the places
*^ where the senices are required, and because the chiefs, who
'' have the direction of the works, from indifference and lazi-

REVENUE. 339

u
u

ness, generally make a requisition on the nearest village ;
** and it not unfrequently happens, that many people are thus
** taken for the public ser\'ice, who have no lands whatever
** allotted to them. ^

" Were the requisitions made for the public service alone,
** it would still be comparatively nothing, it being admitted
** that the state has a right to the labour of its subjects ; but
** the Regents, their relations, their Pdtehs, and ihe subor-
** dinate chiefs of every description, assume the right of dis-
posing of the services of the comman people as they think
proper, and themselves employ many of them in menial
" labour of all descriptions *, from which it arises, that the
** number of people employed away from their homes, on what
** is called public services, is almost incredible.

" It is therefore more than time, and highly necessary, that
" an end be put to this monstrous system of government
** Humanity looks forward with pleasure to this step. Govem-
" ment, who are essentially interested, have the most perfect
** right to take it ; but the change must be entire and radical.
** Where the machine is entirely bad, it would be vain to
" attempt the repair of a few of the parts of which it is com-
posed : the whole woiQd still remain worthless, and it would
only result that the main defects being hidden by a specious
covering, the whole labour would be worse than thrown
" away."

The British government did accordingly alter the whole
system of revenue. TTie subject was {orced upon its atten-
tion, not only by the desire which every humane and liberal
administration must feel, to promote the happiness of its
subjects, but by considerations of a prudential nature. The
resources of the country had sunk under a capricious and
tyrannical system of exaction ; industry was paralyzed, and
confidence was destroyed. The opportunity for effecting a
reformation was favourable, our means ample, and we had
nothing to dread from the opposition of those interested in
supporting abuses : it was, therefore, resolved to abolish all
oppressive taxes, and to come immediately upon the soil for
support of our establishments, by appropriating a fixed portion

* This was the practice of the Europeans also.

340 REVENUE.

of its produce, leaving the full enjojuient of the remainder to
the cultivator, with every facility for turning his industry to
account. WTiat was done in consequence, by the land re-
venue arrangements, has been seen in the account given of
landed teniu'e.

The subjects of the colony were freed from the sway of their
chiefs, who were no longer permitted to demand at pleasure
their services or their property. These chiefs were compen-
sated for the loss of their former influence by salaries in money
or allotments of land, which they either held on condition of
performing the police duties, or collecting the revenue. When
paid by the rent of land, they were permitted to exact no
more than the assessment settled by government. No arbi-
trary' power was allowed them to disturb the peasant in the
enjopnent of the remainder, or to drag him from his home
and his duties to his family, for the purpose of swelling their
idle pomp, or performing sen-ices about their person or house-
hold. The Chinese farmers of the revenue in Cheribon and
other districts, having oppressed the people by every rapa-
cious and tyrannical expedient, were, by the discontinuance
of the farms, deprived of the power they had exercised over
the persons and property of the natives. Forced services and
all deliveries of produce at inadequate rates on government
account were abolished ; and for whatever colonial produce
or supplies might be required for the public service, the iair
market price was ordered to be paid. Duties on the transport
of goods from one part of the country* to another, and on the
sale of commodities at markets or bazars, were, for the most
part, abolished, as injurious to trade and discouraging to
agricultiu^ industry. The system of farming the import and
export duties, which existed under the Dutch, was likewise
annulled, and collectors were appointed to receive the duties
immediately for government. Internal duties, of the nature
of tolls and market dues, had been universally, though secretly,
levied by the Chinese, in Ch&ribon and other places, in direct
oj>})()silion to the orders of government and the terms of their
engagement. This abuse, engrafted on the fanning system,
incalculably aggravated its enls and called loudly for redress.
The fanner thnist his rapacious hand into every place where
there was the least prospect of gain, and limited his demand

REVENUE. 341

only by the capacity of the merchant to satisfy it, or by an ill-
defined custom, which might be perverted almost at pleasure,
so as to accommodate itself to any exaction. The evils re-
salting firom this mode of raising a revenue may easily be
calculated, when it is stated, that, for a very trifling contri-
bution to government by the farmer, duties were levied upon
internal transport amounting to nearly fifty per cent, on the
value of the commodities transported. Rice, on its transport
firom one part of the island to another, had been liable to
duties of about forty-six per cent. Regulations were made
for fixing the amount of import duties, and equalizing them
over the island.

The restoration of the Dutch Indian empire to the sovereign
of the Netherlands, at a period when these important changes
were only in progress, may have perhaps prevented the fiill
accomplishment by the English of the details in some dis-
tricts, but the principles of the new system were not only
introduced and thoroughly understood in all the more popu-
lous districts under the European government, but an expe-
rience of three years fiilly demonstrated the advantages re-
sulting firom it to the public revenue. It would have been
attended with great immediate loss, without any correspond-
ing fiiture gain, to have abolished at once all the former
sources of revenue ; but the thorough change of system was
declared, and the principles of it were acted tipon, as far as
was consistent with the security of public tranquillity and
the realization of the current resources of the country ; and
the results of these arrangements, as fax as they went, proved
that a land rent might, even with the existing taxes in the
capitals, &c. be realized at the rate of at least six rupees
annually firom each cultivator, or after the abolition of the
taxes bearing on agriculture, at the average rate of four Spa-^
nish dollars fi-om each cultivator, giving in the one case a
rental for the whole island of about six milUons of rupees,
and in the other of four millions of Spanish dollars, or at five
shillings the dollar, a million sterling. Of this one-fourth
would accrue to the native princes, and the remainder to the
European government. The particulars of the land revenue
settlement effected in each district, and the detailed resources
of the different parts of the island, will be particularly noticed

34-2 REVENUE.

iu tlie statistical accounts which will appear in a Bubaequent
part of this volume, when the subject of revenue will be again
adverted to ; and, in the mean time, it may be sufficient, for
the purpose of shewing the general resourcesy to refer to the
annexed table, exhibiting the revenues and expenses of the
Javan government for a period of three favourable years under
the old Dutch Company, for three years under the administn-
tion of Marshal Dacndels, when its real resources were first
called forth and the revenue was higher than before known,
and for the first three years under the British goremment, of
which alone, Uie accounts are yet closed. The dependencies
included in this table do not include the Moluccas or Spice
Islands, the administration of which under the British govern-
ment was kept distinct from tliat of Java.

By this statement it will appear, that the revenues actually
realized in cash, on Java, in tlie year 1814-15, and before the
land revenue arrangements had become fully efiectual, amounted
to upwards of six millions and a half of rupees : to this maj
be added one-third more for die revenue of the native pro-
vinces, making a total revenue of the island exceeding eight
millions and a half of rupees, or above a million sterling.

P'roni a colony which was able to furnish at such a moment
so extensive a revenue from its own internal resources, afWr
the drains, checks, and restrictions to which it had been sub-
j( cted during the last two centuries, what might not have been
expected, had confidence been once established in the per-
manency of the government, and the tide of British capital
been once fairly turned into it ?

ABSTRACT STiW'U^fliWlJiiWtJ't^. ''^'W " Period qfNine Yem. r

UNDER THE BHITISH GOVKrNUBNT.

I [Af Iilan.

Land EUn

Sutoidin froio the Hi
Do. In Oil, Rice,

ScTcnl Formt ....

OpiQDi do

Cnilom-Hoiue. • • .

On Batan, Sic. ...

Port Dudes

Sump do

Dolies on Legdcie*
Do. on Transfer!

Reei<tryofV»i«eli

Toll 00 Rosd) and _

Orphan Chamber . .

Vendue Depanment

Lombard Bank

Town Doliei .••••<

Printing Office , . . . .

Taiei on SlaTM

Do. Houus ai<(
Do. Horset ■ ■ •
Do. Cocoa- nn( t

Head Money

SsltOepartmcnl. ■ ■

Cobe

FineiandFMi ...

Birdi' NesU rolleetei

Teak Timber felled •

Licenie for a China i
Do. culling T

Tax on ci^il Emploj

iiceilaneoui

Reienuei colled

^•:....".j:w n.m

Do Kev« 13,131

Do Maril ".San

n Ike DtptndtMiet-
Al Bsrijennuln ..

Palembsng and

ii;.«;

i7.3o6

mt,3aa ;

1,518,319 '

I 614,086 :

I lie3,S«6 I

S3,l»

23,806 I

j 30,4») :

4S,[M« I

I 70,843 i

i 66,«83 ;

3,233 :

14.475 67
173,234
368,391 36

1 26/", ■

409,866 42

1.096.040 13

610,350 SG

627,333
34,038

3R,4<f7 61

26,61 » 27

40.323 ""

I25fi.11

48 140 7»

4.860 92

62,251 32
313.440

132,402 80

17.630 84

376.334 40

103,4;

4,440

139,602 33
S64,IS6

5,413,209 G3

102,422 23

141,259 12

420,809 84

9, 107,700 71

13.927
.0»U,S»8
376,318

20,706 .

24,643

87.108

64,142

23,817
13,037
20,864
29,091
6,150

B.418.723 49

107,764
363,140

r7,20.1 30
2,745.908
79.640 68

7,269,346 23

97.903 94

I26.S13 79

607,967 40

I. n. RAIIRR. .

344 D£F£RENC£ TO SUPERIOR RANK.

confined to the royal family alone, it might perhaps find a
parallel in other eastern countries, where it is usual for the sub-
ject to prostrate himself before the sovereign, but in Java the
nature of the government is such, that each delegated authoritjr
exacts the same marks of obeisance ; so that, firom the common
labourer upward, no one dares to stand in the presence of a
superior. Thus, when a native chief moves abroad, it is usual
for all the people of inferior rank among whom he passes, to
lower their bodies to the ground till they actually sit on their
heels, and to remain in this posture until he is gone by. The
same rule is observed within doors ; and instead of an assem-
bly rising on the entrance of a great man, as in Europe, it
sinks to the ground, and remains so during his presence.*
- This humiliating posture is called dddoky and may be ren-
dered into English by the term squatting,- The practice is
submitted to with the utmost cheerfulness by the people : it is
considered an ancient custom, and respected accordingly. It
was, however, in a great measure discontinued in the Euro-
pean provinces during the administration of the British go-
vernment, who endeavoured to raise the lower orders, as much
as was prudent, from the state of degradation to which their
chiefs, aided by the Dutch authority, had subjected them;
but it continued in force in the native provinces, in MaAtrUf
and to a certain extent in most of the districts at a distance
from the seats of European government

* In travelling myself through some of the native provinces,
and particularly in Madura, where the forms of the native
govcnimcnt are particularly observed, I have often seen some
hundreds drop on my approach, the cultivator quitting his
plough, and the porter his load, on the sight of the Titm
ftcsdr's carriage. At the coiul of Sura-kMa, I recollect that
once, when holding a private conference with the Stuinan at
tlic residency, it became necessary for the Radenadipdii. to
be dispatched to the palace for the royal seat : the poor old
man was as usual squatting, and as the Susunan happened to
be seated witli his face towards the door, it was full ten mi-
nutes before his minister, after repeated inefTcctual attempts,
criuM obtain an opportunity of rising sufficiently to reach the
latrh without being seen by his royal master.* The missioii
i>ii which lie was dispatched was urgent, and the Sm9muin

DEFERENCE TO SUPERIOR RANK. 345

himself inconvenienced by the delay ; but these inconve-
niences were insignificant, compared with the indecorum of
being seen out of the dddok posture. When it is necessary
for an inferior to move, he must still retain that position, and
walk with his hams upon his heels until he is out of his supe-
rior's sight

Besides this deference in the posture of the body, a defer-
ence, equally striking and still more defined, is shewn in the
language used to a superior. The vernacular language of the
country is never allowed to be used on such occasions, but
only an arbitrary language, distinguished by the term bdsay
the language, or bdsa krdmaj the polite language, or language
of honour. The conmion people are thus not permitted to
use the same language as the great, or in other words, are by
the political institutions of the country, in a great degree, de-
prived of the use of their mother tongue. This subject will
however be more particularly treated of in another chapter.
That a set of people who have received some mental culture
will necessarily discover it in their language, and that a line of
distinction will be thus drawn between the well informed and
the ignorant, is natural ; and of the employment of a different
number of persons in the verbs and pronouns, according as
supremacy, respect, or familiarity is to be expressed, the mo-
dem European languages afford abundant example : but that
one class of words should be exacted from the lower orders
as a homage to the powerfiil, and another class given in ex-
change, serving to remind them of their inferiority, is a
refinement in arbitrary power, which it would be difficult
to parallel.

Having thus seen the nature and extent of the general de-
ference paid to a superior on Java, the reader will be pre-
pared, in some degree, for the still further humiliations which
are expected fi-om a subject on public occasions. No one
approaches his sovereign or immediate chief, no child ap-
proaches his father, without (^m&aA,thatis, obeisance) closing
his hands and raising them to his forehead, in token of re-
spect. On public or festival days, it is usual for the inferior
chiefs, not as in Europe, to kiss the hand, but to Tdss the
knee, the instep, or the sole of the foot, according to the relative
distance of rank between the parties.

34(> REGALIA— PROCESSIONS— POMP.

The royal seat is a large stool or bench of gold or silver
with a velvet cushion : it is called ddmpar^ and attends the
sovereign wherever he may go.

Among the regalia fupachdrajf which are always carried
in procession when the sovereign moves abroad, and are
arranged beliind him while seated on the ddmpar^ are the
following golden figures : — the hdsti or gdja^ that of an ele-
phant ; the hdrda waJika or nandgoHy that of a serpent ; the
jajdwen sdnting^ that of a bull ; the sdngnanij that of a deer;
and the sdwnng gdliiig^ that of a cock fowl ; each of a size
to be borne in the hand, These, with the kuiuk and chapiri
for tobacco and fnri^ tlie pakachohdn or golden spitting-pot,
and a variety of golden salvers, bowls, &c. distinguished by
the respective names applicable to their different purposes,
have descended as pusdkasj or heir-looms, in the royal
family, and are esteemed with tlie highest degree of vene-
ration.

AVlien tlic sovereign moves abroad, he is attended by
numerous spear-incu (woIiok)^ the duty of eight of whom is
to attend the iigures of tlie sacred elephant and bull, near
which are also led four horses richly caparisoned. The royal
pdyung^ or state umbrella, is carried in front of the pnr
cession on these occasiims, in which are also invariably
carried four tnuiks or boxes fbrokoh)^ each borne by two
men, and conUiining the clotlies of the sovereign, caparison
for his horses, his personal arms, implements, provisions, and
in short ever}' thing required for an establishment : this role
is observed whenever die sovereign moves out of the palace.
lli^m^i (Idnt^J is likewise borne in procession, together with
two saddle horses for his use when necessary.

Hie ceremonies and state of the native courts have lost
much of their genuine character, from the admission of Eu-
ropean customs, introduced by the Dutch afler the last Javan
war. Salutes are regulated afler the European order, and the
Javaus have availed themselves of many of the customs of
Euro])eans, to render the ceremonies of state more striking.
Thus both the Sttsthntft and Sultan are furnished with larj^e
gilt carria«^rs, atler the fashion of those used by the Li^
Mayor of lionddu. When the foniier drinks wine with the
govriiior, the n'st of iht» company are offered white wine*

RANK AND TITLES. 347

while they alone drink red, and a flourish of trumpets sounds
as the glass approaches their lips.

It may be obsen^ed, that few people are more attached to
state and show than the Javans ; that, in general, the deco-
rations employed and the forms observed are chaste, and at
the same time imposing, calculated to impress a stranger with
a high idea of their taste, their correctness and yet love
of splendour. The ornaments of state, or regaUa, are well
wrought in gold ; the royal shield is richly inlaid with precious
stones, and the royal kris is hung in a belt, which, with
its sheath, is one blaze of diamonds. In processions, when
the European authority is to be received, each side of the
road, for miles, is lined with spear-men in diflerent dresses,
and standing in various warlike attitudes ; streamers flying,
and the music of the gdmeldn striking up on every side.
PdyiingSy or umbrellas of three tiers, of silk richly £ringed
and ornamented with gold, are placed at intervals, and nothing
is omitted which can add to the appearance of state and
pomp. Among the ensigns displayed on these occasions are
the Monkey flag of ArjvLna^ and a variety of other devices
taken from the poems of antiquity, as well as the double-
bladed sword, and a variety of inscriptions from the Arabs.

The chiefs of provinces, and the petty chiefs in their gra-
dation below them, keep up as much of the form and ceremony
of the chief court as is consistent with their relative rank and
means ; and, in their turn, exact from their vassals the same
degree of respect which the sovereign exacts from them.

On occasions when the Regents are anxious to shew par-
ticular respect to Europeans, as on the entrance of tlie
Governor, or other high officer travelling, it is the custom,
particularly in the Sanda districts, to erect triumphal arches
of bdmbu at the entrance of the principal villages ; and the
taste and variety displayed on these occasions have been
often noticed, as evincing a refinement beyond what the
general results of their present state of civilization might
justify.

In a former place I noticed, that the gradations of rank
among the Javans were, in some instances, marked by the
dress they wore, and by the manner of putting on the kris ;
but a more defmed line is drawn by the pdytmg, or umbrella.

348 RANK AND TITLES.

which is subject to the following regulation from immemorial
custom :

1. The Sovereign alone is entitled to the golden pdfumg*,

2. The Rdtu^ or Queen^ and the membeiB of the la^al
family, to the yoMow pdyung.

3. The family of the Rdtu, and the fimiily of the Soverrign
by his concubines, to the white pdyung,

4. The Bopdtis and Tum^ng*gung$ to the green pdgmng,
edged and mounted with gold.

5. The Ang^ebdisj Rdny^gaSj MdntriSf &g. to the red
pdyung.

6. The heads of Ullages, and other petty officers, to -Uie
dark pdyung.

In order to convey an idea of the different titles and the
gradations of rank among the Javans, it becomes necessaiy,
in consequence of the confusion which has arisen among them
of late years, to revert to what they were supposed to be
in the days of Mdjapdhii and previously, when the Hindu
faith and institutions exclusively prevailed.

The usual term for the sovereign was then R&tUj and in the
literary compositions wliich have descended to us, he was
either distinguished by such epithets as Ndra-ndta^ Ndra"
(iipdy Ndra-patiy Narindra^ Nardria^ Aji^ Prabuy Kitong^
AjunQy or Maharaja. The queen was called Pramtstrdri.
Tlic children uf tlic sovereign were called, the princess Rdden^
and the princesses D^ttiy which titles were hereditary in their
families. Tlie brothers of the sovereign had the title of
Rdden aria.

^Vllen a sovereign was advanced in age, and quitted his
government to become a devotee, he was called Begdwam.

llie minister who administered the countiy in the name of
the sovereign, and issued his orders to the govemon of
provinces, &c. was always termed Pdfeh ; and the chieft
eiii])l()ved in administering the govenmient of the provinces,
or otherwise in the government of the coimtT}', were entitled
eitlier Pratntnty Puffffydway Nidkuy or Bopdii. The chieft
bdow tliese, and subject to their orders, such as Rdttg^ga^

* The same \% assiiincd by the European <ffO%'cmor, or his rrpre^cn-

tativr.

RANK AND TITLES. 349

inge^di^ Demdngy Pramea^ MSnak, Klitton^ and others
nrere included in the class oi Mantris,

The heads of villages were called either Umbulj Paiing*giy
Babdkalj BabdhUy LUra, or Kuttm.

The commanders-in-chief in war had the title of Senapdti,
rhe general term for soldiers was prajurit; and those
jmployed in guarding the coimtry from the approach of an
3nemy were called either Pechdt tdnday Tdmpingj or Ulu-
^dlang.

In judicial affairs the Jaksa was the chief. .His assistant
>r deputy was Paliwdray and the officers of his court KSrta.

Waddna gedang was the title given to the officer entrusted
sidth the charge of the sovereign's purse and personal pro-
perty, and with the collection of his revenues : the secretary
jT writer was called Chdrik, Tdnda and Sabdndar was the
title of the officers who collected the duties in the markets
uid along the high roads.

When it was necessary for the sovereign to move from one
part of the country to another, there was always a class of
Mdntris in attendance, to whom the title of Pang^alasan or
Kajineman was given.

On the estabUshment of the Mahomedan religion, in the
Javan year 1400, a new gradation of rank and order of titles
was introduced by the sultan of Demdky as follows.

The sovereign, instead of being called RdtUy took the name
of Su^uhunan *, or Sultan^ and the queen was called Rdtu,
The title of Pandmbahdn was conferred as the highest in
rank next to the sovereign, and above the princes of the
blood, who were now termed Pan^&ran or Pan^€ran dria;
the princesses bom of the queen were termed RdtUy and the
daughters by concubines Rdden dyu. The sons of the
princes were called Rdden maSy until they were married, when
they were termed Rdden only ; their daughters before mar-
riage were called Rdden aj&ngy and after marriage Raden dyu.
The Susuhunan's great grandchildren by his wife were
allowed to assume the title of Rddeny and those by his concu-
bines bore the title of Mas, the latter title continuing to

* The titles at present assumed by the Sutihtan are SutuhAum Pdku
Budna Sena-pati heng Aldga Abdud Rdhmen Sdyedin Fdnatagdma.

3/)0 RANK AND TITLES.

descend in the family to the offspring by a wife, those bv
a concubine taking tlie title of Bagus^ which is considered as
the lowest title appertaining to royalty. It would be tediouti,
in this i)lace, to detail the minor titles common in the Siinda
districts; they \\411 be more particularly noticed in the statis-
tical accounts of those districts.

AVlien a Bopdti, or governor of a province, is appointed, he
is furnished with a pidf/am or fiatrdla^ or letter patent. Axing
his rank, and the extent of assignment of lands conferred
upon him * ; also uith a bdwat, or stick, similar to that of
the pdi/ung^ or umbrella, measiuing about eight feet long, with
which it is his duty to measure the sdwah or rice fields.

When a chief of the rank of Mdntri is appointed, he
is furnished with a krls handle and \^'ith a mat, which is car-

* Form of a Pifigam, or Patent of Javan NolnUty.

Let it be obsen^ed, this is the wTiting of me, the Sultan, &c. &c. &c.

Be it known to the Naydka (hicfh officers of the palace), Bopdtis (the
class of Tumung^gungs or Rejjfents), and Mantris (the petty noblesse) of

Yugya-kerta and Mdnchanagdra, that I have invested with

this letter, to raise him from the earth, and |)ermit him to bear the title of

. . , and wear the dress appointed for the • •

bestowing upon him for his subsistence lands to the amount of eleven
hundred chdchaSy the labour of eleven hundred men (families).

'Jliese are the names of the land bestowed. • ♦ ♦
Translation of a Nawdiafor the Mdnchanagdra, or distant Districts.

Let all persons obser\'e this, the royal letter of us, the exalted Sultan,
&c., which we give in charge to

Be it known to you, our sen-ants, chiefs of Yugya-kerta Adin{ngrat,
whether Bopdtis or MdnfriSf and to you our Bopdtis and Mdntris, chiefs

of Mdnchanagdra^ that our royal letter is given in charge to ,

in order to exalt him. Moreover we prefer our servant to the rank of a
Bopdtiy to be chief of the Bopdtis of Mdnchanagdra, bearing as heretofore

the name of We also entitle him to wear such

dress as is appointed for the IViddna of Mdnchanagdra, and we give for

his estate (seat\ our own royal lands , amounting to two

tliousaiul chachns : thousand productive (living), of which laL*t

thousand are assigned for a maintenance and thousand

are charjjed with rents, to the amount of doUars annually, payable

tw ice a year, viz. at the festival Mulud and at the festival «»f

Punsa , each dollar to crmsist of thirty tcangs, and the whole to

hv subjtTt to an oflice fee of one tcang in each dollar. Moreover we direct,
that each year an accoimt be rendered to us of the increase or decrease of
the sdirah (rice lands). The date of giving the royal order is the

AMBASSADORS. 361

ried behind him when he moves about, as well for use as to
shew his rank.

The Javans include in the general term of Priayi all
persons above the rank of common people, a term which in its
general appUcation on Java is not very imlike that of gen-
tlemen, or latterly of esquires, in England.

Among the forms of an eastern coiul, few are more par-
ticularly observed than those relating to ambassadors. The
Javans have long ceased to send or receive ambassadors,
but the following extracts from the Niti Prdja^ will shew
what they conceive ought to be the qualifications and conduct
of such an officer.

" A person entrusted with a message from his prince, must
" never abuse the trust placed in him, but always keep in
" sight that on such occasions he is the representative of the
" prince. And chiefly, if he is sent with a letter from the
" prince to a foreign country, in this case he must be less sub-
" missive than before his own prince. According to circum-
'^ stances he must conduct himself with dissimulation, and
" before he enters any foreign country, by some secret means
" or other, occasion his own name, and that of the prince his
" master, to be spread over the coimtry, at the same time that
" he obtains every possible information regarding the state of
" the country and people. On entering the country, he must
" assume a dignified appearance, and not speak or look about
" him more than is necessary. Such conduct will inspire the
people with respect for him.

" The letter must be carried on the shoulder, and in his
gait and speech he must conduct himself with propriety. In
delivering the letter he must present himself with dignity,
approach first, and then retire fix)m the person to whom the
" letter is directed, speak with him at a distance, and not too
" familiarly.

" In all cases he must be carefiil not to go beyond his
" orders. His deportment must be unassuming yet dignified ;
" and ha\4ng received an answer for his prince, it is his duty
" to depart immediately, and to proceed with it direct to the
prince, without even going to his own house first. If the
letter is from some person lower in rank than his master, he
" must not immediately shew it, but conceal it for a time ; but

a
u

352 BIRTHS.

u
i(
<i

if it is from a prince of equal rank, then must he cany the
letter before him. When a letter is from a prince to one of
his subjects, it must be carried high. Coming in the pre-
sence of his prince, he must carefully watch his eye, that
" he may deliver Uie letter on the first intimation given by
" tlie prince tliat he is ready to receive it

" Whoever dictates a letter must be careful that a letter to
" a superior is not couched in the same terms as a letter to
" an inferior."

The three most remarkable events in the history of the in-
dividual are his birth, his marriage, and his death ; to these
accordingly have tlie greatest number of forms and ceremo-
nies been attached.

As soon as it is observed that a Javan woman is in the third
month of pregnancy, the event is communicated to all the
nearest relations, to whom, at the same time, presents are
made, consisting of yellow rice, sweet-scented oils, and wax
candles. People of condition add some cloths, gold, silver,
or brass cups, as also needles, either of those metals or of
iron.

Afler seven months' pregnancy, a festival is given to the
relations and friends, at which yellow rice forms invariably
a part of the entertainment

Tlie pregnant woman must afterwards wash her body with
the milk of a green cocoa-nut, on the shell of which has been
previously canned two handsome figures, one of each sex, bv
which the parents intend to represent a standard of beantj
for their expected offspring, and to engrave on the imagina-
tion of the mother, impressions which may extend to the linea-
ments of her infant. The nut must be opened by the hosband.
She is next to bathe in water, into which many sweet-scented
flowers have been throAvn, and to dress herself with a new
cloth, making a present of the old one, together with money,
raw rice, sirf, and cocoa-nuts, to the midwife, who assists in
her lustrations. On the night of these ceremonies there must
be a wdyattg or scenic shadow performed, the object of which
is to represent the life and adventures of a certain prince in
tlie line of D^wa Batdra Brdma,

Tf the woman is delivered of a son, the ailer-birth is inune-
diat<ly cut off with a verj' sharp knife of bdmbUf wrapped in

MARRIAGES. 353

a piece of paper on which is written the Javan alphabet, tlien
laid in a new pot, and buried in the ground, at which place a
lamp, covered with a basket of bdmbu, and adorned with
leaves of the pandanriy is put, and kept burning till the um-
bilical cord of the child falls off. When tliis takes place, the
child is watched the whole night, by persons who read the
history of the D^was^ or of famous princes, or amuse them-
selves with a wdyang.

As soon as the child is nine months old, the parents enter-
tain their relatives and friends with a wdyang and festival.

Marriages are invariably contracted, not by the parties
themselves, but by their parents or relations on their behalf.
Such interference (which was common among the Greeks,
without the same apology) is rendered necessary by the early
age at which the matrimonial imion is formed, and the incom-
petence of either of the intended couple to form a discreet and
prudent choice. During the period that intervenes between
the appUcation of the friends of the boy to the parents or
guardians of the girl for their concurrence in the match, and
the obtainment of it, her condition is distinguished by the
term t^tdkan (enquired for) : when the consent of her parents
is obtained, it is termed Idmar (solicited). According to
ancient custom, after matters proceeded thus far, a present
of different valuables, termed /?awiw^'«a< is sent by the intended
bridegroom to the bride, and her acceptance of it, implying
that she concurs in the previous steps taken towards her set-
tlement, renders the contract binding. The general prevalence
of similar customs cannot fail to strike those who are ac-
quainted with the nature of the sponsalia dotia of the Romans,
and the marriage ceremonies detailed in various passages of
Scripture (Genesis, ch. xv. 2 ; xxiv. 5, &c.) A present of this
kind is described as being sent by Pdnji K&rta Pdti to the
Princess Chandra Kirdna of Dahd *, and we are told that it
thence became a custom among the Javans.

♦ " Thereupon Kldna Jdyang Sari (another name for Fdnji K&ta Pdti),
** called his sister, and the Princesses of Bdli and Balem-bdng^an, and
" directed them to proceed to the Prince of Dahd, and to present to him
** a handsome present, composed of the most beautiful and rich ornaments
** and articles of dress for adorning a princess, placing the same in a kenddga
** (or box), in order that if the prince was pleased to allow it to be delivered

VOL. I. A a

354 MARRIAGE CONTRACTS.

By any reluctance to complete his engagement, the bride-
prroom forfeits to his betrothed these earnest gifts (as they may
be called) ; while, on the other hand, if the obstacles to the
completion of tlie marriage originate Tv-ith her, she is bound
to return tliem. This present is also called patiba sdmpir.

lliis custom, however, is now not so common as formerly :
it is in a great measiure discontinued or confounded with the
next ceremony, termed sdrahan (delivered up.) This consists
in making various presents to the bride a short time before the
day fixed for the marriage, after the delivery of which, the bride
and bridegroom are confined to the house, until the ceremony
takes place. Tlie period varies ; but with people of distinction
there generally elapses an inten^al of forty days between the
sdrahan and the marriage.

On the day of the marriage (for which one that is consi-
dered fortimate* is previously selected) the father of the bride
proceeds to the mosque, accompanied by the bridegroom, and
informing the Panghuhi that the lad whom he presents has
agreed to give the sri kdwin (generally about two dollars),
recpcsts him to marry him to his daughter : on which the
Vanghulu inquires of the bridegroom whether he has paid
the amount, or is willing to do so ? and upon the affirmative
being declared, he sanctifies the marriage by words to the
following eflect :

" I join you, rnden mas (bridegroom), in wedlock with
" satin (the bride), with a pledge of two reals weight in gold
" or silver f. You take [sdtia) to be your wife for this world.

** to his daughter Devci Chdndra Kirdna, it might be a proof that lie
" confirmed the contract with Ktdna Jdyang Sdri, and that his dauffhter»
** Deui Chdndra Kirdna, would be accepted by Kldna Jdyang Sdri, in which
** case he was ready to attack the enemies of the prince." — Sec the Adven-
tures of the celebrated Pdnji.

• Fortune was so much considered in the making of these matchet
amon^ the Romans, that the augurs were always called along with the
witnesses to a marriage contract, to pronounce upon the happy resulti of
the settlement which the latter attested :

** Veniet cum signatoribua Auspex.'* — JuvenoL

f The Jews marry in nearly the same way, the husband delirerinff a
sum of money as a jdedj^e. The Greeks were in the habit of pretentinfr

Rifts on similar occasions.

MARRIAGE CONTRACTS. 355

** You are obliged to pay the pledge of your marriage {sri
" kdimn)y or to remain debtor for the same. You are respon-
** sible for your wife in all and every thing. If you should
** happen to be absent from her for the space of seven months
** on shore, or one year at sea, without giving her any sub-
** sistence, and artf remiss in the performance of the. duties
** which you owe to your sovereign, your marriage shall be
** dissolved, if your wife requires it, without any further form
** or process ; and you will be, besides, subject to the punish-
** ment which the Mahomedan law dictates."

Should any circumstance occur to prevent the bridegroom
jfrom attending at the mosque on the day selected for the
marriage, he follows the singular custom of sending his kris*
to the ceremony, which is deemed sufficient by the Panghulu ;
and afterwards he may appoint a proxy to represent him in
the processions which follow. But this is seldom done when
a man marries for the first time.

After the ceremony, the bridegroom pays the priest the
marriage fees [saldwat)^ which ought, according to strict
Mahomedans, not to exceed fifteen stivers. In most instances,
the fees are raised to five times that sum in money, besides
in many places a fqwl, a hank of cotton-yam, four kdtU of
rice, two cocoa-nuts, sirij and fruit.

On the wedding day, or sometimes the day following, the
bridegroom dressed in his best clothes, moimted on horseback,
accompanied by all his firiends, and attended with music in
the front and rear, proceeds at noon to the dwelling of the
bride, who, on his approach, comes out to meet him at the
door. In some districts, before their nearer approach, the
bride and bridegroom throw simultaneously a bundle of «frt
at each other with considerable force, with the intention, it is
said, of learning, from the dexterity with which the parties
respectively perform this singtdar feat, and the success that
attends it, which of them will be able best to maintain their
privileges, or gain an ascendancy during the continuance of
their luiion. They prognosticate that, if the bundle of the

* A description of this instrument, on account of the importance
attached to it among the Javans, the constancy with which it is worn, and
the care with which it is preserved through different generations, will be
found in another place.

A a 2

35G MARRIAGE CONTRACTS.

bridegroom touch the head of the bride, it is an infallible
sign that he must rule ; otherwise, the reverse.

Tlic bride, after this, receives the bridegroom ^*ith a low
obeisance, in testimony of her regard for him, extending
similar marks of respect to his parents, who attend him. The
married couple are then placed in a situation elevated above
the rest of the company ; and in token of their afterwards
living together, and sharing the same sustenance, commence
eating siri from tlie same «fri-box.

In some districts, after leaving the mosque, the bridegrocxn
and his father proceed to the house of the bride's parents,
where they obtain her company in a procession through the
village or town. On tlicse occasions, the bride is carried on
a litter, which is generally fashioned in the form of a garida^
and the bridegroom is momited on horseback. All the rela-
tions and friends of tlic parties attend, carrying flowers and
refreshments, together witli the presents made to the bride-
groom on his marriage. The procession moves on to the
sound of the national music, and the occasional firing of
cannon. A feast is given in the evening at the house of the
bride's parents, at which the new married couple remain for
the niglit. The tenn giv<*n to the bride and bridegroom is
pen (f ant en y and the marriage ceremony is called Idki rdbi.

Ou tlie next day in some districts, and on the fifth in
others, tlie bridegroom (or peng*unien hinangjj and bride
{penganien M7Wow^,togetlier with the whole train of relations
and ii'iends, visit in like manner the house of the bridegroom*s
father. Tliis ceremony is called undnh mdnfu (accepting
the daughter-in-law.) Tliere they both again sit down to eat
sin in some place of distinction ; similar entertainments are
ropeattMl, aii<l on the following day they return with the same
pomp and fonii to the bride's dwelling, the ceremony being
now c()ni])l(»ti'd.

With the excc])tion of the delivery of the sri kdwin^ and
the jirocession to the mosque, there is very little in tlic*se
cereinonirs confonnable to the Mahomedan precepts.

Marriag(»s are frequently contracted between children, and
then tt*niu'd tjdntnny kdtn'n (lianging-on marriages) ; but in
tins case tlie ])arties are kept separate, and the principal
ccrrnionies are rosened till they attain the age of puberty.

DIVORCE, 367

Such contracts proceed from a laudable solicitude, on the
part of parents, to provide a suitable and advantageous
match for their children as early as possible ; and to the
same cause, as much, perhaps, as from the influence of
climate and intemperance of manners, may be attributed the
early age, at which matrimonial engagements are sometimes
consummated.

Whatever may be the reasons for such early marriages,
one of the most serious consequences is the facility with
which they are dissolved. The multiplication of divorces is
mentioned by the poets, the moralists, and the historians of
the Roman empire, as one of the greatest causes and symp-
toms of the corruption and degeneracy of the period in which
they lived ; and certainly it had proceeded to great lengths,
nrhen Seneca could say that a woman computed her age, not
by the annual succession of consuls, but of husbands*. The
Javans, tliough a simple people, are in this respect too like
the profligate and dissolute Romans.

In no part of the world are divorces more frequent than on
Java; for besides the facilities afibrded by the Mahomedan
ordinances, a woman may at any time, when dissatisfied with
her husband, demand a dissolution of the marriage contract,
by paying him a sum established by custom, according to the
rank of the parties : about twenty dollars for a person of the
lower orders, and fifty dollars for those of the degree of
Demdng or Mdntri. The husband is not bound to accept it ;
but he is generally induced to do so, from a consideration,
that the opinions and custom of the country require it ; that
his domestic happiness would be sacrificed in a contest with
his reluctant companion ; and that, by continuing his attach-
ment, he would incur the shame of supporting one who
treated him with aversion or contempt. This kind of divorce
is termed mdnchal. The husband may at any time divorce
his wife, on making a settlement upon her sufficient to support
her according to her condition in life.

* ** Non consulum sed maritorum numero annos suos computant.
Seneca, de Benef. — But this is short of Juvenal's account : ** Fiunt octo
" mariti, quinque per autumnos."

358 INTERMENT.

A widow may mam' again at the expiration of three months
and ten days after her husband^s death.

•AMien a person of rank or property dies, all his relatioDS,
male and female, meet at the house of the deceased, to testify
their grief at the death and their respect for the memoir of
the departed. On that occasion, what is termed teiamai
money is distributed among all according to circimistances.
The priests, who are to perform the service at the place of
interment, receive a Spanish dollar, a piece of cloth, and a
small mat each.*

• When tlie corpse is washed * and wrapped in a white cloth,
it is carried out of the house on a bier covered with coloured
chintz, on which garlands of flowers are hung as drapeir.
On this occasion, no means of costly pomp or impressive
solemnity are neglected in the use of umbrellas (y ciyim^ K
pikes, and other insignia of honour. All the relations and
friends accompany the corpse to the grave, where the priest
addresses a prayer to heaven and delivers an exhortation to
the soul of the deceased ; of which the substance commonly
is, " that it should be conscious of being the work of the
" Creator of the miiverse, and after leaving its earthly
" dwelling, should speed its way to the source whence it
" issued." After this ceremony the corpse is interred, and
the other priests continue their prayers and benedictions.-

• For seven successive nights, the same priests meet and
pray at the house of the deceased, in the presence of his
relations.

On the third, seventh, fourteenth, hundredth, and thou-
sandth (lay or night after tlie death of a person, are observed
j)arlicular festivals or solemn feasts in his commemoration, on

* Hic Romans likewise were in the habit of washing the detd body
several times before interment witli water, which in their case was

** Pars calidos latices et ahena undantia flammis

** Lxpediunt : corjiusque lavant frigentis ct ungunt."

Virgil : jEneidos, Ub. vi. fia. 218.

liy referring? to the Old and New Testament, the same practice will b^
found to bave prevailed among the Jews : indeed, it seems to have been

very general.

INTERMENT. 359

which occasions prayers are offered up for the happiness of
his soul.

The bodj is interred after the usual manner of the Maho-
medans, and a samhdja tree is usually planted by its side.
It is the imiversal practice of the relatives of the deceased to
strew the graves several times in the year with the sweet-
scented flowers of the suldsi (the iulsi of Bengal), which are
raised exclusively for this purpose. The burial-grounds are,
in general, well chosen. In Keduj where the most beautiful
eminences have been selected for this purpose, and where the
camboja tree grows with the greatest luxuriance, they form
very interesting objects in the landscape. The burial-places
of the royal family and of the nobles of the country are
usually called dstdna ; they are surrounded by one or more
high walls, and in general by stately waring'en trees. The
tombs are sometimes ornamented with sculptural devices and
well-executed inscriptions, either in the Javan or Arabic
character. They are kept clean and repaired by contributions
from all parts of the country, under the superintendence of
priests appointed to that particular duty, and are respected
and guarded with religious veneration and zeal. The burial-
place of the family now on the throne is at Megiriy in the
province of Matdrem^ a few miles distant from the modem
capital of Yugya-keria.

As the Javans are still devotedly attached to their ancient
customs and ceremonies (few of which they have sacrificed to
their new faith), I shall, in order to give a better idea of those
still observed on the most remarkable occasions, present a
short account of their state anterior to the introduction of
Mahomedanism, as far as it can be ascertained. Though, as
Mahomedans, they are averse to an open avowal of Pagan
practices, they still preserve them more or less, according as
the parties happen to be less or more under the influence of
Arab priests.

When a woman was pregnant with her first child, at the
expiration of four months a feast was given, at which yellow
rice was served up. This entertainment was insignificant
compared with that which was observed at the expiration of
seven months, when the guests were presented with cloth,
gold, silver, and steel, according to the means of the parties,

IU)0 ANCIENT CUSTOMS IlELATING TO

a piece of steel never failing to be one of the gifts, though it
(lid not exceed the size of a needle. On this occasion a new
bath was prepan^l in the evenmg, and watched during the
night bv the light of a lamp. At the side of the bath were
laid two stalks of the dark coloured sugar cane, as an offering
to Bdtih'a Kala^ a i)ainted cloth of tlic pattern tuivuh wdtUj
and a young cocoa-nut (chenkir (jaduuj)^ on which was en-
graved the resemblance of Pdnji Kerta Pdti and his ^ifc
Chandra Kirdna of Ddha. In the morning the Tiife, after
putting on the cloth, entered \\\v bath, when the water firom
the young cocoa-nut was poiu-ed over her : during the day
it ^^'as also incumbent on her to change her dress seven times.
At the least given on this occasion, (ish, flesh, and fowl were
invariably sened up, and performances of the wdyang were
exhibited.

Immediately on the birth of the cliild it was placed in a
kind of basket made o^ hdmhu (in form similar to the sieve or
fanning basket used for separating the chaff from the rice),
the relations were assembled, and the remains of the umbilical
cord were carefidly cut olfby means of a jnece of sharpened
hd nihil. The ])art abstracted by this o])eration was depasited
in the interior of a cocoa-nut, with a lump of tiumerick placed
under it. lliis cocoa-nut was ornamented on the outside i^ith
the tw(*nty letters of the .Javan alphabet. It was aflem'ards
])ut into an earthen pot, and either buried luider groimd or
thrown into the sea. A stone rolling-pin, dressed up like a
l)aby, was ])laced in the basket in its stead. The female rela-
tions reHeved each other thnmgh the day and night, in con-
stantly su])])orting the child in their arms, till the navel was
healed ; the mnle relations all the while reading and reciting
th(* history of lldtna^ and other mythologicid and historical
romances. As soon as the child was recovered, a grand feast
was observ(»(l, with perlbnnances of the wdyamj. Near tlie
Ddlamj (director of the ndijatuj) was placed a bowl of pure
water, into uliieh Ihsh and sweet-scented flowers were cast,
two black sugar-canes, a cloth of the iuwnh wain pattern,
and a picM'e of white elotli, together with a bundle of /win" and
dillrniit kinds ot* eatables, (hi this occasion was exhibited
the (IrauM of Ihitdra hnnja and Samj Yang Jdgai Ndta (one
«»f tlir (Icsii^niations iAiiihii ', at that ])assage where, diuing

BIRTHS, MARRIAGES, AND DEATHS. 361

the first two quailers of the moon, the former appeared m her
amiable character of Uma *, and where, m the city of Kuru
Setra Gdndamdyu^ she is delivered of a son, Batdra Kdlay
having the form of a Rdsdksa^ " greedy to destroy and devour
mankind/' At that part of the performance when Sang Yang
Jdgat Ndta takes the child on his lap, the Ddlang did the
same with the infant, repeating the invocation, " hong ! ila-
heng r'' several times, and afterwards returning it into the
hands of the father. On this occasion the wdyang was per-
formed from seven o'clock in the evening till eight o'clock in
the morning.

When the child was forty days old, its head was shaved,
as directed by the parent, and the ceremony took place of
giving it whatever name should be determined on by the
father and the elders.

The jyikun (midwife) who attended at the delivery, was
entitled to receive for her trouble fourteen wang (about a
rupee) if it was an ordinary birth, but in difficult cases her
allowance was proportionately increased. Her attendance
continued for the mornings and evening of forty days, at the
expiration of which she was further entitled to receive a pre-
sent of two pieces of cloth, one small and one large, four kdtis
of rice, two cocoa-nuts, and some siri. If required to attend
beyond that period, she was paid accordingly. A DUkun once
employed, could not be exchanged on any account during the
forty days. Women invariably acted as midwives ; in other
cases the medical art was practised exclusively by the men.

On the child's attaining its seventh month, a feast was given,
when it was for the first time placed with its feet on the ground.
At this entertainment rice cakes and sweetmeats of different
colours and kinds wer^ served up ; and if it happened that the
child had come into the world either as the sun was just rising
or settings a bundle of grass or rubbish was thrown into the
basket, upon the top of which it was placed for a few minutes ;
afler which one of the elders taking the child into his arms
repeated the following words : " Hong I ^amilam mast6na

* During the two latter quarters of the moon she is considered as
appearing in the form of a Rasdksa, and is then more properly called
Durga.

362 ANCIENT CUSTOMS RELATING TO

^^ masidam ! suming'gdha yewang Kala^ing w*ru Ofol amUa-
^^ nira ana-nira^ Sang-yang Saba Ian Batdri Durga :" which
after an invocation to the Deity would express, " Begone,
" oh God Kdluy for I am not ignorant of thy nature, nor of
^^ thy being descended from Sang Yang Saba (Guru J and
" Batdra Durga *."

When the child attained the age of one year, another feast
was given in commemoration of its nativity, and this univer-
sally among all classes of people ; those who possessed the
means kept the anniversary of their birth-day until their death.

Marriages were invariably contracted by the relations of
the parties, by the paternal grandfather or grandmother if
living, if not by the parents, and in case of their demise, by
the natural guardian. Thus the brother, on the death of his
parents, was permitted to dispose of the hand of his sister;
and a deviation from this course was deprecs^ted, as lajdng a
foimdation for quarrels and dissensions.

The consent of the relations being obtained, the bridegroom
was bound to ser\'e the parents of the bride for a year f.

For forty days previous to the celebration of the marriage,
the parties were not allowed to go to a distance from tlieir
liomes, or to be employed in any severe labour.

At sunset on the w-edding day, the bridegroom went in pro-
cession to visit the parents of the bride, after which she was

* A custom somewhat similar to this is said to be practiced in South
America.

** They lighted a great number of torches, and the midwife taking up
" the child carried it through the 3rard of the house, and placed it upon t
" heap of leaves of sword-grass, close by a basin of water, which waa pie-
** pared in the middle of the yard, and then undrensing it said, ' my child !
'* * the gods Ometeuctti and Omicihautl, Lords of Heaven, have eent thee
** * U) thiH dismal and calamitous world : receive this water, which is to
** * give thee life :' and after wetting its mouth, head, and breast, with forms
** similar to the first b<ithing, she bathed its whole body, and nihl>inf?
" every one of its limbs said, ' where art thou, ill fortune ? in what limb
" art thou hid ? go far from this child !' *' — History o/Meaneoby CloKigtfO,
translated by Cullen, vol. i.

t It is curious to obser\'e how exactly this corresponds with the patri-
archid history of Scripture, and the early accoimts of the manners of an-
cient nations, llie daughter was always considered the proiierty of the
partMit, the nife as the purchase of the husband, and the marriage con-
tract as the deed of transfer.

BIRTHS, MARRIAGES, AND DEATHS. ^6S

visited by his parents, who on these occssions gave the mar-
ried couple their blessing, wishing ihem happiness as lasting
as that enjoyed by the god Kdmajdya with his consort Kd-
tnardti.

One of the elders, or an Ajar, then repeated the following
benediction :

" Hong ! Gdng^ga-trigdng'ga ? pindyung hana kala chdkra
^ kindsih hdna pra-dewdta hipdiaHng sapudetuki tulusa
" amdndan waring'en?'^ " Hail ! holy water, thrice holy
** water ! be it as a covering to shield you from harm : may
" the gods be merciful unto you : henceforth be flourishing as
** the pdndan and waring'' en trees."

In these processions the bridegroom was obliged to prepare
-whatcTer ornaments, trinkets, or gifts, the mother of the bride
had fixed her fancy upon, either at the birth of her daughter
or on any other occasion, whether they consisted in the re-
presentation of a white elephant, a white tiger, or the like.

Five days after the consecration of the marriage, the parents
of the bride, with whom she staid for that period, prepared a
feast, at which was invariably served up among other things
yellow rice. This entertainment was given to mark the period
of the consummation ; and after celebrating such an event,
it was thought proper that the bride should be on a visit to
the parents of her husband, remain under their roof, share
their protection, and subsist at their expense for forty days
without going abroad, at the expkation of which the new
married couple were at liberty to go to their own house and
pursue their own plans of life, becoming liable to contribute
their share to the revenues and d^ands of the state.

The dresses worn on the nuptial day are thus described in
the romance of Pdnji,

" It being arranged that at the same time when Rddin Pdnji
" was to receive the princess Dewi Chdndra Kirdna in mar-
^^ riage, Retna Jindliy his sister, should also be married to
" Gvnung Sdriy son of the Prince of Ddha^ the Prince of
" Ddha departed with a joyftd heart, and gave the necessary
^^ directions to prepare the clothing and ornaments necessary
" for the two brides.

" Kldna Jdyang Sdri *, accompanied by his sister, Retna

* One of the names of Pingi.

364 ANCIENT CUSTOMS.

" Jhidlly and his numerous followers then entered the ddlam
" of the prince. Kldna Jdyang Sdri wore on the occasion a
" dddot of silk stamped with flowers of gold ; his ckeldma
" were of the green chindi ornamented with golden lace round
" the bottom, and studded with kunang-kdnang (golden or-
" naments made to represent the fire-fly) ; his mumping (oma-
" ments at the back of the ear) were of golden flowers studded
" with diamonds. On the third finger of each hand he wore
" two diamond rings. His waistband or belt was a painted
" cloth, of the pattern gringsing sang'*u-pdti ; his kris of the
" kaprdhon ; his jdmavgy or head ornament, of gold set with
" diamonds, and scented wdth all kinds of sweet-scented oils.
" He appeared more beautiful than a deity descended from
" heaven, all looking upon him v^-ith delight and astonishment
" His sister, Retna Jinoiiy was dressed nearly after the same
" faslii(m as the Princess Ang^r^ni,

*' The dress of Dewi Ang'rdiiiy when married, was as fol-
'' lo\v.<: her dodot was of a pink colour stamped with flowers;
" her kendif (zone, of which the ends hang in front) was
" vianddla giri (yellow with red at each end) ; her jdmangot
" golden flowers ; her golden ear-rings of the bapang fashion,
'^ with a diamond in the centre ; her hair according to the
" (jlung mdlang (a particular kind of knot), in which were
" placed bcautifiU and sweet-scented flowers ; the fine hair
" round her forehead fashioned into small curls, iiiitha sprink-
" lin^ of powder ; her eyebrows shaped like the imba leaf.
*' 81i(» wore golden armlets of the kdlnng pattern, ornamented
" with drops. Her kdiujig, or necklace, was of the m^ng'gah
" fashion. She wore two rings on tlie little and third finger of
*' cculi liand, like unto a nidaddri,^^

1 here were three modes of disposing of the bofly of a de-
ceased ])erson : by fire, termed ohong ; by water, termed
Idru.uj ; or by ex])osing it u])right against a troe in a forest,
where it was left to decav, tenned sHra, AMien the bodv of a
chief or person of conseciuence was burnt, it was usual to pre-
serve the ashes, and to dejiosit them in a chdndi or tomb.

It was the custom witli all classes of j)eople on Java to
j;ive an entertainment or feast on the decease of their firiends
and relations *. The first feast was given on the day of the

• Tlif pr('\ aU'iicr of this practice m\iHt ntrike every one.

CUSTOMS OF THE KALANGS. J?e&.

death, a second on the third day after, a third on the aeiieafli
day, a fourth on the fortieth day, a fifth on the hundredth
day, and a sixth on the thousandth day after the decease of
the party ; after which an annual feast was observed, with
more or less pomp, according to the respect in which the de-
ceased was held, or the circumstances of the fiiends and rela-
tives who celebrated his memory.

Besides these regular feasts and ceremonies, others pre-
scribed by the wuku * were religiously observed. When the
day ang*gdra fell on the pdncha kliwauj it was considered a
propitious time for preferring petitions to the gods. On the
seventh day of the umku galingdrij sacred to Batdra Kdma-
jdya^ they relaxed firom all worldly pursuits, and ofiered
praises and prayers to the gods collectively, it being supposed
that they were assembled on that day. On the w&ku gUmregy
sacred to Batdra Sdhra, every villager joined in a feast sacred
to the earth (puja humi) ; and this ttmku was particularly
observed by tlie people termed Kdlangy who, during the seven
days performed no work, but employed themselves in visiting
the tombs of their deceased ftiends and relations, or in feasting
with their living relatives. During the whole of that period
they kept in their houses a lighted lamp, which they care-
fiilly preserved from extinction.

It may not be inappropriate to introduce in this place a
short digression, containing an account of some of the cus-
toms peculiar to the people termed Kdlang^ and to the in-
habitants of the Teng^ger mountains. The former are said to
have been at one time numerous in various parts of Java,
leading a wandering life, practising religious rites different
firom those of the great body of the people, and avoiding inter-
course with them ; but most of them are now reduced to sub-
jection, are become stationary in their residence, and have
embraced tlie Mahomedan faith. A few villages in which
their particular customs are still preserved, occur in the pro-
vinces of Kendal, Kdliwung*Uj and Demak, and although the
tradition of the country regarding their descent firom an un-
natural connection between a princess of Mendang Kamtilan
and a chief, who had been transformed into a dog, would

♦ See Astronomy

366 CUSTOMS OF THE KALANOS.

mark them out as a strange race, they have claims to be con-
sidered as the actual descendants of the aborigines of the
Island *. They are represented as having a high veneratioQ
for a red dog^ one of which is generally kept by each family,
and which they \vill, on no account, allow to be struck or ill-
used by any one. When a young man asks a girl in marriage,
he must prove his descent from their peculiar stock. A pre-
sent of rice and cotton-yam, among other articles, must be
offered by him, and carried to the intended bride, by an elderly
man or woman of his own race, which offering must, in like
manner, be received by an elderly relation of the girl : from
this moment until the marriage is duly solemnized, nothing
whatever is allowed to be taken out of either hut. On the
marriage day, a buffalo's head, covered with white, red, or
})lack rice-powder, is placed on the ground near the place in-
tended for the bride to sleep upon, and the elderly people and
relations being assembled, tliey dance by pairs, at tlie end of
each dance presenting the bride to tlie bridegroom, and
making such offerings as they think proper. The bridegroom
is, on this occasion, accompanied to tlie house of the bride's
father by as many friends as he can procure, and is bound to
bring with liim not less tlian a pair of buffaloes, a plough,
harrow, lioc fpachulj, and whip, %vitli a bundle of pari.
Those who are in good circumstances are further bound to add
a cart fpeddtij to the above-mentioned stock. Prior to the
equipment of the bride and bridegroom for the entertainment,
it is essential that their bodies be rubbed over with the ashes
of a rvd dog\H bones. At sunset they botli eat rice together
off the same leaf On the following night they jointly partake
of the buffalo's head, which is previously laid by tlie side of
the place where tliey sleej). On tlie tliird day they proceed
to the house of the bridegroom's father, making as much show
as i)()ssible, and go round tlie extent of the village confines,
j)receded by p(M)ple carrying a bed, cooking utensils, a spin-
ning-wheel and loom. On the death of a Kdlang^ tlie body
is carried in j)rocession to the dwellings of tlie relations, who
join in the ceremony, and ])r()ceed with it to the place of in-
tcrnient : they then pass romid the corpse tliree times before

• See Historical (^haptcrw.

INHABITANTS OF THE TENG'GER MOUNTAINS. ^67

it is lowered into the grave, the women crying aloud. A
young cocoa-nut is then split in two, and the water firom it
poured into the grave, one-half of the shell being placed at
the head, the other at the feet of the deceased. On their
return home, the feasts and ceremonies are the same as those
noticed in the practice of the other inhabitants of Java.
Whenever the Kdlangs move from one place to another, they
are conveyed in carts, having two solid wheels with a revolv-
ing axle, and drawn by two or more pairs of buffaloes, accord-
ing to the circumstances of the party. In these they place
the materials of which their huts are constructed, their im-
plements of husbandry, and other articles of necessity or value.
In this manner, until of late years, since they have been sub-
jected to the regulations of the Javan chiefs, they were con-
tinuaUy moving from one part of the island to another. They
have still their separate chiefs, and preserve many of their pe-
culiar customs. Those who are M ahomedans employ in their
religious frmctions priests who differ from others in being less
scrupulous. They have always been treated with so much
contempt by the Javans, that Kdlang is an epithet of reproach
and disgrace.

To the eastward of Surahdyay and on the range of hills
connected with Gunung DdsaVy and lying partly in the dis-
trict oi Pasuruan and partly in that o( ProbolingOy known by
the name of the Teng^ger mountains, we find the remnant of
a people still following the Hindu worship, who merit atten-
tion, not only on account of their being, (if we except the
Bedui of Bantam, who will be hereafter noticed) the sole de-
positaries of the rites and doctrines of that religion existing
at this day on Java, but as exhibiting an interesting singu-
larity and simplicity of character.

These people occupy about forty villages, scattered along
this range of hills in the neighbourhood of what is termed the
sandy sea. The site of their villages, as well as the construc-
tion of their houses, are peculiar, and differ entirely from what
is elsewhere observed on Java. They are not shaded by trees,
but built on spacious open terraces, rising one above the
other, each house occupying a terrace, and being in length
from thirty to seventy, and even eighty feet The door is in-
variably in one comer, at the end of the building, opposite to

:3ti8 INIIABITAiNTS OF TUE TRNOr.ER MOUNTAINS.

tliat in which the fire-place is built. Ilie building apiH*axsu»
be constnicted with the ordinan' roof, having along the fn)ul
an enclosed veranda or galler}', about eight feet broad. The
iire-place is built of brick, and is so highly venerated, lliat it
is considered a sacrilege for any stranger to touch it. Across
the upper ])art of the building rafters are run, so as to form a
kind of attic story, in which are deposited the most valuable
pro])erty and ini])lenients of husbandry'.

The liead of the village takes the title of Peihfg*gi, as in
the low-lands, and is generally assisted by a Kahdyan^ both
elected by the people from their o\\ii village. Tlierc are four
priests, who are here tenned Dukuns (a term elsewhere only
aj)plied to doctors and mid wives), having charge of the stale
records and the sacred books.

These Duktnis^ who iure m general intelligent men, can
give no accoiuit of tlie era when they were first established
on these hills ; they can j)roduce no traditional historj* of
their origin, whence they came, or who entrusted them with
the sacred b»)oks, to the faith contained in which thev still
adhere. Hiese, they conciu- in stating, were handed down to
them by their fathers, to whost» hereditary office f>f prt^ser^ing
them tliey hav(» succeeded. The S(>le duty required of them
is again to hand them down in safety to their ehildrt*n, and
to j>err(>nii the piijn (prais(»givin^) according to the directions
they contain. These records consist of three eompositii»ii>.
written on the lu/ifarAcul) detiiiling the origin of the world.
disclosing the attributes of the deity, and prescribing the
foniis of worshi]) to be obsened on diffenmt occasions.

When a woman is delivered of her lirst child, the D'tutt
takes a leaf of the (Uatnj alatuj grass, and scraping the skin of
the hands of the mother and her infant, as well as the gnnuid.
j>ronounces a short benedicticm.

When a marriage is agreed upon, the bride and bridegrf>«n«
being brought before the Ditkmt within the house, in the tlrM
j)laee bow with respect towards th(» south, then to the lire-
place, then t«> the earth, and lastly, on looking up to the
upper story of tlu* h'»iise, where the imph^ments of husbandn'
are ])laee(l. 1 he ])arlies tlieii submissively bowing to the
/>///////, he re])eats a jnayer, commencing with the i\<»rdN

INHABITANTS OF THE TENG'GER MOUNTAINS. 869

^' tangyang g*m sira kang * ", &c. ; while the bride washes
the feet of the bridegroom. At the conclusion of this cere-
mony, the firiends and family pf the parties make presents to
each of krisesy buffaloes, implements of husbandry, &c. ; in
return for which the bride and bridegroom respectfully present
them with betel-leaf.

At the marriage feast which ensues, the Dukun repeats two
pijci. The marriage is not, however, consummated till the
fifth day after the above ceremony. This interval between the
solemnities and the consummation of marriage is termed by
ihem 6ndang mdntUy and is in some cases still observed by
the Javans in other parts of the island, under the mme^nduh
mdntu.

At the interment of an inhabitant of Teng^ger^ the corpse is
loweied into the grave with the head placed towards the
south (contrary to the direction observed by the Mahomedans),
and is guarded from the immediate contact of the earth by a
covering of bdmbus and planks. When the grave is closed,
two posts are planted over the body ; one erected perpendi-
cularly on the breast, the other on the lower part of the beUy ;
and between them is placed a hollowed hdmbu in an inverted
position, into which, during seven successive days, they daily
pour a vessel of pure water, laying beside the hdmbu two
dishes, also daily replenished with eatables. At the expira-
tion of the seventh day, the feast of the dead is announced,
and the relations and friends of the deceased assemble to be
present at the ceremony, and to partake of entertainments
conducted in the following manner.

A figure of about half a cubit high, representing the human
form, made of leaves and ornamented with variegated flowers,
is prepared and placed in a conspicuous situation, supported
round the body by the clothes of the deceased. The D&kun
then places in front of the garland an incense-pot with biun-
ing ashes, together with a vessel containing water, and repeats
the two pUja to fire and water ; the former commencing with

Hang! Kenddga Brdma gangst wang*ga ya nama Hwdhay^

* These prayers will be found at length in the Transactions of the Ba-
tavian Society, vol. iz. The word hong ! used by the Javans at the com-
mencement of their invocations to the deity, is doubtless the mystical 001/
of the Hindus.

VOL. I. B b

370 INHABITANTS OF THE TENG'GER MOUNTAINS.

&c. ; the latter with " Hong ! hong gang^ga mdha iirta rdta
" jnejil Silking hdtl^'' &c. ; burning dupa or incense at stated
periods (luring the former, and occasionally sprinkling the
water over tlie feast during the repetition of the latter.

The clothes of the deceased arc then divided among the re-
latives and friends; the garland is burned; another /tr/Vi,
commencing %\itli ^^ Hong! dwigna mtistuna ma sidam,
hong ! ardning^'' &c. is repeated, while the remains of the
sacred water are sprinkled over the feast The parties now
sit AowvL to tlie enjoyment of it, invoking a blessing from the
Almighty on themselves, their houses, and their lands. No
more solemnities are observed till tlie expiration of a thousand
days, when, if the memory of the deceased is beloved and
cherished, the ceremony and feast are repeated; if otherwise,
no fiurther notice is taken of him : and having thus obtained
what the Ilomans would call his justa^ he is allowed to be
forgotten.

Being questioned regarding the tenets of their religion, they
replied that tliey beUeved in a d6wa^ who was all-powerful;
that the name by which the d^wa was designated was Bumi
Truka Sang'' gang Dewdta Batufy and that the particulars of
their worship were contained in a book called PdngldwUy
which they presented to me.

On being questioned regarding the ddat against adultery,
theft, and other crimes, tlieir reply was unanimous and ready,
that crimes of this kind were unkno\ni to them, and that con-
sec^uently no punishment was fixed, either by law or custom;
that if a man did \\Tong, the head of the village chid him for
il, ihc reproach of which was always sufficient punishment for
a man of Teng\jer, This account of their moral character is
fully confinued by the Regents of tlie districts under whose
authority they are j)laced, and also by tlie Residents. Tlioy,
in fact, seem to be almost without crime, and are universally
])eiiceable, orderly, honest, industrious, and happy. They are
unatMiuainted with tlie vice of gambling and the use of opium.

'I'lie aggregate j)()pulation is about twelve hundred souls;
aiul they occu])y, without exception, the most beautifully
rich and rom«antic spots on Java ; a region, in which the
thc^nnonu^ter is frequently as low as forty-two. The suiu-
inits and slopes of the hills are covered ^ith Alpine fire, and

4€

INHABITANTS OF THE TENG'GER MOUNTAINS. 371

plants common to an European climate flourish in luxu-
riance.

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

* The following are the only traditions respecting these people which
arc current in the eastern provinces. " The people of the Teng'ger moun-
tains say, that they received that name from a person from Maidram, of
an inquisitive and travelling turn (wong maldnaj, who having ascended
** the highest of them, and being struck with astonishment at the view of
** all around, gave them the above-mentioned name of Teng'ffer, from the
** Javan word angeng^ger, which signifies wonder or astonishment.

Before Gunung Brhma had received that name, or had become a vol-
cano, there lived a man called Kiai G^de Dddap PuHh, who had no chil-
dren. He petitioned of his deity to grant that he might have children,
to the number of twenty-five, promising, in that event, that he would
cast away one of them into the sea. In the course of a short time chil-
dren began to be bom unto him. As soon as he had the number he
bad prayed for, the people of Teng'ger were inflicted with a pestilence, so
dreadful in its. effects, that those who were attacked by it in the morning
never failed to die before the evening. Dddc^ PiUih was so distressed
and afflicted at the lamentable situation of the Teng'ger people, that he
** loathed his food and neglected his rest, till it was conmiunicated to him
'' in a vision, that the pestilence had been sent in consequence of his
** having omitted to perform his vow, of casting into the sea one of the
** twenty-five children whom the deity had granted him, Dddtq} Piitih
<' then assembled all his children, and inquired which of them was willing
** to be sacrificed, in order to appease the angry deity. All of them sig-
** nified their im willingness to become the victim except the youngest
child, who voluntarily came forward and agreed to suffer, in which ever
way its father thought proper. Dddap PHtih, however, reflecting that ^*^
the sea was at a very great distance, carried this child only to that exten-
sive sand plain at the foot of GUnung Brdma, which bears the name of
Sagdra w4di or Lout Pdsir, and there abandoned it. No sooner had he
done so, than Gunung Brbma began to send forth hollow sounds, and
immediately burst forth into a volcano. Sagdra wSdi is so called from
*' the resemblance of its sandy surface, to a sea when surveyed from Brd-
** ma's heights : its original name is Dassar.

** Bima being asked by Kresna if he was able, in the course of one night,
** to make an inland sea below the Teng'ger mountains, and having an-
'* swered in the afilirmative, Kresna challenged him to do it, telling him at
'' the same time, that it must be done before the cocks were heard to crow,

Bb2

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44

44
44

44
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44
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44
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44

372 THE BEDUI.

The Bedui are in numbers inconsiderable, and found in the
interior of Bantam : they are the descendants of those who
escaped into the woods after the fall of the western capital <rf
Pajajdran * in the fifteenth century, and would not change
their religion, remaining firmly attached to that of Prdbu
Seda. There is a tomb of one of them which they hold
sacred, and will not allow any one but themselves to approach
even to this day. When the Bedui subsequently sidmiitled
to the Sultan of Bantam, and shewed no disposition to oppose
the Mahomedans,they were not compelled to become converts;
but it was agreed, at the same time they admitted, that the
number of the Rowd-ian (the name given to their little socie-
ties) should be limited to three or four.

The B^dui attend to all orders they receive through the
medium of the village chief. They subsist by cultivating
rice : all they raise beyond what is required for their own
consumption tliey sell to the hill people, who are in the habit
of going to tlicm for it once a year, on account of the superior
quality of the rice, or rather superior estimation in which it
is held. It is an established rule among them to allot but one
day for each of the different successive operations of hus-
bandry' : one day for cutting down the trees and underwood,
one day for clearing what has been so cut down, one day for
sowing the grain, one for weeding the field, and one for
reaping, one for binding up the grain and one for carrying it
home. If any part of what has been reaped cannot be carried
home in one day, it is left and neglected. The Girang pdkcm

" or the people of the villages began to weave or beat out rice. By three
" o'clock in the morning his work was so £eur advanced, as to coDvince
" Kresna that it would be completed in the prescribed time. To prevent
" this, therefore, Kresna inmiediately went, and rousing all the cocks and
** people of the villages, caused the former to crow and the hitter to bq^in
" to weave and beat out rice. By this manoeuvre, Bmmi wu obliged to
" leave off the work, which otherwise would have been completed within
" the fixed time; and so incensed was he against the people, who had so
" untimely began to weave and beat our their rice (whereby he fiuledto
" perform the task which was given to him to prove his power) that be
*' cursed them, and swore that they should never again perform either the
* ' one act or tlie other, and to this day the Tenff*ger people neither weave
** cotton nor beat out rice."
' See Historv.

FESTIVALS. 373

(which is the title of the chief) is the first who commences
the work of the field, and many of the hill people follow him
in regard to the period for sowing iheii pdri.

Their dress consists of white and black cloths. They
wear rings and silver scabbards to their krises, but gold and
suHisa they dislike. Spanish dollars are the only coin they
prize.

The festivals or feasts of the Javans are of three kinds : the
grUheg^ or religious festivals ; the banchdki or nealamdtij so
called bom the Arabic saldmat (a blessing), held on the cele-
bration of marriages, births, and circumcision ; and the
sed^kahy appointed in honour of the dead, and for the cele-
bration of their memory.

The principal and most important of these are the national
entertainments corresponding with the Mahomedan festivals of
mulutf pdsaj and b^sar ; the two first answering to the half-
yearly festivals of the Arabs of mohdram and ramdzan, and
the latter with that of khdji, in the month of dulkhija. On
these occasions the sovereign appears in public, and the dlun
dlun is crowded with an assemblage of people from all
quarters, every one being dressed in his most splendid attire,
and accompanied by all his armed followers. The same is
observed in the more distant provinces of the country, where
the petty chiefs, in like manner, assemble in the dlun dlun of
the Regent. Presents of firuit, poultry, and other kinds of
provisions, are brought firom every part of the country:
ofiferings are made by the chiefs to the mosques, and a public
festival is given by the chief authorities. The men only par-
take of these public feasts ; but the female part of the &inily
of the chiefs assemble together, and enjoy corresponding
entertainments within their chambers. The festival seldom
lasts above one day.

Of the banchdki and nealamdti it may be only necessary
to observe, that those given during the ceremonies consequent
upon the birth of the first child are most important.

The sed^kah are solemnities observed on the occasion of
the fimeral, or in honour of the memory of a departed relative,
on the seventh, fortieth, one hundredth, or thousandth day
after his decease: they are distinguished firom the feasts
of gr^beg and nealamdti by the absence of music. Those

374 NATIONAL DRAMA.

who intend to observe them, assemble on the precedinij
evening m order to read some portion of the Koran, Befon?
the guests partake of the meaJ, the principal person present
generally addresses the Almighty in a prayer, which aUudcs
to the occasion, and expresses gratitude for the repast which
his boimty has provided. ThankMncss to the earthly donor
of the entertainment often mingles itself with gratitude to
heaven, and the praises of botli are celebrated at the same
time. Tliis grace before meals is called djttng^a.

Reser\ ing for a subsequent chapter a sketch of the music
and poetry of the Javans, I shall in this place endeavour to
give some account of their national drama and dances, as
constituting, next to music and poetry, the most conspicuous
and refined of their amusements.

Tlic dramatic entertainments are of two kinds ; the tdpeng^
wherein the characters are represented by men, who except
when perfonning before the Sovereign wear masks ; and the
wdtjnng, in which they are represented by shadows.

Tlie suliject of the topeng is invariably taken firom the
adventiues of Pdnji^ the favourite hero of Javan story. In
the i)(Tf()rmances before the Sovereign, where masks are not
used, the several characters tliemselves rehearse their parts ;
but, in general, the Ddlang, or manager of the entertainment,
recites the speeches, while the performers have only to " suit
" the action to the word." The music of the gdmelan accom-
panies the piece, and varies in expression, according to tlie
nature of the action or tlie kind of emotion to be excited.
Tlie actors are splendidly dressed after the ancient costume,
and })erf(>nii their i)arts with grace, elegance, and precisiou;
but the whole jKTfonnance has more the character of a ballet
than that of a regular dramatic exhibition, eitlier of the tragic
or coiniiijj; kind, in which human passions, human follies
or suireriiigs, are represented in such appropriate language
and just action, as to seem only a reflection of nature. Love
and war are the constant themes, and the combats of con-
tcndiiijj: chiefs generally close the scene. Those who perform
before the sovereign and repeat their parts, previously study
tluir characters from writt(*n eoni]>ositions expressly prepared
for the pur|)ose ; but in other cases, the Ddlang^ well vcrsetl
ill the princi|)al iin'idents, descriptions, and speeches of the

NATIONAL DRAMA. 875

history, furnishes the dialogue between the actors extempore.
A party of tdpeng generally consists of ten persons, besides
the Dalang^ of whom four play the gdmelan and six perform
the characters. They are engaged to play by the night, for
about ten rupees (twenty -five shillings) and a supper.

Buffoonery is sometimes introduced, to increase the zest of
these entertainments with the multitude, but it does not
interfere with the regular course ofthe performance, the actors
being only disturbed occasionally by the actions of an extra-
neous character, who whether representing a dog, a monkey,
or an idiot, seldom fails to excite considerable mirth, and
not unfrequently in the most interesting part of the per-
formance.

There is also a kind of pantomime, or rather an assemblage
of wild beasts called Barung^an ; in this entertainment men
dressed up to represent various animals are made to appear
in procession and combats. This is generally p||^ormed for
the amusement of children, and is only accompanied by the
beat of the g&ng and drum.

In the wdyangSy or scenic shadows, the subject of the per-
formances is taken from the earliest period of history and
fable, down to the destruction of the Hindu empire of Maja-
pahit. These are distinguished according to the periods of
the history which they represent, by the terms wdyang pdrwa^
ujdyang gedog^ and wdyang klitik.

The different characters in the history are in these wdyangs
represented by figures, about eighteen inches or two feet
high, stamped or cut out of pieces of thick leather, generally
of buffalo's hide, which are painted and gilt with great care
and at considerable expense, so as to form some supposed
resemblance of the character to the individual intended to be
personified. The whole figure is, however, strangely distorted
and grotesque, the nose in particular being unnaturally pro-
minent. There is a tradition, that the figures were first
so distorted by the SusHnan MdriUy one of the early Maho-
medan teachers, in order to render the preservation of the
ancient amusements of the country compatible with a due
obedience to the Mahomedan precept, which forbids any
exhibition or dramatic representation of the human form.

37G NATIONAL DRAMA.

^' By these means/* said the SiMunan with much ingemuty,
'^ while the world in general will not imagine the figures to
^' be human, the Javans, from recollecting their history, will
'^ yet be able to comprehend the characters they are intended

to represent, and enjoy in secret their national amusements.

Or if, in time, they should forget the originals, and confound
^^ them with the distorted resemblance, they will be impressed
'^ with the idea, that it was only after conyersion to the ikith
'^ of the Prophet that their ancestors assumed the present
'^ shape of man.*' But the comparatively recent alteratiuo
in the figures is rendered doubtful from the circumstance of
similar figures being found on many of the more ancient
coins, thus affording ground for an opinion, that they existed
nearly in their present form before the introduction of Maho-
medanism. Their antiquity is further confirmed, by the
existence of similar figures in the Hindu island of BdU^
where, thoyh not so much distorted, they are stiU far from
natural. I^ese figures are fastened upon a horn spike, and
have a piece of thin horn hanging from each hand, by means
of which the arms, which are jointed at the elbow and
shoulder, can be moved at the discretion of the manager. A
white cloth or curtain is then drawn tight over an oblong
frame of ten or twelve feet long and five feet high, and being
])laccd in front of tlie spectators, is rendered transparent by
means of a hanging lamp behind it. The several figures are
made in turn to appear and act Uieir parts. Previous to the
commencement of this performance, the Ddlangy who is
seated beliind the curtain, arranges the difierent characters on
eaeh side of tlie ciutain, by sticking them into a long plantain
stem which is laid along the bottom. The gdmelan then
commences, and as the several characters present themselves,
extracts of the history- are repeated, and the dialogue is car-
ried on, generally at the discretion and by the invention of
the Ddlaug. Without this personage nothing can be done ;
for he not only puts the puppets in motion, but repeats their
parts, interspersing tliem with detached verses firom the
romance illustrative of the storv', and descriptive of the qua-
lities of the different heroes. lie is the soul which directs
and animates the whole order and machinery of the piece.

NATIONAL DRAMA. 377

regulating the time of the music with a small hammer which
he holds in his hand, while he recites the speeches suited to
the occasion.

In the wdyang purwa, or wdyang of the most ancient times,
the subject is taken from the earliest periods of fabulous his-
tory, down to the reign of Parikesit inclusive. This is the
age of interesting stoiy and marvellous fiction, the reign of
the gods, demigods, and heroes of the Hindu and Javan
mythology, who in these representations are exhibited with
the attributes, and in the situations with which their names
are connected in the most popular poems and romances. The
iables thus turned to account, are generally taken from the
poem oiRdmay the poem oiMintardga containing the penance
of Arjuna on the mountain Indra, and the celebrated epic of
the Brdta Yiidhay or the war of the Panddwa. These poems
are all written in what are termed the high measures, and are
accompanied in their recital by the gdmelan sal^ndro. In the
performance of this wdyang, the Ddlang first recites a few
verses in the Kdtm language, chaunting afterwards an mter-
pretation of the passage in Javan, for the use of the unlearned.
As the several characters are brought forward, he himself sup-
plies the minor dialogue between the dramatis personsB, keep-
ing in general close to the original story, when there is any
person present who could detect his deviations : if he is per-
forming before the ignorant, however, he firequently digresses
from the main story, in any way which he thinks may most
readily amuse his audience ; and on this account, the practice
of rendering the Kdtm into Javan, which fiumishes an oppor-
tunity for such deviations, is termed chardngan, literally a
branch from a tree. In the course of the entertainment, all
the varieties of ancient weapons named in these poems are
represented behind the transparent curtain. The interest ex-
cited by such spectacles, connected with national recollections,
is almost inconceivable. The eager multitude will sit listen-
ing with rapturous delight and profound attention for whole
nights to these rude dramas. By means of them, the lower
class have an opportunity of picking up a few Kdwi terms,
and of becoming acquainted with the ancient legends of the
country.

378 NATIONAL DRAMA.

The subject of the wdyang gedog is taken from the period
of histor}' subsequent to Parik^sitj commencing with the reign
of Gandra-ydna and including the adventures and reign of
the celebrated Pdnji, and that of his successor IjdUan^ mitil
he established himself at Pajajdran, These poems being
composed in a different measure, the gdmelan p^log is em-
ployed as the accompaniment ; and although the histoiy of
the early part of tliis period is i^Titten in the Kdwi, the Da-
lang always employs the Javan translation. The adventures
of Pdnji compose the most popular portion of it The cha-
racters are numerous, and the figures in general more highly
coloured and better finished than those of the wdyang punta.
In bringing any hero on the stage, the Ddlang recites those
verses of the history which relate to him, and introduces such
dialogue as may give a dramatic effect to the exhibition, to-
gether wdth such explanations as may make it intelligible to
common capacities.

In the wdyang klitik the figures exhibited are more pro-
perly puppets than shadows: they are of wood, about ten
inches high, and made to peribrm their parts without the in-
ten cntion of a curtain. In these are represented that portion
of the history commencing with the establishment of the
western empire of Pajajdran and ending with the destruction
of the eastern empire of Majapdhit. Of this, by far the most
favourite scenes are found in the popular story of the adven-
tures between the M^nak Jing'ga, a chief of Balambdng'an,
and Ddmar Wulun (the light of the moon), on account of the
Princess of Majapdhit,

Tlie compositions which thus 8er\'e as the basis of these
popular and interesting entertainments, comprise the legends
from which the account of the earlier periods of Javan stoi}*,
dc^tailed in another part of this work, is principally derived
'llie most ]>()])ular and interesting events and adventures arv
preserved and related in various compositions, whilst mon'
recent actions and events, which possessed less interest, have
fallen into oblivion. Tlic constant exhibition of these plays
in every part of the country', but more particularly in the
east(»ni districts, has served to keep alive the recollections of
" days long since gone by," and to disseminate a general

THE DANCE. 879

knowledge of native legendary history among many, with
whom, from the ignorance of letters, the stories might other-
wise have been irretrievably lost or more grossly distorted.

The DdlangSy who manage and conduct these amusements,
are treated with considerable respect. In many points, their
office strongly resembles that of the ancient bards. The cere-
jnony of giving his blessing to the first bom infant, in the re-
petition of some particular passages of the ancient legends,
gives this part of his office a very peculiar interest The usual
payment to the Ddlang who owns a set oiwdyangSy and brings
his own gdmelan players, is from two to three dollars for the
night ; but the nobles and chiefs generally have several sets
of wdyangs of their own, and keep a Ddlang in their service.

Another representation of this nature is that of the adven-
tures of M&nak Jing'ga and Ddmar JVulafiy which are ex-
hibited, but not very commonly, by means of drawings on
folded leaves of strong paper, while the Ddlang repeats the
story and furnishes dialogue to the characters. This is termed
fcdyang beber. An entertainment of a similar description,
though not accompanied by the exhibition of figures, is termed
tr^bang : it was invented in the time of the kingdom of D^-
mak. The story is taken from the Arabic account of Beginda
Ambiay which being rendered into Javan, is repeated by the
Ddlang f who with a small drum before him, and accompanied
by the music of the gdmeltmy gives spirit to the different parts,
by beating time with his hand, and varying the strength of
the sound or quickness of time according to ^e subject These
two latter are of comparatively modem invention, and not
much esteemed.

The dance with the Javans, as with Asiatics in general,
consists in gracefril attitudes of the body, and in the slow
movement of the arms and legs, particularly of the former, even
to the distinct motion of the hand and fingers.

Of the dancing girls who exhibit at public entertainments,
the first in rank and the most skilfril in their profession are
the concubines of the sovereign and of the hereditary prince.
They alone are allowed to perform the s*rimpiy a figure dance
by four persons, distinguished by an unusual degree of grace
and decorum.

The dancers are decorated according to the ancient cos-

380 THE DANCE.

tumc of the country ^ and nearly in the same manner as a mo-
dem bride. The tdpihy or petticoat, is of silk of different
colours, often green stamped with golden flowers, and hang-
ing in the most graceful manner, a part of it falling between
the feet and serving as a short train, which in the course of
the dance is frequently thrown aside by a quicker motion of
the foot than ordinary. The Adat^ or waistband, is of the
chindi pattern ; and on these occasions is worn the m^er^ or
cestus, composed of plates of gold highly ornamented with
diamonds at the clasp in front. The body is enclosed in a
kind of corset (pemdkak) passing above the bosom and under
the arms, and confining the waist in the narrowest posmble
limits. The ends of the sembong^ or sash. Ml gracefully on
each side on the back of the hip and reach the ground. Some-
times, indeed, this gracefiil appendage to the dress is brought
from the back to a point between the breasts, whence being
fastened in a rosette, the ends flow towards the ground in
front of the person, the usual bending attitude during the
dance causing them to hang distinct from the rest of the ^>-
parcl. The triple necklace, richly chased armlets, bracelets,
and tiara, are of gold, studded with precious stones ; and the
hair is gracefully ornamented with buds of white and sweet-
scented flowers. On their fingers they generally display bril-
liant rings, and the face, neck, shoulders, and arms, which
remain uncovered, are tinged by a delicate shade of yellow
powder. The music is slow and solemn, and the performance
is on the gdmeUin salertdro; verses from the romances of
Pdftji, descriptive of the attire and beauty of the wives and
concubines of tliat hero, being chaunted as a prelude to the
entertainment and during its continuance. On occasions
when tlie s'rimpi are exhibited before Europeans at the Re-
sidency house, tliey arc brought with great care, and under a
giuird, from the krdton^ in a large enclosed palanquin, or
rather box, borne on men's shoulders. When they reach the
door of the residency, they glide beliind the prince into the
chamber appropriated for his accommodation, and when they
come forth for the dance, seat themselves on the ground in
front of liim. On his intimating that they should commence,
they slowly, and to the sound of music, close their hands,
and raising them to the forehead, bend in reverential awe,

THE DANCE. 881

and gradually extending their arms and swaying in unison
with each other from side to side, assume an erect posture.
The dancers seldom exceed the age of fourteen or fifteen.
The birth of a child generally puts an end to their perform-
ances, and removes them firom the profession. They are the
choicest beauties of the country, selected for the royal bed.
Throughout the whole performance their eyes are directed
modestly to the ground, and their body and limbs are by slow
movements thrown into every graceful attitude that the most
flexible form is capable of exhibiting. In the figure of the
dance they occasionally approach and recede firom each other,
and sometimes cross to the opposite side. It firequently hap-
pens, that the delicate corset by falling too low, exposes more
of the body than is considered correct. On such occasions,
one of the trusty matrons always in attendance raises it again,
without interrupting the dance or embarrassing the movements
of the dancer. At the conclusion of the dance they gradually
place themselves on the ground, in the same manner as before
its commencement, and after closing their hands, and raising
them to the forehead in token of respect, remain seated with
a downcast look and captivating modesty, until the signal is
given to the matrons to relieve them by others, when they
again glide into the same apartment

The beddyay who perform a figure dance of eight persons,
are in some respect to the nobles what the 8*rimpi are to the
sovereign : but, at present, few of the nobles can afford to
maintain a sufficient number of youthful concubines to com-
pose this dance ; . it is firequently therefore performed by boys
trained for the purpose. They are dressed nearly in the same
manner as the s*rimptf though not so expensively. The
action moves to the same music and song.

But the common dancing girls of the country, who appear
to approach more nearly to the usual dancing girls of Western
India, are called rdng'gengy and are generally of easy virtue.
They make a profession of their art, and hire themselves to
perform on particular occasions, for the amusement of the
chiefs and of the public. Though to be found in every prin-
cipal town, their performance is most highly esteemed in the
western, and particularly among the rude mountaineers of the
Sunda districts, where the superior graces of the hedaya axe

382 THE DANCE.

unknown. Here they are constantly engaged on every occa-
sion of festivity, and the regents frequently keep the most
accomplished in their service for years. Their conduct is
generally so incorrect, as to render the title of r&ng^geng and
prostitute synonymous ; but it not unfrequently happens, that
after amassing considerable wealth in the profession, they
obtain, on account of their fortune, the hand of some petty
chief. In this case, they generally, after a few years retire-
ment and domestic quiet, avail themselves of the facility of
a divorce, and repudiating their husbands, return to their
former habits. The rdng'gengs accompany the dance with
singing, the words being generally extempore to the music of
the gdmelan sal^ndro and pelog. Their dress is coarse, but
in other respects resembles that of the more select dancers.
They do not, however, wear any tiara on the head, nor armlets ;
bracelets arc only worn occasionally. Their hair is dressed
after a peculiar fashion, abundantly oiled, and ornamented
with flowers of various kinds. They sometimes exhibit singly
and sometimes in groups, following and approaching each
other, or receding at pleasure. They perform at any time of
tlio day, but chiefly in the evening, and endeavour to exhibit
tlicir best attitudes round a lamp which hangs suspended
Generally speaking, both their action and their song are rude
and awkward, and on that account often disgusting to Eu-
ropeans, altliough there are some among them whose per-
formance does not desen-e to be so considered. Their action
is usually distorted, their greatest excellence seeming to con-
sist in bending tlie arms and hands back in an unnatural
manner, and giving one or two of the fingers a tremulous
motion. The voice, tliough sometimes harmonious, is oftra
loud, dissonant, and harsh to an European ear. They generally
have a handkerchief thrown over tlie slioidder, and usually a
fan in their hand, wliicli occasionally ser\'es to conceal one
lialf of the face, not so much out of any affectation of bash-
fulness, as, in the manner of a huntsman, to assist the louder
tones of the voice. At otlier times it is employed to strike
against the back of the ann, so as to give a greater effect to
different ])arts of Uie action and music. Generally speaking,
(lie rthH/gnnjH do not descend to the performance of those
disgusting and disgraceful postures and motions, which an*

THE DANCE. 383

Stated to be so frequent on the continent of India, but they are
not free from the charge of impropriety in this respect. Their
song, though little esteemed and less understood by Europeiuis,
sometimes possesses much hiunour and drollery; and in
adapting their motions to the language, they frequently excite
loud bursts of laughter, and obtain great applause from the
native audience.

The nobles of the highest rank are accustomed, on par-
ticular occasions of festivity, to join in the dance with a
rdng^geng. To dance gracefully, is an accomplishment ex-
pected in every Javan of rank ; and in the western districts,
particularly, all the chiefs are, on days of festivity, accustomed
to join in the exercise, one after the other, commencing with
the youngest. On these occasions, the nobles of the highest
class vie with each other in pointing the toe with grace, in
exhibiting elegance of movement, in displaying adroitness by
intricate evolutions, or beauty of person by an ingenious
management of attitude. So devoted are they to this exercise,
that although their wives and daughters never dance, the
happiness of a festive occasion is considered incomplete,
where an opportunity is not afforded to the chiefs themselves
of introducing their favourite amusement. In the Sinda
districts, there are some individuals distinguished as regular
posture or dancing-masters.

It is not unusual for the performances of the r&ng^g€ng$
to be varied by the action of a fool or buffoon. Mimicry is
a favourite amusement, and beside imitating, in a ludicrous
manner, the actions of the r6ng*gengsj there are not wanting
performers of this description, who occasionally direct their
wit against all classes of society, and evince a considerable
degree of low humour.

These are the only public exhibitions of the female sex ;
but the posture dances by the men are niunerous, and contri-
bute to the state of the sovereigns and chiefs. Among these,
the Gdmbiih, with a shield on one arm, gracefrilly raises the
dddot (or petticoat) with the other hand ; the Niutra^ having
a bow and arrow in the hand, goes through the motion of its
exercise, stringing and unstringing it to the sound of the
gdmelan. Both throw their limbs and body into the most
graceful postiures, as they slowly move in procesdon before

384 THE DANCE.

the chiefs, or arc arranged on the side of the passage through
which he is to pass. Both the Gdnibuh and Niutra are
naked from the waist upwards, while the d6d4>t hangs to the
ground on one side in the manner of full dress, shewing the
knee on the other. Their bodies are generally covered with
yellow powder, and from round their ears hang suspended in
front, strings of the young meldti flowers.

The Gdmbuh are occasionally employed to exhibit before
the prince, when with a kris in their right hand and a shield
on their left arm, they go through all their evolutions to the
sound of music.

But the chief description of male performers are the BSksa
kembang or B^ksa rong'geng^ who have flowers, shields, or
serpents in their hands, and in dancing seem to resemble the
South Sea Islanders, though more elegant in their attire, and
perhaps more graceful in their motions. Neither have any
covering above the waist; but the yellow, and sometimes
green powder which is upon the body, gives it an appearance
very like dress. The term Beksa Idwung is applied to the
petty chiefs, who on public days dismount from their horses,
and go through the exercise of the spear for the amusement
of the prince. Another description of performers are termed
Unchelang ; their art consists in thronging the spear into the
air, and catching it again as it falls with great dexterity.
Similar exhibitions of these persons combating with sticks,
called ujung, were formerly common.

In the domestic circle, the women and elderly people are
partial to a peculiar amusement termed sinireny wUch paints
very forcibly the notions they possess of the power of music.
A boy or girl, properly attired and skilled in the dance, 'is
placed imder a reversed basket which is carefrilly covered
with cloth. Round it music and song are struck up by all
present; those who do not play on any instrument, or who do
not sing, joining in beating time by clapping their hands.
When the excitement has continued sufliciently long to be
supposed to have effected the charm, the basket is seen to
move, and the boy or girl rising from under it, apparently
imconscious of what is doing, moves and dances gracefullv
but wildly, in unison with tlie music. At length tired out,
the dancer falls and seems to sink into sleep, and when

TILTS AND TOURNAMENTS. 385

awakened pretends not to recollect any thing that has passed.
The perfection of this amusement consists in the performer's
giving himself up so completely to the power of music as to
be charmed by it, and perfectly unconscious of every other
sense.

For the amusement, principally however of children, a
cocoa-nut shell is carved with the features of a man, and
affixed to tlie top of a reversed basket, covered with cloth.
This basket, after being for some time exposed by the side of
a river, or mider a large tree, in order, as is supposed, that
some supernatural spirit may enter into it, is brought again
into the house, and rocked according to the swaying motion
of the Javan dance by two children, to the music of the game-
Ian. An amusement of this kind is termed brindung.

Tilts and tournaments (wdtang) form a favourite and con-
stant diversion with the Javans : they are exhibited princi-
pally in the dlun dlurij or great square in front of the krdtonj
or palace, and compose an essential part of the ceremony of
the pdsar senen, or the day in which the sovereign and re-
gents appear in public. This, with the sovereign, is Satur-
day ; with the chiefs, Monday. On the afternoon of this day,
all the princes, nobles, and public officers assemble, and ar-
ranging themselves in the places assigned to their respective
ranks, await the coming out of the sovereign, who, as soon as
he descends from the setingely mounts a horse richly capa-
risoned, and rides round the waringen trees, the several chiefs
joining in his suite as he passes the circle. Several of the
chiefs, and particularly their sons and youthfrd relations, then
join in pairs, tilting and striking their long and blunted spears
as they pass the sovereign. The same thing is observed on
the afternoon of every Monday, at the capitals of the diflferent
provinces throughout the island, where the native government
and institutions are at all preserved. The assemblage of
people on these occasions is frequently very great. The trap-
pings and housings of the horses are extremely rich, and the
riders perform their feats with some dexterity, being seldom
imhorsed *. At the conclusion of the exhibition on horse-

* It has already been noticed that the island is plentifully supplied with
a fine breed of small horses. Almost every petty chief and public officer ia
moiinted, and those who possess the means pride themselves upon a re«

VOL. I. C C

380 THE CHACE— TIGER FIGHTS.

back, it is not unusual for the youths and petty chiefs who
have contended in the saddle to dismount and practice the
attiick and defence of the spear on foot : they are then termed
Beksa Idwmig, Tilts are likewise exhibited in the 6lun
dlnn on the days of pnbUc festival, when the chiefs appear.

The Javans have long advanced beyond that state in which
the chaco was considered as connected with their subsistence.

Tlic stag is hunted chiefly in tlie eastern and western ex-
tremities of the island, by the descendants of the Bali and
Siinda races : tlic Javans inhabiting the central districts are
not practised m the diversion, nor much acquainted mith
it. 'riicy imiformly pursue the animal on horseback. In the
eastern districts he is killed \vith a spear : in the western he
is cut down \\\\h a klewang or cutlass ; here the chace is con-
ductod with more regularity and method, and many of the
inhabitants, particiUarly the chiefs, are passionately addicted
to it, employing the best and swiftest horses and dogs they
can i)rociu*c for tlie purpose.

A favourite and national spectacle is the combat between
the buffalo and the tiger. A large cage of bdmbu or wood is
erected, the ends of which are fixed into the groimd, in which
the buffalo is first and the tiger aften^'ards admitted, through
oi)oniiigs rcsen ed for the purpose. It seldom fails that the
buffalo is tiiuniphant, and one buffalo has been known to de-
stroy several full grown tigers in succession. In these com-
bats the buffalo is stimulated by the constant application of

s{)ecta])lc establishment. They have an aversion to some colourt, and
there are particular marks, the possession of which renders a hont valu-
able to the natives ; if a few hairs on the neck curl, or have the appearance
uf a star, tlic horse m highly prized. Previously to the ceaaion of Kedm to
the Kuropean government in 1812, the native princes maintained a very
respectable stud in that province. Horses are never shod on Java* nor
are they secured in the stable, as is usual in Europe and Western India. A
separate enclosure is appropriated for each horse, within which the animal
is allowed to move and turn at pleasure, being otherwise unconfined.
These enclosures are erected at a short distance from each other, and with
separate roofs, 'lliey are generally raised above the ground, and bare a
boarded floor.

'I'he Javans use an extremely severe bit, and in consequence bav« the
borso ahvays \mder command. The saddle, bridle, &c. are extremely
lu'nvy, and disproportioned to the size of the animal

TIGER FIGHTS. 387

boiling water, which is poured over him from the upper part
of the cage, and of nettles, which are fastened to the end of a
stick, and applied by persons seated in the same quarter. The
tiger sometimes springs upon the buffalo at once ; he very ge-
nerally, however, avoids the combat, until goaded by sticks and
roused by the application of burning straw, when he moves
round the cage, and being gored by the buffalo, seizes him by
the neck, head, or leg. The buffalo is often dreadfully torn,
and seldom survives the combat many days. In these enter-
tainments the Javans are accustomed to compai'e the buffalo
to the Javan and the tiger to the European, and it may be
readily imagined with what eagerness they look to the success
of the former. The combat generally lasts from twenty mi-
nutes to half an hour, when, if neither of them is destroyed,
the animals are changed, and the tiger, if he survives, is re-
moved to be destroyed in the manner called rdmpogj which is
as follows.

On receiving information of the retreat of a tiger the male
inhabitants are sometimes called out in a body, by the order
of a chief, each man being obliged to be provided with a
spear, the common weapon of the country. The place where
the animal is concealed is surroimded : a double or triple
range being formed, according to the number of himters, and
he is roused by shouts, by the beating of gongSj or by fire.
The place where he is expected to attempt his escape is care-
fully guarded, and he is generally speaxed on the spot.

In many districts, where the population is not deficient, the
appearance of a single tiger rouses the neighbourhood, and he
is infallibly destroyed by the method described *.

When the rdmpog is resorted to by way of amusement at
the capital of the sovereign, a hollow square of spearmen, four
deep, is formed on the dlun dluUj in the centre of which are
placed the tigers in small separate cages, or rather traps, with
a sliding door, in the manner of a rat-trap. Two or three
men, accustomed to the practice, at the command of the so-

* " The fruit of a species of contorta, called kdlak kdmbing, has a
deadly effect on tigers. It is prepared by the admixture of other
vegetables, and exposed on a piece of rag at the places frequented by
them. In some districts their nimiber has been sensibly diminished by
this poison." — Horsfield.

c c 2

««
<<

t€
ti

388 TIGER FIGHTS.

vereign, proceed into the centre' of the square, and placing
plaited leaves in front of the cage, to supply the place of the
wooden door, set it on fire, and drawing tlie wocKlen door up,
throwing it on one side, themselves retreating from the spot at
a slow pace, to the sound of music. As soon as the tiger feels
the fire he starts, and in endeavoiuing to make his way through
the speannen is generally received upon their weapons. In-
stances, however, have occuiTcd, in which the animal has
made good his retreat, but he was soon afterwards killed;
sometimes the tiger, particularly if he has been opposed to the
buffalo, will not move from the centre of the square ; in which
case the sovereign generally directs six or eight of his choice
men ((jdndek) to advance towards him vAUlx spears. This
they do with sur})rizing coolness and intrepidity, never failing
to pierce the animal, by fixing their spears into him at once.
Tlie smaller species of the tiger is generally selected for this
amusement.

The exposure of criminals in combat with tigers was for-
merly practised, and it is said to have been common on tlie first
establishment of the Maiarem empire ; but of late years, such
a method of derivmg amusement from the infliction of judicial
punishment had almost become obsolete, and is now, as well
as mutilation and tortiure, altogether abolished by treaty. Se-
veral instances are said to have occiured during the reign of
the sultan of YiKjija-kMa who was deposed by the British
(joveniment in 1812. In an exhibition of tliis kind, which
took j)lace about ten years ago, two criminals were exposed
for having set fire to a dwelling. Tliey were provided each
\\ illi a Am, which was long, but broken off or blunted at the
])()iiit, and the tiger was let in upon them separately in a large
cii^n' constructed for the i)iui)ose. The first was soon de-
sire )v eel, but the second, after a combat of nearly two hours,
succeeded in killing the tiger, by repeated cuts about the
head and under the ears and eyes. On this a smaller tiger,
or rather le()j)ard, was let in upon him, and the criminal being
ecjually successl'iil in this eombat was released. His success,
as in the judicial ordeals of the dark ages, was taken for a
iiianifestation by luavrn of his innocence, and n(»t only secimtl
his j);»r<lon, but ])rocure<l for him the rank of a Mdtiiriy as a
nronijKiisi' for llir danger to which lie w«is cx|H)sod in its

BULL FIGHTING, &c. 389

vindication. Although this barbarous practice appears so
recently to have been resorted to, it is not to be inferred tliat,
as a spectacle, it is held in any estimation by the Javans in
general. It seems to have been of comparatively late intro-
duction, and adopted only in the policy of a known and avowed
tyrant. The concourse of spectators to witness the combat
can no more stamp the general character of the people with
barbarity, than the crowds which are always present at public
executions in Europe. The bare relation of the fact excites
feelings of horror in the mind of the ordinary chief.

•Bull-fighting is common on Madura and in the eastern
parts of the island; but it is perfectly different from any
species of sport derived from the courage or ferocity of that
animal in Europe. Here, neither dogs are employed as in
England, nor men and horses as in Spain, but the bulls them-
selves are directed against each other. The population form
an extensive ring 'round the dlun a/«/w,^within which the ani-
mals are first led up to a cow, imtil they are sufficiently ex-
cited, when the cow being withdrawn they are set at liberty
and contend w ith each other, imtil one of them gives way, and
is driven from witliin the ring by the victor.' The small well
formed bulls of Sumendp afford considerable amusement in
this way, while considerable bets are laid on the result of the
combat.

•The combat between the ram and wild hog, which gene-
rally terminates by several dogs being let in to complete the
destruction of the latter, is an exhibition which frimishes
frequent amusement ; a small stand is raised for the ram, to
which he can retreat when in danger, and from whence he
can take advantage of a favourable moment of attack upon his
antagonist.-

Quail-fighting (dduh genidr) and cock-fighting fdduh
jdgu) were formerly very prevalent, the latter particularly,
among the common people, but by no means to the same
extent as practised in the other islands of the Archipelago, in
many parts of which, particularly among the Maldyus^ it
forms almost the whole source of diversion and interest. On
the establishment of the British power, cock-fighting and
gaming, which had formerly proved a productive source of
revenue to the Eiu*opean government, were prohibited, and

390 GAMES OF SKILL.

are now in consequence rarely resorted to. The JaTans were
not in the habit of fixing spiu-s to their cocks : this practice,
they say, belongs to the Malay us *. The common people
still amuse themselves with betting upon the issue of a fight
between two crickets (ddhu jangkrikjy which are daily ex-
posed in the markets for that purpose. The little <^ii™al«
being confined in small bdmbus partially opened, are said to
afford an amusement of considerable interest.

Among the games of skill may be reckoned those of chess,
drafts, and several minor games played with pieces or balls,
on boards of a somewhat similar construction.

In chess (chdtur) the pieces are named, the rdtu^ or king;
the patehy or minister, corresponding with the queen ; two
prdhuy or vessels, corresponding with castles; two mdntri^
corresponding with bishops ; two jdran^ or horses, correspond-
ing \\\\h knights ; the bidaky or pawns ; and are arranged as
in the English game, except that the kings are placed on the
left hand of tlie queens, and opposite to the adversary's queen.
The moves axe also the same ; except that the king, if he has
not been checked, may move two squares the first time, either
as a knight or otherwise ; and that the pawn may move two
squares the first move, even though it shoiJd pass the check
of an adversarj's pawn. ^Vhen a pawn reach the adversary's
first line, it nuist retrograde three moves diagonally before it
can become a queen, except it has reached the castle's square,
in which case it is a queen at once. There maybe any num-
ber of queens on the board at once.

The king cannot castle afler having been checked. Castling
is i)erf()rmed by two moves ; the castle must first be brought
\\\i to the king, after which the king may pass over- the castle
at any future move, provided he shall not have been checked,
or that no piece has occupied the square he would move
into. A piece or pawn nmst remain on tlie board till the last;
if the king is left alone it is considered as stale matey and
he wins.

This game was fonnerly more general than at present

• The cocks reared for tliis purpose are of the large game breed. The
cock which we improperly call the Bantam, is not found on Java* excepts

.1 ciiri<)«<ity : it comes from Japan.

GAAJES OF CHANCE. 301

Besides chess, there are a variety of games played upon
checkers ; and next to it in estimation may be considered
the games of chuki and ddkon. In chukiy the board has one
hundred and twenty angular points, formed by cross lines on
a checkered board, and the same is played with sixty white
and sixty black pieces. The object here is to clear the board
of the adversary's pieces, and the victor is he who does so
first The parties toss up who shall take off the first piece or
break the board. The moves are in all directions, and the
person who commences goes on as long as he can take one,
three, or five of his adversary's pieces. When he cannot do
either, he stops, and the other goes on in the same way.
Ddkon is played with fourteen or eighteen balls on an oblong
board with holes, and is much practised by women.

Danddmatiy or drafts, is not very imhke the Indian game,
but has more pieces.

Machdnariy is a game in which two chief pieces represent
tigers, one conducted by each party, and twenty-three pieces
representing cows : the tiger who destroys the most wins the
game. Mdling*an is played on squares with eighteen pieces,
and the object is to surroimd your adversary's pieces.

Of games of chance there are many. That denominated
teldga idri is accounted the most ancient : it consists in guess-
ing the number of beans enclosed within the hand. Three
or four people commonly join in it One of the party having
dried beans in his lap, take a certain number in his hand,
requiring each of the others to fix by guess upon a number ;
if there are three persons, upon a number firom one to four,
and the two numbers left fall to the share of the person who
holds the beans. If the nmnber in his hand exceeds four,
every four beans are thrown aside, and the residue, until they
are reduced to that number or below it, only coimted.

Dadu, or dice, as well as cards, are borrowed firom the
Chinese, and not included among the national games. The
most common species of gaming, and that which is practised
by the numerous and dissolute class of bdturSj or porters, in
the central districts, is a kind of pitch and toss, denominated
keplek. Four farthings, whitened or marked on one side, are
tossed into the air ; if the whole or three of them fall on the

392 OTHER CUSTOMS AND USAGES.

side tliat is marked, or on the reverse, the party who tossed
them wins ; if onlv two he loses the stake.

Bets are frequently laid on the hardness or otherwise of a
particular nut, known among the Maldyus by the term bia
kras and called ddith gemiri. Bets also frequently depend
on the Hying of kites (laydng^anj.

I shall conclude this chapter by referring to some pecu-
liarities, which, although partially explained elsewhere, and
falling perhaps more correctly imder other heads, may not be
improperly noticed in an account of the national usages and
customs.

llie practice of fding and dying the teeth black, and that of
lengthening the lobe of the ear to an enormous size, both of
which have been already noticed, appear to have extended
over the whole of the eastern peninula of India, as far a.s
China, and throughout the islands of the Archipelago, as far
at least as Papua or New Guinea.

The practice of covering the face, body, and limbs with
yellow powder on state occasions, and the use of yellow silk
or satin for the envelope of letters between princes, evinces the
same esteem for this colour which prevails in the other
islands, as well as in Ava, Siam, and China.

Hie krtses worn by the Javans are only varieties of that
which is found in the islands, and on what is termed tlie
Malayan peninsula. Tlie Javans have a tradition that it was
first introduced by one of their early Hindu sovereigns, Saku-
fnnft (others call him Sa Putram)^ who is said to have come
into the world with the kris by his side. This krh is sup-
posed to have been of the kind called 7>r/.9opa/i, which is con-
s(H|iieiitly considered as the most honourable at the present
day. In the chapter on Tlistor}' will be found an aecoimt of
the kr'ts (le])()sile(l in the tomb of the Suxunan Giri^asid of the
virtues attributed to it by the superstitions of the country-.
There is a tradition, that the inhabitants of all those countries
in which the kris is now worn, once acknowledged the autho-
rity of the Javans, and derived that custom from them. Ano-
ther tradition attributes the introducticm of this weapon araonf?
thr islanders to the celebrated Pdnji, The practice of poison-
ing^ thr blade of the krifi seems to have lM?cn <ittributed to the

OTHER CUSTOMS AnD USAGES. 393

Javans and their neighbours i^dthout any foundation. In
order to bring out the damasking, it is usual to immerse the
blade in lime juice and a solution of arsenic, which, by eating
away and corroding the iron, may probably render the wound
more angry and inflamed, and consequently more difficult to
cure, but it has never been considered that death is the con-
sequence. After this application of the acid and arsenic, the
blade is carefully smeared with some fragrant oil, to prevent
it from rusting, and this is all that is ever done to it

It has been usual to condenm these people as blood-thirsty,
prone to immediate revenge, because they invariably use the
deadly kris ; but however frequent the appeals to this weapon
may be in some of the more wild and uncivilized of the Ma-
layan states, experience has proved to us, that on Java it may
be imiversally worn without danger. I have elsewhere re-
marked, that the custom of wearing the kris among these
islanders has, in its efiects upon the manners of the people,
proved in many respects an efiectual substitute for duelUng
among Europeans. In these countries, where there is very
little justice to be obtained from regularly established courts,
and where an individual considers himself justified in taking
the law into his o\vn hands accordingly, the Maldyu is always .
prepared to avenge with his kris the slightest insult on the
spot ; but the knowledge that such an immediate appeal is
always at hand, prevents the necessity of its oflen being re-
sorted to, an habitual politeness ensues, and it has often been
said, that if the Maldyus are savages, they are by far the most
polite savages that we know of. If this effect is produced on
the wilder and less civilized Maldyu^ and has equal force
with the more adventurous and warm-hearted BUgis^ it may
be easily conceived the Javans have not escaped it. The Am,
among them, has for a long period been more exclusively a
personal ornament, than a rapier was in Europe fifty years
ago, being among the higher classes even seldomer resorted
to, as a weapon of defence or ofience, than the latter.

Tlie condition of absolute slavery, as understood by Eu-
ropeans, seems to have been unknown to the ancient consti-
tution of society in these islands, and throughout all the
fragments of their history, of their laws, usages, and customs,

394 OTHER CUSTOMS AND USAGES.

110 trace is to be found of its ever having existed among the
Javans *.

Throughout the more ancient laws and institutions of the
country, a property of the subject in the land is clearly
recognized, and it is probable that it continued to subsist till
the subversion of the Hindu government From varioos
definitions and enactmentsrcspectingproperfy, some of which
may be seen in the Suria Alemff it is obvious, that money
transactions took place formerly, to a greater extent than
they do at present. The change is probably attributable to
the European policy of the last two centuries. Four per cent
per month when a valuable pledge is deposited, and double
that amount otherwise, is tlie common rate of interest in
small transactions between the natives and Chinese of the
present day.

In the transaction of money concerns, the women are
universally considered superior to the men, and from the
common labourer to the chief of a province, it is usual for
tlie husband to entrust his pecuniary affairs entirely to his
wife. The women alone attend the markets, and conduct all
the business of buying and selling. It is proverbial to say
the Javan men are fools in money concerns.

^\Tien speaking of their fondness for show and state,

• A peculiar feature in the state of society in the Eastern Islands is the
law between debtor and creditor. Throughout the Archipelago, where
the European government has not interfered, confinement for debt is
unknown. The creditor universally has a right to the effects of the debtor,
to the amount of the debt, on proving it before the proper antbority, and
if the efTects are not sufficient to satisfy the demand, he has a right to the
personal services of his debtor, and of his debtor's wife and diildren if
necessar)\ Hence arises that extensive class of people commonly calkd
Blavc debtors, or more correctly bondsmen. In Ja\'a they are termed
bedol. In the provinces of Java subject to the European authority, this
practice has for some time been checked; and during the administration
of Marshal Daendcls, in 1810, when it was usual for the conomon Javans
to lend themselves in pau'n for a certain sum of money, it was declared
illegal. As an ancient institution of the country, it will perhaps be better
explained hereafter, in detailing the existing practice on Bdli, which may
be considered to assimilate, in a great measure, with what the practice
once was on Java.

t See Appendix D.

OTHER CUSTOMS AND USAGES. S95

I noticed that the Javans were at the same time distinguished
bj neatness and cleanliness, qualities not often combined
with the former. That they are in most respects remarkable
for their neatness cannot be denied : to their personal clean-
liness there are exceptions. This is however chiefly true of
the higher classes, and especially those who mix with Eu-
ropeans ; but the common Javan, though more cleanly than
the Chinese and even the European, woiJd sufier by a com-
parison in that particular with the natives of Western India.

The common people generally bathe once a day, others
once only in two or three days. None of any rank anoint the
body with grease, as is the case with the natives of Western
India ; but they abundantly oil their hair, which among the
common people, on account of its length, is too often filthy
in the extreme. They are accustomed to arrange the hair
with a coarse comb, but the use of the small-toothed comb is
unknown, its office being invariably performed by the hands
of women. Near Batavia, and some of the low capitals on
the coast, it is not unusual to see on the road side women
thus employed for the benefit of passengers, at a certain rate
per head, who submit to it as naturally as an English labourer
goes into a barber's shop to be shaved for a penny. The
Maldyus accuse the Javans of eating what they find on these
occasions : " itu 6rang Jdwa^^ say they, " mdkan kUtut^
This, however, appears to be a calumny : the Javans confess
to biting, but deny the swallowing. The practice of the
women cleaning the men's hair is referred to by the Javans
as of very ancient date. It was firom this practice that the
mother of Wdtu Giinungy in the very earliest period of Javan
traditionary story, discovered her lost son*.

Passing from this disgusting particular, and referring the
reader to the details of the native history for the leading
features of the political character of the Javan, and to the
other divisions of this work, which may afford him informa-
tion how to estimate their former and present state of civili-
zation, I cannot but regret, that I am compelled to reserve,
imtil a futin-e occasion, a more detailed account of the con-
stitution, usages, and customs of the village societies. It is

♦ See Javan History.

396 OTHER CUSTOMS AND USAGES.

by these that tlie private virtues and vices of the people are
perhaps best ilhistrated, and an accoimt of the municipal
regulations by which the HtUe property and happiness of
each individual is protected, of the internal precautions of
police, and of the mode of adjusting disputes, could not fail
to be interesting, on account of their simplicity, their equity,
and efficacy. Independently of the degree of rational inde-
pendence and importance which the existence of these socie-
ties insures to the common people, and of the protection
which, under all circumstances of greater political revolutions,
they have afforded to tliem, it is hoped that their influence in
maintaining the police and tranquillity of the country, will
ever prevent the European authority from interfering in their
constitution or internal arrangements.

It has long been the opinion of the Dutch authorities, that
a system of European police, and the employment of Eu-
ropean officers of police are necessary ; but under the British
government the contrary has been satisfactorily proved. Let
the higher departments of justice be scrupulously superin-
tended and watched by Europeans of character ; let the ad-
ministration of justice be pure, prompt, and steady ; let what
is bad in the native practice of police be gradually removed,
but let the system, in its application to the common people,
be su])ported. It is one which has grown w'ith them, one
which they arc accustomed to and understand. Under the
native system, the rice block of tlie village is used as the
alann ; and according to the manner in which it is beaten,
the inhabitants know whether it is to announce a single thief
or a banditti, a tiger or a fire, and arm tliemselves suitably.
As it is usual for a thief to have but little covering on his
body, and to oil himself all over, that he may slip from the
hands of anv one who mav seize him, the Javaus make use
of a long wooden i)olo, with branches of brambles inverted
within a fork at the end, and by means of this simple con-
trivance they avoid the risk of being wounded, and effectually
secure the ofl'ender, who cannot esca])e without tearing his
skin, llicse, and other simple expedients, adopted from
iiiniieniorial custom and according to the circumstances of
the country, are certainly j)referable to tlie watchmen's
•'ittli's and constables' staves which Euro{>eans would i^nsh
'> introduce.

CHAPTER VIII.

Lionffuage — IaUU known to Europeans — Different Languages or Dialects^
Those of Sunday Madura and Bdli compared with that of Java Proper —
The polite Language, or Language of Honour — The Kdwi, or Sacred and
Classic Language — Numerals — Chdndra Sangkdla — Literature — Compo-
sitions in the Kdwi Language, and in the modem Javan — Influence of
Hindu Literature — Introduction of Arabic Literature — Poetry — The Brdta
Y4d'ha, a Poem — Music — Painting — Sculpture — Architecture — Arith-
metic — Astronomy.

The extensive prevalence of the Javan language^ and its con-
nexion with the languages of continental India, were not over-
looked by those intelligent Europeans who visited these
islands at an early period ; for we find Valentyn ♦ quoting the
authority of Flaccoini;, who published in 1661, and the Portu-
guese Jan de Barros, for conclusions with regard to the ex-
tent of Javan commerce in remote ages, drawn firom the re-
semblance then traced between the languages of Java and
those of Madagascar and Ambon (Amboina.) " The Javans,'*
observes this author, " must doubtless have visited Coro-
" mandel and Malabar, for the high or court language is, in
" three parts out of four, derived firom the Sanscrit or Brah-
" minical language. Many Malabar words also enter into
^' the composition, and it is besides composed in a great
^^ measure from the Dekatiy which is the ancient language of
^' India, in the same manner as the Sanscrit is the sacred lan-
" guage."

The alphabet has been exhibited, though imperfectly, by
ValentjTi, Le Bnm, and Reland, and an Alphabeium Bante-
viense is said to have been found amongst the posthumous
papers of the learned Hyde ; but the language does not ap-
l)ear to have been regularly cultivated by Europeans until
within the last very few years. Some of the outlines of the

» Vol. IV. Book 2, Chap 1.

398 LANGUAGES.

Javan mjrthologlcal stories had previously appeared in a
Dutch dress, in the transactions of the Batavian Society ; and
these, with the translation of the Lord's Prayer in the high
and low languages, pubUshed by Valentyn, some short voca-
bularies, and a short comparative \dew of the Javan and Ma-
layan languages, which appeared in a Dutch work entitled
" Begin en vortgang den Oost Ind Compen,^ or the Bise and
Progress of the East-India Company, are the only contribu-
tions to our knowledge of Javan literature with which I am
acquainted.

The native population of Java, Madura^ and Bdliy islands
most intimately connected \^'ith each other in every respect,
use exactly the same written character, and it appears that
one generic language prevails throughout these islands. Of
this generic language, however, there are four dialects, differ-
ing so materially from each other as to be generally considered
separate languages. It is, however, rather by admixture of
other languages than by mere difference of dialect that they
are distinguished. These dialects or languages are the Sunda^
spoken by the inhabitants of tlie moimtainous districts of Java
west of Tegal ; tlie Jdwa or Javan, which is the general lan-
guage of Java east of Cheribon, and throughout the districts
l^-ing on the northern coast of the island ; the MadHra and
the Bali, being the dialects or languages belonging to those
islands respectively.

How far these dialects or languages radically assimilate
with each other, and justify the opinion that one generic lan-
guage prevails tliroughout, may be determined by an inspec-
tion of the annexed vocabulary *. The Lampung is added on
account of the vicinity of that part of Sumatra to Java, and
the intimate political connection which at all times subsisted
between the people ; and in order to enable the reader to com-
j)are them all with the prevailing language of the Archipelago
tlie Maldyu is prefixed. Under the Javan is included the
Basa krama, or polite language, which will be more parti-
cularlv noticed hereafter.

In this vocabulary such words only have been introduced

* Sec comparative vocabulary of the Malayu, Jawm, Madmreu, BdH,
aiul Lamjmng languages. Appendix E.

LANGUAGES. 390

as are used in conversation, and in ordinary epistolary com-
position ; but the inhabitants of these islands possess finther
a classic language, altogether distinct from the ordinary Ian*
guages of the country, and which is to them what the Sanscrit
is to the Pracrit language of Hindustan, and what the Paii
is to the Birman and Siamese. This language is termed
Kdtoi *. The annexed vocabulary. No. 2 t> which affords a
comparison between the Sanscrit j the Paliy and the Kdfciy
will shew how nearly these languages are allied.

These two vocabularies may serve to convey a notion of
the extent, peculiarities, and antiquity of the Javan language,
which will be found as intimately connected with the Maldyu^
or general language of the Archipelago, on the one hand, as it
is with the Sanscrit and Pali on the other.

The Sunda language, though now confined to the moun-
tainous districts, seems to have been formerly, and probably
down to the period immediately preceding the revolution oc-
casioned by the Mahomedan conversion, the general language
of the western districts, and is perhaps the most ancient ver-
nacular language of the country. It is a simple uncultivated
dialect, adapted however to all the purposes of the simple and
uneducated mountaineers who speak it, and has perhaps
escaped the influence of foreign innovation, from the peculiar
nature of the country and the independent character of that
race. It possesses a considerable portion of Jlfo/c^yt^ words,
and some of Sanscrit origm ; the latter being, generally speak-
ing, proper names or terms of art and science or polity, have
probably been borrowed from the eastern or proper Javans, in
common with whom the Sunda people have adopted a B*hasa
ddlanij or Bdsa krdmay which, however, is by no means ex-
tensive. The Sunday with reference to the Javan, may be
viewed in much the same light as the Welch is to the Eng-
lish. The proportion of the people who now speak it does not
exceed one-tenth of the population of the whole island ; the
remaining nine-tenths speak Javan.

The language of Maduray which is again divided into the

• The term Kdwi seems to have been borrowed from the Sanscrit
Kdwiy meaning, in that language, poetry or poetical.
t See Appendix E. No. 2.

LANGUAGES. 401

of a consonant and an inherent vowel sound, which is inva-
riably expressed, unless contradicted by a particular sign.

Besides the aksdra, there are twenty auxiliary characters,
termed pasdng*any which in this application means cor-
responding or similar. They have the same power as the
aksdra against which they stand, except that they are only
used in connexion with and immediately after the aksdray for
the purpose of suppressing their inherent vowel ^ sound.
Three of them are always placed after the aksdra, the others
below them.

When the inherent vowel sound in the aksdra is not con-
tradicted, the aksdra is termed lagdna. The vowel sound in
this case is that of a in " water," or of o in " homo ; " the o
being at present invariably used at the native courts and their
vicinity for the inherent vowel of the consonant, instead of a.
The latter, however, is still preserved on Maduraj Bdliy and
in the districts of Java, west of Tegalj and was doubtless the
original inherent vowel. The consonant sounds correspond
with the sounds usually attributed to the English consonants,
with the exception of a second d and f , which correspond with
similar sounds in the Devandgari alphabet; chj which is
used as cA in ^^ church ; " ftia, and ng*y which latter is fre-
quently used as an initial letter.

Besides these there are five vowel signs, which supplant
the inherent vowel. These signs are termed sanddnff*any the
clothing or dress. The r^a consist of certain contractions
of consonants and other signs used in composition. These,
with a pdngkuUy or sign of elision, corresponding with the
bdris mdti of the MalayUj which has no sound of its own,
but being placed at the end of a word or sentence denotes its
termination in a pure consonant, and some few other marks
corresponding with the Devandgariy complete the ortho-
graphical arrangement, which though complex and intricate,
is remarkable for its precision.

Some of the letters occasionally occur under a capital, or
rather peculiar form, for they are of the same size ; but these
are seldom used, and when they are, it is not as capitals are
employed in European languages. They are principally
found in proper names, and titles of ofiice, and are placed
alike in the beginning, middle, or end of a word.

VOL. I. D d

402 LANGUAGES.

The annexed table is intended to exhibit the powers and
application of the different letters and orthographical signs.
No. 1. exhibits the characters now in general use. No. 2.
contains the square characters in which the Kdwi is usuaUy
written, and in which the different inscriptions in thai lan-
guage, cut in stone and copper, are found. No. 3. contains
specimens of the varieties which the alphabetical characten
have at different times assumed, arranged, according to the
judgment of the native writers, in the order of their relatiTe
antiquity.

AKSARA JAWA, or LETTERS of the JAVAN

ALPHABET.

CONSONANTS.

11/17 10 2^ T) ^) (X) I51D (U iS) ai

ha na cha ra ha da ta 9a wa Ul

pa da ja ya nia ma ga ba ta ng*a

AKSArA PASANG'AN,
(U$ed in forming Compound Com9omani$).

ha na cha ra ka da ta 9a wa la
pa Ja ju ga nia ma ga ba ta ag'a

LANGUAGES.

403

R^PA,

iOr Conir actions qf certain Consonants used in oomposition with other

Consonants.

siffnianorl
wignian J

chdkra

^ is

Idyar

p6tgkal

chechak

chdkra-
gdntung

pdnghun

is placed after the letter, and is used to supply the
place of the letter A, when not followed by a vowel
sound.

placed round two letters, and introduces r between
the consonant and its inherent vowel.

is placed above the letter, and is used to supply the
place of the letter r when not followed by a vowel
sound.

is placed partly below the letter and partly after, to

mtroduce a medial y in the samf manner as ch^Uura

introduces r.
is placed above the letter, and is used to supply the

place of the letter ng*, when not followed Dy a

vowel sound,
is placed below the letter, and is pronounced re.

is placed after a letter, and serves as a mark of eli-
sion, destroying the final vowel sound.

VOWELS.

Single or unconnected Vowels, Sanddng'an, or Corresponding Medial and

Final Vowels.

o M)t

wubt W ia placed above the letter.
tiilcu a. ..is placed below the letter.

tdknf'^^ ^ is placed before the letter.

tdling-tdrung i| ^ with the letter between.

pdpet (^S is placed above the letter, and is
^ I pronounced as 20 in French.

CI I. Jl fiP^®^ ^^^ sound of re,

ng*a Idlet ^jgives the sound of le^ and pachirak ^ as in Sanscrit.

D d 2

aksAra ged£,

(Bang peculiar /oma under which lome of Ike leliert oi

N T 5 S P Nil (I ^H

AnGKA or NUMERALS. ^^

'va SQ an (3 (3) e^ m uom

AnM

123 4 s 67

I
I

AKSARA BUD'DA, or ANCIENT ALPHA!

U IT E ttJ tsni XITT GD liif T?

Iia da ja ya n'la ma ga ba la mj'a

ANOTIIBB FORM.

TmS)?95JTl?l W Tin TJ; D) TUI

All na cha TO tii ilii la fa va la

tn n B iDi mn 5JI Tffim RSI B

ntn mit fo hi <« 1^

LANGUAGES. 405

r6pa.

Or Contractions of Consonants, Sfc, their Position being the same as in

the modem JavanJ.

wignian ^ pronounced as h.

chdkra V5 r.

Idyar A^^ r.

p^gkal J I y.

ch^chak -^ ng*.

chdkra gdntung ^y f r.

pdngkun / the mark of elision.

SANDAnGAN or VOWELS.
(Their position being the same as in the modem JavanJ,

toiUu Oc/ pronounced as t.

idling 7 ^.

tdling tdrung I o.

pdpet ^ J e.

suku ^ I tf .

ftg'aUlet 5/ ^^

406 LANGUAGES.

The Javans \\Tite from left to right Every consoiumt
(aksdra) is written separately, not being joined to that
which precedes it, and no space is left between the words.
One or two short diagonal lines are used at the close of CTcrj
poetical stanza, and sometimes a comma, and this is the onlj
mark in the language which simply indicates a stop.

In Java the natives usually write with Indian ink upon
paper manufactured by themselves, as already described, and
sometimes on European and Chinese paper ; but in BcUi the
natives invariably use an iron style, and cut the letters on a
prepared palm leaf, in Uie same manner as in Western India.
This practice is still partially continued in some of the more
eastern parts of Java, and was no doubt, at a former period
of their historj-, general throughout the island. The leaf is
called Idntar (from ron a leaf, and tal the palm tree, the first
and last letters being transposed), and the leaves or manu-
scripts are strung together to form books in the same manner
as on continental India. Of these I ha^ne several specimens,
containing nearly all the interesting compositions of the
countr}\

As in the Maldyu^ by far the greater proportion of pri-
mitive Javan words are dissyllables, pronounced with a sUght
stress or accent on the former of the two. There are a great
number of derivative words, formed after the same manner as
those in tlie Maldt/u, by prefixing or annexing certain inse-
parable and otherwise non-significant particles. Compound
words, formed by the junction of two or more significant
t(*mis, are frequently met \vith, though they by no means
funn an extensive portion of the language.

Many words, in their primitive sense, are not confined to
one particular part of speech, but are common to two or
more. Nouns, as in tlie Maldyu^ cannot be said to possess
the distinctions of either gender, number, or case. The males
and fi*niales of all animals are, with few exceptions, as in the
instances Piiirn — Putrid Dewa — J}{*ivi\ Branu'ma — Bramdni,
and some few others, denoted by adding to the general tcnns
words a])plicable to the different sexes. Number is not
denoti'd by any variety of tennination or change in the fonn
oi the noun, but by separate words, expressive of plurality or
singularity ; a duplication of the sing^dar sometimes occurs

LANGUAGES. 407

though rarely, to denote plurality. Where the terms i(//,
ekoTj budhj keping^ &c. axe used in the Maldyu to specify a
particular number, the term wiji is used indiscriminately in
the Javan, whatever may be the thing spoken of. The noims
have no cases.

The adjectives are indeclinable, and generally follow the
noun ; and these are sometimes formed from noims by pre-
fixing a particle. The comparative degree is sometimes
formed by prefixing a word meaning higher or larger, but
more frequently by placing adverbs, significant of " with,"
before that with which the comparison is made, as if we
should say " by the side of." The superlative degree is
formed by annexing adverbs signifying " very, exceedingly,
" entirely, alone."

The cardinal numbers are placed sometimes before and
sometimes after the nouns to which they are attached. When
prefixed, they undergo, for the sake of the sound, a variety in
their termination, or drop the first syllable. The ordinals are
formed by prefixing a distinguishing word to the cardinals.
Ten characters, which are all either alphabetical letters or
signs slightly altered in form, serve to express all numbers,
the notation being decimal, and the numerals being combined
in the same manner as the Indian and Arabian.

The pronouns of the first and second person are always
significant, and vary with the relative rank of the parties.
There is no proper pronoim of the third person, but a word
signifying ^^ alone, self," with the addition of the possessive
particle, is used as a personal pronoun of the third person.
The personal pronouns may all be used as possessive pro-
nouns, by being placed as such after the noun to which they
belong. The relative and demonstrative pronouns correspond
very nearly with those of the Maldyu.

With regard to the verb, it may be noticed that many of
the observations in Mr. Marsden's grammar, on the nature
and formation of the different parts of the Maldyu verb, are
applicable to the Javan. It belongs rather to the detail of
the grammar to point out these ; but it may be remarked, that
the use of these inflexions in the Javan appears to be so
varied and imdefined, that it is impossible, without a much
more extensive knowledge of the language than Europeans at

408 LANGUAGES.

present possess, to make out a {>erfect conjugation^ or to lay
down any fixed rules for them. All that could perhaps be
done, in the present state of the language and of our know-
ledge of it, would be to give a number and variety of correct
idiomatical expressions in the Javan, by which their nature
and irregularity may be shewTi ; and our present limits do not
admit of this.

The Javan language has never been reduced within the
grammatical rules adopted by Europeans, nor have the
Javans themselves any notion of grammar. The constructiou
is generally simple and regular; but owing to prosodial
refinements (every wTiting of importance being written in
verse), syllables and words necessary to express a perfect
sense are oflen omitted ; at other times, lumecessary syllables
or words are added, and letters at the begiiming, middle, and
end of a word are transposed. Hence, and also from the
usual ellipsis of the verb transitive and personal pronouns, the
meaning of many passages appears obscure.

The language is remarkable for the profusion of words
which it contains, for the minute distinctions and shades of
meaning, and the consequent extent of synonymes, and for
difference of dialect.

Of the profusion of words it may be observed, that the
Javan, in this respect, may be put in competion with many of
the more cultivated languages of Europe and Asia, and that a
dictionary would perhaps be far from complete, if it compre-
hcnded less than twentv thousand.

Of the extent of synon^^mes, and the minute shades of dis-
tinction which are found in this language, some notion may
be formed from the extracts from the Ddtia Ndma which are
annexed *. In order to facilitate the acquirement of the lan-
j;uiige, it is usual to collect all the words in the different
dialects, with their s\nionymes, and to connect them together
by stringing them in classes following each other, according
to the natural chain of our ideas. Thus, ailer commencing
with the word man^ and giving an explanation of every word
in tlie \ eniacular, polite and Kdwi languages, applicable from
liis birth to his death, as hi/anty hot^y youths and the like, it

• Appendix E, No. IV.

LANGUAGES. 409

proceeds to womaUy child; from thence to the deities, after-
wards to the various avocations of mankind, &c. This
collection of synonymes is callied Ddsa Ndma^ literally
the " ten names," a term probably given to it on account of
few important words in the language having less than ten sy-
nonymes. Children are no sooner taught to know the letters
of the alphabet (which they first describe on the sand), and
to connect them in syllables and words, than they are in-
structed in the Ddsa Ndmay without a partial knowledge of
which, no youth is considered competent to enter upon any
public office, or can advance to a knowledge of the written
compositions of the country. These collections are varied in
their contents and order of arrangement, according to the ac-
quirements and notions of the compiler. As books of reference
they may be considered fo supply the place of dictionaries,
and if less convenient for this purpose than works alphabeti-
cally arranged, they have certainly an advantage over them,
in the comparative facility with which their contents are im-
pressed on the memory.

But there is no feature in the language more deserving of
notice than the difference of dialect, or the distinction be-
tween the common language, and what may be termed the
polite language or language of honoiu*. The latter contains
many words of Sanscrit origin, and a portion of Maldyu ; and
in those instances in which it appears to have been borrowed
from the vernacular language, which may perhaps be loosely
estimated at a fourth of the whole, a slight alteration is com-
monly made in the orthography and pronunciation, to mark
the distinction. To render this distinction intelligible to
those who are not locally informed, it may be necessary to
explain, that from whatever cause the distinction may have
originated, so clearly is the line drawn on Java, between the
higher and the lower classes of society, that on no account is
any one, of whatever rank, allowed to address his superior in
the common or vernacular langage of the country. This lan-
guage is exclusively applied when addressing an inferior, or
among the lower orders or uneducated, where distinction of
rank may not be acknowledged. Persons of high and equal
rank, when discoursing among themselves, sometimes use the
polite language, but in general they adopt a medium, by intro-

410 LANGUAGES.

ducing words belonging to both branches of the language ;
and this is generally adopted by them in epistolary corres-
pondence.

It is probable, that in the earlier stages of society, the
terms of respect used towards a superior were comparatively
few : that this second dialect, which now forms so extensiTC
a branch of the general language, has been gradually formed
with the growth of arbitrary power ; and that, at one period,
the extent of these terms did not exceed what is to be at this
day found in the less cultivated dialects, and among the more
independent races of Madura and Sunda. Such, however, is
their present extent in the Javan, that nearly one half of the
words in the vernacular language, have their corresponding
term in tlie Bdsa Krdma or polite language, without a know-
ledge of which no one dare address a superior ; and although
the general construction of tlie language, and its grammatical
principles are not altered, so effectually is the language of in-
feriority contrasted witli that of superiority, that it is possible
to suppose a case in which a person might be well acquainted
with one dialect, without being able to understand one sen-
tence of the other.

It is not, however, to be inferred, that the one is studied
and attained exclusively of tlie otlier, for while the one is the
language of address, tlie other must be that of reply, and the
knowledge of botli is indispensable to those who have to com-
municate with persons of a different rank with themselves.
Children are accustomed from their infancy to employ the
polite language in addressing their parents and relations, and
til is added to the mode of instruction by the Ikua Ndnut
above described, early impresses upon their memory the cor-
responding teniis to be used according to the occasion. The
Bdsa KramUy as has been before noticed, consists of a more
extensive class of foreign words, and where different words
from the common language have not been introduced, a varia-
tion in the ortliogra])hy and termination is adopted ; and the
more eirectually to render it distinct, not only are the affirma-
tives and negatives, as well as tlie pronouns and prepositions
viiri (.*(!, but the auxiliary verbs and particles are different

I have already mentioned, that besides the ordinary and
the polite languages of the country-, the inhabitants of these

LANGUAGES. 411

Islands possess a poetic or classic language, called Kdwi. In
this are written all the historical and poetical compositions of
note, as well as most of the ancient inscriptions on stone and
copper, which are found in different parts of the Island. In
a short vocabulary already referred to *, the relation of the
Kdwi to the Sinscrit and Pali is shewn ; and in order to
enable the Sanscrit scholar to extend the comparison, I have
annexed a further vocabulary of Kdivi words, with the mean-
ing which the Javans at present attach to them f.

At what period this language was mtroduced into Java,
whence it came, and whether it was ever the sacred or ver-
nacular language of any foreign people, remains to be de-
cided. Of the words of which it is composed, as far as we
may judge from the annexed vocabulary, and the composi-
tions which have come down to us, nine out of ten are of
Sanscrit origin, and less corrupted than the present Pali of
Siam and Ava appears to be : if, therefore, it was ever the
same language with the Pali, it must have been before the
Pali was corrupted, and therefore probably at a very remote
period.

In Bali the Kdtai is still the language of religion and law ;
in Java it is only that of poetry and ancient fable. In the
former, the knowledge of it is almost exclusively confined to
the Bramdna (Bramins) ; in the latter, a slight knowledge of
it is deemed essential for eveiy man of condition. In Bdli,
the ancient, mythological, and historical poems, are however
preserved in more correct Kdwi than on Java : and it is to
the copies obtained from thence, that reference will be prin-
cipally made in the observations which follow on Javan lite-
rature.

In noticing " the accessary tongues from whence the Ma-
" Idyan acquired such a degree of improvement, as removed
" it from the general level of the other cognate dialects, and
" gave it a decided predominance in that part of the east,"
Mr. Marsden observes, '^ that the earUest, as well as most
important of these, appears to have been, either directly or
mediately, that great parent of Indian anguages, the San-
scrity whose influence is found to have pervaded the whole

* Appendix E. No. 11. f See Appendix E. No. III.

u
u
u

4V2 LAMiUAGES.

«
ii

ii
ii
ii
ii

of the eastern (and perhaps also of the western) world, mo-
dif}dng and regenerating even where it did not create. That
the intercourse, whatever its circumstances may have been,
which produced this advantageous eflfect, must have taken
place at an early period, is to be inferred, not only from the
" deep obscurity in which it is involved, but also frt)m the
nature of the terms borrowed, being such as the progress of
civilization must soon have rendered necessary, expressing
the feelings of the mind, the most obvious moral ideas, the
simplest objects of tlie understanding, and those ordinary
" modes of thought which result from the social habits of
" mankind ; whilst, at the same time, it is not to be under-
" stood, as some have presumed to be the case, that the
" affinity between these languages is radical, or that the
" latter is indebted to any Hindu dialect for its names for the
" common objects of sense *."

The same obsenations apply still more extensively to the
Javan ; and in the Kdwi or classic language, we may presume
to have discovered the channel by which the Javan received
its j)rincipal store of Sanscrit words, for it is the practice,
even at present, among the better educated of the Javans,
for the ])arty to display his reading, by the introduction, par-
ticularly into epistolary correspondence and literary composi-
tions, of Kdwi words, by which means the colloquial, but
more particularly the written language of the country, is daily
receiving fresh accessions of Sanscrit terms. From the voca-
bularies now presented to the public, and the account which
will be given of tlieir literarj' compositions, it will appear, that
few languages, even on the continent of India, have been more
indebted to the Sanscrit than the Javan. One original lan-
guage seems, in a verj' remote period, to have pen-aded the
wliole Archipelago, and to have spread (perhaps with the
population) towards Mjidagascar on one side, and to the
islands in the South Sea on the other; but in the proportion
that \\v, find any of these tribes more highly advanced in the
arts of civilized life thiui otliers, in nearly the same proportion
do wo find the language enriched by a corresponding acces-
sion of Sanscrit tonus, directing us at once to the source

• Miirsdon's Malayan Grammar.

LANGUAGEUS. 413

whence civilization flowed towards these regions. At what
period, however, the light first broke in upon them, or at
w^hat period the intercourse first took place between the en-
lightened inhabitants of Western Asia and the islanders of
this extensive Archipelago, is a question which, perhaps, may
be more properly discussed, when treating of the antiquities
and history of the country, and at best is involved in so much
obscurity and fable, that much must be left to conjecture.

The letters of the Javan alphabet, as well as the orthogra-
phical signs, are decidedly on the principle of the Devand-
gari ; but it is remarkable, that the letters of the alphabet do
not follow the same order, notwithstanding that order is pre-
served in all the alphabets of Sumatra as well as in that of
Celebes. This deviation has been considered presumptive of
the alphabet having been introduced into the island anterior
to the period when this order might have been established for
the Devandgari itself, or before the refinement supposed to
have been effected in that alphabet by the Bramins ; but the
deviation may, perhaps, be sufficiently accounted for, by tl^
circumstance of a meaning being attached to the words
formed by the order of the Javan alphabet as the letters are at
present arranged, thus : hdna chardka ddta sawdla pdda
jaydnia mdga hatdng^a ; means, ^^ there were two messengers
" disputing with each other, equally courageous, till they both
" died *." That this is not accidental may be inferred, not
only fi-om the common laws of chance, but firom the probabi-
lity of such an arrangement being preferred, both on account
of its convenience, and in conformity with the spirit which in
the Chdndra Sangkdla seeks to select such expressions for
the particular numerals that are required, as may make a
sentence.

Near the ruins of Brambdnan and Singa-sdriy are still found
inscriptions in the pure Devdndgari character of a very an-
cient form. A specimen of these, together with one of the
square Kawi, is exhibited in the accompanying plate, corres-
ponding in size with the original. Annexed to each letter in
the Devandgari character found on Java, is the modem cha-

* See Historical Chapter, for an account of the introduction of the al-
phabet by Aji Saka.

414 LANQUAGES.

racier, and in the same manner the modem Javan letters are
placed under the Kdwi ; and, in order to enable the reader to
compare the forms of the consonants used in the alphabets of
Ava, Siam, and Java, with the Devandgariy they hare been
placed against each other in another plate. It will be seen
that many of the letters of the Kdwi correspond so exactly
with the square Pali of the Birmans, as to leave no doubt of
their having originally been the same. It is probable, also,
that were our acquaintance with the Pali more extensive, a
similar coincidence would be found between the languages.

Upon the overthrow of the Hindu empire on Java, the na-
tives may be considered to have lost most of their knowledge of
the Kdwi language ; for although numerous compositions in it
are still to be found among them, and these compositions are
recited in their national entertainments, they would not be
generally understood, but for the versions which have long
since been rendered of them into the modem Javan. The
Panambahdn of Sumenap is perhaps, at present, alone en-
titled to be considered as a Kdwi scholar, and he knows so
little of the language as to acknowledge, while AJMiatitig - in
translating from it, that he was often under the necessity of
guessing at the meaning.

The knowledge of the ancient characters seems, on Java, to
have been for many years almost exclusively confined to the
family of this chief, and it is stated, that they owe their know-
ledge of it, and of the Kdwi language itself, to the circum-
stance of one of them having visited Bdliy to which idand
it is that we must now look as tlie chief depositary of what
remains of the literature and science which once existed on
Java.

It is not unusual for the Javans, in carrying on any secret
or ])()litical correspondence, to adopt a mystical language,
known only to the parties themselves ; and on occasions where
attem])ts have been made to stir up the common people to
commotion, scrolls have been distributed in various unintelli-
giblu characters, which, for the most part, appear to have had
no otlicr object but to impose on the credulity of those who
were too willing to believe tliem sacred and mysterious. Were
tlic chiiracUTs intelligible, tlie mystery would cease, and the
charm be dispelled. Of the manner in which the letters of the

LANGUAGES. 415

alphabet are applied in forming this mystical language, an
instance is given at the conclusion of the vocabulary of Kdwi
words*.

Unlike the Malyan, the Javan language owes little or no-
thing to the Arabic, except a few terms connected with
government, religion, and science, which have been admitted
with the religion and laws of Mahomet. The language, as
well as the ancient institutions of the country, have been but
little affected by the conversion. The Javan language was
abundantly copious before the introduction of Arabic litera-
ture, and had few or no deficiencies to be supplied.

The general character of the language is strongly indicative
of a former advanced state of civilization, and Ulustrates, in
some degree, the present character of the people. It is rich
and refined ; it abounds in synonymes and nice distinctions ; it
is mixed and easily made to bend, and suit itself to every
occasion ; it is, in a high degree, expressive of power and
servility t.

As the languages of the whole Archipelago are so intimately
connected with each other, and that of Celebes in particular
is so little known, I have subjoined in an Appendix some fur-
ther comparative vocabularies of the languages of Java, with
some observations on the Biigis aixA Mangkdsar nations]:.

For ordinary purposes, the Javans, as already described,
use a modification of some of the letters of their alphabet as
numerals, and a representation of these numerals has been
given in the table of the Javan alphabet, page 404 ; but on
occasions of importance, it is usual to employ certain signs or
symbols in lieu of these ordinary numerals, and this practice
appears to be of great antiquity among them. These symbols

• See Appendix E. No. III.

t " The style of the address in Mexican is varied according to the rank
of the persons with whom, or about whom, conversation is held, by add-
ing to the nouns, verbs, prepositions, and adverbs, certain particles ex-
pressive of respect. This variety, which gives so much refinement to
the language, does not however make it difficiilt to be spoken, because
it is subjected to rules, which are fixed and easy ; nor do we know
any language that is more regular and methodicaL"— Hwtory of
Mexico, by CUwigero, vol. 1,
I See Appendix F.

«<
<(
<<
<«
<«

41G LANfiUAGES.

are lenned chdndra sanykdUi^ " reflections of royal times,** or
" the light of royal dates," and consist in a certain number
of objects, &c. either represented in design or named, each of
which is significant of one of the ten numerals. Of the former
class are said to be those foimd in most of the ancient build-
ings and coins, which in that case usually bear no inscription.
The latter is found in most of the ancient inscriptions, and in
such of the \^Titten compositions as possess any date at all, and
is adopted in all proclamations and public iiTitings by the so-
vereign of the present day.

The Appendix G. contains an account of these peculiar nu-
merals, as far as they are at present understood by the
Javans. In the use of them, they endeavour to select such
objects from the list, as when read in succession, may afford
some meaning illustrative of the fact the date of which is
recorded ; but tliis is not always attended to, or at least is not
always to be traced. The date of the destruction of Majapahit
(1400), the most important in tlie history of Java, is stated as
follows, the numbers being always reversed.

Sirna ilnng kertdning Burnt
Lost and gone is the work (pride) of the kud.

4 1

In like manner, the date of the long graves at Gr^siky near
the tomb of the Princess of C/perwat (1313), is thus stated :

Kaya wulan putri iku

Like unto the moon was that Princess.

3 13 1

Otiier examples will be given, in detailing some of the
l)riiK'ii»al events of Javan history.

However inijHTfect the foregoing general account of the
laiij^uages of Java may be, it will have served to convey to the
reader some notion of the extent to which it has been in-
(Irbled to a foreign source for its copiousness and refinement,
and to ])repare him for tliat extensive influence of Hindu
literature, wliich is still to be found in the compositions of
tlie eouiitrv. Of tliese the most important, and indeed all
that liave any claim to literary distinction, arc found either in

LITERATURE. 417

the Kdtti or in Javan versions from that classic language.
On Java the establishment of a Mahomedan government for
nearly four centuries, has tended in a great measure to obli-
terate that general knowledge among the better educated,
which, there is reason to beheve, once existed ; but in Bdli^
the Hindu faith, however blended with the local customs of
the island, and however perverted and distorted in its applica-
tion by a semi barbarous people, is still the established reli-
gion of the country. Mahomedanism has gained but Uttle
ground there, and no part of the island has yet submitted to
European authority. It was in this conveniently situated
island that the adherents to that faith took refuge, when the
sword of Mahomed prevailed on Java, carrying with them such
remnants of the sciences and literature as they were able to
rescue from the general wTeck.

An account of the present state of the island of Bdli^ of
the religious and poUtical institutions, and of some of the
peculiar customs and usages which subsist there, is essential
to the illustration of Javan history ; and although the limits
of the present volume will not admit of our enlarging so
much on this interesting subject as we could wish, it is hoped
that a general notion may be formed, from the particulars
which will be inserted in the chapter on the religion and
antiquities of Java. In the following account of the literary
compositions of Java, I shall avail myself of the more correct
copies, which I was fortunate enough to obtain from Bdli^
confining myself in the explanation of them to the existing
notions of the best informed of the Javans, it being the pre-
sent state of their literature, rather than that of Bdli^ that
I am now to describe.

The literature of Java may be considered under the general
heads of ancient and modem, the former and more important
division consisting of compositions in the Kdud language,
which appear connected with the mythology and fabulous
histor\' of continental India.

It is to be regretted, that the work which treats most
extensively of the ancient mythology of the country, and of
the earliest periods of fabulous history to which the Javans
of the present day refer, is not to be found in the Kdwi.
The Javan work, termed Kdnda, is probably a translation

VOL. I. E e

418 LITKRATURE.

from the Kdwi, and, in the absence of the original, claims
our first attention. It is to this work, and the Mdnek Mdyo,
of whicli an abstract will be given in the chapter on religion,
that the modem J avans constantly refer for an explanation of
tlieir ancient mythology.

This composition is frequently called Pepdkam, It con-
tains the notions of mythology which appear to have been
general throughout the Eastern Islands, with imperfect por-
tions of tlieir astronomical di\nsions, and of ancient history.
It is to be regretted, however, that the Javan copy from which
the foUowiiig account is taken, though otherwise \*Titten in a
very correct style, abounds in passages unfit for a chaste ear,
and tliat it has been almost impossible entirely to purif\' it.

It opens witli an account, first of Sang ydng Wenang (the
most ])owerful), who was sixth in descent from Punrdnhtg
Jan (the first of men, or Adam), and who had a son named
Sdmj f/ihuj Tihnfgal (the great and only one), the first, who
(as is inferred from the meaning of his name) conceived that
he was above Jill, and who setting aside the ways of his
fallier, established the heavens, with all that they contain,
under the name of Snre)idra Budna, or Suraliiga,

Plucking a leaf from the kastuba tree, and paying adoration
to it, tlie leaf assumed the fonn of a beautiful woman, bv
whom he had four scms : — 1, Sdtig ydtig Pugu ; 2, Sang ydng
PtuH/f/iing ; .3, Sd?tg ydng Sdmba ; 4, Sdng ydng Pang'at.
AVlu'ii thr^e Ciiildren attained maturity, Pt'tgu quarn*llod
with Pttng\jt(ng^ on account of the splendoiur and riches of
the dwelling of Sdng ydng Tung^galy which each of them
desired to ])ossess. Sdng ydng Tung'gal became enraged at
this : not being able to reconcile them, the heavens Ix^came
disturbed ; he, in consequence, seized hold of both of them,
Pugu by the right and Pinufgung by the left hand, and cast
them aside. To tlie fonner, who fell on Sdbrang (the opposite
coast), he gaNe tlje name of Secha Tiing*gdra ; to the latter,
who fell on Java, lie gave that of Xdyan-taka (the same with
Snnar, the attendant on Arjuna). He converted them into
monstrous figures, ridiculous in appearance and speech,
exciting lin'-l-trr by tlieir actions, and with an inclination to
follow ill attendance on waniors.

Sung ydng Tiing'gal^ who is said to have been invisible,

LITERATURE. 419

and who in the Wdyangs of the present day is designated by
a sun or glory of light, transferred the government of heaven
to his son, Sang ydng Sdmbuy directing him not to separate
from his remaining brother, whose assistance he would require,
and conferring upon him the title of Nila Kdnta (blue necked),
on account of his being of bright appearance, but having a
tinge of blue on the front of his throat To Pang'ai^ his
brother, he gave the name of Kanika pHtra.

Sri Nila Kdnta subsequently assumed various names and
titles ; the most pre-eminent of which was Pramesti GurUy
by which name and title he is acknowledged as supreme
throughout the Eastern Islands. This title was first conferred
upon him when the deities in Saraldya were numerous, and
when all looked up to him as an instructor or Guru, Kanika
Putra took the name of Resi Nardda,

The thoughts of Sdng ydng Guru turning one day upon
women, he took a leaf of the ka^tuba tree, and paying adora-
tion to it, it was immediately converted into a most beautiful
female, who took the name of Uma, While she was young
he looked upon her as a daughter, but when she arrived at
maturity, he felt a stronger passion. Uma disliking this fled,
and Sdng ydng Guru being unable to catch her, it occurred
to him that he might be more successful if he employed four
hands and arms ; whereupon, at his desire, two additional
arms sprang from his shoulders, and Uma was immediately
within his embrace. But she still resisted his desires, and
during the struggle Kdma Sdla and Mdha Praldya^ both
RasdksaSy but the latter in the form of a man, were produced,
by an event similar to that which gave birth to some of the
children of Jupiter*. Sdng ydng GUru still observing the
repulsive conduct of Uma, said to her, " your appearance is
" like that of a Rasdksa,"^^ whereupon she immediately assumed
the form of one ; and grieving sorely at this transformation,
beseeched that she might again become what she had been,
but Sdng ydng Guru was deaf to her entreaties, and he con-
ferred upon her the name of Kdli Durga.

Kdma Sdla and Mdha Praldya, when they arrived at
maturity, mutually sought from each other to discover their
descent, but not succeeding, they agreed to proceed in com-

♦ The centaurs.
E e 2

420 LITERATURE.

pany to Suraldyay to demand iDformation from Sdng ydng
Guru,, resolving that, if they were not satisfied with his reply,
they would make war against him. Arrived at Suraldgaj
they overcome the opposition of Rest Nardda^ and reach the
presence of Sdfig ydng GurUy who informs them that they
are not his children, though they sprang from his body, and
that it was the fault of the woman only that they had their
present form. He tells them that he cannot allow them to
remain in Suraldga, but will provide for them a place in
which with tlieir mother they may reside. He then appoints
the mother to be sovereign of Nardka (Tambrdka tnukajy
imder the title of Ydma Dipdti. To Kdma Sdla he gives
the title of Batdra Kdla ; the other retained the name of
Mdha Praldya, To Kdla he assigns the charge of the bridge
between earth and heaven, called IVot dgal dgil (the tremu-
lous or swinging bridge, over which a good man may pass
in safety, but from which, on account of its being shaken by
his sins, a bad man falls into the gidph below), and to Mdha
Praldya that of tlie souls of men when they die, in order
that he may direct to the bridge such as, from good conduct
on earth, have a chance of passing it, and cast the others
into Xardka, to his mother Ydma Dipdti,

Sdng ydng Guru was again inclined to take another leaf
of the kastuba tiee, but apprehending Uiat it might turn out
as before, he restrained his inclination. Tlien purifying him-
self, tlicre appeared before him, at his desire, a beautiful bov,
to whom he gave the name of Sdmhuy and after five more
purifications, tliere successively appeared, secondly, a boy of
a high colour, beautiful and \cTy powerful, to whom he gave
the name of Brdma ; tliirdly, a boy, appearing extremely
])owerful and enraged, to whom he gave the name of Mdha
dcwa ; fourtlily, a boy beautifully white, bright, and fierce
looking, an<l having sliarp and sparkling eyes, to whom
he gave the name of Basuki ; fifthly, a boy of a deep black
colour, but extremely beautiful, to whom he gave the name
of iris ft N (Vishnu) ; sixthly, a girl of a bright yeUow colour,
beautiful and sl<*ndcr, to whom he gave the name of IVarsiki.

Re si Aardcia ^^ following the example of his superior, there

* See Appendix.

LITERATURE. 421

•

appeared before him after several purifications, five boys.
The first was brilliant and bright as a pure flame ; on him
Sang ydng Guru conferred the name of SHria. The second
was very weak and delicate, but well formed and beautifiil ;
he received the name of In dra. The third was short and
strong, and was named Sdkra (or Chdkra). The fourth was
of a blue coloiu-, and looking as if he would grow to a great
height, with ciurled hair like a Papua t ; on him, was con-
ferred the name of Bayu, The fifth was most beautifiil, but
appeared sad and sorrowful ; to him Sang ydng Guru gave
the name of Chdndra,

This effected, Sdng ydng Guru considered that a sufficient
niunber of deities had been created for the charge of Su-
raldya.

Sdng ydng Guru then turned his amorous thoughts towards
Warsiki, but all the deities opposing it, R^si Nardda advises
him to take a woman firom the earth, and offers himself to go
in search of one. This being agreed to, Nardda descends
upon the earth, and discovers a most beautiful virgin, not yet
arrived at maturity, at a place called Mddang ; Sting ydng
Guru no sooner beheld her than he became enamoured of her,
and giving the name of Sriy he places her imder the charge
of Batdra Sdkra, with especial injunctions to take care of
her. When she arrived at maturity she became most beau-
tiful, and it so happens that Batdra Wisnu beholds her by
accident : they immediately feel a mutual passion, and Wisnu
obtains his desire. When Sdng ydng GUru hears of it, he
becomes highly enraged; Batdra Wisnu is cast out from,
Suraldya and thrown upon the earth, at a place called Wa-
ringen pitu, or seven banyan trees.

[Here the narrative breaks off, and the story of Wdtu
Gunung commences as follows.]

There was a woman of the name of Sinia, who resided on
the earth, and who had a younger sister named Ldndap.
Sifita dreamt one night that she was sleeping with a Pandita^
named Resi Gdna : after a few months she felt herself preg-
nant, and at the expiration of nine she was dehvered of
a most beautifiil boy. This child, however, soon became

* Who 18 represented as the Pdtehf or minister, of Sdng ydng GnrtL

422 LITERATURE.

unnily ; and it hapj)ciie(l tliat one day, when he had enraged
liis luotlicr excessively, she struck him on the head with the
wocnlen spoon which was in tlie rice vessel, on which he fled
into the woods, and afterwards becoming a devotee, his
mother long searched for hira in vain.

At length having concluded his penance, he wandered
about in quest of subsistence, until he came to the countiy of
Giling Jl^est\ where he sought alms at a feast; but not being
satisfied with tl e provision afforded to him, the parties
becanie enraged, and hostilities ensuing, the Raja of the
country was slain, and this boy succeeded him, under the
title of Raja Si'la Perwdfa, which in the common language
is the same as Watu Gthutvg^ a name conferred upon him
from his liaviug rested on a mountain hke a stone, and
obtained his strength and power thereby, witliout other aid or
assistance.

Becoming a great and powerful sovereign, he was still
unmarried when his mother and sister arrived in the counlr\'.
Ignorant \\lio they were, and admiring their beauty, he
espouscjd them both, and by his mother Sinia had twenty-
seven children, when being one day restless and anxious to
sli ('i),lic rrcpicsted her to comb and scratch his head, in doing
wliit'li she (lisc'ovcred the wound and recognized her son.
Ikr grief bccanie excessive, and exj)laining the circumstance
to liiiii, she urged him to obtain another vrik from among the
]\ iihiihiri o{ Suraluya, and recommended Sri as a proper
obicct of his choice.

W'alu (tummtj thereupon sent an embassy to Suraiii^y
hilt till gods ()])posing his desires, because Sri had been
(Irlivcivd of a child by JlfsNif. he assembled his forces and
nearly dileatcd those of Suraldffa^ when Xardfia ]>ointing
out till' danger to Sdftf/ ijdnfj Guniy iu*gtHl tlie advantage that
\\(>ul(l arise from the reeal of Ji'fsntf, Sardda was accord-
ingl\ aulhori/ed to call him back, with a promise that if he
should be victorious on the incsint ocCtision, he should be
])ar(lone(l, and ])ennitted to return to his former abode in
Snr(ildi/a. /f 7.S7/// was no socmcT engaged in tlie cause, than
1h' lonned a stratagem witli JWiliaru/ty a demon liajfdksa^
\\\{]i wlioni he had bvconie intimate at JVariMf/en pitUj and
directed him to proceed to the sleeping place of Wi/n

LITERATURE. 428

Gunungy in order to ascertain his secret. This spy had no
sooner concealed himself in a place where he could overhear
the conversation that was going on, than he heard the fol-
lowing discoiurse between Wdtu Gunung and Sinta.

Sinta. "What think you ; shall we be successful or not in
" this enterprize ?"

Wdtu Gunung. " If the gods are no nearly destroyed by
" those who are subordinate to me, what must they not suffer
when I go myself ? for I shall not then have occasion to
use force. I need only say a few words, and if they don't
" understand the meaning of them, they will forthwith be
" destroyed, and I shall myself become sovereign of Su-
" raldya. Should they, however, comprehend the meaning
" of what I say, then I shall know that my power is gone ;
" but still there will be trouble in putting me to death."

Sinta. " Tell me what are the words you mean to use, and
" why they have not the power to put you to death ?"

Wdtu Gunung, " I shall enclose in my hand the Sdstra
*^ or description of my country, and holding it out, demand
" of them to tell me what it is. Then I shall repeat these
" words : ddka w6l diki^ and also diki wdi ddka. The
meaning of these words is easy enough, but the gods do'nt
understand it : a great tree has small fruit ; great fruit has a
*^ small tree. The great tree \\ith small fruit means the
waringin tree ; the great fruit and small tree means the
gourd. I am invulnerable by all weapons, but if they pull
my two arms asunder, then will they find it easy to put me
" to death ; but this the gods know not."

Witli this intelligence the spy immediately hastened to
WisnUy who arrived at Suraldya when the gods were nearly
beaten by tlie twenty-seven sons of Wdtu Gunung. After
this success, Wdtu Gunung approaching Sdng ydng GurUy
put tlie intended questions to him. The latter referring to
Wisnu, they were immediately recognized by him, on which
Wdtu Gunung attempted to escape, but was soon overtaken
by WisnUy who laying hold of one of his arms, while his son,
Sri Gdtiy held the other, they soon succeeded in putting him to
death. As he expired a voice was heard by Wisnu, saying,
" think not that it will end here : hereafter trouble will again
" arise in Suraldya^ in the time of Raja Sumdli, of the country

424 LITERATURE.

" of Sela grinifgingy who will have a brother named Man^
" lid wan. Forget it not."

When the twenty-seven sons of Wdtu Gunung heard of
their father's fate, they i^dshed to sacrifice themselves ; but
Wisnu disposed of them as follows, saying, " let there be a
" sign to the world of this victor}-. I will once in seven davs
" put to death one of these twenty- seven, so that they may
" be killed in rotation." The grief of Slnta being excessive,
she wcj)t for seven days, and afterwards was received into
Suraldya^ and Whnn added her name, as well as those
of her sister and Wdtu Gunung^ to the twenty-seven, and
established the thirty icukii, as everlasting signs, in comme-
moration of this victor}\ From the grief of Slnta for seven
days, it is said that rain always falls dmring the wiku which
bears her name *.

Then seizing the Pepdteh and three assistants, who with
Wdtu Gunufighad constituted the council of five, he declared
that they shoidd sene to commemorate the four great revolu-
tions or Ndga (serpents :) Ndga Bumi (of the earth,) Naga
JJhifi (of the day,) Xdga Wulan (of the moon,) Ndga Tdhun
(of the year.) lie struck out both the eyes of Ndga Bumiy
that the cartli might never again see to attack the heavens, and
afterwards the left eye of Ndga Dina^ and the right eye of
Ndga JfYilau.

[Here that part of the relation which has an astronomical
reference breaks otf.J

Ih'dma then follo\Wng the example ofNardda^ purifies him-
self, and at his desire, first there appears before him a boy of
slronj^ make, on whom he confers the name of Brdma Tdma:
secondly, a boy, also of strong make, whom he names Brdma
Suddrga ; and thirdly, a beautiful girl, on whom he confers
the name oi' JJraufdui JVdti,

Tlie two boys, when th(\v attained maturity, descended from
Suru/d(/(f. Brdma Suddrga luiited in marriage with a female
of the earth : from ihem, in the tliird degree, were descended
Rfija Suutdfi iuid Mauglidwau. In the reign of the latter of
these a dc^structive war is stated to have taken place. Man-
f/ffdintfi laid waste Sural4ga and slew Sri GtUi^ but afler-

• Sec AKtronomy.

LITERATURE. 425

wards, when he shewed a desire to possess Sri^ Wisnu ex-
erted all his strength, and put him to death. As Manglidwan
expired Wisnu heard a voice saying unto him, " The work
" is not yet complete ; hereafter, when there shall be on
" earth a man named Rahwdna^ who will be descended
" from Brdma Tdma, beware of him : in his time the peace
" of heaven will be again disturbed, and he will lay it waste.'*
Brdma Tdnia espoused a princess of Ckdmpa, named S^rdti
Detri, by whom he had a son, named Brdma Rdjay who be-
came Raja of Indrapuriy and had a son named Chitra Ba-
li dr or Angsdrway to whom, when he became advanced in
age, he delivered over charge of the coimtry, proceeding him-
self into the forests as a devotee, and assuming the name of
JResi Tdma,

Sumdli had a daughter, named Sukesi Dettri, This prince,
alarmed at the accounts of Manglidwan's death, fled with her
to Chitra Bah dry and requested him to protect her as a
maiden, giving him authority to sanction her marriage on any
proper occasion which might offer. He himself fearing the
vengeance of Sdng ydng GurUy fled further into the woods
for concealment, but died on the way. Chitra Bahdr^ for-
getting the nature of his charge, became enamoiured of the
girl. This happened when he was performing a penance ;
for he had two sons, named Misra Wdmu and Bisa JVdmay
to the former of whom he had intrusted the charge of his go-
vernment. The girl resisted on account of his age, but he at
last succeeded. During the first amour he received from her
nine strokes on the head with a stone. In due time she be-
came pregnant and was delivered of a boy, having nine marks
or excrescences on his head, which added to his natural fisu;e,
making as it were ten fronts to his head : he was thence
called Ddsa muka (ten-faced.) In the second attempt she
pulled the lobes of both his ears with great strength, and when
delivered she produced a child in the form of a Rasdksay and
having immense lobes to the ears : this child was named
Amba kdrna, or long-eared. In the third she scratched him
all over, and the fruit of it was a girl, bom with long nails
and claws at the end of each finger : she was named Sdrpa
kandka, or serpent-nailed; the wounds inflicted by these
nails are said to have been mortal. But the fourth being un-

426 LITERATURE.

resisted, she was delivered of a most beautiful boy, who, hav-
ing a couiiteiiaiice and mouth beautiful like those of a girl,
was named Bihisdna.

When these children were grown up Chitra Bahdr carried
them to Mlsra Wdrna^ saying, " these are your brothers and
'^ sister, assist them, and they will be of use to you in your
" government." Mlsra Wdrna had a great dread of thunder,
lie })osscssed a weapon called limpung^ which descended to
him from Brdma Bdja^ and Ddfta Mukay desirous of pos-
sessing it, ingratiated himself into his favour, but no sooner
obtained possessicm of it tlian he formed a design against his
brotluT's life, in the hope of succeeding him. He accordinglv
performed a penance and prayed for thunder, and as soon as
it was lieard he slew his brother, and gave out that he disap-
peared during the tlmnder. At the moment, however, that he
struck Mlsra Wdrna with the weapon it vanished ; still he
became llaja.

In tlie mean time Blsa Wdrna became beloved by the gods,
and they presented to him a car, named jaladdray in which
he could be ccmveyed through the clouds. \\Tien Ddm
Mukn heard of tliis he became enraged, and demanded the
carriage for himself; but he had no sooner made the nrqucst
tlian he perceived liis lost weapon descend upon tlic lap of
Iji^a Wdrna. Still more enraged at this, the altercation did
not cease uutil Jilsa J I'd ma ^ with one blow, laid him senseless
on the ground ; at wliich moment the father, Chitra Bahdr,
coining u]), he succeeded in reconciling them, and with im-
])ressiiig u])()n J)dsa Mitka tlie futility of his attempts against
his l>rot]un*. Chitra Bahdr on this occasion repeated several
invocations to the deity, which were treasured up in the re-
collrction of after ages: such as Hontj ! Aicigna ; Hong!
Wn/(n/dnia ; Hong ■ Jl'/daddnf, Sac,

'J'lir father, however, had no scxmer withdrawn, than Ddxa
Mf'iha again look courage, and another combat ensued, which
ended in his being' a second time struck si*nseless on the
ground, blood issuing from his mouth. Blsa Wdrna then
la\ing liold of liis bodv was alxmt to cut his throat with the
limintinj^ w lii^i lit si Xardda a])peared and arrestcil his hand,
saving, " forbear, Sdng gang Cam docs not permit that you
'* slay your brotlier. By attending to tliis advice you will

LITERATURE. 427

** hereafter become a deity in heaven. Give your weapon to
" your brother, who is Raja of Indrapuriy Bisa Wdma as-
senting, Resi Nardda then brought Ddsa Muka to his senses,
and delivering over to him the weapon and car, conferred
upon him the name of Rah-wdna *, from his blood having
flowed in such quantity as to reach the adjoining forest

[In some copies of this work it is said that Ddsa Muka was
called il?a/i«rait^, because in. his youth he dehghted in the de-
struction of children and to spill their blood. There is also
some variation in this part of the story, and Citrd BaJtdr is
termed Chdtor Boja (four-shouldered), on account of the
great strength he exhibited in the war with Nili Kewdchd].

Resi Nardda then presented Rahwdna to Sdng ydng Guru,
who taking a Uking to him adopted him as his son, giving
him a sal^ndang f as a mark of his affection. Rahwdna^ how-
ever, was soon dazzled by the appearance of a bright flame,
when forgetting the attachment of Sdng ydng GurUy he pur-
sued it, until he came into the presence of Sri, from whose
beauty it proceeded. She, however, ran to her husband
Wlsnu for succour, and a severe combat ensued, during which
the heavens were disturbed, and many of its most valuable
contents were destroyed by Rahwdna, Resi Nardda at length
approaching, separated the combatants, saying, " this is not
" the proper place for your contention ; better had you de-
" scend to the earth. As for you, WisnUy as you are a god,
" and may be ashamed to shew yourself as such on earth, it is
" the will of Sdng ydng Guru that you be permitted to appear
" there in the form of a man, and to do there as you like."
On which Rahwdna was cast out of Suraldya, and Wisnu,
with his consort Sri, disappeared, without any one knowing
whither they went.

Bisa Wiirna was then, in fulfilment of the promise given
by Nardda^ called up to heaven, to supply the place among
the Dewa.s vacated by JVisnUy and approaching the presence
of Sdng ydng Guru received from him the name of Batdra
Asmara or Kamajdya (the god of love), and presented him
with a consort, named Kama Rdti or Batdri Rati.

• From rah, blood, and v)(hia, wood, forest.

t A narrow white cloth, usually thrown over the shoulders, still worn
by the Bramanas of BdU, and called sdn^ dkmg dkmg.

428 LITERATURE.

[Here ends the K^rta Yoga^ or first age of the world, and
the Treta Ydgn, or second age, commences.]

Wismiy after his descent upon the earth, first became in-
carnate in the person of an illustrious sovereign, named Arjuma
Wijdya, of the country of Mau»pdti^ and reigned for a period
of seventeen years, diuing which he was successful in two
wars. One, in which the Raja of Taffjung-pura^ having a
beautiful daughter, named Chitra IVdtiy in whom Sri had
become incarnate, offered her in marriage to the prince who
should overcome in wrestling all the others assembled : Ar-
juna Wijdya^ however, carried her off firom the place in
which she was secreted (Gedong Brahdla) which produced
a war, wherein he was victorious. The other war was with
Rahtruna, wlio attacked him at Mauspdti: in this Rahtcdna
was taken prisoner and confined in a cage ; but on the solici-
tations of his father, Chitra Bahdry he was forgiven, and al-
lowed to return to his countrv, on condition that neither he
nor his descendants would ever again make w^ar on Arjuna
Wijdya,

Wistm aften^ards quitting the body of Arjuna Wijdya
becauie incarnate in the person of Rdma^ son of Ddsa Rdta
(who wlien young was called Murddkajy entering the body
of liis mother during conception, and coming into the world
with tlie child. About the same time Batdra Basuki^ who
had a son named Baswarat^ united to Bramdni Wdti^ be-
coming soiTowful, quitted Siiraldyay with a determination to
follow the fortunes of IVisnu^ who after quitting the body of
Arjihia IMjdya roamed for some time round the skirts of the
earth until he fell in with Basuki. Wisnu then said to him,
*' there is a Raja of Mdfidra-pura, named Bdsa Rdia^ who
" has two wives, named Dewi Rdgu and Mdntca-ddri. I am
" younger thfui you, but on earth I must be older. I will en-
'* ter the body of RdgUy and become incarnate in the child
" she will bring forth ; do you the same with the other."
Mdnwa-ddri was delivered of a child named LakasamaHay in
which Basuki accordingly became incarnate.

['I'he j)ortion of the work, which also includes a relation
of the feats of Bali son of Gotdmay the founder of AndnOy
brings the story douni to the period of the poem of Rama,
The history is then carried on to the period of the Pemddwa

LITERATURE. 429

Lima or Brdta Yudha^ and may be concisely stated as fol-
lows :]

Baswaraty son oiBasukij had by Bramdni Wdti two sons,
MdnU'Mandra and Manu-Madewa. The daughter of Manu-
Madewttj named Sirdti^ was married to Bramdna Rdja^ and
from this marriage proceeded Rahwdna. The Penddwa
lima were tenth in descent from Mdnu-MandrUy as in the
following pedigree :

1. MdnU'Mandsay

2. Triirushtay

3. Parikenay

4. Sutdpay

5. Sa-putramy

6. Sdkriy

7. Pulasdray

8. Abidsay

9. PdndU'dewa Ndta.

The Tr^^a F<5^a or second age, is supposed to have ended,
and the Duapdra Ydgay or third age, to have commenced
on the death of Rdmay which happened about the time of
Sdkri.

The Wiwdha kdwi i« a regular poem, and contains three
hundred and fifty-five j»arfa, or metrical stanzas. The subject
is as follows :

Erang Bdya had a son, whose form was that of a Rasdksay
and who became sovereign of the coimtry of Ima-imantdkay
under the name of D^tia Kewdcka, The father, desirous of
getting rid of him, urged him to go to Surendra Budnay in
search of a flower, called Turdng*gajdtiy which was worn by
all the Widaddris. The Rasdksa accordingly goes in search
of it, and no sooner comes into the presence of Batdra GurUy
than a Widaddri sitting by his side, named Su Prdbuy the
daughter of Batdra Sdmbay presents one of these flowers to
him, with which he returns to his father, who alarmed at his
success, immediately delivers over to him the government of
his country.

After DMa Kewdcha had thus become sovereign, he de-
sired to be united in marriage with the Widaddri who had
given him the flower, and dispatches a Rasdksa named Ko-
lungkiay with a letter addressed to Batdra GurUy soliciting

430 IJTERATURE.

Sn Prdba in marriage, and threatening to destroy the hea-
vens in case of refusal. When the messenger reached iSn-
r^ndra Budnn he presented the letter to Batdra Sdkraj who
knowing its contents witliout reading it, immediately replied
in a rage, " then let your sovereign carry his threat into exe-
" cution, for Bitdra Guru will never consent that a Widaddri
" be married to a Rasdksay

When the messenger had disappeared, Baiara Sakra com-
municated to the gods the state of affairs, on which Batdra
Gilru became enraged. As he curbed his passion, Naraka
becomes disturbed ; smoke issued from its deepest recef^scs
and the heavens rocked to and fro. Rest Nardda then ap-
prised Batdra Gi\ru that there was a man on the earth, named
Bagawan Wardiningsih, or Mitaraga, who had long per-
formed liis devotions on the mountain Indra-kila^ and sug-
gested that it niiglit be better to employ him against Detia
Kewdcha than for the gods, who were ignorant of the art of
war, to await in heaven the coming of the Rasakna. Batara
Guru approves of the suggestion, and Risi Xardda descends
accordingly to ffidra-kiia, accompanied by seven JVidadarh^
in tlie hope that by the influence of their charms, he might
succeed in abstracting IVardiningsih from the severe penance
wliidi he was performing. The names of the IVidadarU
who accompanied him were Su Praba, IVilotdmay Leng-leng-
Mffudana, Suunirtaka, Aug^/'/upuuiy Su Prtfin-*/wi, and ZVr-
sa-uala. In their train fallowed a tliousand of the young and
beautiful maids of heaven.

IVa rdiuiugsih was perfonning a long and rigid penance,
for the ])ur|)ose of recovering the kingdom of Astina ; and
when Nardda arrived at Indra-kila^ the sun had climbed
half way up the heavens. The Widaddris immediately di«-
j)layed their channs, and employed every artifice to attract
his attention, but they coidd not succeed. One of them, who
resembled liis wife, even threw off her upper garments, and
exj>osing Ikt bosom embraced him with transport ; but it did
not avail.

Batdra Sdkra then descended to Indra-kila^ in the dis-
guise of a DcTvise, assuming the name of Panjingrum^ and
apj)r():uliing Jf'ardifihtgsf/i^ as if in grief, threw oiT his dis-
guise, and resuming the god, addressed Wardinlmgnik as

LITERATURE. 481

follows : " My visit to you is on three accounts ; first, 1 re-
'* quest your assistance in this war; secondly, I wish to ap-
^* prise you, that Batdra Guru will in a short time appear
" to you ; thirdly, to advise you, that when you see Batdra
^* GurUy and he asks you whether you have courage to engage
" in the war or not, you answer that you have ; requesting,
" however, in return, that when the war Brdta Yudha takes
" place, the Panddwa may be successful. You may then
" request two arrows, called pa^so pdti and trisula^ and the
^^ crown chdping basimdnda, the vest dnta kasfUmay the slip-
*' pers mdrdu kachdrma : these slippers, when you wear them,
** will enable you to fly, and to enter heaven in person. Re-
** quest, moreover, the chariot mdniky which is drawn by
" elephants and horses of the heavenly race (sambrdnijy and
** called chipta waldha, and that if you are successful in the
** war with Deiia Kewdcha^ Batdra GurUy as well as the
*' other gods, may each present you with a Widaddri,^'^ Ba-
tdra Sdkra ha%'ing made an impresion on the mind of
JVardimngsih returned to heaven.

In the mean time Mang-mdng Murka, the Peptdeh oi
D6tia Keirdcka, who had a face like a hog, received orders
to lay waste the mountain of Indra-Kila. He no sooner
arrived there, and began to destroy the cultivation, than
Semar gave information of it to IVardiningsihy who coming
forth with his bow and arrow, immediately struck the Ra-
sdksa ; upon which Batdra Guru appeared in the form of a
forester, holding in his hand a bow without an arrow. Then
struggling ynih Wardiningsih to withdraw the arrow with
which the Raadksa had been struck, each pulled at it ineffec-
tually until a quarrel ensued, in which Batara Guru accused
JVardimngsih of having a bad heart, and of following the
dictates of his Guru IMmay who was at Astitia, and who had
a crooked nose and mouth. Wardiningsih being enraged at
this, a severe combat ensued, when Batara Gitru having laid
hold of his adversary's hair, the other attempted to retaliate,
on which Batdra Guru vanished. A, fragrant odour imme-
diately arose, and Wardiningsih reflected upon what Sdkra
had told him, and instantly perceived a bright arch, like the
rainbow, with Batdra Guru appearing within it, attended by
Resi Nardda and a suite of Widaddris : bowing profoundly
to the ground, he felt himself permitted to approach the deity

432 LITERATURE.

and kiss his feet ; Baidra Guru then informed him of his
object in coming to Indra-kila, and requested that he would
make war upon Delia Kewdcha, who was the enemy of the
gods ; to which IVardhiingsih consented, making the re-
quests which had been suggested by Batata Sdkra. To
these Batdra Guru assented, adding, " If you have success
" in this war, I will appoint you sovereign of the heavens for
" one year. You shall have power over all the gods, and the
" IVidaddris shall be your attendants ; and as long as you
" live you shall have power to visit Suraldya at your plea-
" sure." Tliis said, Batdra Guru disappeared.

On the next day IVardiningsih prepared for his journey to
I ma hnantdka. tlie country of Detia Keicdcha^ and on his
way thither fell in \^ith the Widuddris^ Su Prdba and WUa
Tdma^ who had been sent by Batdra Sdkra. Wardiningiih^
on his arrival at the Rasdksa\^ capital, commissioned these
Wi da dan's to enter the palace and feign an attachment for
Detia Keudcha. Detia Kewdcha no sooner beheld them,
than being thrown off his guard, he declared, that the object
of the war being thus attained without trouble, he would enjoy
himself at his ease. Then dressing himself in his princely
robes, and perfuming himself as a bridegroom, he approached
Sn Prdba ^ and taking her on his knee chaunted a scmg, which
so delighted her that she fell asleep. Wardining^ih^ on this
entered into her ear-stud, and jiwoke her. Detia Kewdcha
then urged her to gratify his passicm, but she refused, and re-
quired, as a mark of confidence, that he would trust her with
the secret of his power. This he refused, until she was about
to stab lierself, when he whispered in her ear that he was in-
vulnerable except within his throat; if any one injured that
part in the least he nmst instantly die. IVardiuingsih thus
ascertjiining his vulnerable point, escaped with the JVi€UiddnJtn
and ascended to Batdra Sdkra in Suraldya.

Delia Keudcha, then collecting his forces, proceeded to
the war with a countless host, laying waste the country, until
he arived near Tduda JVdrUy where he halted to make pre-
])jirations for the attack. The heavens now shook, and Xa-
rdka cuiittcd sniokc. Tlie gods trembled with fear, and the
win<l, charged with the gross stench of tlie Ramk^a^ almost
over])owered them.

Jf 7/ /•r///>?;;//.9/7* having arrived at the abode o( Sdkra ^ ihe

LITERATURE. 483

great bell Cgatita) was struck, when the gods immediately
assembled. The forces of Suraldya then moved on, IVardt"
ningsih following in a splendid chariot Having thrown off
the Pandita^s garment, he now appeared richly clothed in the
character of Arjuna^ adorned with gold and costly gems. The
chariot had formerly belonged to Rdma^ and had been pre*
served by Batdra G&rUy when Rama committed himself to
the flames.

The battle commenced, and the forces of the Rasdksa being
most numerous and powerful, were about to carry all before
them, when Gatot Kdcha arrived, and taking part vrith War-
diningsihy turned the tide of the battle in favour of the gods,
plucking up the mountains by the roots, and casting them
upon the Rasdksas, Detia Kewdcha escaping the general
overthrow, and attended by Secha Tung*gdray shot an arrow
at Wardiningnhj which the latter caught under his arm, and
feigning dealb, fell to the ground. Great was the grief of
S^mar and of all his other attendants ; but Detia Kewdcha
approaching burst out into a loud laugh, when Wdrdimngnhf
who had watched his opportunity, observing the Rasdksa^s
mouth open, instantly rose, and struck the arrow into it, and
so killed him.

Gdtot Kdcha^ who, in consequence of the absence of
Arjuna on a penance for three years, had been sent to recall
him, and who had discovered him by the appearance of his
attendant Semavy now approached Wcirdiningnhj and kissing
his feet, informed him of the sorrow of S6na and Derma
IVdngsa at his absence, on which Wardiningsih desired him
to return and report what he had seen.

He then proceeded, attended by the victorious host, to the
dwelling of Batdra GUrUy called Papdritcdma ; on which
Batdra G^ru assembling the gods, and permitting fVardt-
ningsih to approach and kiss his feet, declares to him that he
was not forgetful of his promise, and would forthwith fulfil it
He then declared him sovereign of Suraldya y under the title
Prdhu Anili Kitty and gave him firee access to every part of
the heavens. Arjund then visited the seven quarters of Sura-
Idyay in which was the abode of the IVidaddriSy and assumed
the sovereignty accordingly ; while Gatot Kdchay proceeding
to Am&rtay informed S^na and Derma Wdngsa of what had

VOL. I. F f

434 LITERATURE.

]>asse(l. There were also present at his relation NakSlm S«
dC*way Batdra Kresna^ SdmhUy and Pmichawdla^ all equally
anxious to know the fate of Arjfma, D^wi K&ntiy the iDotlieT
of Pamhhray having calculated on the death of Arfuna^ and
made preparation for burning herself in conseqaenee, fi*a»
oveijo^'ed at this unexpected good news; and Derma Wangsoy
the sovereign oiAm&rtay gave a grand entertainment^ in which
the Bcddyas danced to the sound of the music, while GdM
Kdcha related the feats oi Ar^dna.

Tlie Rama Kdwi is usually divided into four parts. The
first, called Riima Gan-drung^ contains the history of RdmHy
ii'om his infancy until his marriage ; the second, Rdtna Bddra^
from his marriage until his consort, Siti Detrif is carried off
hy Rail ir ana ; the third, Rama Tali, from the first employ-
ment oi Ilanuman as a duta or messenger, until he builds the
bridii^c from the ccmtinent to die island AngHdngka^i pAra ;
and the fomlh, called Ramaydna (by which is understood
Rama when arrived at his full power), from the beginning of
the war of Dana Ldga on lAnka till the end of it, when
Rama regains his consort Siti Dewi^ and returns to Nttgidia^
leaving Ralnrdna^s brotlier, Bibisdna^ sovereign of Ldngka.
Of these the Rdmaydna is the most common on Java. The
Rama Tali has been recently obtained from Bali. This copm-
position, as one poc^m, is by far the most extensive of any
whicli the Javans possess.

The mythology contained in the Rdma differs, in some
measure, from that of the Kdnda, Rdma is here made to
relate to Bihiftdnay in Art at i measure but Kdwi language,
that Brdma^ in the first insUmce, sprang from Wvmn; that
in the begiiming of the world, H'lsnu existed in that part of
the luavens named Antaboga, the place of serpents; that
Bra ma first communicated the knowledge of the Sdstra.
Nine incaniations of lil»nu are then detailed: the first, when
lie a])])ear('(l as Iwak Mokur-mo (the tortoise) ; the second, as
Sinylta (tlie Hon), when he was called Baruna ; the third, as
Arjuna li'ijdya ; the fourtli in M'indkitdya or Rdma. In the
fifth lie was to a]i])ear as Krcfina ; and after the sixth, seventh,
and eiglith, in the ninth when he would become incarnate ia
the person of a great sovereign, named Prdbu Purina.

Anrdka Sura (the courageous child of the sun) is ^littcn in

LITERATURE. 435

Kdudy but transiated into Javan, imd^ the name of Bima
Kalantdkay or Emba tali. The period to which it refers is
that occupied posterior to that of the JViwdha^ and prior to
that of the Brdta Yudha. It relates almost exclusively to
the exploits of Butna, who was the son of Deivi Pratiitn, of
the race of Widaddris,

Detvi Pratiwt being enamoured of WisnUy her thoughts
were continually turned towards him, notwithstanding he had
been cast out of Suraldya, One night having dreamt that her
passion for him was gratified, she conceived a child. She
afterwards heard in her sleep a voice saying to her, " Descend
'^ to the earth in search of Kresnuy for IVisnu is become in-
'^ camate in his person: his colour is deep black.'* She
descended accordingly ; and estabhshed herself at Praju-
leksna, where she was delivered of a son, whom she named
Buma Kalantdka. When ho arrived at maturity, she in-
formed him who was his father, and when he discovesed bka
he was received and acknowledged by him. Kresna had
afterwards another son, named Sdmba^ who having insulted
the wife of Buma a quarrel arose between the two brothers,
m. which Buma put Samba to deaith in a most disgcaceful
manner, mangling and exposing his body. Kremui^ enraged
at this, threw his Chdkra at Buma^ desiring Gdtoi Kdckm to
raise him from the earth the moment he is struck, lesi; the
power of his mother should restore him. Gdiot Kdcha obeys
his orders and Bima is destroyed. Sena, one of the sons of
PdndUy is one of the personages of this poem.

The history of the succeeding period is contained in Ihe
'Brd4a Yudha, or holy war, the most popular and esteemed
work in the language. This poem is identified in its subject
with the Mahabdrat of ccmtinental India, in the same maimer
as that of Rama is with the Ramdyan.' An analysis of this
poom vnW be given under the head poetry.

Next, in point of time, to this story, follows that of the
poem called ParakUity which abounds with the praises of
that prince, who was the son of Bimdnyu and grandson of
Arjuna, and is descriptive of the tranquillity and happiness
which universally prevailed duriQg his reign. It also contains
an historical relation of the sovereigns who succeeded him,

F f 2

436 LITERATURE.

and brings clo^\■n the line of princes from Parikisit through
ten descents to Aji J ay a Bdya^ as follows.

— Parikhit.

1. Suma JVichitra.

2. Angeling Dria,

3. Udidna,

4. MaditcdngH,

5. Alisena
6.

7.
8.

9. Suma Wichdla,
1 0. Aji Jdya Bdya,
It was during the reign of the last of these princes that
tlic first intercourse with Western India is supposed to have
taken place ; an account of the historical composition relat-
ing to a subsequent period is therefore reserved for the chap-
ters on Iiistor\'.

The Suria Kefu (or lofty sun) contains in a few stanzas the
history' of a prince, the fifth in descent from the Kurduray
who by dint of prayer to the gods obtained a son named
Kerta Suma,

The Nit I Sdsfra Kdwi is a work on ethics, comprized in
one hundred and twenty-tliree stanzas, each of which con-
tains a moral lesson : it is considered coeval with, if not more
ancient than the Brat a Yudlta, and the Kdtti is considered
the most pure extant. The modem version of this work has
already b(»en referred to, and translations of some of the
stanzas have been introduced, llie following are taken in-
discriniinately, and translated immediately from the Kdwi,
A man who is moderate and cool in his desires will do good
to a coimtry. A woman is like unto Dewi Manuhdra
when her desires arc moderate, and men cannot look
uj)()n her T^-ithout delight. A Pandita must act up to
his doctrines; although it may be in war and difficulty,
still he nnist act up to what he professes.
This nnist be tlie conduct of the Pandita. If attacked by
a serpent, he must not be moved by it, nor even by a
lion : still the same, he must be firm and unmoved, and

LITERATURE. 437

neither the serpent nor the lion will have power to hurt
him.

As the surdja flower floats in the water, so does the heart
exist in a pure body ; but let it not be forgotten, that the
root of the flower holds to the groiuid, and that the heart
of man depends upon his conduct in life. The conduct
of a Pandita must be distinguished by mercy, charity,
firmness, and prudence. His speech should be soft and
gentle, and in accordance with and like unto written in-
struction, so as to moderate and calm the mind and de-
sires of mankind.

It is mean and low for a rich man not to dress well : it is
still more mean and low for a man of understanding to
mix with bad company. So it is when a man attains a
high age and knows not the Sdstra ; but when a man,
through the whole coiurse of his life, does not reflect upon
his conduct, such a man is of no use in the world what-
ever.

A man should wear that sort of apparel which in the general
opinion is considered proper, and should also eat that
kind of food which is generally approved of. If he does
this, he will appear like unto a virgin, who has just at-
tained maturity. Let him not follow implicitly the ad
vice and instruction he may receive, but let him weigh
them, and select what is good by his own understanding.

In war, let there be no fear on any account, but let the
whole thoughts be directed to the main object of urging
the warriors to the attack of the foe. Moreover, let the
thoughts be directed to what may be the enemy's plans :
this done, let the heart feel fire.

When a man engages another in his service, there are
four points on which he should satisfy himself respecting
him. First, his appearance : secondly, his conduct ;
thirdly, his intelligence ; and fourthly, his honesty.

The most valuable property is gold ; and whoever has much
of it, if he does not assist those who are poor and in
want, is like imto a house without a fence, and he will
soon be deprived of the property which he possesses.

As the moon and the stars shed their light by night, and the

438 LITERATURE.

suii giretli light by day, so should the sayings of a wise
man enlighten all around him.
Follow not the seeming wHsdom of a woman*s clisconne;
for as a man is more powerful and better informed than
a woman, it is fitter that he should stand on hia own
gromid.
A man who knows not the customs of the country ff^ff(i
Nagdrajj is like a man who would bind an elephant
vnXh cords made from the tdnjung flower. It is not ne-
cessary for tlie elephant to be enraged : with tlie least
motion he breaks the cords asunder.
Deprive not another of the credit which is due to him, nor
lower him in the opinion of the world : for the sun, when
he approaches near to the moon, in depriving her of her
light adds notliing to his ovm lustre.
There is nothing better in the world than a man who keeps
his word ; and there is nothing worse than a man who
swerves fi-om his word, for he is a liar. There are five
witnesses, which may be seen by every one : Yimg^amila
or Brdma (fire), Suria (the stm), Chandra (the moon),
Kdla (time), Bdyu (life). And they are the great wit-
nesses always present Uiroughout the three worlds ; there-
fore let men recollect never to lie.
There are three things which destroy a man*8 character, and
they arc as three poisons : the first, to disgrace his family
or lower himself; tlie second, to take delight in bringing
misfortunes and imhappiness upon others ; the third, to
be a h\'|)ocrite, and assume the character of a Pandita.
Se\ oral works have been recently discovered in Bdliy called
Aydma^ Adigdma, Purwa Digdmay SurchOy Musehdyagamay
Kanfdra or Sdstra Mendwa, Dewagdmay Maiswdriy Taitcay
IVf'ga Wasdhay Ddsta Kalabdyay Sldkan TaragdmOy Satma-
gdtnay GamUja Giimdna, Of many of tlicse, copies have been
j)rociire(l, and the Sdstra Meudicay oninstitutions of ilfc*itai,have
been partially translated into English. This is a book of law
coin])rise(l in about one hundred and sixty sections, evidently
UTJttcn on the si>ot, and with reference to the peculiar habits
and disposiliorts of tlie people for whom it was framed. As
a code of civil law, it is remarkable for tlic proof it afibids of

LITERATURE, 49?

lie existeiice of actual property i^ the )ai>d ; su^^ s^ a i^rinunal
:ode, for the frequency of capital punishment, and the almost
oial ahsenco of all degrading or minor corporeal punishinent.

Of the more modem compositions, and which may he con-
ddered as more strictly Jayan, the following aire the prin-
cipal :

Angrene is an historical work, which commences with the
^gn of Sri Juya Laaigkdra sovereign of Medang Kamuiariy
he grandfather of the celebrated Pdujif apd conclude^ wiUi
he death of Panji, This is the longest work to be found in
he modem literatiu:^ of Java, and contains the most interest-
ng and important part of Javan history immediately antece-
lent to the establishment of M^homedanism. It is composed
n several measures of the Sekar Gdngsaly and is usually di-
vided into several smaller works, to each of which the name
)f Pdnji is prefixed, as :

P4nji Mordamngkung. The history of that part of the
P^i\jts life, when his consort, Sekar-tdji, is carried off by a
leity. This is replete with relations of his adventiures in war,
ind partly written in the Sekar Sepob and partly in the Sel^ar
wdngiah

Pdnji Magdt'kung relates to that period whep the object
if PdnjPs love was not yet attained.

Pitnji'dngWon dkung, containing the particulars of m^urriage
ceremonies observed by Pdnji.

Pdnji priambdda^ containing an account of the success^
^d completion of PdnjPs love, and ending with his marriage.

pdnji Jdya Kasuma. This is one of the names assumed
>y Pdnji after the loss of his consort, S^kar-tdji^ and coutains
m account of his expedition to Bdliy where he regained her.

pdnji Ch^kel Wdning Pdti (when youpg brave even to
leath) contains the juvenile exploits of this hero.

Pdnji Norowangsa includes the period of his life, whjen the
?rinces3 of Dahd transforms herself into a map.

Neither the date of the principal work from which these
ninor compositions are taken, nor the name of the author is
aiown ; but it is supposed to have been written subsequently
o the time of Majapdhit^ the language being modem Javan.

Literary compositions of the higher cast are generally classed
>y the Javans imder the YiedAoiPepdkam or Bdhat, the latter

440 LITERATURE.

of which includes all historical works and chronicles of modern
date.

Sriiti is a work which contains regulations for the conduct
and behaviour of an inferior to a superior. It is written in
the Kdwi language, but Artdti measure, and has not yet been
translated into Javan. It is of the same length as the Siti
Sdstra Kdwi.

Niti Prdja is composed in the same measure as the Sriti^
and contains regulations for the conduct of sovereigns and
chiefs, partly in the Kdwi and partly in the Javan.

Asia Prdja is a work of the same nature and similarly com-
posed.

Siivdka contains regulations for behaviour when in the pre-
sence of a superior, in the Javan language and Aridti measure.

Nagdra Krdma^ regulations for the good administration of
tlie countr}^, in the same language and measure.

Yudha Nagdra, the customs of the country, containing
rules for the behaviour of persons of different ranks, in Javan
and in the Aridti and Pamijil measures.

Kamanddka contains instructions for inspiring respect and
fear in the exercise of authority, partly Kdwij partly Javan,
and in Artdti measure.

Tlie seven last mentioned works are supposed to have been
written about the same period. The Chdndra Sangkdla of the
Siuti is 1340 of the Javan era« From the allusion to I$iam
customs which tliey contain it is concluded that they were all
composed on the decline of Majapdhit, at a period when the
influence of that religion was rapidly gaining ground. These
works are in pretty general circulation, and form the basis of
the institutions and regulations of the country. The transla-
tion already given of a modem version of the Niti Prdja will
serve to sliew their nature and tendency.

Jdga lAiugkdra is a work supposed to have been written
bv a chief of that name, when sovereign oiMddang KamtHnHf
and which contains regulations for the highest judicial pro-
ceedings.

Jihjul Mada^ su})])osed to have been written by Jugul
Muila the Pdteh or minister of Kandidiran, chief of Medang
KatnuhDty containing rules for the guidance of Pditfks in the
jmlicial <le|);irtment of their office.

LITERATURE. 441

(xdja Muday a similar work, supposed to have been written
by Gdja Muda^ the Pdteh of the great Browijdya of Ma-
japdkit.

Kdpa Kdpay regulations for the guidance of the sovereign
in the administration of justice.

Sufia Alem^ a similar work for the guidance of all persons
entrusted with authority, supposed to haveJbeen composed by
Aji Jimbony the first Mahomedan sovereign of Java.

None of the above works are written in verse. They form
the basis of what may be called the common law of the coun-
try. The translation of the modem version of the last of these,
contained in the Appendix, will serve to convey some idea of
the nature and spirit of this class of compositions.

Besides the above may be noticed another work called
Jdya Langkdray a romance, supposed to have been written
in the time of Susunan Ampel^ in the Javan language and
modem measures. This is a moral work of considerable
length, written in allegory, and pointing out the duties of all
classes.

The J&war Manikam is of a more recent date, and a gene-
ral favourite : it may convey some notion of the modem ro-
mances of the Javans.

That is true love which makes the heart uneasy !

There was a woman who shone like a jem in the world, for

she was distinguished by her conduct, and her name was

J6war Manikam.
Perfect was her form, and she was descended from a

devotee, from whom she derived her purity and the rules

of her conduct.
Her beauty was like that of the children of heaven (wida-

ddrisjy and men saw more to admire in her, than was

to be foimd on the plains, on the mountains, or in the

seas.

Pure was her conduct, like that of a saint, and she never
forgot her devotions to the deity : all evil desires were
strangers to her heart.

She rose superior above the multitude from following the
dictates of religion, and in no one instance was her

442 LITERATURE.

heart disturbed by a bad thought or desire, 80 that her
life was without reproach.
What pity it is she hath not a lorer, for when a young and
handsomo woman obtains a husband of high character
and qualifications, it is as milk mixed with augar !

When her virtue was assailed by the PaughiidHy she was
astonished, and exclaimed, ^^ «why dost thou thus take
^^ the course of a thief? why dost thou act in this
" manner?

^^ Art thou not prohibited from doing thus ? forgetiest thou
^^ thy Rdjay and fearest thou not thy God }

^' And thinkest thou not either of thyself ? Greatly dost
^^ thou astonish me ! Is not thy conduct bad eren
'^ before the world ? but being forbidden by the Al-
^^ mighty, art thou not afraid of his anger ?*'

If such be thy desire, I can never consent to its indul-

'^ gencc, for I fear my God, and for all such deeds the

" punishment from heaven is great
^^ Ratlier let me follow the course pointed out by the

^^ prophet: let me imitate the conduct of his child

" Fatima.
'' How comes it, that thy inclination is so otU towards

^' me ? Yerily, if my father knew of this proceeding,

^^ wouldst thou not justly receive severe punishment ?"

The Piinghiilu thus finistrated in his design, writes in
revenge to her father, and informs him that his daughter has
made a fruitless endeavour to seduce him : upon hearing which
the deceived parent orders her to be put to death. Her
brother is about to put tliis order in execution, when placing
his hand before his eyes while he inflicts the blow, he stabs
a small deer in lieu of his sister, who escapes into the
woods.

With rapidity she fled to the woods, and then taking
shelter under a wide s])reading warin^en tree, the still
unri})e fruits of the forest attained maturity, and seemed
to offer themselves as a relief to her.

LFTERATURB. 443

AU the flowers, though the season tot opening their petals
was not arriyedy now expanded, and shedding their
fragrance, it was borne by a gentle zephyr towards her,
while the bramdray attracted by the odour, swarmed
around, and the fragrance of each flower seemed to vie
with the other in reaching her presence.

The wild animals of the forest, the tiger, the wild ox, the
rhinoceros came towards the princess, as if to watch and
guard her, crouching axoimd her, but occasioning not the
least alarm.

Being in want of water, the princess put up a prayer
to heaven, when close* by her feet a spring of pure water
issued.

On which the sardja flower soon appeared, opening its
petals, and offering the shade oi^pdym^g to the smaller
water-plants floating beneath.

Her heart now became easy ; and delighted at what she
beheld, she proceeded to bathe and perform her de-
votions.

The father, on his return, learns the treachery of the Pang-
hulUf and having recovered his daughter, die is subsequently
married to a neighbouring prince, by whom she has three
children. Her trials, however, are not yet at an end, for being
on a journey to \dsit her father, accompanied by the Pepdteh
of her husband, who is appointed to guard her on the way,
the Pepdteh forms a design upon her virtue. He is repre-
sented as saying : —

^^ If you, oh princess, submit not to my desires, it is my

" determination to put your eldest child to death."
The princess on hearing this became so affected as to be

deprived of speech.
When the Pepdteh again repeating his threat in a solemn

manner.
She replied, " what would you have me say ? Whatever

^^ may be the will of God I must submit. If my child

" is to die, how can I prevent it ?"
The Pepdtehf on hearing this, forthwith drew his sword.

444 LITERATURE.

and slew the child, again demanding of the princess

whether she would submit to his desires ? To which she

answered, " No !"
He again urged her : but the princess hanging down her

head was silent, and in the hope that God would give

her resolution, her mind became more easy.
The Pepdteh then shaking his sword before the princess

again urged her to submit, threatening that if she refused

he would slay her second child.
But the princess could only reply, ** you must act as yoo

" say, if it is the will of God that you should do so.**
He then slew the second child, and again urging her to

submit, threatened, in case of refusal, that he would slay

the third child, then at her breast.
Snatching the child from her arms, he put his threat into

execution, and the blood flew on the mother*s face, on

which she swooned and fell to the gpround.
The Pepdteh having succeeded in recovering her, again

attempted to effect his purpose, threatening tliatif she still

refused he would slay her : to this the princess at first

made no reply.
But placing her sole reliance on the Almighty, a thought at

last struck her, and she said :
'^ Do as you will with me ; but seeing that I am disfig^ured

^' with blood, allow me first to bathe in an adjacent

" stream."

The Pepdteh assenting to this, she went away and effected
her escape into the woods. There she remained in safety,
until discovered by her husband, who in revenge put the
tliree children of the Pepdteh to death.

It has already been shewn, that notwithstanding the inter-
course which has now subsisted for upwards of four centuries,
and the full establishment of the Mahomedan as the national
religion of the country for upwards of three centuries, the
Arabic has made but little or no inroad into the language ;
and it may be added, that the Arabic compositions now
among them are almost exclusively confined to matters oi
religion. Books in tlie Javan language are occasional)?
written in the Arabic character, and then termed Peyv, but

LITERATURE. 445

this practice is by no means general. The Kdran was first
translated, or rather paraphrased, about a centuiy ago, and
rendered into Javan verse by a learned man of Pranardga,
to whom the title of Kiai Pranardga was in consequence
given.

Arabic books, however, are daily increasing in number.
The principal works in this language, vrith which the Javans
are at present acquainted, are the ZJmul brahifiy by Sheik
Umf Sanusi : Mohdrrar^ by Iman Abu Hani/a; Ranlo
Taleby by Sheik Islam Zachariah; and Insan Kamilf by
Sheik Abdul Karim Jili. The doctrines of Sheik Mulana
Ishaky the father of SusHnan Girt and one of the earliest
missionaries, were those of Abu Hantfaj which are the same
as the Persians are said to profess ; but these doctrines have,
subsequent to the time of SusHnan Giriy been changed for
those of Shafihi. There are, however, some who still adhere
to the doctrines of Hdnifa ; but their numbers are few, and
the chiefs are all followers of Shqfihi. The number of Arabic
tracts circulating on Java has been estimated at about two
hundred.

Several institutions have been established in different parts
of the island, for the instruction of youth in the Arabic lan-
guage and literature. At one of these, in the district of Pra-
nardga^ there were at one time (about seventy years ago, in
the time of Pdku Nagdra)^ not less than fifteen hundred
scholars. This institution has since fallen into decay, and
the number at present does not exceed three or four hundred.
Similar insitutions are established at Meldng^i, near Ma-
idremy and at Sidamdrmarj near Surahdya ; and at Bdnianiy
about eighty years ago, there existed an institution, of nearly
equal extent with that of Pranardga,

Literary compositions are almost invariably written in
verse. The measures employed are of three classes. First,
the sekdr * kdtvi^ or measures in which the kdwi composi-
tions are generally written ; secondly, the sekdr sepohy high
or ancient measiures; thirdly, the sekdr gdngsal, or five
modem measures.

« Sekdr literally means flowers, and is the usual term for poetry,
flowers (of tbe language.)

446 LITERATURE.

A complete stanza is termed a pdda (litarally a foot) ; t
line is termed ukdra ; the long syllables are tenned gwrm^ the
short Idkii ; and although rhyme is not used, the flerenJ
measures of the sekdr eepoh and gdng8<U are regulated by the
terminating vowels of each line, which are fixed and deter-
mined, for each particular kind of Terse*, by the number of
syllables in each line, the disposition of the kmg syflaUes, and
the number of lines in each stanza or pdda.

Of the sekdr kdwi there are twelve radical stanzas, most of
which occiur in the Niti SdHra and other prmcipal Kam
compositions. They are named :

1. Siradita wikrintdUa.

2. Jdga ditu.
S. Wahirat.

4. Basdnia tildka,

5. Bdgsapdira,

6. Srdgddra.

7. Sekarini,

8. Sutvcmddna,

9. Champdka mdliar,

10. Prawira ItUitd.

11. Basdnia lila,

12. Ddnda.

Eacli of Uicse stanzas consists of four lines, %b i» the fol-
lowing example of the Sradiila IVUcrindiia, Srovn the Niti
Sdstra Kdtvi,

^' Reng jauma di l^aini ta chita roseping s^brwa pr&ja ng^enakt
*' Ring s'tri matdia manuara prla wawus aad^ mana lumg

lulut
*' Yen ring Madiani kang pinandka mochap tetoah pa desi

pricn

* '* The tegtUa verse is only regulated by the rhythm of the lyUabki*
and the similarity of the vowels in the close. This similarity of tW
terminating vowels does not amount to regular rhyme, for the conso-
nants may he totally diflerent though the vowels are similar, as in tb«
Spanish rliymcs termed Asonantes. Thus laglag and taltai, tmt and
cahuf/, siiip and bukkir^ however imperfect as rhymes, are all that i<

" iT(piiicd in till- termination of the tegnla verse." — Leaden on iktlwixt

ChiiHsc. Asiatic Researches.

f «

it
it
« i

POETRY. 447

Yen ring matdia nik4ng mosa mochap-akan wakchura
sing'a k'roti.

A man wlio is moderate and cool in U» desires will do good

to a country.
A woman is like unto D^wi Manuhdra when her desires are

moderate, and men cannot look i^p&a ker without

admimtioA.
APandka must at all times and on all oecasioaswct ttptohis

doctrines :
Whether it be in war or in difficulty, still he must act up to

what he says.

Examples of several other measures of ^e sekdr fcAwi and
of the metre will be given hereaAer in the analysis (tf the Brdta
Yudha,

Of the sekdh sepoh there are great varieties, several of which
are exhibited in the following examples.

MEGATRUH.
(Consisting office uneqwd lines, terminating with the vowel sounds u, e> IV U

ando,)

" Wong ahurip | aywa ta | ang'gung | katungkul ||

" 'Ing kawibawan | kamukten ||

" 'Aywa ta | ang^gung gumnng^gung ||

^^ Manawa | dinadung eblis ||

*^ Kajarah | temah wurung wong ||

Men of this world ! give not yourselves up

To the pleasures of power and sensual gratification :

Neither be vain 'nor open to flattery.

Lest caught in his toils,

You fall into the hands of the devil.

(Consisting offowr tmeqwd Unes, terminaiing with ^ "vowelmHtmhn, a, i,

and a.

" Den prayitna | wong agung i| ajaipitambuh ||

'' Barang | rahing praja ||

" Kawruhana | den atiti ||

^^ Supayani | 'ing tindak aywa | ng'alentar ||

448 POETRY.

Watch well, ye great, and be not rnimindful

Of what takes place in the country ;

But observe it narrowly,

That the administration of it may not be neglected.*

balAbak.

{Consisting of threee long lines, each terminating in 4.)
Wong ahurip | aja anggung mang^an minfim | jarene I
^^ Ananungkul | ing dria kang tan sayogya | gawene ||
Lamim ora | ing nalika mangsa Kala | Kalane ||

((

Men of this life ! devote not yourselves to the pleasures of

caUng and drinking ;
For it is a passion of which the indulgence is vicious,
Except on grand and particular occasions.

KtjswA wirAngrong wirAngrong.

(Consisting of six lines, terminating in the vowel sonmls i, o, u, i, a, amf a).

" Lir dawuh da\*iih | ing margi ||

" Sang d'yah parayang | paroyong ||

^' Supe duk aniandak | wastra ng'rangkus ||

" Kawingkiii kang wentis ||

" Lumarap | kadi kilat ||

" Murub padang | Kang paseban ||.

Stumbling as she went,

Tlie Princess walked with faltering pace.

Laying hold of her under garment, she unconsciously drew

it up,
Wlien from the exposed calf of her leg
A ilasli like lightning darted.
Which illumined the Hall of Audience.

sumekAr.

{Consisting of eight lines, ending in the vowel sounds i» a, a, i ande).
" Gugunung'an | lor-wetan tuhu 'angrawit ||
** Pinarigi ing sola kakarang'an ||
" Pandan-janmu | jinenil)|ang*an ||
" Sri jata winujil | wujil ||
" Pisang tatar | lir tunjung | Sikari |

POETRF. 449

Beautiful are the hills to the north-east,

Adorned and interspersed with walls of stone.

With the pdndan jdnma growing in pots,

And overgroAvn with the s'rijdtay

And the pisang tdtar^ having a blossom like the tunjung.

PALUGON.

CConsisting of eight lines, terminating with the vowel sounds a» u, o> a,

o, a, u, ando).

*^ Yen tan hana | adedangkan ||

" Punggawa satrya agung ||

*^ Miang mantri | rempeg agolong ||

" Obah osik | ing prajeku ||

'^ n^u aija I praja katong ||

*^ Lawan pang'wajsaning nata |j

" Tan hana | panasten kalbu ||

" Nora cheng'il | datan leniok ||

When none are selfish,

And the great officers of state, the nobles,

And the petty officers, are all united together.

Whatever may be the convulsions or the troubles of the

kingdom,
Still will the kingdom be great and prosperous.
When the power of the sovereign
Is envied by none.
All are then united and none are disloyal.

PAU-GANGSA.

Consisting of six lines, terminating in the vowel sounds a, e, e, a, a, and i).

Pada salamet sadaya ||

Sapung gawa | mantri Ian satriyane ||
'^ Yata Raja | adil mail | andikane ||
" Eh ajunan pirang prakara ||
** Kabechikan | m'ring kawula ||
" Pateh }ninan | awot-sari ||

All will be prosperous and peaceful,
VOL. 1. G g

450 POETRY.

The chiefs of provincesy the nobles, and the petty chief

On which Raja Adil {ihe just king) thus spoke again :

" Oh Yunan^ how many rules are there

" For the prosperity of the subject ?"

To which Pdteh Yunan returned for answer.

KlJsWARfNI,

(Consisting of seven Unes, terminating in the vcwsi s emn dt u, a, «, a.

i^ a, and e).

*^ Sampim katah | aniyasat wadya prabu ||

'* Baiik ng'egung'ena ||

" Tiuusing wong | bangsa luhur ||

" Yen turaisng | bangsa andap H

Nang'ing prayugi | kinanti ||

Den pratcla | hing paneja ||

Ang'inggahakcn | wad'yam ||

u
a

Treat not the subjects of your majesty with cruelty,

But respect

The descendants of honourable families ;

To the descendants even of low families

Also shew kind treatment ;

Yet be careful how you take a liking to any one,

And raise him in the world.

MAIIISA LANG'IT (thb buffalo of the sky),

(Consisting of Jive lines, terminating in the vowel soumds e, a, i, u, smdo).

'' Yen sampun | wonten kagunane ||

" Miang krapra^^iranipun ||

" Punjullng I sasami sami ||

" Pantes jenunjung | kang lungguh H

** Nora lingsem | ing piyangkoh ||

If there is one who has merit

And abilities

Surpassing his equals,

It is proper to raise him,

And there is no shame in such an act.

POETRY. 461

KJ^NYA KEDfRI,

(Comngtmg of nine lines, termimimg m the vowd mmmdt, n, i, u,xi,n,%, e, n,

and i)

*^ Inggih lamun | dereng wontan labetipun ||

** Guna Kaprawiraneld ||

** Upama yen jinunjung^a | lungguhipun ||

** Sayekti | kochapingjagat | datan araslj

** Makan darah | yen dereng yog'ya jinunjung ||

** Lan sampun | ^akaiya | lur&h ||

" Wong durjana | duraileld ||

** Lan sampun atantun ||

" M'ling pung'gawa | mantri jahil

But if one having neither merit.

Ability, nor capacity,

Should be promoted in his stead,

Then would the world say it was improper;

For one raised above his merits must mdkan ddrah

(swallow blood).
Make not a chief

Of one who is a knave or bears an ill character,
And ask not advice
From one who is ill-disposed.

Other measures, which may be classed under the 9ek6r
sepoh are ihRJuntdemung^ UMamgj ffdrntmh, kmUmtS^ Idmhang^
kdswa rdga, rdnsanffy p€unur*dmianjfj mitmng^amUngj ^masr
kumdmqangj tdrub-agAnjff pa^^t^il t^kmj^ii cxkindnti^ tmit-
irun lung-gadinfff Idra-kairima.

The sekdr gangscUj or five modem measures, are those in
which the ordinary compositions of the present day are writ-
ten. Of these there are again several varieties in different
districts, as follow : —

asmarandXna,

which, according to the manner in which it is channted, is
called saldbog^ jdkaldloj giirup^sari-bawaragaj 9h^don pro-
ddpay paldran,

og2

462

POETRY.

(Consisting of seven lines terminating in the vowel stnmds i, a, oe,a,a«,

andti.)

'' Sun *amurwa | lang'it inggil ||
" Dadalan iku | pan dawa ||
" Chok jurang'a | pasti ledok ||
" Lumrahi g'ni apanas ||
" Sanady'an lawe | petak ||
" Yen wHnedel | dadi wulung ||
*' Yen mahidu | ayonana ||

Lofty is the sky,

Roads too arc always long ;

Every valley is low,

And fire is naturally hot ;

White thread will even be black

If jet you do but dye it,

And if you don't believe it, try.

ART ATI, DANDANG GULA, (sugar crow), or SADANA CHfr.\.

which, according as it is chaunted, is called renchasihy ma-
jdsilt, lindur ddlang-karahinariy bdrang miring^ gila ken-
tar, or jmldran.

{Consisting of ten unequal lines, terminating in the voweZ mmmds, i, a» e or

o, u, i, a u, a, i andtL.)

'' Benjang ingsun | mari brangta kiugkin ||

^^ Yen inamala | malaning kanang rat ||

** Durjana | dusta linyoke ||

" Chela I cholong chalimud ||

" Wong anibigal | ng'etal katahil ||

'' Kichu kanipak karumpak

" Babotoh | kabutuh ||

'^ Babangsat | puda malesat ||

" Baya kono | mari analian — wiyadi ||

*' Dadining susi | larja ||

The painful I'eeling of my love will only cease

When the wicked of the world,

The knaves, the thieves, and the liars,

Tlie scandalous and those who steal.

And the banditti, arc all held in contempt;

POETRY. 4W

When robbers and plunderers are all destroyed.

And cock-fighters are in despair;

When gamblers are cast out.

Then, perhaps, the sadness of my heart may cease ;

Then may I be restored to peace and happiness.

SINOM, SRI nAta, or PERDApA,

hich, according to the chaunt employed, is called bingakj
garundely yddung-maldti^ jdyeng-asmdray babarldgar, me-
rdk nguwuhyhagdk'Surabdya and palaran.

'tmsisting of nine ititet , temdnating tfi the vowel $otmdg, a, i, a, i, i, a, a,

i andti.)

Wusina | ing'amban salcsana ||

Lay6n6 | dewi angreni||

Binakta | minggah keng palwa ||

Indrajala | dan titihi ||

Dening Rahaden Panji ||
'^ Dewi oneng'an tan kantun

Tumut dateng kang | raka ||

Akatah | pawong'an ch6ti||
** Kang binakta | sagung'ingkang ngabrana ||

Having taken in his arms

The body of the departed

Princess AngW^n^

It was borne

On board the vessel Indrajdla

By Rdden Pdnji.

The Princess Or^ng*an was not left behind.

But accompanied her elder brother,

With many companions and female attendants,

The whole treasures being carried along with them.

pAngkur,

nay be chaunted, is termed paldrt

and kaddton.

454 POETRY.

(Consisting of seven lines, terminating tfi the vowel totmdt, a, i, n, a. u, a,

and i.)

" Nihan kramanmg | tumitali ||

'^ Dan tatila | tumulad 'ing r6h titi ||

'^ Wechana | den pinda | punggung ||

" Dan amem ] nayeng gita ||

'^ Pagutena | yen wus samekta 6ng wuwus ||

Den panggah | ayVa miyagah ||

Pilih ta I kawadeng wadi ||

The manners of men should be correct ;

And in adopting an accurate conduct,

Let your speech be modest and unassuming.

When thinking, let your countenance appear unruffled;

And when your words are prepared, deliver them.

Be firm, but on no account bigotted.

Lest you be held in contempt

diJrma,

which, according as it is chaunted, is called serdny, rdngsang,
beddya^ maduray and Paldran.

(Consisting of seven lines, terminating in the vowel ioundi, a, i, a, t, i, a

and i.)

'^ Masjide ka | kabatulah ika prayoga ||

" Payii I tiiiiru sami ||

" Gawi kabatulah II

'^ Sigra mantuk prasamia ||

** Wong Abcsah | sireug prapti ||

*' lug nagarania ||

'' Anulia j yasa sami ||

'Ilic tem))le of Kabatuluh is most excellent.

Come, let us all imitate it.

And build anotlier Kabatulah,

They then returned to their home,

And when the people of Abcsah arrived

At their countr>',

'I'hey immediately eommeneed the work.

POETRY. 4A5

The sekarsj kindntif and mifil are sometimes classed under
he common or modem measures. The following are examples
»f those measures.

KlNANTl,

iCtmsisting qfsix Unes, ternmatmg inthe vowel saimd, u, i, a, i» %,(mdL)

" Ake wong
" Tan kadia

sanak sadulur ||
Sugriwa bali ||
** Sapolah | tingkania pada I
^^ Moang suara | rupa anung'gil H
^* Kadia n'gilu | Ian wayang^ga |
*^ Kewran sang | ramft eng ati i|

Most people have brothers and relatives,

But not such as Sugriwa and BdU.

Their actions and conduct were both alike,

And their voice and form was one and the same.

They were like each other even as a substance and its
shadow,

And the mind of Bdma himself was confused in dis-
tinguishing between them.

MIJIL,

Consiiting of six Umes, terminQtimff tii the vowel t ot mdt , i, o, e, i, i, and o.)

^^ Bima panjang | memak tur awilis ||

" Urab urab awor ||

^^ Lir manj'angan | kataiwan solahe H

^^ Brang'os lemet | yayah lir minangrif ||

" Dia wirun tinulis ||

" Wamani abagus ||

His long and waving hair was of a greenish hue

Intermixed with flowers,

His action like that of a wounded deer,

And his mustachios fine and dark, as if pencilled.

He resembled the picture of Wirun (the brother of

PanjiJ.
Most beautifiil was his complexion.

456 POETRY.

The following are examples of some of the measures adopted
by the inhabitants of Bdlu The three first are in the lan-
guage of the coimtrj' people ; the others are extracted fiom
one of their modem compositions.

" Kadi jaran
'^ Pang'aruh duag mapola
" Pang*ang'gong niane lueh
" Mapelag-pelagan
" Mandadi
" Paleng*gian
Atut sayang
Kategah-keng
Tundung ne balan
Lamput tina chamati

Like unto a horse

Graceful in action.

Richly caparisoned

With various ornaments

Becoming

The royal saddle-horse ;

Tnily pleasant and agreeable

To ride,

His back shewing the mark

Of the stroke of the whip.

((

u
u
li
ii
ii
((

ii
ii

Chahi santri

Bajang bajang gobah m'lah

Dapati manu huking

Deman hatini memadat

Chahi

Bajang tanma .

Xu livu

Denianin chahi

Ing'atan awali

Bikase dali santri

^'oung man ! you are a santri ♦,

• Priest.

POETRY. 457

Young and handsome :

Curb your inclinations

And don^t smoke opium.

Young man !

Yet imconnected with woman^

There is much

To which you must incline.

Think of yourself,

And that you have become a sdntri.

CHECHANG KRIMAN.
(Sung by a Mother to her Child on her Arm.)

'^ Niahi ayu kapakan maniankil wakul
^^ Kalang mabalanjar lakime manol6-nol6
" Sada gisu
'^ Dayanin tuah kablag'gandang

My handsome girl ! in bringing a purchase from the

market,
When you have paid the price, cast not your eyes behind,
But move quickly,
Lest men may seize upon you.

The follo\iing are examples from the written compositions
f Bali.

^^ Sang'nata ika wus mati

" Penadang deneng joarsa

'^ Yata nulla kesa mangko

'^ Medal saking pupungkuran

" Prapta

" Heng jawi kita

*' Awatara

*^ Teng'ha dalu

*' Tanana wong kang ng'uning*a*

Then that sovereign died,
Being destroyed by Joarsa y

* ThiB and the following stanza are from the poem of Joarsa, being the
dstory of two brothers of the country of Sakalsa.

458 POETRY.

Who thereupon went out,

Retreating by the back part of the dwelling ;

And having arrived at the outside of the fort

At the time

It was midnight,

No one knew of it

" Wus lepas lampa ireki

*^ Handung kaping parang parang

'^ Sumung kaking ukir halon

^' Tumaruning lebah lebah

'^ Mantuk

" Maring Nagara

" Heng Sahalsa

" Sina dia

'^ Hiku kalang'an chobayang suks*ma

When he had passed the road

He ascended the mountains,

And moved on slowly.

Ascending and descending,

Proceeding in search of his country.

Named Sahalsa^

AVhich he descried ; —

But here he was opposed by the will of Proyidence.

' In order the better to illustrate the poetry and literature of
Java, and to exhibit the nature and spirit of the compositioiis
in tlie Kami, I request to present the reader with an analysis
of tlic Brdta Yudha, the most popular and celebrated poem
in tlie language. Versions of this poem in the modem Javan
arc common tliroughout the island, and the subject is the
theme of the most popuhur and interesting amusements of
the countr}'.

'Die Brata Yudha Kawi, of which the following is the
analvsis, and from wliich the illustrations which are inter-
spersed are taken; contains seven hundred and nineteen'/NMia
or metrical stanzas, of four long lines each, the measures
varying with the subject, so that most of the twelye Ki^
measures are to hv found in it. Considering how little was

POETRY. 45d

known on Java of the Kdun language^ and how likely that
little was to be lost for ever, I felt a strong interest in
analysing and translating, as far as practicable, one of the
principal compositions in that language ; and availing myself
of the literary acquirements of *the Panambiihan of Sutnenap,
to whom I have already adverted, and of the assistance of a
gentleman of my family,* and Baden ScUehy the son of the
regent of Semardngj I have it now in my power to lay the
follovnng analysis of this ancient poem before the public* It
is far from being as complete, or correct, as I could have
wished, yet imperfect as it is, it may serve to convey some
idea of the original. I have endeavoured to keep as close to
the original as possible, and have, in every instance, given
the interpretation of the Kdudy as far as it was understood by
the Panambahan. The Sanscrit scholar will probably find
imperfections, and possibly might be able to render a better
translation ; but it is the Kdttn language, as it is understood
by the Javans of the present day, that I am anxious to illus-
trate. The original stanzas are given in the Kdudy and I only
regret that the limited knowledge of the language possessed
by the Panambahan himself, and my own want of time to
study and trace the grammatical construction of it, have not
admitted of my doing more justice to the original. I can
safely affirm, that independent of the interest which the sub-
ject loses by translation into a foreign language, the illus-
trations now given afford but a very imperfect specimen of
the beauty, subhmity, and real poetry of the original.

•This celebrated work would appear from^tiie Chdndra
Sangkdla included in'^one of the verses, to have been com-
posed by one PusecUiy a learned Panditay in the year 1079.
Some copies, however, admit of a different interpretation
regarding the date, and the general opinion is, that it was
composed in 706 of the Javan era/ during the reign of a
prince on whom was conferred the title of Jdya Bdya.
Whether the poem was actually written on Java, or brought
by the early colonists, may be questionable ; but the Javans
of the present day firmly believe, not only that the poem was
written on Java, but that the scene of the exploits which
it records was also laid on Java and Maditra. • The annexed

460 POETRY.

sketch, with the subjoined note, will explain the situation of
the different countries, according to this notion*.

* Under this impression, the city of Astina {Hastina pura) is believed
to ha^'e been Hituated near the modern Pakalong'an ; Gendara DAa, the
country of Sanghoni, near Wiradesaj Amerta, the country of Derma
Wangsa and the Pandawa, neorJapara; TaOcanda, the country of Bi$mt^
and Banjar jum/^ut, the country of Bursa Sana, in Latnmff Temg*ha;
Awang*ga, either near Kendal, or the modem Yug*ga-kerta ; Pr%ng*gadam,
the country of Bima, near Pamdlang ; Purabdya, the coimtry of G^M
Kacha, near Surabaya ; Mandura, the country of Bala dewa, or KdM
Sand, the western provinces of the island Madura, and Momdardhi, the
country of Salia, the eastern provinces of that island, towards Sumau^:
Didra Wati, or Indoro Wati, Krisna^s country, the modem Pati, In the
same spirit, the modem capital of the sultan of Matarem, called by the
Dutch Djocjo carta, but more correctly Ayog*ya Kerta, was so named by
its foimder, about sixty years ago, after Ayudya the celebrated capital of
Rama.

There are three peaks in different parts of the Island, which still retain
the name of Indra Kila, the mountain on which Arjiima performed tmpa;
one on the mountain Arjuna, near Surabdya, one on Marea at Jopara, and
anotlier on the Ungear ang mountain, near Semdrang.

At the fo.)t of Semiru, the name of one of the highest mountains on
the eastern part of the island, is supposed to have been situated the
countr}' of Newata, better known as the residence of Detia Kewaeka, who
reigned before the war of the Brdta Yudha,

On Gunung Prdhu, a range of lofty mountains inland between Paka-
lungan and Semdrang, are the remains of nearly four hundred temples, or
buildings, with the traces of an extensive city. This is supposed to have
been the burpng-place of the ancestors of the Panddwa, as well aa of
Arjuna. The site of the temples was formerly called Rah tawu, the place
whence blood was washed, from a tradition, that when Pula Sara wis
bom, his mother immediately died, on which the DAoa came and re-
ceived the infant on its coming into the world.

In the performance of the wdyang, in which the heroes of these hie-
torical romances are exhibited, the common people of Jawama never
exliil)it that part of the history which relates to the juvenile dap of
Kresnn, from a superstitious apprehension, that the alligators would,
in such event, overrun the country, these animals being supposed to be
the transformed followers of Kdngsa. At Pamalang, also, there is t
similar prohibition with regard to representing Arimba, the brother-in-
law of Bnnay under a dread, that if the Ddlang should, by accident, not
represent the stor)' with exactness, he would inevitably fall sick on the
first mistake.

The country of Parakisif, after the Brata Yudha, is supposed to hive

POETRY. 461

been near Semdrang, and on that account the Ddlang will not perform that
part of the history which relates to his reign, although it forms a very
principal portion in the performances elsewhere.

To these superstitions may be added, that although with these local
exceptions the wdyang may represent any portion of the Brdta Yudka, or
of the preceding or subsequent histories of the same class, there is a pre-
valent superstition, that a great war wiU be the inevitable consequence of
performing, at one sitting, the whole of this poem. It is gravely asserted,
that a chief of Kendal tried this experiment about fifty years ago, but that
the performance was no sooner completed, than his country was laid
waste and destroyed: and also that, previous to the Javan war, the
grandfather of the present Susunan, Sida Langkungang, ordered the whole
of the Brdta Yddha to be performed at once ; the consequence of which
was the dreadful war which ensued, and the dismemberment of the
empire.

These impressions and superstitions may seem to evince, how deeply
rooted is the belief that the scene of this poem was in Java.

The scene of the Rdmayan, on the contrary, is not believed to have
been on Java ; but there is an impression, that after the death of Rawdna,
Hdnuman fled to Java, and took refuge in the district of Ambardwa, near
Semdrang, on a hill called Kandali Sdda, the place named in the Ramayan
where Hamanan performed tt^a (penance). There is still a post or pillar
preserved to distinguish this spot at the summit of the hiU ; and such is
the superstition of the neighbourhood, that they never perform the
wdyang representing any part of the history of Rdma, lest Hauifiuni
should pelt them with stones.

The annexed plate shews the situation of the principal places mentioned
in the Brdta Yudka, according to the prevailing notions of the Javans.

NAMES OF THE PANDAWA PRINCES. PRINCESSES, &c

Names.

Kr6sna

Pdndu

Genealogical and Descriptive
Account.

Diflbrent other
under which

«9

c
o

►
to

Diwi Madrim.

Dirma Wdsngia

•im >
.. 3

Bima.

An incarnate deity
vourable to the
particular friend
of Arjuna, His
brother to Diwi

The son of AHAsa, husband of
Dewi Kitnti and Dewi Madrim
and fiither of the Panddwa,

Daughter of Batukete, King of
Madura, and wife of PStdm.

Daughter of Chdndra Wdii,'i
King of MaruUtrdka, and wife >
ofPdndu )

The chief and eldest of the Pau- i I
ddufa by Dewi Kunti )

Son of Pdndu by D^wi K(tntL» • •

iV<l9W|f4MB»

(

austeritiet).

Patmandba.

Wij^^a

Pandu DHhi Aote.

Arjuna*

jr w t jjuit . • • •

^ardda '\

Kdnwa . . • • f
fendka , , , • C
^ardsu , , * , J

Son of Pdndu by Dhoi KinH,

Nakula
V^ Sediwa ....

Nardda

Jendk
Pardsu
PanchaKumara
Gatot Kacha . .
Ahimdnyu* * i
Ordwan . . . . ^

Drupddn

Satidki

Maiigsa Pdteh.
Kakarsdna. .. .

Sumhddra, . . .

Drstadriumna..

DhoiMeiHm.

CDinna KoM^trntu

\Chanidka ^^nu

\ Gunam tail krdata.

(^YudiMtlrtt,

f WmUcmddn.

\ JtuUpdii (dctth Mcknv).

V Baifu^piUra (son of

i strength).

V. Sina (chief in war).

Palg^mm (of powoM

thumb).
Jaffa Nii4nil(Tictor of the

worid.)

Porta (the middle one).
WarMmimf^ (detolM.
enthusiast).

Son of Pdndu by D^i Madrim,
Son of Pdndu by Dewi Madrim,

In attendance on Kritna,

Son of Dtrma Wdngsa,
Son oi Bitna,

Sons of Arj&na.

Brother of Dtwi Kunti.

Servant of Kretna.

King of Wirdta.

King of MadurOt and eldest bro-
ther of Kr^sna.

Sister of Krttna, wife of Arjina,
and motlier of Abimdnyu,

Son of Drupada.

DoMtwjdya (Tictory'
giring).
y^KeriitL

The regal titles o( Aria^ Sar&ria^ Narandta, Narindra, frc. are occasionally applied

to the different chiefs on both lades.

NAMES OF PRINCIPAL KUrAwA PRINCE, PRINCESSES. &&

Utdra....

DoKg gang ttrimi.

AiwiOSma

Kripa

Btgtditita,..
Satia-iBdU- • ■

Daughter of Dmpaila ind wife of

ifMingia Pdlih or Rl
Tito, and «if< at Abimifipi.
Sod or- — do.

Eldnl bi
ikther .
blind - '

T.Z}

..'OnxtS<btK6nt.

Song WiralaSuta.

. DnHerija.
\ DrcUrdja.
fGendma.

^ Durga dama,
I KuroKundra.
\^KfraiBt Saara.

Son of AkAm Jf« (th. Sun)) ( Sufia-fmlra, WChUd cf
by D^ K6,^l when . Yirgin; l ) Avkt-frntra, \ the Sun).

!mg of Maud^'vAk,,, and uncit)
10 the torn of the Pmdiwa,\
Nakila and Sdl^wo. ^

n Bg«d PoJiiitta, icvcred by all

HiiSon.

TOunRer bfothei of Dmg

Ad agid Pimilila. revered by all }
parlies, son nif a former king '
otAslina.- ■•■•3

rother-io-Uw of Drtileriilix.

Wife of JWia atid daughter of Git-

aaicijaiia, a worthy RataliM.
Wife of iJ'HywJaiia.

NUMERICAL TERMS MADE USE OF IN THE BRATA y6dHA

100 Rdims.
1,000 JUbm.
10,000 Ldkta,
100,000 KeiL

1 million 1,000,000 Yuia.

10 ditto 10,000,000 Bdrm.

100 dino 100,000,000 Memeug,

1 billion 1,000,000,000 PamU.

10 ditto ^ 10,000,000,000 Chama,

100 ditto 100,000,000,000 Ekso*emL

1,000 ditto 1,000,000,000,000 /Vrfono.

10,000 ditto 10,000,000,000,000 GWi

AN ANALYSIS

THE BRATA YUDHA,

on HOLY WAB; OR RATHER THE WAR OF WOE:

AN EPIC POEM,

IN THE KaWI or classic LANGTUAGE OF JAVA.

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

The ^vife of Santdnu, king of Astina^ dying on giving birth
to D^wa Brdta (Bismajy Santdnu asked Puldsara^ the
PrdbU'Anom (or younger prince), of Wirdtay and brother-
in-law of Mdngsah Pdtt, prince of that country, to allow his
wife Ambarsdriy who at that time had a child (Abidsa) at
the breast, to suckle and so save the life of his infant boy
D&wa Brdta,

Pulasdray offended at the proposal, went to war with San^
tdnUy but was afterwards persuaded by the D&wa Sang yang
Narddu to comply, on condition of Santdnu resigning his
kingdom to him ; to which Santdnu agreed. Pulasdray when
his son Abidsa was grown up, gave him the kingdom of AstinOj
and turning hermit, went and passed the rest of his days on
the mountains.

By his wife Ambalika (the old maiden daughter of Ba-
lie (may a hermit of Gunung Chdmaragdndiy whom he was
forced to marry against his inclination) Abidsa had three
sons, viz.

1. Drestardfa, who was blind.
VOL. I. H h

406 POETRY.

2. Pdfidu, whose head was inclined to one side.

3. Aria Widura^ who was lame.

Pdndii, the least exceptionable of the three sons, being
raised to the throne, Ahidsa turned hermit, and went and
passed the remainder of his days among the mountains.

On the death of Pdndu^ J>restardta persuaded his father
Abtdsa to allow him to rule the country during the minority
of the Pdnddwa (or five children of Pdndu). These were
Derma Wangsa, Bvna, and Arjuna, bom of his wife Drwi
Kuntt, and Nakida and Sedewa^ bom of his \iife Ditci
Mad rim.

Drestardta however afterwards persuaded them to go to
a wild imcultivated place called Amertay and establish a
kinjjjdoni there, furnishing them, for that purpjose, ^^ith the
re([uisite implements, and a thousand men to enable them to
clear awav and cultivate the comitrv.

Through the assistance of Mangsdh Patiy the king of
IVirdta (uncle to Ahidsa), tlie country of Amerta was com-
pleted ; but not until the thousand men had all been devoured
by (lemons, of whom Pdrta w^as tlie chief.

Drestardta retained possession of Astinay and afterwards
resi<;ned it to his sons, Uie Kurdica, in number ninety-
st'ven .

Tlie hundred was completed by the addition of K^rna, the
son of Deiti Kiinti before marriage by Batdra Suria^ and of
Jaf/a-drdfa and Asivatdma.

'Hie incarnate Dt'ira, Kresna, having been deputed by the
Pauddway whose part he takes, to propose to the king of
Kurdwa an equal division of the kingdom o{ Asttma between
the Kurdwa and Panddwa, and his proposal being rejected,
the Panddira u^o to war for the kingdom which was left them
l)V their father, and which in justice they ought to have had.
'Hie Knrdwa ari^ ultimately beaten, and the kingdom of
Astitta recovered hv the Panddwa,

'I'he scene of the poem lies chiefly in the hostile plains of
Kurukstira^ close to Asfina, whither it sometimes shift*.
The time of it is about a numth, the same being the fifth of
the Vi'ar.

POETRY. 467

■ The poem opens as follows :' —

(Measure Jagadita,)
1 . In war 'tis the prayer of the brave to annihilate the foe,
To see the braids of fallen chiefs scattered like flowers

before the wind.
To rend their garments, and bum alike their altars and

their palaces,
Boldly to strike off their heads while seated in their
chariots, and thus to obtain renown.

2. Such was the prayer (of Jdya Bdya) offer'd to the three

worlds for success in battle ;
Such was the resolve of Batdra Ndta^ against those

whom he knew to be his enemies.
And the name and power of Paduka Batdra Jdya Bdya

became famous throughout the world.
Confirmed and approved by all good men and by the

four classes of Pandita f

3. The lord of the mountains descended with all his Pan-
ditay

And the prince approached him with respect and a pure
heart.

Awigno mastutina masidam.
(Tern bang J^igadita.)

1. Sang sura m'n ayalnia ring samara malyoanl tlang'ani kang | parang-

muka II
Lila kembang ng'ora | sekar tajM kesalning'ari pejah hlng | ranang*-

ganajl
Urna nlng ratu ma} it w^a ntra kunldan^f nagaranlng | mosu gesang jj
Sabitia uti teDJdasi lYpu kapak|ka nMta sulra susrameng laga ||

2. Da samangkana kastawa nira tekeng tri Buana winuwus jaying rana
Kapia sabda Batara Nata sa mosu nira tekapi huwusnia kagraha
Ng'ka lumra ti tobor ta Paduka Batara Jaya Baya pananggabing sarat
Mang'go sampun ninastoakan sujana len duijawara Resi Siwa Sugata

3. Ng'ka ragrian timiurun Batara Girl Nata lawana sira sang'gia len resi
Yetna s'ri pamasa mamurista mang'argia ri sira sang'a cbintia nir mala

* One of tbe titles of Jaya Baya.

t Duijawara, Pandita of society or village priests.

Resi, Pandita wbo do penance in the woods.

Sewa, Pandita wbo fast and constantly watch.

Sugata, Pandita who communicate advice and give instniction,

H h 2

468 POETRY.

The deity was pleased, and said, " Aji Jdya Btiyay" be

not afraid :
I come to thee not in anger, but according to thy dearc,

to endow thee with the power of conquest.

4. Receive from me a blessing, oh my son Jdya Baya '—

Hear me ! In tliy country

Thou shalt become tlie chief of the whole circle of princes,
and in war victorious over the enemy.

Be firm and fear not, for thou shaJt become as a Batara.

This declaration pronounced with solemnity, was trea-
sured in the memorj' of all the holy Pandita of heaven.

5. Thus having bestowed his blessing, the Batara vanished ;
And the enemies of the prince being overcome with fear,

submitted to him.
Tranquil and happy was every countrj-. The thief stood

aloof during the reign of this prince,
And the lover alone stole his pleasure, seeking his object

by the light of the moon.

6. It was at this time Puseda * rendered memorable the

date, risang'a kuda suda chandrama f.

Yekan tiista mana Batara aa wuwus Aji Jaya Baya ayua sang saya
Ta tan kroda tekangku yen sira saka sung'a wara karananan ka dik
Java
4. Tant^'^p tosna nograha ku ri wukang ku Jaya Ba}'a rang'e nikang
Praja
Satiastu pra])u chakra uiirtia kita ring sabuana Jaya satru ring mora
Tekuan lan^*gen*a satmaka na ku lawan kita tulusa Batara ring Jagai
Yckan sabda nira tro telasi nastoakan nira resi sang'gia ring lang'it
f). Sam])un mangkana suksma reh nira Batara telasi ramaw^ ka nograha
Tanduan nut samusu nareswara pada pranata teka rihing mabnpati
'Enak tand'li reng sarat maling awah layata wadi riaakti sang Praba
llanghengtan udi sapsabe wang ng'atajeng teka sumilip pipa}angiiig
uiilan
6. Nowan don Puseda makirtia sasakala risang*a kuda sud'da Chandrama

• The supposed author of the poem.

g -J i) 1 j'makmg 1079ofthcJavan«nL But

other interpretations render it 708, which latter is the date generally attri-
buted to the work on .Java, and tlie ()eriod in which Jaya Baya la nid to

havr ri'igned. — Sfe History.

POETRY. 4C9

When the brilliancy with which the enemy was defeated

was like unto the brightness of the sun at the third

season,
And the mercy which was shewn to them was like the

moon at the full.
For in war he looked upon the enemy, as the lord of the

wHld beasts would eye his prey.

7. Then Batdra S4wa came and said to him,

" This is the time proper to relate the war between the

Panddwa and the princes of Kdra^
A relation which is not intended for the regulation of the

country or the conduct of men, but is like siri with

burnt lime.
Which affects not the teeth, but gives inward satisfaction

and delight."

8. In former times, Nardria Krisna was the firiend of

Narandta Panddiray
And he urged them sa3dng, '^ Request from Suyttddnay

" the chief of the Kuru.
" Nothing less than a division of the country of the

" Kuru:
" If he accede, it is well ; if not, a great war shall be

" raised."

9. Thus having advised he hastily departed, and quitted

Wirdtay followed by Satidki,

Sang saksat ari morti yen Katiga nitia maka palaga saktioing musu
San lir lek prati pada sukla pinalaku nahurip pawijil nireng ripu
Ring prang derpa pasu prabu pamanira Yiini Kadung'ola niiig parang
muka
'. Biakta chamana pada Pangkaja Batara seiva mara ng'omaatawa sira
Yogya mang'galaning mikat prangira Pandawa maka laga Koraw^

s'wara
Dan Duran kawasa alip kadi s'ru pama hugi mahapu gusu gesang
Mang'so tan sedap panya ring waja tuhon paxnuma mang'on resepi
ng'ati
8. NV^ni Kala Narario Krisna pinaka seraya nira Naranata pandawa
Sinoe Kara Kinon lumakqiia dateng'ing kurupatimang'aran Snriodana
Tan lean don nanira malaku rika paliani pura Nararia Kurawa
Yakpuan pasra atut ta ratqua yedi tan pasung'a karana ning prang'at
Buta.
Q. Dan raangka sira sigra Sakari Wirata dinolur ri ng'anama Satiaki

470 POETRY.

He mounted his chariot of swift-footed courserSy which

sped through the air as if with wings.
And soon discerned the city of Gajahuya *, breaking

through the clouds. Sad
Looked her waringen tree t, like unto a sorrowful wife

separated from her husband.

10. The comers of the gateways seemed to bow as he

advanced,
And their turrets to beckon to Janardani to hasten on.
The branches of the serpent flower J waved in the wind,

as if in obeisance,
And all the beauty of the city of the Kurus appeared to

enquire whether he were followed by the Panddwa,

11. But Nardria Kesdwa had left the sons of Pdndu at

Wirdia.
The appearance of every thing on the road was sad:

sorrowful was the sound of the bird chuckury
And the jring plant was drooping and fallen, bearing

do\vn \\\\h it to the ground the pdndan flower ;
Moiunful was the moaning of the bird tcalikitdddhasi

crying on the branch of a tree.

Ileng'gal prapta tekap nisacti ni turang'ga Nirata nira pinda

hanglayang
Kong*ang desa nikang Gajahuya pura awu Kinemol laneng udin

riwiit
Uruk wamani wandirania kadi soka makemoli paning'gil ling pria.

10. Punchak punchaki gopuran'ia aturang ng^adang'a ri lira mong'gu ri

ng'nu
Kadio gir ri tekar Janardana panambahi pataka nekang nawe Katon
Warna nainbahi pang nikang bujaga puspa magiu anu numba

kanp:*-inan
Saksat laxinini kan^ piiri kiiru matakoana ri milu Nararia Ptodawa

11. Dan Bahnaii kari Pandu Patra ri Wirata tekapira Nararia Kena^-a
Yt'ka soka lan^'an ikang awanakunda manang'isa sekal chucbur neki
ISIaiigka j'rin^ inalumi dawu pudaki Pandani ka makilusu aningWatn
llin<^ hing sabdani kang Waliktadaliasi pada manang'isi pang nikang

tahan

Astinn. f Tbc Indian fig or 6aiiyafi. X Nagaaari-

POETRY. 471

12. Bright and beautiful was the city of Gajahuya^ till it was

kno\Fn that the Panddwa did not follow.
The champdka flower was fidl blown and ready to fall ;
The faded flowers of the tanjung were caught in the

spider's web,
And the dark beetle *, almost lifeless, in sadness sought

the flowers of Angsdnay which floated on the waters.

13. Dry was the course in which the rivulet had flowed,
And the stone images looked in sadness at the marks

which the water had left on the rocks.
The shell-fish t had deserted their covering.
And the dead shells were left on the banks by the

rearing waters.

14. Unlike this was the appearance of the rdwas J, which

resembled an assemblage at the paseban §.
On their banks grew the flower rajdsa ||, entwined by the

suwdrna If? as a golden ornament worn by men.
The white flowered tanjung having lAclosed its petals,

hung like a closed pdyung **,

12. Kapua sa leng'ang'ing Gajahuya ri tan padulur rira Nararia Pftndawa
Hunia champaka malugas Kusuma paksa Malabna jurang nikang

parung
Lampus tanjung ng'ika ng'anas layati gantung'i panawang ng'aning

jaring jaring
Tan patma Bramara kusa nang'isi layuani ng'asana manot yiriaking

banyu

13. Mangkania sani panchurania pada soka ri taya nira sang danang jaya

Unia lek magegeng molat kapenatan rika patini lumot nikang watu
Sangsara Karachakechap mulati pandaganika ri pipinya tan padon
Ka res res ni susiinya mati manolat tiba tiwati mukar juning sela

14. Tan mangka kalang'ang nikang rawarawen Masemu lumiating wang

hing saba
Tirania nadar Rajasa kayu suwama Mamolacti atur gelang kuning
Mang'ka tunjung*! kang sekar wall ping'olani ka pada payung ping'ol

♦ Bramara. f Kurdchik^chup. ♦ Swamps.

§ Paseban, assemblage of chiefs in front of the palace.
II The same with the kasang'a. IT The same with the masmas.
•* Umbrella.

POETRY. 473

There was he joined by the heroes Kdnwa, Janaka^ and

Narddd^
Who were found by him on the plain, and who entered

his service.

18. Immediately the excellent Kr^sna took the charioteer's

seat,
Giving up his own in the chariot to the three Pdndita^

and making obeisance to them.
They returning the salute,
Inwardly prayed for the welfare of Kr^sna,

19. The Pdnditas were much pleased by Kt^sncCi taking the

charioteer's place :
And as they were borne along, they talked of their jour-
ney to the King of Astina,
And also discussed many weighty matters.
While mildly flowed their words like a gentle stream.

20. When the worthy Kr^^na was yet on the plain of

KurUj
Drdtardja soon heard of his coming,
And gave orders to clean and dust the palace ;
Directing, at the same time, the finest cloths to be spread

on the ground firom the royal scat, outside, as far as

the great square.

21. It was at the same time required of all to show respect.
Such were the orders of Aria Bisma and Dratardstra.

Sirang para sura makS|no'a janaka | dulur narada §
Kapang'ge irikang | tegal milu rikar ya sang bupati ||

18. Wawang sira nararya kresna nmnaring gwaning sarate
Sirang parama sapta pandita gumanti mung'gweiig rata
Turawin sira telas winorsita malas mawe nastute
Monagya keni a3ru'a sang prabu yan non nera ng'astawa

19. Lengeng alapira daran pinaka sarati yang resi
Tohor muchapi doniran lari mereng narape Astina
Datan'nia juga rakwa gostin^ra sarwa tat'wa dika
Lumot wijili sabda sang resi kabe mawema merta

20. Sedeng anari kang tegal kuru nararya kresnan laku
Rika ta drotaraja sigra nimeng'o dateng sang prabu
Nimitani lebu nekang pura kinon naken busanan
Pada natara wastra mulia tekaring wang'ontur batuk

2 1 . Tuwen pada ginositan sira kabe kinon sambrama
Tekap nira sangarya bisma dratarasta motus tinut

POETRY. 475

to acknowledge and bow to him, whom they pointed
out as their royal father.

25. There were also seen among the throng, those who, leav-

ing off the duties of the toilet, and taking with them

their looking-glass and paint-brush.
Appeared as if they were hastening to officiate for the

prince.
Others there were, whose hands contained unfinished

garlands of flowers, which they had been making, and
Which they seemed to be running to give to his highness.

26. Others ran so fast, that they dropt and lost their garments

by the way ;

Such was their fear of being too late to see the prince
goby.

The overloaded ladders broke down with the weight of
people upon them,

And the extended mouths of those who fell prostrate,
gave them the appearance of persons under the in-
fluence of liquor.

(Measure Basdnta tildkaj.

27. It would be endless to describe the various sights which

presented themselves among the astonished multitude.
Enough that the royal Kr^sna reached the palace.
But it was not the palace of the King of Astina which

he went into ;
It was that of the Aria Drastaresta,

25. Wane tanga payas wa'u saha sipatnia mmig'geiig sadak
Yaya ngotusa mahiasaii ni patane nar^dra dateng
Mewah tanga ngiket sekar ana ri asta tapwan tulus
Sawang kapalajeng makana kusuman paninjo aji

26. Nian tang hamregen umirakani kenya aak ringenu
Rires nika kas^pa yan lumiyati 'alintang aji
Kuneng pwari saraknya mung'ga hirikang
Saganya tikel

Datan dua kawedar nekang kadi tutuknya ngato'a bo'ajeng

{Tembang Basdnta tUaka),

27. Tang'eh ya din | kawuning'an rarasing | manlnjo ||
Sigran dating | nerpati kresfna nkang kadat-'wan ||
Tutan dunang | ri kurunajta sTran t'kangka ||
T'kani nararlyg drataresltra siran chuxnunduk

470 POETRY.

28. There he found assembled Druna^ B'lsma^ Krepa^ and

Sdlia ;
As also Aria IViduray Drataraja^ and K^na.
Then quickly before him did the Aria place
Viands, sened up in dishes of gold set with precious

stones, befitting the dignity of a prince.

29. Delighted was the mind of Kresna^

When he saw the hospitable manner in which he was

treated by the Aria and by Bisma.
Then came tlie King of Astina to present him with

dainties ;
But his coming was fruitless, for Kri^na would have

none of them, spuming the offer.

30. On which tlie King of the Kurdwa^ addressing the blessed

among men * in an angry tone thus spoke :
** O ! thou pure among men, who lovest to over-rate thv-

" self,
** Disdaining to receive the proffered food which I pre-

" pared for thee,
*^ It is not fit that thou shouldst be numbered among the

" good and worthy of the earth."

31. Such were the words of the King of the Kurdtca ad-

dressed to Kresna,
To whom, in reply, the latter said : " Being deputed bj
" others.

28. Ka drona bisma krepa salya kapanggi arpat
liRwan sang arya widura drata-raj'ya kama
Sit^'ran sumung^akni kang pasaji nararya
Bo^o ])ab()ga saha mas inani raj'ya yog'ya

29 At'yanta tustane manah naranata Kresna
Vantoii se^eh nira pararya makadi bisma
Yekan dateng prabu ri astina sopa boga
Datan tinan^gapira Kresna atumia nir don

30. Yekan j)anant'wa kurunata risang narind'ra
lie sang janardana hade jnga denta mambik
Tan tan^^amo pasaji nistura tan ])ananggap
Tan yukti totenira sang tuhu sadu ring rat

31 . Nalin^ nining kuriipatin pang'uchap ring Kresna
Mojar janardana t'her puri ing kinongkon

• Kresna.

POETRY. 477

" To accept of the articles presented to me by thee,

" would be as if I were to take poison,
" Not having yet finished the work I am come about"
2. So spake the pure among men, losing for a moment the

character of a Pandita.
Kresna then returned home, followed by his principal

Mdntrl* :
And on reaching his residence he immediately kissed the

feet of the wife t of PdndUy
Who very graciously and kindly received the honour

done her.

(Measure Bangsa patraj

). As soon as Bat art Kunti % perceived Kresna approaching,

Her mind suddenly expanded, like an opening flower,
but immediately after became oppressed with grief.

Then addressing the royal youth, she said, his coming to
her was as welcome as that of the Panddwas.

She then quickly threw her arms round the neck of the
well-pleased Kresna^
i. And immediately told him of all the sad grief and conse-
quent shame which filled her mind.

With a choked utterance and a strenuous effort to sup-
press the rising tear.

Tan sambram^ pang'upakara ritapVaning don
Apan mamukti wisa rak'wana sida karaya
Naling janardana ri sang resi sangga suks'ma
Sang Kresna mantuki niring nira sang sumanth
Prapt^ng g'reha ngusapi jeng nira pandu-patni
Somia b'wata t'wang'i t'las nira yan panembah

{Tembang Bangsa patra.)

Saliyati ra Batafri Kunti Kresfna wahu dateng||
Kadi sinekari kang | t'yas mahar|sa puwara sekel
Atutu ri I n'repa sunu Iwir sang | pandawa dateng'a ||
Karana nira | teka n'gol teng | gek sang teka mararem
T'her awarahi geng ning duka ngande hirisira
Saha wuwus ira mas'ret dining luh lagi pinegeng

« Saiiaka. f D6n Kunti.

I The mother of the Penddwa, the same with D^i Kimii.

478 POETRY.

O ! my friend and protector," said she, " thou bringest

consolation and comfort to my breaking heart,
Making me feel as happy as if I were at this moment
in the delightful company of all the sons of Pandur
35. Such were the words of the great Dewi Kuntiy causing
Kresna to shed tears.
To whom the latter, in reply, thus spake : " Grieve not,
oh princess,
\Vliat is, has been ordained by the Almighty, whose
" humble instrument I am."
Tluis said, he forthwith returned, and went to the palace
of Wdra-widura.
36 Leaving Kresna to the hospitable entertainment of Wi-
durUy who administered to all his wants.
Let us proceed to speak of the King of the Kurdwa,
Whose gifts had been disdainfully rejected,
And who thereby was sorely vexed. .
37. He consulted ^vith Dusasdna and Sakuni upon the sub-
ject.
But the first on the list of advisers were Krepa and
Kerna, They wishing to kindle the ire of the king of
Kurdwa^
Asked, " Why should you be afraid to refuse giving up

half of the countrv,
" On account of Kresnd^s being the friend and ally of
" the Pauddtta ;

Kita tiki bapa tambang kun mariyang regepa lara
Sawulata sagiiyu m'wang sang pandut'maja saweka

35. Na wuwus ira su dewi kunti Kresna saha tang'is
Sun^ iniijaran irojar tan soba n'repa mahisi
Sakarepa Batara nmnj^geh ng*\vang \v*kasanika
l.in«('ira t'hcr umantuk ring g*wan sang warawidura

3(3. irnenjr'akena kainanfyan san^ kresnan sMcng'iniweh
T'kapira widiira i)an ramia tut i*amanahira
Da tiichapa kunmata karya sa sinaki hasa
Sajjasaji nira eman de sang kresna tana 6rep

37. Kanina nira na hcmhem m*\vanpf dusasana sakuni
.Maka inuka k'rcpa karna t*yan teng dusta mangapni
Linf(*ira maj)a tahe t'wan ta weha pura sateng'ah
Apan iki nVepa k'ref<na b'yekta pandawa (lasiinh

POETRY. 479

38. ^' Therefore it is that the offered food was so much

'' slighted.
" If not accepted of (by Kresna) care not, but give it

" away elsewhere.
" Be the enemies of our leader who they may, our

" weapons are ready."
Having thus said, Krepa and Kema departed, and

were followed by Dusasdna and Sakuni.

39. All having departed, and gone home.
The king of the Kurdwa^ alone and sad,
Went to the apartment of his wife.

Who was said to be exquisitely beautiful, eten ex-
ceeding the females of heaven, and containing more
sweetness than a sea of honey.

40. WTien he reached the place where his wife was, he

spoke not, but continued silent,
Oppress'd with grief, and lost to every thing ;
In this mood he remained, till the coolness of evening

came, and
The sun shone bright in the west.

41. The sun about to disappear, looked as if descending

into the bosom of the deep.

And cast a beautiful and pleasing appearance on the

palace ;
But it assumed all at once a pale and sombre aspect,

While the women within were happy and joyful.

38. Niha niki teka panian sampa ^-ke pasaji aji
Tarimanen niki ay Vang kew^ra m^tukaniken
Sapa karika musuh sang nata was gati rasika
Ling ira t*her umantnk m'wang dusasana sakuni

39. Da'i moli ira kap'wa ngungsir w^sma nira uwus
Kunipati kari sokang kaneng g'wan warama 'isi
Tuchapan niki sawang sang d^wi ngant'yani ngahajeng
Ratih ajapana wung'wa m'wang yanging jeladi madu

40. Sadateng'ira ri dewi tan waman aneng'akena
Lawani wing'iti chita sri dur*yudana na siuneng
Lalu d<iwasa kalungha tistis ng'w^ kirana matis
Ririsa dulura ngen mar mam'wat ganda ningasana

4 1 . Rawi mangayati moksa kane lot masilurupa

Dana s'mo kama tresnan ton rumneng pura ridalem
Karana nerana nolih moruk pinda kamadelen
'Lala lumiating s'tri ring jero niahawuhawu

480 POETRY.

42 — 46. ['Description of the loves of both sexes, and the
graces and attractions of women;]

47—50. [.Moonlight scene described, with the sports aixl
blandishments of the maids of the palace.*]

51 — 53. [The maids oi Astina continue to talk and amuse
themselves by the light of the moon:]

54. [Midnight follows, when all are at rest, and a solenm
stillness prevails, disturbed only by the Bramifis proclaiming
the midnight hour.*]

55 — 63. [Description of morning. Sun-rise, &c.]

(34 — 66. [*SMyM</awa,king of Kurdway comes forth in state
into the hall of audience to meet Kr^snOj who has been wait-
ing for him there, along with many princes and chiefs of the
place;]

67 — 73. [Kr^s?ia announces to Suyuddna the object of his
mission, viz. to ask for half the kingdom of Astina for the
Paitdaira, &c. The father and mother of Suyuddna and all
the old and grave Panditas recommend compliance with the
proposal of the Panddica, in order that there may be an
amicable adjustment of affairs. K^na^ Dusasanay Sakunij
and Kr{*paf shake tlieir heads, in token of their disapprobation
of the measure, and evince their readiness to attack and loll
Kresna on the spot»]

(Measure SekariniJ

74. Then the servant Satldki related to Kresna from his own

knowledge,
That at the time tlic plan of Durioddna was to take away

his life,
For he had collected together and assembled his people

in anns ;
Whereupon Kresna issued orders for his forces to be in

like manner assembled.

{Temhang Sekarini.)

Sainangka yoda sa|tiaki majari sang | Kresna saduga||
Hi tliigkfi sang Durio|(lana arap pamiatia nan 8ira||
Tuwin sampiln naidang | yadu bala kabe | sastrani sita ||
rini rfitn^a wVi Kresina karana nikin | t&n ^'arang'en |l

POETRY. 481

(Measure Basdnta tildkaj

75. 'Kr^sna then giving way to his anger, arose from his seat,

His passion swelling and rising within him like unto the

fury of the god Kdla.
His speech no longer soft, was harsh and loud, and he

represented the all-powerftd Wisnu *,
His appearance miiting the force of the three powers and

of the three worlds.

76. From his shoulders were seen to extend four arms, and

above them were three heads and three eyes t-
The power and divinity of every deity now entered into

his person :
Brdmay the saints, the powerful deities, the chiefs of the

RasdksaSy
With the power of all the people and chiefs of the imma-
terial world, and of all that possessed power.

77. Then swaying his body from side to side, and breathing

hard like the roar of a lion.

The earth shook to its base, disturbing the foundation of
every thing :

The mountain tops nodding, and the mountains them-
selves rocking to and fro ;

The waves of the sea rising like mountains, forming whirl-
pools and casting the deep sea-fish on the adjacent
shore.'

{Temhang Basanta tilaka. See 26.)

75. Angka kroda Kresna mang'adek sakaring pahman
M ong'ging natar sira wibuh Kadi Kala merchu
Mintonakan krama niran tuhu Wisnu murti

Lila tri wikrama maka waki kang tri loka

76. Takkuwan chatur buja siran tri sira tri netra
Sako^ Batara pinaka wakira samoa
Brahma r'si dewa gana rasaksa yaksa sura
Moang detia denawa pisacha manusia sakti

77- Yekan lumangka asigap kraka singha nada
Lindu tikang siti pado lawa ng'ambek Kambek
Yang parwoto gra gumiwang manawang ginanjuh
Kombak wayi tasi kanyakra panyunya kabeang

•^ Vishnu. ^ t Three pair of eyes.

AOL. I. I i

482 POETRY.

78. * In an instant fear and panic overspread the hundred

Kurdwa.'
Silent and speechless they stood, and with a pale and

wan look, which extended to the prince K^ma himself.
Even Suyuddna and YuyuUu lost their senses from fear;
They remained as \iithout life, and having no will of

their own.

79. It was then that Druna and BismUy and the good Pan-

dita NardcUiy
• Offered prayers and praise, and sprinkling a shower of

sweet-scented flowers before him.
Thus entreated : "Are you not, in truth, the God of Day,

" why become greater ?
" Have mercy upon the world and all that it contains.

80. " If you resolve upon the destruction of KurundiUy his

" destruction must ensue :
" But think once more of the agreement of- Nahdria

" Bimay
" And of the pledge of Drupddiy who has vowed not to

" bind her hair
" Until she shall have bathed in the blood of the hun-

" dred KurdwaP

81. At this the god relented, and his heart became softened
AVhen he listened to the words of the holy Bisma ;
For the wisdom of Kr^sna was pleased with the praise,

78. Tanduan kawus gatini kang sata Kurawa ras
Diem tan pas4bda mawenes Narepa Karna Nata
Mangkang^ Sur}'odana Yuyutsu Wikama morcha
Biak tan geseng tekap irang arepi ilangnia

79. Ng'ka Dnma Bisma ng*uniw^ resi Narada di
Asrang mang'astuti umong saha puspa warsa
Mojar Batara hari ayowa magung weyung ta
S'wasta nikang Buana kasihi tulihenta

80. Yedian kita mejahani kurunata nang*ga
Bahna pratitnia gati sang Prawaria Bima
IVIoang Dropadi basa matan pag'lung gatinia
Yen tan pakadiusa rirah sata kuraweng prang

8 1 Da kantananya lesunen poa geleng Batara
Ling sang watak resi lawan paramarsi Bisma
Karunya budi nira Krcsna renan pinuja

POETRY. 483

And in an instant he resumed the form of Nahdria
Kresna. •
\. The Panditas then went each his way,

And Kresna proceeded to the dwelling of the widow of

Pdndu.
No sooner was he arrived than he said : " I offered my

" adWce to the princes of ^tira,
" But they have resolved to be destroyed in battle.
\. " Such, O Narandti D&wiyi^ the conduct of iKtirwna^a."
To him the princess then replied, " Inform my sons, the
" sons of Pdnduy of this :
And since they must fight, let them select warriors who

cling to life ;
And let Swdrga receive those who may fall in the

" war."

L Thus spake the princess to Nahdria Kr^sna^

Who closing his hands in respect, requested to withdraw.
Then quickly mountii\g his resplendent chariot,
He was followed by Widura^ Sanjdya, and YuyuUu.
^. K&rna alone was seated in the chariot by the side ^f
Kr^sna^
And him he advised to follow the cause of Pdndu.
But the Prince of Wdng^ga replied : " I hold to my
" resolve,

Rap saksana noluya rupa Nararia Kresna
'Ngka tant tinut nira miili resi sangga suksma
Sang Kresna mantuk kumari sira Pandu Patni
Sigran teka jari wiang nira Kura wendra
Kewalia mayun nirikang rana matia ring prang
Yekan pasabda Karuna Naranati dewi
Bota siasi wara-akan ta ripandu Putra
Heng sura darma ngosirangnia matoha jiwa
S'warga ngola pej diimatdia nikang ranang'ga
Nahan wuwus narepa wadu Rinararia Kresna
Yekan tinut nira na^^^ta semba amit
^>igran mijil sira tohor mahawan rata bra
Sering lawan Widura Sanjaya len Yuyutsu
Sang Kama rowang nira Kresna aning rata krem
Sino^ kinoni tumota ri Pandu Putra
Dan sang Nararia Riawang'ga kedah sudira

I i 2

484 POETRY.

" And long to try my strength in battle against Kiritir

86. Such was the speech of Narapdti Kerna^ who would not

hear but of war ;

To the battle will I go, for I pant for war, and instant
war.
" In the fifth season, and on the first day of the moon,

" shall the war commence,
'* And ere the tenth night of Kr^sna shall it be termi-
nated."

87. Rawisuta having thus declared himself in speech bold

and fierce.
Requested to depart in company with Widuray Sanjat/Oj

and YiiyufsUy
And said not a word until he reach'd his home.
Janarddna gave speed to his course and went on.

88. Narapdti Kr^siia spoke not a word as he proceeded ;
But Sri Kunti, w^hen she heard the intelligence,
Became sad at heart that her children should go to war.
And well she recollected w hat Kr^sna had formerly said.

89. This she thought should be the course of Narandta

Kern ay
He should not listen to Kurundia, for he is bent upon war ;
And thus she advised her son, Arka Puira*y

Mayon makola guna sakti lawan kiriti
8G. Nahan wiiwiis Narapati Kamu wiyang tanamoas
Metoeng ranang gana juga heng ujar neragia
INIamui taneng kalima tu^ sedang tumanggal
Ra])iian iMasampuna nipancha dasinia Kresna

87. Nahan wiiwus Rawisuta piakakas rasania
JNIamoet lawan Widura Sanjoya len Yuyutsu
Tan wamanan Sira >vuwu8 tekaring swa wisma
Lam pa Janardana makin kalepas kemantian. '

88. Da titancn nara])ati Kresna sedang lumampa |
Sri Kunti ])oia tana yeki reng'an kamantian

Sokan rasi wekan niran mijiling* ranang*ga '

Ngii'nin datanj^ nerepati Kresna matakonningd^.
89- Na (loniran j)arari JSang Naranata Kama

ISlotus kiimona Kurunata tana^rah heng prang
Kunti yaling nira mowa risang Arka putra

• Child of the siin.

POETRY. 485

For she had borne hira when yet a virgin.

90. But Kerna would not hearken, but averted his head.
His wish was that nothing should avert the war ;
For he feared the loss of his character for courage,
And he had received great benefits from the princes of

K6ra.

91. The widow of Pdndu then departed in grief,

And in silence bent her way to the abode, of Sumdntri.
Janarddna, meanwhile, continued his coimse
Attended by Satidki^ the good and the brave.

92. So rapidly did the chariot go that the time could not be

counted.

Till reaching Wirdta^ he met the assembled Panddwa.

To them Kresna related, that the people of Astina re-
jected his advice.

And were resolved upon trying their prowess in war.

93. Transfix'd with rage, the sons of the PdndUj

Bimay Arjuna^ Yenakula^ spoke with fierceness and de-
fiance.
When they heard the words of Pdndu Pdtni
That they should try their power and skill in war.

94. It was then that all the assembled princes
Consulted and declared for war.

Biak tan nanak'nira ri kalaniran sukanya.

90. Dan Kerna langana saha dara lot manamba
Mang yang ritan wurunga ning mijiling ranang'ga
Kak satrian juga paUd ynana ling ning raswi .
Apan kalindi anisih nira kora wendra.

91 . Na ^tu Pandu dayeta numuli sasoka

Tan waroanan sira teking graha sang Sumantri
Lampa Jenardana mowa wuwusen wisata
Siring lawan prawara Satiaki weresni wira

92. Heng'gal wawang tanuchapan takap ping rata dras
Prapteng Wirata katamo nerepa Pandawa h^m
Ng'ka kesawa jri wihang nira Astinindra
Mayuan mang'ongsira yasa takran prabawa

93. Yekan padang getam masabda sapandu putra
Bimar, Jiinar, Yenakula s'ru lawan sang'anten
Tekuwan deng'ar ripa wakas mira Pandu patni
Motus mang'on sira yasi teng'a hing ranang'ga

94. IVIangka watak ratu sapaksa risang narindra
Kapua sarak wuwusiran mijiling ranang'ga

480 POETRY.

And Drupdda said to his son, the prince of Wirdta^
" Give orders and make ready the warlike implements,
" collect the chiefs and warriors."

(Measure SragddraJ

95. At the dawn of day, the Panddwa arose and marchM

forth from the capital of Wirdta,
•Resplendent as the morning smi, when rising abore the

mountains, he first sheds his rays over the earth ;
In numbers great, compact, and like an overwhelming

sea. And a sound, like distant thmider in the hills.
Was the sign, that the elephants, horses, and chariots,

with the rich and splendid trappings of gold were in

motion.

96. Many and numberless were the flowers scattered in

clouds upon them by the Pandita ;

Loud was the sound of the martial strain, breathing vic-
tory and triumph to the sons of Pdndu.

And when the flowers ceased to fall, there arose a strong
wind, as if propitious to their march ;

For the gods were assembled on high, and wished them
success in the war.*

A}'uhe nuchap Drupada siinu Wirata putra
Sabda nomangkata ri kalanikang pranata

{Tembang Sragddra,)

95. Yiri angkat sang Pandawengj'jeng Sakari Kuta nikang | Rijia dini

Wirata 1|
Tan penda Suria sanglke ngudaya giri mijil | mayuwan ning dipt

nlngrat ||
Liimra wurasakpenu llr | jalinidi mang'allhlmuaiig *ng n1c7r gmitur

a^nih II
Chinania n'weh tekap ning | gaja turangga rat& | reng'ga lita pn-

dipta II

96. Ny'kan lumrang puspa warseng gana Sina Wurakan Sang watak si^

dia sing ga
Lawan un^kara mantri jaya jaya ri jaya Sri Maha Pandu Patra
IVIatrang Warsa rarap mang'galani laku nira pang robun iidu

ngadres
Apan Sang yang Surendrang duluri ngawang-awang iw^ft^riVin yen

jayeng prang

POETRY. 487

97. . In the firont of the march Bima^ the bold and the brave,
took his station ;

Wild with impatience for battle, and heedless of oppo-
sition,

He remained on foot, tossing his jfdda into the air for
amusement;

For he was accustomed to conquer, as weU on the sea as
Xm the mountains, and elephants and lions became his
spoil.

96. In his rage he was all-powerful as the elephant of the

forest :
And now that he was in motion, he panted for the hostile

chief, and gave the challenge aloud :
His voice being like the roar of the lion was heard by all,
The sound thereof resounding throughout the three

worlds.
99. Behind him foUowed Afj4na, seated in a splendid chariot

of variegated gold, and shaded by a goMe^ pdyuny^
Flaming like a burning mountain and threatening de-
struction on AsHna and its princes.
His banner, the monkey, floated high in the air, flapping

the clouds in its course ;
And as his retinue shone and glittered, lightning flashed

with the thunder-clap in presage of victory.*

97. Pang'anjur ning In mampa sang ngino chi^ ngaxan Bima snr&ng'ga

Kara
Wang momoring Sarin wangi molimdla mok tan idi^ aakti ning len
Takwan tan Sang*grahing Wahana hmiaka juga moang gada geng

inunda
Apan derpa tawan aagara gin gehana pet gaja aingba berwang

98. Towen Kroda lawas mataka di gija alas geng galatan panampar
Munin mahiwun luma kiwo prihawaka mapagiring ritang^gnh Na-

rindra
iVlangken totus lumumpat Kawigara Nang'uhuh wi brama Singa-

nanda
Lunpat ring bturbua sVaranira ibkan sekanangka tri loka
99 'Ngka ni wontat Nararia Rijuna Marata manik Sarwa warns pajeng

mas
Montap lir parwata pui lari gnmaaeng *am Astina moang ratonia
Kimilap timg gulnira Wanara mang'ada dutur sabdani maghamakrak
Lmnrah ring dikwidik mang kilata wetu gebq^ biakta mang d^ jajreng

prang

488 POETRY.

100. Next to Palffuna came Aria Nak^la, with Sed^wa^

mounted in a chariot of green of exquisite workman-
ship.

In beauty resembUng two deities of heaven, and thirst-
ing for the attack on the youths of Asiina^

They shone resplendent. Their banner floating in the
air like a dark cloud threatening rain, and scattering
the petals of sweet-scented flowers.

Ready for the combat, as thunder before the lightniDg
flash ; and as they moved, the sound resembled the
humming of bees in search of food.

101. Then slowly followed Aria Utara, with Stnia, alike

mounted in a chariot of war ;
And next Drdsta driUmna and Drupddiy with Sikdndi

by her side ;
With coimtless chariots, elephants, and horses bringmg

up the cavalcade and filling up all space :
The whole elevated in spirit, as fish when enlivened by

a sudden fall of rain.

102. And now appeared DrupdM, borne on a litter of gold,

and shaded with a pdyung of peacocks* plumes :
She was like a deity when represented by a golden
image ; her long hair hanging loose and floating in
the wind.

100. Wuntat Sang Palgunang Karia Nakula Saha dewa xata jong btngHm

j'ring

Endah lir Kamah Kambar lumaku nimabasas-tri puri Afltmendn
Leng leng tung'gul nira pinda jelada mawudan sariniiig kitalu mrik
Wagiut pata gelap tan prakata kadi ketar ning pnng'hig nt pft-
dawu

101. Len Len sangke sirar Yotara masiring'a ring Soita mong'giiig nta

brah
Moang Drasta-driumna lawan Drupada pada tumot niwing Sikandi

tanimba
Pasrang ning siandana moang gaja kuda maduluring awan Siu pena

8ck
Lcr mining lot manung sung Jawu ahulapula sang buwut dnda ring

])rang

102. Da ngka sang dropadi lampa ararasa awan dampa ima ]^j«ng menk
Lir dewi yang yang ing reka kanaka mang'ori rima antan katampoan

POETRY. 489

She had not bound it : but while it hung like a lowering
cloud, she awaited the coming of the rain of blood ;

For she held to her vow, that until she bathed in the
blood of the enemy, she would not collect her hair or
tie the knot.

103. Then in her train followed Ddrma Sunu, mounted on a

white elephant,
His attire complete ; his pustdka yellow, and the case

of the purest gold ;
Evincing that Ddrma Mdrtia desired to slay Sdlia,

the chief warrior of Durioddning :
And that when he raised his pustdka as an instrument

of war, there was not his equal in power or coinage.

104. 'Next Kr^sna advanced in his golden chariot, and shaded

by a white pdyung ;
For it was his pleasure to bring up the rear, with the

elder princes and the royal host.
Not far off were his chdkra and conch, and the princes

of his retinue were borne on white elephants ;
The cry of the elephants rose loud and high, uniting

with the mingled sounds which issued from all

quarters.'

105. Behind Kr^sna came BimdnyUy the son ot Arjunay
With his instruments of war, borne in a splendid chariot,

Mawian kesa nawang xneg'ha mang'ajara keni landung 'ania n'godan

rah
Biaktan rah ning musu rakua karamasa niran mimponing kang

glimg sak

103. Lila Sri Ddrma sunu miring ngakaning sira nong'ganiiig mata Hasti
Sarwecha jong kuning pustaka winawa nira nane ratna pradipta
Sing'gi yan DarmaMortia arapi rapoaning Salia Duriodaning a prang
Yapoan tan pindowang Gang galaka rika ikang pustakang dadia bajra.

1 04 . Sampun mangka tmnot krisna saha rata suwama pajang soweta wama
Lila ning kari lampa pararatu pinati sang watak partiva keh
Chakra moang sangka tan sa mareki sira padabra matangran kagendra
Yekang nerek gurniteng ngambara siniring'a ning jera ning uning

merdang'ga.

105. Wuntat Sang Kresna partatmaja sira mang'iring sang manama Bi-

manyu
Sangkap ring sanjata marga rata mani maya n'gonda cbakra pradipta

490 POETRY.

studded with precious stones, and playing with his

chdkray

With him was Satidki, seated on an elephant, and ac-
companied by numerous followers.

Richly adorned with golden vests, the surprise and ad-
miration of all beholders.

106. And then came on the two sons of the Panddwa^ Pan-

chawdUiy and Wiiia,

Complete in their habiliments, and mounted in a war-
chariot, ornamented with gems and flowers of gold :
Their dress of linen and of silk. A delightful firagrance
surrounded them.

Beautiful was their pdyung^ for it was of the wings of
the mardukdra, and dazzled the eye like the g^are of
the sun.

107. Many and various were the characters and attributes

of the different warriors hastening to their work,
were they all to be described.

Arrived at Kuruks^tra^ they soon raise a fort of very
great strength ;

And the palace built therein being finished, they in-
vite the wife of PdndUy

Who quickly arrives, and enters the palace, accompa-
nied by Widura.

108. Then Widura went back, and safely reached her home.

Lawan Sang Satiaki moang yeda bala mahawan mata matang'gi

makeh
Sampumang busanabramaka wacha Vanakan de ulap ning taming^

106. Mong'geng wuntat watak Pandawa suta mang'aran Pandiawala da

Witia
Kapo^a bro numung'geng rata ma{M^>ati ang'reng'gm ratna rcvia mat
Sangkap ring busana wastra cbaweli lini^ mlek penah kaaturi

m'rik
Sarvecha jong lameng madukara mahulap katrangan auria t^a:

107. Akoe ting'ku watek wira yanahcbapakenang lampa agya tek^ig don
Da ngka prapt^ng kuruksetra sira t'lasi tingkah kuta tiy»|^g duigt
Sampuma m'wang kadeto an rika ta aira maha panda patni hnindang
Sigra prapteng niring sang widura sira uwua manjing nging jcro

kadat'o'an.
lOS. Sam])un mangka molih sang widura tanucbapen ramnya moag'gw^ig
swawisma

POETRY. 491

While D^wi Ndta and all the sons of Pdndu^ met to-
gether with mutual delight,

And discoursed in turn of the hardship of her being in-
cessantly obliged to retreat to the hills;

The more she poured out her grief, the greater was the
joy that followed, even to shedding tears.

109. Long would it take to relate all the pleasure felt by the

wife of Pdndu while in the interior of the palace.
Then all the Panddwaj together with Kr^sna^ the first

and the mightiest, with many other chiefs, debated
Who was the fittest, Scorn his knowledge of military

positions, to be elected S^tut-dipa *,
As one of undoubted ability and skill in managing an

army.

110. D^rmat-mdja, addressing Kri^na and all the assembled

chiefs, then said,
^^ Seven only out of all the number appear to be fit to

^^ hold the chief command
** Of the army, which consists of seven hundred millions

^^ of fighting meUf
^^ And first of these Saltan f, skilled in the direction of

" soldiers.^'

Wanian Sang nata dewi pada saka nuqpmpnl mwang watek panda

putra
Kapwa hemhem sili pajari laranera tansa mangmigsir wanadii
Mangken ranmya guwug ya w€ta aoka dadi luh dunawas araa ^

109. Tange yan wamanan tuatane mana ira sang panda patne aning jero

Sigra hem sang watek pandawa maka moka sang Kreana len partiwa

kweh
Rehning sena dipa ring samara ya ginonem aang Nmi'mg byo'a

durga
Tan manman pandengen sakti nera saha bala yogya tangwana ring-
prang

110. Ling sang dermat maja jar inagingan nera aang Krtoa len partiwa

koeh
Sapte ko'e sang ginantang wonang'a rika wawa aang walak wira

wiraring prang
Rapwan mang'gah subada bala gana pitungak ao ini kwenya sakti
'Ngka sang so'etan pinuja woruha li gelara^ning aora yoding ra-

nang'ga

* Commander-in-chief t 8eia,

492 POETRY.

f Measure SuanddnaJ

111. Whilst all the Panddwa were appointing chiefs over

the army,
Narapati Kurdwa * held a council of war.
For he had heard of the arrival of many enemies at

Kuruk'Setra f.
It was Aria Widura who gave him the intelligence.

112. ThenPrdbu GajawdyanX marched forth with all his

chiefs.

•All the Kurdwa J too, were in company, maldng a noise
as they moved along, like the roaring of the sea.

In the neighbourhood of the hostile plain they construct
a place of strength. -

Soon was the work completed, for the NarapatPs au-
thority extended over all the princes around.

113. 'Then was^ria Bisma first made a leader in battle.

Raised above all others, he is seen crowned with

flowers.
From all quarters the crowded and restless multitude

send forth shouts
While the sound oi gongs and conchs rend the skies.

{Tembang Swmdana.)
HI. Sedeng mang'abiseka | bratya pati sang | watak F&ndswm ||
Ula nerepati kojrawe swara na hem | pirSng ng'wa kena ||
T'las wuruhe datenglne satni nera ring | kuruk setra sek ||
Tekapni pawara | sang Aria widumS | dateng minglawmt ||

112. Rika prabu gajahwayan laku lowan watek partiwa
Sakorawa marempaka tri gumuruh bangun sagaia
Akarya kuta durga meh tegalika prad^eng kuru
Wawang 'uwusa pan sirang nerepati chakra warting sarat

113. Samang kana sang ar}'a Bisma pinaka gra s&iapati
Katone nabis^a sampuna sekar sira busana
Penuh pas'luring prawira masiirak masang'garuhan
Lawan Pada ibera sangka tinolup umong ring langit

• King of the Kurdwa, f The plain of K

I Or Elephant Carcass, another name for AsHna, The Ja^im tndition
is, that an ele])hant made the country, in order to obtain Raimddi^ who,
thinking it im])racticable, had imposed that task on him, as a condition of
her favour. When it was effected, she got Gatdma to kill him, and then
married him. It was called Astina, from Asti, which aUo •igi ^^fi ff
elephant.

PO£TRY. 498

114. Next all the princes and chie& are regaled;

The troops and followers have all they want^ and are

provided with conveyances.
The length of one line was twelve millions one hundred

thousand ;
. While the thronged legions extended to the hills and to

the woods.

115. Then altogether they set out for the field of battle,
Moving towards the west, and leaving their strong

hold and the king of Astina behind.
Anived on the hostile plain, loud resounded the
cofichs;
While the warriors, animated by the sound, testify by
their actions and gestures, their impatience to engage
in the fight

116. At the same time they are formed in battle array on the

hostile plain. *
Rdwan was the name of the order which was first

founded by the king of the Panddwa:
That of king of the Kuru was according to the wish of

the Bramdnaj
Who with all their relations swore they would conquer

or die in the battle.

117. * And now let us proceed to speak of the Panddwa.

Having come out firom their strong hold and arrived
at the field of batUe,*

1 14. Tu'e pwa niniwe watek ratu kab^ pinj^jakruna
Tek^ng bala samoa yoda pada pnma riag wahana
Pinanding ngatarung wilenya sawdaa gananya yuto
Ya karanane kin penuh tekaring kawukir mwang wana

115. Samang kana pareng mijil sakari kang tegal paprangan
M angula'ana ngawtiriakan kuta watek narop^ Astina
Tek^ng pag'laran pada s'ranga nulup snngo jerah pareng
Ya ^tuni girang nikang bala kab^ pada ge'a pranga

116. Tu'en pada t'las makarya biauw&ig tegal paprangan
Rawan ngarane kang tawur nereparti Pandawa morwane
Kunang tawuri sang nerep^ng Knru yakari lutBrahmana
Rikan sira sinapa sang du*ija sagotra mati'a laga

117. Ri mangkana nikanda tocbapa tasang watek Pandawa
T'las metu sakeng dalam kuta samipaneng panchaka

494 POETRY.

. They advance eastward, towards the formed bodies of

the Kurdwa :
.Both sides shout and brandish their weapons in front
of each other.

118. Loud and confused were the mingled sounds of the

armies.
The stoutest and bravest seemed to have been placed in

front:
The only persons who did not engage in the fight were

the musicians and standard-bearers.
Those in front were seen prancing and nimbly moving

about with their brandished weapons.

119. Quickly the contending armies mutually and fearlessly

rush upon each other,
Amid the roar of elephants, the neighing of steeds, the

beating of drums, and the shouts of the troops,
Till the whole air and sky is filled with the jarring

sounds,
And the earth is shaken with the tumultuous din of war. ^

120. Prawdra Bisma then formed his troops into the resem-

blance of the sea and mountains :
While the princes and chiefs of Asiina seemed like

towering and immovable rocks ;
The warriors in front dashing upon the enemy like the

waves of the sea.
And like the ocean bearing down before them stones as

large as mountains.

Lumampa angaw^tan angarepaken g'larkorawa

Pada pranga ngawuh roangunda winawanya kapwa ngadcg

118. Rikan pada gamosanane sawateknia sawang pareng
Sinangwo'a sinilan risan mokane sang prawireng rana
Ritan anane ngapranga mawa meredang'ga tung'gul kiinang
Lawan gatine kang katon mawusana regep sanjata

1 19. Risampunera mangkanan dana pareng mase sehasa
Uinong swarane kang gaja kuda lawan gaber mwangsurak
Samantara ngati gurniteng langita monto'ane dikvidik
(lumetere lema nikang rana saba ketugnia selur

120. Sircng Prawara Bisma sigra mag'lar ukir sagara
Watek ratu aneng gaja-swa karangenya durga ruhur
Pama gunong nganeng balamuka ngalun tuanut musuh
Ya bano'ani kagunturang gulunganeng sela marwata

POETRY. 495

121. Prawdra *, Panddway fonned the order of bajdra tiksna

lungii f.
Dananjdya J and Werkoddra § were there with

Sikdndi || in front ;
Wirdtd's^ son, Satidkij and the son** of Drupdda,

were in the rear,
Tudestira with all the princes being in the centre.

122. The mind oi Arjuna^ when he viewed the enemy, was

divided between joy and sorrow, and he was moved

with love and pity towards them ;
For they were chiefly composed of his own kindred.
Some of them were the sons of his father and mother :

the younger and elder brother of his father were also

there ;
As also the G^rti^ ft, Krepa^ Sdlea^ BUma, and

Duij^g^ga,

123. Therefore quickly addressing Nardria KresnUy

He intreated that the battle might not take place, being

afflicted at the sight of the Kurdwa.
But Janarddna compelled him to command that the

fight should begin.
It being dishonourable for men to hold back at the hour

of batUe.

121. Kuneng Prawara Pandawa g'lari bajara tiksna lungit
Dananjaya lawan Werakodara tumot S'ikandi arep
Wirata suta Satiaki Drupada sunu waktr^ wuri
Yudistira lawan watek ratu kabe mangant^ng tenga

122. Miilat mara sang Aijiina s'mu kamannBan kas'repan
Ri tingka'i mosu neran pada kadang taya wanff waneh
'Ana wang anakeng yaya mwang ibu Pen uwa go paman
Makadi Krepa Salea Bisma sera sang Duijeng'ga Guru

123. Ya karananeran pasabda ri nararya Kresna teher
Aminta wurunga laga pana welas tumon Kurawa
Kuneng sira Janardana sekang'a kon sarosa pranga
'Apan ilailang kasinatria surut yaning paprangan

* The princes on the side of the Fandawa,
t Or that of a sharp- pointed weapon.

X Arjuna, § Bima. || Wife of Arjyna. IT SUa.

• * Dresta Drijumna, 1 1 Religious instructors.

496 POETRY.

124. Then was seen D^rma-puira stealing away
Towards Aria^ Bismaj Kr^pa^ Sdlea^ and Duija.
With ai'dour he kissed and clung to their feet ;

For it was customary, ^ith Gurus, to make obeisance
to them before the battle.

125. Then spoke those who were thus made a brilliant object

of adoration and respect :
" Our noble child, sufiTer no uneasiness of mind, for you

" have alveady deprived us of life.
^^ Child of ourselves, may you be successful in battle

" and soon obtain possession of the country.
'^ And may Narapdti Kr^sna witness the truth of our

" words."

126. This done, he forthwith returned to his own side ;
Quickly ascending his chariot and laying hold of his

weapons,

Wliile each sounded his conch ;

And various were the sounds of the kindang and its ac-
companiments.

127. Instant the contending armies rush upon each other,

mingling together in long, obstinate, and close fight
• Ten elephants to a chariot, and ten horses to an ele-
phant :
These ten horses being mounted by such as fear not to
die in battle,

1 24. Caton pwa sira Derma-putra mangenes rika tan tmnut
Mare sira sang Aija Bisma Kropa Salea len sang Duija
Masocha ri sukunera nenabi wada d^ sang prabu

'A pan purihi ngang lawan Guru mapur'wa pujan arep

125. Kunang sa'uri sang kinarya pinaka gra chudamane
Bapangku kiki ayo'a sang saya uripku ta lap huwus
Kita naku jay^ng ranang'gana teher madre wi'a pura
Sirang Nerepati Kresna saksi'a yadi'an merosa ringwuwua

126. Ri sampunera mangkana dan nomalia mar^ngpaprangan
Kasana krama numung*ga ing rata pada regep sanjata
Sahasa manulu]) risangka nera 8o*angan nya 'umung
Pareng mo'ang ngonening gubar saragi kot^ kotia ngawuh

127. Wawang pamuki kang I)ala s'ranga selur mawenta jemur
Rateka sapulu gajanya gaja tung*gul aswa daaa
Kudvka sapulu pada tinika sura mant^g laga

POETRY. 497

And their duty being to watch when they can cut up
and exterminate the enemy.

128. The number of the chiefs who were mounted on

elephants
Were a thousand millions : those that accompanied

them were ten and one thousand billions.
Those on horseback amounted to one billion, while they

that followed were ten billions.
Great therefore was the battle and many were the slain.

129. Many days did the Kurdwa oppose the Panddwa,
Soon fell the brave sons of. Wirdies Swdra,

He named Wira Sdngka was slain by Duija :

Dea Utra fell by the hand of Narapdti Sdlea^ ihe
hero in battle.

130. Enraged at the fall of these two heroes, So^ta *
Rushed like a mountain on ten billions of the foe.

A shower of arrows at once destroyed the chariot of
Ndta Saleay and carried death to many of the brave ;

Sdlea himself and his charioteer narrowly escaping with
their lives.

131. The whole army of tlie Kardwa hastened to his support.
Amongst them were seen Bimaj Drdnay W^ahaUbdla^

and Jdya^ S&na^ armed with their clubs ;

Kenohnya 'ana pada raksaka yadin wisiman winuk

1 28 . Aneka tekaping wibaga yan sangs^na dulor

' Anun saka sapanti len sapretana sagulm^ naseh

Dudiing merang ngaturang'ga ara sachamo mwang ngakso-eni

Ya karanane kang prangat buta magenturan sek pejah

1 29. Pirang dina kuneng lawas kurukula lawan pandawa
Datando'a ana sura mati uka sang wirates swara
Prakasa wara sangka namanera mati de sang Duija
Dea utara paraptra de nerepati salea sureng rana

130. 'Ngka swetanuniasa masungeti pejaneng sura kali pisan
Sigran tandang 'amagunung saha bala 'ngamba teka eksoeni
Yekan s'yu rata nata salea pinana mwang wira yodan pejah
Tambis m^ sira matia karwa kerta wanna pan makarwan rata

131 . 'Ngkan pinrih tinulung tekap nera watek yoda aning korawa
Bisma drona lawan werahat bala jayat sena dulur ma gada

* Their brother, being also a son of Wirdtes Swdra,
VOL. 1. K k

498 POETRY.

Rukmardiay too, the son of Narapdii-Sdleaf supporting

his father.
Soon did Ari So^ta^ powerful as a lion, make them ied

his sui:>eriority.

132. Dinang Rukmardta fell and lay prostrate on the seat of

his carriage.
So^ta fought furiously and killed many of the Kurdwa:
None would face him, but all fled in teiror.
Great too was their dread of Gdiut-kdcha, DntpadaU

son, and Kirltiatmdja,

1 33. Then R^-Bvstna rapidly advancing opposed the furious

attack of all the Penddtffaj
Aiming at So^ta he unceasingly shot the best of his

sharp arrows ;
But Soetttj the commander in batQe, unhurt, grew more

and more courageous, and shot his arrows in turn.
Bima and Dananjdya came to his aid : their arrows

poured like a shower of rain from the heavens.

134. The Eang of the Kurdwa advancing, no sooner came

upon Bimay in the middle of the field of battle,
Than he suddenly stopped and started backwards,
making a precipitate retreat, running and falling, and
stopping not till he had got to a great distance.
But Bismay intent only on Bimaj maintained an inces-
sant attack, which BUma^ standing up in his carriage,
watched and repelled, •

Mwang sang rukmaratat maja nerepati sales wimKangi nAg yaya
Datando'an kawenang tekap ncra sang arya 8o'^ singot 'tama

1 32. Dinangnikinaratan peja magulingan 'ngkane salening rata
Sang soV'tan lurugen pamok nira mating yoda aneng korawa
Alangkin sirna lu)iik datan ana mulat kapwa kukudatakut
Tekwan wira gatot-kacha dnipada putra mwang kiriteat-ma|a

133. Yekiing kg resi bisma sigra mapulih mok-wok waUk pandawa
Sang suV'tan dinimong neran pamana'in diwi'estra teksna susun
Datan parai*ati mangki nujualapana sang so*^ t^napati

Lilt sang bima dananjaya nolunge ringh'ru lir udan ring langit

134. ' N^kan mangsa kunmata sigra pinapag d(^ bima ring sayaka
Kang'gok mundura ngong*gutmxg'guta \xpi mung'gw^ng kado*u

kawes
Ang'ing bisma lineksa pinri inerup stira ngaikg ring rata

POETRY. 499

While Bisma wss greatly exasperated agaLost Wirdta-
tin4ya, for his attempt to exterminate the Kurawa.

135. Then, alarmed, Wira-ta-sataj the leader of the Panddway

Shot one of his best arrows at him, the ii er of the

Kurdtva.
The flight of the arrow resembled that of the bird

garuda ;
And striking the shoulder of D^toa-brdta broke it into

seven pieces.

136. On this Wirdta-tandya alighting and laying hold of a

large club of iron,
Would have struck Sura-brdta therewith on the side of

his head ; but he leaping from his chariot avoided

the blow.
Destroyed, however, was his carriage, and slain were

the horses and charioteer :
And the death of many elephants and chiefs ensued.
1^7. Terrified at the sight of Wiratamdjaj Wdra-Bisma

would have fled in dismay.
When a voice from heaven told him that the hour for

Soeta to die was come.
Whereat encouraged, he talked boldly ; and seizing a

chariot and arrows.
He aimed at the heart of So^ta with the sharp pointed

weapon of fire *.

D^ra kroda risang wirata tanaya nd^ simaning korawa

135. Mangkdn gaijita sang wirata suta s^a nata ring pandawa
Mandug ring wara tomar^ sanga ngaran wantana wagr^ng kuru
'Ngkan pinri pinana sedeng niki nmnur lir naya rotang layang
Datandua papitu dan^ka tumiba nyiuh baw d^wa-brata

136. Da yekan tmnedun wirata tanaya nambut gada bisana
Paksa malo'a wahang sura brata rikan lumpat meharsi lemah
S'ya t^ang rata kelu sarati nika lawan kudanya repa

Mwang inatang'ga pirang pulu kunang ngikang matia dulur partiwa
137- K^pwan sang warabisma paksa muruda res ton wiratatmaja
Ngka sabdeng langita jare tekane patya so'eta de sang resi
Nahan ^tunira ebang-ebang nanbut sing rata mwang panah
Prana so'eta tikang minusti nera ring b'hramastra tiksna lungit

• B'hramdstra.
Kk2

500 POETRY.

138. Quickly pierced through the heart, San^ Wirdia Sdta

fell lifeless on the ground.
Grieved and distressed were the Panddtca thus to see

So^ta killed on the field of battle.
Not so the himdred Kuraway who shouted with joy

when their enemy perished.
While Sang Dnsdsdna danced fantastically, delighted

witli the sight of the fallen Wirdtamja,

138. Tandu'a trus dada ganf( wirata-suta mar murcba tiba ring lemah
Yekan soka sang pandawa lara tumon sang so^ta matia lagm
Beda mwang sata kiirawa snrakawnr arse peja ning mosu
Sang dusasana tU8ta mata mangegel yan ton wiratat maja

139. [Vexed and enraged at the death of his son,
Mdugsah Pdti makes a furious and desperate attack upon the
enemy. Tlie Panddwa, too, heedless of their lives, join and
su])p()rt him.]

110 — 144. [Tlie followers of Biwia are routed and pursued
with great slaughter. Night comes on, hostilities cease, and
the contending armies respectively withdraw. Mamgsdk
Pdti and his wife weep over the dead bodies of their three
sons slain in battle, and lament their misfortune in losing
them : — they shake them and endeavour to call them to life.]

145. [They then bum the dead bodies on the field of battle
by the light of the mo(m:]

140 — 147. [The Paudmta consult about the election of a
fit ])ers()n to take the lead in battle. DrestadriimHa is ap-
j)()inted. Morning arrived, the army of the Pcmddwa is formed
into the torr()r-ins])iring order o{ kdgeny-pdtehy or that of the
royal vulture. Situations of tlie different princes and chiefs
dctailiMl.]

14K — 151. [Snyuddim causes the anuy of Uie Kurdwa to
be formed into a similar order, 'flie battie rages. The dif-
ferent cliiefs, on eitlier side, who engage each other.]

\'yl — 153. [The dust stirred u]) fills and darkens the air.
'i'ln' (lust clearing away, the field of battle appears like a sea
of blood, in wliich the carcases of elephants, horses, and men,
witli tlic iVagments of chariot.s, weapons, &c. resemble so
many rocks and stones.)

POETRY. 501

154 — 156. [Bisma beheld with delight and admiration by
all the chiefs and people oi Kurdway distinguishes himself by
his prowess. He engages Arjunay and shoots ten arrows for
every one discharged by him.]

157. [Rdwafiy the son o{ ArjUnay is killed by the Rasdksa

158 — 159. [Kresna, enraged at Bisma^ descends from his
chariot and is going to shoot at him, when Bisma evinces his
ready willingness to be killed by Kr^sncCs chdkraj and so gain
admittance to his heaven.]

1 60. [Arjuna then descends from the chariot, and dissuades
Kr^sna from killing Bisma,]

161. [ Kresna and Arjuna both re-ascend the chariot, while
Bisma remains deprived of all his strength, in consequence of
the fright he had undergone.]

162 — 164. [Bisma makes a sign to Derma- Wdngsa^ who
recollecting that the former had made a surrender of his life to
Arjuna and S^ri-kdndiy goes to them and tells them not to be
afraid, but to shoot at Bisma; whereupon S^ri-kdndi discharg-
ing an arrow, hits him in the breast The arrow not having
penetrated far, Arjuna shoots, and drives it home with another
arrow. Bisma falls down in the chariot but is not killed.
His blood ascending to the regions above, is converted into
flowers, and in that form returns to the earth.]

165. [The Kurdwa fly and are pursued by the Pan- -
ddwa.l

166 — 167. [D&tma- Wdngsa^ Arjunay NakuUiy and Sed^a^
all go and kiss the feet of the respected Bisma; but the
haughty and unbending Bima remaining in an angry posture,
makes no obeisance to the wounded Guru. The Kurdwa
chiefs, with Suyuddna at their head, wish to come up and
bow respectfully before Bisma ; but seeing the stem Bima
they are afraid to approach.]

168. [A truce takes place between the hostile chie&,when
all shew their respect for Bisma, The Kurdwa wish to place
him upon a mat, but the Panddwa insist upon his Utter con-
sisting of arrows joined together.]

169. [Tlie Panddwa withdraw, and the Kurdwa alone are
left in charge of Bisma, Bisma refrises to take the water

50-2 POETRY.

offered him in a vessel by Snyudana, and calls to Arjina,
who presents him with some in a quiver.]

170 — 171. [Bisma defers dying till the period of the sun's
greatest declination, which he reckons to be about seren

months off.]

172. [Siti/uddna appoints Dangyang Druna cominander-

in-chief, whereupon it rains blood.]

173. [The Kurdwa are too uneasy in their minds to go to
rest.]

174 — 177. [Tlie following morning they go to battle.
Both armies are fonned into the order of battle called gdja^ or
tlie elephant. A furious engagement ensues, in which many
are slain on either side. Arjihia destroys the order of the
Kttrdwa army, is shot by Bdgadeta^ and afterwards brought
to life again by medicines administered by Kresna^ when he
returns to the attack, and kills Bdgadeia and the elephant he
is on. Many of the Kurdwa arc killed by Bima and Arjuna.^

178. [Night coming on the battle ceases. It was at the
eighth pdnglofig (or about the twenty -fourth) of the moon.
Tlie Panddwa regale themselves, while the Kurdwa lament
the death of Bdgadefa.]

179 — 181. [Dangyang Druna undertakes to IdU Derma
^^7/////^^/, provided Arjuna and Bima are out of thewa}'. Ten
Kurdwa chiefs, w4th Trigerta at their head, draw away
Arjuna to fight against them to tlie south of the hills : ten
more, under Drdta Pura^ draw off Bimay in a similar man-
ner, to the north of the hills. Kresna, as usual, accompanies
and watches over the safety of Arjuna,]

182 — 185. [Dangyang Druna forms his men into the
oTilvr r lid kra-b lilt ia (or that of the circle witii a well-defended
entrance). Dcnna IVdngsa^ in his perplexity what to do,
calls ui>()ii lUmdnyu^ the son of Arjuna^ to attack and break
the order of the enemy. liimdnyUy decoyed by Su^addma^
pursues him into the ring puq)osely formed by the enemy,
when it closes, and he is cut o<f from all assistance and sup-
port from the Panddwa.]

1S() — 1J)4. \Blmdnyu kills Tx^ksdna-kumdraj the son of
Stn/uddna, but is o\eri>owered bv the number of the enemv.
His situati(m is described bv manv similies. He is dain.l

POETRY. 503

195 — 196. [Night comes on and hostilities cease.]

197 — 199. [The effect which the death oi Abimdnyu pro-
duces on his \iife D&wi SunddrL She adorns and prepares
to bum herself with the corpse of her husband.]

200. [His other wife, Utdri, being eight months gone with
child, is deprived of this honour.]

201 — ^205. [Bima and Arjuna return victorious from their
respective engagements. The latter is angry with Derma
IVdngsa^ for having caused the death of his son, but is ap-
peased by Kresnay and induced to treat the old man with
respect. D&rma IVdtigsa explains how Abimdnyu* s death
was occasioned by Jdya Drdta's preventing the Panddwa
from entering the ring of the enemy, and from his defending
it so well. Arjuna vows vengeance against Jaya Drdta^ and
hopes that he himself may be killed and burned, if he does
not on the following day send him to the other world.]

206 — 207. [Jdya Drdta advised of ArjUna^s intentions,
begs of Suyuddna to be allowed to withdraw from the field
of battle. Dangyang Druna, upon this, upbraids him, and
persuades him to remain and try his hand against Arju$uiy
promising to support him.]

208 — 211. [Arjuna and Kr^sna consult together how
Jdya Drdta may be killed, and Kresna himself escape.]

212 — 213. [For this purpose Krema makes Arjuna purify
himself and offer up prayers to the Batdra, Batdra Sdkra
descends, and informs Arjuna that he will succeed in killing
Jdya Drdta y if he only makes use of the arrow celled pasopdtiy
and then vanishes.]

214 — 228. [The two wives of Abimdnyu talk much toge-
ther of the death of their husband. Their different situations
and feelings. Their separation, and meeting again under
various forms, &c. ; after which Sunddri bums herself with
the body of Abimdnyu,^

229 — 231. With the rising sun, the Pandatra chiefs, &c.
repair to the field of battle, where they find the Kurdwa
forces drawn up in the order chdkra bdhuiy with Jdya Drdta,
for safety's sake, in the centre.]

232. [The diameter of the circle formed by the enemy
roimd Jdya Drdta^ is ten times the distance at which men
can be distinguished by the eye.]

504 POETRY.

233 — '235. [The Panddwa observe the same order of
battle, and attack the Kurawa. Both armies mingle in close
and obstinate fight.]

236 — 237. [The Panddwa being oppressed with thirst,
Arjuna strikes an arrow into the earth; whereupon water
springing forth, men and beasts drink and are refreshed.]

238 — 240. [Kr^sna makes Arjuna shoot at Suyuddna,
whose chariot is thereby broken to pieces, and his charioteer
and horses killed, himself narrowly escaping with his life.
Arjuna and his men fight furiously, and kill many of the
enemy.]

241 — 244. [Satiaki kills Tuyasdday Kambnjdnay and
Sang Ambisuki .]

245—252. [Bima kills Chitra Yuda, Jdtja Susena, Chd-
rucliltra, Durjat/a, Jdya Chitra Sena^ Ckifraka^ Sangftpn
Chitra Derma, and nine more chiefs.]

253 — 257. [Buriftrdwa opposes Satiaki. They fight, and
afU^r their weapons arc broken, they close and wrestle. Satidki
is on the j)oint of being killed, when Arjuna^ at the urgent
request of Kresna, discharges an arrow at Burinrdtcay which,
breaking his arm, causes him to drop the weapon with which
he was going to kill Satidka, While Burisrdtra and ArjAna
are expostulating with each other on their respective conduct,
Satidki seizes the opportunity to dispatch the former. Bfma
and Arjuna slay thousands of the enemy, and endeavour to
get at Jdya Drdta, but are prevented by the numbers of the
Kurawa^ who rush in between and try to save him.}

258 —259. [Seeing Bima and Arjuna tired and nearly ex-
hausted, without the hitter's being likely to effect the death of
Jdya Drdta within the promised time, Kresna has recourse
to an artifice. He discharges his chdkra at the declining
sun, whereupon the clouds following the course of the weapon,
collect round and obscure the luminar}-, making it appear
like night. The Kurdwa thinking the fatal day past on which
Arjuna was to kill Jdya Drdta, triumphantly and insultingly
call out to Arjuna to fulfil his promise of meeting death and
being burned.]

2()() — 2()2. [Taking advantage of the darkness, and of tho
Kurdwa being off their guard, Kresna, accompanied by
Arjuna, wheels his chariot past the Kurdway till he reaches

POETRY. 505

the spot where Jdya Drdta is. Arjina then shoots at Jdya
Ihrdtay and kills him. Jdya DrdicCs head being struck off
by the arrow, Kresna causes a wind to rise and carry it to
Jdya Drdtd's father, who was doing penance in the moun*
tains, in order to obtain of the gods, that if his son was killed
in the battle, he might live again. In his surprise at behold-
ing the head, he inadyeilently exclaimed that his son was
dead^ which sealed his doom. Kr^»na then recalled his
chdkra^ whereupon the sim again shone forth before it went
down. Thus the vow of Arjuna was fulfilled.]

263 — 264. [Suyuddna accuses Dangyang Drdna of being
the cause of Jdya Dratd's death, in not sufiering him to re-
tire jfrom the field of battle when he wished to do so. Dang-
yang Druna defends his conduct, and uses high words to
Suyuddna,^

265—266. [Suyuddna invites Kerna to go and attack
Arjuna. K&rna goes, and Suyuddna with his men follow.]

267 — 271. [The sun sets and the battle continues, Ene*
mies and fiiends are with difficulty distinguished in the dark,
and many of the latter are killed by mistake.]

272 — 275. [Sang Dwa jdya-rdtaj the adopted brother of
K&rna^ is killed by Bima, Pratipeya is on the point of kill-
ing Sangd sdng^a^ the son of Satidki^ but is prevented firom
doing so by Bima, by whom he himself is slain, after having
wounded Bima,]

276. [The sons of the Kurdwd chiefs, exasperated at the
death of Pratipeya, all fall upon Bima, but are every one of
them killed by that potent hero.]

277. [Three yoimger brothers of Sakuni are killed by
Bima.]

278 — 280. [Suyuddna talks with Kema of the carnage
occasioned by Bima and ArjUna, K&ma makes light of their
power, and engages to kill them both. Krepa accuses Kema
of being a boaster, and intimates his inferiority in prowess to
the two hostile heroes, whereupon they are going to fight
with each other, when Suyuddna interposes and prevents
them.]

281 — 284. [Kerna attacks the Panddwa army and causes
great havoc. A consultation is held among the Pandawa
respecting the fittest person to oppose K^ma. KrSsna objects
to Arjuna* s doing so, as being unskilled in fighting by night.

606 POETRY.

Gatot Kdchay the son of Bima, is then selected to fight against

(Measure Basdnta lila,)

285. Wherefore Sang Gatot Kdcha was directed to seek the

child of the sun
By Krisna and Parta, who complimented him for his

superiority and power :
Quickly roused at the call, he presented himself with joj,
And said, " Happy am I and fortunate, thus to be dis-
tinguished by his highness.

286. " And so that I continue to serve the king acccnding

" to my duty,
" Let my body be severed to pieces, and death itself

" ensue.
" However arduous the service required, I wiD never-

" theless perform it."
At these words the advanced in years were struck dumb.

287. Tims spake Sang Gatot Kdcha, The heart of Kesdwa

failed.
So well did he know how to awaken tender feelings :
Therefore did the heart of his uncle melt away,
AMien he saw the boy daring enough to encounter the
King of Awdng^ga,

288. Therefore did Krdsna and Parta remain speechless.
Moved with compassion, and grieved that they had

thus called upon Gatot Kdcha,

{Tembang Basdnta Uia.)

285. Irika ta sang | gatot kacha kinon | mapag arka auta ||
Tcka pira kresna parta maneher | muji sakti nera ||
Sang ngenojaran | wawang masemo g^ita arsa marek ||
Mawachana bege'a yan ana pakon repatik nerepati ||

286. Pakena neki lana marki jeng aji yugya neka
Dadaha rikalaning baya atumya matoa pati
Kunenga^paniwoa rahatane gate karya temen
Situtua tan paneng^ha mene sigegen sakarang

287. Na w'uwiising sang gatot Kacha lumad ati Kesawa mar
Tckai)ira yan wenih ujara ngalap maniking redaya
Nguni-ngiini nalaning to*a sira sang paman arda tenya
Molati rare neran himawane sang awang^ga pati

2b 8. Ya Karana Kresna parta mamuwufi damen^ sakareng
Ascmo Kainanosan Kaluputan tekaping mangutus

POETRY. 507

Instantly the hero hurried to the attack ;

But as he was about to engage the child of the sun, he
stopt short in terror.
289. Then all his potent arrows

Issuing from his hands suid from his month.

With celerity flew to the child of the sun, who over-
powered in battle,

Gave way to the left, while the numerous torches of
the Panddwa army shed their glare around.

Kuneng iki sang gatot Kacha wawang sira sigra mase
Mapagi pamok sang arka suta tando'a nomandek ares
289. Apitui sarwa sanjata wisesa yatas stranera

Mijili tangan dudung mijili chang Kema nuta ngohuh
Yata nimujak sang Arka suta K^werana pinda jemor
Munida kiu mowa metii snlu bala pandawa bap

290 — 299. [Sialambdnay a blind Rasdksa chief, joins the
Kurdwa against Gatot Kdcha^ by whom he is slain ; where*
upon his band of blind Rasdksas take to flight. Three other
blind Rasdksa chiefs, with separate bodies of blind RasdksaSy
successively oppose Gatot Kacha^ and share the same fate as
the first.]

800 — 308. [Gatot Kacha fights with Kima^ flies, and is
ultimately killed by him.]

309 — 314. [The Panddwa^ enraged at the death of Gatot
Kacha, ail fight with desperate fury. Arjikna alone is re-
strained and withheld by Kresnai]

315—321. [Dowi Arimbi, the mother of Gdtot Kdcha^
bums herself on the funeral pile of her son.]

322 — 334. [The following morning Dangyang Druna^ a
Pandita on the side of the Kurdtoa, causes great havoc
among the Panddwa; to save whom from the destruction
which threatened them, Kresna spreads a false report of
Aswatdma's death, and makes all the Panddwa proclaim it
Dangyang Druna hears and believes the rumour ^of his son^s
death, and faints away; upon which Drestadriumna ap-
proaches him and cuts his throat]

335 — 343. [Aswatdma hearing that his father is kiUed,
makes a furious attack upon the enemy, but perceiving Bima
is afraid and retires.]

344. [The sun is about to set and hostilities cease.]

508 POETRY.

345 — 349. [Description of the field of battle after the
fight]

350—351. [The King of the Kurdwa asks Kema to
engage Arjuna, K&rna agrees, but requests to have some
one to attend and support him in battle. Sdlia is selected
and appointed forthc purjjose.]

352—356. [^Kerna and Sdlia, before they go to fight, go
home to take leave of their families, &c. What passes on the
occasion.*]

357 — 365. \^Kerna\s wife relates to her husband a dream
she had.. The particulars of the conversation which takes
place between them.]

366 — 393. — [Derma Wdngsa, Krisna, and Arjuna^ set out
in the night for the purpose of finding and putting together
the head and body of their respected Guru, Dangyang Ihuna,
and in order tr) ]^ay due respect and homage to his remauis,
and to entreat forgiveness on account of what had happened
to him. Description of all they see and meet by the wav.]

394 — 407. [Morning. The Panddwa prepare for battle.j

408 — 413. [The Kurdwa army is formed into the position
bdhfti-makdra*, or that of the prawn. Kema in the mouth,
Drumuka in the right fore claw, Sakuniin the lefty Suguddna
in the head, all the princes and chiefs in the body.]

414 — 415. [The Panddwa army is put into the order
called wiilaH-tiimdnggal, or that of the new moon. Arjuna
forms the right horn of the crescent, Bima the left. Derma
UYingsa and all the princes and chiefs compose the centre.]

416 — 426.] Kema and Salia, mounted in one carriage,
proceed to the field of battle. The two contending armies
engage. Their various success described.]

427 — 440. [Bima attacks, upbraids, and pursues Sh^-
dufta. To save the latter, Dusasdna fures an arrow at Bima
and hits him. Bima turns about, and finding it was Dnm-
Sana that shot him, he seizes him by tlie hair, and having
called out to all the princes and chiefs to bear witness to the
fulfilment of his promise, he tears him in pieces and drinks
his l)l()od.]

441 — 449. [Tlie battle continues to be fought with various
success, sometimes one army giving way and sometimes the
other.]

* See plate of the position of the Matarem army.

POETRY. 509

450 — 467. Arjuna and Kerna fight against each other.
•The arrows shot by each at the other are immediately con-
verted into various elements or destructive animals. Kerna
shoots rain ; Arjuna shoots and dispels it. Kerna shoots fire ;
Arjuna shoots rain and quenches it Kerna shoots dragons ;
Arjuna shoots griffins which destroy them.^

468 — 469. [Kerna aims an arrow at the throat of -^r/iina,
whom Sdlia beckons to incline his head. Ardawilikay a
Rasdksa^ in the form of a dragon, is killed by Arjuna^ while
in the act of shooting at him.]

470 — 476. [Kerna twice shoots at Arjuna^ but his arrow
only strikes and loosens his top-knot of hair.*]

477 — 479. [Arjuna^ invited and challenged by Kerna to
shoot at him, in his turn tells him, if he wishes to save his
life to surrender and pay obeisance. Kerna refusing to do
this is shot in the throat by Arjuna : his head falls back into
the chariot. 'On the death of K&rna^ the child of the sun,
that bright luminary grows dim with grief, and expresses his
deep sorrow by groans of thunder and showers of tears, while
his twinkling eyes emit incessant flashes of lightning.*]

479. -Disheartened at the death of K&ma^ the army of the

Kurdwa take to flight.
And pursued by numbers, conceal themselves, out of

fear, in holes and cavities.
The earth shakes, and at the same time a drizzling rain

descending firom the clouds, washes the blood-stained

corpse.
The evil-portending cloud is seen, and the grumbling

noise of thunder is heard.

480. Thus it was with him who died in the field of battle.

Lost was the sweet expression of his coimtenance,
Shining were his poUshed teeth, and uplifted and still
the black of his fixed eye ! *

479. Ri Una sri Kama lara laruti Kang Korawa bala

Tinut ginreg miiks^ng wana Kateduning lo'ah jiiranga res
Pareng mwang lindu mega sumara riris rah sumarasah
Kawanda liming teja patrk keter wana tangisa

480. Nian lir sang mating rana pada elang mwang manesira
Waja nerang seidenta sepi irengi Kang nitra lumayep

610 POCTRY.

No longer erect, his hair lay flat on his pale face, and

frightful yet becoming was his severe wound.
Such is the appearance of the brave who die in batik.

Alandung sang sri tang muka klu Kuchem syu brana luww
Datanlen sang waneng baya mapalupu'i ring rana saba

481 — 483. [The Kurdwa having taken to flight are pur-
sued by the Panddwa into Astltia.]

484. [Night coming on, the Panddwa return.]

485 — 489. \Suyuddna comments on the misfortune of the
Kurdwa in losing K&rnay and consults about the fittest per-
son to succeed that hero.]

490 — 497. [Advised by Sakunij Suyuddna asks Sdlia to
assume the chief command.]

498 — 500. [^Sdlia endeavours to excuse himself; where-
upon Aswatdma comes forward, and accuses him of being
friendly to the Panddwa^ and on that account unwilling to
become the leader of the Kurdwa,]

501 — 502. [Aswatdma and Sdlia quarrel and are going
to fight, when Suyuddna interferes and draws Sdlia away,
exhorting liim to take the command.]

508 — 511. [Sdlia at last consents, and then withdraws to
his wife.]

512 — 516. [Nakidla is sent by Kresna to Sdlia to dissuade
him from fighting. Description of Sdlia^s palace.]

517 — 524. [At sight of his nephew NakuUiy Saltans reso-
lution fails him, and he promises not to fight against the Pan-
da tra. He declares he will readily and willingly surrender
his life to Derma Wdtigsa^ but to no one else, and that that
worthy person has only to make use of the arrow called pus-
taka akalima asdda.]

525 — 527. [Nakula returns and informs Kritna and
Derma U^angsa of the success of his mission to Sdlia^ and of
all that i)asscd on ihc occasion.]

528 — 553. [Sdlia relates to his wife Sdiia Wdtij the re-
sult of his interview with NaknUiy and of his intention to
sacrifice himself, whereii])on she is grieved and sheds tears.
Then follows a long and detailed description of Sat i a H'dti^
her person, maimers, disposition, &c., and the partiGulars of

POETRY. 611

a conFersation which takes place between her and her hus-
band, wherein they display great affection for each other;
after which they yield to the power of love, and then fatigued
with amorous daUiance, sink into each other's arms and fall
asleep.]

554 — 556. pn consequence of Sdtia Wdtt*s declared de-
termination to accompany him, Sdlia steals from her when
she is asleep ; and having got fairly away from her, he dresses
himself without, and is honoured by the PandUa^ who cast
flowers upon him:]

559. [<Sa/2a« reaches the field •of battle.]

560. [The Panddwa army forthwith appears, and an en-
gagement takes place.]

561. The army of the Panddwa are hard pressed and
obliged to fall back.]

562 — 564. [Bima comes to their support and xouts the
enemy mth great slaughter.]

565 — 567. fSdlia deserted by his army remains alone, and
as he discharges his arrows they change into thousands of
RasdksaSf dragons, and evil spirits, which lighting among the
enemy occasion great consternation ; whereupon Kf^sna or-
dering all the people to throw down their weapons and fold
their arms, the whole of the demons disappear wiUiout doing
any harm.]

566 — 581. [The good and quiet Derma Wdngea is reluc-
tantly persuaded by Kresna to save &e PoiuUiwa by killing
Sdlia,^

582 — 583. [Derma Wdngsa discharges .the axxowpu$tdka
kalima asdda : it penetrates and sticks in the breast of jS>ii/ui,
who immediately dies.]

584 — 586. [On the death of Sdlia the Kurdwa forces are
routed and pursued in all directions by the Panddwa, with
great slaughter.*]

587. Suyuddna was on the point of being taken, but he
bravely resisted ;
And quickly bounding away in great alarm, henarrowly
escaped with his life.

587. Suyudana sireki meh kawananga takis lagitwa
Lumompata layu luput lepaaa met mip katfesan

512 POETRY.

But Sakune, trembling with fear, fell into the hands of
the enemy ;
And weeping, implored mercy, exclaiming, " this b the
reward of my kindness and hospitality."

588. " Silence ! thou vile and infamous dog !

^^ With what restless labour hast thou sought to vex and

" offend me ;
" But now \^'ill I fail not to take my revenge ;
** Death shall seize thee, and great shaU be thy torture.''

589. Thus spake Bima^ and trampling him beneath his feet,
He thereby and with his gdda reduced to atoms the

body of Sakune,
Tlie story goes, that he tore it in pieces, and sudang

the blood,
Scattered them among the villages of the north and of

tlie south.

590. The enemy being totally extinguished,* filled was the

field of battle with mountains of the slain.
While downward, in its deep bed, a sea of blood rolled

with noisy rush.«
Suyuddna having escaped, there yet remained to seize

him.
He is pursued and sought for, but cannot be found, bal-
ing plunged in the water.

591. Abandoning tlieir fruitless search after ^Myifdana, the

five Panddwa returning, homeward bend their course.

Tuwen sakuni sang sedeng ngkakatran kakesa gpraha
Asambata nangis dine kwenargan buja sestawa

588. Ada nara 'ncng tako ngasu kanistane chadama
Datan werga weh laram beka ngupa}'a ri banchana
Kunang nea tana lepatc ki pamales kuh duk^ riko
Ikang yama ngala pwapang idapana pwageng ning lara

589* Nahan wachana bimasena tehera dedel sahasa

Kenyo sawanira 8ang ar}'a Sakuni linut ring gada
Biatita sinesep sesep nera senempal uwus
Dinuka kena mancha desa inapado aning lor kiduL

590. I'wus })ara-wasang inusu pcnu ikang sawa marwata
nine rudiranya giirnita inangama\\'a lo'a dalam
Kunang pwa riluput Suyodana dume tuning ning'gaw^
Tinot inara pinct datan kateino ya ine ar mowa

56) . Da rarean mara pancha pandawa mumtsaha ba la ri lii|rat inijodaiia

POETRY. 518

DSwifSdtia Wdii is then informed that Sdlia had Mien
m battle.

Aged and creditable persons, bowing respectfully^ com-
municate to her the dire news :

Concealed amid the heaps of slain lay her lord, they
alone escaped to tell the tale.
2. The news quickly spreading, all the G^rui of thie country
weep on every side.

Trembling and distressed, !D^wi Sdtia Watt no longer
retains the power of speech.

Blind with grief and with a heart fiill of soirow, she
reels and cannot stand :

Lost and insensible to all around, she seemed as if life
itself had forsaken her.
4. Coming to herself, by the pains and assistance of her
friends, she rises and adjusts her disordered dress :

Then loosening and combing her hair, she is bent on
repairing to the field of battle.

First grasping her jf^trem ^ wherewith to deprive her-
self of life when she reaches the place where the joy
of her heart is lain,

She forthwith ascends her chariot, and sets out, fiivoured
by a grateful breeze. •

Dewi 8atia-wati sireki charitan winara ipati salea ring rana
Wanten bretya kaparchaya tuha yata jari sira teka namya tonuh
Dan rakweki dumenya tan pajaha sing lara ngeduku gamendeming

sawa
I. Sang siptan pawaranya tando'a guruwing tanagara pada gomita

nangis
Dewi Satia Wati kitan wenanga sabdaknmetere pangonchanging lara
Leng leng tan anara teka ton tekapiran kapeting-ane anekne kang ati
Tan patma kalinger datanuru'i pasambang ng'ya saha pakraking sakit
L Antukning manulung nimitanera nang lilira mahayu lungsuring tapih
Roma werata ninombara nera naminta tumotura mareng rana
Patrem nitea minusti pangelanga jiwa na pupula mene lawan aineng
Ngkan mangkat mahawan rata nda sama dresan kani sanntaning

manah

• 'Daggci^
VOI.l. Ll

514 POETRY.

565 — 602. [Accompanied by Sagandika^ she wanders
over the fiehl of battle by night in quest of his corpse,
looking for it among the number of prostrate slain. Appear-
ance of the different dead bodies and carcasses of horses,
elephants, &c. described. She often thinks that she has
found it : her repeated mistakes and disappointments.]

603. Wearied with fruitless search, and despairing of finding

him to whom she would make her obeisance, the

princess
Unsheathed her dagger, resolved to stab herself, her

heart being wholly devoted to her husband.
But the Almighty, in i)ity, sent lightning to guide her

to the spot where he whom she had long sought

for lav,
And inspired her with strength and desire to renew the

search.

604. All this while the chariot* lay buried among flowers

which had been showered down upon it.
As if the growling thimder wept, tears fell in small rain,

in grief for the death of the prince t.
Such was the mark the princess followed tiU she came

to and perceived the body of Sdliay
WTho seemed as if looking at her with a side glance as

he lay with grinning teeth.

603. Meh tan diria mahas narendra ma*isi ri taiyani sang eneati wmiK"^*^
Paksa patrema sampunang lugasi kang ati sumaivaka nama sang pra
Sih ningyang ukasan manambaya tuduh ri kaha-nanera sang pint

nira
Nahan etuniran panging kina ng'ebang abanga maka aama ngonr kibt

604. Oniang warsa sekar sumarsa akuwung kuwunga menoi ring'ganing

rata
Genter lu'era nangis malu*a rarab'ing-rereba lara rilina sang praba
Na tang chihna tinut nareswara waduteka lumi-ati getra sang kaknng
Kadia nimg 8\ing*a reh nikang mata atnr luniiringa reja kesiaan wija

• (H Sdlia.
f Milton says :

Sky lowered, and muttering thunder, some sad drops,
\Vei)t at completion of the mortal sin."
And a modem poet selected the passage as an example of the exercise of i
truly poetical imagination.

POETRY. 515

605. Then quickly sevAng the feet of him, now lifeless, who

stole from her bed,
Not knowing what she did, she patted, pressed, and

kissed the body,
His lips she rubbed and stained red ♦ ; supporting his

head with her encircling arm, and wij^ng his face

with the end of one of her garments : but long were

his eyes without twinkling.
To cure his wounds she constantly applied her chewed

stri,

606. " Ah ! ah ! my princely lord, thou whom having

^ sought I have at last foimd, why dost thou remain

" silent ?
" Wilt thou not speak to her who has thus sought thee

" out ? — Who else is there to be kind to me, unfor-

" tunate ?
" Tired and worn out am I with searching for thee,

" and now with averted glance thou refusest to look

" at me,
" Shall I weep, or what is it thou wouldst hav^e me do ?

" — Speak and tell me, instead of preserving this

" unmeaning smile.

607. " Am I to understand that thou hast no regard for me ?

" Come, quick, speak comfort to me, and make my
" heart glad."

605. Yekan pakrakir a mekul sukune sang peja aneliba ting'galing tilam
Tanwreng da tinepak tepak nera hanan kinisapu kinwian nnukeman
Lambe lot linuga tekeng magala ginusa pira ura lama tan kedcp
Lawan tang kanining kapwa warasa dening sepa ira lana jinam-

peaken.

606. Ah ! ah ! mah prabu sungsungen manemahta tuhana pani mita ning

heneng
Tan pangling ringana seraya siapa tika sia mowa gatingku kasian
Ngel kwa met riwekas tiring paberatan katemo sahaja ewa tan wulat
Wanten ta wekase tangis kwa mene kite suma'ora ayo'a ta minge

607. Nanten weruh ngo'angi tan sianti bapa meng'g^a 'ngamera raras

priambada

With STri juice.
1.12

516 POETRY.

With words sweeter than honey, and nicely selected,

did she thus hold converse with the dead ; but it was

all in vain.
" Was it thus to meet death," said she, " that thou

" didst steal from me when I was asleep,
" And depart alone, without my knowledge, to the

" regions above ? but I will follow thee.

608. " It is my request that thou wilt meet and carry me

" across the ligalugil stone *.
" Trembling and fearful should I be without thy sup-

" port and assistance,
" Although thou shouldst have many Windadam^X
" thy command, yet still reserve a place for me
" before them all,
" \Vhat must not be thy regard for her, who has thus
" wandered about after thee, and who is now going
" to die for thee ?"

(Measure Basdnia tildkaj

609. Tedious would be the relation of all that Satia JVdti

said.
Oppressed \i'ith a load of grief, great as a mountain,
When she beheld her lord
And determined to meet death.

S'ojar tan pasirat sirat madu tuhun ane saji saji tan tekeng ati
Pangling'gan rilalis ta 'ngone nalis layata nilibi pamremeng ulon
Nes tanyan lepasi sura la)'a yaya ku tumutura sadenya tan ling'eii
60S. Ngeng pintangakwa tuan papag nga'ang ngirikang watu pda-gik
namba eng'gung an
Tistisnya 'ngoang ngikana tan wani Inmampaha gpgu ri tayenU

raksaka
Yadiastun jeneka 'ngamer surawadu kita sumalanga ayo'a nestura
Pali tapwa welasat ring wang angomeng pati lumaku lana rnonng
morang.

(Tembang Basanta tilaks<0'
G09. Tangi ujar satia watin j)asaml)at

Ikang lara manvata mangke nabiiat
Tuen katon tahananing iner er
Mataug nera dan pejahang kasang kas

♦ Bridge.

POETRY. 617

10. Seizing her dagger with firm grasp

She drew it firom its sheath, glancing as it came out,
Then boldly buried it in her breast
Like shining gold was the blood that issued firom the
wound.

11. Not dying instantly, with expiring yoice
Sugandika she called and thus addressed :

^^ My old and faithfiil firiend and attendant, return thou

^^ to Mandardka^
*^ And tell the people there that I now send

12. ^' My last request to the good and worthy,

** That they will commemorate the history of my suf-
ferings.

In order that my story may be heard and known ;
** When the gentle heart will perhaps be moved with

** love and pity, and tears will flow at the sad tale.*'
4. " Oh ! my mistress, when was the time that I ever

" quitted thee ?
^^ Into whatever state of being thou may'st pass, I will

" accompany thee.
" Whom wilt thou have to send for water,
^^ And who will wash my noble mistress* feet if I am

" not with her ?"

). Minges marang kedga lana minusti
Uwus kasaring samngan pradipta
Inan-deman denira tan anangres

^ Ha nikang rah kadi datu munchar

I. Datan wawang mati magentak entak
Sugandika lot tinawe sinabdan
Kakangku mantuk ta ri mandraraka
Wara tikang wang ri ukasku mangke.

!. Paminta kasi tari sang kawendra
Larang-ku dadiakena gita basa
Rengine ngogang idepe gating ku
Malar ngeresi twasnea mamang wa waapa

t. Aduh Tuan ring kapana, saha ngoang
Tnmuta mon 'jennia nejenma rakrian
Siap'eka konen ta mangengswa socha
Ye tan ngwenga damo*a rijeng ta maaku

518 POETRY.

617. Tims weeping,* the female attendant^ afiected with grie^
The buried dagger drew (firom the body of her mistress),
And stabbing herself, instantly expired

At the feet of the princess, where her body lay.

618. Forthwith delighted their happy spirits together fleA
The astonished spirit of prince Sdlia quicldy said :

^^ Uneasy and impatient have I waited for thee among

the clouds,
" With many Widaddris, Panditds, and Detcas,

619. Having taken the princess in his arms,

He returned with her by the road which leads to heaTcn.
Tliere arrived, they find it extremely beautiful.
Of silk were the houses and brilliant were the precious
stones.

620. Amusing herself, the princess

Was delighted with the abundance of food which was

there.
Great being the bounty of the Almighty to mankind,
And there was no difference susceptible in the ages of

those that were there'*.

617- Nahan tangis ning pari charaka n'gres
Tanemne kang katga ye tenunusnea
Inandeman ngeng eksana yan paratra
Sawanya tan sa ridagan sud^wi

618. Tatandua ngetma madiiliir wij ata
Nareswaratma nerageijitang ling
Alal mangauting jalada mangiin res
Sahap sari mwang resi d^wa Sang'ga

r>l!). Telas pinangkwa Kenerang Sudewi
iMolih sera marga wimana ramya
Dateng rikang swarga layep alepnya
(iraha sinang baswara sarwa ratna

(>*20. .Mengen mengen teki nar^ndra patni
Mangu Kawahan suka sek binokti
Wiwal neran maniisa janma nguni
A pan tanantuk tumulu'i dugan nwang

* Having since my return to England put these illostntiom of the
Biata Yudha in the hands of a relative (the Rev. Thomas Rafles/of Liver*
pool,) \\v ha.s 1)een kind enough to give the translation a poetiod dress, md
I rc'gri't that the limits of the present volume do not admit of their inter-

POETRY. 519

21 — 624. [The Panddwa hear that Suyuddna is in the
die of the river : delighted, they repair to the spot. Bima

in this form, in justice to the poetry of Java and the talent which he
displayed. The following example of the last stanzas may serve as a
imen of the style and spirit in which the task has been executed.

603. * Wearied with fruitless search, and in despair

To find the object of her pious care,
Her murdered lord, who on the battle plain -
Lay all neglected mid the thousands dlain.
She drew the dagger from its sheath of rest.
Intent to plunge it in her heaving breast.
Just then, as if in pity to her grief,
Flash'd the red light'ning to the maid's relief.
And shew'd with horrid glare the bloody way
To where her husband's mangled body lay.

604. Another flash, indulgent from the skies.
Points to the spot where SdUia's carriage lies.
And Sdlia's self, whom living she adored.
The bleeding body of her murder'd lord.

The richest flowers by heavenly influence shed
Their sweetest odours o'er his honom^d head.
The muttering thunder mourned his early tomb.
And heaven in showers bewailed the hero's doom.

605. With eager grasp the livid corpse she press'd
In frantic wildness to her throbbing breast i
Tried every art of love that might beguile
Its sullen features to one cheerful smile ;
Kiss'd those dear lips so late of coral red.
As if unconscious that the soul had fled ;
Then in her folded arms his head she rais'd.
And long on those beloved features gazed.
With ^ri-juice his pallid lips she died.

And to his wounds its healing balm applied ;
While with the skirt of her embroidered vest.
She wip'd the blood-drops from his mangled breast.

606. *' Ah ! then, my princely lord, whom I have found
Bleeding and mangled on this cursed ground !
Why are thy lips in sullen silence sealed
To her who sought thee on this battle field ?
Wilt thou not speak — my love, my lord, my all,

** Or still in vain must Sdtia Wdti call !

Say, shall my copious tears' in torrents flow
And thus express my agony and woe ?

it
it

520 POETRY.

calls him a dastardly coward afraid to die, and assures hi
that his arm will reach him, whithersoever he maj betake hin

How shall I move thee, hy what art b^g^uile
The ghastly air of that unmeaning smile ?"

607. Thus soft and tender were the words she poniedy
To move the pity of her murder'd lord ;
But ah ! no sound the unconscious dead retani'd;.
No fire of love within his bosom bum'd f
While at each pause a death-like stillness stole
O'er the deep anguish of the mourner's souL
And was it thus to bow thy honour'd head
Amid the thousands of the mingled dead.
That on that fatal morning thou didst glide
With gentle footsteps from thy consort's side ?
And thus to reach the glorious realms above
Without the faithful partner of thy love }
But earth has lost its fleeting charms for me»
And, happy spirit, I will follow thee !

<<
<<

608. " Oh ! meet and bear me o'er that fatal stone.
Nor let me pass it, trembling and alone.
Though Widaddris shall obey thy caU,
Yet keep for me a place above them alL
To whom but me does that first place belong.
Who sought and found thee mid this ghastly throng;
And who, unable to survive thy doom.
Thus sheds her blood and shares thy honour'd tomb?''

((

ClO. Then with a steady hand the noble maid

Drew from its peaceful sheath the gleaming blade ;
From her fair bosom tore th' embroidered vest»
And plunged it deep within her heaving breast.
Rich was the blood that issued from the wound.
And streamed like liquid gold upon the ground.

611. And while the ebbing tide of life remained.

And thought and reason were a while sustained.
She called her maiden with her feeble breath.
And thus address'd her from the arms of death.

C12. "Oh! when my spirit soars to realms above,
Tiike this my last request to those I love :
'WW them to think of Sdtia Wati's fate.
And oft the story of her love relate ;
Then o*er her woes the tender heart shall sigh.
And the h\\i tear-drop roll from pity's eye."

«<

<<
«

POETRY. 621

self, to the lowest depth of the earth or the highest region of
heaven.]

625 — 628. [Suyiuddna comes out of the water and assures
Bima that he betook himself to the river, not out of fear, but
for the purpose of making adoration to the gods, challenging
Bima^ or any other of the Panddway to combat. Kresna re-
presents that Derma- Wdng^na is too peaceable and benevo-
lent to fight against Suyuduna ; that Arjund's forte consists in
using the bow moimted in a chariot; that NakUla and
Sedewa are too young and inexperienced, and that Bima is
therefore the fittest of all the Panddwa to oppose Suyuddna.]

614.' " Ah my lov'd mistress-," cried the faithful maid.

In every scene by thee I gladly staid.

Whatever the state of being thou must know.

Thy faithful maiden will partake it toa.
" What hand but mine the cooling stream shall pour,
" Or bathe the feet of her whom 1 adore ?"

617. Strong in despair, and starting from the ground.
She drew the dagger from her mistress' wound.
With deadly aim she plunged it in her breast.
And with her mistress sunk to endless rest.

618. Then did their happy spirits wing their way
To the fair regions of eternal day.
The astonished shade of Sdlia lingered there.
Borne on the pinions of the ambient air.
To bid the object of his earthly love
An eager welcome to the realms above.

619. Then in his arms his lovely bride he bore
Up that resplendent path he trod before.
Till earth and time had vanished all away
Amid the splendours of eternal day :
Where fields of light and silken mansions stand.
The glorious work of a celestial hand.

620. Th* enraptured princess, dazzled with the sight.
Gazed o'er the boundless realms of living light.
With heavenly fruit the eternal groves were crowned.
And joy and rich profusion smiled around.
All bore the bloom of an inunortal youth.
All breathed alike the air of love and truth ;
And all adoring one eternal mind, —
The Almighty, rich in boimty to mankind.*

ry2'2 POEl'RY.

629 — 631. [Kakrasdna is informed by Nardda of the
Panddwa and Kurdwa forces being engaged, and withdraws
to see the issue of the contest. Bima and Suyuddna go and
make their respects to him, and each receives from him a
charm.]

632 — 639. [Bima and Suyuddna fight Missing each
other, they strike and cut the earth, trees, and every thing
about them, without being able to hurt each other. They then
throw away their weapons, and closing, wrestle. So closely
are they united, that they seem to be one person and to have
one voice.]

640 — 656. [Arjiina repeatedly striking his hand on his
left thigh, reminds Bima of Suyuddnd's being vulnerable in
that particidar place only. Bima recollecting the circum-
stance, seizes his club and strikes Suyuddna with it in liis
vulnerable part. Suyuddna falls, and expiring tmder the
blow is trampled upon by Bima, who continues to insult and
triuni])h over him, till out of all patience with his relentless
and ung(nierous conduct, Kakra^idna seizes his spear and is
going to slay Bimayhwi is withheld by Kr^'^na, who says that
Bima is not to be blamed for such just retaliation.]

(Here end the Javan copies of this work; the foUoiiinng
abstract is from a copy of tlie Brdta Yudha Kdwi presented
to me by the Raja of Bali Bali liny in Bdli.)

().>7— 667. [Suyuddna dcdidy and« night coming on, the
Panddwa retire from the scene of battle to Uic city of AstinOy
and there feast and rejoice, on account of their victory.
Satiated and Hitigued with their revelling, all except Kr^sna
go to slee]).' He alone remains awake, pitying in his own
mind the fate of Suyuddna, and recollecting with feelings of
rennet the indignant and luikind manner in which he was
treated by Bima. -Withdrawing by stealtli, he goes to the
mountains, and wanders about oppressed with grief and much
ai^itated.J

()()H. [Next morning the Panddwa missing Kresna, go in
search of him, and lind him among the images on the hills.
INutrntous signs take place. A raven croaks till blood issues
from its beak, it rains blood, and all the wild animals fight
with each otlier.]

POETRY. 623

669. [Next morning all these omens are gone.]

670 — 693.] News arrives from Astina of Asttat6ma's
having entered the city by night, and assassinated Dr^sta-
dfiumna, Serikdndi, and Pdnchakumdray and of all the
mdntris having fled for fear. Half are inclined to give credit
to the report, and half believe that it must have been the
spirit of Sdlia. The Panddwa return to Astinay and find
the women there aU in tears, and bewailing the loss of those
who had been murdered during the night Kresna consoles
them, and reconciles them to what has happened.]

694 — 696. [Kresna makes the Panddwa accompany him
in search of Aswatdmay whom they find among the hills.]

697 — 699. [Btma is going to strike AstDOidmay when the
latter discharges an arrow at Bimay and at the same time tells
him he is not a fit opponent, inviting Arjuna to contend with
him. Arjuna and Aswatdma fight, causing the earth and
moimtains to shake, &c.]

700 — 705. [Sdn(/ ydng Nardda descends from above, and
tells Arjuna that they will cause the destruction of the world
if they continue the dreadful conflict. Sdng yd/ng Nardda at
the same time goes up to Aswatdmay and advises him to
desist from opposing the Panddway as he will certainly be
beaten, and recommends his surrender and resignation to the
Panddwa of his pusdka of ChUda-maniky also called Chupu-
mdnik Estigenuy a charm which gives its possessor the power
of getting eight different things.]

706 — 707. [Aswatdma refiises to give it to the Panddwa,
but is willing to part with it to the unborn grandson of
Arjuna, of whom Utdri was then pregnant, and whom he
directed should be called Pariktsit.]

708 — 709. Kresna offers to bear witness to the promise ;
after which Aswatdma gives the pusdka to Bimay to deliver
to the grandson of Arjuna.^

710 — 714. [Kresna and the Panddwa again return to
Astina, and inform Arjund's wife of what has happened.
Aswatdma remains aloof firom the Panddwa, wandering about
in the woods and among the mountains. Yuyutsuh, the only
surviving Kurdwa chief, joins and lives with the Panddwa.
All the sons of the Panddwa having been killed in the battle,
without a single descendant being left to be made a king of

5-24 MUSIC.

Astina, excepting the yet unborn son of AbimdnyUy whom
Vtdri was about to bring forth, Derma IVangsa^ the eldest
of the Pafiduwa (although all of them had arrived at an age
M'lien they should withdraw from the world) is appointed
sovereign, until such time as he can be relieved and suc-
ceeded by the yet unborn Parikisit, Description of Derma
Wdngsa ; the beauty of his person ; his many good qualities
and accomplishments, for which and for his character for
justice, wisdom, prudence, &c. he is universally beloved, and
his praises celebrated in song.]

715 — 719. [Derma Wdngsa receives the name and title
of Batdra Jdya Bdya, Under his wise and excellent admi-
nistration the kingdom of Astina flourishes, crimes are un-
known, and the inhabitants are happy. The neighbouring
princes of Java, who had sur\'ived the war, all acknow-
ledge the authority of the king of Astina^ and pay homage to
him.]

The musical instruments of the Javans are peculiar.
Several of them are necessary to compose a gdmeiany set, or
band : of these there are several varieties. The gdmelan
salindrOy which is the most perfect, consists of the several
instruments represented in the plate. In the gdmelan
pelog, the instruments are much larger and louder; the
honang or kromo, has sometimes only ten, and sometimes
as many as fourteen notes. Both of these gdmelans are
employed as accompaniments to the wdyangs. The gd$nelaH
viiring j)artakes of the two former, and is employed to
accompany the wdyang klitik. In the gdmelan mung*gang^
called also kodok ng^oreky from its resembling the croaking of
fro^^s, the hdnang has fifteen notes, and the kecher resembles
the triangle: neither the gender j salentam^ sardn, nor cha-
lempung are included in tliis set ; this gdmelan is considered
(he most ancient, and is played at tournaments, in proces-
sions, &c. In the chdra bdliy or chdra wdngsuly the rebab^
or viol, is not used : in other respects the instruments are the
same as in the salindro, except that tliey are as large as in
tlu' jtelog. The gdmelan sekdten^ which resembles the p^log^
except that the instnunents are still larger and louder, is
restricted to tlie use of tlic sovereign, and seldom played,

MUSIC. 525

except on great occasions, as during eight days of fli B fet»ti i al
of Malut, The gdmelan srunen is used in processions of
state and in war, being properly the martial music of the
country, in which, besides the ordinary instruments, a par-
ticular gong and trumpets are introduced.

The plate will afford a better idea of the form of these
instruments than any verbal description. Most of them
resemble the staccato or harmonica, and the sound is pro-
duced by the stroke of a hammer. The gdmbang kdyu has
wooden plates, sixteen or seventeen in number : the gdmhang
gdngsa, of which there are several in each band, has metal
plates.

In the gender the metal plates are thin, of a different form,
and suspended by strings. The gong^ represented (No. 9) in
the plate, is usually three feet in diameter. The bdnang^
kenong^ and ketOky are of metal, and are suspended
by tightened cords to favour the vibration. The kecher^
shewn in the plate, corresponds with the cjTnbal. The
hammers with which the larger instruments are struck are
either wound round at the end with cloth, or the elastic gum,
in order to soften the sound. The drum is struck with the
open hand and fingers only. The chalempung is a stringed
instrument, with from ten to fifleen wires, which are sounded
with the finger, after the manner of the harp.

The person who leads the band performs upon the rebdb
(No. 17), an instrument which, having a neck, and two strings
pitched by pegs, is capable of producing perfect intonation
and a variety of sounds, by shortening the strings with the
pressure of the finger.

The gdmbang kdyu (No. 2.) is a kind of staccdtOy consisting
of wooden bars of graduated lengths, placed across a kind of
boat, which, when skilfully struck with a sort of mallet, pro-
duce pleasing tones, either grave or acute. The lowest and
highest sounds of the instrument differ from each other by the
intenal of three octaves and a major third : the intermediate
sounds of each octave from the lowest note are a second, third,
fifth, and sixth. This instrument is general throughout the
Archipelago, and is frequently played alone, or accompanied
only by the drum and a small gong. Rdden Ritna Dipura^ a
native of Java, who accompanied me to England, played on

526 MUSIC.

this instrument several of his national melodies before an
eminent composer, all of which were found to bear a strong
resemblance to the oldest music of Scotland, the distinctive
character of both, as well as of Indian music in general, being
determined by the want of the fourth and seventh of the kev,
and of all the semitones *. Bv reiteration several of the
sounds are artfully prolonged much beyond their noted length,
which produces an irregidarity of measure that might both
peq)lex and offend the educated ear of an accompanpng
timeist. Tlie rhythm of the sections (from extention and con-
traction) appears very imperfect.

The honang or kromo (No. 3.) the sdron (No. 5.) the demong^
(No. 6.) and seldntam (No. 7.) are staccatos of metallic bars,
and a sort of bells placed on a frame. They contain a regular
dianotic scale, and nearly two octaves. These, however, are
never played singly, but harmonize vdih the instrument on
which the air is played.

The gongs (No. 9.) are perhaps the noblest instruments of
the kind that have been brought to Europe : I am assured that
they are ver^- superior to that which was admitted in the ter-
rific scenes of the serious ballet representing the death of
Ca])tain Cooke. Suspended in frames, and struck by a mallet
covered with cloth or elastic gum, they sustain the harmonious
triad in a vcrj^ perfect manner, and are probably the most
powerful and musical of all monotonous instruments. They
iiiij^ht be introduced with advantage in lieu of large drums.
Tliev have the advantage of being melifluous, and capable of
accompanying pathetic strains. The two gongs differ from
each other bv one note.

The above observations apply particularly to the gdmelan
pchnj^ which usually accompanies the recitation of the popular
j)oems of the country. The gdmhang kdyu of the salindru
a])])i*ars only to differ in being in anotlier key, which is con-
sidered better suited to the occasions in which that Idnd of
gdtifrlan is used.

The airs which are exhibited in tlie plate are selected
from several written down by a gentleman at Semdrang,

* The same o])sen'ation has, I believe, been made on the character of

the Grecian music.

1-2

MUSIC. 527

as they were played on the rebdb of the gdmelan peioffj and
may afford a further illustration of the nature of their
music.

But it is the harmony and pleasing sound of all the instru-
mients imited, which gives tlie music of Java its peculiar cha-
racter among Asiatics. The soimds produced on several of
the instruments are peculiarly rich, and when heard at a dis-
tance have been frequently compared to those produced on the
harmonic glasses. The airs, however simple and monotonous
they may appear of themselves, when played on the gdmbang
kdyUj or accompanied by the other instruments, never tire on
the ear, and it is not imusual for the gdmelan to play for many
days and nights in succession.

The Javans do not note down or commit their music to
writing : the national airs, of which I have myself counted
above a hundred, are preserved by the ear alone. Those
which are exhibited in the plate are among the most po-
pular : but there are a variety which are played on occasions
of rejoicing and festivity, which it would be difficult to note
down ; if, indeed, they can be called airs at all, the soimds
produced rather resembhng the chiming of bells than a me-
lody. Tims, when a great man arrives at the native seat of
government, tiie tune of kebu girUy " buffalqes frisking,*' is
played, and a variety of others of the same nature, which
diffuse the same kind of joy and gaiety among all assembled,
as the quick ringing of bells in the churches of England.

A complete set of the gdmelan pelog costs from a thousand
to six hundred dollars (£250 to £400,) but second-hand sets
arc frequently disposed of The principal manufacture is at
Gresiky and Uie gongs in particular furnish a valuable article
of export. Every native chief in authority has one or more
gdmeians, and there are more or less perfect sets in all the
populous towns of the eastern provinces.

In some of the interior, and in particular in the Sunda dis-
tricts, the inhabitants still perform on a rude instrument of
bdmbu, called the dngklung^ of which a representation is
given in one of the plates. This instrument is formed of five
or more tubes of bdmbu, cut at the end after the manner of the
barrels of an organ. These, which are of graduated lengths,
from about twenty to eight inches, are placed in a frame, in
such a manner as to move to a certain extent from their posi-

528 PAINTLNG.

tion, and to vibrate on the frame being shaken. A troop of
from ten to fifty mountaineers, each with an dngklungy
and accompanied by one or two others with a small drum
played with the open hand, always perform upon this instru-
ment on occasions of festivity in the Sunda districts. The
ui)per part of the instrument, and the parties themselves, are
generally decorated with common feathers, and the performers,
in their appearance and action, are frequently as grotesque and
wild as can be imagined. There is something, however, so
extremely simple, and at the same time gay, in the sound pn)-
duced by the rattling of these hdmbu tubes, that I confess I
have never heard the dntjklitng without pleasiu'e. The Javans
say the first music of which they have an idea was produced
by the accidental admission of tlie air into a bdmbu tube,
which was left hanging on a tree, and that the dngklung was
the first improvement upon this ^Eolian music. With regard
to the music of the gdmelan^ " that," they say, " was pro-
" cured from heaven, and we have a long story about it**

A wind instrument, of the nature of a flute, but in length
some feet, with a proportionate diameter, is sometimes intro-
duceil in the gdmelans ; but this is not usual in Java, though
in I^dfi it is general.

The trawdngsa is a stringed instrument, not very unlike a
guitar*, which is occasionally foimd in the Sunda districts : it
is by no means general. I recollect to have once beard an
old blind bard at Chidnjur play upon this instrument, reciting
at the same time traditions respecting PnjajdraHy and the
ancient history of the countr}', which had probably never
been committed to writing.

'i'he Javans have made no progress in dra\^'ing or painting;
nor are there any traces to be found of their having, at any
foriiKT i)eri()d of their history, attained any proficiency in this
art. They are not, however, ignorant of proportions or per-
sj>eetive, nor are they insensible to the beauty and effect of the
productions of other nations f. Their eye is correct and their

*■ See Plate.

t We can hardly suppose them to have been as ignorant of the art of
(lesi«^n as their neigh])oiirs on Borneo, at the period of their being first
vi'^iled ]))• Euroj)eans. The following story is translated from a note in
«loa() de Barros, 4 Oecade, Book I. (*hap. 17- ** VascoLorenco-DrejoCam

and Gonzala Veltoza, were sent to the King of Borneo on a treaty of

ARITHMETIC— SCULPTURE AND ARCHITECTURE. 529

lad steady, and if required to sketch any particular object,
ley produce a very fair resemblance of the original. They
re imitative, and though genius in this art may not have yet
ppeared among them, there is reason to believe that, with
lie encouragement, they would not be found less ingenious
lan other nations in a similar stage of civilization. They
ave a tradition, tliat the art of painting was once successfully
cdtivated among them, and a period is even assigned to the
iss of it; but the tradition does not seem entitled to much
redit

The Javans do not appear to possess any peculiar method
r system in their arithmetical calculations. They generally
Dmpute without putting down the figures in writing. In
lis process they are slow, but generally correct The com-
lon people, fix)m an entire ignorance of arithmetic, or to
Bsist their memory, sometimes use grains of p&H or smaU
tones on these occasions.

The many vast and magnificent remains of edifices found at
lis day in different parts of Java, bear witness to the high
egree of perfection in which architecture and sculpture were
t one period practised in that island. But whether the
atives themselves designed these edifices and their onia-
lents, or only worked imder the direction of ingenious artists
x)m other countries, is a question connected with their his-
3ry, which we shall at present forbear to inquire into.

The art of sculpture is entirely lost to the natives. The
nly modem buildings they possess, of any architectural im-
ortance, are the kratons^ or palaces of the chiefr, which have
Iready been described.
The Javans of the present day have no pretensions to astro-
commerce. Among their presents was a piece of tapestry, representiiig
the marriage of Henry VIII. of England and Catharine, Princess of
Arragon. The king received them well, but on delivering the presents,
the piece of tapestry was displayed, with the figures as large as life.
This to the king was matter of alarm and suspicion, for he imagined
that the figures must be enchanted, and that the Portuguese wished to
introduce them under his roof to deprive him of his kingdom and his
life. He ordered the tapestry to be immediately removed, and that the
Portuguese should immediately depart, as he did not chuse to have any
more kings beside himself in the country ; and all attempts to pacify
him were fruitless." — ^Vol. IV. Part I. p. 107.
VOL. I. Mm.

A9T1K»«OMY--IHVt9ION CT* TIM*' ^

^^Hny OH a science. The reasons are (letcnatnv>d by
to a system do longer perfectly understood, either in
ciple or application ; but from llie Hindu Ivrms still
for the days of tlie week, &c. and from Llie dmilarity uf nuuii
of tlieir superstitions to those of continental India, it Rwmi
probable that if they ever possessed an astronomica] sjitti-m, ii
was derived &om that quarter. Thus when an eclip»c uka
place, the people shout and malic all the noise ihcy cut, M
prevent the sun or moon from being devoured by the gretl
ndfftt, or dragon, which they suppose to be invading iL Sonw
of the better informed have derived a few notions of astroDomT
from the Arabs ; but their knowledge, in this respect, is it
best extremely imperfect, and it is rather to the traces irhicii
are to be found in the ancient manuscripts, and to the lauiDt
of what they knew in former days, that it is intereslbs ti
refer.

The Javan^, in common with other Mahomedans, havfi, ftr
upn ards of two centuries, if not for a longer {leriod, adDptal
the hmar year of tlic Arabs; but they still retain their on
era, and seldom adopt that of llie Hejini. The Jaran eni*
called that of Aji Saka, on whose arrival in Java it is ap-
posed to have commenced; but as «ait<'i is a Sanscrit ten,
variously apphed, as connected nith the establishment tdm
era, it was probably adopted by tlie Javans at the perioil cf
the introduction of the era itself*, which corresponds alnoil
exactly with the Hindu era of SalavaAama, being scvcotj*
four years short of the Christian era. Tlie present is accord*
ingly the year 1744 of the Ja^'an era, or era of Aji Saia. Ob
Bali, where the same era is Ukeivisc adopted, there is &£(
ference of about seven years, the Bali year being 1737. Tliii
difference is supposed to have arisen from the peojtlo ofB^h
who arc still unconverted to the Maliomedan fulh, continuinf
to use the solar year.

The Javans usually divide the day and niglit each into txt
portions, as follow :

DicifiH of Ike Day.
The period from six o'clock in the uomiogt t^i
*iii ojght is callod - I '

ASTRONOMY. 531

That from eight to noon teng'angi;

That from noon till one o'clock bedug;

That from one till three lingsir kulan;

That from three till six dsar;

Division of the Night,

The period from six o'clock in the evening'^ . ^

till eight is called.. )

That from eight till eleven o'clock sirapwong;

That from midnight till one o'clock teng^awengH;

That from one o'clock till three : lingsir -wengH ;

That from three o'clock till day-light bdng^un.

The twenty-four hours of the day and night are also occa-
sionally divided into what is called the lima waktu^ or five
periods of time, namely: from sun-set until eight o'clock in
the morning; from that hour till twelve; from twelve tiU
three ; from three till four ; from foiu- till sun-set.

Each of these divisions is considered sacred to one of the
five deities, Sriy Kola, TVisnu, Maheswdray and Britma, sup-
posed to preside over these divisions of the day and night in
rotation, the order being changed every day, until at the
commencement of every fifth day and night it returns to the
same again. The division which thus becomes sacred to Sri
is considered fortimate ; that to Kcda unfortunate ; that to
Wisnu neither good nor bad ; that to Maheswdra as still more
Fortimate than tJiat to Sri; that to Brdma as peculiarly un-
fortunate.

The terms pdhingj poriy wdgiy kaliwotty and manis or legi^
ire applied to the days of the panchawaray or week of five
lays, which is common throughout the coimtry, and by which
he markets are imiversally regulated *.

♦ ** Each Mexican month of twenty dajrs was subdivided into four small
' periods of five days. At the beginning of these periods every commime

* kept its fair, tianquiztli." — Humboldt's Researches, Translation, vol. i.
tSLge 283.

** In respect to civil government, they divided the month into four pe-

* riods of five days, and on a certain fixed day of each period their fair,
' or great market day, was held." — Clavigero, Translation, vol. i. page
93.

M m 2

532 ASTRONOMY.

Besides this week of five days, which seems to be by fa
the most ancient as well as the most generally adopted amon
them, the Javans have a week of seven days as follows.

Dltij Smiday, which corresponds with the Hindu Rowi,

Soma. Mondav Soma.

Ang\jdra^ Tuesday Mangaia.

Budhcij Wednesday Budha,

Easpdti, Tliursday Vrihaspati.

Sifkra, Fridav Sukra,

Sanischdra or Tumpah^ Saturday Sani.

The Arabic terms are usually employed to express the
months.

The weeks of seven days, considered with reference to the
seasons, are termed wuku. Thirty of these are said to have
been established in commemoration of the victory obtained
over Wdtu Gunnng*, These tliirty have again six principal
divisions, each consisting of thirty-five days, and commencing
on the day when dUl and pdhing fall together.

Each nuku is dedicated to its particular deity, and has its^
appropriate emblems in the Javan system of judicial astrology^
The names of the wuku and of the deities to which each ii^
considered sacred are as follow :

wiJKu djSwa or deity.

1. Shiia Batara Ydma.

2. Lduddp Suria.

3. JVifkir Mahestrdra.

4. Kurdiilil Puru Senkdra,

5. Tdlu Bdyu,

(). Gihnhrcg Sdkra.

7. Warhja Asmara.

8. M'arigdjan Panchdren,

J). Juhoig JVdtt(/i Sambo,

10. Sifffg Sfi/fg Gdna Kumdra.

11. Calthujan Kamajdya.

1*2. Kft/ihfg\ifi Indra,

" Sec l^itcraturc, ciccoiint of the Kanda,

ASTRONOMY. 588

18. Ldngkir Kola.

14. Manddsia Brdma.

15. Julunff'pHjud Pdncha Rdsmi.

16. Pahdng Tdntra.

17. Kuru Welat Wimu.

18. Marake Gdna.

19. Tdmbir Sewa.

20. Mdnda kung'an Basiki.

21. Maktal Chandrdsa.

22. Waye KawSra.

23. Mandhil Chitra Gdta.

24. Pranff'bdkat Bisma.

25. Bdla Dirga.

26. WUku Lddra.

27. Wdyang Sri.

28. Kuldwu Sewanddna.

29. Dukud Kaneka.

30. Wdtu gunung Giru.

The twelve seasons, Mdngsa^ of which an account has been
Ci^en, when treating of the agricultore of the Jayans, are said
lo be determined by reference to the sun's coarse at the com-
mencement of each of these divisions.

When a want of rain is experienced, it is a custom fixr the
people of the village or town to assemble, and for a wdfong to
be performed upon the story of JVdiu G4nung and Diwi
Sinta. On these occasions two sticks of the dark coloured
sugar-cane, two young and two old cocoa-nuts, two bundles
of different coloured pdrij two bundles of the jBowers of the
areca-nut, a piece of white cloth, sweet scented oils, two fowls
and two ducks, are placed by the side of the ddlang during
the performance, and are afterwards considered his property.

The term unndu is used to express a revolution or cycle of
years. The Javans refer to windu of eight years, a uAndu of
twelve years, a windu of twenty years, and a u4ndu of thir^-
two years. The windu of eight years, now in use, seems to
have been borrowed from the Arabs ; but this is more fre-
quently considered of seven years, each year taking its name
from one of the following animals, according to the day of the
week on which it begins.

534 ASTRONOMY.

Mangkdray Prawn, if on a Friday,

Menday Goat, Saturday,

Kldhongy Centiped, Sunday,

Wichitra, Worm, Monday,

Mintunay A species of fish, Tuesday,

WaSy Scorpion, Wednesday. —

Malsdhay Buffalo, Thursday.

The names given to the year comprised in the windu of^
twelve years appear to be tlie same with the signs of the zodiac, ^
wliich, according to the manuscript discovered at Ch^ribon, ^
are as follow :

1. Mesa or Mesdrisy the Ram, corresponding with the^

Hindu Meshaf

2. M'risa or MWesdbay the Bull, VrUha,

3. MWltdna or APrikaga..,. the Butterfly, Mitkuna{(li^m

pair),

4. Kalakdta or Kkala kadiy the Crab, KarkatOy

5. Sutglia or Grigresotiy .... the Lion, Sinha^

6. Kanya or KangerdsUy .... the Virgin, Kunya,

7. Tuld or Tulardsiy the Balance, Tula^

8. Mri'CkikaovPriwitardsiyiJie Scorpion, Vriskchicay

9. Ddnu or Wdnoky the Bow, DanuSy

10. Makdray the Crawfish, Makara (se-^

monster),

11. Kubuy tlie Water-jug,.... Kumbhoy

12. Menay the Fish, Alina*.

The Javans, though they occasionally apply the signs of
zodiac to the twelve years of tlie cycle, have at present i^o
knowledge of these signs as connected with the sun^s coun=-^.
in the Cheribon manuscript, wliich contains an explanation?
of each sign, they seem to have been considered only as giv-
ing names to particular years. Tims in the explanations of
tlie first sign it is stated :

♦ Each of the years represented in the Ch^bon manuscript, and dii-
tinjTuished by the sij^s of the Zodiac, is considered sacred to one of the
followinjz deities : J\'{snu, Sdmboy Jndra, Suria, Mhtri, Banbm, Sms
Mistri, Wandra Kurisia, Purusiah^ Tabada, Aria, or Gdtia,

ASTRONOMY. 685

** This year, the year of Mesa-^irsij there is a mark in the

horn of the ram ; the deity who presides is Batdra fVisnu;

the rain is for five months ; it is profitable to plant gdgas^

but birds destroy great quantities ; this may be prevented by

a.dniinistering obat (medicine) composed of the oil of the

hdwangy with the flowers of the cotton plant and those of

tlie kasumha ; rats also do great mischief in the sdivahsy

which may be prevented by administering the bud of sirt

on a lucky day, named ang^garay and diil on the pancha-

%cdra Mdnis ; when administering it the following words

should be repeated ; * Hong ! Kiro- Wisnu-S&wa ! tung*gal

^h fling Budna ! ' * Hail Wisnu ! who art beheld clearly

to be the only one in the world ! ' "

In the same manuscript, which appears to be entirely of an

^^tjonomical or astrological nature, the year appears to be

di voided into four portions, each distinguished by the peculiar

pc>sition of a ndga^ or serpent.

The first of the three di^dsions includes JistUy Sdday Kdsar;
^t^e form and shape of the great ndga in these seasons is first
^t^tted, and represented by a drawing, the head being during
^^esc months towards the east and tail to the west. " In
tJiese months, if any one wishes to plant rice, it must be
xvhite and yellow pdri; and at this time alms must be
^ven, consisting of white rice omamenlied with the flowers
flailed wdriy and in the name of or in honour ofDewa Ydma^
snd on the seventh day. It will not be profitable to go to
war in these months.

" If a child is bom in these months he will be liable to

seven sicknesses through life. Great care and caution must
be taken in these months against sickness.'*

The second is as follows :

" In the seasons of KdrUy Katigay and Kaphaty the head of
*' the ndga is to the north and tail to the west These times
*' are neither good nor bad ; it is proper to plant yellow pdri ;
*^ alms should be given of bubur dbangy red rice and water,
" &c. in honour or in the name of D^a Sarasdti. Success
*' will attend wars undertaken in these months.

" If a child is bom in the month it will be unfortunate, and
'* great care and caution must be taken regarding it ; and if

cc
<c

536 ASTRONOMY.

*' the child attains an advanced age, unhappiness will beCd
the parent.

" In the third ndguy which includes the fifths sixth, and
seventh seasons, the head of the ndga^'* it says, ** is to the
west, his tail to the east, his belly to the north. The offer-
ing then to be made is yellow rice, and a small ivorj-
handled knife ornamented with gold. Tlie deity of these
" months is Batdra SarastatL In going to war in these
" seasons, be careful not to face the head of the ndga *."

* See an account of this manuscript under the head Antiquities.

u
u
u
u

END OF VOL. I.

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