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V
/
I;
A DESCRIPTIVE
DICTIONARY
OF THE
INDIAN ISLANDS & ADJACENT COUNTRIES.
BY
JOHN CRAWFURD, F.R.S.
LONDON :
BRADBURY & EVANS, 11, BOUVERIE STREET.
1856.
[2^ Author retervM to hxnuelf the right o/trtuulation.']
(oOl
.089
% •
LONDON i
DaA.DDORY AND KVA.K^ PRIKTBRfl^ Wmri£rRIA.B3.
PREFACE.
It was my first intention to publish a second edition of a work
which I gave to the public six-and-thirtj years ago, but, on mature
consideration, I haye come to the conclusion that a subject so multifEirious
as a general description of the Indian and Philippine Archipelagos
would be most conveniently and compendiously treated by an alphabetic
arrangement. The result is the present work ; the fruit of seven years*
^ additional local experience of Indi% and of a study of the subject con-
' tinned with little interruption from the publication of the History of the
!^ Indian Archipelago, in 1820. Some of the articles are meagre from want
^ of materials, and others, without doubt, imperfect and unsatis&ctory
,^ from defective knowledge or skill in the writer ; but, upon the whole, the
t) book will probably be found the most comprehensive and* accessible which
has yet been published on the extensive r^on of which it treats, while it
will, at all events, lay the foundation for a more perfect superstructure by
those who may follow the Author in the same direction.
A DESCRIPTIVE DICTIONARY,
BTO. ETC.
ABACA ABANG-ABANa
A BACA. This is the Musa textilis of Botanists, a species of hanana, a native of
the Philippine and of some of the more northerly of the Molucca Islands. On
account of its filaments it is extensiyely cultivated in the first of these, particularly
in the provinces of Camarines, and Albay in the great island of Luzon, and in
several of the Bisaya Islands, or range lying south and east of it. The name abaca
belongs to the Togala and Bisaya tongues, but is not the generic name of the banana
in either of them. By the Spaniards of the Philippines the plant is known under the
name of arbol de ooAamo, or the hemp tree, from which, no doubt, is derived
our own commercial one for the filament " Manilla hemp.*' The abaca, like other
bananas, is propagated easily by the suckers which spring up at the roots of the
old plant when it dies. A measure of 5000 square yards of land will grow 1000
abaoKplantsi It grows to the height of 13 or 14 feet exolusive of the leaves. The
fruit is small, of a disagreeable taste, and not edibla When it is about to form, the
plant is cut down, and the stem being cut open longitudinally, is found to contain
a great quantity of filaments of various thickness, and usually a couple of yards in
length. These are extracted, hackled after the manner of flax, and then sorted.
Some of the finest are as slender as a hair of the head, and these are reserved for
the manufacture of cloth, while the coarser are appropriated for cordage, from the
smallest rope to a ship's cable. In the husbandry of the Philippines, the abaca is of
more importance than cotton. When or how its culture came to be first introduced
is not known. In his enumeration of the plants of the Philippines on their fixst
discovery in 1521, Pigafetta does not include the abaca, although he mentions cotton
and the esculent banana; but it \a possible enough that so peculiar a production may
have escaped Ids notice. Dampier, in his account of Mindano, where he resided for
six months in 1686, not only mentions the textile banana^ but gives an ample
and accurate description of the mode of extracting the thread from the trunk. " As
the fruit of this tree,** says he, " is of great use for food, so is the body no less service-
able to make clothes, but this I never knew till I came to this island. The ordinary
people of Mindano do wear no other cloth.** After this follows the account of the
process of extracting the fibres, which is well worth perusal. The Dutch have of late
years introduced the culture of the abaca into the northern or volcanic peninsula of
Celebes, where it seems to be indigenous, and with a fair prospect of success. There
is a lax^o exportation of abaca in the forms of raw hemp and cloth, but especially of
cordage, from Manilla.
ABANG. Polo-abang, the name of two islets of the vast group, of varioos sizes,
extending from the coast of the Malay peninsula to that of Sumatra at the eastern
entrance of the Straits of Malacca. They lie about 30 miles to the north of the
equator.
ABANQ-ABAKG. The name of a mountain of Sumatra towards its western side,
within the territory of Achin, and in north latitude 4" 20^, computed to be
10,200 feet high above the level of the sea. — The word abaug signifies " elder brother,"
but also from the Javanese " red."
B
ABRA 2 ACHIN
ABRA; or, at full length, Centro del Abra, one of the thirty-four provinces
into which the gOTemment of the PhUippines is divided, and one of the twenty of
these contained in the main island of Luson. The name is taken from the river
which runs through it. It extends between north latitude 16° 6' and 17° 50', and is
divided from the neighbouring provinces by high ranges of mountaios, to the north
from Iloeos-norte ; to the east from Cagayan and Nueva Yiscaya ; to the south from
Pangasinan, and to the west from Ilocos-sur. The whole province is mountainous
and rugged, a branch of the great Cordillera of Caraballos passing through the centre
of it. It has, however, a few fertile valleys. In the mountains, metallic ores, gypsum,
and coal are said to exist Deep forests of tall trees cover most of the province,
some of which yield strong and durable timber. Game abounds, the most remark-
able of which are the buffido, the hog, deer, and the common fowl. In 1849, the
total population subject to the Spanish rule was 28,971, of which 42 only vrere
Spanish, and 122 mestizo Chinese. Of these no more than 8763 were assessed to the
poll-tax, which yielded only 87,683 reals of plate. The mountains of Abra are
inhabited by the following wild and generally unconverted and unsubdued tribes —
the Ibalaos, the Quimanes, the Busaos, the Igorrotes, and the Tinguianes. These are
all distinct from each other in language and manners, and are supposed by some
Spanish writers, although doubtless erroneously, to be various crosses of the brown
and negro races.
The first Catholic mission was established in Abra in 1698, twenty-eight years
after the arrival of the Spaniards in Luzon, but it was not until 1720, or a century
and a half after that event, that the conversion and subjugation of the inhabitants
began in earnest ; and, as elsewhere in the Philippines, the merit of both works
belongs chiefly to the priesthood. It was only in 1846 that Abra was erected into
a distinct and independent province, previous to which it had formed a part of
Ilocoe-sur.
ABRA. The riyer which gives name to the proyinoe just described. It has its
source in the highest part of the western branch of the Cordillera of Caraballos,
which terminates on the west coast in the promontory of Namagpaoan. After passing
through the province of Abra, it enters that of Ilocos-sur, receiving in its passage
through both, several affluents. In the last-named province it divides into three
bran(£e8, and thus disembogues on the western coast. In its course it irrigates
much land, and is navigable for the light boats of the natives up to the
elevated tracts.
ACHIN. The name of an independent state, occupying a small part of the north-
western end of Sumatra, being the nearest portion of the Ai'chipelago to continental
India and Western Asia. The native name is correctly Acheh, but this word, whicEi
means " a wood-leech," does not, although naturalised, belong to any of the Bfalayan
languages, but to the Telinga or Telugu of the Coromandel coast The Portuguese, to
whom the country was first known, corrupted the native term into Achem, and
hence the Dutch Atsjin, and our own Achen, Acheen, and Achin, Europeans in-
variably laying the accent on the last instead of the first syllable. The town of Achin,
which, with the valley in which it is situated, is the chief seat of the Achinese
population, lies in north latitude 5^ 56', and east longitude 95*^ 26'. The
boundaries of the state have oscillated with its power, but its nominal ones are
Barus on the western coast, and Batubara on the eastern. Its real dominion is at
present confined to the narrow valley just mentioned. When the most extensive,
indeed, it never comprised more than a small portion of the great island in which it
is situated. The valley of Achin is bounded by mountainous land ; and one mountain,
called by Europeans "Gk>lden Mount," but by the natives Ya Murah (the generous or
bountiful), rises to the height of 5000 feet, being visible at sea in clear weather at
the distance of 92 miles. It bounds the valley to the north-east, its base reaching to
within five or six miles of the town. The valley itself is narrow, and so low as to be
partially inundated in the season of the rains. A small river runs through it, which
fidls into the sea by several mouths. The mountains are as usual in these latitudes
covered with foreists of tall trees, in which are found the usual wild animsJs of
Sumatra.
The roadstead of Achin, formed by the main land and several islands, is safe for
shipping at all seasons, by changing their berths according to the winds. The town,
now a poor place, is situated on both banks of the river, about two miles from the
sea, and is acoesaible by the main branch for small native vesseb. The Achinese are
distinguished frY>m the other Sumatrans by their taller persona and darker com-
ACHIN 3 ACHIN
plexioDB, ascribed to a large intermiztare with the natiyee of continental India.
Although generally speaking the Malay language, their own ia a peculiar tongue.
The animals domesticated by them are the eiepbant, the bufialo, the oz» and goat,
with a few sheep brought from India, as their Sanscrit name, " biri," implies. Their
poultry are oontined to the common fowl and duck. All the fruits common to the
western Malayan countries are cultivated in abundance.
That the soil, howeyer, is not fertile, in so fur as concerns the most important part
of human food— com — ^is sufficiently testified by the fact that it has at all times been
an article of importation. The celebrated Dampier, who visited Achin in 1688, and
whose account of it continues even now to be the most full and accurate we possess,
observes that the Achinese had of late, encouraged by the example of the Indians,
who in consequence of a great famine on the Coromandel coast had been lax^ely
imported as slaves, conmienced the cultivation of rice, but that the consumption was
chiefly furnished by importation. He quotes the prices of this grain as fluctuating
between 12«. and 70«. a quarter, a range of prices affording sure evidence of a sterile
Boil and a rude agriculture and commerce.
The population of Achin, confining this to the proper Achinese race, can only bo
guessed at. Mr. Logan, in his excellent account of Sumatra, makes the rate of popu-
lation to the square n^e no more than twenty, and estimating the area of the
territory at 2260 miles, the whole population in round numbers not more than 45,200,
which is probably its utmost amount.
Achin being the nearest part of the Malayan Islands to the continent of Western
India, the distance from shore to shore at the narrowest point not exceeding
750 miles, and possessing a safe harbour, the probability is that it formed for many
ages one of the chief marts at which the maritime nations of Hindustan obtained
pepper, fine spices, gold, tin, and other commodities, in exchange for their cotton
fabrics and salt Such a commerce existed on the first appearance of the Portuguese
in the waters of the Archipelago, and still exists, although in greatly diminished
amount. In their own annals the Achinese are stated to have been converted to the
Mahommedan religion in the year of the Hegira 601, correepondiiig to the year 1204
of our time, and this seems to have been the earliest conversion of any of the
Malayan nations. There can be little doubt but that the Arabs and Persians with
the Mahommedans of EUndustan who had been settled in that country for two
centuries before this event, must have traded with the Achinese and other people of
the Archipelago much earlier. On the arrival of the Portuguese, Achin was tributary
to the conterminous Malay state of Pedir, and De Barros (decade 8, bk. v. c 1),
enumerates it only as one of the twenty-nine little kingdoms of the coast of Sumatra,
exclusive of those of the interior of the island. Its rise to commercial importance is
curious, and worth describing as an illustration of the mauners and state of civilisa-
tion of the Malayan race. The King of Pedir had appointed a favourite slave to the
government of Achin, and in succession to him his son. The last was a man of
talent and ambition, and the founder of the state as it existed in the 16th and
17th centuries. The slave's son assumed the title of Saleh Udin, the same which
is familiar to ns as Saladin in the history of the Crusades. His reign began in 1521,
ten years subsequent to the conquest of Malacca by the Portuguese, and in the course
of eighteen years he conquered Pedir and all the neighbouring states, and mado
Achin the chief emporium of the commerce of the western portion of the Archipelago,
the country speedily attaining an amount of prosperity and power remarkable for so
small a country and so rude a people. This seems to have lasted for at least a
century and a half, but to have attained its greatest height in the reign of a prince
who took the name of Sekander muda, a title half- Arabic and half-Malay, which may
be translated " Alexander the Younger." This person ascended the throne in 1606,
and after a reign of thirtv-five years died in 1641, having in that year assisted the
Dutch in the conquest of Malacca, against which he himself and his predecessors
had fitted out many costly but fruitless expeditions. One of these, as described by
Faria-y-Souza, may be quoted as an example of the resources of the state of Achin
at the time. The fleet consisted of five hundred sail, a hundred of which were of
greater siee than any then constructed in Europe, and the warriors or mariners which
it bore amounted to 60,000, commanded in person by the king. This great expe-
dition, destined for the conquest of Malacca, was encountered and defeated by a
Portuguese squadron, losing 60 vessels and 20,000 men in a combat which
lasted from morning to midnight. But the Portuguese themselves were greatly
disabled in this action with a native armament which a single stout steam sloop-of-
war would, in our times, have more effectually defeated.
B 2
ACHIN 4 ACHIN
The Achinese prinoa in qaestion was the oorrespondent of our King James the
First, and his letter in reply to the peace-loving monarch's epistle is to be found in
Purchas. Here is a sample: "This great king sendeth this letter of salutation to
JameSy King of Qreat Britain, viz. England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, to signify
the great content he hath received firom his Highness^ letter, delivered by the hands
of .^ancaya puto, Thomas Best» his Majesty's embassadour, at the receipt whereof
his eyes were surprised with a celestial brightness and his spirits ravi^ed with a
divine ray, — ^the opening whereof rendered a savour more fragrant than the most
odoriferous flowers or sweetest perfumes in the world. For which cause I the grest
King of Sumatra do profess myself to be of one hearty of one mind, and of one fteeh,
with the most potent King James of England, and do earnestly desire the league beipzn
may be continued to all posterity.** The style of this letter shows that it was not Malaj,
and in faet^ it was written in Arabic, as was the letter of King James to his brother of
Achin. Gapt. Best, the ambassador of King James, was honoured by the Achinese king
with a title of nobility, viz. '* Orang-kayarputih," which means "white nobleman," and
this is the title contamed in the letter as Arancaya puto.
In one of the narratives of Best's voyage and mission, the following description is
given of the King of Achin in 1613 : " The King of Achin is a proper gallant man of
warre, of thirty-two years, of middle size, full of spirit, strong by sea and land, his
country populous ; his elephants many, whereof we saw one hundred sixty, or one hon-
dred eighty at a time. His gallies and frigates carry in them very good brasse ordnance,
demi-cannon, culverine^ sakar, minion, Slc &c. His building is stately and spaciooB,
though not strong; his court at Achen pleasant^ having a goodly branch of the main
river about and through his palace, which branch he cut and brought, six or eight
miles oS, in twenty days, while we continued at Achen. . . He (the king) desured the
general (Captain Best) to commend him to the King of England, and to entreat him
to send him two white women. For/' said he, " if I beget one of them with child,
and it prove a soone, I will make him King of Priaman, Passaman, and of the coast
from whence you fetch your pepper ; so that you shall not need to come any more to
me, but to your own English king for these commodities." The pious and mond
English monarch would hardly have approved of the project of bigamy contained in
the last sentence of this extract, and more especially when coming from a confirmed
tobacco-smoker, which the Indian prince was, even in thie early period of the Asiatic
history of the plant ; for the narrative tells us that " hee all this while " (during a
festival of six hours' continuance) ** drinkes tobacco in a silver pipe, given by his
women, which are in a dose roome behind him."
The English made their first appearance at Achin in 1602, with a squadron of four
merchant-ships, under the command of Sir James Lancaster, who was furnished with
a letter from Queen Elizabeth to the king. The reigniug monarch had been a fisher-
man, and by his talents and skill had raised himself to the command of the forces.
On the demise of his sovereign and the accession to the throne of his grandson, he
became his guardian, — ^put his ward to death, and ascended the vacant throne. The
common enmity of the Queen of England and King of Achin to the Portuguese
assured to Lancaster a most favourable reception. The Queen's letter is given, and is
highly complimentary to her royal brother, the fisherman, while it is full of excellent
sense. *' We for them " (the East India Company) " do promise, that in no time here-
after you shall have cause to repent thereof, but rather to rejoice much, for their
dealing shall be true, and their conversation sure, and we hope that they will give
such good proofs thereof that this beginning shall be a perpetual confirmation of love
betwixt our subjects on both parts, by carrying from us such things and merohandise,
as you have need of there. So that your Highness shall be very well served, and
better contented than you have heretofore been with the Portugals and Spaniards
our enemies, who only and none else of these regions have frequented those your and
the otiier kingdoms of the East; not suffering that the other nations should do it,
pretending themselves to be monarohs, and absolute lords of all those kingdoms and
provinces, as their own conquest and inheritance, as appeareth by their lofty titles in
their writings. The contra^ whereof hath very lately appeared unto us, and that
your Highness and your royal family, fathers and grandfathers, have, by the grace of
Qod and their valour, known, not only to defend your own kingdoms, but also to
give war unto the Portugals in the lands which they possess, as namely, in Malacca,
in the year of the human redemption 1576, under the conduct of your valiant captain,
Ragamacota" (lUya Makuta, two Sanscrit words, long naturalised in Malay, meaning
"prince*" and "tiara") '* with their great loss and the perpetual honour of your Highness'
crown and kingdom. And now. If your Highness shall be pleased to accept into your
ACHIN 5 ACHIN
faTour and grace, and under your royal protection and defence, those our subjects,
that they may freely do their businees now and continue yearly hereafter, this bearer
who goeth chief of the fleet of four ships, hath order, with your Highneea' license, to
leave certain factors with a settled house of factory in your kingdom, until the going
thither of another fleet which shall go thither on the return of this, — which left
fiictors shall learn the language and customs of your subjects, whereby the better and
more lovingly to converse wi£ them."
A curious scene is enacted at the ambaosador's audience of leave, which is thus
related : *' And when the general took his leave, the king saith unto him, ' Have you
the Psalms of David among youY' The general answered, 'Yea, and we sing them
daily.' * Then,' said the kii^ 'I and the rest of these nobles about me will sing a
paalm to Qod for your proeperitv,' and so they did very solemnly. And after it was
ended, the king said, ' I would have you sing another psalm, although in your owu
language.' So, there being in the company some twelve of us, we sang another psalm.
And after the psalm ended, the general took his leave of the king, the king shewing
him much kindness at his departure, desiring God to bless us in our journey, and to
guide us safely into our own country, saying, that if hereafter your ships return to
this port, you shall find as good usage as you have done.** It is to be noticed that
not only the intercourse of the English mission, but the correspondence of the two
sovereigns, was carried on in the Arabic language by means of a Jew interpreter
brought by Sir James Lancaster with him firom England.
Such was the first humble appearance of our nation in India, and such the condition
of the kingdom of Achin in the fint years of the seventeenth century. Two hundred
and fifty years have wrought a wonderful change. The successor of Queen Elizabeth
is mistress of India with its hundred and fifty millions of people, and the successors
of the merchants for whom she besought protection are her delegates in its adminis-
tration, while the reigning King of Achin is the son of a mestizo Arab, a subject of
Queen Victoria, and called to the throne on account of the wealth acquired by his
father under British protection in the small out-settlement, Penang.
The rapid rise and fidl of Achin deserve a few observations. Its territory was
small, and its soil more sterile than fertile, so that it must have owed its prosperity
almost wholly to commerce. Its published laws are liberal, but these, judging by the
results, must also have been administered in a manner to insure a tolerable amouut
of security to life and property, and it seems certain that the Achinese government
abstained from the common practice of Malayan states, that of monopolising in its
own hands all foreign trade. The probability is, that the lai^ number of Arabs and
Indians settled among the Achineee contributed in some degree to liberalise their
commercial policy. The whole foreign trade of the subdued neighbouring states
came to centre in Achin, which must also have benefited largely by the violence of
the Portuguese, which drove trade from Malacca. That the trade was large for the
timee, is at all events certain. In 1603, Sir James Lancaster informs us that he
found in the roads from sixteen to eighteen ships of divers nations, some from Gujrat,
some from Bengal, some from Calicut and other ports of Malabar, and some from
Pegu and the eastern coast of the Malay peninsula. Eighty-five years later Dampier
says, that the roads are "seldom without ten or fifteen sail of ships of several
nations,** and that from ten to twelve Chinese junks came yearly to Achin. " This
town," says he, " consists of 7000 or 8000 houses, and in it there are a great many
merchant strangers, viz., English, Dutch, Danes, Portuguese, Chinese, Gusrats, &c. &c.
The houses of this city are generally larger than those I saw at Mindano and better
funushed with household goods. The dty has no walls, nor so much as a ditch about
it. It has a great number of mosques, generally square-built and covered witii
pantile, but neither high nor large. The queen has a large palace here, built hnnd-
Bomely with stone, but 1 could not get into the inside of it" According to Danipier's
statement the town of Achin must have contained in 1688 forty-five or fifty thousand
inhabitants, a number at least equal to the whole of the present population of the
principality.
Nearly all this has disappeared. No doubt the violence and injustice of the par-
amount European governments, the Dutch and English, in their efforts to establish
their respective monopolies, contributed largely to the decay of Achip; but the main
cause has been the disorder and anarchy inherent in the government of an essentially
barbarous people, whose fits of prosperity must be always Inconstant and ephemeral.
For a century and a half, the country was exhausted by wars and expeditions wholly
disproportioned to the resources of so stpall a state. The extent of anarchy which
prevailed is shown in a few words by the short duration of the reigns of its princes.
ADANa 6 AGILA
From the year 1621 to the present time no fewer than four-and-twenty princes haTo
reigned, which gives an average duration for each reign of leas than ten years. Of
these, one half were either deposed or assassinated. Four of the Achineee sovereigiia
in succession, over a period of sixty years, were women, the puppets of an oligaixshj
of the nobles.
ADANG. A wild tribe of the island of Luzon, of the brown-oomplexioned race,
with peculiar manners and a peculiar language^ inhabiting the craggy recesses of the
Cordillera of OarabaUos, in about the latitude of 18° 80' north, and within the pro-
vince of IlocoB-norte. The tribe is also known to the Spaniards under the dilTerent
names of Adangino, Adane, Adanite, and Adangta. "The blind love of all the
Philippine iBlanders," say the authors of the Qeographical Dictionary, "for their
savage independeuoe, aided by the nature of the country in which the Adantas bold
their miserable abode, has prevented religious seal, the civiliser of the Philippines,
from reaching them, and kept them long in their stupid ignorance, and physical and
moral destitution."
ADEN ABA. The name of one of the five small islands lying between Floris and
Timur, and the nearest to the first of these. Its area is computed at 144 square
geographical miles.
A£TA, and also ITA. This is the name by which the negro race of the Philip-
pine Islands is most commonly known. They are a short, small, but well-made and
active people, with the nose a little flattened, soft frizzled hair, a complexion less
dark, and features more regular than those of the African negro. The Spanish,
expression is, "less black and less ugly." From their diminutive stature, their
average height not exceeding four feet eight inches, and resemblance to the Africausy
the Spaniards call them n^ritos, or " little negroes." The Aetas are described as
being in the rudest state of social existence ; without other covering than a strip of
bark to hide their nakedness ; and without fixed dwellings, but wandering over the
forest in quest of the wild i-oots, fruits, and game, on which they subsist. The bovr
is their only weapon, but they use it with much dexterity. With the brown-cozn-
plexioned race they live in a state of constant hostility. They are usually seen only
in the sequestered recesses of the mountains, and have been found by the Spaniards
hr less amenable to civilisation than the wildest of the brown-complexioned race.
According to the Spanish statements, the negritos are found only in the five islands
of Luzon, Negroa, Panay, Mindoro, and Mindano ; and in these, those subjected to
the Spaziish rule^ or to some extent tamed, amount, for Luzon to 8309; for
NegroB to 3475 ; and for Panay to 4903, making the total number, in the three
islands, 16,887 ; no account existing of those of Mindoro and Mindano. Throughout
the whole Philippines, the total number of the negritos has been estimated not to
exceed 25,000. No adequate specimens of the languages of the Philippine negroes
has been published, but each tribe is supposed to have its own peculiar idiom, and
all of them to be different from, although in many cases mixed with, the languages of
the brown -complexioned race.
AGAR- AGAR, The Malay name for a species of marine alga, the Faous sac-
charinus of botanists ; growing on the rocky shores of many of the Malayan islands,
and forming a considerable article of export to China by junks. It is esculent when
boiled to a jelly, and is also used by the ChineBe as a vegetable glue.
AGILA, the Eagle-wood of oommeroe. Its name in Malay and Javanese is
kalambak or kalambah, but it is also known in these languages by that of gahru,
or kayu-gahru, gahru-wood, a corruption of the Sanscrit Agharu. The perfumed
wood thus named has been immemorially used as an incense throughout all the
civilised countries of the East ; and at least from the first appearance of the Portu-
guese in India, by the nations of Europe. In 1^16, Barbosa (Ramusio, vol. L p. 317)
mentions it under the two names, of Aloe-wood and Agila ; quoting the price of the
first, which he characterises as "fine black,** at 1000 ninams the farasuola, and the
last at 800 only. There can be no doubt but that the perfumed wood is the result
of disease in the tree that yields it, produced by the thickening of its sap into a
gum or resin. In the mission to Siam and Cocbin-China in 1821 and 1822, 1 saw
myself the wood in both states as it was freshly brought from the forest, and pro-
paring for the market in the island of Kodud, on the coast of Camboja, between
the latitudes of nine and ten degrees north. The tree yielding the genuine agila
has not been ascertaiaed by botanists, but it prol)ably belongs to the natural order
of Leguminosfe, in which it has been placed by the celebrated botanist Decaudolle.
AGNO-GRANDE 7 ALAS
The poiumed wood Ib foond in greatest perfection in the mountainous country to
the east of the gulf of Siam, including Ounboja and Cochin-China, between the 8th
and 14th degrees of N. lat. It is found, however, although of inferior quality, as
far north as 8ylhet» in Bengal, and as far south as the Malay peninsula and Sumatra ;
and in all this wide extent the tree, a tall forest one, is probably either the same or of
the same natural fiunily. Castanheda mentions its existence in Campar, on the eastern
aide of Sumatra, and opposite to Malacca. " It (Campar)," says he, ** has nothing but
forests which yield aloee-wood, called in India Calambuco (kalambak). The trees
which produce it are lai^ and when they are old they are cut down and the aloes-
wood taken from them, which is the heart of the tree, and the outer part is agila.
Both these woods are of great price, but especially the Calambuco, which is rubbed
in the hands, yielding an agreeable fragrance; the agila does so when burned.''
AGNO-GRANDE, one of the largest of the rivers of the island of Lnzon. It has
its source in the province of Abra, near its confines with that of Nueva Viscaya,
and in the highest valley of the Cordillera of Caiuballos, in lat 16** 49', and long.
121** 50'. After receiving some twenty affluents, and pursuing a tortuous course
through a mountainous country, it passes through the province of Pangasinan, and
disembogues in the deep gulf of Lingayen, on the western coast. In its course the
Agno-Grande expands mto the formation of several lakes. The most remarkable
of these is that of Ladiavin, in the district of San Carlos, which aboimds in fish,
especially in that called the dalag, a large article of trade in the Philippines. During
the season of the rains, another lake of great extent is formed by the overflowing of
tho Agno-Grande at its confluence with three other streams in the low plain of
Mangabol. When the water recedes, small lagoons remain, and in these also the
fishery of the dalag is carried on ; while in other parts of the land which had been
inundated grasses spring up, on which are fed many oxen for the market of Manilla.
The banks of the i^^o-Grande abound in useful timber, bamboos, and ratans, which
are transported by it directly to the Spanish dock-yardk In the plain of Asingan
the sands of the Agno-Grande are washed for gold, an employment which affords
the natives occupation for several months of the year. The soapy juice of a tree
called the gogo is used to precipitate the gold from the earth and clay, every
hundred pounds* weight of which are said yield thirty grains weight of gold.
AGUNG (GUNUNG^ ; that is, in the Malay and Jayanese languages, <' great
or chief mountain. A mountain of the island of Bali, with an active volcano,
reckoned by the Baron Melvil de Camabee at 11,600 English feet above the level of
the sea. — ^A mountain of the country of the Sundas, in Java, bears the same name,
but seems hardly entitled to it, since it is but 7000 feet high, while some of those
in its neighbourhood rise to 8000 and 9000 feet
AG UTAYA. A small island of the Philippines, in the Sea of Mindoro, forming
one of the group called the Cuyos, which belongB to the province of Calamianes. It
lies in north latitude 11*, and east longitude 121** ; and is about 72 leagues distant
from Manilla. It is about two leagues in length by one in breadth, with a rocky smrfiice,
of which very little is fit for cultivation. In 1849, the whole population was 2011.
The inhabitants are remarkable for their industry, which chiefly consists in rearing
the coco-nut, in fishing the tripang or holothurion, called in the Philippine lan-
guages, balat^, for the Chinese market; in breeding oxen, and what is more
remarkable, considering their climate, sheep. The different objects of their industry
are exchanged by them in Manilla, and in the fertile island of Panay, for rice and
other necessaries.
ALABAT, an island lying in 7° north latitude, on the eastern coast of Luzon,
within the deep bay of Lamon, and frt>nting the isthmus which divides the main
body of that island from the peninsula of Camarines. It has an area of about eight
square leagues, but on account of the barrenness of its soil, and the dangerous navi-
gation of its coasts, it remains uninhabited. Spanish writers describe it as looking
like a bit cut out of the main island.
ALAS. Name of a yilloge on the shore of the island of Sumbawa, fronting the
island of Lomboc, and which gives name among European navigators to the Strait,
that forms the safest passage for shipping, between the Indian Ocean and China Sea
on one side, and the Pacific on the other. The name in Javanese, with the accent
on the first syllable, means " forest or wilderness," and alludes, no doubt, to tho
position of the village.
ALBAY 8 ALBAY
ALBAY, ancieotly oalled Ibalon, a provinoe of Luzon, one of the twenty into
-which it is divided, and forming the Bouth-eastem end of the island. To the south,
it is divided from the island of Samar by the Straits of San Beroadino, and to the
north by the province of Camariues Sur, the river Ugot being here the boundary.
The portion of Albay on the main land of Luson extends in its greatest leng^th 90
geographical miles from north to south, and in its greatest breadth from east to west
35 miles. Its area will be about 1265 geographical miles. But the province indudee,
besides, the considerable islands of Masbate and Ticao, with several smaller ones.
The coast of the main land is broken, irregular, and of difficult approach. It is
indented by three deep bays, those of Lsngonay and Albay on the eastern side, and
that of Sorsogon on the western. The last forms the best harbour, and is the place
where were, in former times, built and equipped the celebrated Acapuloo galleons.
Albay is generally a mountainous country, a portion of the great cordillera -which
traverses Luzon, passing through it. Two of the mountains of this chain within its
boundaries, Bulusan and Mayon or Albay, both active volcanoes, are of great eleva-
tion, especially the last, which is visible far at sea and a landmark for mariners. The
principal rivers are the Calaunan, which falls into the bay of Sorsogon ; the Lan^nay,
which falls into the bay of the same name ; and the Ugot already named.
The mountains of Albay abound in building timber and fancy woods, ebony and
sapan-wood. The most remarkable of the wild animals are the bufialo, the wild
hog, several species of deer and monkeys, with the common fowl. The mountains
are inhabited by the wild tribe called Igorrotee, a brown-complexioned people, and
by the Acta or uegritos; but the civilised inhabitants, forming the bulk of the
population, do not differ essentially from those of the rest of the island. Their
language, called the Vicol, is peculiar.
The province of Albay is eminently fertile in soil, and well watered. The inha-
bitants are peaceable and industrious, but their industry has been too often distiurbed
by destructive etuthquakes and volcanic eruptions. It produces rice, maiz, sesame,
indigo, some cacao and cojQfee, the coco-nut palm, and the palm called by the natiTea
the buii, the pith of which yields a sago, and the leaves a material for fine mats. It
pnxluceB also some cotton and the abaca-yielding banana which is an important object
of culture. The province is traversed by roads which, although hilly, are passable
for wheel-carriage.
In 1785, the total population of the province of Albay was no more than 28,i69 ;
in 1799, it had increased to 80,203; and in 1810, to 118,533. But the yolcanic
eruption of Mount Mayon, or Albay, in 1814, having destroyed four out of its five
towns, including the capital, it was found by a census taken in 1818, that the popula-
tion had decreased to 92,065. Since that year it has sustained an eztraordmary
increase, for by the enumeration of 1849 it was found to amount to 219,740. This
gr^it increase, however, seems to have been produced chiefly by an exchange of
territory with Camarines in 1846, by which it gained 41,869 inhabitants. lu 1849, the
number of -marriages was 1046; of births. 4872; and of deaths, 2121. In 1847, the
number of these, respectively, was 950, 6176, and 5621 ; the population of that year
being 225,154. In 1850, the number of persons assessed to the poll-tax was 88,896,
Mid the population being reckoned at 238,177, no fewer than one person in six was
assessed. The total amount of poll-tax (tribute) in that year was 378,969 reals of
plate, or 7958/. ; thus each contributor paid about 49 pence.
ALBAY. Name of the chief town in the last province, latitude north 13° 24',
and longitude east 124** 28^ Albay lies on the shore of the bay of the same name,
on the left bank of a river also of the same name, and at the foot of the volcanic
mountain of Mayon, and in a direction south-west of it. The old town was totally
destroyed by a violent eruption of the mountain in 1814, and the present built at a
short distance from it. Most of the houses are built of slight materials, but a few
are of stone, as the government-house, the town -ball, the office of the wine and
tobacco farms, and a church. It has a preparatory school, supported by funds
furnished by the Commune. By a recent census, the total number of houses was
found to be 3257, and the population 19,546.
ALBAY. Name of a wide bay of the province above described, on its eastern
coast In its greatest extent from north to south it is three leagues and a half in
breadth. To the north-east it is closed in by many islets, the largest of which are
Datan, Rapurapu, and Pingan. In its centre there is very deep water, and towards
the coasts rocks and shoals, but in some situations anchorage and shelter for vessels
of small burden.
ALBINO 9 ALBOaUERaUE AFFONSO
ALBINO. Persons bom without the oolouring matter of the skin, eyes, and hair,
and thuB far i]xiperfeot> are oocaaionally to be seen in every race and every nation and
tribe of the Malayan and Philippine Archipelago, ae they are of those of Europe,
Aaia, Africa, and America.
ALBOaUERaUE AFFONSO, or, as his name is more usually written, Alfonso
Albuquerque, was the second son of Qonsalvo de Alboquerque, lord of Yillaverde,
and an illegitimate descendant of the royal family of Portugal. He was bom in 1452.
In 1503, only six years after the discovery of the passage to it by the CSape, he made
his first voyage to India in the joint command of a fleet with his relative Francisco
Alboquerque. Returning home in 1503, he was appointed to the comntand of a
squadron bound for India, forming part of a fleet under the orders of Tristan da
Cunha, who proceeding himself to India left Alboquerque to carry on a desultory
and unprofitable warfiure with the little Mahommedim states on the eastern coast of
Africa Tired by this kind of predatory war, he resolved on the conquest of the
island of Ormus in the Persian Gulf, — took it, but was quickly driven out of itw In
1508, he acquired the government of India. In 1510, he attacked, and after a first
unsuccessful attempt, succeeded in capturing Qoa, which has ever since continued
the capital of the Portuguese possessions in India. In 1511, he undertook and
achieved the conquest of Malacca, the enterprise which connects his name with the
present work. Uis last achievement was the conquest of Ormus, soon after which he
fell sick, returned to IndiE^ when he found himself superseded, and died a few days
after, in the 63rd year of his age.
Alboquerque unquestionably possessed all the qualities of a great captain and
conqueror, — intrepid courage, a strong will, ambition, enterprise, and an unscru-
pulous conscience. His character seems much to have resembled that of Cortes, to
whom he was in no respect inferior. His means, indeed, were better, but the
enemy he had to deal with was far more civilised, and better armed than the
Mexicans. Malacca was said to be defended by 80,000 men, having 6 re-arms and
artillery, and the king in person led his forces. Alboquerque, at the head of his
300 Portuguese, and of 200 Indians of Malabar, armed only with swordfl and shields,
stormed it in broad day, and although baffled in the first attack, took it in a second,
after a desperate resistance. The Portuguese historians represent the capture of
Malacca as his greatest achievement. " Surely," says Castanheda, who had himself
served in India, "down to this day, since we b^an our Indian conquests, no
enterprise has been undertaken so arduous, or in which so much artillery was brought
against us."
In the civil administration of the conquest thus bravely achieved, there is little
evidence of wisdom, but much of violence, bigotry, and injustice. The only dis-
coverable exception conaistB in the coining of money. With the exception of tin
counters, for the small traffic of the market, the Malays had no coin, but, like the
Burmese at present, estimated gold and silver by weight and assay. Alboquerque
struck a gold and silver coinage, stamped with the arms of Portugal. He erected
a fortress to secure his conquest, the materials of which were supplied by rifling the
tombs of ancient kings. He built a church, which he dedicated to ** Our Lady of
Annunciation," the chapel of which he ornamented with a carved cupola, taken from
the same tombs, dragged to its new destination by the labour of elephants. There
was in Malacca a wealthy Javanese, the chief, as is expressly stated, of 10,000
settlers of his countrymen. This person had assisted Alboquerque in the conquest,
and was afterwards employed by him in civil office. Shortly before his departure
for India, the conqeror caused this man, his son, his grandson, and his son-in-law,
to be publicly executed. Their alleged crimes were peculation and extortion, but
it is admitted that the execution was a mere measure of precaution against their
wealth and influence. The wife of the chieftain offered a ransom amounting to
2800 pounds weight of gold for the life of her husband and children, engaging, at
the same time, that they and their followers shotdd quit Malacca and retire to Java.
"Alboquerque," says De Barros, "replied that he was the minister of the justice of
his king, IJon Emanuel, who was not accustomed to sell justice for money, for
justice was the most precious thing in the world ;" and the same writer adds, '* this
was the first act of justice by our laws in the city, and the execution took place on
the 27th day of December, 1511." The Mahommedan traders of Western Asia were
the chief supports of the commerce of Malacca. But under the denomination of
Moors, the Portuguese, under the auspices of Alboquerque, attacked and plundered
their shipping, massacring their crews, in the same manner as they would have done
ALF0RA8 10 ALMAHERA
(
those of the Moon of the Mediterranean. The odIj excuse for all this was the
treachery of the king of Malacca towards a Portuguese squadron that had visited
Malacca two years before his own attack.
The result of the policy thus pursued was, that the Portuguese came quickly to be
considered, as they well deserved to be, as mere corsairs, and the common enemy
of all the trading nations of Asia. Malacca was blockaded, even during the stay of
Alboquerque himself, and being a sterile territoiy, which was supplied with com ]
from Java, a frightful famine ensued, which carried off many of the garrison and I
thousands of the inhabitants. The conqueror, in short, seems to have laid the *
foundation of that policy which brought on the Portuguese the hostility of all the i
surrounding nations, — ^which led to many invasions during the 180 years of their '
rule, and finally contributed to its overthrow. It must, however, be admitted, that
the state of society and manners in Europe in the 16th century was not such as to
have admitted of any of its nations governing an Asiatic people with justice and
moderation, which may be pleaded in extenuation of the conduct of Alboquerque
and his countrymen.
ALFORAS. This word, which has been variously corrupted, Alforias, Alfores,
Alfours, Alforen, Arafuras, and Harafuras, and supposed to be the native name of a
people inhabiting the interiors of the larger islands in the Molucca Sea, is not a
native word at all, nor is it the generic name of any people whatsoever, it is a word
of the Portuguese language, apparently derived from tbe Arabic article al, and the
preposition fora, " without." The Indian Portuguese applied it to all people beyond
their own authority, or who were not subdued by them, and consequently to the wild
races of the interior. It would seem to be equivalent to the " Indies braves " of the
Spaniards, as applied to the wild and unconquered tribes of America and the Philippines.
ALLIGATOR, or CROCODILE ; in Malay buwaya, and in Javanese baya. This
I'eptile is found in all the rivers of the Malay and Philippine Archipelagos, but the
most ordinary species of it being equally of fresh and salt water, generally at
the mouths of rivers, or in the sea in their neighbourhood. The M^ays of the
peninsula reckon three species of alligator, which they distinguish as the labu or
*' gourd," the katak or '* frog," and the tambaga or " copper " alligator. The species
found in Sumatra and Java is the same, — the Crocodilus biporcatus of naturalists.
In the rivers of Borneo the same species exists, but in these there is also another,
partaking of the character of the Biporcatus and the Qavial of the Ganges, formidable
by its size and rapacity. The Crocodilus biporcatus is also found in the rivers of
Celebes, and extends even to the Moluccas. No alligator, however, has been found
in Kew Guinea, and it is certain this reptile does not exist in Australia.
AliMAHERA, or GILOLO. The word Almah^ra is said to mean, in one of the
local languages, *' mainland," referring to the great extent of the island of which it is
the name, in comparison with the islets on its coast, constituting the true Moluccas.
Gilolo, or, in the Dutch orthography, Djilolo, and correctly Jilolo, is the name of a
bay, and, according to the early Portuguese writers, of a kingdom on the western
side of the northern limb of tbe island. Almahdra has, on a small scale, the same
whimsical configuration as Celebes, consisting of four long peninsulas proceeding
from a nucleus. The two largent of these nm, one to the north, and one to the
south ; and the two smaller, one to the north-east, and the other to the south-east.
The equator passes through the island, and over its south peninsula. Its extreme
northern point is in north latitude 2° 12', and its extreme southern is 50 miles
across the equator. The area of Almah^ra has been computed at 5018 geographical
square miles, so that it is less than one-tenth the size of Celebes, about half the size
of Timor, and about equal in size to Coram. Its surface is broken and mountainous,
and several of its mountains and volcanoes often in a state of activity. The most
remarkable of them is Kanord, which rises to the height of 6500 English feet. The
mountains are as usual covered with a tall forest, in which it is singular that the
clove is not found, although a native of the small islands on its western coast, the
true Moluccas. De Barros, who published his second decade, which contains his
account of the Moluccas, 42 years after their disoovory, expressly states this fact.
Tho ascertained wild animals are h<^ and deer ; the latter so numerous that the
natives kill them for jerked beef, which is tbeir chief article of export. The native
inhabitants are of the brown-complexioned race, speaking peculiar languages ; but
the coast is occupied by Malays, the original settlers having, most probably, been
the Orang^laut, or Sea-Gipsies, whose wandciings extend, even at tho present day,
over the whole Archipelago. The aboriguies seem to be a rude but inofibnsivo people.
ALUM 11 AMPANAN
De Couto, ihe Portuguese historiao, aaya of them, thftt they were Bavages, without laws,
and without kings or to^ns, dwelling in the foresta. The low state of civilisation of
the inhabitants of Almah^ra is probably to be attributed to the want of a sufficiency
of water for perennial irrigation, and to the abnenoe of the clove, which brought
commerce and civilisation to the Molucca Islands on its coast. Through this dvili-
aation the prinoes of these mere islets have always been masters of Almah^ra, and
at present the prince of Tidor is. sovereign of the south-eastern limb, and the prince
of Temate of the rest of the island, both subject to the Dutch. Almahdra has three
great bays, formed by its peninsulas, all lying to the east, but no good harbours,
which, however, are the less necessary in seas never troubled with storms.
A^LUM (in Malay and Javanese, tawas). GBhis substance, the principal mordant
employed by the dyers of the Archipelago, is not a product of the Eastern islands,
but imported from China, and the origin of the native name, for such it seems to be,
is unknown.
AMB£RGRIS. This substanee, sappoeed to be a product of the sperm whale, was
probably not known to the inhabitaats of the Archipelago as a perfume before they
were made acquainted with it by the Arabs. This is inferred from its having no
native name, and its being known only by its Arabic ones of Sahabiri and Ambar.
It is stated to be cast up by the sea on the shores of some of the more easterly
islands of the Archipelago, the only part frequented by the sperm whale.
AMBLAU. Name of a small island in the Molaoca Sea, lying between Boeroe
and Amboyna, towards the southern coast of the former. It has an area of about 70
square geographical miles, and a population of 689 ; but its geological oonstitutiou
and productions are not stated. South latitude 3° 15', east longitude 125** 15.
AMBOYNA. This well-known island lies in the Molucca Sea, but is not one of the
five islands strictly called the Moluccas, whidi are by four degrees fiirther north. It
is the largest of a group of five islands lying off the southern coast of the large island
of Ceram, and towards its western end. Its native name is Ambun, said to be derived
from that of its chief town, the island itself being called by its inhabitants Hitoe, or
Hitu. Amboyna may be described as consisting of a main body and a narrow
peninsula running parallel with it, the isthmus which joins them not exceeding a
mile and a half in breadth. This peninsula is called Ley-timur, which is probably
from the Malay lai-timur, meaning ** eastern sheet or leaf." Between the main body
of the island and peninsula there runs a bay 14 miles in depth, divided into an outer
and inner portion, both affording good shelter for shipping ; but the last, a good
harbour, which cannot be used on account of the malaria proceeding from the
marshes which surrouud it The outer portion of the bay has such deep water as to
afford no anchoring ground, except on a narrow bank which fi*ont8 the town, which
is situated on the shore of the peninsula.
The geological formation of Amboyna is plutonic, consisting of granite and
serpentine; but there are a few calcareous hills of recent formation. The whole island
is hilly, but ncme of its mountains rise to any considerable elevation. Most of the
land is covered with forest, of which the trees differ geuerally from those of tlie
western islands of the Archipelago. The only wild animals of considerable size are tho
hog and deer, — even the tribio of monkeys being absent^ as they are in the other islands
of the Molucca Sea. The proper native inhabitants are of the brown-complexioned
race, short in stature but activ& They appear, when first visited by Europeans, to
have possessed a peculiar language, now superseded by Malay. The plants chiefly
cultivated are the clove, maiz, yams, the usual fruits, and the sago-palm, which yields
the main sustenance of the people. Kice, as an object of culture, is hardly known, and,
indeed, from the hillv nature of the land and the uncertainty of the supply of water,
the island is unsuitea to its production. The total population of Amboyna, as given
in the Dutch returns, is 29,660. Of these 18,000 are computed to be in the town, a
mixed population of strangers, while that of the country consists of the aboriginal
inhabitants. The last have been converted to Christianity, and belong to the Dutch
Lutheran church. They are regularly taught in public schools to read and write
the Malay language in Roman cliaracters, and are allowed to be the most moral, well-
conducted, imd peaceable people of the whole Archipelago.
A MP An AN. The name of a bay in the island of Lomboc, and on tho strait which
divides this island from Bali, one of the thorough&rcs between the Indian and
Pacific oceana A village of the same namo lies on the shore of this bay in south
latitude 8° 32' and east longitude 116' 9', and is the principal place of trade in the
i
AMUK 12 ANONA
island. This village is diatant from the chief town of Lomboc, called Mataram, three
miles inland, by a good road, having through out an avenue of Indian fig-trees. The
wide bay of AmpAnan is but an open roadstead, on the shore of which a heavy surge
frequently rolls, cutting off all communication with shipping. Within it, however,
aud sixteen miles distant from* the village, there is a land-locked harbour, called
Labuhan-pring (Bamboo anchorage), where shipping can take shelter, but which,
from the prevalence of malaria on its shore, arising from want of ventilation^ oaimot
be used permanently.
AMUK The muok of the writers of Q,iieen Anne's time, who introdnoed the
word into our language. In Malay it means a furious and reckless onset, whether
of many in battle, or of an individual in private. The word and the practice
are not confined to the Malays, but extend to all the people and languages of
the Archipelago that have attained a certain amount of civilisation. Running
armuck with private parties is often the result of a restless determination to exact
revenge for some injury or insult ; but it also results, not lees frequently, from a
monomania taking this particular form, and originating in disorders of the <Ugostive
organs.
AN A MB AS. The name given by European mariners to a numerous cluster of J
islands in the China Sea in about the 8° of north latitude, and 180 miles from the I
eastern entrance of the Straits of Malacca. The name, which is unknown to the
natives, may possibly be a corruption of the Malay numeral anamblaa — sixteen ; but
if this be so, the islands have not been correctly reckoned, for the natives estimate
their number at no fewer than 50. The largest of them are, J&majah, towards the
western part of the group, said to be 80 miles in circumference, having an area of 66
square geographical miles ; and Siantan, towards its north-eastern, having two good
harbours. These islands are mountainous, sterile, but covered with forest. Their own
productions, or those of the sea and rocks which surround them, are sago-palms, agar-
agar, coco-nuts, tripang, and fish, particularly the shark, which is killed for its fins, an
article of trade for the Chinese market. These productions the natives convey in
their own vessels, and dispose of in Singapore. The inhabitants are Malays of the
class called Orang-laut, or " Men of the Sea," and had at one time an evil reputation
for piracy; but since the establishment of Singapore they have become peaceful
traders and fishermen. Nominally^ at least, the Anambas islands are subject to the
kings of Jehore.
ANAI. The Malay name for the termes, or white-ant. This destructive insect
is found in every country of the Archipelago and Philippines, and being known by
the same name in all their languages, a suspicion may arise that they have been
disseminated by commerce and migration, especially when it is considerod that the
timber of ships is a favourite object of their depredation.
A NAM, See CocHiN-CHiiffA.
ANDMAN ISLANDS. These islands, situated m the midst of the Bay of Bengal,
are no part of the Malayan Archipelago, and have no kind of affinity with it, except
in being inhabited by a race of small squat negroes, bearing a likeness to those of the
Malay peninsula. Their language, however, is not known to have any connection
with that of the latter, nor does it contain a single word of Malay.
AN JIER. (Javanese, afiar, new, or, to complete the sense, Desa afiar, that is,
" new village, or town.'*) A small town, with a fortress, on the coast of Java, where
the strait which divides it from Sumatra is at the narrowest. The town is in the
coimtry of the Sundas, and in the kingdom which was once Bantam. It is highly
convenient for shipping to refresh at, from its lying on the main thoroughfare of the
Archipelago. The anchorage, however, is a mere open road, much exposed during
the westerly monsoon ; and therefore it is not a place of permanent trade, although
the town furnishes abundant refreshments with wood and water.
ANONA. This is the name applied in the Philippines to the Anona reticulata, or
Custard apple, and which the Malays have abbreviated Nona. It is a plant of tropical
America. The Auona squamosa, or sweet-sop of the West Indies, is called by the
Malays, Srikaya, from the name of a kind of custard, and is probably a native plant
Both species are easily raised, but little esteemed. In the Philippines, however,
there seems to be another species, called, in the languages of the country, Ate
represented as a fruit of excellent flavour.
AlITIMONY 13 ARCHIPELAGO
ANTIMONT. This metal, until lately unknown to the natives of the East, as it
was to Europeans until the fifteenth century, was foiuid for the first time in Borneo,
in 1823, on the north-western coast of that island. It exists in several places there,
but mines of it have been worked only in Sarawak. The ore is, as usual, a sulphuret
in a matrix of quartss, and at present furnishes the chief supply of Europe, being
exported, from the emporium of Singapore, to the yearly amount of about 1500 tons.
ANTIQUE. One of the three provinoes into which the large and fertile island of
Paoay, one of the Philippines, is divided. It occupies the western portion of the
island, and has a population of 84,570, of whom 15,343 are assessed to the poll-tax,
contributing 153,420 reals of plate.
•
ANTIQUE. Name of a town of the last-named province, and formerly its capital,
having a population of 4219. It was founded in 1581, and has a church and a public
school of primary instruction.
AOR PULO. See Awak.
APARRI. The name of a town and harbour in the island of Luzon and province
of Cagayan, situated on the left bank of the river Aparri (the Tsy'o, or Philippine
Tagua,) at its disemboguement into the sea at the northern end of the island.
Latitude north, IS** 28' 15", longitude 121'' 83^ The town contains 1910 houses,
all, with the exception of the public buildings, of frail native materials ; and the
population amoimts to 5990. The harbour is the only one at the northern end of
the island, that portion of the Philippines in which tempests and hurricanes are most
frequent.
APAYO. Name of one of the wild tribes of Luzon, of the lank-haired race,
inhabiting the mountains lying between the provinces of Cagayan and Iloeos. This
tribe has made some progress in oiviliaation, for they have permanent dwellings of
substantial houses^ and cultivate roots and nuu2. Their chief occupation seems to
be the contraband trade in tobacco.
APO. Name of a lake of great extent in the island of Mindano, the centre of
which is represented to be in latitude 7* 47' north, and longitude 128** 52^ east. It
oommonioates with the lake of Nusingan, lying south-west of it, and discharging
itself into the Lagune of Panguil, a continuation of the Bay of Iligan. These lakes
are in the territory of the Illanos, or Lanuns, and about the centre of the isthmus
which divides Mindauo into two quasi-peninsulas.
ARABIA. This country has been familiarly known to the inhabitants of the
Malayan islands for six centuries, the majority of them, embracing nearly all the
civilised nations, having, within that time, adopted its religion and laws, and engrafted
much of its language on their own.
AB.ACHIS. The Arachis hypogsa, or ground pea, is known in the Malayan coun-
tries under the several names of kachang-tanah, kachang-China, and kachang-J&pun,
meaJiing, ground^ Chinese, and Japan pulse. The two last of these names would
seem to imply, what is probable, that the plant is an exotic, and was introduced
either from China or Japan, with both of which the inhabitants of the Archipelago
had maintained a commercial intercourse before the arrival of Europeans in India.
With the exception of the coco-palm, it is, of all the oil-yielding plants, the most
extensively cultivated in the Archipelago.
ARATAT. The name of a Toloanic mountain of the provinoe of Pampanga, in
the island of Luzon, with an extinct crater, and which rises solitary from an exten-
sive plain. From its summit there issue seven different rapid torrents, one of which,
about midway down, forms a lake, from which issues a fine cascade, the waters of
which eventually fall into the "little river" of Pampanga. From the mountain
there is a fine yiew of the town and bay of Manilla.
A HAY AT. The name of a town on the southern side of the mountain just named,
containing 1100 houses and 7765 inhabitants. The "great river" of Pampanga
passes through it ; and within a quarter of an hour's walk of it is the spacious lake
of Buracan, abounding in fi;Bh. The locality is considered by the Spaniaxds as one of
the choicest of the Philippines.
AUCHIPELAGO (ASIATIC). Comprehending under this name both the Malay
and Philippine Archipelagos, the whole Archipelago extends from about the 20th
(
I
I
ARCHIPELAGO 14 ARCHIPELAGO
degi<ee of north to the 11th of south latitude, and from the 95th to the 150th of east
longitude, thuB embracing 81 degrees of latitude and 55 of longitude. Tlie lalets
to the north of Luzon are its northern, Timur its southern, Sumatra its -western,
and New Guinea its eastern limit It is bounded to the north by the China Sea, to
the east and south by the Pacific, and to the west by the Indian Ocean and Hay of
BengaL It forms by far the most extensive Archipelago in the world, for it oonuiins
throe islands of the first magnitude, Borneo, Sumatra, and New Guinea ; five if we
include a peninsula of the second, Celebes, Luson, Java, Mindano, and the Malay
Peninsula ; fourteen of the third, Banca, Sumbawa, Bouton, Floris, Timur, Oeram,
Gilolo, Panay, Mindoro, Negros, Cebu, Leyte, Samar, and Palawan ; and ten of the
fourth, Billiton, Bali, Lomboc, Sumba, Boeroe, TiQ\ur-laut» Taliabo, Bohol, and
Masbate. Without reckoning other islands and islets, which some have computed
at no fewer than six thousand, these thirty-two alone have an area of at least 700,000
square geographical miles, or above seven times the extent of Britain and Ireland I
The equator passes through nearly the centre of the Archipelago, thus leaving
half of it in the northern and half in the southern hemisphere. By far the largest
part of it lies within ten degrees of the equator, and this decides the character of
the climato. The year throughout is one warm summer, the thermometer, at the
level of the sea, varying from 80° to 90^. The only distinction of seasons is into
dry and wet, about two-thirds of the year belonging to the first and one-third to the
lost. The whole region is within the influence of the monsoons. To the north of
the equator, the wind blows half the year to the north-east, and the other half to
the south-west ; while the monsoons of the southern hemisphere are the south-etistem
and north-western. All those parts of the Archipelago which are within 10° of the
equator are free from hurricanes, and they prevail in no part of it except the
northern portion of the Philippine group. i
The geological formation of countries of such vast extent is, of course, very variocu. V
It may, however, be generally stated that a plutonic formation, consisting chiefly of i
granite, sienite, and porphyries, with a sedimentary one of sandstones and lime, |
characterise the countries north of the equator, and a volcanic, those to the south of
it. The plutonic and sedimentary formations are found in the peninsula of Malacca,
the greater part of Sumatra^ all Borneo, the greater part of Celebes, and in all the
smaller islands near them. A volcanic band, the most extensive in the world, runs
west and east from about 100° to the 130° of east longitude; and then, taking a
northerly direction, it reaches up to the 20° of north latitude. This embraces a part
of Sumatra, the whole of Java, and the chain of islands east of it, as far as the islets
lying west of Timur, — ^moat of the islands in the Molucca Sea, a small part of Celebes,
and much of the Philippines, from Mindanao to Luzon inclusive. The Archipelago may
be described as eminently a mountainous region, the highest peaks existing in the
volcanic band. In the volcanic portion of Sumatra, these rise to the height of 1 0,000
and 11,000 feet; while in the plutonic portion, they attain only from 5000 to 6000,
or, in a few instances, to between 10,000 and 11,000. In Java, they range from 8000
to 12000 feet high, and in Lomboc there is one which reaches to 12,500. The highest
mountain of the Malay peninsula reaches only to 4S20 feet; of the plutonic portion
of Celebes, to 8000, and of Timur, 6000. Borneo, alone, has one plutonic mountain
which attains the height of 11,000 feet, the rest not exceeding 6000.
The voloanos of the Archipelago, in more or less activity, exclusive of mountains
with extinct craters, are very numerous. Sumatra has five ; Java, fifteen ; Bali,
Lomboc and Sumbawa, seven ; the islands of the Molucca Sea probably not fewer
than ten ; Luzon, eight ; and Mindanao, at least two.
The useful minerals of the Archipelago, so far as they have been asoortained and
used, are gold, iron, tin, antimony, coal, solphur, and the diamond. Gold exists in
the Malay peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, Celebes, Miodano, and Luzon. Iron ore, in
sufficient abundance for nae, does not exist in any part of the volcanic baud ; but
in all the secondary formations, and, perhaps, most abundantly in Borneo. Tin is
found in the Malay peninsula and several of the adjacent islands, extending from the
13° of north to, at least, the 3° of south latitude, constituting by fikr the most extensive
known formation of this metal. Ores of antimony have been discovered on the north-
western coast of Borneo in two situations, and are worked to advantage in one. Fossil
coal has been found in many situations, as in parts of Sumatra, the ]k^ayan peninsula
and its islands, in Java, and Luzon, but» as far as known, in the greatest abundance
and of the best quality in Borneo, where fields have been found and worked on the
north and south coasts, which very probably extend across the island. Sulphur is
found about the craters of all the volcanos; but is said to be most abundant in
ARCHIPELAGO 16 ARCHIPELAGO
those of MincUuio, and Leyte in the Philippmee. The diamond appears to be
confined to the western and south-western sides of Borneo.
In fertility of soil, it should be added, that the volcanic formation hr excels the
plutonic and sedimentary formations. Within it are to be found the mt^ority of the
population, and the people most advanced in civilisation, of which the most remark-
able examples are the volcanic portion of Sumatra, Java, and the two islands
immediately to the east of the latter, with the larger islands of the Philippine group.
To elicit tlus fertility, nothing is wanting but an abundant perennial supply of water,
and it is thus furnished in the islands now quoted.
As to the vegetable kingdom, as a general rule, the land from the sea-shore to the
mountain-tops, is covered with an ever-verdant primeval forest of tall trees ; naked
rocks, brush-wood, gnsBy savannahs, and cultivated plains being, in most of the
iHlands, the exceptions. The vegetation is of great variety, varying not only with the
elevation of the land, but being often different even in islands in the same parallels.
Thus the teak tree {Tedona graruUs) is confined to some districts of Java, Sumbawa,
and Mindauo. The clove and nutmeg are confined to a few islands in the Molucca
Sea ; while the durian (Durio ^bdhinvM) and maugostin, the most prized fruits of the
western portion of the Archipelago, do not exist in the Moluccas, nor in any of the
Philippines, except Mindano, the most southerly of them.
The zoology of the Archipelago is still more restricted to localities than its botany.
The royal tiger is confined to the Malay peninsula, Sumatra, and Java. The only feline
animal of considerable size in Borneo is a small leopard {Felix mcuTOcdU). In Celebes,
there is no feline animal at all, as far aa it has been explored. In the Molucca Islands,
feline animals are equally wanting; and in the whole range of the Philippine group there
is but one carnivorous animal, the musang of the Malays, or Paradoxunu musanga of
naturalists, a laige weazd, a fact which goes far to account for the extent to which the ox,
the buffido, the horse, and goat — all imported, — have multiplied and run wild. Of the
canine family, there is but a single representative throughout the Archipelago, and it
is confined to Sumatra and Java; the hyena, the wolf, jackal, fox, and common dog,
having no existence ; the latter in the domestic state excepted. The eleplumt and
tapir are confined to Sumatra and the Malay peninsula. Elephants, indeed, are found
in a remote nook of Borneo ; but, most probably, the wild descendants of those kept
by the princes of Brunai, who are ascertained to have done so, when the island
vras first visited by Europeana The rhinoceros exists only in the Malay peninsula,
Sumatra, and Java. In Sumatra there are two species of it ; and in Java, one, which
is distinct from those of Sumatnt A wild ox (Bos wmiaieui) exists in Java, Borneo,
and the Malay peninsula ; but not in Sumatra or any other island of the Archipelago.
In the peninsula, however, there is another species, which has not yet been described.
Sumatra is the only island of the Archipelago that has an antelope (the AiUilope Sunut-
/reiuif ), or wild goat of the Malaya In Celebes, and there only, there is a quadruped par-
taking of the characters of the ox and antelope, the ArUilope diprestkomU of naturalists.
There is but one bear in the Archipelago, an animal of smidl size, Umu McUayanut,
and it is confined to the Malay peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo. The tribe of
monkeys is numerous and various in the western islands of the Archipelago ; the
species^ however, frequently differing in the different isUnds, but they are wholly
absent in the Islands of the Molucca Sea, while they appear again in the Philippines.
The wild hog alone is widely diffused throughout the Archipelago, from Sumatra to
the Philippines inclusive. But even in this case, the species will probably be found
to be different. There are two distinct species of the family in Java, one in Sumatra,
and one in Borneo; and in Celebes and some of the islands of the Molucca Sea, besides
one resembling the common hog, that singular animal the Babirusa, which in Malay
signifies literUly '* hog-deer." Marsupial quadrupeds, unknown in the western
islands of the Archipelago and in the Philippines, are first time seen in Celebes, and
from thence exist in several iaUnds as fw as New Guinea, in which there is an
opossum and a tree-kangaroo.
Birds, with the exception of those that are migratory, are nearly as limited in their
geographical distribution as quadrupeds. Thus, for example, the birds of Java and
of Sumatra, parted by a strait not exceeding fifteen miles broad, and with islands like
stepping-stones in the channel, differ with few exceptions, and even when the species
ore the same, it is found that those of Sumatra have more brilliant plumage and are
of greater size. This is the conclusion of Temminck, the greatest living ornithologist.
Peacocks are only found in the Archipelago, in the Peninstda, Sumatra, and Java ; but
in the two first, besides the one common to them with Java, which itself differs from
the Indian species domesticated in Europe, there exists a small and beautiful double-
ABCHIPELAGO 16 ABCHIPELAOO
f
I
I
sparred one. The GaUm "B&nf^aw^ the mppoaed ongiml of oar eommoii poultej,
18 alone widely diaKminaied, being fiyond in all Uie eonaiderable iwlandi^ ineladiiig
thoae of the Philippine group. Java howerer faai^ berideB thii^ a aeeond species con-
fined to itself the Gallos faraataa. The Guaowarj, the sawaii of the Mialaja, exists
only, as fiur as known, in the ishmd of Cerun, in the MoluocaSea. The birds of Celebes
differ almost wholly from those of the great islands to the west of it In Borneo first
oocor the Megapodes, or Inrds that» like reptiles^ leave their eggs to be hatched by
the heat of fermentation and the son. They occur sgain in the ICndoro, one of the
Philippines^ and in New Qninea. The funily of panrota, of a great many spedea^ are
spread orer the ndiole of the Indian islands^ firom Somatra to the PhilippineB and j
New Gninea» bat the spedes often differ even in oontignoas ialands. In thoee of ^
CelebeSi for erample^ the predominant ooloar of the parrots (in Malay, nari or loory )
is green, but in the adjacent islands of the Molucca Sea it is a biigfat red or a crimson.
The cockatoos exist only in New Guinea and the islets on its coast The birds of
paradise (manuk-dewata, birds of the gods) are confined to the same locality. Of the
fttinniaj' birds of Europe and continental India, the only one usually met with, and it
penrades the whole of the islands, is the common carrion crow. 'Hie hoaae-sparrow,
which is abundant in Slam, down to the thirtemth degree of north latitude^ is found
in the islands only in a few spots, introdaoed by Europeans. (
The seas of the Indian and Philippine islands, and their rivers and lakea, abound ^
in fish and reptiles. Among the most remarkable of theae are Beveral species of
alligator, seveial of tortoises, land and sea, including the esculent end that which yields
the tortoise-sheU; the peart and motherof-peaii oyster ; the tripang, or huloihurion, «
and several species of sharks, the fins of which are an object of trade. The ordinary I
esculent fish are numerous, the species often differing on the coasts of the diflisrent
islands. Thus of 108 species found in the Sea of Celebes and described, (probably not
more than one-eigbth of those that exist,) 64 only are foimd on the coast of Java. In
the markets of Celebes, it is said that not fewer than 300 different species are, at one
time or another, offered for sale. A few of them are of excellent quality, eqoalling,
if not surpassing, in delicacy and flavour those of the European seas. Some frequent
the rivers in the spawning season like salmon ; and other sea-fish are multiplied in
stews, a practice carried to a large extent in Java. The curing of ordinary fish and
the pickling of prawns forms a considerable business on all the coasts, and cured fish
is a considerable branch of trade between the coast and interior. The only sea
mammal known west of Celebes is the Dugong, or Lamentine of naturalists, the firet
of these names being a corruption of the Malay Duyong. The spermaceti whale
frequents only the southern portion of the Molucca Sea, where it is pursued by the
Anglo-Saxon fishermen. The inhabitants of Solor, a volcanic island east of Floris, are
the only people of the Arehipelago that fish the whale. To the Ualays and Javanese
the animal is unknown, except by its mythic name borrowed from the Sanscrit, gajali-
mina, ** the elephant fish." The phoci or seals are unknown in the Archipelago.
Two distinct races of man are the original inhabitants of the Indian islands ; a
brown-complexioned, lank-haired people, the Malayan ; and a black frizzle-haired one,
the Negro. The first of these constitutes the great bulk of the inhabitants of most
of the islands, and it is only among the nations composing it that any respectable
amount of civilisation has been attained. It constitutes the entire population of
Sumatra, Borneo, Java, and Celebes, and of several of the considerable islands of the
Philippine group. The Malayan race is of a short squat form, with high cheek-bonea,
large mouth, and flattened nose; the hair of the head long, lank, and strong, and
with very little beard. With the exception of New Guinea and some of the islands
on its coast which are wholly peopled by them, the Negro race b found only in a
few localities among the brown-complexioned. They occur first in the mountains of
the Malay peninsula, and next in the Philippine group, being here confined to the
mountains of Luzon, Panay, Negroe, Mindoro, and Mindano. Under the common
name of Negros, several different races of black men with frizzled hair seem to exist.
The negros of Uie peninsula are a small race, under five feet high, and those of the
Philippines are shorter and slenderer than the brown race of the same islands, wldle
the negroes of New Guinea are an athletic people, at least equal in stature to the
Mala^ race. AU these negros agree in having dark complexions, frizzled hair
growmg in distinct tufts, but not woollv, in flat noses and much obliquity of fascial
angle. At the same time they differ widely from the African, the Madagascar, and the
Australian negros, the hair of the head al though frizzled ^not being woolly, the skin
being less black, and the lower portion of the face leas protuberant There is, of
course^ no common native name by which all these negros are known. The Malays
ARCHIPELAGO 17 ARCHIPELAGO
call them Orang puwa-puwa, the last of these words, which EuropeanB have cor-
rupted into Papua, being an adjective meaning '' frizzled," and the first " man." The
brown-complezioned people of the Philippines call them Acta, or Ita, a term the
origin of which is unknown. The Spaniards call those of the Philippines negritos,
or little uegros, from their diminutive size in comparison with the negros of Africa.
This, however, could not be applied to the whole race, for it would exclude the most
numerous section, the negros of New Guinea. Sometimes they have been called
Austral negros, but neither will this designation answer, since they equally exist in
the northern as the southern hemisphere. Papua negros would probably be the
best designation, since it would include both themselves and the negros of the
Pacific Islands, without including Africans or Australians.
The two broad distinctions of the man of the Asiatic islands, is into a brown race
with lank, and a black one with frizzled, hair; but in reality it will probably be found
that there are five distinct races, — ^the Malay, the Negro-Halay, the Papuan or New
Guinea Negro, the Negrito or Little Negro of the Malay Peninsula, and the Negrito
of the Philippines ; for there is really nothing to show that these different negros
belong to one and the same family of man.
Among the tribes of the Archipelago, some have attained a considerable amount of
civilisation, one far more advanced than that of any nation of America on its dis-
covery ; others remain still in a savage condition. The civilisation of the more
advanced nations is shown by the domestication of animals applicable for labour and
food ; by a knowledge of the precious and useful metals, and especially of malleable
iron ; by the culture of corns, pulses, and palms ; by the growth of textile materials,
with the arts of spinning, weaving, and colouring fabrics made from them; by the
invention of letters, and by the possession of forms of polity calculated to afford a
certain degree of security to life and property. The nations who have made this
advancement^ although in a very unequal degree, are five of Simiatra, two of Java,
two of Celebes, and ten of the Philippines. Of these, by fiu* the most distinguished,
and those who have exercised the greatest influence on the rest, are the Malay and
Javanese. The condition of the less advanced tribes is very various. Some wander
in the forests in quest of a precarious subsistenoe, without fixed habitations, as some
of those of Borneo, Sumatra, Luzon, and Mindano; others, as some of the tribes of
the same islands, and the negros of New Guinea, have fixed habitations, have
domesticated hogs and poultry for food, but no animals for labour, and grow roots
and com: others again have, by the assistance of trade, although possessing no
domestic animals for labour, and no knowledge of the art of making malleable iron,
or having invented letters, attained a higher degree of civilisation than the last. The
condition of several of the inhabitants of the islands of the Molucca Sea, on their
discovery bv Europeans, is an example of this last state.
The total population of the Malay and Philippine Islands may be reckoned at
twenty millions, of which seventeen are in the iBlands within the volcanic band ;
namely, in Sumatra, which may have 2,000,000 ; in Java, which has about 10,000,000;
in the Philippines, which have 4,000,000 ; and in Bali and Lomboc, which may have
between them about 1,000,000. TLis, of course, is but a rough estimate, for, with the
exception of the European possessions, no census has ever been attempted.
The story of a people who have no history, and who indeed, are incapable of writing
history, can only be gleaned from the records of the strangers who have settled
among them, or by an examination of their own languages. The strangers who have
from time to time settled in the Indian islands, or held intercourse with them for
trade, have consisted of Hindus, Arabians, Persians, Chinese, and Europeans, chiefly
Portuguese, Spaniards, Dutch, and English. Of these, the largest influence on the
manners of the native inhabitants was unquestionably exercised by the Hindus.
Their interoourse in a direct form was probably confined to the two islands of
Sumatra and Java, but chiefly to the last of these, where they built splendid temples,
the rains of which remain, — where they introduced their calendar, and one of their
epochs, and into the langpiage of which they infused a considerable amoimt of their
sacred tongue, the Sanscrit, with some portion of their literature and legends,
a small admixture of the Telugu, a living vernacular language of Southern India.
When or how the first intercourse of the Hindus with the Malayan coimtries com-
menced, is unknown ; for of historical records the Hindus are nearly as destitute
as the Malayan nations themselves. The Hindu records of Java will not, with
any certainty, carry us back further than the year 1117 of the era of Salivaoa,
corresponding with the year of Christ 1195, not quite a century before the celebrated
Venetian traveller, Marco Polo, was parsing through the Archipelago in a fleet of
c
ARCHIPELAGO 18 ARCHIPELAGO
ChioeM jtiiiki^ under the aospieeB of a gnndaan of Jengix Khan. The Sanscrit
Dam«!S of nuuij places in tiie Archipelago attest the inflaenee and power of the
Hmdoa, althoagh it is pn>bsble that some of these were bestowed, not directly bj
themieWes, bat bj those they ooBTerted — the Ifalaja and JsTsnese. Such names
are by &r the most frequent in JsTa, where they are often b o rr o wed from tiie Hinda
legends. Here we find such names as Madura^ the Madnrs or Malhura of India ;
Ayagya, its Ayodya or Ande; Indrakila, bolt of Indra; Indramaya, iUnsion of
India ; Talaga, the name of a place, a cormption of Taniga, a reserroir ; Janggala,
the thicket^ Uxe name of an ancient kingdom ; Pranaraga, tibe desire of life, the name
of a province ; Jayanga^ desire of victory ; Wirasaba, hall of heroes, also names of
provinces ; and Sumeru, Aijnna, and Brama, the names of momitains. In Sumatra,
we have Indrapura, the city of Indra; and Indragiri, ike monnt of Ihdra; in Bali
Swetyanagara, the dtj of well-being ; and Sokawati, city abounding in pleasure :
and m Borneo, SukaJaaa, parrofs gift ; Rati (Coti), Httle fortresB ; and Damu^ati,
kincfs bounUr* Even as far as Celebes, we have an example in Andagili, which is
evidently, although much mutilated through the imperfect pro nu nciation of the
inhabitants of that island^ Indragiri, or the mountain of Indn. See Hnmxr and
HiVDUSTAH.
On the arrival of Europeans in the Archipelago in the first yean of the
sixteenth century, they found the Malays and Javanese along with Anhs and other
Asiatic nations, with their descendants who used the Malay language, conducting the
whole of its internal commerce, and they seem to hare been so engaged for age&
The extent of their trade and navigation is indicated by the names which l£ey
bestowed on the places they visited, eyen up to New Guinea and the Philippines,
in which last Malay was spoken as the medium of communication with all strangers.
The Malay words Tanjung, promontory, Ujung, point, Pulo, island, Snngai and Ayar,
river, Batu, rock, Lant^ sea, and Tanah, land, with the Javanese words Nusa, island,
Sela, rock, and Kali, river, are of frequent occurrence throughout the Arcldpelago,
usually prefixed to the names of places. These terms are found in parts of the
Archipelago where Malay and Javanese are not Temacular, conjoined with other
words of these languages, or with Sanscrit or local ones. Thus we have in the
islands east of Java, and extending to New €kdnea, such names of places as the
following — Pulo-buru (Boeroe), hunting island ; Pulo-wayang, shadow island ; Pulo
Timur (Timor), castor island ; Nusa-lant, sea island ; Nusa-kumba, elephant's trunk
island ; Nusa-ringgit, puppet island ; Pulo arau (Aroes), cassuarina islands ; Pulo-
ubi (Pulo obi), yam island ; Pulo-lata, creeping island ; Pulo-gaja, elephant island ;
Pulo-putar, turning island ; Nusa-manuk, bird island; Batu-china (a name of Gilolo),
mark or signal rock ; Ayar-aji, king's creek ; Tanah-bugis, land of the Bugis, Celebes ;
Tanah-keke, land of sorcerers, name of a small island off the south-western peninsula
of Celebes; Tanah -puwa-puwa, land of frizzle-haired people, New Guinea; Pulo
pandan, Pandanus islets in the Philippine group ; Pangasinan, salt or saline plain,
a province of Luzon ; Pulo-nila, indigo or blue islanc^ in the Molucca Sea ; Kuta-
waringin, in Borneo, fortress of the Indian fig tree ; Mas-sela, golden rock, in Sumatra ;
and the name of the island of Solor, lying immediately east ;of Floris, from the
Javanese sulur, the sucker as of a fig-tree, which spontaneously strikes root, and
figuratively a proxy or representative.
The ancients, it may bo safely averred, were nearly as ignorant of the existence of
the Indian Islands as they were of the islands and continent of America, and the
European nations of the middle ages knew almost as little of them. The extent of
the knowledge of the latter may be judged from the fact that it was a moot question
with them whether Sumatra or Ceylon was the Taprobane of the ancients, although
the one was distant from the other by a navigation of 1000 miles. Even the names
of the principal islands had never reached them down to the moment of actual dis-
covery. They had a vague notion that there existed some far countries beyond
India that produced spices, gold, and tin, but this was in reality the extent of their
knowledge of the Archipelago. The Arabians of the middle ages had a far earlier
and better acquaintance with it, although the written records be very imperfect.
They had navigated its seas, traded with it, and settled on it many centuries before
the arrival of Europeans. The earliest account we possess of their intercourse is
contained in the travels of the two Arabian merchants of the ninth oentuiy.
The manuscript of the earliest of these is dated in the year 851, and of the
latest in 903. The first of these dates carries us back 440 years before the visit to
the Archipelago of Marco Polo, and 768 years before the actual discovery by the
Portuguese. The two Arabian travellers make no mention of any trade witii the
ARCHIPELAGO 19 ARCHIPELAGO
Indum islands conducted by their countrymen; but aa they give very authentic
accounts of the Arabian trade with China, they must, of necessity, have parsed
through them, and at least touched at them for wood and water. The earliest of the
two travellers indeed indicates, although very obscurely, that the usual route was
through the Btraits of Malacca, the countries on each side of which were, probably,
at the time in a barbarous state, for the ancient Singapore and Malacca had not yet
been founded. The Arabian commerce with China, at the time, was conducted with
the Persian Qul^ the trades of Bagdad, Basra, and Oman centering at the island of
Kis, and afterwards at Ormus on the Persian aide, towards the entrance of the
Gult owing to the difficult navigation of its upper portion. The trade was in fact
carried on both by Persians and Arabs, and this fact will account for the number of
Persian words intermixed with Arabic that are found in the Malay languaga Of the
settlement of the Arabs in the Archipelago, the earliest date we possess is that of the
conversion of the Achinese to the Mahommedan religion, which is recorded to have
happened in the year of the Hegira 601, corresponding with 1204 of Christ, or
853 years subsequent to the voyage of the earliest of the Mahommedan travellers.
The progress of conversion through the reat of the Archipelago was gradual and
alow. Tho Malaya of Malacca were not converted until 1276, the inhabitants of the
Moluccas not until 1466, the Javanese not until 1478, and the people of Celebes not
until 1495, the year before Yasco de Qama passed the Cape of Good Hope, and only
fourteen years before the discovery of the Archipelago by the Portuguese. With
the exception of a few of the more southerly islands of the Philippine group, the
inhabitants of the rest continued unconverted down to the arrival of the Spaniards
in 1521.
The Aiabfl, unlike the Hindus, have imposed no names on places within the
Archipelago, for their work, was that of mere trade and propagandiam. It is certain,
however, that Arabian intercourse gave a great impetus to the civilisation of the inbabi-
tants^ and that Mahommedan merchants, of Arabian, Persian, and Indian ori^, carried
on trade in the waters of the Archipelago long before the arrival of the Portuguese.
The Spaniards and Portuguese, in fact, seem to have been indebted to them for
their first rough knowledge of the geography of the Archipelago— a knowledge, indeed,
which they could not have acquired so early as they are found to have done, nor
have acquired from any other aource, since the native inhabitants could not supply
it. Some examples are worth quoting : Ludovico Barthema, a native of Bologna, who
states that he was at Cairo on his way to the East in 1 503, and who, at all eveuts,
Tisited Malacca before its conquest by the Portuguese, describes it as situated on the
mainland of Asia He mentions Sumatra by its name, as it is now written, and is
probably the first European that did so. He calls it an island and gives it an
exaggerated circumference, and he refers to the strait which divides it from the
continent, but underrates its breadth. He also names Borneo by its correct name
of Bumai. This island he had visited, and he deacribes it aa being by 200 miles
larger than Sumatra. He also mentions Java, in a passage worth transcribing, from
the curious account it renders of Mahommedan navigation. " Here " (in Borneo),
says he, " my companion freighted a small vessel for a hundred ducats. Beiog pro-
visioned we took our course towards the fine island (bella isola) of Giuva, where we
arrived in five days, sailing southward. The master of the vessel carried a compass
with magnet after our manner, and had a chart marked lengthwise and across with
lines.** — Ramuaio, voL i
Barbosa, the most accurate and intelligent of all the early Portuguese travellers,
gives not only the names of many places in the Archipelago, but describes also their
productions. His narrative is dated 1516, but his travels evidently refer to a period
some years previous to the conquest of Malacca and discovery of the Moluccas. He
describes Malacca, which he had seen, with fidelity, and he names all the spice islands
vrith their productions. His accoimt of Sumatra is even surprisingly accurate, while
he shows the source from which he derived it " Having passed," says he, " the
above-mentioned island (Navacar, Kicobar), there is a veiy great one called Sumatra^
which is in circuit 700 leagues, equal to 2500 miles, as reckoned by the Moors ^ ho
have sailed all round it. It runs north-west and south-east, and the equinoctial line
Ces through the middle of it." He mentions, moreover, several of the neigh-
ring countries, snd nearly by the same names by which they are still known to
Europeans, these names being unknown to the inhabitants themselves, although still
employed by foreign Mahommedan nations. In this manner he gives us Pegu, Yerma
(Burma), Temasseri (Tenasserim), Siam and China. — Ramusio, vol. L
Pigafetta, the companion of Magellan, seems to have given to several of the
ARECA 20 ARJUPTA
Philippine iBlands the names by which they are etill known, although still unknown
to the native inhabitants, such as, Loson (Luson), Sebu (9obu), Maingdano (Min-
dano), Solo (Sulu), Palaoan (Palawan). The surviving companions of Magellan
were certainly the first Europeans that discovered Borneo, which Pigafetta writes
correctly, Bum^. " The island/' says he, *' is so large that it takes three months to
sail round it in a prau," which it certainly would, since half the voyage must of
necessity be performed against the monsoon. He gives their correct names to the
five Molucca Islands, and to Amboyna, Burn, Buton, and Banda ; and passing through
the Archipelago in returning to Spain, he names Timur, Eude, Ball, MadurB, and
Java» and in the last of these islands names such places as Mageps^er (H^apait),
Dabadama (Damak), Gtpara (Japara), Tuban, Cressi (Qandk), and CirubaXa (9ura^ya).
Pigafetta's knowledge of such of the Philippines as he had not visited, must have
been obtained from the Mahommedan merchants whom he met at Cebu ; and he states
himself that his acquaintance with the Malayan islands was derived from the Ma-
hommedan pilot furnished to the squadron by the King of Tidor. From all the
facts now stated, there can be no question but that the Mahommedan merchants
and navigators of the Archipelago were the parties who furnished the European
nations with their esirliest knowledge of its geography and history.
The Portuguese first entered the waters of the i^hipelago in the year 1509, twelve
years after the arrival of Yasco de Qama in Calicut^ and must be looked upon as
the real European discoverers of countries of which even the very names were
unknown to the Europeans of antiquity or the middle ages. '* The country and
land of Malacha," says Barbosa, writing seven years only after the event» " was
discovered by Lopez de Sequiera, a Portuguese gentleman." In 1511, the Pcnrtu-
gruese reached Sumatra, conquered Malacca, and at length, in 1512, found their way
to the Moluccas, the chief object of the long search of themselves and the Spaniards,
and, in fact, the bait that led to the discovery of the New World. The great group
of the Philippines was discovered by Magellan in 1521; but their occupation
and conquest were not commenced until 1565. Down to Magellan's discovery, they
had been unknown even by name to the western world, although the Malays and
Javanese seem for ages to have traded with them, and even communicated to them
a considerable portion of their languages. It is remarkable that even the Portuguese,
after ten years* possession of Malacca, scarcely suspected the existence of countries
that are hardly now five days' voyage from that place, and still nearer to the
Molucoas. The Dutch, just freed from the yoke of Spain, made their first appearance
in the Archipelago, under Houtman, in 1596, eighty-five eventful years after its
discovery by the Portuguese. The Elnglish did not appear in it until 1602, six years
later than the Dutch. Of these four nations, which have all obtained possessions,
although of very unequal extent, by far the greatest benefit has been conferred
on the native inhabitants by the Spaniards, who have converted the greater number
of those they subdued to Christianity, and advanced the people thus converted
in civilisation far beyond what they found them. The dominion of the Portuguese
has been nearly extinguished for above two centuries, and has left little valuable
trace behind it. All the four nations, for three long centuries, acting on a false
and rapacious commercial theory, in so far as that theory is concerned, may safely
be said to have marred instead of promoting the industry and civilisation of the
native inhabitants ; and it is only within the present century that a wiser and more
generous policy, not fully carried out by some of the parties even now, has been
adopted.
ARECA. The Areoa oatechu, a slender graceful palm, is an object of extensive
culture in all tropical India, and grows freely in all the islands, from Sumatra to
the Philippines, in which it seems to have as many distinct names as there are
languages. Thus in Malay it is called Pinang, in Javanese Jambi, in Bali Bands,
in Bugis Rapo, and in TagaJa and Bisaya Bongo. Judging by this, the probability
is that the tree is indigenous in each country. With a tolerably attentive oultuie,
and in a suitable soil, it bears in about six years, and yields about a hundred nuts.
Thus prolific and easily reared, the produce is cheap. Like tea, cofifee, and tobacco,
the areca would seem to stimulate the nervous system, and hence, probably, its
general use. In the fresh or green state it is an object of general domestic con-
sumption, and in the dry, of large exportation to China and India. The most
productive countries in this article are the northern and southern coasts of Sumatra,
towards its western extremity.
ARJUNA. The name of one of the heroes of the Hindoo poem of the Mahabarat,
ABJUNA 21 ARMS
one of the five bods of Pandu, a personage familiar in the legends of the Malays and
Javanese.
ARJUNA (GUNUNG). The name of one of the highest mountains of Java,
reckoned to be 11,500 feet above the level of the sea, with an active volcano. It
lies between the provinces of Surabaya to the north, Pasuruhan and Malang to the
east) Rawa to the south, and Kadiri to the west South latitude 7^ 48', and east
longitude 112^ 85'.
\RMS ; in Malay and Javanese, S&njata, a word found in the language of all
the civilised nations as far as the Philippines. The earliest weapons of the Indian
islanders, after clubs, were most likely spears, for which their almost universal
forests would yield a readv supply. The inhabitants of the island of Matan, scarcely
exceeding an area of two leagues and a half, who defeated and slew the first circum-
navigator of the globe, with his band of sixty Spanish cavaliers, were armed with
hardly any other weapons than wooden or cane spears sharpened and hardened in
the fire, with wooden bucklers. The spear is still a favourite weapon with all the
tribes of the Archipelago. The Javanese use spears from twelve to fourteen feet
long, but shorter ones, or javelins, for throwing, are occasionally employed. The
common name for the first is tumbak, and for the last Iftmbing ; but these names do
not extend to the Philippine Islands. — The sling, in Malay ali-ali, and in Japanese
bandring, although well known, seems never to have been much used. The chief
missile in use before the introduction of fire-arms, was a small arrow ejected from a
blow-pipe by the breath, called a Sumpitan, meaning the object blown through.
This instrument is at present in general use by most of the wild tribes of Sumatra,
Borneo, and Celebes. — The bow for di^harging arrows is well known to all the
more advanced nations of the Archipelago, but does not seem, at any time, to have
been generally employed, the blow-pipe probably superseding its use, although a far
less effectual weapon. It is found represented on the sculptures of some of the
ancient monuments of Java, of the 12th and 13th centuries. The common name for
it, panah, extends over the whole of the islands ; and, it is remarkable, is found in
the language of the Tonga Islands, but in no other dialect of the Polynesian tongue.
But of all weapons, the greatest favourite of the Malayan nations is the kris, the
native word for a dagger or poniard. Men of all ranks wear one, and men of rank
two, and even three and four when full dressed, the quality of the party being
shown by the richness of the hilt, scabbard, and belt. The preference given to the
kris over the more effectual swoid had most probably its origin in the high price of
iron in early times, and when there was no supply from abroad. In such times, a
kris manufacturer, called a pande, cutler or blacksmith^ was in Java a person of dis-
tinction, as the same artificer is represented to have been in the Ossianic poems, and
the names of several have been handed down by tradition. The word kris belongs
equally to the Malay and Javanese, and is to be found in the languages of all the
more advanced nations, expressing the same object, with the exception of those of
the Philippines, in which it means '* a sword," in the corrupted form of kalis. In
some of the languages, however, as the Javanese, there are other names for it, and
especially names to designate the different forms which it takes. It is not found
represented on the more ancient and better temples of Java, but is seen in the ruder
ones of the 14th century. The sword is said to have been introduced about the year
1580, which is near 70 years after the Portuguese conquest of Malacca. It is found,
whenever represented, on the best and most ancient monuments of Java; but as
the sculptures of these represent only the legends of a foreign mythology, the fact
cannot be adduced as evidence of its use as a weapon. Yet on Uie first arrival of
Europeans, the Malayan nations had a tolerably active intercourse with the more
advanced nations of the west, and even with the Chinese and Japanese, who would
not have failed to introduce the sword had there been any demand for it. (See
Sword.) Bucklers were largely used by the Malayan nations before the introduction
of fire-arms, and in the Malay language there are no fewer than eight names for
them, sometimes synonymes, and sometimes expressing their different forms.
De Barros enumerates the different weapons generally used by the Malays of Malacca
when it was attacked by Alboquerque. " They consisted," he says, " of daggers of
from two spans and a half to three spans long, straight in the blade and two-edged (the
kris), bows and arrows, blow-pipes, which discharged very small arrows, barbed and
poisoned, with short spears for throwing, and bucklers of two kinds, the one short,
and the other long enough to protect the whole body of the wearer." Barbosa says
that the Malays of Malacca obtained arms from Java. " They " (the Javanese), says he.
AEMS 22 ARMS
"bring many arms for sale, such as lances, bucklers, and swords (krises), having hilts
wrought in marqueterie, and blades of the finest steel." — Ramusio, vol. L
But besides the arms thus enumerated, the Portuguese and Spaniards, when thej
first arrived, found the most advanced of the Malayan nations in possession of fire-
arms. This is De Barros' account of the artillery captured by Alboquerque in Malacca.
'* And of artillery," says he, ** we found no more than 3000 out of 8000 pieces, which
Ruy de 'Arajo (a prisoner of Sequiera's fleet) had stated to be in the city. Among
those taken were many of great size (muy gros8as),and one very beautiful piece which
the King of Calicut had lately sent" — Book vL c. 2. De Barros incidentally mentions
the existence of match-locks in the defence of Malacca. The Portuguese had manned
a captured junk with cannon, and sent her forward to batter the defences of a bridge,
and this is his account of the action which took place : " As soon as the junk had
passed the sand-bank and had come to an anchor, a short vray from the bridge, the
Moorish artillery opened a fire on her. Some guns discharged l€»tden balls at intervals,
which passed through both sides of the vessel, doing much execution among the crew.
In the heat of the action Antonio d'Abreu, the commander, was struck in the cheek
from a fuoil (espingardiU)), carrying ofif the greater number of his teeth." The son
of Alboquerque, in his Cummenbaries, is still fuller on the subject of the captured
artillery and the weapons of defence used by the Malays. "Tnere were captured/'
says he, " SOOO pieces, of which 2000 were of brass, and the rest of iron. Among
them there was one large piece sent by the King of Calicut to the King of Malacca.
All the artillery with its appurtenances was of such workmanship that it could not be
excelled, even in Portugal. There were found also match-locks (espingardSo), blow-
pipes for shooting poisoned arrows, bows and arrows, lances of Java, and divers other
arms, all which created surprise in those that captured them." — Commentarlos do
grande Afonso d* Alboquerque ; Lisboa, 1576. The greater number most likely con-
sisted of the small pieces called by the natives rantaka or hand-guns. Castanheda
also mentions match-locks (espingardSo), and while he reduces the captured cannon to
2000, he says that they threw balls, some of stone, and some of iron covered with
lead. The cannon (bombardia) were some of them of brass and some of iron. By
his account the bridge, the chief scene of combat in the storm of Malacca, was defended
by seventy-two pieces of ordnance. In Borneo, the companions of Mi^llan found
cannon, and Pigafetta thus alludes to them : "In front of the king's residence there
is a rampart built of large brick, having barbicans in the manner of a fortress, and
on it were planted sixty-two pieces of cannon (bombarde), fifty -six of brass, and six of
iron. During the two days we passed in the city they were often discharged." —
Prime viaggio intomo al mondo. Cannon had reached even as far as the Philippines.
Magellan, indeed, did not find them in 9^bu ; on the contrary, the natives w^ere
astonished and terrified at the sound of those discharged from the admiral's ship in
compliment to them. When, however, Legaspi discovered the main island of Luson,
he not only found cannon, but a foundry of them at Manilla and Tondo in that
island, the knowledge of fire-arms having been introduced by the Mahommedan
Malayan nations of the west, along with their religion.
The name by which fire-arms are usually called is b&dil, a general one for any
missile, and mariam, whicVi is Arabic and in that language signifies "the Virgin Mary,"
which would seem to imply that the knowledge of artillery was derived by the Arabs
themselves from the Christians, as without doubt it was. Smaller ordnance are called
by various names, such as rantska, lela, &c. &c &c. The native term b&dil extends
to the languages of all the more cultivated nations, although sometimes corrupt^
as in the example of the Philippine tongues, in which it is pronounced baril. The
Arabic name, mariam, is also of general acceptance. The name of the match-lock is
aatingar, a corruption of the Portuguese espingardSo, and the fire-lock is called
8&napang, a corruption of the Dutch snappnan.
A knowledge of gunpowder must have been, at least, as early in the Indian islands
as that of cannon. It is not improbable that it may have been even earlier known
through the Chinese, for the manufacture of fire- works, known to the Malays under
the name of m&rchun, a word of which the origin is not traceable. The principal
ingredients of gunpowder are sufiicicntly abundant over many parts of the Archi-
pelago, and known by native names, s4ndawa being the name of saltpetre, and
bAIirang, or walirang, of sulphur. The names for gimpowder itself are a little
singular. In Malay it is called ubat-b&dil, which literally means " missile-charm : "
in Javanese it is ubat, or " charm '* alone.
The parties who introduced the knowledge of fire-arms among the Malayan nations
cannot be mistaken. They were certainly the Mahommedan nations of Western Asia,
AROE 23 A£OE
and most probably the Arabs. Cannon were in full use by European nations for
military purposes in the middle of the Hth centiiry, and nearly at the same time by
the Arabs of Spain, who had a frequent intercourse with their eastern countrymen,
and these, at the time, with the Oriental nations as far as China. Between the time
when cannon were in general use in Europe and the first appearance of the Portuguese
in the Archipelago, a century and a half had elapsed, ample time for the transmission
of the new invention to the Malayan nations, and even to China, where also it was,
moBt probably, first made known by the Arabs. The earliest reliable date which we
possess of the use of artillery in continental India is the year 1482, when Mahommed
Shah, King of Qujrat, employed cannon in a fleet daring a war with pirates. In such
oases the cannoulers are stated to have been Turks and Europeans. This seems to
have been the case even after the arrival of Europeans; for in the great battle which
secured to Babar the possession of Northern India, it is represented by the historian
Farishta, that ** he ordered his park of artillery to be linked together with leathern
ropes made of raw hides, according to the practice of the armies of Asia Minor." On
the arrival of the Portuguese on the western coast of India, they found all the
maritime nations, whether under Mahommedan or Hindu rule, in possession of fire-
arms, and employing them both on land and sea, and they found the same to be the
case from the Arabian to the Persian Gulf. The handsomest piece of ordnance
captured by them at Malacca, as has been already stated, had been a gift to the Malay
prince from the King of Calicut^ the Hindu prince galled by. the Portuguese the
Zamorin. Of the actual year in which fire-arms were first made known to the
inhabitants of the Archipelago there is no record, but, considering the frequent inter-
course which subsisted between them and the maritime parts of Western India, we
may safely conclude that the event did not take place earlier than fifty years before
the arrival of the Portuguese, that is, about the middle of the fifteenth century, or
about a century after they had been in common use in Europe.
On the first arrival of the Portuguese in the Archipelago, the Javanese appear to
have been the great manufacturers of arms of all descriptions. De Barros, in ren-
dering an account of an expedition of 12,000 men, which the Javanese sent against
Malacca after its possession by the Portuguese, says that it was provided " with much
artillery made in Java ; for the Javanese are skilled in founding or casting, and in all
works in iron, over and above what they have from India.'' At present a regular
manufacture of cutting weapons, match-locks and cannon, is carried on by the Malays
of Banjarmassin in Borneo, and this with a skill surprising for their state of society.
As this part of Borneo was long subject to the Javanese, it seems probable that it was
this people that introduced the art For many generations the Malays of Menangkabo
have been the manufacturers of all kinds of arms for Sumatra. But the skilful
manufacture of arms is by no means confined to these places, and I have myself seen
match-locks in Bali, with twisted barreb, inlaid all over in very good taste with gold
and silver.
AROE. The oorreot name is Pulo-Aran, that is ** the islands of Hie Cassuarina
trees." These form a chain of islets 100 miles in length and 50 in breadth,
lying off the south-western coast of New Guinea, and having a computed area of 1040
geographical square milea The western side of the chain, viewed from sea, presents
the appearance of a single low island with numerous small openings, which more
closely examined are found to be several islands, straits dividing them from each
other, and which occasionally widen into broad sheets of water, connected by narrow
gorges, producing eddies and whirlpools dangerous to native vessels. The islands are
low tlux>ughout, on the western side hardly rising above the level of the sea, with the
exception of a few hummocks of lime-stone, some 15 or 20 feet high. The Aroes
are of lime-stone formation, and the land which rises towards their eastern side abounds
in caverns, the resort of the swallow furnishing the esculent nest. They are, as usual,
covered with tall trees, among which the most prominent is the cassuarina, which
gives them name. The native inhabitants are of a quasi-negro race, and said to bear
more resemblance to the northern tribes of Australia than to the Papuas of New
Guinea. They would seem to have acquired a larger measure of civilisation than any
other tribe of the insular negros. But be»ides the Aborigines, many strangers, Malays,
Javanese, and natives of Celebes and the Moluccas, are settled in the islands. The
total population, although we have no actual enumeration, has been computed at 80,000.
The agriculture of the Aroes is confined to the culture of maiz, yams, the sago-palm,
and some fruits; but sago is not much in use, the people being well supplied with rice
from Java and Celebes, in the course of trade. The products of their fisheries are
ARRACK 24 ASAHAN
what give importauce to the Aroea. A bank extending along the whole eastern ccmat
is rich in the shell-tortoise, two kinds of mother-of-pearl shells, and in pearl oystersy
with the tripang or holothurion. The principal port is Dobbo, near the north-
western extremity of the chain of islands, in south latitude 5** 45' 45", and east
longitude 184** 20', where, in the season, may be seen, 100 small square-rigged vessels
and large native craft with Chinese junks, bringing rice, cotton goods, and neoeesariec,
with Batavian arrack, to exchange for the produce of the fisheries, and for loories
and cockatoos with birds of paradise, of which these islands furnish the chief supply.
ARRACK ; in Arabic Ar&k, ardent spirit. Most probably the Arabs taught the
Indian islanders, as they did the nations of Europe, the art of distillation. From
Sumatra to the Philippines the one name for spirits is this Arabian one. The art
might, indeed, have been introduced by the Chinese, who have immemorially poe-
seased it, but there is no evidence that this was the case. The name for a still or alem*
bic in Malay and Javanese is Kukusan ; from the Javanese kukus, smoke or steaza ;
but this composed word is no evidence of original invention. The Javanese hare
an intoxicating beverage, exclusive of the sap of palms, called brftm, prepared frozu
the fermentation of rice, but this is a beer and not the produce of distillation. The
fine arrack of Batavia is an invention and manufacture of the Chinese, of which the
materials are boiled rice, molasses, and palm wine.
ARSENIC ; is known by a native name, but is not a native product. It was
probably brought to the islands originally from Siam and Burma, of which it is a
product. Orpiment, or the sulphuret, goes under the name of Warangan, or barangan,
and the epithet putih or " white'' is added for the white oxide. Warangan is derived
from Warang, which means the process of applying a compound, of which orpiment
is a main ingredient, to a kris blade in order to preserve it> Arsenic is the only
poison used by the Indian islanders for assassination, but even this very rarely, the
kris being the means generally had recourse to.
ARTOCARPUS. Of this genus of plants three are cultivated in the Indian
islands— the bread-fruit, the jack, and the champftda. The bread-fruit, Artocarpas
integrifolia, is known to the Malays by the three different native names of Bukon,
kluwi, and t&mbul, and is probably an indigenous plant As an article of food, how-
ever, it is held in no esteem, and the varieties cultivated are greatly inferior to that
of the South Sea Islands. The jack, Artocarpus incisa, is extensively cultivated
throughout the Archipelago, and its name, Nangka, extends all the way to the
Philippines. Rumphius justly concludes that it is only a corruption of the Tamil or
Malaylam word Jaka, which we have ourselves adopted vrith less change. The
jack fruit grows occasionally to the weight of 70 lbs., and is then a good load for a
woman going to market It Ib rather an article of food than a fruit The tree
attains the height of 40 or 50 feet, and its yellow close-grained timber is a handsome
fancy wood.
The Champada is a smaller fruit than the jack, but more delicate in flavour, and
far more esteemed It is exclusively a native of the Archipelago, and chiefly of
Sumatra and the peninsula
AS AH AN. The native name is AsaaUi and it most probably means '* plaoe of
hope,*' from the Sanscrit word Asa, hope, in frequent use with the Mali^s. It Ib the
name of a river and Malay state on the north-eastern side of Sumatra. The river has
its source in a mountain range and plateau called Tubah, in the country of the Bataks,
and falls into the Straits of Malacca in north latitude 8° 1' 30'', and east longitude
99** 52^ At its mouth it ib about 1800 yards wide, but seven miles further up, where
it receives a tributary called the Silau (dazzling), it narrows to one-third of thb
breadth. Fronting its embouchure there is an extensive mud flat, and at low water
spring tides, the depth in the channel of the river itself does not exceed two fathoms.
The lower portion of the country is part of the extensive alluvial plain which runs
along nearly the whole eastern side of Sumatra, and is covered with a tangled and
almost impenetrable forest, containing the usual wild animals of the island. The
ruling people of Asahan are Malays, but much mixed with the nation of the Bataka
The cultivated corns are rice and pulses. The sea and rivers are replete with excellent
fish, which form, unless occasionally, the chief animal food of the inhabitants. The
exports consist of pulses, lakka a red dye-wood, bees' -wax, horses, and slaves usually
Bataks, young women selling at 40«., children at 20a., and men at from 12«. to 15a: A
prince of Menangkabo, the supposed original seat of the Malay nation, was the founder
of the present principality of Asahan, and the prince who ruled the country in 182*2
ASS 25 LABI
W48 the seventh iu descent from him, which m the usual mode of reckoning would
not carry us farther back than 110 years. Many ages before this, according to the
tradition of the natives, a Javanese colony had settled in Aaahan, and 70 miles up
the river there are still to be seen the ruins of a fortress which goes by this name,
Kuta-jawa.
ASS. This quadruped is wholly unknown to the inhabitants of the Indian
islands, except by name. It goes in their writings under the name of R&lda, which
may be a corruption of the Persian Kh&r, or possibly of the Indian Q&ddah, for it is
not traceable to any Arabic name.
ASTINA, and ASTINAPURA, is the Sanscrit name of the country of the Pandus
in the poem of the Mahabarat, of which the Javanese have a paraphrasa These have
transferred the locality from Upper India to the province of Pakalongan in their own
island, as they have done to other places other scenes of this poem, and of the
Ramayana. ^The name of Astina is also familiar in the legendary writings of the Malays.
AUSTRALIA. The northern coast of this continent is alone known to the natives
of the Archipelago, and among these only to the Macassars of Celebes and the gipsy
Malays, who frequent it yearly for the fishery of the tripang or holothurion. This
they seem to have done so for ages, although seen there for the first time by Flinders
in the beginning of the present century. Of the time when this fishery first com-
menced there is, of course, no record, but it is certain it could not have been before
the first arrival of the Chinese, since these are the only people that consume the
tripang, and still the only parties who furnish funds for canying on the fishery.
AVERRHOA. There are two species of this fruit tree cultivated in the
Archipelago ; the blimbing-bftsi, or iron blimbing, possibly from the nisty colour of
its coat, and the blimbing-manis or sweet blimbing. The first is the Averrhoa blimbi,
and the second, the Averrhoa carambola of botanists. The fruit of both, growing
strangely from the trunk of the tree, is acid or sub-acid, and little esteemed.
A WAR (PULO) ; rolgarly Pulo A6r or A war Island (A war being the name of a
large species of bamboo). It is the most southerly of a chain of islets lying off the
eastern coast of the Malay peninsula, and distant from it 80 miles. Pulo Awar, a
mass of granite, is about 3 miles long and 1} broad. It has two peaked mountains,
one 1521 feet and the other 1852 feet high. The inhabitants, amounting to 1400, are
Malays ; and, whatever their character in former times, have, since the establishment
of a commercial intercourse with Singapore, become peaceable ti'aders and industrious
fishermen. The only article cultivated by them is the coco-nut palm, which grows
luxuriantly even as high as 1000 feet above the level of the sea. The nuts and their
expressed oil are exported to Singapore to be exchanged for rice, clothing, and other
necessaries. The island is subject to the Raja of Pahang, himself nominally subject
to the Raja of Jehore. It is the landmark of shipping in taking a departure from
and making the Straits of Malacca. North latitude 2** 30', east longitude 104** 35'.
AYAR, is the Malay word for water, and sometimes for a river, and consequently
for a district seated on a river. Adopted by the Javanese it becomes er, and it is
most probably the same word that we find corrupted in the langunge of Celebes into
we, and in Polynesian into wai. Of places having this word combined with another,
we have at least a score in our maps and charts, as Ayar-itam, black water or river ;
Ayal^d&kat, near river ; Ayar-bftsar, great river ; Pulo-ayar, water island ; and Pulo-we^
which we write Pulo- way, having the same meaning.
B.
BA. A town of the island of Mindano, in the territory of the Saltan or inde-
pendent Mahommedan chie£ It is said to be situated on the left bank of a certain
river, where it joins one which issues from the Lake of Ligassin, when the united
streams take a north-western diversion, disemboguing in the Bay of Bongo, lying on
the eastern side of the great bay of Llano, on the southern side of the ii^and. The
town is in north latitude 5' 1' 40'', and east longitude 124** 34'.
BABI, the hog (Sus). In all likelihood originally a Malay word, but introduced
into all the advanced languages, even into some, as the Javanese and Sunda, which
have native terms besides. From Sumatra to the Moluccas it occurs frequently as
the name of small islands, imposed most probably by Malayan navigators, and from
some fancied resemblance in form to the animaL
BABI 26 BAJAU
BABI (PULO), ^* Hog Islands," a cluster on the western coast of Sumava,
coDsifiting of one large island about 60 miles in length and from 10 to 15 in breadth,
with an area of 480 Square miles, and a number of small oDea, the northern end of
the larger island being in north latitude 2° 50', and east longitude 95^ S2'. The name
given to the larger island by the Malays is Simalu, that is *' Shame or modesty island,**
and to the inhabitants of the whole group, on what account I do not know, Maroa
or Maruwe. These speak a peculiar language, and have been oonyerted to the
Mahommedan religion. The chief products are coco-nuts and bufialos.
BABUYANES. A group of yoloanio islets lying off the extreme northern end of
Luzon. The largest of these are Calayan, and Babuyan which gives name to the
whole, is only the second in extent. After it follow Carmiguin, Dalupiri, and Tuga»
the others being mere islets. The whole group abounds in hogs, and is supposed to
take its name from this circumstance. The llalay word Babi is pronounced in the
Philippine languages Babuy, as it is written in the Spanish orthography. Babuyan
means " place of hogs," and with a Spanish plural we have Babuyanes. These islands
are liable to terrific hurricanes at the equinoxes, and being surrounded by shoals
are difficult of approach* They form a part of the province of Batangas in Luson.
BABUYA N, called by the Spaniards Claro Babuyan, the second island in magni-
tude of the above group, is in Length three leagues, in breadth about two, and has an
area of five square leaguea The centre of the island is in north latitude 19° 34', and
in east longitude 122" 51'.
BACHIAN, written more correctly by the I)at<)h Batjan, and in the orthography
of this work Bachan, is one of the five original Molucca or Clove Islands, and the most
southerly of them. Like the other four, it is of volcanic formation. Its area is 800
square geographical miles. Its most easterly point is in south latitude 48' 30'', and
longitude 127*" 54'. Of late, fossil coal huA been discovered in this island, stated to be
of good quality.
BACOLOR. The name of an estuary at the north-western angle of the great bay
of Manilla, into which falls a river of the same name.
BACOLOR. The chief town of the province of Pampanga, in the island of
Luzon, in north latitude 18" 13', and east longitude 120" 32' ; distant ten miles from
Manilla. It lies in a fertile plain, on the left bank of a river of the same name,
where a brook called the Gogo falls into it. It has a population of 8737, of which.
1298 are assessed to the capitation-tax. The place has some reputation in the i>.ti«^l«
of the PhUippinee, on account of the gallant stand made at it by Don Simon de And^
y Salazar, against the English inyaders of 1762, the latter assisted by Chinese and
insurgent Indians.
BADONG-. A principality of the island of Bali, occupying its most southern part,
and said to have a population of 130,000. Li a commercial view, it is the most
important state of the island. See Ball
BAGLEN. A central province of Java, having Banumas to the west, Pakalongan
to the north, Mataram to the east, and the Southern Ocean to the south. This fine
province, ceded by the native princes to the Dutch in 1830, has an area of 928 square
miles ; and, in 1850, had a population of 528,718, of which 238 were Europeans, 342
Arabs and other foreign Asiatic Mahommedans, 1594 Chinese, and six slaves. Its
homed cattle amount to 120,000. and its horses to 9000.
BAGU, in Malay ; and Wagu, in Javanese ; the Gnemium gnetum of botanists, a
tree of the fibrous bark, of which a coarse cordage is made, in extensive use by the
natives of the Archipelago.
BAJAU. This is one of the most frequent of several names given to wandering
maritime Malays, of gipsy nuinners, and from whose questionable habits, the word
has become a synonyme for pirate. Some of this people have fixed dwellings on the
sea-coast ; and others have no other habitations than the boats, in which they are
bom, live, and die. All are fishermen, engaged in taking ordinary esculent fish,
or the shell turtle, the tripang, the mother-of-pearl and pearl oyster. All speak
the Malay language, although rude and various dialects of it. Many of them have
embraced the Mahommedan religion ; their observance of its tenets, however, being
for the moat part confined to submitting to circumcision, and abstaining from the
flesh of swine.
The Bi\jaus are found on most of the coasts of the islands of the Archipelago, from
BAKA 27 BALAMBANGAN
Sumatra to New Qulnea and the Moluccas; their fishing voyages occasiooally
extending even to the northern coast of Australia^ The varioua names which they
bear have sometimes a reference to their habits- or origin. Among the numerous
islands at the eastern end of the Straits of Malacca, and on the opposite coast of
Borneo, they are called Orang-lant, literally "men of the sea;'* sometimes Orang-
rayah, "men of plunder;" and also Rayat, which is the Arabic word for " Bubjects,"
meaning, no doubt, subjects of the kingdom of Jehor. On the south-eastern ooast
of the Peninsula, they go under the name of Orang-jehor, or men of the country or
kingdom of Jt*hor. In Borneo they are called Sika, the meaning of which I do not
know. The Macassars of Celebes call them Tau-ri jene, which is but a translation of
the Malay name, " men of the sea." The Bugis of the same island it is that have given
tliem the name of Bajau, or, as they pronounce the word, Waju, and which is said to
signify " men that go in troops." The Javanese call them Wong-kambang, or ** floating
people;*' and among the Moluccas they are distinguished from the aboriginal
inliabitants by the name of Orang Malayu, or Malays. Always speaking the Malay
language, and always fishermen, we naturally seek for the origin of this people where
the Malay language is indigenous, and where manners like theirs prevail ; and as
these conditions exist only in the more southern portion of the eastern coast of
Sumatra, from the river of Palembang to that of Siak, we may reasonably fix on this
as the parent country, not only of the gipsy Malays, but also of the more advanced
tribes of the same luition, whose fortune, in placing them in more auspicious
localities, enabled them to attain a higher civilisation, such as the agricultural Malays
of the interior of Sumatra. See Malat.
BAKA. The name of an ancient king of Java, said by tradition to kaye reigned
at Brambanan, and to have built the temples of that place, except Boro-budor, the
most remarkable of all the Hindu ruins of Java. If this aoeount be tnie, the antiquity
of the temples is not great, for to the earliest, the date given is 1266, or about SO
yean before Marco Polo passed through the Archipelago.
BALABAC. One of the Sulu islands, about midway between Borneo and
Palawan, and 60 miles distant from the former. The island is about 15 miles long
and 10 broad, with an area of 4 20 geographical square miles, and its centre is in north
latitude 8"*, and east longitude 114° 40'. On its eastern side there is a bay, called
Palawan, which affords shelter to shipping. Little more than these naked facts is
known about it.
BALABALAGA. The name of a group of idands in mid-channel between Borneo
and Celebes, or Straits of Macassar, estimated to contain in all about 96 square
geographical miles.
BALACHONG-. This is the name of a condiment made of prawns, sardines, and
other small fish, pounded and pickled. The proper Malay word is bftlachan, the
Javanese trasi, and the Philippine bagon. This article is of universal use as a
condiment, and one of the largest articles of native consumption throughout both the
Malay and Philippine Archipelago. It is not confined, indeed, as a condiment to the
Asiatic islanders, but is also largely used by the Birmese, the Siamese, and Cochin-
Chinese. It is, indeed, in great measure essentially the same article known to the
Qreeks and Homans under the name of garum, the produce of a MediteiTanean fish.
BALAMBANGAN, correctly BUmbangan. The word bUmbang, in Malay, means
a plank cut from a palm ; and the name, therefore, signifies ** place of palm-planks."
The island is situated in the Sulu Sea, and distant from the most northerly point of
Borneo 13 miles. Its most northern extremity is in north latitude 7° S', and east
longitude 116*^ 50'. Its greatest length is about five leagues, its greatest breadth
about one, and its circumference about 300 miles. The land is hilly, without any
mountain of considerable elevation. To the south-east it is divided from the lai-ger
island of Banguey by a strait, at one point not exceeding a league in breadth. On
this strait fialambfmgan has two harbours, the northern in latitude 7° 16', and
longitude 116** 58', but both difficult of access on account of shoala The sovereign
that laid claim to this island, the Sultan of Sula, ceded it to the English in 1762, as
a reward for liberating him from his captivity at Manilla. In 1775, it was taken
possession of by the East India Company; but soon after, the garrison and establish-
ment were driven out by a marauding party of the donor's subjects. In 1803, it was
again taken possession of, but speedily and justly abandoned on an experience of its
worthlessness ; for the island is itself sterile, uninhabited, and in the most piratical
and barbarous neighbourhood of the whole Archipelago.
BALAMBUANa 28 BALI
BALAMBUANQ. Name of a deep and well-sheltered bay in the provinoe of
Baoyuwangiy in Java, on the strait which divides that ishind from BalL This place
was in former times frequented by shipping ; but, on account of its insalubrity,
abandoned for Banyuwangi on the same strait.
SALANGUINI. One of the Sulu islands, but claimed by Spain as part of the
province of S^amboanga, in the island of Mindano. It lies in north latitude 5** 57' 30*;
and east longitude 121'' 89', and between two other islets somewhat lai^ger than
itself, called Samusa and Parul. Its length is about a league^ and its breadth a
quarter of a league. This small spot gives name to the most daring and enterprising
pirates of the Archipelago. In 1848, it was attacked and captived by a Spanish
force of 050 infantry and artillery, with a squadron of three war-steamers and sixteen
smaller armed vessels, under the governor-general of the Philippines ; and the reaist-
ance made will show the formidable character of these pirates. The Spaniards bad
1 officer and 20 men killed, and 10 officers and 150 men wounded. They stormed
four redoubts, captured 124 cannon, mostly of small calibre, and burnt 150 praus.
450 of the enemy were killed, refusing to take quarter ; 200 captives were rescued
from slavery. The forts and the houses of the inhabitants were levelled to the
ground, and in order to make the place uninhabitable, the coco-palms were cut down
to the number of between 7000 and 8000. This was the most signal punishment ever
inflicted on Malayan pirates by an European power.
BALI. The next island east of Java, and divided from it by a strait not
exceeding a mile and a half broad. The name in Malay and Javanese signifies " to
return," but how or why imposed is unknown. It is situated between south latitude
8** 8' SO'', and east longitudes 114** 26' and 115** 40^. Its greatest length is 74 geo-
graphical miles, and its greatest breadth 50. Its area is estimated at 1685 aquare
geographical miles, so that it is about one twenty-second part only of the extent of
Java, and not superior in siae to some provinces of the latter. Its form is triangular,
narrowing to the south, where it forms an attenuating projection. Its western aide
runs nearly due east and west. With the exception of a few calcareous ridgea, its
whole formation is volcanic. A chain of volcanic mountains, seemingly a continuation
of that of Java, runs through it from west to east, leaving plains and valleys north
and south of it of more or less extent. The mountain cnain is of great elevation,
commonly from 4000 to 10,000 feet That called in our charts the Peak of Bali, in
the language of the couutiy Qunung-agung, or the great mountain, attains tiie height
of 12,379 feet above the level of the sea, which makes it 488 feet higher than the
Peak of Teneriffe. One mountain of the chain, called Batur, 6168 feet high, ia an
active volcano. From another there was a destructiye eruption in 1804 ; and from a
third, a more calamitous one in November, 1815, or within seven months after the
memorable one of Tambora in the island of Sumbawa. Bali has many small rivers,
navigable however for native vessels only, and as far as the reach of the tide. In
respect to its supply of water, its most remarkable feature is its mountain lakes;,
situated at an elevation of several thousand feet The most extensive of these are
OS much as 12 miles in circumference, and all are of great depth, some of them of 40
and 50 fathoms, and some of from 300 to 400. These lakes from their position afford
a perennial supply of water, easily applied, even by a rude people, to irrigation, and
they are the main cause of the extensive culture of com, and hence of the great
population of Bali, despite barbarism and misgovemment The mountain lakes
of Bali may in part, on a small scale, be compared to the lakes of Lombardy and
Piedmont in reference to irrigation, and the fertilitv of which it is the result.
The plants of Bali, with the exception of a small number peculiar to itself, are the
same as those of Java. Those which form the chief objects of cultivation, are rice,
maia, pulses, cotton, tobacco, and the fruits of Java. Recently coffee haa been
cultivated in the mountains, but the quality, probably from unskilful growth, is
inferior. As to the Fauna, the tiger is found only in the western part of the island,
opposite to Java. The elephant, the rhinoceros, the tapir, are all wanting ; and the
only wild animals of considerable siae are the hog and some deer. The domestic
animals are the ox and buffalo, both of them large and numerous ; the hog very
numerous; and the goat, with abundant poultry consisting of the common fowl and
duck.
The Balinese are of the same race of man as the Malays and Javanese, and indeed,
but for some difference of costume, it would be difficult to distinguish one of Uiese
nations from another. Some, however, have fancied that the Balinese are more athletic
than the Javanese, which as they are more amply fed is probable. As to the amount of
BALI 29 BALI
the popiilaiion, all aocounta of it can be no better than estimatea. One reporter, a
native of the Archipelago, who had lived among them, makes it 2,000,000 ; a Dutch
authority, in 1818, above 900,000 ; while Baron Melvill De Cameb^e reduces it to no
mora than 700,000, which may be accepted as by far the most likely. £ven this
makes the relative population half again as much as that of Java, or near 480 to the
square mile, being the greatest density of population throughout the whole Malayan
and Philippine islands.
The Balinese live in villages of from 500 to 3000 inhabitants, surrounded by walls
built of clay, without stone or brick. Within these walls are their dwelling-houses,
or rather huta, with their clay-built walls and roofs thatched with grass or palm-
leaves, — their temples, their stables, their granaries, and their pig-sties. In civilisa-
tion, the Balinese are among the most advanced of the nations of the Archipelago.
Their agriculture is said to be superior to that of Java, otherwise the best of the
Archipelago ; their manufkcture of arms, including fire-arms, ia tasteful and compara-
tively skilful, and their textile fabrics from cotton are substantial and cheap. They
have (in the Javanese character, however) a written language of their own, divided into
an ancient or theological, a vulgar, and a ceremonial dialect ; but they are ignorant of
the manufiusture of paper, which the Javanese had acquired before their intercourse
with Arabs or Europeans, and their manuscripts are scratched on slips of palm-lea£
They have, moreover, a coined money, such as the Javanese possessed before their
acquaintance with Europeans, and they possess a calendar and an epoch, the Indian
one of Salivana beginning 78 years after Christ. The Balinese dress is a striped or
tartan cotton cloth, in the shape of a sack open at both ends ; this secured at the
top with a girdle or careless knot, covers the lower part of the body, leaving the
upper stark naked with both sexes, — a barbarism, at least in the costume of women,
unknown to the Malays and proper Javanese, although occasionally to be seen among
the lower orders of the Sunday The hair of the head is cropped with the lower
orders, but preserved by the upper, who tie it in a knot at the crown, and this is a
mark of distmction strictly maintained. Neither of them wear any kind of head-
dress^ whether men or women ; nor have they shoes or sandals.
The Balinese are a home-keeping people, which may be ascribed to their being
more an agricultural, and less a maritime and piscatory race than any other nation
of the Archipelago. The few strangers settled among them are Malays, Javanese,
mestizo Arabs, and Chinese. The government is rude and arbitrary, making small
account of the persons and property of the lower classes, confiscating the last without
scruple, and condemning to death or slavery the first. Some degree of security to
the middle and upper classes must, however, exist to have brought about the degree
of industry which is certainly found to exist A country cannot be utterly lawless
where, on a comparatively small spot, food is raised to support 700,000 people, and
which yields a surpliis for above 100,000 more. The trade of the island is more
considerable than might have been expected, but it is, in a good measure, the creation
of recent years. The exports consist of rice, said to amount yearly to 20,000 tons,
of pulses, oil, cotton-wool, and cotton fabrics, tobacco, and coffee. The imports are
iron and English cotton cloths. The trade is chiefly with Singapore, Java, and,
recently, with our Australian colonies.
The Hindu religion which once prevailed, to a greater or less extent, among all
the more advanced nations of the Archipelago, and which was extinguished among
the most considerable of them, the Javanese, in the year 1478 of Christ, at present
exists only in Bali, and in a more partial degree in the neighbouring island of
Lomboa The Balinese are divided, as books divide the Hindus in their own country,
into four great orders or castes : the priest, the soldier, the merchant, and the
labourer, called respectively, with a slight corruption, by the Sanscrit names,
Bramana, Satriya, Waisya, and Sudra. The Bramins are djstinguished into those
who perform tiie offices of the priesthood, called Ida, and those who are Bramins
by lineage but do not eogage in the functions of the priesthood, and have the title
of Dewa, that is " Qods." The Satriya, or military order, is more generally known
by the title of Qusti, which is a Balinese and also a Javanese wokI, meaning " a
lord." The third onler or Waisya comprises not only traders but such artLsans as
goldsmiths and cutlers; and the fourth, the Sudra, comprehends husbandmen,
ordinaiy artisans, and slaves. The second order, of course, comprises the princes,
and it is usually forbidden to the different orders to intermix ; but it has happened,
notwithstanding, that several of the rulere of Bali and Lomboc have risen to power
from the third or mercantile order, — ^that is, frem the middle class of society ; and
when such is the casCi not much distmction is made between the second and third
BALILING 30 BAMBOO
order. A Waiaya prince may eyen happen to take a fancy for the daughter of a Bramin »
when it becomes expedient that he should be gratified. Mr. 2<ollingery in his inter-
esting account of Lomboc, gives an example. The young raja of Mataram in that island,
a Balinese, fell in love with the daughter of the chief dewa. In order to posfeas her, a
ftiendly legal ceremony became necessary. The Bramin went through the form of
expelling his daughter from his house, denouncing her as " a wicked daughter.* By
this she lost her rank as the daughter of a Bramin ; but received into the raja's honscy
she became a Waisya, but at the same time a princess. The Balinese burn their
dead ; but as the ceremony is expensive, the poorer classes often bury them in the
first instance, with the hope of having in time the means of disinterring the bones
for cremation. The wealthy, like the Buddhist nations of Burma and Siam, embalm
the corpse and keep it for weeks, or even months, before the rite of cremation is
performed. The self-immolation of the widow is practised by the Balinese, with
some difference from the practice of the Hindus of Indiai The suicide is most fre-
quently practised by stabbing with the kris, when the body is afterwards thrown
hito the fire. The wives of the priests, or Bramin?, never immolate themselvea for
their husbands, which is entirely conformable to the practice of India. Tha rite is
most frequently performed with the military order ; and with the princes, the sacri-
fice of two or three women is indispensable. On such occasions the practice is
not confined to wives, for concubines and slaves may equally sacrifice themselvea.
Of the time when, or the manner in which the Hindu religion was introduced into
Bali, there is no record. There is sufficient evidence, however, to show that it was
not directly introduced from India, and that no considerable number of Indian
Hindus, possessed of much influence, were probably ever established in the island.
We find in it, for example, no inscriptions, such ss are found in Java, in the Sanscrit
alphabet, or in the character in which it is usually written, — indeed no inscriptions
at all ancient or modem. In Java, the presence of Hindus of influence is attested
by the ruins of many fine temples, — monuments which it is safe to say that genuine
Hindus alone could have built, since no monuments comparable to them have been
constructed since the overthrow of their religion. The temples of Bali, instead of
being like the ancient ones of Java, structures of solid mssonry on a grand scale,
are mere clay huts ; nor are there the remains of any of a better description. On
the other hand, not only the religion but much of the civilisation of Buli may be
clearly traced to Java. Thus the sacred language of Bali, the Kawi, is the same as
that of Java, existing in the latter island on inscriptions on stone bearing dates at
least as far back as the 12th century of our tima The present religious writings of
the Balinese are identical with the ancient ones of Java. As to civilisation, this is
proved by a large infusion of the language of Java into the vulgar tonsrue of the
Balinese, —by the ceremonial language of Bali being almost identical with that of
Java, itself so peculiar in its construction; and finally, by the existing written
character of Bali being the same, with the absence of two immaterial letters, with
that now in use in Java. When I visited Bali in 1814, the priests informed me that
they were the tenth in descent from certain Bramins of the sect of Siwa, who on
the overthrow of the last Hindu state of Java in 1478, fled to Bali and established
themselves there ; but this is but a comparatively recent event.
Bali, small as is its extent, is divided into no fewer than eight independent prin-
cipalities, namely, Baliling, Kaiung-asam, Klongkong, Tabanan, Bangli, Mangiri,
Gyanjar, and Badong. Such a division of authority in a small island, and over
which one language only is spoken, is sufficient proof of rudeness and unskilfulnees
&r beyond the example of Java ; which, although it certainly never existed under
one rule, whether Hindu or Mahommedan, frequently possessed states of considerable
extent and power.
BALILING, correctly BLELENG, one of the principalities of the island of Bali,
embracing most of its northern coast, and computed to contain a population of
80,000.
BAMBOO (BAMBUSA^ ; in Malay, Bnlu ; and in Javanese, Preng. The word
Bamboo itself is said to belong to the Indian language of Ganara, and to have
been introduced into the languages of Europe by the Portuguese. Some species of
this gigantic grass rise to the height of 70 and 80 feet. The bamboo is found through-
out all the islands, both in the wild and cultivated state, and of many species. The
various uses to which it is put are well known. The most important are in the
construction of houses, of which it forms the rafters and floors; and in boat-building,
of which it forms the masts, yards, and deck. It forms the handles of spears, and,
BANAJO 81 BANCA
must before the inyention of iron, bsTe formed the first weapons of offence and
defence. The bamboo ia still fashioned into utensils for holding both solids and
liquids ; and before the invention of pottery, was no doubt the material of the only
▼easels of the natives. The young shoots are used as a culinary vegetable like with
us asparagus, but asparagus on a gigantic scale, for a distinguished ^tanist oomparea
these shoots in appearance to the trunk of an elephant.
BAN A JO. A yolcanio mountain of ihe island of Luzon, 'supposed to be the
highest peak of the Philippine Islands. It has a crater but no active volcano. The
measurement of a Spanish officer makes its height 65B4 £n«^Iish feet, so that it is
not more than half the height of the highest peaks of Java, Bali, and Lomboa It
is part of the great Cordillera, and divides the province of the Laguna from tiiose
of Batangas and TayabaSb
BANANA (MTJSA). This prolific ftnit is found, wild and cultivated, in every
considerable island from Sumatra to the Philippines inclusive, and of its being
indigenous there can be no question. The Malay name is plsang, and the Javanese
gftdang, but in every language it has a different one ; and besides these two, twelve
more may be enumerated without, by any means, exhausting the number. The
Malays reckon forty varieties of the cultivated banana, and the Philippine islanders
carry them to fifty-seven, both people having a distinctive epithet for each variety.
The qualities are as various as those of our apples and pears, the ordinary sorts being
very indifferent fruit. The cultivated banana cannot be raised from the seed, —
indeed the best varieties are seedless. The fruit is always either eaten raw or
cooked, and never dried and preserved to be used as a substitute for bread-corn,
as in tropical America. Rice, pulses, sago and farinaceous roots stqpersede its use,
and are, no doubt, all of them preferable to it. See Abaoa.
BANCA. The meaning of the word, which is oorrectlj BAngka, is not, as fieir as I
am aware^ known, but it is applied with an epithet to several places about the south-
eastern end of Sumatra. Thus the ancient name of P^embang is BAngka-palembang, and
BAngka-ulu is the native name of the place which we have corrupted into Benooolen,
the annexed word in this last case meaning " head" or " fountain." The name of Banoa
itself^ at full length, is BAngka-musuh, meaning " B&ngka of the enemy." The extreme
northern and southern parts of Banca are respectively in 1" 28' and 8** 7' south of
the equator, and its western and eastern extremities in 105" 6' and 106" 50^ of east
longitude. Its northern and eastern shores are washed by the China Sea, and its
BOttthem by the Java Sea. To the south-west it is divided from Sumatra by the
strait which bears its name, about thirty-six leagues in length, varying in breadth
from three to eight. This strait forms the most frequented thoroughfare of the
internal waters of the Arohipelaga The form of Banca is irregularly oblong from
south-west to north-east, its greatest length being 120, and its greatest breadth 60
geographical miles. Its area has been reckoned at 3568 square geographical miles, or
about one-tenth part of that of Java. The coast is irregular in its outline, but not
deeply indented, except at its northern end, where it has the bay of Klabat, about
20 miles deep. Along the coasts are many iiilets, the most considerable of which is
Lipar, at its northern end.
Through the whole island there runs a chain of mountains, the highest peak of
which, that of Maras, at the head of the bay of Klabat, is supposed to be 2000 feet
above the level of the sea. The hill called Monopin in our charts, and which is a
landmark for navigators, is only 967 feet The island has no lakes, but many
morasses, and numerous small rivers, tangled with mangroves and ratans, and not
navigable except for native boats.
The mountain chain of Banca has the same direction as that of the Malay peninsula,
and of the plutonio part of Sumatra, running from north-west to south-east, and it
has the same geologi^ formation. The main component of the mountains is granite,
containing, tin, gold, and iron. Next to the granite, and in situations of less elevation,
there occun an extensive formation of red iron-stone, the laterite of geologists, and
in the lowest lands an alluvial formation, intermixed with sandstones and breccias,
among which occur the washings of tin and gold.
The plants of Banca are, with few exceptions, the same as those of that part of
Sumatra in its neighbourhood. The whole island, even to a greater degree than
usual, is covered with forest, the marshy parts of it being impenetrable from tangled
underwood. The timber trees are of great size, and some of them useful The teak
does not existy but there is stated to be an oak of groat size. The most valuable
BANCA 32 BANCA
products of the forest for trade, are agila-wood, ebony, and bees'-wax. The laiger wild
mammalia are two species of wild boar, the same as those of Java, numerouB^ and
hunted by the Chinese, chiefly for their lard ; a stag, oervus elephas; a roe, oerrus
manjac; and the pigmy deer, moschuB pigmeus; with the Malayan bear. The
elephant, the rhinoceros, and the tapir do not exist, and the largest rapacious
quadruped is a kind of pole-cat^ The birds are, for the most part, the same as those
of Sumatra. The pigeon family is remarkable for numbers and variety, 30 species
having been reckoned. Among reptiles the alligators are numerous and dangerous,
being found on the coasts, and in the rivers and marshes. Esculent fish and
molluscs are abundant and of good quality.
The aboriginal inhabitants of Banoa are a rude but inoffensive people, of the same
race and speaking the same language as the Malays, who call them Orang-gunung,
literally mountaineers, but in their acceptation " savages,*' or wild men. These
people live in separate families, and do not, like the more civilised tribes, congregate in
villages. They cultivate a few patches of rice in a very rude way, and understand
the smelting of iron. In race, language, and state of society, they are essentially the
same as the wild inhabitants of the peninsula called the B&nuwa. On the coasts of
the island are found, seemingly, the same people, but with different habits, the Orang-
lant, or Sea-gipsies, sometimes called Sika. These dwell in their boats, having no
other habitation, and Uve by fishing, and occasionally by a little piracy. The mass
of the inhabitants of Banca, however, are oolomsts of comparatively recent times,
Malays, Javanese, and Chinese. In 1840, the total population of the island was
reckoned at 35,000, of which 18,000 were Chinese, which gives less than the poor ratio
of 10 inhabitants to the square mile.
The soil of Banca must be considered as decidedly sterile. It consists of a layer
of mould, from a foot and a half to two feet deep, generally lying over the iron-stone
or laterite, already described. The only rural industry of the island consists in a few
patches of rice culture, and in raising a few firuits and culinary vegetables. The only
other industrious pursuit that deserves naming, consists in digging, washing, and smelt-
ing the alluvial tin ore. This is entirely in the hands of the Chinese, who receive advances
from the Dutch government, which exercises a monopoly of the produoa In 1844,
the quantity produced was 70,289 piculs, or about 4300 tons, a quantity equal to
the produce of our Cornish mines, and, being all grain tin, superior to it in valua But
even this large product has since been greatly increased, for the quantity produced
in 1853 was no less than 5540 tons.
Banca has no trade worth naming, the only considerable export being tin, the
produce of a public monopoly, and the only imports iron and other necessaries of
life for its scanty population. The only place of trade is the only town in the
island, Muntok, situated on the shore of Uie safest roadstead, which is on the strait,
in south lat. 2**, and east long. 105** 15', containing no more than 3000 inhabitants.
The only considerable revenue arises from the profits of Uie tin monopoly, a pre-
carious one, which even the government that exercises it can hardly calculate or
reckon upon. The government pays to the miner, on an average, about eight
Spanish dollars for each picul of the metal, this weight being equal to 125 Dutch, or
about 134 English pounds. Now the ordinary Indian market-price of tin, for the weight
in question is about 20 dollars, so that there seems a gross profit of 12 dollars. This
is, however, subject to many deductions, as European superintendence at the mines
and furnaces, transport of the metal to Java, where it is sold, public establishments
there for storing and selling, and risk of competition with the free produce of the
Malay peninsula and its islands, not to mention all the civil, military, and naval
expenses of the ieland, kept up chiefly, if not wholly, on account of its tin. Leasing
the mines to adventurers for a certain rent, as practised by the proprietors of mines
of all descriptions in Britain, and as is practised by the British government with its
tin mines at Malacca, would be a far more effectual means of securing a certain
revenue, than a monopoly which substitutes the dolings of public revenue for the
wholesome efficacy of capital. The freedom of such a system could hardly fail to
increase the amount of the produce. If it be taken only at 75,000 piculs, or short
of 5000 more than the produce of the monopoly in 1844, and a seignorase of 15 per
cent were levied on it, and realised by farming it, the net revenue womd amount,
at the value of 20 dollars a picul, to 225,000 dollars, equal to £48,730. This view
is corroborated by the results of the system as pursued at Malacca. The tin mines
of this place were only effectually worked for the first time in 1845, and in 1848
they yielded 7000 piculs of tin. Their inferior fertility to those of Banca, and
even the inferiority of the metal produced, did not admit of a higher seignorage
BANCALIS 33 BANDA
than 10 per cent., bat even at this rate, they yielded a revenue of near 10,000
doUare a-jear.
Of the history of Banca, all that is worth narratiog may be briefly told. An island
which was not known to contain tin, until the first years of the last century, which
was unfertile in soil, without natural fsunlities of irrigation, and which had no coveted
natural products, is not likely to have tempted the resort of strangers, and seems to
have been left almost entirely to its rude inhabitanta The Javanese, who, aocordiDg
to their own chronicles, established themselves at Palembang, in Sumatra, about the
year of our time 1378, appear to have formed some establishments on ^e western
side of Bancs, which may still be traced by their names derived either from the
Javanese or Sanscrit language, as Kuta-waringin, ** the fort of the Indian fig-tree ; "
Bingka-kuta, the fort of Bimca ; and Selan, the mythological Indian name of Ceylon.
Two centuries, from the first appearance of Europeans in the Archipelago, had passed
away, before Biuica had attracted any other notice from them than as an appendage
of Sumatra. A pure accident called attention to it. Some of the inhabitants in
burning the forest, in their rude culture of rice, found that some superficial tin ore
had been smelted in the process, and ore being sought for in the neighbourhood, it
was found in abundanca This happened in the year 1709, and in 1711 the dis-
covery was known at Batavia to the Dutch. The fact of the manner in which, and
the time when the discovery was made, are well ascertained. It is a signal proof of
the ignorance and incuriousness of the Malayan nations, that the Javanese, the most ad-
vanced of them, should have been, after 380 years, as sovereigns of Palembang, masters
of Banea, without being aware that it had rich mines of an useful metal well known to
them. That the European nations should have been in the same state of ignorance
is to be accounted for, by their being wholly employed during that long time in no
worthier pursuit than the attempt to establish commercial monopolies in such paltry
commodities as doves, nutmegs, and black-pepper. The tin of Banca was no sooner
discovered than the Sultan of Palembang established a monopoly of it, and no sooner
was it known to the Dutch that he had done so, than they forced an engagement
on him, securing to themselves the right of pre-emption at a very mean price. This
state of things continued for a whole century, and until the conquest of the Dutch pos-
sessions by the English in 1811, when the Sultan of Palembang, in the base hope of
gratifying the conquerors, put the whole of the Dutch at Palembang and Banca to
death. The return for this office was an invasion of Palembang, the defeat of the
Sultan, his dethronement, and the acquisition of Banca, as a cession from his successor
in 1812. The island continued a British possession until 1816, when, along with the
rest of their possessions, it was restored to the Dutch. These in 1818 restored the old
Sultan, whose treachery brought on a war of two years, which ended in 1821 by the
conquest of P&lembang, which, with Banca, have since continued in undic^uted
possession of the Netherland government.
BANCALIS. One of four low islands, of considerable size, separated from eacli
other, and from the north-eastern coast of Sumatra, by narrow straits. These islands
lie ofif the mouths of the rivers of Siak and Kampar, between the first and second
degrees of north latitude. Bancalis, which belongs to the Malay state of Siak, is about
35 miles in length by 10 in breadth, mostly covered with forest and thinly inhabited.
BANDA. The Banda or Kutmeg Islands oonflist of a group of mere islets, said to
be five in number, like the Clove Islands, but really amounting to ten, although some
of them be uninhabited. Their names were probably given by the Malayan traders,
who had frequented them for ages : Banda, correctly B&udan, means in Javanese the
thing or things tied or united, or with the word Pulo, " united islands." Pulo Nera
18 the *' island of palm-wine.** Lontar, written by Europeans Lonthor, is the name of
the palm, the leaf of which is used for writing on, the word being half Sanscrit and
half Javanese. Pulo Ai, properly Ptdo Wai, means "water-island;" Pulo Pisang,
" banana island ; " Pulo Bun (Rung), '* chamber island ; " Pulo Suwanggi, " soroerv
island ;" Qunung-api, "fire mountain or volcano." A name which, with the Dutch
pronunciation and orthography, cannot be traced to a Malayan language, is Rosingen.
It is written by De Barros, however, Rosolanguim, and if this, as is likely, be nearer
the true word, it may possibly be derived from the Javanese word roso, " strength,"
and langgftng, *' firm, assured." And Pulo Kapal may either signii^ "ship island'' or
" horse island," for the annexed word means the first in Telinga, borrowed by the
Malays, and the second in Javanese. The whole group lies between south latitudes
V 50' and 4** 40', and the Dutch fortress of Belgica, on the island of Nera, is in east
longitude 129** 54' 20'." Lontar, called usually by Europeans the Oroat Banda, is the
D
BANDA 34 BANDA
largest of the group, being about 7 miles long, with an aTerage breadth of 2 miles* and
having the form of a crescent Nera, on which the principal settlement standsy is
but a mile and a half long, and half a mile broad.
The whole Banda group, which has an area of no more than 17*6 geographical
square miles, is of volcanic formation, and Qunung-api, is an entire volcanic mountain,
the most active of the whole great volcanic band, although its height above the sea-
level is only 2500 feet. The eruptions of this mountain have been frequent and
destructive. The first of which we have anv record took place in 1629. This was
followed by eruptions in 1690 and the five following years, — in 1765, in 1775, in 1816,
in 1820, and in 1852. In the months of November and December of this last year, a
succession of fearful earthquakes, but unaccompanied by any eruption of GhmungHipi,
took place, which nearly overwhelmed the islands of Nera and Lontar, overthrowing
houses, and destroying ships and nutmeg plantations. The eruptions of Ghmung-api
are accompanied by violent earthquakes, and by risings of the sea equally fatal. In
the eruption of 1690, the sea rose 25 feet higher than nigh water at spring tides, and
swept off every dwelling on or near the shore, and every vessel. A cannon weighing
8500 pounds was carried away from the quay on which it stood to the distance of
80 feet In the eruption of 1691, the succession of earthquakes which took place
was such as to terrify the inhabitants, many of them emigrating to Amboyna and
Celebes. The eruption of 1852 seems to have been not less disastrous than that of
1690. The eruptions are invariably followed by fatal epidemics, which cany off
many of the inhabitants.
The Banda Islands are, with small ezceptionB, covered, as elsewhere, with a luxuriant
forest Their most distinguished product is, of course, the nutmeg, Myristica mos-
chata, not, however, confined to them, for it is equally a native of other islands lying
east of them, as fiir as New Guinea inclusive. The mammal animals are few in
number, and, as is always the case in islands of small extent, none of the larger are
found, not even any species of hog or deer. Among the feathered tribe the most
abundant and remarkable are the parrots and pigeons. Of the first of those, the red
loory, Psittacus ruber, is the most singular; and of the last, Columba perspicillata
and Columba senea, both great depredators on the nutmeg, and the first of them
good gama
The population of the Banda Islands, by an enumeration made in 1840, was found
to be 5081, of which Nera had 1225 ; Lontar or the Great Banda, 372 ; Ai, 148 ; and
Run, 42. These, amounting to 1687, constituted the free population ; the rest were
made up of 2183 slaves and 1029 convicts ; for these islands are the place of trans-
portation for the felons of Java, Sumatra, and Borneo. In 1725 the population was
stated at 5000, so that in a period of 115 years, no increase had taken place : indeed,
if we deduct convicts, which did not exist in 1725, there had been a decrease of
about 1000, or one-fifth of the whole number.
Agriculture is confined to the raising of fruits and vegetables, and the rearing of the
nutmeg. Of this there are reckoned to be 34 parks, as they are called by the Dutch.
These contain among them about half a million of trees, which on an average of years
are reckoned to produce 400,000 pounds of nutmegs and 180,000 of mace. The whole
trade of the islands consists in the export of the produce of the nutmeg tree, and in
the importation of com and other necessaries for the maintenance of the population,
the government being the sole exporter of the nutmegs, and the sole importer of the
com. The volcano of Gunung-api furnishes an abundant supply of sulphur, but it
is not collected ; the necessary labour and enterprise for such an undertaking not
existing in the stagnant state of society which prevails. The town, which is the seat
of administration, not only for the Banda but for other islands annexed to them,
such as those of Goram and Aroe, estimated at a population of 200,000, is situated on
Nera, and on the shore of a safe harbour formed between it, Lontar and Gunung-api
The scene presented on entering this harbour is represented to be quite unequalled
for picturesque beauty in the Archipelago, and is the more striking from the total
absence of all evidence of industry and civilisation until it appears in view.
The revenue of the Banda Islands consists in the profits of the nutmeg monopoly.
The price paid to the proprietors of the nutmeg parks may be reckoned in round
numbers, for the qtiantity above specified, at about 10,000/., and the value at Batavia, to
which they are transported at the cost of the government, is about 55,0002., so that the
gross profits of the monopoly would be thus about 45,000^ This is, however, subject
to many deductions, as the cost of the establishment for superintending the culture,
for curing and warehousing on the spot, transport of the produce to Batavia, expense
of warehousing and selling it there, and the difference between the prime cost of rice
BAin)A 36 BANDA
in Java and in the Banda Ifilands, some 1500 miles distant. But besides this, the
monopoly profits have to support tiie whole charges of the civil, municipal, ordnance,
naval and military establishments, the last alone comprising 400 rank and file, with
their officers, all kept up for no other purpose than the maintenance of the
monopoly. The certainty is, that instead of profit, there must be a heavy loss. In
fact this monopolT, which now existing for above two centuries, if the cost of its
acquisition be re<uKoned, never couJd have yielded a read profit, and for many years
back is well known to have been accompanied by a heavy loss. A perseverance in it,
therefore, is a subject of much surprise both to enlightened Dutchmen and strangers.
The history of the Nutmeg Islands is as follows : They had been known to and
oflen frequented by the two principal insular nations of the western part of the
Archipelago, the Malavs and Javanese^ for many ages before the advent of Europeans.
Hindoos most probably, and Arabs and Chinese certainly, had visited them long
before the Portuguese. The latter, therefore, although the first to reach, cannot be
said to have discovered them. Alboquerque, after his conquest of Malacca in 1611,
obtained all the necessary information respecting the Spice Islands, and despatched
Antonio d'Abreu, one of his lieutenants, to trade with and take possession of tbem
in the month of December of that year. " Before him," says De BaiTos, " he sent a
native of Halacca, one Nakhoda Ismael, in a trading junk, belonging to some Moorish
Javanese and Malays of these parts, so that on d'Abreu's arrival he might be well
received. Indeed, as our name was wonderful in this part of the world, there was
little risk of his not being handsomely treated." On his way d'Abreu. touched at
Oressic in Java, and there took ** Malay and Javanese pilots who had made the
voyage " to the Spice Island& Leaving Java, the first of the Spice Islands which he
reached was Amboyna, from whence he proceeded to the Banda Islands. De Barros'
description of them is this: *'And as the Moluccas comprehend five islands, so
under the name of Banda are also five islands, each with its own proper name. In
truth, the chief of them is called Banda, to the principal port of which, Lutatam, all
ships resort that come for the nutmeg trade. The other islands are called Boso-
languim, Ay, Rom, and Neira, and all of them lie within 4)^ south altitude. Every
year there repair to Lutatam Javanese and Malays to load cloves, nutmegs, and mace ;
for this place being in the latitudes most easily navigated, and where ships are most
safe, and as the cloves of the Moluccas are brought to it by vessels of the country, it
is not necessary to go to the latter in search of them. In the five islands now named
grow all the nutmegs consumed in every part of the world." He afterwards adds
tiiat nutmegs produced in all the other islands were brought for the convenience of
the foreign merchant to Lutatam in Lontar or the Great Banda, and that place, in
short, seems to have been, on the arrival of the Portuguese, the local emporium of
the nutmeg trade. De Barros desoribee the volcano of Gunung-api correctly, and is
only wrong in his etymology of its name, making gunung, which signifies mountain,
to mean '* fire," and api, which means ** fire," to be the proper name of the island.
His account of the characters of the Bandanese is this : *' The people of these islands
are robust, with a tawny complexion and lank hair, and are of the worst repute in
these parts. They follow the sect of Mahommedan, and are much addicted to trade,
their women performing the labours of the field. They have neither king nor lord,
and all their government depends on the advice of their elders ; and as these are often
at variance, uey quarrel among themselves. The land has no other export than the
nutmeg. This tree is in such abundance that the land is full of it, without its being
planted by anyone, for the earth yields it without culture. The forests which
produce it belong to no one by inheritance, but to the people in common. When
June and September come, whk^ are the months for gathering the crop, the nutmeg
woods are allotted, and he who gathers most has most profit." This account would
seem to show that the people of the Banda Islands lived under a sort of rude
patriardial republic, and in fact that they were, although few in number, a spirited
and independent people, as indeed, the desperate resistance they afterwards made
against both Portuguese and Dutch sufficiently shows. Their adoption of the
Mahommedan religion is by no means a proof of barbarism, but the reverse, as it is
only the most advanced nations of the Archipelsgo that have done so, while generally,
the more savage tribes remain unconverted up to the present day. That the life and
property of strangers was tolerably secure among them is sufficiently attested by the
fact of their islands having been selected as the emporium of the whole spice trade.
BANDUNG 36 BANJAfiMASIN
doTes, brought thither, as before mentioned, by the jonks of Malaccis quitted the
lalee of Bonda well satisfied with his reception hj the people of the coantry."
The Portuguese had been nearly a century in possession of the nutmeg trade,
when the Dutch made their first appearance in the Banda Islands with an armaxnenty
and with the view of taking possession of them. The expedition consisted of three
ships carrying 700 soldiers ; an armament equal in strength to that with which Cortes
had conquered the Mexican empire. This was in 1609. The Dutch attempted to
construct a fort on the ruins of one which had belonged to the Portuguese. The
natives resisted, — seduced the Dutch admiral and forty-five of his companions into an
ambuscade, and massacred them. This led to a war of extermination, which was not
dosed until 1627, and had produced the necessity of the presence of the governor-
general with a large fleet and seventeen companies of soldiers. The Bandanese loet
8000 in killed and had 1000 made prisoners, who were most likely expatriated for
the safety of the conquerors. The remainder of the population sought safety by
flight to the neighbouring islands, where mixing with other populations, they have
lost their nationality and disappeared as a people, no vestige of their language and
manners remaining. Their numbers before tiie Dutch conquest are said to have
been 15,000, and if so, the oonmiest had destroyed above a fourth part of the whole
number. In this manner the Dutch became undisputed masters of the nntmeg
monopoly, but there was no one to cultivate the trees, and it became necessary to
introduce slaves for this purpose. The nutmeg plantations were divided as here-
ditary property among the Dutch who assisted in making the conquest, — traders and
military officers whose descendants hold them under the name of Parkeniers to the
present day, on the condition of delivering the whole produce to the goyemment
at a fixed and low price, receiving in return any required number of slaves at about
91. a-head, and rice at its first cost in Java. The abolition of the carrying trade in
slaves, and the impossibility of keeping up the stock by natural increase, made it
necessary to modify the terms of the contract, and at present convicts from Jaya,
Sumatra, and Borneo are substituted for slaves.
BANDUNG, a district of the oountry of the Sundas, in Java; oae of those
collectively called Prayangan, written Prianger by the Dutch, and meaning " fiury
land," or " country of sprites.** Bandung is a picturesque and extensive valley, not
unlike in aspect to some of the valleys of the Apennines. It lies about midway be-
tween the northern and southern coasts, its chief town of the same name lying in about
south latitude 6" 50', and east longitude 105" 85'. The district contained 721 villages,
in 1814 and had a population of 56,122. In the returns of the population of Java
made hi 1845, this district is not distinguished from the other eleven that constitute
the Prayangan province ; but if its increase has kept pace with that of the rest, it
ought now to exceed 190,000.
BANGLI. A principality of Bali, in the interior of the island, and estimated to
have a population of 80,000.
BANJAKMASIN. A prinoi^ality and river on the southern side of Borneo, the
embouchure of the river bemg in south latitude 3* 82', and east longitude 114** 38'.
The principality is estimated to comprise 280 square geographical leagues, or 4840
miles. The meaning of the word in Javanese is " salt or stJine garden.*^ Tke geolo-
gical formation seems to be plutonio and sedimentary ; and its only mineral products
available to industrial purposes are the diamond and coal, mines of both being
now worked. Ratans, canes, and pepper are the only products of the vegetable
kingdom available for foreign trade; and the culture of pepper, which had been
lax^ely prosecuted before this commodity was monopolised by the Dutch government,
is now nearly extinct. The forests do not produce the teak tree, nor the camphor,
BO valuable for its timber, and essential oil, concrete and fluid, and so abundant on
the north-western side of the island. The larger animals are the same as in other
parts of Borneo, — ^the ox, wild and domestic ; the buffiilo in the latter state, and the
hog in both states. The total population subject to the Sultan of Banjarmasin is
estimated at 120,000, chiefly Malays, with a few natives of Celebes and a small
number of Chinese ; but besides, it is computed that within the limits of the territory
claimed by this prince, there are about half a million of the wild tribes that go under
the common name of Dayak.
The sovereignty of Banjarmasin is said, in olden times, to have extended over the
whole of the south-eastern portion of Borneo. Tradition assigns the foundation of
tiie state to a personage called Ampu-jatmika, the son of a merchant of the coast of
BANAK 37 BANAK
Goromandel, called MangkunbumL Ampu-jatmika, with his iamily and followen,
emigrated from India, and settled in Borneo, giving their new country the name of
Nagara^pa ; and on a river, still called Nagara, there are at present to be seen the
remains of atone edifices said to have been the residence of the first princes. This
event is reckoned to have taken place about the end of the 12th century of our time,
but no precise date is assigned to it. In the third generation, the only descendant
of the founder was a princess, for whom a husband was sought and found in a prince
of Majapait, in Java, who took the title of Raden Suryanata. From his time to the
overthrow of ICi^apait, in the year 1478, Banjarmasin continued tributary to that
Javanese state, which assisted it in extending its dominions eastward, so as to
embrace the now independent states of Kuti and Pasir. The people professed a rude
Hinduism, similar to that of Java, but about the beginning of the 16th century, they
embraced Mahommedanism, having been converted by the state of Damak in Java,
founded at the end of the 15th century, and immediately after the subversion of the
Hindu state of Mijapait. This event must have been nearly contemporaneous with
the first appearance of the Portuguese in the Archipelago. It is stated that the
people of Baojarmaain asked for assistance towards the suppreatSon of a revolt, and
that it was given on condition of the adoption of the new religion, when a host of
priests militant came over from Java, who suppressed the rebellion and effected the
conversion. The reigning prince, at the time referred to, bore the half-Indian, half-
Javanese title of Baden Sumadra, which, according to custom in such cases, he
changed for the Arabic one of Sultan. Such is the statement made on native autho-
rity, and although, no doubt, there is much truth in it, it will not bear a close
examination. A succession of two-and-twenty princes is stated to have reigned in
Banjarmasin from its foundation to the vear 1846| which, at the average European
estimate of 20 years for each reign, would give ik more than 440 years, and this
would cany us back only to the beginning of the 15th century, and not to the end
of the 12th, for the foundation of the state. According to the chronology given,
each reign must have avenged about 80 years, which is highly improbable. The
Dutch htA visited Borneo and traded with it as early as 1600, but their first political
relations with Banjarmasin began in 1664, by a contract for the monopoly of pepper,
rendered inoperative by the machinations of the Portuguese. The English, about
the same time, were busy trading and intriguing, and in 1698 obtained leave to erect
a fort in the territoiy of Banjarmasin, and to establish a factoiy, but the last was plun-
dered, and the garrison of the first massacred in 1707. Various subsequent treaties
were made between the Dutch and the princes of Banjarmasin, but in 1756, the
country being in a state of revolt, the Dutch lent the reigning prince assistance by
sea and land, by which peace was restored ; and in reward for this service, a complete
monopoly of the pepper trade was granted to them. The terms of this engagement
are worth noticing for the results which followed. The Sultan engaged to extend
the cultivation of pepper to the amount of 15,000 piculs, or about 2,000,000
?oands, and the utmost he ever succeeded in delivering to his aJlies was about
0,000 pounds. The price fixed was six Spanish dollars for each picul of 125 Dutch
pounds, which was no doubt thought at the time a very good bargain for the pur-
chaser, and yet it is about one-fifth more than the same commodity may, under the
existing commercial freedom, be had for in any native port of the pepper-produdng
countries. Indeed, a caigo may be got in an hour's warning at lees price in any
European port of the Archipelago, and without the cost of treaties and garrisons.
The result of the monopoly is what might be safely expected, the cessation of the
culture of pepper in Banjarmasin.
In 1785, we reigning prince having rendered himself odious to his subjects^ the
countiy was invaded by 3000 natives of Celebes. These were expelled by the Dutch,
who dethroned the Sultan, placing his younger brother on the throne, who, in reward
for their services, ceded to them his entire dominions, consenting to hold them as a
vassal. This is the treaty under which the Dutch claim the sovereignty of Banjar-
masin, and whatever was once dependent on iU
BAKAK (PULO) ; that is, " the many isles," a cluster of islands on the western
coast of Sumatra, lying off Singkel, which ii itself in 2* 15' 15" north latitude, and
east longitude 97"* 48' 40". The group consists of one considerable iiUand, about
20 miles long, with, at least, a score of mere islets. The inhabitants, who have a
peculiar language of their own, distinct fr^m those of Sumatra, are said to be called
by the Malays, Maros and Maruwi, words of which I do not know the origin. They
have been converted to the Mahommedan religion, and are chiefly fishermen.
BANGUI 38 BANUMA8
BANGUI. An island in the Sula Sea, at the northern end of Borneo, and lyin^
off the promontory formed between the iMiys of Maluda and Paitao. It is about six
leagues long, and has a motmtain peak in north latitude 7* 19', and east longitude
117* 0^, which being viaible in clear weather at the distance of 14 or 15 league*,
cannot be leas than 5000 feet high. The island forms a portion of the territory of
the chieftain, called the Sultan of Sulii, but very little more is known about it.
BAKKA.LAK, a district of the island of Madnra, oomprehending its western
portion. In 1814, it contained 447 yillagea, and a population of 63,714, which at
present is probably more than double that amount ; but being, with the rest of the
island, mixed np with the proyince of Surabaya, I possess no means of distingnishing
the number.
BANTAM ; thns written by the Fortngnese, whose example has been followed
by other European nations: in the native languages it is RantAn, but the literal
meaniog of the word I have not been able to ascertain. Bantam, in the country
of the Sundas,« and formerly an independent kingdom, is now a Dutch prorinoe.
It forms the western end of Java, and has an area of 2568 geographical square miles,
aod is a mountainous country of Tolcanic formation. Its highest mountains, how-
ever, are not above one-half the height of those of the centre and eastern portions of
the island. ThuH Gunung-karang (rocky mountain) is but 6000 feet high, while the
next in elevation, Pulosari (island of sweet flowers), is no more than 4200 feet. Fossil
coal has been found in the district of Lebak, towards the south-eastern part of the
province. With the exception of the teak, which does not exist, the other trees
and plants, wild and cultivated, are generally the same as in other parts of the
island. The wild and domestic aninuds are also the same, and it may here be
remarked that the dwarf poultry, called by us after the country, were imported fix>m
Japan, and received their name, not from the place that produced them, but £rom
that where our voyagers first found them.
The mass of the population of Bantam is of the Sunda nation, and speaking its
peculiar language ; but on the coast this people is mixed up with Malays, Javanese,
and others who speak Malay. In 1814, the number of villages in Bantam was 738,
and its computed population 231,604. By the census of 1850, this population had
increased to 470,381, giving about 184 to the square mile, not above one-half the
density of the more fertile central and eastern provinces of the island. The principal
industrial products of the province are rice, coffee, sugar, indigo, tea, cinnamon, and
bay salt. With the exception of the first and last, all these articles are more or lass
exotics, and cultivated or produced for the Dutch government, through the corv^
labour which prevails over Java About 2000 families are stated to he engaged in
the fisheries. Pepper, the staple product of Bantam, and chiefly on account of
which it was frequented by the European merchants of the 17th and 18th century,
has ceased to be produced.
Bantam, conveniently situated on the shores of one of the great thoroughfares of
the Archipelitf o. naturally became one of the chief emporia of native trade before
the arrivul of Europeans, and was frequented by Malays and Javanese trading with
the Moluccas ; by Arabs, Persians, Hindus, and Mahommedans, from both coasts of
India ; and by Chinese and Japanese. The country of the Sundas was first visited ia
1511 by the Portuguese, under Henrique Lem^, one of the captains of the adventurous
Alboquerque. He seems, however, to have gone no farther than Jacatra, or Sunda-
kalapa, the future Batavia. The Dutch did not present themselves at Bantam until
1596, and then, not under very favourable auspices, for the future lords of Java; for
one of the two brothers, Houtman, who commanded the fleet, allowed himself to be
taken prisoner, and obtained his release only on payment of a ransom. The English
made their first appearance there in 1602, and in due course, the two monopolists
became embroiled, disputing about privileges which neither ought to possess, and in
the sequel, the Engliw were expelled by the superior power and activity of their
rivala The Dutch, from time to time, increased their influence in Bantam, and in
1843, the last of its kings was banished to Surabaya, at the further end of Java, and
the country taken possession of as a province.
BAN UM AS (golden water or river). A central province of Java, on the sonthem
side of the island, and consequently bounded on one side by the sea. Its area is
computed at 1589 square miles. It has itself no mountains of remarkable elevation,
but to the north it is bounded by the high range in which is the mountain of TAgal,
11,250 feet high. It has, extending along the coast, one considerable lake, or rather
BANUWANGI 39 BARBOSA
moraes, and eome considerable riven, valuable for the purpose of irrigation. The
largest island on the southern coast of Java, Nusa-kambangan, (literally, floating
isliuid,) forms a part of this province. By the census of 1845, the population of
Ba&umas was estimated at 405,654, of which 150 were Europeans, 1640 Chinese, and
the remainder natives, speaking the Javanese language ; for this province borders
on the country of the Sundas. Rice is the staple product ; but it produces, also, like
similar parts of Java, cotton and pulses, and, of late years, the Dutch have intro-
duced the culture of ooflee, sugar, and similar products, grown on account of the
government by corv6e labour. The province is purely an agricultural one, having
no foreign trade, and its only port being that which lies between the island above
named and the main, is an isolated and, therefore, an inconvenient one,
BAJNITWANGI (fragrant water or riyer). A district of Java, forming its
eastern extremity, as Bantam does its western. In 1814, its total population was no
more than 8873, which, in 1850, had risen to 30,634. In fact, it is the wildest portion
of the island. lbs natural advantages, however, are not inferior to those of the finest
districts ; fur in the west and north of it are several high mountains, which supply
it with many rivers for irrigation. One of these, Widadaren (abode of celestial
nymphs), is about 8000 feet high; and Ijeng is above 10,500 ; both of them active vol*
canoes. The neighbourhood of Bali, and the invasions from it, with destructive
volcanic eruptions have probably been the chief causes of its backwardness.
BAEAM. The name of a river and district on the north-western side of Borneo,
part of the territory of the state of Brunai The mouth of the river is in north
latitude 4" 30', and east longitude 113** 50', and 80 miles southward of the British
settlement of Labuan. The entrance is obstructed by a sand bar, on which the
depth is no more than a fathom and a half; but after crossing this obstacle, the river
deepens to four, to five, and even to ten fathoms ; and these depths extend to the
distance of 1 00 miles. The breadth of the river at its embouchure is about half a
mile, after which it varies from 500 to 200 fathoms. At the respective distances of
72 and 80 miles, the Baram receives two affluents, called the Chingir and Tutu. Its
banks, towards its embouchure, are clothed with cassuarinas, instoEtd of mangroves,
indicating a dry and sandy, instead of a muddy soil. Further up are many open
grassy plains, in which the wild hog, deer, and wild ox, called by the natives the
Tuladan (the Bos sondaicus of naturalists), are found. Towards the upper portion of
the Baram excellent iron-ore and coal-fields exist ; and as the river is navigable for
vessels drawing no more than eight or nine feet, coal and iron might become articles
of export to the European emporium in the neighbourhood. The ruling tribe of the
interior \a the Eayan, the most advanced and powerful of all the wild races of Borneo.
In 1851, the war iron-steamer " Pluto" ascended the Baram to the distance of 140
miles, and ascertained all the facts now stated, the Kayans receiving her in a very
friendly manner ; but, as may readily be supposed, with wonder. ** I hear," says the
intelligent narrator of the voyage, *' that the exclamations of the Kayans, on first
seeing us, were ' Here is a god ; ' others, ' A mighty spirit.' "
BARAPI (GUI^UNG); literally "fire mountain" or volcano. It has the same
sense as M&rapi, and both are the names of mountaina^ — one in Sumatra, and one in
Java. The Sumatran mountain rises to the height of 6000 feet above the level of the
sea. It is an active volcano, and lies towards the southern side of the island, about
45 miles south of the equator.
BARBOSA, ODOARDO or DUERTE. Barbosa, written Balbosa by the Spaniards,
the author of the fullest, the most authentic, and most intelligent of all the early
accounts of India, represents himself in the preface to lus book, as translated by Ra-
musioyto have been a gentleman of Lisbon who, in his voutb, travelled over many parts
of India, and who, taking notes of what he observed himself or what he learnt " from
authentic sources, whether Christian, Mahommedan, or heathen," composed his work
for the public advantage, bring^g it to a conclusion in 1516. The account, however,
contains internal evidence of the author's having visited Malacca before its conquest by
his countrymen in 1511. Barbosa's work has been, I believe, of late years, published in
Portuguese, from the original manuscript; but I have not had the good fortune to have
met with it In 1519, t^^ee years after he had completed his worK^, we find Barbosa
in Spain, joining the fieet under Magellan, whose relative he was. On the death of his
commander in 1521, we learn from Pigafetta that, in conjunction with Juan Serano,
a Spaniard, he was elected to succeed to the command, which he did not long enjoy ;
for on the 1st of May, four days after the death of Magellan, he and his colleague.
BARON 40 BA8ILAN
baviog boon seduoed to land under a fiilae protext^ by ibe king of tbe ialand of ^^bo,
were treadheroualy murdered, with four-and-twenty of their oompanions. On this the
Spanish shipe set sail, and nothing more was ever heard of Barbosa. The BiD^alar
knowledge which Pigafetta, who had never been himself in India, until he accompanied
KagellaUi displays respecting it may, in some measure, be accounted for, when it is
considered that he was the shipmate of one so well informed as Barboia.
BARON (NUSA). The island of Baron, the second in size of the few isLands
which skirt the southern coast of Java* forms part of the province of Besokie.
Latitude south 8"* 8' 82", and longitude east 118** 18^
BARROS, JAO D£, the author of the olassioal history of the Portogneae dis-
coveries and conquests in India, was bom in 1496, and died on the 20th of October,
1570. He had never visited any part of India, but placed in charge of the Indian
records, under the name of Feitor da casa da India, he had the best means of
obtaining accurate information ; and, for the time in which he lived, certainly made
a fiiithfuT and judicious use of his opportunities. His appointment to the charge of
the Indian records took place in 1582, only 34 years after the first arrival of the
Portuguese in India, and but 28 after their first appearance in the waters of the
Archipelago. The first decade of De Barros* History was published in 1552, and the
second, that which treats of the Indian Islands, in the following year. Ilie third
was not published until ten years after the second, and the fourth and last was
posthumous. De Barros was 15 years of age when Malacca was conquered, and Java
and the Spice Islands discovered, and 20 at the time of Alboquerque's death. He
may, therefore, be considered as a contemporary of Alboquerque, whose achievements
he narrates, and to stand pretty nearly in the same relation to him that the historian
Orme does to the English conqueror Olive.
BARUS. The name of a plaoe on the western coast of Sumatra, situated about a
league up a small river, and within the territory of the nation of the Bataks, although
Barus itself be a Malay colony. At one time, it seems to have been a place of some
eminence for native trade ; but at present is chiefly known for giving its name to
the native camphor (kapur-barus), on which the Chinese set so high and, seemingly,
so capricious a value. North latitude 1*^ 59^ 85", east longitude 98*" 23'* 80".
B ASHEE ISLANDS. The name of a cluster of islets to the north of the Babu-
yanes Isles, at the northern end of Luzon. The celebrated Dampier and his bucca-
neering comrades gave them this name when they visited them in 1687. " These
islands," says Dampier, " having no particular names in the drafts, some or other of
us made use of the seaman's privilege to give them what names we pleased.
Three of the islands were pretty large ; the westernmost is the biggest. This the
Dutchmen who were among us called the Prince of Orange's Island, in honour of
his present mijesty. The other two great islands are ab^ut four or five leagues to
the eastward of this. The northernmost of them, where we first anchored, I called
the Duke of Grafton's Isle as soon as we landed on it, having married my wife out of
the duchess's family, and leaving her at Arlington House at my going abroad. The
other great isle, our seamen called the Duke of Monmouth^s Island. Between
Monmouth and the south end of Orange Island, there are two small islands of
roundish form, lying east and west. The easternmost island of the two, our men
unanimously called Bashee Island, from a liquor which we drank there plentifully
every day after we came to an anchor at it." He adds, " And, indeed, from the
plenty of this liquor (a kind of beer), and their plentiful use of it, our men called
these islands the Bashee Islands." Most probably, however, all this is a mistake
on the part of Dampier. All the islands have native names, and the particular one
which he thinks was called after a native liquor, is in reality Basay, while the one he
names after his patron, the first Duke of Grafton, whose duchess condescended
to let the great navigator have one of her maid-servants for a wife, is that which
gives name to the whole group. (See Batan and Batanes.)
BASILAN. A considerable island in the Sulu Sea, lying ofiT the south-western
portion of the great island of Mindano, and parted from it by a strait known to
European i^vigators by its own name. It lies between the latitudes of 6° 42' and
6"* 26' north, and longitudes east 121'* 50' and 122'' 18'. Its length is about seven
leagues, its breadth four, and it is computed to have an area of 855 square geogra-
phical miles. A chain of high mountains passes through its length. The inhabitants
of Basilan, a scanty population, are of the same race and speak the same language as
the other inhabitants of the Sulu Islands ; that is, a langiuige partaking more of the
BASISI 41 BATAE
Philippine than the Malay oharaoter, and much intermixed with the Biaaya, one of
the moet prevailing languages of the Philippine Archipelago. Basilan having long
enjoyed the bad reputation of being a nest of the thieves and pirates of the neighbouring
islands, the boldest and most expert of the Archipelago, was lately taken poasession
of and garrisoned by the Spanish goyernment, annaxing it to the province of Zam-
boanga in Mindano.
BASISI. The name of one of the wild tribes of the interior of the Malay peninsula,
inhabiting the country inland from Malacca, and in the territory of Naning. In physical
form and language they are Malays, and the learned Mr. J. R. Logan, who first visited
and described them, comes to the conclusion '* that they are undoubtedly the original,
or undviliaed, perhaps I may add with truth, the unadulterated Malays." The only
essential difference between the B6sisi with other wild tribes of the same race in
the Peninsula, and the wild races of Borneo, is, that the first iuTariably have the
Malay for their language, whereas the latter have their own distinct and many
peculiar idioms.
• •
BATAAN, one of the twenty provinoes of the great island of Luzon. Bataan
consists of a peninsula, Ijmg between the great Bay of Manilla and the open sea^
and has a coast line of 68 miles, and an inland frontier of 29, and probably oon-
tains an ai«a of 875 geographical square miles. At its southern extremity it has the
tolerably convenient harbour of Mariveles, and at its north-western angle the bay or
inlet of Olonapo or Olopando, at the head of which is the harbour of Sulio. A spur
of the great cordillera of Zambales runs through the province, covered with forest^
and in which are found marbles of many varieties, much used in the churches and
other buildings of Manilla. The province generally is poor and rugged, in some
years not pnniucing food enough for its ii^abitants. The rivers of the eastern
coasty or that on the Bay of Mamlla, too small for navigation, abound in fish, which
forms a lai^e part of the sustenance of the people.
The inhabitants of BatXan are of the Ta^^ nation, but the recesses of the moun-
tains give refuge to tribes of the Aetas, negritos or little negros. " The least acces-
sible mountains of this province," say the authors of the * (Geographical and Statistical
Dictionary of the Philippines,' "are inhabited by hordes of negritos, who are
fi-equently pursued to their forest recesses, and being captured, the youngest are
taken, civilised, and instructed up to the age of reason, being employed meanwhile in
various work, with the view of being eventually set at liberty." In 1810, the total
population of Bantaan, which had been erected into a province in 1754, was 20,344 ; in
1818, it was 28,895 ; and in 1849, it had risen to 89,008 ; the parties assessed to the
poll-tax in this last year being 8875, and tiieir oontoibution 8375 reals of plate. Its
relative population gives 104 to the square mile.
B ATAG. An island about half a league ofiT the north-eastern ooast of Samar, the
most northerly of the Philippine group, which goes under the designation of Yisaya,
or Biaaya. Its length and breadth are respectively two leagues and one league,
giving it an area of two leagues. On its south-west coost, and within the strait
which divides it from Samar, it has one village, forming a part of the district of
Palapag, in Samar.
BATAE. One of the adyanoed nations of Snmatra, although among these the
lowest in the scale of civilisation. They are bounded to the north by the Achineee^
and to the south by the Malayan nation, the latter having encroached so much on
their coasts as to leave them little communication with the sea, either on the eastern
or western coast of the island, thus making them essentially an inland people. The
country of the Bataks lies in that part of Sumatra which is the narrowest, and where
the breadth does not exceed 100 miles. Its mountains are of no great elevation, the
highest being from 4000 to 6500 feet only above the level of the sea. A portion of
the interior consists of an extensive plateau, but of what elevation is not stated. The
Dutch have of late years, extending their conquests into the interior of the island,
which no European nation had before attempted, — wrested two provinces in the heart
of their country from the Bataks, and the account they have given of these is the only
reliable one we possess of the nature of theBatak country. Their names are Mandeling
and P&rtibi, and the first of them, although it has rugged and sterile portions, has
also a series or chain of fertile valleys under culture of rice by irrigation, lying
between the mountains Bftrapi and Mali The first of these is about 5500 feet in
height, and judging by its name is probably volcanic^ and being such may acoount for
tiie fertility of the valleys at its foot The physical geography of the province of
BATAE 42 BATAK
FArtibi is very different, and much of it marked by oharaotera very singular in the
Malayan Archipelago. A considerable portion of it consists of a dreary, treelees, and
sterile plain, thus described by Mr. Wilier, an officer of the Dutch government of
Java. ''Here/* says he, "we see unrolled a plain without horizon and without
variety ; an unbounded carpet on which the more or less luxuriant growth of the
Iialang (Andropogon caricosum), a coarse worthless grass, a most troublesome
weed, and a sure sign of sterility, makes the only diversity, and on which not a single
living creature appears to move, — where a tree is literally a rarity, and when it exists
has an appearance of stunted dwarfishness ; where at the distance of miles we descry,
like an oasis in the desert, an insignificant thicket, or a small strip of brushwood,
along the banks of a marsh or stream ; where a fell scorching wind blows for mouths
together, and from the numerous conflagrations of lalang grass, generally spreads a
dull glow, through which the sunlight scarcely forces itself wavering and heavj ; in
short, where all nature seems to have gone to ui eternal sleep. Such is the appear-
ance of Padang-luwas (wide or spacious plain), as of the greatest part of Pkrtibi
The naked and flat terrein of Padang-luwas offers no other diversity than the ravines
and morasses with which it is intersected. The upper soil is of the most meagre and
unfruitful kind, and is seldom more than half a foot in thickness : beneath it we
soon come to layers of white clay limestone, sandstone, and other formations. The
climate although not actually unhealthy is extremely rude. Frequently we have in
the afternoon a temperature of 27*" to 29**, and in the night from 14° to 15** of
Beaumur. This heat is accompanied by a great dryness, which, however, for want of
instruments cannot be correctly ascertained. The Gendeng, which blows over
Probolingo in Java (a funnel-shaped pass at the eastern end of the island, of the same
character with the pass of Coimbatore in Southern India), can give but a faint idea of
the storm which for the greatest part of the year, day after day, bellows from the
west over Padang luwas. Like the mistral, the wind has a strong desiccating power,
cracking the ground, and in a few minutes removing all traces of mud and rain."
The Bataks are of the same brown-complexioned, lank-haired race as the rest of
the inhabitants of Simiatra. They are divided into many independent states, and in
1822 Mr. Anderson reckoned on the eastern side of Sumatra alone, no fewer than five-
and-twenty, of which he gives the several names. The Dutch represent the
inhabitants of the districts subject to them as a patient, truthful, laborious, and not
unfrequently a parsimonious people ; their chief vice being a passion for gambling.
They understand the smelting and forging of iron, the growth of rice by irrigation,
the culture, the weaving, and the dyeing of cotton, and have domesticated the ox,
buffalo, horse, and hog. But they have gone much beyond all this, for they have
invented alphabetic writing, having a peculiar character of their own, and a rude
literature written on palm leaves or slips of bamboo. Thus advanced, the most
remarkable circumstance connected with the manners of the Bataks is their
undoubted practice of cannibalism, a fact now as well ascertained as it is of the New
Zealanders. The victims are enemies, criminals, and now and then a slave. The
skulls are preserved as trophies, or sold at a handsome price to the friends of the
victimised. ''I am fully justified then," says Mr. Anderson, "not only from what I
witnessed, and the proo£i now in my possession, but from the concurring testimony
of the most respectable and intelligent natives whom I met, in asserting that
cannibalism prevails, even to a greater extent on the east side of Sumatra than
according to the accounts received it does on the west. For the sake of humanity,
however, be it mentioned that it is rapidly decreasing, as civilisation and comme]x:e
are advancing. It is not for the sake of food that the natives devour human flesh,
but to gratify their malignant and demon-like feelings of animosity^ against their
enemies.'' Recent Dutch writers in like manner testify to the cannibfdism of the
Bataks, stating at the same time that those, subject to the Dutch authority, are
readily dissuaded from it. The cannibalism of this people seems early to have been
known to the Portuguese, for De Barros, speaking of the natives of the interior of
Sumatra, says, " This was the race called Bates, who eat human flesh, the most fierce
and warlike people of all the land.'* — Decade 3, book v.
The Bataks have no consistent system of religious belief, but an abundance of
superstitions, such as belief in evil spirits, omens, and the like. Slight traces of
Hinduism are discernible in their language. Thus their astrologers are called guru,
the Sanscrit for a " spiritual guide ; " and the main object of their worship is the
Batara-guru of the Javanese, that is, avatara guru, which would signify *' descended
spiritual guide," that is, ''heaven-descended guide." The burning, instead of in-
terring the dead, concremation, division of castes, and the other prominent practices
BATAM 43 BATANQAS
of Hinduiam are unkuowD to the Bitaka. It is iude4»d obviouB that no form of the
reli|(ion of the civilised Hindus, which has existed since the days of Menu, could
ever have existed among a people systematically cannihals. It is not a little remark-
able of the Bataks, that -whUe all the other nations of Sumatra, possessed of a
knowledge of letters, have adopted the Mahommedan religion, they have sturdily
rejected it for centuries, although surrounded by those who profess it..
The two provinces subject to the Dutch are reckoned to embrace an area of about
6600 square miles, and to have a population of 78,000, that is, between II and 12 inha-
bitants to a mile. The rate is, however, very unequal in the two districts. The bleak
and desert P&rtibi, with a computed area of 4800 square miles, has a population
reckoned only at 23,000, or barely 6 to the mile ; while the more fertile ifandeling,
with an area of 1800 miles, has one of 55,000, or 80 to the mile. Mr. Logan, in the
elaborate and judicious sketch which he has given of Sumatra in his valuable
journal, reckons the whole area occupied by the nation of the Bataks at 17,000 square
miles, and its population at 811,860, which, small as it is, is probably the utmost
of it.
The strange civilisation of the Bataks, one of lettered cannibalism, was most pro-
bably first developed in the table-land of the interior, called in the maps the Plateau
of Tobah, probably of Tuba, the name of a plant used for poisoning fish, a species
of dalbergia. On this plateau there is a lake some 20 miles in length, and 4000 feet
above the level of the sea, called Eik Daho, in which the Singkel, the largest river of
the western side of Sumatra, has its source, and on the borders of which the civilisation
of the Batak nation is not unlikely to have been first developed. That it spread from
one centre seems probable from the fact of one language, with dialectic variations only,
being spoken throughout by the whole Balak nation.
BATAM. One of the largest of the many islands at the eastern end of the
Straits of Malacca, and which seem almost to block up the channel between Sumatra
and the peninsula. It lies opposite to Singapore, and with the lai^ger island of
Bintang, forms the southern side of the Straits of Singapore, the common route to
and fi^m the China and Java Sea. Batam is the Portuguese orthography of
Batang, a word meaning ** trunk," or " main parL" The uland is computed to have
an area of 128 square geographical miles, and its geological formation is like that
of the neighbouring countries, plutonic and sedimentary. The land is poor and
little cultivated. The ruling inhabitants are Malays, but it has also a rude tribe
unconverted to Mahommedauism, called Sabimba. It belongs to the prince of Jehor,
under the usual superiority of the Dutch.
BAT AN, and BATANES. Batan is the name of the island of the Bashee g^onp
which Dam pier called Qrafton ; and Batanes, its Spanish plural, is the name given by
the Spaniards to the whole. This group lies between north latitude 19^^ 57' 30", and
20* 28' 80"; and east longitude 122*' 41' and 128*" 1'. Batan, the chief island, is
about Si leagues in length, and has two ports or roads, one of them, the Bay of
Ibaya, on the shore of which is the town of San Jos^, the chief place of the whole
group, as also of the Babuyanes Islands. The other lai^er islands are Basay, Saptan,
Hugos, and Itabayat; but besides these there are half-a-dozen more which are unin-
habited. The Batanes and Babuyanes Islands form together one Alcaldia, their united
population amounting to no more than 8000, and so poor that they are not called
on to pay the poll-tax. The chief branch of industry in the principid islands seems
to be the breeding of horses, of a race greatly esteemed in Manilla, hot which it
has been found impossible to multiply in the more fertile island of Luzon, although
the experiment has been often tried. Hogs and goats are in great abundance. The
inhabitants of the Bashee Islands seem to belong to the Malayan race, but have a
peculiar language of their own. Dampier's description of their personal appearance
is so truthful and perfect, that although written more than a century and a half ago
it is worth quoting. " The natives of these islands are short, squat people ; they
are generally round-visaged, with low foreheads and thick eyebrows ; their eyes are
of a hazel colour and small, yet bigger than the Chinese ; short low noses, and their
lips and mouths middle-proportioned. Their teeth are white ; their hair is black,
and thick and lank, which they wear but short; it will just cover their ears, and
it is cut round very even. Their skins are of a very dork copper colour." This is
unquestionably the true Malay.
BATANGAS, sometimes called BALATAN, and also the province of the Lake
Taal, one of the twenty provinces of the island of Luaon. Batangas has the opea
BATAlfTA 44 BATAVIA
■ea to the west, the strait which divides Ltuson from Mindoro to the south, the pro-
-vinoe of Tayabas to the east, the great lake of Bay to the north-east, and the wide
Bay of Mi^nillft to the north. Thus nearly surrounded by water, it is a peninsula
with two isthmuses of no great breadth. Its outline is very irregular, its utmost
length being 60 geographic^ miles and its greatest breadth 80. Its area will pro-
bably be about 860 geographical square miles. It oontains two spacious bays, that
of Batangas, which is the smallest, containing one good harbour, and that of Balayan
two. Both these bays are on the Straits of Mindoro.
The geological formation of Batangas is eminently Tolcanic, and the active Tolcano
of Taal, situated on an island of the lake of this name, is one of the most remarkable
of the Philippine group (see Ta.al). In the centre of the province is situated the lake
of Taal just mentioned, with a circumference of 15 leagues, — navigable and having a
valuable fishery. The rivers of Batangas are numerous, but many of them, although
torrents in the wet season, are reduced to empty beds in the dry. The moet remark-
able of them is the Bombon, which empties the surplus water of the Lake Taal
into the Bay of Balayan after a course of ten miles. In the mountains is found iron
ore, and the mines of Argut are stated to yield an ore which produces a metal
of a quality equal to that of Biscav.
The soil of Batangas is eminently fertile, but the labours of agriculture are liable
to be interrupted by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, — the most terrible of the
last on reconi being that of 1754. The chief products of agriculture are rice and
maiz, cotton, coffee, cacao, and black pepper. Wheat is produced in the more
elevated distriots, remindizig one, for luxuriant growth, says a Spanish writer, of the
haiTests of Valentia. The pastures of Batangas feed numerous herds of swine, horees^
oxen, and bufialoes. The bu£fGdo is chiefly used for labour, and is of especial need
in a country almost destitute of roads, and which, in the season of the rains, would
be impassable without them. The horses are greatly esteemed in the market of
Manilla.
The inhabitants of Batangas are of the Tagala nation, and among the most civi-
lised of the Philippine islanders. In 1849 the province consisted of 17 districts,
and comprehended a population of 221,021, of whom those assessed to the poll-tax
amounted to 42,845, contributing 428,455 reals of plate.
BATANTA. Name of a considerable island lying off the most westerly part
of New Quinea, and computed to have an area of 208 square geographical miles. The
strait between it and the island of Salawati, called by navigators Pitt's, is navigable
for large shipa^ but is not considered safe.
BATAVIA. The capital of all the Dutch possessions in India since its foundatioii
in 1619. In 1610, the Dutch had built a fort, which they named Batavia. This was
besieged by the Sunda princes of Bantam and Jacatra in 1619, and it was on their
defeat in that year that it was resolved to build a town on the ruins of the native
one of Jacatra, and this took the name of the fort. Batavia^ consisting at present
of what may be called an old and new town, is situated on the shore of a bay,
some 60 miles wide, but of no considerable depth, studded with islets, in south
latitude 6** 8^ and east longitude 106" 50'. The site of the old town, as already
mentioned, is that of the old native capital, Sund-kalapa, or ''Sunda of the coco-palms,"
called in the polite language, from the Sanscrit, Jayakarta^ popularly Jacatra,
meaning " work of victory." The land on which it stands is little above toe level of
the sea, and consists of a recent alluvial formation, which, bored to the depth of 270
feet, has been ascertained to consist of layers of clays, sands, and marls. The new
town, originally suburbs of the old, lies inland from i^ and is generally 80 feet above
the sea level. Through both, there runs a river of no great size, but with a rapid
current, having its source in the mountains of the interior, at the distance of some 60
miles. The native name of this stream is Chai-liwung, meaning ** perplexed river."
For some years after its foundation, the climate of Batavia had not been remarked
for insalubritv ; and certainly the ancient Jacatra had not been unhealthy, or it
would have been speedily, as it would be easily and cheaply, removed. The
European-built town, however, soon acquired a proverbial reputation for insalubrity.
The Dutch, unmindful of a difference of some 45 degrees of latitude, determined
on having a town after the model of those of the Netherlands, vnthin six degrees of
the equator and on the level of the sea. The river spread over the town in many
handsome canals, lost its current^ deposited its copious sediment, and generated pesti-
lential malaria, which were transported by the land-wind even to the roads. Fktal
remittent fevers followed. This state of things was aggravated, 80 years after the
BATAVIA 46 BATAVIA
foundation of the city, by a Bucceasion of violent earthquakee, which took place on
the 4th and 5th of November, 1699. These produced the fall of a portion of the
mountain in which the river had its ori^, which partially changed its course, and
brought down with it such quantities of earth as completely to choke the canals of
Batavia, covering their banks with mud.
The obvious remedy for the evil was not applied until the vigorous administration
of Marshal Daendels, imder the fVench rule, in 1809, and they were continued under
the government of the restoration in 1817. Many of the canals were filled up, and
the river was carried between piers for a mile into the bay. These operations, carried
on by skilful engineers, restored its natural current to the river; and, at present^
Batavia is not more unhealthy than any other tropical city similarly situated. The
new town, or suburbs, has never had a bad reputation.
In 1814, during the British occupation, the population of Batavia and its suburbs
was found to be no more than 47,217. Twenty years after, it was ascertained to have
increased to 118,000, and a census taken in 1850 raised it to 848,825. These are great
augmentations in so short a time^ if the enumerations referred to the same localities.
This population has always been of a very miscellaneous character, consisting of
many races and nationalities. Along with the original natives, the Sundas, there
are found in it, various nations of Sumatra, Javanese, with people of all the con-
siderable islands east of Java, — Chinese and their mestizo descendants, with a few
natives of Arabia and India, and a few Europeans of various nations, besides the
Dutch. In 1814, the number of Chinese and their descendants was 11,854 ; in 1834,
it v?as 25,000 ; and in 1850, it had risen to 40,578. The Europeans and their
descendants in 1814, exclusive of military, amounted to 2028, in 1834 to 2800, and
in 1850, to 3774. In 1814, the number of slaves, consLsting chiefly of natives of
Sumatra, Bali, and Celebes, was 14,239, which had diminished, in 1834, to 9500 ;
and in 1850, to 7556. This decline took place through manumission, the cessation of
the slave-trade, the cheapness of free labour, and the generous indisposition of the
Dutch themselves to the continuance of slavery.
Commodore Boggewein, who visited Batavia in 1622, g^ves a truthful and graphic
picture of its heterogeneous population, applicable at the present day ; and, there-
fore, worth transcribing. ''There cannot be anything more curious," says this
intelligent old writer, "or any spectacle more entertaining, than to see in 8olai*ge a
city, such a multitude of different nations living — all of them at their own dwellings —
after their own manner. One sees, every moment, new customs, strange manners,
variety of habits, and fiices of different colours — black, white, brown, olive. Every
one lives as he pleases; every one speaks his own tongue. Notwithstanding such a
variety of customs, so opposite to one another, one observes an union very surprising
among these citizens, which is purely the effect of commerce, which is the common
soul that actuates this great body of people; so that they move uniformly and
harmoniously in every respect, and live easily and happily under the gentle and
prudent laws eetabliELDed under the East India Company." The laws which our
author here lauds for their prudence and gentleness ought, however, in his time, to
be considered as questionable in this sense, when he himself tells us that, but a few
months before his arrival, a great conspiracy for the overthrow of the Dutch govern-
ment had been discovered, and the conspirators put to death by torture.
The population of Batavia, considerable as it is, and affording evidence of an amount
of public prosperity which could never have sprung up under a native government, is
yet far less than it ought to be, if we consider that it was founded on the ruins of a
native capital — ^that its locality is peculiarly favourable to trade— that its neighbour-
hood is eminently fertile— tiiat it is the capital of a population of probably not less
than 15 millions of people — that the main portion of the commerce of the Archipelago
has been forced to it as an emporium, and that it has existed for above two centuries.
That such is really the case wul appear sufficiently dear, if we compare Batavia with
other European towns in India similarly circumstanced. Thus, Calcutta, which was
a poor village 100 years after the foundation of Batavia, contains at present, probably,
twice as many inhabitants, and wealth even in a larger proportion. The Uttle
island of Bombay, which was not a British settlement at all for near half a centuxy
after the founding of Batavia, and, when it became so, was but a poor, sterile, and
scantily-inhabited spot, has, at present, also, at least double its population, and that,
too, of a much superior class. Even Manilla, the Spanish capital of the Philippines,
has a population at least equal to Batavia, excluding suburbs in both cases. Insalubrity
has probably oontributed, in some measure, to this un&vourable result, but a com
mercial policy, unfavourable to the development of industry, infinitely more.
BENCOOLEN 48 BENCOOLEN
settlement on the western coast of Sumatra, in south latitude 8** 48', and east
longitude 102** 28^ The enture territory, composing the British possession, did not
exceed ten square miles, composed chiefly of sedimentary rocks, the nearest mountain,
Gunung-bengkok (crooked mount), about 8000 feet high, and 18 miles to the north-
east, being the only mountain near it of considerable elcTation. The soil, as described
by the faithful and judicious historian of Sumatra, who had passed his Indian life at
Bencoolen, is a stubborn, unfertile glebe. ** I cannot," observes Mr. Marsden, ** help
saying that I think the soU of the western coast of Sumatra is, in general, ratlier
sterile than rich. It is for the most part a stiff, red clay, burnt nearly to the state of
a brick where it is exposed to the heat of the sun." He proceeds to add, that the
soil in its natural state, with the exception of a few dells here and there, into which
the mould of the hills had been washed down, would yield no useful plants, except
by the creation of an artificial soil and the help of manures.
The buffido is the only one of the large domestic animals known in the territory
of Bencoolen, the horse and the ox being imported occasionally only. Black pepper was
the only exportable produce of the country until in 1798 and 1808 when the clove
and nutmeg were introduced from the Moluccas. Of these two plants, the nutmeg
alone has thriven, but even this only by dint of being forced by a laborious and
expensive culture.
The formation of the settlement of Bencoolen arose out of a dispute with the
Dutch touching black pepper. During the 17th century, Bantiam was the fpcest empo-
rium for this article of tntde, most of which, however, was produced, not in Java,
but on the western coast of Smnatra. From 1608, the English, as well as the Dutch, had
a factory at Bantam for the purchase of pepper, and for 80 years the former seem to
have enjoyed a fiiir share of this then much-envied traffic About the end of this time,
however, the throne of Bantam was disputed between a father and son, the English
taking side with the first, and the Dutch with the last. By this time the Dutch had
been estabUshed in considerable force at Batavia, of which ^ey had been in possession
for 60 years. They came from thence with a considerable force, — placed their protegd
on the throne, — obtained a monopoly of the trade of the kingdom of Bantam, and
expelled the English as interlopers, playing nearly the same part towards them that
the English themselves did towards the French in the Gamatic some seventy years
afterwarda Our countrymen resolving to have a share in the pepper trade, fixed on
Bencoolen for this purpose, after being baffled at Achin. This happened in 1685,
two years after their expulsion from Buitam. The first fort was built on the banks
of the river of Bencoolen, in a low swamp, and this, in honour of the reigning
sovereign, the afterwards expelled James the Second, was called Fort York.
The celebrated Dampier, who held the humble post of gunner of this fort, five years
after it was built, says it was a sony place, sorrily governed, and moreover very
unhealthy. "The land-winds,*' savs he, "coming over swamps, brought a stink
with them. 'Tis in general an unhealthy place, and the soldiers of the fort were
sickly, and died very fast" The insalubrity of the locality produced the necessity
of removing the settlement about a mile and a half from the river, to a site somewhat
higher ; and to mark the change in English politics, the new fort, constructed in 1714,
took the name of Marlborough, but even this locality was not beyond the readi of
the nuJcuia, for the place continued more or less unhealthy down to the oession
of the settlement in 1825. In 1719, the natives of the country, provoked at the
ill-usage of the Europeans, attacked the new fort, and took it, but fearing the Dutch,
it would seem, even more than the English, inrited our people to return. Mr.
Marsden pleads for our countrymen that at this time they were not versed in the
art of " managing the natives by conciliating methods." There was, however, no
reason why they ^ould not have been so, for at the time of this insurrection against
them, they had been 116 years engaged in the pepper trade, and 24 years settled in
Bencoolen itself. The enforcement of the pepper monopoly, in fact, brought about
this'and several other insurrections. " The fort, says Dampier, " was sonily governed
when I was there ; nor was there that care taken to keep a fur correspondence with
the natives in the neighbourhood, as I think ought to be, in all trading places
especially. — When I came thither, there were two neighbouring rajahs in the stocks,
for no other reason but because they had not brought down to the fort such a
quantity of pepper as the governor had sent for." Bencoolen, and the &ctories
dependent on i^ were given over to the Dutch by the Convention of 1824, in exchange
for Malacca and its territory, with some factories on the continent of India. And
thus a bad possession, after an occupation of 140 years, was happily got rid of.
Within the first dozen years of its occupation, it had already cost 200,000/., and as
BEIOJA 49 BENUA
it continued ever after a heavy burthen on the trade of the East India Company, or
on the Indian territorial revenue, it muat in all have ooet several millions, without
credit or profit to counterbalance.
The territory of Benooolen is situated in the country of the nation of the Rejangs,
and during its possession by the English was computed to contain 20,000 inhabitants,
of whom one half, a mixed population of Bejangs, Malays, Bugis, natives of the
island of Nias, and Chinese, with their descendants, were in the town. But at
present the town contains only 6000 inhabitants, and the territory forms part of the
government of Padang, so far as surface is concerned, a very extensive one, rendered
so by huge annexations from the ooimtries of the Bataks and Malays of Meangkabo.
BENUA, or more correctly B&nuwa, is a Malay, but not a Javanese word,
signifying " a land," " country," or " region," that has had a wide extension, although
with some modifications of sense, for in the Philippine tongues it means " a village,**
and in the Polynesian, ''land" or "earth." The Malays prefixing to it the word
Orang, ** men or people," use the compound as a generic term for rU the wild tribes
of the peninsula speaking the same language as themselves, and of the same race, but
who have not adopted the Mahommedan religion. The literal meaning of the phrase
ia ''men of the land;" and it m'ay be fairly translated in the sense in which the
Malays use it, "aborigines." Such people are found from the extremity of the
Peninsula up to the 6** of latitude, but apparently not further north. They also
exist in some of the larger islands of the Archipelago at the eastern extremity of the
Straits of Malacca. Everywhere they are brown-oomplexioned and lank-haired, —
are of the same stature as the Malays, have the same features, and speak the same
language ; in short, are Malays in a lower state of civilisation than the people known
to UB under that name.
Some of the Orang-bAnuwa dwell on the seacoast, and some in the interior, always
in small independent tribes. Jakun and Sakai are two names by which they are
known to the Malays, bat they are more generally named from the rivers on or near
which they have their chief residence, as Sletar, Mintira, Sabimba, and BAsisi. The
Orang-lant, " men of the sea," or sea-gipsies, as they have been very appropriately
called, evidently belong to the same class, although some of them have embraced
Mahommedanism, or passed through the form of having done so. The state of
advancement of the different tribes varies, some being far more civilised than others.
Some of those of the interior practise a rude husbandry, grow rice by bummg the
forest for a dressing, and dibbling in the seed, cultivate some fSeuinaoeous roots, some
fruits, as the banana and durian, and have fixed habitations. The only domesticated
animals known to them are the dog, the cat, and common fowl. The Orang-bAnuwa
of the interior receive their iron and clothing from the Malays, in exchange for the
spontaneous products of the forest, including of late years the well-known guttah-
percba. " At the time of my visit," says Mir. Logan, speaking of a tribe of Jehor,
" nearly every man in the country was searching for teban,** that is, for the tree that
produces the best of this article.
Much of the time of the wild races of the interior is spent in hunting and fishing.
The chief object of the first is the wild hog, which abounds ; and next to it various
species of deer. Both are pursued with dogs and spears, but fire-arms are unknown.
Ingeniously constructed traps and pit-falls are also had recourse to. The modes of
taUng fish which are plentiful are not lees ingenious, and Mr. Logan gives the names
of no fewer than fifty distinct species of fish existing in the rivers of the southern
portion of the peninsula. In their manners the Orang-b&nuwa are superstitious,
but have no mischievous customs or sanguinary usages. Qenerally, they are in the
same state of society as the Dayaks of Borneo, but without the head-hunting, akull-
hoarding habits of the latter.
From the first appearance of Europeans in the peninsula, the existence of this wild
people has been known, but they were never well and trnlv described imtil visited
by Mr. Logan in 1847 and subsequent years. De Barros, in nis second decade, men-
tions them in the following tenns, as the precursors of the Malays who founded
Malacca: ** The habitation of the Collates is more on the sea than on the land. On
the sea, their children are bom and reared without their making any settlement on
the land. However, as they were hated by the people of Singapore and of the
neighbouring islands, they did not return to these parts, but they came and fixed
their location on the banks of a river where now stands the city of Malacca. The
first settlement which they made was on a hiU above the fortress, which we now
hold, where they found some people of the land, half-savages in their manner of
E
BENZOIN 50 BENZOIN
living, whose language was the proper Maky, understood by «11 the peoplei^ nod with
which, also, the Cellatea were acquainted. At first there was alienation between the
two tribes on account of difference in the mode of life. But through the women an
accommodation was effected, and they agreed to live in one settlement, each party
following that mode of life to which it had been accustomed, the one Bubsisting on
the produce of the sea, and the other on the fruits of the earth."
The half-savages of De Barros are evidently the Orang-bftnuwa, and his Gellates,
the sea-gipsies, the word being an obvious corruption of the Malay s&laiy a strait
or narrow sea, which with orang prefixed, and making " mien, or people of the
straits," is still applied to the inhabitants of the innumerable islands which nearly
choke up the eastern entrance of the Straits of Malacca. Whether the Orang-
bAnuwa be the aboriginal inhabitants of the peninsula, and the people from which
the wide-spread Malayan nation is sprung, or settlers from another oountry, is a
question whidh naturally arises. The whole peninsula is called by the Malays them-
selves Tanah Malayu, or the country of the Malays^ in the same way in wMch they
call Java, Tanah Jawa, and Celebes, Tanah Bugis, the land of the Javanese and the
land of the Bugis; and this would seem to imply that they consider it their original
mother countxy. But this may arise from the oountry having, except a few soattered
mountain negros, no other inhabitants than Malays, and is, therefore, not con-
clusive. Had the wild people of the peninsula been really its aboriginal inhabitants,
they would most probably, like the tribes of Borneo, Sumatra, and Celebes, be found
speaking many languages instead of one. As far as Malayan emigratioii is authenti-
cally known, it has always been, not from, but to the Peninsula. Thus, their arrival
in a comparatively civilised state, with a rsg^ular form of government^ and with a
knowledge of letters, in the 12th century, is stated to have been from Sumatra^ and
they are, in fact, at tiie present day, migrating from the same country and settling
in the Peninsula. It is true^ however, that even in the 12th and 18th centuries the
civilised Malays found the sea-gipsies and rude people of the interior before them in
the Peninsula, so that this leaves the question of the parent oountry of the Malay
nation still doubtful. All that can aafsly be asserted, then, is that Malay civilisation
did not originate in the Peninsula, but most likely in Sumatra. The probability is
that the Malays were originally fishermen, occupying the mouths and banks of the
great rivers of the eastern side of Sumatra, such as those of Palembang^ Jambi,
Indragiri, and Siak. Ascending these^ after intermixing, as they are known to have
done, with the more civilised inhabitants of Java, and reaching the rich volcanic table-
lands and valleys of the interior, they would naturally become a fixed agricultural
population, and acquire that civilisation and power which under the name of
Menangkabo they are known to have attained. To this inland oountry, communi-
cating by its rivers with the sea, both on the eastern and western sides of Sumatra,
all the civilised Malay states, whether of the Peninsula or Borneo, trace their origin.
From the wandering Malay fishermen, who did not partake of the civilisation of the
interior, might naturally proceed the Orang-lant, or gipsies, and occasional stragglers
from these may have given rise to tiie Orang-bftnuwa» or rude tribes of tiie interior.
See Malat and Malacca.
BENZOIN. The reain of the Styrax benzoin, obtained by wounding the bark.
The plant, which is of moderate size, is an object of cultivation, the manner of culture
being from the seed. The trees are ripe for the production of the resin at about
seven years old, and the plant is the peo^liar product of the islands of Sumatra and
Borneo ; in the first in uie country of the Bataks, and in the last on the northern
coast in the territory of BrunaL The Malay and Javanese names are written KamASUn,
kamifian, and kamayan, and abbreviated m&fian and mi&an, all obviously mere modi-
fications of the same word, purely a native one. Barbosa gives us the price of the
best benzoin in the market of Calicut in the beginning of the 16th century, and before
the violence of the Portuguese had interfered with the natural course of the Indian
trade. He states it to be from 65 to 70 fimams the forasuoK a weight of 22 pounds
64 ounces of Portugal, 16 ounces to the pound. He fumidiesr at the same time, the
price of incense, by which, no doubt, he meant olibenum, now known to be the resin
of a Boswellia, and this he makes, for the first quality, only 15 fanams for the same
weight. — Does it not seem probable that bensoin may have been the malabathrum
of the ancients of the finer quality, for two kinds of it are expressly stated to have
been known in the European markets, and the varieties of quality to have been so
great, that the price varied from one to three hundred deniers the pound! With respect
to the plant, its native country, and the numner of its growth^ it is certain that Uie
BESUKIE 51 BESUEIE
■odentt who had never aean them, nor oommuiucated with aay persons that had, could
not poeaihly have rendered an acconntb But they saw the artiele tbemselYes in the
European market^ and their description, although Tague enough, seems essentially to
agree with that of benaoin. Pliny says that its odour resembled that of Indian
spikenard, that it was a mass not euily broken, and that in taste it was neither hot
nor aromatic. Dioscorides says that the best came from India, that it was of a
blaekish ooloor, that it was externally rough, and that its odour was stronger than
that of saffiron. Be adds, that when dissolved in wine it excelled all other perfumes.
In the Periplus of the SiythraMm Sea, malabathmm is stated to have been an article
of oommeioe at Baiak^, the principal emporium of the Malabar ooast^ just as bensoiQ
was found to be on the first arrivid of the Portuguese ; but it is said expressly, not to
have been a native product, but brought from a coun^ further east. Dr. Vincent's
opinion that malabathrum, which was a perfume^ was the betel or areca, is wholly
untenabler for the areca nut is odourless, and, moreover, eminently a native product
of the western coast of India. Whether true bensoin was known to the ancients or
not, it is probaUe it was well known in the middle ages, since we find it a regular
article of commerce in the emporia of Western India, and an article of export to
Western Asia, from which so eoetly sos article would easily be transmitted to Europe
through Egypt
BESUKIE, or, in abetter orthography, Bltsuki (in Javanese < ' prosperity "), a proyince
of Java embracing the eaatem end of the iriand for about 100 miles of its length, and
barving an area of 4126 geegraphieal miles square. It indudea the two districts of
Prabsiuaga and Besukie, and on two sides is bounded by the sea, to the north by the
strait which divides Java from Madura^ and to the south by the Southern Ocean.
On its southem coast it has on» considerable island — Baron. Its geological formation,
like that of the rest of the island, is volcanic, iia hills and mountains consisting of
tsavertine and limestone. Some of its mountains are among the highest in the
isImkI.
The physieal aspeot of the provinee of Besukie gives rise to a siiignlar local wind,
called by the Javanese th* Angin gftnding, which may be translated the " song
wind" or "aincing wind." This is produced by the passage of tiie south-east
monsoon ibraogb, a frmnel-shaped gap between the high mountains in a part of the
island not exceeding 40 miles in breadth. It is of the saocke nature with the gap of
Coifflbatove in Southern India, which g^vee passage to the soutiii-west monsoon
through the western Qhaat% although of greater extent, and the wind from the
greater height of the mountains snd of the pass itself much colder. The best
aeoount of it is given by Mr. J. Bigg, a most intelligent traveller, who visited Besukie
in 1846 : "We set sail," says he, *'from Prabalinga with a fresh breese off the land,
being a peculiar wind that blows here during the prevalence of the south-east
nonaoon, and known by the name of Ginding. In the course of a couple of hours
we ran off 15 or 16 miles, and then sailing out of the tract of the wind suddenly 'got
becalmed. The eourse and edge of the Ginding were clearly marked upon the sea ;
where the wind blew, the water was livdy and breaking in waves, whilst beyond, it
lay sluggish and smooth as a mill-pond. We could see the fate awaiting us : in kss
than five minutes from spanking along at a pleasant rate the breese slackened, died
away, and our aails flaf^^ ^ ^^ masts, whilst tha originsl impulse threw us from
the fretful to the placid water. The Ginding it occasioned by the sonth-east
monsoon blowing right over the land from the SeutherU Ocesn through the gap
leading to Lumajang, between the lofty lyang and Tengsr mountains, whioh tower
into the aar right and left, some 8000 to 9000 feet^ the gap between them at Elaka
only reaohinff a h^gfat of 1000 feet. The Lamongan v^csno, 8000 liaet hig^, stands
in this gap^ but we had the Ginding blowing from each side of it» and were not
becalmed tUl we got under the lee of the huge chain of the lyang. I am told that
the Ginding is as diarply defined to the westward ss where we passed out of it on
the east The Ginding blows strongest and steadiest during July and August^ and
m not found to exerdse any uniriiolesome effect upon the atmosphere ; only persona
mndi heated must be careful not to expose themselvea to its ohUl current, and thus
suddenly stop perapiration."
The same intelligent writer informs us that there is a similar wind experienced in
the province of Paauruhan, or that immediately west of Besukie, but apparently of
leas strengUi. This is produced by a gap 1400 feet above the level of the sea, which
is formed between the Tengar and Aijuna mountains, the last an active volcano
12^000 liaet high. A third wind proceeding from the same cause is experienced in
s 2
BETEL 52 BEZOAR
«
the provinoe of Eadiri. Hero the south-east monBoon rashes through the gap formed
between the mountains Klut and Wilis, the first between 5000 and 6000, and the last
between 8000 and 9000 feet high. But in this case the breadth of the island being
double what it is where the two previous winds prevail, the current does not reach
from sea to sea, and the province of Surabaya is protected from it by the nuuB of the
moxmtaln Arjuna.
In 1815 the number of villages in the province of Besuki was 967, and its population
118,212. The census of 1845, if the enumeration of both years was reliable, showed an
extraordinary increase of population for a period so short as 30 years ; for it had risen to
502,087, the classes of the population being as follows — Europeans and their descend-
ants, 530 ; Chinese and their descendants, 1373 ; Arabs and natives of Celebes with
their descendants, 3078 ; and natives of Java and Madura, 497,106. The total number
gives a relative population of little more than 121 inhabitants to a square mile, not
above a third or even a fourth of the density of some of the central provinces of the
island. In 1850 the population amounted only to 500,577, showing a small apparent
decline, but this arose from the separation from It of a district containing 30,634
inhabitants. The teak forests of Besukie extend to 45 square leagues, and by an
enumeration made in 1845, the number of homed cattle was found to be 147,000 and
of horses 60,000. It contains two small towns, Besukie, the seat of administration,
and Prabalinga, a more considerable and thriving place, but the amount of their
population is not stated.
Besukie contains a few Hindoo remains. Of these the most remarkable is the
temple of Jabon, which lies about midway between the towns of Besukie and Praba-
linga, about 20 miles from each, and a mile from the sea. The base of the building
is of a quadrangular form, with retiring angles, each side measuring 82 feet. This
form it preserves for half its height, which in all is 50 feet, when it assumes a
rounded shape. The structure is of large well-baked bricks, with the exception of
the thresholds and lintels, which are of hewn trachyte. Like other similar buildings
of Java it shows that the outside had been coated with plaster ornamented with
flowers and figures of men and animals. The inside, at present, contains no image,
nor is there a date or any other inscription. Most probably, however, the temple was
dedicated to the worship of Siwa or of his consort Duiga, and that it is not older
than the 12th centuiy. It is without rent or crack — a fkot which seems to prove
that it has resisted the earthquakes of several centuries.
There has lately been discovered a singular relic of antiquity in a very unexpected
situation, which is thus described by Mr. Rigg, the travdiler already quoted : " On
the top of the Argapura (mountain of the palace), the pinnacle of the lyang
moimtain, Messrs. Bosch and Zollinger, at a height of 9000 feet, lately discorered, on
the site of an extinct crater, the remains of what appears to have been once a religious
establishment These consist of a number of rude terraces, set round with stones,
and some enclosures, also formed of unhewn stones. Here is a well walled round
with stones, and sunk 6 feet in the ground. The most extraordinary discovery in
such an eleyated and lonely place was that of a number of pots or jars, some broken,
others whole. They stand about two feet high, have a mouth of about a foot wide,
but belly out below. Externally, they are covered over with a bluish glazing, and
have some ornamented work round the rim. No images were discovered." The
place may be judged to have been a Hindu hermitage, and as no such manu&oture as
the jars appears ever to have existed in Java, the probability is that they were
imported either from China or Japan.
During the last half of the seventeenth and first of the eighteenth century, the
present province of Besukie, and most that portion of Java which has Madura in front
of it, were harassed and depopulated by invasions from Madura, Celebes, Bali, and
the central parts of Java ; and it was not until the year 1767 that the Dutch expelled
the people of Bali, who laid claim to the coimtry as a conquest. It was at this time
that the Madurese emigrating frt)m their own comparatively poor but populous
country crossed over and began to occupy the rich but deserted lands of Java, a
process that has been going on ever since, and which will in a good measure account
for the extraordinary increase of population which has taken place within the last
thirty years, the majority of the inhabitants being Madurese and not Javanese.
BETEL. See Areoa and Peppeb.
BEZOAR. Bezoar stones, still belieyed among the nations of Asia, as they onoe
were among those of Europe, to possess the virtue of expelling poisons, continue to
be an article of trade. They are mostly brought from Borneo, where they are reputed
BILA 53 BINTANG
to be obtained from the Btomach and intestinee of monkeys. In Malay, they go under
the names of goliga, m&ntika, and m&tika; the two last words being probably
corruptions of mftstika, "a gem.*'
BILA. The name of a considerable river on the north-eastern side of Sumatra,
forming the eastern limit of the country of the Batak nation, and nearly the
only place on that coast where this people have direct communication with the sea.
The liver consists of two branches^ which unite shortly before the disemboguement,
in latitude 3° 28' north.
BILLITON ; in Malay, BLITIJNG. This island, of which the peak or highest
land is in south latitude 8^ 13' and east longitude 108° 7', is computed to have an
area of 1904 square geographical miles; and Ib, therefore, better than one-half the
size of Banca. Its geologi<»l formation is the same as that of this island ; and by
all accounts it is equally productive in iron and tin ore. The first of these has been
long worked by the natives ; and the last, of late years, by a Dutch association.
BilUton is the extreme southern limit of the tin formation, and reckoning only from
Tavoy, on the coast of Tenasserim, it extends over 20° of latitude, and is, therefore,
incomparably the greatest in the world. The only inhabitants of BilHton, until
occupied by the Dutch, were the Malay fishermen, called Orang-lant, or Men of the
Sea ; here, and at Banca, called Sika, a word the literal sense of which I have not
ascertained.
BIMA. The name of one of six principalities of the large island of Smnabawa,
and forming its eastern end. To this state belong also some idands in the Straits of
Sapi, or those which divide Sumbawa from Floris ; the portion of the latter island
called Mangarai; and the island of Qunung-api, conspicuous by its active volcano.
The territory is indented by a very deep inlet^ known as the Bay of Bima, at the
head of which is a small town wiUi a Dutch fort. The entrance of this bay is in
south latitude 8° 26', and east longitude US** 38'. The people of Bima speak a
peculiar tongue, one of the several laoguages of Sumbawa; and they write it in
the character of Celebes, although they had once a native alphabet now obsolete. In
manners and character they bear the nearest resemblance to the more civilised
nations of Celebes, but they are less energetic. The total population has been com-
Euted at 90,000. The products of Bima are sapan and sandal woods, bees'-wax, and
ones. The horses are considered, although small, to be the handsomest and best
bred of the Archipelago, and are largely exported to Java. The most esteemed of
them are those of the isiand of Gunung-api. See Sumbawa.
BINONDO. A suburb of the city of Manilla, on the right bank of the river
Pasig, and communicating with the walled town by a stone bridge 149 Spanish yards,
or 411 English feet in length, the most remarkable European structure ever erected
in the Philippine or Malayan Archipelagos. The number of houses in this suburb
in 1849 was 4853, most of them native dwellings, of frtjl materials. The population
in the same year was 29,211, of whom 4817 were subject to the capitation-tax, of
which the gross produce was 48,170 reals of plate.
BINTAKG, oorrectly BENTAN. The name is said to be taken frx)m the highest
hill of the island. Bintang is the largest of the crowd of islands lying between the
peninsula and Sumatra at the eastern extremity of the Straits of Malacca, and has
an area of 336 square geographical miles. Its geological formation is similar to that
of the peninstda and Singapore. A mountainous chain runs through it, the highest
summit of which is 1368 feet above the level of the sea. Bintang is drained by five
rivers, navigable only for small boata On its western side there is a wide bay
studded with islands, on one of which, called Tanjung Pinang, literally ** Areca pro-
montory," divided from the main by a very narrow strait, stands the Netherland
settlement of Rhio, in north latitude 54° 40^ and east longitude 124° 26' 30". Bin-
tang, in so fiu* as the production of com is concerned, is, like Singapore, unfertile.
But both soil and climate seem eminently well suited to the production of black
pepper, and the nauclea gambir, the inspissated juice of which is the gambir of
commerce so largely used in the East as a masticatory, and of late in Europe for
dyeing and tanning. Bintang and the neighbouring iBlands are the principal places
of the production of gambir.
Bintang and all the other islands south of the Straits of Singapore are nominally
subject to the Sultan of Jehor, but substantially ruled by the Dutch. The native
chief is the lineal descendant of the princes who ruled first in Singapore, and after-
wards in Bfalacca; and who, after being driven from the latter by the Portuguese in
BINTULU 64 BIRDS'-IHSSTS
1511, eetablishiog themBelyes at Jehor or «fe Bintang, oontinued to focter piracy and
up to the aatablishmeat of the free ports of Singapore and Bhio>^ — that is, for upwards
of three centuries.
BINTULIT. The name of a rlrer and district of the north-western coast of
Borneo, in north latitude S*" 13' SO', and east longitude US'* 8' 16'^ The country on
the banks of the river is stated to abound in iron and antimony ore, while it is
included in the coal fields, which are said to extend firom the rirer of Borneo in the
fifth, to the Rajang in the second degree of north latitude. The river of Bintulu is
of inconsiderable sine, and, as usual, it has a bar on which at low water there is m
depth of no more than 4 cubitSi and at high of not above firom 7 to 8. The
exported produce consists of native camphor, beee'-waz, wood-oil, damar, eagle
and laka wood; with beaoar or goliga, taken from the stomiadi of monkeys hunted
for the purpose. These products are obtained from the wild inhabitants <^ the inte-
rior, who exchange them with the ICalays for oom and dothin^ The antimony and
coal mines have not been worked.
BIBJ) OF PARADISE, the Bunme-dewata and Mamik-dewata of the Indian
islanders. Burung is ''a bird or fowl" in Malay ; and manuk, a word that has had a
wider dissemination, the same thing in Javanese. Dewata is the Sanscrit for the gods of
the Hindus. The word, of course, signifies "bird of the gods,** of which the Euro-
peckn name is, no doubt, a paraphrase. These appellations were given, not by the
people of the countries in which the birds of Paradise are indigenous, but by the
Malay and Javanese traders who conducted the commercial intercourse between the
eastern and western parts of the Archipelago before the arrival of Europeans. In
one of the many languages of New Guinea, the chief country of the birds of Para-
dise, they, or more &ely the best known species of the &muy, we are informed by
the naturalist Lesson, is called Mambefore.
Five different species of birds of Paradise have been described by naturalists, who,
instead of ascribing any divine attributes to them, place them in the rather obecene
family of crows. All these species are prepared for the market by the natives of the
producing countries, who are chiefly the negroes of New Quinea and the islands near
it. Birds of Paradise must have been found by the Portuguese on their conquest of
Malacca in 1511, brought to that emporium by the Malay and Javanese merchants
for the markets of China. At all events, they must have seen them on their
arrival in the Moluccas in the same year, or the beginning of the following. But the
earliest accoimt we have of them ii that given by Pigafetta, who was at the Moluccas
ten years after the Portuguese had reached them. His description, taken from the
publication of the original manuscript pubUshed in 1800, is as follows : '*They gave us
also for the king of Spain, two most beautiful dead birda. These birds are about the
size of thrushes. They have a small head and a long bill ; legs fine as a writing quill,
a palm long. They have no wings, but in their stead, long feathers of various colours
like great plumes. The tail resembles that of the thrush. All the feathers, except
those of the wings, are of a dark colour (scuro). They never fly, except when the
wind blows. They told us that these birds came from the terrestrial paradise, and
they called them bolondinata (bnrung-diwata), that is^ ' birda of God.' It is pro-
bable, from this account, that the birds of Paradise sent by the king of Tidor, one
of the five Moluccas, to Charles the Fifth, was not the great emerald bird with which
we are most fiunillar, but one of those which are natives of the Moluccas. At present^
the principal emporium for these birds to the East is the Aroe Islands ; and to the
west, Batavia and Singapore, being brought to the two last by the praus of the Bugis
of Celebes.
BIRDS'-NESTS. The esoulent nests of the Hinindo esoolenta, the Lawit of the
Javanese, a small dark-coloured swallow, with a greenish hue on the ba<^, a bluish one
on the breast, and no white mark. The nest coniists of a marine fiicus elaborated
by the bird. In Malay the nest is called Sarang-burang, of which our own name is
a literal translation; and the Javanese name, expressed by one word, Sosuh, is
equivalent to it The swallow producing the esculent nest is found all over the
Malay and Philippine Arohipela^js, wherever there are oaves to afford it inciter and
protection, and these, as usual, are most frequent in the limestone formation. But
Java and Borneo seem to be their chief resort The celebrated caves of Earang-
belong (hollow rocks) situated in the province of Baglen in Java^ and on the shore of
the Southern Sea, may be taken as an example^ The entrance into these caves is at
the sea level, and at the foot of limestone rocks several hundred feet in height, in one
BISATA 66 BOEROE
place 200 perpendicular feet before coming to ih% first ledge. The moaths of the
oaves are about 18 feet broad and 80 high, while within they expand to breadths of
from 60 to 114 feet, and to heights of from 420 to 480, the sea penetrating them to
the extent of one-fourth of their length, and in rough weather rendering them inac-
cessible. The descent of the collectors to the cayes is efifeoted by narrow ratan
ladden, usually about 74 feet in length, attached at top to a stout tree. Within the
caves there are bamboo scaffoldings, in order to reach at the nests, which are detached
from the aides by the hand, and from the roofs by hooks attached to long poles.
There are three periods for making the collection — April, August^ and December.
The neBt-gatherers are persons bred to their dangerous calling, and before the
conunencement of the fii«t gathering, plays are acted in masks, and there is feasting
on the flesh of buffidoes and goats to invoke the aid of the " lady queen of the south "
(Nai ratu kidul), an imaginary being, without whose aid the work of robbing the
nests would not prosper. After the crop has been taken, the caves are hermetically
sealed against human ingress. The whole annual gathering, which is effected at little
cost, amounts to from 60 to 60 piculs yearly, or on an average to 7870^ This, which
is worth at Batavia about 18,0001, forms a convenient and unobjectionable branch of
the revenue of the Ketherland government, since it is paid by strangers in the
indulgence of a harmless folly.
Esculent swallows' nests are by no means confined, as in the instance now given, to
the sea-coasts, for we find them in caves in the interior both of Java and Borneo, and
no doubt they exist also in other islands. On the north-western side of Borneo, and
not &r from the banks of the river Barsm, birds'-nest caves are found 140 miles
from the sea by the course of the river. They consist of three chambers, one of
which is reckoned to be no less than 200 fathoms in length. These are the
property of the powerful tribe of the Kayan, and like those of Earang-bolong are
carefully guarded.
BISATA, or YISAYA ; the name of one of the principal nations of the Philip-
pines, of their language, and of the islands peopled by theuL The Bisaya Islands
include those lying between the two great islands of Luzon and Mindano, as Panay,
Negros, 9®bu, Leyte, and Samar. The name was given to them from the practice of
painting or probably tattooing their persons, which obtained among their inhabitants
when they were first seen by the Spaniards, the word bisaya signifying in their
language " to paint" The Bisaya language is divided into several dialects, differing
80 much from each other that the parties speaking them are unintelligible to each
other. It is spoken by about a million of the inhabitants of the Spanish Philippines,
and is therefore, after the Tagala, the most current of their languages. But it is
besides supposed to extend to me Sulu TBlands.
BLORA. A distriot of Java, on the river Bolo the largest stream of the island.
It containB some of the most extensive and most conveniently situated teak forests.
South Utitude 7"* 10', and east longitude 111** 80'.
BOAT, or VESSEL. The generic name for a boat or vessel, large or small, is
Prau, a word almost natun^sed in the European languages. It belongs equally to
the Malay and Javanese languages, and from these has been very widely spread to
others, extending as a synonym to the principal Philippine tongues. The usual
name for a canoe or skiff, both in Malay and Javanese, is sampan. The laige veiisels
which the natives of the Archipelago used in Yrai and trade were called by them
jung, which is the word corrupted junk, that Europeans apply to the large vessels of
the Chinese, of which the proper name is wangkang. For a square-rigged vessel or
ship, the natives have borrowed the word kapal from the Telugu or Telinga. Names
vary with the forms of vessels, and the uses to which they are put ; and these again
differ with nations or tribes so as to be innumerable.
BOELEKUMBA. The name of a district at the extremity of the eouth-westem
peninsula of Celebes, conquered by the Dutch from the Maramar nation. The
mountain of Lompu-batang, which ia within it, is supposed to be the highest land in
Celebes, and reaches to 8000 feet
BOEROE, in the Datoh orthography, or more shortly and perhaps correctly,
BURU, is the name of an island in the Molucca Sea. In Malay and Javanese bum
means ** to chase or pursue," and also " to hunt," and with the usual word pulo pre-
fixed, the name may be translated " hunting island." The Dutch establishment on the
eastern side of this island is in south latitude 8" 22' 80'', and east longitude 128'' 11'.
The area of Boeroe is calculated at 2625 square geographical miles, and therefore it
BOETON 66 BOETON
18 by little more than one half more extenaiye than Bali or Lomboo^ either of which is
a kundred times more valuable. With the exception of the broad bay of Elayeli, on
its eastern side fiicing Ceram, it is a compact unbroken mass of land of an oyal fonn.
The interior is a congeries of hill and mountain, divided by narrow valleys or deep
ravines. The formation is stated to be sedimentary, the chief rock being slate, inter-
sected by veins of quarts. The highest mountain rises to the height of 10,000 feet»
and is the most elevated land in the Molucca Sea. The coast is alluvial and marshy.
No indications of metallio ores applicable to industrial uses have been disooveredL
The soil of the hills is a red clay. Nearly the whole island is one grand primeval
forest^ containing many useful woods if there were any use to put them to. The only
peculiar exportable product of the forests is the oil derived from the distillation of
the leaves of a myrtaceoua tree, the Melaleuca cigeput. This is the oi^eput» or
correctly the miftak kayu-putih« that is *' white wood oU." The clove and the nutmeg
are not native products. The only animal of considerable sise is the Babi-rusa or hog
deer, and it would seem to be abundant. No domestic animal is known to be reared,
and rice is not an object of culture, the inhabitants for the most part subsisting on
sago. The coast of Boeroe is occupied by Malay fishermen, most probably settlers of
the tribe of the Orang^lant, or Malays of gipsy habits of the west. The interior is
occupied by the aboriginal inhabitants, men of brown complexion and lank hair, by
all accounts a docile, inoffensive, but idle people, reduccxl to dependence on the
Malays of the coast.
The rude unreclaimed condition of Boeroe proclaims its unfavourable physical
formation and comparative barrenness of soil, it possesses neither native vegetable
or mineral products for exchange, and a few Malayan fishermen constitute its most
civilised inhabitants. This will appear plain enough if we compare it with any of
the islands composing the Moluccas. Temate and Tidor, for example, are but
mere islets, hardly one-hundred-and-fiftieth part the size of Boeroe, but, from the
single fact of their possessing the dove, they were found to have attcdned an amount
of wealth and civilisation, when first seen by Europeans, which Boeroe has by no
means reached after a lapse of three centuries and a half. In 1854, the Netherland
government declared the port of Eayeli free to all nations without impost on ship
or cargo. The deep bay on which it stands is an excellent harbour.
BOETON, correctly BUTUNa. A large island situated off the south-eastern penin-
sula of Celebes, divided from it in one place by a narrow strait, and in another by the
island of Moena^ called also Pangasinl Boston has an area of 188 square geogra-
phical miles, and its chief town Bolio, at the southern entrance of the strait which
divides it from Moena, is in south Utitude 5° 28', and east longitude 122° 83' 30".
The coast-line, generally bold and rocky, is indented by one bay on its eastern side,
that of Kalinsoesoe, from eight to nine leagues wide, and containing many islets.
The strait which divides Boston and Moena nowhere exceeds a mile in breadth, is
free from dangers, and navigable for large ships. The general aspect of the island is
hilly, without however any mountain of considerable elevation. The geological
formation consists of recent limestone containing the remains of madrepores and
shells. The vegetation is described as being less luxuriant than is usual in the Malay
Islands so near to the Equator, which may arise from the peculiarity of its rock
formation. The larger wild animals of the island are the hog, the buffido, and the
horse invariably of a dark brown colour ; and both it and the bufiblo are supposed
to have become wild from the domestic state. The inhabitants of Boeton are of the
brown, lank-haired race, and speak a language of their own, of the same family as to
sound and structure with the languages of Celebes, and they write it in the character
of the latter island. In civilisation, the people of Boeton are not below the chief
nations of Celebes, the Macapwar and Bugis, and possess the same knowledge of the
arts that these do. The only product of their industry that deserves special notice is
their cotton. This for fineness and length of staple excels every other variety in the
Archipelago, and being in demand abroad, particularly in Celebes, is an article of
exportation.
No recent census has been made of the population of Boeton, but the island is, at
least, as well inhabited as any part of Celebes. An old estimate made the population
50,000. Boeton, with Moena and the Tukang-bessie islands, are subject to the same
prince, who calls himself Sultan of Boeton, but who is in I^Bality a tributary of the
Dutch under treaties, the oldest of which goes as far back as 1667. The main object
of all such compacts was to secure to the European power the privilege of buying
cheap and selling dear, by the exclusion of all competition.
BOGOK 67 BORNEO
BOGOR (Jayanese, a mat or carpet). The name of a district of Java, in the country
of the Sundas. In it is the country-seat of the Gk>Temor-General of Netherland India,
called Buitenzorg, distant from Batavia about 40 miles, a beautiful locality in the
hills, and with a temperate climate.
BOHOL, or BOJOL, one of the Philippine Islands, called the Bisayas or Yisayas,
a designation that includes all the islands lying between the great islands of Luson
and Mindano. Bobol lies between the laiger islands of Qebu and Leyte, the tenth
parallel of north latitude passing through it It is computed to have an area of 150|
square leagues, and a circumference of 43. Its siuface is represented as hilly and
rocky, and its soil of inferior fertility, but producing some rice, the coco-palm, cacao,
tobacco, cotton, and the Abaca banana. The population, by the census of 1849, was
116,751, of whom 21,925 were subject to the poll-tax.
BONI. The name of a leading state of the nation of Celebes, called by themselyes
Wugi, and by the Malays Bugis. The seat of government, which gives its name to
the state, is situated on the south-western limb of Celebes, and on the western shore
of the great inlet called by European geographers the Bay of Bom. The town is in
south latitude 1*" 87', and east longitude 126° 82^
BONIRATI, the native name of an islet in the sea of Celebes, lying between Salayer
and Ealattia, and about a day's sail for a prau west of the latter. It is probably the
smaller of two islets called in the maps Ealao. Bonirati is a settlement or colony of
the Bugis, and a considerable native emporium. The settlement is on the shore of
the strait which divides the island from a larger one called Lambego. The majority of
the inhabitants of both islands are Bajaus or wandering Halay fishermen, who collect
tortoise-shell, holothurion, and birds'-nests : but the, carrying trade ia conducted
wholly by the Bugis, whose praus make yearly voyages to Ban, E^tavia, and Singapore
to the west, and New Ghiinea, the Moluccas, and Manilla to the east and north.
BONTKEIN, called Bonti by the natives, is the name of a district of the conntry
of the Macassars of Celebes, embracingthe southern extremity of the south-western
peninsula of the island. The town or settlement of the Dutch, on the shore of a bay
having the same name, is in south latitude 5^ 32', and east longitude 121^ 52'. On
the slope of the mountain Lompo-batang^ and within this territory, the American
potato and European vegetables are grown : and the place itself, distant from Boele-
kumba 15 miles, is connected with Macassar, the chief Dutch settlement in Celebes,
by a post-road of 50 miles in length.
BOONTING, correctly Pulo-bnnting, that is " pregnant island." There are four
uninhabited islets off the coast of the Malay principality of Queda, and within four
or five leagues of the British settlement of Penang, the names of which will give
some notion of the character of the Malayan nomenclature of places. " Pregnant
island" is the largest of them; the next to it Songsong, or "escort;" the third
P&°gSi^> " call-island;" and the fourth Bidan, ** the midwife."
BORNEO is undoubtedly the largest island in the world that can properly be
called so, New Guinea alone approaching to it in magnitude, for it has a coast-lino
estimated at 2000 miles^ and an area computed at 12,748 geographical square leagues,
or about 268,600 square miles, which will make it between six and seven times the sise
of Java, and between three and four times the size of Britain. The equator bisects
it, leaving about one-half of it in each hemisphere, so that it is swept hj the four
monsoons, and is therefore strictly an equatorial region, hot and moist. Its form is
that of an irreguleur pyramid, of wMch the base is at the south-west, and the apex at
the north-east. The greatest length of the island is about 700 miles, and its greatest
breadth, which is in the first degree of north latitude, 600 ; but from the second
degree of north latitude to its northern extremity its breadth is contracted, and on
an average does not exceed 200 miles. It has been conveniently divided into a
southern side facing Java, a western facing the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra, a
north-western washed by the China Sea and fronting Kambojia, Cochin-Chine, and
Tonquin, a northern of small extent having the southern Philippines before it, a
north-eastern exposed generally to the Pacific, and an eastern facing Celebes.
The coast of Borneo is very Httle indented by bays, and nowhere by deep inlets ;
and it contains no internal sea or great navigable lake. Allowance made for its
peculiar vegetation, it has the physical character of a mass cut out of Africa or
America a£>ut the equator, with the disadvantage of wanting the great navigable
rivers of these continents. The few bays which it possesses are, for the most part,
BORNEO 58 BORNEO
situatod towmrdB its northern extremity, Mid co&Bequently in the yidnity of rade and
predatory tribes, and remote from civilised intercourse. Such a form of the coast of
Borneo, although inconvenient^ is, no doubt> less so in temperate seas^ beyc^d the
reach of storms and typhoons, the last never coming within three degrees of it.
The geological formation of Borneo, as £ur as it is known, may generally be de-
scribed as composed of plutonic and sedimentary rocks, — granites, sienites, sandstones,
schists, and limestones. The great volcanic band is distant from it at least 200 miles,
the nearest points of it being Java and Bali; and no volcano, active or quiescent^ is
known to exist in it Its mineral deposits, as fiur as they have been ascertained,
consist of iron, g^ld, antimony, coal, and the diamond. Tin, copper, and zinc have
not, as yet, been found ; nor silver, except alloyed with gold, which is always the
case. Gold has not hitherto been found t» situ, and only in alluvial deposits, and
these confined to the parts of the island south of the second degree of north latitude.
Antimony has been found only in two localities, both on the north-western coasts —
Sarawak between the first and second degree of north latitude, and Bintulu between
the third and fourth. Goal has been found cropping out in various places on the
north-western side of the island, between the north latitudes 8** and 5°, and longitudes
118** and 115**; and again on the southern side of the island, between the 3rd and 4Ui
degrees of south latitude. If these, as is probable, are the extremes of the same
carboniferous formation, the coal-fields of Borneo extend over about 8** of latitude
and 2* of longitude, and must be the largest in the world, except those of North
America. Borneo is the only country of the Malay or Philippine Archipolago,
indeed, the only country of Asia, except Southern India, in which the diamond ia
found, and even in Borneo, it is confined to the western and southern sides of the
island, south of the first degree of north latitude, and from the 109** to the 114** of
east longitude, corresponding, generally, with the region of the gold deposits.
Borneo, as &r as it nas been explored, is a mountainous countrf, having, generally,
an alluvial band of from 80 to 50 miles broad round its coast. Its mountains, how-
ever, do not consist, as in the Peninsula, Sumatra, and Java, of one or two regular
continuous chains, but of many small and irregular ones, with probably two of greater
regularity and continuity than the rest. Mr. Bums^ who penetrated tiie north-
western side of the islan<^ between the 3** and 4* of north latitude, and the 118" and
114° of longitude, gives the following aooount of the country he visited : '* Thirty
miles inland from the coast, the greater portion of the country is low and densely
covered with forests, but generally not swampy. After this, it becomes very moun-
tainous, and rises most irregularly in ridges to the centre of the island." The
mountains of Borneo are of no remarkable elevation compared with those of Sumatra
and Java, with the single exception of Kinibalu towards the northern extremity of
the island, and in north latitude 6° 5', an isolated mountain of granite and sienite,
estimated to be 11,500 feet high, but which an English traveller, Mr. Lowe, who
visited it in 1851, does not consider to exceed 10,000. In the Dutch maps of Borneo,
two distinct ranges are laid down running in a direction from south-west to north-
east, the highest point of the most southerly of which is 6000 feet, and of the most
northerly 8500. The mountains on the western side^ corresponding with the most
productive part of the gold region, do not exceed 2000 and 2250 feet in height.
Mr. Bums mentions a mountain in the centre of the island of great height, which he
calls Tibang, but he did not see it. From it and its neighbourhood he considers to
proceed most of the principal rivers of the southern side of the island, and one or
two of those of the north-western. This probably forms one of the mountains of
the southerly chain of the Dutch maps, named in them Kaminting.
No doubt, a country of such vast extent as Borneo will be found to contaiii lakes
of considerable extent, but as yet we have authentic accounts only of one, and this
visited for the first time as late as 1828. It ia called Danu-malayu, or *' the Malay
lake ; " and is in north latitude 1" 5', and east longitude 114'*20', about 45 lesgues fi*om
the western coast. It has a length of 8 leagues and a breadth of 4, with a depth in
some places of 18 feet. Four other lakes of smaller extent are laid down in recent
Dutch maps on the southern side of the island, and in the territory of Banjannaain,
between latitudes 1** 80' and 2** 80' south. It is singular that the existence of a gr«at
lake supposed to lie at the western foot of the mountain Kinibalu, has not even
been verified; for the English traveller, Mr. Lowe, who ascended the mountain itself
in 1851, could hear nothing of it.
The largest rivers of Borneo are those which fall into the Sea of Java, and the
struts which part the island from Celebes, and these, according to the Dutch maps,
have their source in the range of Eamintiug towards the centre of the island. The
fiOBNEO 59 BOBNEO
laigef t aM those of Kuti, fianjarmMiD, and Pontianak. The most oonsideimble rivera
that diaeznbogoe in the China Sea are those of SambaB^ the Bajang, the Bintulu, the
Banun, and the river of BrunaL Ail of theae have bars at their mouths, making them
inaccesslt^e to veaaela of oonaiderable burthen, the last excepted, which is navigable
for large shipping for 16 miles up, and which, therefore^ notwithstanding the apparent
shortness of its course^ must be considered Uie most useful river of the island.
The vegetation of Borneo is as luxuriant as that of any of the other islands of the
Archipelsgo. The whole island is, indeed, covered with a rank verdure, or a primeval
forest of gigantic trees; the deared and reclaimed spots forming but exceptional
specks in this wild snd unvaried landscape^ The existence^ however, of tius rich
vegetation, is neither here^ nor anywhere else, a reliable proof of real feitilitj; for the
laigest timber trees will grow among rocks with a few inches of mould, or in the arid
sand, or even in the salt mud of the shors^ according to their naturae^ — localities in
which nothing useful to man, or to the animals domesttoated by hun for food or
labour, will thrive. The indigenous exchangeable vegetable products of Borneo are
benaoin, eagle>wood, native camphor, the aago-palm, and ratans; and it may be
remarked of the last, being the produce of Banjarmsain on the southern side of the
island, that in the general markets of the Archipelago they are more valuable by
70 per cent than thoee of any other country.
Among the larger animals of the forests of Borneo, are several speciee of monkeys,
the most remarkable of which ia the orang-utan, the Simla satyrus, possessed only by
this isUnd and Sumatra. The only animal of the feline family found in it is a species
of leopardy Felis macrooelis^ less powerful and leas ferocious than the common
leopard of Java and SumatnL No canine animal exists except in the domestic state ;
the dog, the jackal, fox, and wolf being all absent. Of the Viverra, Borneo has one
species peculiar to itself^ Viverra Boiei; and a singular-locddng animal, intermediate
between the polecat and otter, to which the indefatigable Dutch naturalists have
given Uie name of PkitamophUus barbatus. Id common with Sumatra^ Borneo has
one amall bear, the Uraus Malayanus, or bruwang of the Malays. Of the gnawers, it
has the same species of poroupine as Sumatra and Java» the landak of the Malays,
and several squirrels (tupai) peculiar to itself. No indication of the elephant and
rhinooeros has been detected on the western and southern sides of the island, but
there is now no doubt of the existence of the last on the north-western aide ; and of
the first in the peninsula of Unsang^ forming the north-eastern sngle of the island.
The hog seems to be found all over the island, a peculiar species which naturalists
have called Sua barbatus, from its having a tuft of hair on each side of the &ce, wluch
gives it a hideous and grotesque appearance. The ox, called by the Javanese banteng,
the Bos sondaicua, is a denisen of the forests of Borneo, as well ss of those of Java.
Besides the pigmy deer of Java and Sumatra the two last islands and their two larger
ones, it has a deer peculiar to itself the Cervus equinos. Among reptiles^ Uioreare tluee
crocodiles, two of which are peculiar to the island, one of them being intermediate
between Uie oommon crocodile and the gavial of the Gkmges. The birds of Borneo,
althou^ among them there are many new apedea, present none that are striking
for sise^ usey or beauty. The peacock, the Ai^ns pheasant, and the jungle fowl of
Sumatra and the peninsuliw seem to be all wanting
The aboriginal man of Borneo, the Dayak or wild man of the Malays, is in race
identically the same as the inhabitants of Java and Sumatra,— culture making the whole
difierence between them. The complexion is a yeUowish-brown, the hair is black and
lanky the eyes amall and obliquely set^ the nose short and small, the cheek-bones high,
the mouth wide^ snd the average stature much below that of the Qunese or European.
The aborigines of Borneo are thinly spread over the interior of the island, rarely
rcMhing the sea-coast, which is in the occupation of foreign settlers. They are divided
among Uiemselves into many independent tribes or nations^ each speaking its own dis-
tinct language. Fifty such tribes or nationa may be easily counted* and this is probably
below their actual number. These are in very various social states. A few of them
are wandering savages, without fixed dwdllin^— -without more dothiog than what is
sufficient to cover their nakedness and this eonsistiDg of the bark of trees, subusting
precariously on the animyal and vegetable products of the forest. The mijoritv,
however, have advanced fisr beyond this condition, for they have fixed and sub-
stantial dwellings^ cultivate, althoqgh rudely, fiirinaceous roots — ^the sago-palm, rice,
cotton, tobacco, the banana, the sugar^sane, and even the pin««pple. They moreover
understand the fabrication of mdleable iron and the art of spinning and weaving
cotton, while they have domesticated the dog, the bog, and the common fowl, but
no animal for labour; the ox, the buifiJo, and the horse being unknown to them.
BORNEO 60 BORNEO
No Aboriginal nation of Borneo has inyented letters, as has been done by the
inhabitants of the other great islands — Sumatra^ Java, Celebes^ and Luzon. Neither
have any of them borrowed those of any of the other nations of the Archipelago. In
a word, the most advanced of the tribes of Borneo are in the scale of Givilisation
much below the least advanced of the civilised nations of the other islands, a result
which may be fairly ascribed to the inaccessible physical form of the island, and to the
virtual sterility of its soil compared to that of the countries within the volcanic band
in which alone a reputable civilisation has sprung up. Such a state of society
evidently bears a nearer resemblance to that of America on its discovery than to
any thing Asiatic, with the advantage, on the side of the Bomeans, of the knowledge
of malleable iron, with which, however, they had not attained so high a civilisation
as the Aztecs witiiout it.
It would be instructive to know how much of the Dayak civilisation of Borneo is
indigenous, and how much is deriyed from the strangers who have so long occupied
the coast of the island. We can only guess at this from an examination of their
languages. We possess a tolerably large vocabulary of the lang^uage of the Kayan, the
most numerous and powerful native tribe of the island. Thu shows that the words
for iron, gold, anvil, hammer, file, chisel, gimlet, axe, hoe, knife, needle, boat^ oar,
window, loft, floor, stairs, railing, beam, board, rafter, lath, thatch, pot, jar, aieci^
palm, banana, orange, and mangoetin are all native^ while those for brass, copper,
whetstone, thread, cloth, chest, porcelain, cup, curtains, the balance, the durian, the
coco-palm, the yam, sugar-cane, cotton, rice m the husk, rice freed from it and rice
boiled, the hog and the dog, with all the numerals except the first, are Malayan. We
may be disposed then to conclude from this enumeration that the making of
malleable iron and whatever is formed from it, vdth the construction of houses, are
native arts, while the taming of domestic animals, the growth of com, and the
weaving of textile fabrics, are arts which they have acquired from strangers.
No negro race is found in Borneo such as exist in the Malay peninsula, and in
Luzon, Fkmay, and Negros in the Philippines. Nearly the whole coast is occupied by
colonised strangers, the most remarkable of whom are the Malays, who are in possession
of the debouchements of the rivers and territory adjoining them from the north-east
angle of the island, including the whole north-western, western, southern, and eastern
sides, up to about the thiid degree of north latitude. In these quarters, to the
depth of about 100 miles, they have been settled for a time beyond the reach of
history, holding the conterminous aboriginal inhabitants in a species of vassalage or
helotism, and excluding them generally from maritime oommimication. Some
fifteen such settlements, which either now form, or which once formed, so many petty
independent states, may be counted. Of the time when, or the manner in whi^
these colonies were planted, there is no record, but in their manner of formation it may
be said that it bears, although in a rude way, no inconsiderable resemblance to that
of the ancient Greek colonies of the shores of Italy, its islands, and the Mediterranean
coast of France. The probability is that the original Malay settiers were not com-
posed of premeditated emigrations, but of casual settlements of the wanderin^^
warlike, and predatory people called the Orang-lant, or Men of the Sea, who finding
convenient localities for settiement on the rivers of Borneo, assumed fixed habits
from their position without altogether abandoning the occupations of fishennen and
traders of the people from whom they were sprung. This seems a more reasonable
mode of accounting for the Malay settlements in Borneo, than ascribing them to
deliberate emigration, little compatible with the rude manners of such a people and
for which no sufficient cause could exist in a country never over-peopled, and tkeie-
fore never under the necessity of migrating for more room. Settlements formed in this
manner, with essentially maritime habits, would naturally maintain an interoourse
with more advanced Malay nations, situated on the shores and islands of Sumatra,
the parent country of this people, and by such an intercourse, acquire additional
strength and civility.
The Malays of Borneo invariably ascribe their origin to those of Menangkabo, or
to those of Malacca and Jehore, supposed to have sprung from these. This however
is only tracing their source to the most powerful and civiliBed states which the
Malays are known to have formed, or to the parties to have sprung from whom does
themselves the greatest credit. Some merchants of Brunai or Borneo Proper, the most
considerable state which the Malays ever established in the island, informed myself
in 1824, while in Singapore, that the existing generation of their countrymen was the
twenty*nlnth in descent from the original founders, the Malavs of Menangkabo, and
in 1887 a similar account was given to a traveller who visited Borneo itself^ In all
BORNEO 61 BORNEO
probability the 'statement refers to the reigns of kings, and not to generations
of men. Reckoning at the usual calculation of 20 years to a reign, this would make
580 years, and carry back the foundation of the state of Brunai to an era corre-
sponding with the year 1243 of our time. Settlements of wandering Malay fishermen
may, however, have taken place many generations before this date, which is little
more than half a century before Marco Polo passed through the Archipelago, and but
278 years before the oompanions'of Magellan visited Brunai itself, and foimd it a tole-
rably civilised coimtry. The Malays of Brunai assert that the first settlers had not yet
adopted the Mahommedan religion, and the date given corresponds with this state-
ment, for their countrymen who had settled on the Malay peninsula had not embraced
it until 30 years later.
That the Malay settlers of Borneo brought with them some portion of the civili-
sation of their parent country in Sumatra may be presumed, from at least, one
curious fact In 1840 two enterprising American travellers who penetrated Borneo to
a considerable distance from its western coast, and by a tributary of the river of Pon-
tianak, discovered an alphabetic inscription rudely engraved on a mass of sandstone,
in an unknown character, but much resembling a similar one on the same material
found in Singapore, the ancient seat of a Malay settlement. Since no aboriginal
nation of Borneo now possesses, or seems ever to have possessed, the art of writing, —
and since the inscription is not in the ancient or modem Javanese character, or in'
any other of the Archipelago, — ^it is natural to infer that it is in that in which the
Malaya wrote before it was supplanted by the modified Arabic now in use. It may
be added, that when Brunai, the chief state of the island, was 'first visited by Euro-
peans, and this was by the companions of Magellan in 1521, they found the Bomeans
in a state of civilisation hardly inferior to that of Malacca, considered, at the time,
the most civilised Malay community. They had domesticated the buffalo, the horse,
the goat, and even the elephant. They had adopted the money and the weights of
Chim. Their chiefis, at least, were clad in silks and brocades. The fortress was
mounted with both brass and iron cannon, and the art of writing (in the Arabic
chara<j|er) was practised for useful purposes. " He '* (the king), says Pigafetta, ** has
ten writers, who register his transactions on fine bark, and they are called chiritoles ''
(jurutulis, "adepts in writing"). The horse is expressly named by Pigafetta as
among the domesticated animals of the Bomeans, and it is probable that a few
were kept by the king for state ; but it is to be observed that this animal, which
abounds in Sumatra and Java, with several of the smaller islands, is, even at present,
generally unknown in Borneo ; a fact which attests the existence of a country of
marshes, of many rivers, of foreet-clad hills, and one without open plains, or bridges,
or roads even to the extent of bridle-paths. Even the ox, less fitted to struggle
against such difficulties than the semi-amphibious bufblo, is still confined to a few
localities.
It is not to be concluded, that all the people of Borneo who go under the name of
Malays, are the genuine descendants of the original settlers. Malays have inter-
married with the aboriginal inhabitants ; several tribes of the latter have adopted
the Mahommedan religion and Malay language, and are now, consequentiy, not
distinguishable firom ^lays, in the same manner that Scandinavian tribes settling
in England, and adopting Christianity with the Anglo-Saxon language, are not
disting^hable from the descendants of the companions of Hengist and Horsa.
The Javanese^ like the Malays, formed settlements in Borneo, apparently at a much
more recent period, in a different manner, and to a less extent. They were con-
querors and propagandists rather than colonists. They are not distinguished in the
population of Borneo by their language ; but in the names of places, persons, and
titlea, abundant evidence exists of their presence and influence. They brought with
them the EUndu religion, such as it existed in Java ; and relics of it, in the form of
monuments and images^ still exist in that part of the island which is nearest to Java.
The names referred to are sometimes Javanese ; sometimes Sanscrit, in the form and
■ense of Sanscrit words in Javanese ; and sometimes they are composed of the two
languages. Of names of places entirely Javanese we have such examples as the
following : Mogasari, ** conspicuous flower ; " Chandi, ** the monument," or ** the
temple^ ' Banjarmasin, *' saline garden ,* " Qunung-kumukus, ** smoke or vapour
mountain ; " Deoiu-pamingir, ** frontier lake ; ** Gunimg-aji, *' king's mount." Of namee
of places wholly Sanscrit, we have the following examples : Martapura, correctly
Amartapura, " city of immortals ; " Coti, correctly Kuti, '* the little fortress ; " Suka-
dana, ** parrot's gift.* With the two languages combined, we have the following :
KaU-nagara, "river of the city;" Kuta-wringin, abbreviated Kotaringiu, ''fortress
BOBJirEO 62 BOBJTBO
of the Indiaa fig-tree;" and ICartalaga^ comcily AnuurUlagm ''war of nDmortalB."
The line of prinoee, with their ccmnexioiis that rekned orer the state of fiMijarmaem,
fumiah the Sanacrit names : Suryanata^ " sim lord ; * SaxyawaDgsay " offspring of the
ion;" Qangawangsa, ''offiipang of the Qangea;" Suhanuma, " delight of Bama;"
and Sumadra* " he who gives great deUght" The lame list gives the Javanese names :
Ampi\iatmika» "ui>holder of oonrtesy; *nd SdkaxHningsani^ "inverted flower; * this
last being the designation of an unfortunate prineesa. Titles are mostly JavaneBs;
m Rmgeran, "a priaoe;" Baden^ "of royal blood;" Batu, ''king;'' FSnAmbahaxiii,
"ol:0eet of reverence :" and Kaoigkuiaty "nuxser of the world." Mangkobsmi,
half-Javanese and half-Sansorit, has the ssme sense as the last word ; and Adipsti is
pure Sanscrit^ and in Java the title of the highest nobility.
Words that are Javanese^ without being at the sane tiuM Malay, have extended even
to the languages of the aborigines. Thus, in the Eayan langoi^y the name for the
dog and oommon fbwl« with several othersy is purely Javanese.
Bemaias of Hindu temples sod imi^ have, of late years, been diaooveted both
on the western and southern side of Bomeoy bearing an entire resemblanee to the
sunllar relies of Java. Dutch traveUers have identined among the images, the fre-
quentW found ones ia Java of the elephant-hesded god of wisdom, Qstneaa; sad that
of the buU,Nandi, the vehicle of "the destroyer "of the Hindu tfiad. The E^lish tra-
veller, Dalton, who, in 1828 penetrated several hiwdred miles into the interior, by
the river of Koti, and lived for seversl months among the wild tribe of the Kayao,
assures us, ** that in the very inmost r o c o s oeo of the mountains, as well as all over
the iMoe of the country, remains of tMnples are to be seen," similar to those
of India and Java ^ In the oountiy of Wagoo," says he, " 400 miles from the coast,
I have seen asveral of very superior woikmanahip, with all the emblematical repre-
sentations so oommon in Hindu placea of worship."
Over the western and southern sides of Borneo^ the Bugis nation of Celebes has
settled hi considerable numbers; but. they sre nowhere much ooneentrated, and
virtually independent, except on the rivers of Pasir and Koti, which have their
debouchements in the strait which divides Borneo firam Celebok There, by their
superior intelligence and enterprise^ and the union and stiengtii which apring from
them, they have been enabled to dictate their own terms to the Kahty princes^ and
have the entire trade of the riven in their hands* The time of the first settlement
of the Bu|p% in Boroso^ is unknown, but cannot be veiy remote, since this people
themselves were nearly stranflers to the commerce, and navigation of the Archipelago
when the latter first became known to Europeana. The northern end of Borneo^ and
a considerable part of its north-eastern side» are in the possessioB of the princes <^ the
8ulu Islands ; and the population appears to be a miarad one of tribes of aborigines,
Malays, and Bugis, the ruling people being the Sulus, who sre of the Bisays nation of
the Pbilippinee. But, in truth, very little is known respecting this secluded portion of
the island, which has mrely been visited by Eusopeans at any time, and not at all of
late years.
The only other stranger psopley who have settled m Borneo in Isrge numbers,
are the Chinese. They are found in scattered numbers in every part of the coast
of Borneo, but it is only on the western side, attracted thitho* by its gold and
diamonds, that they exist concentrated and in Uiige numberai A portion of these is
subject to the Dutch rule^ Paying ft capitation-tax ; but the migority are virtually
indepMident, living under a kind of rude republic, sovemed by elective chielh who
administer the l&ws of China, No £unale% aa is wmI Imown, emigrate from Ghina ;
but the settlers have found wives among the women of the Dajviks, and henoe many of
ths present colonists are a mestiso or mixed race; the original blood being, however,
to some extent kept up by snnual immigrations from China. The original settlers,
ss well ss the p r es e nt munigvants, are natives of the province of Canton, and all of
the lower or woriong daeses of society. The Dutch authoritiea have estimated their
numbers, ou the western coast alone, at 130,000.
The trade of the Chinese with the Indian Archipelago is probably of considerable
antiquity; but there exists no record of the time when* or the msnner in which, it
began. Their ^ps were found trading with Malacca when first visited by Euro-
peans. Pigafetta does not mention their being in the port of Brunei, or Borneo
Proper, when he visited it in 1521 ; but this may be accounted for by the time of
the year, which waa the month of July, which would be after the sailing of the
Chinese jui^ on their return voyage with the south-western monsoon. He men-
tions, however, the silks snd porcelain of China which he saw in Borneo ; and he
states the adoption, by the Bonieans, of the weights snd the money of China; ftcts
BOBNEO 63 BORICgO
suffioloiit to proye the existenoe of a \t%da wUch waa afWrwardB known to hxve
yearly employed foiv or fiye junks of Urge burden. Another curious fact attests
the existence of the trade, and proves it to be of some antiquity. This is, our
finding among the aboriglnid inhsJ>ltants of Boneieo, ChineBe Ysses of ancient Mttem
which cannot now be imitated. These are preserved in the families of the Dayaks
as sacred heir-looms, and bear extravagant prices, varying^ according to sise and
quality, from 81. up to 400^. each. The settlement of the Chinese in the Archipelago
is certain^ a much more recent event than their trading ; and is, probably, coeval
with that of European establishment and conquest The narrators of the oonquest
oi Malacca make no mention of Chinese settlera in that town, although they do
of Javanese ; of natives of continental India ; and even of P^gn. Keither does
Pigafetta mention Chinese settlers in Brunei; and from the peculiarity of their
appearance they must have struck him had they existed.
The number of the different nations now nMoed, or the total populatien el the
island, must in the state of our knowledge, amount to Uttle more than reasonable
conjecture, and all that we can be sure of is that it must in reference to area be very
small. " If," says Mr. Bums, speaking of the Kayans, the most powerful and numerous
of the aboriginal tribes^ " the amount and mode of cultivation practised throughout
be taken as a criterion, the island must be very thinly inhabited indeed ; and further, if
the other divisions of tiie island be not more populous than that of the north-weetem,
which is unlikely, the entire populatLoa of Borneo must &11 fiur short of the surmises
and highly exaggerated accounts already published." The public ftinotionaries of the
Netherland government have made computations of the popidation of that portion
of the island over which the Dutch authority is paramount reckoned at two-thirds
of the whole, and this thev make to amount to 1,348,000. If then we suppose the
remaining third to be equally populous, we shall make the total population in round
numbers 1,800,000. Even this would give bat the poor relative population of less thsn 7
to the square mila It is however, I an satisfied, fiw above the actual population,
for the Dutch part contains most of the Malay, and nearly all the Bugis and Chinese
inhabitants, the country occupied by whom must, from superior civilisation, be
necessarily more populous than that of which the inhabitants consist only of Malays
and aborigines. Even the population however of the Dutch portion of the island
mnst itself be over'iated, and some of the &cts adduced show that this is really the
case. Thus in the Dutch sta tem en t s we find the whole territory of Banjarmasin
on the southern side of the island reckoned at 280 square geographical leagues, and
as having a population of 120,000 souls. Tet the Dutch portion of it, the laigest
although not the most populous, has been found by enumeration to amount to no
more ^an 20,115, leaving therefore near 100,000 for the smaller part. A population
of 120,000 for the tefritory of Banjarmasin would in proportion to area give to the
portion of Borneo under the supremacy of the Netherlands near three times the
population which the Dutch authorities sssign to it, while it would make the total
population of the island near five millions and a half, a number which no one
thinks of attributing to it. The essential sterility and nide condition of Bomeo is
shown by comparing its state of populousnees with that of the great fertile volcanic
islands according to area. Had it been proportionally as well peopled as Java, it
ought to have contained soma 66 millions of inbabitanti^ or had it even been as well
peopled as Luaon, full twelve millions and & hall The populous and fertile volcanic
islands of Bali and Lomboo have between them an area of 208 square geographical
leagues, which is rather less than one«ixtieth part of the area of Borneo^ and they
are computed to contain a million and a quarter of inhabitants, snd it is certainly
more probable that they contain this populaticQ than that Bomeo contains an equal
number, yet the race of man is tiie same in both cases. In Bali and Lomboo, as in
Java and Luaon, physical form and soil are &vourable to the advancement of an
early civilisation, and in Borneo they are adverse to it. A hardy, industrious, snd
enteorprising population like that of China, fitted to labour under the equator, might
with the help of its metallic wealth in a few generations make Borneo as populous as
Java, but its natural difficulties are more than the Mailman race is competent
to overoome. In some of the southern provinces of their own country, it is
certain that the Chineee have overoome greater difficulties than any they would have
to encounter in Bomeo.
The earliest mention that I have met with of Borneo by an European
writer is in the Itinerary of Ludovico Barihema. This traveller, a native of
Bologna, whose narrative is to be found in Ramusio's Collection, visited most of
the maritime oountries of Uie East as far as the Molucca Islands, going by the route
BORNEO 64 BORNEO
of Egypt, a country which he says he puBsed through in the year 1508. In 1507 he
quitted Caliout on his way home, so that his visit to the Archipelago must have
taken place in the intervening years, the last date being four years prior to the
conquest of Malacca, when the active intercourse with Malayan countries oommenced.
Barthema visited of the Malayan countries, the Peninsula^ Sumatra, the Banda and
Molucca Islands, and Java. The Moluccas he seems to consider as one island,
including probably under this name the great island of Gilolo, and it was from them
that he sailed to Borneo in a native vesseL " Having," says he, ** arrived at the
island of Bomei, which is distant 200 miles (lessee) from Maluch, we found it to
be somewhat larger than this last, and much lower/' The next mention of it is by
Barboea, whose account of Malacca shows that he visited that place before its
oonquest by his countrymen. He does not seem to have visited Borneo, but he
states its position, calls it an island, and writes the name, like Barthema, Bomei Far
more sati^hctory than the notices of Barthema and Barbosa is that of Pigafetta, who,
as one of the surviving companions of Magellan, visited Brunai, or Borneo Proper, in
1521, which was 10 years after the conquest of Malacca. He gives its latitude as
5** 15', and its longitude from the first meridian as 176** 40', the first being not above
10' from its true position, but the last by the enormous amount of nearly 80". He
writes the name Uke his predecessors, and thus describes the island : " The island,"
says he, '* is so great that it would take three months to sail round it in a prao."
This account of its extent is probably not far from the truth, according to the
manner of computation adopted. A native prau sailing round Borneo womd neces-
sarily encounter an adverse monsoon and calms in one half the voyage, to say
nothing of delays for wood, water, and provisions. With these drawbacks, 20 miles a day
would be a fair average rate of sailing, and at such a one it would certainly take three
months to complete 5ie circumnavigation of an island with a coast-line of 2000 miles.
The name of the island is obviously taken from the capital town of the chief native
state in it, which is indifferently pronounced by the Malays, according to the dialect
they happen to speak — ^Brun^, Brunai, Bum^, or Bumai This last is nearly the
name given to it by Pigafetta and his predecessors. These European writers had no
possible means of obtaining their knowledge of the name, the insularity, or the extent of
the country, except from the native navigators of the Archipelago who preceded
them. We may conclude, then, that the name of the town was not extended to the
island by European writers, but by the Mahommedan navigators, who conducted the
carrying trade of the Archipelago before the advent of Europeans. The word has
not, like many other names of places, a specific meaning. Mr. Walter Hamilton, in
his Gazetteer, derives it from Yaruna, the Hindu god of the sea, but this seems to be
the mere fancy of an oriental etymologist, for the name of the Indian deity in question
is well known in the legends of the Malays and Javanese, and always pronounced
Baruna or Waruna. It may be noticed that Borneo has been sometimes called by
the Malays Ealamantan. This word is the name of a species of wild mango, and the
word at full length would simply mean Isle of Biangoes. The name however is
mythic, and neither a popular or well-known one.
I do not find that th^re was any formal taking possession of Borneo by its Spanish
discoverers in the name of the King of Spain, as was usual in such cases. The first
appearance of the Portuguese in Borneo^ according to De Barros, was in 1526, fifteen
years after their conquest of Malacca. They must have heard of it from the native
merchants of that place immediately on tiiat event ; but it presented no commeitnal
advantages like the Spice Islands, Sumatra, and Siam, which would tempt Alboquerque
to open an immediate oommunioation witii it, as he had with these places. In order
to get to the Moluccas by what was supposed to be a nearer route, it was resolved
to sail to the north instead of the south of Borneo ; and in the course of this voyage
on one occasion the commander of a squadron, Don Joi^ de Menezes, appointed
Qovemor of the Moluccas, touched at the port of Brunai, and exchanged gifts with
the king. De Barros expressly states that until then, Borneo had been undiscovered by
the Portuguese, and that the voyage which it was hoped would be shorter than the
customary one, lasted eight months, and, like others, was conducted under the guidance
of "Moorish pilots.'' The same Menezes, while exercising the government of the
Moluccas, sent in 1527 one Yasoo Laurenzo to Borneo in order to examine it more
closely, with a view to the extension of Portuguese trade. The mission of this person
was defeated by a strange, but by no means incredible incident, considering the
character of those who sent it, and of those who received it. The Portuguese gift to
the King of Brunai consisted of a piece of rich tapestry, on which was repre-
sented the marriage of Henry the Eighth of Englimd witn Katharine of Anagon.
BORNEO 66 BOENEO
When the king onderatood that Henry was a crowned prince, like himself, he became
alarmed, fimcying the Portuguese were practising an act of sorcery, and that the
figures, springing into life from the tapestry, would take away his kingdom. He
therefore ordered the tapestry to be removed, and the Portuguese forthwith to quit his
country. Ue would even have proceeded to acts of violence against them, but for
the intercession of some Moorish merchants. In 1580, however, a friendly intercourse
between the Portuguese and the sovereign of Brunai was established, and daring the
continuance of the Portuguese supremacy, a fair trade seems to have been carried on
between the different ports of Borneo and Malacca. The Portuguese had commercial
&ctories in various parts of the island, but seem discreetly to have abstained from
attempting conquests. This state of things lasted down to the year 1691, or for a
period of 130 years.
The Dutch first made their appearance in Borneo under the celebrated navigator,
Oliver Van Noort, in 1598, but it was not until 1606 that they began to trade with
it, attracted bv its gold, diamonds, and black pepper. Until, in comparatively late
year*, their relations were confined to its southern cosst, and then chiefly with the
state of Banjarmasio, which, at the time, ruled over the principal part of that side of
the island. Their sole object, according to the commercial principles of the time,
was to obtain, through arrangements with the native prince, the staple products of
the country at prices below their natural cost, and to sell them above it. This kind
of traffic went on until 1669, when, as alleged, thi'ough the treacherous conduct of
the prince and his people, assisted by the intrigues of the English, who were pur-
suing the same diBcrsdiiable commerce, the Dutch found themselves compelled to
withdraw from the country. They did not return until 1738, when they entered
into new arrangements with the reigning prince, having the same object in view.
The result of these was the decline of the trade of Benjarmasin; its staple product,
pepper, which had at one time been considerable, having become nearly extinct. In
1785, a disputed succession and a civil war having taken place in Banjarmasin, the
Dutch interfered, dethroned the reigning prince, and placed his younger brother on
the throne. In gratitude for their service, this prince ceded to them his entire
dominions, which, with the exception of a portion to be held by themselves in full
sovereignty, they restored to him to be held as a fief. It was thus that the Dutch
first became possessed of territory in Borneo. Smce the restoration of their Indian
possessions in 1816, this tenitory has been vastly increased, through treaties with
native princes on the western, southern, and south-eastern sides of the island ; and
their authority, in one form or another, is now asserted to extend over eight degrees
of latitude and ten of longitude, embracing full two-thirds of the island, a territory by
one-half larger than Qreat Britain and Ireland. This nominal sovereignty, however,
is over a vast tropical wilderness, of no practical value to the possessors, but, on the
Gontraiy, a heavy incumbrance to them* In its present condition, it can neither feed
its own scanty inhabitants, nor, unless the hog and buffalo, nourish any animsd useful
to man. As far as the published accounts will enable ns to judge* the entire gross
revenue of this monstrous territory feills short of 24,000^, out of which has to be main-
tained civU establishmenii, garrisons, and a naval force. Ever since 1816, the European
power has waged a constant warfare with the Chinese of the western coast, endea-
vouring in vain to subject them to the payment of a capitation-tax, but with more
success to place their commerce and immigration imder restraints.
The English never had territorial possessions in Borneo, but, like the Dutch, they
had fitctories on the southern coast, especially at Banjarmasin, where their intrigues
to secure a monopoly of trade, had produced the expulsion of their commercial rivali.
The fisctoiy consisted of the establishment which had been driven first from Chusan,
in China, and afterwards, in 1704, cut off by a mutiny of its own native garrison in
Pulo Condove, on the coast of Kamboja. In 1707, or within three short years of
its establishment^ it was forcibly expelled by the native prince, and justly so, if the
account of the transaction given by Captain Alexander Hamilton, in his New Account
of the East Indies, be correct. " Their factory," says he, " was not half finished
before they began to domineer over the natives, who passed in their boats up and
down the river, and, very imprudently, would needs search one of the king s boats
which was carrying a lady of quality down the river, which so provoked the king
that he swore revenge, snd accordingly gathered an army, and shipped it in large
praus to execute his rage on the factory, and shipping that lay iu the river." The
factory, however, had notice of the king's design, and embarked in two large vessels
in the river, from which they successfully defended themselves, and effected their
escape from the country, leaving some small craft belonging to private English
BOENEO' PROPER 66 BOW AM) ARROW
merohants to be destroyed, and their crews maaaaored. Thk was the end, and nearly
the beginning also, of our trade with Borneo under the eystem of monopoly. A
British trade with it exists at present of a very dijSbrent descriplaoB, which is
carried on chiefly with the free port of Singapore, and which not only &r exceeds
in value the Dutch and Boglish trade of the 18thy but the trade of the Dutch
in the 19th centuiy, although exercising sovereign authority oyer two-thirds of the
ialand.
All attempts on the part of European nations to eetabUsh a permanent territorial
dominion in Borneo, we may rest assured, wUl, in the long run, be baffled by the
insuperable obstacles of an uncongenial climate, a stubborn soil, a rude and an in-
tractable poptdation, and the absence of all adequate financial resources. Such domi*
nion, no doubt, has been established in Java, the Philippines, and Hindustan, with
fertile soils, dense and docile populations, and large financial local resources ; but that
is no reason for imftginmg it should be established in a sweltering jungle, occupied
either by savages, or by rude, idle, and intractable barbariana.
BORNEO PROPER. See Bettnai.
BORO-BUDOR. The name of the remains of an ancient temple, sitaated about
the centre of Java, and in the fertile and picturesque province of Kadu, itself a valley
lyinff between four volcanic mountains, the lowest of which is 9000 feet above the
level of the sea, and the highest 11,000. This temple, the largest and most perfect
of all similar buildings in Java, stands on the right bank of the river Praga, or Plrogo
as pronounced by the Javanese, at an elevation of 800 feet above the level of the sea,
in a small tract of country uncultivated, because beyond the reach of irrigation. It
oooupies the summit of a small hill fashioned to receive it, the hill itself, indeed,
formmg as if it were, a part of the edifice. It consists, first, of six quadrangular walls,
diminishing as the hill is ascended, and having terraces between them : then, of three
circular rows of latticed, niches adapted to receive images, and finally of a dome.
Each side of the base of the building; or lower wall, measures 426 English feet; and
the height of the whole building in its present imperfect state is 116 feet. A part of
the dome has fallen, but what remains of it is 20 feet high, and its diameter 50.
Each of the latticed cages is a fiine, and the several walls contain niches for images.
All these are statues of Buddha or Jain, in the usual sitting posture, looking outward,
and larger than life. There are four gates or entrances to the temple^ fiaoing the
cardinal points of the compass. The dome is the only hollow part of the building,
and this consists of a chamber, without an image, or pedestal to show that there had
been one. The walls are profusely sculptured in low relief; the sculptures repre-
senting religious and other processions, battles, and sea views. The total number
of imaffes is about 400. There is no inscription of any kind on the temple to show
when, by whom, or for what purpose it was built The traditional chronology of
the Javanese, contained as ubvuU, after the example of the Hindus, in enigmatical
verse, ascribes the date of its oonstmotion to the year of Salivana, or Saka, 1266,
corresponding to the year of Christ 1844. This seems not an improbable date, for
the perfect state of the building, notwithstanding the destructive nature of the
climate, points at no great antiquity. Several of the terraces were, until lately,
incumbenMi with volcanic ashes, from an eruption of the mountain MArapi, one of the
four alluded to, but of the time when this took place there is no record.
No image of the usual gods of the Hindus is to be seen in the temple of Boro-
budor, but there are many in its immediate neighbourhood ; and neither here, nor
in any other part of Java, is there any evidence of the hostility supposed to have
existed between the sectaries of Buddha and Brama ; for what would seem to be the
worship of these two deities is often to be met with, even in the very same temple.
Buddha, at least under this name, is unknown to the Javanese, and is not even to be
found in any of their writings. It is probable, therefore, that Boro-budor, as well as
other temples in the island which we have fancied to be Buddhist, are in reality
temples of Jain, which would admit the ordinary Hindu gods as objects of worship.
The name is probably a corruption, and afibrds no clue as to the origin or object of
the building. Boro is, in Javanese, the name of a kind of fish-trap, and budor may
possibly be a corruption of the Sanscrit buds, "old."
BOCJTON. SeeBOETON.
BOW AND ARROW. In Malay and Javanese, the bow is called Panah, and the
arrow is expressed by words which literally signify ** child of the bow." The Javar
nese also use the word gAndewa as a generic, although in Sanscrit it properly appbes
BOTAN 67 BRAMBANAJBT
only to the bow of the demigod A^ana. The wild inhabitants of the Philippines
have a knowledge of the bow, but it is remarkable that it is unknown to those of
Borneo, the Peninsula, and Sumatra, who, instead, use the less effectual blow-pipe.
The bow is named among the weapons used by the Malays in their defence of Malacca
in 1511, but even with them, the blow-pipe seems to have been in more general use.
Among tibe more advanced nations, both have been long displaced by fire-arms.
BOY AN, the name of a deep bay within the great one of lUano, on the south side
of the island of Mindano. Its entrance is to the south-west, in north latitude 4* A7\
and longitude 124* 57' east. Here, it is about a league broad, but it gradiially widens,
and about the middle has a breadth of four leagues. It is described as rafe, well-
sheltered, and capacious.
BRAMA, the creating power of the Hindu triad, frequently occurs in Javanese
legend, and images of him in brass and stone occur in Java; but no temple has been
found in which this deity appears to have been the chief object of worship.
BRAMA. The name of a mountain of Java, situated in the province of Pasuruhan,
and forming a portion of the Tengger range. It springs out of an extinct crater,
three miles in diameter, and rises to the heignt of about 7000 feet above the level of
the sea. (See TsKoaBB.) The name is taken from that of the Hindu god, whose
emblem is fire. The word brama, indeed, in the Javanese language, is one of several
synonyms for fire ; and the name complete, gunung-branu^ literally signifies "mountain
of fire, or volcano," and is equivalent to the more frequent one, gunung-api, applied
as a proper name to several of the volcanos of the Archipelago.
BRAMANA, a Bramin or Hindu priest, frequently oocurs in the writings of the
Malays and Javanese.
BRAMBANAN. The name of a village on the high road between the two native
Javanese capitals of Yugyakarta and Surakarta, about 10 miles distant from the first,
and 30 from the last. Within a radius of two miles of it are the most remarkable
Hindu remains of Java, usually called by Europeans the "Ruins of Brambanan.** These
consist of two buildings which have the appearance of having been monasteries, and
of six sepcurate single temples or groups of temples. All these buildings are constructed
of huge blocks of hewn trachyte, without any cement whatever. The temples are of
a pyramidal form, richly sculptured in relief, and had been originally coated thinly
with plaster, which is still perfect in some places. All have chambers or fanes to
receive images, a few of which are still seen in their places, while others are scattered
about the neighbourhood.
One group of temples is known under the name, Larajonggrang, and is guessed
to have originally consisted of twenty separate buildings. The central and principal
temple is, for the most part, stiir standing, and when complete is supposed to have
been ninety feet in height. It contains, still perfect, the well-known image of the
Hindu goddess Durga, standing on a buffalo and in the act of slaying the demon
Mahesasura, or personification of vic& The Hinduism of this group, therefore, is so
far certain.
The most remarkable group of the whole, however, is that called by the natives
Chandi-eewu, which means ** the thousand temples." This is a quadrangle, measuring
640 by 510 feet, and coneists of one grand temple in the centre, surrounded by five
rows of smaller temples or chapels, amounting in all to no fewer than 296, all of
the same size and the same architecture, and differing only in the sculptures. In the
whole group, with its numerous fanes and niches, there remain but five images, and
these represent, what appears to be Buddha, in the usual sitting posture ; but none
of the special gods of the Hindu Pantheon.
No part of the ruins of Brambanan contain a date or inscription of any sort ; and
the names of the temples are all in modem Javanese, hardly giving a hint of the
nature of the buildings. They are chiefly named after the localities near which they
are found : as Chandi Kalasan, " the temple of the village of Kalasan ; " and Chandi
Kali-sari, "the temple of Kali-sari," or literally, " of the flowery brook." The group
of Lara-jonggrang, correctly Lara-jongkrang, has reference to the image of the god-
dess Durga, which it contains; the words in Javanese meaning "the tall or the
exalted virgin ; " the initial liquid of the first word, which siguifies " a maid or virgin,"
being, according to a frequent practice, converted from an r to an 2. The name of
the village and district containing the ruins is most frequently written and pro-
nounced Prambanan, and is ressonably thought to be an euphonic corruption of
which would signify *' pUoe of Bramins." Tradition assigns the building
r 2
BRATAYUDA 68 BRUNAI
of the temples and other edifices of Brambanan to a prince called by the JaTanese
Raja Baka^ or Boko as they pronounce it ; but of this personage nothing is known
but his name, and his connection with the buildings. Tradition ezpretssedy not in
numeral characters, but as usual in rhythmical Terse, assigns to the building of the
oldest of the temples of Brambanan the year of Saka, or Salivana» 1188 ; and to the
latest 1218, corresponding with the yean 1266 and 1296 of Christ ; and there is no good
ground for assigning to them an earlier date, nor is there any evidence of decay in the
buildings which the heat, rain, and rank vegetation of more than five centuries would
not account for. The thin coating of plaster which seems originally to have belonged
to all the buildings, still remains in some of the parts least exposed to the weather ;
and the edges of the blocks of stones are as sharp as when originally hewn. The
destruction of the buildings has, in fact, been chiefly produced by a species of fig, the
young shoots of which insinuating themselves into the interstices of walls without
mortar, and swelling with their growth, to the size of a ship's cable, have easily
dislocated and overthrown the buildings. Converts to the new faith which waa intro-
duced into Java in the 15th century y would, no doubt, assist in defacing the temples,
and overthrowing or removing their images.
BRATAYUDA. The name is derived from Barata, the anoestor of the Pandawa
and Kurawa, and Yuda, "war," from the Sanscrit. The Javanese poem of this name is
an abstract or paraphrase of the Sanscrit poem, the Mababarbarat^ composed in the
Kawi or ancient language of Java, but there is, also, a translation in the modem idiom.
The work ia attribute to a Javanese bramin, named AmpusAdah, abbreviated
Pus&dah; and said to have been written in the year of Saka» or Salivana» 1117,
corresponding to the year of Christ 1195. It exhibits, at all events, more vigour of
thought than any other literary composition of the Arohipelago ; and with a similar
abstract of the Bunayana, forms the ctdef source of Javanese and Malay mythological
legend.
BRUNAI, BRUNE, or BURNAI, the name of the town and state which European
geographers have called Borneo Proper. The territory extends from Cape Datu,
where it borders on the Malay state of Sambas, to the Bay of Sandakan, where it is
bounded by the portion of Borneo claimed by the sultan of Sulu. Nominally, there-
fore, it extends over the whole north-western side of the island, and a portion of its
northern, embracing a coast-line, bays included, of not less than 1000 miles. Its
extent inland, where it is bounded by the lands of wild tribes, is unknown ; but,
probably, no where much exceeds 50 miles. If this be so, as it extends from the
2nd to the 7th degree of north latitude, the area of the whole state will not be less
than 15,000 geographical miles, or about half the size of the kingdom of Ireland.
Besides this continental territory, the sovereign of Borneo lays daim to the following
considerable islands: Malawali, Banirgi, Balambangan, Balabak, Mantanani, and
Mangkalttan, with the south-western end of the large island of Palawan. With slender
exceptions, his Bomean uugesty, whether on continent or islands, is only lord of a
vast primeval forest
For 80 miles inland from the coast, the territory of Borneo is represented to con-
sist of low, but generally not marshy land, after which it becomes mountainous,
containing, however, but one mountain of great elevation, Kinabalu, estimated at
about 10,000 feet above the sea level. The geological formation is plutonic and
sedimentary, consiBting, as &r as it has been ascertained, of granites, sienites. sand
and limestones. The minerals which have as yet been discovered are iron and anti-
moDy ores, but neither gold or diamonds, ss on the western and south-western sides
of the island. Its coal-fields, however, so far as they have been traced, promise to
be the best and most extensive in the Indies. The Bomean territory contains no
well-ascertained lake of any magnitude, but it contains many rivers — ^twelve of them
of considerable size, and two, the R^gang and that of Brunai, being navigable to some
distance from the sea for large shipping.
Of its useful indigenous plants, the most remarkable are the camphor-tree, Dryo-
heUanaps camjoAoro, and the sago-palm. It has been represented to produce, like some
parts of Sumatra, the benzoin ; but this seems not to be well ascertained. The teak
does not exist here, nor in any other part of the island ; but five or six of its forest
trees have been found fit, at least for the construction of the lai^e ships of the Chinese.
The wild quadrupeds are the elephant and rhinoceros, both confined to the districts
of Paitan and Sandakan at the northern end of the island ; the wild ox, the same as
that of Java, called by the Malays of Borneo, tambadau ; several species of monkejs,
two of which furnish the bezoar stones ; the Malayan bear^ and one species of leopard
BRUNAI 69 BRTJNAI
pocaliar to the island. Neither the buffalo nor the royal tiger are found in the
foreste. Among birdsi it does not appear that the common fowl or peacock, which
exist in the Peninsula, Sumatra, and Java, exist in the forests of this part of Borneo ;
but it is stated by the natives that a handsome gallinaceous bird, resembling the
latter, does exist, which they name kruwi, probably a pheasant.
The cultivated plants of the Bomean territory are generally the same as those of
the other countries of the Archipelago, namely, rice, some pulses, and farinaceous
roots, the sago, coco, areca and gomuti palms, sugar-cane, cotton, and black pepper.
The domesticated animals are the ox, the buffalo, goat, hog, dog, and cat ; and among
birds, the oonunon fowl and duck only. The horse, small^ like all those of the
Archipelago, is bred only by the settled Bajaus and Lanuns of the districts of
'i'ampasok and Pandasan, at the northern end of the island, and was probably there
introduced from the Sulu Islands. They are not used in any other part of the state.
The tribes or nations inhabiting the Bomean territory are almost innumerable.
The more advanced consist of the proper Malays, the ruling people; the Bajau
Malays, divided into thesettled and roving ; the Lanuns, emigrants from Mindano ; and
the Sulus, from the Sulu Islands. The ruder tribes amount to at least 40, differing
from each other in language and in their state of civilisation. A few tribes have
adopted the Mahommedan religion, and parte of others have been converted to it ; but
the great majority are heathens, and all retain their own language. The Chinese have
been long settled in the territory of Borneo ; and, at one time, are said to have been
numerous. At present, their number is thought not to exceed 500, and these
scattered over the districts in which pepper is grown, of which they are the chief
cultivators. The Malays of Borneo themselves assert that not above one tithe of
the population of the state is Mahommedan. The total population of the state can
only be guessed at, and all that we can be sure of is, that it must be veiy scanty.
Fifteen inhabitants to the computed acre would give a total of 225,000 for the conti-
nental part of the territory, probably fully more than it contains ; and as to the
islands, they are either very scantily peopled or uninhabited.
The government of Borneo is, as usual, a despotism, the throne being hereditary
in the reigning fiimily, which traces its origin through SO generations to the more
civilised IJ^ays of Sumatra. The proper title of the monarch, as of all other Malay
princes, is Tang di PArtuan, which may be translated "the lord or ruler.*' But, like
some other petty Malayan princes, he has adopted the Arabian title of Sultan, first
used by the first Mahommedan invader of India, and afterwards worn by the well-
known Saladin. The revenue is precarious and trifling, consisting rather of aids and
subsidies, irregularly levied, than of certain and fixed imposts. Altogether, the
government, as at present exercised, is mora rude than that of any other Malayan
state. Under the sultan, it is administered by four ministers, who form a council.
There exists, however, and it seems to be peculiar to this state, an hereditary
nobility, which would seem to exercise considerable power. These amount to
from 30 to 40 in number, and go under the Javanese title of Pangeran, which is
equivalent to prince.
The articles composing the export trade of Borneo are the following: camphor,
pepper, raw sago, ratans, and canes ; tinder, from the gomuti palm ; laka and ebony
wood, bees*- wax, swallows* esculent nests, seed-pearls, pearl-oysters, tortoise^hell,
and bezoar 8tone& To these may now be added, fossil coal and antimony ore. The
imports consist of Indian and European cotton cloths (plain and coloured blue),
coarse Chinese pottery, saltpetre, sulphur, fire-arms, unwrought iron, iron caldrons —
the manufacture of China or Siam, — gambier, tobacco, and salt It is remarkable that
no part of the coast of Borneo is fit for the manufacture of salt, so that the whole
consumption of the island is imported, on the southern side from Java, and on the
western and northern from Siam and Cochin-China, through Singapore. The whole
commerce of the state of Borneo is carried on by a kind of barter, the standards of
value consisting of pieces of foreign cloth, or of bundles of native iron weighing a
Chinese cattie or pound and a third. Gold and silver do not form a medium of
exchange, even by weight, and counters for small change are unknown ; so that in
this matter Borneo is in a more backward state than Malacca was near 850 years ago.
The trade of the state is, at present, chiefly with Singapore, but praus occasionally
also traffic with Sambas and Pontianak on the western side of the isknd, and with
Pahaiig, Tringano, and Kalanten on the eastern side of the Malay peninsula. Down
to the end of the last century a considerable trade was carried on with the Chinese
ports of Shanghai, Ningpo, Amoy, and Canton, by junks, amounting in all to six, and
with Macao by square-rigged vessels to the annual number of two. The junks in
BRUNAI-TOWN 70 BRUNAI-TOWN
which this commerce was conducted were built in the river of Brunai of the timber
of tbe countrr, among which was that of the CSamphor, the builders being Chinese,
and the prinapal owners also resident Chinese, a fact which shows that life and pro*
pertj enjoyed a degree of security which they are &r from having had in later times.
Borneo had also a considerable trade with Manilla, but all this has ceased, and chiefly
owing to the violence and rapacity of the government, which had become the protector
and associate of the corsairs of Mindano and Sulu.
All that is known of the history of the state of Borneo is matter of mere tradition,
or induction from their language, for the people have neither written annals nor
monuments to tell their story. At no great distance from the present town, there
are some ancient ruins, and d>out seven days' journey from it in the interior, and in
the countiy of the wild tribe called Murat, there are others. These are called by
the Malays kuta, the Sanscrit for " a fortress," and are described as having been con-
structed of large blocks of hewn stone, but without inscription or image. Certain
ambassadors from Borneo, as before alluded to, informed myself in 1824, that the
present race of Bomeans were then the twenty-ninth generation in descent from
the first emigrants, who, at tiie time of their settlement, had not yet adopted the
Mahommedan religion. If by a generation be meant a period of some 82 years, this
would carry us back 928 years, or to the year of Christ 896; but, as is more probable,
it refers to the reigns of the Bomean princes, and if these be taken at 20 years, the first
emigration would go back only 580 years, making its date 1244. The true histoiy of
the state begins with tbe visit of the companions of Magellan, in 1521, before which
the very existence of the island to which it belongs was as little known to Europeans
as Mexico before the expedition of Cortes.
BRUNAI-TOWN, is situated on the river of the same name, not the largest of the
island, but for the purposes of trade and navigation, perhaps the best. Tbe town is
about 14 miles from its mouth, the western side of which is formed by Pulo MujLrs*
that is, "embouchure island," and 10 miles from an islet in the channel, called C&rmin,
or ** mirror island,** in which a rich bed of coal crops out. The town is in latitude
4* 55' north, and its longitude 114** 55' east and extends to both sides of tbe river. The
houses of wood and canes, thatched with palmetto, are erected on tall posts in the
water or marsh, and run in lioes at right angles with the river, so that at flood-time,
instead of streets, we have what Forrest, who visited the place 80 years ago, calls water-
lanes. Brunai is, in fact, an aquatic town, and all communication between one part of it
and another, and even from house to house, is by boat Even the public markets
are held in boats, and ForresVs account of them conveys a graphic one of the character
of the place. " In those divisions of the town," says he, " made by the water>lanea,
it is neither firm land nor island ; the houses standing on posts, as has been said, in
shallow water, and tbe public market is kept, sometimes in one part, sometimes in
aD other part of the river. Imagine a fleet of London wherries, loaded with fish,
fowl, greens, ^. fta, floating up with the tide, from London bridge towards West-
minster, then down again with many buyers floating up and down with them, and
this will give some idea of a Borneo market. These boats do not always drive with
the tide^ out sometimes hold by the stairs of houses, or by stakes driven purposely
into the river, and sometimes by one another. Yet, in the course of a forenoon, they
visit most parts of the town where the water-lanes are broad. The boat people (mostly
women) are provided with large bamboo hats, the shade of which covers great part
of the body, as they draw themselves up under them, and sit^ as it were, on their
heels." — ^Voyage to New Quinea.
Pigafetta's account of the town, as he saw it in 1521, is worth quoting for its
fidelity. ''The city," says he, "is entirely built in the salt water, the king's house
and those of some chieftains excepted. It contains 25,000 fires or feuouliea. The
houses are all of wood, and stand on strong piles to keep them high from the ground.
When the flood tide makes, the women, in boats, go through the city selling neces-
saries. In front of tbe king's palace there is a rampart constructed of large bricks,
with barbacans in the manner of a fortress, on which are mounted fifty-six brass, and
six iron cannon. During the two days we passed in the city many of them were
discharged.*' — Primo Viaggio intomo al Olobo.
The only part of this statement that is questionable is that which refers to the
population. Some Malay courtier, it is likely enough, told Pigafetta that tbe town
contaiDed 25,000 dwelling-houses, which, at the usual estimate of five persons to a
family, would give a population of 125,000, a number which most probably never
existed in any town of the Archipelago under a purely native government^ — a number.
BRUNAI-TOWN 71 BRUNAI-TOWN
iadeedf which it may safely be asserted, the rude policy, even of the most adyanced
of the Malayan nations, could neither gather together, nor hold together if gathered.
The highest population assigned by recent visitors to the town of Borneo is 12,000.
The town, howeyer, in the time of Pigafetta^ was evidently a place of much more
consequence than it is in ours, and his reliable narrative contains satisfactory evidence
that such was the case. The king, like the princes of Malacca, before Uie conquesty
had his elephants, and he and his courtiers were clothed in Chinese satins and Indiui
brocades. He was in possession of artillery, and the appearance of his Court was, at
least, imposing. I shall transcribe Pigafetta's description of the latter, as giving the
only authentic account we possess of a Malay court when first seen by Europeans,
and before their policy, or impolicy, had affected Malayan society. He himself, with
seven of his companions, ascended the river from the squadron which was at anchor
at its mouth, for the purpose of making presents to the king, and asking permission
to wood, water, and trade. One of the king's bazges had been sent to convey them
to the Court "When," says he, '* we reached the dty, we had to wait two hours in
the prau, until there had arrived two elephants, caparisoned in silk-cloth, and twelve
men, each furnished with a porcelain vase, covered with silk, to receive and to cover
our presents. We mounted the elephants, the twelve men going before, carrying the
presents^ We thus proceeded to the house of the governor, who gave us a supper
of many dishes. Here we slept for the night on mattresses stuffed with cotton
(bambagio), and cased with silk. Next day, we were left at our leisure until twdve
o'clock, when we proceeded to the king's palace. We were mounted, as before, on
elephants, the men bearing the gifts going before us. From the governor's house to
the palace the streets were full of people armed with swords, lances, and targets : the
king had so ordered it. Still mounted on the elephants we entered the court of the
palaiDe. We then dismounted, ascended a stair, accompanied by the governor and
some chiefs, and entered a great hall full of courtiers, whom we shall oikll barons of
the realm (baroni del regno). Here we were seated on carpefcs, the presents being
placed near to us.
*' At the end of the great hall, but raised above it, there was one of less extent
hung with silken cloth, in which were two curtains, on raising which, there appeared
two windows, which lighted the hall. Here, as a guard to the king, there were 800
men with naked rapiers (stoochi nudi) in hand resting on their thiglu . At the farther
end of this smaller hall, there was a great window with a brocade curtain before it,
on raising which, we saw the king seated at a table masticating betel, and a little boy,
his son, beside him. Behind him, women only were to be seen. A chieftain then
informed us, that we must not address the king directly, but that if we had anything
to say, we must say it to him, and he would communicate it to a courtier of higher
rank than himself within the lesser hall. Tins person, in his turn, would explain our
wishes to the governor's brother, and he, speaking through a tube in an aperture of
the wall, would communicate our sentixnents to a courtier near the king, who would
make them known to his Majesty. Meanwhile, we were instructed to make three
obeisances to the king with the joined hands over the head, and raising, first one foot
and then the other, and then kissuig the hands. This is the royal salutation.
** By the means pointed out, we inade it to be undentood by him that we belonged
to the King of Spain, who desired to live in peace with his Mijesty, and wished for
nothing more than to be able to trade in his island. The king answered, ' that he
would be much pleased to have the King of Spain for his friend, and that we might
wood, water, and trade, in his dominions, at our pleasure.' This done, the presents
were submitted, and as each article was exhibited, the king made a slight inclination
of the head. To each of us was then given some brocade, with cloth of gold and
of silk, which were placed on one shoulder and then removed, to be taken care o£
After this, we had a collation of cloves and cinnamon, when the curtains were drawn
and the window closed. All the penons present in the palace had their loins covered
wiUi gold-embroidei'ed cloth and silk, wore poniards with golden hilts, ornamented
with pearls and precious stones, and had many rings on their fingers."
The presents offered will give the reader some notion of what things were thought
fit offerings to oriental princes in the beginning of the sixteenth century. Pigafetta
describes those offered to the king and queen as follows : " The present for the king
oonsisted of a vest of green velvet in the Turkish fashion, a chair of purple velvet^
five yards of red broadcloth, one cap (beretto), a gilded glass goblet, a glass vase
with a lid, three quires of paper, and a gilded inkstand. We brought for the queen
three yards of yellow broad-doth, a pair of silver-embroidered shoes, and a silver case
filled with pins."
BRITISH 72 BRITISH
The return of the Spanish gentlemen to the house of the governor, and their
entertainment there, as descrihed by Pigafetta, are worth quoting : " We remouDted
the elephantSf" says he, "and returned to the house of the governor. Seven men
preceded us, beai-ing the presents whicli had been given to us, and as soon as we bad
reached the house, to each of us was given his own, the cloths being laid on the left
shoulder, as had been done in the king's palace. To each of these seven men we gave
in recompense for their trouble a couple of knives. After this there came to the
house of the governor ten men, with as many large wooden trays, in each of which
were ten or twelve porcelain saucers with the flesh of various animals, that is, of
calves, capons, pullets, peafowls (?), and others, and various kinds of fish, so that of
meat alone there were thirty or two-and-thirty dishes. We supped on the ground
on mats of palm-leaf. At each mouthful we drank a porcelain cup full, the size of
&n ogG»> of a distilled liquor made from rice. We eat also rice and sweetmeats, using
spoons of gold shaped like our own. In the place where we passed the two night,
there were always burning two torches of white wax, placed on tall chandeliers of
silver, and two oil lamps of four wicks each, while two men watched to look after
them. Next morning we came on the same elephants to the sea-side, where»
forthwith, there were ready for us two praus, in which we were re-conducted to
the ships.''
This is no doubt a faithful representation, as far as it goes, of the manners of a
Malay court in the beginning of the sixteenth century, and shows a very considerable
advancement in civilisatioD. We have cannon, a fortress, courtiers clothed in silk,
secretaries preparing court circulars, and a tolerable cookery decently served. The
free use of ardent spirits shows plainly enough that the Mahommedanism of the Malajrs*
at the time, was not of a rigid character. In another place Pigafetta tells us that the
distilled liquor was so strong that the Spaniards became inebriated from it, and he
gives its Arabic name " arach," to show from whom it was that the Malays acquired
the art of distillation.
This auspicious beginning of European intercourse with Borneo had a very unlucky
ending. After the reception at court, the King of Borneo sent a fleet to attack some
of his heathen neighbours, and the Spaniards, fancying it came to attack themselves,
opened fire on iL '* On the 29th of July," says Pigafetta, (a fortnight after the
reception,) " being Monday, we saw coming towards us more than a hundred praus,
divided into three squadrons, and with them an equal number of Tungulis,(?) which
are their smallest barks. Seeing this, and apprehensive of treason, we anxiously
made sail, and in our haste left an anchor in the ground. Our suspicion increased
when we observed that behind us, there were certain junchi ( jung, junkn) which had
come there the day before. Our first business was to disengage ourselves from the
junks, and we opened fire on them, capturing four and killing many persons. Three
or four other junks ran aground to save themselves. In one of those which we took
was found the son of the king of the island of Loson (the ciiief island of the Philip-
pines)! ^^o was the captain-general of the King of Bum^ and who had come with
the junks from the conquest of a great city called Laoe, situated at the end of that
island opposite to Java Maggiore (probably some place in Banjarmasin). He had
made that expedition and sacked that city, because the inhabitants wished to obey
the King of Java in preference to the Moorish King of Brun^. The Moorish king
having heard of our bad treatment of his junks, made haste to inform us thiough
one of our people who was ashore trading, that the praus went by no means to do us
harm, but to make war on the Qentiles, in proof of which they showed us some
heads of those of them whom they had killed." I have thus quoted at some length
from Pigafetta, because his account of the Malays is the first authentic one we have
by an European eye-witness, and because it contains abundant internal evidence of
intelligence and truthfulness.
BRITISH. We ourselves and our country are called by the natives of the
Malayan Islands, Ingiis or Inglis, a corruption, the origin of which is obvious. The
word is an adjective, and for the firsts requires to be preceded by a word signifying
men or people, and for the second, by one signifying land or country. The English
first appeared in the Archipelago in 1602, the last year of the reign of Elizabeth, six
years after the Dutch, and 107 after the Portuguese. The first place visited by
us was Achin, under Sir James Lancaster, the same commander having in 1603
visited Bantam.
The great superiority of the Dutch of the 17th century in commercial and
nautical enterprise, and in fact in substantial power over the Portuguese, Spaniards,
BUCKLER 73 BUFFALO
French, and English, is shown by results in India. They expelled the Portuguese
and Spaniards out of almost all their possessions in the Malay Archipelago, drove
ourselves out of the Spice Islands in 1620, and from Bantam and Jai-atra, in Java, in
1683. Expelled by their influence from Bantam we established ourselves in the
sterile land of Bencoolen in Sumatra in 1685, our sole and humble object being to
secure a share in the pepper trade. Bencoolen, with some neighbouring establish-
inents, continued for a hundred years, or up to the foundation of Peuang in 1785, to
be our sole territorial possessions in the Malay Archipelago ; for our other attempts
at such acquisitions were ephemeral. In 1819 we founded Singapore, and in 1 824
we received by convention Malacca and its territory from the Dutch, giving them
Bencoolen and our other possessions in Sumatra in return.
At present our whole territorial possessions embrace four small settlements only,
namely, Penang, Singapore, Malacca^ and Labuan, containing between them 1800
geographical or 1496 square statute miles, with a population of about 225,000 souls,
that is, about 166 to the square statute mile. But the great mass of this population
is concentrated in three commercial towns, the rest of the territory being either
thinly peopled, or an uninhabited jungle. Our possessions are, indeed, only valuable
; as commercial emporia, and in this sense are eminently so, as may be seen by the
value of the imports and exports, the first of which in the year 1854-55 amounted
to 4,928.287/., and the last to 4,847,2192.
BUCKLER. In the Malay language there are six different names for a buckler,
or shield, according to form or material, a fact which proves the importance anciently
attached to this weapon of defence. Pigafetta and the Portuguet^e historians inform
us that bucklers were largely employed when Europeans first became acquainted
with the Malayan nations, a sufficient proof that fire-arms had then been but little
used. At present they are only used by a few of the rudest tribes.
BUDDHA. The name of this Indian deity, either in this its most frequent
form, or as Gautama or Sakya, or any other shape, ia not found either in the ancient
language of Java, or in any of the living languages of the Archipelago. The nearest
approach to it in form is the Sanscrit word Buda, ''old or ancient," which is a naturalised
one in Javanese. Coupling this with the facts that neither the secular nor sacred eras of
Buddha are known totheJavaneee,whiletheyhave an era purely Hindu, that of Salivana,
and moreover that the images, which seem to be those of Buddha, are found in the same
temples with those of the Braminical religion, the inference would seem to be that the
Buddhist religion, such as we find it in Ceylon, Ava, Siam, and even Tartary and Tibet,
never existed in Java or in any other island of the Archipelago, but that what has been
taken for it is the worship of Jain. This is not a new opinion, for it was embraced as
early as 1811 by my friend Colonel Colin Mackenzie, who was so well acquainted with
the temples of Jain in Southern India, the country from which the Indian islanders
are pretty weU ascertained to^have derived whatever of Hinduism existed among them.
BUFFALO, the Bos bubalas of naturalists, the same useful, powerful, ugly,
sluggish, and unwieldy animal which exists in all the warm countries of Asia, and
which was introduced into Greece, Egypt, and Southern Italy in the middle ages.
It is only, however, within ten or twelve degrees of the equator that it is found of
great size, strength, and vigour. Compared with that of the Malayan countries, the
buffalo of Southern Italy is certainly an inferior animal, and that of Northern India
even a puny one. The buffalo is the principal beast of draught and burden through-
out the Archipelago and Philippines, the ox being chiefly reserved for the tillnge of
dry upland grounds. The buffalo is larger and more powerful than the ox, but
much slower and with less capacity of enduring toil. The flesh of this semi-aquatic
animal is coarse, and its milk poor in quality, compared with that of the cow. Its
courage v indomitable, and united to its great strength, makes it an overmatch for
the royal tiger. It has a repugnance to strangers, but with its friends is thoroughly
docile. I have seen a boy of ten years of age part two enraged bulls with a switch,
mount that which was his own by one of its horns, and ride home on it. The
domestic buffalo is very scantily covered with hair, the colour of the skin appearing
tlirough it. It is either black or white, without any other variety, the black in nine
cases out of ten predominating, and being considered, perhaps without much founda-
tion, preferable to the white. Wherever the buffalo is found in the domestic state, it
is also found in the wild one ; and this makes it exceedingly difficult to determine
whether this animal be a native of the Archipelago, or a domesticated stranger.
Naturalists, I know not on what ground, have come to the latter conclusion, and the
natives of the country would seem to entertain the same opinion, for they call all
BUGI8 74 BUGI8
buflblos found in the forest by an epithet which implies this, and whidi in Malay is j alang^
meaning " stray " or *' vagabond." The names given to the animal, however, afford no
warranty for this oondusion. With one exception, they are native, and not traceable
to any foreign tongaa The Malay name is KArbo, or KArbaa, and this with very
slight variations extends over, at least, ten different languages of the Archipelago
and Philippines. It is not, however, the only native name, for in the Sunda of Java
we have the word munding, and in the Bugis and MacasHar of Celebes, tedung.
The only foreign name is the Sanscrit Maisa, restricted to the polite language of
Java. That the domestic bufblo, however, has often escaped from servitude and
become wild, iM certain. This, for example, is probably the only souroe of the wild
bufiRdo of the Philippines, for the bu£Ealo of these islands was the only domesticated
beast of burden in them before the arrival of the Spaniards. It seems then, to have
been confined to Luzon, although it has since spread to the other large islands ; and
invariably, it is known by the Mieday name k&rbo only, even the Spaniards themselves
having adopted it, although at the same time expressing the inconsistent opinion that
the buffSftlo was introduced into the Philippines from China. It is easy to see how
readily it might have been introduced by die nearest Malays, those of Borneo; for even
in native cn&, the voyage from Brunai to Manilla^ in the proper season, is performed
In seven days.
BUGIS, the name given by the Malays to the dominant people of Celebes, who
call themselves wugi, of which, no doubt, it is a corruption. The native country of
the Bugis is the south-weetem limb of Celebes. The Macasaar, or Maugkasara nation
occupying the most southerly part of this peninsula, borders the Bugis to the south,
and the Mandar nation to the north. Like the Malays, they are, for the most part,
a maritime people, and it may be suspected that the original seat of their civilisation
was the shores of the interior lake Ltbayo, or TAparang-danao, a collection of navi-
gable water said to be about 26 miles in length, surrounded by fertile land, at present
well cultivated and peopled. See Tapabano.
The people who speak the Bugis language are, at present, divided into many small
states, and seem never to have been united under one government Several of these
little states are united into confederations for general purposes. Each state is under
the government of its own prince, elected by the chiefiB of the tribe from the members
of a &mily in which the office is hereditary, and women are not excluded from the
choice. The princes so elected form a council, which must be unanimous for the
decision of all matters of oommon concern. The confederacy of Boni consists of
eight princes, and that of Waju of no fewer than forty.
The Bugis are among the most advanced people of the Archipelago. They have
long possessed all the domestioated animaU, and cultivated the useful plants known
to the civilised inhabitants of the more westerly islands. They understand the working
of the useful metals, the rearing of ootton, and the manufacture of cloth from it
They had framed a native calend&r, although they had no epoch. The year of the
calendar is solar, consisting of 865 days, and divided into 12 months^ each with a
native name. It commences with the 16Ui day of M^ of our time; eight of ita
months containing 30 days, three of them 31, and one 32. But, above all, they possessed
the art of writing, having invented an alphabet which expresses with adequate pre-
cision the native soimds of their own language, a language that is softer than the
Malay, for even its liquids do not coalesce with other consonantsy and every word
must end either in a vowel, an aspirate, or the soft nasal ng.
The Bugis, to judge by their language, would seem to have been indebted to the
Malays and Javanese for a laige amount of their civilisation. Thus the names of
cultivated plants and domesticated ^^^imt^l^ are, for the most part, taken from the
languages of these people ; so are the names of the metais, terms connected with the
useful arts, navigation, numeration, and even law and religion.
It is remarkable that the Bugis, now the most enterprising of all the native tribes
of the Archipelago, are never mentioned by the earlier European writers. Thus
Barbosa, who describes the Javanese, the natives of the Coromandel coast, and the
Chinese whom he met at Malacca, never alludes to the Bugis, who, had they existed
there in his time, could hardly have failed to attract his attention, were it only
for the very peculiar build of their vessels. De Barros' enumeration of the people
trading to Malacca is even more full than that of Barbosa, for he adds to his list the
Peguans and the Japanese, but he makes no allusion to the Bugis. The inference is,
that this people were unknown ss traders in the beginning of Uie 16th century, and
that the commercial enterprise by which they are now distinguished is of compara-
BUGIS 76 BUGIS
lively reoent origlii. Even their lUktiTe oountry, aoooxding to De Barroi, waa not
difloovered until 1525, and when that happened, the counl^, instead of being con-
sidered by the Portuguese as one great i^iand, was thought to be an aggregation of
many islets, the people of whioh were thought to be in a very rude state, — ck>thed in
the bark of trees, and unacquainted with all the metals except gold.
The first distinct notice we have of the Bugis is derived from natiye authority, and
this assigns the year 1S66 to the oommencement of the reign of one of their princes.
Their early commercial enterprises do not seem to have extended beyond the neigh-
bouring Spice Islands. In the native annals of the state of Malacca, they and the
people of Macassar are represented as harassing the trade of Malacca by their piracies
in the time of a prince called Munsur Shah, whose reign began in the year li$74. Even
the name of the piratical leader, Kralng Samerlak, is g^ven, which proves, however,
that he was not of the Bugis, but of the Macassar nation which had acquired notoriety
before it. No traces whatever of the Hindu religion, in the shape of temples, images,
or inscriptions, such as exist in Java and Sumatra, have been discovered in the
oountry of the Bugis, or in any other part of Celebes. Their language, however,
shows that the people speaking it had been slightly tinctured with Hinduismi but no
more. It contains a considerable number of theological terms, palpably enough
Sanscrit, but identical with those contained in the Malay and Javanese, and obviously
introduced with other words of these languages.
Of all the more advanced nations of the Archipelago, the Bugis were the latest
converts to Mahommedanism. Even the Macassar nation, although in this respect in
advance of them, did not adopt it until as late as 1605, or 94 years after the arrival of
the Portuguese, and even a few years subsequent to that of the Dutch and English.
It was this people, at the time the moat potent in Celebes, that by force of arms
enforced the Mahommedan religion on the Bugis about the year 1640. It was, most
probably, the adoption of the new religion that moved the Bugis, as it did the Arabs,
although in a different direction, to action, and which in the sequel has made them
what they now are, at once the bravest men and the most enterprising merchants and
navigators of the Archipelaga
The enterprising character of the Bugis belongs more especially to the tribes which
go under the common name of Waju, The trade of this people extends, at present,
to every country of the Archipelago, from Sumatra to New Guinea. They are, in
fiict, the carriers of the internal trade, and now, what the Malays and Javanese were
on the arrlTal of Europeans. The exports from the eastern ports of the Archipelago
to the western are chiefly composed of ootton fiibrics of their own manufacture, of
gold-dust, holothurion, esculent roots, tortoise-shell, pearl-shells, rice from Java and
Bali, and, of late years, tobacco and coffee. From the European emporia, they take
back, to be distributed fur and wide, the produce and manufiictures of Europe and
India. The Bugis are not only traders, but also settlers in msny of the countries
with which they carry on trade. The laigest number of such settlers are probably
on the western, and especially the eastern, coast of Borneo, on the strait which
divides this island from their own oountry. On the large rivers of Pasir and Coti,
there is supposed to be about 1600 families of them, in a state nearly independent of
the Malay princes. The Waju Bugis have also established themselves in the territories
of Mandar and Kaili in their own island, and the Bugis of Boni formed a colony in
the little island of Bonirati, between Celebes and Floris. In the European settlement
they form considerable communities, living in separate quarters, and preserving their
own manners and language. Thus^ in Singapore, by the census of 1849, they were
found to number 2269.
Altogether, the number of the Bugis praus, usually known by the name of Padewakan,
carrying on foreign trade, is thought not to be short of 800, of the burden of about
60 tons each. In their navigation they use charts and compasses, the former from
European originals, with the names in the Bugis character, and the last made for
them by the Chinese of Batavia. The account which Mr. Marsden gives of this
people as he saw them at Bencoolen, above 80 years sgo, Ib worth quoting. *' The
Ifai^nar and Bugis people," says he^ " who come annually in their praus firom
Celebes to trade at Sumatra are looked up to by the inhabitants as their superiors in
manners. The Malays affect to copy their style of dress, and frequent allusions to the
feats and achievements of these people are made in their songs. Their reputation for
courage, which certainly surpasses that of all other people in the eastern seas, acquires
for them this flattering distinction. They also derive part of the respect paid them from
the richness of the cargoes they import, and the spirit with which they speud the pro-
duce in gaming, cock-fighting, and opium-smoking." — History of Sumatra, page 209.
BUHI 76 BULACAN
BUHI or BUJI. The name of one of seyeral lakes in the voloanio province
of South Camarines, in the island of Luzon. It is about three miles long^ and two
broad, and its neighhourhood ia fertile and hifchly cultivated with rioe, the abacs
banana, indigo, sesame, cacao, and sugar-cane. The lake is a rich fishery ; and on its
southern shore is a native town, of the same name, with 6B04 inhabitants. This
stands near the source of a river, also of the same name, which empties the surplus
water of the lake in tiie sea, in north latitude 13* 24', and east longitude 128* 25'.
BUITENZORO-. The name of the counts-palace of the Dutch GoTemor-General
of India. The word is equivalent to the French Saiu S<mei, The native name of the
palace is Bogor, which, in Javanese, means a mat or carpet. Buitenzorg is in the country
of the Sund^, about 40 miles from Batavia, and 866 feet above the level of the aea^
The climate of the place iB temperate, and the surrounding country at once fertile
and beautifuL Buitenzorg also gives name to a Dutch province of Java, having an
area of 1064 square miles, and which, by the census of 1847, contained a population
of 260,811 ; of which 662 were Europeans, 7462 Chinese, 172 slaves, and the rest
Sundas or natives of the country. By the oensus of 1850, this had risen to 281,896;
of which 545 were Europeans, 8135 Chinese, and 146 slaves.
BUKIT, in Malay, is " a hill or mountain/' and equivalent to Gunung in Javanese.
Both words are of very frequent occorrenoe in the names of places.
BULACAN, anciently called Meoaiiayan, one of the 20 provinces of the island of
Luzon. The word means, literally, the sweet potato, convolvulus, batatas, in the
TagnlA language. It lies between north latitudes 14" 40' and 15*, and east longitudes
120** 86' and 121* 8'. It is bounded by the province of Tondo to the south-east, by
Nueva Ecija to the east, by Pampanga to the north-west^ and by the bay of ManilU,
to the length of six leagues, to the west. Its greatest extent from east to west is 80
geogrrtphical miles, and its greatest breadth, from north to south, 20. Its area is
about 575 geographical miles. It is, therefore, one of the smallert provinces of the
Philippine Archipelago ; but it is, at the same time, considered to be, beyond dispute,
the richest, the most agreeable, the most salubrious, and the best-cultivated of the
whole. The Spaniards call it " the garden of the Philippines."
Bulacan is mountainous to the east^ being there penetrated by some spurs of the
eastern Cordillera of Caraballos. It is rich in iron-ore, obtained with little labour
near the surface. The produce of the mines of Sampang-bacal yield an ore which is
said to give 90 per cent, of iron, equal in quality to that of Biscay in Spain. It has,
also, beds of mineral coal, and gold is obtained by washing the sands of the rivers.
Copper is supposed to exist in the mountains. At a place called Panig, there is an
accumulation of masses of alabsster, some of them ten yards in height^ in which is
a curious grotto.
The province has many rivers, the most considerable of which are the Quingua, and
that of Pampanga, which disembogue in the bay of Manilla by several mouths. The
whole coast is a labyrinth of creeks, some of which are navigable for boats to a
considerable distance inland. It has also several lakes, the most remarkable of which
is that of Hogonoy, an extensive sheet of water, in the season of the rains, from the
overflowing of the river of Pampanga ; but in the opposite one, wholly dry, and an
immense meadow, covered with rich herbage, on which numerous herds of different
cattle, but especially of oxen, are pastured.
The mountainous parts of the province yield several kinds of useful timber for
house and ship building, and the shores of the creeks abound in the nipa-palm
{nipa frtUieans), of which the leaves furnish the chief material for thatch, while from
the sap, and this is peculiar to the Philippines, is made palm wine, ardent spirits,
vinegar, and sugar. Bulacan, from the abundance of its flowering plants, is rich in
bees'-wax, the produce of wild bees. Its cultivated plants are rice, maiz of which
two, and sometimes three'crops are produced yearly, — ^the sesame and ground-pulse,
both for the production of oil,— cotton, tobacco, sugar-cane, indigo, cacao, and coffee,
the last introduced for the first time in the year 1793. The fisheries of the
coast give employment to many persons, and the province has no fewer than 1500
looms for the manufacture of silk and cotton fabrics, the women appearing to be the
weavers, as in most rude countries of the East.
The inhabitants of Bulacan are, for the most part, of the Tagala nation, speaking
the language of this name. They are described as a simple, credulous, and religious
people, wholly under the government of their priests, whom they consult in every
concern of moment : they look also with reverence to the public authorities. The
white colour alone, say Spanish writers, is sufficient to secure respect^ being that of the
BULACAN 77 BUSAO
mea under whom they have advAnoed to civiliaation. In their habits they are regular
and sober, but indolent and addicted to gaining. As among the Jayanese, all buying
and selling is the proyinoe of the women.
In 1849, the toUd native population of the province of Bulacan wss 218,498, of whom
88,961 were subject to the poll-tax, its total amounting to 389,610 rf als of plate. Betudes
these there were, in the same year, 15 Spaniards, 691 Spanish mestizos, and 9572 Chinese
mestizos, with 84 pure Chinese, making a total population of 228,860. The relative
population gives no less than 889 to the square mile, which is equal in density to
Bome of the most populous parts of Java. In 1799, the total population was only
88,671, and in 1818, it had risen to 125,021. In ^fifbv years' time it had, therefore,
increased, if these figures can be relied on, by no less thim 167 per cent.
BXJLACAK, the chief town of the proyinoe of tbe same name, situated on a oreek
of the bay of Manilla, and distant from the city five and a half leagues. Bulacan con-
tains 1882 houses, and a population of 11,292, of whom 2219 are subject to the
capitation-tax, the sum of which is 22,190 reals of plate. It was founded in 1572, or
alx>ut 50 years after the discovery of the Philippines, and is regidarly laid out with
straight and spacious streets. Many of the houses belonging to the Spanish and
Chinese mestizos are of stone and well built, but the majority are of wood or bamboo,
thatched with nipa-leaf. The most remarkable buildings are the house of the chief
alcalde, the hotel of the wine and tobacco revenuee, a preparatory school-house,
supported by the funds of the commune, a magnificent convent of the Augustines,
and a fine church built by the same fraternity. In the neighbourhood there are
many pleasant walks, and excellent roads connect it with the different parts of the
province it belongs to^ as well as with the neighbouring ones.
BULOAN. The name of a lake in the island of Mindano, and territory of the
sultan of that island. It is laid down in the maps as being in north latitude 6^ 40^,
and east longitude 124^ 88',— described to be 12 leagues in circumference, and
represented to be connected with the larger lake of Linao.
BUNWnT. The name of a small island fronting the bay of Bongo, itself within
the great bay of Illano, on the southern side of the island of Mindano. It is about
two leagues in length and one in breadth, and has therefore an area of two leagues.
Latitude north 7' 8', longitude east 124^
BTJRACAN. The name of a lake in the proyinoe of Pampanga, and island of
Luzon, formed by the perennial torrents which proceed from the neighbouring
volcanic mountain of Arayat. It abounds in fish and water-fowl, and its neighbour-
hood is richly cultivated with rice, sesame, and tobacco.
BTJUIAS. The name of a considerable island of the Philippine Archipelago,
lying on the southern coast of Luzon, and forming part of the province of South Cama-
rines. It contains an area of 220 square geographical miles, but its surface is
mountainous, rocky, and uneven. Its chief products are rice, maiz, and the abaca,
or textile banana, and it is poorly cultivated and thinly inhabited, having but one
town, and this, which is on the shore fronting Luzon, with no more than 602
inhabitants, being the whole population of the island.
BURI, or BULL The name of a Philippine palm, probably the Corypha
gebanga of botanists, and the Q4bang of the Malays and Javanese. The Philippine
islanders make much use of the several parts of this palm. From the leaves they make
mats, from the sap both sugar and a distilled spirit, from the pith a sago, and from
the seeds rosaries, while the spines boiled in water yield a thread finom which a coarse
cloth is woven, called Sagoron.
BURIK. The name of one of the wild and independent tribes of the island of
Luzon, and province of Abra, inhabiting the northern portion of the Western Cor*
dillera. The Bunks belong to the same brown-complexioned and lank-haired race
as all the more civilised people of the Philippines. In their persons they are robust,
and they have received a considerable amount of culture, for they raise rice by
irrigation, and rear herds of cattle. They tattoo the whole of the upper poi-tion of
the body, so as to represent the figure of a coat-of-mail, on which slender fact some
Spanish writers have jumped to the conclusion that they are the descendahts of
islanders of the Pacific,driven by storms on the coast of Luzon.
BUSAO. The name of one of the wild and independent tribes of the island of Luzon,
and province of Abxa, neighboars of the Burik and other similar tribes. Their locality
BUSUAGAJJ 78 CAOAYAlSr
is a 8pur of the Western Cordillera^ called Saguey. They are of the brown-oom-
plezioned race, and of a tolerably peaceable character. They tattoo the person with
the fifniree of flowers, and wear ear-pendants, commonly of wood, a slender foundstion
for believing them, as some Spanish writers have done, to be a mixed race of South-
Sea islanders and men of Luzon.
BUStlAGAN. The name of the largest of the olaster of islands called the
Calamianes, from the name of one of their number. Its centre is in north latitude
12° 8' and east longitude 122° 54'. Its length is three leagues, its breadth two, and
its circumference ten leagues. The land is represented as fertile, and capable of
producing abundantly, but the seed and crop are said to be devoured by innumerable
animals, such as deer, wild hogs, porcupines, squirrels, rats, parrots, and pigeons.
For this reason the natives content themselves with raising a small quantity of riosy
and live chiefly by the fishery of the holothurion, or sea-slug, called in the Philippine
languages Balate, and in the perilous labour of collecting the esculent nests of the
swallow in the caverns which are frequent in the Calamianes Islands.
BUTUAN. A large bay on the northern side of the island of Mindano, the
innermost part of which is in latitude 8° 64' north, and longitude 124° 5' east. This
bay receives the surplus water of the large lake of Sapongan, which issues from it in
a single river, which divides into three branches before falling into the sea.
BUTUAN. The name of a Spanish town and district lying on the bay of the
same name, and in the province of Caraga. The town is situated on the right bank of
one of the branches of the river which proceeds from the lake of Sapongan. As Cur as the
town, a distance of a league and a half, the river is navigable for vessels not exceeding
100 tons' burden. The town is situated in an open plain, and has a temperate and
salubrious climate. Along with the district annexed to it, it contains 1684 houses of
perishable materials, and a population of 9804 souls. The only product of the
country that is abundant is the sago-palm.
BUYO. The name given in the Philippine Islands to the betel pepper, the sirih
of the Malays, and piper betele of botanists.
c.
CACOA (THEOBROMAJ. The chocolate plant is unknown as an object of culti-
vation in every part ot the Asiatic Archipelago except the Philippines, and of late
the northern peninsula of Celebes. In most of the Philippines it is cultivated, but
only for home use, and the quality produced is inferior to that of Guayaquil and
other parte of America. That of the island of Cebu is the best, being worth from 15
to 20 per cent, more than the produce of the other islands.
CAGAYAN. One of the 20 provinoes of Luzon, and oconpying a large part
of the northern end of the island. It is bounded by the provmce of Nueva "Ecljh,
which was formerly a part of it, by Abra, Nueva Yiscaya, and the sea. It extends
from 17° 10' to 18° 40^ north latitude. From east to west its extent is 26 leagues,
and from north to south 25, and it is estimated to contain an area of 7585 square
geographical miles. The Cordillera of Caraballos, and the Sierra Madre, with several
minor ranges of mountains, pass through it from south to north. Oagayan has one
large lake of the same name, 2} leagues in length, 2 in breadth, and twelve in
circumference. Of this, the surplus waters are conveyed to the sea by a considerable
river, having a course nearly due north. It has many other riyers, five or six of
which are of considerable size. Its lai^gest, and also the largest river of the island,
is that which the natives, after the places it passes by, call the Sallo and the Aparri,
but to which the Spaniards have given the name of Thjo, after the celebrated Iberian
stream, the Tagus. This has its source on the northern acclivities of the chain of
mountains called the Caraballos sur, and after passing through the provinces of Nueva
Ecija and Nueva Yiscaya, it traverses that of Cagayan. Its whole course, until it
empties itself in the sea, where it forms the port of Aparri, is reckoned at 55 leagues.
It Ib navigable for vessels of about 200 tons' burden for a considerable distance, but
in the season of the rains the navigation is rendered dangerous by frequent drifted
timber. The Tajo and its many tributaries abound in fish, which everywhere form
so large an amount of the sustenance of the inhabitants of Luzon.
This province has abundant mines of iron-ore and gypsum, and gold is collected
by washing the sands of several of its rivers. The mountains are covered with
CAGATAN SULU 79 CALAMUS
foreetSy which contain much naefal timber for building, with ebony and sapon-wood.
The wild game of these forests are deer, bulhlos, hogs, and the common fowL The
olimatei as might be expected from its locality, is the coldest of the Philippines,
frequent hail-showers being experienced. It is also humid and stozmy, and being
subject to malaria in seTeral situations, is considered the least healthy of the island
of Luzon.
Notwithstanding the generally mountainous character of Cagayan, it has many
fertile valleys, which produce rice» wheat, maiz, indigo, sugar-cane, and tobacco, the
last considered the best of the Philippines. It has also some extensive plains, on
which are bred herds of horses and oxen for the market of Manilla. Maia is the
principal crop and chief bread-corn of the inhabitants, a fact which indicates the
general prevalence of high and mountainous land. The people have the reputation
of being brave, superstitious, and honest, possessing the last qtiality more especially
in so eminent a degree that thefts and robberies among them are of very rare occur-
rence. They are considered to make the best soldiers for the military service of the
government, and are in repute as domestic servants in Manilla, to which they repair,
poor and hidf-naked, in search of employment, much as the labouring population of
Ireland does to the towns of Britain. Within this province are situated many of the
wild tribes, both brown-complexioned and negro. Of the first, for example, there are,
the Igorrotes, called also the Apayoe, the Calanas or Calanes, the Aripa, and several
less numerous tribes. Some of these are supposed by Spanish writers to be of the
Malay race, and others of the Chinese ; the last, most probably, without any good
foundation. Exclusive of these wild tribes, the province in 1849 contained a popu-
lation of 85,889 souls, of whom 15,522 were subject to the capitation-tax, which
amounted to 165,225 reals of plate. This giyes the relative population of no more
than 11*3 to the square geographical mile, a very poor one compared to that of other
provinces of the island. This is aocoimted for by the mountainous character of much
of the land, the remoteness of the country, the absence of roads, and the tempestuous
and dangerous character of its sea, with the turbulence and iudocility of the many
wild independent tribes contained within it. The population, however, appears to be
rapfflly increasing; for in 1818 it amounted to no more than 61,822, which would
show an increase of nearly 40 per cent, in about 80 years.
CAGAYAN SULU, the Cagayan de Jolo, fhat is, the Cagayan belonging to
Sulu of the Spaniajrds, is an island lying to the north of Borneo, and about 17 leagues
distant firom the Cape of Sagut in that island. It is about 10 miles in length by 7
in breadth, and lies in north latitude 7*, and east longitude 118* 86'. Cagayan is
surrounded by several islets, but it alone is inhabited. The whole group is claimed
as part of the dominions of the Saltan of Sulu.
CAJEPUT. A oomiption of the Malay words kayn-pntih, literally ** white wood,"
from the colour of the bark of the tree which produces the well-knovm essential oil,
the Melaleuca cajeput of botaniats. It most abounds in the island of Boeroe in the
Molucca Sea, where the essential oil is obtained by the distillation of the leaves.
CALAMBUCO. The name of one of the best timber-trees of the Philippine
Islands, the wood of which is largely employed by the natives in the fabrication of
domestic utensils and agricultural implements.
CALAMIAKES. The name of a group of islands among those called the Bisayas
or Yisayas, and forming one of the 86 provinces constituting the Spanish Philippines.
It extends from north latitude 10* 11' to 12* 28', and comprehends the northern
portion of the great island of Palawan or Paragua, the island of Calamian which gives
name to the province, Busuagan or Busbagan, Lutaya or Ayutaya, Culiong, Coron,
Linacapan, Hog, Dumaran, and Cuyo, with a great many smaUer islands, li^e whole
group seems to be without the limits of the volcanic band, end the province ia
the pooreet and least populous of the Philippines, for the total population in 1849
was no more than 15,027. The soil, compared to that of the large islands of the
Archipelago, is evidently sterile and intractable, while the climate is hot, humid, and,
generally, not salubrious, — circumstances which will readily account for the smallness
of the population. This, however, had increased very greatly, for by the census of
1818 it was no more than 5580.
CALAMUS. The seientio name of the class of plants which botanists have agreed to
consider as belonging to the famOy of pcJms, although in appearance more like to rank
grassesy — popularly "canes and latans." These aboimd in all the forests of the Asiatic
CALANTAN 80 CAMBOJA
Islands, parfcioularly in low and swampy lands, which they contribute by their density
and numerous prickles to render nearly impenetrable. They vary in sice from a few
lines to a couple of inches in diameter, and creeping along the ground or climbing trees
they often extend to the length of several hundred yards. By the nativee they are
used for almost every purpose of cordage. The greater number of those exported are
the produce of Sumatra and Borneo. The Malays, with a generic name for the whole
family, distinguish the different kinds, which are probably distinct species, by adding
an epithet to them. The general name is rotan, of which the European ratan is an
obvious corruption. It ia thought to be derived from the verb rawat, which in Malay
means "to pare or trim/' in reference to the process by which the canes are prepared
for use.
CALANTAN. The name of a Malay state on the eastern side of the peninsula.
See Ealantan.
CALASUNGAY. The name of a wild or infidel tribe of the island of Mindano,
in the Spamsh province of Misamis, lately brought under subjection by the Spaniards,
and among whom a Christian mission waa established in 1849.
CALINGAS. The name of one of the many wild tribes of the island of Luzon
inhabiting a range of mountains lying between the rivers Apayo and Tajo within the
province of Cagayan. The Galingas, a brown-complexioned people, with lank hair,
are among the most numerous and advanced of the wild tribes of the Philippines,
cultivating rice and raising fine tobacco. They are of a peaceful and docile character,
and by the indefatigable zeal of the Spanish missionaries a few of them have been
converted to Christianity.
CAMARINES. A province of the island of Luzon, divided in 1829 into two, a
northern and southern. The name is taken from the Spanish word Camarina, *' a
closet or dressing-room," which, in Manilla, is applied to the porch or portico of
a house. The nipa-palms used in the construction of these, when Manilla was first
built, were obtained from that part of Luzon which now bears the nama The
Camarines constitute the principal portion of the peninsula which makes the southeru
end of Luzon ; the province of Albay forming its extremity, and that of Tayabas the
isthmus. It has three great bays, that of Ragay to the south, and of Lamon or Sogod
to the north-we«t, between which lies the isthmus while to the south and south-
east are the spacious gulfs of San Miguel and Logonay. The chain of the Caraballoa
mountains which run from north to south through the whole island, necessarily
traverses it, and several of its peaks are active volcanos, the volcanic formation
prevailing throughout the whole of the two provinces. Within them are the large
lakes of Bato, Buhi, and Baao, and many rivers, of which the Naga is the largest.
This receives the waters of the lakes just named, empties itself in the bay of San
Miguel, and is navigable to a considerable distance by vessels of 200 tons* burden.
On the north-eastern coast, there are many small islands, but none of any oonMdera-
tion, for Catanduanes belongs to the province of Albay. The two provinces of North
and South Camarines contain between them an area of 2845 geographical squan miles.
The climate of the Camarines is considered by the Spaniai^s agreeable and
healthy. The soil is fruitful, yielding abundantly all the usual products of the
Philippines, but rice and the textile banana or abaca are the staple products. The
more active ox is substituted for the heavy and slow buffalo generally used in
agricultural labour in the other provinces, a proof of a light and dry soil, as well as of
improved husbandry. The Camarines are traversed by good roads, and their rivers
well bridged, the bridges being sometimes of stone, but more frequently of bamboa
In 1849 the province of North Camarines contained 28,829 inhabitants, of whom
8966 were subject to the capitation-tax, which amounted to 89,650 reals of plate.
In the same year the much more extensive province of South Camarines contained
115,575 inhabitants, of whom 26,649 paid the capitation-tax, which amounted to
266,490 reals of plate. By the census of 1818 the population of the two provinces
was only 118,898, so that in SO years an increase of about one-fourth bad taken
place. Taking the two provinces together, the rate of population to the square mile
gives 50'5.
CAMBOJA, or CAMBODIA, in Malay, correctly Eamboja, which is believed to
be a name derived from the Sanscrit. This is the same country which is better
known to the Malays under the name of Champa. The Proper Cambojans are a
people distinct in manners and language from those of Lao and Siam to the north,
CAMEL 81 CANDABA
and from thofte of Anam to the south and east of them. Their proper coantry extendi
along the eastern coast of the gulf of Siam up to the 12** of north latitude, and along
the shore of the China Sea up to about 107** of east longitude. When the Portuguese
first anriyed in the Indian Seas, the Gambojans are described as being the most
potent people between Pegu and Tonquin. They have long ceased to be so, most of
their country having been wrested from them by the Cochin-Chinese from the south,
and the Siamese from the north, so that as fitr as the sea-coast is concerned, they are
at present reduced to the single port of K4mpot, lying on a small river which fEdls
int^ a bay, the head of which is in about 11^ of north latitude. Much of Camboja is
an alluvial country, productive in rice. Its forests yield in greater perfection and
abundance than any others, the eagle wood or agila^ and they alone furnish the well-
known drug gamboge, the name of which is a corruption of that of the country. In
the early period of the commerce of Europeans with India, when firom imperfect
navigation, the cost of transport was high, such commodities as these weie of moro
import than the substantially more valuable ones of sugar, cotton, and com, which
from their bulk could not bear the expensive freights of the time.
CAMEL. This quadruped, fitted for the dry sands of the Desert, is wholly
unsuited to the humid climate and forest-dad islands of the Asiatic Archipelago.
It is in fSskct unknown to the natives, except by its Sanscrit name Unta, just m is the
case with the lion.
CAMOTES. The name of a gronp of islets in the strait between the two large
Philippine islands of ^^bu and Leyt^. They are included in the province of the
latter name, but they are inconsiderable both in size and value. They take their
name from the Bisaya word for the sweet potato, or Convolvulus batatas.
CAMPA&. The name of a Malay state on the north-eastern side of Sumatra,
and nearly opposite to Malacca. See Kaktar.
CAMPHOR. The Malay oamphor tree, the Dipterocarpns, or Dryabalanops
camphora, of botanists, is a large forest tree, as far as is known, confined to a few
partf of the islands of Sumatra and Borneo, but in these abundant. The oil, both in
a fluid and solid state, is found in the body of the tree where the sap should be, but
not in all trees. The liquid oil, which is abundant, and little appreciated, but the
concrete bears a very high price, which depends wholly on its scarcity and the fiotncy
of the Chinese and Japanese, who ascribe high medicinal virtues to it, which it pro-
bably possesses in no higher degree than the cheiq) article which they themselves
obtam by the distillation of the wood of the Cinnamomum camphora, and which may
be had in the same markets for about " one hundredth " part of the price. The Malay
name is a slight corruption of the Sanscrit one, Karpura. To distinguish it from the
camphor of China and Japan, the word Bams is annexed, being the name of the sea-port
of tbe western coast of Sumatra, from which the article was principally exported from
that island. From what Barbosa says, it is to be presumed that both the Malay and
Chinese camphor were in use by the Hindus before the arrival of Europeans. The
prices of the different sorts reduced to present Indian weights and moneys will be as
they existed in Malabar and Calicut in the beginning of the sixteenth century, as
follows : coarse camphor, in cakes (canforagrossa in pani), from 40 to 45 Spanish dollars,
the picul of 133^ pounds, which is about double the present price at Singapore; cam-
phor, to use internally, and for the eyes (canfora da mangiar, e per gl' occhi) 1860 dollars
the picul, which is probably no more than 85 per cent, above existing prices in the
Singapore. There was also a sort used for anointing the idols (per ugner gl' idoli) at
half the price of the last These two must have been Malay camphor, while the first,
from its low price, must have been Chinese or Japanese. The wood of the oamphor
tree is good timber, suited for house and ship-building.
CANAREN. The name of a lake in the island of Luzon, and lying between the
provinces of Pampanga and Pangasinan, in latitude IS"" 40'. In the dry season it is
about 6 mUes in length, and 5 in breadth; but in the wet, it becomes an extensive
sheet of water. L^e the other lakes of Luzon it abounds in fish.
CANDABA. A temporary lake, or Pinag as such collections of water are oaUed
in the Philippines, situated in the province of Pampanga, in the island of Luson, on
the left side of the river of Pampanga. It is formed in the rainy season by the over-
flowing of the Pampanga river, and of four of its tributaries. It is then 4 J leagues
in length, and 2| in br^th, and described by Spanish writers as a little fresh-water
sea. In October the waters begin to abate, and by the end of January, the whole bed
of the lake, with the exception of a few pools, is dry land, on which spring up rich
Q
CANNON 82 CARABALLOS
crops of grass, on which are pasturdd many herds of faorses, oxen, and buffiJoes.
While the inundation laats, the lake affords a large supply of fish, especially of the
favourite one called the dalag. From these, the whole neighbourhood of the lake is
supplied, and some, fresh as well as cured, are exported to Manilla and other parts
of the island. Some fish, also, are found during the dry season, in the pools above-
named.
CANNON. See Akms.
CAPIS. One of the thirty-five provinces of the Spanish Philippines, and one of
the three into which the nne island of Panay is divided, forming the northern part
of it. Its average length is 68 geographical miles, and its breadth 20, so that it has
an area of 1400 square geographical miles. The land of Capis is eminently fertile
and well watered, but being low, some portions of it are liable to be inundated in
the rainy season. It is the most productive in rice of all the Philippine provinces,
the seed, according to some Spanish writers, returning from 150 to 200 fold. The
mass of the inhabitants of Capis are of the Bisaya nation, speaking the Bisaya hmguage ;
but in the mountains are found some tribes of Aetas, or negritoe. In 1849, the
population of the province amounted to 186,687 ; of whom 84,660 paid the capitation-
tax, which came to 816,600 reals of plate.
The principal town of Capis, which bears the same name, lies between the two
branches, into which the river Panay divides itself before falling into the sea in a
small bay. It contains 2840 houses, and a population of 10,948. It is a place of
large native trade, the staple export being rice. Latitude 11° 80', longitude 122° 28'.
CAPSICUM. This, and not any of the genus Piper, is the universal peppery
condiment of all the inhabitants of the Asiatic islands. The latter, indeed, are little
used, being mostly- raised for exportation. From its native names in Malay and
Javanese, there can be little doubt of the capsicum being a native product; these are,
chab^ for the first, and lombok for the last. Foreign species or varieties, however,
have been introduced. Thus we have Chab^ China, the Capsicum of China ; and
Ghab^ s^brang, the Capsicum of India, literally, of " the other side of the water."
CAPUL. The name of an island lying off the large one of Samar, in the Philip-
pines, at its north-western extremity, and belonging to the province of this name.
It lies in north latitude 12° 88', has an area of about 5 leagues, and a town of the
same name on its eastern coast.
CAPULAN. The name of an island lying off the southern end of the main body
of the island of Luson, and the northern end of that of Marinduque. It lies in
latitude 13** 52', is about a league in length, and half that in breadth, and is distant
from the province of Tayabas, to which it belongs, about half a league.
CAR, CART, CHARIOT. The name, in Malay and Javanese, for a car or cart
for ordinary use, is pftd-ati, a word the origin of which I do not know. Wheel-
carriages are hardly in use among the Malays, for the boat takes their place ; and
even with the agricultural nations they are little used, except where European power
has been established. For a carriage for luxury, the terms used are IdUreta and rata,
both Sanscrit. In Malayan romances we frequently read of a particular carriage of
this description ; and the Portuguese historian, Castagneda, has described one taken
or rather destroyed at the capture of Malacca. His account of it is as follows ; and it
will give the reader some notion of the kind of barbaric pomp in which a Malay
prince indulged three centuries and a half ago. '* There was also set on fire a great
wooden house placed on a car, which had thirty wheels, every one of them equal in
size to the end of a hogshead. This chariot was made by command of the king
of Malacca, in order to convey in procession through the city the king of Pam
(Pabang), to whom he had given one of his daughters in marriage. He had pre-
pared a great festival for the nuptials, and this chariot was one of the contrivances for
the purpose. It was hung with silk inside, and adorned with banners without.'*
Vol. iiL, p. 194.
CARABALLOS. The Cordillera of Caraballos, is the common name given by the
Spaniards to the chain of mountains which runs through the whole island of Luzon,
over six degrees of latitude. It attains its greatest height, which however is not stated,
and its greatest breadth, which is about 15 leagues, in latitude 16"* 7', and longitude
120° 50'. From this point, proceeding northward, it divides into two chains, one
terminating in the Cape of Engafio, and the other in that of Pato, at the northern
end of the island. From the same elevated point, the Caraballos runs in a single
CARAGA 83 CAKDAMOMS
chain to the south end of the island, terminating in the volcano of Buluran, in the
proTinoe of Albay. This last portion is known by the name of Cordillera del Sur,
the more easterly of the two northern branches by that of the Sierra Madre, and the
more westerly in its more early course by that of the Cordillera del Centre, and
towards its termination by that of the Cordillera del Korte.
OAKAGA. One of the thirty-fiye Spanish proyinoes of the Philippines, and of
the four into which the Spanish portion of the island of Mindano is divided. It
forms the north-eastern and projecting angle of the island where it is divided from
the island of Leyt^ by the strait of Surigao. It is bounded inland by the territory
of the sultan of Mindano, and the Spanish province of MisamiB. To the east and
west it has the sea. Its land frontier extends over 87 leagues, and its coast line over
94. On its western coast it has the great bay of Butuan, the long eastern side of
which goes under the name of the coast of Aran. On its eastern coost it has some
small bays and harbours, as that of Bislig. The province extends from latitude
6M5' to 9*" 60', and from longitude 125"* to 125** 58^ Its extreme length from north
to south is 235, and its breadth from east to west 68 geographical miles ; but its
area is computed not to exceed 7000. The land is generally mountainous, but of the
height or the direction of its mountain-ranges no account has been rendered. For
the most part the mountains are said to afford evidence of a volcanic formation. The
most considerable river of the province is the Butuan, which falls into the spacious
bay of the same name. This has a sand-bank at its entrance, but is navigable for
small vessels for a considerable distance. Altogether the province appears to be
naturally ill-drained, and abounds in stagnant water and marsh.
The climate is hot, humid, and stormy, and the country liable to violent earth-
quakes, especially during volcanic eruptions in other parts of the island. On account
of the prevalence of malaria, it is unhealthyr
The greatest part of the province is covered with a stupendous forest ; the trees,
of which the teak, Tectona grandis, is one, and would be most useful, were there any
economical means of transport to the coast. Another product of it which deserves
notice, is a species of Cinnamon, which cannot be the Cinnamomum iners of the
western Malayan islands, if what is stated of it be true, that it yields by distillation
more essential oil than the cinnamon of Ceylon, although of inferior flavour. The
forests, also, are said to contain wild buffaloes, wild hogs, deer, the civet cat, and
several other animals of the same family yielding musk.
Caraga appears to be one of the poorest parts of the Spanish Philippines. The
cultivated parts of the province are mere specks. Bice is little cultivated, most of
what is consumed being imported from Luzon and (^hn ; and the inhabitants, for
the greater part, subsisting on roots, frequently of spontaneous growth, and on Sago.
Their favourite employment is washing gold, which appears to be more abundant
here than in any other part of the Philippines.
The bulk of the population of Caraga is of the Bisaya nation, speaking a dialect of the
Bisaya language, from which it is to be inferred that they are strangers from some of
the other islands. But there exists in the province also several wild tribes, having
their own distinct tongues. The names of some of these, and it is all that is known
respecting them, are the Mandaya, the Nanobo, the Talacaogo, the Taga-baloyo, and
the Mamamanua. The first four are of the Malayan race, but the last is described as
'* very black negroes." The Mandaya are said to be so much fiiirer than the other
inhabitants of Mindano, that some Spanish writers have come to the fanciful con-
clusion that they are a mixed race descended from shipwrecked Dutchmen. In the
same fashion, the origin of the tribe called Taga-baloyo, from some imagined re-
semblance to Japanese, is traced to shipwrecked mariners of that nation. Exclusive
of these wild tribes, the population of Caraga, all Christian, amounted by the last
census to no more than 31,963 souls, or 4*76 inhabitants to the square mile. A
great increase, however, has taken place since 1818, if the enumeration in both
cases is to be trusted, for then the population amounted to no more than 16,987.
CABAKG-ASAM. The name of one of the nine principalities into which the
island of Bali is at present divided. See Kabavq-abam.
CARDAMOMS. These are known in the Malay and Javanese languages by two
names^ kapulaga and puwar, which have evexv appearance of being native words,
and yet the plant is neither indigenous nor cultivated in the Indian islands. It is
the exclusive product of three countries only, Malabar, Ceylon, and Kamboja, and in
these the spontaneous product of the forest incapable of cultivation. An imme-
morial commercial intercourse has existed between these and the Malayan countries.
G 2
CARIMATA 84 CATANDUANES
^1— ^—^^i^ !■ ■»■ ■[■ H ill—.. ■■ ■M — ■ i ■ ■ I ■ ■■ ■ ■ ■ ^^^■^^^^■— ^M ^— ^ ■■■■II. ■^^ ■ ■»■■■ MM
Cardamoms were well known to the ancients, and Pliny describes their price in the
market of Rome at 12 denarii the pound, equal to 11<. id. the pound aToirdupoifl,
or about five times their present cost.
CARIMATA, in Malay, Kurimata, the name of an island on the Bouth-westem
coast of Borneo, about three leagues in length, and of which the north-west end is in
south latitude l"" 83', and east longitude lOd"* 49'. Its highest hill is 2000 feet above
the level of the sea, and visible at the distance of 15 or 16 leagues. Between it and
Borneo are several islets and rocks, the largest named Surutu, two others Pulo Dua or
" the two islets," and a group named Pulo Lima or ** the five idets." Between Carimata
and the iidand of Billiton is the Carimata passage, a route for large shipping at certain
seasons of the year. Carimata is uninhabited, but occasionally visited by the itinerant
Malays, the Orang-laut or sea-gypsies, for the fishing of tripang and tortoise-shell, and
the collection of esculent swfldlow^ nests. The whole group is estimated to have an
area of 128 square geographical miles.
CARIMON ISLANDS, in Malay, Pulo Krimiin, the name of two islands called
by navigators the Qreat and Little Carimon ; situated towards the eastern extremity
of the Straits of Malacca. The smaller island is about two miles in length, and high
land throughout, the highest part about 500 feet above the level of the sea. The
larger island is about 12 miles in length and 5 in breadth, and its most elevated part
rises to 2000 feet. Both are of granitic formation, and the smaller island, and pro-
bably both, contain ores of tin. In a visit which I made to the Little Carimon in
1824, 1 procured the finest specimen of alluvial tin that I have ever seen, a round
mass of about 15 pounds weight, which had been very little rolled, for the surface was
covered with perfect crystals of the oxide. The smaller island is uninhabited, but the
larger has a population of about 400 Malay fishermen. Both form part of the State of
Jebor, and are within the limit of which paramount sovereignty belongs, by the
Convention of 1824, to the Dutch.
CARIMON JAVA, or the Javanese Carimon, a name given to it by European
mariners to distinguish it from the last-named islands, is, in Javanese, Erimun. It is
the largest of a group of islets on the northern coast of Java, opposite to the Pro-
montory of Japara. The inhabitants are Javanese, simple, inofifensive, and poor.
South latitude 5" 50', and east longitude 110° 84^
CASSOWARY. This bird erroneously supposed to be a native of the Sunda
Islands, is known to the inhabitants of these coimtries only as an imported stranger.
The Malay name is Suwari, from which, most probably, the European one is taken.
Most probably it will be found to be a native of Ceram and New Guinea only, and
like the cockatoos, crown pigeons, and birds of Paradise, of the last island, made
known to the inhabitants of the west through the Malay and Javanese, who have
immemorially carried on a trade with the country of the Papuans.
CAT. The domestic cat of the Malays has the same form, colour, and habits, as
the European, except in one respect, that the tail seldom exceeds three or four inches
in length, and always ends in a kind of crook, a peculiarity, however, not confined to
it, for the same characteristic belongs to the Burmese cat. The origin of the Malayan
domestic cat is equally obscure with that of the European. It is well known to all
the civilised inhabitants. Its most common name throughout the Asiatic Islands,
with slight corruptions, is kuching, but sometimes it tsJces its name from its cry.
Thus mSong is, along with kuching, a synonyme for it in Javanese ; and in Bugis, the
only name for it mean. In Javanese, while there are several foreign epithets for the
dog, the hog, the horse, and the elephant, there is not even one for the cat. So far,
then, as language indicates, the type of the domestic Malay cat will probably be
found to be indigenous.
CATANDUANES. An island on the eastern coast of the great island of Luzon,
and distant 24 leagues from that of the province of South Camarines, lying between
north latitudes 18° 80' and 14' 7', and east longitudes 128** 67' and 124** 24'. Its
extreme length from north to south is 12^, and its extreme breadth, fh>m east to
west, 7 J leagues, its area being computed at 55 square leagues. The heat of the
climate is tempered by the sea breezes, and by the high mountains which it contains,
and two chains of which run through it from north to south. It is, however, subject
to storms, and has no harbours to aflford shelter from the north-east monsoon. It is
abundantly supplied with small rivers, from the sands of which the natives obtain
gold dust. The soil is fertile and productive in rice, maiz, sesame, indigo, cotton,
CATECHU 85 CEBU
and abaca, and it has good pastures for rearing horses and oxen. The abundant
forests of its mountains yield good timber for ship-building, while the building of boats,
which are sent for sale to Mindoro and other places, is one of the principal brandies
of natiye industry. The total population of Catanduanes, by the census of 1850, was
20,910, the tribute payers being 8900, and theamouDt of the tribute 89,000 reals of
plate. The first Spanish missionaries sent to this island were put to death by the
then rude natives, who are now among the most peaceable and docile of the
Philippine Christians.
CATECHU, the Cutob of EaropeaD trade, and the kaohu of the Malays, is the
inspissated sap of several species of Acacia, obtained by the simple process of boiling
the wood, llie article is brought from Pegu to the European emporia, but I am not
aware that any is produced in the Malayan countries themselves. In common with
Qambier, the produce of the leaves of a nauclea, it is now largely exported to
Europe and America for its tannin, to be used in tanning and dyeing.
CAUTO. Diogo de Cauto, the author of the Asia Portuguesa, was bom in Lisbon
in 1542, and died at Qoa in 1616, at the age of 74. He seems to have gone to India
at the early age of 14, and after passing ten years there in a military capacity, to have
returned to Portugal. Soon after, however, he went back to India, so that he passed
the greater part of his life in that country. His Indian experience, however, does
sot seem to have extended to any of the Asiatic Islands, as is evident from the
palpable mistakes into which he falls in respect to the sense and orthography of
Malayan words. Writing later than De Barros, he furnishes some additional infor-
mation, but is greatly inferior to him, both in authenticity and intelligence.
CAYITE, anciently Caiiit, one of the 20 proyinoes of the island of Luzon, and of the
85 of the Spanish Philippines. It has the metropolitan province of Tondo to the
north and the provinces of Batangas and Laguna to the south, with the Bay of
Manilla to the west. It contains the high mountain called the Pico de Loro, a portion
of the southern Cordillera, towards its western side, and has an area of 408 square
geographical miles. Cavity is generally a champaign country, watered by no fewer
than 84 different streams, each with its proper name. The land, although a good
deal of it is still unreclaimed, is in general well cultivated, the cultivation extending
even to a considerable height on the slopes of the Cordillera. Its agricultural pro-
ducts are, rice, wheat, cacoa, coffee, and pepper, with the usual palms. By the census
of 1850 it contained a population of 126,627, of whom 21,158 were subject to the
capitation-tax, which amounted to 211,530 reals of plate. In this population the
Spanish mestizos amounted to 418, the Chinese mestizos, called Sangley, to 5694, and
the unmixed Chinese to no more than 108. Among the inhabitants of this province
are the descendants of some Christians of Temate, located in the district of Mari-
gondo. These parties followed their instructors, the Jesuit fathers, when the Spanish
and Portuguese were driven from the Moluccas by the Dutch, and settled in Luzon
in 1660. The people of Cavity are a mixture of different Philippine tribes, but the
prevailing nation and language are the Tagala. So fiEir as the amounts given of the
population can be trusted, it seems to have rapidly increased, for in 1785, it amounted
to no more than to 5904. In 1799 it had risen to 83,802, and in 1818 to 51,665.
CAYITJ), the name of the nayal arsenal of Manilla, within tbe proyince last-
named, and on the southern shore of the great bay, 8 leagues by sea and 6 by land,
over a good carriage road, distant from the city of Manilla. Latitude 14'' 29', and
longitude 120** 49'. The shelter of a low tongue of land, running for a league into
the bay forms, with the southern shore, a harbour, secure from every wind except
the north-east. The arsenal, fortifications, and town, are on the eastern side of the
tongue of land. The town contains only 265 houses, and 1595 inhabitants. The
fortifications, which were completed in 1819, are described as of great strength.
CAVITE EL YIEJOE, or OLD CAVITfe, is a town and district within a league
of the Arsenal, and to the south of it, with 1612 houses, and 9676 inhabitants.
^EBU. The name of an island, town, and proyince of the Philippines. The
ancient name seems to have been Sogbu, which Figafetta, who first described it, writes
Zubu, evidently a corruption, since he makes the word to begin with a letter which
does not exist in any of the Philippine tongues, ^ebu is one of the islsnds called
by the Spaniards the Visayas, or Bisayas. It lies between Negros to the west, and
Leyt^ to the east ; being divided from the first by a narrow strait, and from the
last by a broader one. To tbe north it has Masbate, and to tlie south Mindano ;
CEBU 86 CELEBES
tbe first about 161, and the last 41 geographical miles distant. In form ^bu is long
and narrow, its northern half being its broadest Its length from north-east to south-
west is 80 geographical miles, its average breadth 15, and its superficies 1843 square
miles. A chain of mountains traverses the island through its whole length, and in it are
stated to be found veins of gold and beds of mineral coal. The northern and broadest
end of 9obu terminates in two projecting head-lands ; between which is a deep and
spacious bay, which gives occasional shelter to the coasting vessels of the Philippines.
But the best harbours are those of the chief town of Dalaguet^, and of Argao— lioth on
tbe eastern coast. The rivers are numerous but small, and generally unfit for navi-
gation or irrigation. Tbe climate is healthy, but the heat would be suffocating but
for the regularity of the sea breezes ; for the quantity of rain which falls in 9^bu is
ascertained to be less than m any other of the islands of the Archipelago.
The surface of this island is generally sandy, stony, and uneven ; and from this,
and the unfitness of its rivers for irrigation, the produce of its soil does not answer
to the extent of its surface. With the exception of a few fertile valleys, cultivation
is generally confined to the sea-board. Of the geological formation of the island
nothing is stated, but there is no indication of any portion of it being volcania In
the history of the Philippines it is celebrated as the first place in which Christianity
was preached to the natives. The people are of the Bisayan nation, and speak &
dialect of the far-spread language of this name. It contsins no wild races, negro or
brown-complexioned.
(j^EBIJy the chief town of the provinoe of the same name, is situated on the
eastern shore of the island of 9^bu, opposite to the little island of Mactan, celebrated
for the death of Magellan. It lies on a small river, or rather estuary, which divides
it iato two parts. Its situation is picturesque, but the climate sultry, though healthy.
It contains 929 houses and 5576 inhabitants. The principal buildings are the epis-
copal palace, the cathedral, and the beautiful chui'ch of San Augustine, called also
the Church of " the Holy Infant of Qebu," after an image discovered by a Biscayan
soldier of the army of Miguel Lopes de Legaspi, the conqueror of the Philippines.
This is supposed to have been the very image of Christ given to the natives of Qebu
by Magellan, and miraculously preserved for four^md-forty years. The natives call
it Bataia, which, in their language, means '^ a god." The word seems to be an easy
corruption either of the Malay word barala, " a graven image ; " or of the Sanscrit
one Avatara, " a descent," which the Malays and Javanese write batara, and is a
genuine term with them for any of the principal Hindu gods. Besides this image,
the ^buans have preserved the first cross, erected by Magellan in 1521, which they
venerate as a holy relic.
The town of ^^bu is a place of considerable trade, carried on with almost all parts
of the Philippines, lliia is in the hands of a few Chinese, but especially of the
Spanish mestizos of the place, amounting to 500, who live in a qxiarter of tiie town
apart from the rest of the inhabitants, ^eho^ besides being the seat of the dvil and
military administration, is also that of a bii^opric, the bishop having ecclesiastic
jurisdiction over 18 out of the S5 provinces of the Philippines. The bishopric was
founded in 1592, and the town itself in 1574.
^EBU. The province of this name, besides the principal island, includes the con-
siderable island of Bohol or Bojol, with those of Sigujor or Isla del Fuego, Mi^^tan,
Olango, Davis or Dauis, Mino, and Panglao. The total population of the province
in 1850 was 889,078, of whom 67,809 paid tribute, which amounted to 678,295 reals
of plate. According to the Spanish enumerations, a great increase has taken place
since the first of them was xnade in 1735, when the population was no more than
89,702. In 1799 it was 100,000; and in 1818 it rose to 154,902.
CELEBES. The fourth island in magnitude of the Malay, and the fifth of the
Ai>iiitic Archipelago. It lies between latitudes 1* 45' and 5** 45' north, and longitudes
118* 10' and 116** 45' east. Its greatest length from north to south has been com-
puted at 768 geographical miles; its greatest breadth at 100; and its area at 57«250
square geographical miles, which makes it by above one-half part larger than Java.
Deeply indented by three spacious gulfs, it consists of an irregular central body and
of four long peoinsulas, which gives it a grotesque appearance on the map. very
unlike any other island, except the neighbouring one of Gilolo. The Portuguese
historian, De Couto, compares its form to that of a grasshopper. Two of these gulfs
penetrate the island from the east ; Gtorongtalu or Tomini, and Tolo or Tomaikoo,
the first or most northerly to the extent of about 84°i and the second to 24*. The
third gulf, that of Boni, penetrates it from the south to the depth of 8*. These
CELEBES 87 CELEBES
names, it may be noticed^ are not native ones, but such as bave been impoeed by
European nayigators from tbe names of places on their ooasts. The peninsulas have
no names, either native or European ; but from their position may be designated the
northern, the eastern, the south-eastern, and the south-western.
The Northern Peninsula, reckoning from the Bay of Palos to its extremity, extends
over 6* of longitude, — ^being a long and narrow strip of land, in some places not
exceeding 10 miles in breadth, and nowhere exceeding iO. A range of mountains runs
through it, the general height of which does not exceed 2000 feet» while some peaks
rise to 4000, 5000, and even 6000. The great volcanic band passes through this
part of Celebes alone, but to what extent is not ascertained ; although, most probably,
to a snudl portion only of its extremity, in which several volcanic craters, some
extinct and some in activity, exist. The whole of this peninsula is rugged and moun-
tainous. Moat of its valleys are transverse ; and it is said to contain no more than
three longitudinal ones of any extent, and but a single plateau, 800 feet above the
level of the sea. The yolcanio portion contains one li^e, seemingly the crater of an
extinct volcano. This, which is 2000 feet above the level of the sea, is about three
leagues in length, and from one-third of a league to a league in breadth, varies in
depth from 90 to 100 feet. The rivers are numerous, but small and of short course
■o as not to be navigable even for native boats. See Mbnado.
The least known of the peninsulas of Celebes is the eastern, or that which has
the Gulf of Tomini to the north, and that of Tolo to the soutii. Its length extends
to four degrees of longitude, and its average breadth is probably not less than 80
miles. A chain of mountains is represented as passing through it, but of its geolo-
gical formation or height nothing is known. Both its coasts are unbroken by
considerable bays or inlets. Towards its junction with the body of the iidand an
extensive lake is stated, on native authority, to exist The south-eastern Peniusula,
or that which has the Qulf of Tolo and the Molucca Sea to the east, and the Qulf of
Boni to the west, extends over 2| degrees of latitude, and is from 80 to 80 miles in
breadth. On its eastern shore it has many islets, and at its extremity are the large
islands of Boston, Muna, and Wowoni. A range of mountains is represented as
passing through it, but of its nature nothing is known ; and the same thing is true of
its interior, the most recent Dutch maps of Celebes being hardly marked by a single
name.
By far the best known and the most important of the Celebesian peninsulas is the
Bouth-westem, or that which has the Gulf of Boni to the east, and the strait which
diTides Celebes from Borneo to the west. Reckoning fi:om the bottom of the Bay
of Boni, its length is not lees than 180 miles, but its average breadth does not exceed
70, giving thus an area of 12,600 square geographical mile& A chain of mountains runs
through this, as through the other Peninsulas, which towards its southern extremity,
contains the peak of Lompo-b&tang, 8200 feet high above the level of tbe sea and said
to be the most elevated point of Uie whole island. The geological formation of this
range is not stated, but probably it is plutonio and sedementary, and, at all events, is
known to exhibit no traces of volcanic action. About the centre of this Peninsula is
found the large lake called that of Labaya or TAparang-dano, which discharges its waters
by a river navigable for native vessels into the Bay of Boni. It is reported to be about
25 miles in length, with a breadth varying from 8 to 10, and having an average depth
of 80 feet This portion of Celebes is distinguished from Sumatra and Borneo by
the existence of extensive prairies or grass plains, unencumbered with heavy timber,
and yielding pasture for horses and oxen, some of the first of which are wild.
On the western side of Celebes there is no deep gulf as on the eastern, so that the
last-named peninsula may be considered as part of the main body of the island ; but
reckoning the latter as only from the Bay of Mandar to that of Palos, and from
the western shore to the head of the Gulf of Tolo, it is 4 degrees in length and 2^
in breadth. Little is known of it except its western coast, and that washed by the
head of the Bay of Boni, and even of these our information is chiefly founded on
native authority.
The rivers of Celebes are of short course, none of them navigable for vessels of
burden, and few of them even for native craft. The lai^est is the Sadang, said to
have its source in the mountains in the northern part of the south-western peninsula,
and which falls into the Straits of Macaawr, but it does not seem to be of much
value to industry, either for navigation or irrigation. The most useful river is the
Chinrana, which has its source in the lake of Labaya and falls into the Bay of
BonL This is navigable up to the lake by native vessels of 40 tons burthen.
Of the metaU, copper and tin are stated to be found in Celebes, and mines of both
CELEBES 88 CELEBES
to be wrought, but iron and gold are the only two that are abundant, and respecting
which we have reliable information. The last of these is very widely disseminated
over the northern part of the island, and procured by the rude washings of the
natives : more of it is exported than from any other island, except Borneo. A deep
forest covers the mountains of Celebes, as those of the other islands, some of the
trees of which (but the Teak is not one of them) yield useful building timber. The
sago, coco, and gomuti palms appear to be natives of the island, but neither black
pepper, cloves, nutmegs, camphor, nor benzoin; those commodities which so earl j
attracted the commerce of strangers to some of the other islands.
The loologv of Celebes is remarkable for the absence of all the larger animals of
prey which characterise that of the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, and even to
some extent of Borneo. It has neither tiger nor leopard, and of the whole feline
fomilv only one small cat. The elephant, the rhinoceros, and the Tapir are also
wanting, and of this class the hog, the Babi-rusa or hog-deer, and the' horse are the
only representatives, the last, most probably a stranger, become wild. The wild ox,
the Bos Sondaicus of the Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, and Borneo is not found in
Celebes, but a small animal, forming the link between the ox and antelope, takes its
place. In Celebes, proceeding eastward, are found for the first time representa-
tives of the marsupial or pouched animals, which continue through the Molucca
and New Quinea, until they become the leading type of the quadrupeds of Australia.
The people of Celebes are throughout of the same race with all the inhabitants of
Java, Sumatra, and Borneo, men of short stature, of a yellowish brown complexion
and lank strong hair, with scanty beard. No negro race exists, nor any race inter-
mediate between the Negro and the Malay. The social state presents every variety,
from savages, and it is Sieged cannibals, to men possessing a knowledge of letters.
The languages are as numerous as the tribes of the island. Three of them only have
acquired any amount of cultivation, the Bugis, the Macassar, and the Mandar, or four,
if we include the language of the neighbouring island of Boston. Wherever the
languages of Celebes are written the character is the same, a peculiar one, which
differs from all other alphabets, and the invention of which is ascribed to the Bugis
or Wugi nation. The most civilised tribes are found in the south-western peninsula,
on the western shore of the main body of the island, and on the large islands of
Boeton and Muna, both of which may be considered as parts of Celebes. They
consist of the Bugis, the Macassar, the Mandar, and the Butung nations. An inferior
civilisation belongs to the inhabitants of the more easterly part of the long and
narrow northern peninsula, where we find the nations speaking the Menado and
Gk>rongtalo lang^uages. The mountains of the interior of the island, generally, are
inhabited by wild races, whom the Malays call Dyaks, as they do the people of
Borneo and Sumatra in the same state of society. The veiy centre of the island is
occupied by a people, called by the more civilised inhabitants Turaja, which, how-
ever, is probably only a native term for "savage.'' Like the wild races of Borneo,
these are professed head-hunters, and some of them, it is alleged, even cannibals. All
the wild races are supposed to be divided into many tribes, each with its own
distinct tongue, as is the case with the inhabitants of Borneo, but, in fact, little or
nothing is known respecting themselves or their languagea Besides the indigenous
population, there are settled on many of the coasts of the island, as fishermen,
numbers of the wandering Malays called the Bajau, the same people that are to be
traced in similar situations from Sumatra to New Guinea.
The more advanced nations of Celebes practise all the useful arts known to the
Malays and Javanese, but, generally, with less skill than, at least, by the latter. The soil
of Celebes is obviously unfruitful compared with that of Java and the other volcanic
islands, and its agriculture greatly inferior as the consequenoe. It is stated that the
arable land of Celebes must lie fidlow for five or six years, before it is fit to yield a
second crop, while that of Java, in so far as regards irrigated land, is cultivated from
year to year without interruption, and this is certainly proof at once of the inferior
skill snd inferior fertility of the former. The only part of Celebes which produces a
surplus of com for exportation is the eastern portion of the northern peninsula,
where the volcanic formation prevails. The crops grown, and the animids domes-
ticated for food or labour in Celebes, are the same as in the western islands. In
recent times the culture of coffee has been introduced by the natives themselves, and
in the northern peninsula of the caco. The only mant^acture in which the civilised
inhabitants excel is that of checked cottons distinguished for their durability, and
for the permanence, although not the brilliancy, of their colours. The raw materials
are their own, and the women, the spinners, weavers, and dyers. These cloths
CELEBES 89 CELEBES
•re laigdy exported to the European end other emporia of the west, and maintain
their place in competition with the m anu f actures of Manchester and Qlasgow.
But the chief bent of the civilised inhabitants of Celebes is to maritime enterprise,
impelled perhaps in this direction from the stubborn nature of the soil, and the
physical form of the island, with so extensive a coast, and no part of the land very
remote from a sea unusually productive in human food. From whatever causes it
proceeds, the inhabitants of Celebes are, at present, the most adventurous and skilful
native mariners and merchants of the Archipelago. Their little vessels of peculiar
build, called Padewakan by the Malays, and of the burden of from 40 to 50 tons,
conduct the carrying trade from one end of the Archipelago to the other, their out-
ward and homeward voyages being guided by the monsoons. Besides the trade
condneted from Celebes itself, the people of this island are to be found as settlers in
every part of the Archipelago where there is trade and protection, and many vessels
belonging to them sail from such settlements, so that altogether probably not fewer
than 800 vessels belong to them. Their outward cargos consist of such articles as
the following, cotton cloths, gold dust, birds-nests, tortoise-shell, tripang, scented
woods, coffee, and rice.
The total population of a great islaad, most of which has never been explored by
Europeans, or even trodden by them, must be a matter of mere estimate. A com-
putation of that portion of it under the direct sovereignty of tiie Netherlands, made
in 1838, gave the number at 410,000. Of this, the noithem peninsula, and some
portion of the eastern, amounted to 178,272, the rest being contuned in the southern
part of the south-western peninsula. The Dutch possessions are estimated to contain
1674 geographical leagues, and if the rest of the island be equsJly well peopled as
these, it follows that the total population would amount to 888,297. It has been
loosely estimated at 8,000,000, which a careful and judicious writer, M. Melville de
C^unb^, considers an extravagant estimate, and reduces to 1,104,000, although, on
what foundation, I am not aware. If we estimate the total population at 900,000 in
round numbers, we shall, probably, not underrate it, when it is considered how much
of the island is known to be in the possession of rude and savage tribes, and how
muoh of it is an absolute wilderness. Were Celebes as well peopled as Java, it ought,
according to the census of the latter, to contain above 14,000,000 inhabitants, but
iUi popuUtion in proportion to area is, probably, not above one-fifteenth part of this
number, or in other words, every square mile of Java contains as many inhabitants
as 15 square miles of Celebes. This comparison gives a tolerably £air notion of the
relative fertility and civilisation of the two islands.
With respect to the history of Celebes, it is hardly necessary to say that it was
utterly imknown to the European nations of antiquity, or the middle ages. It seems
even to have been very little, if at all, known to the Asiatic strangers who frequented
the Arohipelago long before Europeans, for it yielded none of the productions which
attracted them to the other islands. These ptorties had given names to Sumatra, to
Java, to Borneo, but they had bestowed none on Celebes. Barbosa is the first
European writer who makes mention of the island, but he evidently thought that
the country wUch he so called was not one island, but many. " Passing, " says he,
** the islands of Maluco (the Moluccas), there exist other islands to the west, from
which occasionally come (to the Moluccas) a fair people, naked from the waist upwards.
Yet they have doth woven from a certain material like straw, with which they cover
their nudities. They speak a language of their own. Their barks are ill-constructecC
and in them they come to the aforesaid Maluco Islands to load with cloves, copper,
tin, and cloths of Cambay. They bring for sale^ swords very long and broad, of
one edge** (at present well known to the Malays under the name of klewang), " with
other works in iron, and much gold. These people eat human flesh, and if the king
of Maluco has a criminal to execute, they ask for him as a favour to eat, as if asking
for a hog. The islands from which these people come are called Celebe." — ^Bamusio,
Tol. i., p. 818.
De Barros gives the name as we now write it, not^ however, as of one island, but
like Barbosa, of many, and he informs us that " the islands " of Celebes were dis-
covered in the year 1525, by a native vessel, manned by Portuguese, sent from the
Molnocas in search of gold, which the islands in question had the reputation of pro-
ducing. The Portuguese had thus been fourteen years in commercial intercouse
with the Moluccas before they discovered Celebes, although only 60 leagues distant.
The account of Celebes given by the historian De Couto, which refers to the year
1640, or fifteen years after its discovery, is more full than that of Do Barros, but it is
•omewhat confused, as wdl as, in some particulars, inaccurate. This is his account :
CELEBES 90 CELEBES
"At the Bame time," (1640) *' there came to Temate ambaasadon from the ialanda of
the Maca9a8 (Macassars), which lie west of the Moluccas about 60 leagues. These
Islands {esUu ilhoB) are many, and extend in a direction north and south to the length
of 100 leagues. This island {etta ilha) resembles in form a huge grasshopper, of
which the head stretches to five degrees and a half of south latitude, and constitutes
the Celebes (os Oellebet). This has a king of its own. The tail, which is next to the
Moluccas, crosses the equinoxial, and runs a degree north of it. These islands {etUu
ilhcu) are ruled by many kings, and^ have different languages, and separate rites and
customs. Commencing with the taU, the extremity of which ia cut by the equator,
there is the kingdom of the Bogis (Bugis). Its principal city is called Savito, which
is laige, consists of storied houses, beautiful, but all of wood. There they bum the
dead, and collect the ashes in urns, which they inter in separate fields, where they
erect chapels, and for a year the relatives bring food, which they place on the tomb,
which dogs, cats, and birds carry ofL The viands thus placed, consist of such as the
deceased eat of while living. These people have no temples, but pray, looking up to
the skies with their hands raised, from which it may be seen that they have a
knowledge of the true Gk>d. The common people have but one wife, but the kings
three or four. Then comes the kingdom of Maca9a. Its principal city is called Qoa,
and here they inter the dead. Near this is another kingdom called Dirapa, its
principal town having the same name. The people of this country have the aame
rites and customs as the Bugis, and their kings are relationa To the kings thus
named there are many petty princes subject In these islands there is ootton,
copper, iron, lead, and much gold, made into bracelets for the women. There are
also red gems, which are made into ornaments, with sandal-wood and sapan-wood,
and the people manufacture madb. good cloth of silk of many sorts. These islands
are rich in rice, legumes, fruits, and salt, and they have horses, elephants, common
fowls, sheep, bu£Ealoes, deer, hogs» partridges, and all kinds of forest game, but no
oxen. They have ships of many kinds, some of them called pelang (Malay, a baige
or pinnace), which are fastrunning vessels for war. They have o&eis, called lopi,
which are for cargo, and still laiger ones, which are called jojogiL All these people
are of a tawny complexion, like the inhabitants of the Moluccas. The men are
well-made and handsome, but foul in their lives, and much addicted to heinous Mm. :
the women are handsome and laborious. All of these people that have fiedlen into
the hands of the Portuguese have been prisoners of war. Every year there is taken
of them for sale a great number to Malacca.*' — Decade V. book viL chapter 2.
There is some truth and much error in this description. The country of the
Bugis and the town of Savito are not on the northern, but the south-western
Peninsula. No such kingdom as Dirapa is traceable, and there is nothing but the
assertion of the writer to show that the elephant ever existed in Celebes. He refen
only to the northern and south-western Peninsulas, and most probably considered
the eastern and south-eastern to be islands like Boeton, Mun% Wowo&i, and
Salayer. It is evident, however, from his account, that the people of Celebes were
not yet converted to the Mahommedan religion, and it is probiU>le, from their modes
of praver, and the burning of the dead, that they professed some rude form of
Hinduism. It ia evident that the parties who furnished De Couto with his state-
ments derived their Information, not by direct communication with the people of
Celebes, but through the Malays of Malacca or of the Moluccas^ and this is ^own by
the use of the Malay and not native proper names.
The accounts of the Portuguese historians may assist us in offering some oonjectores
respecting the name of the island. It is one wholly unknown, even at present, to
the natives of Celebes itself or to the other people of the Archipelago, and indeed,
has not the sound of a native word, being one which the former could not pronounce.
The island, in fact, has no native name any more than the other great iftlflndsr A
land, by the inhabitants of the Archipelago, is considered only in reference to the
people who inhabit it, and no effort is made at a geographical generalisation which
would embrace the aggregate of many parts. They speak of the land of the Bugis
and of the Macassars, as they speak of the land of the Malays, of the Bataks, of the
Javanese, and of the Sundos, and it is highly probable that Celebes was not' known
to its inhabitants to be an island at all, until it was ascertained for them by Europeans.
The name of Celebes then was, in all likelihood, imposed by the Portuguese, and as
we have seen, they seem to have considered it rather as a group of islands than a
single island. I have no doubt, therefore, but that the last syllable of the word is a Portu-
guese plural. The rest of the word is by no means so certain, but it seems veiy probable
that the first syllable is the frequent initial and inseparable Malay particle Si, in its
CELEBES 91 CELEBES
Portuguese orthography. This is frequently prefixed bj the Malays to the names of
persons and to those of islets or rather of groups of islets, of which we have examples
in the islands Sbiru, Simalu, and Sipora, on the western coast of Sumatra. These
names may be litendly translated, " the blue," "the shame/' and " the dissembling**
islands. The chief difficulty is with the medial syllable, or prindpal word, which,
however, may be the Malay word Mbih or lebih, ''more" or ''over and above.*'
Pulo Sal&bih would, then, signify " the islands over and above," and in their expla-
nations to the Portuguese such a vague name may have been giyen by the Malays,
which with the Portuguese plural would approach to the word Celebes. We have a
somewhat similar proceeding in the Collates of De Barros, which he gives as the
proper name of a people inhabiting the iahmds at the eastern end of the Straits of
Malacca^ and " whove vocation," he says, ** it was to rob and fish ** (cuyo officio he
rubar y peecar.) The word thus fiibrioated into the name of a nation is the Malay
word s4lat^ "a strait or narrow sea," with the Portuguese plural, the people referred
to being no other than the roving Malays spread over the coasts of the Archipelago, to
the present day, and known as the Orang-laut, '* men of the sea," or Qrang-sUat, **men
of the straits."
That the people of Celebes had an early intercourse with the Malays and Javanese,
mnd that they received from them some portion of their civilisation, is sufficiently
testified by the evidence of language. Of the Bugis, the most copious and improved
of the Celebesian languages, about one- fifth is either Malay or Javanese. Among
words of these languages we find the names of such cultivated plants as rice, the
yam, the sugar-cane, tibe mango, and the mangostin, but not the banana or the
oocoa-nuty or the sago-palm, or the bread-fruit. All domesticated animals bear Malay
or Javanese names, except the buffido. The greater number of tools, implements^
and weapons, but not aU, have the same origin. Thus, saw, adsse, knife, shears,
file, chisel, sword and bow are Malayan, but not spear, javelin, shield, dagger, and
hanger. Iron, tin, and silver are Malay and Javanese, but not gold. In the terms
oonncwted with the useful arts, while spin, thread, weave, shuttle, sew, nail, bolt,
pUnk are Malayan, house^ door, lime, and cloth, are native.
Language alone testifies that the more cultivated of the nations of Celebes had a
alight tincture of Hinduism, but to judge by the form, sense, and identity of the
words, evidently through the Malays and Javanese. Thus the words religion, wor-
ship, adoration, fast, ascetic devotion, heaven, infernal regions, deity, spiritual guide,
goblin, and soul, are either Malay or Javanese, or Sanscrit through them. Inde-
pendent, indeed, of theological terms, there are a good many Sanscrit words indi-
cating progress in civilisation which have found their way into the Bugis, through
the medium of the Malay and Javanese, such as cotton, copper, pepper, sugar, nut-
meg, indigo, diadem, fortress, &c, &o.
When the Portuguese first visited Celebes, they found a few foreign Mahommedan
settlers at Qoa, the chief town of the Macassar nation, but the natives as yet uncon-
verted. This was in 1640. The king of this state is said to have adopted Moham-
medanism about the year 1608, but his people generallv not until 1616. This great
change in the manners of the people of Celebes did not begin, for the Macassars were
the first converts, until a whole century after the Portuguese had been in occupation
of Malacca and the Moluccas ; nor, indeed, until some years after the arrival in the
Archipelago of French, Dutch, and English. This fact proves how small had been
the intercourse of the western nations of Asia with Celebes, down to so late a period
as the beginning of the 17th century ; especially when it is recollected that most of
the Sumatrans had been converted four centuries before, and even the Javanese near
a hundred and forty years.
The Dutch began to carry on some trade with Celebes as early as the year 1607,
but did not enter into political relations with its princes until 80 years kter, when
they formed a treaty with the leading state of the island, the Macassars of Qoa. In
1660, they conquered the Macassars, and expelled their allies, the Portuguese. The
period which has since elapsed of near two centuries, has been one of long, frequent,
and costly wars, engaged in, as the results prove, for no other purpose than the
establishment of a profitless supremacy, substantially nominal. It is certain that the
occnpation by an European nation of such a country as Celebes, with a scanty popu-
lation, chiefly of fishermen, traders, or, still worse, of savages, can not only not be
profitable, but must be wasteful In such a state of society there is no real land-
rent, and consequently no Und-tax; neither is there a population by wealth or
numbers to contribute revenue by indirect taxation: hence, the means of obtainmg
a revenue sufficient to mi^nfaiin the expensive establishments of an European nation.
CERAM 92 CERAM
sach aa are found in the dense populations of Java and Hindustan, have no existence.
The entire computed population of the Netherland portion of the Celebes is no more
than 410,000, and it would be unreasonable to expect that such a one armed and
poor, should be either able or willing to furnish to the government of foreign
conquerors a revenue adequate to their own efficient administration and at tiie same
time to the control of as many more independent parties who make no contribution
at all. The chief source of native revenue is a tithe on com, and this also is exacted
by the Dutch government. Where, however, there is no rent, such a tax is a virtual
excise on bread, and can neither be a productive or expedient impost in a country
where the majority of the people are not cultivators of the soil, and which hardly
produces com sufficient for its own consumption. What the revenues and expen-
diture of the Celebes are I have not seen in any public statement ; but it is probable
that the latter is greatly in excess, and that the balance 'ib supplied from the revenues
of Java.
It is to be presumed that it is a conviction of the truth of this state of things
that has led the Netherland authorities, of late years, to establish free ports in
Celebes, on the same principle as the British settlement of Singapore. In 1846 such
a port was established with eminent success at Macassar, on the south-western
peninsula; and at Menado and Eema in 1849, on the northern and southern shores
of the northern peninsula.
CERAM. This is the Portuguese orthography for the Serang of the Malays, aa
island in the Molucca Sea, having New Guinea and its islands to the east, Boero
to the west, Amboyna and the Banda Isles to the south, and Gillolo with the Moluccas
to the north of it. It lies between south ktitudes 2"^ 45' 30" and 3° 86' 30% and
between east longitudes 129" 30' and 130** 53'. Its length is about 162 geographical
miles, but its greatest breadth does not exceed 40 : its area has been computed at
4945 geographical square miles. It is thus the largest island of the Malay Archipe-
lago next to Celebes, although very far from being of value proportioned to its
extent. A chain of mountains nms through it from east to west, or rather the
island is itself one mountain range with little exception, — some of the peaks nsing
to the height of 6000 and 8000 feet above the level of the sea ; and the highest,
Nusa-keli (in Javanese " drift island,'^ to as much as 9250. The eastern cosst is bold,
precipitous, and difficult of access ; and although both sides contain some spacious
bays, there seems to be no good harbour on either. Its geological formation has not
been ascertained, but probably is the same as that of the neighbouring island of
Amboyna, or composed of plutonic and sedimentary rocks. It has certainly no
active volcano, or extinct crater, that has been ascertained. Numerous rivera, or
rather torrents proceeding from the mountains, fall into the sea on both the eastern
and western coasts ; but none of them are of the least importance to agriculture or
navigation. The country is generally covered with a stupendous forest, none of the
trees, however, it has been ascertained, being fit for the purpose of ship-building.
Neither is the forest known to contain the clove or the nutmeg. Hogs, deer, and the
civet cat are the reported wild animals.
The coast of Ceram ia occupied by Malay settlers, an active and enterprising race
of fishermen, who pursue their chief game, the tripang or holothurion, and the shell-
tortoise as far as the coast of New Guinea, and even Australia. The inhabitants of
, the interior are the aboriginal people of the island, divided into many small inde-
pendent tribes, distinguished by the difference of their languages. The state of
society among them resembles that of the fixed wild inhabitants of Borneo, although
less civilised than the more advanced of these. Like the wild Bomeans they live
in villages, and practise a rude husbandry. Like them, too, they are stealers and
hoarders of human heads, and exhibit these as trophies in their private and publio
dwellings, — the only historical records of their deeds of arms. Their husbandry
consists in the culture of the banana, the sago-palm, some farinaceous roots, and
some mountain rice. The growth of rice by irrigation, and the rearing of the ox and
buffido are unknown to the Ceramese, — evidence sufficient of the sterility of the soil,
and of the barbarism and poverty of the people. Of the population of the island
no conjecture has been made. Ten inhabitants to every square mile would give a
population of 25,000, which probably exceeds the actual number. Bali and Lomboc
are each about one-third part of the size of Ceram ; and the first has a computed
population of 700,000, and the last of 450,000, — one of many proofe that in these
countries, even under the same parallels, mere extent of land counts for little or
nothing in appreciating the value.
CERAM-LAUT 93 CHESS
CERAM-LAUT, oorrectly SERANG-LAUT, that is " Geram to sea," is the name
of a cluster of islets, the largest of which are named Serenri, Geair, Ealiwaru, Qorong,
and MalongL They lie in south latitude 3" 55', and east longitude 133*'> and off the
south-east end of Ceram. The inhabitants, in physical form, belong to the Malayan
and not to the Negro race. They practise a little agriculture, the chief object of
which is the culture of the sago-pahn, which yields their bread. They are chiefly
fishermen, and their principal game the tortoise and holothurion. Their ▼oyages
extend to New Guinea, and the islands on its south-western coast At these, they
obtain seed-pearls, scented woods, nutmegs, stuffed birds of paradise, a great yariety
of birds of the parrot family, and the crown pigeon ; with a considerable quantity
of sulphur, but from what volcano obtained Ib not known. The Bugis traders
repaur to the Ceram-laut Islands and there purchase the different commodities
thus collected, and convey them to the western emporia. The first of the
islands above named^ Serenre, appears to be that to which they resort for tiiis
purpose.
CHAI, abbreviated CHI, means water, and also river in the language of the
Sundas ; and exists as the first syllable of many names of places in the western
part of Java, such as Chitarum, literallv "Indigo-plant river;" Chimanuk, "bird-
river ; •* Chiasam, *' tamarind-river; ** and Chiliur, " river of coco-nuts."
CHAMPA. The name of an ancient Malay settlement on the eastern side of the
Qulf of Siam, in the country of Camboja. See Camboja.
CHAMPADAH. The Artoearput polypheme of botanists, a fruit of the same
natural fiunily with the jack and bread-fruit; smaller than the first, but of more
delicate flavour, and greatly esteemed by the Malays. It seems to be an indigenous
plant of the Archipelago, and even here to be limited to the western parts of it,
such as Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, and their adjacent islands.
CHERIBON. A large province of Java, situated on the northern side of the
island, and having the province of the Preanger Regencies to the west and south,
that of TAgsl to the east, and the sea to the north. The western portion of it is peopled
by the Sundss, and the eastern by the Javanese; and hence, perhaps, its name
correctly Charubaa, which in Javanese means " mixture.** Its total area is estimated
at 2043 geographical square miles. It contains a large proportion of mountain
land ; and one of its mountains, Ch4rmai, rises to the height of 10,000 feet above
the level of the sea, and is an active volcano. Like the rest of the island, Cheribon
is of volcanic formation. It has one beautiful mountain lake, which gives its Sanscrit
name, Talaga« literally, the "cistern " or "reservoir," to one of its principal subdivisions.
Cheribon is divided into 13 districts. In 1815, its population was reckoned at
216,000, which, by the census of 1845, had risen to 616,523. By that of 1850, the
number had declined, from causes not explained, to 574,780. In 1815, the number
of its homed cattle was reckoned at 42,866, and of its horses, at 6623. In 1845, the
cattle had increased to 115,000, and the horses to 80,000.
Previous to the conversion to Mahommedamsm, Cheribon and the districts adjacent
to it were under the rule of several petty independent princes. About the year 1480
of our time, an Arabian adventurer, called Shekh Maulana, better known to the
Javanese by the name of the place of his residence and title Susunan Gunung-jati,
signifying the " holy man of the hill of teak wood." This person subdued the petty
princes of the country, and sent his son to Bantam, who performed the same office of
conversion and subjugation for the Bantamese. From the father and son are
descended the Sultans of Bantam and Cheribon, both now abdicated kings and
pensioners of the European government, although a predecessor of the first named
of these potentates once sent an embassy to the most powerful monarch of his time,
Louis the XIV.
CHESS. The game of chess is supposed to haye been an invention of the Hindos,
and, through them, to have been made known to the Malayan nations. This opinion,
however, is not supported by the terms of the game in the Malay language. Had
it been received directly from the Hindus, these terms, as in other cases, would have
been wholly Ssnscrit. Thev are not so, for some of them are Persian, some native,
and one belongs to the Telinga ; while those that are Sanscrit are but words long
naturalised in other departments of the insular langusges. It seems probable that
the Malays, who alone are familiar with the game, borrowed it in comparatively
modem times, from the Mahommedans of the Coromandel coast, who themselves had
learnt it, directly or indirectly, from the Persians.
GHETTO 94 CHmA
CHETTO, CHATO, or JATO. The name of certain extensive but rude temples,
situated on the eastern acclivity of the moiintcdn Lawn, in Java, about the ceniro of
the island, and in the country of the proper Javanese nation. The buildings, which
are at the height of 4220 feet above the level of the sea, consist of eight ascending
terraces, paved with hewn trachite, and communicating with each other by fligfate of
steps of the same material. On the terraces are the remains of temples and monstrous
images, having just sufficient resemblance to those of the Hindus to show that
they were dedicated to their religion. Unlike most of the other monuments of Java,
they are in a rude and grotesque style, evincing the absence in their construction of
foreign guidance. An inscription in Javanese numerals gives the year of their
building, and this is 1361 of the Hindu era of Saka, corresponding to 1489 of Christ,
which was about 40 years only before the final subversion of the Hindu religion in
Java. I had myself described these temples, the only ones of the kind in Java,
ezoept those of Suku, on the opposite side of the same mountain, many years ago, but
they were visited in 1838, and a far better account given of them by M. Junghun, a
gentleman to whose industry, enterprise, and ability the geography of Java is more
indebted than to any one living.
CHINA. This word, which in the Malayan languages, in conformity to its
practice in all such cases, is an adjective, is pronounced as an Italian would pronounce
it. When the country is alluded to, the Sanscrit word nagri, or the native one,
bftniia, are required. It is difficult to determine from what source the natives of the
Archipelago have derived a word now so finmiliar to them. They may have received
it from the Persian and Arabian merchants who passed through the Archipelago on
their way to China, as early as the ninth and tenth centuries, or it may be the
Malayan pronunciation of the word Tsin, the ancient name of China, noith of the
Tang-che-kiang, received directly from the Chinese themselves.
That an early intercourse existed between China and the islands of the A^atio
Archipelago is certain, but there is, at the same time, no ground for ascribing a very
remote antiquity to it. In the ancient language, literature, and monuments of Java,
the only country of the Archipelago boasting of an ancient civilisation, there is
certainly no allusion whatever to China or the Chinese. There is, however, other
evidence, which attests an intercourse of many centuries. Ancient Chinese coins have
been discovered in various parts of the Archipelago ; and as these, with the exception
of those of Java, are known to have been the only coined money of the Archipelago
before the arrival of Europeans, they are sufficient to prove the existence of the
intercourse. Thus, several such coins were dug up in 1827, from the ruins of the
ancient Malay settlement of Singapore, said to have been founded in 1160, and
destroyed by the Javanese in 1252 of Christ These coins have been deposited in
the Museum of the Royal Asiatic Society, and bear the names of emperors whose
deaths correspond with the years of our time, 967» 1067, and 1085. Besides this
evidence, which carries us back to the tenth century, Chinese porcelain, of antique
forms — no longer manufactured — has either been dug up, or found preserved as heir-
looms. The wild aborigines of Borneo, for example, preserve many of the latter
description ; and it is hardly necessary to add, that the natives of the Archipelago
are ignorant of the manufEurture of porcelain, but that it now forms, and at all ascer-
tained times has formed, a main object of the export trade of the Chinese. In 1844,
a singular discovery of pottery, glazed porcelain vases, was made in Java, amidst the
relics of antiquity in a mountain towards the eastern end of the island, at an elevation
of 9000 feet above the level of the sea, which could hardly be other than Chinese.
The name of the place in which the vases were found, some of them broken and some
entire, is Ai^pura, a word partly Javanese and partly Sanscrit, and importing
mountain palace, or city.
Such testimony is, unquestionably, fiur more satisfactory than anything that can be
gleaned from the literary records of the Chinese, which, however, are not wholly silent
on the subject of the intercourse between China and the islands of the Archipelago.
In 1815, there were given to me by a highly intelligent Creole Chinese of Java, whose
family had been for several generations settled in the island, a volume printed at
Fekin, in the reign of the Emperor Kanghi, which contained some curious notices on
the question. This work, now in the library of the British Museum, attributes the
first intercourse with a coimtry, supposed to be Java, to an era corresponding with
the year of Christ, 421. After a long interval, it states that it was renewed in tibe
year 964 ; a period, it will be observed, corresponding with the date of the earliest
coins already alluded to, and, respecting such coin^ it mkkes the following curious
CHINA 95 CHINA
and instructiye remark. '* In this traffic they uee the money of China, but of a
coinage older than the present times, and the coin hours a value double what it does
in China." The work refers to the unsucoessful expedition which Kublai Khan, the
son of the celebrated Jengis, fitted out against some islands, which De Guignes
supposes to be Borneo, but which the Chinese of Java consider to have been thislast-
named island, and which indeed, aooording to their interpretation, is expressly
named. According to De Gaignes, this expedition was undertaken in 1292. The
last notice which the work gives of an intercourse with the Malayan islands refers to
the sixteenth year of the reign of the third prinoe of the native dynasty, the Ming,
which superseded the Moguls, and, which in its turn, was superseded by the Manchoos.
This brings us down to the year 1420, only 89 years before the arrival of Europeans
in the Arcbipelaga It states that in the fifth year of tiie reign of the same prinoe,
the country alluded to, and supposed with reason to be Java, being divided between
two princes, the prinoe of the western invaded and conquered the eastern territory.
The year referred to corresponds with 1409 of Christ ; and Mr. Marsden infers that
the transaction thus alluded to is the conquest by the Mahommedans of the Hindu
kingdom of Majapahit, which is probable, but if it really does, there is a chronological
error on the part of the Chinese writer of near 70 years ; for the event in question
took place in 1478. In truth, Chinese accounts of foreign countries are but of slender
value, owing to the national vanity of the people which attaches no importance to
anything that is not Chinese, and to the imperfect means which the pictorial
language of the Chinese affords of expressing the names of persons and places often
leaving their identification a matter of mere conjecture.
When the Portuguese first made their appearance in the waters of the Archipelago,
they found the Chinese carrying on trade with its emporia much in the same way as
they do at the present day. Alboquerque, when he took Malacca, found their junks
lying in the roads ; and Burboaas' statement, which evidently refers to the condition
of Malacca before its conquest, is so detailed and authentic as to be well worth
quoting. "There assemble," says he, "at the above city many other merchants.
Moor and Gentile strangers, in order to traffic with the ships of China, which have
two masts. These ships bring hither great quantities of silk in hanks (raw silk),
and many vessels of porcelain, damasked silks, brocades, and satins of various colours.
They bring also coloured silk, much iron, saltpetre, fine silver, many pearls, large
and small baskets, gilt &aui, and incense. On the other hand, they take in return
for these things — ^pepper, incense, cloths of Cambay, grained cloth (panni di grano),
saffiron raw and prepared, ooroX many cloths of Pulicat of painted (printed)
cotton, cinnabar, quicKsilver amfiam, (opium), and other merchandise, with drugs of
Cambay, among which there is one which we know not, but which they call pauchou
(puchuk), and another, which they call cachou (Cutch terrajaponica)."
It deserves, however, to be noticed, that while there is abundant evidence of the
trade and shipping of the Chinese, there is none whatever of their settlement in the
ArchipelagOL Debarros specifies the different nations who were settled in Malacca
under the Malay govenmient, — Javanese^ Siamese, Peguans, natives of Bengal,
Coromandel, Gujrat, Arabia, and Persia ; but he makes no mention of the Chinese as
settlers. Barboea's account of the persons and manners of the Chinese is taken from
his account of China, given to him by others, and not from his own personal observa-
tion, which would have been the case had he seen them as settlers. It is wonderfully
accurate, considering that it is derived from native authority. '^Respecting," says
he, *' what is at present to be written, I have my information from four different
persons (Moors and Gentiles), men worthy of credit and great merchants, who had
been many times in the country of China." After giving a very graphic account of
the Chinese and their arts, which includes their speaking a language like German ,
that is a guttural one^ and their wearing shoes and stockings like the (Germans and
other inhabitants of cold countries, he adds, " They are also great navigators, who go
to sea in great ships, which they call giunchl (Malay jung, a trading vessel), of two
masts, and built in a &shion different from our& The sails are of matting, and also
the ropes. There are many pirates and robbers among the islands and ports of
China, notwithstanding, which the Chinese go to Malacca, and carry thither iron,
saltpetre, and the like." — Barbota in Ramtmo.
The probability seems to be that the native governments of the Archipelago were
not sufficiently civilised to afford encouragement to the Chinese to settle in the
country, and that their emigration from China with a view to settlement^ dates
only from the arrival of Europeans and the establishment of their power. Some
circumstances connected with the condition of China itself^ such as the increase of
CHINA 96 CHINA
population, which is known to have followed the permanent eetabliahment of the
Manchoo dynasty about the middle of the seventeenth century, no doubt contriboted
largelv to promote Chinese emigration, not only to the Asiatic Archipelago, bat alao
to such countries as Tonquin, Cochin-China, and Siam.
The emigrants from China are all from the four maritime provinces of the empire^
Canton, Fokien, Chekiang, and Kiangnan. Four-fifths of the whole number come from
Canton, and about a tenth part from Fokien, the emigrants from the two more
northerly provinces forming but a very small fraction. Nearly aU the emigrants
consist of the labouring classes, — ^fishermen, artisans, and common day-labourerm.
They usually arrive at their places of destination in great poverty, and are frequently
obliged to mortgage their It^our to their resident countiymen in consideration of
their passage money.
Chinese emigration differs in two material respects from all other emigration, —
that it consists entirely of adult males, to the exclusion of women and childrao,
and that it never embraces either the upper or middle classes. I do not believe th»t
the absence of the female sex arises from legal prohibition, for the prohibitioii
to quit the countiy applies equally to both sexes. The real cause seems to be the
reluctauce of the Chinese to quit their native country, and the hope which those
who emigrate always cherish of returning to it. The settlers, whenever it is in
theii power, form connections with the native women of the country ; and hence has
arisen a mixed race, numerous in the older settlements, known to the Malaya under
name of PAranakan China, literally, ''Chinese of the womb," that is, Chinese by-
native mothers ; and called in the Philippines, Sangley, a word of which the origin is
unknown, although it has been admitted into dictionaries of the Spanish language.
These intermarrying, either among themselves or with native Chinese, a race o£
quadroons, and almost of Creoles, has sprung up, differing little from the original
Chinese, — ^perhaps, somewhat less enei^tic, but always possessed of more local
knowledge. From the nature of Chinese emigration, the proportion of males to
females is always great. In Singapore, a young settlement^ the males are to the
females in the proportion of 10 to 1. The result, of course, is that the increase of
the Chinese population by natural means is very slow. The entire Chinese popu-
lation of Java, after Chinese emigration has been directed to that island for two
centuries and a half of European rule, consists of no more than 181,000 persons.
The annual number of Chinese immigrants into the Archipelago cannot be aeoer-
tained ; but some notion of its amount may be formed from the number which lands
in Singapore, the principal port to which emigration is at present directed. This, on
an average of years, is above 10,000, of whom about one-fourth settle in the island,
the majority being dispersed among the neighbouring ones. The number that returns
yearly to China from the same port is about 8000, most of them parties resorting to it
from neighbouring countries for the convenience of a passage.
As the Chinese are next to Europeans, and indeed, m many respects, before them,
the most active and valuable agents in developing the resources of the Archipelago,
it will be convenient to give some account of their employments. Here is an
enumeration of them in Singapore, furnished bv an intelligent chief of his nation, in
reply to queries put by the indefatigable editor of the "Journal of the Indian
Archipelago.** ** The different trades and professions of the Chinese in Singapore,"
says he, "are schoolmasters, writers, cae^ers, shop-keepers, apothecaries, coflKn-
makers, grocers, goldsmiths, silversmiths, tin-smiths, blacksmiths, dyers, tailors,
barbers, shoe-makers, basket-makers, fishermen, sawyers, boat-builders, cabinet-
makers, achitects, masons, lime and brick burners, sailors, ferrymen, sago manu-
facturers, distillers of spirits, cultivators and manufacturers of gambler and of sugar,
cultivators of pepper and of nutmegs, venders of cakes and fruits, porters, play-actors,
fortune-tellers, idle vaffabonds— who have no work, and of whom there are not a
fow, — ^beggars, and, nightly, there are those villains the thieves."
To this list must be added the general merchants and the parties engaged in the
farming of all the branches of the public revenue, the last a department entirely in
their own hands, and from which their superior skill and knowledge ezolndes all
competitors. In the less populous parts of the Archipelago, sudi as the British settle-
ments, they may be said to occupy the lai^gest part of the field of common labour,
while in the more populous, as Java, their industry is generally restricted to what
may be called skilled labour, as the manufacture of sugar and indigo, and the dis-
tillation of spirits.
The total number of Chinese, including their descendants and families, throu^-
out the whole Asiatic Archipelago can only be a matter of estimate. By the
CIII2h'A 97 CHIJJiA
ccaaua of 1S50, those of Java and the ifilaudd around it, amounted to 130,000. Those
of Borneo have been variously computed at nimibera varying from 30,000 to five
times that number. Dutch authorities estimate them at 30.000 only, and this is far
more probable than the larger numbers. In the three British settlements in the
Straits of Malacca they amount in roimd numbers to 85,000. In the census of
the Philippines the total Chinese population is returned at no more than 8000 ; but
this does not include the mixed race, of whom the number in Luzon alone, the
principal island, is 66,925. Besides these, there are a few in Sumatra, Celebes, and
the Moluccas, and if we take these at 5000, we shall have a toisl Chinese popula-
tion of 258,000. But rjs the mestizos of the Philippines are not ^included, and the
Chinese of Borneo may be underrated, we may take the whole, in round numbera,
at about 320,000.
The numbers of the Chinese in the different countries of the Asiatic Archipelago
mill always be found to be proportional to the encouragement held out to them by
the character of the country and its government. In a large portion of the northern
part of Borneo, in which no gold is found, and where there is no semblance of good
government^ the Chinese are not found at all Neither do they exist under the rude
and rapacious administrations of the islands of IM^dano and the Salus, and not an
individual of the nation is to be found in the unattractive islands of Ceram,
Qilolo, and New Guinea. It is not mere land they emigrate in quest of, but employ-
ment for their labour, and protection for their lives and properties. With the
exception, therefore, of the western coast of Borneo, where they are in sufficient
strength and numbers to protect themselves, they are only to be fuund in the
possessions of the European powers. In Java and the Philippines the ordinary labour-
market is, in a great degree, pre-occupied by the native inhabitants^ which necessarily
operates as a natural discouragement to tlieir settlement. In Java and in Borneo,
under the Dutch rule, there is a tax on immigration and another on emigration,
with a poll-tax. Under the native princes, the Chinese of Borneo, paying a nominal
tribute, were allowed to govern themselves. Since brought under the Dutch rule^
they are subjected to a fine of two guilders for leave to settle, to an annual poll-t«x
of the same amount, and to a fine ofthirty guilders for permission to return to China.
The consequence of this has been that the number of emigrants is said io have fallen
off from 8000 a-year to one-third of that number.
The lot of the Chinese under the Spanish government of the Philippines is much
worse than this. Before the year 1828, the poll-tax imposed upon them was six
Spanish dollars a-year. This heavy contribution, however, was not thought a
sufficient return for the great gains they were represented to make, and, as it was
publicly idleged, at the expense of the Spaniards and Spanish mestizos. They were,
acoordiugly, divided into the four classes of merchants, shop-keepers, artisans, and
day-labourers, the first being subjected to a monthly payment of ten dollars, the
Becond of four, the third of two, and the fourth of one dollar.
The effect of this law of extravagant ignorance and improvidence, so much like
the enactments of the middle ages against the Jews, is described by Spanish writers
themselves as deplorable. The leaders of the Chinese refused to assess or collect the
tax, and the Spanish functionaries had to perform these duties themselves. At the
time of its enactment, the Chinese, exclusive of mestizos, who were subjected only
to double the native poll-tax, was 5708. Of these it was found that seven only belonged
to the ohm of merchants, and 166 to that of diop-keepers, while the artisans were made
to amount to 5509, and the day-labourers to 880, the remainder of 196 being exempted
from the tax by old age. The collection of the taxes, according to the statement of
the Spanish writers, was attended with the utmost difficulty. In order to escape
it, 800 persons took advantsge of the option which the law gave them, and returned
to China. There fled to the mountains, where they were hospitably received by the
native inhabitants, 1088 persons^ and 458 who had not the means of defraying the
cost of a passage to China, were seized and condemned to penal labour as defaulters.
The wages of a Chinese day-labourer in Singapore do not exceed three dollars a
month, and probably are not higher in the PMlippines. If this be the case, the
Spanish poll-tax amounts to one-third of the whole vniges of labour. A sensible
Spanish author, writing in 1842, has the following observation on the subject of
this oppressive tax : "The Chinese actually enrolled do not exceed 6000, and
their capitation-tox is above 100,000 dollars a-year, while that of all the native
inhabitants, exceeding 8,000,000, does not equal eight times that amount."— Informe
Sobre el estado de las Idas Filipinas en 1842. Madrid.
In the British possessions the Chinese are on a footing of equality with all other
H
CHRISTIANITY 98 CHRISTIANITY
BritiBh subjects, and pay no poll-tax, or fine on entering or quitting them. The
result of the different causes enumerated is shown by the proportion whidi these
people bear to tiie whole population in the different European settlements. In.
Java, they form the one-hundredth part and in the Philippines about the four-
hundredth part of it. In the British possessions collectively, the Chinese constitute
about one-third of the inhabitants, and in Singapore two-thiids.
The policy of persecution has certainly not succeeded, while that of toleration has
been eminently successful. In Java, 10,000 Chinese were massacred in a day, and
this was followed by an insurrection which invoWed nearly the whole island, and
lasted several vears. The Chinese of Borneo have been either in a state of active
or chronic rebellion against the Dutch since the year 1816. The Spaniards had been
only established in the Philippines eight^md-thirty years, when a revolt of the
Chinese took place, followed, according to Spanish historianB, by the destruction of
• 23,000 of their number. A second revolt followed, thirty-six years after, in 'wfaic^
30,000 are stated to have perished. Two others followed these, idso with sanguinary
results, in one of which the Chinese immediately and heartily joined the Eng^lish
invaders. The policy of equal treatment and toleration pursued by the Tgngliali
has certainly not had so long a trial as that of coercion and restriction by the I>utch
and Spaniards, but it has been uniformly pursued since the establiidiment of Ben-
ooolen in 1685, and neither insurrection or rebellion has been the result, while the
only example, even of a dangerous tumult» occurred at Singapore in 1854. The
Chinese are not, indeed, so docile and submissive as the Hindus, or the Javanese, or
the Tagalas, and Bisayas of the Philippines. Their propensity to form secret societies
has sometimes proved inconvenient, but on the whole they are peaceable subjects,
and their co-operation might certainly be relied on by a British government^ in the
event of foreign invasion, a co-operation which experience shows that neither the
Dutch or Spanish governments could reckon on.
CHRISTIANITY. It is probable that Christian traders of Syria and Egypt
frequented the Archipelago along with Mahommedan, long before the arrival of the
Portuguese, and Ludovico Barthema, in his Itinerary^ alludes to having met persons of
this description ; but no Christian converts appear to have existed previous to the
conquest of Alboquerque. The Portuguese during their dominion of 180 years,
made a considerable number. The native Catholics, found throughout the different
islands and settlements in which their power had been established, are the descendants
of these converts. The native Christians of ICalacca, probably the most numerous,
amounted by the enumeration of 1847 to 2784, or about one-twentieth part of the
whole population, all of the lower or labouring classes.
It is in the Philippines alone that the Christian religion has been efibctually and
extensively propagated. The work began, after a fashion, by the discoverer himself,
for the great navigator was a sealoos propagandist. This is Pigafetta's account of the
manner of the conversion of the kings of the islands of ^bu and Massana, along
with a crowd of their followers. "A great cross was then erected in the plain. The
captain-general had previouslv advised all who desired to become Christians, that it
was necessary to destroy all their idols and to substitute for them the cross, which
they were to adore on tiieir knees daily, morning and noon. He taught them also,
how to moke the sign of the cross on their foreheads, and admonished them to con-
firm these forms by good works. The captain-general, who was entirely clothed in
white, said that he was habited in this colour in order to show his love and sincerity
to them. Of this they appeared sensible, but without knowing what to answer. He
then took the king by the hand and conducted him to a stage^ where he, and those
that were with him, were baptised. The king (of 9obu) who was before called Raia
(R%ja) Humabon, was named Don Carlo, after the emperor, — ^the prince, Don Ferdi*
nando, after the emperor's brother, — the king of Mafwana, Giovanni, and one of the
principal chiefs got the name of our captain, that is, Ferdinando. The Moorish
merchant (master of a junk firom Siarn^ was named Cristoforo, and others had other
names given to them. Five hundred islanders were baptised before saying mass. The
captain invited the king and some of his chiefs to dine with him : £ey excused
themselves, but accompanied us to the beach, where they took leave. In the mean-
while, there was a general dischai^e of artillery from the ships. After dinner, the
priest and many of us went ashore in order to baptise the queen and other ladies.
We mounted the same stage where the queen was seated on a cushion, and the other
ladies around her on mats. When the priest made his appearance, I called the
attention of the queen to a portrait of Our Lady, and to a wooden statuette rapre-
CHRISTIANITY 99 CHRISTIANITY
aenting the Infiint Jeaus, and a eroas, at the eight of whioh thmgs she felt a movement
of contrition, and weeping, entreated to be baptised. Other ladies of her train were
baptised along with her. She was named Joanna^ the name of the emperor's mother.
Her daughter, wife of the prince, was named Catherine, and the queen of MjUMffina^
Elisabeth. A particular name was given to all the rest. We baptised that day,
between men, women, and children, about eight hundred persons. The queen asked
me to have the Bambino (the same alleged to have been found 44 years after by a
soldier of Legaspi), in order to keep it in room of her own idols, and I gave it to her.
At a later hour the king and queen came down to the sea-side^ where we were
assembled, and took pleasure in listemng to the harmless discharge of cannon, which
had before produced so much fear." — ^Phmo Viaggio intomo al mondo, p. 87.
The sole interpreter in making these eight hundred converts in a day was a
Sumatran slavey belonging to Magellan, who shortly after betrayed the Spaniards.
In twelve days from the supposed conversion, Magellan himself lost his life in a fool-
hardy attempt to bring the petty chief of the little island of Mactan imder subjection
to the king of ^bu, and the Christianised king himself massacred all his companions
that were withm his power. The crediility of the bold and intelligent adventurers
who were, at the moment, engaged in achieving the grand enterprise of the first
circumnavigation of the globe, is shown in this singular transaction; but the quotation
is chiefly of value for the insight it gives into the simple character of the Philippine
islanders when they were first seen by Europeans. With the nations of the continent
of India, or even with the more advanced ones of the western portion of the Archi-
pelago, Buch an exhibition as that just described would not have succeeded, and,
indeed, seems never to have been attempted by the Portuguese or any other European
nation.
The real work of conversion commenced with the arrival of Legaspi, a man who
poflseased all the requisite talents^ prudence, and zeal, for the purpose. A band of
Dominicans, headed by Andres de Urda&eta, a priest possessed of all the qualities
necessary to the succeasful apostle of a new faith, accompanied the conqueror of the
Philippines, and the work of conversion was entered upon with zeal tempered by skill
and aiscretion. t)ther religious orders followed the Dominicans, and the labour of
conversion has been prosecuted, up to the present day, that is, for a period of near
three centuries. The result has been, that out of a population, subject to the Spanish
rule, amounting, according to the census of 18l9, to 8,740,422^ all are Roman
Catholios, with the exception of 1555 Mahommedans, and 18,595 mountaineers of
Mindano, with 8064 dunese. Even a considerable number of the mestizo Chinese
appear to have been converted to Christianity, an achievement accomplished in no
other part of the Archipelago.
It must, however, be olwerved that the state of society among the Philippine
islanders specially &voured the reception of a new religion. No oi^ganised system
of native worship existed among them, nor had either MidiommedaniBm or Hinduism
produced any material impression. Even, however, within the Philippines them-
selves, where serious obstacles happened to exist, the Spanish priesthood have met^
either with very UtUe success or with none at all. In the Sulu Islands, where the
Mahommedans anticipated them, they have totally fidled, and in the great Island of
Mindano, from the same cause, their success has been very trifling, for they hold but
a comparatively small portion of its territory, while the converts to Christianity do
not exceed 60,000 in number.
Everywhere, the effect of the adoption of Christianity has been beneficial. Educa-
tion, intelligence, morality, numbers, and physical comfort, have undoubtedly been
promoted by it Thus, to take agriculture as an example of the last of these benefits ;
the Spaniards have introduced among their subjects, maiz, wheat, the potato, the ox,
and ^ horse. The Spanish priesthood have not only achieved a great intellectual
victory, but they may be said to have contributed fully as much as the army itself
to the conquest of the Philippines, a conquest, too, which they will probably be the
cause of retaining for Spain, long after she has lost all her other colonies.
Christianity can hardly be said to have made any progress at all in the great islands
of the Malayan Archipelago. The two most numerous and civilised nations, the
Malays and Javanese, had accepted the Mahommedan religion before the arrival of
the Portuguese. Even the inhabitants of the Spice Islands had done so* In Celebes
alone the Portuguese had a fair field, for none of its inhabitants had embraced the
Mahommedan religion tmtil a whole century after their arrival, but they made no use of
the opportunity. One cause militated against the success of the Portuguese, and after-
wards of the Dutch and English, which did not affect the Spaniards in the Philippines.
H 2
CIMAIIR024ES 100 CIVET
The Philippines produced neither spices nor perfumes to divert attention from better
objects, while their rapacious pursuit engrossed the attention of the other naUons,^
essentiaUy demoralised, and rendered them yery unaoitable miiwionarieii for the
propagation of a new creed.
The only Protestant native Christians of the Archipelago of any account are the
inhabitants of the Island of Amboyna, amounting to about 80,000. These belong to
the Lutheran reformed church, and are, with justice, considered as the most moral,
best educated, and best conducted people of the whole Arohipelaga They are poor
and somewhat indolent, but their being so is little to be wondered at, when the only
staple product of their soil has, in one form or another, been a subject of public
monopoly for nearly three centuries and a half.
^IMARRONES. The name of one of the many tribes of the negros of the
Philippines, and said to be among the wildest of this race. They inhabit the moun-
tain of Isaroo, in the province of South Camarines, in the Island of Luzon, and also
certain mountains of the Island of Samar.
CINNAMON, the kayu-manis, or sweet-^ood of the Malays. The true cinnamon,
of Ceylon is certainly not a native plant of any island of the Asiatic Archipelago, nor
are the cinnamons of Cochin-China and China. Most of the laige islands, however,
produce one, or perhaps seveitil species, with little aroma, and consequently of little
value. A cinnamon of this description is produced in Java, Sumatra, Borneo, and
Luzon, but is described as most abundant in Mindano. Of late years, however, the
cinnamon of Ceylon has been cultivated with some success in Java, and in the British
settlements in the Straits of Malacca, and as the climate is suitable and the plant a
hardy one, requiring but a moderate fertility of soil, it seems to be one of the exotics
most likely to succeed.
CIRCUMCISION. Ciroumoision in male children, and even ezoision in female,
seem to have been very generally practised by the more civilised nations of the
Philippines before the introduction of Christianity, and what is more strange, it
is still secretly practised, after near three centuries' conversion, among the same
people. There is, however, no proof of the existence of such practices among the
nations of the Malayan Archipelago before their conversion to the Mahommedan
faith, and now the rite is confined to males. The singular practice universal among
the wild tribes of Borneo seems to be akin to circumcision.
CITRON. Many species and varieties of this genus of plants are cultiyated through
the Asiatic Archipelago, from Sumatra to Luzon. As far as can be judged by their
names, and we have no other evidence, some of these would appear to be indigenous
and some exotic. The practice of the native languages in this, as in similar cases, is
to give a generic name to the whole family, and to add an epithet for each species or
variety. In the Malay and Javanese languages the generic term is J&rok, equivalent
to the Citro of botanists. Thus the ShtMldock or Pumplenoose is called "the great
orange," or ** the tiger orange," or " the orange of Bali ; the common orange," ** the
sweet orange," or "the orange of China or of Japan," and the lime, the "slender or
minute orange." The generic term, in this case, is a native word, and differs in the
different classes of languages. Thus in the Philippine tongues it is wholly different
from that in the Malayan, as in the Tagala where it is luoban, and the Bisaya, where
it is kayeli. Sometimes the Persian word limau, which has also been adopted in the
European languages, is used, as a synonym for the native one. It may be inferred
from all this, that the shaddock, and probably some varieties of the sweet orange,
are indigenous, whUe most of the latter have been introduced from China and
Japan. The lime may have been brought in by Mahommedan traders from Persia
or India.
CITY. In the languages of the Archipelago there are three native words and one
Sanscrit for village, but none for city or town, except nagara or nagri and kuVa or
kut'i, with pura in composition, which are all Sanscrit It would seem from this
that prior to the arrival of the Hindus, no assemblage of dwellings existed Uiat
deserved to be distinguished from a mere village. See Town and Villaob.
CIVET. In Malay and Javanese this perfume is known by the native names of
ras^ and d'ed'es, but the Sanscrit one kasturi, and the Arabic zabad, corrupted jftbad,
are also used as synonyms. This article is produced by two distinct species of
Yiverra, ras^ and zlbetha, which are kept in a half domesticated state for the
'purpose of yielding it. The first is a native of Java, and the last of the other large
CLOVE 101 CLOVE
islands. The natives of rank are great consumers of this perfume, not generally
acceptable to Europeans.
CLOVE. Caryophyllus aromatious. The dove belongs to the natural order of
Myrtles, and is pronounced by Rumphius, who lived and died in Amboyna, in his time
seat of the growth and trade of cloves, "the most beautiful, the most elegant, and
the most precious of all known trees." The grace and beauty of the tree, which
resembles a handsome and gigantic myrtle, will be readily admitted by all who have
seen it Its superior value, however, had only reference to a factitious state of thini^s
which no longer exists, for in point of true value it is greatly excelled even by the
coco and sago palms which grow almost side by side with it* — ^which feed the
inhabitants of the countries which produce the clove^ while they decline to use itself,
even as a condiment The inflorescence of the clove consists of terminal clusters, and
it is not the fruit but the unexpanded flower-buds that chiefly contain the aromatic
oil, and are the objects of conmierce.
The clove is remarkable for its limited geographical distribution. It is only in
its native localities, the five small isletff on the western coast of the large island of
Qilolo, that it is easily grown, and attains the highest perfection. There, it bears iu
its seventh or eighth year, and lives to the age of 130 or 150. Rumphius informs
us, that shortly before the arrival of the Portuguese it had been carried to and reared
in Amboyna, where, however, it does not bear until its fifteenth year, and where the
average duration of its life does not exceed 75 years. He informs us further that
large islands are not favourable to its growth — Uiat it succeeds indififerently even in
such islands as Qilolo and Ceram, and that the natives of Ccdebes and Java who had
attempted to grow it in their own country had obtained plants which bore no fruit.
Europeans, however, have succeeded somewhat better. The clove has been long
transferred by them from the Moluccas to Sumatra, — ^to the islands in the Straits of
Malacca, — ^to Bourbon, — ^to Zanzibar, on the eastern coast of Africa, and to Cayenne.
In some of these plaoes the culture has virtually failed, even where that of the
nutmeg has succeeded, and everywhere the produce is of inferior quality to that
even of Amboyna. A suitable soil seems to be as indispensable as a suitable climate.
The soil of the Molucca Islands is volcanic, which is not the case with any of tho
ooimtries to which the tree has been transferred, except the Island of Bourbon,
and here the suitable climate seems to be wanting. " The doves," says De Barros,
" which are used all over the world grow in the five islands which we have named,
and are not found to any extent in the others; and the trees which produce them,
as they are of comparatively small value to Ulo nations at large, so Qod, the distri-
butor of created things, has confined them to the five islands in question." Rumphius
expresses himself to the same effect. " Hence it appears," says he, " that the great
disposer of things in His wisdom, allotting His gifts to the several regions of the
world, placed doves in the kingdom of the Moluccas, beyond which by no human
industry can they be propagated or perfectly cultivated." Hkbb. Ahb., v. 2, p. 4.
It is very difficult to understand how the clove could have come first to be used as
a condiment by foreign nations, considering the well-ascertained fact that it haa
never been used as such, and indeed hardly in any other way, by the inhabitants of
the countries which produce it. Their first use, as with many other commodities,
must have been a matter of pure aoddent. The wild clove must have been first
used, but the supply of this, which has comparatively little aroma, would soon bo
unequal to the demand, and hence the cultivation of the tree which is shown by the
superior aroma of its produce, and like most cultivated plants, by the production of
several varieties.
The first strangers who acquired a taste for the clove would most probably be the
' nations of the western portion of the Archipelago, the Malays and Javanese, who, on
the arrival of the Portuguese, were found conducting the first stage of the spice trade,
and who had been doing so for ages. From these the Hindus, Chinese, and Arabs
who frequented the Ardiipdago would learn its use. The different current names of
the dove connect them immediatdy with these strangers, their piindpal consumers.
Not one of these belongs to the native languages. The most frequent of them is
cftngkek, and this which has not the sound of a native word is said to be the corruption
of we Chinese name tkeng-hia, which literally means *' odoriferous nails." Another
name is lawang, to which the Malays, as in many similar cases, prefix the words
"flower" or "fruit." This is the name of the clove with the loss of the final
vowd in the language of the T&lugus or Telingas, the people of India, who in all
ages as at present, have conducted the largest share of the trade between India and
CLOVE 102 CLOVE
the Malayan countries. A third name ib gaumedi, and this is that used by the
natives of the Moluccas themselves. I have the authority of my friend Professor
Wilson for saying that this word is Sanscrit, and means, literally, "oow's-marxow.'*
The time when cloves were first brought to India, and from India to Europe^ can
be a matter of little better than reasonable inference. In the detailed list of Indian
commodities given in the Periplus of the Erythrssan Sea, as existing at the ports of
Western India, the clove is not included, and from this negative evidence it is to be
inferred that it did not, at the period when this compilation was made, exist in the
Indian markets, or at least did not rank as a staple commodity. The information of
the Periplus is supposed to refer to about the tenth year of the reign of Nero, or the
03rd of Christ. Grantiag all this to be true, it follows that cloves were unknown in
India, and consequently hi Europe^ about the middle of the first oentury. A cele-
brated law of the digest of the reign of Aurelian first names cloves among the Indian
commodities imported into Alexandria. This law refers to the time between 176
and 180, so that there can be no doubt but that cloves were known both in Europe
aud in India towards the close of the second century. Thus we have a connexion
existing between Continental India and the Malayan Archipelago of seventeen
centuries duration.
Some, however, have fancied that the clove was known in Europe aoentuzy earlier
and this seems to have been the opinion of the early Portuguese historians of India.
"The knowledge of cloves," says De Cauto, ''is so ancient that already Pliny, who
lived in the time of the Emperor Domitian, takes notice of them, for in his twelfth
book, chapter vii., he says there is in India a seed like pepper, except that it is
longer, which is called cariofilum by some, while others call it garionlum." The
passage in Pliny referred to is literally as follows. ** There w also in India a com-
modity like grains of pepper called gariophyllon, but larger and more fragile. It is said
to be produced in an Indian sacred grove (Indioo luco). It is brought on aooount of
its perfume." Had cloves rrally existed in the Boman markets at the time, no one
would have thought of describing them as resembling pepper, that is, as globular
grains. Instead of being spherioskl, their resemblance to a small iron nail was so
obvious that all the Europeans named them on this account.
The names given to the clove by European nations, or by the Asiatio ones through
whom they received it, although they may not much assist us in tracing its
commercial history, are, at least, a subject of curiosity. The historian, De Canto, in
continuation of the passage above quoted, says, " The Persians call the dove calafur,
and speaking on this matter, with permission of the physicians, it appears to us that
the cariofilum of the Latin is corrupted from the-calafdr of the Moors, for they have
some resemblance. And as this drug passed into Euro^ through the hands of the
Moors, with the name of calafur, it appears that the Europeans did not change it.
The CastUians called cloves ^ope, because those which they got came from the
island of Gilolo. The people of the Moluccas call them chanqu^ The Brahmin
physicians first called them lavanga, but afterwards gave them the Moorish name.
Qenerally all nations give them a name of their own as we have done, for the first of
us that reached these islands (the Moluccas), taking them in their handa^ and
observing their resemblance to iron nails called them cravo, by which they are now
so well known in the world." Decade iv., book vii., chapter 9.
The Persian calafur of the author is probably the Arabic kamafil, and therefore
comes nearer to the Latin word. If this, then, be the true derivation of the latter,
and Plinv's name really referred to the clove, although inaccurately described, the
fact would carry us back in the history of the clove trade to the time of the Saheans.
The strange corruption of the word Gilolo, which De Cauto states was the name
adopted in his time by the Spaniards, is not now to be found, that I am aware of, in
any Spanish dictionary. If the Arabic word kamafil be the origin of the Latin word,
it folb^s that it is so also of the Italian garofime, and of the French gfarofle. The
striking resemblance of cloves to tackets or small nails is so obvious that it has
suggested most of their European names, as the Portuguese oravo, the Spanish davo,
the French clou-de-girofle ; or clove-nails, our own dove from the last, the Qennan
kloben, and the Dutch kruid-nagel or herb-nails. Even the Chinese have their
'* odoriferous ludls," as already mentioned.
India was no sooner visited by intelligent modem Europeans, than the dove, as
well as every other Indian product, is accnrately*described for the first time ; forming a
complete contrast with the vague and uncertain knowledge of antiquity and the
middle ages, a proof how very little was known before the actual arrival of the
Portuguese by the new route. Barbosa is as usual wonderfully oorreot in his
CLOVE 103 CLOVE
account of the clove, although it is not certain that he visited the Moluccaa. In one
place he describes the tree» which he compares to a laurel. He accurately describes
the dove harvest, and he names the places of production. In another, he describes
the nature and course of the trade with the fidelity and intelligence of an educated
merchant of our own times. It is as follows : *' The clove grows in the islands called
Holuoche, and from these it is brought to Malacca, and thence to Calicut, a country
of Malabar. It is worth in Calicut, tne bahar (712 small pounds of Venice), from 500
to 600 fanoes (about 50 gold scudi, or 12 marchette per pound), and cleaned from
sticks and chaff 700 fanoes, the export duty being 18 fanoes the bahar. In Maluccha,
where the clove grows, it is sold at from one to two ducats the bahar (equal to from
four to six pounds the marchetta) according to the number of purchasers who come
for itb In Malacca it sells at from 10 to 14 ducats, according to the demand of the
merchants." Ramubig.
Figafetta's account of the clove is a good popular one, oven at the present day.
" I limded," says he, *' the same day, (November 17th, 1521), in order to see how the
cloves grew, and this is what I observed The tree from which they are gathered is
tall, and its trunk about the size of a man's body, more or less, according to the age
of the plant. Its branches spread at the middle of the tree, but at its top form a
pyramid. The bark Lb of an olive colour, and the leaf is like that of the laurel. The
cloves come out at the end of the smaller branches, in little clusters of from ten to
twenty. These trees bear fruit more on one side than the other, according to the
season of the year. The cloves^ on their first appearance, are white ; but when they
ripen they become red, and being dried they become black. They are gathered twice
a year ; once^ at the Nativity of our Lord ; and once, at that of St. John the Baptist*
In these times the air is more temperate than in others ; — most so in December.
When the year is sufficiently hot and there is little rain, thero are gathered in each
of these islands from 800 to 400 bahars of cloves. The clove tree will only live in
the mountains, and if transported to the plains it dies. The leaves, the bark, and
even the wood itself, as long as they are green, have the strength and fragi'ance of
the frtiit itself. If the fruit be not gathered when it is properly ripe, it becomes large
and hard, so that no virtue remains in it. It is alleged that the clouds perfect the
cloves ; and, in fact, we daily saw a doud to descend, and surround one or other of
the mountains. Among these people every one possesses some of these trees, and
each person guards hia own, and gauiers the fruit, but no labour is bestowed on their
cultivation. The clove^tree will not flourish except in the mountains of the five
islands of Maluccha. There are, no doubt, a few plants in Gilolo, and in a small
island between Tidor and Mutir, called Mare, but the frnit is not good." Primo
Viaggio intomo al Olobo, p. 144.
The clove i^pears, from Pigafetta's statement, to have been private property, and
entirely free in culture and trade; Malays, Javanese, Chinese, Macassars, and Arabs,
all competing for it in an open market. The annual quantity produced, according to
him, in the five islands, seems to have been from 1500 to 2000 bahars ; and the bahar
is an Arabian weight, computed in the Moluccas at about 590 pounds. The com-
panions of Magellan themselves loaded two ships with cloves at a single island, Tidor,
after a stay, frt>m their arrival to their departure, of no more than forty-four days.
De Canto, whose information is more recent than that of Pigafetta, and, in such a
matter, it may be presumed more correct, says, that the yearly product was 6000
bdhan of ungarbled, and 4000 of garbled or clean cloves; which reduced to pounds
would give 8,540,000, and 2,860,000. The prices quoted by Barbosa for the Moluccas,
supposing the money he mentions to be the gold ducat of Venice, are lid. and 2S<L
a cwt. At Malacca they rise to from lit. to 15i. M. At Calicut, Barbosa's quotations^
taking the fimoes or fimam at i^, are 35t. ScI. and 42t. Sf^, We may trace these
cloves from Calicut to one of their most remote consumers. In England, before the
discovery of the passage by the Cape of Qood Hope, a pound of cloves cost 80«., or
168iL per cwt. Thus many unskilful sea voyages and tedious land journeys, with
shipments and trans-shipments, loadings and imloadingS) many custom and many
transit duties, brought a commodity of which the first cost was not worth a penny
a pound, to be sold to the consumer 860 times this amount. This is a picture of the
rudest state of a remote commerce. Our ancestors must have ascribed curative vir-
tues to the clove which it does not possess, or they never could have been tempted
to give the enormous price quoted for a mere condiment.
The Portuguese made their first appearance in the parent country of cloves, in
the year 1512 ; and having been expelled by the Dutch in 1605, they had the prin-
cipal share of the clove trade for ninety-three years,~a period of rapine, violence.
CLOVE 104 CLOVE
and bigotry. Thoir main object was the exclusiye monopoly of spices, by the expul-
sion of all rivals. Their successors pursued the same object in a maimer still more
rigorous. They extirpated the dove trees in their native islandsi and endeavoured
to limit their 'growth to the five Amboyna islands, in which the clove is an
exotic. Periodical expeditions for the extirpation of young plants that might
spontaneously have sprung up, or been propagated by birds, formed part of this system.
The clove monopoly still exists, but in a very tottering condition. The periodical
exterminating expeditions have been merely nominal during the present century ;
and for the last thirty years, although the monopoly be persevered in in the five
Amboyna islands, where the parks, as they are called, are the property of the
government, the culture and trade are legitimate everywhere else.
The annual produce of the monopoly has been estimated at from 800,000 to
400,000 pounds weight ; but this is evidently an over-estimate, for the quantity, at
present, frequently falls short of 200,000 poimds. De Cauto informs us that the
quantity produced yearly, under the native governments, was 18,000 quintals of
garbled, and 27,000 of ungarbled cloves, equal to 2,204,000, and 3,756,000 of pounds
avoirdupois. The totiJ gross value of 400,000 pounds of cloves is reckoned by the
Dutch government at 80,0002. ; and the profits of the monopoly at about 70,000/.,
which is less than the rents of several English estates, or than the profits of several
English merchants and manufacturers. As, however, the actual produce is not more
than one-half of this, the actual profits drop to the poor sum of 95,0002. In the
course then of about three centuries and a half, the produce of cloves in the Moluccas
has been reduced by monopoly to less than one-tenth of what it was under native
nile and free trade. No especial blame can be attached to the Portuguese and Dutch
of the 16th and 17th centuries for the policy they pursued in regard to the clove
and nutmeg;, for any of the other nations of Europe would certainly have fol-
lowed the same course. The Spaniards and the English, indeed, made strenuous
endeavours to do so, and had only the good fortune to escape being involved, by-
being defeated by their rivals. Our ancestors, in fact, mistook the high prices which
were the necessary result of a rude commerce and navigation for intrinsic value, and
they acted on their en*or. A low-priced ai'ticle, like salt or tobacco, the consumption
of the many, may be made the subject of a profitable fiscal monopoly ; but that is
impossible with cloves, or any other articles, the consumption of the few. It was par-
donable to the ignorance of the 16th, 17th, and even of the 18th centuries, to impose
a monopoly of cloveji, and to persevere in it ; but perseverance in an exploded error
is not excusable in the middle of the 19th century. Fiscal necessity is pleaded m
extenuation by the government of the Netherlands, but this is evidently a mistake.
An ample revenue can only be expected from a prosperous people ; and the eipe*
rience of more than three centuries has proved, that the monopoly of the sole staple
of their country has impoverished and enervated the people over whom it has been
established. Thorough freedom and security in production and trade are certain,
in due time, to produce substantial wealth, the only fund from which taxes, respect-
able in amoimt, are ever paid ; and when it exists, no government is so dull as not
to understand the art of exacting a share of it for the public exigency. In the
free settlement of Singapore a revenue of 50,0002. a year is obtained without oppres-
sive taxation and vrithout any custom duties, a lai^er sum than all the Spice Islanda
over yielded to the Dutch.
Evidence of the beneficial efiects of freedom in production and tmde is discover-
able, even \mder the rude governments of the natives themselves. When the
Moluccas were first reached by Europeans, the inhabitants were found in a far
more advanced state of civilisation than the neighbouring tribes that had no
cloves. The resources of trade gave them power. Their princes were lords of
the great island of Qllolo, on one of the coasts of which the five dove islets were
mere specks. They had colonieed Amboyna, before uninhabited, and they had
even extended their dominion to parts of Celebes and New Quinea.
There seems no good reason to doubt but that the consumption of dovee might,
with equal cheapness and freedom, become co-extensive with that of pepper. The
taste for the dove ia as universal as for pepper; for there is no dvUised nation in
the world that does not consume more or less of it. At present^ to judge by the
consumption of the United Kingdom, that of pepper is twenty-fold that of doves.
This result seems to be entirely a matter of price. The cost of Amboyna doves is
four times that of the best pepper, and yet thei'e is no good ground for supposing
that the one ought, with free production, to be more costly Uian the other, each being
grown in the soil and climate best adapted to it. Pepper is so gro^vn, but the
COAL 106 COCHIN-CHINA.
miy otity of the cloYes brought to market ii the forced produce of unsuitable soila and
dimates, and the rest an object of monopoly. Bent afifecta neither doves nor pepper, for
in the lands in which they are grown, from their abundanocj, none ezistBL It might,
then, as reasonably be expected that wheat should be raised with as little labour on the
poorest as on the richest lands of America, as that doves should beaa cheaply pro-
duced in uncongenial as in congenial soils and dimates. According to Barbosa, the
price of doves in the Moluccas, before the existence of the monopoly, was even lower
than that of pepper in Calicut or Malacca. Even in Odicut» the price of cloves
brought by two different voyages, in a rude and therefore costly navigation extending
over ten degrees of latitude and fifty of longitude, was little more than double that of
pepper grown near the spot. Tho experience of our own consumption proves that the
consumption of doves is capable of increase with reduction of cost In 1820, the
custom duty was between three and four shillings a pound, and it is now one shilling,
or double only what it is on pepper, and the result has been that the consumption has
increased by 118 per cent, while the increase in our population has been only 22 per
cent The Dutch government has only to pursue a course exactly the reverse of
that which it has followed for two centuries and a half, and it will be right If the
five Molucca idets, which at present produce no doves at all, should be found in
time not to yield a sufficient supply, there are other volcanic islands in their imme-
diate neighbourhood, of fur greater extent, which may be resorted to, and even
the great island of GUolo itselfi which once produced some doves, may be had
recourse to.
COAL (FOSSIL), in Malay, Aring-taaah, literally, " earth-charcoal," has been
found in the Malay peninsula, Sumatra, Java, and Luzon, but as yet nowheie but
in Borneo of good quality and suited to economical uses. A seam of the Bomean cool
was first discovered in one of the ialands in the river of Brunai, where it crops out
It was afterwards found in the mainland, near the banks of the same river, and subse-
quently in the island of Labuan, about 12 miles from its embouchure. In these places
it is at present mined by European skill and capital, and been found, on ample trial,
superior to any Asiatic coal hitherto tried. The coal on the left bonk of the Borneo
river has been traced for several miles into the interior. On the southern coast of
tho island coal has been found in the territory of Banjarmasin, and mined by the
Dutch. This, from all accounts, is of the same quality as the coal of the northern
aide, and may be a continuation of the same fields, which would make the Bornean
coal-fields the largest in the world, after those of North America. Steam navigation
has given a value to the coals of Borneo, which, without it, in a country inhabited by
rude people and covered with forest, might have lain for ages as usdess as the lime
aud saiid-etones in which it is imbedded.
COCHIN-CHINA. This is a name given by the Portuguese, and is probably
takeu from Kuchi, the name by which the Malays designate the couutry, and
by the latter most probably from the Anam name of the capital dty of Tonquiu,
Kochao or Kachao. The Malays, however, give the same name of Kuchi, which the
Portuguese write as Cochin, to the Hindu prindpality so called, on the Coromondel
coast, and, to distinguish tiie eastern from the western country, they added to tho
first the epithet China or Chinese. Such seems to be the origin of the lumbering
name by which European geographers designate the kingdom which at present com-
prehends Tonquin, Cochin-China, and a considerable portion of Kambojo, or in o\ir
old orthography, Cambodia.
The kingdom of Cochin-China extends from the promontory of Kamboja, in latitude
8* 25' north to about latitude 28*, — ^that is, over a length of 875 geographical miles.
The sea bounds it everywhere to the east ; but its western limits are unknown to
Europeans. The widest part of the kingdom is Tonquin, and this is supposed to
have from east to west a breadth of about 180 miles. Cochin-China proper is but a
narrow strip of land, said, on an average, not to exceed 24 miles in breadth, while
Kamboja varies from 50 to 140, giving an average of 95 miles, with an extent from
north to south of about 85 miles. Tonquin is stated to extend from latitude 17" 26'
to 28*, and therefore to have a length of 885 miles, and this multiplied by its breadth
will make its area 60,800 square miles. Cochin-China extends from Cape St. James,
in 10* 15' latitude to 17* 25', or is in length 430 miles, and this multiplied by ito
breadth of 24 miles, gives an area of no more than 10,320 square milep. The area of
Kamboja will be 8075 miles. These different sums will give the whole kingdom an
area of 78,695 square geogitiphical milcS; which would make it about one-fifth le;3s
than the British Islands.
COCHIN-CHINA 106 COCHIN-CHINA
The countries which bound Cochin-China to the east are the Chinese provinces of
Quanton and Quangse. To the north, it has the great Chmeae province of Yunan, fisr
mora extensive than itself, with the oountrj of the Laos or Shans^ and in one small
part Eamboja. East^ south, and west it is compassed by the sea^ over a coast line,
without redkomng indentations, of about 1100 geographical miles, of which about
ISO ai« on the Qmf of Siam, and the rest on the China Sea,
In the extensive ooast line thus mentioned, there have been reckoned no fewer
than 67 ports or harboun, of which at least 10 have been ascertained to be among
the safest and most oommodious of eastern Asia. The finest are those of Saigon,
in about latitude 10* 15', and Turon in about 16^
That portion of the kingdom, more espectallj called Cochin-China, is a mountainoua
country, a range of considerable elevation running through it from north to south.
This throws out many spurs extending to the sea, and between them lie valleys and
plains of greater or less extent, constituting the peopled portion of this part of
the kingdom. To the north of this range lies the plain of Tonquin, and to tiie south
of it, that of Kamboja.
The kingdom of Cochin-China is well watered, being reckoned to contain no fewer
than 14 rivers of considerable sise. Two of these are fine Swreams, the Mekon or
river of Kamboja, and the Songka, or that of Tonquin. The Mekon, with its
affluents and branches, waters the whole of Kamboja, forming a net-work over a
tract of country little above the level of the sea, and, in a great measure, submerged
in the season of the rains. Of the four branches by which it falls into the sea^ the
finest and most navigable is that which has its debouchement west of Ci^e St. James,
in latitude 10* 25'. This, unusual in Asiatic rivers, is without a bar at its mouth, and
naviffable, therefore, for ships of considerable burden for 15 miles above the town of Sai-
gon/its^ about 45 nules fit>m the sea. According to native accounts, it is navigable for
trading boats for 20 days voyage above Saigon, which would make its whole navigable
course about 450 miles. Much of it, however, is beyond the bounds of the kingdom
of Cochin-China. The river of Tonquin is supposed to have a course of about 180
miles, and fiJls into the sea by two mouths, between latitudes 20** and 21*. The
most northerly of these, which is about a mile broad at its embouchure, was safely
navigated in the seventeenth century by European shipping; but ii now described as
being no longer accessible to vessels of burden. With regsffd to the sources of all
Uie rivers of the kingdom, or the length of their courses^ Europeans are really in
possession of no trustworthy knowledge.
The climate of the kingdom of Cochin-China varies materially, both on account of
latitude and physical geography. The whole country is subject to the north-east
and south-west monsoons ; but the low and level countries of Kamboja and Tonquin
have, as in Bengal, the rainy season in the south-western, while Cochin-China proper,
on account of its range of mountains, has it, as in southern India, in the norUi-
eastern monsoon. At the capital city. Hue, the greatest summer heat is about 108*
Fahrenheit^ and the lowest winter cold, 57*. Cochin-China, and more especially
Tonquin, are subject to those fearful equinoxial storms called typhoons; but
Kamboja wholly exempt from them, its climate in this, and several other respects,
much resembling that of the Malay Archipelago, north of the equator.
The minerals of the kingdom applied to economical uses are marble, iron, silver,
and gold. The productive mines of the two last are in Tonquin, and are worked by
Chinese, but t^eir locality is unknown to Europeans. Copper, tin, lead and noo
are asserted to exist, but are probably not worked, for none of these metals are
exported.
The vegetable products of the forests of the kingdom put to use, are two speeies
of cardamoms, eagle-wood, gamboge and stick-lac, all of which are productions of
Kamboja only. Some good timber is produced in al> parts of the kingdom, and
teak is said by the botanist Loureiro to be one of them. The cultivated plants are
those usual in other tropical countries of the same latitudes, rice and maiz being
the staple corns. Cochin-China produces one plant peculiar to itself in these regions,
a true cinnamon, largely export^ to China, and held in the market of that coimtry
in greater esteem than that of Ceylon. In the same part of the kingdom and in
Tonquin, the mulbeny is cultivated for the production of silk, an article inferior in
quality to the lowest quality of that of China. In the same parts of the kingdom
the tesr>plant is reared, but its produce is coarse and tasteless in comparison with the
lowest qualities of that of Chixiia, its virtues, such as they are, being obtained, not by
maceration but by boiling.
The laiiger animals of the forests of the kingdom are the elephant, the rhinoceros.
COCHIN-CHINA 107 COCHIN-CHINA
the ho^ a bear, the buffiilo, the ox, Beveral species of deer, and the royal tiger and
spotted leopard. The wolf, fox, and jackal do not seem to exisi The domes-
ticated quadrupeds are the elephant^ large and fine ; the buffalo, as large and powerful
as m the Malayan countries, in the southern parts of the kingdom, but smaller in the
more northerly ; the ox, a small animal ; the goat the same ; the hog, a Tory fine
breed ; and the dog, a small animal resembling that ^of China. The buffalo is
the chief animal used in agriculture, but neither the flesh of this nor the ox
is used as food, and milk, as such, is considered with abhorrence. The hog,
and as in China, the dog, are the chief source of their animal food, poult^
exoepted. In their proper seasons, Cochin-China is Yisited by numerous flocks of
birds of passage, especially ducks and snipee. I never, indeed, saw the latter so
numerous as in the rice-fields near the capital The domestic poultry are chiefly
the duck and common fowl, the first inferior to the European, and kept in lai^
flocks, chiefly on account of the em. The last, certainly not the breed call^
Cochin-<?hinese in this country, is the finest poultry I have ever seen. They are
reared, not for food, but cock-fightings an amusement to which the Cochin-Chinese
are much addicted. The breed is probably derived directly from the jungle-fowl
of the country, which is abundant, for passing through but a small part of the
country, I had myself an opportunity of seeing flocks, close to the road-aide, and even
to the villages.
The seas and rivers of Cochln-China appear to be well stored with fish, and much
of the food of the inhabitants of the coast is derived from this source. In 1822, we
were abundantlv supplied at Saigon with the celebrated Indian luxury, the mango-
fish, which had been supposed to be peculiar to the Ghmges.
The inhabitants of the kingdom of Cochin-China consist of two nations, the Anam,
or civilised people, which occupies Tonquin and Cochin-China proper, and the Eam-
bojan, the principal inhabitants of Kamboja, with several wild races inhabiting the
mountains known to the civilised inhabitants under the common name of Ke-mot
The Anam, or dominant people, may be described as men of short stature, as
compared with the Chinese, with well-formed limbs, features of the Chinese form,
and a cheerful expression. It is probable that they are, in fact, of the same race with
their neighbours the Kambojans and Siamese^ although to atruigers their appearance
be disguised by their wearing the ancient costume of China.
Of the population of the kingdom, little better can be offered than a reasonable
conjecture. The latest estimate that I have seen of it is by H. Lefevre, Bishop of
leauropolis and Yicar-Apostolic of Lower Coohin-China, which is for the year 1847.
This makes it amount to 16,000,000, composed of 18,000,000 of the Anam or
dominant people, and 8,000,000 of Eambojan and other dependent nations. This,
which gives 187 inhabitcmts to the square mUe, is most probably a great exaggeration.
Most of the country is mountainous, and inhabited by rude races, always few in
number, and much that is level, covered with forest, and also consequently thinly
peopled. Tonquin is well known to be the most popidous, as it is the iai:g|eBt section
of the kJngdonL If, then, we suppose it to be as densely inhabited as the neighbouring
Chinese province of Quangsi, which has an area of 78,620 square mites, and a
population of 7,818,895, it will contain in round numbers about 6,500,000. If we
compare the population of the less populous sections of Cochin-China proper and
Kamboja with that of another neighbouring Chinese province, that of Yunan, which
has an area of 107,969 square miles, and a population of not more than 5,561,820, we
shall make tiieir inhabitants to amount in round numbers to no more than 1,200,000,
so that the entire population of the kingdom would thus be only 7} 700,000, or a good
deal less than one-luJf the computation of M. Lefevre. That this is not imder-rating
the population of tiie kingdom, may be inferred by comparing that of Cochin-China
proper and Kamboja wi£ that of Ceylon, a countiy of which the people much
resemble thoee of these two sections in their state of society. The population of
Ceylon is barely 50 inhabitants to the square mile, which would give to Cochin-China
proper and Kamboja, littile more than 1,000,000. About six millions and arhalf,
therefore, may be assumed as the probable population of the whole kingdom. It is
to be observed, however, that since the first year of the present century, Cochin-China
has eigoyed peace and freedom from insurrection, and relieved from the long and
devastating rebellion which had afflicted it immediately before, it is reasonable to
believe that it must have sustained a great increase of population. M. Chaigneau, a
French gentleman, who held a high office in Coohin-China, and whose acquaintanoe I had
the pleasure of making when I visited the country in 1822, makes the following observa-
tion on the population in a manuscript description of the kingdom, of which he furnished
COCHIN-CHINA 108 COCHIN-CHINA
me with a copy : — ** The low price of food is the cause that no one feiurs to become
a father, since there is a certainty of being able to support the most numerous
offspring. A Cochin-Chinese scarcely ever emigrates. In fine, honour itself attaches
to the patemsl relation. In the eyes of his children, a father is soToreign during his
life, and they make him almost a god after his death."
The principal strangers settled in Cocbin-China, or sojourning in it, are the Chinese,
of whom the total number throughout the kingdom, the greater part in Tonquin, it
is supposed may amount to about 40,000. The iron, gold, and silver mines of Ton-
quin are worked chiefly by them, and they conduct the greater part of the foreign
trade of the country. This number is trifling compared to that of the same people
in the remoter country of Siam, a fact to be accounted for by the less favourable
nature of Cochin- China, and the greater jealousy of strangers entertained by its
government.
The civil divisions of the kingdom are into provinces, of which Tonquin contains
14, Cochin-China proper 15, and Champa and Kamboja 7» making, in aU, 36. Each
province is divided into districts, called, in the A nam language, Phu, and these into
smaller ones called Kwen, composed of a certain number of villages. Within the
whole kingdom, there are said to be no more than five places which deseiTe the
name of town, a certain indication of the absence of wealth and industry. These
towns ai*e Cachoo, or Kecho, the capital of Tonquin, said to have a population of
160,000; Hiie, the imperial capital, with 50,000 inhabitants; Sidgon, the chief town
of Kamboja, with 80,000 ; Kean, in Tonquin, with 10,000 ; and Calompe, the old
capital of Kamboja, of which the population is unknown.
In character, the Cochin-Chinese are a mild and docile people^ The manners ot
the lower classes are mild and sprightly beyond what is usual in the east, while the
higher imitate the solemn and formal demeanour of the Chinese. In their habits
and persons, the Cochin-Chineee are an uncleanly people : their diet is indiscriminate,
for no kind of animal food comes amiss to them : it includes the flesh and eggs of
the alligator, and hatched eggs are a dainty with them. Their national vauity at
least equals that of the Siamese : they consider themselves the first people in the
world, the Chinese being tlie only foreign nation that they are disposed to consider
respectable. Their rude condition is implied by their treatment of women, of which
Mens. Lofevre gives the following account : " The rich regard them as destined to
serve as the instruments of their pleasure, and the poor of their wants. For this
reason, they are devoted to offices which require the greatest bodily fatigue, and are
under such a submission to the lords of creation, tluit they cannot have a will of
their own. The labours of the field are ordinarily their portion ; they guide the
plough, and handle the spade and mattock. From morning to evening they wade in
the water, transplanting rice. They carry provisions to market ; they cultivate and
manufacture the cotton and silk for the use of their &milies ; and they often take
the principal share in commercial affairs."
The dress of the Cochin-Chinese is the same for both soxes, and is generally the
same as that of the Chinese, or itither what that of the Chinese was before its inno-
vation by the Manchoo Tartars. Thus they wear the hair long and entire^ tying it in
a knot at the back of the head, and the head is covered with a turban.
The following faithful picture of the state of the arts among the Cochin-Chinese is
given by M. Chaigncau, as the fruits of a long experience : "All the arts of first
necessity are exercised in Cochin-China. The art of smelting and working metals is
understood, as well as to spin cotton and to weave it ; to construct ships, and manu-
facture their equipments. You find goldsmiths, blacksmiths, carpenters, joiners, &a,
but none of their arts have risen beyond mediocrity. The iron which they smelt
will not yield of good metal when wrought above 40 per cent, in small, and SO in
large work. The Cochin-Chinese have some knowledge of the art of tempering iron
and steel, but their tools are always either brittle or too soft They work better in
copper, because this metal iB always prepared for them by the Chinese. If, however,
in these and other arts not necessary to name, they are litUe advanced, it is not for
want either of intelligence or address. They want only models. We must not
expect invention from them, but their talent for imitation is never at fault It is
thus, that instructed by us (the French), they have perfected to an extraordinary
degree their naval and noilitary architecture. Their cannon-foundry is a proof of the
sagacity with wliich they know how to profit by instruction and example. The
reigning monarch, Qialong, desiring to leave to posterity some memorial of his reigii,
caused nine cannon to be cast carrying each about a ninety-pound ball, and the
experiment was completely successful."
COCHIN-CHmA 109 COCHIN-CHINA
TUo cannon alluded to by M. Chaigneaii, I saw in the royal arsenal in 1822, and
they certainly appeared to me to be splendid and beautiful ordnance. It may be
addedy on the subject of the state of the arts among the Cochin-Chinese, that they
understand neither the manufacture of porcelain, glass, or paper, receiving idl these
from their far more skilful neighbours, the Chinese.
The Anam language, or that of Tonquin, and Coohin-China proper, is wholly
monosyllabic, agreeing in this respect with all the oral languages of China, as well as
with the dialects of Kamboja, Lao, Siam, Pegu, and Burma, in so far as these last are
indigenous, and not derived from foreign sources. The Anam language, notwiUi-
standing this general agreement^ is a peculiar tongue, differing from all the neigh-
bouring ones. FVom its nature, it is devoid of inflections, to express gender, numl«r,
and ease in the noun, and time and mode in the verb, all tbese being r^resented by
auxiliary words. The Anam has every consonant sound expressed by the Roman alpha-
bet, except F and Z. From its monosyllabic character, it has little variety of sound,
except what it derives from the vowels, which however are numerous. Thus the
syllable wliich an European would write ha, has, according to the different intonations
given to its vowel, the six following very different meanings, nAmely, "a spectre," the
conjunctive " but," the verb " to gild," " a horse," " a tomb," and " the cheek."
The Cochin-Chinese never seem to have invented or possessed phonetic writing.
Their only writing is the symbolic character of China, which they have adopt^
with little material change. They have no national literature, all their books being
Chinese.
The kalendar of the Cochin-Chinese is that of the Chinese, and so are their weights
and measures. The current coin is also in imitation of that of China, consisting,
like it, of bits of sine, with a square hole in the middle for filing. This coin is call^
a Sa-pek. Sixty of them make a mas, and ten mas a kwan, or quan, as the name has
been usually written by Europeans. The two lost denominations which are intended
to represent the tail and mas of China, are only moneys of account. The kwan, or
600 sa-peks, is by law valued at about 55 centmies of a Spanish dollar, or nearly
2SdL ; but as the sine coins are mere counters, their value is constantly varying with
the supply. Gold and silver are considered only as merchandise, and bought and
sold by weight and assay.
Two forms of religion exist in Cochin-China, that of Buddha or Fo, and that
of Confucius. Of these, M. Chaigneau has given the following sensible outline.
'* The religion of Cochin-China is, with little d^erence, the same as that of China.
The lower orders, the women, the ignorant, follow the worship of Buddha; while
persons of rank and men of letters are of the sect of Confucius. The temples
dedicated both to the religion of Buddha and Confucius, are remarkable for their
simplicity ; and no form of worship in Cochin-China is distinguished either for the
splendour of its temples, or the pomp of its ceremonies. The opinions, the pre-
judices, the superstitions of the Chinese, are to be found amongst the Cochin-Chinese.
This resemblance, their laws digested in Chinese, the books of the learned written in
the same tongue, all reveal to us by whom it was that Cochin-China was first civilised.
Marriages, funeral ceremonies, the worship of ancestors, festivals, and eras, are all,
with slight deviations, the same as in China." I may add to this, that the temples
which I myself saw during my visit, were small and mean buildings, and that the
talapoins, or priests of Buddha, were either so few in number, or so little distinguish-
able from the laity, that neither my companions or myself could identify them.
The religion of Buddha is certainly that of the majority of the people, and is said to
have been Introduced from China in the year of Christ 540. The name of this Indian
teacher is pronounced in the Anam language Ph&t, as it is in the dialects of China,
Fo, both probably monosyllabic corruptions of the true Sanscrit word.
The domestic trade of Cochin-China is chiefly conducted by its water oommunica*
tions, consisting of its rivers and sea-board. It is facilitated, however, by a highway
which nms from north to south throughout the length of the kingdom. In many
parts, ^is road is broad and well constructed, and at the distance of every ten miles
there is a caravanserai, or house for the accommodation of travellers. It passes,
however, over steep mountains, over rivers that are not bridged, and is interrupted
by many arms of the sea, so that it is unfit for wheel-carriage. The principal external
commerce is with China, and for the most part conducted by Chinese in Chinese
shipping. I estimated the amount of this branch of commerce in 1822, at about
20,000 tons yearly; and even now it probably does not exceed this amount. Since
the establishment of the British settlement of Singapore, a considerable trade has
sprung up between it and Cochin-China, and this is conducted by native Cochin-
-1
COCHIN-CHINA 110 COCHIN-CHINA
Chinese. In 1851, the yalue of this had rUen to near 100,0002., bnt the piracy
which arose out of the rebellion in China had reduoed it in 1854, to less than one-
fourth part of this amount.
The articles exported from Cochin-Chba are various, but not of great value. They
are the following, namely, rioe and pulses, cinnamon, black pepper, oardamoms, areca
nuts, gamboge, eagle-wood, cotton, cane sugar, timber, dying drags, Tonquin varnish,
dried fish, esculent swallows' nest^ ivory, elephant and rhinooeros hides, and elephant
and bufialo bonesi, with bay stdt, gold and sHver. From China there are imported,
porcelain, paper, tea, dried fruits and confectionery, raw and wrought silk, and toys.
fVom the western world Cochin-China receives, woollens, iron, and opium, throogh
Singapore. It has little commercial intercourse with Siam, the native productions
of the two countries being nearly the same, and much jealousy subsiBting between
their governments.
The government of Cochin-China is a patriarchal despotism, on the model of
that of China, but more arbitrary, and far less enlightened. "The power of
the king," says M. Lefevre, "is absolute and without restriction* He can make
all laws that seem proper to him, for he is the sole legislative authority. He
cannot) however, entirely abrogate the ancient laws, on account of the respect
which he believes himself bound to show to the memory of the kin^ his an-
cestors; and because these laws have acqtiired a sacred character, according to
the opinion genendly received by the nation, and against which the most absolute
power could not struggle. But he is able, in many ciroumstanoes, to mould them to
his own laws, and to elude them in a thousand ways, without expunging them from
the Code."
The nobility of Cochin-China is purely official and personaL As in China^ it is
oompoeed of two classes, a civil and a military. The firsts the most important, is
composed of nine different orders, be^nins with a clerk or scribe, and ending with
a minister of state. The king clothed in yellow, (the royal colour, but in countries
exclusively Buddhist, the restricted one of the priesthood,) immured in his palace, and
surrounded by eunuchs and women, carries on the supreme administration throu^
a council or cabinet, consisting of six ministei's^ one for the examination of candidates
for offioe, one for finance, one for ceremonies and customs, one for war, one for
justice, and one for public works. ** The power of all the officers of govemmenV'
says M. Lefevre, " Ib so restrained and so limited, that they are always in dread of
being found in fault, and of losing their places. The duration of their administra-
tion in the same post does not go beyond three or four years. They cannot
exercise anv important functions in the quarter where their parents reside. They
take a wife or buy lands in the country under their jurisdiction. Any one
can accuse the mandarin before a great tribunal erected for this purpose, and
called Tam-phap. Justice is there done in all complaints brought against them.
Thus a magistrate has to felicitate himself if he goes out of office without being
accused."
The revenue of Cochin-China is derived from the following sources : a capitation
tax, levied on the heads of families ; a land-tax, assessed according to the quality and
extent of the land, sometimes paid in money, but for the most part in kind; imposts
on foreign trade, and corv^ee. All persons in the service of the state, civil and
military, are exempt from taxation. Of all the taxes, the corves are by fiur the most
oneroTis, for they include every male inhabiatant of the age of 19 and upwards. No
one has ventured to state the money- value of the whole revenue, which must, from
the nature of a great part of it^ be unknown even to the government itself
The laws of Cochin-China are in principle the same as those of China, but in
practice more arbitrarily and less skilfully administered. In matters of evidence
they permit the use of torture. The chief punishments are imprisonment^ fetters,
the wooden ruff or collar, which prevents the wearer frt>m lying down horizontally ;
but above all, flagellation by the bamboo, which is universal, both for domestic and
public offences. Fathers and mothers inflict it on their children, husbands on their
wives, and every officer, civil and military, on all below him. It is evident that no
dishonour is attached to the punishment. The offender receives the punishment
lying down, and held in this position by assistants. During my own visit to the
country I saw several examples of it inflicted in this fashion. Capital punishments
are inflicted for murder, treason, robbery, adultery, and, occasionally, for official
malversation; but they do not appear to be frequent "The police," says M.
Chaigneau, " is exercised bv the chie& of villages. They can also impose a slight
fine, inilict a few strokes of the rattan, and even, in certain oases, condemn to the
COCHIN-CHINA 111 COCHIN-CHINA
cangnio or wooden collar. Severity is almost inevitable in the midst of so numerous
a population. Should the person convicted consider himself unjustly condemnedi
he can appecd from the jurisdiction of the village chief to that of the 6hief of -Uie
Huyen, and from this again to the governor of the province. When the penalty
is small, the judgment of the governor of the province is final ; but in fdl afiSurs
of consequence, whether civil or criminal, an tdtimate appeal lies to the royal
council. It can scarcely £ul but that an affair brought before the last tribunal,
especiallv if the accusation be of a capital nature, should not be judged with the utmost
impturtiality. The eyes of the master are at hand. Besides, the most scrupulous
precautions are taken, in order that the life of the accused may not be exposed to
danger, through the ignorance or prejudices of the judges. The documentary
evidence is reviewed with the most strict attention ; the witnesses are heard anew;
all is weighed and discussed gravely and deliberately. In fine, at the moment of
pronouncing sentence, the judges are forbid to communicate. Each considers the
case by himself, and signs and seals his vote. These votes, placed on the council
board, without being opened, are jointly put under the seal of the coundl, and
carried into the interior of the palace, where the king takes cognisance of tiie affiiir."
Death is inflicted by decapitation with the sword, and, sometimes, it is certain, by the
trampling of elephants.
The Cochin-Chinese have a regular army, disciplined in imitation of an European
organisation, which they owe to the French officers who, from 1790 to 1801, effected
the restoration of the dethroned King Qi&long. This army consists of in&ntiy and
artillery with elephants, but no cavalry, Cochin-China furnishing no horses fit for
this purpose. When I visited Cochin-China, in 1824, the army consisted of the
Royal Guard, amounting to 15,000 men, and the line, to 40,000. Each of these has
its quota of artillery and elephants; the latter amounting for the entire army to
800 in number. Besides this regular army, each province has its militia or constabu-
laiT force. The artillery, as has been found to be the case with other Asiatic nations
following the tactics of Europe, is the most effective part of the force.
The marine of Cochin-China is levied from the inhabitants of the coasts, and like
the army, formed into companies, regiments and divisions. The vessels of war
consist of corvettes, carrying from 16 to 22 guns, — of laige row-galleys of 70 oars,
carrying one large gun with many swivel cannon, and of small row-gEdleys of about 40
oars, with swivel guns and a cannon of four or six pound calibre. The total number
of the corvettes was given to me as 200 ; of the krge galleys, at 100 ; and of the
smaller at 500.
Cochin-China possesses several fortified places, constructed on technical principles
under the direction of French engineers; and the fortification of Htte, the capital, is
at once the most regular and extensive in Asia, next, probably, to Fort WUfiam, in
Bengal. The courage of the Cochin-Chinese soldiery, however, does not correspond
with their specious oiganisation. The character given of them by M. Lemvre,
amounts simply to this, that, ''in spite of their cowardice, they are somewhat less
fidnt-hearted than the Chinese, whom,*' he states, "they have often beaten/* — ^it
may be presumed in collisions on the frontier of Tonquin.
The history of the present kingdom of Cochin-China is but very imperfectly known
to Europeans. Tonquin long formed the most important part of the Empire. The first
historical iSsct of any apparent authenticity is obtained from the annals of China,
which describe the Chinese sa having effected the conquest of Tonquin in the year
before Christ, 214, when they planted colonies among the people of Anam, then a
rude race. That an early conquest by China took place seems sufficiently attested
by the universal adoption by the people of Anam, but by none of the nations further
west, of the manners, laws, written language, and costume of the Chinese. That the
countiy, indeed, did not become a province of the Chinese empire while so dose to
it, seems only to be explained by the supposition that its inhabitants are a dis-
tinct race of men from those of China. Anam after having been for 477 years
an integral part, or at least a dependency of China, is stated to have become a
separate state, and virtually independent in the year of Christ 263. In 540
it is stated to have received the religion of Buddha from China. China would
seem to have made several attempts for the re-conquest of Tonquin ; one in 1280,
under the Mongols ; one in 1406 ; and one in 1540. All of these were baffled ; but
the last terminated in a convention, by which the kingdom of Anam consented to
consider itself nominally as a lordship of China, the king consenting to receive
on his accession an investiture from the Chinese emperor, and to send him trien-
nially an embassy with tribute. This arrangement still subsists.
COCHINEAL 112 COCK
lu the year 1570, a clxicf of ToDquin, in charge of certain proviDces which the
Tonquinese had conquered from the kingdom of Cliampa, dechired his indepen-
dence, and thus founded the present kingdom of Cocliin-Chin& From that
time to the year 1777, there reigned of this new dynasty, nine kings, when a for>
midable rehellion broke out under the leadership of three brothers, called the Tai-son,
which lasted twenty-four years; ending only in 1801 by the re-establishment of the
legitimate monarch, the celebrated GicJong, on his throne. The restored king was
a man of firmness and talents, but chiefly owed his restoration to H. Pigneau, the
titular bishop of Adran, and the able French officers who assisted him. Tiiese orga-
nised for him a disciplined army, against which the rabble of the rebel brothers
could make no effectual resistance. The same army which put down the rebellion,
enabled the restored sovereign to effect the conqest of Tonquin in 1802, and eventually
of a considerable portion of Eamboja. Qialong died in 1819, and was succeeded
by his son, the prince who sat on the throne during my own visit to the country in
1822. He died in 1841, and was succeeded by his son, the reigning king. Reckonmg
from the year 1570 to 1841, ten princes of the existing dynasty have reigned in
Cochin-China, which gives the large duration of twenty-seven years for each reign.
AVith the exception of a war with Siam in 1834, confined to the Kambojan frontier,
and without result, the kingdom of Cochin-China has enjoyed, up to the present time,
an uninterrupted peace of fifty-five years.
The partial introduction of Christianity into Cochin-China, forms at least in an
European view, an important part of its history. The first attempt was made by a
Spanish Frandsoan friar, Bartholomew Ruis, in the year 1588. This missionary
obtained permission to reside in the country, but achieved no conversions. It was
not until 1615, or two-and-thirty years later, that the work of conversion began
under some Spanish and Portuguese Jesuit and Franciscan missionaries. In 1658,
Louis XIY. appointed two French bishops, one for Tonquin, and one for Cochin-
China, these two countries forming at the time separate kingdoms. The first French
missionary reached Cochin-China in 1662, and Tonquin in 1666. Down to the year
1846, there have been in all seventeen F^nch bishops in Cochin-China, and sixteen
in Tonquin. According to the statement of M. Lefevre, there are in Cochin-China
and Eamboja 80,000 Christians, and in Tonquin 860,000; making for the whole
kmgdom 440,000.
During the reign of Qialong, Christianity and its European missionaries had been
not only tolerated, but even encouraged. He had sent his son and heir to France,
and the young prince is said to have embraced the Christian religion. This prince
dying, however, was succeeded by another son, a persecutor of the (Siristians. Under
him both lav and ecclesiastical Europeans were expelled from the kingdom, and an
edict publiBned denouncing the punishment of death against the propagation of
Christianity, — a punishment in several cases cfurried into effect. This persecution is
admitted to have had its origin, not in religious jealousy, but the fear of European
invasion, and the apprehension that the followen of the new faith would adopt the
cause of hostile strangera. In consequence of this state of things, which has now
subsisted for above thirty years, Cochin-China may be considered as being as much
closed against Christianity as Japan itself!
COCHINEAJL. This insect was introduced into Java a few years ago, as a
government experiment, and apparently with more success in its production than
in British India, for as long ago as 1844 it was exported from Batavia to the estimated
value of 98,819 guilders.
COCK. One species of the genus Gallus is found in the wild state in the Malay
Peninsula, two in Sumatra^ two in Java, and one in the Philippine Islands. It is
remarkable, however, that no bird of the genus in the wild state is to be fotmd in
Borneo, Celebes, or any island of the Molucca Sea. Several of these supposed species
are probably the same. The two of Java are distinct species ; they will pair, but
the progeny \b a mule, a beautiful bird kept by the wealthy Javanese as an ornament
of their poultry-yards, under the name, well known to them, of Pakiaer. The wild
fowl of the Philippines is sometimes tamed, and by the courage it displays, shows
that it is of the true game breed, and probably identical with the domesticated bird.
This is what the authon of the Spanish Geographical Dictionary say of it in their
introduction : — " In the woods there are beaut^ul wild cocks. These are very brave
in the combat, and always come off victors with the large but cowardly coc^s of China,
and not with these alone, for they will contend with the famous gallant band of the
Laguna."
COCK 113 COCK
Nearly everywhere^ even among the rudest tribes, the common fowl is found in
the domestic state, and in this condition bears a dose resemblance to the species
called by naturalists Qallus bankiva, which is one of those found wild in Sumatra, and
Java, and the sole one of the Malay Peninsula and the Philippines. Most likely, then,
this is the origin of the domestic bird of the Asiatic Archipelago. The names by
which it is known in the native languages are the only clue to the history of its
introduction and dissemination. In Malay it is called ayam, and in Javanese
maniik* pitik, and pAksl The word pitik alone is the specific name of the domestic
poultry, the others being generic terms, equivalent to our own word " fowl," but
specially applied to the domestic bird when used without an epithet. The wild
bird is expressed by adding the Malay word utan, or the Javanese lUas, meaning
'* forest." All the names are native, except p&kai, which belongs to the ceremonial
language of Java, and is Sanscrit From the mere names, then, there is no ground
for supposing that the domestic fowl is of foreign introduction. Among the nations
of the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra^ and Borneo, the Malay word ayam prevail*, but
eveiy where else, even among the Philippine nations, who have a wild fowl of
their own, called in the Tagala labuyu, the Javanese word for the domestic fowl,
manuk, is universal. It may, perhaps, be argued from this that the bird was first
domesticated by the Malays and Javanese, and by them conveyed to the other
nations and tribes of the Asiatic Archipelago.
The Malay domestic cock is of the true game breed, full of courage, but inferior in
size to the game cock of Continental India, which is larger than our own, and more
powerful. Indeed, among the Malayan nations, there is no distinction, as with us,
into game and dunghill fowls, all being of the first description. It, moreover, as to
colour, sports less than with us. The dwarf variety, which we have received from
the Archipelago, the Bantam, is no exception. There is no such breed in Bantam,
but our Indian traders of the beginning of the 17th century, found it in that
country, brought there by the junks of Japan which then traded freely with the
emporia of the Archipelago, and they gave them the name of the only country in
which they saw them. They are still occasionally imported by the Dutch ships'
into Batavia, where I have seen them.
The Qallus bankiva, or the imagined variety of it called the Malay gigantic cock,
is supposed by M. Temminck, who is followed by other naturalists, to be the source
firom which our European poultry are derived. This Malay gigantic cock I have
never seen, nor do I believe that any such native variety exists. Neither does it
seem to me reasonable to &ncy that our poiUtry is derived from any Malay breed
whatsoever, seeing that in the remote antiquity in which it was introduced into
Europe, no communication whatever is ascertained to have existed, direct or indirect,
between Europe and the Asiatic Archipelago. The introduction of the common fowl
into Europe is beyond the reach of all record, even in Qreece. It is fiiith fully
represented on the walls of ancient Etruscan tombs, and, even among the rude
inhabitants of Britain, it was found near 2000 years ago. All that is pretty well
ascertained is, that it never existed in the wild state in Europe or in Africa,
or in any part of Asia west of Hindustan. From this last country to China,
including the islands, the wild fowl is very generally distributed, and has been
immemorially domesticated. The least distant of these countries, India, is that
which is most likely to have furnished Europe, and in the nearest parts of it,
the north-western provinces, there exists in abundance a wild cock, resembling,
if not identical with, the Qallus bankiva, and also very like the least-improved
varieties of our European poultry. Some of these provinces were occasionally
under Persian rules, and through Persia, the Qreeks in frequent communica-
tion with that country, might CAsily have received from it a bird of hardy con-
stitution that lives, thrives, and multiplies in any climate from the equator to
sixty degrees beyond it. The Qreeks appear to have sometimes called the cock
the " Persian bird," which would seem to point to the quarter from which it came
to them.
Most of the advanced nations of the Asiatic Islands are gamblers, and the favourite
shape which gaming takes with them is cock-fighting. This includes the people of
Bali, Lomboc, Celebes, and all the Philippine Islands, the only material exception
being the Javanese. The passion for cock-fighting is impressed on the very language
of the Malays. Thus there is a specific name for cock-fighting, one for the natural
spur of the cock, and another for the artificial ; two names for the comb, three for
the crow, two for a cock-pit, and one for a professional cock-fighter. The passion is
nowhere carried further than in the Spanish dominions in the Philippines. There,
I
COCO-PALM 114 COCO-PALM
it 18 licensed by the government, which derives from it a yearly revenue of about
40,000 dollars, or about 10,000/.
COCO-PALM (cocos-mrciTEBA). This palm, so generally diffused over the
tropical world, old and new, would appear to be a native of several of the islands of
the Asiatic Archipelago, while to others, it seems to have been conveyed by currents
or by man. The two most frequent names for it are, the Malay, ftur, and the Javanese,
kftlapa. These, with some corruptions, have a very wide circulation, esf^cially the
first. The Javanese name extends to the languages of Celebes, and even to some of
those of the islands of the Molucca Sea, but the Malay, to the Philippine tongues, to
the language of the South Sea Islands, and even to that of Madagascar.
The coco-palm is in a good measure a littoral plant, attaining earliest maturity,
greatest Bize, and most fruitfulness close to the sea, although growing also, and
yielding fruit at a considerable distance &om it. The natives are well aware of this
fact, according to the following apt quotation from Marsden's Sumatra. " Here, said
a countryman at Laye, if I plant a coco-nut, I may expect to reap the fruit of it, but
in Labun (an inland district) I should only plant for my great grand-children." Many
uninhabited islets, on the western coast of Sumatra, afford examples of the modo in
which the coco-palm has been conveyed by currents, and of the partiality of
the plant for the immediate neighbourhood of the sea. " This island, Trist^," says
Dampier, "is not a mile round, and so ]ow, that the tide flows clear over it It is of
a sandy soil, and full of coco-nut treea The nuts are but small, yet sweet enough,
full, and more ponderous than I ever felt any of that bigness, notwithstanding that
at every spring-tide the salt-water goes dear over the island." — ^Vol. L p. 474. The
island thus referred to is the Pulo-Mega, or " Cloud Island," of the natives, a name
taken from Sanscrit, and is distant from the shore of Sumatra fifteen leagues. From
this account, it is evident that the nut may be conveyed a long way by sea without
losing its vitality. The same judicious observer narrates the following fact in
illustration. " The tenth day, being in latitude 6^ 10', and about 7 or 8 leagues
from the island of Sumatra, on the west side of it, we saw abundance of cooo-nuts
swimming in the sea, and we hoisted out our boats and took some of them, as also a
small hutch or scuttle, rather belonging to some bark. The nuts were very sound,
and the kernel sweet, and in some, the milk or water in them was yet sweet and
good." — ^Yol. L p. 474. The coco-nuts, in this case, were no doubt the produce
of a wreck.
By far the best account of this important palm, that I have seen, is to be found in
the 4th vol. of the Journal of the Indian Archipelago, written by Mr. J. T. Thomson.
"The habit of this tree," says this experienced and intelligent writer, *'is on the sea-
shore, fringing the beacL In such a position, should the soil be loose and friable,
though of the most meagre description, such as sea-sand and shells, it grows luxu-
riantly without the concomitant aids of cultivation, manure, or the proximity of
inhabited houses; but this only obtains within one or two hundred feet of the beach.
Its bending- stem, inclined towards the sea, causing its fruit to be received into the
bosom of that element, appears to have peculiarly fitted it for extension to the various
islands and atolls of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, to which the nut is floated by
the winds and tides, and to whose inhabitants it affords both shelter and food. Wlien
planted in other localities than these, it neither grows well nor affords fruit, unless it
be on rich soil, or in the proximity of dwellings, and in average soils it requires both
considerable manuring and cultivation. ... A good oooo-nut tree, when in full
bearing, will yield 140 to 150 nuts per annum. It commences to bear in damp, low,
rich soils in the 4th or 6th year, in sandy soils, of middling height, in the 6th and 7th
year, and on high ridges in the 9th and 10th year and the last, though dow in growth,
are wholesome good trees. From the time the blossom shows, three months elapse
before the formation of the fruit, and the fruit requires six months more to come to
full growth, three mouths more to ripen, and it will remain other two months befora
it drops. Thus fourteen months elapse between the blossoming and the fidling of the
ripe fruit."
The accounts usually given of the almost innumerable uses to which the different
parts of the coco-palm are put are in a good measure exaggerated. The only parts
essentially valuable are the albumen of the nut for its oil, and its husk for a textile
material. In the Asiatic Archipelago, the wood, the leaves, the sap, and the pith
of other palms, are either better in quality or cheeper. In whatever manner the
first inhabitants of other regions of the earth may have obtained their earliest
subsistence, it is certain that those of which the coco-palm is a native^ had at
COCOS 115 COMPASS
onoe from it, a tpontaoeoua supply, both of food and drink. Its presence on
the coast, probably contributed, with the easy supply of fish, to determine, from the
firsts that maritime character which still belongs to so many of the tribes of the
Archipelago.
OOCX)S. The name of four small, ooral-g:irt islets on the western coast of Sumatra,
off the south-western end of the large island Simalu, the Uog-island of the charts,
and lying in the third degree of north latitude. They are uninhabited, but covered
with coco-nut palms, and hence their name imposed, no doubt, by the Portuguese.
COFFEE (COFFEA ARABICA). The Arabian name of this plant, k&wfth, is not
unknown to the inhabitants of the Archipelago, but the European one corrupted,
kopi, IS more generally used. This really hardy plant, a native of Africa of the
region between the 10th and 15th degrees of north latitude, thrives anywhere in a
suitable soil and locality within the tropics. It was only brought across the Red Sea
from Abyssinia and cultivated in the mountains of Arabia, as late as about the year
1450, less than half a century before the discovery of America and the passage to
India by the Cape. Neither the Arabs, nor Portuguese, attempted to introduce the
coffee plant into the islands of the Archipelago. This was reserved for the Dutch,
who effected it in 1690, or some forty years after coffee had come to be used as a
beverage in Europe. The event was, in a good measure, accidental, for it could
hardly have beon foreseen that a native plant of the dry climates of Abyssinia and
Arabia would have flourished in the humid ones about the equator. The manner of
its introduction and dissemination to remote regions is curious and instructive. The
Dutch East India Company carried on some trade from Java with the ports of the
Arabian Qulf, and about the year 1690 the govemor-general Van Hoorne caused some
ripe ooffee seeds to be brought to him to Java. These were planted in a garden near
Batavia, where they grew and produced fruit. A single plant so grown was sent by
the govemor-genend to Holland, as a present to Nicholas Witsen, the governor of the
East India Company. This, after the tedious voyage of the time, arrived safe, — was
planted in the botanic garden of Amsterdam, where it flourished, bore fruit, and the
fruit young plants. Some of these plants were sent to the colony of Surinam, the
planters of which began to cultivate coffee as an object of trade in 1718, twenty-eight
years after the introduction of the parent plants into Java. About the year 1728,
coffee plants were carried from Surinam to the English and French West India
Islanda From Java, the cultivation of ooffee has been extended to Sumatra, Celebes,
Bali, and several of the Philippine Islands, and the Asiatic Islands produce, at present,
probably about one fourth part of all that is consumed. The hardihood of the coffee
plant is proved by the facility with which it is raised, even under the careless hus-
bandry of the natives, by which neither sugar nor indigo can be produced, except
under European or Chinese direction. All the coffee of Celebes and Bali, and much
of that of Sumatra, are the produce of native industry.
COMODO. The largest of the three islets, the other two being Gunnng-api and
Galibanta, lying in the Straits of Sapi, or those which divide Sumbanca from
Floris. All that is known of it is that it is high, steep — of volcanic formation, and
that it Lb part of the Principality of Bima, in the Inland of Sumbawa. Its area,
including other islands in the Straits of Sapi, is computed at 256 square geographical
miles.
COMPASS. The compass, for nautical purposes, is, at present, used hj the prin-
cipal native traders of the Archipelago. The Bugis of Celebes, for example, use small
rude compasses, made expressly for them by the Chinese of Batavia, at the very mode*
rate cost of from one shilling to eighteen-pence a-piece. The directive power of the
magnet is said to have been known to the Chinese for many ages, — ^by their own
account, no less than 2634 years before the birth of Christ. The mere acquaintance
with the directive quality of the magnet, and the practical application of this quality
to the purposes of navigation, are two very different things; and there is certainly
no evidence to show that the Chinese had put the magnet to the last of these uses.
In Europe, the compass began to be used for nautical purposes about the beginning
of the 14th century. Now, towards the close of the previous century, Marco Polo
had made a long voyage in a fleet of Chinese junks, from China to the Persian Qulf,
and never mentions the compass ; which, as it must have been a novelty to him, he
would hardly have tailed to have done, had the Chinese fleet been steered by it
The voyage, in fact, was a coasting one. From a northern port of China to Ormus,
in the Persian Qulf, it lasted eighteen months; and, in its course, the fleet touched
I 2
COPPER 116 COPPER
at many places. The pilots seem to have steered by observatioii of stars and Land-
marks; and the navigation was only bolder than that of the Greeks and Romana,
because it had the advantage of the monsoons. One easterly monsoon was expended
in the performance of the part of the voyage from China to the north-eastern coast
of Sumatra ; for the voyagers had to wait five months for the return of another^
before venturing to cross the Bay of Bengal. They must, indeed, have waited at
some Indiui ports for a third easterly monsoon, before they could reach the Persian
Qulf. It seems highly probable that the Chinese were, for many ages, acquainted with
the directive power of the compass, witiiout using it for nautical purposes ; just as
they were acquainted with the explosive quality of gunpowder, without using it for
Eropelling missiles. It seems not improbable, that both the Hindus and Arabe may
ave been acquainted with the directive power of the magnet, before it was known
to Europeans, and perhaps they even used it on land for determining the cardinal
points; but there is certainlv no evidence of their employing the compass for
nautical purposes any more than the Chinese ; and the Italian name used by the
Arabs sufficiently attests that they, at leasts leamt the use of it in modem times, from
Europeans.
In the Blalay languages, the name for the magnet, and for the compass and its
divisions, are almost exclusively native words. That for the magnet is batu-
brani, or b&si-brani, literally " powerful stone," or " powerful iron." The compass
is called pandoman or padoman, a word, of which the Javanese word dom, "a needle,*'
seems to be the radical part^ the compound signifying " place of the needle," or
" object with a needle." The Malay compass is divided into sixteen parts, twelve of
which are multiples of the four cardinal points. For the cardinal points the diflferent
nations have native terms ; but for nautical purposes, those of the Malay language
are used throughout, as in the case of the nations of Celebes, the most expert native
navigators of the present day. It may be here remarked, that all the ancient Hindu
temples of Java are found to face the cardinal points of the horiaon with surprising
correctness, the principal fii^ades being to the east and west ; a fftct from which we
may be disposed to infer, that the builders, most probably Hindus, had availed them-
selves of the directive property of the magnet.
When the Portuguese first arrived in India^ they found the Mahommedan traders
to the east of the Cape of Good Hope in possession of the mariner's oompass, of
astrolabes and charts. De Barros does not expressly name the compass as bemg pos-
sessed by them ; but he mentions other objects still less to be expected, and the
use of which would seem to imply the presence of that instrument. " A Moor of
the kingdom of Gujrat," he says, '* visited Yasoo di Qama on bocurd his ship, while at
Melinda, on the east coast of Africa; and to the great satisfaction of the Portuguese
commander, showed him a chart of the whole coast of India, dressed in the manner
of the Moors, with minute meridians and parallels. Va^co di Gkma showed this
person, whom he calls a pilot, his own astrolabes in wood and metal, at which he
expressed no surprise, saying, ' that the pilots of the Red Sea used instruments of
brass, of a triangular and quadrangular form, for taking the sun's altitude, but espe-
cially the altitude of the stars, which it was that they chiefly employed in their
navigation.' The pilot added, however, * that he himself, and the mariners of Gam-
bay, and indeed of all India, did not make use of such instruments, but of others,
which he showed; and also that they sailed by certain stars.'" — Decade 1. Lib. 4.
cap. 6. The compass is expresslv named by Barthena as being used by the mari-
ners of the Archipelago about the years 1606 or 1606. "Here," says he, (Borneo),
" my companion freighted a small vessel for 100 ducats, which being provisioned,
we took our course towards the fine island of Java, (bella isola de Giava,) where we
arrived in five days, sailing southward. The master of the vessel carried a compass
with magnet^ after our manner, and had a chart marked with lines, lengthways and
cro68waya"--Ramusio, vol. i. p. 168. Unfortunately Barthena does not tell us the
quality of his companion, or of the master of the vessel, but still there can be no
doubt of the fact he states.
COPPER. Ores of this metal have been found in Sumatra, Celebes, and Timur,
and most probably in time will be found in Borneo. In Sumatra and Celebes, mines
of it are said to be worked, but if such be the case, even their locality has certainly
never been shown. The probability is that this metal has always been, as it now is,
imported. The prevailing name for it is tambega, a corruption of the Sanscrit tamra,
and this corrupt form of the word extends from Sumatra to the Philippines, a fnct
from which its dissemination may be traced to a single nation, most probably the
COWRY 117 CUYOS
Javanese. To the use of this foreign name there are a few exceptions in compara-
tivelj rude tongues, but they are not material ones. Thus in the languages of
Floiiis, it is called by a word which in Malay and Javanese means a gem, and in the
language of the Kisa Islands the name seems a corruption of that which signifies
silver in Malay. The use of copper in Java, chiefly in the formation with tin and
zinc of alloys, is attested to have been of considerable antiquity by the discovery in
old ruins of many statues and utensils of bronze, and even of copper itself. A Hindu
cup, with the signs of the zodiac, in the collection of Sir Stamford Raffles, bears the
date, according to the era of Salivana, 1220, and two in my own possession, those of
1241 and 1246. The oldest of these carries us back to the year 1298 of Christ.
Copper is not used to the same extent by the Indian Islanders as it is by the Hindus,
coarse Chinese porcelain for culinary purposes having immemorially tc^en the place
of brass vessels. Its principal use at present is in the manufacture of musical instru-
ments and cannon.
COWRY SHELLS. The Cypnea moneta, of naturalists, is foimd in the Asiatic
Archipelago in considerable quantity, only on the shores of the Sulu group of islands,
but the cowry seems never to have been used for money among the Indian islanders
as it has immemorially been by the Hindus. The Malay and Javanese name how-
ever is Sanscrit, beya, and is aUo one of the synonyms which express duty, impost,
or toll.
CUBEB PEPPER. This article, as it appears in oommeroe, is stated to be the
fruit of two dijSerent species of pepper — the Piper cubeba, and Piper caricum, both
natives of Java, to which island their cultivation appears to be confined. In the
Javanese language its name is kumukus, and this is its only specific one, for the
Malay name lada b&rekor, meaning " tailed pepper," is a factitious one derived from
the appearance of the dried fruit, which has always the foot- stalk adhering to it.
Cubebe are used in Javst, only as a condiment, but in Hindustan, besides being applied
to this purpose, they have long been used as a remedy in certain sexual maladies.
In the early periods of the European commerce with the Archipelago, cubebs appear
to have been an export to Europe. Barbosa names them as one of the articles
brought by the Javanese traders to Malacca, and they are included in his Calicut
price current where he calls them " cubebas, which grow in Java, and are there
sold at a mean price without being weighed.'* Their importation into Europe had
been long diecontinued, but began again in 1815, upon their medicinal virtues
having been brought to the knowledge of the English medical officers serving in
Java, who had obtained their acquaintance from their Hindu servants. The present
price of the cubeb is about three times that of black pepper : the article still
continues to be the exclusive production of Java, and it is lax^ely exported to Europe
as well as to Continental India.
CUPAKG. The name of a possession of the Dutch in the island of Timur. See
TlJCUR.
CUYOS. The name of a group of islets, said to amount to thirty-six in number,
lying between the large islands of Panay and Palawan in the Philippine Archipelago,
and forming part of the province of Ctdamianes. The largest of them called by the
Spaniards the Qran Cuyo lies between north latitudes 10** 46' and 10° 53', and east
longitudes 121** 1' and 121° 7'. Its greatest length from north to south is 3i leagues, and
its greatest breadth about 1^ ; its medium length and breadth however not exceeding
24 and 1 league respectively, and its circumference being no more than 84 leagues.
This little island has been long celebrated for its considerable population, — for supplies
of all sorts of provisions, and for the agreeable manners of its inhabitants, who differ
from those of the surrounding islands in physical form,by a clearer complexion, by taller
persons, and even by a more agreeable dialect. The trading vessels of Panay touch at
Cuyo, as the most convenient port in their voyages to and from Paragua in Palawan
and the Calamianes Islands. The soil appears to be poor, for the agriculture chiefly
consists in the culture of mountain rice, a sure sign everywhere of inferior fertility.
It seems chiefly adapted to the growth of the coco-palm, the sap of which forms the
chief article of exportation. The women manufacture fabrics from the abaca and
cotton, which are exported,' but the men are mostly employed in the fisheries, which
include that of the Balat4 or holothurion. They also find employment in gathering
the esculent nests of the swallow. On the west side of the island there is a town of
the same name, consisting of 1256 houses, for the most part native huts, with a
DAA 118 DAMPIER
population of 7540 inhabitants. This is defended by a fine stone fortress with four
bastions, mounted with heavy cannon, built at the cost of the olei^gy, as a protection
against the corsairs of Sulu and Mindano. The town was founded in 1622, and in
the same year the Catholic religion was first preached to the inhabitants.
D.
DAA, pronounoed by the Jayanese DOO, an ancient kingdom of Jaya^ corre-
sponding with the modem province of Kadiri. The most celebrated of its kings,
well known in Javanese story as Jayabaya, is stated to have begun his reign in t]^e
year of Salivana 1117, corresponding with 1195 of Christ The country contains
many relics of the ancient religion of Java.
DAMAR. The meaning of this word in Malay and Jayanese is " resin." The
substance usually known under this name is the produce of several forest trees, and
is the sap which exudes spontaneously, and being expoeed to the air acquires a flinty
hardness from which the epithet batu, or stone, is given to it to distinguish it from a
softer substance, kruin or wood-oii. The damar is found either in large massea at
the foot of the trees which yield it, or floating in rivers, drifted to them by the floods
of the rainy season. It is produced in such abundance, and gathered with so little
labour, that its market price seldom exceeds four or five shillings a hundredweight.
The natives of the country apply it to most of the uses to which we put tar, pitch,
and resin, and it forms an article of exportation to Continental India. Host of the
family of DipterocarpesB yield resinous balsamic juices, those of the genus Diptero-
carpus the wood-oils, and of Valeria, indurated damar. The natural order abounds
in Sumatra, Java, and Borneo, which are the chief sources of the damar of commerce.
DAMAR. (Pulo). This is the name of two islets, one Ijdng off the western
coast of Borneo, and the other off the extreme end of the southern peninsula of
Gilolo.
DAMPIER. "William Dampier, the greatest of onr nayal discoyerers after Cooke,
was, like him, a man of humble origin, having been, as he himself informs us, the son
of a small farmer in East Coker, near TeoviJ, in Somersetshire. He is said to have
been bom in 1652. ** My friends," nays he^ " did not originally design me for the
sea, till I came to years fit for a trade. But upon the death of my father and
mother they who had the disposal of me took other measures, and having removed
me from the Latin school to learn writing and arithmetic, they soon after placed mc
with the master of a ship at Weymouth, complying with the indications I had very
early of seeing the world." He made voyages to France, to Newfoundland, and to
Bantam, in Java, as " a man before the mast." He afterwards attempted to settle as
assistant to planters in Jamaica, but dissatisfied with this mode of life, he joined the
log- wood cutters in the Bay of Campeachy, and eventually the buccaneers, who crossed
the continent and carried on their depredations on the western shore of America.
In 1684 he went on a privateering expedition round Cape Horn, and after committing
depredations on the coasts of Chili, Peru, and Mexico, the ship to which he belonged
crossed the Pacific, and brought him into the Asiatic Archipelago in 1686, where he
passed four years.
The style of Dampier's writings is well known as being at once graphic apd simple.
It was the model for his narrative which Swift adopted in the celebrated "Travels of
Gulliver," and as his first voyage was published in 1 691, it may be suspected that
De Foe was under obligations to him for his " Robinson Crusoe." That he was a
keen, accurate, judicious, and even enlightened observer, his voyages afford ample
evidence. The parts of the Archipelago, or its neighbourhood, which he chiefly
dc«4cribc8, are the island of Mindano, Achin, and Tonquin, and of these, at an interval
of 170 years, his accounts are the fullest and the best we possess. The fame which
he acquired by his voyage round the world recommended him to the command of a
sloop of war, the Roebuck, in which he made his discoveries on the coast of New
Holland and its neighbourhood. This voyage was published in 1703, but he seems
to have gone again to sea in 1711, since which time nothing of him is known, not
even the time or manner of bis death. His voyages are dedicated to noblemen,
successive First Lords of the Admiralty, in terms of sufficient humility, and he ex-
presses his obligations to a third nobleman equally unknown to fame, because he
had his wife — most probably a maid-servant — out of his lordship's family.
DEER 119 DEMPO
DEER. In the Asiatio Arcliipelago there are found eight speoies of the genus
CervuB, and three of the genus Moschua, or pigmy deer. Of the first, there are the
Cerrua raanjac, the Cerrus Kuhlii, the Cervus equinus, the Cervus hippelaphus, the
Cervus axis, or spotted deer, the Cervus Molucceuais, and the Cervus babi-rusa, or hog-
deer. The second genus consists of Moschus memina, Moschus Juvanicus, and Moschus
kanchil, hornless animals, of less bulk and weight than an European hare. Besides
these there is one antelope, or at least an animal approaching to the character of the
antelopes, the Antilope depressioornis. With the exception of one species, the Cervus
Holuoeenitis, all the Cervi and all the Moschi are confined to the islands of the Malay
Archipelago, west of Celebes. Cervus Kuhlii is restricted to Java and its islands,
Cervus axis to Sumatra, and Cervus equious to Borneo. The single antelope belongs
to Celebes only. The moet frequent of all these deer are Cervus rusa, the rusa of the
Malaya, and the mAnjangan of the Javanese, and the Cervus manjac, the kijang of
the Malays and kidang of the Javanese. These are common to all the large islands,
and to many of the small ones west of Celebes. Such is also the case with the three
epedee of pigmy deer called by the Malays and Japanese napuh, kanchil, and p&landok.
The babi-rusa is not found west of Celebes.
DELLI, in Malay DILI. The name of a Malay state on the north-eastern side
of Sumatra, opposite to the state of Perak, in the Peninsula. The mouth of the
small river on which the chief town lies is in north latitude 8° 46' 80^, and east
longitude 98** 42' 30". The embouchure is a quarter of a mile broad, but foiur
miles up, the river, where the town stands, narrows to forty yards. The river u a
shallow stream throughout, and on its bar the depth at high water is no more than
£our feetk so that it is only navigable for small native craft. It has its source at the
base of two lofty mountains called Ewali and Sukanalu, visible in clear weather from
the coast.
The territory of Delli extends for about sixty miles along the coast, and to an
unknown extent inland, including the dependent states of Butu-china and Liangkat.
It forms a part of the great alluvial plain which embraces nearly the whole north-
eastern side of Sumatra. Near the coast the land is almost on a level with the sea,
but inland rises a few feet above it. The soil near the coast is described as a deep
black mould, which with skill and industry would be fertile, but for the present
the land, with the exception of a few spots, is covered with a deep forest, and most
likely has been so from the creation. The inhabitants oonsist of the ruling people^
the Malays, of Bataks, and Achinese, with a few Javanese, Bugis, and Chinese.
Of the number of the population nothing is known, except that it is very scanty. The
productions of the country are the usual ones, the principal being rice, black pepper,
and gambier. Of the first hardly enough is produced for domestic consumption,
but the pepper is a large produce, which Mr. Anderson, the source of most of our
information respecting the country, estimated in 1822 at as much as 5,600,000
pounds, all exported to the British possessions in the Straits of Malacca.
When or how the Malays settled in this part of Sumatra is unknown to themselves.
There exist, however, in the country some remains of antiquity, indicating the
former presence of strangers more iLdvanced than the Malays. On the river of
Butu-china, about three cUiys' sail up, there is at a place called Kuta-bangun, a stone
building sixty feet square, having the figures of men and animals sculptured on its
walls, most probably a Hindu temple. On the Delli river there are the remains of a
stone fortress, said to be in some parts thirty feet in height, with a circumference of
200 fathoms, an earthen entrenchment of the extent of a mile or a mile and a
quarter, called Kuta-jawa or the Javanese fortress, and a large stone with an
inscription in a character unknown to the present inhabitants. * According to the
tradition of the Malays, a Javanese colony of 5000 persons was once settled in this
part of Sumatra, and the probability is that the monuments in question were erected
by this people. The inscription will probably be found to be in the Kawi, or ancient
character of Java, and similar to those which Sir Stamford Raffles found in the
neighbouring inland countrr of Menangkabo. The account of these relics is on
native authority, for no ]Suropean traveller has ever seen them. Delli, as an
independent state, is most probably of modem origin, for it does not appear to have
existed as such on the first arrival of the Portuguese, as may be seen from De Barros,
who names the nine*and-twenty kingdoms of Sumatra, among which it is not found.
DEMPO. The name of a mountain in Sumatra, in the territory of Pas&man-lebar,
and latitude 4'' 10' south, computed to have a height of 10,250 feet above the level of the
sea. It is an active volcano— the most southerly and eaaterly of those of that island.
DENDENG 120 DISEASES
I)ENi)ENQ. The Malay name for the jerked beef of oommeroe, that is, of animal
muscular fibre, preserved by drying in the sun, nearly the only mode of enring flesh
in the Archipelago. Dendeng is made of the flesh of deer, oxen, and buffidos, and
by the Chinese of that of the wild hog. It is a considerable article of natiye trade.
DESA. This word, taken from the Sanscrit, signifies "the country," as dis-
tinguished from " the town," or rather from the seat of government, and it is also
a synonym for a ** village." It occurs, not unfrequently, in the names of places.
DIAMOND. In Malay and Javanese int&n, and sometimes knmala. The
diamond has been found in no part of the Asiatic Archipelago except Borneo, and
even in that island only in a comparatively small part of it, a portion of its western
coast The principal diamond mines are in the district of TAndak, in the territory of
Pontiyanak, in the longitude of 109° east, about forty miles north of the equator,
and they occur from thence as £Eur as Banjarmasin, in south latitude between three and
four degrees, and longitude between 114° and 115" east. The mines are worked by
the wild Dayaks and the Malays, but with far superior skill by the Chinese. The
gems are found in a yellow-coloured rubble or gravel which occurs at various
depths, the greatest to which a shaft has been known to be sunk being between fifty
and sixty feet. When a shaft of such a depth is sunk, six diffSarent alluvial strata
occur before reaching the diamond-yielding one, which the Malays call the Areng.
These strata are, — a black mould, a yellow sandy clay, a red clay, a blue clay, a blue
clay intermixed with gravel, called by the Malays "ampir," or ''near at hand," and
lastly, a stiff yellow clay, in which the diamonds are imbedded. The largest diamond
found in the Bomean mines of late years, was only of thirty-two carats. The prince
of Matan, however, has long had in his possession, a rough diamond of 367 carats,
but its genuineness has been suspected. At present the Dutch government are the
owners of the diamond mines, and make advances to the miners, who are bound to
deliver all stones at twenty per cent, below their market value, which is equivalent
to a seignorage of twenty-five per cent. Under this management there were delivered
in 1824 no more than 1900 carats, and the quantity in the two subsequent years was
still less.
Dl ENG. The name of a mountain in Java, lying between the provinces of
Pakalongan and Baglen, having an altitude of 6300 feet above the level of the sea.
In the plateau between it and the adjacent mountain Prau, which is 7870 feet high,
there are one-and-twenty small temples, each of about 30 feet high, tolerably entire ;
with the ruins of many others, all built of blocks of hewn tiuchyte. This is the
most elevated locality in which Hindu remains are found in Java. The temples of
D'ieng are said to be purely Braminical, without any intermixture of the worship of
Buddah, or Jain, such as occurs in the ruins of Brambanan. No dates or other
inscriptions have been found in these temples ; but, most probably, like Brambanan
and Borobudor, they were built in the 12th or 13th centuries.
DILI. The name of a Portngnese settlement on the northern side of the island of
Timur. The name is exactly the same as that of the Malay state on the north-eastern
side of Sumatra, which is written in our maps Delli; and as Malays have been
immemorially settled in this part of Timur, and as the current language is still Malay,
it seems probable that the place was a colony of the Malays of Sumatra. See TiMun.
The small town and harbour of Dili are in south latitude 8^ 35' 36^^, and east longi-
tude 125** 40'. The harbour would be exposed nearly to every wind, except the
south, but for the coral reef, bare at low water, which forms it, and through which
there are but two navigable channels, the widest of which is only firom a cable and a
half to two cables length broad. The Portuguese claim the sovereignty of all that
part of Timur which lies east of Dili, but their authority, beyond the limit of this
place itself, is for the most part nominal. This poor possession, then, is all that
remains to the nation of the Insular empire, so gallantly established and so badly
managed in the 16th century.
DISEASES. In the Malay and Javanese languages the same words express
disease and pain. The most frequent word in both languages for this purpose, is
sakit ; but the Javanese have three synonyms, gftring, lara, and g&rah, the last, how-
ever, signifying also ** heat" The ordinary diseases to which the natives of the Indian
islands are subject, are those arising from malaria, namely, fevers, remittent and in-
termittent and dysentery. The epidemics are small-pox, measles, hooping oough,
and Asiatic cholera. The last was introduced in 1820, three years after its first ap-
pearance in Bengal. This, therefore, they owe to ourselves, as more than three
DISTILLATION 121 DOG
centuries ago they did syphilis to the Portuguese and Spaniards. The Turkish
pest has neyer reached them, any more than it has other countriee east of Persia.
Leprosy, the disease of filth and barbarism, is common to them as to other
Asiatic nations. I haye seen many examples of it in Java, where the sufferers have,
as elsewhere, been considered as outcasts. Inflammatory diseases, and tubercular
ones, are less frequent than in temperate and cold regions, but the inhabitants
are by no means exempt from them. Diseases of the slun are very frequent, more
especially among the fiah-eaters of the coasts. In the mountainous parts of the
country, goitres are to be seen, and this too, close to the equator, and in countries
where there is no snow.
In so far as concerns their native inhabitants, there is no reason to believe that the
Indian islands generallv, are in climate less salubrious than other parts of the world.
Every place that is tolerably dry, and, above all, well-ventilated, is healthy ; while
localities even when dry, but not well-ventilated, are sure to be unhealthy. The town
of Singapore, although a part of it be built in a salt marsh and on the level of the sea,
is as salubrious as any tropical country, because thoroughly ventilated by laud and
sea-breezes, by the north-eastern monsoon, and by occasional squalls from the west.
But within two miles of it is a beautiful and picturesque land-locked harbour, which
although dry, has a climate that is pestilentiid from malaria. High lands are gene-
rally more h«ilthy than low ones, but it must be presumed chiefly because they are
better ventilated. In proof of the salubrity of the climate of the Indian islands,
it may be stated that longevity among its native inhabitants is as frequent as in
temperate regions. In the Spanish Philippines, there were living in 1850, sixty-two
persons of the age of 100 or upwards, the oldest of them having attained the age
of 137. This fact is stated in the population returns.
DISTILLATION. The probability is, that the Indian islanders were unao-
quainted with the art of distilling an ardent spirit, until they acquired it either from
the Arabs or the Chinese. The Javanese have a fermented liquor made from rice,
which they call brftm, and the Malays another called gilang, but these are not
obtained by distillation ; and all the current names which both nations have for
ardent spirit are of foreign origin. These are the Arabic arak, the Chinese chu,
and the Dutch soopije, a dram, corrupted into sopL The Javanese have, indeed,
terms for the verb to distil, and for the noun a still, or alembic, but they are only
derivatives from the word kukus, smoke or vapour. The distilled spirit obtained
from a mixture of rice, molasses, and palm wine, so well known under the name of
" Batavian arrack,*' seems to have been an invention of the Chinese, who are still its
only manufacturers.
DJILOLO. The Dutch orthography of Uie word which we should write Jilolo.
This name for the whole island of Halmahera, seems to be taken from a bay on its
western coast, nearly opposite to the island of Ternate, one of the five clove islets.
See Aluahrra.
DJOCJOCARTA. This is the cumbrous and not very correct orthography in
which the Dutch write the name of the capital town of one of the two existing
tributary princes of Java,— and which may be more accurately written Ayuga-karta,
or abbreviated, Yugyakarta. Ses Tuotakarta.
DOG. The dog is found in aU the islands of the Archipelago, in the half-
domestic state in which it is seen in every country of the East, except China, Tonquin,
Cochin-China, and the islands of the Pacific, in which it is kept for food. Some of the
rudest tribes alone use it in hunting. It is the same prick-eared cur as in other
Asiatic countries, varying a good deal in colour, — not much in size or shape, — never
owned, — ^never become wild, but always the common scavenger of eveiy town and
village. Its origin is as obscure as in other parts of the world. As the wolf, the
fox, and the jackal do not exist in any part of the Archipelago, it cannot, locally at
least, have sprung from any of these. There is, however, one species of wild dog
in Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, and Java, which some naturaUsts have
called the Canis Sumatrensis, and others Canis rutilans ; and from this the half-
domesticated dog may have sprung, although there is certainly no evidence that it
has done so. At the same time there is none that points at a foreign origin. In
Sumatra there are several names for the dog, all native, as anjing, in Malay, and
kuyo, in the languages of the Rejang^ and Lampungs. In Javanese, there are five
names, — ^tbree of them native, and one Sanscrit ; which last, however, turns out to
be a name for the jackal in that language. The usual Javanese name is asu; and it
DONGALA 122 DORY HARBOUR
is remarkable, that this word is the name for the dog in the languagee of tribes
remote from Java ; being those too of countries having themselves no wild dog. a«
Florifl, Timur, and the Philippine Islands. This fact seems, at leasts to show that
Java was the source from which these countries derived the domestic do^^ It may be
added that neither this word, nor any other Malayan name for it, has reached Australia
or the Polynesian islands. A wild dog exists in Napal, and a variety of it in some of
the southern parts of Continental India, the Canis primsvus; and this seems to me
by far the most likely to have formed the stock from which, not only the half-
domesticated dog of the islands, as well as those of Hindustan itself and the neigh-
bouring countries have sprung, but even all the varieties of the European dog. I
have seen the Napal wild dog, which certainly rery much resembles that of the
domesticated one of Hindustan.
DONG ALA. The name of the principal place and port of the state of Kaili, in
Celebes, situated in a bay on the shore of the Straits of Macassar, in latitude south
2" 20'. Much of the gold of Celebes is collected at this place for exportation by
the Bugis tradera of Waju.
DORY HARBOUR. This is the name of the most frequonted part of the
northern coast of the great island of New Guinea, and the chief place within the
great bay of Geelvink, so called from the name of a Dutch ship which surveyed it
in the year 1705. Tfads bay itself may be thus brieQy described. Its entrance is
in south latitude 2° 20', and in east longitude 140° 47'. From cape to cape, east and
west, it is full 200 miles broad, while its extreme depth is 180. Thus it so deeply
indents the island as to make it to consist of two peninsulss, leaving a connecting
isthmus not exceeding 20 miles in breadth. The coast line of the bay extends over
at least 500 miles, aud contains the debouchements of many rivers, some of which
seem to proceed from the eastern or larger peninsula, and to be of considerable
size. Within the bay are many islands, two of which, Jobi and Mysori, are of large
size.
The Inhabitants of the islands and shore of the Bay of Geelvink appear all to be
of one race, aud nearly in the same state of society as those which are best known,
those of Dory ; an account of which, therefore, will in a good measure serve for all
the rest. In the year 1849, the Dutch government of India sent a mission to inquire
into the condition and resources of the northern coast of New Guineu, of which,
M. Kops, a most intelligent officer of the Netherlands navy, has given a faithfiU
and sensible narrative, from which I take my account of Dory. This place Is situated
only 5 miles within Hut Point, the north-west angle of the bay, which is itself 46
miles south of the equator, and east of the meridian of Greenwich 1S2" 15^ The
harbour consists of a succession of three bays connected with each other ,* the two
innermost of which are safe harbours, with sufficient water, good anchorage, and a
sandy beach. The outermost is protected by the two islets of Masinama and
Nasmapi, as well as by two isolated reefs. Dory consists of two villages only,
the number of houses in one of which only is given, and this is 33, but they are
large and capable of accommodating twenty persons each. If every house then
were full, we should have a population of this, the principal village, of 660.
If the smaller village contain half as many inhabitants as Lonfabi, for that is
the name of the larger, then we shall have a population for Dory short of 1000 at
the utmost.
Of the personal appearance of the inhabitants of Dory, M. Kops gives the
following account, omitting particulars that are not essential. The stature of
the men is in general short, the greater number not exceeding 5 feet 8 inches, and
very few attaining 5 feet 6 inches. Thus, then, the Papuas are about the average
stature of the Malay race, and about 6 inches short of the height of Europeans, in
so far as the race is represented by the people of Doiy. Their colour is a dark
brown, inclining in some individuals to black. The hair is black and frizzled, and
weai*ing it usually to the full length that it will grow to, it makes the head seem, at
a distance, of twice the natural size ; while from no care being bestowed upon it, it
has a disorderly appearance, which gives the wearer a vnld aspect. The beard is
crisp, but short ; the forehead high, but narrow ; — the eyes dark brown or black.
The nose is flat, the mouth large, the lips thick, and the teeth fine. M. Kops,
however, states an apparent anomaly in the physical form of this people, which has
also been noted of the Papuans in other parts of New Guinea* that notwithstanding
the prevalence of negro features, many of them are found with arched noses and thin
lips, giving them an European physiognomy.
-■ -^1 Tl1-»n^ ■ T I
DRAGOFS-BLOOD 123 DRAMA
The people of Dory are properly fishermen, and but partially agrieulturistii.
Their dwellings are on posts in the water, which at flood tide reaches nearly to their
floors, and they are connected with the shore by bridges. Their patches of culti-
vation are at a distance in the forest, surrounded by hedges to protect them from the
wild hog. In these are nused a little rice, without irrigation ; matz, millet, with
yams and tobacco. The palms reared are the coco and the sago ; and the chief
fruits the banana, the pine-apple, and oranges, the latter abundant. The only
domestic animals are the hog, and the crown-pigeon, but both rare. The people of
Dory have boats with out-riggers, and are constantly in these or in the water, for
they are bold swimmers and expert divers. They xmderstand the smelting and the
forging of iron ; making their own implements, although preferring those of stran-
gers. Their food consists chiefly of fiah and sago. The firsts which ai'e caught in
nets or killed with the spear, are abundant. The chief employment consists in the
fishery of the tripang. the tortoise, and the pearl oyster, to exchange with strangers
for rice, iron, or clothing. They are ignorant of letters, native or foreign, and have
no substitute for them. "Their religion/' says M. Kops, ''consists in the worship
and consultation of a wooden image, called Harwar, which every man makes for
himself, and which is considered the protector of the owner. This image, of the
height of a foot and a hal^ rudely carved in a human form, stands behind a carved
shieldi When worshipping, they place the image before them, — sit down, — raise the
hands together to the forehead, — bow before it, and relating what they intend to do,
ask its advice. It surprised me,*' says M. Kops, ** that while they gave to all the
human figures on their praus, shields, and houses the character of a Papuan with
bushy hair, they did not do so with the images of their deities, for all had the head
smooth, or covered with a kerchief." The head was in these unnaturally large ; the
nose long and sharp at the point; the mouth wide and furnished with numerous
teeth ; and every part of the body disproportioned." Besides these penati they had
other images, such as wooden figures of alligators, lizards, and snakes.
The moral characters, not only of the men, but of the inhabitants of the islands
of the bay which he visited, is summed up by M. Kops in the following few words.
"Qentleness even to timidity, good nature, chastity, and a sense of justice appear
to be general, and to form the ground-work of their character." In another place
he observes : " Theft is considered by them as a very grave offence, and is of very
rare occurrence. They have no fastenings to their houses, and yet the chiefs assured
us that seldom or never was anything stolen. Although they were on board our
ship, or along-side the whole day, we never missed anything." Except that they are
less softened by intercourse with strangers, the state of society among the tribes of
the coast and islands of Geelvink, does not probably differ materially from that of
the Dorians. The race is the same, and the manners and habits similar. They are
divided into many small independent tribes, speaking languages which, to all appear-
ance, differ among thexhaelves to such a degree at least, that the parties are not
intelligible to each other. They are at perpetual war, the object of which is
to get heads as trophies, or to make prisoners to sell or to ransom. The whole
bay and its islands have been for ages tributary to the petty kings of Tidor, one of
the five true Moluccas ; the power obtained by the sale of cloves to the nations of
the West having enabled this mere islet to effect conquests, at the distance of at least
700 miles. All the tribes referred to are maritime ; but of those of the interior we
only know, and this from the captives that ore brought for sale to the coast, that they
are essentially the same Papuan negros as those of Dory.
DRAGON*S-BLOOD. This colouring substance is a granular matter adhering to
the ripe fruit of a species of ratan, CsJamua draco, and obtained by beating or thrash-
ing the fruit in little baskets. Within the Archipelago, the principal place of pro-
duction is Jambi, on the north-eastern side of Sumatitu The plant is the wild
produce of the forest, and not cultivated, although some care is taken to preserve it
from destruction. The collectors of dragon's-blood are the wild people called Kubu,
who dispose of it to the Malays, at a price not much exceeding a shilling a pound.
The whole quantity produced in Jambi is said to be about 1000 hundredweights.
The article is often adulterated by a mixture of damar. The best kind imported
into Europe in reeds, is manipulated by the Chinese. The canes of the male plant
used in former times to be exported to Batavia, and very probably formed the " true
Jambees," commemorated in the Spectator as the most fashionable walking-sticks in
the reign of Queen Anne.
DRAMA (in Jaranefie, Rikggit), a word which literally dgnifies a deputy
DEESS 124 DRBSS
or representative, and thence also a play or dramatic representation. The more
advanced of the nations of the Archipelago have the rudiments of a drama, the origin
of whichi it is certain, from the terms connected with it, and from its subjects, waB
in Java. There exists, however, in Javanese, no written dramatic performance in
the form of dialogue ; and, indeed, the actors do not, except occasionaUy a few
sentences, speak at all, so that the plays are really pantomimes. A practised artist^
called the D*alang, reads the story before the audience, which the performers act in
pantomime. Men perform both male and female parts, and usually in masks (topeng),
and in the ancient costume of Java. The subjects of the drama are taken either from
the Javanese versions of the Hindu poems, the Mahabaret> or Ramayana, or fix>m
the ancient legends of Java itself, and this always, whether the performance take
place in the island itself, or in countries beyond it. A Javanese play consists of one
continuous exhibition without scenes or acts. Jesters or drolls (baidud and baftol) axB
introduced on the stage vrithout any observance as to time or subject ; and a band
of music, consisting of the usual staccato instruments, which make a wild and plain-
tive music, is played throughout the performance.
Another kind of acting substitutes a sort of puppets for living actors : these
puppets consist of pieces of leather richly painted and gilt^ and always representing
the same personages, celebrities of ancient story. They are put in motion behind a
screen of white doth, having a lamp behind, so as to resemble the figures from a
magic lantern. The same master of the revels, the d'alang^ moves the figures, and
furnishes the dialogue or story, something after the manner of Punch. Of aU these
performances, the bufifoonery is by fiu* the best part.
DRESS. A mere outline of this subject will suffice to give the reader a general
notion of it. In the* hot climate of the Asiatic islands, the trees of the forest most
probably furnished the raw materials of the first scanty clothing of its inhabitants, and
that would consist of a mere covering for the loin& The fibrous inner bark of some
trees furnishes, even at present, among the more civilised races, a main portion of
the dress of the poorer classes. Cotton, however, has immemorially formed the staple
of the clothing of all the more advanced races. Silk was found to form a portion of
the dress of the upper clajues on the first arrival of Europeans, imported wrought or
raw from China; and since a direct intercourse with Europe, woollen cloths have
been used to a very considerable extent by the same classes. To these are added,
in the Philippine islands, fabrics of the Abaca, or textile banana, and of the Pi&a,
or pine- apple leaf fibre; the first no doubt of native origin, but the last, from the
nature of the material, certainly of American, through Europe.
Among all the more civilised nations, the most important portion of dress is that
which covers the lower portion of the body, and this is the same for both sexea. It
consists of a short web of cotton cloth, sown at the sides, and forming a sack open at
both ends. Its usual Malay name, sarung, which literally signifies a case or sheath,
has reference to its use. This is loosely secured by tucking the upper end into its
own folds, or by a girdle. This kind of petticoat forms generally the only dress of
the n&ale sex of the working classes, and within doors of all classes ; and on this
account we find the early Portuguese writers, always representing the Indian islanders
as "going naked from the waist upwards." The dress for the upper portion of the
body consists of a jacket coming below the hips, called in Malay, baju, and in Java-
nese, rasukan ; and the classes in easier circumstances wear under it a tight vest with
a single row of buttona The head is always bare with the women, but the men
cover it with a small handkerchief^ saputungan, literally, ''hand-wiper." This is
evidently an imitation of the turban, the Persian name for which, ditetibr, is only
known to the learned. The Javanese, indeed, down even to the arrival of the Portu-
guese, seem to have used no head-dress, for Barbosa informs us that the people of
this nation, whom he met at Malacca, " wore nothing on the head, but had their hair
either arranged with art, or cropped.'' The Javanese, contrary to the usage of the
Mahommedan nations of Western Asia, still continue to wear their long hair under
the handkerchief. Trowsers are occasionally used under the sarung by the richer
classes, and this portion of dress, like the imitation of the turban, seems to have
been borrowed from the Arabs, as is implied by its Arabian name^ sarual, corrupted
saluwar.
Such is, generally, the dress of the more advanced nations of the Malayan Archi-
pelago ; but there are some distinctions of national costume, which consist chiefly in
the manner of wearing the head-handkerchief, and in the pattern of the cloth of which
the dress is made, and which last with the Malays and nations of Celebes is always
DUCK 125 BTJRIAN
a tartan, and with the Javanese a fabric of various colours, the dye being given by
an expensive and tedious process, and not to the yam but the web. The dress of
the Philippine islanders is an exception to that of the rest of the inhabitants of the
Archipelago, for it is modified by the costume of Spain. The men wear trowsers
fastened at the waist by a running cord, and the women a petticoat, saya, and over
these both sexes wear a shirt. The women use no head-dress, but the men hate of
light native material. Of the costume of the Indian islanders generally, it may be
remarked, that although sufficiently convenient and well adapted to the climate, it is
wholly wanting in the flowing grace of the Arabian, Persian, or Hindu costumes.
DUCK. A species of duck has been immemorially domestioated by the more
civilised nations of the Archipelago, but the bird ia unknown to the ruder. Of the
time or manner in which it was first introduced, it is impossible to form any reason-
able conjecture. The name for the domestic duck in Malay is itik, and in Javanese
bebek, both of them native words. The duck of Java is of a dirty-brown colour, that
sports little in colour, that stands erect like a penguin, and that is not comparable in
size or goodness of flesh to the European mallard. That it is not derived from any
native wild species is certain, since no large wild duck exists in the western islands of
the Archipelago ; and, indeed, no wild duck at all except one teal, called by the Malays
and Javanese m&liwis, the Afuu arcuata or dendroygna of naturalists, a bird that is
sometimes kept in tealeries, but has not been, and is probably not capable of being
domesticated. The Malay name for the domestic duck, it may be remarked, extends
to the cultivated languages of Celebes and the Philippine islands, from which it may
be conjectured that like the common fowl, the dog, hog, and buflieJo, it was intro-
duced into Celebes and the Philippines by the Malayan nations, who are so well
known to havo frequented them immemorially as traders. In the Philippine Islands,
or at least in the moat northerly of them, Luzon, where a true wild duck is abundant,
this is <^led by a native name, papan, while the domestic duck goes under the Malay
one, itik. In Java and the principal Philippine islands, large flocks of ducks are kept
for their flesh and eggs; the first being preserved by drying, and the last when salted
forming a principal part of the stock of animal food in native sea voyages.
DUGONG. The Helicore dugong of naturalists is an inhabitant of the shallow
seas of the Archipelago, but it is not numerous, or at least is not often caught by the
fishermen. It is the duyong of the Malays, which naturalists mistaking tk j or y for
a g, have corrupted into dugong. During my residence in Singapore, a few were
taken in the neighbouring shiJlow seas, and I can testify that the flesh of this herbi-
vorous mammifer is greaUy superior to that of the green turtle.
DUKU. The Malay and Javanese name of a tree and fruit of the genus Lansium,
and natural order Meliaceeo of botanists. To the same genus belong the langseh,
langsat or langsab, for in all these forms the word is written, the rambeh and the
ayai>ayar, pro^bly all four but varieties of the same species. The duku is the most
esteemed of them, and to the European palate is the best of the native fruits of the
Archipelago, after the mangostin. The natives class it after the durian and man-
gostin. It is of the size of a pigeon's egg, of a globular form, and covered with a
coriaceous skin of the colour of parchment. The species seems to be indigenous in
the western portion of the Archipelago, but to have been introduced into the Philip-
pines where one variety of it, the langseh, is cultivated.
DUMARAN, the name of a small island forming part of the province of Calamianes
in the Philippines, situated 8^ leagues from the eastern coast of Paragua, in Palawan,
and between north latitudes 10° 23' and 10° 39', and east longitude 119" 41' and
120° 4'. It is computed to have an area of 1 51 square geographical miles, and in its
greatest breadth and length to extend to 205 miles. Between it and Paragua lie
iimumerable islets, which make the navigation dangerous even for small boats. The
coast of Dumaran itself is steep, and has no harbours for large ships, and even for
boats there ia shelter only in the fiivourable season. On the eastern coast of the
island there is a small town of about 1750 inhabitants, and a Catholic mission. The
interior is covered with a forest, which contains the wild bufialo, wild hog, and deer :
its human inhabitants are unconverted. The people of the coast chiefly employ
themselves in the fishery of the balate, or holothurion, the shell-tortoise and pearls,
and in the search of the esculent swallows-nests.
DURIAN, the Durio Zibethinus of botanists, a large tree of the natural family of
Bombacese, and itself the only plant of the genus. This famed fruit is about the size
and form of a large melon, and contains esculent seeds resembling chestnuts, which
DURIAN ISLANDS 126 DUTCH
are enveloped in a lai^ quantity of a pale yellow pulp, which is the esteemed put
of the fruit. This is of the consistence of clott«d cream, and haa the taste of fresh,
cream and filberts. Although possessing an offensive odour, resembling that of over-
ripe apples, so powerful and diffusive as to taint the air of a whole town when it is in
season, the pulp is rioh without being cloying. The natives of the countries yielding
the durian, prise it beyond all other fruits. In countries with a suitable climate, it
flourishes without care or culture. It is most abundant in the western portion of the
Archipelago, and extends east as far as the island of Mindano, the only one of the
Philippine group in which it is known. It is abundant in Siam, however, up to
the 13th and 14th degrees of north latitude; and again it is found on the -coast of
Tenasserim, in about the 14th degree of latitude, which is the furthest distance from
the equator to which it has been successfully propagated. All attempts to cultivate it
in any part of Hindustan have failed ; nor has it, like some other Asiatic fruits, been
transferred to tropical America. I did not find that it was grown in Cochiu-China,
although I think it most likely that it is so in some parts of ICamboja. A hot,
moist, and equable climate would seem to be indispensable to the darion, but soil
seems to be indifferent to it, for it thrives in the granitic, in the sandstone, and in
the calcareous ones of the Peninsula and Sumatra, in the volcanic soil of Java, and
in the rich alluvium of the valley of the Menam in Siam.
The name, which is perhaps most correctly written durikn, is pure Malay, and is a
derivative from the woi*d duri, a thorn or prickle, in reference to the sharp tubercles
with which the rind is covered. This name, with trifling variations, is that of the
fruit in every country in which it is found from Java to Siam, and it has no other.
From this, therefore, I thiuk it may be inferred that the tree is a native of the
country of the Malays, viz., Sumatra, the Peninsula, and their adjacent islands, and
that through the Malays it was more widely disseminated. It may even be stated to
grow wild in some, at least, of the countries named. An intelligent writer in the
Jouraal of the Indian Archipelago, thus incidentally refers to the subject in a paper
rendering an account of the wild inhabitants of the interior of the Malay peniubula.
" In several places in the interior of the forest are found durian trees, always in a
body together, to the number of about ten or twelve trees. Such places are for the
Jakuns an object of great attention, and matter of work. They cut with the great
axe all the other trees which surround the durians. that those, by receiving more air,
may grow up more easily, and give finer and a greater quantity of fruit They build
there a small house, of which I will hereafter speak ; and they then return to their
ordinary habitations, which are sometimes distant from such places one or two days'
journey." Another party, in the same publication, writes to the same effect re-
specting the durian, as it is seen to grow spontaneously in one of the small islands off
the eastern coast of the peninsula, and which is nearly one entire forest down to the
margin of the sea. ** At Pulo tingi," says he, *' we found orang-laut, or sea-gypsiesi,
assembled. A large crop of durians, this season, had attracted tribes of them from the
coasts of the peninsula, as well as from the islands of the Jehore Archipelago. Six
boats from More, an island of that group, we found on their way to Pulo tingi ; they
had travelled by sea a distance of 180 miles, to partake of the fascinating fruit."
DURIAN ISLANDS. The name of two islands of the vast group at the eastern
end of the straits of Malacca, between which is the paspage into the China sea, called
by European mariners the straits of Drjan, the last word being a corruption of
durian. Like the rest of the group, these islands are of granitic and sedimentary
formation, and both have peaks, — that of the largest being of the height of 656 feet
above the level of the sea. Their coasts only are inhabited by Malay fishermen.
DUSUN, in Malay and Javanese means a village ; and also the cotmtry distin-
guished from the town. It is the native synonym of the Sanscrit d*esa.
DUSUN. The name of one of the many wild tribes of the north-western side of
Borneo. It inhabits the upper portion of the river of Brunai.
DUTCH. (In Malay and Javanese, Olanda, a corruption of Holland.) The first
appearance of the Dutch in the Archipelago was in 1596, seventy-six years after that
of the Portuguese. Although their enterprise ended in the formation of an empire,
their first sole object was the pursuit of the spice trade. In 1600, the Dutch East
India Company, the model on which our own was formed two years later, was esta-
blished; and in 1610, the Company appointed its first govemoi^geueral, Peter Both.
Of the many that succeeded him, by far the most eminent was John Pietrsoon
Keen, the real founder of the empire, the Olive of Netherland India, a man of talent,
DYAK 127 DYAK
e&eigy, resouroe, and stronfi; will. The Dutch authoritiea at home had made the
mistake of eatabliahiDg the aeat of government in the remote and sterile island of
Amboyna; but Keen, on his own authority, placed it in Java, and in 1619 founded
the city of Batavia, from which time may be dated the fcMrmation of the Dutch Indian
empire. Many able govemors-general succeeded Koen, but neither of him or of his
most eminent successors, can it be said that they acquired on European reputation,
'which can for a moment be compared to several of the men of curreeponding rank who
founded the Spanish empire in America^ or the British in India. Yet this cannot
fairly be ascribed to any inferiority on the part of the Dutch officers, but rather to
their talents having been exercised on a narrower and obscurer field. In comparing
the Dutch with the English functionaries, one cause, the sordid, vulgar, and worthless
object of pursuit, a commercial monopoly, militated alike against the £sime of both ;
but in a far greater degree against that of the Dutch, who, dealing with ruder tribes,
pushed the principle to a degree of rigour which was wholly impracticable with the
English, having to do with far more civilised nations, whose countiy, moreover,
yielded few or none of the products which stimulated the cupidity of the nations
of Europe in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries.
The oommencement of territorial acquisition by the Dutch preceded that by the
English by at least 120 years, and has now been in progi*e8s for about 236 years. At
present^ the Netherland possessions are stated to extend from the third degree of
north to the eleventh of south latitude, and from the ninety-fifth to the hundred and
thirty>fourth of east longitude.
The area of the territory claimed by the Dutch, including tributaries, is estimated
at 413,962 geographical square miles, of which 88,585 are in Java and Madura, and
875,367 in the other islands. In 1849, the population was stated as follows, nunely,
Java and Madura, 9,584,130; Sumatra, 3,430,000; Banca and Belliton, 50,000; Rhio
and its Archipelago, 70,000 ; Borneo, 1,200,000 ; Celebes, 3,000,000 ; the Moluccas
and their dependencies, 718,000; Timur and its dependencies, 800,000; Bali and
Lomboc, 1,205,000. This gives a total population of 20,057,630. The relative
population is therefore no more than 48*4 to the square mile, which shows that the
far greater part of the vast region is unoccupied. The four islands of Java, Madura,
Bali, and Lomboc, although embracing little above one- tenth of the whole area,
contain better than one-half the whole population. The four islands in question
have a relative population of 257*3 inhabitants to the square mile ; while the rest
of the islands have no more than 25, or less than a tenth part of the more
fertile and civilised. With the exception of Java and Madmtt, the numbers
here given are evidently mere computations, and most probably exaggerated ones.
Considered as territorial possessions, Java alone is valuable in so far as concerns
the maintenance of power, and the rest but an incumbrance. Java is, in fact, to
the Netherlands what the valley of the Gkoges is to Britain, for, like it, it yields
the revenue by which all the other conquests or acquisitions have been made and are
maintained.
DYAK, more oonectly Dayak, is a word used by the Malays as a generic term
for all the wild races of Sumatra and Celebes, but more especially of Borneo, where
they are most numerous. It seems to be equivalent with them to the European
word "savage." The word is most probably derived from the name of a particular
tribe, and in a list of the wild tribes of the north-western coast of Borneo, furnished
to me by Malay merchants of the country, one tribe of this name was included. In
Borneo, the names given to the different tribes of this people seem, for the most part,
to be derived from the rivers near which they dwell, as the Kayan or Dyaks of the
river Kayan. The names of not fewer than fifty tribes of this people, inhabitiDg the
north-western side of Borneo, were furnished to me by intelligent native merchants
of Brunai. They are, perhaps, less numerous In the other quarters of the island, but
between the territory of Sambas and that of Banjarmasin, tea different tribes are
reckoned, and,, probably, their whole number, including those of the interior, does
not fall short throughout of one hundred. As these differ from each other in
language, — in some respects in manners and customs, and to a considerable degree in
social advancement, — we have here a condition of things far more resembling the
wildest parts of Africa and America than of any portion of Asia.
The Dyaks of Borneo are in very different states of civilisation. Some of them are
wanderers in the forest, without fixed habitation, living precariously on the produce
of the chace, or collecting the spontaneous products of the woods, to be exchanged
for ibod, with their more advanced neighboors. Others have fixed dwellings, con-
• DYAK 128 DYAK
Bisting of great bam-like houBes, acoommodating many fiEuoailies,— cultiyate com and
roots, — rear the cotton plant, spin and weave it, — manufacture malleable iron and ateel,
and breed the hog, common fowl, and dog, but no large quadruped for labour.
Letters are wholly unknown to the Dyaks, for they have neither invented alphabetic
writing themselves, nor adopted that of any of the other nations of the Archipelago.
In whatever state of society, the Dyaks are all of one and the same race, and tlus race
is the true Malayan, — ^brown complezioned men with lank hair, and of short stature.
The most numerous, powerful, and civilised of all the Dyaks, is the tribe of the
Kayan, which extends across the island nearly from sea to sea, between the third
degree of north and the first of south latitude. These have been described by two
English travellers, who penetrated the interior of the island for several hundred miles,
— Mr. Dalton in 1828 from the southern coast, and Mr. Burns in 1848 from the north-
western. Both lived among the Eayans, and had the best opportunities of obeerving
them. As this people are little known, I shall, therefore, copy some of these gentle-
men*s observations, most of which are equally applicable to the other less powerful
tribes of Dyaks. Tlus is Mr. Dalton's account of the distribution of the wild tribes
over Borneo generally. "Borneo," says he, ''is intersected with rivers of greater or
less magnitude : every river has a distinct people, who will associate with no otiier,
but wages continual war with all. The entrances of the rivers are the scene of
unceasing warfare, as parties always lie in ambush about these parts, in hopes of sur-
prising individuals who may be found fishing, or straying too fur from their camponga
(villages), where they may be cut off without notice or alarm. Every river has a raja,
and a large one several. In particular parts, many of these chiefs are united under
one great raja, the better to consolidate their strength, and insure protection by
mutual support*'
Mr. Dalton thus describes one of the ravaging expeditions of his host Selji, one of
the principal chiefs of the Eayans. " The ravages of these people are dreadful : in
August, 1828, Selji returned to Marpao from an excursion. Hub party bad been three
months absent, during which time, besides detached huts, he had destroyed seven-
teen campongs, with the whole of the men and old women. The young women and
children were brought prisoners. The former amounted to 118 and the latter to
about 200. He had with him about 40 war boats or large canoes, none less than
95 feet in length. The one set apart for Selji and his women was 105 feet long. I was
nearly two months in this boat in various directions with him when Selji was in search
of heads. The swiftness of these canoes is incredible : when going down the river with
the stream, they have the appearance of a bird skimming the water. The sensation
is such that I invariably fell asleep. The perseverance of the Dyaks diuing an
expedition is wonderful ; they generally get information of distant campongs from
the women taken prisoners (no man ever escapes to tell the tale), who soon become
attached to the conquerors. In proceeding towards a distant campong the canoes
are never seen on the river during the day-time. They invariably commence their
journey about half an hour after dark, when they pull rapidly and silently up the
river close to the bank. One boat keeps immediately bebond another, and the
paddles are covered with the soft bark of a tree, so that no noise whatever is made.
In Selji's last expedition, it was forty-one days before a campong was surprised,
although several canoes were cut off in the river, owing to the superior sailing of his
boats. After paddling all night without intermission, about half an hour before day-
light, they pull the boats up upon the banks, amongst the jungle and thick trees, so
that from the river it is impossible to see them, or discover the least trace of their
route. Here they sleep, and feed upon monkeys, snakes, or any other animals they
can reach with their sumpits (blow-pipes) : wild hogs are their favourite food, and
they are in abundance. If these fail them, the youog sprouts of certain trees and
wild fruit will answer the purpose. Nothing comes amiss to the stomach of a Dyak.
Should the rajas want flesh and it cannot be procured with the sumpit, one of their
followers is killed, which, not only provides them with a good meal, but a head to
boot. Whilst part of the people are employed in hunting and cooking, others ascend
the highest trees to examine the country, and observe if a campong or hut be near,
which they discover by the smoke. Should it be a solitary hut, they surround it and
take care no one escapes, but should it be a considerable campong, they go much
more warily to work. When the boats have arrived within about a mile of a cam-
pong, they prepare themselves : about a third of the party are sent forward, who
penetrate the thickish part of the jungle, arriving at night near the houses. These are
surrounded, and men are placed in every footpath leading from them, for the purpose
of intercepting all who may attempt to escape into the woods. In the meantime, the
DYAX 129 DYAK
remaindor of the pArtjr> in their boats, uriye a few hours before day-light. In perfect
silenoe, within a few hundred jarda of the campung, when most of the warriors put
on their fighting dress, and creep slowly forward, leaving a few men in each boat ;
likewise^ about a doaen men with the women who remain in the jungle. About twenty
minutes before day-break, they commence operations by throwing on the ataps
(thatoh) of the huts lighted fire-balls made of the dry bark of trees and damar (resin),
which immediately inyolvea the whole in flames. The war-oiy is then raised, and the
work of murder oommenosB. The male inhabitants are speared, or more commonly
out down with the mandow (cutlass) as they descend the ladders of thmr dwellings
in attempting to escape the flames, which Selji remarked to me gave just sufficient
light to distinguish a man from a woman. The women and childron endeavouring to
gain the jungle by the well-known paths find them already occupied by an enemy,
from whom &ere is no escaping. They, of course, surrender themselves, and are
collected together on the appearance of day-light. When the signal is first given
(always by tiie raja), the people in the boats pull rapidly. Some boats are plac^ in
the river above the campung; some below it, and the remainder abreast of the huts, so
that should any of the unfortunate beings gain their sampans (canoes), they are
certainly out off in the water. The principal object is to prevent a single person
escaping to give intelligenoe to other campun^By and to arrange the time, so that the
day ahidl dawn about ten or fifteen minutes after the slaughter begins, which enables
them to take their stations and fire the houses in the midst of durkness, and after-
wards affords sufficient light to seise their prey. After the women and <diildren are
oolleoted, the old women are killed, and the heads of the men cut off. The brains
are then taken out and the hsada held over a fire, for the purpose of smoking and
preserving them. The women and children are only secondary considerations : the
heads are what' they want, and there is no suffering a Dyak will not cheerfully
endure to be recompensed by a single one. From the last ezoursion, Selji's people
brought with them 700, of which 250 fell to the share of himself and his sons. The
womeo and childroi all belong to him in the first instance. Many of Selji's people
are cannibalw. Some, however, will not eat human flesh, while others refuse to do so,
except on particular occasions, as a birth, a marriage, or a funeral. All these events
are celebrated with fresh heads. Nothing can be done without them. All kinds of
sickness, particularly the small-pox, are supposed to be under the influence of an
evil spirit^ which nothing can so well propitiate as a head. A Dyak who has taken
many heads, may be immediately known from others who have not been so fortunate :
he comes into the presence of the n^a and takes his station without hesitation, whilst
an inferior person is glad to creep into a comer to escape notioeb" — ^Moore's Indian
Archipelago^ p. 48.
The same writer describes the arms of the Dyaks and their manner of flghting very
graphically. ** te going to war they wear d^ensive armour made of the skins of
wild bessts, generally of the black bear, which is very numerous, but the raja will
have a tiger's skin. They are put over the head, and effectually oover the breast
and baek, leaving the arms naked. This, with a helmet curiously wrought with
bamboo, is proof against the sumpit, spear, or sword. Each man carries a shield,
which is made of light hard wood, covered with skin. It is adapted to the height of
the wearer, generally about five feet in length and two in breaidth, turned inwurds
and held with the left hsnd. When the chiefii engage hand to hand, they, afker the
spirit of chivalry, throw these away. After skirmishing with the sumpit, they
usually come to close quarters. What the chiefs principally aim at is a surprise, but
the adverse party, knowing Ids enemy is in the field, always provides against this,
and as one side is as cunning as the other, they usually in the end, come to open
blows. Their personal combats are dreadful : they have no idea of fear, and fight
until they are eut to pieces. Indeed, their astonishing strength, agility, and peculiar
method of taking care of themselves, are such that I am firmly of opinion a good
European swordBman would stand little chance with them, man to man, as, except at
their arms, he could not get a cut at them. The temper of the steel with which
th^ make their mandows is such that it does not require a powerful man to cut
through a muaket-bairel at a single blow. The Dyaks, in fighting, always slaike and
seldom thrust. Indeed, their mandow is not calculated for it» but the small sword
would be useless against them, as it would not penetrate the thick skin in fronts over
which, above the navel, they attach a very lai^ sheU. I have been present when
Se^i has taken two oampungs: the inhabitants were surprised, snd the fighting,
eonsequeotly, all on one side, but in a few instances resistsnce was offered. I did
not obiarve them attempt to perry the blows with their weapons. These were
K
DYAK 130 DYAK
either received on the shield, or met by the bamboo cap. As the men of the
campnnga had no time given them to oover themeelves, they were easily oat down.
The noise is terrific during the massacre, for it can be called nothing else, and joined
in by all the raja's women, who accompany him in his excozsionfl. I was always
stationed amongst them, £Btr from any danger." — ^Ibid.
It is strange enough that with a long and almost daily ftuniliarity with inter-tribal
warfare, conducted in tiieir own mthlefiis manner, the Dyaks should, down to the
present day, have as great a dread of fire-arms as the Aztec nations on the invasion
of Cortes. Such, however, is the case, for the &ct is attested by several independent
witnesses, of whom Mr. Dalton is the best. " What these people most dready" seys
he, ** is the musket. It is inconceivable what a sensation of fear comee over the
bravest of the Dyaks when they have an idea that a few muskets may possibly be
brought against them. No inducement will prevail on them, however numerous, to
go forward. Hence the Bugis, with a handful of men act towxirdB them as they think
proper, making them deliver over, not only the produce of the country for a trifling
exchange, but a certain number of their children yearly, whom they sell as slaves.
Selji can bring together 12,000 fighting men, and yet the Bugis, with fifty muskets and a
few boat-swivels will not hesitate to meet them. The fact is, they no sooner hear the
report of a gun, than they run deep into the jungle. If they are in boats, they leap
into the water, and after gaining the shore, never stop until they are out of hearing
of the report. The most sensible of the Dyaks have a superstitious idea of fire-anns.
Each man, on hearing the report, fancies the ball is making directly towards himself,
He therefore, runs, never thinking himself safe bb long as he hears the explosion of
gunpowder. Thus a man, hearing the report of a swivel five miles off, will still
continue at full speed with the same trepidation as at first. They have not the least
conception of the range of gun-barrels. I have been frequently out with Selji and
other chiefs shooting monkeys, birds, &c.| and offended them by refusing to fire at
large birds at the distance of a mile or more. They invariably put such refusal down
to ill-nature on my part. Again, firing at an object, they cannot credit it is missed,
although they see tiie bird fly away, but consider that the shot is yet pursuing it, and
it must fall at last The Bugis take great care to confirm them in their great dread
of fire-arms."
The testimony of Sir James Brooke, who had been often engaged in hostilities
with the boldest of the Dyaks of the north-western side of Borneo, is to the same
effect. "The Saribas,** says he, "are by no means sowarlike as the others* (the
Sakarans), " and from their dread of fire-arms may be kept in subjection by a com-
paratively small body of Malays. The sound of musketry or cannon was enough to
put the whole body to flight, and when they did run, fally the half diai^peared,
returning to their own homes." — Journal, voL i p. 287. 1848.
It would appear, however, that the Kayans of the northern coasts who have
advanced as conquerors from the southern, have in some measure conquered their
superstitious fear of fire-arms. These tribes occupy the country situated on the
two great rivers, Baram and Rajang, and have emancipated themselves fi^m the
control of the Malays, and even captured their cannon. " Knipa Batu," says Mr.
Bums, " is a chief of considerable'power and influence : he rules the lower districts of
the river'* (the Rajang). " His' residence is situated above the great rapids, and is
strongly barricaded with thick planks, in ftxint of which are plawd an old iron six-
pounder, two brass Dutch-made two-pounders, and upwards of twenty brass lelahs
of different sizes" (long swivel guns of small calibre). "At the house of the chief,
Batu Dian, which is about ten mfies further up, there are also fifteen guns similar to
the above. The nugority of these guns were captured during the wars with the
people of the coast " (the Malavs).
The human heads, so ardently sought after and so carefully preserved by the Kayans
and other Dyaks, it is certain are chiefly esteemed as trophies of viotory and
evidences of personal prowess, and this is satisfactorily shown by the hat that no
value is attached to the heads of women and children. The practice, indeed, is
similar to, and has the same origin as, the head-preserving of the New Zealanders, and
of the hairy scalp by the North American Indians. In fiEu;t, the Dyaks preserve heads
as we preserve banners, and for the same reason. It would appear, however, that
the deeds of which they are memorials are apt, in the lapse of time, to be forgotten,
for Mr. Bums tells us that among the Kayan tribes that he visited, he found only
four-and-twentv heads, and that tiie chie& informed him that when they were
quitting their former locality for their present, they threw an accumulation of no fewer
than 700 into the river, not choosing to be encumbered with them on their mandi.
DYAK 131 DYAK
On the subject of religioD, Mr. Dalton obaerves, "I cannot ascertain that the
D3raks have any religion amongst themseWes, or entertain an idea of future rewards
and punishments. They haye no fear whatever of dying in battle, or otherwise,
provided they are in no danger of losing their heads. They have, however, the
utmost dread of such an event occurring, which they conceive the greatest, and,
indeed, the only misfortune that can befSedl them; and this feeling seems to emanate
from the knowledge of the triumph their enemies enjoy from getting possession of
this greatest of all treasures ; for all Dyaks in every part of Borneo, and likewise in
Celebes, have the same predilection for cutting off the heads of their enemies, and
every stranger is regarded as an enemy. It is, however, most certain, they have
some idea of a future state. This not only appears in their burials, but on other
occasions."
Mr. Bums adds to this, that ** they have no idols, nor any apparent representation
of the Deity, — ^no priests, — no castes,— nor any ostensible ceremonial system of
religion." This is, no doubt> all true of the Dyi^, as it is of all people in the same
state of society. But, although without any organised religion, or, as the Malays
express it, " without book," they have an abundance of superstitions which take its
place. They believe in malignant apirits, and have names for some of the most
potent of them, as Tanangan, T&pa, «faruwang, &a, &c., and they have even adopted
the butas, or goblins of the Malays and Javanese, and through these parties the
dewata, or gods of the Hindus. They believe, moreover, and to a remarkable degree,
in omens and the flight of birds. Their funeral rites attest that thev have some
obscure notions of an existence after death. ** The burials of these people," says Mr.
Dalton, "are no less singular than their marriages. The old men have every
attention paid to them whilst living, and, indeed, long after they die. On the deaUi
of a chief or raja, they dress him out in his war habiliments, and carry him to the
grave^ after keeping him in the house a certain time, according to his rank, seldom
longer than ten days, on a large litter, enveloped in a white doth. They lay the
body in a place prepared, without a coffin. By his side ore deposited his arms,
particularly his shield, spear, and mandow (sword). A quantity of rice and fruit are
likewise interred, with such other articles of food as the deceased was most partial
to. The grave is then closed up, a high mound raised, and this is encircled with
strong bamboo, upon which fresh heads are placed, as the most acceptable offering
to the deceased. No warrior would dare to appear before the fiunily of the chief
without at least one head as a consoling present These heads are thickly studded
round the grave, and occasionally renewcNl during the first year or two, the old ones
being considered the property of the suooeeding chief"
Mr. Burners account is somewhat different, although generally agreeing with that of
Mr. Dalton^s; the difference probably arising from variation in customs between
tribes of the same nation living far apart from each other. ** After death," says he,
" the Elayans veiy stupidly keep the body in the house from four to eight days, and
even sometimes longer. Qenerally, the first day after death, it is put into a coffin
soooped from the trunk of a tree, and carved according to the importance or means
of the relatives. Day and night during the time the body is kept in the house, lights
are placed at each side of the coffin, and, should they happen to get extinguished, it
is oonsidered most unfortunate. Also, during four or five days titer the corpse has
been removed, torches are kept at the place where it Iaj, Previous to its removal, a
feast is prepared, and part of the food is placed beside the corpse ; the relatives
devour the remainder. Removal takes place soon after, and although the body
is invariably much decomposed, the nearest relatives, especially women, express their
grief in a moat inconsolable manner, and with cries most pitiable, — ^long and affec-
tionately hug the coffin, and, with their fieices on it, inhale the odour, and continue
doing so until it reaches the place of disposal, which \b in the loft of a small wooden
house on posts about twelve feet high. The tombs of the chiefs are built of hard
wood, supported by nine massive posts from twelve to fourteen feet high, and which,
with the other parts, are elaborately carved. Several articles, which belonged to the
dead person, are conveyed to the tomb with the corpse, but are not deposited with it.
On the death of a person, the relatives directly lay aside all apparel of foreign manu-
facture, and wear only a kind of bark cloth instead, for a prescribed number of days
after Uie funeral." — Journal of the Indian Archipelago, page 149.
The sacrifices offered to appease evil spirits take the form of immolation, or the
shedding of blood in some form or another, among the Dvaks, and must be considered
as part of their religion. All diseases are considered to be caused by these evil genii,
and Mr. Bums gives us an example of the sacrifices performed in a case of this kind :
K 2
DTAK 132 DYAK
__^ _^ I
" It U the blood only," says he^ ^ that is piued, or oonaidered effioadoas. That blood
is ooDaidered to be so by them, the following might tend to show. During my stay
in the house of Knipa Batn, one of his ohildren, a little boy, was at the point of death
from fever. After exhausting all their skill in applying remedies, as a last resooioe
the ohief took a young ehioken, and passed it a number of times over the fikoe of the
child. Then, with his most valued war-sword, killed it at the window, and threw it
upwards from him, in the direotion of the setting sun. The sword, with the Uood on
it, he then held over the fkce of the diild as before, with a fervent invocation, desiring
that his child might not die; and, laying himself down beside the uneonadous little
sufferer, he indui^;ed in the wildest paroxysm of grie£"
The victim, however, it would appear, is not always of so harmless a dasoription.
" Regarding human sacrifice^ the Ea,yans strenuously deny," says the same writer,
" the practice, at the present day ; but it would seem to have been prevalent amongst
them formerly, especially on the occasion of the king or principal duef taking posses-
sion of a new-built house, and also on the occasion of his death. They acknowledge
that an instanoe of this most revolting custom took place shout two years ago^ on the
occsaion of tiie chief Batu-dian taking possession of his new house. The victim was a
Malay slave girl, brought from the coast for the avowed purpose, and sold to the ehi«P
by a man who was also a Malay. It is said to be eontraiy to the Kayan custom to
sell or Bscrifice one of their own nation. In the case aUuded to, the unfortunate
victim was bled to death. The blood was taken and sprinkled on the piUars^ and
under the houae, but the body was thrown into the river."
The singular custom of swearing a solemn friendship may be considered a religioua
ceremony, and is stated to be peculiar to the Eayans. Both the authors cited under-
went the ceremony, and describe it in nearly the same terms. This is ICr. Dalton'a
account of it. ** During my detention in Borneo, altogether fifteen months, I experi-
enced much attention and kindness from many Dyak chiefif, particularly from Selji,
with whom I was some months. Indeed, I was cdways of opinion that I was unsafe
elsewhere. Being the first and only European he had ever seen, we no sooner met
than I informed him, through an interpreter, as he could not speak a word of Malay,
that I had come on tiie part of the Europeans to make friends with him ; and trusted
he and his people would do me no harm. I mentioned this at once, fearing the Sultan
of Coti (a Malay prince) had given some previous orders by no means ikvourable
towards me. Selji replied that he was incapable of such an aot^ but for our future
good understanding it wsa proper that all his followers should know on what footing
we were, and therefore requested I would make friendship. On my gladly consenting,
he went in person and stuck a spear into the ground above his fii^er^s grave. This
being the s^^ for a general assembly, each of the chiefiB sent a person to know the
nyah's pleasure. It was that every warrior should assemble around the grave by
twelve o'clock the next day. Some thousands were present ; a platform of bamboo
was nused above twelve feet shove the grave, and on this Selji and I mounted,
accompanied by an Aji, his high priest. After some previous ceremony, the Aji pro-
duced a small silver cup which might hold about two wineglasses^ and then, with a
piece of bamboo made very sharp, drew blood fr^m the nja's right srm. The blood
ran into the cup until it was nearly full. He then produced another cup of a similsr
size, and made an incision in my arm, a little above the elbow, and filled it with
blood. The two cups were then held up to the view of the surrounding people, who
greeted them with loud cheers. The Aji now presented me with the cup with Selji's
blood, giving him the other one with mine. Upon a signal we drank off the contents,
amidst the deafening noise of the warriors and others. The Aji then half filled one
of the cups again firom Selji's arm, and with my blood made it a bumper. This was
stirred up with a piece of bamboo, and given to Selji, who dnmk about half. He then
presented the cup to me, and I finished it. The noise was tremendous : thus the
great raja Selji and I became brothers. After this ceremony I was perfectly safe, and
from that moment felt myself so during my stay among his people. Drinking the
blood, however, made me ill for two days, as I could not throw it off my stomach.
The nja took his share with great gusto. Qreat festivities followed, and abundance
of heads were brought in, for nothing can be done without them. Three days and
nights all ranks of people danced round the heads, after beings as usual, smoked,
and the brains taken out, drinking a kind of toddy, which soon intoxicates tiiem.
They are then taken care of by the women, who do not drink-— at least I never
observed them."
Although it be stated by Bums that the Kayans have no priesthood, it will be seen
tmm the account now given, that psrties performing at least some of its Amotions,
t^
DYAK 133 DYAK
do really ezlBfe. Most probably they will be found to be peraona profaesmg to heal
by oharms and incantations. The name applied to them, Aji, is Suskriti and means
inoantation. In all likelihood, the Kayans receiyed it through ihe Javanese, whose
monuments of the times of Hinduism are described by Mr. Dalton as being firequent
throughout their country. See BoBma
The Kayans believe in the existenoe of birds of good and of ill omen, regulating their
conduct especially by the manner of flight of such birds, and this, probably, in a greater
degree than any people since the days of the Romans. Mr. Dalton gives the foUowing
account of a bird of ill omen, which may probably be the KAdasih of the Javanese, a
species of cuckoo^ the Cuculus flavus of naturaUsts, whose plaintive^ pleasing, but
monotonous note is considered by this people as ill-boding. " There is a certain bird of
which they stand in great awe. When they hear the note of this bird, no inducement
can ui^ them further on the same line of road. I have been frequently out shooting
when we heard it On such oocasioaB they would invariably stop and tremble
violently, and immediately take another road. I never could obtain a sight of this
bird of ill-omen, for such it is considered. If I attempted to advance a single step
nearer the sound, they took hold of me, and pointing towards the sky with gestures
of apprehension, forced me a contrary way. The notes are very similar to those of
our olaokbird^-equally sweet, but much stronger. Notwithstanding my becoming
brother to the great nja, I always entertain^ an impression that I should be
murdered, if by mischance I happened to shoot one of these birds. It is evidently a
superstitious feeling, this particular bird being looked upon as an evil genius. —
page 58.
The following is Mr. Bums's account. ** The custom of drawing omens from the
direction of the flight of birds is common to most of the tribes of Borneo, but with
the Kayans it is not connected with their ideas of the Deity. The birds that are
held as ominous by them are about ten in number. fVom the flight of the rhino-
oeroa horn-bill they draw omens of success, or the reverse^ in war ; and any of the
ominous kind flying from the right to the left bank of the river, is considered
inauspicious, but the reverse favourable and a prognostic of success. Journeying on
the rivers, should one of the ominous sort cross from the right, they immediately
halt, — kindle a fire on the shore, — smoke their leafy dgars, and genendlv wait till a
bird less vindictively inclined crosses frt>m the opposite direction. If tnia does not
happen, they very often return to the plaoe from which they started. One instance
I experienced from the whim of a pretty little bird called lukut, from its beinff
spotted or streaked, taking its flight from the right to the left bank of the river. I
was obliged to retrace a oonaiderable distance to the place we slept at the previous
nighty and recommence our journey the following morning. On another occasion,
in descending the upper part of the Tatau river, one of Uie birds of fote crossed
from the unlucky side. The party immediately halted, — went on shore, — ^kindled a
fire end betook themselves to their accustomed smokmg over it, but were not disposed
to move onward, unless one more favorably disposed liiould take its flight from the
opposite sidei However, on reminding them of their belief, that fire is efficacious in
appeasing the hate of birds, and that they had observed their usual custom of
kindling a fire and smoking, they were prevailed on to resume an onward course."
Vol. ▼., p. 147.
The strangest of the customs of the Kayans, and it extends to several of the other
wild tribes of Borneo, ii in some degree analagous to drcumcisiony although far
more painful, dangerous and preposterous. It is called in the language of the
Kayans utang, and the operation is performed at the age of puberty. The people
themselves can give no account of its origin, nor assign any reason for it. Both the
writers whom I have so frequently dted, describe the operation fully. ** There are
certain people," says Mr. Dalton, ** who perform this operation on boys arriving at
the age of puberty.^ — ^The pain is such that many are afifooted, and die of look-jaw ;
whilst many otheis die from mortification taking place. It is shocking to observe the
state to which many of them are reduced in consequence of this singular and absurd
eustouL" It is remarkable that this custom, however absurd, does not appear to
have been peculiar to the wild tribes of Borneo, for it extended to the Phil^pines,
or at least to the laige island of ^^bu before the conversion of the inhabitants to
Christianity; and Pigafetta describes the operation almost in the same terms
and detsils as our recent English travellers. — Prime Viaggio intomo al Globo,
p. 94.
The practice of perforating the lobes of the ears, and distending them b^ the use
of ponderous ear-nngs, so tkuat they shall reach to the shoulders, and sometunes even
'^I*
DYEINa 134 DYEDre
the boaom, and that of tattooing, exist among the wild inhabitants of Borneo as
among many other savage nations, but there is nothing peculiar about them. Mr.
Dalton's account of the use of poisoned arrows is curious, although I must consider
the efifocts he ascribes to them as exaggerated, '* Of the sumpit^" says he, " I need
not say much ; they are similar to those used in yarious parts of the island. The
darts are of yarious sorts : those used in war are poisoned by dipping them in a
liquid taken from a young tree, called by the Dyaks, upo. The effects are almost
immediately fatal. I have seen in Seljfs boat, when a man was struck in the hand,
the poison ran so quickly up the arm, that by tiie time the elbow was green the wrist
was black. The man died in about four minutes; the smeU from the hand was very
offensive. Each man carries about with him a small box of lime juice. By dipping
the dart into this before they put it into the sumpit, the poison becomes active, in
which state they blow it. They will strike an object at forty yards, and will kill a
monkey or bird at that distance. When the darts are poisoned they will throw them
sixty yards, as in war, or at some large ferocious animal, which they seldom eat.
However, I have seen them eat of the flesh notwithstanding it was killed with
a poisoned dart In such cases they boil it before roasting^ which, they say, extracts
the poison.'* — YoL v., p. 51. The word sumpit, used by Mr. Dalton, is correctly
sumpitan, the first two syllables maldng a Malay verb, meaning to perflate with the
mouth ; and the last, the tube or instrument through which perflation is performed.
The upo of the Eayans is most probably a corruption of the Javanese word upaa,
poison or venom.
Such, then, are the manners and customs of the most advanced and most powerful of
the native tribes of Borneo. The Eayans cultivate com and cotton ; rear the common
fowl, the hog, and the dog; and by the help of an excellent ore, fabricate the best
iron and sted of the whole Archipelago, They have extended their conquests nearly
from sea to sea; and if we would credit the statements of Mr. Dalton, their numbers
cannot be fewer than a quarter of a million. This, however, is the utmost extent of
power and civilisation to which any indigenous tribe of Borneo seems ever to have
reached ; while in all the large islands, except New Guinea, and' in many of the
smaller ones, a fiir higher civmaation has sprung up. The race of men in Borneo is
one and the same with that of the other islands, and I imagine the difference in
social progress can only be ascribed to the obstacles which the physical geography of
Borneo has opposed to the development of an indigenous civilisation. These consist
in the absence of untimbered plains, the imiversal presence of a deep and almost
impenetrable forest, a comparative sterility or stubbornness of soil, and a density of
land which precludes an easy commimication vnth more civilised strangers. The
only advantage which Borneo possesses over the other lax^e islands, consists in its
mineral wealUi, — ^its gold, iron, and coal ; but this would not be available to any
effective extent, in the promotion of an early dvilisatiun. The result has been, that
even the most improved of the aboriginal inhabitants of Borneo are still unlettered
savages, and sometimes cannibals. Even the small advancement which they have
made, may, on the evidence of language, be traced, in no small degree, to Uieir com-
munication with strangers ; as in the instances of the cultivation of com, roots,
cotton, the manufacture of textile materials, and of iron. Few of the savages
of Borneo are in so low a state as the minority of those of tropical America ;
but notwithstanding the great advantage possessed by them in a knowledge of
iron, the most advanced have not attained, by any means, so large a measure of
civilisation as that which sprung up on the elevated and open plateaus of that
continent.
A few of the Dyaks of Borneo have adopted the Mahommedan religion. These
consist of such tribes as have been long in immediate communication with the Malay
settlers of the coasts. This conversion is followed by the adoption of the manners,
customs, and even language of the Malays ; so that, in time, they are merged into
Malays, and come to be considered as such. The Dyak passion for pork is reason-
ably stated to prove a serious obstacle to conversion. When this conversion
does not take place, the subjugated Dyaks are always found to be living in a state
of HeloUsm.
DYEING. The Javanese, who of all the Malayan raoe, have certainly made the
highest progress in all the useful arts, have a specific term for dyeing or tinting, —
m&dal ; but the Malays express it only by the word for dipping, — chdlup. Yet the
only generic words which either of them possess for " colour,'* are the Sanscrit,
warna ; and the Portuguese, tints. Their colours are usually sombre,— little varied,
EAGLE-WOOD 135 ELEPHANT
but generally fiuit. Blues are always produced from indigo, yielded for the most
part by the Indigofera tanctoria, as in other parts of India ; but in Sumatra, occa-
sionally, from the Marsdenia tinctoria, a plant of the natural order of the AsclepiadesB.
Yellows are produced from the woods of two species of Artocarpus, the jack and
chAmpadah, and from turmeric ; and reds from the bark of the roots of the mangkudu,
the Morinda umbellata, — from the kusumba-jawa, safflower or Oarthamus tinctorius,
frt)m the kusumba-kling, which is the aniotto, or Bixa orellana, from the sApang, or
sapan-wood, Csesalpinia sappan, and from the nidus of the lac insect Black is
produced from the rinds of the mangoetin fruit, and of the kAtapang, Terminalia
catappan, with sulphate of iron. Sails and nets are dyed, and perhaps also tanned
with a wood called in Sumatra ubar, which is the Ricinus tanarius of botanists. The
mordants used are rice-bran, alkalis from the combustion of some Yegetable matters,
as the fruit stalks and mid-ribs of the coco-nut palm, and alum brought frY)m China.
Most of the dyeing materials, but not all, are probably native products. The name
of the indigo-plaot, the Indigofera tinctoria, is a native word to all appearance. In
Malay it is tarum, and this, with some corruptions, as talum in the Laimpung, tom in
Javanese, tayum in Tagala, and tayung in ^saya, is universal This would seem to
indicate that the culture of it, at least, had been spread from Sumatra to the
Philippines. The drug, however, is as universally known by the Sanscrit name nila, or
blue, from which it may be conjectured that the art of extracting the dye was taught
the islanders by the Hindus. It is always manufactured in the Archipelago in a
liquid, and therefore in a rude, form, yet in this state there is a considerable ezpor*
tation of it fr^m Java. Safflower and amotto are, no doubt, both exotics, the last, in
all likelihood, made known by the Portuguese. The name of both is the Suiscrit
kasumba; the safflower having annexed to it the epithet ** Javanese,'* and the amotto
** kling," or Hindu, to distinguish them, although the last be undoubtedly American.
Copperas and altim truai and tawas are native words^ yet the articles nowhere pro-
duced within the Archipelago. They are now imported from Chinay but probably
were so in earlier times from India.
E.
EAGLE- WOOD. See Agila.
EARTHENWARE. See Pottery. •^
EARTHaUAKE. See Yolcano.
EBONY. The kayu-ar&ng, literally, ^^oharwood" in Malay and Javanese, and
BO called, of course, frx>m its blackness, is found in most of the countries of the
Aaiatio Archipelago, from the Peninsula and Sumatra to the Philippine Islands. It
ia probably the produce of several species of Diospyrus, but chieflv of Diospyrus
mefanaxylon. It is greatly mferior in qiulity to the ebony of Ceylon and the Mauritius,
the produce of Diospyrus ebenus.
ECLIPSE. The names for an eclipse of the sun or the moon are all that ia
known about eclipses by the Indian Islanders. The word for an edipse is the Sanscrit
one, gndiana. An eclipse of the sun is, therefore, called giahana-mata-ari, and of
the moon grahana-bulan, in Malay. But eclipses of both luminaries represent
them as " sick," and so we have sakit-mata-ari and sakit-bulan, " sickness of the sun,"
and ^sickness of the moon." An eclipse of the moon is also expressed by the
native phrase bulan-makan-rahu, — the moon eaten by the dragon. The word rahu
is Sanscrit^ and Uie name of a monster supposed to aim at devouring the moon.
During an eclipse the rice-stampers are clattered in their mortars, in order to frighten
the monster from his meditated mischief. In Java, for example, thero is not a
rice-mortar among ten millions of people that is not put in requisition on such an
ooeasion.
ELEPHANT. The elephant is found in abundance, in the wild state, in almost
every part of Sumatra, whero they are seen in troops of 80 and even of 60, and in the
Malay peninsula, especially towarids its northern portion. It was long supposed to be
confined to those two countries of the Arohipelago ; but there is now no question but
that it exists also in parts of Borneo, namely, the districts of Pahitan, and the Sandakau
at its northern end, with the peninsula of Unsang forming its north-eastern extremity.
This had been long insisted on by the natives of Borneo ; and although no European
has yet seen the animal itself, the fact of its tufks having been brought as an article
of trade from the places in question to the British settlement of Labuan, would seem
ENGANO 136 ENGAJTO
to settle the question of its existence. GoDsidering, howefrer, that the elephant does
not exist in any other part of Borneo than thoee named, there is room to soqpect
that the individnals found in these may be the deeoendants of those which were f oond
in the domesticated state on the first arrival of Europeans in the island, and whidi
were seen and described by Pig&fetta, in 1521.
The learned and indefii^gable Netherland naturalists of India hare lately made an
unexpected disooTery respecting the elephant of Borneo. They have found it to be a
species distinct both from the African and Asiatic, and hence have given it the name
of l^ephas Sumatrensis. It approaches nearest in form to the Asiatic elephant^ but
differs frt>m it Tery materially. The ribbon-formed ridges on the crown of the teeth
are larger and more prominent. The dorsal yertebm, instead of 19, amount to 20 ;
but the sacral vertebne, instead of being five, amount to four only ; while, instead of
19 pairs of ribs, it has 20. Whether the elephant of the Malay peninsula be the same
with the Sumatran, or with the common Asiatic, or whether it be different frx>m
either, is a point which has not been ascertained.
Both the elephant of Sumatra and of the peninsula are, like the Asiatic species, and
as the African once was, amenable to domestication. In the northern states of the
Malay peninsula they are, in £Bbct, domesticated and employed as beasts of burden ;
and in Sumatra, they were once tamed and used by the kings of Achin for parade.
From both countries they are occasionally caught^ tamed, and exported by the
Telingas to the Coromandel coast I haye no doubt, also, that in old times they
were exported to Java ; for they are abundant in the nearest part of Sumatra to
that island, the country of the Lampungs^ For the purposes of court ceremonies or
for war, the elephant was found by the Europeans, on their first arrival in the
Archipelago, in places where they no longer exist. Thus, at the capture of Malacca,
the kmg and his son, each on their elephants carrying a wooden tower, charged the
Portuguese, and in the pursuit of the fugitive king after the capture, mention is made
by the Portuguese historians of the taking of seven elephants. And when the
companions of Magellan touched at Borneo, and visited the king, in 1621^ Pigafetta
informs us that he himself and his associates were conyeyed from the river side to
the palace on caparisoned elephants.
It seems highly probable that the natiyes of the Asiatic Archipelsgo were ignorant
of the art of taming the elephant until instructed by the Hindus. This is to be
inferred, not only from the prevalence of Sanscrit names for the elephant itself, but from
matters connected with its domestication. The usual name in Malay is the Sanscrit
one, gajah ; and, indeed, it was long before I myself found out that it had a natiye one.
This is beram, although now obsolete. The Sanscrit name, gsgah, prevails all oyer the
Archipelago, — eyen where the elephant is known only by repute. Thus, in the
Tagala of the Philippines, we find it in the corrupt form of gaya, and in the Bisaya of
the same group, as garya. In the language of Jaya, an islaiid in which the animal
could only be an exotic, it has no fewer than seven names, all Sanscrit, although
some of them be only epithets. Among the terms connected with the domestication
of the elephant that are taken from the Sanscrit, are the elephant driver, or attendant,
gftbala-gaja, literally, "elephant groom," bAlanggu, the fetters, and kusa, the driving-
crook. The names of the tusks, of the decoy elephant, and of the elephant trap are,
howeyer, pure Malay.
ENGANO. The most souiherly, and one of the largest, of the ohain of islands
which runs along the western coast of Sumatra, and reckoned to be, in all, no fewer
than 800 in number. The origin of the name is uncertain, but is probably from the
Portuguese word, engalio, fruud or deception, which, joined to the Malay word, pulo,
as usual in such cases, would make '* Deception Island.*' The western end of Engano
is in south latitude 5° 21', and its east end in longitude 102^ 7' 15". Along with some
small islands near it, it is computed to haye an area of 400 geographical square milea.
It is surrounded and girdled by a coral reef, on which a heavy surf breaks, maJriT^jr
landing difficult. The soil is red clay, most probably the produce of the decompo-
sition of sandstone. It does not appear to contain any mountain of considerable
elevation; but the whole land is of sufficient height to be visible at sea, at the
distance of seven or eight leagues. As usual, it is covered with laige timber. On
the south-east side of the island there is a safe harbour, formed by a bay frtmted by
four islets. The inhabitants of Engano are of the genuine Malayan race, but in a
very rude state. Their chief subsistence is the coco-nut, yams, and the banana, vrith
fish. They have no knowledge of any textile material, going naked, with the excep-
tion of a shred of prepared bark or dried banana-leaf at tiie waist; and no knowledge
ERA 137 FISH
of iitm, their weapon being a spear tipped with fish-bone. They have oanoes^ how-
ever, which are capable of aooommodating five or six men. Of the language of
Sngano, we h*Te no specimene. It is, however, wholly nnintelligible to the MaUys,
and will probably be found to be a peculiar and distinct tongue. The people appear
to be the rudest of all the inhabitants of the chain of isluids to which it belongs,
attributable, no doubt^ to its distance from the mainland of Sumatra^ twenty leagues,
its ooral-foitified shore and its sterility of soiL flere^ indeed, we find the true un-
mixed Malayan race, the same from which has sprung up the civilisation of Java and
Sumatra, in a much lower condition than tribes of the rolynesian race in the islands
of the Padfia
ERA. The only people of the Asiatio Archipelago who possessed an era before the
conversions to Mahommedanism and the advent of the Portuguese, were the Javanese
and the Balinese. This era was not a native one, but derived from the Hindus of
Southern India, — that of Saka or SaUvana, which commences with the 78th year of
Christ. It is still in use in Bali, but only nominally so in Java. Down to the year
of our time, 1688, or for 155 years after the last Hindu dynas^, it seems to have been
preserved in Java with its solar or sidereal reckoning, but in that year, lunar time
was adopted, and as no intercalation is practised, the Javanese era and that of SaUvana
no longer correspond. Thus the year of 1820 of Christ was the year of SaUvana
1742, but of Java, 1747. fiy the Javanese this era is called Saka-warsa and Saka-
kala, terms which are Sanscrit^ and signify year and time of Saka, — ^that is, of
SaUvana» a personage made in their story to be the first foreign sovereign of Java»
onder the appellation of Ajl Saka, or " King Saka." There is no evidence to show
that the Malays had any era, native or foreign, before their adoption of the Hejira.
They seem, however, to have had a solar year, and, like the Chinese, to have reckoned
in it by the reigns of their kings, the number of years, of each reign being always
specified in their annals. Thus, although the Malays of Malacca did not adopt the
religion of Mahommed until the year of Christ, 1276, we find them aUeging themselves
to have founded Singapore in 1160, and giving various intermediate dates, which they
could only have arrived at by reckoning backwards, with the duration of their princes'
reigns as their gulden unless, indeed, which is not improbable, that the era aUuded to
was that of SaUvana, borrowed firom Java. The chronology of the Bugis of Celebes
appears to have been of the same nature.
P.
FARIA Y SOUSA. This Portoguese writer was bom in 1690, and died in 1649.
The work which oonnects him with the history of the Asiatic Archipelago is his
" Asia Portuguesa," which is the Portuguese history of India firom its commencement
in 1497, to its virtual termination in 1649. This work is posthumous, and written in
Spanish. It is a hasty compilation, of which neither the fiMts nor reasoninffB are
reliable ; and the author is, in every way, greatly inferior to ^e earlier historians —
De Barros, De Canto, and Castaghneda — who Uved nearer the most important events,
and had better sources of information. There is an English translation of the *' Asia
Portngueea," dedicated to the Princess of Modena, second wife of James the Second.
FIRE-ARMS. See A&ms.
FISH and FISHERIES. There are assnredly no seas in the world more abundant
in esculent fish than those of the Asiatic Archipelago, and a few of them are of
exoellent flavour. The fish of rivers and lakes, although, perhape, less abundant and
of very infSBrior quality, are of importance in some of the islands, particularly in those of
the Philippine groups Fish constitutes the chief animal aUment of all the inhabitants,
and everywhere of those of the sea-coast who are by profession fishermen. In most of
the langwages the same word expresses both fish and flesh. The greatest plenty of fish,
and also the best quality of it, is found in the comparatively shallow seas, bordering
tiie granitic and sedimentary formations, and the least abundant in the deep seas
olose to the volcanic Among the best fidieries are those of the eastern coast of the
Malay Peninsula, those of the entire straits of Malacca, of the northern coast of Java,
and of all the coasts of Borneo and Celebes, with those of the PhiUppine Islands.
The variety of fish which is found may be judged by the fact previously mentioned
respecting the Ichthyolo^ of the island of Celebes. The learned Dr. Bleeker, the
director of the Batavian Society of Arts and Sciences, has named and described no
fWwer than 108 species belcmging to that island, and yet expresses himself satisfied
FLORIS 138 FORMOAiL
that he has not deBoribed above one-eighth part of the whole number which eziats.
Oufc of the 108 species so described, it was found that 64 only were common to
Celebes and Java. A people who have derived from the sea or river a main portion,
of their sustenance from Uieir first existence, may well be expected to hare acquired
some skill in the capture of fish, and fishing is indeed the art in which the greater
number of them excel the most. Fish are caught by them by hook and line — by a
great variety of nets — ^by weirs and traps — ^by spearing and by stupefying those of
rivers by narcotic juices. Notwithstanding their long experience, the Chinese excel
them even in their own waters, and are the constructors and owners of all the weirs
on a large scale which are so frequent on the banks in the neighbourhood of
European settlements, and in which are caught the greatest quantity and best quality
of fish. The taking of the motherof-pearl oyster, the pearl-oyster in a few places,— -of
the holotiiurion or tripang, and of the shell tortolBe, forms valuable branches of the
Malayan fisheries.
FLORIS, called also £nd6 and Mangarai, is an island of the third mag:nitade in
the Malayan Archipelago, and forming one of the long Tolcanic chain, which may be
said to constitute the southern barrier of the Archipelago. It lies between south
latitude 7"* and 9% and east longitudes 120^ and 123^ Its form is long and narrow,
its length extending to 200 geographical miles, with a breadth running from 42 to
50 miles. Its area has been computed at 4085 geographical square miles. Like all
the other islands of the same chain, the formation is volcanic, and it has several peaks,
two of which are active volcanoes, one of them 7000 feet high. The natives state
that the country produces copper, but neither gold nor iron in sufficient quantity to
be worked. The mountttins, which are forest-clad, yield abundance of sapan-wood,
called in the language of the country usu, and a yellow dye wood, the kayu-kuning of
the Malays. The aborigioal inhabitants are a frizzle-headed people, with features
intermediate between the Papuan and Malay race, yet apparently not an intermixture
of these, but a distinct race. Their manners are simple and inoffensive. They dwell
in houses built on the groimd, and not elevated on posts like those of the Malaya.
They cultivate mountain rice, maiz, and roots, and some of the best cotton of the
Archipelago exported to be numufiikctured in Celebes. Floris produces none of the larger
wild animals, but the hog in great plenty. The domesticated animals are the bufEalo,
ox, goat, dog, duck, and common fowL The inhabitants are divided into many dirtinct
nations, speaking different languages, of which I received from the Buffis merchants
settled among them the mames of six, and vocabularies of two. The principal places
of trade are Mangarai, on the northern, and End^, on the soutiiem coast) the last being
the most considerable place, the town or village of the same name containing about
200 houses, and its territory about 5000 inhabitants. Close to it la an active volcano 1 500
feet high. At both are settled some Bugis and Malays, the former trading to Batavia
and Singapore in vessels of considerable size, and in smaller ones to Sumba or Sandal-
wood Island. At a place called Pota, on the northern coast^ the Dutch have a fort
and small post, the chief object of which is protection against piracy. Towards the
south-eastern end of the island the Portuguese have a small settlement on a bay, in
front of which are the islands of Solor and Adinara. This is named Larantuka, and
here they have converted a few of the natives to Christianity. The origin of two of
the names of this island is obvious enough, and the most current is most probably
a Portuguese word — the plural of flor, a flower, the same name which the Portuguese
have given to one of the Azores.
FORMOSA. The Iha formosa of the Portuguese, called Tai-wan by the Chinese,
a word signifying as I am informed by my very acute friend Mr. H. Parkes, her
Majesty's Consul at Amoy, " The Terraced Harbour," and applied bv them to the
port and chief town, and thence to the whole island. Near to and inhabited, as far
as its aboriginal people are concerned, by the same race as the Philippines, it has
some claim to be considered as part of them. It lies between north latitudes 21" 58'
and 25^ 15', and east longitudes 120** and 122°. It is of an oval form, its length
being from north to south, its western side fronting the main land of China. The
strait which lies between, called after the island, is in its narrowest part 80 miles
broad, and in its widest 150. The total area of Formosa has been estimated at
14,000 square miles, so that it is by about one-fifth part larger than the classic island
of Sicily. Its situation is in the very heart of the region of typhoons, and it is
moreover, amenable to severe earthquakes.
A ranffe of high mountains runs through the island from north to south, the summits
of which are clad in perpetual snow, from which it is concluded that they cannot bo
F#W 139 FUNERALS
leas than 12,000 feet above the level of the sea. An undulating plain, extending from
the foot of the range to the sea, forms the western side of the island, leaving a large
portion of the eastern a mountain mass. What its geological formation is has not
been ascertained, but that a portion is volcanic is certain from the existence of craters
yielding a large supply of sulphur, which is one of the staple exports of the island.
The population of Formosa is of two. descriptions, an aboriginal and a Chinese, the
first for the most part confined to the fastnesses of the mountains, and the last
occupying the extensive plain already named. The aboriginal inhabitants are of the
same race as the fairer people of the Philippines — ^that is, of the Malay race— but
whether divided into di£ferent tribes, speaking one language^ or having many tongues^
has not been ascertained. The Dutch, during their short occupation of the island,
obtained a vocabulary of a Formosan language, which, on examination, is found to
contain a few words of Malay and of Philippine languages, implying the probability
that the first came through the medium of the last. The natives of Formosa are
evidently in a very rude state, never having obtained that degree of civilisation
which even the principal nations of the Philippines had reached when discovered by
Europeans. A few of them have been tamed by the Chinese, and reduced by them
to a kind of predial servitude. The Chinese setUers are for the most part emigrants
from the province of Fokien, the inhabitants of which are known to be the most
industrious, iDgenious, and enterpriaing of the empire. It is remarkable that Formosa,
although its existence must have been sufficiently known to the Chinese from an
early period, was never colonised by them until they were driven to take shelter in
it by the invasion of the Manchoo Tartars at the beginning of the seventeenth
century. The Spaniards appear early to have formed a small settlement on the
island^ and when the Dutch in 1624 began their establishment, they found a culony
of Chinese said to amount to 200,000. The present Chinese population is said to
number two millions and a half. This, however, must be a great exaggeration, for
supposing them to occupy one half the area of the island, and it is not likely that
they occupy so much, the number would give 875 to the square mile, which would
amount to the density of an old country, and not of a colony yielding the products
of the earth cheaply, as Formosa is known to do.
The Dutch, after occupying a large part of Formosa for 84 years, were expelled
firom it in 1662 by a powerful Chinese pirate who had infested and invaded it. This
catastrophe was the result of sheer incapacity and neglect, and it is remarkable that
it i^ould have happened at a time when their energy and enterprise were at their
greatest height. Considering its temperate climate and its favourable geographical
position, it is certain that Formosa mighty under happier auspices, have become a
great and prosperous European colony.
The soil of the plains and mountain slopes of Formosa is described as being of
eminent fertility, and it mav fedrly be concluded from the height and magnitude of
its mountains that this fertility is promoted by an abundant irrigation. The chief
products of its agriculture are rice, wheat, pulse, millet, and sugar-cane. Its chief
exports are rice, sugar, camphor, timber, bay-salt, and sulphur. Formosa forms part
of the province of Fokien, the dense population of which is said to draw a large part
of its supplies of food from it.
FOW. This is the name of an islet on the south-western coast of the island of
Qebi in the Molucca Sea, and which forms with it a fine and secure harbour. Fow,
itself, is deeply penetrated by an inlet of the sea, which makes it to consist of two
peninsulas, the isthmus between them consisting of land from 850 to 400 feet high.
This inlet is a cone with a very narrow entrance, but which widens after entering,
has a depth of from 5 to 10 fatiioms, and although a small, is a safe harbour, easily
made defensible.
FUNERALS. The funerals of the Malays, Javanese, and other nations converted
to Islamism, are in conformity to the usages of the Mahommedana The body, within
twenty-four hours after death, ia a shroud, without coffin, is buried ; and the word
which expresses this simple ceremony literally signifies to place in the earth, and ia
the same which means to plant or put seed in the ground. At the bottom of the
gprave on one side there is a lateral excavation to receive the body. A simple mound
marks the grave without monumental stone or tomb, except in the case of kings
and reputed saints, the tombs of the latter being considered holy under the Arabic
name of kramat, or sacred. The cemeteries of the Javanese are usually on small hills
or rising grounds at a short distance from the villages, and lying in a grove of the
S4mboja tree (Plumeria acutifolia) are exceedingly picturesque.
FUNERALS 140 FUNEBAS
We haTB examplee of the funerals of tribes that haye not embraced either the
Iti^ommedan or Hindu religions in the instances of the inhabitants of the ishind of
Nias on the western coast of Borneo, and of the Eayan Dyaks of Bomeoi» Those
of the first of these are thu8|deecribed by a writer in the Malayan Miscellany, puUiahed
under the auspices of Sir Stamford Baffles in 1822, and believed to be a distinguished
botanist, the late Dr. Jack. "The mode of burial in the southern division of th.e
island," (that most remote from Malay influence) '<is peeuUar. The body is not
committed to the earth, but is inclosed in a wooden shell or coffin, which is elevated
on four posts, and then given to e^joy the free winds of heaven. Flowering shrube
and creepers are generally plsnted beneath, which soon dimb up and cover the oofi&n
with foliage. These cemeteries are at some little distance from the villages^ and when
not quite recent^ have nothing tmpleasant or disgusting in their appearance. On the
oontrary, there is something almost poetic in the idea of placing the remains of their
friends, as it were, beyond the reach of the worm, suspended in tiie air amid verdure
and flowers ; and if they might be supposed to have had frirther a moral object in
view, what could be more forcible than to see the very sepulohres hastening to
decay amid the wild luxuriance, and un&ding freshness of the slunibs ti^ey had
supported."
The funerals of the Eayan Dyaks of Borneo are thus described by Mr. Robert
Bums. "After death, the Eayans very stupidly keep the body in the house fit>ni
four to eight days, and sometimes even longer. Generally, the first day after death,
it is put into a coffin, scooped from the trunk of a tree, and carved, aooording to tiie
importance or means of the relatives. Day and nigfai^ during the time the body is
kept in the house, lights are placed at each side of the coffin, and should these hafmen
to get extinguished, it is considered most unfortunate. Also, during the four or ore
days after the corpse has been removed, torches are kept at the place where it lay.
Previous to its removal, a feast is prepared, and part of the food is placed beside the
corpse : the relatives devour the remainder. The removal of the body takes plsce
soon after, and, although it be invariably much decomposed, the nearest relatives,
especially the women, express their grief in a most inconsolable manner, and with
cries most pitiable, long snd affectionately hug the coifin, and with their hem on it
inhale the odour, and continue doing so, until it reaches the place of disposal, which
is on the loft of a small wooden house on posts, about twelve feet high. The tombs
of the chiefr are built of hard wood, supported by nine massive posts, fr<om twelve to
fourteen feet hiffh, and which, with tiie other parts of the building, are elaborately
carved. Several wticles which belonged to the deceased are oonveyed to the tomb
with the corpse, but are not deposited with it^ On the death of a peraon, the
relations directly lay aside all apparel of foreign manufacture, and wear only a kind
of bark cloth instead, for a prescribed number of days after the funeraL''--^ouxnal
of the Indian Archipelago, vol. iii. p. 149.
The only people of the Archipelago who continue to follow Hinduism sre those of
Bali, and such of the inhabitants of this island as have recently settled in the neigh-
bouring one of Lomboc as conquerors, and of their funerals a very interesting account
has been given by Mr. Zollinger in the Journal of Netherland India. " The Balinese
of Lomboc/' says he, ** bum their dead. This is accompanied by very many cere-
monies, wiiich cost incredible sums of money. The poor, for this reason, often bury
their dead, but always so that they can recover the bones, should it ever happen that
they can gather together enough of money to meet the expenses of a cremation.
The rich after death are embalmed, because months and even years often elapee
before they are burned. V^ves may suffer themselves to be burned after the death
of their husbands, but they are not compelled to do so. Such an event very seldom
occurs, and during my stay, there was only a single widow who allowed herself to be
krised. They have the choice of allowing themselves to be either burned or krised.
The first is the more rare. The wives of the rajas, however, must suffer themselves
to be burned. When a n^a diee^ some women are always burned, even should they
be but alaves. The wives of the priests never kill themselves. Having been present
at one of these horrid speotades, I shall relate how it was oonducted. A gusti
(lord) who died at Ampanan, left tiiree wives. One of Uiem resolved to let herself
be krised in honour of him, and that against the will of all on both sides of her
fiunily. The woman was still young and beautiful ; she had no children. They told
me that a woman, who, under such circumstances, suffered herself to be killed, had,
indeed loved her husband* She intended to accompany him on his long journey to
the gods, and she hoped to be his fiivourite in the other world. The day after the
death of the gusti, la» wi& took many baths, she was dothed in the richest manner,
FtlTERALS 141 FUNERALS
and paB86d the day with her relativeB, drinking, ohewiag betel, and jpraying. About
the middle of a Bpaoe before the houae^ there were erected two soaffoldinga or plat-
forms of bamboo, of the length of a man, and three feet above the ground. Under
these a small pit had been dug, to reoeiye the water and blood that was about to flow.
In a small house at one side of and opj^osite to these frame-works were two others,
and entirely similar. At four o'dook m the afternoon, the body of the gusti was
brought out, wrapped in fine linen, and plaoed on the left of the two central platformsL
A priest of Mfttaram (the capital) removed the cloth from the body, while young
persons hastened to cover the private parts of the dead with their hands. They
Kured much water over the corpse, washed it» combed tiie hair, "and covered the whole
dy with ohampaka and kanangsga flowers (Michelia champaka and Uvaria odorata).
A white net was then produced. The priest took a silver cup with holy water, called
ohor, on which he strewed flowers. He first sprinkled the deceased with this water,
and then poured it through the net on the body, which he blessed, praying, singing;
and making various mystical and symbolical motions. He finally powdered the body
over with flour of coloured rice and ohopped flowers, and placed it on dry mats.
Women then brought out the wife of the gusti on their crossed arms. She was
clothed in white linen only. Her hair was crowned with flowers of the Chrysan-
themum Indicum. She was tranquil, and betrayed neither fear nor regret. She
placed herself standing before the body of her husbwid, raised her arms on high, and
prayed in silence. Women approached her and presented to her small bouquets of
the Hibiscus roea-sinensis and other flowers. She took them, one by one, and placed
them between the fingers of her hands raised above her head. On thia, the women
took them away and dried them. On receiving and giving back each bouquet,
the wife of the gusti turned a little to the right, so that when she had received
the whole, she had turned quite round. She proved anew in silence, went to
the corpse of her husband, kissed it on the head, the breast, below the naval,
the knees, the feet, and then returned to her place. They took off her rings; she
crossed her arms on her breast. Her brother (on this occasion one by adoption),
S laced himself before her, and asked her with a soft voice if she was detennined to
ie, and when she gave a sign of assent with her head, he asked her forgiveness for
being obliged to kill her. At once, he seized his kris, and stabbed her on the left
side of the breast^ but not very deeply, so that she remained standing. He then
threw away his kns and ran off. A man of consideration then approached her, and
buried his kris to the hilt in the breast of the unfortunate woman, who sunk down,
at once, without a ciy. The women plaoed her on a mat, and sought by rolling and
pressure to cause the blood to flow as quickly as possible. The victim being not
vet dead, she was stabbed again with a kris between the shoulders. They then laid
her on the second platform near her husband. The same ceremonies that had been
practised with him began for the wife. When all was ended, both bodies were
covered with resin and cosmetics, enveloped in white linen, and placed in the small
lateral house on the platform. There they remain, until the time arrives for their
being burned together.
"It is always a near relation who gives the first wound, but never &ther or son.
Scmetunes drradfiil spectacles occur : such was one at which Mr. Eong was present.
The woman had received eight kris stabs and was yet quite sensible. At last, she
screamed out, impelled by the dreadful pain, 'Cruel wretches, are you not able to
give me a stab tluit will kiU mel' A gusti who stood behind her, on this, pierced
er through and through with a kris.
"The native spectators, whom I had around me, saw in the slaughter, which took
place before oiur eyes, nothing shocking. They laughed and talked as if it was
nothing. The man who had given the three last stabs wined his kris, and restored it
to its place in as cold-blooded a manner as a butcher would have done his knife after
the slaughter of an animal
" Only the wives of the most oonsideroble personages of the land allow themselves to
be burned, because the oeremony is attended with much more expense than krising.
They make on such an occasion a very high platform of bamboo. The woman
ascends, after many ceremonies, and when the fire is at its greatest heat, she springs
finom above into the middle of the flames. Mr. SJng (an English merchant long
resident in Lomboc) thinks that they do not suffer much, because during the leap
they are stifled, and, at all events^ the fire strengthened by fragrant resins, is so fierce
that death must speedily ensue."
It will be seen by these statements that the ordinary funeral rites of the Bslinese
much resemble those of the Buddhists of Siam and Av%— that the oonoremation is a
GABDANE 142 GAMB06E
modification of the Hindu Suttee, and the bloody ceremony of kxising, a
peculiar to the people of Bali themselyes.
G.
GADDANE. The name of one of the wild tribes of the island of Luzon. They
are not negritos, but are described as haying darker complexions than the other brown
tribes in the same condition, — as being of shorter stature, having round eyes and flat
noses, speaking a language of their own, and in their manners dull and filthy.
Brought within the pale of Christianity by the missionaries, they have proved service-
able in converting the neighbouring savages.
GADEH or GEDEH (GUNUNG), Hterally, " the great mountain," is the name
of one of the highest mountains of the western part of Java. It is situated in the
district of Chanjor, in the coimtry of the Sundas, — ^has the same base ss another large
mountain, called Pangarango,— rises to the height of 10,500 feet above the level of the
sea, and is an active volcano.
GAMBIER. This is the Malayan name of the terra-japonica, and of the plant that
yields it, the Unoaria srambier of botanists. The plant is a straggling shrub, from eight
to ten feet high, and an object of extensive cxiltivation. A gambler plantation
generally extends to about 80 acres, and, when full grown, has the appearance of a
coppiccL The drug is the inspissated juice of the leaves, obtained by boiling to the
consistence of a syrup, which is poured into moulds, and, when dry, cut into cubes
of an inch and a half to a aide. The leaves are pulled three or four times a year, and
the plantation is exhausted in fifteen years, when it is abandoned, and new land had
recourse to. In Singapore, where the cultivation was established on its first occu-
pation, in 1819, there are 800 plantations; but the culture has been largely
extended to the neighbouring continent. It is, however, carried on to a much greater
extent in the islands of Batang, Bintang, and Linga. Although originally a Malay
manufiusture, it is at present almost wholly carried on by the Chinese, who conduct
the cultivation of gambler in combination with that of black pepper, the refuse
leaves of the first being found an useful manure for the last. The gambler plant
appears to be a native of all the countries on the shores of the Straits of Malacca, but
especially of the numerous islands at its eastern end. From the last, it has been
immemorially exported to Java and the islands east of it, to be used as a masticatory,
being one of the ingredients in the betel preparation. It does not seem to be a
production of any of the islands of the volcanic band. Gambler contains from 40 to
50 per cent of pure tannin, and hence it has been of late years largely imported into
Europe, to be used in the purposes of dying and tanning, the quantity imported
yearly into England being not less than 6000 tons. This is one of the striking
results of the fi^edom of commerce, and the progress of the arts among u&
GAMBLING, in Malay and Javanese, JudY. AU the more advanoed nations of
the Asiatic Archipelago are greatly addicted to gaming, the passion for which is vexy
far from being confined to the nations that have adopted the Mahommedan religion ;
for the Hindus of Bali and Lomboc, and the Christians of the Philippines are as
great gamblers as the Malays, and greater than the Javanese. Cock-fighting is every-
where the normfld shape which it takes ; but card-playing, and other games, have been
acquired from the Chinese, who are themselves even more determin^ gamblers than
any of the native nations.
GAMBOGE. Our name for this article of commerce is a oomiption of the
Malay name of the chief country which produces it, Kamboja. The plant which
produces it is a laiige forest tree, supposed to be a Qarcinia, or a species of the same
genus which produces the celebrated mangoetin fruit, on the rind of which last is
frequently seen a yellow pigment, having all the appearance of gamboge. The drug
is the inspissated sap of the tree, obtained by wounding the bark. It quickly driee in
the sun, is formed at once into rolls, and undergoes no other preparation. Both the
tree and its sap must be abundant in the forests of Kamboja, judging by the moderate
price at which the article is sold at the chief emporium, Singapore, where the price
does not exceed from 55<. to 65«. a hixndred weight. The Malay name of the drug
seems to be taken from the language of Kamboja. This is rong, which the Portuguese
have adopted, writing the word, rom.
GIBI 143 GOAT
0£BI. The name of an island of the Moluoca Sea, lying hetween Gilolo and
Waigyu, one of the Papoaa Islands. It is long and narrow, ninning in a direction
from north-east to south-west, and is in length from six to seven leagues, the western
extremity being only four miles north of the equator, and in east longitude 129^ 19'.
The geological formation is not yolcanic, but probably sandstone much impregnated
with iron. The land is generally hilly; but tiie highest point does not exceed 500
feet. The aboriginal inhabitants are Papuans : but there are also settlers from
the Moluooas, and these are the ruling party, the king of Tidor, one of the doye
islands, claiming the sovereignty. Some of the Papuans have been converted to
the Mahommedan religion by the intrusive party, while the rest still continue
pagans. The cultivated products of Gebi are a little rice, the coco, and sago-palms,
yams, and the banana. The mammalia of the forest are only Uie hog and two
marsupial animals ; and the chief birds, several species of the pigeon and parrot
families. The chief employment of the natives is the fishing of tripang and pearl oysters.
Between Gebi and the islet Fow, at its south-western end, is a harbour, safe in all windit,
with good anchorage and depth for a ship of the line. See Fow.
GEELYINK. The name of the great bay or gulf whioh deeply indents the
northern side of New Guinea, converting it into a western and eastern peninsula.
See DoRi Habboub and New Guineju
GILIBANTAH. The name of an islet lying between the islands Chinnng-api and
Comodo, in the Straits of Sapi, or those which divide Sumbawa from Floris. It is
like those in its neighbourhood, of trachytio formation, and its highest point rises to
the elevation of 1200 feel The name may probably be Javanese, in which gili
signifies " a highway," and bantah '* to diq[>ute," that is, the islet disputing or
interrupting the highway.
GINGER. The Zingiber officinalis of botanists, is produced almost everywhere
throughout the Asiatic Archipelago, and is more used by the natives as a condiment
than any other spice, except the capsicum. Its native name in Malay is alya, and in
Javanese, jait ; but it has almost as many different names as there are languages ;
from whence it is to be inferred that it is indigenous in most parts of the Archipelago,
the names being everywhere native, and not foreign. Ginger was an article of the
Indian trade of the Romans, most likely in their case the produce of Malabar. Pliny
gives its price in the Roman market at six denarii the po\md, which, at the usual
estimate of Sid. the denarius, would make fit. 9Jd. the pound avoirdupois. The
price in the London market just now is about two-pence.
GLTJGA. This is the Bronssonetia papyrifera of botanists, popularly called the
paper mulberry tree, the same plant from which a kind of paper is made in China
and Japan, and clothing in the islands of the Pacific. The Javanese are the only
people of the Archipelago who manufacture a paper from the liber or inner bark of
this plants and this is by a process very similar to that by whioh the ancients manu-
iactored papyrus. The raw material, however, is of a better quality, and the process
of numufiictaring it &r less expensive ; for the ordinary Javanese paper, instead of
beins costly, like tbe papyrus, is a very cheap conunodity. Its colour is that of
par(£ment ; it is very tough, and, except that it is liable to be preyed on by insects,
owing to the rice-water used in its preparation, it is very durable. The name of the
plant, and the vulgar and polite names of the paper, d&luwang and dftUunbang, are
all native Javanese words ; and it may be concluded that the art of manufacturing paper
from the gluga plant is a native one. and of long standing ; for the few ancient manu-
scripts found in Java, and which, belonging as tihey do, to the times of Hinduism, can-
not be of later date than the year 1478, that in which Hinduism was finally subverted.
Tbe gluga is an object both of culture and manufacture, chiefly carried on in the pro-
vince of Kadiri, once an extensive seat of Hinduism, and the parties conducting them
are the Mahommedan priests ; in this matter very likely the successors of the Bramins.
GOAT. The domestic goat, a small animal kept for its flesh, but not for its milk
' any more than is the cow, is pretty generally distributed over the Archipelago ; but
its origin is as obscure here as in other countries. In Malay it has two names,
kambing and bebek, the last being oddly enough the name for the domestic duck in
Javanese. In this last language it has also two names, meda and widus ; but they
are local only. The first Malay name extends as fiir as the Philippines, and the
second has also a wide currency ; either the one or the other being nearly the only
names in the other languages of the Archipelago. The goat was not found, any more
than the ox and buffiJo, in the Polynesian islands ; and in the language of Madagascar
GOGA 144 GOLD
it has a natiTe, and not a Malayan, name, uaL All the iiam«a now giTien are native
worde, and through them, therefore, a foreign origin for the goat cannot be traced.
In Sunuttra and the Kalaj Peninaula there exiata a apedee of antelope, the Antilopa
Sumatrenalfl, a denizen of the deepest reoeaaes of the mountain forests ; but I do not
think this likely to be theeouroe of the domeetlo goat^ although the Malaya ha^e no other
name for it than "the wild Koat»" kabing-utan, and, notwithstanding ita native names, it
seems more probable that the Hindus brought it fiom Southom Indian than that it Ib
indigenous.
GOGA. The name of a tree yery generally found in most of the PhilippineB
(Enaenada Philippensis), the woody maments of which yield a soapy matter much
used in washing Unen, and in the process of gold washing for the purpose of pre-
cipitating the metal from the sand. It is a shore or littoral plant, formerly ranked
by botanists as an Acacia.
GOLD. This metal, in sufioient abundance to be worked, is found in the Malay
Peninsula, Sumatra, the western and souUiem sides of Borneo^ the northern and
south'Westem peninsulas of Celebes, and in a few parts of the great Philippine
islands of Luzon and Mindano. In none of the islandB of exclusively Tolcanio
formation does it exist in such quantity as to be worth working. The qualitiea of
the gold vary greatly m the same country. Thus, on the western side of Borneo
there are rewoned to be twelve diiferent qualities, designated by the localities which
^ pi^uce them, and which range in fineness firom 16 up to 22 carats. The finest gold
* brought to market is that of the principality of Pahang, on the eastern side of the
Malay Peninsula, which brings a higher price than even that of Australia by better
than three per cent. The gold of the places mentioned is all obtained by waahinga^
and the metal has never been worked and scarcely even traced to the original veins.
It is mostly in the form of powder or dust — ^the mas-urai of the Malays, literally '* looser
or disintegrated gold." Now and then lumps of considerable size are foimd, bat
compared to the nuggets of California and Australia, mere pebbles. The Prince of
Sambas, on the western side of Borneo, keeps as a curiosity a mass weighing
22 ounces, and lumps of double this weight are said to have been found. The
alluvial bed which contains the gold is found by digging a shaft to depths vai7ing
from 15 to 60 feet The miners of Borneo are the Dyaks or wild natives, the Malaya,
and the Chinese, and it ii by these last that the mining is conducted with the greatest
effect. The mining of this people, however, is confinM to Borneo, for in all the other
countries it Ib carried on by the natives of ^e country.
Attempts have been made to estimate the total quantity of gold produced throo^-
out the Archipelago, but all estimates, from the nature of things, can be no better
than conjecturea Some of the metal is consumed in the countries producing it in
trinkets ; no record of the produce ia anywhere kept, and much is clandestinely, or
at least not avowedly, exported. The produce of the western side of Borneo, by far
the largest, I have seen estimated as low as 52,000 ounces, and this by parties
reckoning the Chinese population of the same country, most of it engaged in gold
washing, ss high as 125,000. On the other hand Sir Stamford Raffles estimated the
total annual produce of the western part of Borneo as high as 225,386 ounces^ which
at the value of 82. 17a the ounce, would give a total value of 867,589i Mr. Logan
estimates the total produce of ^e Malay Peninsula at no more than 20,000 ounces.
I have never heard of anv attempt at estimating that of Sumatra, Celebes, or the two
Philippine Islands. If all of them put together yield a million sterling's worth, it
will certainly be their utmost produce, and even this will not exceed a twelfth part
of the produce of California or Australia.
Gold has, no doubt, been known in the parts of the Archipelago which now produce it
from the rudest and earliest times, and through early traffic must have soon been con-
veyed to such as do not, — ^the islands within we volcsnic band. In all the producing
countries it has a native name, and this in the Mal^ lang^iage, that of the most pro-
ductive prevails in all the non-producing ones. This name is amas, usually abbro-
viated both in speaking and writing, mas ; and it is the current one in the Javanese,
Baliy Sunda, Lomboc, and Fiona In the two first of these tongues there are two
Sanscrit synonyms, kanohana and rukmi, but they belong to the polite and recondite
dialecta In tiie language of the Bugis, whose country produces gold, we find a
native word, ulawang, and this is again the case in the language of the 'INu;ala8 of the
FIdlippines, where we have the indigenous name balituk, while in the language of
the volcanic Biaaya Islands we find the word bulawang, most probably a corruption
of the Bugis word.
GOLD 145 GORONGTALO
Gold has never been coined for money in any part of the Archipelago, except
Achin, where there is a small coin of it worth about 1«. 2d. called a mas, after the
Malay name of the metal. Gold-duat has been, however, used as a medium of
exchange, and occasionally is so still. The natives have even an empirical skill in
the art of assaying gold. This however they have acquired from the T&lugu settlers, as
may be seen by Uie name and character of the scale, called mutu, and divided into
10 degrees, the fineness being ascertained by the touchstone. A small colony, indeed,
of this people still professing HinduiBm, and whose special cidLbg it is to assay gold,
still exists in Malacca.
Gold ornaments of considerable beauty are made by most of the civilised nations
of the Archipelaga The neck chains of Manilla are examples of very delicate work-
manship, and the filagree work of the Malays of Sumatra is still more remarkable.
In all these cases what is most striking is the beauty of the work compared with the
rudeness and simplicity of the workmen and their tools.
GOLO. The name of an island forming part of the provinoe of Batangas, in the
island of Luson. It is about three leagues in length, and half a league in breadth,
mountainous, but thickly inhabited, its coast is surrounded by rocks and shoals,
and very difficult of access.
GOMUTI. The palm (Borassos gomuti), to which Europeans have given this
name, derived from one of its products, is one of importance, second only to that
of the coco in the rural economy of the Asiatic Archipelago, ^m one extremity
of it to the other. It takes the place of the Tal or Borassus flabelliformis of
the continent of India. It is readily distinguished from other palms by its thick,
rough, and wild aspect Its favourite locality is the dry uplands of the interior, and
not like that of the coco<palm, the vicinity of the sea. Its chief and most valuable
product is its sap, obtained by bruising and cutting the inflorescence. From this
liquid, and not from the juice of the cane, is made nearly all the sugar consumed by
the natives, while the sap itself, which runs rapidly to the vinous fermentation, is
their chief intoxicating beverage. The sap, however, is not the only product of this
palm which is put to use. Between the trunk and the fronds there are found three
difierent useful materials, a black horse^hair-like substance, which makes the best
cordage of the western islands of the Archipelago, — a fine cottony substance, which
makes the best tinder and is exported for this purpose, and strong stiff spines, from
which are made the pens of all the nations that write on paper, with the arrows for
the blow-pipe of the rude tribes that still use this weapon. The pith furnishes a
sago, although an inferior one. The seeds have been made into a confection, while
their pulpy envelope abounds in a poisonous juice, a strong infusion of them being
used in the barbarian wars of the natives. This is the fluid to which the Dutch gave
the appropriate name of ** hell-water."
The Gomuti palm appears to be a peculiar product of the Asiatic Archipelago, but
of many parts of it. This is to be inferred from its having a distinct name in each
language, and all its names being native ones. Thus, in Malay, the name is anau, in
Javanese, aren ; in Amboynese, nawa ; in Macassar, monchono ; and in Mandar, akel.
It is the palm which the Portuguese have called sagwlre, and the Spaniards saguran,
both words probably derivatives from saga The difierent parts of the tree have also
their separate native names in each language : gomuti, the name of the species
adopted by botanists, is the name in Malay for the material of the cordage above
mentioned, and not of the tree itself.
GOOSE. The goose has been domesticated, although in very scanty numbers,
in the western islands of the Archipelago. Here there exists no wild species, and
f^m this circumstance, and its Sanscrit name angsa, sometimes corrupted gangsa,
there can be little doubt of its ori^n being Hindu. It has been stated that the goose
will not breed or even lay eggs in Manilla and its neighbourhood. This is, I believe,
an undoubted fiict, but no reason has been assigned for it, and it is singular that
such should be the case when all other kinds of poultry thrive to a remarkable
degree. A similar fact has been observed with respect to the turkey in Singapore.
It will not only not multiply but even live in that island, although hardy and prolific
in Java and the Philippines.
OORONGTALO. The name of a country on the southern side of the northern
peninsula of Celebes, and of the gulf which lies between that peninsula and the
eastern. (See Cju.EBn and Mbmdano).
L
GRESSIE 146 GUADALUPE
GRESSIE. In Javanese correctly GSirsik, that is, ** dry land " or firm land,
distinguished from muddy or marshy, is the name of a district of the province of
Surahaya, in Java. It lies along the shore of the narrow strait which divides Java
from Madura, towards the western end of the latter. The Solo river, the principal one
of Java, disembogues within it. Gressie is remarkable for its production of bay-salt,
its sea-fishery, with its stews or fish-ponds, the property of the government^ and the
source of a considerable public revenue. It was in Gressie that the Mahommedan
strangers who eventually overthrew the ancient religion of Java, first established
themselves in the 14th century, and the tomb of one of these apostles of Islam, who
died in 1S91, is still pointed out Gressie was the first spot of Java seen and visited
by the Portuguese, Antonio d'Abreu, the European discoverer of the Molaocasy
having touched at it on his way to these islands in 1511, although in the Portuguese
orthography of De Barros, it is hardly recognisable in the strange corruption of
Aga9im.
GROBOGAN. The name of a district of the province of Japara, in Java. This
inland district and the neighbouring one of Blora, contain some of the finest teak
forests of the island, but the most remarkable thing connected with Grobogan is its
brine springs, which yield a considerable supply of culinary salt. These are found
in that portion of the district which consists of lime-stone. They are thus described
by my friend, Dr. Horsfield : ^ These wells are dispersed through a district of country
several miles in circumference, the base of which, like that of other parts of the
island which furnish mineral and other saline waters, is lime-stone. They are of
considerable number, and force themselves upwards through apertures in the rocks,
with some violence and ebullition. The waters are strongly impregnated with
sea^t, and yield upon evaporation very good salt for culinary purposes, in quantity
not less than 200 tons a-year. About the centre of this lime-stone district is found
an extraordinary volcanic phenomenon. On approaching it from a distance, it is first
discovered by large volumes of smoke rising and disappearing, at intervals of a few
seconds, resembling the vapours arising from a violent surf; while a dull noise is
heard like that of distant thunder. Having advanced so near that the vision is no
longer impeded by the smoke, a large hemispherical mass is observed, connsting of
black earth, mixed with water, about sixteen feet in diameter, rising to the height of
twenty or thirty feet in a perfectly regular manner, and, as it were, pushed up by a
force beneath, which suddenly explodes with a dull noise, and scatters about a
volume of black mud in every direction. After an interval of two or three, or
sometimes four or five seconds, the hemispherical body of mud or earth rises and
explodes again. In the same manner this volcanic ebullition goes on without inter-
ruption, throwing up a globular body of mud, and dispersing it with violence through
the neighbouring plain. The spot where the ebullition occurs is nearly circular, and
perfectly level. It b covered only with the earthv particles impregnated with salt
water which are thrown up from below. Its circumference may be estimated at about
half an English mile. In order to conduct the salt water to the circumference, small
passages or gutters are made in the loose muddy earth, which convey it to the borders,
where it is collected in holes dug in the ground for the purpose of evaporation. A
strong, pungent, sulphurous smell, somewhat resembling that of earth-oil, is per-
ceived on standing near the explosion, and the mud recently thrown up possesses a
degree of heat greater than that of the surrounding atmosphere. During the rainy
season, these explosions are more violent, the mud is thrown up much higher, and
the noise is heard at a greater distance. This volcanic phenomenon is situated near
the centre of the large plain, and the large series of volcanos, and owes its origin to
the general cause of the numerous volcanic eruptions which occur in the island." —
Transactions of the Batavian Society of Arts and Sciences, voL ix. This singular
phenomenon is known to the Javanese under the name of Kuwu, as is also the
village of salt-makers near it. In Javanese the word simply means '' place of abode,
or residence." But in Javanese legend the eruption is supposed to be produced by
a fabulous monster snake, of which the place is edleged to be the dwelling. Gtrobogan
was also the seat of an ancient Javanese kingdom.
GUADALUPE. The name of a monastery and sanctuary of the island of Luzon,
about two leagues south-east of the city of Manilla, and situated on the summit of a
high rock on the left bank of the nver Paaig. Its height is such that it takes
several hundred steps of a stair cut in the rock to reach it. The monastery and the
church which belongs to it were built as early as 1601, and are under the direction of
the shod Augustine friars. The view from the top is one of the most extensive in
GUAVA 147 HAROEKOE
the Philippine islanda, embracing the whole metropolitan province of Tondo, with
the city and spacious bay of Manilla. The climate has such a reputation for salubrity
that many convalescents repair to it. The sanctuary is dedicated to Saint Nicolas,
and on the 10th day of September, his birth-day, vast crowds repair to it to pay
their devotions and make offerings at his shrine. Among these votaries the most
remarkable are the heathen Chinese of Manilla. With this people the saint has
obtained the reputation of being the special protector of merchants and mariners.
On his anniversary, the river Pasig is covered with their noisy procession on the way
to make offerings, and to purchase pictures of Saint Nicolas, one of which is possessed
by every infidel Chinese in Manilla, placed side by side, say the Spanish clei^, with
those of Confucius.
GUAYA. Several species of the genus Psidinm yield this fruit, a native of
tropical South America, and most probably brought by the Portuguese from Brazil.
This hardy and easily-reared fruit, little prized by natives or Europeans, is to be
found in every part of the Archipelago, even growing wild in the jungles. The
Malays, in their rough botanical arrangement, class it with the jambu, odling one
species of it jambu-biji, the seedy jambu; another jambu china, or the Chinese
jambu ; and a third jambu-bol, the meaning of which i am unacquainted with.
GUIMANES. The name of one of the wild tribes of the island of Luzon, of the
brown-complexioned race, inhabiting the Great Cordillera, between the provinces of
South Ilocos and Abra. They are represented as being among the most savage of
the wild races, living in the recesses of the mountains, and descending from them
only to commit depredations on their more civilised, but still infidel neighbours, the
Tinguianes*
GUIMAEAS. The name of a considerable island of the Philippines, lying in the
channel between the large islands of Panay and Negros, and forming a part of the
province of Iloilo in the first. It is about 27 geographical miles in length, and 10
in breadth, and has an area of 210 square geographical miles. It is four leagues
distant from Negros, and three-quarters of a league from Panay. Quimaras is
mountainous, — contains forests of useful timber, and its soil is fertilised by many
streams. Its productions are rice, maiz, the coco-nut palm, cacoa, tobacco, cotton,
and abaca. The inhabitants manufiacture coarse and fine cloths, and besides their
agricultural labours, find employment in hunting and fishing. On the western
side of the island there is a town of 994 houses,or rather Indian huts, and the total
popiUation is 6964, paying a tribute of 9885 reals of plate.
GUN and GUNPOWDER. See Abms.
GUNTUB (Gunuvg) is the name of a mountain of Java, in the country of the
Sundas, and district of Bandung, having an active volcano. It rises to the height
of 7000 feet above the level of the sea, and 5000 above the plain of Bandung. The
name signifies ** Thunder-mountain," no doubt derived from its eruptions.
GUNUNG. This is the Javanese word for mountain, the corresponding Malay
one being bukit It has, however, been introduced into many limguages of the
Archipelago. It is always prefixed to the names of considerable mountains, and
indeed, forms an integral port of the name of most of them, as Gunung-g&d^, the
name of a mountain in Java, signifying ** gpreat mountain," and Gunung-agung, the
name of the highest mountain of Bali, meaning " chief or principal mountain."
GUNUNG- API, literally "fire-mountain," is the usual name for a volcano,
but is also the proper name of some islets with active volcanos, as of one at the
eastern end of Sumbawa, and of another in the Banda group. The first of these,
which has an elevation of 5800 feet, is inhabited, and famous for horses of the best
blood of the Archipelago. The last has a height of 2500 feet above the sea, and is
celebrated for its frequent and formidable eruptions.
H.
HALMAHEEA. See AxHAHESii.
HARAFORA. See Axfoba.
HAROEKOE or HARUKU, called also OMA and BUWANG-BASI (iron-ejecting),
is the name of one of the islands of the Amboyna group, and lies between the main
island Ambun and Saporoewa, in south latitude 8 40', and east longitude 128'' 83',
L 2
HEMP 148 HINDU
haying a length of twelve and a breadth of eight leaguea Like the rest of the group,
it IB of Plutonic formation. It has twelve yillages, with a total population of 5000
inhabitants, nearly all protestant Christians.
HEMP. The Indian yariety of the Cannabis satiya has been introduoed into a
few parts of the Arohipelago, where there are settlers from the Continent of India. It
is not cultiyated for its fibre, but for its intoxicating juice, the Bang of the Hindufiy
and the Hashashin of the Anbs, the last being the supposed origin of the European
word Assassin. It was not the Arabs, however, who made the people of the Archipelago
acquainted with this plant, but the Tftlugus, or Telingas, as its native name Qanja
demonstrates. The earliest account of hemp as a product of the Archipelago is by
the observant Dampier, who saw it at Achin, in 1688. "They have here,*' says he,
" a sort of herb or plant called Qanga or Bang. I never saw it but once, and that was
at some distance from me. It appeared to me like hemp, and I thought it had been
hemp, till I was told to the contrary. It is reported of this plant that if it be infused
in any liquor, it will stupify the brains of any man that drinks thereof. But it
operates diversely, according to the constitution of the person. Some it makes sleepy,
some merry, putting them into a laughing fit, and others it makes mad ; but after
two or three hours they come to themselves again. I never saw the efifects of it on
any person, but have heard much discourse of it." — ^Vol. ii. p. 126. Although this
account ii chiefly from hearsay, nothing can be more faithful in so &r as reganls the
effect of the hemp juice on the nerves. The natives of the country have not taken
to the use of the intoxicating sap of this plant, and its consumption is almost wholly
confined to strangers and settlers from India, Persia, and Arabia.
HINDU— HINDUSTAN. These are words hardly known to the natives of the
Indian Islands. The name by which the people of India, without reference to their
faith, is known to them, is that of the nation with which they have immemorially
had most intercourse, the T&lugu, whom they call KAling. For Hindustan, or the
country of the Hindus, they prefix the word for land or country of this nation, as in
Malay, Tanah E&ling, and in Javanese, either this or Siti K&ling, from the Sanskrit,
having the same import. The name K41inga» with the elision of the final vowel, it
deserves notice, is the Sanskrit name of the northern part of the Coromandel coast»
and, as my friend Professor Wilson informs me, the Calmgarum Regie of the Romans.
Frequently, however, the Indian islanders refer to the country of the Hindus under
the appellation of ''the country across the water'* — Tsnahnsabrang, an expression
similar to the Italian Tramontana — ^beyond the mountaios — applied to the oountriea
of Northern Europe.
The time and manner in which the Hindu religion was first introduced into the
Indian islands is, to say the least, a matter of very great curiosity. Without doubt
the monsoons had a very large share in bringing about tlus event. Favoured by
these, the timid Hindus could early accomplish voyages of a length impracticable to
their more intrepid and adventurous contemporaries of Greece and Italy. It is pro-
bable that they were performing, with ease and safety, voyages from the Coromandel
coast to Sumatra and Java, when Uie Qreeks found a voyage to the eastern coast of
the Euxine an adventure of hazard and difficulty, although not of one>half the
length. The trade which the Hindus would conduct in the Malay Archipelago^
under the auspices of the monsoons, would naturally lead in time to partial settle-
ment, and, of ooursci to an acquaintance with the manners and languages of the
people among whom they settled. The introduction of the Hindu religion would
follow, and with it its indispensable concomitants, the Sanskrit language and litera-
ture. The Hindus who effected this were, no doubt, the most active, intelligent^ and
enterprising nation of the Coromandel coast, the T&lugus, well known to Europeans
as Qentoos and Chuliahs, and to the Malays and Javanese, as E&lings or EQings, aa
already stated. These are the only people of Hindustan who at present carry on a
regular trade with the Indian islands, or who, indeed, in any time, are known to have
carried on such an intercourse. The intelligent Barbosa, who describes Malacca before
its conquest by the Portuguese, in 1511, represents this class of traders very much as
we at present find them, only more important firom the absence of the competition of
Europeans. "There are here/' says he, "many great merchants. Moor as well aa
G^Qtile strangers, but chiefiy of the Chetis, who are of the Coromandel coast, and have
huxe ships which they call giunchi*' (junks). — ^Libro de Odoardo Barbosa. Ramusio,
Vol. i. p. 318. The word Cneti, here supposed to be the name of the nation, is, in
fact, onlv the T&lugu and Tamil corruptions of Chetbi, a trader, itself a corruption of
the Sanskrit Sreshti, having the same signification. It is, moreover, the same word
HINDU 149 HINDU
which we have ourselTea written Set, well known in our early Indian history. The
trade thus alluded to by Barbosa has gone on for the period of nearly three centuries
and a-half since he wrote, and most probably had been carried on for many ages
before it. It was in fact, the second stiEige of that tedious transit which brought the
clove and nutmeg to Western Europe, the first being the home trade of the Malays
and Javanese, which brought them from the eastern to the western ports of the
Archipelago.
Neither the Malays, the Javanese, nor the T&lugus have any record of the time or
manner in which this commercial intercourse commenced, any more than the ancient
Britons had of their trade in tin with the Carthaginians. Circumstantial evidence,
therefore, is all that is available on the subject^ and even the amount of this is but
scanty. When Europeans first visited the Archipelago, they found the Malays and
Javanese carrying on what may be called its internal carrying trade, acting, in fact,
the same part which is now in a great measure perfonned by the principal nation of
Celebes. They collected the native products of the Archipelago, and conveved them
to the emporia of the west, where they bartered them with the traders of western
Asia, for the manufactures and produce of Hindustan, Persia, and Arabia. They,
themselves, however, it is certain, never went, any more than they do at the present
day, beyond the limits of their own waters. Barbosa enumerates the commodities
which Uie Malays and Javanese brought to Malacca, then, probably, the most consider-
able emporium of the Archipelago. They consisted of camphor, aloes-wood, benzoin
or frankincense, black pepper, cubeb pepper, the dove and nutmeg, honey, bees-wax,
gold, tin, and slaves. He adds, that the native vessels which sailed from Malacca went
as fiu* as Timur and the Moluccas, in quest of those articles, touching at various inters
mediate places for trade. Such, then was the state of the internal trade of the
Archipelago when the islands were first seen by Europeans, and such, to all appear-
ance, it had been for many ages. It is remarkaole that several of the most distin-
guishing products of the Anmipelago are known, and this, too, oven in many cases to
the natives themselves, by names which are obviously Sanskrit. Thus, camphor is
kapur, from karpura ; aloes-wood or eagle-wood, garu, from aguru ; the nutmeg,
pafa, abbreviated and corrupted from jatipahla; the clove, in Javanese, gomeda, from
gomehda, meaning " cow's marrow ; " and black pepper, maricha, which is unaltered.
From this it is to be inferred that it was the trade of the Hindus that first gave
importance to these commodities, none of which are, even in the present day, much
esteemed by the natives themselves, considered as articles of consumption. Thus,
the clove and nutmeg, as Rumphius long ago observed, are not used as condiments
in the Molucca and Buida islands, and black pepper is hardly more so by the natives
of Sumatra.
In the Javanese chronologies the Hindu religion is alleged to have been introduced
into their island by an Indian king, whom they call Aji Saka. This is a pure myth,
for the name of the personage thus referred to is Sanscrit, the first part of it signify-
ing king, and the last being one of the names of Salivsna, who introduced an era
prevalent in the South of India, which goes by his naftie. In fixing the commence-
ment of this era, there is a discrepancy of one year between the T&lugu and Tamil
nations, the first making it 78, and the last 79 years after Christ. It is the first of
these that was adopted by the insular Hindus, and which continues to exist in the
island of Bali up to the present time, and does so also in Java nominally, although in
that island lunar having been substituted for solar time, in the year of our time, 1633,
the time no longer corresponds with the originaL This fact determines the introduo-
tion of the era of Saka to the T&lugus, the people whom I suppose to have introduced
Hinduism into the islands. We may add to this the adoption by the Malay and
Javanese of the name of the T&lugu nation for the whole country of the Hindus.
In order to be able to form a reasonable conjecture respecting the time in which
the intercourse of the Hindus with the Archipelago commenced, and the Hindu
religion was introduced into it, we must have recourse to circumstantial evidence of
a different description. Among the commodities which the Malays and Javanese
brought to the emporia of the western parts of the Archipelago, to barter with the
foreign traders that resorted to them, the only two not liable to be confounded with
similar products of other parts of the east, are the clove and nutmeg. These, it is
known, are not mentioned in the minute list of merchandise given m the Feriplus
of the Erythrsean Sea, thought to have been written in the sixty -third year of Christ.
Neither are they named by Pliny, who wrote about the same time. Down, therefore,
to the first century after Christ, the clove and nutmeg were unknown in Europe, and
if known even in the markets of Western India, they would not have been enumerated
HINDU 160 HINDU
in the Periplus. Little more than a hundred years later, however, we find them
enumerated in the Digest of the Roman Laws. At this time, then, the Hindus must
have been carrying on a commercial intercourse with the Archipelago, for thej were
the second link in the chain of transport by which the clove and nutmeg were
conveyed, and there is no other apparent means by which the native products of the
remote Molucca and Banda Islands could have reached the Western world. In so far,
then, as the dove and nutmeg are concerned, the Hindu intercourse with the Archi-
pelago may be said to have existed for at least seventeen centuries. But it may have
existed, and most probably did exist, much earlier; for besides the clove and nutmeg,
the Malayan Archipelago produces several other commodities much in demand in the
country of the Hindus, such as benzoin or fivnkincense, camphor, oubeb pepper, gold and
tin, none of which are yielded by any part of Hindustan. Tin, in particular, is one which
they could hardly have obtained from any other quarter, and which, as we now under-
stand the state of society among the Hindus, they could hardly have dispensed with.
It may be objected to the hypothesis of the Tftlugus being the people who intro-
duced the Hindu religion and its language into the Archipelago, that if such had
been the case, Sanscrit would have found its way into the vernacular languages along
with the idiom of the T&lugus, and not in the state of comparative purity in which we
find it. But if it came in with, and had been intermixed with that language, such a
hct would have implied either a conquest by the T&lugu nation and an extensive
settlement ; and of this there is certaiDly no trace. It is not true^ however, that no
T&lugu words are found in Malay or Javanese, for there is a considerable number
co-extensive vrith the influence exercised by this people, — some pure TAlugu, and
others Sanscrit^ bearing evidence of their having passed through the medium of that
language. The settlers, few in number, would naturally have acquired the language of
the natives, but religion would be taught in the sacred tongue.
The Hindu religion and Sanscrit language were, in all probability earliest intro-
duced in the western part of Sumatra^ the nearest portion of the Archipelsgo to the
continent of India. Java, however, became eventually the favourite abode of Hin-
duism, and its language the chief recipient of Sanscrit. Through the Malays and
Javanese, Sanscrit, with some tints of the Hindu religion, appears to have been
disseminated among the other nations of the Archipelago, extending even to those of
the Philippines. This is to be inferred from the greater amount of Sanscrit in the
Malay and Javanese than in the other tongues, especially in the Javanese, — ^from the
Sanscrit existing in greater purity in Malay and Javanese, and from the errors of
these two languages, both in sense and orthography, having been copied in all the
other tongues. An approximation to the proportions of Sanscrit existing in some of the
principal languages of the islands will show that the amount is constantly diminishing
as we recede from Sumatra and Java, until all vestige of it disappears in the Poly-
nesian dialects. In the ordinary written language of Java the proportion is about
110 in a 1000 ; in Malay, about 50 ; in Sunda, about 40 ; in the Bugis of the Celebes,
about 17; and in the T&gala of the Philippines, about 1}. To show the superior
purity of the Sanscrit, as it exists in Malay and Javanese, and the adoption of the
errors of these two languages by the others, I shall adduce a few example& Kut'a is
a wall or a house in Sanscrit ; but in Malay and Javanese, it is a fortress, and so it is
in every other language of the Malay and Philippine Archipelagos. Sutra, in Sanscrit,
is a thread; but in Malay, Javanese, and all the other tongues, it signifies silk.
Avatara, in Sanscrit, is a descent, or a coming down ; but in Malay and Javanese, it
signifies a principal Hindu deity, and so it does in all the other languages. This
word, in Malay and Javanese, is corrupted into bat'ara, written with a palatal f. In
the other tongues the Us a dental, and in the language of the Philippines we have
an I for it; so that the word becomes batala. In Sanscrit, the word laksa is a
hundred thousand ; but in Malay and Javanese, followed by all the other languages,
it is ten thousand. Tapas, in Sanscrit, signifies ascetic devotion, and has the same
sense in all the insular lan^ages : but tJbe Malays and Javanese elide the sibilant^
making the word tapa, and in Siis they -are followed by all the other languages. Quda
is sugar ; ghura, a horse ; tamraka, copper ; and karpasa, cotton, in Sanscrit : but in
Malay and Javanese, followed by the other tongues, they become gula, kuda, tsm b aga»
and kapas. Sanscrit words are found in greatest purity in Javanese, and, next to it, in
Malay; corruption increasing as we recede from Java and Siunatra. The word wartta,
news or intelligence, in Sanscrit, is in Javanese warta; in Malay, b&rita; and in Tagala
balita. The Sanscrit swarga, heaven, is the same in Javanese ; in Malay, sux^ga ; and in
Bugis, suruga. Charitra, a narration, is written correctly in Javanese ; but in Bialay,
it becomes diarita ; and in the Tagala of the Philippines^ salita. See History.
HISTORY 161 HISTORY
HISTORY. In the sense of a rational narratdye of publio events, history is a
species of oompoeition unknown to the most ciyilised nations of the Asiatic Archipelago.
They may, indeed, be said to have no more idea of it than they have of the mechanism
and construction of the steam engine. The nearest approach to a chronicle of events
is made by the JaTanese, in the writings which they called babad, s&jarah, and pak&m ;
the first of these words signifying, literally, the hewing or cutting down of a forest.
Narratives of this description are all in verse, and have all, more or less of the cast of
romance, their object being to amuse and not to instruct. They are hardly to be
relied on beyond the era of the convereion of the principal nations of Java to the
Mahommedan religion, the year of our time, 1478. The Javanese possess, however,
bald chronological lists of events, which go as far back as the era of Saka or Salivana,
corresponding to the year 78 of Christ. These are incontestable fabrications, often
differing widely from each other, and containing gaps of whole centuries.
The presence of the Hindus in Java, and to a loss extent in Sumatra, is attested by
the remains of temples, and by inscriptions on stone and brass, and some of these
contain real dates in figures ; for the most part, however, going no further back than
the 13th century of our time. These monuments include many inscriptions, con-
taining a considerable infusion of the language of the Hindus, and even the modem
language contains from 10 to 12 words of Sanscrit in every 100 ; and these facts point
to an intercourse with the Hindus of an antiquity £sir beyond what actual dates will
carry us.
It was through the medium of commerce that the Hindus found their way into the
Archipelago ; and a few incidental facts can be adduced to show that thia intercourse
must nave been of considerable antiquity, although it is impossible to determine how
or when it originated. In its character it did not, probably, differ greatly for several
centuries from what it was when the Portuguese first arrived in India, towards the
end of the 15th century. The commodities peculiar to the Malay Archipelago, which
were at this time found at the emporia of the western coast of India were, benzoin,
nutmegB, cloves, cubeb pepper — perhaps Malay camphor, and tin. If benzoin was
the Malabathrum of the ancients, this peculiarly Malayan product is named in the
Periplus of the Erythroan Sea as an article found at the emporia of Malabar, about 68
years after the birth of Chiist ; and thus we have evidence of a trade between India
and the Malay Archipelago, nearly 15 centiuies before the arrival of the Portuguese
in the waters of the latter.
The question as respects the article of tin is, however, of a more decisive character.
This is stated in the Periplus to have been an article of export at two of the emporia
of Western India, and to have been brought to these from countries further east, —
that IB, not to have been local products. India now, and at all known times, has
been supplied with tin from the Malayan countries only. It has no tin of its own.
nor do any of the countries in its immediate neighbourhood furnish it. The tin,
referred to could, therefore, be no other than Malayan, imported most probably into
the emporia of the Coromandel coast, and conveyed by land to those of Malabar, to
be from thence carried to Western Asia and Egypt. This fact, then, proves the
existence of a commercial intercourse between India and the tin-producing countries
of the Archipelago in the first century of the Christian era.
But we can go much further back by means of the same commodity. The ancient
Egyptians used tin some 15 centuries before the Christian era, as is shown by their tools
uid implements of bronze, which are known to be of this antiquity ; and Sir Qardner
Wilkinson is reasonably of opinion that this tin was far more likely to have been Indian
— ^that is, Malay — than British or Iberian. This commodity would be received by the
traders of the western ports of Malabar ; so that we have here by this single link the
indication of a direct trade between the Malay countries and India, and of an indirect
intercourse between them and Egypt of three-and-thirty oentiuriee standing.
The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea names another, although not a peculiar
product of the Malayan Archipelago, as being found at the emporia of Malabar.
This is tortoise-shell, which, although the produce also of other parts of India, is
produced in largest quantity and of the best quality in the Archipelago. The
Periplus states the article to be brought from Khrus4 or the Gk)lden Islands. This
would apply to Sumatra and the Peninsula, which produce gold, but could not well
refer to the Maldive or Laccadive Islands, as some have supposed, since neither of
these yield gold ; and are, in fact, little better than coral banks.
As before observed the clove and nutmeg are not named in the Periplus of the
£Irythroan Sea, as among the conunoditiee found at the emporia of the western
coast of India. This may, however, refer to their not being articles dealt in by the
HOG 162 HOG
-western nutioDB ; but does not preclude their haying been used in the first century
as condiments by the Hindus, although their presence even for this poipose is
doubtfuL
The annals of the Malay nation are still more barren than those of the Javanese.
The very names by which their histories are known proclaim their character, and
indicate the light in which the people themselves view them. These are, either the
Sanscrit word, charitra, or the Arabic, hakayat, both of which signify story, tale, or
romance. Until they adopted the Mahommedan religion, the Malays bad no era, and
reckoned time only by the duration of the reigns of their very obscure princes, not
one of whom has left a name deserving of remembrance by posterity. Bespecting
their intercourse with the Hindus, we possess no recorded &ct whatever. The
earliest date that can be quoted for their intercourse^ even with the Arabs, ia the
period of the conversion of the Acbinese of Sumatra, and this corresponds to the year
1204 of our time. No doubt, however, their mere commercial intercourse was far
earlier, and will probably go as far back as the first establishment of the Arabs in
Egypty and the coasts of the Arabian and Persian Gulf, which would correspond with
the seventh and eighth centuries.
HOG. One or more species of hog exists, in the wild state, in every great island
of the Asiatic Archipelago, from Sumatra and the peninsula to New Guinea and
Luzon, and in many, also, of the smaller. Thus, there are abundance of hogs, even
in so inconsiderable an island as Singapore. There is, at least, one species in great
plenty in the Malay peninsula, three in Sumatra, two in Java, two in Celebes and in
some of the smaller islands east of it, including the Babirusa, literally, the " hog-
deer." In Java and Sumatra there exist the Sub vittatus and the Sns verrucosus, and
in the last of these a third species, not yet named by naturalists. In Borneo, there
is a fourth species, the Sus barbatus. All the Philippine islands, also, abound in wild
hogs, although the particular species has not been described. The hog, too, exists
in the domestic state in the Philippine islands, and in the Hindu islands of Bali and
Lamboc, where tbey are used for food, and in the islands of which the inhabitants
have embraced Mahommedanism, they are found, like the dog, in the semi-domestic
state, acting as scavengers.
All the wild bogs that I have seen are small animals, compared with the wild boar
of Europe, or even with that of continental India. The Sus verrucosus, so called
from the fleshy excrescence on the sides of the cheeks, has a grotesque and a formid-
able appearance, but is in reality a timid animal. The number of them in Java is
immense, and in passing along the highway, in particular districts, scores of them
are to be seen. I lately read in a Java newspaper an account of a two days' hunt,
and the number killed was 1760, chiefly, I believe, taken in nets or destroyed by
poison. At particular seasons the crops of rice and sugar-cane have to be watched
all night against their depredations. Tlieir habits appear to differ in some respects
from those of the European and Indian wild hog, for they come frequently to the
sea-shore to feed on crabs, and they will greedily devour carrion.
Whether any of the wild species be the origin of the domesticated hog of the
Archipelago is a question not easily solved. The popular names for the hog are all
native words. The most frequent of them is babi, which, with slight mod&cations,
is found in many languages from the peninsula and Sumatra to Timur and the
Philippines. This name, I have no doubt, belongs to the Malay language^ which has
no other. It ia not, however, the only name in other languages of the Archipelago.
The Javanese have a popular name of their own, cheleng, besides flve synonyms,
namely, the Malay name, two belonging to the polite dialect, and three to the recondite
one. The three last are Sanscrit, dftrwila, wijung, and sukara. Those for the polite
dialect have evidently been framed after the adoption of the Mahommedan religion.
They are chAm&ngan and andapan, "the black object," and " the low or mean object.**
The Sundas of Java have also a name for the hog distinct from the Malay one, badil,
and in the lan^^uage of End^ in Flores, there is also a native name, la. Indeed, the
great probability is, that all the languages had originally a native name for an animal
eo widely difiused, and so useful, until superseded by the Malay one. In most of the
languages the name of the domestic and wild hogs is the same, the first only having
such words as utan and alas annexed, making ''hog of the forest." The languages of
the Philippines, however, are an exception, for in these the wild hog has a distinct
name from the tame. Thus in the Tagala, while the domestic has the Malay name, the
wild is called pagil, a native word. From the prevalence of the Malay name, it may
fairly be inferred, that the domestic hog was disseminated by the Malays over the
HONEY 163 HORSE
Lilanda remote from their own parent country, Sumatra. This name, however, will
not account for the existence of the domestic hog beyond the limits of the Archi-
pelago, and in countries to which the Malayan languages have reached, for it is not to
be found in the Polynesian or Madagascar languages. It should be noticed that the
flesh of the hog must have formed a principal part of the animal food of the nations
and tribes of the Archipelago before the conversion to Mahommedanism. It did so
with the people of the Philippine islands on the arrival of the Spaniards, and it does
so still with all the rude tribes, and even with the Hmdus of Bali and Lomboc.
HONEY and WAX. Honey is found in every country of the Archipelago, the
produce of wild bees, which make their hives in the crevices of trees, but no species
of bee has ever been domesticated, which would probably be difficult or impracticable
in countries which have no distinction of summer and winter, — ^where every season
produces flowers, and where, consequently, there is no necessity for laying up a large
Btoro of food. The honey of the Archipelago is a thin syrup, very inferior in flavour
to that of temperate climates. It is chiefly sought on account of the wax, which
forms a large article of exportation to Europe, India, and China. In Malay, the
honey-bee has a specific name, lAbah : so has the wax, lilin, and the hive, tuwalan.
The native name for honey is manisan-Ubah, " the sweet of the honey-bee^" but the
Sanscrit name madu is of more frequent use.
HONGOTES. The name of a wild tribe of the island of Lnzon, inhabiting the
Cordillera, chiefly within the province of Nueva Ecija. They are of the brown-
complexioned, lank-haired race, like the majority of the Philippine islanders, but
described physically, as short of stature and weakly, — mischievous and predatory
in their manners, and using their poisoned arrows with a skill only inferior to that
of the Negritos.
HORSE. The horse has been immemorially domesticated by most of the more
advanced nations of the Malay Archipelago, wherever it could be made use ot The
chief exceptions are the Malay peniDsula, the eastern sea-board of Sumatra, and nearly
the whole of Borneo, countries in which the people dwell on the marshy banks of
rivers, in which there is not even a bridle-path, and fit, therefore, only for the boat
and the bufialo. The native horse is always a mere pony, seldom reaching 13 hands
high, and more generally of about 12 hands. There are many diflerent breeds, every
island having at least one peculiar to itself, and the large islands, several. Beginning
with Sumatra, we have here at least two distinct races, — the Achin and Batubara, both
small and spirited, but better adapted to draught than the saddle. Of all the coun-
tries of the Archipelago, Java is that in which the horse most aboimds, and here we
find several different breeds, as those of the hill countries, and those of the plains.
Generally, the Java horse is lietrger than that of Sumatra, but in the language of the
turf has less blood and bottom. The lowland horses, the great majority, are somewhat
coarse and sluggish, but the upland spirited, smaller, and handsomer. According to
the statistics of the KeUierland government, the total number of horses in the island
in 1842 was 291,578, and at present probably exceed 300,000. The horse, although
of a very inferior breed, is found in the islands of Bali and Lomboc, but the next
island to these eastward, Sumbawa, produces the handsomest breeds of the whole
Archipelago. They are the Arab of the Archipelago, yet the blood is not the same
as the Arab, for the small horse of Sumbawa, although very handsome, wants the fine
coat and the blood head of the Arabian. There are in this island, and adjacent islets,
three different i-aces, that of Tambora, of Bima, and of Gunung-api, the last being most
esteemed. Next to Java, horses are most abundant in Celebes. These are inferior in
beauty to those of Sumbawa, but excel all others of the Malayan portion of the Archi-
pelago, in combining the qualities of size, strength, speed, and bottom. A very
good breed is produced in Sumba, called in our maps Sandalwood Island. But
perhaps the best breed of the whole Archipelago, although still but a pony, is that
of the Philippines. It is superior in size to any of the breeds of the western
islandSy which it may owe to the superior pastures of the Philippines, and, possibly,
to a small admixture of the Spanish horses of America, although this last is, by
no means, an ascertained point.
In the Archipelago, as in other parts of the world, the colour of the horse is
Hingularly connected with quality, temper, and locality. The prevailing colour with
the horse of Achin is pye-ball, which becomes more and more rare as we proceed
eastwud. The most frequent colours of the Batak or Batubara horse are bay and
mouse. In Java, the best and the most prevailing colours are grey, bay, and mouse.
HORSE 154 H0B8E
and the worst black and ohestnut. To the last colour, indeed, the Javanese have
such an antipathy, that a chestnut horse is expressly forbidden to enter the precincts
of the royal courts, or to join in the public tournaments. In the Bima and other
ponies of Sumbawa, bays, greys, and duns, are the most frequent and most approved.
Blacks and chestnuts are rare, and a pye-ball is as rare as a black among Arabs.
Among the Malays, the highest breed of horses is designated by the name of SAm-
brani, but what that means no one can tell, and it must be concluded that it is a
purely mythical nam&
Generally, the horses of the Archipelago are hardy, surefooted, and docile. The
horses are all entire, and the mares used only to breed and as beasts of burden. By the
natives of the Archipelago the horse is only used for the saddle or to carry burdens,
and never for draught, either for plough, or wheel-carriage. To see horses drawing
a native carriage, except in imitation of Europeans, we must go to the sculptures on
ancient temples in Java, where they are thus represented. The Javanese have used
them in war, and where there were no real horses, they might have been formidable,
but against a cavalry mounted on the latter, they are of course worthless. On the
invaaiou of Java in 1811, the French government of the island had a corps mounted
on native horses, but it never thought of meeting the chaise of a squadron of British
dragoons, mounted on the large and active horses of southern Indi&L
The origin of the horse of the Malay Archipelago is as obscure as that of the same
animal in other parts of the world, America, Australia, and the islands of the Pacific
excepted. Its name in Malay, and the only one it has in that language, kuda, is a
corruption of the Sanscrit ghura, and this might lead to the belief that it was brought
originally from some Hindu country. In this case, however, we must suppose that
no other horses were brought than ponies, which is improbable, — or that the race has
degenerated as to size, which is not likely, since it has not degenerated either in spirit
or symmetry, but on the contrary is in fact superior in these respects to the conti-
nental horse. This hypothesis is made still more improbable when we find that, in
the Javanese language, the popular name for the horse, jaran, is a native word. It is
true that the Javanese has also four synonyms, but these are all foreign words. Thus,
in the polite dialect the name is kapal, which, in the T&linga language, is the name for
a ship, here probably used in a similar figurative sense to that by which the Arabs
designate the camel the ** ship of the desert." The three other synonyms are all
Sanscrit, and belong to the obsolete and recondite language, namely, turongga, waji,
and kuda, the last being the same which has become the popular name in Malay,
havinK> most probably, superseded a native one. The popular Javanese name has
extended, unchanged, to the language of the Lampungs of Sumatra, and it is found
in the Bugis of Celebes in the corrupt form of a&arang, and in the Rotti the
language of a small island adjacent to Timur, as dalan. La the other languages of
ct)untrie8 in which the horse is found, the Sanscrit name kuda prevails, and fi-om its
form evidently derived through the Malays.
In two islands only of the Archipelago is the horse found in the wild state —
Celebes and Luzon — the only ones that are known to have extensive grassy plains fit
for its pasture, and in these it is caught by the lasso and broke in as in the Llanos of
America. In such situations it is certainly far more likely to have become wild from
the domestic state than to be indigenous. In so far as Celebes is concerned this
view is rendered probable by the name being a corruption of the Javanese in one
language of that island, the Wugi, while in another, the Macassar, the horse is called
*' the buffalo of Java.'* In the Philippines it is not even alleged that the wild horses are
anything else than domesticated ones become so. In Pigafetta*s enumeration of the
domestic animals of 9^bu, he makes no mention of the horse, nor do the Spaniards
who followed Magellan allege that they foimd the horse in Luzon or any of the
other islands. In none of the languages of the Philippines, in fiict, does there exist
any native or any Asiatic name for it, the only one throughout being the Spanish
one, cavallo. The horse, then, is neither indigenous in the Philippines, nor was it
introduced like the buffalo by the Malayan nations before the arrival of the Spaniards.
But from what quarter it was brought, or at what time, it is not easy to say. Most
probably it was early introduced, and the countries from which it could be most
easily brought would be Celebes, Mindano, and the Sulu Islands. It seems probable
that the horse so introduced might have been improved by a few Spani&h horses
brought from America, but even this supposition is not necessary to account for the
superiority of the Philippine horses over those of the western and southern islandfi,
for the better pastures of the Philippines woulcf be quite sufilcient to do so. Some
Spanish writers have fancied that the horse introduced into the Philippines was
IJEN 165 ILOCOS-NORTE
Spanish, degenerated in time by the soil and climate. This hypothesis, however,
is not tenable ; for the Spanish horse, although neglected, has not degenerated at
least in size in similar latitudes and eyen worse soils in America. The theory of
degeneration as to size must, indeed, be given up, when we find that since the time
of the English occupation of Java very good full-sized horses have been bred in that
island, a much less favourable situation than Luzon.
It might at first sight be supposed that the horse may have been introduced into
the countries of the Archipelago from those parts of the continent nearest to them —
Siam and Cambodia — in which, as with themselves, small horses or "ponies only are
found. This hypothesis, however, is only plausible. Between the countries in
question and the islands of the Archipelago not much intercourse has existed at any
time, and in the peninsula, the nearest part to them, the horse does not exist at alL
Even in the parts of Siam and Cambodia, nearest the islands, the horse is not used,
and its monosfyllabio names in the languages of these countries bear no resemblance
to any of those of the insular tongues. We most come then to the conclusion that
the horse of the Asiatic Archipelago cannot be traced to any foreign stock, nor to
any native wild one now in existence. All that can safely be asserted is, that it seems
to have been tamed for many ages, and that its first domestication belongs to a time
beyond the reach of history or reasonable conjecture.
In the city of Manilla a pair of good riding horses costs from 100 to 120 dollars,
and a pair of carriage horses from 20 to 30. Of course they are much cheaper in the
provinces where they are reared. The horses of Sambawa, Celebes, and Sumba, are
largely exported to Java, to the British settlements in the Straits of Malacca, and
even as far as the Mauritius. In Batavia a good Bima or Batak horse is worth from
101. to 15^.
L
IJEN. The name of one of the highest mountains of Jaya, rising to the height of
10,000 feet above the level of the sea. It is situated in the province of Bu&uwangi,
directly opposite to the island of Bali, where the strait is narrowest. It is the last
mountain of Java in an eastern direction that hajs an active volcano. The name
seems to signify " sole " or '* unique."
ILIM. The name of an island lying off the south-western end of the large
island of Mindano, in the Philippines, and parted from it by a strait about a quarter
of a league broad. It is about 9*4 geographical miles in length, and 8*4 in breadth,
with an area of 29 square geographical miles, mountainous, and naked of timber. It
forms a part of the province of Mindoro, and on its western coast it has a small town
or village of the same name.
ILOC. The name of one of the islands of the Calamianes group in the Philip-
pines, lying south of that of Linacapan, and north-east of Paragua, or the northern
portion of the great island of Palawan. It is 10 miles in length and 5 in breadth,
with a superficies of 35 square geographical miles. Iloe is mountainous, covered
with forest, and the fisheries of its coast are very productive, but that coast is sur-
rounded, especially on the western side, by many rocks and islets, which make
access to it difficult and daDgerous, and hence it is little frequented.
I LOCOS (from the Tagala word Hoc, a river). The name of an old province of
the island of Luzon, forming a considerable portion of its north-western end. It is
bounded by the sea to the west^ by the great cordillera of Caraballos to the east, and
extends from north latitude 16° 39^ to 18** 30'. This great province, conquered by
Juan Salcedo, the brother-in-law of Legaspi, the discoverer and first governor of
Luzon, was divided in 1818 into two provinces — a north and a south.
ILOCOS-NORTE, or northern Ilocos, is bounded to the east by the province
of Cagayan, to the south by Ilocos-sur, and to the west by the Chinese Sea. On the
land side it has a boundary of 83*7, and by the coast, one of 88*9 geographical miles.
It is computed to have an area of 1388 square geographical miles. Two mountain
chains pass through it, and its surface is geuerally broken and uneven. Its mountains
are covered with forest, producing valuable timber and dye-woods, among which the
sappan wood or Csesalpinia sappan is abundant. Its principal agricultural products
are rice, wheat, cotton, sesame, sugar-cane, coffee, and cacoa. Horses are largely bred
in it The climate Is moist, cloudy, and for the Philippines cold, for Reaumur's
thermometer frequently falls to 8" in winter, and hail is occasionally experienced.
ILOCOS-SUR 166 INDIGO
The province 10, however, sheltered from the severity of the north-eastern monsoon
by the high chain of the Caraballos, and therefore considered agreeable and salu-
brious. Its communications both by land and water with Manilla are stated to
be convenient. In 1818 the population was 185,748, and in 1850, 157,558, paying
a poll-tax of 815,125 reals of plate. The relative population is 112 to the square
geographical mile.
ILOCOS-SUR. The area of this proyince, one of the most fertile and popnlons of
the Philippines, is 676 square geographical miles. Its surface is broken by apurs
proceeding from the chain of Caraballos, which forms its eastern boundary, dividing
it from Abra by glens, valleys, and rivers, the last being numerous, the principal
of them being the Abra, which dlBembogues on its coast. This province has several
harbours, the safest and the best of which are Salomaque and Currimao, which have
sufficient depth of water for frigates, and are the most commodious of Luzon, north
of the bay of Manilla. Its climate is temperate, less moist than that of the northern
province, and like it sheltered from the violence of the north-eastern monsoon by
the Caraballo mountains. There is one volcano within this province, but it is probable
that some part of its formation is Plutonic, as a considerable quantity of gold is washed
from the sands of its rivers by the wild tribe — ^the Igorrotes. The mountains are
covered with an almost impenetrable forest, containing a vast supply of useful building
timber and dye-woods, and in which the wild hog and bufialo, with several deer, are
found. The bulk of the inhabitants of this and the northern province are of the same
race with the other civilised inhabitants — men with lank hair, olive complexions, large
eyes, and flat iaces. Their customs and manner of living are also generally the same, but
Iq one respect they differ from them and the other civilised inhabitants of the Philip-
pines, in living in agglomerations of huts or villages remote from the fields they
cultivate. Thus Laog, in the northern province, contains a population of above
20,000 inhabitants, while the lands they till are at a distance of two or more leaguea.
The main people of Uocos speak a peculiar language called after them, distinct from
the Tagala. although having many words in common with it. Besides this main
population Ilocos-sur contains the wild races called the Igorrotes and Tinguianes, with
a few Negritos. In 1818 its population was said to be 185,748, and in 1850 it was
192,272, paying a poll-tax of 885,175 reals of plate. In this last enumeration was
included 4354 Igorrotes, 1898 Tinguianes, 144 Negritos, 15 Chiuesei, 2118 mestiso
Chinese, 100 Spaniards, and 471 mestizo Spaniards. The relative population rises to
the high figure, for the Philippines, of 284*4 to the square geographi<»l mile.
ILOILO, called also OGTONG, one of the three proyinces into which the large
and fine island of Panay is divided, and embracing the south-eastern angle of it. Its
coast is broken by many estuaries, from which ^at high tides the sea flows into its
rivers almost to their sources. The whole area of the province on the island of
Panay is 155 leagues, and including Quimaras and some other islands which form part
of it, 185. Its population in 1849 was 821,049. The mass of its race belongs to the
Bisaya nation, so widely spread over the Philippines. But, besides, there were the
following inhabitants in 1849—15 Spaniards, 470 Spanish mestizos^ 11 Chineae, 663
Chinese mestizos, 5000 mountaineers called Mundoa, and 500 Negritos. A brisk
coasting trade is can*ied on between this province and most parts of the Philippines,
the principal export being rice, and the chief port, which bears the same name as
the province, being formed between the island of Quimaras and the main island.
See Panay.
INDIAN CORN. See MAIZ.
INDIGO. The plant generally cultivated for this dye in the Archipelago is the Indi-
gofera tinctoria, the same usually grown for the same purpose on the contiaent of India.
It issaid to be indigenous, at least in several islands, and this would seem to be confirmed
by its having everywhere a native name. This name is generally the same in all the
languages, for there can be little doubt but that the tarum of the Malay, the tom of
the Javanese, the tayum and the tayung of the Tagala and Bisaya, are one and the
same word. But the case is different with the dye or drug, for this is always called
by a foreign name, — the well-known Sanscrit one, nila, literally "blue." From these
two facts it may be at least coDJectured that the Hindus taught the inhabitants of
the Archipelago the art of extracting the dye and using it, — that the plant is
indigenous, and that the culture of it, along with the art of manufacture, were
conveyed from the western nations of the Archipelago, those nearest to the Hindus
and most in communication with them, to the more remote tribes, as in the instance
INDRA 157 IRON
of the people of the Philippiues. All the indigo manufactured by the natives of the
Archipelago is in a liquid and fetid form, and the process of drying the pure fecula
is entirely one of European introduction, conducted nowhere but in Java and the
Philippines, and then always under European or Chinese superintendence.
INDRA. The name of the Hindu god of the air, and in Malay and Javanese that
alBo of a class of aerial beings. It is found in the names of places, as in the three
subsequent examples :
INDRAGIRI, in Sansoiit, "the hill of Indra; " the name of a Malay state on the
north-eastern side of Sumatra, lying between that of Jambi and Kampar, and within
the alluyial plain which extends from the eastern slopes of the mountain chain to
the seiL The river, which has the same name, is one of the largest of Sumatra,
having its source in the mountains, and disemboguing in the Straits of Malacca,
opposite to the islands of Linga and Singkep. About the year 1252, Indragiri is said
to have been oonquered by the Javanese, and to have been afterwards made
over by them to the kings of Malacca. Very little is known respecting it, except
that it is a vast forest, with a sprinkling of inhabitants along the banks of the
river and its affluents.
INDRAMAYA, in Sansorit " the illusion of Indra ; " the name of a district on
the northern side of Java, in the country of the Sundas, and forming a part of
the modem province of Krawang. It is low, alluvial, and scantily peopled and
cultivated.
INDRAPURA, in Sansorit '' the city of Indra; " is the name of a Malay coun-
try on the western side of Sumatra, said to have been an ofihoot from the inland
kingdom of Menangkabo, and to have been once a state of some consequence, al-
though now, and for a long time, of none whatever.
INDRAPIJRA. This is also the name giyen to a mountain in the same country.
This is in south latitude 1** 2', and rises to the height of 8500 feet above the level
of the sea.
INTEREST OF MONEY : in Malay, bunga-mas, or shortly bunga ; and in
Javanese, kambang-mas, or in the polite dialect, sftkar-k&uchana. These expressions
signify " flower of gold,** that is, profit of money. By the strict letter of Mahom-
medan law, interest and usury are one and the same, and are expressly prohibited,
so that the legitimate profits of capital in gold and silver are held to be sinful. Except
by a few rigid observers of the precepts of the Koran, this foolish law is dis-
regarded by the Mahommedan inhabitants of the Archipelago.
IRON. Most of the nations of the ATohipelago,^-even many of those in a very
rude state of society, have immemorially possessed the knowledge of malleable iron,
and even of steeL How they came by it, it is impossible to imagine, but, judging
by language, the only evidence we have on the subject, the invention appears to have
been a native one, and not borrowed from any foreign people. All the names for
iron, and all those for steel, with the exception of one synonym, are native words.
The countries in which iron ore, fit for smelting, are moat abundant, are the Penin-
sula, Sumatra, and Borneo ; and those in which it is least so, Java, and the other
islands within the great volcanic band. Even at present, when abundance of foreign
iron is cheaply imported, native iron is still made in Sumatra and Borneo ; but there
is none made in Java, with a more civilised population, nor is there any evidence of
its ever having been made in that or any other of the volcanic islands. It is to be
inferred, therefore, that the process of smelting malleable iron and making steel,
must have been first discovered in the non-volcanic countries ; and among these,
Sumatra, or at least the non-volcanic part of it, in which we find the most improved
nations, would, probably, be among the earliest in which the invention would be made.
In the language of the Malays, the leading nation of that island, the name for iron is
bd-si, and it has extended to a great many of the languages of the Asiatic Archipelago,
including nearly all those within the volcanic band. Thus we have it in the Javanese
with one commutable consonant changed into another, as w&sL This is the only name
for it in this language, so frequently abounding in synonyms,excepting in the polite
dialect, where we have the fi&ctitious one, tosan, meaning the " firm or hard object*'
The Malay name, however, although very prevalent over the Archipelago, is not
the only one. In the language of the Kayan, the moat powerful and advanced
of the wild tribes of Borneo, and great manufacturers of irou, the name is ttti. Iron
ore abounds in the Philippines, and the natives, on the first discovery by Europeans,
lEON 158 IRON
were found in poaseasion of the knowledge of malleable iron. In the two principal
languages of these islands, we find, therefore, names for it distinct from the Malay
one ; for in the Tagala it is called balakal, and in the Bisaya, saLsalon. The Malay
name for steel, baja, is even more general through the Archipelago than that for iron.
In Javanese it is the only name, with the exception of a factitious one for the polite
language, which signifies "perverse or refractory." But here, as in the case of iron,
the Malay name is not the only one, for the Eayan of Borneo, and the Bisaya of the
Philippines, have national ones. With respect, however, to both iron and steel, it
is to be observed that the Malay names seem to have superseded native ones, where
the Influence of the Malays and their language have been extensivsi as in the exam-
ples of most of the wild tribes of Borneo. Seemingly in the same manner, the
Spanish word for steel, aoero, has superseded a native one in the Tagala of the
Philippines ; while the original one has been preserved in the Bisaya of the same
islanda The names of the tools and implements connected with the manufacture
of iron, and of its productions, buch as bellows, anvil, hammer, tongs, file^ chisel,
saw, nail, knife, kris, of the Malay language, extend to the principal languages of
Java, Bali, Lomboo, and Celebes ; and a few of them even to the languages of the
Philippines. In the latter, however, most of them are native words, and all of them
seem to be so in the language of the Kayans of Borneo. The inference then to be
drawn from all these facts is, that the fabrication of iron and steel are native
inventions, — that these metals were first manufactured in the non-volcanic countries,
and that the discovery was made at several independent points, as Sumatra, Borneo,
and Luzon in the Philippines.
The countries of the Archipelago in which iron ore seems to be most abundant,
are, as already stated, Sumatra, in the interior country of Menangkabo, where iron
has been immemorially smelted and manufactured for all Sumatra, and even for
some of the other islands, — the Malay Peninsula, — its adjacent islands, and Borneo.
In the Peninsula the ore, although not smelted at least to any extent, is very abun-
dant; and for this we have the authority of a personal obaei'ver and a man of
science. Mr. J. R. Logan, in his account of the physical geography of the Peninsula,
informs us that ** Iron ores are everywhere found, and in the south they exist in
vast profusion. In some places the strata have been completely saturated with iron ;
and here, the bare surface of the ground, strewed with blackish scoriform gravel and
blocks, presents a strange contrast to the exuberant vegetation of surrounding
tracts, appearing as if it had been burnt and blasted by subterraneous fires. Much
of the ordinary forms of iron-masked rocks, which are common, and so little regarded
for their metallic contents that in Singapore they are used to macadamise the roads,
contain often near 60 per cent, of pure metaL" — Journal of the Indian Archipelago ;
Vol. IL, p. 102. In the islands of Bancs and Billiton iron ore is very abundant; and
in the last of them, good iron appears to have been manufactured, at one time, by
its Malay inhabitants. But of all the Archipelago, the country in which iron ore b
beet in quality and most abundant is Borneo. On this subject we have the testi-
mony of several different and competent observers ; and as uie subject is of impor-
tance, in an economic and commercial view, I shall quote their opinions at some
length, premising that the ore is found and worked from the fifth degree of north
latitude on the north-western side of the island to the equator on the southern, and
to the 4th degree of south latitude on the western ; and smelted at many points
within this wide range. " The Dusun iron ore," says a writer on the manufacture
of iron, in the Moniteur des Indes, whose information is drawn from an essay on
this subject in the Transactions of the Batavian Society : ** is found in the ravines,
the rivers, and even in the plains of the province which gives its name ; and in which
whole fiimilies are to be seen almost couBtantly employed in searching for, extracting
and smelting it In general the ore is found at the depth of a m^tre (39*37 inches)
from the surface, but in the dry season it is obtained from the bed of the main
river, the Dusun. This mineral, contains much ferruginous acid, and appears to
have particular properties which give it much analogy with the wote of conti-
nental India. The Malays of Banjarmasin distinguish two kinds of the ore, — that
of the river, and that of the mountains ; the last characterised by its hardness and
its brown-coloured fracture.*'
The process of smelting is thus described bv the same authority. " In order to
smelt this ore, the Dusuns (the name of one of the wild tribes.) make a clay furnace
1*25 metres in height, and 1'5 in diameter. This, of which the walls are 62 centimes
of a m^tre in thickness, is furnished with a chimney and a pair of bellowB, with an
opening having an iron grating for the flow of the slag. They begin by roasting
IRON 159 IRON
the ore on a wooden fire ; and haying broken it, they place it in the furnace between
two beds of charcoal. A workman then begins to blow the bellows, at first gently,
and then with more force, so as to raise the heat to the greatest possible degree.
When the metal is considered sufficiently reduced, it ia allowed to run on the
ground, more of the consistence of a paste than a fluid. In this state it is stirred
about, scummed, and the impurities, which it still retains, passed into a gutter under
a grating. The metal ia then replaced in the furnace, and kept there until sufficiently
cool to be subjected to the hammer. Finally, it is cut into small bars of 62 cen-
times of a kilogramme on an anvil, similar to that of our own blacksmiths. The
price of a cattie (l^lb. English,) is from 30 to 85 centimes of a franc, if of the first
quality ; and 25 ii of the second. On the spot, the value of Dusun iron com-
pared with English, is as 25 to 21 ; and of Dusun steel to English, as 25 to 20."
The country of the Dusuns, who manufacture this iron, lies between the first
and second degrees of south latitude; and the 115th degree of east longitude runs
through it"
Mr. Robert Bums, who visited the tribe of the Eayans fh)m the north-eastern
coast, gives a very similar account of the manufacture of iron among them. He says
they are industrious, and among other examples adduces " their knowledge of the
manufacture of iron and steel from the native ore." ** This knowledge must," he
adds, " have greatly tended to keep them independent and superior in power to the
other aboriginal tribes of the islands. From the native ore they make their wood-
cutting implements, spears, and swords, and many other articles in use. Commonly,
at every vUlage, there is a place for smelting iron, in all the process of which the
community mutually partakei Covered by a shade, the rude furnace consists of a
circular pit, formed in the ground 8 feet deep and 4 feet in diameter. Previous to
the smelting process, the ore is roasted and broken into small pieces. The coals
(charcoal) in the furnace being set fire to and well kindled, the prepared ore is placed
over them in alternate layers with coals. The ventilators used consist of wooden
tubes, 10 to 12 in number, about 6 feet long, and placed vertically round the furnace.
The bore of each is about 7 inches in diameter, and the pistons to correspond are
armed with cloth or soft bark. Attached to the piston rods are others of consider*
able length, to which weights are made fast and balanced on the cross-beams of the
shed. By this contrivance the pistons are moved up and down, and a constant blast
produced, which is led by day pipes from the orifice at the bottom of each tube into
the fiimace. In the smelting process there is no flux used with the ore which yields
about 70 per cent, of iron. The iron manufactured from the ore of the above district
ia much preferred to that of Europe by the Malays and other natives of Borneo as
being superior." Journal of the Indian Archipelago, vol. iii, p. 151. The district
referred to in the last sentence, and which equally abounds in fossil coal as in iron
ore, extends from the river Baram to that of the Pajang^ or from about 2** 80' north
latitude to 4** 50'.
Mr. Dalton, an English traveller, who visited the Kayans in 1828, and lived for
several months among them, gives the following account of their manufacture on the
southern side of the island about the equator, and the 117° of east longitude.
" Having but briefly mentioned the excellence of the iron and steel of these people,
it may not be amiss to say something more on the subject, it being little understood
how much the Dyaks excel in these articles. The iron found all along the coast of
Borneo is of a very superior quality, which every person must know who has visited
Pontianak and Sambas. At Banjarmasin, however, it is much superior ; they have
there a method of working it which precludes all necessity of European steel,
excepting for cock's-spurs, which they prefer when made from a razor. But the best
iron of Baujarmasin is not equal to that worked by the rudest Dyaks. All the best
kris blades of the Bugis rajahs and chiefs are manufactured by them, and it is a most
singular but an undoubted fact, that the further a person advances, the better will be
found all instruments of iron. Selji's (the native chief with whom the traveller
resided) country is superior in this respect to all those nearer the coast, his goloks
(cutlasses), spears, and kris-blades being in great demand. I have counted 49 forges at
work merely in the campung of Marpao (the chief village), but theMandaos (sworda) and
spears which he uses himself and gives to his favourite warriors are obtained, iron-made,
further north. Instruments made of this last will cut through overwrought iron and
common steel with ease. I have had several pen-knives shaved to pieces with them
by way of experiment, and one day having bet a wager of a few rupees with Selji
that he would not cut through an old musket barrel, he without hesitation put the
end of it on a block of wood and chopped it to pieces without in the least turning the
ISmAYES 160 ITANEGS
edge of the mandao. This favourite weapon he presented to me as the greatest and
most acceptable present he could bestow, and I gave it to the governor of Macaes&r
who, I believe, sent it to his excellency the Commissioner of Java. I may here
mention another proof of their power. In the Sultan of Coti's house I have myself
seen three muskets belonging to Major Mulleins detachment, which were each cut
half through in several places by the mandaos of the party which destroyed them.
I once mentioned this circumstance to Selji : he laughed and assured me the mandaus
used on that occasion were not made of his iron, otherwise the barrels would have
been cut through at every stroke/* Moor's Notices of the Indian Archipelago, p. 51.
A similar iron ore and manufacture exist on the western side of the island in the
neighbourhood of the equator, and in about the 110** of east longitude, being 7^ west of
that described in the last paragraph, is described by an anonymous but very judicious:
traveller, whose account is to be found in the compilation above quoted. " Iron,"
says he, ** is principally procured firom Jell^ in the interior of Matan (a Malay prin-
cipality) in sufficient quantities to form an article of export, when it is known by the
name of bAsi-ikat (faggot iron) from the manner in which it is made up. The pieces,
each about 8 or 9 inches long, \\ broad, and half an inch thick, form a small bundle,
and five of these a large one, which weighs about 19 or 20 catties, and sells at Matan
for about three Spanish dollars. It is collected by the Dyaks, and is of superior
quality, as tools made of it are not steeled. It is in gpreat demand among the
natives, and is imported advantageously at Pontianak, both from Matan and from
Banjarmasin, at wluch places it is known by the name of b&si-desa (country iron) "
pages.
The price of the native iron, as quoted in the last paragraph, is about 501. a ton,
and that given for the best quality of that of Banjarmasin, previously mentioned,
about one-half that amount, both being of course retail prices. We have here, then,
the testimony of four independent witnesses to prove a very wide dissemination of
rich iron ore over Borneo, and that superior iron and steel are made from it by
different rude races, and by processes exceedingly simple. To judge by the rude
methods by which the ore is picked up, rather than mined, it seems also to be
abundant, and if we believe one of the travellers, it is rich in metal. Considering tiie
rude nature of the process of manufacture, it is more than probable that the good
quality of the metal produced depends chiefly on the superiority of the ore, and that
it will be found, when subjected to soientrfic analysis, a magnetic oxide, such as
yields the best iron and steel of Sweden, and the wotz steel of Southern India.
Most of the iron and steel manufactured in other Asiatic countries by dvilis^ nations,
including even that of the Ingenious Chinese, is not above one-half the value of
English iron and steel, while that of the wild Dyaks is by from near 20 to 25 per
cent, superior to them.
If the ore should turn out of the quality described, it might perhaps be imported
to advantage for the use of our English foundries. The most eligible quarter for
obtaining it, would probably be the north-western side of Borneo, which is penetrated
by sevenkl rivers, navigable to a considerable distance for coasting craft, such as the
Baram, the Bintulu, and the Kajang. If foimd near the banks of any of these, it
might be conveyed to Labuan or Singapore, as dead weight for ships returning to
England. With any tolerable security for life and property, the mining would be
efiPectually conducted by the Chinese. Coal and antimony are found in the same
localities as the iron ore. The whole subject deserves inquiry, and the first point
ought to be a scientific analysis of the iron ore.
ISINAYES. A wild tribe of the island of Luzon, resembling in physical form
the Igorrotes, but by the exertions of the Spanish clergy converted to Christianity
They inhabit the mountains lying east of the province of Ilocos-sur.
ISLAM. An Arabio word adopted by all the nations oonyerted to Mahom-
medanism, and signifying that religion. Although properly a noun, it is much
more frequently employed, conformably to the practice of the insular languages in all
such cases, as an adjective, as in the examples, " orang-islam," a Moslemman, and
" agama-islam," the Mahommedan religion, being united in the first instance with a
native, and in the last with a Sanscrit word.
ITANEGS, called also, Tinguianes, one of the unconverted wild tribes of the
iffland of Luzon, of the Malayan race, inhabiting the mountains between the provinces
of Ilocos-sur and Abra. This is the most civilised of all the wild tribes of the Philip-
pines, practising a husbandry of considerable Ekill, carrying on some ingenious
ITAPANES 161 JAMBI
manufactures, trading with the inhahitants of the coaat» dwelling in tillages and being
decently clad. From their fairer complexions, and more industrious habits, the
Spaniards imagine them to be derived from Chinese settlers £rom the proYince of
Fokien, but this notion is probably without any foundation.
ITAPANES, the name of one of the wild tribes of the island of Luzon, inhabiting
the recesses of the mountains of the northern portion of the island. They are described
as short of stature, but well-made, and with darker complexions than their neighbours,
the Igorrotes, the Quimanes, the Busayas> and the Qaddanes — having large flat noses,
and round eyes. In stature, complexion, and shape of the nose, they are described as
resembling the Aetas or negritos, but in texture of hair and form of the eyes, the
Tagalas and other civilised inhabitants. From this seeming union, the SpaniaixlB
infer that the Itapanes are a mixture of the negrito and Malay races, a notion, how-
ever, for which there is, probably, no substantial foundation. They have been equally
difficult to civilise as the Negritos themselves, with whom they have many customs
in common.
IT AS, or AETAS, the native name by which the diminutive negros of the Philip-
pines are usually known. See Neobo and Aetas.
J.
JACATRA. An European corruption of the compounded Sanscrit word, Jaya-
karta, signifying ** work of victory," and the name of a town of the Sunda nation of
Java, on the site of which now stands the Dutch city of Batavia, founded in 1619.
JACK-FRUIT. See Aktocaeptts.
JAKUN. This is a name of unknown origin and meaning, which the Malays
apply, seemingly as a generic term, to the wild tribes of the interior of the peninsula,
from Malacca, southward to Johor. All the men that go under this name have the
same physical form as the Malays, speak the same luiguage in a ruder form, and
seem, in shorty to be Malays, without the Mahommedan religion, and in a much lower
state of civilisation. The notion of some writers, founded on certain resemblances
of physical form, that the Jakuns are of Tartar origin, is, in the absence of all
historical or philological evidence, and when the two parties, supposed to be the same
people, are separated from each other by at least forty degrees of latitude, too
whimsical for serious consideration. The Malays of Sumatra continue, down to the
preHcnt day, to emigrate to and settle in the interior of the peninsula, and the great
probability seems to be, that in remote times, the peninsula was without any other
inhabitants than the ncgroa of the mountains, and that all its brown- complexioned,
lank-haired people, whether of the sea-board or the interior, were emigrants from
Sumatra, or the islands lying between it and the peninsula.
JAMBI. The name of a Malay state on the north-eastern side of Sumatra, and
entirely within the great alluvial plain, which extends from the central chain of
mountains to the Straits of Malacca. This state was visited in 1820 by my friend,
the late Captain Crooke, a skilful surveyor, and a most careful and judicious observer,
and we possess, consequently, more correct knowledge of it than of any other por-
tion of the same side of Sumatra. To the north-east, Jambi is bounded by the sea,
having In front the great group of islands which nearly blocks up the strait between
Sumatra and the continent, — to the north-west by the Malay state of Indragiri, —
to the east by the inland Malay states of Korinchi and Menangkabo, and to the
south-east by forests thinly peopled by the wild luce of the Kubu, lying between
Jambi and Palembang. Che large river of the same name as the state, and having
several considerable affluents, nms through the whole country, having its origin in
the mountains. It bifurcates at 50 miles from the sea, and falls into it by two
mouths. The most easterly of these, shallow at its entrance, is in south latitude
Y 2' 30". and is called in the Malay language kwala-s&du, literally, ** embouchure of
sobs." The most westerly, in Malay, kwala-liur, or "coco-palm mouth," is in 1° south,
and, although the smallest, is the most navigable. The face of the country is flat and
even, being nowhere diversified by mountains or hills. Towards the sea-const it is
low, swampy, and subject to inundation, but, as it recedes from the shore, it becomes
proportionally elevated and dry. The land rises in an inclined plain from the sea
towards the great central chain of mountains, and at the town of Jambi,' 60 miles
u
JAMBI 162 JAMBI
from the coast, in a direct line, it is 20 feet abore the lerel of the river in the dry
Beason, bub only 5 feet during the rains, when the river is swollen hj 15 feet. The
soil, at the town* is composed of a rich vegetable mould, over a bed of day mixed
with fine sand. At the depth of 11 or 12 feet there is a stratum of peat of vaiioos
depth, containing trunks of trees of different dimensions, the undecayed bark,
and the fibres of the wood retaining much of their natural colour, strength, and
elasticity. The stratum below this is a fine light-coloured clay, slightly mixed with
decayed vegetable matter in specks, where the stratum of peat disappeara. Neither
stone or gravel are found in the soil, though pebbles of quartz and fragments of iron-
stone are washed down by the river from the interior and deposited on the san-i-
banks. Below the town, the banks continue to exhibit the same strata, till their
height is considerably reduced, when the stratum of peat entirely disappears..
For full 80 miles from the sea in a straight line, or 50 by the course of the main
river, the country of Jambi is uninhabited and uninhabitable, being in fiict, a wooded
marsh. " The banks of the Kwala-fiur," says Mr. Orooke, who sailed up this branch,
"are throughout uninhabitable from their lowness, and present one uniform character
of wooded and impenetrable loneliness. . . . Along the banks and in the ne%hbour>
hood of the streams and rivers only, is there any open ground or oultivation, a thick
forest extending in every other quarter."
From this description of the country, it is certain that the population most be
extremely scanty in relation to the area, which is probably not less than 15,000
square geographical miles. In ascending the river to the town of Jambi, Mr. Crooke
counted only twelve villages, the total number of houses among them being only 118,
with about perhaps from six to seven hundred inhabitants. The principal place or
seat of government, called also, like the country and river, Jambi, is estimated by
Mr. Crooke, including the villages just named, to have a population not exceeding
6000, but of the population of the upper portion of the Jambi and ita affluents,
nothing is known.
The following is Mr. Crooke's account of the chief town, which, by the ooorse of
the river, and reckoning from its western branch, is about a hundred miles from the
sea. " The town of Jambi is about three quarters of a mile in extent on both banks
of the river, to which it is nearly confined, the natives occupying the whole of the
right bank, and the Arabs and other strangers, who are settled there, a part of the
left Many of the houses, especially those of the Arab kampong (quarter), are aided
and partitioned in a neat manner with planks, and roofed with tiles, shaped with a
waving line cross-ways, of excellent manufiicture. A few are covered with a thatch
of gomuti, which forms a durable roof, and some have their sides constructed of large
thick pieces of bark. But the greater number are huts of mat and ataps (palmetto
leaves), built on posts in the usual Malay style. Besides these descriptions of build-
ings, there is also a number of houses upon rafts composed of huge trunks of ireesy
clumsily put together, which, during the periodical swelling of the river, are afloat
and moveable, but in the dry season are, generally, especially the larger ones, lodged
on a sandy flat, which becomes dry and confines the stream on the right. There is
also a number of little rafts supporting a small hut, attached to the better class of
houses, and used for the convenience of bathing, of which the women, in particular,
seem to be very fond. In fact^ there is an appearance of cleanliness in the persons
and houses of the inhabitants, rather unusual in Malay towns. They have a mosque,
but it is in a neglected and ruinous condition. A burying-ground, about three
quarters of a mile below the town, appears to claim more attention : many of its
tombs are carved and gilded and inclosed by a tiled building." — ^Anderson's Mission,
Appendix. At the town, which is destitute of all defence, the river, in the dry season,
is 450 yards broad and has a depth of three &thoms, but in the rainy season ita
breadth is doubled, and it gains 15 feet in depth. All the way from the sea to the
town the depth in the dry season ranges from 12 to 15 fathoms, with the exception of
one spot below the town where it is only 8 feet.
As to roads, properly speaking, there are none. " The mode of communication,**
says Mr. Crooke, ** between villages, as well as distant parts of the country, is almost
exclusively by water, there being few habitations that are not situated on the rivers,
or near them ; and such routes as do exist are mere foot-paths through the woods.
They extend, however, to Padang, Bencoolen, and other parts on the western side of
the island, with which they are the means of commercial intercoursa"
The climate, at the town of Jambi, is considered by the inhabitants healthy and
agreeable, but the lower parts of the country subject to agues. In the beginning
of July, the nominal winter, the thermometer of Fahrenheit in no very favourable
JAMBU 163 JAPAN
situation, stood, at sunrise, at from 76° to 7V ; from two to three o'clock at SO"* ; and
at eight at night, at 79**. Jumbi is subject to the monaoons that blow south of the
equator, namely, the south-east and north-west, the same which blow in Java and the
seas which surround it.
The bulk of the inhabitants of Jambi are genuine Malays, and besides those who
dwell on " dry land," there are, towards the embouchures of the river, some of those
Malays whose whole dwellings are their boats, the orang-lant, or " men of the sea," the
same people whose migrations extend even as fiEir as the Moluccas. In the town are
to be found a few Javanese, and persons of Arabian descent Formerly there were
Bome Chinese, and their abandonment of the country is, here as elsewhere, a sure
sign of anarchy. ''The lower orders," says Mr. Crooke, ''are generally below the
middle sise in stature ; but in shi^, they are generally muscular and well-propor-
tioned, and their complexions are ordinarily fairer than those of the Malays commonly
seen at Prince of Wales Island. They are ignorant, poor, and indolent> but they have
neither incitement or means to be otherwise. They do not appear to possess the
character of vindictive treachery, so commonly ascribed to the Mahiys* Although the
country has, for two or three years, been in a state of civil war, few lives are said to
have fallen a sacrifice to this calamity, though the population has been reduced by the
numbers who have fled to other countries." — ^page 408.
The history of Jambi is as obscure and uncertain as that of all other Malay coun-
tries. It is enumerated as one of the twenty-nine states which, independent of those
of the interior, existed, according to De Barros, on the arrival of the Portuguese in the
Archipelago. Before the introduction of the Mahommedan religion, it is certain the
people professed some form of Hinduism. Mr. Crooke discovered near the town of
Jambi, and at the village of Muwara-jambi, mutilated Hindu images. Among these
were statues of the bull Nandi, the vehicle of Mahadewa, and of the elephant-headed
god Qanesa. These indicate the worship of Siva, or the Hindu destroyer, the meet
frequent form of- Hinduism in ancient Java. The images, however, were not of
trachyte, like all those of that island, but of a small-grained granite. This would
show that they were certainly not imported from Java ; and as neither granite nor
any other rock exists within the territory of Jambi, it is to be inferred that either
the images themselves, or the stone of which they were made, were brought from the
high lands of the interior, most probably from the most jcivilised portion of the
country, and the cradle, by its own acoount, of the Malayan people, Menangkabo.
Withiu three hours' journey of the town, according to statements made to me by
natives of the country, there still stand the ruins of a Hindu temple, constructed of
brick similar to some of those found in the more easterly parts of Java.
The productions of Jambi are the same generally as those of the other parts of
Sumatra. Small quantities of gold are imported from the mountain region of the
interior, and, as before mentioned, its canes, jambees as they were called, were of such
reputation in England as to have added a new word to our language, still retained in
our dictionarie& The trade is trifling. The Dutch, who claim a supremacy over the
country, lately established a port to protect it, at a place called Muwara-kompek,
forty-two miles below the town of Jambi, where, as the name imports, two branches
of dbe river rejoin, but it is liable to inundation in the season of the rains.
JAMBU. A generic Malay name for several kinds of fruit of different botanio
genera, but which is probably borrowed from the Jambu-kling, the Eugenia Malac-
eensis of botanists. This is a fruit, with a rose-coloured cuticle, a spongy white flesh,
of an agreeable subacid taste, and about the size and shape of an ordinary pear. It is
of considerable esteem for the table.
JANG GALA. The name of an ancient kingdom of Java, in the country of the
proper Javanese nation. Javanese authorities are not agreed as to the time when this
kingdom, of great reputation in Javanese story, flourished. One manuscript places it
in the year corresponding with that of Christ, 818, and another in 1082, the discre-
pancy probably arising, however, from its rise being referred to in one case, and its
fall in the other. Its locality, or at least that of its capital, was the modem province
of Surabaya, a district of which, strewed with ancient relics, still retains the name.
JAPAN. In Malay and Javanese J&pon, which is nearly our own old ortho-
graphy, Japon. The name is, no doubt^ taken from that of the principal island in the
Japanese language, Nipon, and in Chinese Jipun, the corruptions being taken by the
natives of the Archipelafro from the Portuguese. The Japanese empire is said to have
been discovered by the Portuguese, in 1542, and then only by the accident of a trading
junk, manned and owned by Portuguese, having been driven by a storm on its coast.
M 2
JAPAN 164 JAPAN
Upwards of thirty years, therefore, had elapsed from the conquest of Malacca, and
sixteen from their first reaching China, before they had made the discovery. Tet it is
very plainly indicated by Marco Polo, and on the arrival of the Portuguese in Malacca,
Japanese junks seem to have frequented it. The Japanese are not, indeed, named
by De Barros, as among the strangers that resorted to this port, but they are so in the
Commentaries of Alboquerque, written by his son, who thus describes them under the
name of Gor^ *' The Gor^s (according to the information which Alfonso Alboquerque
received when he conquered Malacca) stated that their country was a continent, but
by the common voice, it is an island, from which there come, yearly, to Malacca, two
or three ships. The merchandise which they bring are raw and wrought silks,
brocades, porcelun, a large quantity of wheat, copper, alum, and much gold in ingots
(ladrillos), marked by their kings stamp. It is not known whether these ingots be
the money of the country, or whether the stamp be attached to indicate that their
exportation is prohibited, for the Gor^s are men of little speech, and will render an
account of their country to no one. The gold is from an island near them, called
Perioco, which abounds with it. The country of these Gor^, they themselves call
Lequea. They are a ikir people. Their garment is like a baladrois without a hood.
They carry long swords of the form of the cimeters of the Turks, but a little narrower
in the blade, and daggers of two palms long. They are bold men, to be feared on
land. At the ports they come to, they do not unload their whole cai^es at once,
but by little and little. They speak the truth, and desire that it be spoken to them;
and if any merchant of MiUacca departs from his word, they forthwith arrest him.
They strive to have their ships despatched in a short time, and do not dwell in
foreigu lands, for they are not men that love to go beyond their own. They leave
their own country in the month of January for Malacca, and return to it in August
and September." — ^Commentarios do Grande Alfonso D* Alboquerque, colleg^do por seu
filho das cartas que elle escrivia al muito poderoso Key Don Manuel O pnmiero desta
nome. Cap. 17, p. 353. Lisboa: 1576.
Of the origin or meaning of the word Gbr^, as applied to the Japanese, I can offer
no conjecture, but it was probably the name, from whatever source derived, which
the Malays gave them ; but that of Liquea, which the Javanese themselves gave to
their country, is probably derived from the Li-u-ki-u or Loochoo Islands, the nearest
portion of the Japanese empire to the Asiatic Archipelago. The articles which com-
posed the cargos which the Japanese brought to Malacca, their stamped gold pieces
which still exist, and the wheat which no other country to the east of the Archi-
pelago and communicating easily with it produces, seem clearly enough to identify
the Gor^s with the Japanese. The Spanish historians of the Philippines also inform
us that previous to the discovery cmd conquest of these islands they were frequented
by the Japanese for the purposes of trade. But the intercourse of this people with
the Archipelago was, probably, inconsiderable, until the establishment of Portuguese
and Spanish influence in Japan, and from that time, for the best part of a century, it
went on with considerable activity. Japanese junks visited Manilla, Jacatra, and
Bantam, and the people themselves migrated and settled in various parts of the
Archipelago, as do now the Chinese, and they were employed, as the Chinese never
were, as soldiers at the European establishments. The island of Luzon, in the Philip-
pines, seems to have been the chief place to which they resorted, and here their
numbers appear to have been so considerable that they rose twice in insurrection
against the Spanish 'government. Then came in 1637 the decree of the Japanese
government which, for now above two centuries, has nearly isolated Japan from the
rest of the world. Its trade and migration ceased at once, and there is now not a vestige
to show that the Japanese ever existed in the Archipelago. The Spaniards, indeed,
allege that one of the wild races of Luzon, the Ifugaos, are the mixed descendants of
the Japanese ; but this is a mere hypothesis for which there seems no good foimdation.
The whole external intercourse of the Japanese empire, with a computed population
of 25,000,000, is limited to that of the Dutch of Batavia, and of the Chinese of the
province of Chekiang. The trade of the first is now restricted to a single ship, not
allowed to export any other staple commodities than camphor and copper, while the
export and import cai^s are not to exceed the sum of about 80,000^ in value. The trade
of the Chinese is much more valuable, for their junks amount to from 10 to 12, while
their imports and exports, less restricted as to commodities, may each amount to the
value of about 250,0002. At length, in 1854, through the enterprise of the Americans,
intercourse with the nations of Europe and America has been so far relaxed, as to
allow their ships to wood, water, and refresh, with an express prohibition, however, of
carrying on trade.
JAPAN 165 JAVA
J APAN, with the accent on the first syllable, is the name of a Javanese district,
now formiDg part of the Ketherland province of Surabaya. This ia an inland countiy,
and a fertile and populous one. Within it ia the district of Wirasaba, in which was
situated the ancient Hindu Javanese capital of Majapait> destroyed by the Mahom-
medans in 1478.
JAPARA. The name of a province of Java, comprehending Juwana, situated in
the country of the Proper Javanese. It contains 63 square miles of teak forest, and
its fisheries are valuable. In 1814 its population was computed at 216,096, but this
had increased to 421,420 in 1845, when it had 92,000 head of oxen and buffiilos, and
6600 horses. The area being 672 square miles, it follows that the rate of population
to the square mile is no less than 671, making Japara, therefore, the most densely
peopled part of Java. It is remarkable, however, that this population, by the census
of 1850, was only 341,140, or had declined by better than 80,000, supposing both
enumerations to have been made with equal cai'e.
JAVA, although only an island of the second magnitude among those of the
Archipelago, is incomparably the greatest in importance, and that in which has sprung
up the highest civilisation. The name which we apply to it is correctly Jawa, and is
derived from that of the principal nation which inhabits it. The word cannot stand by
itself, and like many similar ones in the languages of the Archipelago is as often an
adjective as a noun. When the country is i*eferred to, it is preceded by some word
signifying " land,'* and when it is the people, their language, or anything else, by
words having these meanings, as Siti-Jawa, the land of Java ; Wong-Juva, people of
Java or Javanese. It is however to be observed that the " land of Java," as compre-
hending the whole island, although sometimes thus used by them, is not the usual
sense in which it is employed by the natives themselves, who confine it, for the most
part, to that portion of the island inhabited by the proper Javanese nation, in contra-
distinction to that inhabited by the Sundas, and which the Javanese call Pasundou,
the " place or country " of the Sundas. This mode of naming a country, it will be
seen, is analogous to that which in many cases prevails in European languages, as in
the examples — England and Englishman, Inghilterra, and Inglese, with many others.
The word Jawa has no other meaning in the Javanese language than those now
attributed to it. The only word, changing one labial for another (a frequent practice),
that is essentially the same with it, is the preposition, Jaba, " outside,*' or " without,"
and to connect it with this would require a large stretch of etymological ingenuity.
A legendary tradition of the Javanese themselves derives Java from Juwawdt, the
native name of a millet, Panicum Italicum, which, accoixiing to them, was the first
food of the original inhabitants. An European etymology, equally absurd and
extravagant, derives Java from the Sanscrit name for barley, jau, but unluckily for
this conjecture, the com in question is unknown to the inhabitants, and what is still
worse, never could have been known as a native product, since it will not grow in
the island, unless in a few elevuted spots where no one attempts to grow it.
The Arabs call the island Jawi, and although this be the form of the word in the
polite Javanese, the term is far more likely to be a corruption of that people thcm-
selve& It is however, although taken obviously from the word Jawa, applied by
them to the whole Archipelago, its language, and inhabitants. The Chinese call the
island Haoa-oua, and Jou-wa, which is as near the true word as could be expected
from their intractable language. By their own account, however, it would seem
that anciently they had given it the name of Che-po, or Chapo, which is probably
only another corruption of the true word. Java was unknown even by name to tlie
civilised nations of ancient Europe, and even to those of the middle ages. It is
first named by Marco Polo, who, in his iunk voyage from China to the Persian Gulf,
Iiaased through the northern part of tne Archipelago about the close of the 13th
century. He gives the name, due allowance made for errors of transcription, with
sufficient correctness, as Qiaua or Java, but his information being mere hearsay is in
other respects erroneous. Thus, mistaking probably the products of its commerce
for its indigenous productions, he enumerates among the latter cloves and nutmegs,
and gold in quantity ** exceeding all calculation and belief," although producing none
at all.
No sooner had the Portuguese reached India by the route of the Cape of Qood
Hope than the name became familiar enough to Europeans. Thus, according to the
Italian orthography of Bamusio, it is called by Ludovico Barthema and Edoardo
Barbosa, Giava. The first of these travellers visited the island and remained 14 days
in it, but bis account is obviously false or worthless, for he describes parents as
JAVA X66 JAVA
Belling their children to be eaten by the purehasera, and himself as quitting the
island in haste for fear of being made a meid of. Not so Barboea, although he had
not visited it, for he describes its productions, its trade, its manufacture of arms,
and the persons, dress, and manners of its inhabitants with much accuracy. Pigafetta
also calls the island by the same name as the two last named travellers, and although
his information respecting it was derived, as he tells us himself, from the old pilot
who accompanied him from the Moluccas, it is even more correct than that of
Barbosa. Thus' he describes the concremation of women as still practised in Bali.
and as it no doubt once was in Java. He states that it contained large towns, and
he names several of them, such as the ancient capital of Majapait, Japara, Sidayn,
Tuban, Gressik, and Surabaya. It is true that these names are fearfully mis^pelt^
but this arises in a good measure, probably, from errors of transcription. Thus, in the
edition published at Milan in 1800 from the original manuscript, the contenninoos
districts of Japara and Sidayu are run into one word and written Cipaparasidaui,
and those of Tuban and Qdreik as Tubancressi, while Majapait is written Magepaher.
The neighbouring islands of Madura and Bali are correctly written, just as they are
at present, and they are described as being only half a league distant from Java.
How very little, however, was really known of Java by the early Portuguese of
India» is to be seen from what De Barros, master of all the Indian arohiyes, says of it
in his third Decade, published in 1663, no less than 52 years after the conquest of
Malacca, and several years after his countrymen had visited China, diacoveretd Java,
and traded with both. He makes it to consist of two islands, Java and Sunda, and his
work contains a rude map, in which a great river, or rather a strait of the aea, is
represented as dividing them. This he calls the river Ghiamo, which may possibly
be the Chitando of the Sundas, a considerable stream at the eastern boundary of
their country, and which, in their language, signifies, " boundary water or river."
His description is taken, apparently, firom the report of Henrique Lem^, sent to
Bantam in 1522, by Qeoi^e Alboquerque, Qovemor of Malacca.
This is his account of Java : " The land of Jauha is an island, which lies to the
east of 9amatra, or so near to it that the strait between them does not exceed the
breadth of 15 leagues. Its direction is from east to west, and its northern end is in
6** of south latitude; its eastern in 7° 80'. The length of the island is 190 leagues,
but of its breadth we have no certain knowledge ; for our people have not yet navi-
gated its southern coast. According to the information of the natives, the whole of
the southern side, on account of the great gulf of the ocean, has few harbours ; and
those who inhabit the northern side of the island hold no intercourse with the
Gentiles who inhabit the southern. Through the middle of the island, by its length,
there runs a chain of mountains which interrupts all communication. The natives
constantly assert that the breadth of Jauha is equal to one-third its length. Gene-
rally, the people are idolaters. They are called Jaos, from the name of the land, and
are the most civilised people (gente de mais policia) of these parts." — ^Decade second,
book iz. chapters 8 and 4.
The account given in the third Decade of the supposed joint islands varies consi-
derably from that just quoted, and is as follows : — ** We make of the land of Jauha
two islands, the one facing the other. The direction of both is from west to east, and
in the same parallels of from 7** to 8** of south latitude. As the mariners of the east
have laid these islands down in their charts, they are in their length, more or less, 180
leagues ; but they are not so much, as we shall show in our Universal Geography.
The Javanese themselves do not make two islands of Java, but consider the whole as
one. As to the western end, where Java approaches Sumatra, there is a channel
between them from ten to twelve leagues in breadth, through which the intercourse
of the western world with the east was conducted before Msdaoca was founded, as we
have already written. Java, through its whole length, has in the middle a chain of
mountains of great height, distant from the northern shore about 25 leagues ; but as
to their distance from the southern shores, the inhabitants have no recent know-
ledge, although they think it is the same. For about a third part of the length of
Java» counting from its western end, is Sunda of which we have now to treat. Its
inhabitants hold it to be an island, divided from Java by a river, little known to our
navigators, and which they call Cbiamo or Chenano. This intersects the whole of
this part of the country as far as the sea, in such a manner that when the people of
Java describe their own country, they say that it is bounded to the west by the
island of Sunda, parted frH>m it by the aforesaid river Chiamo; on the east by the
island of Bali ; to the north, by Madura ; and to the south, by an undiscovered ocean.
They hold that whoever passes by this strait (the river Ghiamo) into the South Sea, is
JAVA 167 JAVA
carried away by a violent current, and cannot return. For this reason, they do not
navigate the South Sea» in like manner as the Moon, from Caffraria to Sofala, never
paas the Cape for fear of the great current that prevails there. The inhabitants of
Sunda, in praising their country and boasting of its superiority over Java, say that
God established the aforesaid river Chiamo as a partition between them." — Decade
third, book viii. chapter 1.
The ishmd of Java lies between 105* 12^ and IW 4' east longitude, and 5° 62' and
8** 40' south latitude. It is the only great land of the old world of native civilisation
within the southern hemisphere. In form it is long and narrow, its length being in a
direction nearly east and west, vnth a slight inclination to the south. Its extreme
length is 575 geographical mUes, while its breadth varies from 48 to 117. Its area
has been computed at 87,029 geographical square miles, which would make it about
one-third part lai^ger than Ireland. To the north, Java is separated from Borneo by
the broad, but comparatively shallow, Java Sea ; to the south, by the deep Indian
Ocean, without a foot of land intervening between it and the Antarctic Pole, save
towards its eastern extremity, a comer of the Australian continent. To the north-
west, it is parted from Sumatra by a strait, at its narrowest part only 14 miles wide,
and vrith islands between ; and to the east from Bali, by a strait of no more than two
miles broad. On its low, and in some measure, sheltered northern coast, Java has a
good many islands, by fiair the largest and most important of which is Madura, so
connected with it as to form almost a portion of itself ; for although the strait which
divides them is generally 80 miles broad, at the western end of Madura it is hardly
one nule. On the bold precipitous southern coast there are very few islands, and two
only of very considerable size, those of Baron and Kambangan.
The coast line of Java, which ia about 1400 English miles ia extent^ has many bays
on its northern coast, but it ia not deeply penetrated by any one of them ; so that it has
properly no harbour but one, that of Surabaya, formed between the main island and
Madura, where the strait that divides them is still narrow. The southern coast is
still less indented. Here there are two harbours only, Pachitan — inconvenient and
unsafe, and Chalachap, formed between the main island and E^ambangan, or ** floating
island,** out of the way of intercourse, and little, if at all frequented. On the coast
of the deep and bold southern side there ia no safe anchorage, while a heavy and
dangerous surge rolls in on the shore in every season.
With the single exception named, the porta of the northern coast are but open
roadsteads, with good anchoring ground ; but the inconvenience of wanting land-
locked harbours is not felt so near the equator, where hurricanes are never expe-
rienced, and where the weather is only tempestuous occasionally at the change of the
monsoons.
The physical outline of Java may be divided into five different sections of various
breadtlL Beginning from the western end, and following the line of the northern
coast, the first section ends vrith the eastern side of the bay of Batavia. This is about
75 miles in average breadth. The second extends east as far as Cheribon, in longitude
108" 86', and is about 95 miles broad. Both ^hese divisions are mountainous, the moun-
tains being of less elevation than in the other parts of the island, but more crowded,
and with narrower valleys. They constitute the proper country of the Sundas, who
speak a distinct language, and are less advanced in civilisation than the Javanese, the
nation which occupies all the rest of the island. The Sunda portion may be said to
stand in the same relation to Java proper that Wales does to England, Lower
Brittany to France, and the Basque Provinces to Spain. The third section extends
from Cheribon to the western side of the' promontory of Japara, in about longitude
110" 80', and its breadth does not exceed 50 miles, the island being greatly narrowed
by the bay which extends for 140 miles from the point of Indramaya to that of
Japara. The fourth section extends from the promontory of Japaxa to that portion
of the island which is opposite to the western end of Madura, and this has an average
breadth of about 100 miles. The fifth section embraces the remainder of the island,
and is no more than 50 miles in breadth. In the three last sections, the mountains
are of greater elevation, the plains more spacious, and along their northern coasts
there runs generally a belt of alluvial land, varying from five to fifteen miles in depth.
These sections constitute the proper country of the Javanese nation, although in
its fifth section, which is parallel throughout with the island of Madura^ the Madurese,
from recent settlement, constitute the majority of its inhabitants.
The geological formation of Java is eminently volcanic ; for it forms, perhaps, the
most material portion of that great volcanic band, which, beginning in Sumatra near
the equator, extends for 80" of longitude to the Banda Islands, and then taking a
JAVA 168 JAVA
north-western direction, embraces most of the Philippines up to the 20th*' of uorLh.
latitudei A range of mountains in a longitudinal direction runs through, the centre
of Java. The whole of this main range is volcanic, the peaks of which vary from the
height of near 4000 to near 12,000 feet above the level of the sea. No fewer than 46
of these peaks are volcanos, 20 of which are in a state of more or leas activity. The
separate mountains of the range are of a conical form, having a central tube or
chimney, ending in a crater. The craters are sometimes of great extent, and their
walls illustrate the structure of the mountains, which is either vertical and irregularly
columnar, or disposed in obli<)ue or horizontal strata.
My friend. Dr. Horsfield, of whose account of the geology of Java I am now giving
an abstract, renders the following account of the most remarkable crater in Java, that
of the Tenger mountain, in the eastern part of the island. '* This mountain,** says
he, " constitutes one of the most remarkable volcanos of the island. It rises from
a very large base, in a gentle slope, with gradually extending ridges. The summit^
seen from a distance, is less conical than most of the other principal volcanos, vary-
ing in height, at different points, from 7000 to 8000 feet. The crater is not at the
summit, but more than 1000 feet below the highest point ; and consists of a laz^
excavation of an irregularly circular form, surrounded on all- sides by a range of
hills of different elevations. It is by far the largest crater in the island, and perhaps
exceeds every other crater on the globe. It constitutes an immense gulf, the bottom
of which is level, and denominated by the natives the dasar, (the floor). This is
naked and covered with sand throughout ; in one portion, near the middle, the sand
is loose and blown by the wind into slight ridges, and to this the natives give the
name of sftgara-w&di, literally ' sea of sand.' The laigest diameter of the crater is,
according to my estimate, full three nules. From its interior, and towards the
middle, there rise several conical peaks, or distinct volcanos. The chief of these,
the mountain Brama, (from the Hindu god, Brama, whose emblem is fire,) is a per-
fectly regular cone, and still in partial activity, with occasional eruptions. It is
surrounded on one side by the 'sea of sand,' above mentioned. Adjoining to it
stands another conical pea£, more than 1000 feet high, named Watangan, (hail of
audience,) or Widadaren, (abode of celestial nymphs), covered externally with
sand, — quite naked, and on account of its steepness, its top has never been ex-
amined. At a small distance from the Brama rises a smaller cone, called
Butak, (the bald). The two last have not exhibited any volcanic activity in
recent times. *
*' The Brama, which rises from the middle of the Dasar as a regular cone, is also
covered with sand, and is marked with regular parallel grooves and ridges : its height
is above 600 feet The ascent, though arduous, is facilitated by steps which the
natives have made in the sandy covering. On reaching the summit, I was surprised
by finding myself suddenly at the brink of an immense funnel, having a circum-
ference of about one mile, and a depth of above 600 feet. Its form is, on the whole,
regular ; the interior walls are stratified with undulating layers of sand, and volcanic
debris of different colours, grey, reddish, and black. The sides converge to a small
bottom, apparently about twenty yards in diameter, containing a greenish fluid, from
which volimies of smoke ascend. While standing at the brink, several outbursts
occurred which shook the mountain, and were accompanied by a rumbling noise
resembling distant thunder.
** The range of hills surrounding the Dasar is very steep, and elevated to the north :
at the opposite point it is lower, and affords a passage for men and horses ; and while
I was occupied in examining the Brama, my assistants amused themselves by gallop-
ing over the extensive sandy plain, 6000 feet above the level of the ocean, much to
the gratification of the attendant natives. The soil of the Tenger (wide or spacious)
hills is extremely fertile, consisting of a deep vegetable mould, accumulated for
many ages on the sand and ddbris thrown up from the mountain. Vegetables of
northern latitudes, potatos, cabbages, onions, &c., &c^ are planted by the natives in
great abundance for the supply of the markets of Pasuruhan and Surabaya. Euro-
jjcan fruits, as apples and peaches, are also raised; as well as wheat, and other
northern grains. Kice refuses to grow, and the coco palm produces no fruit. Most
of the plants of the higher regions of the island are also found, with several
v-hich appear to be peculiar to this mountain." — Map of the Island of Java,
with the Geographical Preface, &c., of Plantsd Javanicffi Rariores, by Thomas
Horsfield, M. D.
Several of the volcanic cones of Java are naked of vegetation at their tops, being
covered with lava thrown out by late ei*uptionB ; but more generally, the sucoeesive
JAVA 169 JAVA
uruptious have covered the deuiivibies wibh debriB arituiged in regulai' strata, and
vegetation has been going on for many ages. The great central chain itself consists
of independent mountains connected by low ranges, forming aggregately, a consecu-
tive series, single in some localities. The volcanos afford examples of every kind
of volcanic product, as lav% tu£i, obsidian, sulphur, and ashes in a high state of
comoiinution.
To the south of the great central is a range of low mountains skirting the
southern shore of the island, seldom exceeding SOOO feet high, called in Javanese,
kandang, literally " war drums,'' possibly from the columnar form of the rock com-
posing them. This is thought to have been produced by an agency distinct ^from
that which gave rise to the central chain. In some places this low chain comes into
contact with the high central one, and covers its basis; but it is not like it stratified,
although consisting also of volcanic materials, chiefly basalt. Agates, chalcedony,
flint, and petrified wood are found in it. The southern shore of the island is fre-
quently bounded by steep and often precipitous piles of trap. Low ranges of lime-
stone are seen in the low lands of the eastern parts of the island. In the western
part of it, where it is nearest to Sumatra, a few boulders of granite are occa-
sionally found ; • but, as a general rule, this rock forms no part of the geological
constitution of Java.
Hot springs are frequent in many parts of the island, generally at the basis of
the volcanos, and several of them strongly impregnated with carbonic add. Mud
volcanos exist in the low land% yielding muriate of soda for culinary purposes,
the most remarkable of which are mentioned under the head of Qrobagan.
The valleys of Java are innumerable, but its extensive plains are not above six in
number. In the first section of the island, or its eastern end, there is no considei'able
plain ; in the second only one, that of Bandong. These two constitute the country
of the Sunda nation, in which, therefore, there is but a single plain of great extent.
In the third and fourth sections there are four great plains, those of Surakarta,
Madiyun, KAdiri, and Malang ; and in the fifth, constituting the eastern portion of
the island, there are two, those of Bandawasa and Pugar. All these plains of the
country of the Javanese, are bounded to the east and west by mountains varying
from 8000 to above 11,000 feet high, which furnish them with a perennial supply
of water for irrigation, such as the Alps furnish to the plain of Lombardy.
Although the valleys of Java be frequently narrow, some of them are spacious,
and of at least equal fertility with the plains. That of Kadu, in the centre of the
island, is an example. This lies between the mountains Sundara, (the beautiful,)
and Sumbing, (the notched,) 9650 and 10,350 feet; and Mftrapi, (the volcano,)
and M4rbabu, (the nurse,) 8640 and 9590 feet high. It must also be added,
that the long alluvial tract which runs along the greater part of the northern side
of the island, is of the nature of an extensive plain.
Java is singularly deficient in lakes. It has no extensive collection of water, salt
or fresh, and no large lagune connecting vnth the sea. There exist, however, a few
beautiful mountain lakes. One of these lies within the mountain Wilis (the green),
which parts the plains of Madiyun and K&diri, and is known by the name of Q&bal,
literally, the slave or servant. There is a second in the province of Cheribon, known
by the Sanscrit name of T&laga, or the reservoir, and this gives its name to the
district in which it lies. A third is in the province of Pasuruhan and called Bafiunila, or
the blue-water. In Java, however, there are several extensive marshes in the native
language rawa, which, in the season of the rains, become lakes, are navigated and
have fisheries. The largest in the island is within the province of Ba&umas, and
close on the southern shore. This is called the Kawa-tuna, which literally signifies
" deaf morass." Another considei'able one lies in the district of Damak on the
northern side of the island, under the range of hills called Prawata, a name, however,
which is itself the Scmscrit for " mountain."
The rivers of Java, especially on its northern side, are almost innumerable, but
from the form of the island, they are of comparatively small size, none of them
navigable for vessels of burden, and few even for boats beyond the reach of the tide.
All of them are, more or less, obstructed by mud or sand bars at their mouths.
While, however, they afford but slender convenience to trade, they are excellently
adapted for u'rigation by their nimble flow and almost perennial supply of water,
qualities to which Java probably owes more for its immemorial civilisation, than
even to the great fertility of its soil. Few of the rivers of Java have specific names,
taking their appellations generally from the places thoy pass by, and changing them
with every new one, a circumstance which may, perhaps, be owing to their small size
JAVA 170 JAVA
and great number. There are, howerer, a few exceptions in favour of some of the
larger, as the S&raya, a river of the province of Bafiumas and the Praga, irith its
tributary, the Elo rivers of EAdu, all debouching on the southern ooaat In the
Javanese part of the island we have such names as Kall-putih, the white river, Kali-
pait, the bitter river, Eiali-aaam, tamarind river, and in the Sunda part, Chai-mannk,
bird river, Chai-wulan^ moon river, and Chai-tarum, indigo plant river.
The largest and most useful river of the island is that usually called that of Solo,
from its passing the native capital, of which thb is the popular name. This has its
source in one of the low ranges of mountains towards the southern side of the island,
and after a tortuous course of 850 miles, reckoning only from the native capital of
Solo or Surakarta, empties itself in the sea by two mouths in the narrow strait formed
between Java and the western end of the island of Madura. This river is usually
known to the Javanese by the name of the Bangawan, but this word usually means
*' laiige river," is not a proper name, and may be applied to any considerable stream.
Except for the three months beginning with August, being the three last of the dry
season, it is navigable for large boats, and for the whole year for small ones.
The second river in maf^nitude is called by the natives the Brantas, but usually by
Europeans the river of Surabaya. This also has its origin in one of the low mountain
ranges towards the southern coast, receives many affluents, and dividing itself into
two branches enters the sea by two mouths, one in the province of Pasuruhan, and
the other in the narrow part of the strait between the main island and Madura,
passing by the town of Suraba3ra and contributing to form its harbottr.
The climate of Java is what may be expected in a narrow sea-girt country between
five and eight degrees south of the equator, having plains, almost on a level with
the sea, habitable and inhabited land 6000 feet above it, with every variety between
them. The wet season, or summer, begins with October and ends with March, and
the dry, or winter, with April and ends with September. The monsoons are tfaoee
of the southern hemisphere, the north-western corresponding with the wet season,
and the south-eastern with the dry, instead of the south-western and north-eastern,
which blow on the opposite side of the equator. The setting in of these monsoons
IB iiTegular, and, even during their prevalence, there is some dry weather in the wet
and not unjfrequent rain in the dry. At the equinoxes, when the monsoons change
the weather is most unsettled, and most tempestuous at the commencement of the
winter solstice in September and October. Thunder storms are then frequent, and
in the vicinity of the hills often destructive to life. Land and sea breeses are
experienced within fifteen miles of the northern and southern coasts, and in particular
loodities of its eastern and narrowest extremity, the south-eastern monsoon blows
with great force across the whole island.
The temperature, so far as the seasons are concerned, is equable, that is, the whole
year is one continued summer. Near the level of the sea, which is that of the great
alluvial band, which runs along the northern side of the island, and of the wide
plains of the interior, Fahrenheit's thermometer seldom falls below 70*, and seldom
rises above 90". According to the elevation of the land, every variety of temperature
is experienced from this last heat to five degrees below the freezing point. Snow never
fidls, even on the highest peaks, but at the height of the nominal winter, in July and
August, ice a few lines thick is formed, and hoar*froBt is seen every morning, called
by the natives, poison-dew (ftmbun-upas), from its pernicious effect on vegetation.
In the inhabited mountain valleys, at the height of 4000 feet, the thermometer is
usually about 20^ below what it is at the level of the sea, and here is experienced a
climate agreeable and congenial to the European constitution, and where the corns,
fruits, flowers, and esculent vegetables of temperate regions, have long been
acclimated.
In point of salubrity, the climate of the high lands of Java is unexceptionable, and
that of the low, containing the mass of the population, is generally equal to that of
any other tropical country. In a few spots of the allu-rial band of the northern
coast, such as Batavia and Cheribon, deleterious malaria have occasionally prevailed,
arising from the neglect of canals and water-courses, or from these being obstructed
by volcanic ddbris ; but these are exoeptionfi, as are also a few forest tracts of the
interior of the island. The extensive cultivation of rice by irrigation, might, as it is
alleged to have done in temperate regions, have been expected to generate malaria,
but such is not the case, nor has it ever been even supposed to do so in the country
itself.
The botany of Java is rich and diversified. The whole island, in fact, presents
throughout, few of the plants being deciduous, the same appearanoe at all times^ as the
JAVA 171 JAVA
most fertile tempehnte regions at the height of sumznor. Its villages and even its
towns are, in a great measure, concealed from viewi by the luxuriant abundance,
and perpetual verdure of its vegetation. Patches of sandy shore and lava-
covered peaks of mountains are the few exceptions. The vegetation varies a
good deal with the soil, whether composed of the debris of volcanic matter,
by far the most prevalent one, or of calcareous rock, or of sand-stone. But it
varies far more, according to the elevation of the land, which gives rise to, at least,
BIX different botanical zones: of these, the learned Dr. Bleeker gives the following
Buccinct, but spirited description. ''It is more especially on the low coast lands
that we find superb palms, bananas, aroids, amaranthacee, poisonous euphorbiacese,
and papilionaceous legumens. Scarce have we reached the height of 1000 feet, above
the level of the sea, when our eyes are struck by the quantity of ferns which already
preponderate over the other plants. Here, too, we are surprised by magnificent
forests of slender bamboos growing spontaneously. The farther we ascend, the
greater is the change in the aspect of vegetation. Palms and leguminous plants
become rare, and bamboos are less abimdant. In recompense, we find forests of fig
trees with their tall trunks, spreading branches and thick foliage, enveloping more
lowly trees and humbler plants, and exhibiting a majesty which even surpasses the
splendour of the palms of the coast. Here, too, the ferns increase in number and
extent, often with trunks several yards in height. Orchideous plants also present
themselves in considerable numbers. Sometimes, these are found solitary and
independent, but more generally as paeudo-parssites, forming, in this case, along
with an infinite variety of other plants, an additional vegetation on old trees, hardly
distinguishable on this account on first view.
"At a height considerably higher, the vegetation still loses nothing of its imposing
aspect. The figs here fraternise with gigantic rasimalas (Liquidsmbar astingiara)
with white trunks. To the orchidea are added Nepenthes, with calyciform flowers
(Nepenthes gynmamphora), while numerous species of ferns are accompanied by
LoranthacesB and elegant Melastomas. The region of figs and rasimalas is bordered
above by that of oaks and laurels, and here the Melastomas and orchideous plants
beoome still more abundant, while the vegetation receives a new ornament in
numerous Pandans, particularly the Frednatias, which are fotmd as pseudo-parasites,
rubiaceous plants being at the same time abundant, growing by themselves and
flourishing in the shade. There is but one region higher than that of oaks and
laurels where the magnificence of the trees begins to decline. It would seem as if
nature, at the height of 5000 and 6000 feet, having accomplished her maste]>piece,
becomes powerless to maintain the tropical character of the vegetation. Therefore,
rubiaoesa, heaths, coniferous and other plants familiar to countries beyond the
tropics, present to us the Flora of higher latitudes. Gryptogamous plants, especially,
are infiiuitely multiplied ; mushrooms are abundant, and mosses cover the ground
and invest the trunks and branches of trees. The ferns are now smaller in size,
but play an important part, being of an infinite variety of forms, and constituting
the mass of the vegetation." Such ia the botanical character of the western or
Sunda portion of the island, and although there be several plants peculiar to each,
that of the central and eastern or Javanese portion does not materially differ
from it.
The Fauna of Java is proportionally as varied as its botany. Of mammiferous
animals, alone, it is thought to have no fewer than a hundred species, several of them
peculiar to it. It has four species of monkey, each with its proper name, with no
fiawer than eight generic names for the family, whether belonging to the popular,
the courts or the recondite language. It has one sloth peculiar to itself the Kukang
or Steuops Javanicus. The species of bats are numerous. One of these, the kalung
of the Javanese, or Pteropus adulis, is remarkable for its size and numbera A flock
of these is easily mistaken by a stranger for crows, and they are chiefly to be dia-
tinguiiihed by their larger size and heavier flight They feed on fruit, and in the
course of a night will devour the produce of several trees. Their flesh is considered
esoulent, but I never saw it eaten. The dung of another species, together with that
of swallows that dwell in caves and old buildings, affords the only supply of salt-
petre in Java and the other islands.
In Java, although the most populous and cultivated island of the Archipelago, wild
feline animals are still numerous, and likely to continue so for indefinite ages. The
tiger, known to the Javanese by the five different names, machan, mong, sima, uraga,
and sndula, the same as that of Sumatra, of the peninsula, and of Continental India,
abounds in all the forests of Java, fh)m one end to the other, although nearly unknown
JAVA 172 JAVA
in Baliy divided from it by a strait only two miloB broad. The leopard, caUed in
Jayanese machan-tutul, that ia, the '' spotted tiger/' is also common, the same litter
sometimes producing a black variety of it, in which the spots can only be distinguished
in a strong light, — &e machan kimibang, or black-bee tiger of the JaYsnese. Two
small species of leopard are also found, Felis minuta, and the Linsang graciliB, the
last an anomalous animal with some of the habits of a weaseL Of the weasel family,
Java has five species, two of which yield musk, and a third is the luwak of the
Javanese, and the musang of the Malays — ^Viverra musanga — ^an animal of the aixe of
an ordinary cat, and of very wide distribution, for it is found also in the Philippine
islands. Of the dog, besides the half-domesticated race, there are two wild species,
but the fox, the jackal, the wolf, and the hyena of the continent of India are
unknown. There \b one otter, Aonyx leptonyz, the w&lingsang of the Javanese^ and
the wargul of the Sundas.
The elephant is not found in Java, nor does there exist any evidence for its ever
having been indigenous, and this is the more remarkable since it is abundant in
Sumatra, even in those parts of it which are but a few miles distant. The aninoal, bow-
ever, was sufficiently known to the Javanese for ages, and was probably imported
occasionally for the use of its princes, for in the various dialects of their languages
it has no fewer than seven different names, all of which however are borrowed from
Sanscrit. Java has one rhinoceros peculiar to itself^ and differing even from those of
Sumatra, the warak and gamata of the Javanese, an animal easily tamed, and when
so, gentle in its habits. Besides the domesticated hog, Java has two wild species —
the Sus verrucosus and Sus vittatus. Both are more numerous than I have ever seen
the wild hog in any other country, and their depredations are a serious impediment
to agriculture.
A wild ox is found in the forests of Java, the same which is found in the peninsula
and Borneo, but which is wanting in Sumatra. This is the banteng of the Javanese,
and the Bos sondaicus of naturalists. The Dutch naturalists inform us that all
attempts to tame it have been vain, as in the case of the bu£BBilo of the American
prairies. According to the Javanese, however, it will pair with the domesticated
cattle, producing a fertile offspring, to which they attribute the largest breed of their
oxen. The buffalo. Bos bubalus, is found wild in many of the forests of Java, but
considered by naturalists to be derived from individuals in the domestic state that
had escaped from servitude. The horse nowhere exists in Java, in the wild state,
as it does in Celebes, but the numbers of this animal and of homed cattle in the
domestic state throughout the island is very large, the Dutch returns reckoning
the first at 320,000, and the last at about 2,000,000.
No wild goat exists in Java, but the domestic, the mend^ and wftdus of the
Javanese language, has been immemorially known, although of small importance in
its rural industry. The sheep, usually known by its Sanscrit name biri, but sometimes
called '* the European goat," is very little known to the natives. Six different species
of deer exist, the most numerous of which are the kidang, Cervus mantjac, and the
mAnjangan, Cervus rufa. These two will live and multiply in parks and paddocks,
like our fallow and red deer, and are occasionally so kept One species only of pigmy
deer exists, the kanchil of the Malays and Javanese, and the Moschus kandiil of
naturalists. One species of hare is found in the neighbourhood of Batavia, and to
the distance of about 50 miles east of it, but in no other part of the island. It is a
small animal, not exceeding a rabbit in size, and even of less speed, for a terrier will
overtake it. It had been generally believed that it was originallv imported from the
continent of India, but the Dutch naturalists have lately described it as a distinct
species, under the name of Lepus melaoancha, from being black over the nape
instead of red, as the European hare.
Among birds it may be noticed that the number of species is large, but that
of individuals generally small. Dr. Horsfield, to whom I am indebted for most of
this outline of the ecology of Java, has enumerated no fewer than 176 species I
shall notice a very few of them only. Of gallinaceous birds there is one species of
peacock equally handsome with the Indian, but differing from it, the Pavo spicifer;
but the small and beautiful double-spurred peacock of Sumatra and the peninsula
does not exist in Java, nor does the Ai^us or any other of the pheasants of these two
countries. Two species of Qallus, or cook, are found in the woods of Java, the ayam
alas, or " fowl of the forest," the Gallus Baiikiva of naturalists, probably the source in
the Archipelago of the domestic poultry, and very widely diffused over it, and the Gallus
furcatus or Javanicus, theBAkekuk of the Javanese, a very beautiful bird and peculiar
to Java. This will pair with the common poultry, but the progeny is a hybrid, which
JAVA 173 JAVA
for its beauty is sometimea kept by the natives, and often named in their poetry
under the appellation of pakiser. Tvro species of partridge are found in Java, the
Perdrix Sinensis and Perdriz Javanica, and two small species of quail, the
pugnacious propensities of the females of which, in the season of incubation, are
availed of to produce a combat after the manner of fighting cocks. Of the pigeon
tribe there are in Java no fewer than ten different speciea
The family of birds which is most deficient is that of web-footed water fowl.
There is but one species of duck, a teal, the Dendrocygna arciiata of naturalists, and
no species of goose, nor of either kind, any migratory bird. There are however two
indigenous species of pelican. The species of waders are numerous. The common
anipe, the burchet of the Javanese, is more abundant, and at tho same time of better
quality than I have ever seen it in any other country, and unless we except hogs
and deer, the best game of the islaud. Among the waders there are eleven species of
stork or heron. Among smaller birds there are two species of cuckoo, one of which,
the k&dasek of the Javanese, has a wild plaintive and monotonous note, not un-
pleasant to Europeans.
With the Javanese, however, the last is a bird of ill-omen, and whenever its note is
heard attempts are made to drive it away. The mancho or Qracula religiosa, the
speaking minor, is common. The Java sparrow, a great enemy of the rice crop, is but too
frequent. It is the glatek of the Javanese, the Fringilla oryzivora, or rice-devouring
finch of naturalists. The house sparrow is a stranger, introduced seemingly by
Europeans. It is still, for the most part, confined to the European towns on the
northern coast, and called by the natives manuk greja, that is, the *' church bird,"
from its partiality for breeding under the eaves of churches. Birds of prey are
very numerous, but none of them of great size. There are eight species of eagle or
falcon, and seven of owls, but no vulture. One species of black crow is abundant.
Fish are plentiful along the whole northern coast of Java, and a few species are of
excellent quality, but, upon the whole, the abundance and the quality are not equal
to those of the shores of the Straits of Malacca. The fresh water fish is all of very
Inferior quality, and no migratory species frequent the rivers for spawning as they
do on the rivers of the eastern side of Sumatra. Crustaoeous fish are very abundant
on the northern coast, especially oysters, of excellent quality, and prawns, the last
oontributing largely to the subsistence of the people in the shape of the condiment
called by the Javanese trasL The fisheries of the exposed southern coast of the
island are unimportant. Whales never frequent either coast of Java, and are known
to both Malays and Javanese generally by the Sanscrit name of g^'ah-mina, signifying
" elephant fish."
Java, whether the inhabitants be of the Javanese or Sunda nation, is peopled
by the same race, the Malayan. This is characterised by a short and squat person,
the stature being about two inches short of that of the European, the Chinese, the
Hindu, the Persian, or Arabian. The face is round, the mouth wide, the cheek-bones
high, the nose short, small, never prominent as with the European, and never flat as
with the African negro. The eyes are always black, small, and deep-seated. The
complexion is brown, with a shade of yellow, not so dark as with the majority of
Hindus, and never black as with some of them. Fairness is, indeed, in estimation
with the Javanese and others of the same race. The hair of the head is abundant,
always black, lank, and harsh, or at least never soft or silky. The hair on other
parts of the body is either scanty or altogether wanting. The beard consists only of
a few short straggling hairs, and there is none at all on the breast or limbs. The
Javanese, personally, are not an agile people, and make very indifferent nmners or
wrestlers. Compared with the Hindus they are personally a slow people.
As to moral character, the Javanese of the present day may be described as a peace-
able, docile, sober, simple, and industrious people. From my own experience of them,
I have no difficulty in pronouncing them the most straightforward and truthful
Asiatic people that I have met with. The practice of running a muck, so frequent
with the other cultivated nations of the Archipelago, is of very rare occurrence with
them. It is curious to contrast this character with that given of them by the Euro-
peans who first observed them. Barboea, who saw them at Malacca before its
conquest, and of which, according to De Barros, they formed the majority of the popu-
lation, renders the following account of them : — '* These," says he, '' are small thick-
made men, with large faces, broad chests, and ill-favoured. They go naked from the
waist upwards, and below it they wear a piece of cloth carelessly put on. They wear
nothing on the head, but their hair is arranged with art ; and some have the hair
shaven or cropped. They are a people of groat ingenuity, very subtle in all their
JAVA 174 JAVA
dealings ; very malicious, great deceivers, seldom speaking the truth ; prepared to do
all manner of wickedness, and ready to sacrifice their lives. Among them are some
who, if labouring under any dangerous malady, will make a vow to Qod, that if restored
to health they will choose a more honourable mode of death. When recovered, these
persons will issue from their houses with dagger in hand. Then, they rush into the
public squares and kill all the persons they meet, like rabid dogs. These are called
amnios (amoks). When they are seen in this fury, all begin to ciy out 'amnios,
amnios,' so that people may protect themselves, and with knives and spears they
forthwith slay them. Of these Javanese, many dwell in the city with their wives and
children, who have much wealth." — Bamusio, VoL L p. 317. If this be a true repre-
sentation of the character of the Javanese in the beginning of the 16th centuiy, and
considering the general accuracy of Barbosa, I am disposed, making due allowance
for some exaggeration, to think that it is, all that can be said is, that three oentuiies
and a-half have wrought a great change in the character of this people.
That Java was a populous and civilised country for many ages before it was known
to Europeans that such a country existed, is a matter easily proved. De Barros describes
the Javanese, at the airival of the Portuguese, as what they still are, '' the most civil*
isod people of these parts " (gentes de mais polioia). They were then found carrying
on trade from Sumatra to the Moluccas; they furnished bread-corn and manufac-
tures to the less advanced nations in return for their rude productions, and they had
effected conquests or settlements in Malacca, Palembang in Sumatra, and in the two
fertile islands of Bali and Lomboc In fact, it is certain that the Javanese were, at
this time, a far more civilised, probably even a more numerous people, than either
the Mexicans or Peruvians, who became known to Europe nearly at the same time.
The essential part of Javanese civilisation is, I am satisfied, of native oiigin, and
sprang up in the island itself, although it subsequently received considerable acces-
sions by intercourse with Hindus. It had its source in the fertility of the land, and
in its natural capacity to supply water to augment that fertility, by irrigation. We
may judge that these were the fundamentnl causes of the social advancement of Java,
when we find that wherever similar facilities exist, as in the islands of Bali and
Lomboc, and in a portion of the volcanic interior of Sumatra, a similar, although not
an equal civilisation has sprung up ; whereas in countries destitute of them, as Borneo,
the people, although of the same race, and eigoying nearly the same climate^ are in a
yery rude, or ^ven savage condition.
With the exception of the people of Bali and Lomboc, the Javanese are the only
nation of the Archipelago that can be said to be almost exclusively agiiculturaL With
the exception of the fishermen of the northern coast, and a very small proportion of
artisans, the computed ten millions of the population of the island is directly or indi-
rectly engaged in agriculture, and have made a respectable progress in it ; for their
husbandry is equal, if not superior to that of any Asiatic people, the Chinese excepted.
This is evinced by the neatness and cleanness of the fields, by the good condition of
the cattle, by attention to the seasons of sowing and reaping ; but above all, by a
skilful irrigation, in which consists the chief improvement in all warm countries, and
especially in those in which the main crop eonsiBts of rice. To regulate the processes
of agriculture, the Javanese have a rural calendar still in use. This consists of
a year of 360 days, beginning with the winter solstice of the southern hemisphere in
the end of June, and divided into twelve seasons of unequal length, varying from
23 to 41 days each, in which the times for clearing and preparing the land,<~of sowing,
of transplanting, and for reaping the different crops are detailed. The native terms by
which the seasons are named, are, for the most part, the ordinal numbers of the verna-
cular language, while the adaptation of the seasons to the latitude of Java, sufficiently
show that this calendar is a Javanese invention, and not borrowed from strangers.
Irrigation, in so far as the rice crop is concerned, multiplies the productive powers
of the same soil, from five to ten-fold, according to the abundance of water, and the
facility of using it, and has been carried to such an extent in Java, that the minority
of the arable land of the island consists of it, remaining thus a permanent inheritance
to its inhabitants. The perennial streams and rivers, as they descend from the
mountains, are, by means of embankments and trenches, diverted into small fields
surrounded by low dikes, which can be flooded or drained at pleasure. The process
of forming such lauds is expensive and laborious, but when once formed, they
are easily preserved. These watered lands are known by the native name of sawah,
> to distinguish them from dry -field, known by the names of tAgal and umah, all which
terms, most probably taken from the language of Java^ are found in all those of the
western parts of the Archipelago.
JAVA 175 JAVA
When the water for irrigated lands is suffioiently abundant and continuous, two
crops of rice are raised within the year, and in some cases even three within eighteen
months, for the sun Lb hot enough to ripen rice in every season. In such cases, too,
the husbandman may follow his convenienoe as to the time of sowing, and he does so,
for in contiguous fields may frequently be seen sowing and reaping rice, with every
intermediate stage of the growth of the plant When the water is not sufficiently
copious for two rice crops, the corn is sown in the wet or hot season, and in the dry,
or cold, crops considered of secondary value are produced, such as pulses, oil-giving
plants, and cotton. No manure is ever applied to irrigated lands, nor are fallows
practised ; but notwithstanding this, the system of cropping now described has been
going on for ages, and, apparently, without diminution in the fertility of the land.
The soil itself is, no doubt, of eminent fertility, but the water evidently goes for
2nore than the boU.
Dry or upland arable, compared to irrigated land, is of small value ; indeed, in
unfavourable situations such is its abundance, that it is not worth appreciation. On
the best dry lands rice is occasionally grown without the help of water, but more
generally dry lands are used for such crops as pulses, oil-giving plants, cotton, sugar-
cane, and tobacco, and, at present^ on Uie mountain-slope^ at an elevation of two
and three thousand feet, for coffee.
In the most fertile parts of Java^ and these from the neighbourhood of the high
mountains, are usually, also, the most picturesque, the scenery is at once agreeable
and magnificent, and certainly for grandeur and beauty excels all that I have seen,
even in Italy, that country wfaloh, in summer, bears the nearest resemblance to Java.
In such situations we have mountains ten thousand feet high, cultivated to half
their height, the valleys below having all the appearance of a well-watered garden, in
which the fruit trees are so abundant as to conceal the closely packed villages.
When Java first became known to Europeans, its principal agricultural products
were ricei, pulses, sesame, ground-pea, and other oil-givipg plants, indigo and cotton,
with palms and indigenous fruits. European intercourse has added to these, two
products of America, maiz and tobacco, and one of Arabia, or rather of Africa, coffee.
The quantity of its great staple, rice, which it produces, can only be estimated. The
statistical returns of the Netherland (Government give the produce for some of the
provinces only, so that no general view can be exhibited for the whole island. With the
exception of a small quantity of maiz, rice is the only bread-corn of all the Javanese ;
and therefore, if we take the consumption per head at a quarter, or US lbs., this, on a
computed population of ten millions, will make the total annual produce the same
number of quarters. The export is, at present, too inconsiderable, materially to affect
this computation, for in 1848 it amounted to no more than 217,000 quarters.
From the first appearance of Europeans, and no doubt for many ages before
it, Java was the great granary of the other countries of the Archipelago. This
fact is attested by De Barros, in so for as concerns Malacca, and the countries
in its neighbourhood. He tells us truly that the territory of Malacca is naturally
sterile; and that through an interruption of the communication with Java,
a famine ensued almost immediately after the Portuguese capture. *' At this time,"
says he, " on account of the troops that had come from India, and because the junks
did not arrive from Java, which alone brought provisions to the city, the Laksi-
mana, (the Malay admiral), intercepting them on the way, the town began to be in such
want of them that our people were leduoed to one meal a day, and this consisting
of a very small quantity of rice boiled in water. And the famine was so great
among the Moors, and other people of the land, that the poor were found detui in
the streets ; and those who escaped death by fitunine were killed by tigers in the
woods, where these poor people had betaken themselves in search of wild fruits.
The fieunine, indeed, was so greats that it produced a truce, for both parties were
more intent on seeking food than on fi'ghting. What led to this was, that the
monsoon was adverse for our sending for provisions to Java» as Malacca and all
the neighbouring countries depend on that island for them." — ^Decade n. Book vi., c. 2.
Java continued from its first discovery, until within a few years back, to be the
granary of the Archipelago; but the extensive culture by corvee labour of such
products as sugar, coffee, and indigo, under an idle and pernicious hypothesis that
some peculiar commercial advantage to the state belonged to their culture, has
greatly interfered with the production of com. The export of it has consequently
diminished, and the price materially risen ; the consequence of which has been,
that'countries immemorially supplied by it» now draw their com from other countries,
such as Bali, Lomboc, Slam, and Arraccan.
JAVA 176 JAVA
The state of the mechanio arts among the Javanese is far below that of thdr
agriculture, but still in advance of that of the other nations of the Archipelago ; and
with the exception of textile fabrics, not below that of the Hindus. In this respect^
the Javanese are probably on a par with our Saxon fore&thers a thousand years ago.
About thirty different crafts may be enumerated as practised among them. We
cannot be sure, however, how many of these have been immemorially practised ; for
by prefixing words (tukang or juru) equivalent to our own terms, smith, wright^ work-
man, or artificer, to the object on which the calling is exercised, any craft may be
created at pleasure. The most important, however, and these have specific names,
are the blacksmith or cutler, the carpenter, the kris-sheathmaker, the coppersmith,
the goldsmith, and the potter.
The manufacture of bricks, bata, and of tiles, gftnding, is certainly a native art
Both bricks and tiles are, at present, largely made ; and excellent bricks are fomid in
the remains of many ancient temples, proving that the art of manu&cturing them
has been known for many ages. Coarse unglazed pottery, similar to that of Hin-
dustan, is also made ; and the names of the different sorts, all belong to the vema-
oular language. The potter is one of the artisans distinguished by a specific name,
ktiudi ; and we conclude, therefore, that the art is an ancient and indigenous one.
Beyond the manufacture of this coarse article, the Javanese have not advanced, — all
their better pottery having been for ages received from China. In this, however,
they are no worse than the Hindus.
The chief exercise of the skill of the Javanese in carpentry, is displayed in house
and boat building ; in the fabrication of agricultural implements ; and in that of the
hilts, shafts, and scabbards of warlike weapons. The ordinary dweHings of the
peasantry consist of a rough frame of timber, thatched on the coast with the leaves
of the nipa palm, and in the interior with grass; having walls and partitions of split,
flattened, and plaited bamboo work. They are always built on the ground, as are those
of the people of Bali andLomboc, which distinguishes them from the dwellings of the
Malays, and other maritime tribes, always erected on tall piles, to suit the low
and often marshy situations which they usually occupy. The dwellings of the
upper classes differ, chiefly, in their greater size, with the exception of the palaces of
the princes and higher nobility.
Boat building is an art extensively practised all along the northern coast of Java ;
and there are vessels of this description of all sizes and many forms, fn>m mere
fishing canoes to those of fifty tons, which navigate the principal rivers. In Javanese
there are no fewer than four generic names for a ship or vessel : prau, jong, baits,
and palwa, — all native words. The first of these terms has been almost naturalised
in the European languages. The second is that most generally applied by the
Javanese to their larger vessels, which the Portuguese not improperly translated*
** ships.'* They wrote the word as junca, and this is the term which, in the shape of
junk, we apply to the large vessels of the Chinese, but which the Javanese and othezv
denominate wangkang. The building of ships is, at present, conducted only under
European direction, the workmen, however, being all Javanese. When Europeans
became first acquainted with the Javanese, and found them engaged in the spice
trade, thev were possessed of vessels of large sise, well entitled to the name of ships.
Barbosa gives a curious, and to all appearance, a very accurate account of these vessels
and their import cargoes. ''There arrive here from Java," says he, "many vessels
which have four masts, and are vei7 different from ours. They are built of lat^
timber, and when they become old they are covered with new planking, and some-
times there will lie three or four coatings of this description, one over the other.
The sails are made of osiers (ratans), and the ropes of the same. These vessels bring
great quantities of rice, flesh of oxen, hogs, and deer," (the dendong and balur of
the Malays and Javanese, or jerk beef,) " common fowls, garlic, and onions. Also,
they bring many arms for sale, such as lances, swords, shields with daggers, with hilts
wrought in marquetry, and blades of the finest steel. Finally, they bring cubebas,*'
(cubcb pepper,) ''and a yellow colouring matter which they call casuba,** (kasumba,
" safflower,*') ** and gold. Among tho mariners there are some whose wives and
children never land, for in their vessels they are bom, live, and die." — Ramuaio,
Vol. i., p. 817.
We have an example of the extent to which these vessels could be fitted out by
the Javanese, in an expedition which they prepared against MiUacca, before its con-
quest by the Portuguese, and in which they persevered even after tiiat event.
De BarroB informs us that it was fitted out by the lord of Japara, a man who had
" enriched himself by piracy ; " and the same who afterwards became king of Sunda,
JAVA 177 JAVA
that IB, of Jacatra, or the modem Batavia. By the Portugueee, his name is written
Pate Unus, the first part of which is Javanese from the Suiscrit for " lord/' but the
aeoond, probably Arabic, is not intelligible. The force consisted of " 12,000 men
oonyeyed in juncaa (junks correctly Jungs) and smaller yessels, with much artillery;"
the total number of the yeesels of all kinds having been, acoordiog to Castaghnoda,
SCO. The expedition reached Malacca in 1518, two years after its conquest by the
Portuguese, and was defeated and dispersed by a small Portuguese squadron, and
a small garrison. In the neighbourhood of Japara where this fleet was equipped^ it
may be remarked, are situated the finest teak forests of Java.
The agricultural implements of the Javanese are like those of nearly all other
Asiatic people, simple and rude. The plough, "waltiku," consists of a single handle,
a beam, a soc tipped with iron, and a mould board, in which last particular it is more
perfect than the usual Hindu plough. It has no coulter, or cutting instrument, — ^no
iron indeed in its construction, except the tip of the soc It is drawn with a yoke, and
always by one pair of oxen, or of bi;^lo8, and no more. The han*ow is only a great
rake, with a single row of wooden teeth. The spade and shovel are unknown ; and
the universal substitute for them is the hoe, " pachuL" These simple implements
are not, however, so inadequate to their purpose as might, at first sight, be supposed ;
for the greatest and beet part of the land is tilled when the soU, by flooding, is
reduced to the condition of a soft mud.
The Javanese of the present day have no architecture that deserves the name,
and apart from the temples of their ancient worship, most probably never had, for
no relics remain of any kind of domestic architecture, of bridges, of reservoirs, or of
embankments of rivers, such as are found in the country of the Hindus. The remains
of the remarkable architecture connected with the Hindu religion are, as is well
known, abundant ; but it is singular that an improved architecture ceased with that
religion, and that no Mahommedan structure of solid materials or beauty hss been
eonvtruoted since the adoption of the Mahommedan religion in the long period
which has elapsed since the end of the 15th century.
It is in working the metals, however, that the Javanese have most excelled, and as
they acquired this comparative excellence without possessing any of the metals
themselves, but having all of them imported, the fact may be considered as evidence
of a higher civilisation than was attained by any of their neighbours. According to
the Javanese, the first rank among artisans is to be ascribed to the blacksmith, or at
least to the cutler. In the native language this personage is called ftmpu, but he has
another designation, pand^, which signifies "cunning" or "skilful." The most
esteemed product of his skill is the dagger, the well known kris, which, in the different
dialects of the Javanese, has four different names, k&ris, duwimg, churiga, and
wangkingan, and is alleged to have no fewer than one hundred different forms.
Every man, and boy of fourteen wears, at least, one kris, as parcel of his ordinary
drees, and men of rank two and sometimes four. Even ladies of high rank occa-
sionally wear one, so that the total number throughout the whole island cannot be
less than several millions. Swords, taking the different names, according to their form,
of pftdang, klewang, badik, lamang, golok, and chudra, all native words except^
perhaps, the first, are used only in native warfare, and are much less esteemed than
the kris, the national weapon. The Javanese spear, a plain pike with an iron head,
is a formidable weapon, from its long shaft, of from 12 to 14 feet Some of the
Javanese krises, from their antiquil^, are highly appreciated, and when saleable bring
enormous prices. They are fancied, in fact, to be charmed, but the temper of the
best of them may be doubted, since the Javanese have no iron of their own, and
the source and quality of what they had before their intercourse with Europeans
is unknown. The Javanese had also before the arrival of the Portuguese, a know-
ledge of gunpowder and artillery. De Barros in describing the expedition already
alluded to as having invaded MoJacca in 1513, says, "that it was furnished with much
artillery, made in Java, for," adds he, "the Javanese are skilled in founding or
casting, and in all work in iron, besides what they have from India."
In works in gold and silver the Javanese display no peculiar skill, for, although
they manufiicture ornaments of considerable beauty, they execute nothing equal to the
filagree work of Sumatra. In works in brass, their chief excellence consists in the
fabrication of musical instruments, a full band of which is known throughout the
Archipelago by the Javanese name of gamAJan. The instruments consist chiefly of
bars, constructed after the manner of the Stauata, or of the gong, a word whicli has
found its way into our dictionaries, and is genuine Javanese. Some of these gongs
have been made three feet in diameter. Musical instruments of this description are
JAVA 178 JAVA
Btill manufBictnred in Java, and form an article of exportation, as, indeed, they are
described as having done, on the first arrival of the Portuguese.
The only textile material of native produce woven by the Javanese ia oottODy rather
a coarse article, and the only kind of cloth made from it is a stont durable calico,
the muslins and other fine textures of continental India being unknown to the
Javanese looms. The processes of cleaning and preparing the cotton, of spinning,
weaving and dyeing are all carried on by women, and are purely domeetie manu-
factures, as is the case with all the other nations of the Archipelago, and with the
Burmese, Peguans, Siamese, and Kambojans, evidence with all of them of rudeneas
and semi-barbarism. The usual mode of giving variety of colours to the web is the
simplest possible, consisting in weaving the previously coloured yam, and always in
stripes, chequered or tartan patterns, so frequent with the other tribes, being against
the taste of the Javanese. Another mode of effecting the same object is peculiar to
this people. It consists in covering with melted wax the part of the doth not
intended to be dyed before putting it in the vat, the process necessarily requiring
repetition in proportion to the number of colours intended to be given. Cloths of
this pattern go under the name of batik, which means painting or delineating, from
the pattern being first delineated on the cloth with a pencil, and filled in with a
painting tube having a bowl for the melted wax. The process is operose and expen-
sive, and it may be adduced as proof how little beyond religion, the Javanese gained
from their intercourse with the Hindu, since they did not instruct them in the art
of calico-piinting, immemorially practised by themselves.
To judge from its name, kapas, a corruption of the Sanscrit karpasa, the cotton
plant was, most probably, introduced into Java by the Hindus. All the terms, how-
ever, connected with the art of converting the raw material into a textile fabric, are
native words, such as, spinning, antik ; yam, bftnang or law^ ; weaving, tftnun ; warp,
lungsen ; and woof, pakan. So also are words connected with the decoration of the
wrought fabric, as dom, needle; sewing, jait or jaib ; embroidering, sulam. All Uiese
terms, including the foreign name of the plant itself, and always in its corrupted form,
have been very widely diffused among the other languages of the Archipelago, a fact
from which we are led to infer that the manufacture of cotton was spread from Java
to the other islands. The same fact, may, however, lead us to conjecture that the
Javanese, before the introduction of the cotton plant, may have possessed the art of
weaving a cloth from some native material, in the same manner that the natives of
the Philippines did from the fibre of the textile Banana.
The only material, besides cotton, from which doth is made by the Javanese is
silk) and as the art of rearing the lolk-worm has never been introduced into Java,
with any effectual result^ the raw material has always been imported. The name by
which it is universally known in the Asiatic Archipelago, the Philippines excepted,
is sutra, which is the Sanscrit word for ''thread," in which form it was most probably
first introduced by the Hindu traders. At present, the raw material is imported
from China, an inferior silk, from which a coarse cloth is wrought with the same
implements as that of cotton.
Paper, known by the vernacular name d&luwang, is, as stated in another place, a
manufacture peculiar to the Javanese. It is of the nature of the papyrus of the
ancients, and not of the beautiful and ingenious fabric which the nations of Europe
acquired from the Arabs of Spain, and so long known to the Chinese. The poesesaion,
however, of such a paper as that made by the Javanese, evinces a superiority in the
arts over the other nations of the Archipelago, many of whom still continue to
scratch their writings on palm-leaves.
The manufacture of glass is now, and has at dl times been, unknown to the
Javanese, to whom this artide is known only by the Sanscrit name, kacha. The
mirror is known by a native name, chArmin, and most probably, as in Burope,
consisted of polished metallic plates, before the introduction of glass coated with tin.
In higher branches of knowledge, the litUe that is known to the Javanese is soon
told. The Hindu system of noting numbers seems to have been introduced from
India, and not by the Arabs, for we find it in ancient inscriptions, both on stone and
brass. The Javanese, however, have little knowledge of arithmetic, and it can hardly
be said to exist among them as an art. As connected with astronomy, they have a
rural year, of 360 days, divided into twelve seasons of unequal length, two being of
23 days, two of 24, two of 26, and four of 41. The first ten of these seasons take
their names from the ordind numbers of the vernacular language. The meaning of
the word, which is the name of the eleventh season, has escaped my enquiries, but
the twelfth signifies, "certain," or ''established," and corresponds with the dry
JAVA 179 JAVA
seMon, when the riee haireBt is completed^ that ib, with the height of winter, or
June and July for the southern hemisphere. From the native names of the seasonB
in this rural calendar and their oonformity with the climate and latitude of Java,
there can be no question of this division of the year being of indigenous invention.
The Javanese have also a native week of five days. By this, the market days are still
designated. Each day has a native name, and Uiese names are of such antiquity that
their literal signification cannot be determined. The names for a day, a month or
moon, and for a year, although they have each Sanscrit synonyms are all Javanese,
and have had a wide dissemination over the other languages of the Archipelago.
To the native calendar, the Hindus superadded their own. They introduced the
week of seven days with its Sanscrit names, and in the same sequence in which it is
so general throaghout central Asia and Europe. This, however, has been long
obsolete, and is found only in old writings. They introduced, also, one of their eraa^
that of Salivana or Saka, known to the Javanese by the Sanscrit name of Saka-waraa,
literally, the year of Saka. This era, which commences 78 years after the birth of
Christ, still nominally prevails in Java, and did so in realitv down to the year of our
time 1688, or for 165 years after the overthrow of the Hindu religion. At that time,
through the caprice of a reigning sovereign, solar time, with its intercalations, was
changed for lunar, without adopting the year of the Hegira, so that the era of
Salivana and that of Java no longer coiTcapond. In all other respects, the Arabian
calendar, with the names of the days of the week and of the months prevail in Java
as in all Mahommedan countries. The native and the Hindu calendar of Java existed
in no other country of the Archipelago, except the neighbouring islands of Bali and
Lomboc, in which they are still found, and into whidi there is no question but that
they were introduced from Java.
Music is, probably, of all others, the art in which the Javanese, compared with
most other Asiatic people, have made the greatest progress. In common with all the
other nations of the Archipelago, they have generallv fine musical ears, and are
passionate lovers of music. Javanese melodies are wild, plaintive, and beyond all
other Astatic music, not, perhaps, excepting that of the Persians, pleasing to the
European ear. Most of their musical instruments, too^ are superior to those of other
Asiatic nations. They have wind and stringed instruments, both of them rude
and imperfect however. Their best and most frequent are those of percussion. Some
of these consist of a single gong^ a Javanese word, or of a series of them representing
different notes, and others of bars of brass or sonorous wood placed over troughs and
representing so many keys, after the fashion of the harmonicon, called in Javanese,
gAndang. The late Dr. Chrotoh, a most competent judge, after inspecting the fine
collection of instruments brought to England by Sir Stamford Raffles, &voured me
with his opinion of them as well as of the genenJ character of Javanese music. With
respect to the single gongs, he thus expressed himsell "A pair of gongs was sus-
pended from the centre of a most superb wooden stand, richly carved, painted, and
gilt. The tone of those instruments exceeded in depth and in quality anything I
had ever heard." Of the instrument consisting of a double series of small gongs,
he thus spoke. ** The tone of this instrument is at once powerful and sweet, and its
intonation clear and perfect," and of the instruments of pNeroussion, generally, he
observed that he ''was astonished and delighted with their ingenious fabrication,
splendour, beauty, and accurate intonation." With respect to the character of
Javanese music, generally, he made the following observations. '* The instruments
are all in the same kind of scale as that produced by the black keys of the piano-
forte, in which scale, so many of the Scots and Irish, all the Chinese, and some of
the best Indian and North-American airs were composed. The result of my
examination is a pretty strong conviction that all the real native music of Java is
composed in a common enharmonic scale. Some of the cadences remind us of Scotch
music for the bag-pipe. Others in the minor key have the flat seventh, instead of
the leading note or sharp seventh, one of the indications of antiquity. In many of
the airs, the recurrence of the same passages is artful and ingenious. The irregularity
of the rhvthm or measure, and the reiteration of the same sound, are characteristic
of oriental music. The melodies are, in general, wild, plaintive, and interesting." I
may add, that a full band of Javanese musical instruments, which consists of nutes,
drums, gongs and staccatas, will cost from lOOL up to 4002.
Two languages are spoken in Java, of the same general structure, belongmg to the
same class of tongues, and having many words in common, yet essenti&lly differing
from each other. These are, the Javanese, spoken in the central and eastern part of
the islaud, and the Sunda spoken in the western part A small river called the
n 2
JAVA 180 JAVA
Losari is, at least the nominal boundary between them, on the northern side of the
island. In the ancient state of Cheribon, both languages are spoken, and it is pro-
bably from this circumstance that it takes its name, which is correctly Charubon or
Charubin, which literally signifies '' mixture." The JaYanese, as already stated, call
their own country Tanah or Siti Java, that is, " the Javanese land," and the region in
which the Sunda lang^ge is spoken, Tanak Suda or Pasundan, signifying, " land "
or "country" of the Sunda nation. In some respects, the two languages stand to
each other in the same relation asEngUsh and Welsh, French and Armoriean, Spanish
and Basque, (although, the two tongues, in this case, being of the same &mily, the
distinction is by no means so broad.
The Javanese, by far the most cultivated tongue, has been immemorially a written
language, and its alphabet has extended to the Sunda language^ to that of Bali, of
Lomboc, and of Palembung in Sumatra. Inscriptions on stone and brass will carry us
back in its history to the 12th century. The time which has elapsed since then,
however, undoubtedly forms but a very small portion of its history, for in the I2th
century, the Javanese were probably the same advanced people that Europeans found
them four centuries later. The written character is of two descriptions, that found
in ancient inscriptions, and that at present current. They seem, however, to be
essentially the same, and not to differ more than black letter from modem manu-
script. The character is peculiar, essentially unlike that of the other alphabets of
the Archipelago, and equally unlike any Hindu or other foreign character. It does
not even, like several of the ruder alphabets of the Archipelago, follow the rhythmical
arrangement of the Hindu alphabets. In fact it has all the appearance of being an
indigenous invention. The consonants alone are considered substantial letters, and
the vowels mere adjunctive signs to modify them, or as the Javanese designate them,
their " clothing," sandangan. The consonants are nineteen in number, but the initial
vowel a is considered a substantive letter. This vowel too, is inherent in, and follows
every consonant, unless there be a contrivance to elide it. Independent of this letter,
there are five other vowels. Javanese writing \a neat and distinct, and so fiir as con-
cerns native sounds, perfect, for every sound in the language has its representative
character, and the same character has invariably the one power and no other.
There are three dialects of the Javanese, the vulgar tongue^ the polite dialect, and
the ancient or recondite. All of them are marked, in common with the other
languages of the Archipelago, by simplicity of grammatical structure, a simplicity
which appears to be innate and original, and not, as in the case of the modem
languages of Europe, to have arisen from the breaking down of lang^uages of complex
structure, through an admixture of foreign tongues. The proof of this is that no
language of complex structure now exists, nor is there any evidence to show that one
ever did exist, while foreign words are adopted without change, and subjected to the
same rules of grammar as native ones. The simple structure of the Javanese has, in
fact, every appearance of being an original quality of it.
The polite, ceremonial, or court dialect or the Javanese is unique in the Archipelago,
nor, indeed, does there exist anything like it in any Asiatic language whatever. It is
what may be called a factitious language, and in framing it the object seems to have
been to avoid every word that by frequent use had become familiar, — to adopt
such as had not done so, — ^for this purpose to borrow words from other languages,
and, for the same end, to change words of the vulgar tongue, by altering their termi-
nations. The ceremonial language is that of the court, or, more correctly, that of cour-
tiers ; for the sovereign, and members of his fiimily, address others in the vulgar tongue,
while they themselves are addressed in this factitious language. In epistolary writing
the ceremonial dialect is always used, even by superiors addressing inferiors, unless
the party addressed be of very inferior rank indeed. In books it is used indiflfisrently
with the ordinary language, but all royal letters, edicts, and proclamations, are in
the vulgar tongue, — ^that is, in the language of authority and command. A knowledge
of the polite dialect is, of course, an indispensable accomplishment of a courtier.
One of the most frequent modes of converting words of the vulgar into the polite
dialect may be given as an example. This consists in the permutation of vowels,
usually of the final vowel of a word, and sometimes of a medial, but never of the
initial one. For this purpose the low, or broad'sounding vowels, are exchanged for
the high or sharp ones, in the followiug order : u, o^ a, d, e, %, The vowel «, in this
case, belongs to the vulgar tongue, and then we have a scale of ascending respect,
according to the quality of the party addressed. The verb " to sit" is an example.
In the vulgar tongue it is lunguh, and then follow these modifications, lungah,
l&ugah, and lingih. There can, of course, be no record of the time when this
JAVA 181 JAVA
singular language began to be framed, but we may be sure that its formation was
gradual, and that, in its present shape, it is the accumulation of many age& It
contains many Sanscrit words, and thereibre it must be concluded that it received a
large increase after the introduction of Hinduism. It has even a few Arabic words,
and hence it is to be inferred that it received some access, since the conversion to
Mahometanism. The bare existence of such a language, it may safely be asserted,
implies a very ancient dviliaation, as well as the long existence of a thorough despotism.
The recondite language of Java may be said, in many respects, to bear the same
relation to the popular one, that Sanscrit does to the current uinguages of Hindustan,
Pali to the Hindu-Chinese languages and Singalese, or Zend to the modem language
of Persia* In Bali and Lomboc it is still the language of the priesthood ; but in Java,
where, no doubt^ it onoe wa<i so also, and from which these small islands received it, it
is, at present, entirely a dead tongue, found only in ancient inscriptions and manu-
Bcripta The name by which it is usually known is kawi, which is, however, only the
correlative of jawi, signifying in this sense '' refined," in opposition to vulgar or com-
mon, the final vowel of both words being changed from a to t^ so as to make them to
belong to the polite dialect. The original woxd kawi seems to be the Sanskrit kavya,
meaning " narrative," a sense in which it also occurs in Javanese. In Java, there are
many ancient inscriptions on stone and brass in this dialect, written in an obsolete
character, yet essenl^lly the same as the modem, for the form and powers of the
letters, and the vowel-marks and orthographic signs are mere modifications, the
characters only ruder in form and less connected with one another. No ancient
inscription in Java exists in the modem character, but this is no proof that it did not
exist cotemporaneously with the ancient, for even in Bali and Lomboc kawi writings
are in the modem character of Java. The andent character was, indeed, probably,
at all times, confined to the priesthood, and to inscriptions which have always more
or less of a theological character. In corroboration, I may state that I found the
same to be the case m Burmese inscriptions, which are invariably in the Pali character,
even when in the popular language, and of modem date. Certain it is, at all events,
that the modem character of Java is near 400 years old, for it is written in Palembang,
in fiaH, and Lomboc, with no material difference from what it is in Java, after a vir-
tual separation since the year 1478.
The foreign languages which we find mixed with the Javanese are Sanscrit, Arabic,
and T&lugu, or Telinga. All these have found their way into it, not through foreign
conquest, and the intermixture and settlement of men of strange race, but through
the influence of religion and commerce. Of these languages by far the lai'gest infusion
is of Sanscrit Of the first conversion of the Javanese to Hinduism, and consequent
influx of its sacred language into Javanese, there is no record whatever ; but it seems
probable^ from the extent of the influence exercised, that the connection is of great
antiquity, — probably little short of twenty centuries. In the ordinary language of
Java, the proportion of Sanscrit words is about 11 in 100, but in the kawi, or I'econ-
dite, it is not less than 40 per cent The proportion of Arabic in Javanese is compa-
ratively smalL Nineteen out of twenty of the words are nouns; none of them affect
the grammatical structure of the language, and all that require it are altered in pro-
nunciation, BO as to suit the genius of Javanese prosody. The TAlugu words introduced
are very few in number, and most of them may be traced to the influence of
commerce.
The literature of the Javanese is sufficiently abundant, and exists both in the
ancient and modem languages. In both it is metrical throughout, the first being in
different metres, borrowed fr*om Sanscrit poetry, and the last in native stanzas, of
many kinds, and in a peculiar rhyme. The principal portion of Javanese literature
consists of romances, cnlled in the native language, konda, and in Sanscrit, charitra, and
of histories, partaking too much of the character of the romances, called babad, which
signifies, literally, "clearing land of forest." The romances are founded, some of
them, on Hindu legends, aud others on ancient Javanese story. Of the Sanscrit poems,
which describe the wars of the Pandus, and the adventures of the demi-godBama, the
Javanese possess abstracts both in the ancient and modem tongue. These two poems
are to the Javanese, and through the Javanese to the other civilised nations of the
Archipelago, what the poems of Homer were to the Greeks and Romans, and they
have even laid the scenes of them in their own island. The poem which describes
the wars of the Pandus is known to the Javanese by the name of the Bratayuda, a
title which is composed of two Sanscrit words, signifying "the war of the descendants
of Barat" This, toe most meritorious production of Javanese literature, is said to
have been composed in the 12th century (1195), by a Bramin of the name of
JAVA 182 JAVA
AmpusAdah, at the court* of a Javanese prince of Eftdiri, about tiie oentre and
towards the southecn side of the island, one of the most fartile, beaatiful, and
romantic parts of it.
It cannot with truth be said of Jayanese poetry, for such all JaYanese literature is,
at lewt in name* that it possesses either vigour or fertility of imagination. On the con-
trary, although a few better passages now and then occur, its general character is that
of inanity and childishness. At the same time, it^is certainly of a higher order than that
of any other people of the Archipelago, while it is much inferior to the literature of the
Hindus, itself assuredly puerile in comparison with that of the Persians and Arabs.
The Sunda lang^uage, as already stated, differs from the Javanese, and is a ruder and
less cultivated tongue. To judge by ancient inscriptions, it had once a peculiar
character of its own, but is now written in the Javanese, with the omission of two
letters, a palatal d and at. It has no recondite, like the Javanese, and no ceremonial
dialect^ except in so fiEur as it has borrowed, in the last case, a few words from that of
the Javanese. Its literature, also, small in amovmt> is taken from the latter.
The native government of Java is, like that of every other government of the dvil-
ised nations of Asia, a pure despotism, and chiefly distinguished fr*om that of the
other advanced nations of the Archipelago by its greater power, derived from the
superior civilisation and wealth of the people. The sovereign is the arbitrary lord of
all, including, in theory at least, the religion and the property of his subjects. All
titles are derived from him, and are annulled at his pleasure. He names his suoeessor
out of the members of his family ; and there is nothing hereditaiy, save the royal
family, for which there is a superstitious veneration, very like idolatry,-— even here,
however, scarcely extending beyond the first generation. Some notion of the prero-
gative of a Javanese king may be formed from the following translation of a patent of
nobility, known by the name of a nuwala, or ** royal letter," a word taken from the
Sanscrit : — " Ti^e notice ! This, the royal letter of us the exalted monarch, we give in
keeping to our servant (or slavej. Be it known to all our servants, whether high lords
or inferior chiefs of our royal aty and provinces, that we have given this our rescript
to our servant, in order that he may be made high from being low, and placed in our
confidence by being raised to the rank of a noble (niyaka, Sanscrit). Moreover, we
empower him to wear and use such dress, decorations and insignia as belong to a
high noble (bopati, Sanscrit), giving for his subsistence, out of our royal property
within a certain district, the quantity of land laboured by one thousand fiunilies."
The popular name for a king is ratu, most probably the same word which in some
other languages of the Archipelago is written datu, meaning, literally, an ancestor,
and figuratively a lord or seignior. But there are no less than nine synonyms, most
of them compound epithets taken from the Sanscrit, as narendra, " lord of men*"
and naradipa, ''lord of lords." The Javanese sovereign exercises his authority
through a minister, patch, which is Sanscrit, and he bears the Sanscrit title of
adipati, meaning " excellent lord," with the native epithet^ raden, prefixed, which
signifies "royally related." Under him are four assistants, patch or kliwon.
These are the deputies of the first minister, as he himself is of the sovereign. Two of
these are chained with the administration of the royal household and capital, and
two with the administration of the provinces of wmch, in the Javaneseportion of
the island, when under native rule thero were not fewer than forty. Tliese were
themselves under the administration of governors bearing the Sanscrit titie of bopati,
who had their assistants, so that a provincial government was a copy in miniature of
the supreme administration. The province was divided into districts, administered
by officers, called by the native name of dftmang, or the Sanscrit one of mantri. The
district was composed of a certain number of villages, in Javanese, d*u8im[i, and in
Sanscrit^ desa, each village having its head man, bftkftl or patingi, and his kliwon
or deputy.
A brief account of the palace and the village, the most important subjects of
Javanese government, will be a useful illustration of it. In Java there are no isolated
cottages or fiumhouses ; the whole island is an aggregation of villages, and both the
capitals and chief provincial towns are but assemblages of villages, with a palace
in the midst of them. For a town there is, in fact, no native name ,* the only terms
for it being the Sanscrit words nagara or nagari, and pnga. The palace of the prince
is called karaton, a derivative from ratu, a king, and meaning the royal residence.
This may be considered a walled town. The actual palace occupies the centre, and
is surrounded by the dwellings of the princes, and those of attendants and retainers.
The spaces unoccupied by houses contain the gardens and reservoirs of the sovereign.
The principal approach to the palace is invariably frt>m the north, and through a
JAVA 183 JAVA
square or court of conaiderable extent called the alun-alun, the sides of which are
adorned by rows of fig trees (ficus beDJaxnina)i while a pair of these are invariably in
its centre. It is here that the prince shows himself to his subjects with much
ceremony once in eyery week, and that tournaments, public processions, and military
exercises are exhibited. It is, in a word, the Javanese field of Mars. To the south
side of the palace there is a similar court, but on a much smaller scale. After
passing through the principal court we come to the actual entrance into the palace,
called the paseban, a word of Sanscrit derivation, meaning ** place of entry," and also
named pag&laran, or " place spread with mats." It is a pavilion, forming a waiting
room for the courtiers before entering into the presence. A spacious flight of stairs
leads from this to a terraced pavilion, the sitingil, literally, the " high ground," or
terrace in which the prince gives audience on public occasions. ]^m this spot
winding passages through a variety of walled inclosures and gates lead to the different
dwellings of the sovereign himself and of the members of his family.
The external walls of the ancient kraton, were of hewn stone, or of excellent brick
and mortar, without any other defence than round towers. At present they are imita-
tions of European fortifications, with bastions, parapets, moats, and glacis, the form,
however, being always the same in other respects. Of the extent of these walled
towns we can judge from the modem one of Tugyakarta, which is three miles in
circumference, and in my time, in 1816, contained a population of 10,000 inhabitants,
exclusive of the kampung or quarters — properly villages — which surrounded it
nearly up to the glacis. The extent of the Hindu capital of Majapait must have far
exceeded this, for the two principal gateways, still standing, are distant three miles
from each other. The residences of the governors of provinces, kabopaten, are
counterparts in miniature of the palace of the sovereign.
The village community constitutes the most important part of the Javanese insti-
tutions. The Javanese village, like the Hindu, is an incorporation, in which the
powers of self-government to a large extent are inherent Its officers consist of the
head man, his assistant or deputy, and the village priest, who are elected by the
occupants of the land, and in a few cases, by its proprietors. With these village
officers rests the collection of the public taxes, and the whole care of the police.
In the structure of Javanese society there is no other distinction of classes, except
that of nobles and commonalty, or, as the Javanese express it, the head and the foot,
or sometimes " the whole," and " the broken grains " of rice. There are several
words for a slave, but they are obsolete, unless to express a servant or retainer, as
batun and renchang, or as a pronoun of the first person in the polite or ceremonial
dialect. Slavery is, in fact, at present unknown in Java» in so far as concerns its
native inhabitants, nor is it known to have existed in any period of Javanese
history, which is remarkable enough since it prevails more or less among all the
less advanced nations of the Archipelago. That at a remote and early time it did
exist in Java there can be no doubt. Its disappearance must be attributed to
density of population, with its concomitant cheapness of labour, which made it more
economical and convenient to employ free men than to breed and maintain slaves,
and assuredly to no higher motive. The humbler order of the Javanese are
sufficiently docile and servile without being bought or sold.
The main source of the revenue of a Javanese prince is derived from the rent of
land, or consists of a tax on rent ; and Java is probably the onlv country of the
Archipelago, with the exception of Bali and Lomboc, in which, D*om the relation
between land and population, a real land rent can be said to exist. This rent is
chiefly found in the irrigated land, that is, in the land of the highest fertility, and is
composed of two elements — the difference in the quality of different lands, and the
value which in the course of ages has been invested in such lands in converting them
into water-fleld, equivalent in a temperate region not only to clearing, draining, and
fencing, but to the conversion of ordinary pasture into watered meadow — indeed,
even to far more than all this, for the produce of irrigated in comparison with dry
lands for the same amount of labour is usually from five to ten fold.
In the ruder coimtry of Sundas there are some remains of a private and heritable
property in the land, but in the country of the Javanese the sovereign has gradually
taken the whole rent as tax, reducing the cultivators to the condition of mere
occupants or tenants at will, he- himself having become the virtual proprietor. This
state of things is exactly parallel to the condition of land tenures in India, where
more or less of a private right of property in the land exists, in proportion to the
capacity of the ruling power to exact, and of the occupants to resist exaction.
The mode of registering the irrigated, for the dry land or upland is only supple-
JAVA 184 JAVA
mentary to it and hardly worth reckoning, has referenoe to the fiEuniliea of the
cultivators. The terms employed are chachahisiti, whidi literally means " census of
the land/* and gaTe-ning-wong^ i" a man's work or labour." But, practically, both
terms signify the quantity of land cultivated by a £Eunily of peasants. The property
in the land being thus in the sovereign, he deals with it by families, retaining a small
portion as a domain in his own hands, and bestowing the rest in temporair trust as
appanages to the members of his family and his chief officers, or in small allotmjents
to inferior public functionaries down to those of the lowest degree. The land in &ct>
constitutes nearly the whole public exchequer.
All other sources of taxation than the land are^ under the native government,
comparatively trifling. In some cases a small capitation tax is levied, but this also is
confined to the cultivators, and is sometimes called by them sarcastically p&ngawan,
which means " air tax," pretty much in the same way in which we ourselves used
to call our own " window tax " a tax on light. A property in the nests of the eaculent
swallow, and in certain fish-ponds or stews, formed another branch of the native
revenue. Taxes on consumption in the shape of customs, transit duties, and market
dues formed a third, but probably most of these are of comparatively modem origin,
and will be presently considered.
The Javanese cannot^ in anv rational sense of the word, be said to poasesa any
writing deserving the name of history ; and no people in such a state of society as
theirs ever indeed possessed such. The Hindus, even so much more advanced in
the scale of civilisation, certainly had none until it was written for them by their
northern conquerors. Something similar to this was the case with the Javanese,
whose story began only to have some semblance of congruity from the time of their
conversion to the Mahommedan religion, which all parties are agreed in asserting to
have been consummated by the overthrow of the most potent Hindu state of the
island in the year of Christ 1478. All that transpired previous to this date is more
a matter of archaeology than of history or chronology. The Javanese possess
chronological tables, but in these the earlier period is palpably fiEtbulous, and dates
after the manner of the Hindus being expressed, not in numeral characters^ or in
words representing numbers, but in mystical terms, differently interpreted by
different parties, it follows that these lists often differ by whole centuries one from
another. The character of these chronologies may be illustrated by a few examples.
The commencement of most of them be^s with the year 1 of the Javanese era,
when a certain Indian chief is stated to have arrived in Java. This personage is
called Aji saka, which in Sanscrit means "king Saka." Saka,- however, turns out to be
only another name for Salivana, the founder of an era prevalent in the southern part
of the continent of India, that portion of the country of the Hindus from which the
Javanese drew their religion, and with it this era. The certainty is that the real
Saka not only never emigrated to Java, but that in all probability, he was unaware
even of the existence of the island. In Hindu records there is certainly no notice
of the island, and still less of any emigration to it, the intercourse being, in all
likelihood, confined to a few obscure traders, and Bramins following in their train.
It is a fiftvourite notion with Javanese chronolegists that the islands of Sumatra, Java,
Ball, Lomboc, and Sumbawa formed at one time a continuous land, and they assign
precise dates preposterously modem, to the times in which they became so many
different islands. Sumatra, according to these statements, was separated from Java
in the year 1192, Bali from Java in 1282, and Lomboc from Sumbawa in 1350, that
is above half a century after Marco Polo had passed through the Archipelago.
The same chronologists assign dates to the origin of certain islands on the coast of
Java, and to some of its principal mountains. Thus the islands Buron and Baweyan
ore said to have first appeared in the year of Christ, 88 ; the mountains Brama
and Sumeru, both Sanscrit names, in 158. From the 11th century, the Javanese
chronology assumes an air of, at least, some feasibility ; but even firom that time
down to 1478, there is much discrepancy between different statements, according as
the mystic words in which dates are expressed, are interpreted. Thus, the " thou>
sand temples " of Brambanan, tJie finest remains of Hinduism in the islund, are said
by one account, to have been built in 1096, and by another in 1266. The most
celebrated work of Javanese literature is the Bratayuda, the epitome of the Hindu
poem of the Mahabarat, before mentioned ; and this is said by one account to have
beeu written in 786 ; by another, in 1175; and by a third in 1195.
The great events of Javanese history are the respective conversions of the people
to Hinduism and Mahommedaniam. Of the time when the first of these took place,
or the manner in which it was brought about, we have no positive information,
JAVA 185 JAVA
either Javanese or Hindu. The ample evidence derived from language and ancient
monuments, suffioiently attest the general prevalence, if not, indeed, the universality
of some form or modification of the religion of the Hindus over the island ; but any-
thing beyond thia is matter of inference or conjecture. One fact respecting Javanese
history is suffioiently established, — that the whole island was never subject to
the rule of a single power, constituting a permanent and undivided empire. Ancient
states existed which had acquired a considerable amount of civilisation and power,
as is shown by the ruins of palaces and temples ; but none of them had any dura-
bility, — none of them ruled over the whole island, while several of them, according
to tiadition, existed at one and the same time.
Inscriptions on copper and stone have been found among the ruins thuA alluded
to ; buty unfortunately, the earlier ones, instead of having dates expressed in plain
writing, or numerical figures, have tliem all in the mystical words expressing
numbers, already mentioned ; so t^t the same terms being capable of several, or even
of many, different interpretations, little or no reliance can be placed on them. The
earliest dates we possess are the years of Saka, 505 and 506, or of Christ, 583 and
584, contained in two inscriptions on stone in the fine province of SLftdu. Supposiug
these dates to be authentic, which, however, is veiy improbable, the next to them, in
point of time, is 785 of Saka, leaving thus a gap of 280 years without any recorded
date at alL The next date to tids last, in sequence, is 845 of Saka, and hence, there-
fore, there is here a dateless chasm of 110 years. This last date is followed by others
of nearly the same time, 868 and 865. From this last named year up to 1220 of Saka,
not a single monumental date occm's on brass or stone, leaving a chasm of 855 years.
fVom the year 1220 now alluded to, the dates are expressed generally in numeral
figures, and consequently are trust-worthy. They continue to be thus represented
on various monuments, to within a short time of the conquest of the last Hindu
state of any importance ; an event whidi all parties seem to agree in placing in the
year 1400 of Saka, or 1478 of our own time.
With the exception of the last event named, not one of the different dates now
quoted refers to any historical event. In so fiir as the inscriptions containing them
have been deciphered, they are found to be mere laudations of some pious cMeftain,
powerful, no doubt, in his time, but unknown even to Javanese fame. They are
historical only from having been found amid the ruins of places well known as
having been once the seats of independent governments.
The Hindus, it is highly probable, migrated to Java and established their religion
in it^ even at the earliest of the dates Sieged to be those of the inscriptions, that
is, in the 6th century; but it cannot at the same time be asserted, that there
exists any precise or reliable evidence of their having done so. That the Hindus
and their religion, however, existed in Java from the end of the 13th to that of
the 15th century, is a matter of certainty, proved by monumental dates entirely
reliable.
The history of the conversion of the Javanese to the religion of Mahommed,
although even of this comparatively recent event much is enveloped in fable, is far
more authentic than that of their adoption of Hinduism. The parties who effected
this oon version were the mixed descendants of Arabs, Persians, Malays, and Mahom-
medans of Hindustan, — ^parties who had settled on its northern coast for the pur-
poses of trade, — who were intimately acquainted with the natives of the country and
their language ; and who, in process of time, had acquired wealth and influence. Of
such men, were the real missionaries of Islam in Java composed, and the work of
conversion was certainly a slow one. As early as the year of our time, 1358, an
unsuocessful attempt had been made by missionaries of this description to convert
the Sunda nation. Another was made in 1891, to convert the proper Javanese ; and
the tomb of one of the reputed sainto who made this attempt, one Maulana Ibrahim,
still existe in Oressik, bearing the year of Salivana, 1334, or of our time, 1412.
In the year of Christ, 1460, ti^e Mahommedan converto assembled a force for the
conquest of Majapait^ the capital of the principal Hindu state, but were defeated ;
and it was not until 1478, eighteen years after, that they succeeded in capturing
the capital^ overthrowing the state, and establishing their own power and faith.
All authorities are agreed in assigning the year 1400 of Salivana, or 1478 of Christ,
as that in which Migapait was overthrown; and in considering this event as the
virtual overthrow of Hinduism. The Sunda nation appears to have been converted
about the same time, the conqueste proceeding from Cheribon, and ending with
Bantam in 1480. The Mahommedan chiefs assumed the government of the respec-
tive states which they had subjugated, under the title Susuuau, abbreviated Sunan,
JAVA 186 JAVA
a spiritual title, meaning " object of xerenooe^" wliidi one of the native prinoes still
reUina.
According to theee atetementa, the woric of oonTenion nn OTer a period of at
leaat 130 years. Even at the lapee of this time, howeyer, it does not appear to have
been completed ; for aooording to De Barroe, when Henrique Lem^ riaited the country
of the Sundas 1522, forty-four years after the supposed final conTersion of the Java-
nese^ he found idohitrona temples, nunneries^ and the practice of ooncremation
still existing. For a century after the overthrow of Majapait, Java appears to have
been split into many independent statea. When first viaiteid by the Portuguese, such
was unquestionably its condition. " The island of Java," says De Barros, "is divided
into many kingdoms ;" and he enumerates no fewer tiian fourteen, most of which,
notwithstanding mu^ oormption of orthography, can be identified with the eziating
names of provincea About the year 1578, however, a native chief the governor of
the province of Mataram, on behalf of the king of the neighbouring stato of Pajang,
taiaed himself to sovereign power, and founded the fiunily from which has sprang
the two existing native tributary rulers. In the course of the first four reigns of thia
dynasty, most of the proper country of the Javaneae, with the island of liadura,
were subjugated, and the princes of the Sunda country made tributaiy.
It was in the reign of the second prince of this dyhaety, that tne Dutch made
their first appearance in Java, under Houtman, in 1595. In 1610 they obtained per-
mission from the Sunda prince of Jacatra, to build a fort near to the spot on which
now stands the city of Bataria. In 1619 this fort was besieged by the joint foroea
of the princes of Jacatra and Bantam, aided and abetted by the English. It was
relieved by a Dntoh fleet under Admiral Koen, and the assailants defeated and driven
offl It was after this event that the name of Batavia first given to the fortress was
given to the town. In 1628, Batavia was besieged by a numeroua army sent against
it by the reigning prince of Mataram, with the hope of expelling the Dutch from
the island ; but by the skill and courage of the European garrison, the rude and
disorderly host was baffled and routed. From this time the history of Java is pro-
perly thaA of its Eiuo()ean conquerors. No considerable territorial acquisition, how-
ever, was made until 1677, when the Dutch obtained a cession of the principality of
Jacatra. From that time up to the year 1830, every war carried on by them with
the native princes, whether as principals or auxiliaries, invariably ended in a cession
of territory to the former ; so that, at present, hardly one-fourteenth part of the island
is in possession of native rulers, and even that is entirely tributary and dependent, so
that the government of the native principalities is, in £M!t^ but a clumsy form of
European rule, similar to that of our own in respect to some states of Hindustan.
From the year 1674 to 1830, the Dutch, as principals or auxiliaries, have been
engaged in no fewer than four great wars, adl of long duration. One which began in
1674, lasted for thirty-four years. One which began in 1718, lasted for five years;
one which began in 1740, for fifteen years ; and one which began in 1825, for five
years; bo that, of one-third part at least of a period of 166 years, civil war raged
in the island. The history of Dutoh aggression in Java is probably, on the whole,
neither worse or bettor than that of English aggression in Hindustan. Indeed,
although upon very different scales, they bear, in their general feattures, a very dose
resemblance. The English administration of its conquest has, however, been at least
far more fortunate than that of the Dutoh ; for instead of the numerous rebellions
which have sprung up in Java, there has not been a single serious revolt in Bengal,
with four times its population, in a period approaching to a century ; a result which,
in fairusse, must be chiefly ascribed to difference in the character of the sub-
jugated parties. The inhabitante of the British provinces had been accustomed to
foreign domination for many centuries, while those of Java had never been subjected
to foreign rule until the Dutoh began their conqueste in the 17th century.
The Dutoh have divided their possessions in Java into twenty provinces or resi-
dencies, each of which is administered by a Resident or Prefect Six of these belong
to the countiy of the Sundas, and fourteen to that of the Javanese. The two
remaining native states, although administered by their own princes, are, as already
stated, virtually Dutoh provinces ; and placed under the control of an officer, with
the same title as those of the provinces under direct Dutoh rulei
Attempts have been made, at various times, to estimate the total population of
Java. The first of these was by the historian VsJentyn, who, in his account of the
island, says that down to his time, 1726, it had " never been described, and that tho
notions entertained of it wete as vague as those of a man bom blind respecting
colours." His estimate made the population 3,199,760; and including Madura,
JAVA 187 JAVA
8,591,500. Thifl estimate was made shortly after a ciTil war of five years' duration.
In 1755, immediately after the finest parts of the Island had been the theatre of a
dvil war of fifteen years, an estimate was made which gaye Java only 1,941,911 ; or
including Madura, 2,001,911. This would seem to show, that in less than thirty years
a decrease had taken place exceeding a million and a quarter. At the close of the
last centuryi estimates of the population were made, which raised the joint popula-
tion of Java and Madura to 8,559,611. This was after a continued peace of forty-five
years ; and shows, compared to the last estimate, an increase exceeding a million and
a halt In 1808, another estimate was made ; and by this the number was made
8,780,000. In 1815, a census was attempted, during the temporary occupation of
the English, which raised the population of Java to 4,89,661 ; or including Madura
to 4, 615,270.
The Dutch, since the restoration of the island to them in 1816, hare made no fewer
than eleven difierent attempts at a census. The first of these was made in 1826 ;
and the number it gave was 5,408,786. Ten years later another was made, and this
raised the number to 7,861,551 ; and consequently gave a decennial increase at the
rate of about 44 per cent. The census of 1845, mMle the joint population of Java
and Madura, 9,580,781 ; or of Java alone, 9,285,088. The last census is that of
1850; and this made the joint population of Java and Madura 9,664,824. This,
compared to previous increases, exhibits but a very trifling augmentation ; and indeed
in seven of the finest provinces there is an absolute dedme : while in the provinces
subject to native rule, there is an increase of from 14 to 15 per cent. The decrease
in the Dutch portion is most probably attributable to the highly impolitic practice of
raising revenue by the corv^ culture of agricultural products for the markets of
Europe, and the great rise in the price of com, which has been the consequence of it
None of these enumerations can be considered as better than approximations ; but
it is probable that all of them err rather in omission than exaggeration. The last, as
the most recent^ taken with the most care, and with the best means, are the most
reliable. The census of 1845 is considered rather to underrate than overrate the
numbers, which the officers who made it consider ought to make the joint population
of the two islands not less in round numbers than 10,000,000.
Taking the population of Java, exclusive of Madura^ as it is given in the census of
1845, at 9,285, 038,and its area at 87,556 English miles, its relative population is 248
inhabitants to the square mile ; which would give it about the same density of popu-
lation as Qreat Britain or Ireland ; and consequently show that, with the exception of
these, it is far more populous than any other great island in the world. The
population is very unequally distributed over the different parts of the island. The
mountainous country of the Sundas, including Cheribon, which ha partly Javanese,
has an area of 18,944 square miles, but a population of no more than 2,406,097
inhabitants, so that it has only 171 to the square mile. The inland districts, onlled
Prayangan, or " fiury lands," have only 120 to the square mile, and Bantam but 154 ;
while Cheribon, with its mixed population and wide valleys, bias 801. The country
of the Javanese has an area of 23,612 square miles, and a population of 6,988,696 ;
which gives a relative population of 298 to the square nule. Even in this more
populous portion of the island the density of population varies greatly. The pro-
vince of Surabaya, with a harbour and two lai^ rivers, hss 461 to the square mile ;
Samarang, 528 ; and the highly fertile inland province of Eadu, a valley watered by
the streams which pour down from foxir of the highest mountains of the island, 665,
In the narrow section of the island which fronts Madura, and forms the most easterly
portion of it, the density of population gradually decreases from west to easL
Thus in the province of rasunihan it is 188 to the square nule ; and in Besuki,
which includes the extremity of the island opposite to Bali, it is only 121.
The inhabitants of Java, besides Javanese and Sundas, consist also of Madurese ;
for these are not confined to their own island, but form the larger part of the
population of that section of Java which fronts Madura. This portion having been
depopulated by the dvil wars of the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th
centuries, the Madurese began to emigrate to it from their own lees fertile land -, and
this emigration still goes on, so that the Madurese in Java are probably, at present,
more numerous than in their parent country. For the whole island, including
Madura, the proportions of the three nations, is supposed to be 66 in 100 of the
Javanese ; 26 of the Sundas ; and 8 of the Madurese.
The most numerous class of stranger-settlers are the Chinese ; the census of 1845
making their numbers 106,083, the greater number consisting of a mixed race. Of
these, 81,764 are in the city of Batavia and its environs, which is fewer than the
JAVA 188 JAVA
number of this people in the British settlement of Singapore. The small proportion
of Chinese in Java is, of course^ in a good measure athibutable to the nature of the
labour market^ in so fiir as respects unskilled labour, that being already preoccujiied
by the native population : but it arises, also, from the restraints imposed by the policy
of the Dutch government on their settlement. While in the British setUements^ no
restriction whatever is placed on. them, in Java they pay a mulct for leave to enter,
and a larger one for permission to quit, besides a poll-tax, — all of them imposts to
which no other class of strangers is subjected. Jealousy of Chinese seHlement
is, indeed, a principle of the Dutch administration of Java of long standing. In the
early part of the last century their numbers alarmed the government, and their
wealth and prosperity appears to have excited the envy of the Dutch colonists. In
1723, the load government issued a decree against Chinese Immigration, which, how-
ever, was never fiilly acted on. They were, however, prohibited from passing beyond
the limits of the town of Batavia without a license; and all who could not render
an account of themselves satisfactory to the European authorities, were imprisoned
or sent back to China. These severities drove the Chinese to revolt ; and on the 26th
of September, 1740, the Chinese quarter of Batavia was attacked by a mob, con-
sisting of soldiers, sailors, European settlers, and natives, and in the course of two
days, 10,000 of the Chinese are stated to have been slaughtered, and their houses
pillaged and burnt. The armed Chinese who escaped the massacre, retreated into
the interior of the island ; and the result was a civil war, which, in one form or
another, lasted for fifteen years. The local government sent a letter full of excuses
to the emperor of China, to which the emperor did not vouchsafe a reply. In justice to
the Dutch nation it should be noticed, that the whole proceeding was condemned at
home ; and the weak and timorous governor, who was the cause o^ or winked at the
massacre, duly punished.
The other Asiatic people settled in Java, consist of Arabs, or rather, for the moat
part, of their mestizo descendants, and of natives of the other islands of the Aivhi-
pelago. All these are grouped together in the census of 1845 ; and their total
number, including slaves, is no more than 86,327. The number of slaves is but
5111. None of these are Javanese, but all natives of the other islands of the Archi-
pelago, or their descendants, chiefly of Cebebes, Sumatra^ and BalL All of them are
domestics of Europeans or Chinese ; and through the humanity of their owners, and
without any legislative enactment, they are in rapid progress towards emancipation.
In 1813, they amounted to no fewer than 20,452. The practice of employing free
Javanese as domestic servants, was first introduced by the English during their tem-
porary occupation of the island, and has been followed by the Dutch.
The class of bondsmen produced an adventurer, a kind of Javanese Spartacus, who
gave rise to one of the most remarkable incidents in the history of Java. This person
was a native of the island of Bali, from which he had been brought as a child. He became
the slave of a Dutch citizen of Batavia, misconducted himself, and was imprisoned. He
effected his escape from prison and bondage, — organised a small force, — ^baffled the
pursuit of the European authorities, and became one of the dangerous and too
frequent class of persons that have at all times disturbed the peace of Java, well
known in the language of the ooimtry under the name of kraman, which signifies a
rebel and pretender. Making his way to the eastern part of the isUuid, he formed an
alliance with the Susanan, or Emperor of Java, whom he seduced to join in his insur-
rection. In due time he established, and maintained for some years, an independent
principality, and was at length killed in an action which he fought with the Dutch
troops. Tbis rebellion lasted, in all, nine years, having commenced in 1684, and not
ending until 1705.
The revenue of the European government of Java is that of the whole island,
including Madura ; but except as to some taxes on consumption not of the territories,
subject to the two remaining native princes, which embrace an area of 2229 square
miles, and a reputed population of 850,000. It is derived from multifiirious sources,
and may be briefly described, taking the figures from the public accounts of 1843, as
given by Mr. Temminck. These are the most recent that I have seen, but sufficient
for a general view, as no material change has since been made in the fiscal system.
During the five years' temporary occupation of Java by the British government,
from 1811 to 1816, nearly the whole ancient system of monopolies, forced deliveries,
and corvee labour was overthrown, and free culture, open trade, and free labour sub-
stituted for them. The merit of this great revolution in the administration of the
ittland belongs to the late Sir Stamford Raffles, the British Lieutenant-Governor of
Java, under the supreme government of India ; and he carried his bold and valuable
JAVA 189 JAVA
innoYations into effect with a courage, industry, and peraeTerance entitled to the
greatest praise. The financial system which he adopted, however, was not so happy.
In so far as the land-tax was concerned, the elaborate, yezatious, scourging, and
impracticable system which proceeds on the principle of the States entering directly
into an arrangement with each individual occupant of a few acres, in the case of Java
probably not fewer than half a million, was at the time in vogue with the authorities
in England, and he attempted the establishment of this pernicious innovation. Under
this system, the tax was paid either in money or in land, at the option of the occu-
pant; and being generally paid in the latter, it followed that the government was
converted at once into a warehouse-keeper, and a corn-merchant. As in our own terri-
tories on the continent of India, the new system was found mischievous and imprac-
ticable. The land was over-assessed, and the hypothetical land-tax could not be realised.
After a two vears' trial, the Dutch commissioners who received charge of the
island, judiciously abandoned the Ryotwarrie system of 1814, and arranged with the
heads of the village corporations for the land-tax, leaving its distribution among the
occupants, to these corporations themselves. This natural and simple system, the
only one suited to such a state of society as that of Java, after being in operation for
fourteen years, was partially relinquished in 1832, and the old system of forced
deliveries of certain agricultural products, and of corv^ laboiur in raising them, was
to some extent restorol. The pretext for this was the hope of greater gain, and the
assumption that, by the immemorial usage of the country, the state was entitled to
take, at its option, its tax in money, in kind, or in corvee labour. Hindu and Hahom-
medan kings had done so three or four hundred years ago, and hence it was argued
that it was just and proper that an enlightened European nation should do, in the
19th century, what barbarous native rulers had done in the 14th and 15th. Under
this system a considerable portion of the tax on rent is remitted, and some of the
best lands with the labour of its peasantry, was appropriated to the cultivation of
products deemed peculiarly fitted for the markets of Europe, such as coffee, sugar, and
indigo, with tea, cmnamon, and cochineal, the three last expressly introduced into the
ialAud for this special purpose. By this impolitic measure, the Dutch government has
become, once more, a cultivator, a trader, and necessarily, from its position to a certain
extent, a monopolist trader, the evil effects of which on that wealth, which is the only
source of public revenue, must be obvious to every enlightened modem statesman.
The actual amount of the tax on rent or land-tax remaining to the Dutch govern-
ment, after deducting exemptions, was, in 1843, allowing 20 pence to the florin,
835,5512. To this, however, is to be added a sum of 26,2152. for the quit rents of
land sold at various times to EuropeanSi, with other items partaking of tne nature of
a land-tax, as the rents of certain fish-ponds, or stews, amounting to 27,302/., miJcing
the total land-tax realised 889,1282. No account is rendered of remissions on
account of land appropriated to the culture of produce for government, but a few
facts are stated which will give a tolerable notion of the extent to which this very
barbarous system is carried. The number of Javanese fieimilies from which corv&
labour was exacted for the culture of coffee, in 1841, was 453,289, and for that of sugar,
indigo, and cinnamon, 350,955, making the total number, exclusive of those employed
in the cultivation of tea and cochine^, which is not stated, 704,244 famiUes, equiva-
lent to a population exceeding three millions and a-hal^ or 40 parts in 100 of the
entire population of the European portion of the island. The quantity of land set
aside for the cultivation of sugar, indigo, and cinnamon, amounted, in 1841, to
317,635 acres, and this consisted of the richest irrigated lands of the island, usually
yielding two yearly harvests, and equal in value to ten times that of the average of all
dry lands. The quantity of land, of an inferior description, appropriated to the
culture of coffee and tea, all peculiarly fitted for the growth of maiz, is not stated, but
some notion of it may be formed from the number of famiUes employed, as above
given and from the number of trees, which last, in 1841, amounted to 336,922,460.
The taxes on consumption are multifarious, consisting of monopolies, excuses,
customs, transit and market duties, taxes on fisheries, and on the slaughter of cattle.
The chief monopolies are those of the vend of opium and salt. In 1843, the first of
these amounted to 796,6302., and the last to 384,1 592. The monopoly of opium is at
once productive and unexceptionable in principle. That on salt, is, of course, a poll-
tax, which amounts to about 4«. on each family, and is only less onerous than our own
in Bengal, from the salt of Java, the produce chiefly by solar evaporation, of its northern
coast, being better, cheaper, and more economically distributed to the consumers than
that of Bengal. Another monopoly is that exercised in certain caves producing the
esculent sw^ow nests, and this, as the birds are the chief manufacturers, and strangers
JAYA 190 JAVA
the chief oonsumers, is as unezceptaoiukble a source of revenue as any goTemment ever
posseased. In 1848, ite amount was 24,2712. The sale of timber from the teak
forests, which are the exclusive property of the government, oonstituteB another
monopoly, of which the produce in the same year was 42,14l£. These different
items make the total revenues arising from monopolies 1,247,2012. In the public
accounts, the monopoly of the tin of Banca is set down as Javanese revenue, and
stated at the sum of 250,0002. As the revenue of Java alone supplies the funds with
which the mining and smelting is carried on, this branch is correctly enough in-
cluded in the financial resources of that island.^
The export and import duties of Java, in 1848, including port cbaiges, amounted
to 460,8402^, and the market, transit, and ferry dues, came to 262,6722. The tax
on the slaughter of catile was 89,3412., and that on fish and fisheries 27,9112. It is
not necessary to add that these, as taxes on first necessaries of life^ are injurious
imposts. A very strange want of attention to an obvious principle is evinced by the
European government of Java, connected with the slaught^ of cattle. The slaughter
of the buSalo is expressly prohibited, with the avowed object of increasiDg the
number of this animal for the benefit of agriculture. The certain effect of the prohi-
bition, however, must of course be, the very i-everse of what is intended, for the
rearing of these animals is surely discouraged, not promoted, by depriving the
owners of a market for the old, imperfect, or superfluous ones.
The excise on distilled and fermented liquors, and on tobacco, yielded between
them, in 1848, only 86,8482. The taxes on consumption yielded, in all, monopolies
included, a revenue of 2,207,4882.
The direct taxes, land-tax excepted, are of very trifling amoimt. Stamp duties
yielded 26,4522., and taxes on transfers and successions, 19,4702., plain proofe of the
real poverty of the ten millions of people, and similar to those which are afforded
from the same class of taxes in our own Indian possessions. The capitation tax paid by
the Chinese yielded no more than 8,4772., and that on slaves only 2,0142. A tax on
gaming was far more productive than either of these, for it produced 87,1012. A duty
on auction sales gave 24,1732., and the profits on public pawnbrokers' shops, 27,9052.
The tax on carriages and horses kept for private use gave the small sum of 55802.
only, and the post office and stage coaches no more than 18,2262. Printing is a mono-
poly in the hands of government, and is represented as yielding a profit of 4,8832.
The tribute paid by native princes amounted only to 8,2872. To these items are to
be added the sale of such articles as rice, packing sacks, gold-4ust, and sundries
amounting to 78,4882. The whole amount of these direct or misoellaneous taxes
is 166,9382., or, including the sale- of produce, probably not the productions of Java,
245,4212.
The account of receipts contains, in all, forty-five different heads, without, however,
any logical arrangement. The sums, too, are for the most part, gross receipts, not
including charges of collection, which are not separately given. The total revenues of
Java, in 1843, were 8,209,8572., including the monopoly of tin, but exclusive of the
profits of trade on commodities sold in Europe, — ^if there should be any. The rate of
taxation per head on the population of Java, subject to European rule, is about
7s. 5(2., and would probably amount to at least 10s., had not the resources of the island
been dissipated in idle and wasteful governmental speculations agricultural and com-
merciaL In the British settlement of Singapore, without land-tax, customs, port dues,
salt monopoly, poll-taxes, gaming tax, or stamp duties, the rate of taxation per bead
is better than 18s., or 142 per cent, more than that of Java. The difference is evidently
owing to the superior industrial strength of the population of Singapore ; its superior
freedom in the exercise of that strength, and its comparative superior wealth.
The expenses of the government of Java in 1848 were given at the sum of
6,291,6062. Thus, then, the expenditure exceeded the amount of the taxes by the
enormous sum of 8,082,2492., to be made good, or otherwise, by the contingency of
produce remitted to Europe. The civU charges came to 827,8252., the militaiy to
720,8192., the naval to 138,8462., and the extraordinary expenditure, on account of
Sumatra, to 220,0762. The expense of despatching government produce^ exclusive
of freight and charges, amounted to 75,2122., while the interest of the public debt,
nearly all incurred in twenty-seven years' time, came to 1,018,4682., or about half the
amount of that of British India, with a hundred and ten millions of inhabitants,
and which it has taken 80 years to incur.
The internal trade of Java embraces that of all the Ketherland possessions in
India, as it ui the entrepdt for the whole of it. It includes also a large remittance for
the public revenue in tho shape of produce, as coffee, sugar, indigo, tin, and spicoB.
JAVA 191 JAVA
Java and the other Dutch poflseaaionB were delivered oyer bj the English in 1816,
with a considerably improved commerce, and certamly, at all events, with a dear
field for the establishment of a liberal system. The opportimity has assuredly not
been taken advantage of. Double duties have been imposed on all goods imported
under a foreign flag, and other contrivances of the exploded morcantUe system have
been had recourse to, in order to give trade a direction to Holland, a costly expedient,
injurious to the colony, and of no substantial value to the mother country. In 1824,
and within eight years after the restoration, a new East India Company was set up
as one of these contrivances, the Handel Maatschapij or trading association. This
association, is merchant, shipowner, agent, for the sale of the government produce in
Europe, carrier of this produce, and farmer of some branches of the public revenue
of Java. Originally, there was guaranteed to it, a fixed and certain interest on its
capital stock, and even the sovereign of the Netherlands was a sleeping partner of
it. The false hypothesis on which this retrograde policy was adopted, was a supposed
necessitv for encountering what was called the over-grown capitals and enterprise of
England and America, as if the free capital and enterprise of Holland, which under
greater difficulties had not achieved much greater things, was unequal to carry on
the trade of its own colony without pilling and bolstering. This company has been
in existence for thirty years, and we may see by the result how little it has effected.
In 1851, the value of all the imports into the Dutch East India possessions,
exclusive of government stores, was 2,512,893^., but that of the exports 6,149,0882.
Of the exports, no less than 8,996,7502. consisted of government produce, chiefly
sent to Europe through the Handel Maatschapij or Commercial Association, leaving
for the exports of private merchants no more than 2,152,300/., a large portion of it
the property of the privileged society itseli From this statement it will appear that
the exports, instead of being nearly the same as the imports, as they ought in all fair
trade, exceed them by the enormous sum of 868,6192., or by 144 per cent. It is
evident that the difference, whether it ever reaches the treasury of Holland or not,
is mere tribute paid by Java, and this, too, in a form the most injurious. These
figures will further show that of the export trade of the Dutch possessions in India,
nearly two third parts are carried on by the government with the colonial revenue,
while little more than one third of it is conducted by private capital and enterprise.
This is assuredly the greatest violation of the sound principles of commercial policy,
which has been perpetrated since the overthrow of Indian monopolies, and one which
ought not to have been witnessed in our times.
In 1844, the total value of the imports of Java was 2,339,9712., which shows that
in the seven years ending with 1851 they had fallen off by no less than 172,9222. In
1842, the value of the exports was 5,034,5292. In the nine years, therefore, between
1842 and 1851, these had increased by the sum of 1,114,5602.
The government of Java and the other Netherland possessions of India is vested
in a governor-general, named by the king, and answerable for his acts only to him.
He is commander-in-chief of the milita^ and naval forces, and possesses absolute
legislative and administrative power. The liberty of the press does not exist ; indeed,
there is no press at all except that of the government, the political literature of Java
oonsiBting of two newroapers, the government gaeette, and another equally under a
rigorous oensor^p. In the three small British settlements, in the same quarter
of India, there are six, as free as the journals of England or America.
For the administration of justice, there is a supreme court sitting at Batavia, which
has a primary jurisdiction in a few cases, but is, generally, a court of appeal and
cassation for the whole Netherland posseesions in India. There are three provincial
courts at the three principal European towns, Batavia, Samarang, and Sarabaya, for
the administration of civil and criminal justice, one of the judges of which performs
oirouita. Justice to natives and Chinese is administered by the country courts in
which the president or chief civil administrator presides, having native chiefis for
assessors. In criminal cases, the jurisdiction of these courts is confined to offences
not capital, and, in certain civil cases, appeals from tliem lie to the provincial courts.
The finances are under the management of a director-general, a director of receipts
and domains, a director of produce and warehouses, and a director of cultivation,
these officers constituting the finance board. For keeping and auditing the public
accounts, there is a distinct department — the chamber of accounts. From the mixing
up of cultivation and trade with governmental affairs, the duties of these two depart-
ments become sufficiently onerous, complex, and always greatly in arrears.
The tributary princes, of which the number of principal ones are no fewer than
one and twenty, administer the dvil governments of their own countries. Of these.
JAYAKUSUMA 192 JOHOE
there are five in Java, two of them only considerable ; three in Hadursy two in the
group of islandfl at the eastern end of the Straits of Malacca, three m Borneo, two in
the Moluccas, four in Celebes, one in Sumbawa, and one in Sumatra.
JAYAKUSUMA. The name of an ancient king of the state of Janggala in Java,
situated in the present province of Surabaya. This prince is supposed to have reigned
about the beginning of the 12th century, and is of great celebrity in Javanese and
Malay romance, but nothing authentic is really known regarding him.
JIM A J A, correctly J&maja, the name of a small island, one of the group in the
China Sea, called in our maps, the Anambas. See Anahbas.
JOBIE. This is the name which European navigators have given to a long narrow
island, extending east and west for ninety miles, and situated in the great bay of
Geelvink on the northern side of New Ghiinea. The land is high and the inhabitants
are negros, but this is all that is known about it, which is much less than we know
of almost any small island of the Pacific.
JOHOL. The name of one of the small inland Malay states of the peninsola of
Malacca, claiming to derive their origin from Menangkabo in Sumatra. It lies
between the British territory of Malacca and the Malay state of Pahang on the
eaatem side of the peninsula^ It contains a large lake, called that of Brau, alleged
to be 50 miles in length, but probably with exaggeration. The waters of this lake
are discharged into the China Sea, by the river on which stands the town of Fahaog.
The country produces gold and tin, but these are not washed to any extent, the
working of them being confined to the native inhabitants. The whole population of
this state, including that of Jompol, which is tributary to it> has been estimated not
to exceed 4000.
JOHOR. The name of the Malay state, which embraces the southern end of the
peninsula of Malacca, and which has to the north the British territory of Malacca for
its boundaiy on the western coast, and that of the Malay state of Plahang on the
eastern. The country takes its name from the town, which was founded by the
Malays in 1512, after their expulsion from Malacca by the Portuguese in the previous
year. Besides the continental territory, the state includes the many islands on its
coasts, with the exception of the few belonging to England and Holland. The area
of the whole territory is probably not less than 10,000 square miles, while its com-
puted population does not exceed 25,000, or 24 inhabitants to the square mile. The
country, in fact, with the exception of here and there cleared paths on the banks of
its rivers, is one immense jungle, and there is no evidence in the shape of temple^
tanks, or other structures, to show that it was ever otherwise. Mr. J. R. Logan, who
visited it in 1847, gives the following faithful and graphic account of its present con-
dition. "The scene is not without its saddening aspect Within eight and twenty
miles of a vigorous and populous British settlement (Singapore), and at the entrance
of a strait, through which 1500 vessels annually pass, die eye may search in vain
all round for a single hut. Perfect solitude rests both on the sea and jungle. Not a
single fisherman's canoe is to be seen afloat, not a single coco-nut tree rising along
the beach. The chief town of Johor-lama is situated about 20'miles up a very con-
siderable river, and what was once a capital is now a miserable village of five and
twenty houses, of perishable materials, and without a vestige of any permanent
buildings." The principal inhabitants of Johor consist of Malaya, and the wild
uncultivated tribes of the same race, and speaking the same language, known by
the various names of Jakun, Bftuua, Ac &a The larger animals of the forest, namely,
two species of the ox, the elephant^ the tapir, the hog, the rhinoceros, and above all
the tiger, are probably fiir more numerous than its human inhabitants. The only
sign of vitality which it has of late years exhibited consists in the settlement of
Chinese emigrants from Singapore in quest of fresh lands for the growth and manu-
facture of gambir or terra-japonica. The country produces alluvial gold and tin, bat
washed to a very small extent.
From 1512 to 1810, there reigned in Johor fourteen princes, giving an. average
duration of 21 years to each rel^. The prince who died in the last of these years
left two sons, who disputed the succession. It suited the policy of the English and
Dutch governments to take, each, one of the rivals as its prot^^ and hence the
cession of Singapore to the first, and of Rhio to the last. Bot^ princes are now
pensioners, the prot^^ of the English claiming sovereignty over the forests north of
the Straits of Singapore, and he of the Dutch, those to the south of it, as laid down
by the convention of London of 1824.
JOLO 193 KADU
J0L6. The name by which the Sola or Suluk Islands aie designated by the
inhabitants of the Philippine lalaads and Spaniards. See SuLU.
JUAN (San), called also Guajan and Chian by the Spaniards, the Guam of our
maps, one of the Ladrone or Marianne Islands. See Mabiannes.
JUAN (San). The St. John of our maps. The most easterly island of the
Philippine group, lies on the eastern side of the great island of Mindano, and
separated from it by a strait 8 J leagues broad in its narrowest part. It lies between
north hititude 7** 5V and 8*" 57% and east longitude 125^ 50' and 126'' 40'. Its length
from east to west is 22 leagues, and its ayerage breadth 15, giving it an area of
830 leagues. Its northern and eastern coasts are rugged and precipitous, but its
western has some roadsteads affording shelter during the north-easterly monsoon.
The interior is rough, craggy, and coyered with forest San Juan appears to be
eminently sterile, and it is remarkable that so large an island should be, as it is, un-
inhabitea, and firequented only by a few fishermen during the north-eastern monsoon.
JUAN DEL MONTE. The name of a sanctuary of ereat celebrity in the island
of LuBon and metropolitan proyince of Tondo, b^ooging to the order of the
Dominicans. The building, of solid masonry, is situated on a hill on the banks of an
affluent of the river Pasig. Near to it is a mineral spring of great reputation for its
sanatiye qualities, and the surrounding country being b^utiful and picturesque, the
sanctuary, which is very spacious, is much frequented by the inhabitants of Manilla,
who are conveyed to it all the way by water.
JUNK, from the Portuguese junca, a corruption of the Malay and Jayanese
word ajong, abbreviated jong, a ship or large vessel. Europeans have applied the
name to the largest of the trading vessels of the Chinese, which are called by the
Malays wangkang, while they designate the smaller vessels of the same people, top.
K.
EADIRI. The name of a province of Java in the proper country of the Jayanese
nation. It is bounded to the east bv the provinces of Malang and Pasurahan, to the
west by those of Madiyun and Pachitan, to the north by the province of Surabaya,
and to the south by the ocean, the SAgara-kidul or ''south sea'' of the Javanese.
K&diri is a rich alluvial plain, lying between the mountains Walirang, Kawi, and
Aijuna to the east, and Wilis to the west. The last is the lowest of these mountains,
and has a height of 7957 feet, while the highest, Arjuna, is 10,350 feet above the
leyel of the sea. The river Biantas, the second in magnitude of the island, has its origin
in and passes through a great part of the province. KAdiri has an area of 2054
geographical square miles, and by the census of 1850 had a population of 240,766
inhabitants; — therefore, a relative one of about 112 to the square mile. A great part
of this province, in fact, is still covered with forests, 217 square miles of which
consist of teak. The number of homed cattle has been reckoned at 58,600, and of
horses at 14,000. KAdiri was the seat of one of the most renowned of the ancient
kingdoms of Java — ^Daa — ^renowned in Javanese story. That this state had attained
a yery considerable amount of dviHsation is attested by the many Hindu remains
which still exist in it, consisting of well-constructed temples— some of hewn trachite
and some of brick, with images and inscriptions in the ancient Eawi. The time
however in which it flourished cannot be correctly ascertained, but is with most
probability to be ascribed to the eleventh and twelfth centuries of our time.
EADU, or in the Dutch orthography Eadoe, is the name of a beautiful, fertile,
and highly cultivated province of Java. KAdu, in Sanscrit, is " the dragon's tail,"
one of the nodes of the moon in Hindu astronomy, and hence probably the desig-
nation. The province is a valley lying between the moimtains MArapi and RAbabu
to the east, and Sumbing and Sundara to the weet, the lowest of these, MArapi, an
active volcano, being 9250 feet high, and the highest, Sumbing, 11,000. To the east
it is bounded by the province of Pajang, to the south by Mataram, to the west by
Baglen and Bafiumas, and to the north by Pakalongan and Samarang. KAdn has an
area of 631 miles, and by the census of 1845 had a population of 457,035, giving 724
to the square mUe, except Japara, another province of Java, probably the largest
rural population of any country of Asia, unless of some parts of China. It is to be
obeeryed, however, that this population had by the oensua taken in 1850 declined to
o
KJEMPFER 194 KALANTAN
400,057. I was myself in civil charge of this fine proyince, when it was delivered over
to the British govemment in 1812, and although down to that time it had never
been subject to any other than native rule, I can safely say that I have never aince
seen, although I have visited the plains of Belgium and Lombardy, so luzuxiant 8
scene of cultivation — the result of a soil of wonderful fertility, of an easily practised
inigation at all seasons, and of near 60 years of uninterrupted peace. The number
of its homed cattle has been reckoned at 126,000, and of its horses at 15,000. ItB
chief prodactions are rice and tobacco, both large articles of export The Dutch in
recent years have added coffee, indigo, and tea, produced as elsewhere on account of
the government. EAdu contains the largest and most perfect of the Hindu monu-
ments of Java, the Buddhist or Jain temple of Borobudor widi its 400 images.
Ki^iMPFER (Engelbert), the well-known author of the History of Japan, was
a native of Lemgo, in the county of Lippe in West&lia. He was born on the 16feh of
September, 1651, and highly educated for the medical profession. After some stay
in Sweden he proceeded as Secretary of Legation to a Swedish mission to the court
of Persia, in the year 1683, the ambassador being Fabricius. This mission, in its
way to Ispahan, the then Persian capital, proceeded through Russia by the route of
Moscow and the Caspian. Instead of returning to Europe with the ambassador,
Kesmpfer resolved on continuing his stay in the East, and with this view accepted
employment as chief surgeon to the Dutch fleet, which was at the time cruising in
the Persian Qulf, and of which the chief station was Gomroon. After quitting tliis
employment he proceeded to Batavia, which he reached in 1689, touching at various
ports of Arabia and Western India on his way. In the following year, touching at
Siam on his route, he went as surgeon to the Dutch mission to Japan, and in each of
the two subsequent years visited the Court of Jeddo. In the year 1693 he returned
to Europe, and passed the remainder of his life practising as a physician in his native
town, dying in 1716 at the age of 65. It appears from this that Kssmpfer^s whole
residence in India did not exceed four years, three of which were passed in Japan.
Of the Indian Islands he seems to have seen nothing beyond Batavia and the islets
on the route between it and Siam. He does not appear to have acquired a knowledge
of any oriental language, his whole information having been obtained through
interpreters, and these not always competent ones. Of this a curious and amusing
example is afforded in what he says of some of the Malay Islands in the China Set.
** Orang Kay," says he, "in the Malay language, signifies woodman, or a man
entrusted with the care and inspection of woods and forests." The correct title is
orang-kaya, which literally means '' rich man," but properly a noble or person of
rank. The author had mistaken the adjective kaya, " rich," for the noun ksyu,
*' wood ** or '* timber," and he might have reflected that a conservator of forests was
a needless ofllce in countries covered with forest, and in which the great object is to
get rid of it.
In 1711 E»mpfer published his Amoenitates Exotica, but the Histoiy of Japan
was not published until 1727, eleven years after his death. Sir Hans Sloane had
purchased the manuscript from his heirs, and had it translated from the German
into English, so that it was in this language that it first appeared, translations from
it into French and Dutch having afterwards been made from the English version.
Ksempfer has contributed little or nothing to our knowledge respecting the Indian
Archipelago, but for Japan he has been the principal source of our information for
130 years. He is a laborious, shrewd, and generally reliable observer.
EAILI, or EYELI. The name of a countiy of Celebes, situated on the main
body of this winged island, and towards that side of it which lies on the Strait which
separates Celebes from Borneo. The territory of Kaili consists of four separate and
independent principalities — Dongala, Tuwaini, Sero, and Palu — the last of these
being the most considerable. The country is generally mountainous, and most
probably of granitic formation, for gold obtained by washing forms one of the staple
exports. The ruUng people are the Bugis of Tuwaju, but the interior contains many
vrild tribes, of whom nothing but their existence is known to Europeans. The prin*
cipal port is Dongala, from which a number of praus trade with Java, Singapore, and
other countries of the west. The exports, besides gold and the other conunoditiea
usually dealt in by the Bugis, have of late years included coffee of native growth.
KALANTAN. One of the four Malay states on the eastern side of the Malay
Peninsula, being the fourth, counting from the south. It is bounded to the north
by the Mahiy state of Patani, and to the south by that of Tringgano, the rirer Banara
£ALI 195 KARANG-ASAM
dlTiding it from the first, and the B&mit from the lost It has the Malay state of
Queda to the west, the great central cham of the peninsula being the boundary. The
inhabitants are Malays, with a few tribes of Negritos in the mountains, and a consider-
able number of Chinese engaged in washing gold and in mining and smelting tin. The
total population was estimated to me by some intelligent merchants of the country
at 10,000 fiEuuilies or 50,000 inhabitants, which taking the area of the country at
7000 square miles, would give about seven inhabitants to the square mile. Mr. Kew-
bold in his account of the Peninsula and its islands gives the same estimate, but, to
judge from the natural sterility of the country and the barbarism of its govemmenty
I make no doubt but that it is much exaggerated. The staple exports are tin, gold,
and black pepper, for the most part the products of Chinese industry. The chief
town or residence of the raja, of the same name, is on a small bar river navigable
only for boats, in north latitude 6° 16'. The principal trade is with Singapore, and
chiefly conducted by the Chinese during the south-western monsoon, the coast of
Ealantan being a lee shore in the opposite one. Kalantan existed as a state at the
close of the fifteenth century and before the arrival of the Portuguese, but of the
time or the manner in which it was founded nothing is known, or probably know-
able. It is one of the five Malay states of the Peninsula, immemorially tributary to
Siam, and which make a yearly acknowledgment of dependence by a small tribute
called the "bunga-mas" or "gold flower."
KALI ; in Javanese, a river. It frequently oocurs in the names of plaoes, and is
equivalent to Sungai, in Malay ; and Chai, m Sunda.
KAMBING (PULO), literally ** soat-island," but the name is said to be given
to it on account of the number of a small species of deer (Cervus Moluccensis), which
are found in it. It lies off the northern coast of Timur, and opposite to the Por-
tuguese settlement of Dili, between the islands of Ombai and Wetter. Its
southern extremity is in south latitude 8" 21', and east longitude 126** 89'. Its sur*
fieuM is hilly, with a peaked mountain ; and the island is chiefly remarkable for a mud
volcano on the top of this peak. This proceeds from pyramidal hillocks, twelve in
number, united at the bottom, and at the apex of each of which there is a vent,
from which, at regular intervals, there is a discharge of gas and liquid mud. The
earth of this mud contributes to maintain the form of the cones, and the saline water
trickling down their sides is licked by the deer, which resort to the place for the
purpose.
KAMPAR. The name of a Malay state on the north-eastern side of Sumatra,
and nearly opposite to the eastern extremity of the Peninsula and the British island
of Singapore. It has Indragiri to the south-esst ; and Si'ak, to which it is tribu-
tary, to the north-west. The principal river of the country extends inland all the
way to the territory of Menangkabo, which bounds Kampar to the west ; but it is
shallow, — full of sandbanks— *has a bar at its entrance, with a dangerous bore or
tidal wave. The low island of Rantao, which is opposite to the mouth of the river,
belongs to Eampar, and is feuned for the quantity of raw saffo which it produces for
the manufactories of Singapore. The ruling people are Bfalays, all the way to the
frontier of Menangkabo. There is, however, a wild people, in some respects distinct
from them, who speak a jargon of their language, but have not embraced the
Mahommedian religion. These are known to the Malays under the common name of
Orang-utan, that is, literally, ** men of the woods," but which, as they intend it,
means " savages," or uncivilised men. These are represented ss simple and peace-
able: their chief employment is the cultivation of the sago palm. Eampar is
said to produce a smaJl quantity of tin and gold. No attempt has been made to
estimate the number of its inhabitants ; and little is known of its history. De Barros
enumerates it as one of the twenty-nine states which existed on the searboard of
Sumatra on the first arrival of the Portuguese; and Castaghneda mentions its
sovereign as the king of ** a small country in Sumatra that consisted of nothing but
forest," a description which equally applies to the principality at the present day.
KANGEAN. The name of a group of islands, consisting of one considerable one
surrounded by many islets ; lying north of Bali, and east of Madura, from which last
it is distant about fifty miles.
£ARANG-ASAM. The name of a principality of the island of Bali, ooouppng
ita north-eastern portion fronting Lomboc. Within it is the highest mountain of
the island, the Gunung-agong, or "great mountain" of the natives, and the Peak of
Bali pf our marinera, which is of the height of 11,326 feet above the level of the
2
KARIMON 196 KAWI
sea. The most recent aoooant of the population of this principality makes it 85»O00.
About the beginning of the present century this state eflFeoted the conquest of the
island of Lomboc, which still continues to be ruled by a prince of the fiunily of the
conqueror. The name probably signifies, literally, ** ornamented with tamarind-treee,"
from karang, " to arrange ornamentally," and asam, ** the tamarind." See Baijl
KARIMON, correctly KRIMUN. There are two groups of islands of this name,
one at the eastern end of the Straits of Malacca, and another on the northern coast
of Java. See Cabimon.
KARTASURA. The name of the ruins of a place in the province of Pajang,
in Java, once the seat of government of the dynasty of Mataram. Mataram having
been destroyed by a rebellion two years before, the seaU>f government was removed
to Kartusura in 1680 ; but in the course of two-and-six^ years, was again changed
for its present site in 1742. The name is Sanscrit, and signifies " labour of valour ; "
the same words reversed in their order being given to the present capital, Surakarta.
The ruins of a kraton, or palace, are still seen; and near to them a small but hand-
some lake.
KASUMBA ; the Javanese and Malay name for Safflower, the Cantliamas tine-
tonus of botanists. The name is from the Sanscrit, and as it has none in the native
languages, it is probable that it was introduced into Java, the only country of the
Arehipelago in which it is cultivated, by the Hindus. The epithet " Javanese,'* is
commonly added by the Malays in order to distinguish it from amotto, the Bissa
orellana, which is called Easumba-kling, or the Teimga kasumba, although this last
be an American plant
KATI, frequently written by ns Catty, a weight of 1| pound avoirdupois ; which
contains 16 taSus, and 100 of which make a pikul, or picul, literally *' a loadL" The
tall, the kati, and the pikul are native words, but the weights they express Chineee.
EAWI. In Java and Bali, but there only, there exists, as in northern and
southern India, in Ceylon, in Birma» and in Siam, an ancient recondite language ; and
in Bali it is still the language of law and religion, as it was in Java before the adop-
tion of the Mahommedan religion in the 151^ century. This tongue is known by
the name of kawi, a word which literally signifies ** tale, or narrative ; " and is not
the name of any national tongue, but seems a corruption of the Sanscrit word, kavya.
In Java there are found many ancient inscriptions in this language, both on atone
and brass : and even two ancient manuscripts in it are still preserved. Such of the
inscriptions as are not in the Devanagri, and these are but few, have been found to
consist of various modifications of the present modem character. The consonants,
voweU, and orthographic marks are essentially the same in number, power, and
form, being only ruder in shape and lees connected with one another. The ancient
character is, at present, never used in Java, or even in Bali ; neither is the modern
ever seen on an ancient inscription. Such is the case in Birma and Pagu, with the
Pali character of the Buddhist nations, which is confined to inscriptions and religious
works, in which the modem character is never used. This leads to the conclusion
that the Kawi, or ancient character of Java and Bali, was restricted to inscriptions, all
of which are of a mythological character, and confined to religious uses. The
modem character was, probably, used at the same sime for temporal purposes, as
is at present the modern Burmese ; and it may, therefore, be of great antiquity,
although we have no positive evidence of it. It is certain, however, that it is
written in Palembang and Bali at the present day, exactly as it is in Java^ after a
known virtual separation of near four centuries.
Some writers have supposed the Kawi to be a foreign tongue, introduced into Java
at some unknown epoch ; but there is, assuredly, no ground for this notion, as is
8n£Sciently proved by its general accordance with the modem Javanese. Independent
of its being the language of ancient inscriptions, it is that of the most remarkable
literary productions of the Javanese. These consist of epitomes, or paraphrases of
the celebrated epics of the Hindiu, — ^the Mahabarat and Ramayana. The last of
these appears in several different romances ; but the first, which is the best, in a
single poem, under the Sanscrit name of the Bmtayuda, or the war of Barata, that
is, of the descendants of Barat. In the text of this work we have the name of the
author, and a date, an unique instance of authenticity in the literature of the Archi-
pelago. The author's name is AmpusAdah, abbreviated Pus&dah ; and he tells us
that he lived at the court of Jayabaya, king of DKa, in the province of KAdiri, in
Java ; and that he composed his work at the desire of the king, who was a great
KAWI 197 KINABALAO
admirer of the character of Salya, the leader of the Kurawa. But the date ib, unfor-
tunately, not in numeral figures, or in ordinary writing, but in the mystic words
representing numerals, in which dates are most usually given, and hence it is liable
to several different interpretations. Among these, the latest gives the year of Saka
or Salivana, 1117, corresponding with that of Christ 1195. A careful analysis of
some stanzas of the Bratayuda, shows that about 80 in 100 of its words are modern
Javanese ; and of tbese about one-half, excluding proper names, is Sanscrit. In the
Kawi, words common to the Malay and Javanese languages are found just as they are
in the modem Javanese, the proportion only being fewer. Among the words common
to the Kawi and modem Javanese are those essential to grammatical structure, as
the prepositions and the particles employed in the formation of transitive, intrans-
itive, and passive verbs, with the auxiliaries used in those of tenses. The names of
plants, animals, metals, winds, and seasons are also the same in the ancient and
modem tongues ; and these, for the most part» are natiye and not foreign words.
All this leaves little doubt that the Kawi is nothing more, both as to language and
character, than an antique form of the vernacular language of Java.
The Kawi abounds more in consonants than the modem language. Thus, nnsa,
"an island," in Javanese, is nuswa or nusya in Kawi ; dadi, "to become," is dadiya ;
kadaton, "a palace," iskadatyan; manusa, "man,** is manuswa; and iga, "do not,**
is ajuwa. Many words in Kawi, although obsolete in the modem language, are suf-
ficiently known to Javanese scholars, which is exactly analogous to what ia the case
in our own language. But the most satisfactory proof that Kawi is nothing more
than an antiquated form of Javanese is, that whole passages of the Bratayuda now
and then occur, which are easily understood by ordinary Javanese scholars^ See
LAIfGUAOE.
KAWI (GuNmre). The name of a mountain of Java, in the proyinoes of Malang
and K&diri, the summit of which is 8820 feet above the level of the sea^ It has no
active volcano.
KAY AN ; the name of the most numerous, civilised, and powerful of the wild
inhabitants of Borneo, called by the Malays, Dayak. The territory occupied by this
nation extends, diagonally, across the island from the equator to the 5° of north
latitude. See Dtak.
KEMA. The name of a port and district of the northern peninsula of Celebes,
on its southern side, and northem coast of the Qulf of Qorongtalo. The port, which
is an open road, is in north latitude 1*^ 22', and east longitude 125^ 10' ; the volcanic
mountain, Klobat, forming a conspicuous land-mark. Kema, and Menado on the
opposite side of the same Peninsula, have, within the last few years, been declared
free ports by the govemmrait of the Netherlands, to which the sovereignty of the
whole Peninsula belongs.
KEI ISLANDS. The name of a group of islands lying west of New Guinea and
the Aroe Islands, and estimated to contain an area of 960 square geographical miles.
They consist of three large islands and many islets. The inhabitants are of the
Malayan race, an industrious, peaceable, seafaring people.
KTDUL. <<The South," in Javanese. It is applied as an epithet to the sea south
of Java, Lant kidul, or Sagara kidul, that is, <'the South Sea," and to a range of
mountains extending along the southern shore of the island the Gunung-Kidul,
called also K&ndang, a range distinct from the great central volcanie one, and seldom
exceeding one-third of its height.
KINABALAO. The name of the highest mountain of Borneo, situated towards its
northern extremity, on the peniuBula lying between the China sea and the bay of
Maludu. By trigonometrical measurement its height has been made between 18,000
and 14,000 feet. This would make it the highest mountain of the Archipelago ; but
an English traveller, Mr. Lowe, who ascended it nearly to its summit, in 1851, did
not mSke its height by barometer more than 9,500 feet. The mountain, in its lower
ports, is composed of sandstone, and in its upper of sienitic granite. At the top it
consists of bare rock, but the rest is covered with a tall forest, the character of the
plants varying with the altitude. In the neighbourhood of Kinabalo there are other
mountains, seemingly of the same formation, and some of them estimated at 6,000
feet high. Many new plants were discovered by Mr. Lowe on the mountain, such as
oi*chises, rhododendrons, and rayrtaceous plants. The inhabitants of the neighbour-
hood consist of four tribes of the Dayaks, or wild aborigines, each, as elsewhere,
speaidng a distinct language. These are the Murut, called also Idiian, the Murung, the
KI8A 198 KOEN
Kohom, and the KXao. All these carry on a rude agriculture, and are of inoffensiTe
manners. In all our maps, a large lake, called by the same name as the mountain, is
laid down ; but Mr. Lowe, after diligent inquiry, could hear nothing of it> and came
to the conclusion that no such lake exists.
EISA, called Kiser in the Dutch maps, is a small island off the east end of
Timur, and distant from it 18 miles. It is no more than 16 miles in circumfereDce,
but well inhabited ; its population, in 1838, having been computed at 8000. One-
third of the inhabitants are Christians of the Dutch Lutheran Church, and the rest
idolaters. The people are peaceable and industrious, raising yams and batatas, and
rearing poultry and hogs. Their language is peculiar, but intermixed with words of
the languages of Tlmur, and of Malay and Javanese. They are of the Malayan race.
ELING. The name given by the Malays and Javanese to the Telinga nation of
southern India, and which appears to be a corruption or abbreviation of the genuine
name of the country of this people, Elalinga. Being the only Indian nation funiliarly
known to the nations of the Archipelago, the word is used by them as a general term
for all the people of Hindustan, and for the country itself. The trade and intercourse
of the Telingas with the Archipelago is of great but unascertained antiquity, and still
goes on. Many Telingas have, from time to time, settled more particularly in the
western parts of the Archipelago, as in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, and their
mixed descendants are tolerably numerous. In Singapore, for example, the Telingas
form about one-tenth of the population, and in Penang they are even more numerous.
It was this people that, in all probability, introduceid the Hindu religion into Java
and the other islands, and they seem also to have contributed materially to the spread
of Mahommedanism, the majority of the settlers being at present of this persuasion.
In the beginning of the 16th century the Portuguese found ihem canying on trade at
Malacca^ and Bu'bosa, who calls them Chet\js, describes them as " wealtl^ merchants
of Coromandel, who traded in laige ships." See History.
KLOBAT. The name of a mountain with an aotive volcano, 6,800 feet liigh,
situated on the northern peninsula of Celebes, in north latitude 1** 82'. It is the
highest of the volcanic mountains of Celebes, and consequently not much more than
one-half the height of the highest of Java, Bali, and Lomboc.
ELONGEONQ. One of the nine states into which the island of Bali is at present
divided, and forming a portion of its southern side, between the principalities of
Earang-asam, Oiyanjar, and Bleleng. In 1842 its population was estimated at
50,000. See Bali.
ELIJT. The name of a mountain of Java, in the provinoe of E&diii, 7,500 feet
high. Its name is taken from that of a wooden bell suspended to the neck of the
buffalo, and to the form of which it is supposed to bear some resemblance. At the
foot of the Elut are the remains of a Hindu temple, built of cubical blocks of trachite,
highly sculptured, and still 18 feet high. It is known by the name of Chandi Pftnataran,
or the temple of P&nataran, taken from that of a neighbouring village.
EOEN (JOHN PETERSON), the fourth of the Dutch Governor-Generals of
India, was born on the 8th of January, 1 587» at Havre, in North Holland, the son of
parents in easy circumstances. His education was wholly commercial, and to finish
it, he was sent to Rome, where he served for several years in a large commercial
establishment. On his return to Holland, in 1607| he entered the service of the East
India Company, at the age of 20, and proceeded to India, where, having served for
four years, he returned to Holland in 1611. Next year he went back to India» and
was appointed chief of the Factory of Bantam, from which station he was promoted
to that of Director-Gkneral of Tiwle, the next post in rank to that of Governor-
General. At the early age of thirty-one he was made Governor-General.
Hitherto, the seat of government had been at Amboyna, in the Spice Islands, this
locality, on account of the paramount value of the spice trade, being considered at the
time the most appropriate and convenient. Eoen*s prescience soon discovered to him
that a seat of government more central, and in a country of superior resources to the
Moluccas, was indispensable for the consdlidation of the Dutch power, and he naturally
fixed on Java, and that portion of it which appeared accessible to him. The first site
chosen was the mouth of the river Tangeran, three leagues west of Batavia, and within
the same wide bay. This, however, belonged to the prince of Jacatra, who persistentlv
refused to cede the necessary territory. The strong-minded Eoen, nothing daunted,
determined at once on fixing the future capital at Jacatra itself, where the Dutch had
had a factory since 1611, and with this view he transferred the principal part of the
KOMODO 199 KOMRING
commercial and military efltablishmenta from Bantam, — surrounded the factory of
Jaratra with a rampart^ and virtually founded the city of Batavia, in 1618 and 1619.
From this time may be dated the foundation of the Dutch empire in the Archipelago,
which, most probably, would never have come into existence had the seat of goyem-
ment continued in the remote Moluccas, or been established, according to the
recommendation of the home authorities, in the barren island of Banca.
Koen surrendered the goyemment in 1625, and once more returned to Holland,
but, after a residence in Europe of four years, was again appointed Gk)yemor-Qeneral,
the only example in the Dutch annals of a second nomination to this high trust. On
his return to India, he had to defend his conquest, not only against the kings of
Jaratra and Bantam, but against the Susunan of Mataram, by fiu: the most powerful
prince of Java, and lord of the most fertile and populous portions of it In 1628 and
1629, this prince laid siege to Batavia, and in each year, with a host supposed to have
amounted to a hundred thousand men. He was repeatedly defeated by a handful of
Dutch, with a few Chinese auxiliaries, and assuredly the superiority of European
courage, discipline, and power of combination oyer semi-barbarous Asiatic hordes, was
neyer more conspicuous than in these contests. It was while the last of these sieges
-was in progress, and on the 20th of September, 1629, that the active and laborious
life of Koen was brought to a close, by a sudden stroke of apoplexy, in the forty-
second year of his ageu
Koen was, without doubt, a man of great ability, full of resource, and secret, skilful,
and bold in the execution of his projects. His countrymen describe him as a man of
great integrity, and a loyer of justice ; but the patent parts of his administration
attest that he was imscrupulous, even beyond the measure of other adventurers of the
17th century. One striking example given by his biographers sufficiently shows what
were his notions of justice. In the suite of his wife was the illegitimate daughter of
a councillor of the Indies, a girl of thirteen, who was detected in a love intrigue with
a young Dutchman. The lover offered reparation by marriage, but the inexorable
Koen directed the parties to be tried by a law of his own miScing, and by judges of
his own nomination. They were condemned, the youth to be put to death, and the
young woman to be severely whipped in public; and the Qovemor-General confirmed
l)oth sentences, and had them carried into execution. This was not justice, but
l)arbarian ruffianism. In the Spice Islands he nearly exterminated the inhabitants of
the Banda Islands, expatriating the remainder, and replacing the population by slaves.
The expulsion of the English from Bantam, and the future Batavia, is quite justifiable,
for it was the mere result of superior power and superior adroitness in intiigue. Had
they themselves been successful, without a doubt they would have treated him and his
countrymen in the same manner. His countrymen exonerate him from the tortures
and massacre of Amboyna, in which ten Englishmen and as many of their followers
lost their lives, because he had surrendered the Indian government a month before
the massacre. This, however, is an untenable defence, for the local officers who
perpetrated tiie massacre were of his own nomination, the system which they were
carrying out, the eradication of all competition in the spice-trade, was his own, and on
his return to power he never disavowed their act.
Koen was, undoubtedly, the greatest man that Dutch India has produced, and may
be said to occupy in Uie Dutch annals the same place that Alboquerque does in the
Portuguese and Olive in the English. He ia the real founder of the Dutch empire in
India^ and although but a mere civilian, he was enabled, by the native stren^h of his
character, to effect what those men had done, clothed with military reputation. His
countrymen, however, are either insensible to his merits or n^ligent to reward them,
for down to the present day, no monument has ever been erected to his memory.
KOMODO, or COMODO, a small island lying off the western end of Floris, and
in the strait which divides this island m>m Sumbawa. It is surrounded by many
islets, has a steep rocky coast, and an almost unfathomable sea. Like Sumbawa and
Floris, Komodo is of volcanic formation, but beyond these few facts nothing more is
known of it.
KOMRINO. This is the name of a country and people within the territory of
Palembang, at the north-eastern end of Sumatra. The language of the country is
said to be peculiar and written in a national alphabet The people are represented
as industrious, independent in their manners, and pagans, believing in the trans-
migration of souls. Within their territory is a fine lake, which they call Ranau, a
word, however, which seems only a modification of danau, the common name for a
lake in Malay, or, perhaps, of ranu, water, in Javanese.
KORE 200 KRAMA
£OBJi is the Javanese name for Bima in the island of Sombaway but the origin
of the word is unknown.
KOBINOHI. The name of a yalley of the interior of Sumatra, between the
equator and the second degree of south latitude. Hr. Logan estimates its extent at
100 miles long and 50 hroed, giving an area of 6,000 square miles, and he ascribes to it
a population of 75,000, or 15 to tiie square mile. The inhabitants are a tolerably
dvilised people, practising a respectable agriculture, well clad in their own mana-
factures of cotton, and living in easy circumstances. Insecurity of life and property
among them, however, is evinced by the form of their habitations, which consist, like
those of the wild inhabitants of Borneo, of barn-Hke dwellinga^ capable of accom-
modating many families, sometimes to the number of forty. The people of Korinchi
are of the Malay nation, speak the Malay language, and write it in an alphabet of
their own, the same, very probably, in which it was written by all the Malays before
the adoption of the Arabic character. The country contains several lakes, but on^
the Danau-korinchi or lake of Korinchi, is of considerable size. On this, Mr. Chtfles
Campbell, an eminent botanist, the only European who is known ever to have visited
the country, sailed in 1800, and he and his companions estimated its breadth, with-
out, however, rendering any account of its length, at seven mUes. It abounds in
good fish, especially in a species of mullet and of carp, and its borders are the chief
seats of the agriculture and population of the comitry. The elevation of the valley
above the level of the sea has not been ascertained, but as the cooo-palm refuses to
bear fruit in it, it is concluded that it must be considerable,
KORIPAN. The name of an ancient kingdom of Java, which waa situated in
the modem district of Qrobogan, within the proper country of the Javanese. Koripan
is of great celebrity in Javanese romance, but of its true history nothing is known.
KOTARINGIN, an abbreviation of Kota-warinpn, literally, «* fortress of the
Indian fig-tree," a djstrict of the kingdom of Banjarmasin in Borneo, and now of a
Javanese prince with the heiress of the throne of that country. Kotaringin forms
the most westerly district of the Residency of the Dutch Banjarmasin.
KRAMA. This is the name given by the Javanese to their ceremonial or polite
dialect, also occasionally called bahasa. Both words are Sanscrit^ the first meaning order
or arrangement, and the last, speech or language. These names are applied to it in con-
tradistinction to the word ngoko, applied to the vernacular tongue, and which signifi^
common or vulgar. The following is a brief accoimt of ^is singular and unique dialect
The ceremonial language is that of the court, or more correctly of ooortiers, for the
sovereign and members of his family address others in the vulgar tongue, while they
themselves are addressed in the ceremonial. In epistolary writing, the oeremonj^
dialect is always used, even by superiors to inferiors, unless the party addressed be
of very humble rank indeed. The exception is the sovereign, for all royal letteij
edicts, and proclamations ore in the vulgar tongue, that is, in the language of command.
In books, according to the nature of the subject, both dialects are used xndifiereutly.
In framing the polite dialect, for it is obviously a factitious language, the object
seems to have been to avoid every word that had become by frequent use fimulisr,-^
to adopt words that were not so, to borrow from other languages, and even to coin
new words, or alter old ones, for these purposes. The distinction in words ^^°??
absolutely pervade the whole language, but there is a very near approach to i\^^ ^^
extends to every word in frequent use, including even pronouns, prepositions,
auxiliaries, particles, and numerals. In some cases, the words of the ceremonial language
are native synonyms. Thus, ba&u is water in the vulgar tongue, bat toya in tns
ceremonial. The ceremonial language has borrowed largely from Malay and Sanscnt*
Thus, w&di, sand, is changed into the Malay pasir, and dawa, long, into panjang, oi
the same language. From the Sanscrit, we have asta^ the hand, and akasa, the bkYi
substituted for the Javanese words tangan and langit. If, however, the Sanscrit woro
itself should have become familiar, it is rejected, and another word firom the flsme
language or from a native source is substituted for IL Thus, jagat, the world, ^^°^
to the vulgar tongue, but buwana to the ceremonial, — ^manusa, a man, to the nrsc,
but jalma to the last, all being alike Sanscrit.
But besides synonyms taken from obsolete native words, or from foreign ^'^^C'"'^
the ceremonial dialect has other resources of wider appUcation. It converts wuros
XRAMAN 201 KRAWANG
of the Tulgar tongue to its own purpose by a permutation of vowels and consonants,
sometimes by a combination of both these means, and sometimes by substituting a
i^Uable terminating in a consonant, when the word of the ordinary language happens
to end with a vowel. Of these methods, the most frequent is the permutation of
vowels, generally of the final vowel, sometimes of the medial, but never of the initial.
For this purpose, the low and broad sounding vowels, u, o, and a, are exchanged for
the high and sharp ones, t, e, and i. The vowel u, for example, belongs to the vulgar
tongue, and, sometimes, we have a scale of ascending respect, according to the quality
of the party addressed, ending as a climax in L The verb, to sit, is an example, for
it may be varied in four different ways, lunguh, lungah, l&ngah, and lingah. A single
change, however, is more frequent, as in the case of swarga, heaven, which becomes
•wargi ; mula, source, which becomes mila ; and jajar, a row or rank, jejer.
When, however, a word of the vulgar tongue terminates in a sleuder vowel, or
from other cause u not amenable to this kind of formation, another expedient is had
recourse to. This consists in substituting for such slender vowel, a syllable ending
in consonants, which are always nasals, liquids, or the sibilant. Euphony seems the
object chiefly held in view in making these changes, as aji, to teach, becomes in this
manner ayos, in the polite dialect; w&di, fear, w&dos; sAgara, the sea, B6gant&n ; and
f9ur% pardon, apunlAn.
Sometimes the word in the ceremonial dialect is an epithet, or a translation, true
or fanciful, of that in the vulgar tongue. Thus, the sugar-cane in the vulgar tongue
is t&bu, and in the polite rosan, which is literally the object with joints. Bebek
in the ordinary language is the domestic duck, which in the ceremonial becomes
kambangan, which litenJly means the thing that swims or floats. For words of very
frequent occurrence, the polite dialect has often several synonyms. Thus, for news,
there are two, warti and wartos, and for the heart three, nala, manah, and galih.
Names of persons are not changed in the ceremonial dialect, but those of well-known
places and even nations are. Thus the royal province of Mat&ram has two forms in
the polite language, HCatawun and Matawis. Frequently, the word of the polite
language is a translation from that of the vulgar, as from Surabaya, Surapringa, and
Surabangi. The word bali means '' to return " in the vulgar tongue, and wangsul is
its correlative in the polite and hence the last word is also the polite name for the
island of Bali.
There is, of course, no record of the time or manner in which this singular dialect
was introduced among, or framed by the Javanese, but we may be tolerably certain
that its formation was gradual, and that in its present shape it is the accumulation
of manv ages. It contains many Sanscrit words, and we may therefore infer that it
received a large accession after the introduction of Hinduism. It contains even a few
Arabic words, and of course has gone on increasing ever since the comparatively
recent time of 1478, the year of Javanese conversion. See Java and LANauAOB.
KBA.MAN. This word signifies in Javanese an impostor, pretending to some
great secular or spiritual mission, or both united. The simplicity and credulity of
the Javanese has, in all known periods of their history, rendered them peculiarly
amenable to the impostures of persons of this description, and there are many
examples of formidable and obstinate rebellions produced by them, such as that of
Surapati, a E^inese slave, which lasted nine years; of Man^ubume, which lasted
fifteen, and ended by splitting the kingdom of Mataram into two principalities, the
rebel being rewarded with one of them ; and, lastly, the rebellion of Bipa Nagara,
which, after lasting four years, was brought to a conclusion only in 1880, by the
cession of four provinces to the Ketfaerlcmd government^ with an expenditure of,
probably, not less than a million sterling. The mal-administration of a province, for
any continued length of time. Is pretty sure to give birth to such impostors, who,
however, after an oriental fashion, are reckoned a kind of patriots.
EBAWANG. A province of Java in the country of the Sondas, and on the northern
coast of the isluid. It ii generally an alluvial tract, with many small streams, and one
considerable river, the Chaitarum (indigo or blue river), which disembogues into the
eastern side of the bay of Batavia. The area of Krawang is 1588 square miles, and
its population in 1860 was 125,112, which, therefore, gives little more than 81
inhabitants to the square mile, or not above one-ninth part of the density of some
of the proper Javanese provinces of the central and eastern portions of the island. By
enomeration the number of horses in this province were computed at 5000, and that
of its honied cattle 36,000.
KRIS 202 KUT-I
KRIS, the abbieviation of Kftris, a dagger or poniard, the uniyersal weapon of
all the civilised inhabitants of the Archipelago^ and of a hundred diiforsnt forms,
short or long, with a straight or serpentine blade, and with every variety in the shape
and ornament of the hilt and scabbard. Men of all ranks, from the peasant to the
prince, wear this weapon, and those of rank when fall dressed, two or even four. In
Java, even women of rank sometimes wear a small one. The word is probably
Malay, but is now of general adoption through the Archipelago. The Jayanese hsre
three native names for it besides the Malay one, and it is found represented on
several of the ancient temples of Java. The kris has even reached the Philippme
Islands, for there is no doubt but that it is the same word of the Tagala and ^iaja
languages which the Spaniards write calis, and translate ''sword."
KROfi, or CRO£, as it is written in onr maps, is the name of a district of the
country of the Lampungs on the south-western coast of SumatatL A British settle-
ment existed here on a small river, navigable only for boats, until by the convention
of 1824 it was made over with Bencoolen, of which it was a dependency, to the
government of the Netherlands. Pepper-hunting was the unprofitable object of this
poor and worthless settlement.
KXJBU, in Malay, means a breast- work or redoubt, but it is also, for what reason
I am unaware, the name of a wild people inhabiting the plain which extends from
Jambi to Pabunbang, on the north-western side of Sumatra. Of this people little or
nothing is known beyond the fact that they are of the Malayan race, and are pos-
sessed of even a smaller measure of civilisation than the most improved of the
Dayaks of Borneo.
KUDUS. The name of a district of the Netherland proyinoe of Japara, in Java,
lying between the districts of Damak and Pati.
KUPANG (in Malay, the name of a biyalye shell, a kind of mussell^, or in the
Dutch orthography, Koepang, is the name of the principal settlement of the Dutch
in the island of Timur. The town and harbour are situated at the western end of
the island, the fortress, Concordia, being in south latitude lO"* 10^ 15", and east
longitude 128** 80'. The town lies on the south side of a spacious bay 12 inile|
wide at its entrance, and running into the country to the length of 20. The island
of Semao, in some measure, protects the bay, which is a tolerable harbour, and at all
events the best in the island of Timur. The population of Kupang and the sur
rounding countxy is 7000, and the dependent tribes are thought to amount to 40,000,
so that the total inhabitants subject to the Dutch authority are but 47,000, although
the Netherland government claims the sovereignty of one-half the island. The
revenue derived by the Netherland government is stated to amount yearly tono
more than 50,000 florins, or 42662., and this is all for the one half a great island 1 Tb^
exports, consisting chiefly of Sandal-wood, bees'-wax, and tripang, are reckoned to
amount to 800,000 florins, or 25,0002., and the imports, chiefly clothing, to about one-
fourth more in value. These are but poor results for a country that has been smt
two centuries and a half in European occupation, and must be chiefly ascribed to the
sterility of the land and the barbarism of its inhabitants. See TiMDR.
KURIMATA. The correct Malay name of the island which is in our charts
Carimata. See Cabix ata..
KUT'I, generally written in our maps Coty, a Malay state on the eastern side of
Borneo, fronting the south-western peninsula of Celebea The name seems to be
Sanscrit, and to signify "little fortress.** Its boundaries and extent are not ascer-
tained. The very little that is known of it is confined to its main rirer <»U^,^^
the same name. The embouchure of this large stream has in it many islands, ^/^
it has several moutha The most easily navigable of these is in south ktitude 11^'
and east longitude 117'. Mr. Dalton, an English merchant and enterprising traveUen
who visited Kuti in 1827 and 1828, and resided fifteen months in the co^*'y.°'^i!
neighbourhood, gives the following description of the river. At its most n*^*fT
mouth it has a bar on which at low water there are but 4 feet depth, but at tn
height of the flood 16 feet. It carries a breadth of from 200 yards up to 2 niu«
for a distance of at least 400 miles, with ample depth. The stream is rapid, <»^° JJ
much as 6 miles an hour, showing that it flows from high land. The inhaDi»nw
LABO 203 LABUAN
longitude 116* 6'. The settlement of the Bogis, who are of the Tuwajos of Celebes,
IB at a plaoe lower down the river, called by Mr. Dalton Semerindimi, but by the
Dutch, probably with more accuracy, Samarind6. Most of the houses of this place
are built on floating rafts, as are some of those of Palembang in Sumatra, of Borneo
in the island of this name, and of Bangkok the capital of Siam. The Bugis, who
seem to be of comparatively recent establishment, exerdse an independent authority,
even controlling the Malay prince, and carrying on most of the trade of the country.
The Kayan Dayaks occupy the upper portion of the river, with the country far on
both sides of it from a plaoe called Markaman, which in the sketch map of the river
given by Mr. Dalton is in neariy the second degree of north latitude This place
according to him has a mixed population of Malays and Dayaks, amounting to 3000.
That the whole oountnr must be very poorly inhabited is certain, since, with the
exception of a few cultivated specks, it is one continuous jungle. Of one spot at
which Mr. Dalton landed, and which is, nominally at least, a portion of the Euti
territory, he gives the following description. " The country (Bagotta) under this
pirate contains above 1200 square miles, without including the numerous islands.
The intendant of the port told me the inhabitants might amount to 10,000 alto-
gether, but from others, and what I consider to be much better information, the
number was stated at 4000. The truth might probably lie between the two. It
may appear strange that so large an extent of coimtry should contain so few
inhabitants. It must, however, be recollected that most of the country (indeed, the
whole, with the exception of a few rice-fields) is little else than an impenetrable
jungle, which nothing but a monkey can penetrate 50 yards from the banks of the
rivers, which are very numerous.'* The traveller found the banks of the main river
of more promising appearance, but equally unpeopled and uncultivated. "The
hiffher,** says he, " I ascend the country, the more beautiful it appears ; hill and
dale in pleasing variety, interspersed with clumps of the tallest trees. The verdure
is rich beyond anything I have seen in India ; indeed no country, however highly
cultivated, can produce such views.'* Of this fine country to the eye, alligators,
monkeys, and swarms of musquitoes are, however, the principal inhabitants.
The exports of Kut'i consist of bees'-wax, agar-agar or esculent sea-weed, esculent
swallows'-nests, tripang, or holothurion, a small quantity of gold-dust, and slaves,
consisting of the children of the Dayaks. Altogether, it is a poor and lawless place.
In a more favourable state of the country, the commodities which might be expected
to be profitably exported from Kut'i would be coal and iron ore. The history of the
settlement of the Malays in this part of Borneo is wholly unknown, as it is in other
parts of the island. Hindu temples and images are stated by Mr. Dalton to exist in the
mterior, within the country of the Kayan I^yaks. These were seen by him, but his
information is not so precise as to enable us to determine their exact nature. He states,
however, that they resembled those he had seen in Java and Southern India, and if
this be the case, the probability is that they were the work of Javanese settlers, the
same, probably, who first emigrated from Java to the neighbouring countiy of
Banjarmasin. The Dutch lay claim to a paramount authority over Kut'i, but it seems
to be neither exercised or acknowledged.
L.
LABO. The name of a high mountain, of a river, and of a town of the provinoe
of Gamarines Norte in the island of Luzon. The lughest peak of the mountain is in
north latitude 18** 69', and east longitude 123° 42' 30". The town is situated at the
foot of the mountain in a spacious v^ley, and contains 400 houses, with a population
of 2400. The valley itself is protected from the south-western monsoon by the
central Cordillera, and from the north-eastern by the Sierra of Bagacay. Its
prod^cts are rice, maiz, sugar-cane, indigo, and abaca. In the mountains which
surround it are found a few wandering tribes of Negritos. Labo, in the Malay
language, signifies a gourd, and was probably first given to the mountain.
LABUAN, correctly written L&bohan, is a verbal noun, derived from the Malaj
and Javanese word labuh, to drop or let fall, hence to drop or cast anchor, and
signifies anchorage or harbour. The name belongs to several places in the Archi-
pelago, but is especially applied to the small island on the north-western coast of
Borneo, now a British settlement To complete the sense in this cas^ the word
pulo or island must be prefixed, making " anchorage or harbour island." Labuan
Uee north-east of the estuary of| the river of Borneo or Brunai, distant fifteen miles.
LAC 204 LAGUNA DE BAY
with good anchoring-ground all ihe way. The island extends from north latitude
5" 11' to 5** 25', and from eaat longitude 115' 1(K to 115° 25'. Its form is triangular,
the base being to the south, and the apex to the north. Its greatest length ia 12 znilea,
and its average breadth between 5 and 6, its area being about 40 square statute or
84 geographical square miles, and its coast line about 30. The highest land does
not exceed 300 feet. The geological formation is sedimentary, consisting of sand-
stone, day, and slate, much resembling the coal measures of England. The coal,
which is found in several parts of the island, but chiefly towards the northern end,
is a continuation of the great coal-field of the main island of Borneo. The main
seam, which ia now wrought by an English company, is 11 feet thick, and furnishes
good coal for steam purposes. The base or south end of the island is six miles in
length, and contains two bays, on the smallest and deepest of which, and on its eastern
shore, is the site of the new town. Off the southern end of the island and extending
towards Borneo there are no fewer than ten different islets, the largest of which,
called Daat, forms a protection to the harbour and town. Some part of Labuan is
covered with swamp, and some consists of sandy plain, but the greater part of the soil
is a dark yellow loam, well adapted for cultivation. With the exception of the few
spots recently cleared, the whole island is covered with forest, consisting in the marshy
parts of mangroves, rattans, and palms, and in the higher grounds of a great variety of
tall timber-trees, the most remarkable of which is that which yields the native camphor,
the Dryobalanops camphors, the wood of which is used in house and ship-building.
Labuan had formed part of the principality of Borneo or Brunai, and like most of
the rest of its territory had never been occupied, and was wholly destitute of
inhabitants when we took possession, nor did it show any vestige of ever having
been occupied. With its adjacent islands it was ceded to the British crown, and
taken possession of on the 24th December, 1846. Its population does not exceed
1500, consisting principally of the parties engaged in the coal mines.
LAO. The colouring matter produced by the lao insect, or Coccus ficus, is known
and used by the inhabitants of the Malay Islands, and the insect is found in the
forests of Java, Sumatra, and the Peninsula. The produce however is neither so
good nor so abundant as that of Hindustan, Burmah, or Siam, probably owing to
the insect not being as in these countries domesticated and reared. The Malay name
of the dye is ambalau, a native one.
LACCA, in Malay, Laka, the Tanarius major, a tree with a red-coloured wood,
a native of Sumatra, used in dyeing and in pharmacy. It is an article of considerable
native trade, and is chiefly exported to China.
LADRONE ISLANDS, or THIEVES' ISLANDS, so caUed by Magellaji, their
first discoverer. See Mabianss.
LAGONOY. The name of a spacious bay on the eastern coast of Luzon, and in
the province of South Camarines. It is n)rmed by an indentation of the coast of the
main island, and by the considerable one of Catanduanes. It has two entrances, one
narrow and dangerous from the north, between the main and Catanduanes ; and the
other a wide one, between this last and the islet of Bapurapu. Spanish writers describe
the Bay of Lsgonoy as a real open sea, and hence affording little shelter to shipping.
LAGONOY. The name of a town situated at the head of the aboye-named bay,
in north latitude 13** 40' 30", and east longitude 123** 29'. Its population amounts to
7922 souls, of whom 969 contribute to the poll-tax. It lies on a sm^ll river, bearing
also the same name. The level portions of the country near it are cultivated with
rice, sugar-cane, sesame, and abaca, while in the pastures of the mountain sides are
reared herds of horses, oxen, aod hogs.
LAGUNA DE BAY, that is, "the lake of Bay," takes this name from a town
called Bay, at its southern end. It is the largest collection of fresh water in the
Philippines. Its greatest length is 34 miles ; but its breadth is irregular, for towards
its northern and north-eastern parte, through the interposition of two peninsulas, it
spreads out into two spacious inlets or bays, so that its area will not exceed, probably,
above 350 square geographical milea Its coast line is reckoned to be 86 leagues, —
its height above the level of the sea 58 feet; and its general depth from 15 to 16
fathoms. In a few places, however, it is shallow ; while in others, it is said to be fathom-
less. Everywhere its water is sweet and potable. No fewer than fifteen different
rivers contribute to form this lake ; while it is emptied by one only, the Pasig, which,
after a course of six leagues, falls into the great bay, near the city of Manilla. On its
fertile shores there are no fewer than six-and-twenty townships. An cast wind is
LAGUNA 205 LAMPUNG
the preTailing one on the lake, which has Taluable fisheries, and an extensive boating
traffic. In it there are seyeral islands, the largest of them, named Talim, being
three leagues in length by one in breadth : another, towards the southern end,
contains within it a lake having all the appearance of having for its basin the
extinct crater of a volcano. This last goes under the name of Los Caimanes, from
the number of alligators which frequent it.
X.AGUNA, PROVINCIA DE. This province, which takes its name from the lake
above described, is bounded to the east hj the sea at the Qulf of Lamon, — ^to the south
by the provinces of Tayabas and Batan^, — ^to the west by the province of Cavity, —
and to the north by the provinces of Tondo and Nueva Edja. It contains thirty-six
townships, the capital being Pagsanjan, on the eastern shore of the lake, in latitude
14* 15' north. Exclusive of the great lake, the area of this province is estimated at
630 square geographical miles. Its productions are the usual ones, — ^rioe, sugar-cane,
and indigo ; but it is remarkable besides for the extensive produce of the Nipa-palm,
used for the distillation of spirits, and which affords a considerable branch of the
public revenue. The inhabitants, in common with those of Batangas, Tondo, and
most of those of the island of Mindoro, are of the Tagala nation. The following
account has been given of the progress of its population. In 1735, it amounted only to
40,610 souls ; in 1799, or in sixty-four years after, it had risen to 74,799. This, too,
was without reckoning a township with 7314 inhabitants, which had been taken from
Laguna and annexed to the neighbouring province of Batangas. In 1818, or in nine-
teen years more, the population was found to be 86,630 ; and in 1850, it had risen to
137,083, which gives a rate of 217 inhabitants to the square geographicid mile,
making it one of the most populous provinces of Luzon. It will appear, from the
account above given, that in a period of 115 years the increase of population had been
no less than 237 per cent.
L.AKSAMANA. This is the name of the brother of the demi-god, and hero of
the Hindu poem, the Ramayana ; the adventures related in which are the frequent
sabjects of the romances and dramas of the Malays and Javanese. Laksamana, most
probably borrowed from this personage, is also the appellation of the commander of
the forces in several Malay states ; and as that force is, for the most part naval, the
word may be translated " admiral." It was so in the state of Malacca before the
arrival of the Portuguese. Thus De Barros, mistaking the title of the office for a
proper name, tells us that, on one occasion, the Portuguese under Alboquerque, after
having landed, — attacked the town and been repulsed, — found it necessary to re-
embark in order to protect their own fleet from being set fire to by the Malayans, of
which the commander was ** a valiant man, called Lacsamana ; " and Castaghneda
talks of the same personage as the king's admiral, who was called Lacsamana, ''a
discreet man, and a good cavalier, of eighty years of age." It is the same person,
indeed, that is specially distinguished by the Malays themselves as " the laksamana,"
and whose name of adolescence was Hang-tuah. Although his story be little more
than three centuries old, he has been long the favorite hero of Malay romance ; which
is about the same thing as if we were to consider the adventures of Sir Walter Raleigh
the subject of a myth.
LAMON. The name of a deep gulf on the eastern side of Luzon, whioh mainly
contributes to the formation of the Isthmus of Tayabas, -and the Peninsula of
Camarines ; thus dividing that great island into two parts^ — a main body to the
north, and a peninsula to the south. Reckoning from the Island of Calabete, the
length of the gulf is about 61, and its average breadth about 7 miles, making its areli
427 square geographical miles.
LAMPdNG. The name of one of the nations of Sumatra, and of its oonntry
which forms the south-eastern end of the island. The territory of the Lampungs
has the Straits of Sunda to the south, the Java Sea to the east, the country of Palem-
baog to the north, and that of the Rejang nation to the west. Its southern coast,
or that washed by the Straits of Sunda, is mountainous, — ^indented by numerous islets
and by two large bays, — those of Lampung and Samangka ; while along it are scat-
tei-ed no fewer than thirty-four islands, the most considerable of which are Samangka,
Lagundi, Besi, and Erakatoa. The eastern coast, or that washed by the Java seas,
differs remarkably from the western, for it forms a low, continuous, unbroken line,
without inlets or islands.
The country of the Lampungs lies between S"" 48' and 4'' 59' south latitude, and is
computed to have an area of 8560 square geographical miles. Its southern portion
LAMUNGAN 206 LA1!0)AE
is mountunous, and its geological formation volcanic ; corresponding, in this roBpeet,
with that of Bantam, in Java, which lies opposite to it. Its northern or inland por
tion, on the contrary, is a level plain. ThQ islands in the Straits of Siinda are
composed of high land of volcanic formation, and some of them have eztincs
craters. The highest peaks of the mainland, those of the mountains called Tangamus
and Lampung, rise to the height of 7500 feet above the level of the sea ; and the
peak of the island Krakatoa, which has been an active volcano in comparativelj
recent times, to that of 2700. In the volcanic part of the country there exist
numerous hot springs, in which the heat rises to 180" of Fahrenheit. The tivers are
numerous, but none of them large ; and none adapted for navigation.
The vegetation of the volcanic portion of the country of the Lampongp agrees
generally with that of the opposite shore of Java, but its zoology presents aoms
singular discrepancies. Thus, there are three species of ape ; and two feline anima3s in
the firsts unknown to the last. The elephant, the tapir, and the Malay bear are
found in the country of the Lampungs, while they are unknown in Java. The Sunda
ox is found throughout Java, but does not exist in the Lampuogs. The peacock,
which is abundant in Java, is not seen in the Lampungs ; but instead, there are
two pheasants, the Argus and another, both unknown to Java. These are strange
differences in two countries, of which the geology and vegetation, at the nearest
points, are similar ; and which are divided from each other by a strait only a few
leagues broad, having islands in the channel forming so many stepping-stones. " The
whole phenomenon,' says the judicious M. Zollinger, from whom this acoount of the
Lampungs is taken, " is, in my opinion, evidence against the notion that Sumatra
and Java, and indeed all the Sunda Islands, have been part of a continent, and united
Asia with Auatralia. Geological grounds, indeed, oiight long ago to have been suf-
ficient to refute such an opinion."
The LampuDg nation constitutes a distinct people from the other inhabitants of
Sumatra; agreeing with the rest only in race, and differing from them in language,
in manners, and in social state. The language is a peculiar one, and has been imme-
morially a written tongue in a peculiar character of its own. About one-third of it
has all the appearance of an original tongue ; the remainmg part consisting princi-
pally of Malay and Javanese, witJ^ the usual small admixture of Sanscrit and Arabic,
consequent on the peoples having adopted, successively, the religions associated with
those two languages. Compared with the Malays and Javanese, the Lampungs are
a rude people ; and their backwardness is most probably to be ascribed to the un&-
voiuuble physical character of the country they inhabit, the volcanic portion of which
is not peculiarly favourable to agriculture, while the alluvial is either sterile, or
covered with morass and forest, beyond the power of a rude people to redeem. This
rudeness of the Lampungs is evidenced by the almost total absence of irrigation ;
carried to so great an extent in Java, and the two islands immediately to the east of it»
and even in several parts of Sumatra itself. Instead of the economical and productive
husbandry which is the result of artificial irrigation, the Lampungs, generally, do no
more than snatch an occasional crop of com from the virgin land, using the ashes of the
felled and burnt timber as a dressing, and abandoning the soil so cultivated for a new
piece of forest, to be abandoned in like manner in its turn ; — a practice which seems
but one step above that of subsisting on the wild produce of the forest* The whole
population of the Lampung country is not computed at more than 83,000. This
gives the poor rate of from 6 to 7 inhabitants to the square mile, which is no more
than one twenty-third part of that of the opposite country of Bantam, the least
populous part of Java. The chief export is black pepper ; and the others consist of
the produce of the forest, such as rattans, and damar or resin. In former times, the
country formed a part of the dominions of the kings of Bantam, from whom it has
descended to the government of the Netherlands.
LAMUNGAN. The name of a mountain in the eastern part of Java, between the
provinces of Prabalinga and Besuki, and an active volcano which rises to the height
of 6500 feet above the level of the sea.
LANDAE. The name of a small Malay state on the western side of Borneo,
situated on an affluent of the river of Pontianak. It lies about 40 miles north of
the equator, and in a straight line about the same distance from the coast, but 70
miles by the windings of the river. Landak is only remarkable for being, unlike
others, an inland Malay state, and being situated in that part of Borneo moat
remarkable for the production of gold and diamonds. Respecting its population we
have no detailed knowledge, but it is certain that it is very inconsiderabla Besides
LANGKA 207 LANGUAGE
Malays, it oonAisbi of some Chmese, and of aborigines or Dayaks. Tiie name in
Malay and Javanese signifies '* a porcupine ; " but why so called is unknown.
LiANGEA, the mythic name of Ceylon in the Hindu poem of the Ramayana, and
as such, well known to the more advanced nations of the Archipelago. The popular
name for it, however, is Selan, evidently taken from the Arabs^ who probably made
the island first known to the Malayan nations.
XiANGEAT. The name of a Malay state on the north-eastern side of Sumatra,
constituting the northern limit of the Malay nation, who have here to the north of
them the Achinese, and westward and inland, the Batak nation. The entrance of
the river, called also Langkat, on which is situated the principal village, bearing
also this name, is in north latitude 4** 1', and east longitude 98° 29'. At its mouth,
the river is 800 yards broad, but obstructed by a bar of several miles in depth,
on which there is little more than from a fathom to a fathom and a half of water,
so that it is only navigable for Urge boats. The total population of Langkat has
been estimated not to exceed seven or eight thousand, composed of Malays and
dependent Bataks. Its chief produce is black pepper, which it is said to export to
the yearly amount of from two to three millions of pounds. The country is part of
the great alluvial plain, which extends nearly along the whole north-eastern side of
Sumatra, and is washed by the waters of the Straits of Malacca.
LJLNGKAWI, called in our charts Lancaya, is a considerable island, on the
western coast of the Malay peninsula, having several smaller ones contiguous to it
to the south, named the Ladas, which signifies the pepper-islands, so called more
probably from their ntimber than their produce. Langkawi and all the islands con-
tiguous to it form part of the territories of the prince of Queda. They lie between
the sixth and seventh degrees of north latitude, and the ninty-ninth and one hun-
dredth of east longitude. Langkawi is about 25 miles in length from east to west,
and about 10 from north to south. The land of all the group is high and level,
and the geological formation, like that of the adjacent continent, plutonic, consisting
of granite and mountain limestone. Both Langkawi and the larger islands of the
group are inhabited by a Malay population.
LANGUAGE. Li Malay and Javanese, there are the following words for lan-
guage or speech, tutur, lidah, bahasa, ohara, bAchara, and kata. Tutur and lidah are
native words, the last, literally "tongue," not of frequent use. All the others are
Sanscrit, the two first of them signifying also way or manner, and the two last talk
or discourse. In the present state of our knowledge, the langu^^s of the Malay and
Philippine Archipelagos may safely be said to be ianumerable, and even those ascer-
tained to exist are very numerous. In this respect the Indian Islands more resemble
Africa, and America, than continental Asia. As in America too, and, indeed, it may be
said in every country, the lang^uages in different parts of the country are numerous
in proportion to the rudeness of their inhabitants. The Malay peninsula alone is in
this respect an anomaly, for, with the exception of the languages of its dwarf negros^
it has but one tongue, the Malay, having had seemingly no incUgenous brown popula-
tion, until occupied by men speaking tbAt tongue. Java is the most civilised island
of the two Archipelagos, and it has but two language& Bali and Lomboc have each
but one tongue. In Sumbawa, there are six. In Celebes, there are four languages of
the more civilised nations, besides those spoken by rude tribes ; in Floris six, and in
Timur and its adjacent islets at least as many. In Sumatra and its islands, there
are not fewer than ten, and in Borneo fifty havo been counted, and this certainly falls
fiiur short of the actual number. It is the same in the Philippines. In Luzon, six
languages of the civilised nations are spoken, and thirteen of the rude tribes of the
Mauiyan race, besides the languages of the Negritos. In Panay, besides the Bisaya,
four languages of tribes of the Malayan race are spoken, and, at least, one of the
Negritos. The languages of Mindano, although we have no specification of them, are
stated to be even more numerous than those of Luzon.
All the languages, both of the Malay and Philippine Archipelagos, are of simple
grammatical structure, that is, they are tongues in which prepositions and auxiliaries
take the place of inflexions, and there is no evidence to show that their simplicity of
form has arisen from the breakins down of ancient languages of complex structure,
for no vestige of such complex language is discoverable. The only remains of an
ancient and obsolete language that exist is that of Java, and this proves on examination
to be equally simple as the vernacular tongues. Notwithstanding this general agree-
ment in grammatical character, tiiere ia still sufi&cient difference, both in this respect
LANGUAGE 208 LANGUAGE
and in their phonetic character, to admit of our arranging them into claiwflii, of whidi
there are, perhaps, three. The first class will comprise the languages from Samatni
to Borneo, and Lomboc eastward ; the second, those from Celebes to the Molnost
indusive, and the third, those of the Philippine Archipelaga This arrangement, of
course, refers only to the languages of the nations and tribes of the Ifalayan race, for
of the Negritos and Papuan negros we know far too little to enable us to attempt a
classification. But if we extend our enquiry to the utmost bounds to which words of
the Malayan languages extend, we must ada two more classes, one for the PolynesiaD
languages, but not including the negro tongues of the Pacific, and one for the language
of Madagascar. Between ^ese classes, there are considerable differences in gram-
matical structure, but the widest difference relates to their phonetic character. In
the first class the range of consonants extends to nineteen and the vowels to six,
whereas in the second, the consonants are but sixteen and the Towels but ^Ye^ The
phonetic character of the second or Celebesian class of languages distinguishes it remark-
ably from the first. This character is accompanied by much commutation of conaonantB
and much elision. No word or syllable can end in a consonant, saving the nasal ug.
The consequence of this peculiarity is that words of the first class of languages; as
well as foreign ones, when adopted, become so altered as not to be easily recognised.
Thus, mawar, a rose, in Malay, is changed into mawara ; ratus, hundred, into rata ; laksa^
ten thousand, into lasa; and bintang, a star, into witoeng. The grammatical structure
of the languages of the second class is equally simple with that of the first, but the
prepositions used in the formation of cases, and the auxiliaries employed in that of
the tenses and moods of verbs, are wholly different. The phonetic character and
grammatical structure of the third class of languages, the Philippine, differ most
materially from those of the two fint classes. It has five vowels and sixteen consonants,
but among the consonants it has two sounds, which are absent in the first and second
class, while it wants no fewer than seven of those of the fint class. In the two first
classes no two consonants come together without the intervention of a vowel, unless
one of them be a liquid or a nssal. No such rule exists in the Philippine languages,
and the consequence is that many combinations of sound are found in them, which are
never heard fix>m the mouths of those that speak the languages of the two first classes.
Another distinction in the pronunciation of the PhUippine tongues consists in the
frequent occurrence of an aspirate at the beginning of words and syllables, but never
at tiieir termination, which is the very reverse of what obtains in the languages of the
two first classes. Accent in the languages of the two fint classes is a very simple
matter. In bi-syllabic and tri-syllabic words it is, with rare exceptions, on the
penultimate, and in polysyllables there are two accents, one on the fint syllable and
one on the penultimate. On the contrary, accent in the Philippine tongues is a very
complex matter. Some of the Spanish writers, on Philippine grammar, make them
only two, while othera run them up to seven, the more usual estimate being four.
The accent in these cases, however, includes quantity. Two examples may be given.
The word baga, with what is called the long penultimate, signifies "a live coal," and
with the short penultimate, "chance.*' Sala, with the long penultimate, means "siD,"
and with the short, " desirous" or "anxious." The words now given are, in their first
meanings, Malay or Javanese, that is, belong to the fint dsss of languages ; and
to suit them to the genius of Philippine pronunciation, they have been (Ranged from
barak and salah to what we find them, by eliding the final aspirate, in both words, and
substituting a ^ for an r, the last of these being a letter which does not exist in the
Philippine languages. The grammatical structure of the Philippine lang^osgee,
although esseutially simple, diffen very materially from that of the two first rlsmicn
of language. Relation is expressed, not by prepositions, but by articles; and of
these there are two kinds, one for proper names and one for appellatives. A plural,
instead of being formed, as in the fint and second class of languages, by an adjective
following the noun, is formed by prefixing to it a particle appropriated to this
particular use. The formation of the personal pronouns in the Philippine languages
is very remarkable. They alone have cases expressed by inflexions, and they
have no fewer than three plurals. The verb is of considerable complexity. Time
is expressed by inseparable particles affixed to the root, and not by auxiliariea;
-— moods by auxiliaries and in several different manners, according to the conjugations,
of which there are three, instead of one, as in the fint and second class of languages,
and this, too, besides compound ones, which are numerous. There are no means of
distinguishing transitive and intransitive verbs, as in the two fint classes.
The Polynesian class of languages is broadly distinguished from those now
described, both in phonetic character and grammatical Btntotuie. The oonsonants;
LANGUAGE 209 LANGUAGE
aocordinff to dialects, run from eeyen to ton only, and when they rise to fifteen it is
from an intermixture of the languages of the negro tribes, as in the case of the Tonga
and Fiji tongues. Another peculiarity is the paucity of liquids. The Maori and
Tonga have onlv two ; the Tahiti and Sandwich Island but one each, and the Mar-
quesa none at alL The scarcity of liquids is compensated for, not by the irariety, for
there are but five, but by the frequency of vowels. No two consonants can occur in
the same syllable, and every word must terminate in a voweL The accent differs
from that in the previous classes, for it may be on the first, the last, or the penulti-
mate, and a polysyllabic word may have as many as three difierent accents. The
grammatical structure resembles that of the Malayan languages, in being simple, but
the simplicity is of a different character. The noun has a definite and an indefinite
article. The relations of nouns are expressed by prepositions, a plural by a particle
placed before the noun, gender by adjectives, two for man and two for the lower
animals. In all these cases, the particles employed differ wholly from those of the
frevious classes. The formation of the personal pronouns is the most singular part of
Polynesian grammar. These have each a singuLur, and no fewer than four plunJs.
Each pronoun has thrpe different forms of a genitive case, the other cases being
formed as in the noun by prepositions. The verb is also sufficiently distinguished
from that of the previous classes.
The Malagasi, or language of Madagascar, is still more distinct than even the Poly-
nesian, from those of the three first cases. Instead of having only from seven to ten
oonsonants, like the Polynesian, or nineteen, like the Malay and Javanese, or sixteen,
like the Philippine languages, it has twenty-one. It wants five of the Malay and
Javanese system, but has six which do not belong to it. It has only two liquids,
and of these, one only, r, coalesces with another consonant, or is a semi-vowel, and
even this, only with the letters d and U With this exception, no consonant can follow
Another in a word or syllable without the intervention of a vowel, unless one of them
be a nasal. Words and syllables frequently begin with an aspirate, but never end
-with one, a rule the reverM of that which obtains in Malay and Javanese. As to
grammatical form, the Malagasi has one article, the definite. Relation is expressed by
prepositions, and gender and number by adjectives, the words employed being wholly
different from those used in the four first classes. The verb is the most complex part
of the grammar. There are no fewer than 450 roots or radical words, from which
sure formed thirteen oonjugations, some of the derivate formations running to the
cumbrous length of eight syllables.
Written language is of immemorial antiquity in the Indian Islands, and in every case
the characters are phonetic, and not emblematical; for of the latter, no trace has
been discovered, lliere are, in all, no fewer than seven current native iJphabets in
the two wchipelagos, namely, four in Sumatra, one in Java, which extends to Bali,
Lomboc, and Palembang in Sumatra, one in Celebes, which extends to all the more
cultivated languages of that island, and to those of some islands near it, as Boston and
Sumbawa^ and one in Luzon, which is used by some of the more advanced nations of
that island, and some of the other Philippines. But besides these current alphabets
there are, at least, four obsolete ones, one in the country of the Sundas, in Java, one
in Celebes, one in Sumbawa, and one in the Philippines, that of the Bisaya nation, so
thaty in all, there appear to have been invented among the rude tribes of the Indian
Islands, no fewer than eleven different systems of phonetic writing, whereas Western
Kurope with its energetic races, Italy excepted, invented none at alX All these alpha-
beta have the appearance, to judge by the rorm of their letters, of having been separate
and independent inventions, — not borrowed by one tribe from another, but seemingly
invented in the spots where we now find them. Neither have they the appearance of
having been borrowed from any foreign source. Notwithstanding the disparity in the
form of the characters, all the insular alphabets are framed on the same principle,
with, at the same time, a wide difference in the manner in which that principle has been
carried out In all of them the writing is from left to right, as with Europeans, and in
all of them the consonants only are considered as substantive letters, with the single
exception of the vowel a, as an initial, the other vowels being looked on as merely
anpplemental characters, or, as the Malays call them, the ** armour," and the Javanese,
** the clothing" of the consonants. Every consonant has in it the inherent vowel, a,
Annexed, or in fiict is a syllable, when there is no orthographic mark eliding it. The
letters of the Sumatran lUphabets consist simply of one or more straight strokes or
lines standing vertically, horizontally, or diagonally, and those of the alphabet of
Celebes, s^ments of cirdes, generally running in a horizontal direction. Those of the
Javanese uphabet alone are regularly and symmetrically formed. This and the
LANGUAGE 210 LANGUAGE |
Tagalft or Phflipptne alphabet^ as the mod perfect end the mdeet^ may be briefiy
described as examples. As to the JaTsneee, the yowel a is inherent in ererj oos-
sonant, unless there be a mark of elision, or the sign of another Towel whi<^ sapersedei
it, and thus, every consonant is a syllable ending in a, and eren the initial a itwtf !
becomes another vowel when accompanied by the maik or sign of one. This produces
the necessity of a contrivanoe to elide the terminal vowel a. At the end of a word thii
is effected by a peculiar orthographic mark, but in the middle of one by supplemental
secondary consonants corresponding in number with their primitives. Their preseoct ,
implies the elision of the inherent vowel. Most of them are written under tiie primary '
characters, and differ from them in form. The liquids alone are joined to th*
primary charactersi The nasal ii^, as in the Hindu alphabets, preceded by a vowel,
ii expressed by a dot over the primary letter, and the aspirate always following i
vowe^ and ending a word or syllable, is expressed by an orthographic mark only, aa
in the case of the vowels. The Javanese alphabet is^ beyond all doubt^ the moit
perfect of all the insular alphabets, and has every appearance of an original alphabet,
invented where it is now chiefly used. Although Hindu influence was Car greater in
Java than in any other country of the Archipelagcs it has not adopted the aapbated
consonants, nor, as some ruder alphabets have donsi, the metrical arrangement of the
Hindu alphabets, — perhaps, indeed, taken nothing from the Hindus, unless the dia*
racter for eliding the inherent vowel at the end of a word, the sign for the nasal by
a dot over the consonant, and the character for the aspirate aftw a voweL
The substantive letters of the Tsgala or Philippine alphabet amount to sixteen, bat
three of those are vowels, namely, a character which represents a, one whidi repre-
sents either e or t, and another which expresses indifferently an o or an «k Instead of
five vowel marks, as in the Javanese, there are but two, one being a dot above, and
another a dot below the consonant, the first representing either e or i, and the last
either o or «. There is no character to represent an aspirate. No liquid in this diss
of languages coalesces with a consonant except I, and the alphabet has no sign to
indicate when this takes plaoeu The Tagala has been described as a writing as easy to
read as it is difficult to comprehend, because you have always to guess, both at sense
and pronunciation. Examples have been given of a combination of the same letton
which admit of seven, or even eight, different pronunciations and meanings whereas in
the Javanese alphabet, which hu characters to represent eveiy sound in the language,
— in which every letter is pronounced, and in which the same letter has always the same
sound, a word can be pronounced only in one way. FVom the rudeness of the one
alphabet to the perfection attained by the other, there is a very wide interval, but pro-
bably not a greater than existed in the social condition of the nations using them
when first seen by Europeans.
It will be observed that the invention of written language is oonfined to three
islands, Sumatra, Java, and Luson, or, at the utmost, to four, if we in<dude the
obsolete character attributed to Sumbawa. These are all among the larger islands,
and no writing is known to have ever sprung up in any small one^ or even in some of
considerable extent, as Florii and Timur in the Malay, and Panay, Leyte^ and Samar
in the Philippine Archipelago. Even some of the largest have produced none, as Borneo,
Mindano, and New Guinea. It is a product of dvilisation^ and dvilintion oould not
easily spring up in the sterile soils and unauspicioueciroumstanoes of these last ialandSi
The languages of the Malay and Philippine archipelagos have received more or less
of an admixture of foreign tongues. These are, Sanscrit, Arabic, Telugu, Persian, and
Portuguese, but of the two first only to any considerable amount The pr op ortion in
which they exist is greatest in the most cultivated languages, while there is hardly a
vestige of them in the ruder. It is also greatest in the countries nearest to the sources
firom which they have been derived, Hindustan, Arabia and Persia, that is^ in the
western parts of the Indian Islands, while they are gradually dindnishing as we recede
from them in an easterly, northerly, and southemly direction. Thus the amount is
lai^ in Malay and Javanese, trifling in the languages of the Philippines, and no
words of them are found at all in the languages of the islands of the Pacific
A singular fact respecting the dissemination of one or more of the Malayan languages
themselves is well attested. Satisfactory traces of them have been discovered in most
of the languages of all the islands from Easter Island, in the Pacific, to Madagascar, dose
to the continent of Africa, and from Formosa, in the northern, to New Zealand in the
southern hemisphere. This wide field includes the languages of men of the Malay and
Polynesian races, with brown complexions and lank hair, and of Negrito, Papuan, Poly-
nesian, and African negros with dark complexions, frixsled ludr and snouty faces.
The generally adopted explanation of this wide dissemination of language amounts to
LANGUAGE 211 LANGUAGE
this, that the many existing tongues were origiDally one language, through time and dis-
tance split into many dialects, and that all the people speakiDg these supposed dialects
are essentially of one and the same race of man. But as this hypothesis could not
well be maintained in the face of a n^gro population, the negros and their languages
have been specially excepted on the erroneous supposition that no words of the common
tongue exist in their languages. Some of the objections to this theory, exclusive of
the palpable and now weU^ecertained one of the existence of Malayan words in all the
negro lan^^uages, are sufficiently obvious. It supposes, for example, that languages and
races are identical, taking it of course for granted that men are bom with peculiar lan-
guages, as they are with peculiar physical conformations, and that both are alike un-
changeable. Many well-known events of authentic history sufficiently refute this notion.
It is quite certain that within the Malayan Archipelago respecting which our informa-
tion la most complete, no languages exist derived from a common stock, and standing
to each other, in the relation of sisterhood, as Italian, Spanish, and French do to each
other, and from the existence of which such a parent tongue might be inferred, as
Latin is to these languages. Another insuperable argument against the theory of one
original tongue is found in the nature of many of the words of the imagined derivative
dialecta. These abound in terms, very widely diffused, indicating an advanced state of
aociety ; as, for example, a comprehensive system of numeration, terms connected with
agriculture, navigation, the useful arts, and even with letters. The people that pos-
sessed a language with such terms must necessarily have been in a tolerably advanced
state of civilisation, — such a one, for example, as we find the principal nations of Java
and Sumatra to be now. Instead of this, many of the tribes which the theory sup-
poses to be derived from the imaginary nation in question, not only did not maintain
the civilisation of the fancied parent, but have fallen into the condition of mere savages
— a result at once improbable and contrary to the usual history of society. Others,
again, have native terms of their own to express the class of words to which we have
alluded, as in the case of the numerals. If the alleged parent nation had ever existed,
-we ought surely to have been able to trace it to its locality. The name of the language,
and the name and habitation of the people who spoke it, ought to have been known and
traced, and certainly would have been so had such a people or language ever existed.
The tests applied by the supporters of the theory to prove the existence of a
common original language, have consisted in the essential identity of a few words,
and in a supposed agreement in grammatical structure. The lost of these tests has
been chiefly relied on by recent German writers. I cannot, however, attach much im-
portance to them ; partimtlarly when applied to languages generally of very simple
atmcture^ and therefore presenting few salient points for comparison. Even here,
however, there is so broad a difference between the languages of Sumatra, of the
Philippines, of Madagascar, and the Polvneeian Islands, that no one con reasonably
think that they can be brought under me same category. With respect to the test
by identity of words, it is certain that the number and the particular description of
words are alone entitled to any weight ; and that the existence of a small number
of words common to the languages in question, is no more a proof of their deriva-
tion from a common tongue, than the existence of Teutonic wonls in the languages of
the south of Europe, that they are derived from a German tongue and not from Latin.
It has been imsgined by some writers, that when the class of words expressing the
first and simplest ideas of mankind, happen in some cases to be the same in two or
more languages, such languages may be concluded to be derived from one stock.
This certainly does not accord with my experience of the Malayan languages ; for I
find that easily pronounced words of any class readily find admission into them, the
eimplicity of their structure affording fiicility for adoption. Instead of words of
simple ideas being excluded, I should, on the whole, owing to the frequent and fami-
liar use of the ideas they express, consider them the most amenable to adoption.
Accordingly, such words will be found either to have supplanted native woixls
altogether, or to be used as familiar synonyms along with them. Thus, to give
some examples : in Malay, the most familiar words for the head, the shoulder, the
Dace, a limb, a hair or pile, brother, horse, elephant, the sun, the day, to speak, and
to talk or converse, are all Sanscrit. From the same language, we have in Javanese :
the head, the shoulders, the throat, the hand, the arm, the face, father, brother, son,
daughter, woman, horse, ~ to say nothing of synonyms for the hog, the buffalo, and
dog, the sun, the moon, the sea, and a mountain. In the principal Philippine lan-
guage, although the whole number of Malay words in it does not exceed one-fiftieth
part^ we find the following Malay or Javanese teims, — bead, brain, hand, finger, elbow,
hair, child, feather, sea* moon, rain, to speak, to die, to give, to love. In the Maoris
p 2
LANGUAGE 212 LANGUAGE
or New Zealand,— the words forehead, sky, 'great^ stone, fruit, to drink, to die, an
Malay or Javanese, although of these two tongues there are not above a handrad ii
the whole language. As to the personal pronouns, which have often been referred u
as evidence of a common tongue, in so fiiir as concerns the languages under **r»m\n%.
tion, they are oertidnlY the most interchangeable of all classes of words, and cannot,
therefore, be received as evidenoe. Some of them, for example, are found in ths
Polynesian dialects, where, in a vocabulary of five thousand words, there are not above
a himdred that are Malayan. The numerals are clearly out of the cat^oiy of etrlj
invented words ; for they imply a very considerable social advancement, and sesa
to belong to the class most Ukely to be adopted from strangers by savages of
tolerably natural capacity and progressing in civilisation. The Australians axe nt^
savages of this description ; and, although with opportunities of boirowii^ the
Malayan numerals, they have not done so, and no tribe of them counts beyond " two.'
On the other hand, all the Polynesian nations, and even the Papuan negros of New
Guinea, have adopted them to a greater or leas.
The words which appear to me to afford the surest test of the affiliation of lan^nugsi^
are those which are indispensable to their grammatical structure, — whi<^ oonstitiite^
as it were, their frame-work, and without which they cannot be spoken or wrttteo.
These are the prepositions which represent the cases of languages of complex struc-
ture, and the auxiliaries which represent times and moods. If a sentence oan be
constructed by words of the same origin in two or more languages, such langw^
may be considered as sister tongues; to be, in fact, dialects of, or to have sprang finmn
one stock. In applying this test, it is not indispensable that the sentence so con-
structed should be strictly grammatical ; or that the parties speaking sister dialects
should be intelligible to each other. The languages of the south of Europe can be
written with words common to them all, derived firom the Latin, without the seist-
ance of any of the foreign words which they all contain. The common stock, there-
fore, from which they are derived, is Latin ; they are sister tongues, and the manner
in which they have been broken down, and made to assume their present forms, is
satisfactorily explained by Adam Smith, in his beautiful Essay on Language. RngiiA
can be written with great ease with words entirely Saxon, and without any French
word, although French forms a sixth part of the whole body of its words ; but no
sentence can be constructed with words exclusively FrendL The parent stock
of our tongue, therefore, is Saxon, and not French or Latin. By the same test, Irish
and Gaelic are proved to be virtually the same language ; and the Welsh and Ame-
rican to be sister dialects of one tongue. But it wUl not prove that the Welsh and
Irish are sister dialects of one tongue, although they have many words in oomm<»«
In Italian there are a few well-known passages, in which the construction ia equally
Latin and Italian, notwithstanding the complexity of the one tongue and the sim-
plicity of the other. In our own tongue, containing a much laiger proportion of
French than the southern langusges do of Germanic words, passages now and then
occur in our classic writers wholly Teutonic, such as the following in the well-known
dialogue between Queen Katherine and her Secretary, in King Henry the Eighth :
*' His overthrow heaped happiness upon him ;
For then, and not till then, he felt himseUl
And found the bleeaedneas of being little.
Applying this last proof to the Malayan languages, it will be found that a sentence of
Malay can be constructed without the assistance of Javanese words, or of Javanese
without the help of Malay words. Of course, either of these two Isnguages csn be
written or spoken without the least difficulty, without a word of Sanscrit or Arabic^
which stand to them in the same relation that French does to English, or Gkrman
to the languages of the south of Europe. The Malay and Javanese then, although
a large proportion of their words be in common, are mstbict tongues, and not sister
dialects. But when we apply Uie test to languages of the South-Sea Islands spoken
by the brown-complexioned, lank-haired race, we find an opposite result. A sentence
in the Maori or New Zealand, and the Tahitian, can be written in words common to
the two, and without the help of one word of the Malayan, which they contain ;
just as a sentence of Welsh and Armorican, or of Irish and Gaelic, can be construed
without a single word of Latin ; although, of this language, all of them contain
a much larger proportion than the Polynesian tongues do of Malayan words.
After as careful an examination as I have been able to make of the many lan-
guages involved in the present inquirjr; snd duly considering the physical and
geographical character of the wide field over which they are spoken, with the
socud condition of its diversified inhabitants^ I come to we oondosioi^ that the
LANGUAGE 213 LANGUAGE
words which are oommoii to so many tongues, have been ohiefly derived from the
hmguagee of the two most oiviliaed and adventuroua nations of the Malayan Archi-
pelago, the Malay, and Javanese.
This conclusion is certainly in accordance with what we know of the manner in which
foreign languages have been intermixed with vernacular ones in other parts of the
world. It is the way in which Greek came to be intermixed with the languages of
ancient Italy ; Latin with those of Southern Europe, the Teutonic language with the
latter, Latin with the Celtic tongues, Arabic with the lang^uages of Centeal Asia and of
Bome parts of Europe, Persian with the languages of Hindustan, and Sanscrit with these
fts well as with the hmguages of the countries between Hindustan and China, and those
of the Indian Islands In these casea^ the strange languages have found their i^^ay by
Tarious means, — sometimes by colonisation or settlement, sometimes by conquest
and settlement, and sometimes through the agency of religious conversion. In the
case of the Malay and Javanese languages, the intermixture seems to have been chiefly
effected through settlement originating in commercial intercourse, and not, improbably,
sometimes in baocaneeiiDg expeditions* Independent of their superior civilisation,
the grounds for fixing on the Malay and Javanese nations aa the instruments of the wide
diffusion of language under consideration, are : — ^that when we have the earliest au-
thentic information of the Indian Islands through the arrival of the Portuguese, they
alone were found conducting the whole carrying trade, their adventures extending
from the Peninsula and Sumatra to the Moluccas and Philippines; — that the language
of one of them was then everywhere the medium of intercommunication; — that
colonies of one or the other were found in various parts of both Archipelagos; and,
above all, that their languages may be distinctly traced, not only in all the tongues of
those Archipelagos, but also in the language of Madagascar, and in the dialects of the
islands of the Pacific. Of the general prevalence of the Malay trade and language
throughout both Archipelagos, before the arrival of Europeans, we have the most un-
questionable evidence. By means of a Malay interpreter in the fleet, the companions
of Magellan were everywhere understood in the Philippines by all parties concerned
in trade with strangers, although not by the mass of the people. This same language
served them afterwards in Borneo and the Moluccas. De Barros tells us that in
Sumatra and the Moluccas it was the only medium of communication between different
tribes. Speaking of the last of these, he says : " Two fictcts give reason to believe that the
inhabitants of these islands consist of various and diverse nations. The first is the
inconstancy, hatred and suspicion with which they watch each other ; and the second,
the great variety of their luiguages; for it is not with them as with the Bisayans,
where one language prevails with all. The variety, on the contrary, is so great, that
no two places understood each other^s tongue. Even the pronunciation differs
widely, for some form their words in the throat : others at the point of the tongue ;
others between the teeth ; and others in the palate. If there be any tongue through
which they can understand each other, it is the Malay of Malacca, to which the
nobles have lately addicted themselves since the Moors have resorted to them for the
dove^" — Decade in. Book v., a 6.
The proportion of Malay and Javanese to be found in the languages with which
they are intermixed, varies with the £udlities or difficulties of communication, be-
tween the Malay and Javanese nations and the other tribes. Generally, the proportion
18 greatest towards the western part of the Archipelagos and diminishes as we recede
from them. A few examples may be given. In a thousand words of the Lampung,
a language of Sumatra, intermediate between th^ Malay and Javanese, there are 555
words, of these two languages ; in the Sunda of Java there are 530 ; in the Bali 470 ;
in the Bogis of Celebes 226; in the Kayan of Borneo Hi ; in the Tagala of the
Fhilippiues 23 ; in the Madagascar 20 ; and in the Maori or New Zealand 16. Of the
two languages, namely the Malay and Javanese, the proportion of words in the different
foreign tongues is always largest of the first, except in the languages in the immediate
neighbourhood of Java, such as the Lampung, the Sunda, the Madurese and Balinese.
This refen, however, only to words exclusively Malay or exclusively Javanese, for
the greater portion of the words belong equally to both tongues. The prevalence
of Malay words was what might naturally be looked for, since it was found on the
arrival of Europeans what it still continues to be, the common medium of inter-
oommunication from Sumatra to the Philippines.
The infused words have undergone some alterations in sense, but still more in
form, and the amount of corruption in both respects ia generally great in proportion
aa we recede from Java and Sumatra, the seats of the adopted languages. ^ The
following are examples. In Malay and Javanese, kftris is a poniard or dagger; in the
LANSITJM 214 LANUN
UoguAgee of the Philippinee the word is pronounced kfdia, and signtfieB a swoid. In
Malay, bungah, is a flower, but in the knguage* of the Philippinefly deiMri¥-ed of its
aspirate, it signifies fruit. Bli, in Malay, means, to buy, but in the Philippine tong-aes
it signifies to buy and sell, that is» to trafiEic. B&nua, in Malay, signifies oountir dt
region, but in the languages of Polynesia, land, earth, or soiL Jaran im a hone m
Jayanese, but in the Bngis of Celebes, it is oonyerted into afiarang. Bice in the hoikr
in Malay, is padi, in Javanese, pari, and in the Madagascar it is Twi. Nor, m
Malay, and ftu, in Javanese, is the ooco-nut palm : in the Madagascar, it is bftalku, the
first part of the word bua being the Malayan word for fruit without its aspirate,
and the last the proper name of the pdim. In Malay and Javanese!, aAndavi
is saltpetre, but in Uie Bugis the word is converted into snnrawa, while in tiie
Philippine tongues it is sunyava, and made to mean, not saltpetre, but sulphur. H«
verb to sew or stitbh is in Malay and Javanese jait, and in the Madtgaacsr it is
sut^ to which is annexed a fiivourite particle, m. TAnun, in Malay and Javanese,
means, to weave. This in the Bugis is pronounced tonungi, and in Madagascar,
tenuna^ signifying, in this last language, a web of doth. In Javanese, the numeral
three is t&lu, and we have the four following version! of it in as many dialects of th«
Polynesian, tulu, toru, kulu, and kolu. Of the Javanese numeral seven, pitu, we
have in the same dialects also four versions, fitu, witu, kitn, and kiku, and or the nu-
meral eight, wolu, of the same tongue, we have in the same dialects, in like manner,
four versions, walu, valu, waru, and vau. In the first class of languages, or those of
which the Malay and Javanese are the type, the corruptions of sound are much fever
and less extravagaotly divergent, while of the sense there are hardly any at alL
LANSIXJM. Botanists have given this name to a genns of plants of the natnnl
order of Meliaceas, which consist of moderately sized trees, bearing fruits peculiar to
the islands of the Malay Archipelago, and, according to the taste of Europeans,
ranking next to the Mangostin. The fruit springs in racemes from the naked trank
and branches, and is about the siae of a pigeon*s-egg, having a tough white ^in of a
bitter taste. The edible part is the pulpy semi-transparent envelope of the seed.
There appear to be two permanent cultivated varieties, if they be not, indeed, diiitinot
species or this genus, the duku and the langseh, called also langsat by the MiJays and
Javanese : the firsts which is that most esteemed, is of a globular shape, and the last
of an oblong one.
LANUN. This is the name given by the Malays to the boldest, stontesty and
most dangerous of all the piratical nations of the Archipelago. They are the same
people called by the Spaniards of the Philippines Illano, but whether either of these
be the proper name of the nation is not ascertained. From all accounts, the native
oountiy of this people is at the head of the great bay, which deeply indents the
southern side of the greiat island of Mindano, the second in siae of the Philippine
group. From this locality, these rovers issue in fleets of stout, well-armed prau% and
scour the whole extent of the Malay and Philippine Archipelago, their onuses often
extending to a whole year. On the northern coast of Borneo, they have formed
settlements, as well as on some of the smaller islands north of it. At one time, they
had done so as far west as Banca, and even on some of the islands at the eastern
end of the Straits of Malacca, which, in all probability, would have been permanent,
but for the presence of the European nations. The Philippine islands north of
Mindano, are even more infested by them than those of the Malayan Archipelago,
and here their piracies are coeval with the first settlement of the Spaniards.
The predatory habits of the Lanuns, beyond the Philippines, seem to be of compara-
tively modem origin, for certainly their piracies are not mentioned by early European
writers. On the contrary, the fiuthful Dampier, who sojourned six months in Minduo,
and close to the present Icfcality of tins people, describes them as an inland nation, with-
out any allusion to their predatory habits. ''The Mindanao people more particularly so
called," says he, ''are the greatest nation in the island, and trading by sea with other
nations, they are, therefore, the more civil. I shall say but little of the rest, being
less known to me, but so much as has come to my knowledge, take as follows. There
are, besides, the Hilanoones (Lanuns), as they call them, or the mountaineers, the Solo-
gues, and the Alfoores. The Hilanoonee live in the heart of the country. They have
Uttle or no oommeroe by sea, yet they have proes that row wiUi twelve or fourteen oaia
a pieoe. They enjoy the benefit of the gold mines, and with their gold buy foreign
commodities of the Mindanao people. They have, also, plenty of bees-wax, which
they exchange for other commodities. The Sologues inhiwit the north-western end
of the island. They are the least nation of all They trade to ManUa in proes, and
LAUT 215 LEGASPI
to some of the neighbouring islands, but have no commerce with the Mindanao
people." It is probable from this account that Dampier had a personal knowledge only
of the Mindanayans and Lanuns, the habits of both of which haye certainly greatly
changed since he saw them in 1686, for the first hold, at present, little commercial
intercourse with the other islands in their neighbourhood, and the last, from being
an inland people, have become notorious roTers. The nation which he calls Sologues,
and which he supposes to be a people of Mindano are, no doubt, the inhabitants of
the neighbouiing Suluk islands.
XiAUT. This is the most general name among the nations of the Archipelago for
the sea or ocean, — ^the most common, even with the Javanese, who have besides three
synonyms for it It is found in composition in the names of places, as Pulo-laut,
"sea island," Tanak-laut^ "sea-land or sea-board-land," and Laut-kidul, "the south
Bea," the name which the Javanese give to the sea south of their own island.
XAUT-PTJLO. The words, contrary to the usual rule of Malay syntax are, in
this instance, reversed, on what grounds I do not know. This name is given to a
considerable island, about 55 miles in length, and from 10 to 15 in breadth, lying off
the Bouth-eastcm angle of Borneo, and separated from it by a narrow channel,
navigable only for boats. The land on the eastern side of this island, or that which
fiices Celebes, is of moderate height, but the western side consists of high mountains.
The most northern extremity of the island is ascertained to be in north latitude 8^ 28',
and east longitude 116° 41'. Laut-pulo is, for the most part, covered with forest, very
scantily inhabited by Malays, and belongs to the state of Banjarmasin.
lAWANG, or KULIT-LAWANG, the dove-bark of commeroe. This is the bark
of a speciee of cinnamon, the Ginnamomum sinto of botanists, and takes its commercial
name from having a clove flavour. It is a produce of Borneo, and an object of export
to China.
LiAWU. The name of a mountain in the interior of Java, and in the province of
Madiyun, 10,750 feet high, and with an active volcano. On one spmr of it, and at an
elevation of 8525 feet, are the Hindu ruins of Suku, the remains of a rude architecture^
and on another at the height of 4220 feet, those of Cbato of the same age and
character. The first bears an inscription with the year of Salivana 1861, and the last
of 1854, corresponding respectively with the years of Christ 1489 and 1484.
L.EAD, in Malay, Tima-itam, that is, "black tin," is known to the natives of
the Archipelago, only as an article introduced from abroad. No ore of this metal has,
as yet, been found in any part of the Archipelago, although, most probably, such will
eventually be discovered, as was the case with antimony, which was unknown until the
year 1828. Some ancient coins of it have been found in Java, the metal having pro-
bably been imported from China, a country from which are also brought the red and
white oxidee of this metal for painting.
LEDANG. This is the Malay name of the highest mountain of the Malay
Peninsula, one of the two which the Portuguese thought proper to call Ophir, the
other of far greater elevation being in Sumatra. Ledang lies inland from the town
of Malacca at the distance of about 40 miles. It is cluefly of granitic formation,
boulders of granite being found on its very summit. In recent times it has been
repeatedly ascended to the top by European travellers, and its height has been
ascertained to be 4320 feet above the level of the sea. Fahrenheit's thermometer at
night falls at the summit to 64*.
LEGASPI. Don Miguel de Legaspi, the conqueror of the Philippines, and their
first Spanish governor. The command of an expedition for the conquest of the
Philippines, after two such enterprises had proved unsuccessful, was entrusted to
Legaspi, and fitted out in New Spain. It consisted of five vessels only, most of them
of small sise carrying, soldiers and sailors inclusive, no more than 400 men. Such
was the expedition which achieved the conquest of countries far more extensive
than the kingdom of Spain itself. In it was Padre Urdaneta, a Dominican monk, who
had visited the Philippines in the last of the previous expeditions, accompanied by
other ecclesiastics of the same order, parties who turned out the most effective agents
of the conquest Legaspi sailed from the port of Natividad, in Mexico, on the 21st
of November, 1564, and crossing the Pacific, reached the body of the Philippines on
the 18th of February, 1565. Then began the conquest, four and forty years after the
discovery by Magellan, and five and twenty after the conquest of Mexico by Cortes,
LEPROSY 216 LEYDEN, JOHN
an event which greaUy £eu:ilitated the subjugation of the Philippines. Legaspi
a man of talent, firmness, and prudence, equal to the great enterprise entrusted to
him. He possessed, moreover, all the zeal and enterprise which distinguislied the
discoverers and conquerors of new regions in the sixteenth and seventeenth oentuiies.
Like several of them he had sold his patrimony in order to supply funds for fitting
out the expedition. After an administration of seven short years he died in. I^uscn
on the 20th of August, 1572, having virtually achieved the conquest of ihe large
islands ^bu, Panay, Leyte, Mindoro, and Luzon, and also discovered all of tiiem,
except the first. "To his disinterestedness, prudence, constancy, and loyalty,*^ say
the Spanish writers of the C^graphical Dictionary, " Spain is indebted for the ridb.
jewel of the Philippines." The conquest of these islands was effected witli more
facility and less bloodshed than that of any part of America, and no doubt tliis is in
some measure ascribable to the merits of the conqueror. Still it must not be forgotten
that there were peculiar circumstances which greatly contributed to his suooeas.
The Philippines contained no one conrnderable nation, united by language and
institutions. They possessed no religion with a powerful priesthood to resisrt the
new fiuth that was offered to them, and that this was a material element in the
success of the conquerors is made evident from the total want of success of the same
people in those parts, even of the Philippines themselves^ where such a relig;ion
existed, as in the examples of Mindanao and the Suluk group, to say nothing of the
neighbouring island of Borneo. The Philippine islanders, too, it may be added, were
equally ignorant with the nations of America of the use of fire-arms, although by the
possession of the useful metals, and of one of the laiger animals for labour, they
were, in some respects, superior to them in civilisation, as evinced by their po osoaai on
of alphabetic writing.
LEPROSY, or ELEPHANTIASIS. In Malay, nntal and kudal; in Javanese, kadig,
and in both languages from Sanscrit, kusta, is a disease not unfrequent in all parte of
the Archipelago. In Java, especiallv, the only beggars to be seen are the unfoiionate
persons labouring under this incurable malady.
LEYDEN, JOHN. This remarkable man, who was bom of peasant parents,
whom I had the pleasure of seeing long after the death of their distinguiahed son,
was bom in the parish of Cavens and county of Roxbui^h in 1775, and is mentioned
in this work on account of his researches into the liistory and languages of the Malay
nations. In 1808, after distinguishing himself at the University of Edinburgh, and
enjoymg the friendship and intimacy of his great cotemporary ^ Walter Scott, he
proceeded to Madras in the Indian Medical Service, and there received the liberal
patronage of the Qovemor-Qeneral the Earl of Mjnto, near whose estate he was
bom. In 1811 he accompanied this nobleman on the expedition which effected the
conquest of Java and of most of its dependent islands, and was eventually deetmed to
proceed on a mission to Japan. Unhappily, however, he had exposed himself in his
literaiy pursuits to the malaria of Batavia, and caught the fever which on the 27th
of August carried him off in the 86th year of his age. I had seen and conversed
with him the day before his death, labouring under the complaint, but without any
appearance of eminent danger. Leyden's oriental erudition, more particularly
as relating to Malayan literature, was more multifarious and surprising than
accurate, as might reasonably be expected from the number and rapidity of his
acquisitions. He published at Calcutta a copious vocabulary of the Malay, Burmese,
and Siamese languages, and after his death appeared a small work entitled " Malay
Annals ; " but the most remarkable of his publications was an essay in the tenth
volume of the Asiatic Researches on the languages and literature of the Hindu-
Chinese nations (he was the first that made use of this designation) in which he gave
a rapid sketch of the chief languages, continental and insular, of all the nations
between Hindustan and China. His political views were wild, speculative^ and
scholastic, as is sufficiently attested by a published letter of his to his friend Sir
Stamford Baffles, at the time about to undertake the administration of the Indian
Dutch possessions. " We must," says he, " have a general Malay league in which all
the ngahs must be united, like tiie old ban of Burgundy or the later one of
Germany, and these must all be represented in a general parliament of the Malay
States like the Amphyctyonic Council of the Greeks, and this council should meet in
the island of Madura, or some celebrated ancient place, and under the protection of
the Governor of Java. In short we must make a great and mighty noise, for we will
compel his lordship (the Earl of Minto) to be a greater man than he would wish to
be if left alone." Memoirs of Sir Stamford Raffles, page 25.
LETTE 217 LINAO
XETTE. The name of one of those Philippine Islands oalled by the Spaniards
the'Bisayas. It lies west of Samar, east of Bohol and Qebu, and north of Mindano,
between north latitude 9° 49' and 11^ 84', and east longitudes 124* T, and 125* 9'.
Its extreme length is 102*6, and its greatest breadth 46-8 geographical miles. Its
computed area is 8641 geographical square miles, and it has a coast line with many
bays, creeks and harbours, of 842 geographical miles. Its surfeice is generally
mountainous, but it contains, notwithstanding, several large and fruitful valleys.
The prevailing geological formation is volcanic, and several of the mountains are tiie
extinct craters of volcanos, in which are found sulphur and other products of
volcanic action, with, it is stated, quantities of fossil shells of brilliant hues. As,
however, gold and iron ore are said to abound in the island, it seems probable that a
portion of it is of Plutonic ahd sedimentary formation. The mountains are covered
with forest, among the trees of which is that which yields damar, the " brea" or pitch
of the Spaniards, for the prodnotion of which Leyte is the most remarkable of the
whole Philippines. All the kinds of game and all the larger wild animals of the other
large islands — ^the buffalo excepted — are found in the forests of Leyte. The climate
al^ough hot and liable to hurricanes is healthy. The rivers are small and unfit for
navigation, but extensively applied to irrigation. There are two considerable lakes,
that of Bito, with a circumference of 54 leagues in latitude 10* 50', and that of Jaro
"with one of 4 1 in latitude 11* 8'. The chief productions of Leyte are rice, wheat in
the higher lands, cotton, abaca, indigo, black pepper, coffee, cacoa, and sugarcane.
Leyte is also the name of one of the 34 provinces of the Philippines, which, besides
the island of this name, includes the small ones Panamao, Maripipi, Pantahon, and
Biliran, with the Camotes Isles. The whole of the inhabitants of this province are
of the Bisaya nation, speak the language which goes under this name, and with
the exception of a few tribes of mountaineers of the principal island, are of the
Malayan race and have long been converted to Christianity. In recent times
the progress of population has been very remarkable. In 1785, although the
province then included the large island of Samar, the whole population was no
more than 58,289, and in 1798, still including Samar, it had decreased to 52,955.
This was in consequence of the frequent incursions of the Mahometan pirates of
Hindano, Borneo, and Suluk, by which the property of the inhabitants was pillaged
or destroyed and themselves carried into captivity. In 1798 however Samar was
parted from Leyte, and erected, into a separate province, and the population which
then remained to Leyte was 85,488. In 1818 this number had increased to 40,628,
in 1845 to 89,322, and in 1850 to 112,987, making an increase of better than 200 per
cent, in 52 years, ascribable to the vigorous measures taken by the Spanish government
for the suppression of Moorish piracy, and the scope which a fertile soil and
abundant land afforded for a rapid development of population. The province
consiits of 14 townships, and has 24,916 persons contributing to the poll-tax, which
in 1850 amounted to 249,160 reals of plata The seat of the local administration is
Taolobao, a town of 2494 inhabitants, situated at- the north-eastern angle of the
main island, and on the shore of the very narrow strait which divides it from the
island of Samar. The brat harbour of Leyte goes under its own name, and is at
its northern extremity, between it and the island of Panamao.
LIGNUM ALOES, oe EAGLE-WOOD, See Agila.
LIGOR, is the Malay name of a Siamese province, called by the Siamese L&kon.
It is the portion of the Siamese territory which lies nearest the country of the Malays
on the western side of the Peninsula, bordering there on the principality of Queda.
Geog^phically, indeed, it forms a portion of the peninsula, as does Sungora, another
Siamese province, on its eastern side. The population is scanty and poor, the minority
consisting of Siamese, with a considerable number of Malays, and a mixed race of
these two called in Malay Samsam, with a few Chinese.
LIMASAGUA, the name of an islet lying in the Straits of Suriago, or the
channel which lies between the islands of Leyte and Mindano. This is the Mossana
of Pigafetta, and the first place in the Philippines, at which Magellan touched and
where he was hospitably received. Although cultivated and peopled at the time of
the discovery, it is now an uninhabited desert. From its position, so far south, it is
evident that Magellan must have passed through the greater number of the Philippine
islands, without seeing them, or being aware of their existence.
LINAO. The name of a considerable lake in the interior of the island of Mindano,
which discharges itself by a large river, the Butuan, which fiills by two mouths into
LINGAYEN 218 LITERATUKE
the bay of this name at the north-western side of the tsUmd, and in the Spankh
proThkoe of Caraga. A Spanish settlement, oouDsting of aboat 120 houses, with a
chorch, has been formed on the lake at the iBsne of the Bntuan from it, the object of
which was to prevent the descent of the Moorish robbers to the low oomitry by the
river, as well as to check the incursions of the wild moontaineers of the neigfabouriiood,
called Manubo, who, howcTer, have of late yean b^gun to embrace Chriatinnity.
LINGAYEN. The name of an extensive bay on the western side of the island of
Luzon, between the 16th and 17th degrees of north latitude, and within the provinces
PaDgasinan and Zambales. It is ZA geographical miles in extent from north to south,
and 37 from east to west, with a coast Une of 99 miles. Within it are many small
islands.
LINGAYEN. The name of the chief town of the province of Pangaainaiiy in the
island of Luzon. It is situated on the southern shore of the gulf of the sanxe name
above-mentioned, near one of the mouths of the river Aguo-grande, in north latitude
le*" l\ and east longitude US'* 55', distant from Manilla 35 leagues. It contains 3459
houses, and in 1815 had a population of 20,972 souls, of whom 2856 paid tribute
which amounted to 28,560 reals of plate. Lingayen is one of the largest towns in the
Philippines, and is a place of considerable trade.
UNGIN, — in Malay, correctly, LINGGA. The name of one of the largest of the
multitude of islands by which the eastern end of the Straits of Malacca is crowded.
It extends from the equator to 20 miles south of it, and is estimated to have an ana
of 286 square geographical miles. Its highest mountain rises to the height of 37 55
feet, and is consequently the most elevated land of any of the islands within the
Straits of Malacca. Nearly the whole island is covered, like the others in its neigh-
bourhood, by an ever-verdant forest, the inhabitants consisting, on the coast, of a
few Malay fishermen and in the interior, of some wandering tribes of savages of the
same nation. Lingin forms a part of the territories of the kings of Johore, and is
consequently under Dutch protection.
LION, in Malay and Javanese, SING A, from the Sanscrit, just as our own name
is from the Latm. The lion is a mere myth to all the inhabitants of the Archipelago.
The word is chiefly found in composition in the names of places and the titles of
persons, as in the examples Singapura, " lion city," the name of the British emporium;
Singasari, " lion flower," the name of some ancient Hindu ruins in Java ; and Singa-
nagara, " lion of the city," the name of one of the public executioners under the
native governments of Java.
UTEBATUEE. All the nations of the Malay and Philippine archipelagos
possessing a written character, have some writings which may be called a literature;
but as far as is known to Europeans, the Javanese, the Balinese, the Malay, and the
Bugis of Celebes, are the only people that have a consideiuble number of written
compositions. Those of the Javanese are certainly the most remarkable. They exist
in two different languages, or perhaps rather dialects, — an ancient and recondite one,
and a modem or popular. The first is commonly known under the name of kawi,
a Sanscrit word signifying " narrative." The second, its correlative, goes under the
name of jawi, a rhyming form of the word Jawa or Javanese, which in oontradis>
tinction to the recondite language, may be translated the vulgar tongue.
All Javanese literature is in verse ; ^lat in the recondite language being in Sanscrit
metres, and that in the vulgar tongue in rhyming measures peculiar to Java. Prose
writing is unknown to the Javanese except in epistolary writing, grants of land, and
the like. Most Javanese works are narratives, and of the chaiaoter of romances^ the
names by which they are known, indeed, which are the native word konda, and the
Sanscrit charitra, signifying a tale or story. Their subjects are taken either from the
mythology of the Hindus, or from the ancient and almost mythic history of Java.
Of the first description are paraphrases of the celebrated Hindu epics, the Mahabant
and Bamayana; the first containing the wars of the descendants of Barat, and the
last the adventures of the demigod Bama. These two poems are to the Javanese and
Balinese, and even to the Malays and other nations of Sumatra, what the Iliad and
Odyssey were to the Greeks and Bomans, the chief source of their ancient mythology.
Of the tales founded on local story, the main subjects are the adventures of certain
princes called Panji. But besides mere romances founded on Hindu or ancient
native story, the Javanese possess narratives of their modem history, of somewhat
more authenticity. These are known by the two names of sl^arah, and babad; the
first signifying annals or chronicles, and the last the cutting down and clearing
0^*^^
LOKON 219 LOMBOC
of ft foraet. Works on judicial astrology are also ireqnent subjects of Javanese
literature, under the name of pawukon. To these may be added a few ethical works,
and songs known by the name uran-nran, and rftrftpen, the last seldom, however,
committed to writing. Two ancient manuscripts only have been discovered in
Java. These are in the andent character and language, but their dates have not
been satLsfiftctorily determined ; and the ancient inscriptions on stone and brass must
be considered as the earliest specimens extant of the literature of Java, and they will
carry ns back only to the 12th century of our own time.
The greatest part of Malay literature, like that of Java» consists of romances, known
under Uie Sanscrit name of charitra, or the Arabic one of hikayat Their subjects
are taken from the Hindu epics already mentioned, — ^from the local legends of Java, —
from the Mohammedan legends of Arabia, and from the story of Malay princes hardly
less fikbulous. Such compositions differ, however, in this respect from those of the
Javanese, that the greater number of them are in prose. The Malays are possessed
of no ancient manuscripts, nor inscriptions on stone or brass. Their whole literature,
all in the Arabic character, is certainly not of greater antiquity than their conver-
sion to the Mahommedan religion : indeed, the earliest recorded specimen of it is
the vocabulary of the Italian Pigafetta, collected in the Moluccas in the year 1521,
during the first navigation round the world.
The literature of Bali is in the Eawi, or recondite language of Java, and no doubt
borrowed fh>m that of the larger island. The Bugis of Celebes have a considerable
. body of literature, consiBting like that of the Javanese and Malays, for the most part,
of romances, some of them founded on local legends, while others are paraphrases of
Javanese and Malay works. Very little, however, is known of the literature of this
people, as no competent European has hitherto niade their language his study. The
literature of the nations of the Philippine Archipelago, the rudest of all the people of
the Indian islands who had invented letters, is said to be confined to a few songs.
Ejttmpks of these, but without translations, have been given by Spanish grammarians,
■o that their merits or demerits cannot be tested.
LOKON. The name of a mountain 5250 feet liigb, and with an aotiye volcano in
the northern peninsula of Celebes, and in north latitude 1° 25'.
LOMBATA. The name of a considerable island lying between Floris and Timur,
and containing an area of 396 square geographical milea
LOMBOC. This is the second island due east of Jaya, and lies between the
islands of Bali and Sumbawa, divided from the first by a strait from four to five, and
from the last by one from two to three leagues broad, respectively called the Straits
of Lomboc and of Alas. To the north, Lomboc is washed by the Sea of Java, and to
the south by the Pacific. The name of Lomboc, or as he writes it, Lomboch, is men-
tioned by Pigafetta, in 1622, or within eleven yean of the first appearance of Euro-
peans in the waters of the Bfalay Archipelago. He had not seen it, and simply
enumerates it with other islands, such as End^ or Flores, Bouton, Sumbawa, and Java
Minor, or Bali, and evidently from the information of the native pilot who accom-
panied the companions of Magellan from the Moluccas. From this it may be
concluded that it was, at the time, a name for the island known to native traders,
although it has been generally believed to have been imposed by European navigators.
There are two small villages of this name which in Javanese is literally that of the
capsicum, from one or other of which that of the island was probably taken. At present
it is not known to the natives or their neighbours in this sense, and the usual name is
Sasak, which in the Malay and Javanese languages signifies "a raft," and sometimes a
temporary bridge. Another name, which is occasionally used, particularly in con-
nection with the titles of the princes of the island, is Selaparang. The first part of
this compounded word, Sela, is a synonym for stone or rock, in Javanese, borrowed
from Sanscrit, and parang, in Javanese, is the name for a kind of calcareous rock. If
this be the correct etymology, the name may be taken from one of the ranges of the
mountains of Lomboc, which is principally composed of recent limestone.
Lomboc lies between south latitudes 8** 10' and 8^ 45', and east longitudes 115** 42'
and 116° 46', and has an area of 1,656 geographical square miles. Its prevailing geo-
logical formation is volcanic. Two mountain ranges pass through it from east to
west, the one wholly volcanic, lying towards the northern, and the other of recent
calcareous formation, lying towards the southern side of the island. Between these,
and occupying the centre of the island, is an extensive plain, intersected in one place,
and to the length of ten miles, by a line of volcanic hills, many in number, and not
LOMBOC 220 IX>MBOC
above 100 feet abore the level of the sea. The northern or Toleuiic range confliBts of
two groups, the western being composed of several moantaini^ and the eastern of one
great one. This last is the Ounnng Rinjani, or Mount Binjani, the same whidi is
called by mariners the Peak of LomlK>c. This rises to the height of 12»S75 feet abote
the level of the sea» and is oonsequenUv the highest land in the whole Archipelaga
The mountains of Lomboc contain no volcanos in activity, but nuuij extinct cratenL
Nearly the whole idand is covered with a bed of ashes which proceeded frmn the
celebrated eruption of Tambora, in the neighbouring island of Sumbawmy in April 18U,
distant twenty leagues. This was felt with great severity at the fcixne and long aller,
the depth of ashes which fell having varied, according to the natare of the locality,
from one to two feet in depth« This not only destroyed the growing crops» but far
some years prevented the sowing of com, snd the result was £uiime, disuse^ and
the cutting off of much of the population. The after-effects, however, have prored
beneficial, much land before incapable of cultivation having been feitiliaed and
rendered productive by the volcanic ashes.
The riven of Lomboc are numerous^ but small, and generally unfit even for boat
navigation. By their application to the purpose of irrigation, they are^ however, the
main cause of the great productiveness of the island. Lomboc also has numeroos
mountain lakes, like Bali, and these, by furnishing a perennial supply of water, costn-
bute to the same object. One of these lakes, named the Danu, that is, " the lake,** or
Sagararanak, literally " child-sea," is of considerable eztent, and computed to be 8B13
feet above the level of the sea. These lakes are, no doubt, extinct Tolcanic erateis.
•
The vegetation of Lomboc resembles that of Java. The teak tree, however, u
absent, as in Bali, and, generally, the timber trees, although ornamental, are not of
good quality for economical usee. The Fauna differs very much from that of Jsv>>
In Java, for example, there are three species of ape, but in Lomboc only on& ^ The
tiger, the leopard, and all the other lai^ feline animals found in Java are wanting in
Lomboc. The elephant, the rhinoceros, snd the tapir, are all wanting, and of this
family of animals the wild hog al<xie is present. The wild ruminants are numerous,
as different species of deer, the Sunda ox, and the common buffido become wild. I"
the domestic state are found the ox of the same variety as the cattle of Bali, but
differing from those of Java, the bafiEalo, the goat, the hog, the dog; and the horsei
the latter much inferior to that of the neighbouring island of Sumbawa. Amoi^
birds, the peacock of Java does not exist in Lomboc, but it has one beeutifuj
species of parrot, peculiar to itself, and a cockatoo, a bird not found in any ishnd
west of it. The poultry are the common fowl of the game breed, — ^the people of
Lomboc as well as the Balinese being great cock-fighters, — and the duck, an uglyt
lean, penguin-like animal, kept in great quantities, chiefly for their eggs, whidii as in
Java, are, when pickled, a favourite food of the people.
The natives of Lomboc, who call themselves Sasak, are a distinct people firoin
the Javanese and Balinese, speaking a language essentially different from those of
these two people, although cootaining many words in common with them. I^ ^
written in the Javanese character, on palm leaves. The entire population has beeo
estimated at about 400,000, in the following proportion of nationalities, namely,-'
Sasaks, 880,000 ; Balinese, 20,000 ; and natives of Celebes, 5,000. To this may be
added four or five Europeans, and a veiy small number of Chinese.
The ordinary arts, as they are practised by the natives of the Archipelago, h^^^
acquired a considerable degree of advancement among the Sasaks, espedally th^^ ^ ^^
agriculture, in which irrigation is said to be practised with even more skill than io Js^
Their iron is all imported, but manipulated at home into implements of agriculture,
and tools, swoi'ds, spears, and fire arms, with no inconsiderable skill. Agriculture tfi
however, the special pursuit of the people of Lomboc. They are, indeed, almost
exclusively a rural and a home-keeping people, seldom engaging in external trtdei
and never in piracy. This traffic is in the hands of the natives of Celebes, who, as
already stated, are computed to amount to 5,000, all settled at the places of foretffi
trade, on the coast. The exports of Lomboc consist of raw agricultural produce,
namely, rice, cotton -wool, pulses, horses, with ox and buffalo hides. The rice, th^
chief export, is reckuned to be not less than 16,000 tons, a lai^e quantity for bo 8m»U
an island, and probably more than is at present exported from the great island of
Java, once the granary of the whole Archipelago. Much of this, and of the pul^
and hides, are sent to the market of .China. The imports consist of salt, which the
island itself, from the form of its coasts, does not produce, — of iron, cutlery, fire-«rm>>
cotton cloths of Europe and the neighbouring islands, with gold and silver, and th®
small money of China, the last the principal currency of the island, as was tbff cobs
LOMPO-BATANG 221 LOORY
with the whole Archipelago, except to some degree with Java, before the arrival of
Europeans. The chief place of trade ia Amp&nan, on the westem ooast, and shore
of the strait which divides Lomboc from Bali, although but an open road. Labuban
Tring (probably Labuhan-pring, *'bamboo harbour"), on the same coast, is a land-locked
harbour, and secure against all winds, but cannot be used, except occasionally as a
port of refuge, on account of its insalubrity, a quality which within the tropics
belongs to most harbours of the same nature. The town of AmpAnan consists of four
different quarters, or kampungs, called after their respective inhabitants, the Sasaks,
the Balinese, the Bugis, and the Malays. Shipping obtain at it, in abundance and
cheapness, wood and water, with refreshments, consisting of oxen, hogs, poultry, rice,
fiirinaoeoua roots, and excellent fruits. Whalers^ and other European and American
shipping repair to it for this purpose.
The Sasaks have adopted the Mahommedan religion, but when, or by whom they
were converted they cannot tell. Before its adoption they had professed the same
kind of Hinduism as the people of Bali now do, and as did the Javanese up to the
dose of the 15th centuiy. They are, however, very far from being rigid Moslems, aa
evinced by their decided predilection for strong potations, a license in which they
agree with the Hinduised population of Bali.
At the beginning of the present centary, Lomboc, which had been divided into four
native principalities, was subdued by the princes of Karang-asam, in Bali. In order
to effect the conquest, it was only necessary to cross the narrow channel which divides
the two islands. Although no longer subject to the state that effected the conquest,
the Sasaks are still ruled by a prince of the &mily of Kaiang-aaam, and the Balinese
are the ruling nation of the island, holding the Sasaks in subjection, although near
twenty times their own number, — an unique example of a people professing Hinduism
conquering and holding in permanent subjection one professing MahommedanisoL
The residence of the Balinese king of Lomboc is called Mataram, the name of a metro-
politan province of Java, once of considerable reputation. It is situated about three
miles inland from the port of Amp&nan, and two from the nearest part of the western
ooast. Most of the Balinese are settled in or near it, and if this be the case, and their
numbers are correctly given, its population would not be less than 20,000. M. Zollinger,
who visited the place, and from whom I take most of my account of Lomboc, gives
the following account of it : — '' The present capital of the kingdom is Mataram, three
miles distant from Amp&nan, and two miles in a straight direction from the coast.
From the lastruamed place we proceed along the coast, and then cross a river, when
we find ourselves on a beautiful road more than forty feet broad, planted with an
avenue of wild fig trees, which runs all the way to Mataram. This town is surrounded
by a bamboo hedge. The four entrances or principal gates are closed during the
night with a kind of bamboo barricade, such as the Dutch call Friesland horses. All
the streets and paths intersect each other at right angles, and the two main ones cross
each other in the very centre of the town, and between the two palaces of the Bi^il
These so-called palaces are built of brick, and have externally nothing peculiar or
impressive. The other houses are in large squares, parted from each other by mud
WflJls. The houses themselves are built of the same material, and agree entirely with
those of the island of Bali. They are thatched with grass or palmetto leaf." '* To the
north of Mataram, at a distance of two miles, we find Gunung-rata (level-mount) at
the foot of a range of mountains. This is a fine large park, with a small pleasure
bouse^ a deer paddock, beautiful g^urdens, fruit trees, and woods planted on hills —
all the work of men's hands.*'
LOMPO-BATANG. The name of the highest mountain of Celebes, situated in
the province of Boelooomba, in the south-western peninstila of the island, about
40 nules from the town of Macassar, and in south Latitude 5" 12^ Its computed
height is 8000 feet above the level of the sea, which is by about one-third short of
that of the highest mountains of Sumatra, Java, Bali, and Lomboc.
LONTAR. The Malay name of the Palmyra palm, or Borassus flabelliformis.
This is a slight corruption of the Javanese one, rental, compounded of the native
word ron a leaf, and tal or tar, the Sanscrit name of this pcdm. The compounded
word is equivalent to the Hindu one, talpat. The name of the tree is evidently
derived from the leaf which was the writing material of all the nations of the Archi-
pelago before the introduction of paper, and still continues to be so of some of them.
LOOBY, but correotly Nun in Malay, and Nori in Jayanese, is the ^nerio name
for ** parrot" The sub-family of parrots, to which naturalists hare given the name
LOS BA]!^OS 222 LUZON
*— ^^^^^i^^^M^^^»^^^i^i^M^^i— ^■^■^■^■^iM^M^M^l^^^l^p^M^^— 1^i^M^>-^1^»^^™^M1^M^^— ^^^"^^IM^M^^^M^^^i^B^^^^^^^IM^— ^^^i^^^^^^^iM^M^^— ^^i^— ^l^^l^^»^i^M^B^W^i^^M^^^^^^^^^^^»^^^^^— —
of Lorius, is not found in any island of ihe Archipelago west of New Guinea, nor ti
all in the Philippines. The loories of naturalists are, in fact, confined to New Ouinoi
and its adjacent islands.
LOS BANOS, in Spanish *' the baths," is the name of a town in the pfroyinoe of
the Laguna in the island of Luzon. It lies near the southern shore of the great Isks
of Bay, and at the skirt of the mountain Maquiling, in northlatitude 14** 9' 40'. Bf
the natives it goes under the name of Mayit, signifying " hot." Early in the history
of the Spanish Philippines, the Franciscan friars brought these hot springs into
notice, and they soon came into repute for their sanative qualities. A convent and
an hospital were in time built near them. The heat of the water at its issue firom
the springs, for there are many of them, is 67* of Reaumur, and the cliief chemical
contents of the water, are muriates of lime, of magnesia, and of soda, with a small
quantity of iron, the muriate of lime forming 60 per cent, of the whole matter in
solution. The country in the neighbourhood of the springs is naked, mountainoni,
sterile, and hardly fit for any kind of cultivation, so that the conmion necessaries of
home have to be brought to the town, which in 1845 hsui a population of 18598onla.
Fishing on the lake is the principal employment of the inhabitants.
LUBANQ. This is the name of the largest of a group of small islands lying off
the western coast of Luson, and off the north-western end of the lai^g^ island of
Kindoro, with which and other islands it constitutes the province of Mindora Its
town, of the same name, contained in 1845 a jMpulation of 6040 bou1% of which
1139 contributed to the poll-tax, which amounted to 11,S95 reals of plate. The
inhabitants cultivate rice, oacoa, coffee, and pepper, and find some employment in
the collection of the eggs of the turtle, an animal that much frequents their oosst.
From the large population of this very small island compared to that of the large
one of Mindoro, to which it is annexed, and firom the inunediate neighbourhood to
it of the small islet of Ambil, which is an active volcano, it is to be suspeefced tlisi
its soil is volcanic and fertile, and the interior being mountainous, most probably
well supplied with water for irrigation. It may be remained that the names Lubang
and Ambil are both Malay, and do not belong to the Philippine languages unless hj
adoption. The first means a hole» cavity, or excavation, and the last*' to take or
seize." They may have been imposed by the pirates who have immemoxiaUy harassed
the coasts of Mindoro.
LXJS£. The name of the highest mountain of Sumatra, 11 ,250 feet abore the level
of the sea, and situated in north latitude 3** 40^ towards the western side of the island
and in the territory of Achin.
LUZON. The largest island of the Philippine group, and after JavA the most
fertile and populous of all the islands of the Asiatic Archipelaga The name is thus
generally written by the Spaniards; sometimes, however, as Lu^n* which in our
mi^ and charts has been converted into Luoonia. Luaon is probably derived irom
the Malay and Javanese word Iftsung, "a mortar," borrowed by the Philippine
islanders, and by them pronounced, losong. There is a tradition that when the
Spaniards first arrived in the island they asked its name, and the natives ^ncying
they asked that of a rice mortar which was before them at the moment replied
accordingly, and hence the name. There is no ground, however, it is obvious, for
this whimsical etymology. The Spaniards did not land on Luaon until 1569f or
until 48 years after the discovery of the Archipelago, and as they had heard ef its
existence, for it is expressly stated they had done so, it is impossible they could have
fallen into so ridiculous a mistake. Besides this, the island must have been £unilisr
to them, and must have precluded the necessity of asking its name when they reached
it in force, to effect its conquest. The name, indeed, seems to have been known Ur
Europeans from the time of their first arrival among the eastern islands. Thus
De Barros in enumerating the nations trading with Malacca before the airivsl
of the Portuguese, names the Lu9oes as one of them, and even Pigafetta, one of
the first discoverers, although he had not seen or described the island, tells us in
his account of Borneo that the fleet of the king of that place " was commanded by s
son of the EUng of Luzou," a name which could not well refer to any other place.
In all probability, therefore, the name of Luzon, or as the Malays would prononnce
it, L&sung, was imposed by this people, and given by them in the first instance not
to the whole island but to the country about the great bay of Manilla, with which
they traded, and a few of the inhabitants of which they had even converted to
Mahommedanism before the arrival of the Spaniards^ to whom, moreover, th^y were
LUZON 223 LVZOJS
8B Pigafetta informB ub, the early interpreters. It may eyen be conjectuted that
the Malayan name was given from the moat remarkable feature of the country that
preiienta itself in entering the bay; the peninsula which forms its western barrier,
and the most conspicuous promontory of which still goes under the name of Lozon,
or '' the mortar." That the natives of the island itself, divided as they were into
many nations and tribes, speaking different languages, should have had a common
name for their country, of which, in all likelih6od, even the insularity was unknown
to them> is highly improbable.
Luson lies between north latitudes 12** 10' and 18"* 43', so that it is in the same
climate as a large portion of southern continental India. To the north and west it
is bounded by the China Sea, to the east by the north Pacific, while to the south it
has all the greater islands of the Philippine group as far as Borneo, the northern
limit of the Malayan Archipelaga Its form has b(Den compared to that of a bent
arm — ** brazo doblado " and its outline is vexy irregular. Its most striking character
is its distinct division into two peninsulas, a northern embracing the main body of the
island, and a southern or smaller, the first called by the Spaniards the upper or
LuKonia, and the last the lower or Oamarines. The whole island measurod in a
straight line is about 420 miles long, but by its bends as much as 550. Its greatest
breadth is about 135 miles, but in other parts, excluding the isthmus, it does not
exeeed 80. The isthmus called that of Tayabas is about 50 miles in length, and varies
in breadth from 10 to 20 mUes. The area of Luzon is computed at 52,828 geographical
square miles, so that it does not want much of being twice the size of Ireland. A
range of mountains runs throughout the whole of it, from north to south, branching
out in different directions so as to give the island a decidedly mountainous character.
This range goes under the general name of the Montes Caraballoe, and according to
their loodities are called northern, southern, or centraL The branching of the moun-
tains, proceeding northward, commences in about the 16^ of latitude. One branch
beginninff here and terminating at the promontory of Engafio, at the northern end of
the island, being the most elevated land of the island, goes under the name of Sierra
Madre or Gran Cordillenu All the mountains ineluded under the name of the
Caraballos are thought to occupy an area of 250 square leagues, or about one-
eighteenth part of the surface of the island. In its widest part the range is 15 leagues
broad, but diminlBhes gradually as it runs south. The great mass of it extends to
the eastern coast, where it forms generally a bold and almost inaccessible shore,
exposed to the whole force of the north-eastern monsoon. The heights of the
mountains of Luzon is a subject which has received very little attention. It is
tolerably certain, however, that they do not generally exceed one-half the altitude of
those of Sumatra, Java, Bali, and Lomboc. One mountain only, and that reckoned
the highest in the island, htm been actually measured. This ia Banajao, called also
Mujayjay, in latitude 14* 2', and longitude 121* 14', and this is reckoned to be 2233
Taras and 34 pulgadas, or about 6214 English feet above the level of the sea. Snow,
certainly, never falls on the highest peaks of the mountains of Luzon, notwith-
standing their comparative distance from the equator. Between the mountain ranges
are innumerable dales, valleys, and plateaus, but the only plains of much extent are
those of Cagayan, Abra, and Agno, all in the larger or upper peninsula.
The rivers of Luzon are almost innumerable, most of them disemboguing on the
western coast or on the northern end of the island, and having a comparativelr short
course with a rapid current. Apparently the largest river of the island runs tnrough
the province of Cagayan, taking Its name from it, but being also known as the Aparri,
and the Tajo or Tagus, from Uie celebrated Iberian stream. This, after a course of
55 leagues disembogues at the northern end of the island. It is navigable to a
oonaidenible distance for small craft, and for boats still further, but during the floods
of the rainy season the navigation is dangerous from the quantity of floating timber
drifted down. Through the same plain of Cagayan there passes another considerable
river called the Abulug, which also debouches at the northern end of the island
further west than the Taja Two rivers of considerable size called by the Spaniards
the Chioo and Grande of Pampanga, pass through the fruitful province of the last name,
and unite before falling into the sea in the Bay of Manilla. The Chico, or little river,
is the source of the united stream, and issues from the great lake of Oanaren. The
tmited stream is computed to have a course of three and twenty leagues. Another
large river is called the Abra, from the province of this name. This has its origin
in the Western Caraballos, in latitude 16^ 47', and after receiving many affluents falls
into the sea by three branches near the headland of Namagpacan, on the western
coast This river and its branches are navigable for small vessels. The Agno-gnmde
LUZON 224 LUZON
M one of the largest riyers of the island, and has its source in the rang^ of mountuBa
called the Central Caraballos, disemboguing in the gulf of Lingayen.
Luzon, contrary to what is the case with Java and the other larig^ islands of tbe
Malayan Archipelago, abounds in lakes, some of which are of great extent Bf ftr
the largest is the Lago de Bay, already described, after which conae those of Till,
Ganaren, and Gagayan. But besides li^es, there are great periodical oolleeiiora of
water, oalled in the native languages Pioag, produced by the overflowing of the men
in the low country during the rainy season, and which in the dry^ either disappear or
are reduced to moderate sized lakes. The most extensive of tiieee is the pinag of
Candava in the province of Bulacan, which, in some parts, is eight leagues broad A
the height of the rains, while in the dry season the greater part of it ia dry had,
yielding rich pastures for numerous herds of cattle. Another of these periodical
lakes is that of Hangabol in the province of Pangasinan, and this has a circamferenoe
of five leagues.
The coast line of Luzon is much broken by gulfs, bays^ creeks, and eakaaim
Among the most remarkable bays on the western side are those of Lingayen, of
Manilla, of Balayan, of Batangas, of Ragay, and of Sorsogon. On the ensteni coast,
we have those of Difun, of Lamon, of St. Miguel, of Lagonoy, and of Albay. Soas
account of these will be found under their respective heads.
The geology of Luzon has not been explored by men of sdenoe, but it is certaui
that a volcanic formation is very prevalent, although, not as in the case of Java and
several of the islands immediately east of it, where that formation is almost the
exclusive one. This is to be infened by the existence, in considerable quantitiea, of
such minerals as iron, gold, copper, lead,, coal and marble. The southern part of t^M
island, and especially the peninsula of Camarines, would appear, however,^ to be
for the most part volcanic, and here may be counted no fewer than nine di^rcni
volcanos, which, since the conquest, have been in a state of more or less actintj.
The most formidable irruptions have proceeded from the mountain of Kayon in thfl
province of Albay, and from that of T&al or Bombon in that of Batangaa The U^
which has flowed from these has overwhelmed neighbouring towns, and the earifi*
quakes accompanying the irruptions have proved destructive, even in remote psito
of the island as well as in their neighbourhoods. See Bombon and Matok. hi some
instances mountains of considerable height have been swallowed up and disappeai^
08 was the case in 1627 with one of the highest peaks of the Caraballos range in tb<
province of Cagayan, towards the northern end of the island. ^^
The climate of Luzon may be inferred by its geographical position. It is ezpoaed
to the full influence of the monsoons that blow north of the equator. The north-e*^
prevails from November to March both indusive, and corresponds with winter, and
the south'West from April to October, corresponding with summer. On the western
side of the island the rainy season begins in the middle of June and extends to the
middle of September, as in the greater part of continental India. On the eastern
side, on the contrary, the rains occur with the north-east monsoon, in oonsequenoo of
the great chain of the Caraballos, which produces, in this respect, the same results aa
the chain of the Ghauts in Southern India. The annual fall of rain on the western
side of Luzon is very great. At Manilla it has been ascertained to be not less tbtf
84 inches, nor to exceed 114, although the average fall throu^out the island »
thought to exceed the medium of these numbers. At the same plaoe^ ^^®. ^^
mometer of Reaumur seldom rises above 29° or fitlls below 1 9**, so that the range is 10 «
Between the southern and northern ends of the island, there must be a considerahw
difierence of temperature, as the difference of latitude exceeds six degrees. The hig»
lands also give rise to a oonsiderable difference. Thus, in a beautiful monntain w^
called Benguet, about 12 leagues from the dty of Manilla, Fahrenheit's thermometer
falls from 47''to 45**. Two instances only are known of hail having fiallen in hotoi^
viz., in May 1749 and in February 1808.
It is at the change firom one monsoon to the other that typhoons or harricao^s
occur, and their violence is nowhere greater than in Luzon and the other in<f^
northerly Philippines. In one of these, for example, which was felt at ManiU*^
1881, several vessels were carried by the waves far above the beadi inland^ tod a
corvette of 600 tons burthen, which lay in the port of Cavity, was aotually<^^
the ramparts of the fort, while sheets of lead from the house-tops of MamU* w^
carried by the force of the wind across the river Pasig. . ^
The climate of Luzon is not an unhealthy one, nor is the greatest heat experienced
even equal to that of the summers of some temperate regions. Thus, Spaniitf^ ^"^
have had experienoe of both, assure us that the greatest heats of Manilla are sbori ot
J
LUZON 226 LUZON
tbofle of the summen of Madrid. The greatest climatic inoonTeoience of Luzon arises
from the ezoeesiye fall of rain. The wet season lasts for five monUis, and it is alleged to
rain at times, without intermission, for 15 days. At this season the lower parts of the
oountry are inundated, forming sheets of water, as far as the eye can reach, — the riyera
overflow their banks, forming temporary lakes, and the public roads become impassable,
so that communication can be carried on, in some parts, only by boats, l^e most
frequent diseases are dysenteries and cutaneous disorders, from the most simple
affections of the skin up to leprosy, or elephantiasis, which is of frequent occurrence.
The yegetation of Luzon is of the luxuriance to be looked for from much heat and
xnoiBture, acting on a soil usually of great fertility. The moxmtain sides and, indeed,
generally the greater portion of the country, are coyered with a deep forest, many of
the trees of which furnish strong and durable timber fit for house snd ship-building.
Among these the Molay^ and Dongon are oonridered by the Spaniards to be superior
even to the Teak, the first being used for all crooked timbers, and the last for planks
and spars. Other trees called the mangachapiii, the yeal, the quitaquita, and the
Banana, are thought to be little inferior. Eztensiye plains, not under cultiyation^
f urmsh pastures for numerous herds of horses, oxen, and buffiilos, none of which are
natives of the country, but which notwithstanding haye run wild to an extent
unknown in any of the great islands of the Malayan Archipelago, a fact which
-would seem to attest the superior quality of the grasses of Luzon. The only cereals
cultivated are rice, maia, and in some of the higher lands wheat, all of them exotics,
and the two last certainly introduced by the Spaniards. The farinaceous roots cul-
tivated are the yam, known by its Malay name ubi, and the batata, generally known
by the natiye name of Camote, probably an indigenous plant. Seyeral species of
pulses are cultivated. The plants cultivated for the production of saccharine matter
and spirits are the sugar-cane, the cocoa palm, the buri palm (Ck>rypha gebanga), and
the nipa palm (Nipa fruticosa). Oil is yielded by the cocoa-nut, and by the sesama
The nipa yields materials for thatch, for matting, and for distillation. For fibrous
materiads, the plants cultivated are cotton, the abaca banana, and the pina, or pine
apple. Indigo, cofiee, and cocoa are the comparatively recent introductions of European
induatry. The principal esculent fruits are the banana, of which the Spaniards reckon
no fewer than fifty-seven varieties, — the mango, the orange, the pine-apple, and the
musk melon. The mango is described as of excellent flavour, — ^in the estimation of a
Spanish writer who had visited other parts of India, superior to that of any of them,
and, indeed, he adds, superior to all fruits, except the melon of Valentia. Besides
these, Spanish writers enumerate a hundied other fruits, most of them, however,
either worthless or of small account. Neither the mangostin nor the durian, the
choice fruits of the Malayan islands, are found in Luion, the rather boisterous climate
of which is probably unsuited to them.
The most remarl^able wild animalB of Luzon are several species of monkey and of
deer, with horses, oxen and buffidoes, become wild. The tiger and leopai*d, so
frequent in the western islands of the Malay Archipelago, do not exist in Luaon,
which, of the feline £unily, possesses only one, called by the Spaniards gato de montes.
Of the weasel family tiiere are two species, the Yiverra musanga, known by its Malay
name musang ; and one civet cat> both probably introduced. Of the family of Paohy-
dermata» the hog is the only native, but of what species that native one is, has not
been ascertained. The rhinoceros^ the tapir, and the elephant, are all wanting.
Spanish writers have come to the conclusion that the elephant must, at one time, have
existed, from their disooyering a name for it in the native languages. This supposed
natiye name is, however, the Sanscrit one, gajah, evidentiy borrowed from the Malays
and Jayanese, with whom it is in universal use, even where the elephant is
indigenous. This is like concluding that the lion was once a dexiizen of England,
because we have a name for it taken from the Latin.
The largest of the birds of Luzon is the gigantic crane, so well known to the
English in India under the name of the Adjutant^ the Cioonia aigela of naturalists.
It produces abto the swidlow which furnishes the esculent nest, the common fowl in
the wild state, and a great number of species of the pigeon and parrot fiuuilies, as yet
for the most part, undescribed. Among serpents, there are several which are poisonous,
and a python equal in size to those of any other part of India. Alligators and tor-
toises are numerous, and among the latter both the esculent and that which yields the
shell of oommerca Of all the countries of the east^ Luzon seems to be the most abundant
in fish, both of the sea and fifesh water. They are especially abundant in the hikes and
rivers,— eyen, indeed, m the flooded fields during the periodical rains. Spanish wnters
LUZON 226 LUZOHT
the dalag, a frosh-water fiah, is in groat repute, and much used, both fineah and cuied.
Some of the fiah enter the riyers and lakes from the sea, for the pnrpoae of spavnhif
like salmon, and are then taken in great numbera In the lake of Taal, a fish of
such habito called the sabalo, of the size of the salmon, is taken in weira, and b;
other contriyances in which the natives displaj much ingenuity. In the shallow
bays, the tripang or holothurion is taken, and cured for the Chinese market. " The
facility with which fish is produced," says the author of the ' Informe aobre el eetado
de las lilaa Filapinas,' " is wonderful. Sometimes a pieoe of dry land, affcer being
flooded for a few hours, is found full of fish. On the 23rd of September, 1767, there
appeared on the plain near Manilla, and for the space of a quarter of a league, eoA. a
quantity of dead fish as was sufficient to load twenty large waggons. This fish came,
already dead, from the lake of Bay, by the river Pasig, and affcer the above quaatilj
was carried away, much remained to infect the air or to be carried off hj the cotra;,
and again thrown on the coast by the waves. This phenomenon is suppoeed to faave
been oaosed by hurricanes, but there may be other causes, for it is to be observed
that occaaionslly great quantities of living fish in a state of teiror oome down the
river from the lake, when they are easily caught."
As to insects, flights of locusts occasionally devastate Luaon, bat these are
always destroyed by the hurricanes to which it is liable. Mosquitoa and snts are
numerous and troublesome, but in requital, the common fly, as in other oonntriei
not distant from the equator, is not frequent^ and fleas and bugs are nearly unknown.
Two distinct races of man inhabit Luaon, — ^the Malayan and the Negfito. The
first of these is socially divided into two classea, namely, — ^the civilised inhabltaati^
occupying the coasts, plains, and larger valleys, and forming the bulk of the popu-
lation ; and the rude tribes inhabiting the mountain sides and narrow glena of the
interior. The civilised inhabitants consist of six distinct nations^ speaking diAreat
languages, and are as follow, — ^the Tagalog, or Tagala as they are called bj the
Spaniards ; the Iloco ; the Pampanga ; the Pangasinan ; the Ca^yan, and the Vicol.
The undviliaed of the Malayan race consist, according to the Spanish enumeration, of
no fewer than fifteen different tribes or nations, speaking, as fiur as is known, distinct
languages. The greater number of these are in the hunter state^ a few of the aaore
advanced only practising a rude husbandry, whereas all the civilised inhabatanta
are agriculturists. The Negritos, like the rudest of the Malayan noe^ seem to be
divided into many tribes, speaking distinct languages, but of their namea or th«r
tongues we have no information.
The first enumeration of the inhabitants of Luaon which we possess was made in
1735, or 164 years after the conquest, and this made their number 410,300. It has
certainly advanced with vast strides since that time, for a census made in ISOO
brought it up to 990,864 ; one in 1818 to 1,407,422 ; and one in 1850, to 2,534,613. In
the course^ therefore, of 215 years, it would appear from these statements, that the
population had increased more than six-fold. It is to be observed, however, that
these different enumerations, framed chiefly from the registers of the capitation-tax,
include only the inhabitants subject to the Spaniah rule, and generally those who have
embraced Christianity. As the different nations and tribes were subdued, they were
included in the enumerations, so that these statements represent, not only the natural
increase of population, but also the progress of conquest and conversion. Aooording
to the registers kept by the clergy, the number of marriages in 1850, was 20,614 or
1 in 123 of the population ; of births 84,328, or 4*09 births to a marriage. The
reg^tered deaths were 61,188, and the surplus of the births over these wovdd make
the doubling period about 27 years. The increase, however, is certainly not ao great
as this rate, for in the thirty-two years which had elapsed between 1820 and 1852, it
was no more than 80 per cent* It is, notwithstanding, very large, and more resembles
the increase in a prosperous Anglo-Saxon colony in the New World than that ci an
old Asiatic country. Like Java and the British possessions on the continent of India,
it owes this rapid increase to the fertility of its soil, to the abundance of i^ and to
the peace and order secured by European government.
The relative population of Luzon will give between 48 and 49 inhabitants to the
square mile, which, as to density, is about one-fifth part of that of Java. If Luaon,
therefore, were as populous as that island, instead of containing little more than two
millions and a half of inhabitants, it ought to contain, at least fourteen millions.
Although, therefoi'e, it is probable that Luzon contains more sterile and unreclaimable
land in proportion to extent than Java, or a less relative extent of ftstile land, there can
be no question but that it has still ample room for a large increase of popalation, and that
the rapid augmentation which has been in progreag is likely for a long time to continue.
LUZON 227 LUZON
The population of Luson ia very unequally distribuied over its area, as is also the
case, although not to the same degree, iu Jaya. Thus the proyince of Bulaoan, lying
on the northern shore of the bay of Manilla, and one of the most fertile of the island,
has an area of no more them 49 square leaguest, and a population of 293,455, or 5927
to the square league. The province of Laguna, although it includes the area of the
great lake of Bay, has a population of 187,083, for an area of 108 square leagues, or 1269
to the league. On the oUier hand, the province of Cagayaa, situated towards the
boisterous and remote northern extremity of the island, and including a large share
of mountain land, has a population of no more than 62^127 inhabitants for an area of
650 square leagues, or omy 95 inhabitants to the square league.
The populi^on of Luzon in 1850 is stated to have consisted of the following
elemental namely, — ^Aboriginal inhabitants subject to the poll-tax, 2,373,765; European
and Creole Spaniards (it may be presumed, exclusive of the army and navy), 819 ;
Mestizo Spaniards, 5242; Chinese of the pure blood, 9372; Mestizo Chinese, 56,000;
and subdued wild tribes, 89,944. Of the unsubdued tribes, of course, no account can
be rendered, but it is certain that their aggregate number must be inconsiderable.
The state of industry iu Luzon may be briefly described. Agriculture is, of course^
the most important of the arts. The wild land is the property of the state, but
the reclaimed, occupied by the native inhabitants, is virtuslly a private, heritable,
and vendible property, although, in theory, they have only the use of it, — so long as
they shall continue to cultivate it. Convents, and other pious foundations, and
£uropean settlers, hold their lands on a somewhat different tenure. They pay to
the crown a tithe of the produce, but this tithe is the same as when first levied, so
that the amount of the impost is almost nominal, or but a trifling quit-rent. The
Bmaller proprietors cultivate their own lands, but the larger are fieirmed on a
« metairie " system, as in the southern countries of Europa The husbandry, like
that of other Asiatic countries, is rude and unskilfuL The plough, drawn by a
siugle buflklo, consists of a single piece of crooked timber, which forms at once, the
handle^ beam and share. The last is tipped with iron, but there is neither a
coulter or a mould-board. Before ploughing, the ground is levelled by a harrow,
oonaistlng of a square frame of bamboo with teeth, on which a heavy weight is
placed; and which, like the plough, is drawn by a single buffalo. In dry-land culture,
the rioe seed is sown broad-cast at once, but in irrigated land, it is first sown in beds,
and from these transplanted, as in Java The thrashing is performed by the treading
of a buffiJo, and the husking in that kind of wooden mortar, the Usung, in the Tagala
loflong, which, by accident, has given its name to the island. The most usual carriage
is a car without wheels, or a sledge. There are wheel-carts, however, drawn by a pair
of buflalos, which will carry about half a ton, or about half the load of a single horse
on a tolerable English road. The system of irrigation, notwithstanding the ^undent
command of water, seems to be very rude, and much Inferior to that of Java, Bali,
and Lomboc The husbandry of Luzon has, however, one great advantsge over that
of most other parts of the East, — ^the higher reward of labour. A native porter in
Mani l l i^ earns a quarter of a dollar, or thirteen pence a-day, and the wages of labour
are ptoportionably high in the oountiy. This rate is probably twice as much as in
Java, and three times what it is in British India, while all the necessaries of life are,
at lisbf as cheap as in either of these countries.
llie land in Luzon, as in the other Philippines, is subject to no direct public impost.
All such imposts are embraced in the tribute or poll-tax, which for state and municipal
purposes amounts to about half-a^crown, payable by all males from 20 to 60 years of
sge, and by all females from marriage or 25 years of age up to 60 ; the whole contri-
bution of a family in this manner being, generally, no more than five shillings a-year.
Land, as in other warm countries, is divided into irrigated and non-irrigated, with the
usual vride difference in value in favour of the first of these. The effect of a fixed
tenure of land and of freedom from land-tax on the value of land is very striking, and
&vourably contrasts with the results which arise in Java and continental India from the
greater part of rent being taken as tax, and this too frequently in the form of a variable
impost The author of the Estado de las IsUs Filipinas, gives us the usual prices at
which land is sold in different parts of the island of Luzon, hii quotations referring to
lands of the highest value, that is, to such as are irrigated and fenced, and which are
•itnated in the most fertile and populous provinces of the island. In Pangasinan, the
price of a qui&on of land, a measure of 1000 square fiithoms, is from 220 to 250 Spanish
dollars; in South Ilooos, 300 dollars ; in La^a, from 850 to 300 dollara In Ptosig,
ne*r the city of KaniUs^ and also in Bulaoan, it is occasionally as high as 1000 dollars,
^nisie priMB range from about 222. to 125t for an English acra,and are, probably, ten
Q 2
LTJZON 228 LUZON
times as high as those of Java or continental India, in parts of these where a Taxiable
land-tax prevails. The chief obstacle to cultivation in Luzon, as in all conntrieB
similarly situated, consists in clearing and grubbing up the forest^ and in forming the
dikes and trenches in the case of irrigated land. The most valuable virild lands are,
consequently, stated to be those without timber trees or underwood, but covered with
ferns, and these, from the increase of population, have become scarce. With lands of
this description, all that is necessary is to bum the fern in the dry season, and proceed
at once to form the dikes and trenches for water-field. From the high price of land in
Luzon, I imagine It must be concluded that the amount of fertile land easily available
to profitable cultivation must be much smaller than in Java, for even with the adrgn-
tage of freedom from land-tax, the price would not have becm what it is, had the good
land been abundant in proportion to the area of the island. Next in value to iirigated
land, is the dry-field fit for the growth of sugaivcane, of mah^ cotton, the abaoa banana,
and tobacco. The sugar-cane, coffee, cocosy and indigo, are raised to a oonaiderable
extent in Luson, but chiefly by small proprietors, as t^ is in China, because the high
price of labour and the minute subdivision of landed estates is adverse to raiaing
these commodities in a large way. " The whole of the productions of the islands,*
says Mr. Mackmicking, who had resided several years in Luzon, " are raised by the
poor Indian cultivators, each from his own small patch of land, which they till with
very simple, though efficient, implements of agiioultnre."
Besides agiiculturei the inhabitants of Luzon have acquired considerable skill in
the manu&cture of textile fabrics, the raw materials of which are cotton, the fibre of
the abaca banana» and that of the pine-apple, with silk chiefly brought from China.
That the manufistcture of these is comparatively large, is attested by the fact that
besides a considerable exportation, between two and three millions of people at
home are principally clothed with them. They are carried on to a greater or less
extent in every part of the island, but most extensively in the provinoea of Ilocai^
Camarines, and Ton do, Ilocas alone being reckoned to have no fewer than 20,000
looms. Matting, including hats, is also a considerable branch of industry, both for
home consumption and exportation, the principal law materials being the ratan with
fibres the produce of the Bun palm {Oorypha gebamga). Very fine cordage from the
coarsest sorts of the abaca is largely manufactured, and so much esteemed in Rtirof>e and
America, as to fetch a higher price than that of the best Riga hemp. The art of dyeing
is but in a rude condition, the colours produced being neither brilliant nor dorabla
The knowledge of the art is, indeed, confined to the use of a few native ooloofing
materials, and a few simple mordants ; the first consisting chiefly of sapan-wood and
indigo, and the last of alum imported from China. In the art of dyeing, the nattvee
of Luzon are &r below the Hindus ; and of printing, immemorially practised by the
latter, they are entirely ignorant. Embroidery, chiefly on the pifta cloth, is executed
by women with extraordinary skill and patience. " Probably,'* says Mr. Macmickin^^
" the pifia (pine-apple) cloth manufactured in the Philippines, is the best known
of all the native productions, and it is a very notable instance of their advance in
the manufacturing arts. There is, perhapsi, no more curious, beautiful and delicate
specimen of manufactures produced in any country. It varies in price according to
texture and quality ; ladies' dresses of it costing as low as twenty dollars (88a. 4dL) for
a bastard sort of cloth, and as high as fifteen hundred dollars (3254) for a finely
worked dress. The common coarse sort, used by the natives for miaking ahkta^ costs
them from four to ten dollars a shirt.''
Lime is generally obtained from shells fished up from the rivers, or procored by
excavation, and not by the burning of any kind of limestone. The art was probably
introduced by the Javanese, for I find the native name to be only a corruption of the
most usual one in the language of that people, apog for apu. Salt is obtained either by
solar evaporation or the boiling of sea- water. The principal place for the manu&cture
in the first manner is the province of Pangasinan, on the western coast, and as this is a
Javanese word signifying "place of brine, it would seem likely that the art of making
salt by the process of solar evaporation was taught by the Javanese, the only people
of the Malay Archipelago who practise it. The necessity of having recourse to boiling,
and especially of making salt from burning vegetables containing that article. would
seem to imply that either the soil or climate, or both, are generally ill*suited to the
manufiioture of this necessary of life. It is not taxed, or a subject of monopoly in
Luzon, or any other of the Philippine islands, its cost having probably saved its oon-
sumers from this calamity.
The manipulation of the metals is in general but imperfectly practised by the
inhabitants of Liuon. The iron used is, for the most part, English or Swedish.
LUZON 229 LUZON
Some trinkets of gold, howerer, in the form of filagree work, and eapeoially in neok-
cbaina, are made of such beauty as to be much sought after by strangers. All the
goldsmiths are women, a singularity in the arts which is confined to tbe Philippine
islands. Turning and carpentry are exotic arts of recent iutroduotion, the last
entirely in the hands of the Chinese. The houses and public buildings of the natives
of Luzon are wholly composed of such frail and perishable materials as wood, canes,
palmetto, and grass ; and every building in the island of solid materials is of Spanish
origin. In a word, the best architecture of Luzon is wholly Spanish, the city of Manilla^
indeed, more resembling an European town than any in Asi&» — greatly more so than
Batavia, Calcutta, Bombay, or even the very modem town of Singapore. Boat-
building is an art long and extensively practised by the inhabitants of Luzon, but ship-
building is entirely one of European introduction. Large ships have been built in the
ports of Luzon, of timber of such durable quaUtv, that they are estimated to last
forty years, which is probably equal to the durability of those of teak itself.
The inland commerce of Luzon Ib considerable, although it has many difficulties
to contend with. During the five rainy months of the year, much of the low countxy
ia turned into lakes, so that all conmiunication is nearly put an end to ,* and when
the waters draw off, they leave behind them, for a time, such a deposit of mud, as
makes it impossible to use the small horses of the country for travelling, and the
slow heavy buffalo is had recourse to instead. The roads are, besides, intersected by
frequent rivers and brooks, over which there are but few stone bridges ; while the
wooden ones are frequently carried away by the torrents of the periodiod inundation,
so that the passage over them has to be effected on cane rafts. In going from either
end of the island to Manilla, it is said that no fewer than one hundred of these rafts
must be had recourse ta The coasting trade of Luzon is very considerable, enhanced
by the difficulty of the transit by land, and by the law which makes ManiUa the sole
emporium of ^1 foreign trade. Even the coasting voyage is attended with serious
difficulties from the hurricanes of the eqiunoxes, and from the monsoons themselves^
which make one voyage only practicable for native craft for half the year. Owing
to this last difficulty, it not unfrequently happens that no communication is held
between Luzon and the islands lying west of it for whole months. Another obstacle
to commerce, even more pernicious than the hostility of the elements, presents itself.
The ill-paid governors of provinces sre themselves traders, and, of course, use all
their influence to exclude competitors* Most of the inland and coasting trade is
attracted to Manilla by the central and convenient nature of the port ; by its market
of a hundred and fifty thousand consumers ; as well ns from its b^g the consti-
tuted emporium of the foreign trade. Still there is a good deal of traffic between
the different provinces. The most fertile furnish com to the least productive.
Pangasinan fiimiidies salt, oil, and sugar to the neighbouring provinces: the raw
cotton of Ilooos is conveyed to all parts of the island ,* the provinces of Bulacan and
Laguna furnish the rest with indigo ; and the other provinces receive their pina and
abaca cloths from the two Camarinee. The trade in timber and canes is veij con-
siderabla These are obtained in the mountains during the dry season, and floated
to the coast on rafts during the rains, by the nearest river, to which they are dragged
by bufialos. The foreign trade of Luzon includes that of the whole Philippine group,
and will be adverted to under that head.
The Spaniards divide Luzon into three great sections, which they call the Costa,
the Contra-Costa, and the Centre; meaning, respectively, the western side, the
eastern, and itte centre or interior of the island, — a vague division of little practical
value, and having reference ehiefly to the times in which the different portions of the
idand were brought under the Spanish dominion, and to their relative importance.
The present civil divisions are into provinees, which, by subdivision of the larger, have
been raised from twelve to twenty. Their names, with their populations in 1850, are
as follow: Tondo, 280,180; Bulacan, 290,455; Pampanga, 155,697; Kueva Ecija,
32,704; Lambales, 22,894; Batuan, 88,642; Cavity 117,230; Batangas, 217,594;
Laguna, 137,083; Ilocos sur, 189,477; Ilooos norte, 136,868; Abra, 28,971 ; Pangasinsn,
228,418; Csgayan, 62,127; NuevaViscaya, 22,192; Batanes, 10,433; Camarinessur,
102,527; Camarines norte, 10,382; Albay, 219,740; and Tayabas, 81,098. Some
account of all these will be found under their respective heads.
It is hardly necessary to say that Luzon was as unknown to the Europeans of
antiquity or of the middle ages as Cuba or St. Domingo. Indeed, it was not actuallv
reached until three quarters of a century after these two islands had been discovered.
Le^upiy its conqueror, had been five years in the Philippines before the Spuiiards
landed in Luzon. The first of them that did bo was Juan de Salcedo, the nephew of
LUZON 230 LUZON
LegMpi^ who WB8 Bent to Mazulla in 1569, with a detachment of eightj soldlen, is
pursuit of pirates. Legaspi himself did not reach the island and begin its oonqaeet
until 1571, fifty yean after the discoyery of the group by ICagellan. La«m, howerer,
although wholly unknown to Europeans until towards the end of the 16th oentuiy,
had been long known and frequented by the KalayB, the Jayanese, the Chinese, tnd
Japanese, for the purpose of trade. The intercourse of the two first must have been of
long standing, to judge by the considerable number of words of their languages found
in idl the cultivated tongues of Luzon, as well as by the character of these wozda. Thus
we find many nautical and oommerdal terms to be Malayan, such as Yeesol, sail, balisst^
andior, plummet, with the names of nearly all weights and measures. In Luson, u
in the other Philippine Islands, the Malay language had become the commoa medium
of communication between the natives and s&angers, and was spoken by all pefsooa
connected with foreign trade. Through the Malayan nations, the Hindu religion first,
and then the Mahommedan, had made some slight progress* When the Spaniards
first arrived, they found, on the site of the present c^ of Manilla, a pfrosperoua
Mahommedan community (un rico pueblo de Moriscos). This viUage^ for such
without doubt it was, had a wooden stockade, on which were mounted twelTO pieces
of cannon ; a place, it may be safely inferred, of no great strength, or not well
defended, since the Spaniards easily captured it.with eighty men* It was the hannt
of the denounced pirates of Juan de Salcedo.
Both the Chinese and Japanese appear to have traded with the inbabitantB of
Luzon before the arrival of the Spaniards, although there is no direct evidence of
their having done so. Soon after that event, both nations invaded tiie island in the
character of corsairs. The Chinese did so in 1574, only three years after the
Spaniards had settled in the bay of Manilla. A pirate, of the name of Lim-ma-hoo,
had ravaged the coast of China, with a fleet of ninety-five warjunks, and having been
pursued by an Imperial fleet of a hundred and thirty sail, carrying 40,000 men, he
fled towards Luzon, and hearing of the small number of the Spanish gaxnson of
Manilla, he attacked it, and was defeated by a force which, at the time, did not
exceed sixty soldiers. The condition of the Chinese Empire^ which gave rise to the
extensive system of piracy indicated by this numerous fleet, was probably not unlike
what it is in our own time, and, indeed, has been, more or less, for the last forty
years. It was most likely in that state of anarchy which portended the overthrow of
the native dynasty of the Ming, an event which was brought to a crisis fort j-five years
later by the invasion of the Manchu Tartars. In 1581, ten years after the first
Spanish settlement, the Japanese invaded the northern end of &e island, oocnpying
the present province of Cagayan, from which they were expelled, not without danger
and difficulty.
With all these obstacles, the fiicility and rapidity with which the essential oonquest
of Luzon was effected is very remarkable. A few short years were sufficient to bring
imder the Spanish rule four out of the six advanced nations of Luzon, with little
bloodshed. The two principal heroes of these exploits were Juan de Salcedo, the nephew
oC Legaspi, and Martin Qoiti. The first of these, with forty-five soldiers and a few
priests, marched from Manilla to near the northern end of the island, and afterwards
to near its southern extremity, subduing and converting as he marched. These
triumphs, indeed, were at least as much owing to spiritual as temporal arms^ the
Augustine and Franciscan monks always accompanying and aiding the troops^ a
politic course which has been invariably persevered in ever since^ The priests who
m this manner contributed to the easy conquest, not only of Luzon, but of the otiier
Philippine Islands, are said not to have exceeded forty or fifty in number. No such
cruelties were perpetrated in Luzon as the Spaniards are charged with having
committed in America and its islands. On the contrary, the conduct of their chiefs
seems to have been politic, and humane.
It must, however, be observed that the state of society in Luzon was highly &voiu^
able to the enterprise of the Spaniards. The more advanced populations, as already
stated, were divided into six different nations, with as many different languages. Bat
each of these nations again, did not form an united people Those even who spoke the
same language, were themselves divided into small independent tribes called, in the lao-
gunges of the country, barangay, and headed by a chief, with a native name varying
with the nation to which he belonged, but also frequently called bv the Malay name
of datu, which may be taunslated "an elder." Besides being thus broken down by divi-
sion, even the most advanced of the nations of Luzon were, in civilisation, fitf below
the Malays, and especially the Javanese, of the same time. They possessed a knowledge
of malleable iron, but made small use of it,— most probably from its scafdty. The
MACASSAR 231 MACTA]^
onJy other metal they were acquainted with waa gold, which they sometimes
iised hy weight as a medium of exchange, although their mercantile traneaotions were
usually carried on by barter. The horse and ox possessed by the ootemporary
Idalays and Javanese, were unknown to them, and their only beast of draught and
burden was the heavy and sluggish buffalo, and even this they had received from the
^falayan nations. Their knowledge of letters was confined to the possession of a
livritten character, far more rude and imperfect than those of any of the nations
of the Malayan Archipelago. Their religion was crude and unsystematic, and their
temples, unlike those of Java, were mere hovels of perishable materials. Neither
the Hindu nor Mahommedan religions had made any serious impression on them,
or coaduced in any material degree to their advancement Of the use of fire-arms,
they were nearly as ignorant as the Aztecs or Peruvians, although the Malayan
nations, their neighbours, had been in possession of them long before the arrival of
Europeans. With all this, the principal inhabitants of Luzon were not a wild race
of ivandering savages, but, on the contrary, an agricultural people, fixed and attached
to the soil They were a superstitious and credulous, but not a sanguinary people ;
the only cruel rite alleged to have been practised by them being the occasional
sacrifice of a slave. A people in this state of society were prepared for subjugation,
and for the reception of the new religion which they so readily adopted. The
Spaniards found the inhabitants of Luzon and the other principal nations of the
Philippines far below the chief nations of the Malay Archipelago in civilisation, and
they nave the merit of having made them what they now are, upon the whole, superior
to any of them. They are, indeed, the only people of the Indian islands who have
made a sensible advance in civilisation in the three centuries and a half which have
elapsed since the arriral of Europeans among them. See PHiLiFForES.
M.
MACASSAR, in the langaage of the country Mangkasara, and in Malay Mang-
kaear, is properly the name of a people of Celebes, inhabiting the extreme end of its
Bouth-westem peninsula, one of the two dvilised nations of the island, and speaking
a peculiar language of its own, with a written character. When Celebes was first
visited by the Portuguese, in 1525, the Macassar nation was rising into notice, and
soon became the paramount one of the island, having brought the Bugis tribes under
its yoke. It was 'the first to embrace the Mahommedan religion, and even on the
first arrival of the Portuguese they found a few converts to this faith, but it was not
until 1606, or about eighty years later, that their general conversion was effected, and
this was brought about by Malay and Javanese missionaries. The Macassars became,
in time, involved with the Dutch, and in 1669 were wholly subdued, since which
time the Dutch influence has been pMramount over the greater portion of Celebes,
although in remote parts it be little more than nominal, and nowhere assuredly
profitable.
Popularly, the name of Macassar is confined to the Dutch town and fortress of
Rotterdam, lying on the western shore of the peninsula aboye-named, and in south
latitude S"* 7' 45^ and east longitude 11 9** '21' 31". The town is a small one, of
European construction, and the port a mere roadstead, yet, considering the low lati*
tude in which it lies, and consequent freedom from storms, affording, like Singapore,
somewhat similarly situated, safe anchorage, in almost any season. When I visited
Macassar in 1818, it was, in an European sense, a place of veiy small importance. It
was always, however, a port of considerable native trade, and four hundred praua
are now said to belong to it, trading with almost every commercial place from
Sumatra to New Quinea, and carrying on the fishery of tripang or holothunon, on the
northern coast of Australia, with Chinese capitaL In 1847 the Netherland Goyem-
ment made Macassar a free port to all nations, in imitation of the British ports in the
Straits of Malacca, and this enlightened measure will, no doubt, be attended with as
much success as can be reasonably looked for from a place not lying in the highway
of general commerce.
MACTAK, the name of a small island lying adjacent to the eastern coast of (^bn,
one of Uie principal Philippines, and partea from it only by a very narrow strait. It
has an area of 26 square geographical miles, and is described as fertile and well
peopled. But the place is chiefly of note for having been the scene of the death of
the celebrated Magellan, who, on the 26th day of August, I52I9 was killed m a £im^
MADAGASCAR 232 MADAl^Q
hardy affiray with the naUveei who, with pointed bambooey defeated his fiflgr
cavaliers dad in armour.
MADAGASCAR. This great island, leckoned to have an area of 195,000 square
geographical miles, or to be thrioe the size of Britain, three thousand milflB
distant from the nearest part of the Malayan Archipelago, and not inhabited by a
Malay but a negro race of men, is mentioned in this work only on account of the
singular fact of a considerable number of Malayan words being found in its langoage.
How came Uiey to be there 1 In their cprammatical structure and phonetic character,
the Malagas! and the Malayan languages are as widely different as Latin is from
the Teutonic languages, or Sanscrit from the SemitiQi while the vast majority of their
words entirely disagree. The theory, therefore, of the languages bein^ cognate
tongues has no foundation. In another work I have endeavoured to account for the
preeenoe of such terms in the following words : — " Monsoqns, or periodical winds,
blow between them to the south of the equator, namely, the south-east and north-
west monsoons, — the first in the Austral winter, from April to October, which is the
dry and fair season of the year, and the last in the Austral summer, from October to
April, which is the rainy and boisterous season. The south-eastern monsoon, with
which we are chiefly concerned in this inquiry, is, in fact, only a continuation of the
trade wind that blows in the same direction with it, to the south of the equator. A
uatiye vessel, or a fleet of native vessels, sailing from the southern part of SuniatrB^ or
trom Java, must, of course, sail with this monsoon in order to have the least chance
of reaching Madagascar. Undertaking the voyage, however, such vessel or fleet would
have a fidr wind all the way, and the sailing distance from the straits of Sunda would
be S300 miles. Making onlv at the rate of 100 miles a day, a vessel or a fleet of praos
would reach the eastern shore of Madagascar in S3 days. But it may be asked how
Malays or Javanese, who never quit the waters of their own Archipelago, could come
to contemplate such an enterprise 1 I suppose the adventurers to have been compoeed
of one of those strong fleets of rovers that, in all known times, have ranged the seas
of the Archipelago, and which do so, from one extremity of it to another, even at the
S recent day. I suppose them, while either in quest of booty or adventure, to be
riven into the south-eastern monsoon or trade wind by a tempest. Unable to regain
the shores of the Archii^ago, they would, from necessity, and tSter some struggle,
put before the wind, and make for the first land. That land would be Madagascar,
for there is no other. In civilisation, the adventurers would be superior to the
natives ; their numbers would be too few for conquest, but their power, from superior
civilisation, might be adequate to secure a compromise. They would settle, amalga-
mate with the inhabitants, and convey some instruction to them along with a portion
of their languages. It is not necessary to limit such an enterprise to the single
adventure of one nation* for in the course of ages there may have occurred several
accidents of the same description. One, however, might have sujB&ced, for the roving
fleets of the Archipelago, like our own buccaneers, have crews 'of several nations,
among whom several languages would be spoken, but the most general, the Malay and
Javanese, — those which we find in the MalagasL"
The proportion of Malayan words found in the Malagas! is but inconsiderable, —
about one-fiiVieth of the whole language. These, however, are important, such as, the
numerals, the names for rioe, yam, cocoa-nut, mango, capsicum, iron, to sew, to
weave, sea and land as correlatives, bow and stem, billow, cape or headland, rock,
island, skies, storm, month, year, people. Of such words, some belong exclusively to
the proper Malay, and some to the Javanese, while some are common to these two
languages. *' A fleet that had been above a month at sea, going it knew not where, is
not likely to have saved any domesticated animals, even supposing it originally to
have had such, and consequently we find no domestic animal with a Malayan name in
Madagascar. It is not only possible, however, but highly probable, that from its
stock of provisions, it would save a few grains of rice, a few cocoa-nuts, and a few
capsicums, — ^perhaps, even, some yams and mango seeds, and all these, as just
mentioned, bear in the Malagasi, Malayan names, and these only." — A DissertatioD on
the Affinities of the Malayan languages, prefixed to a Grammar and Dictionary of Malay.
MADAXO, or MANDAXG-KAMOLAN. The name of a mythic kingdom of
Java, and the same as Koripan, the locality of which is placed by the Javanese in the
modern district of Grobogan, in the country of the proper Javanese nation. There
art\ however, no remains to show that such a state ever existed. The foundation of
this state is ascribed to a colony of Hindus, but as both its names are Javanese and not
Sanscrit^ this is highly improbable. Some of the factitious chronicles of the Javanese
MADIOEN 233 MADURA
nwrign for its foundation the year of Salivana 525, corresponding to the year of Christ
603. Such a kingdom, most likely, did ezist, but nothing is known of it but its name.
MADIOEN, or, in a more correct orthography, Madiyxin, is the name of a
province of Java, in the proper country of the Javanese nation. It is composed
of one of the seven principal valleys or plains of the island, — that which lies between
tlie mountain of Lawu to the west, 10,750 feet high, an active volcano, and that of
"Wilis, to the east, 7,957 feet, llie area of this province is computed at 1580 square
miles, and by a census made in 1850, its population was made 807,029, so that it has
194 inhabitants to the square mile, — all Javanese, except 1059 Chinese, 118 Europeans,
or their descendants, and 120 Arabs, and natives of Celebes. The number of oxen
and bufialos, in 1843, was 108,500, and of horses, 18,000. Its teak forests are valu-
able, and so extensive aa to amount to 510 square miles, or to cover near one-third of
its whole surface. Its natural staples are ilce, pulses, cotton, and tobacco, but the
I>utch, to whom it was surrendered in 1880, have introduced the forced culture of the
sugar-cane, coffee, indigo, and even of cinnamon and tea.
MADRE (siXBiLA. db), or the Gran Cordillera. This is the name given by the
Spaniards to the highest portion of the mountain chain which runs from south to
north through the island of Luzon. The Sierra Madr^ is reckoned to commence in
latitude 16**, and to end at Cape Enga&o, at the northern end of the island, in lati-
tude 18° 87', its length being estimated at fifty leagues. It is of great breadth, the
"wliole area occupied by it being reckoned at 250 square leagues, but it seems nowhere to
exceed 6000 feet high. In its fastnesses are found many of the wandering tribes, both
of the Negro and IJblayan race. Its forests abound in fine timber, and contain many
wild animals, as the hog, ox, and bufifalo.
MADUBA. The name of the island which from its proximity, its geological
formation, its vegetable products, and the manners and character of its inhabitants,
forms almost an integral part of Java. The name is derived from the Hindu legend,
-which represents it as the kingdom of the hero and demi-god Baladewa. It is but a
corruption of the Sanscrit Mathura, a name familiar to the English reader. Towards
its western end, but embracing only a small part of its coost line, Madura ib separated
from Java by a strait of from a mile to two miles broad, having a deep, navigable,
but narrow channel Elsewhere a gulf divides the two islands, ranging from 80 up
to 50 miles broad, but not navigable for vessels exceeding 800 tons burthen. The
greatest length of the island is about 90 miles, and it is computed to have an area of
1556 geographical miles. Its geological formation resembles that of Java, or is
volcanic. A low chain of calcareous mountains runs through it from north to south,
but it contains no mountain of considerable elevation, and compared with Java its
Boil is either sterile, or rendered so by want of facility for irrigation.
The inhabitants of Madura are of the same race as the Javanese, and generally in
the same state of civilisation, with a little less refinement, and a little more hardi-
hood. The language of Madura is different from that of Java, and divided into two
dialects, at least as different as Spanish and Portuguese. One of these is spoken in
the eastern portion of the island, and the other in the western, the last being
commonly called the Madura, and the first the Sumanap. An analysis of the
language of Madura gave the following results : " A thousand words of it are found
to be composed of the following lingual elements — Madurese, 250 words ; Javanese,
170; Malay, 145; common to the Malay and Javanese, 860; Sanscrit, 40, and
Arabic, 85. From this analysis it will appear that one-fourth part of the Madurese
only is original." (Dissertation on the Affinities of the Malayan Languages.) The
Madurese have no other literature than , that of Java, and when they write their
language it is in the Javanese character, and there exists no evidence of their ever
having had, like the Sundas, one of their own.
In 1815 the population of Madura was reckoned to be 218,660; in 1845, 295,748 ;
and in 1850 it had risen to 816,870 ; so that in 36 years the augmentation was about
44 per cent. The density of population gives about 204 to the square mile. Neither
increase or density, then, are comparable to what these are in some of the richest
provinces of Java. Much of the,land is at the same time unreclaimed, and the whole is
comparatively poor. But the Madurese have found,'a convenient outlet for their surplus
population in the rich provinces of Java which lie directly opposite to their island.
Depopulated as these had been by foreign invasion and civU war, the Madurese for a
century back have been migrating to and occupying them. These Javanese provinces
contain at present near 900,000 inhabitants, the great majority of whom are
MAGELLAN 234 MAGELLAN
Madurese, stiU speaking their own language and following their own enBtoiiia. In
this manner it is probable ihat the Madurese in Java are at least tfamee thnes as
numerous as those of the parent country, and thus the whole Madurese people will,
in reality, exceed a million. There have been emigrations within the Archipela^
on many occasions, but tliey have originated in general from the roving lubits sod
love of adventure of the maritime tiibes, and this Madurese emigration is the onh
known one which can be traced to the pressure of the means of subdstenoe, and it
could only have taken place under the peculiarly favourable circumstances which pre-
sented themselves, and especially under the auspices of an European govenunenty for
under a rude and fickle native one, the migrating population would not huTe Bpnmg
up nor the settlers, in their new country, received protection had it done bo.
MAGELLAN (FEBDiyAND), or, oorrectly, in his native tongue, Fernando Magal-
hSes, the first circunmavigator of the globe, and the discoverer of the Philippines^ wu
a native of the province of Alemtejo, in Portugal, and bom about the year 1470. He
served five years in India, and was with Alfonso Alboquerque when he captured
Malacca and sent Antonio d' Abreu to discover the Moluocas. He was at this time
above 30 years of age, but among the many officers whose names are recorded with
approbation by De Barros, his is not mentioned. This author, however, afterwards
mentions his death, and has a passage respecting his companions worth transcribing.
" When," says he, '' Antonio de Brito was preparing to return from Banda to Malacca,
Don Garcia Henriques arrived at that place with four vessels, his own and three junks.
Don Garcia had come to seek for a cargo of spices^ as the oommandera from Malacca
were wont yearly to do. These came eJong with a junk from Java^ also in search of
spices. From this, he received intelligence that a white people like ourselves had
lately come into the oountrv, and that they had furnished the junk with a letter of
safe conduct in case it should meet at sea with any of their countrymen. Antofnio de
Brito having seen the letter found it was in Oastilian, and given by Castilians in the
name of the King of Castile, and that it was as pompous and abundant of words as
that nation is wont to be in its writings when treating matters they ore fond of
expatiating on." Decade 8, book iii., chapter 6. It was at this time that he acquired
his knowledge of the Moluccas, although it is not asserted that he viuted them.
What moved him to offer his services to Charles the Fifth is not known, but most
probably disappointment of promotion and distinction in the service of his own
country. The project of sailing round the world iB said to have been rejeoted by
Don Manuel, on which he proceeded to Spain and presented himself before Charles
the Fifth, who was at the time at Yalladolid. He was accompanied on his journey by
the great cosmographer Ruia de Tallero, and patronised by Fonseca, bishop of Burgos,
minister for the Indies. Pigafetta expressly states that the project of reaching the
Moluccas by sailing westward was suggested to Magellan by his relation and intimate
friend Francesco Serano. This person employed at the time in the Moluccas, Pigafetta
says, was in the habit of corresponding with Magellan when the latter was at Malacca,
and he adds that Don Emanuel, King of Portugal, having refused to increase bis aalurj,
even by a single '* testone," he applied to his sacred majesty Charles the Fifth, and
got whatever he asked for. The proffered service being accepted, he was placed
in command of a squadron of five small vessels of from 60 to 180 tons, with crews
amounting in all to 234 persons, soldiers and mariners included. The squadron left
Seville on the 10th of August, 1519, and San Lucar on the 20th of September. It
cleared the straits which go under the great navigator's name, and entered the Pacific
on the 28th of November 1520. On the 6th of March, 1521, it reached the Ladrone
or Marian Islands ; on the 18th of the same month sighted Samar, the first seen of
the Philippine Ishmds ; reached the little island of Massana, correctly Limasagua, on
the coast of the large island of Ley te, on the 28th of March, holding a friendlv inter-
course with its inhabitants. On tiie 7th of April Magellan entered the harbour of
pebu, called by Pigafetta Zubu, and on the 27th of the same month he was killed in
a wanton and fool-hardy affray with the rude natives of an islet dose to the eastern
shore of p^bu, called in the narrative Matan, but correctly, Mactan. See Maotak.
Magellan, as a navigator and discoverer, ranks next to Columbus, but surelyi
whether as to their achievements or the merits of the men themselves, at a long
interval. Magellan was but following up the original notion of Columbus, that of
getting to the East Indies by sailing westward. He had also the advantage of all
the discoveries of seven4uid-twenty yean over his predecessor, during which even
the Spice Islands, the main object of research, had been reached. He himself bad
either seen these islands or was not far from them when they were discovered, and
MAGELLAN 235 MAGELLAN
BarboBO, who bad described with Burprising accuracy all the maritime oountriea of
the East, except Japan, was his relative, his Mend, and the companion of his voyage.
The object of Columbna' adventure was to get at the rich countries of the East, and
especially at China and Japan, of which he had read in his (piide, Marco Polo. That
of Magellan was confined to getting to the Moluccas by a route that should enable
the Spaniards to wrest them from his countrymen, the Portuguese, for even he, like
the rest of his cotemporaries, attached the highest importance to the spice trade, one
which in our times is of 5ir less importance than the traffic in rags, in oranges, in pullets'
eggs, or the dung of certain sea-fowl. Notwithstanding these drawbacks, it must still
be admitted that in some respects the adventure of Magellan was a more arduous
one than even that of Columbus. The voyage of the latter from Spain to the nearest
American land was but of 70 days' duration, and from the Canaries, already long
discovered, it was but 36 days« That of Magellan from Spain to the Ladrone Islands
lasted 583 days, and was performed in ruder climates, and through a more perilous
naTigation. The very Toyage across the Pacific lasted 116 days, or more than three
times as long as that of Columbus, counting the latter from the Canaries. The hard-
ships which Magellan and his companion underwent in thb last portion of the voyage
are well described by Pigafetta. " On Wednesday, the 28th day of November, 1521,
we issued from the strait, ingulfing ourselves in the ocean, in which, without
comfort or consolation of any kind, we sailed for three months and twenty days.
We eat biscuit which was biscuit no longer, but a wormy powder, for the worms had
eaten its substance, what remained being fetid with the urine of rats and mice.
The dearth was such that we were compelled to eat the leather with which the yards
of the ship were protected from the friction of the ropes. This leather, too, having been
long exposed to the sun, rain, and wind, had become so hard that it was necessary to
soften it by immersion in the sea for four or five days, after which it was broiled on
the embers and eaten. We had to sustain ourselves by eating sawdust, and a rat
was in such request that one was sold for half a ducat." Primo Viaggio, page 48.
Nineteen of the crew of the admiral's ship died of the scurvy, and twenty-five more
were ill with it when they arrived in the Ladrone Islands.
Magellan's Italian companion Pigafetta, who was present in the action in which he
had lost his life, calls him, after describing that event, "the mirror, the light* and
the true g^ide" of the expedition. His narrative is addressed to Philip de Villiers
Lisle Adam, Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes, and it is curious to see iJie
writer entreating this person, whose own name is hardly known to posterity, to see
that the memory of the great navigator shall not be forgotten : " 1 see reproduced
in him," says Pigafetta, ** the virtues of a great captain. Among these was his con-
stancy in the most adverse fortune. In the midst of the ocean, he endured hunger
better than any of us. Skilled in the knowledge of nautical charts, he understood
the true art of navigation better than any one else : the sure proof of this is, that by
his own genius and courage, and without any precedent to guide him, he attempted
and nearly accomplished the circumnavigation of the globe."
Magellan was beyond all doubt a great man, and possessed many of the qualities
necessary for the direction and government of mankind. Yet his finuness had in
it a taint of ferocity, even beyond the measure of his own times, while his courage
amounted to rashness, and his religion to intolerance and fanaticism. Of all this,
there is abundant evidence in the narrative of his friend and companion. The four
other coDunanders of his squadron were Spaniards, and Pigafetta says, they bated
him for no other reason than that they were Spaniards and he a Portuguese. They
entered, as is alleged, into a conspiracy to take his life in the Port of St. Julian, on the
coast of Patagonia. They were apprehended and three of them put to death. Their
execution might have been indispensable to the success of the expedition, but the
manner of it in two of the cases could not have been so. The inspector of the squadron
was quartered (fu squartato il vcador), and the treasurer stabbed to death (tinicidato
a pugnalate il teeoriere). One of the commanders was pardoned because his
appointment was made directly by the emperor, but he being charged in a few days
after with conspiring afresh, was, along with a priest his accomplice, turned out of
the ship and abandoned to the tender mercies of the savages of Patagonia.
The inhabitants of the first land that Magellan made after crossing the Pacific
Ocean comndtted thefts on board his squadron, as did those of the Society Islands
on the ships of Cooke. He burnt their dwellings, and named their country the
'* Robber Islands" (Islas de los ladrones). On his arrival in Cebu, the only large
island with which he held any considerable intercourse, he began the work of a
oonvennon and'subjugation whidi were equally nominal. In eight days' time, (from
MA.GNET 236 MAHOMETANISM
the arriTal of the squftdron) all the "inhabitantiiof this islaad were baptised, and
also some of those of the neighboaring islands. In one of the latter, vre set fire to a
Tillage,*' because the inhabitants would obey neither the king (of Qebu) nor himseiil
*' Here/' says Pigafetta, *' we planted a wooden cross, as the people were Qentiles. Had
they been Moors, we should have erected a stone column, in token of their hardneas of
heart, for the Moors are more difficult of conversion than the Qentilea." Viaggo
intomo al Qlobo, p. 89. In fifteen days after these supposed conversions, and in three
after the death of Magellan, the supposed converts entrapped and murdered four-and-
twenty of the Spaniards, including their new commander, the experienced Barboaa,
and the astrologer or astronomer of the fleet, San Martino of Seville.
The drcumstance which led to the death of Magellan affords ample proof of his
rashness and fanaticism. In the little island of Mactan, lying close to the easteni
shore of ^ebu, there were t«o chiefe, one of whom offered to embrace Christianity
and to submit to the Spanish rule, but was prevented by the other. Magellan
resolved to bring the recusant to reason by force of arms. His friends attempted
to dissuade him from risking his own person in the enterprise, but he persevered
and left ^bu on the night of the 26th of April with a force of sixty Spaniards and
some native auxiliaries. Waiting for daylight, he landed with forty-nine men« leaving
eleven in chaige of three boats that had conveyed the party. In order to get on firm
land, they had to vrade knee-deep for the distance of two good bow-shots. The
natives of the island, to the number, as Pigafetta says, of 1500, met the Spaniards
and their allies boldly, with bows and arrows, bamboo spears, of which the points vrere
sharpened and hardened in the fire^ swords, stones, and even clods of earUi. Their
resistance was more vigorous than was reckoned on. Msgellan commanded a retreat,
which became a rout, and he was left with six or eight persons, — surrounded, cut
down by a sword-wound in the thigh, and killed, in the fortieth year of his age.
Eight Spaniards and four friendly natives lost their lives in this inglorious affiay.
This is the account given of it by Pigafetta, who was himself present and wounded
in the action. The name of Magellan is venerated in the Philippines and especially
among the people of 9ebu, and it is still the reproach of the inhabitants of M^^>^^»^
that their forefathers slew him.
MAGNET. The name for the magnet in Malay and Javanese is batn-brani, and it
extends to all the languages of the Asiatic Archipelago, including those of the Philip-
pinea The literal meaning of the word is ** dare-stone," or "veuture-stone; " a term
similar to our own of load or leading-stone, although less expressive. See Cohpas&
MAHABARAT. This ia the proper name of the renowned Hindu epio which
narrates the wars of the Pandus and Kurus, the descendants of Bharata. The original
poem and its name are unknown to the Malays and Javanese ; but the latter have^
both in the ancient and modem language, an epitome of it under the name of the
Bratayuda, which may be rendered " the war of the descendants of Bharata," this
last word being corrupted into Brata. The heroes and adventures of the Mahabarat
are as fmniliftr to the Javanese as those of the poems of Homer were to the Greeks
and Romans. See Bratatuda.
MAHOMETANISM. The Mahometan religion is known to the natives of the
Archipelago by its usual Arabic name of Islam, to which they generally prefix the
Sanscrit word agama, religion. All who have adopted it are of the same professing
orthodox form as the Arabians, by whom, directly or indirectly, they were converted.
The history of tho conversion of the islanders of the Archipelago may be briefly told.
The missionaries who effected the conversion were not, for the most part, genuine
Arabs, but the mixed desceudants of Arab and Persian traders from the Persian and
Arabian gulfs, parties who, by their intimate acqualutauoe with the manners and
languages of the islanders, were far more effectual instruments. In the course of
several ages, Arabian aod Ptirsian merchants, and Mahomedan merchants from Q«\jrat
and other parts of India, had settled in various parts of the Archipclaga Unaccom-
panied by their families, they intermarried with the native inhabitants, and from this
union sprang the apostles of Islam. The earliest recorded conversion was that of
the people of Achin, in Sumatra, the nearest part of the Archipelago to the civilised
parts of western Asia. This happened in 1206 of our era. When the Malays of
Sumatra were converted is not fixed, but probably about the same time as their
neighbours the Achinese. The Malays of Malacca adopted Mahometanism in 1276 ;
the Javanese in 1478 ; the inhabitants of the Moluccas about eighty years before
the arrival' of the Portuguese; and tho general conversion of those of Celebes did
MAIL-ARMOUR 237 MAIZ
not take place until after their arrival. The progress of conyendon, as might be
expected, was generally from west to east, and took several centuries to accomplish.
In a north-eastern direction, the furthest point to which conversion reached was
the island of Mindano and the Suluk group. It had just begun to make some
impression in the chief island of the Philippines on the arrival of the Spanish
conquerors, but was quickly overpowered by Catholic Christianity. The dates and
times quoted for the conversion of the different people refer to that of their rulers
and not of the people generally. Many converts had in every case been made long
before the periods quoted, and manyjhad still to be made.
De Barros, in his account of Sumatra, gives a very satisfactory acoount of the
manner in which many of the inhabitants of that island were converted, and it is
probably applicable to most of the other nations of the Archipelago. *'The land,"
says he, " has two classes of inhabitants, — ^Moors and Gentiles. The last are natives
of the country ; the others, in the beginning, were strangers who, in the way of
trade* began to people the sea-coast, until multiplying, little more than 150 years
ago, they came to make themselves masters of the country and to assume the name
of kings.*' De Barros wrote his 8rd Decade, which contains this statement, in 1568,
which would carry the Mahomedan conversion of the people of Sumatra no further
back than the beginning of the 1 6th century.
From Sumatra to Mindano, all the more civilised nations, — ^all those possessed of
the art of writing, have adopted the Mahomedan religion, with the exception of
those of Bali All the ruder populations within the same limits have resisted its
introduction. The conversion, it will be seen, was slow and gradual, and bore no
resemblance to the rapid conversion by the Arabs of the nations of western and
central Asia, and which, within the first century of the Hegira, embraced most of
the nations firom Persia and Transoxiana to Spain. The conquest of the Archipelago
was never attempted by the Arabs. It was an enterprise wholly beyond the strength
of a people whose maritime skill never enabled them to subdue effectually even the
countries on the lower Indui^ so much nearer to them. So slow was the proselytiam
of the Malayan nations, that a period of no less than 572 years had elapsed from the
death of Mahomed to the first national conversion, that of the Achinese. Kone of
the nations of the Archipelago are strict Mahomedans, often mixing up local customs
or old superstitions with its precepts and practice. The Malays are the most strict,
and the /avanese, probably, the least so. All of them still look up to the Arabs as
their spiritual g^des, as they once did to the Hindus.
HAIL-ARMOUR. In Malay, bajn-rantai, and in Javanese, rasukan-kire or
k&lambe-k&re. The sense of the terms, in both languages, is the same, namely,
"chain-coat," or jerkin, and agrees exactly with our own definition of the term, as
given by Johnson, " A coat of steel net-work for defence." This coat, and a morion
or casque, called katopang, both being native words, are the only kinds of defensive
armour which were used by the Malayan nations. They are now rarely seen, and
from the high price of iron and the impediments they would throw in the way of
the free use of the fiiivourite weapons the spear and the dagger, were probably never
in general use.
MAIZ. The Zea maiz of botanists is at present well known and mnoh cultivated
in all the islands of the Asiatic Archipelago, taking among several corns the next
rank to rice. The Malay name for this plant is jagung, which appears to be a native
word, but it is not traceable to any root. The same name is found for it in many
of the other languages, and extends to the Javanese, which, however, has a synonym,
jali, which signifies also a horn, possibly from the ear or cob bearing some resem-
blance in form to this object. In several of the languages of the islands further
east, the name is difierent. Thus in the Bugis of Celebes, it is bftroleh, which seems
to signify ''found" or discovered, and to be a corruption of the Malay word
b&rulih, which has this meaning. These native names would encourage the belief
that maiz was an indigenous plant, but after all, there is no solid foundation for
this, and there can be little question of its being a native of America, introduced
most probably by the Portuguese. Pigafetta, who gives an enumeration of the
cultivated plants of Massana and 9^bu in 1621, does not mention maiz as one
of them, although he mentions rice, millet, and panick grass. A Spanish pilot of
the name of Juan Gkietano, whose narrative is to be found in Ramusio, and who
'visited Mindano in 1642, one-and-twenty years after its discoveiy, is still more
satisfactory : " In a certain part of tliat island,** says he, " ruled by the Moors, there
ttesome small artillery, and hogs, deer, buffidos and other ammals of the chase.
MAJAPAIT 238 MALACCA
with Casfcilian fowls (oommon poultxy), rioe, palms and coooa-nuts. There is no
mais in that island, hut for bread, thej use rice^ and a berk which they call Sa^.
from which also they extract oil, in like nmnner as they do from palma." VoL i.
p. 876. The hardihood of mais, the facility with which it is propagated, and the
extent of the geographical range in which it thnTes, have probably contributed to throw
obscurity on the history of its introduction into the different countries in which it haa
been naturalised. In the first volume of Ramusio, published in ISSO^ there is a tctj
accurate wood-cut of an ear of mais, which is thus described : " The wonderful and
famous seed called mais of the Western India on which one half the woiid is fed.
The Portuguese call it Miglio Zaberto, and some of it has already come into lUlj,
both red snd white. Above Polosene de Brigo and Yillabona, whole fields of bo&i
eolours, red and white, are cultivated." From this, it would appear that within little
more than half a century after the disooYery of America, maiz was already an objeet
of extensive cultivation in some parts of Italy. Mais grows in unirrigated land, and is
cultivated in places that do not admit of being watered. In the Archipelago, however,
it is nowhere converted into meal and baked as bread, but boiled and eaten as with
us peas and beans.
MAJAPAIT. The name of the last kingdom of the Javanese professing TTindnisniy
and the subversion of which is considered the era of triumph of the Mahomedsn
religion in Java. The ruins of the capital of this state are to bo seen in the district
of Wirasaba (in Sanskrit " hall of heroes") and province of Japan. Mi\ja in Javan^e,
is the name of a kind of coarse fruit of a sweetish taste, the ^gle nuurmelos (tf
botanists, and pait signifies bitter, the compound forming an imaginary fruit. In the
ceremonial language, the first part of the name is turned into Maos, and hence some
persons, converting the last part of the word into the Sanscrit pati, a lord, have come
to the conclusion that Maospait is a corruption of Maospati, which, in Hindu legen<^
is the name of the kingdom of the hero and demigod Arjuna. This is a fair sample
of the fancifulness of some etymologies. The state of Majapait is supposed to have
been founded about the year 1221 of Salivana, or 1299 of Christy and was certaiolj
overthrown by the Mahomedans in 1400 of the first-named era, and 1478 of the last,
so that its duration was in all, but 179 years. In this time five princes only are said
to have reigned, which would give about 86 years to each reign, far too long a duratioD
for any state of society. That all of these were Hindus, however, is attested by their
Sanscrit names, as Ardi-wijaya, " mountain of victory," and MArta-wijaya» " life of
victory." It has been asserted that the kings of Majapait ruled over all Java, but
for this, it is certain, there is no evidence, but the contrary ; for within the same
period, Pajajaran certainly existed in the country of the Sundas, and Jangala olooe
to Majapait itself, is proved to have done so by the evidence of an inscription on
stone, containing the name of its king and bearing the date of 1242. The ruins of
the city of Majapait afford evidence both of power and civilisation. Among these is
a cistern 1000 feet long by 600 broad, of which the well-built walls are 12 feet deep.
Some of the gates of the Kadaton or royal palace also remain, and although in a
ruinous state are beautiful specimens of native architecture, the style and workman-
ship being equally commendable. All the remains of Majapait are of well-baked large
bricks, slolfully put together, and not like most of the ruins in other parte of the
island, of hewn trachyte.
MAJINDANO. The largest island of the Philinpine gronp is thus frequently
written in our maps, but on what authority is not Known. See Mindaito.
MALACCA, in more correct orthography, Mldaka, the name of the well-known
town and territory on the western side of the Malay peninsula, washed by the Straits
which bear its name, and which are here but five-and-twenty miles broad. Tha
town is in north latitude 2° 14', and east longitude 102" 12'. The territory extends
along the shore of the Straits for 40 miles, and is considered to have a mean breadth
inland of 25, so that its area is 870 geographical or 1000 square statute ndles, which
makes it about the same size as Uie £^t Riding of the county of York. To the
north and the south, respectively, it is bounded by the Malay states of Salangor and
Jehor, and iuland by the very petty ones of Rumbo and JehoL The geological
formation of the territory of Malacca, consists chiefly of granite rocks, overlaid in
several places by the red cellular clay iron-stone, called by geologists laterite.
Many of the low plains are slluvial, the soil composed of decay^ vegetable mould
intermixed with aand. The metallic ores are iron, gold and tin. The sm^soe generslly
is undulating, consisting of low, round ridges and narrow valleys, the only mountain
MALACCA 239 MALACCA
of oontiderable elevation being the Ledang of the Malaye, and the Ophir of the
Portugueae, 4320 feet above the level of the sea, or leas than one-half the height of the
principal mountains of tbe volcanic islands of Java, Bali and Lomboo, or those of
the partially volcanic neighbouring island of Sumatra. The rivers are numerous, but
all small, and navigable for boats only to a short distance from their mouths. The
largest are the Llogi and the Kaaang, the first dividing Malacca from Salangor,
and the last from Jehor. The other lai^er streams are the Batu-paat (Chisel-rock)
-which is the Rio-formoso of the Portuguese, and Muar which Is of some local renown.
The river which runs through the town of Malacca itself, is but a mere streamlet.
The dimate of Malacca, as to temperature, ia such as might be expected in a
country not much more than 100 miles from the equator, lying along the seashore, —
hot and moist. The thermometer in the shade ranges from 72** to 84° of Fahrenheit^
seldom being so low as the first of these, and not often higher than the last. The
range of the barometer is only &om 29*8 to 30*3 inches. Notwithstanding constant
heati much moisturd and many swamps, the town at least, is remarkable for its
salubrity, and with the exception of the early period of its occupation by the
Portuguese, has always enjoyed this reputation.
Some £x:^lish writers have dwelt on the eminent fertility of the soil of Malacca,
apparently judging it by the luxuriance of its vegetation, a test of useful productive-
ness of about the same value as a profusion of weeds in a neglected field. Facts
contradict such a flattering notion of it. In a practical sense, a country can only be
considered fertile when it produces the Cereal greases, that iE^ the best human food
with comparatively little labour, and this proof is eminently wanting in Malacca.
It has no chain of high mountains yielding a perennial supply of water for irrigation,
in such a climate an indispensable requisite for the production of cheap corn, and
assuredly the main cause of the abundant harvests of tfava, Bali, Lomboc, and several
of the larger islands of the Philippine group. With Malacca, the result of this
absence is, that it has not only never exported com, but never even furnished
enough for the maintenance of its own scanty population, always, — even down to our
own times, importing it, first from Java, then from Bali and Siam, and now from
Arracan. The Portuguese conquerors had formed a far juster estimate of the
capabilities of the soil of Malacca than ourselves. De Barros expressly calls the
country a ** barren land " (terra esteril), and informs us that, immediately after the
conquest, a dreadful famine ensued, in consequence of the junks which brought the
usual Bupplies of food from Java being stopped and seized by the expelled Malays,
while the Portuguese themselves were prevented by an adverse monsoon from
repairing to that island for a supply. " The monsoon," says he, " was adverse for
going to Java in quest of provisions, for Malacca and all the neighbouring countries
depend on tiiat island for them." — Decade 8, book vL chapter 1. The same fact is
stated by the historian Castaghneda. " All provisions," says he, *' they bring from other
parts by sea, for in the land there is nothing else but what I have mentioned.'* What
he had mentioned consisted of the durian and some other fruits. The Dutch historian,
Valentyn, who wrote above two centuries after the Portuguese conquest, expresses
the same opinion of the soil of Malacca. " The neighbourhood," says he, " ii not very
productive in provisions, except fish and some fruits, so that everything besides has
to be brought from other places. The country, for productiveness, will not bear
comparison with Coromandel, Bengal, or CSeylon." It is in vain to plead for the
unproductiveness of Malacca, the mal-administration of former national administra-
tions, for Malacca has been, with little interruptions, nearly 60 years under British
rule, while Arracan, in less than half the time, under the same government,
competing with its immediate neighbour Bengal, has become one of the principal
granaries of India.
The ecology of Malacca is that of the peninsula generally, and the larger animals
may be briefly enumerated. They consist of nine species of Quadrumans, the tiger,
leopard, and several smaller feline animals ; several species of Yiverra, as the musang
or Viverra musanga, and the binturung or Ictidee ater. Among Paohydermata, there
are the elephant, a one-homed rhinoceros, the Asiatic tapir, or tftnuk of the Malays,
found here for the first time in 1816, after more than three centuries occupation of
the country by Europeans, by my friend the late Col. Farquhar ; several species of
doer, and two species of wild ox, the Bos sondaicus, and anotiier called by the Malays
the s&ladang, not yet described.
In 1847, the popubtion of the whole territory of Malacca was reckoned to be
withm a fz«ction of 65,000, which, on the estimated area, gives 65 inhabitants to the
■qusre statute mile, the majority, however, being comprised within the narrow compass
MALACCA 240 MALACCA
of the town and its Ticmity, which oonseqoeDtly leaves the greater portion of the
country, either very thinly inhabited or a mere jungle. The population is a very
beterogeneoua one, oonsisting of the following ingredients, 2784 Europeans and their
descendants ; 10,589 Chinese and their descendants ; 33,473 Malays ; 6875 natives of
Hindustan and their descendants, and about 1000 natives of the islands of the
Archi{>eIago. The remainder consist of a few Arabs, Siamese^ and African negroa.
In 1828, the population was estimated at no more than 28,000, so that in about
twenty years time it must have nearly doubled, if these figures be correct* The
land of Malacca, as to populousness, is at present, probably, not very different from
what it was when first seen by Europeans in the beginning of the 16th century.
De Barros thus describee it : — "^ Not only is the ate of the city of Malacca marshy,
but so is the whole region to which it belongs, because from its vicinity to the
equinoxial, the climate is hot, and the vegetation so rank, as to make it unhealthy,
and consequently ill-peopled. To such an extent does tlus go^ that from the pomt
of Cingapuia to Pulo9ambilam (Pulo-sftmbilan, the Nine isles), being the whole
length of the kingdom, and estimated at 90 leagues, there is no place of importance
save the city of Malacca. The shores of a few creeks only are inhabited by fishermen*
and inland there are a few hamlets ; and what is more, some of the miserable inha-
bitants sleep on the tops of the highest trees they can find, in order to escape from
the tigerSy which can leap to prey upon them to the height of twenty palms (vinte
palmas). These animals are in such numbers that they even enter the city at night ;
and since our own occupation of it, one night they leapt over a wooden fence, broke
a part of it, and carried off three slaves. Besides this, in the recesses of the great
forests there exist large and ferocious animals, which cause the land to be ill-peopled
and ill-cultivated." — Decade 2, Book vi. Chapter 1.
The husbandry of Malacca consists chiefly in the growth of rice, the ooco-palm, for
which the coast is well adapted, black pepper, and the indigenous fruits, particularly
the mangostin, durian, and shaddock, which are produced in perfection and abundance^
A little coffee has been grown, and the culture of cinnamon and the nutm^ have
been tried with some success.
In an industrial view, the only mineral products of the Malacca territory are gold
and tin* The gold is trifling in amount, not exceeding 1500 ounces ; but the tin has
of late years become of importance, and along with that of the neighbouring countries
forms the staple export of the country. Mines of this metal, as elsewhere alluvial or
stream- works, were not opened until 1793, and even after that, were long n^lected.
In 1847, the quantity produced was about 5000 cwts., and it is yearly increasing.
The chief miners are the Chinese, whose numbers are said to amount to between three
and four thousand. The whole quantity produced between Malacca and the Malay
states in its immediate neighbourhood, is stated not to be less than 1000 tons^ and
all the Chinese employed in producing it are said to amount to 8000.
The trade of Malacca is, the greater part of it, with the neighbouring British settle-
ments of Penang and Singapore, and especially with the latter. In 1853, the imports
were valued at 248,3852., and the exports at 337,058Z., the greater part of the last
consisting of tin. The port of Malacca is a mere roadstead, but variable winds and
calms only being felt, and the monsoons not reaching it, it is equivalent in safety to
an ordinary harbour. Small vessels lie within a mile of the shore, and latge within
two ; but there is little convenience in landing on a shallow and muddy shore. It
was its advantageous geogr&phical position which made Malacca, for so many ages,
and even under a rude Malay government, a considerable commercial emporium ;
and such it would have continued to be, had its trade not been cut off at both ends
by the superior convenience of Penang and Singapore, but especially of the latter.
The extent of the commerce, which that position assured to it, is highly spoken of
by all the early Portuguese writers, and according to the measure of the 15th and
16th centuries, it was undoubtedly considerable, although it would make but a poor
figure in our timea
The revenue of Malacca is derived from the same sources as that of the other
British, and generally of the Dutch, possessions in the Arehipelago, namely, from
excise licenses for the vend of opium, spirits, wine, and the like. The only article in
which it differs consists in a seignorage of a tithe on all the tin that is smelted, — an
improving revenue, which produced in 1847 the net sum of 23402. As elsewhere,
the revenue is realised on the principle of fanning, the farmers being always Chineee.
As at Penang and Singapore, no custom duties, or any other charge on ship or cargo
exists. In 1847, the total net revenue amounted to 19,272/., of which 3427^ con-
aisted of a tax on the rent of houses assessed for municipal purposes. This amounts
MALACCA 241 MALACCA
to a tax per capite of better than 8f., which is more than the rate paid in any part
of continental India, and chiefly ascribable to the Chinese, -who, although the
minority in numbers, are the principal contributors. The expenditure is enormous,
having amoimted in the same year to no less than 51,7832., or 168 per cent, beyond
the receipts, a state of things calling loudly for reformation. It must be steted,
however, that a very considerable .portion of this expenditure is factitious and
extrinsic, such as the expenses of convicts firom continental India, the salary and
establishment of a non-resident governor^ and a share of the charge of two war steam-
ships engaged in the protection of the general trade of India from piracy. These
items which have no business where they are, amount to near 12,0002. a-year. Besides
this, the blunders of a former governor have fixed, in perpetuity on the revenue of
Malacca, a charge of 10002. aryear. The fee-simple of the lands of Malacca had for
the most part been alienated by the Dutch government to private parties, on the
condition of exacting no more from the occupants than a tithe of the gross produce.
This, of course, reduced the virtual proprietors to the condition of mere lords of their
respective manors, receiving quit-rents, while it raised the occupants who were
irremoveable to that of copy-holders. Mr. FuUerton, the governor in question, a
man of sense and integrity, happened, however, to be an apostle of the once-cherished
ryotwarrie fiscal system of Madras, and resolving that as, under that system, no one
should stand between the state and the cultivator, he bought up the tithes for more
than they were worth, and hence an inheritance to the Malacca treasury of the pay-
ment for ever of a thousand a-year. This in itself inconsiderable circumstance, is
only adverted to as an example of the mischief which may flow from the adoption of
a false system, and an entire misunderstanding of the state of society in the country
for which this kind of legislation was adopted.
Under the Portuguese administration, according to the historian Faria y Sousa, the
net revenue paid into the Malacca exchequer, was no more than 70,000 crowns, which
I suppose would be about 14,0002. ; but he adds that the perquisites of the Portuguese
officers amounted to 160,000, so that the whole revenue would, in this manner,
amount to no less than 44,0002. In 1779, when the Dutch had no competitors, and
no European war to interrupt theur trade, the Malacca revenue amounted to 26,6002.,
which, however, exceeded the expenditure by 51502. In 1807, in our own occupa-
tion, and without any local^rival, the revenue was only 89,4382. In 1881, all custom
duties having been abolished, it fell to 10,4002L As already stated, it had risen in
1847 to 19,2722.j without any increase in the rate of old taxes, or any new taxes,
except the seignorage on tin. Thus, there was an improvement in sixteen years time
of 85 per cent., obviously arising from increased prosperity, and leaving, therefore,
no rational grounds for the lamentations that have been made of imagined decadence.
Meanwhile that trade of which it was once the sole emporium has been multiplied by
at least tenfold beyond what it ever was when it had a monopoly.
Malacca, with Penang and Singapore, form a small government, with a governor,
having under him at each settlement, a lieutenant-governor, under the name of a
resident oounsellor. It shares also with Singapore, a Queen's court, being that of a
Recorder. A very moderate garrison suffices to maintain order in a community,
however heterogeneous, peaceable and docile.
The native lustory of Malacca is as usual full of obscurity. Two Malay manu-
scripts, known by Arabic and Malay titles which signify ** the Crowns of all kings,**
that is, the reigns of all Malay kings, and their genealogies give the following
account of the foundation of the state. About the year 1160 of our time, a
cortun chief of Palembtmg in Sumatra, with his followers, established themselves
in Singapura. Here he and his successors continued until 1252, when they were
expend by an invasion of the Javanese of the kingdom of Megapait, and next year
established themselves at Malacca. The third prince, in succession to the fugitive
who founded this last place, ascended the throne in 1276, and was the first who
embraced tiie Mahometan religion. It was the twelfth prince in descent from the
fotmder of Singapura, and the seventh from the founder of Malacca, that was driven
from his throne by the Portuguese in 1511. There is too much reason to believe
that the greater part of this story is a fabrication of comparatively recent times, and,
indeed, there is sufficient internal evidence of its being sa I have never seen tlie
manuscripts in question myself nor am I aware of any cotemporary that has. They
were first made known in the Introduction to a vocabulary printed at Batavia, in
1667, and abstracts of them were furnished by the Dutch historian, Yalentyn, in 1726.
The manuscripts, however, are as usual anonymous and^ without dates. The
five princes who reigned in Singapore give an average duration for a reign of little
R
MALACCA 242 ICALAOCA
more than 18 yean, while the eight of Malacfai, iodadiiig among thaai the fo>iiiida>
who had also reigned three years in Singapore, gire the improbable average of
82 years, far too long even for peaceable and civilised commnnitiee, Tet one of
these eight princes is described as having reigned only two yean, while another w»
assassinated seventeen months after he had ascended the throne. To make up for
these brief reigns, another prince is described as having reigned 73 yeara ! Another
discrepancy consists in giving to the two first kings, Arabic, that i% If abommeiiia
names while they were still pagans ; and it may further be objected to the Dairafcxr^
that dates are assigned to reigns for 116 years before the oonverstiHi to Mahomnw-
danism, that is, for more than a century before the Malays are known io have beei
possessed of any erit These objections seem to me to be fatal.
Iliere is more consistency and verisimilitude in the aoooont rendered by tite mAj
Portuguese writers, who, as they tell us themselves, derived their information froEi
the Malayan ootemporaiies of the conquerors, men who were by near three centom
and a-hidf closer the events than inquirers of our own time. " Conoeming th«
time," says Debarros, ** in which Malacca was founded, or respecting its early iohabt-
tants, no writing has come to our knowledge, but there is a common belief among the
people themselves, that little more than two hundred and fifty yeara bad elapsed
since the place was first peopled." He gives no dates, nor does he furnish tibe names
or the number of the line of kings. Thu^ however, is done in the Conunentaries of
Alboquerque, which give six kings, all but the first with Arabic name^ and in such t
corrupt orthography as would have mitde them ntteriy unintelligible, had we net
e>BSe8Bed a due to them. Of tlus orthography, the second name in the list^ Xaquem
arza, for Sekandar Shah, or King Alexander, is a sufficient eyample. The x of
the Portuguese orthography represents our sh, and the last syllable of the first psrt
of the name being added to the second, the whole is wrapt in almost inextricabk
obscurity.
De Barros' account of the foundation of Malacca is as follows: — ^" A furtive from
Java, whose name he writes Paramisura, and which is probably the Javaneae oom-
pound, taken from the Sanscrit, Prama-sora, meaning "valiant hero," arrived in
Singapore, then ruled by a chief named Sansinga. This prince received him hospi-
tably, but in requital was assassinated by him, with the aid of his Javaneae fol-
lowers, and of a certain people called Cellates. The aBHassin seized the gOTemmcnt
and retained it for five years, when he was expelled by the Siamese, not by tk«
Javanese of Migapait, as he is represented to have been in the Malay manoacripta.
On his expulsion he is represented as having fied and sought refuge at Pago, on the
river Muar, distant, according to De Barros, forty-five leagues from Singapore, and five
from Malacca Eventually, sJong with 2000 Javanese foUowera, he settled at Malaecai,
on the invitation of some of the Cellates, who had themselves ta^en reftige on the
banks of the river of that place.
Who these Cellates were is certain enough. The word is a Portuguese formation,
from the Malay word S&lat, a strait or frith, and at full length in this language would
be oraog-sAlat, or men of the narrow seas, in reference to the numerous straita among
the many islands between the Peninsula and Sumatra. The Collates were, in fiu^ the
well-known orang-laufc, or '' men of the sea," of the present time, famous all over the
Archipelago for their piscatory and predatory habits. They are correctly described
by De Barros, who calls them ** a people who dwell on the sea, and whose oocupatioo
it is to rob and to fish (oujo officio he rubar e pascar)/' Such of this people as had
fled with the Javanese from Singapore! and had formed their encampment about the
river of Malacca, found there, not far from it, as they would find at the present day,
an inland people, of the same race, and speaking the same language with themselves,
with whom they intermixed. '' The first settlement," says De Barros, <* which they
rthe Cellates) made was on a hill above the fortress which we now hold, where they
found some people of the land, half savages in their manner of living^ whose language
was the proper Malay, which all these people used, and with which the Cellates aI«o
were acquainted. But as in the beginning of iutereourse, there was some alienation
caused by difference in their modes of life, concord was established tiirough the
women, in which the Collates were deficient, each party, however, still following the
mode of life to which they hod been accustomed — the Cellates living by the produce
of the sea, and the Malays by the fruits of the earth. And as both these people
knew that the place where Paramisora dwelt was confined, they invited him to
join them. Finally, Paramisora, having seen the place, quitted his residence in
Pago, and came and dwelt among the people of tho plain of Beitam.*'— Decade L,
Book 6, Chap. 1.
MALACCA 243 MALACCA
It was the son of Paraxmsora, according to De Barros, that oommeDced the building
of Malacca. " And/ continues he, *' as the Cellates were a low and yile people, and
the natives of the countiy half savages, Paramisora and his son, in order to make
them faithful allies in their labours, and especiaily, in order to avail themselves of
their servioos in building the intended city, they ennobled them by intermarriages
with distinguished persons of those whom they had brought with them from Java,
and thus the native Malays became all of them Mandarijs (mantri, in Sanscrit a ooun-
Bellor or noble), and these are now the nobles of l^aoca, in yirtue of the privileges
conferred by former kings on them, as being the first inhabitants of the city."
The account given in the Commentaries of Alboquerque is essentially the same.
*' Paramisura (so spelt in the Commentaries) was so well contented with the country,
that, on account of the service which the fishermen (the Cellates) had rendered in
bringing him to the place, he made them Fidalgos and mandaris (mantris) of his
palace. Water being abundant, and the port good, with many other advantages, in
four months' time from his arrival, he built a town of 100 &milies (vezinhoa), where
now stands the city of Malacca. The pirates who roved over the sea in their lan-
cbaras (lanchang, barges), and came to Malacca for vrater, on account of the favour
and kindness with which they were received by King Paramisura, began to fix their
dwelling here, and to bring hither the merchandise which they had plundered. This
was the cause of such increase of trade that, in two years' time, a town of 2000 fisimi-
lies was built, and commerce began." — Chap. 17, p. 853.
On one point, all parties seem to agree, >hat not only the founders of Malacca, but
even of Singapore, were .Javanese and not Malays, for even the Malayan account is
substantially to this effect, since it brings the emigrants who established themselves
in Singapore from Palembang, which was a Javanese settlement. This view receives
some countenance from the etymology of the names of the persons and places con-
cerned, which, for the most part, are either Sanscrit or Javanese, evidence of the first
of these languages, it should be observed, being frequent only in countries to which
the influence of the Javanese people had extended. Aocordmg to the Malay manu-
script, one of the leaders of the migration from Palembang to Singapore has the name
of Dftmang Lobar daun, literally, "Chief of the broad leaf." In this case, the title is
Javanese, and not Malay. The principal leader of the migration is called Sri Turi-
Buwana. The first and last wonls of this compound are Sanscrit, and the second the
name of a flowering forest tree, equally Malay and Javanese. The title may be trans-
lated "IllustriouB Turi tree of the world." The second prince who reigned in Singa-
pore 10 called Paduka Pikaram-wira, or, correctly, PnUcrama-wira. Here the first
word is equally Malay and Javanese, and may be translated *' Highness.'* The two
last are Sanscrit, and signify "valiant hero.' The name of the third prince, Sri
Ramawikaram, is entirely Sanscrit, the last of these words being, correctly, in that
language, vikrama, signifying valiant^ and being of frequent use in the composition
of names of persons. The name may be rendered " The illustrious Rama the valiant"
The name of the fourth prince is, also, entirely Sanscrit. Sri Maha-raja, signifyiug
"The illustrious great king." The name of the Javanese refugee who, according to
the statements given to the early Portuguese writers, seissed, first the government of
Singapore, and afterwards founded Malacca, is written by De Barros, Paramisora, and
in the Coomientaries of Alboquerque, Paramisura. This is most probably the
Apramasya-sura of the Sanscrit, and which the Javanese pronounce Prameya-sura,
signifying "incomparable hero." The King of Singapore, assassinated by the
Javaneee refugee, is <»lled Sangesinga, and this name, omitting the medial e in the
Portuguese orthography, would mean, literally, " flower of lions," the first part of the
word. Sang, an honorary titie, frequently prefixed to the names of persons, being
Javanese, and the last Sanscrit. My guide in these etymologies, as he has often been
on other occasions, is my friend Professor Horace Hayman Wilson, without implicit
confidence in whose judgment and learnings I should not have ventured, as I now do,
to submit them.
In De Barros and the Commentaries, the name of Malacca is alleged to be connected
with the foundation of the state. There can, however, be no doubt but tliat it is
derived from that of the Malaka plant, Phyllanthus emblica, a shrub said to be abun-
dant in the locality. Mr. Marsden, after quoting De Barros, observes that, "an error
00 palpable (as that Malacca, in Javanese, means an 'exile') throws discredit on the
whole narrative." This, however, is not correct The passage, as he quotes it, runs
thus : " They again descended the river, in order to enjoy the advantages of a searport,
and built a town which, from the fortunes of his father, was named Malaca, signifying
an exile." But the passage at full length is as foUows : " Xaquen Darxa (Sekandar
n 2
i
MALACCA 2i4 MALACCA
Shah) now ruled the people, because his fktiier was very old, and in order to araJ
himself of the sea through which he hoped to attain eminence, he resolved to make
Malaca a city, to which he gave this name in memoiy of the banishment of his &tber
from his native country. For, in his own language (Jayanese) it means an cxik
(homem desterrado), and hence, also, the people call themselves Malaloa." — ^Decade 1.
Book 6, Chap. 1. In the Commentaries of Alboquerque, the founding and naming of
the town are ascribed, not to the son, but to the fugitive Javanese himself and the
account they give is this. "Parimisura gave the town the name of MaUki^
because, in the language of Java, they call Palimbao (Palembang; which the writer is
another place says is in Java» instead of Sumatra), to which he fled, Malayo,afii
because he came a fugitive from the kingdom of Pklimbao, of which he was )ang, he
named the place Malaca. Others say it was called Malaca on account of the miaj
peoples that came to it from one or other country in so brief a time, for Malia
also means to meet or assemble (enoontrar)."
In the Javanese language the word malayu signifies not only Malay, but also '"to
run," and "a fugitive;" and this ii, no doubt, the source of the derivation at which
the Portuguese writers, imperfectly instructed by their informen, were aiming, while
in all probability Malacca^ from a certain similarity of sound, is made to be a deriva-
tive from Malayu. The derivation of the name of the Malay people, from the
Javanese verb " to run," or its participle, '* fugitive," is very likely only fimoiful, yet
it is more reasonable than that of the Midayan manuscript adopted by Mr. Marsden.
which traces it from ^the river Malavu, which flows by the moimtain Maha^mero,*'
seeing that no such river as the Malayu is known in Sumatra, to iriiich it ia tka
ascri]^, and that the mountain alluded to is no other than the Olympus of Hinda
mythology.
The great probability, then, is, that the founders, both of Malacca and .Singapore,
were not Malays, but Javanese, the only nation that, in comparatively early times, is
proved by monuments to have attained such an amount of civilisation as would be
equal to Uie formation of commercial communities of a reasonable prosperity. This
view receives some countenance from the numbers, wealth, 'and oonsequenoe of the
Javanese settlers of Malacca at the time of the conquest De Banros states that they
were subject only to their own chiefs, two in number, one of which had under hv
authority 10,000 persons. He gives the names of these chiefiB, and even enomerates
the provinces of Java from which they emigrated. The Malays, whether ''men of
the sea," or "men of the land," were either half savage .and very rude, as, indeed,
are those among them who continue their original modes of life, down to this
day. The foundation of the civilisation which they eventually attained was laid by
the first Javanese colonists, and improved and extended by interoourse with the mari-
time nations of Arabia, Persia^ and Hindustan.
But the language of the people of Malacca was not Javanese but Malay, and it may
be asked how this is to be accounted for. The obvious explanation seems to be that
in a mixed population the easy language of the migori^ prevailed over the more
difficult one of the minority. What took place in our own country, and also in
northern India, in both of which the languages of the few were absorbed or displaced
by those of the many, are examples in illustration. Castaghneda's account of the
Malay, as a language of intercommunication, is perfectly accurate. " The people *
(of Malacca), says he, '* speak a language called Malaya, which is very sweet (muy
doce), and easy to acquira" — Vol ii. p. 385. The Malay spoken at Malacca contains
a large infusion of Javanese, as English does of Norman-French, and Hindi of
Persian.
Of the supposed expulsion of the founders of Malacca from Singapore by the
Javanese of Majapait, there is no allusion in the Portuguese writers, and certainly
there is no mention of it in the native chronicles of Java. Both De Banos and the
author of the Commentaries of Alboquerque, state that the expulsion was effiacted by
the Siamese, and the latter expressly asserts that the prince of Patani, at present the
next Malay state to Siam on the eastern side of the peninsula, was the insbument
employed, as he was the brother of the king of Singapore who had been assassinated
by the future founder of Malacca. The subjection of Malacca to Siam seems, indeed,
to be admitted by all parties. Four of the most northerly of the states of the
peninsula are still subject to it, while a claim of supremacy is made for, at least,
three more. The author of the Commentaries of Alboquerque giving a greater
extension to Malacca than De Barros, thus describes it and its subjection to Siam.
" The kingdom of Malacca on one side borders on Queda, and on the otiier on Pam
(Pahang). It has 100 leagues of coast, and inland extends to a chain of mountauu
9^M^
MALACCA 245 MALACCA
where it is parted from Siam, a breadth of 10 leagues. All this land was anciently
subject to Slam. It was, more or less, ninety years before the arrival of Alfonso
D^Alboquerque that the country became independent, and that the kings became
^hat they called themselves, ^oltois (Sultans), which among them is equivalent to
Emperor." — Chap. 17, p. 858.
Of the time in which the Mahommedan religion was embraced by the people of
Malacca, there is no precise statement. The Msday account assigns the event to the
reign of a prince^ called Sultan Mahomed Shah, who ascended the throne in 1276,
and this seems probable, since so remarkable an event is Ukely enough to have been
chronicled (as indeed it has been in other countries of the Archipelago), by a people
proud of the event, and now in possession of an era to reckon by. The Javanese
founders might, indeed, have possessed the era of Salivana, but certainly no mention
is made of it in this case if they did. The statement of Be Barros respecting the
conversion is as follows : ''The greatness of Malacca induced the kings, who followed
Xaquem Darsa (SekAndar Shah), to throw off their dependency on the kings of Siam,
and this chiefly, since the time when induced by the Persians and Qujrati Moors, who
came to Malacca and resided there, for the purpose of trade, from Gentiles, to
become converts to the sect of Mahommed." — Decade II., book vi. chap, i
The amount given by the Portuguese historian Diogo .De Cauto differs materially
from all the other statements. He says that the conversion of the King of Malacca
was effected by a cazee from Arabia, who gave him the name of Mahommed after the
prophet adding that of b& (shah) to it, and that this took plnce in the year 1888,
or 112 years later than the date assigned to this event by the Malay manuscript.
Including the converted prince, he gives the names of the five kings who reigned
down to Alboquerque's conquest, and these agree substantially with those of the
other statements. This account, then, which would give from 22 to 28 years to each
reign is, after all, perhaps, the most probable. Decade lY. book ii. chap i.
The flourishing condition of Malacca, at the time it was attacked by the Portuguese,
has, no doubt, been much exaggerated, but making every abatement, enough will
remain to show that it was a place of considerable commercial importance, judging
it by the ideas of the beginning of the 16th century, and by the peculiar value then
attached to some of the commodities of which its trade consisted. " In matters of
trade," says De Barros, "the people (the Malays) are artful and expert, for, in general,
they have to deal with such nations as the Javanese, the Siamese, the Peguaus, the
Bengallis, the Quelijo (Chulias or T&lugus), Malabaris, Oujratis, Persians and Arabians,
with many other people, whose residence here has made them very sagacious. More-
over, the city is also populous, owing to the ships that resort to it from the country
of the Chijs (Chinese), the Lequios (Japanese), the Lu^oes (people of Luzon in the
Philippines), and other nations of the Orient. All these people bring so much
wealth, both of the East and the West, that Malacca seems a centre at which are
assembled all the natural products of the earth and all the artifidsd ones of man.
On this account, although situated in a barren land, it is, through an interchange of
oommodities, more amply supplied with every thing than the countries themselves
from which they coma" Decade II. book vi. chap. L
The same author, in the same place, describes the general aspect of the town as
follows. " Our people, although they did not see majestic structures of stone and
mortar, or ramparts, or towers, or, indeed, any other kind of defence, beheld, not-
withstanding, a town, extending along the beach for a good league, and ranged along
the shore, many merchant vessels. But if the town was almost entirely built of
wood, and the houses thatched with palm-leaves^ in other places there were towers,
walls, and some examples of a better architecture. Its real defences were a numerous
people, and a multitude of ships."
The account given of Malacca by the author of the Commentaries of Alboquerque
is less moderate. Thus, he asserts that the predecessor of the last king had accu-
mulated a treasure of 140 quintals of gold, and that the town, in his time, contained
40,000 dwellings (vezinhos). According to him, it contained, including its precincts,
100,000 dwellings, when Alboquerque attacked it. ''It is truly believed, says he,
"according to the information we have of Malacca, that if another world and other
navigations were discovered, all parties would stiU resort to it, for here come every
sort of drugs and spices of the world that can be named, because its port is the most
convenient in all monsoons of any from and within Cape Comorin." Chap. 18.
Castaghneda's account is less extravagant. " The city," says he, " at the time of its
capture, was as long as from Dexobragas to the monastery of Belem, but narrow. It
might contain about 80,000 hearths (fogoe). The river divides it into two parts, the
MALACCA 246 MALACCA
oommunioation between them being by a wooden bridge. The hoiues are of wood,
and principally by the sea-side, but in other directions, they are of stone and oMHtar.
Tery noble. In the quarter which lies to the south stand the king's palace and the
large mosque, and here dwell all the nobilitv. On the northern aide dwell the
merchants, and here the city is most extensive. ' VoL IL p. 835.
According to the most moderate of these accounts, Malacca is made to contain a
population of 150,000 inhabitants, and although narrow, inland, to have extended for
three miles along the shore. It is evident^ however, that it was for the moat pert a
mere assemblage of thatched huts, and with the exception of temporary breastworks,
it is certain that it had no kind of fortification suoh as the Portugueae themairiyes
had found in other parts of Asia.
The reputation of Malacca had reached the Portuguese as soon as they had arrived
m Calicut, and in 1 508, ten years after that event. King Emanuel fitted oat a fleet in
Portugal in order to establish a trade with it. This was under the command of Diogo
Lopez de Sequiera and reached the city in the following year. Here^ through the
representations of the Mahommedan merchants of Western India trading with
Malacca, an attempt was made to cut him o£^ and some of his people wec^ killed,
and others taken prisoners. The ill conduct of the Portuguese, indeed, bad been
such, since their arrival in India, that an act of perfidy to cut them off is easOy
credible on the part of a semi-barbarous people. De Barros after describing the
flourishing condition of Malacca* gives the following account of the effects which the
depredations of his countrymen had produced on it. " This busy trader" says he,
** lasted until our arrival in India, but the Moorish, Arabian, Persian and Quzrati ships,
fearing our fleets, dared not, in general, now undertake the voyage, and if any ship
of theirs did so, it was only by stealth and escaping our ships. The king, MUiommed
of Malacca, immediately began to experience a loss in the duties which he levied on
trade. As from the great number of ships which had frequented the port, a large
revenue had been realised, and now from a few there was but a small one, he began
to recompense himself for his loss by plundering the resident merchants, and they,
consequently, began to leave the place.'* Decade II. book vi. chap. 2.
According to De Barros, the conduct of Sequiera was, at least, as barbarous aa that
of the Malay king. " Finally," says he, ** seeing so many inconveniences to arise, ther
agreed that it was expedient to quit the place, and by way of proclaiming their future
intentions, Diogo Lopez commanded that a man and woman, who had come on board
the ships the day of the affray, should have an arrow passed through their skulls, and
thus they were landed in one of his boats as a present to the king, who waa thus
informed through these his subjects, that unless he kept a good watch the treason
which he had perpetrated would be punished with fire and sword." Decade IL,
book ii. chap. 4.
It was to punish the act of perfidy practised towards Sequiera and his companions,
that Alfonso Alboquerque, then governor-general of India, fitted out the expedition
which effected the conquest and which he himself commanded in person. This fleet ooo-
sisted of nineteen sail, and, according to De Barros, the Portuguese troops amounted
to no more than 800 men, with 200 Malabar auxiliaries, the latter armed only with
swords and shiedds. The fleet anchored in Malacca roads on the first day of July
1511, near a small island, the usual station of the Chinese junks, of which three had
already arrived. The first care of Alboquerque was to enter into a ncgooiation in
order to rescue the prisoners of Sequiera's fleet, in which he succeeded, and with the
information which they furnished, he resolved to attack the city. In his first attempt,
however, he met with such resistance that he was either beaten back, or found it
prudent to retire to his fleet, and it was only in the second assault that he succeeded,
and then, in a good mensure, through a kind of blockade, which lasted nine days, and
by which the Malays were starved into quitting itb " In the attack,'* says De Burros,
** Alboquerque confined himself to capturing the bridge, at which he entrenched his
troops. In this position he maintained himself for nine days, imtil the Malays were
wearied out and forced to abandon the town. Among them, there waa such hunger
that in order to pilfer a little rice from houses in which they knew there was a store,
they preferred risking their bodies against our steel to losing their lives throu|^ want
of food." Chap. 6.
The preparation for and commencement of the first attack is thus mentioned by
De Barros. ** Next day, which was the vesper of St. Jago, before dawn and to the
sound of the trumpet, the captains in their boats repaired to the admiral's ship, and
having received absolution from the prioBt» they instanUy made for the land, Alfonso
Alboquerque making for the mouth of the river in order to capture the bridge, and
MALACCA 247 MALACCA
the other commanders proceeding to the different points assigned to them. Albo-
querque giving the ^ord * St. Jago/ the trumpets sounded the signal to engage, and
the soldiers set up a shout. Some artillery, brought in the boats, replied to the
cannon which the Malays had on the bridge. On this, the air was rent with a
confusion of noises, so that the trumpets, the cannon, and the shouts, could not be
diatinguished from one another, the whole forming a doomsday of fear and terror."
The arms of the Malays consisted of cannon (bombardas), hand-guns (espingardas),
bows and arrows, blow-pipes for discharging small-darta, swords, daggers, spears and
bucklers. Among other means of attack by the Malays were elephantB, and with the
usual resalt to thooe that employ them* " The king and his son," say the Commen-
taries^ " who were mounted on elephants, seeing themselves pressed by our men, turned
back, with 2000 men that accompanied them, but some of our men meeting them at
the end of a street resolutely attacked the elephants with their lances. The first
to do this is said to have been FemSo Qomes de Lemos. As elephants bear ill
to be woundedy they turned backwards and fell on the Moors, throwing them into
confusion. The elephant on which the king was mounted, feeling the pain of its
wound, seized the 'negro' that guided it with its trunk and dashed him to the
ground, on which the king, wounded in the hand, dismounted, and not being re-
cognised, effected his escape^" Chap, zziii. p. 369.
In the first attack the Portuguese set fire to both quarters of the city. ** From the
atockadea which he had erected," say the Commentaries, "Alfonso d' Alboquerque,
directed Qaspar de Paiva, with 100 men, now that the sea-breeze had set in, to fire
the commercaal part of the town, and SimSo Martinez, with an equal number, to do
the same to the king's palace. When the fire took effect it consumed a great part of
the city, and the Moors, in consequence, kept at a distance from our people." P. 869.
As soon as the Portuguese hsui become masters of the town, Alboquerque, as a
reward to his troops, gave a general order to sack it, making an exception only in
favour of the natives of the Malabar coast, and of the Javanese and Peguans, who
had favoured his enterprise. No account is given of the total loss sustained by the
Portuguese in the capture, but in the first attack the number of the weunded is stated
at seventy. " Of the Moors," say the Commentaries, ** men, women, and children, an
infinite number perished by the sword, for no one was spared."
De Barros estimates the value of the plunder taken at 500,000 crusados which would
amount to no more than 62,2002. but Castaghneda reduces it to no more than two
fifths of that sum. All the authorities seem to agree that the number of cannon
captured was 3000, most of them, in all probability, mere wall-pieces. This is the
amount given in the Commentaries. '* There were captured 8000 pieces of artillery,
2000 of Uiem of brass, and among these, was one large gun presented to the king
of Malacca by the king of Calicut. The rest were of iron. All this artillery with
its appurtenances was of such workmanship that it could not be excelled, even in
Portugal. There were also captured matchlocks (espingardas), blow-pipes for shoot-
ing poisoned arrows, bows and arrows, lances of Java, and divers other weapons,
which excited, the wonder of the captors. Besides these arms, much merchandise
of many kinds was taken. All this, and much besides not stated to avoid prolixity,
Alfonso Alboquerque ordered to be divided among the commanders and crews of
the fleet, taking to himself only six large brass lions which he reserved for his tomb.
These with a bracelet, some children of all the nations of the land, and some tributes
to be presented to King Don Emanuel and Queen Dolia Maria were all lost in the
ship flor del Mxt in returning to India. Let no one be surprised in perusing this
narrative, that in Malacca there were taken 3000 pieces of artillery, for Ruy de Arrujo
(a prisoner of Sequiera's fleet), Ninachetuan (chief of the Talingas), and Alfonso Albo-
querque stated Uiat in Malacca there were 8000, and this may be believed for two
reasons^ firsts that in that town, there was much copper and much tin, with smelters
as good as in Qermany, and in the second place, that the city was a league in length,
and that when Alboquerque was effecting a landing he was fired upon from all parts,
from which it will appear that the number of guns was even small £or the extent
that had to be defended." Chapter xxviii. p. 380.
The Portuguese certainly considered the capture of Malacca one of the most
glorious of their Asiatic conquests. Castaghneda^ speaking of the point at which the
chief resistanoe was experienced says of it, " And surely until this day, from tho
time we began the conquest of India» was no enterprise undertaken so arduous as
the affiur of that bridge, nor one in which so much artillery was employed or in
which so many were enga^^ in the defence. Moreover, firom the play of the
enemy's artillery, we received much damage before we had effected a landing."
MALACCA 248 MALACCA
Vol. iii. p. 195. The enemy that Alboquerque had to oontend againBt wm certainlj-both
braver and more skilful and better armeid than the American nations oyer irhom a
few years later Cortez and Pizarro gained their victories. The inhabitants of M^larwrn^
however, when attacked, divided as they were into several different nations, vrare
not unanimous. Thus shortly after capturing the city, Alboquerque pursued the
king to Muar, and his force is described as having consisted of 400 Portoguesey 600
Javanese and 300 Peguans* In his meditated attack on the city, the ooaunaiiderB
of the Chinese junks anchored in the roads near his fleet, volunteered their aasistanoe
in the storm, but it was declined with thanksy and the reason is cbaracteri^ic,
although not consistent with the help he afterwards accepted. "The Portuguese
never accepted assistance when they fought against Moors, for Qod, thrcragh his
apostle, had oonmianded them to nght tiiem. But he (Alboquerque) requested
them to look on and see how the Portuguese fought" De Barros— Decade 2d, Book 6,
chapter iv.
The Portuguese held Malacca fpr ISO years, a period of disaster throoghouti in
which with the exception of courage and daring, they exhibited none of the qualittes
fit to rule an Asiatic people. Their subjects were Mahomedans, most of Uioee
with whom these maintained commercial relations were of the same religion, and
against the Mahomedon religion the Portuguese declared a crusade from their
first appearance in the Indian seas. Their main object^ too, was the establicAunent of
a commercial monopoly, and they made a piratical war on all who opposed them in
its prosecution. This policy necessarily raised against them a host of enemiea. Hie
expelled Malays made war upon them during their whole occupation of Malaoc^ and
finally sssisted in extruding them. They had hardly got possession when they were
nearly losing it by famine brought on by their own acts. This was immediately
followed by an invasion from Java, and from the kingdom of Achin in Sumatra,
Malacca was invaded no fewer than eight different times. Besides these attacks by
the natives of the different countries of the Archipelago, a far more formidable
enemy, the Dutch, continued to assail them for 40 years, until Uiey at last sup-
planted them by the capture of the city.
The Portuguese resisted all these enemies with extraordinary courage and fortitode.
The Dutch had besieged Malacca in 1606 and 1608, and were defeated on both
occasions, and it was not \mtil 1641, and after a blockade, a si^e, and an asswilt that
they succeeded in capturing it, the siege having in all lasted nine months. The
Dutch force had amounted to 1500 men with Malay auxiliaries to the same number,
the storming party to 650. The Portuguese gairiaon on the capture was found
reduced to 200 Europeans and 400 natives. This was the end of the proud conquest
of Alboquerque and his companions. The Dutch held possession of Malacca until
1795, or for 154 years, when during the war of the French revolution, it was sur-
rendered by capitulation to the British government, by which it was occupied until
1818, when it was restored to the Netherland government, which exchanged it for
Bencoolen in 1824. Down to 1813, the principles on which all the three European
nations governed the country, were those of an exclusive commercial monopoly, and
the result of this mode of government was, that the country was fiir poorer than it
had been under its native rulers three centuries before.
MALACCA, city or town, lies in north latitude 2' 14' and east longitude 102'
12', and on a small river, little better indeed now than a brook. This divides it into
two parts as it did the ancient native town. In 1882, it contained about 12,000
inhabitants, and now about 20,000, or above one-third part of the population of the
whole territory. Immediately behind the town, there is a hiU about a hundred feet
high, and on tliis are the ruins of the Portuguese monasteries of St. Paul and of the
Hermanos de leche with the church of the Madre de Dios, in which once repoeed
the ashes of the celebrated apostle of the Indies, St. Francis Xavier, afterwards
transferred to Goa. The fortifications had been complete down to 1807, when
they were most barbarously destroyed by the British government, which at the time
had the absurd intention of transferring the whole population to Penang, 3G0 miles
distant, and far less convenient as the resort of shipping. Many of the dwellings are
tall many-storied houses of the architecture of the 16th centuries. The town embraces
a circuit of about a mile. The church on the hill and the original fortifications
were built by Alboquerque, and the conqueror was not scrupulous as to the sources
from which he drew his materials. " Alfonso Alboquerque," says De Barios, ''found
fitone in the country to bum for lime, and he obtained much hewn stone firom
some ancient tombs of the gentiles — ^those who occupied the hill before the arrival
MALACCA STRAITS 249 MALAY
.-- _ -- I ■- - _______IT ■.^_^^^— ^^^^.^
of the Cellates. Moreover, he built a church dedicated to our Lady of the Annuncia-
tion, the chapel of which he crowned with the capital of a king's tomb which he
transported to its place by means of elephants. It was of wood, and skilfully
"Worked. In these works, he availed himself of the services of a people of the town
called Ambarages (Amba-raja) which signifies, slaves of the king, as in truth they
-were. Of these the king of Malacca had 3000, and to these when he employed them,
he gave daily rations, and when he did not, they earned wages for themselves, their
wives and children." Decade 2d, book vi. chap, vi
The town of Malacca is distant from the nearest shore of Sumatra about 45 miles.
The port is but an open road, but notwithstanding safe at all seasons, not being with-
in the latitude of hurricanes, nor within the influence of either monsoon ; or as the
Commentaries of Alboquerque express it, " It is the beginning of one monsoon and
the end of another." In the roads' there are two islets about a mile from the shore,
called by the Portuguese Ilha de Pedras, and Ilha de Naos — Stone and Ship Island. It
vnm near these that Alboquerque with his armada cast anchor in 1511, and at which
also were wont to anchor the largest caraques of the Portuguese in five and six
fathomed water. This part of the roads is now accessible only to small craft,
owing to the growth of an extensive mud bank dry at low water, and the
anchorage of vessels of burthen is at the inconvenient distance of two miles from the
shore.
MALACCA STRAITS. This is the name given to the Channel which separates
the Malay Peninsula from the island of Sumatra, but the Malays have no name for
it, for it is not consonant to their practice to give the appellation of strait (s&lat) to
BO large a body of water, whatever its form. The Stndta of Malacca form in fact
almost a land-locked sea, in which variable winds prevail, and in which the monsoons
are felt only for a few miles at both extremities. Their extreme length is about
500 miles, and their breadth varies from 40 up to 800. At their western end there
are many islands, chiefly towards the Malayan ^ore^ half-a-dozen of which, including
Penang, are of considerable sise. At the eastern end they are almost innumerable,
about a dozen of them, including Singapore, being laige. The Straits of Malacca
form the usual channel through which is carried on all the intercourse of the
countries of Asia east and west of them. The dangers which impeded the navigation
in the middle of the passage from sand-banks, and at the eastern entrance from count-
less islands, have of late years been obviated by the construction of two fine light*
houses by the British Gk>vemmentw The first notice we have of these straits is by
Ludovico Barthema, a native of Bologna, who seems to have visited Malacca about
1508, or six years before the visit of Sequiera, and he would seem to have taken
them for a salt river. " Opposite to that city (Malacca)," says he, *' there is a very
great river (Fiumara), than which we had never seen a larger. It is named Qaza Q)
and appears to be about 15 miles broad." Bamusio, vol. L, p. 166.
MALANQ. The name of a district of the provlnoe of Surabaya, in Java. The
word in Javanese signifies across or athwart, and figuratively " unlucky." Malang
is a valley from 1000 to 1500 feet above the level of the sea, having to the east the
mountains of Tengar, Brama, and Sumiru, and to the west those of Kawi and Arjuna,
some of the highest of the island. It is a fertile, populous, and beautiful country,
and is remarkable for containing some of the most extensive Hindu ruins of Java,
particularly those of Singasari.
MALAY. The word is oorrectly M4layn, in the lamgoage of the Malays them-
selves, in Javanese, and indeed in all the languages of the Archipelago. A people of
the brown complexioned race, with lank hair, speaking the Malay language is found in
greater or lesser number all over the Archipelago, from Sumatra to New Guinea, and
from the Peninsula to Timur. It is however only in Sumatra, the Malay Penin-
sula, and islands adjacent to its coasts, and in Borneo that they exist in large
numbers, and have a distinct independent nationality, for everywhere else they are
found only as settlers or scjoumers among indigenous populations. In Sumatra
they are thought to possess about one-half the area of the island, including the whole
of the eastern coast, a part of the western, and some of the most fruitful parts of the
interior, their number being here estimated at about a million. With the exception
of a few wandering negritos, they form the entire population of the Malay Peninsula
and its adjacent iw^n^gj and their number here has been estimated at about a
quarter of a million. In Borneo they occupy nearly the whole searcoast, without
penetfuting far into the interior, which is inhabited by men of the same race, but
MALAY 250 MALAY
speaking languages distinct from Malay. The Bomean Malays may, perhapa, be as
numerous as the Malays of the Peninsula and its islands, and thus, without iududing
settlers scattered orer the other parts of the Archipelago, the whole Malay population
may be estimated at about a million and a halt In this number, however, is no
doubt included many not of the original Malay stock, but who, adopting Uieir
language, manners, and religion, came in process of time not to be distinguishable^
The Malay nation may be divided naturally into three classes— -the civilised Malays,
or those who possess a written language, and have made a decent progreea in the
useful arts; the gipsy-like fishermen, called "the sea-people," and the mde half
savages, who, for the most part, live precariously on the produce of the forests. The
civilised Malays oonsiat of the inhabitants of the eastern side of Sumatra, of mu<^ of
the interior of that island, and of those of the sea-boards of Borneo and the Malay
Peninsula. The sea-gipsies are to be found sojourning from Sumatra to the Moluccas,
but are most numerous among the nairow seas of the many islands lying between
Sumatra and the peninsula towards the eastern end of the strait that divides them.
The only habitations of this people are their boats, and they live exclusively by the
produce of the sea or by the robberies they commit on it The most usual name
by which they are known is orang-laut, literally, " men of the sea," but they are also
sometimes called rayat-laut, or " sea-subjects,*' the Arabic word for subject being
here used to express their dependence on the princes of the civilised Malaya Another
name for them is Sika, and a very frequent one Bajau, which seems to be only the
Javanese word, bajo, a robber, with a Malay termination. The rude wandering daas,
speaking the Malay language, is found in the interior of the Malay Peninsola, in
Sumatra, and in the islands lying between them, but in no other part of the
Archipelago. In Sumatra they are known under the names of Lubu and Kubu, or
orang-utan, men of the woods, wild men or savages. The most general name for
them is orang-bftnua, that is, " men of the soil," or Aborigines, but in some parts
they are called aakai, which means followers or dependents. These are all of them
names given by the civilised Malays, for amon^ themselves the many tribes into
which they are divided are known only by the names of the localities which they
frequent, as Udai, Jakun, Sabimba, B&sisi, &o.
These three classes of Malays existed near three centuries and a half ago, when
the Portuguese first arrived in the waters of the Archipelago, just as they do at the
present day. That people describes them as having existed also for two centuries
and a half before that event, as without doubt they did in times far earlier. Thus
De BarroB describes the first class of Malays as men " living by trade, and the most
cultivated of these parts : " the second as a " vile people," whose 'dwelling was more
on the sea than the land," and who " lived by fishing and robbing," and the third as
** half savages " (quasi meios salvages), while the Malay language was common to all
of them.
The question of the parent country of a people so widely spread over the Ardii-
pelago, which has exercised so large an influence over the other population of the same
region, and of whose tongue clear and unquestionable traces are found, not only In
those of the Philippines, but of the South Sea Islands, and even of remote Madagascar,
has been much debated, but certainly not settled, nor, indeed, likely ever to be
precisely determined. The Malays themselves, like all people in the same state of
society, have no true history. The books, which have been called their Annals, are,
in reality, romances, and indeed so called by themselves. The quality of these pro-
ductions may be judged from the example of one of them translated by the learned
Dr. Leyden, and which is deemed the most authentic. It is called S^arah M&layu,
which is rendered " Malay Annals," and stated to have been composed in 1612 at
Malacca, of course under the government of the Portugese. This was framed from a
Malay manuscript which had been brought from Qoa, and entitled a h&kayat, the
Arabic word which the Malays use in common with the Sanscrit one, charitra, for a
tale or romance. Even the name given to these annals themselves is not Miday, but
Javanese, and mis-spelt in adoption. They are without a single date, and indeed, for
the period of Malay history which preceded the conversion to IdUiommedanism,
there could hardly have been any dates, as the Malays are not known to have had an
era from which to reckon. The narrative is a wUd tissue of fable often drawn from
Hindu and Arabian mythology, and the personages that figure in it not unfrequently
Arabians and Hindus. It is conclusive of the worthlessness of such writings that
the Malays have long ago converted even, the events of the Portuguese conquest of
Malacca into a mere romance.
In order to conjecture what may have been the parent country of the Malays, and
MALAY 251 MALAY
to form some notion of their eurly history, nothing better than a reasonable hypothesis
can be offered. The name of the people gives little asBistanoe in this enquiry. The
word M&layu is an adjective which requires to have a noun prefixed in onler to give
the sense required, as Orang M&layu, a Malay or Malaya ; Tanah Mftlayu, the ''Malay
land/* or land of the Malays ; and Bahasa Mftlayu, the Malay language. In Javanese
Mftlayu has the same meaning, but it also signifies to run away or flee/and fugitive, or
fleeing. Hen oe a derivation of the name of the Malayan people in reference to the founders
of Malacca who were fugitives from Java. This derivation, most probably given to the
Portuguese by the Javanese of Malacca, has probably no better foundation than the
accident-al coincidence of sound in the two words. M&layu is no doubt the name of
the original tribe or nation, and its source is as obscure and untraceable as those of
Jawa, Javanese, Sunda, Sundonese, Wugi, Bugis, and many others. We need not,
indeed, go further tlian our own language for a name as obscure for Angle as applied
to ourselves, our country and oar language is as difficult to trace as M&layu applied
to those of the Malays.
It is natural to look for the parent country of the Malays where this people are
most numerous, and least intermixed with other nationalities ; and this locality can
be no other than either Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula or the islands lying between them.
The Malays themselves call the peninsula Tanah Mftlayu, that is, the " Malay land, or
country of the Malays ; " and they desig^nate its wild inhabitants, speaking the Malay
language, as the Or&ng bftnaa, literally ** people of the soil ; " or as we should express
it, " al^rigines.** The term ** land of the Malays *' is, however, given to the Penin-
sula by the civilised Malays, perhaps only on account of its being the only country
almost exclusively peopled by Malays; whereas in Sumatra and Borneo they are
intermixed with other populations. The term '* men of the soil," applied by these
civilised Malays may in the same manner, be used by them only to distinguish the
rude natives from themselves claiming to be foreign setUers. The expression, however,
would seem to imply that the civilised Malays considered the wild tribes, speaking
the same language with themselves, as the primitive occupants of the land. But the
same wild tribes, speaking the Malay language, although not distingpiished as "men
of the soil," exist also in Sumatra, and more especially on its eastern side opposite
to the Peninsula : and they are found also, in several of the islands lying between
those countries, extending even to Banca and Billiton.
The first seat of the MiUayan nation may, therefore, be either the Malay Peninsula,
Sumatra, or the islands lying between them ; and, as in the instance of the Polynesian
people of the islands of the Pacific, where we find men speaking the same language
and of the same race, from the Sandwich Islands to New Zealand and from the Friendly
Islands to Easter Island, it is difficult or impossible to determine on a particular
locality for an original seat The origin of Malay civilisation, however, is quite a
distinct matter from that of the nation ; and we may be tolerably sure that this did
not spring up in the Peninsula, or islands adjacent to it, for no civilisation has ever
sprung up in any part of the globe in a country of such a physical character, — ^in a
region covered with an obstinate tropical forest, destitute of open plains, composed
of mountains without table-lauds, without natural facilities for irrigation, and with a
stubborn or sterile soil. Such obstacles would be insuperable in the early and feeble
stages of society, and, indeed, in the Peninsula, have not been conquered even in a
more advanced one. The only Malay state wiUiin it that ever acquired any degree
of eminence was Malacca ; and it owed it to the strangers who founded it, and to
the convenience of its position as a commercial emporium, — assuredly not to
the fertility of a soil, which never raised sustenance enough for its inhabitants,
many of whom still continue in the condition of mere savages.
AU the civilised Malays of the Peninsula claim their origin from Sumatra and from
Menangkabo, the most powerful state of that island ; but they do not pretend to
state the time, or the cause of their migration. Some of the states of the interior
even call themselves " men of Menangkabo," their chiefs receiving an investiture from
that place. Indeed the migration from Menangkabo to the Peninsula, although iu
dribblets, goes on down to the present time. The Malays of Borneo, in like manner
with those of the Peninsula, claim their descent from the same Menangkabo.
This claim of Malays beyond Sumatra of being colonies from a country in the
heart of that island, is probably, after all, no better than a myth founded on a desire
to daim a descent from a country which had, at one time, acquired more power and
distinction than any other inhabited by Malays. The apocryphal Malay Chronicle,
for such without a doubt it is, referred to in the artide on Malacca, does not> how-
ever, refer to Menangkabo, but to Palembang, as that part of Sumatra from which
MALAY 252 MALAY
Singapore fint» and tftenrwrds Malacca, was founded. This, probably, aroBe from
th« real founders of both, as has been attempted to be shown elsewhere^ not baTiBg
been Malays but Javanese. ETen» however, supposing the emigrants in these cases
to have been Malaya» and the statement to be trustworthy, the mere peopling^ of two
small places* and this too at a time by near a century posterior to Uie Iforman
ooui^u^et of Kn^landy would be neither an account of the parent country of the MaUy
naluktt, nor a history of its migrations.
To account for the civilisation and migration of the Malays, (to fix their original
a«>at i» bo(^le«s») the most probable supposition seems to be, that the wandering tribes
of ihe^uttiatran coast, or of the Peninsula, or of the islands between them, after they
had learned the construction of boats, — after they had acquired some nauticd
skill and ent«r(^risei — after they had, in a word, become the sea-gypsies which acme
(\f them still continue to be ; in process of time, reached lands more promising
th«ai their own and there settled, atMmdoning to some degree, their habits aa fiaher-
meu» and addictittg themselves to agriculture. By such a progress they would, in
due v,vuree« beconte what most of the civilised tribes of Malays are at the present
d«^v» half &»hemieu and half-husbandmen. Of such tribes there existed in Somatra,
at the time of the arrival of the Portuguese, no fewer than nine-and-twenty; while
in the IVuiu»ula there vrere, at least, eight. All of these were at or near the coast,
and iuvariably at the mouth, or on the banks of a river. The maritime character of
the M<vlAy nativvtt is, indeed, impressed on its language, and discoverable in the co-
i\iou«ui<>tf» iUt" its meteorological and nautical vocabulary. Thus, the compass is divided
iuto «uxteett iHUUts with specific names, all native ; and there are peculiar idiomatic
te(HU«t f\vr wind\\'ar\i and leeward, signifying literally, " above the wind," and ** below
the wind,'* The riv\'r» the fihvourite and fiuniliar locality of the Malay nation, affords
riHUU tW a curuHVs variety of expression. Kuwala, and muwara signify ^ the moath,"*
anvl ulu '* the Mnirve "* of a river. Ilir is to " descend,** mudik to "ascend *' it, these
Wt tcnu» »i^uifviug« at the same time, "the interior,** and ** the sea-board.** T&luk
meai\s *' a lnght»^ lu^ ** cove,** and rantau, ** a reach ; " but they also signify a district
of <.H>uutrY, which is moreover Arvquently called anak-sungai, ** child of the river."
There is but one country eminently favomrable to the development of an early
civihtm^tiou, in which we find the Malay nation planted — Menangkabo, ao often
ref«»rrtKl to in Malay story. This is in Uie centre of Sumatra, among the fertile
valleys of volcanic mountains rising to a height exoeeding 10,000 feet^ — in short,
in a locality of similar features to Java,.snd the islands immediately to the
east of it. The late Sir Stamford Raffles, who had visited Menangkabo, deolared
Uiat it was as populous and well cultivated as any part of Java that he had seen,
which is assuredly what cannot be asserted of any other country whaterer in-
habited by Malays. The great probability then is, thst this country was peopled by
Uie Malays of the eastern coast of Sumatra, penetrating into the interior of the island
by the principal rivers which have their source in it This, indeed, is distinctly
asserted in the traditions of the Malays themselves. In this favorable position they
would naturally acquire a degree of power which the same people have oertainly no-
where el«e reached. It is, no doubt, the possession of this comparative power which
has caused the maritime Malay states to look to it with respect, and to claim their
origin from it Malay tradition, however, by no means asserts that Menangkabo was
the primitive seat of the Malayan nation ; hut, on the contrary, affirms that it was
itselr peopled from Palembang. in the same island.
The Javanese, as already intimated, appear to have had no inconsiderable share in
the civilisation of the Malays ; and although there is oertainly no historical record of it,
there is satisfactory proof. As stated in a former article, the Javanese would aeem
to have been even the founders of Malacca. Monuments, which prove the presence of
this People in the country of the Malays, have even been discovered. Thus, Sir Stem-
ford Rafflea, when he visited Menangkabo, found there inscriptions on stone in the
ancient chsracter of Java, such as are frequent in that island ; and he was supported
in his conclusion that they were so, by the learned natives of Java who accompanied
him in his journey. The settlement of the Javaneee in several parts of Sumatra, is,
indeed, sufficiently attested. In Palembang they have been immemorially the ruling
people ; and although the Malay language be the popular one, the Javanese, in its
peculiar written character, is still that of the court. In the state of Jambi, which
borders on Palembang, Hindu images, identical with those of Java in all respects,
except that the material is granite instead of trachyte, have been discovered. Pro-
bably as much as one-fourth part of the Malay language is equally Javanese^ and in
a good many instances of compounded words, their Javanese origin is satisfiactorily
MALAY PENINSULA 253 MALAY PENINSULA
made out through their elements, themselves without significance, in the Malay
language. One example will suffice. The founder of the states of Menangkabo,
-who is stated by Malay tradition to have come from Palembang, is called Sang
Sapurba. The word sang is not Malay but Javanese, and signifies, literally, "a
flower;" but is frequently prefixed to the titles of personages of distinction, as
aang-prabu, or sang-aji, "a king ; " sang-yogi, " a devotee ; '* and sangywang, '* a god "
or " deity." Sapurba is composed of the article sa, ** one," and the Sanscrit purba,
** first ** or " beginning." The name, in hct, has much the appearance of one fabri-
cated for the occasion. To these evidences of Javanese influence, it may be added,
that Malay literature has nothing original of its own ; being, when not drawn from
Arabic sources, borrowed from the fictions of Java» or the mythology of the Hindus,
such as the latter was in that island.
It is remarkable that De Barroe, drawing his information, no doubt> from the
traditions furnished by natives to the Portuguese conquerors, expeessly states that
the Sumatrans themselves considered that the Javanese were once masters of their
island. *' It is held by themselves," says he, " that the Javanese (Jads) had been
once masters of their great island, and that prior to the Chinese, (Chijs). they conducted
its commerce, as well as that of India.— Decade, IIL, book v., chapter 1. The
authority of De Barroe, in this case, no doubt, suffers some depreciation from his
asserting afterwards, that the Javanese themselves were a people of Chinese origin, a
derivation which he founds on their supposed imitation of the policy of the Chinese,
and of their skill in the mechanic art& This assertiony however, is but an hypothesis
of his own.
The reliable history of the Malays began only with the airival of the Portuguese.
As already stated, the maritime Malays, without including those of Borneo, were at
this time divided into near forty petty states. With the HCalays of the interior of
Sumatra, the Portuguese did not come into communication. Menangkabo is simply
named, but certainly not> as it has been very absurdly called by some European
writers, as a great empire, which undoubtedly it never was, unless we are contented
to accept assertion for prool The Portuguese found the maritime Malays, in common
with the Javanese, conducting the carrying trade of the Archipelago, including, at
the time, the most important branch of it» the spice trade. Along with their trade,
they propagated the Mahommedan religion. Mfuiy of the inhabitants of Borneo, of
the southern Philippines, and most of those of the Moluccas, they had converted
before the arrival of the Portuguese. In most of the sea-coasts of the islands of
the Archipelsgo, we find traces of the settlement of Malays. Both for trade and
propagandjsm, this language was the medium of communication, and for such a
purpose it is certainly peculiarly well suited, from the simplicity of its structure and
facility of its pronunciation and acquisition. From Sumatra to the Philippines
and Moluccas, it was in general use for this purpose. ** The Gkntiles of the interior,
as well as the Moors," says De Barroe, ''who dwell on the coast, although they differ
from each other in language, nearly all speak the Malay of Malacca, beine the most
common in these parts." When Magellan discovered the Philippines, ne had no
difficulty in conmiunicating with the inhabitants through a Sumatran slave that he
bad brought along with him. The same state of things continues to the present day
from Sumatra to New Guinea.
But the Malay language, besides being the common medium of communication, has
been infused, to a greater or lees extent, into all the languages of the Archipelago, and
clear traces of it are to be found even in the languages of tribes with which the
Malays of our time hold no communication, and even of whose existence they are
wholly ignorant, as in the case of the languages of the islands of the Pacific and of
Madagascar.
MALAY PENINSULA. This, or Peninsula of Malacca, is the name given
by European geographers to the long spit of land which forms the most southerly
extremity of the continent of Asia, — ^the supposed Gx>lden Chersonesus of the ancients.
The Malays, although seldom giring names to such laige masses of land, occasionally
call it Tanah-Malayu,— the " Malay land/' or " country of the Malays." For a penin-
sula, which it truly is, they have no name. Although the existence of this countiy
was really unknown to Europe until the arrival of the Portuguese in India, it is
remarkable how early its peculiar form became known to the latter. Barbosa, whose
work is dated at Lisbon in 1516, and who must have seen Malacca before its conquest,
describes it as <'a great piece of land which juts into the ocean, ending m a
promontory, and having the sea, as well in the direction of China as towards the west*
MALAY PENINSULA 264 MALAY PENINSULA
By &r the best acoonni of tbe Pimintmla Iim beeo girea by Mr. Logan in hii
Journal, and I take him aa my principal guide in attempting to gtTO a sketch of it
In the widest Mnse, the Peninsula extends from the parallel of the head of the gnlf of
Siam, in latitude 13' SO', to Gape Romania, the Tanjung^bulus, or ** naked headland *
of the Malays, in latitude 1* 41', or only 74 miles from the equator. Its extreme
length is about 800 miles; its least brsadth about 60, and its greatest about 150.
Generally, it is about ten times aa long as it is broad. The area of the entire Peninsula
is rockoned to be 83,000 square miles, which makes it about equal in extent to Britain.
But the country inhabited by the Malays, which does not include the northern portion
of it, has an area of no more than 61,560 miles, and is, therefore, about half as lai^
again as Jsts, smgle prorinces of whidi, sach is the difference between the natural
capabiUtieB of the two countries, contain more fertile land, more coltiTntion, and
more inhalntants than the whole of it. The northern part of the Peninsula, forming
a narrow isthmus running neariy due north and south, to the length of 14^0 miles,
contains an area of 21,600 square milee^ and is inhabited by the Siamese^ or a croes
between them and the Malaya^ known to the latter by the name of Sansam. Except
at its base, where it forms a portion of the Siamese territory, the Pemnsula is erery
where surrounded by the sea, — to the east by the Sea of China and Onlf of Siam,
and to the west by the Bay of Bengal and the Straits of Malacca, the latter washing
that portion of it inhabited by the Malays.
Along the shores of the Peninsula lie many islands, not included in the area above
given. Ott the weston side, and fronting the portion inhabited by the Malays, we
have, besidea many smaller ones, Trutao, Langkawi, Penang, Singapore, Batam and
Bintang. On the eastern coast the islands are fewer and smaller. All these littoral
ialands are of the same character as the main land, and when inhabited at all, are so
by the same race of men, the Mala3ran. Their superficies may probably be not lees
than 5000 square milee^ to be added to the continental portion of the ** land of the
MaUys."
The geological formation of the Peninsula is granitio, overlaid most generally by
sandstone, and frequently also, by laterite or cellular day iron-stone, and to the north
by limestone. A granitic mountain chain runs along the whole length of the
Peninsula, and on both sides of it^ but particularly on its western one, or tiiat sheltered
by Sumatra, there are extensive alluvial plains, little above the level of the sea.
Tbe highest mountains are Pulai, in the territory of Jehor, 2162 feet above the level
of the sea ; Jerai, in the territory of Queda, 3894 feet, and Ledang, the continental
Ophir of the Portuguese, 4320. Thus it will be seen that the mountains of the
Peninsula are not above one third part of the height of those of Sumatia^ Javm, Bali,
or Lomboc. Thermal springs exist within the territory of Malacca, but no trace of
a volcanic formation has any where been discovered.
The prevailing metala are iron, tin, and gold. *' Iron ores," says Mr. Logan, a
skilful geologist, " are everywhere found, and in the south they exist in vast profbsion.
In some places the strata have been completely saturated with iron, and here the
naked surface of the ground, strewed with blackish sooriform gravel and blo<^
presents a strange contrast to the exuberant vegetation of the surrounding tracts,
appearing as if the ground had been burnt and blasted by subterraneous fires. Much of
the ordinary forms of iron-masked rocks are so common, and so little regarded for their
metallic contents, that in Singimore they are used to macadamise the roads, although
containing nearly 60 per cent of pure metal.*' The Peninsula, with the islands adjacent
to it> certainly contain by far the most extensive tin fields in the world, extending as
they do over seventeen deg^rees of latitude^ or from Tavoy, in north latitude^ 14% to the
island of Billiton, in south latitude, 3**. "Seeing," observes Mr. Logan, "that tin is
procured in all parte of the Peninsula where it is sought for, and in proportion to the
enterprise and labour which are devoted to the search, we may consider the entire
sone as a great magazine of tin. It is, in fact, incomparably the greatest on the
globe." He g^ves examples of the extent of ito distribution. Within the territory of
J^hor, forming the southern extremity of the PeninsulSi it was not thought to exist
until 1846, when it^was found in several places. In 1845, the whole quantity prt>daoed
in the territory of Malacca was about 13 tons ; in 1846, it rose to 84 tons; and in
1847, when there were fifty different mines open, to 260 tons ; and this resolt pro-
ceeded entirely from the application of the skill and enterprise of the Qiinese, for
tin was not discovered in the Malacca territory until 1793. The intelligent writer
who furnishes these details estimates the whole produce of the Pemnsula in 1848 at
2400 tons. This is constantly increasing. — forms a large portion of the consumption
of Europe, Ohinay and India, and is the great staple piquet of the Peninaula and ite
MALAY PENINSULA 255 MALAY PENINSULA
islands. The whole ore U '* Btream," or alluvial, and as yet the metal has not been
traced to its veins in the rock. €k>ld is much less abundant in the Peninsula than in
Sumatra, Borneo, or Celebee, and its whole produce is thought not to exceed 20,000
oimces a-year, less than the weekly produce of a single locality in Australia.
The Peninsula is remarkably deficient in lakes. I have heard but of one of any
extent^ — ^that which is called Brau, lying between Malacca and Penang, but I have seen
no account of it. The rivers are numerous, but small, and navigable, even for craft
of little draught, only as far as the reach of the tide. Towards their embouchures their
banks are low, muddy, and lined with mangroves, and sand-bars impede navigation at
their entrances. On the western side, the most considerable amount to six, of which
the laigest are those of Perak and Jehor. The Muar, about six leagues to the south of
Malacca, has attained a Malayan celebrity from being the locality where the Javanese
refugees first established themselves after their expulsion from Singapore, and that to
which their descendants first fled when driven out of Malacca by the Portuguese.
The botany of the Peninsula is a very wide field, as yet but partially explored.
The plants put to economical uses are, however, sufficiently known. Of the great
many species of forest trees, about half-a-dosen only yield good durable timber, but
there ia not one that is fit for the higher purposes of ship-building, for the teak does
not exist The forests yield ebony, sapan, and eagle wood, but none of them of the
best quality, or in much abundance. They yield, also, ratans, bamboos, the nibung,
and the nipa palms, all constituting the main materials of Malayan architecture. But
their most remarkable and valuable product is the guttah-percha, a few years ago
used only for Malay horse-whips and knife-handles, but by the help of which the
English and Irish channds, the Mediterranean and the Euxine, are now crossed by
the electric telegraph. It was from the Peninsula, in fact, that this article was first
made known to Europeans, more than three centuries after the country had been
frequented by them. This was in 1848, and in justice to my relative, the late Dr.
William Montgomerie, I am bound to mention that he first made the discovery, and
was rewarded for it by the gold medal of the Society of Arts. The chief products of
agriculture are rice, the coco, and areca palms, yams, the batata, and the sugar-cane.
The esculent fruits are numerous, abundant, and some of them excellent. Incom-
parably the most esteemed by the natives is the durian, which attains perfection
without culture ; and by Europeans the mangostin, which is the most delicate fruit
in the world. The exotic ananas, with little or no care attains the same perfection
as the best pines of our hot-houses, and is hardly dearer than Swedish turnips. The
same soil brings such luxuries as these to perfection, which is unfruitful in the pro-
duction of the necessary food of man.
The zoology of the Peninsula is a very wide field. The following is a brief view of
some of its most remarkable animals. The quadrumanes, or apes, amount to nine,
eight monkeys, each species having a distinct name, and a sloth, the Lemur tardigradus
of naturalists, called by the Malays the kukang, and occasionally kamol&san, that is,
" the lazy," or '' the slothful" Of bats, there are several species, but the most remark-
able is the vampire, or kalung of the Malays. This flies high in great flocks, and but
for larger size and slower flight, flocks of them might easily be ntiistaken for those of
crows or rooks. The kalung is a great enemy to the best esculent fruits. The only
plantigrade animal is a smaU bear, peculiar to the Peninsula and Borneo. Of viverra,
or weasels, there are four species, the largest and most singular of which is the
binturung of the natives, and the Ictides ater of naturalists. Of the feline family there
are seven, including the royal tiger and the leopard, both of them far too numerous.
The domestic oat exists, and as in Siam and the country of the Peguans, the Burmese,
and even the Japanese, always with a tail half the usual length, as if it had been
amputated. The domestic dog, the anjing of the Malays, exists in the same vagrant
state in which it is found in most Asiatic countries ; and a wild dog is said to exist in
the woods. The otter, the mftmbrang of the Malays, exists, but seems to be scarce,
which is not easily acoounted for considering the abundance of fish. The Pachy-
dermata, or thick-skinned family, consist of four, the elephant, the one-homed
rhinoceros, the same with that of Sumatra, the Malay tapir or tAnau of the Malays,
and the hog. Elephants are numerous, but whether of the same species with that of
Sumatra, or with the ordinary Asiatic one, has not been ascertained. That they are
equally capable of domestication as either is certain, for they are used as beasts of
burden in the northern parte of the Peninsula, and occasionally exported to the coast
of OoromandeL The hog is found both in the wild and domestic state, and numerous
in the first, constituting the chief animal food of the nomadic races, as no doubt
before their oonversion to Mohammedanism, it did of the cultivated Malays. No
MALAY PEyrXSULA 256 KALAT PENINSULA
mniti^l of the Equine haalj m known in the PanmtniU, for the horse iteelf is not
found eT«A in the domestic states A eoontiy coTcred with foreet or marsh, end wfaeT>e
it would be dij£ctxlt to find s mile of firm open hmd, is eminently nnsuited to it.
The ox or the budalo takes its phbee^ Eren in MsUccs, tmder the Halsys, the horse
seems not to hare been nsed ; st least the eariy Portogneae make no mention of it.
In SmLstra^ however, where there are extensiTe open plains, the horse is freqnent,
althou^ OTCB here, it maj be sospected to be exotie, since there is no name for it, exr
cept the eormptiun of a Sanscrit one. The species of Rmninsnti are nine in number,
namelT, ^or de«r» the goat» the buiblo, and three species of ox. Two of the deer
are smalWr than the European hare^ a third about the siae of a fallow deer, and the
fourth M larf^e as an elk. The dooMstic goat is a smsll mesn-looking animal, of little
value ; and there cxHts in the forest a wild one, the same with that of Somatia.
The buJSfclo attains its grestest sine in the Peninsula, and is laiger than that of Java,
or of Cochin-Chmx both of whidi fiir exceed the bni&lo of Italy, and in a still greater
degree that of Continental India. The domestie ox is a short4egged, compact^
strong and hardy ^"^^w^i The wild species are two, theSnnda ox of Java and Borneo,
and an nndeacnbed one called by the Malays aAladang, and which would seem to be
peculiar to the Peninsula. The sheep is known to the Malays of the Peninaola only
by its Saoiscrit nsme biri, end ss a partially aoelimated stranger. The hare is wholly
unknown, and the rabbit only in the domestic state, introduced by the Portuguese,
the name tarwelu and kuweiu being probably a struige corruption of the Portuguese
CMiejera
The most remarkable birds of the Peninsula are those of the gallinaoeoos snd
pigeon £uniILesL Of the first, there are the peacock, or mArak of the Malaya^ the
same 9M that of Java, but differing from that of India, and never seen in the
domesticated state ; the doublcspurred peacock, smaller than the European pheasant,
a beautiful but shy and timid bud ; three species of pheasant, including the Axgos,
or the kuwau of the Malays ; a partridge, the Perdrix Javanica; and the cock in the
wild and domestic 8tate» the last a small bird but of great couisge. The species of
pigeons are very numerous, from thoee of the siae of a thrush to that of the European
ling-doTe, the preTailing colour being green, and some of them being probably migTa-
tory. Snipes are numerous, and quails rare. In the wild state, there is but one duck,
a teal, and no goose. The only poultry of the Peninsula, in so far as the Malays are
concerned, is the conunon fowl and the duck. The goose is known only by its
Sanscrit name^ angsa ; and the peacock and rock pigeon have not been domesticated.
The parrot fiunily, in Malay nuri, the same word which we have ciMiTerted into loory,
is numerous, but none of the species equal in brilliancy of plumage to those of New
Qninea, and its adjacent islands. The escukntnest-msking swallow, the lawit of
the Malays, exists in the caves of the coast of some of the islsnds, but is not numerous.
The birds of prey are numerous, and consist of kites, slang, and hawks, alapaiap, in
Malay. The vulture does not exis^ snd there is no hawk of a sise to entitle it to
the designation of sn esgle.
The reptiles consist of the alligator, the iguana, and several species of small liard,
and of probably at least forty d^erent species of snakes, of which not more than one
in ten are poisonous. Among the innoxious snakes is a python, and among the
poisonous ones a cobra Both the seas that wash the shores of the Peninsula, but
more especially the comparatively shallow and sheltered one which parts it friom
Sumatra, abound in fish, which form the principal animal sustenance of the great
mass of the inhabitants. Among fish the seal snd the whale do not exist, the latter
being known to the Malays only by a Sanscrit name, gajah>mtns, which signifies
<« elephant fish." The only cetaceous animal is the duyon^ which our naturalists by
the mistake of a single letter have converted into dugong. This animsl, not very
fi^uent, lives in the shallow waters, feeding on submarine plants, and its flesh is
esculent, being much superior to that of the green turtle. l%e fresh water fish are
not abundant, nor held in much esteem by the natives^ but some of those of the sea
are of excellent flavour; and the white pomfret, the bawal of the Malays^ is certainly
one of the most delicate fishes in the world to the European paUte, being less rich
than the turbot, and higher .flavoured than the sole.
As to climate, that of the Peninsula is hot and moist These qualities neoesBaiily
belong to a region that reaches to within 74 miles of the equator, that in so far as the
proper country of the Malays is concerned, is not above 6° distant from it, — ^that
is almost surrounded by the sea, and seldom more than 50 miles away from it ; and
the vastly greater portion of which is covered with a dense and ever-verdant forest The
whole Peninsula is, altematelyi protected from both monsoons by its own mountain
MALAY PENINSULA 267 MALAY PENINSULA
FBoge, and by the more elevated ones of Sumatra, with the exception of its eastern side^
and even thu k exposed only to the north-eastern monsoon. Every where else, and at
all seasons^ land and seapbreezes, calms and variable winds, prevail, interrupted to
the north by occasional squalls from the north-west, and throughout by heavier ones
from the south-west, not exceeding an hour or two's continuance, known to mariners
from the direction from which they blow as " Sumatras."
At Penang, in latitude 5° 15' north, the mean annual temperature, at the level of
the sea, is nearly 80% and the mean range from 70*^ to 90^ At the height of 2410
feet, the mean of the year is 70% and the range 10% from which we may infer
that the avera^ temperature of the year at the highest elevation of the peninsula,
Mount Ophir, is rather less than 40% The average number of rainy days in the year
is 182; a rainy season being but indistinctly marked. Heavy dews fall in all clear
nights throughout the year, and fogs, although not dense ones, are frequent, especially
during the most rainy season. At Malacca, in latitude 2° 14', the mean temperature
of the year is 80% and the range 16% At Singapore, in latitude 1** 17% the average
heat of the year is 82'', and the range from 68° to 92% The fall of rain here is
frequent, ^erally every third day, although a continuous drought often or fourteen
days occasionally occurs, A rainy season is scarcely distinguishable. (Generally, the
climate of the peninsula, notwithstanding its heat and moisture, is not insalubrious,
although a few ill-ventilated spots here and there occur with most pestiferous malaria.
With the exception of a few nomad negritos in the mountains of the northern
portion of the peninsula, the S4mang of the natives, the whole of the inhabitants of
the peninsula, not strangers, are of the Malay race and speak the Malay language.
Besides the settled and cultivated Malaya, they consist of land, river, and sea
nomads. The first practise a rude agriculture^ and have dwellings of some perma-
nency : the second live on ^sh, and wud roots, dwelling entirely in their boats without
quitting the rivers ; and the third are the sea-gypsieSr who rove over the whole
archipelago. The two first classes are divided into many small tribes, frequently
dflsignat>ad by the names of the localities which they chiefly frequent. The names of
at least a dozen of these tribes have been given by Mr. Logan and others, such as
Jakun, Udai, Sakai, BAsisi, Sabimba, Mintira, &c. For an example of the manners
and condition of these rude people generally, I shall transcribe the very graphic and
well-written account of a river-tribe given by Mr. J. D. Thomson, in an article in the
" Journal of the Archipelago." This tribe takes its name, Saletar, from a creek in the
island of Singapore, on the narrow strait which divides it frt)m the main land, not
above eight mUes distant from the flourishing and civilised British emporium. Its
numbers are about 200, living in forty boats or canoes, and their range in quest of
subsistenoe does not exceed thirly square miles. " Their language," says Mr. Thomson,
** is the Malayan, and considerable pains were taken to elicit any words foreign to that
language, but without success. As a proof of their possessing the same limguage as
the MalayB, I may mention that the children were heard, when playing^ to converse
in this language, and were perfectly understood by the Malays amongst our crew.
They are possessed of no weaponsj, either offensive or defensive. Their minds do not
find a higher range than necessity compels ; the satisfying of hunger is their only
pursuit Of water they have abundance without search. With the s&rkab, or fish-
spear, and the parang, or chopper, as their only implements,, they eke out a miserable
existence firom the stores of Uie rivers and forests* They neither dig nor plant, and
yet live, nearly independent of their fellow men ; for to them, the staple of life in
the East, rice, is a luxury. Tobacco tkey procure by the barter of fish, and a few
marketables collected from the forests and coral reefik Of esculent roots, they have
the prioh and kalana, both bulbous, and not unlike coarse yams. Of fruits, they eat
the tampiii, kledang, and buroh, when they come in season ; and of animals, they
hunt the wild hog, but refrain from snakes, dogs, iguanas, and monkeys. On their
xnaoners and customs I must need be short, as only long acquaintance with their
prejudices and domestic feelings, could afford a clue to the impulse of their actions.
Of a Creator, they have not the slightest comprehension, a &ct so difficult to believe,
when we find that the qxost degraded of the human race, in other quarters of the globe,
have an intuitive idea of this unerring and primary truth imprintod on their minds,
^at I took the greatest care to find a slight image of the doity within the chaos of
their thoughts, however degraded such might be, but was disappointed.. They
know neither the god or the devil of the Christians or Mahommedans, although they
confessed they had been told of such ; nor any of the demi-gods of Hindu mythology,
jf uiy of whom were recounted to them* In the three great epochs of their individual
"^% we consequently find no rites or ceremonies enacted. At birth, the ehild is only
s
MALAY PENINSULA 268 MALAY PENINSULA
welcomed to the world by the mother's joy : at marriage, a moothfbl d tobaooo and
one chupah (gallon) handed to one another confirm the hymeneal tye : at death, the
deceased are wrapped in their garments, and committed to the pttrent earth. * Tit
women weep a little, and then leave the spot,' were the words oi our simple nanBtot
Of pAris, dewas, mftmbangs, and other light spirits that hamit oach moontais, rock,
and tree, in the Malayan imagination, thev did not know the nmta&B, nor had tiw;
anything to be afraid of, as they themseWes said, than ' the pimtes of Galang;' vIm
are men like themselyes. With this I was forced to be contented, and teased them ia
more on the sahjeet They do not praotase dronmcision, nor say otlier Mahommedia
rite. Their women intermarry with the Bfalays, which tippoKn not to be oc-
freqnent : they also give their women to the Chhieee ; and an old woman told uci
her baring been nnitod to indiriduals of both nations at an early period of hor liic
Their tribe, though confining its range within the limits of SO square milai^ may stiJ
be considered of a very wandering kind. In their sampans (canoes), baraly solBcieDt
to float their loads, they skirt the mangrovee collecting their food firom the tbfxn
and forests as they proceed, exhausting one spot and then searching for another. To
one accustomed to the comforts and a]rtifioial wants of cirilised life, theirs, as a eoB>
trast, appears to be extreme. Huddled up in a small boat hardly measuring 20 fe^
in leuffth, thejr find all the domestic comfort they are in want ot At one end is
seen the fire*place : in the middle are the few utensils they may be in po a se sm on of.
and at the other end beneath a mat, not exceeding six feet in length, is fbmid ^m
sleeping apartment of a family, often counting fiTa or six, together with a eat aad a
dog. Under this, they find shelter fh>m the dews and rains of the night, and fa«at oi
the day. Even the Malaya, in pointing out these stinted quarters^ cried out *ho«
miserable ! ' But of this the objects of their consideration were not awara. 1°
them they have prorided for all their wants. Their children sport on the shore in
search of shell-fish at low water; and during higli water, they may be seen elimb'mc
the mangroye branches, and dashing from thence into the water with all the life 9^'^
enei'gy of children of a colder clime, at once affording us proof that even ther btve
their joys. The personal appearance of these people is unprepoesoemng, ana ibeit
deportment lazy and slovenly, united to much filthiness of person, l^e m^^
portion of the body of men and women is generally covered Dy a coarse wrapper
made from the bark of the trap tree (a species of Artocarpus), which extends from the
navel to the knee. The women affected a slight degree of modesty at first approacbj
which Boon gave way. The locks of the men are bound up with a tie of doth, t^^
sometimes by the Malay sapu-tangan (kerchief); those of the women fall in wild
luxuriance over their fiioe and shoulders. Their children go entirely naked until tb«
age of puberb^.*'
The same mtelUgent writer gives an account of a tribe of forest nomads, cilXi^
Sabimba, in a still more miserable condition, and whose numbere did not exceed eigl>^
persons. With respect to the origin of these wild tribes, so justly called half-savages
near 350 veara ago by the early Portuguese writers, he observes, •* As I before itated,
they speak the laDgunge of the Malays with much less difference in pronnneiatioou<A
may be found in our own tongue in stepping fh>m one county of England to another.
They may, therefore, be said, with little fear of contradiction, to be merely unconverted
Malays, property so called." The epithet '* unciviliaed *' would probably be better
than unconverted, and with this slight alteration, the conclusion at which Mr. Thomsoo
has arrived seems to me inevitable. Mr. Logan, however, whose opinion on PQch *
being rude and ungnunmatical in sound and structure, and its oontainbg wordtBo
longer known to the present Malay language. It is no doubt poeuble that tbe
Aborigines may have had a language of their own, but the probability is mnch a^uoit
it Similar arguments might be adduced against the universality of our own Aag'^
Saxon tongue over England, for the mass of our people speak it rudely and ungitf"'
matically ; while many words are in common use in difierent parts of the country
which have long ceased to be considered as part of the English language. ^*J??
of Borneo is against Mr. Logan's hypothesis. In the interior of that island, of whicD
the coasts, like those of the peninsula, are occupied by Malay settlements, it isn^^'^®
but many tongues that are spoken by the aboriginal inhabitants; and in the few instsocea
in which these tribes, to the supersession of their own, have adopted the tf*l>y ^*"'
giiage, it has happened in consequence of the parties baring adopted the religion* ?^
ners, and habits of the Malays, which the rude inhabitants of the peninsula have i^a^ <'^°''
MALAWAR 259 MAN
The Btatea of the oiTilifled Malaya on the western aide of the peninsula amount to
three, or if we include the British territory of Malacca, of which the hulk of the
inhabitants are Malays, four, namely, Queda» Perak, Salangor, and Malacca. Those
on the eastern side amount to four, namely, Patani, Kalantan, Tringano, and Pahang.
Towards the extremity of the peninsula, both the eastern and western sides, and all
the islands adjacent to them, except those in possession of the European govern-
ments, form the principality of Jehore. In the interior, and between the second and
third degrees of latitude, we have the three small states of Rumbao, Jeholo, and
Jompol. The actual population of all theee states is unknown, but it is well ascer*
tained to be very small, and conjectured, excluding the wild inhabitants and those of the
British and Dutch territors, not to exceed 200,000, which would give between four and
Give inhabitants to the square mile. The British possessions in the same country,
the oldest of which is not above seventy years standing, contain at present not less
than a quarter of a million of inhabitants, or about 260 inhabitants to every square
mile, a striking example of the different effects resulting from barbarism and
civilisation.
MALAWAR. The name of a mountain of Java, in the country of the Sondos, one
of the chain which bounds the plain of Bandong to the south. It rises to the
height of 7500 feet above the level of the sea, but has no active volcano.
MAMPAWA. The name of a Malay State, on the western side, of Borneo, the
chief town of which, of the same name, is situated on a small river, twenty-five miles
north of the equator, and in east longitude 109^ 15'. The territory is tributary
to the Netherland Qovemment, and forms a portion of its " Residency of the West
coast." Of its extent and population no account has been given. The inhabitants
consiBt of Malays, Dyaks, and Chinese.
MAK. For the generic name Man, or human heing, the term seems to be
derived, in all the languages of the Malay Archipelago, either from the Javanese
wong^ as in the example of the Malay, where we find it as orang, or from the
Sanscrit, as in the case of the BaHnese, where it is jana, corrupted into janma and
jalma. In our inadequate knowledge, it is veir difficult to determine the varieties of
the human race that exist within the Malay and Philippine Archipelagos, but I imagine
they are not fewer than five, that number into which some writers on the natural
history of Man would fain compress all the inhabitants of the earth. These are the
race of which the Malay nation is the type ; the S&mang, or dwarf negros of the
Malay peninsula; the Negritos, or Aetas of the Philippines; tiie large negros or
Papuaa of New Guinea, and a race intermediate between these last and the l£jayan,
wmch ma^ be called the Negro-Malay. Some account of all these will be found
under their respective heads, or under the title Archipelago.
The tribes of which the first enumerated race conskt, although living in climates
very similar, are found to be in very different states of social existence, some not rising
above the level of the rudest savages of America, while others have attained a
civilisation hr exceeding that of any nation of that continent at the time of its
discovery. A few remarks on tbe causes whieh have conduced to this disparity will
not be without interest. The question of race may be soon diuniased. Whatever is
entitled to be called dviliBation has originated with the brown, lank-haired, or Malay
race ; and the woolly-haired, whether the pigmy negritos of the Malay Peninsula and
the Philippines, or tne stouter Papuans of New Guinea and its adjoining islands, have
risen little beyond the condition of mere savages. Wherever the Negro comes into
collision with the Malayan race, as in some of the Philippine Islands, it seems to
retreat, much as wild animals retreat before man, and appears to be saved from utter
destruction only by seeking shelter in the recesses of inaccessible mountains. Even
in New Guinea and its adjacent ialandi^ where a more vigorous negro race haa the
whole land to itself, the progress which it has made is hardly equal to that of the
rudest of the Malay under the least favourable auspices.
Although there be several subsidiary causes to be subsequently noticed, which have
contributed to the disparity of cirilisation which is found to prevail among the several
tribes and nations of uie Malay race, the most material are certainly, differences in the
quality of ^e localities they happen to occupy. Wherever the soil is fertile, irrigation
easily practised, and the land not encumbered with heavy timber, an indigenous and
independent civilisation will be found everywhere to have sprung up, and where these
conditions are absent, we are sure to encounter rudeness and barbarism. A rapid
survey of the condition of society in the various parts of the two Archipelagos will
s 2
MAN 2d0 MAK
afford ample evide&oe of the tmth of theae poaitioiu. The inyentioii or poBBeasioo of
phonetic writing may be conaidered a fidr criterion of dviliaation, and denaity of
population evidence of the relative extent to which it has been canied.
We have an example of the highest civilisation which haa ben reached in the
Indian islands, in the cases of Java and the three islands adjacent to i^ MadoFa^ Bah,
and Lomboa These have a volcanic soil of great fertility, a perennial irrigation emy
and abundant, with plains and valleys unencumbered with heavr forest, Imme-
morially they have possessed the art of writing, and although emoracing leas than I
one-tenth part of the Archipelago, they contain full aeven-tniths of its whole popu-
lation, and this, too, without any admixture of the rude and wandering tribes to be
found in all other parts of it. i
Even in these islands, however, where dvilisation has attained ita higfaaii
point, the degree of it is not equal throughout, the amount being in proportioii
to t^e causes which gave rise to it. Thus^ in the w e stern moontainoas
part of Java, the coimtiT of the Sundaa, the soil ia less fertUe^ and the facili-
ties for irrigation fewer than in the central and eastern portions of the ialand, and
hence an ii^erior civilisation, and as usual in such cases, a smaller density of popula-
tion. The island of Madura, although ao close to Java, is much inferior to it in soil
and still more so in capacity for irrigation. Its social condition ia conaequently
inferior to that of Java, and much of its civilisation has palpably been derived from thie
larger island. This observation applies^ alsOi to the islands of Bali and Lomboe,
althoiigh in a lesser degree. In all the three ulands we discover, in language^ writing,
manner and religion, ample evidence of their obligations to JaviL
Mere fertility of soil, unaccompanied by capacity for easy irrigation, ia not auffioent
for ike production of any considerable amount of dvilisation. The island of Sum-
bawa forms part of the same volcanic chain aa the three last-named t«l>w^«^ and ia
separated from the most easterly of them only by a narrow strait Yet, wanting a
copious irrigation, its inhabitants are in a ruder state, than those of the islands abora
mentioned, some of them, indeed, little better than savagea. Its area ia nearly double
that of Bali and Lomboe united, and yet its population is Uttle more than one^fourth
that of these two islands.
llie Malay Peninsula has, perhaps, the most stubborn and intractable aofl of all the
large countries of the Archipelago. Its geological formation is exdusively sedimentary,
plutonic, and alluvial, and it is deatitute of any peeuliar facilities of irrigation. It is
rich in tin, iron, and even gold, but its soil is dtber sterile or stubborn. Tlie conse-
quence is that its mountains, valleys, and plains are, with the exception of a few
patches, covered with a stupendous primeval forest. Its inhabitants throughout are of
the Malay nation, with the exception of a few pigmy negros. Many of these inhabitants
are still in the rude condition of mere nomads, and even the strangers who have
settled in it hold no very respectable position in the social scale. No indigenous
writing has ever origioateid in it The Peninsula, in its widest extent, is better than
double the sisse of Java, but certainly does not contain one-fortieth part of its population.
Sumatra, in respect to its capadty to generate dvilisation, may be oonmdered in a
condition intermediate between the Peninsula and Java. The greater portion of it con-
sists of sedimentary and plutonic formations, with an extensive alluvial tract, but a
small part of it alao is of volcanic formation, and well watered. Much of the
island is still covered by a rank primeval forest embracing nearly tiie whole of
the great alluvial plain which coven one ride of it nearly from one extremity to the
other. Five dt£Eerent indigenous dvilisations have sprung up in this island, by litr
the most remarkable of which is that of the Malay nation, and this had its origin in the
well-watered volcanic portion. The lowest dvilisation is that of the "Rft*^^ who have
invented phonetic writing, bat are, at the same time, occasional cannibala These
occupy aome of the poorest of the plains and table-lands of the interior. The inhabi-
tants of the great alluvial plain of the eastern side of the island are little better than
fishermen, with the predatory habits and other vices of a nomadic state of sodety.
The mere obstruction of the forest seems to have hindered them ftom advancing
beyond this condition. Sumatra ia about three and a-half times the extent of Java,
but does not contain probably above one-fifth part of its population, and much of this,
too, in the very rudest state.
Many of the islands on the western nde of Sumatra afibrd striking illustrations of
the position which I am endeavouring to establish. Thu% the island of Niaa haa a
fertile and well-watered toil, and the result is a peaceable agricultural populi^on of
200,000, while the other islands in its neighbourhood are for the most part atill covered
with forest, and have a rude or savage population, not estimated at above one>twentieth
y^
MAN 261 MAN
part of that number. Even the large islaiid of Banca, rich in iron and tin, but poor in soil,
and destitute of perennial irrigation, has a native population not exceeding one-tenth
part of that of the small iBland of Nias, and this population, too, a very abject one.
Borneo, so far as it is known, is destitute of volcanic formation, and composed of
Bedimentary, plutonic, and alluvial formations. It is rich in minerals, such as gold,
iron, antimony, and ooal, but either of a poor or a stubborn soil, and with few exceptions
covered by a forest unsurmountable by a rude infantine labour. It has, consequently,
never produced an indigenous civilisation like the civilisations of Java and Sumatra, the
whole of ita native inhabitants being; up to the present time, sheer savages, while even
its foreign aattlers have made no material advancement since their first establish-
ment. It ii between five and six times the extent of Java, but its estimated popula-
tion certainly not one-tenth part^ to say nothing of the rudeness of the one and the
civihsation of the other. It seems probable that the vast solid mass of Borneo,
unbroken by deep bays or inlets which would afford fiMilities for intercommunication,
have contributed, with its stubbornness of soil, its want of easy irrigation, and its
unconquerable forests, to hinder the development of that dvilisation which has
sprung up at BO many other points in several of the other large islands.
The civilisation of Celebes is of a much higher order than that of Borneo, and this
it owes to its superior fertility, and in some degree, no doubt, to its form, deeply
indented by laige bays, so as to make it to consist of several peninsulas. With the
exception of a small portion of the extremity of its northern peninsula, which is
volcanic, the formation everywhere else ia sedimentary, plutonic, or alluvial. The
civilisation of Celebes ii confined to its south-western, and seemingly most fertile
peninsula, and to this is confined the invention and use of written language, the party
with which it originated being the people speaking the Wugi or Bugis luiguage.
Most of the rest of the island is inhabited by rude tribes, the greater number, indeed, as
rude OB those of Bomea Celebes is by one-half laiger than Java, but is not supposed to
contain above one-seventh part of its population. But^ on the other hand, it is only
between one- third and one-fourth the extent of Borneo, while it is computed to have
double its population. The race, the Malayan, is one and the same in the three islands.
The two considerable islands of Floris and Timur afford curious illustrations, not
only of the effects on social progress, of soil and water, but also of race, for they are
inhabited, not by a Malay or Negro race, but by an intermediate one^ — that with
brown complexion and £nzsled but not woolly hair growing in tufts. Floris is of
the saxne voloanlo formation as Java, Bali, and Lomboo, but seemingly without their
capadfty for irrigation* Its native inhabitants are in a very rude state, divided into
independent tribes speaking different languages^ who have neither invented nor
adopted written language. It is about two and a-half times the siae of the drilised
island of Bali, but its computed population is about one-thirtieth part
The lazge island of Timur is aestitute of all trace of volcanic formation, and has a
soil eminently sterile, and no mountains of sufficient elevation to secure a perennial
supply of water for irrigation. In physical configuration and natural productions, it
has, in &ct» more the character of an Australian tropical than of a Malayan country.
Its inhabitants are in a very rude state» and divided into innumerable petty tribes,
speaking many different languages. They have neither invented letters themselves,
nor adopted foreign ones. Timur \b almost six times the extent of Bali| and is
thought not to have above one-seventh part of its population.
If we turn to the Philippine Arohipelsgo, we shall find ample confirmation of the
proposition, that fertility ox soil and readv means of irrigation are the causes which have
given rise to an indigenous civiUsatioo. Tne geological formation of the most remarkable
of the ialands, as for example, that of Luzon, is partly sedimentary and plutonic, and
partly volcanic, none of them being like Java, entirely volcanic It is in these only that
•ny considerable amount of civilisation has sprung up, all those destitute of volcanic
formation being inhabited by tribes in the very in£uicy of society. The climate of
the Philippines, more rude and tempestuous than that of the Malayan Archipelago, is
probably less finvourable to the production of an early indigenous civilisation. About
ten different nations of the Philippines may be stated to have acquired some degree
of civilisation when they were fint seen by Europeans, while a fiur greater number,
both of the Malay and Negrito race were, and some still continue to be, in the condition
of savages. Alphabetic writing, instead of having been invented at many points, as in
the Malayan Archipelago, was invented at one only in the Philippine, and even this
of a far ruder description than the most imperfect of the Malayan alphabets.
Civilisation in the Philippines themselves is proportioned to fertility of soil and means
of irrigation. Luxon, in which letters wero invented, stands highest, and is followed by
KAN 262 MAK
Paiiay, ^bu, Negroi^ Samar, and Leyts. But cloae to the great and fertile island of
Luzon, and parted from it only by a narrow channel, is that of Mindoro, maumtainoaa.
deatitttte of Tolcanic fonnation, and sterile. Its most advanced inhabitants are
fngitiTes or other settlers from Lumn, its own inhalntants eonaistiii^ of equalid
savages. Between Luzon and Mindoro hiss the small but fertile island of MarindoqQe,
which in fistct forms part of the province of Mindoro. It is about one-eightli part of
the size of Miodoro, but has an industrious and doeUe population of double ite
amount. The great island of Mindano ii partly of sedimentary and plutonio and parUy
of volcanic formation. The northern portion of it seems generally sterile^ but parts oif
the southern are fertile, and in these have sprung up the Mindano and T^mun nations,
who have attained a considerable amount of civilisation, while the sterile Baathen
portion is inhabited by umumaable very rude tribes. The large island of Palawan is
wholly of sedimentary and plutonic formation, and eminently sterile, and the eoc-
sequenoe is, that all its inhabitants are even in a more abject ocmdition than the
Dayaks of Borneo.
One &ct iB certain, whether as regards the Philippine or Malayan Archipelago!, that no
considerable indigenous and independent civilisation has ever originated in n small
island; and independent of the sterility, which is their nonnal condition, the resaoo
seems obviously to be, that they afforded no room for the growth of a nation of
sufficient strength to secure its own independence, and hence to afford the security
and leisure indispensable to the pursuit of the arts of peace. It is only in the laige
and fertile islandii of Sumatra, Java, Celebes, and Luzon, that phonetic writing, the
highest proof of advancement, has been invented. Many.of the smaller islands of
both Archipelagos are not even inhabited at all, and some very considerable one^
on account of their sterility, are peopled only by rude tribes, as Qilolo, Boeroe, Cemii«
and several of the islands between the Malay peninsula and Sumatra, which inclnded
Singapore before it was occupied by ourselves.
The subsidiary or aocessoty causes which contributed to raise the indigenous
civilisations to the point to which they had reached on the arrival of Baropeans,
were, the possession of iron, of cereal com, of the Isi^er domesticated animals, and
intercourse or intermixture with strangers more civilised than the natives. WiUioot
the possession of iron no nation of the Malay or Philippine Ardiipelago has attained
any respectable amount of civilisation. All of the nations that have poaseased the
art of phonetic writing, have also possessed a knowledge of this metal. The same
may be said of bread-corn, in this case rice, which in these regions has the same rank
with' wheat in temperate ones. It Is the universal bread of all the dvilised nations from
Sumatra to Celebes and Luzon. Those tribes that live on sago, which embrwei
the wide region east of Celebes, including New Gkdnea, are either illiterate^ or rude
and savage, whether belonging to the Malay or Negro race. The cause is obvious.
Sago is produced with little labour, and this of the rudest description : it is for the
countries in which it grows the lowest quality of &rinaoeous food on whidi man can
subsist; it has little exchangeable value, and holds out no inducement to its consumers
to ameliorate their condition by the practice of economy. The yam, the batite, the
banana, and the bread-fruit labour under similar diaadvantagea
The possession of the larger domesticated animals, seems equally indispensable as
iron and cereal com to civilisation. All the nations, thraefore, which were found in
a state of considerable advancement,— 4dl that had attained the art of writing, were
found in possession either of the ox or bufialo, or both. Some of the natives of
Sumatra were found in possession of the buffalo only, and such was the case also,
even with the most civilised of those of the Philippine Islands ; but the Malays and
Javanese were in possession of both these animalw, and even of the horse. The rude
and unlettered tribes, on the contrary, — ^the consumers of sago or of fiirinaoeous roots,
were like the inhabitants of the South-Sea Islands in possession only of the hog and
dog, and therefore without any animals adapted for labour.
Intercommunication with strangers, although not the primaiy cause of the civilisa-
tions of the two Archipelagos, contributed largely to increase them. The com«
munioation in these oases was effected not by invasion and conquest^ but by
commercial intercourse and partial settlement The earliest strangers who contri-
buted to the civilisation of the Indian islanders, of whioh we have any evidence,
were the Hindus, and the extent of their influence is testified by language, religion,
architectural monuments and inscriptions. Java was the chief seat of this influence
the popular language of which contuns in 1000 words^ full 120 whioh belong to the
languages of the Hindus. Religion and Commerce were the principal cmannels
througn which this influence was exercised. Thus we find the fuUowtng religious
MAN 263 MAN
terms to be Siuiaorit, — a god or deity, r«$ligion, prayer, heaven, infernal region, to
which many others of the same class might be added. In this class may be included
terms connected with the kalendar, and even a well-known Hindu epoch. Of com-
mercial terms, we find such words as prioe^ profit, capital, ship, and emporium, to be
nil of Hindu origin, while the names of such objects as copper, quicksilver, sugar,
black-pepper, cotton, silk, indigo, camphor, aloes-wood, nutmeg, pearl, and pearl-
oyster^ have a similar origin.
The other foreigners who have contributed to promote the civilisation of the
Indian islanders, are the Arabs and other nations of Western Asia, oonverted by
them. The effects produced by these have been, not through the medium of the
Javanese^ but of the Malays, whose language contains a &r larger proportion of Arabic
than any other of the Archipelago. This nation indeed has even adopted the written
character of the Arabs to the al]^donment of its own, and has been the chief instru-
ment in propagating the Mahometan religion among tbe other nations and tribes.
But the Malays and Javanese stood themselves in the relation of strangers to all
the other nations of the two Archipelagos^ and communicated to them, according to
their opportunities, more or less of the civilisation which they had themselves
attained, whether native or derived from foreign sources. It was through them, and
uot by direct intercourse with Hindus or Arabs, that Hindu and Arabian improve-
ment was communicated to the other tribes. This is testified by the Hindu and
Arabic words found in their languages being always the same, — ^by these being used
in the same sense, although differing from their origmal meanings in Sanscrit and
Arabic, to the extent even of copying errors, and by the proportion of such foreign
vrords diminishing in proportion to distance from Java and Sumatra. Thus in the
case of the Sanscrit language^ while in the popular tongue of Java there are in 1000
-words about 120, in the principal language of Celebes, there are but 17, and in that
of Luzon 2. Beyond this they disappear altogether.
But the greatest improvement which has been imparted by the Malays and Javanese
to the other nations, has been derived from their own native resources. This is
proved by an examination of language, from which it will be seen that the proportion
of Malay and Javanese is always laigest in the neighbourhood of Sumatra and Java,
and is constantly decreasing as we increase our distance from them. The degree
in which imitation as to the form or meaning of words obtains holds the same pro-
portion. Thus, in the language of Bali there are in 1000 words, 470 that are Malay
and Javanese ; in the principal language of Celebes only 226 ; while in the chief
tongue of Luaon, the number &lls as low as 22.
Among the words communicated by the Malays and Javanese to less civilised tribes
are the numerals; some terms oonneoted with the kalendar, as year and month; the
names of the domesticated animals, as of the hog and bufG&lo ; of cultivated plants, as
rice and tiie yam ; of all the metals^ except gold ; of utensils and weapons, and terms
connected with trade. These observations apply more especially to the more culti-
vated langpiages of Celebes and of the Philippines, and show the extent to which the
people speaking them are indebted to the civilisations of the Malays and Javanese.
Tribes less oiviliaed than those just referred to, have received into their languages
similar, although smaller inftisions, of the languages of the Malays and Javanese, the
influence of whieh have even penetrated to the Umguages of the South Sea Islands,
and to the language of Madagascar. Thus, we have in the Polynesian dialects,
the numends, the names of the coco-palm, of the sugar-cane, of the vam, and of the
Taro or Caladium esculentum. But the names of the domesticated animals of the
South-Soa islanders are not to be traced to the Malayan languages, nor had any of
the metals known to the Malayan nations reached the Polynesian. Indeed, the
proportion of Malayan words in the Polynesian languages, does not at the utmost
exceed 20 in 1000.
In the language of remote Madagascar, we find tbe names of four cultivated plants
to be Malayan, namely, rice, the coco-palm, the yam, and capsicum pepper ; but the
names of the domesticated animals have not this source ; and iron is the only metal
bearing a Malayan name. The proportion of Malayan words, the minerals included,
is nearly the same in the Malagasi as in the Polynesian languages. These facts have
been stated elsewhere, but for convenience are here repeated.
Two examples of the direct effect of the oommercial intercourse of strangers in
civilising the people of the Archipelago deserve to be specially quoted, namely, Malacca
and the Molucca islands. The first of these, although established in a barren land, which
drew all its supplies of food from what was a remote oountry to its semi-barbarous inha-
bitants, Java, yet became from its central position, and by sheer virtue of oommeroe, one
MANA 264 MANDHAR
of the first commercial emporia of the Indies. For this &ct we hare the anTUTUis
timony of the Portuguese, previously acquainted with Calicut and the other
of Western India. The progress made by the petty Moluccas was equally striking
lliey oonsiBted of fine islets of barren land, incapable of produdng com, and 'vrithoat
a neighbourhood to yield any. Notwithstanding, from the mere accident of tbesr
producing, and almost exclusively, the article of cloves, a spice in demand by remote
nations, their inhabitants became numerous and had attained a considerable amofuit
of civilisiition. Although their own islands were but mere specks on the ooaat of
Qilolo, they had conquered and were masters of that large island. They were errea.
lords of a portion of Celebes, and of part of New Quinea^ and its adjacent jislandu
Both in the Moluccas and Philippines, it should not be forgotten that on the first
arrival of Europeans the Malay language had obtained, in the oourae of a long
commercial intercourse, such a footing that it was the conmion medium of conrnnnnt-
cation, being preferred for this to any of the native tongues.
FVom the &c(s now stated, it will appear that the causes whidi have oontribated
to the advancement or retardment of civilisation in the Indian islands, have bees
mainly the same as in other parts of the world. Wherever the oonditionB have been
propitious, indigenous civilisationB have spontaneously sprung up, in a degree pro-
portioned to their favourableness. An indigenous dviuaation sprang np in the
rich valleys and plains of Java, just as it had done in the valleys of the Nfle, the
Assyrian rivers, the Gkmgea^ and the great rivers of China. What then, it may be
asked, hindered civilisation in Java from attaining the same maturitrr as in tLeee
localities — ^for that it never did so is unquestionable 1 The solution will probably be
found in the inferior intellectual capacity of the races occupying the Malayan ArtAor
pelago, for it ia d^colt to find any other. Even among the insular raoes themselv-efi,
there exists the greatest disparity in the progress they hwe made. Not one of the
tribes belonging to any of the wooUy-hairod races have gone beyond the conditiofi of
naked savages, and whatever of ciriUsation is found is confined to the lank-haired or
Malayan race. Even the hi^est degree of this is hr below that of the andent Bgjp-
tians or Assyrians, of the Hindus or of the Chinese, all of them people whonad
been over-ran, subdued, and domineered over by foreign conquerors, a disadvantage
to which neither Malays nor Javanese had ever been subjected. The oloee reeetn-
blance in physical geography between the MaUv Arompdago and Greece and
Italy, will probably occur to the reader. The soil is equally fertile ; the ^ii»»*t^,
for those bom to i^ alike temperate and healthy ; and the seas even nM>re tranquil
and easy of navigation. Neither is there the smallest ground for imagining that the
one country was more early occupied than the other. To what oauae, then, but
difference of race, can it be ascribed that Greeks and Italians had attained to a
fiur higher civilisation five hundred years before the Christian era» tium the meet
advanced of the Malayan nations had done two thousand years later, when they weie
first observed by Europeans 1
HANA, or MANNA, oorreotly Manak. This is the name of a district on the
south-western side of Sumatra, the town of the same name lying in south latitude
5* d(y. The district is described as the best cultivated and most populous of the
western side of Sumatra, which Mr. Marsden ascribes to the pressure of neoeesity,
arising from the exhaustion of the pepper-lands. Its superiority, however, is more
likely to proceed from the fertility of its soil, or, which ia nearly tiie same thing;
fiunlity of irrigation. The mountains Patak and Dompo, respectively 5250 and
10,000 feet high, lie in its neighbourhood inland, and the volcamc soil and abundant
water, which cause its fertility, are most probably derived from these.
MANCHANAGARA. a name given by the princes of Java to the proyinoes of
their dominions Iving at a distance from their capitals. The name taken from the
Sanscrit signifies literally **iKt lands," that is, districts remote fix>m the capital
MANDANG-EAMOLAN. The name of an ancient kingdom of Java, in the
present province of Mataram. Tradition states that four princes reigned in thia
country, and the most probable account assigns its foundation to the year of
Salivana 658, or of Christ 786.
JfANDHAB. The name of a country of Celebes, fonning the most Boutbem
portion of the main body or nucleus of the island, and terminating in a Cape bearing
the same name, which is in south latitude 8** 85' and east longitude 119 . To the
north Mandhar is bounded by Eaili, to the east by the Bu^ countries of Mssenreng
and Pulu, and to the west by the broad channel which divides Celebes from Borneo^
MANDTJB 265 MANGOSTIN
The oomitry is hilly, without, however, any mountain of conaiderable elevation. The
aoil, judging by its productions, is sterile. It produces no rice, its principal products
being mai^ the ooco-palm, and cotton. Its exports are coco-nuts and tiieir oil,
with cotton cloths, but no gold, which is exported from the neighbouring country
of Kaili. The inhabitants of Mandhar are a distinct nation, speaking a language
peculiar to themselves. Those of the se»-board have been converted to the Mi^om-
medan religion, but many of those of the interior are still pagans. The chief food is
miuz and the banana, the last eaten firesh after being roasted.
liANDUR, or oorreotly Tumandur, is the name of a distriot on the western side
of Borneo, and situated on an affluent of the Eapuwaa, or river which fidls into the
sea below Pontianak. The town or village lies about 15 miles north of the equator,
and in east longitude 109^ 20^ Handur is a principal station of the Chinese gold-
diggers, and forms part of the Dutch ''Residency of the western coast" of Borneo.
ICANQARAI. This is the name of a place of trade on the northern side of Floris,
and that by which the whole island is generally designated by the Malays and Bugis.
IKANGO, the Mangifera Indioa of botanists, is at present oultivated by all the
civilised inhabitants of the Indian Islands, and is of as many varieties as in Europe,
the pear or apple. As is the case with most other fruits, the mangoetin and dunan
excepted, the fruit varies in quality as widely as a crab-apple from a New Jersey
pippin. The finest sorts are an excellent fruit, and the ordinary kinds a very indifferent
one. The name mang^, or correctly mangga» is not Malay, but Sunda, and in this lan-
guage, only that of a wild species of the same genus. Our early traders took the word
from Bantam, which is in the coimtry of the Sunda nation. Although several species
of Mangifera are found in the Indian Islands, the oultivated mango cannot be traced
to any of them, and is, most probably, an exotic introduced from the continent of
India. This is to be inferred from its names, which are generally corruptions or
abbreviations of the Sanscrit, maha-pahala, or, according to the Telingas, mahar
pahalam, that is, "the great fruit." Thus, in Malay, it is mAmp&lAm, in Javanese,
p&l&m, and in Lampung, kapAlAm. Into many of the islands it was certainly intro-
duced by Europeans. Thus, Rumphius tells us, that it was unknown in the Moluccas^
until introduced by the Butch in 1655. Pigafetta makes no mention of its exist-
ence in the Philippines in 1521, but it is now abundant, and known only by the
adopted name of Europeans, manga. The same may be sadd of the remote islud of
Madagascar, where its name is the same.
HAKGOSTIN. This famed frait is the first in rank of all tropical fruits, in
the opinion of Europeans, but second only to the durian in that of the natives of the
Archipelago. The plant which produces it is about the sise of a cherry-tree, very
handaome^ and one of a score ox the genus Garoinia of botanists, that which yields
gamboge being one of the number. To none of these, however, is the cultivated
mangostin traced as the parent stock. In Malay, the name of the tree and fruit is
manggusta, from whence the European name. In Javanese it is manggis, and in the
languages of all the other countries of the Archipelago in which it is found, it has
either this name or a modification of it Thus in Bali it is manggis, in Sunda,
mangu, in Lampung, manggos, and in Bugis, manggisL Even in Siamese, the
name is the Malay one. The mangoetin, in suitable situations, grows in perfection,
as £ir as 14* north of the equator, and 7" south of it On the shores of the
Bay of Bengal, the tree will not bear fruit further north than the 14^ of latitude,
but in the inland country of Siam, I was assured that it bore as far north as between
the 16* and 17* degrees. At Bangkok, in Siam, in 18* north latitude, I found the
fruit equally good and abundant as in Batavia in 6^ south latitude. All attempts
to propagate it on the continent of India have failed : it has partially succeeded
in Ceylon, but not in any of the West India Islands. The onl^ one of the
Philippines in which it will produce fruit is the most southerly, Mindano, where
also its constant companion, the durian, is grown. Elven here, however, the
mangostin must have been of comparatively very recent introduction, for Dampier,
who visited the island in 1685, in giving an account of its cultivated plants, although
he names and describes the durian, t&es no notice of the mangostin which he so
fuU and accurately deseribes in his account of Achin. A congenial proportion
of heat and moisture throughout the year, seems much more requisite for the suc-
cessful growth of this fruit, than soil or latitude, since we see it thrive equally well
in the volcanic soil of Java, the stiff clays of Malacca, and the deep rich alluvion of
the valley of the Menam in Siam, and over a range of, at least, fourteen degrees from
MANGROVE 266 MAICILLA
the eqnator. In suitable localities, the fruit grows with litdo skill or oaie : it doet
not sport into varieties like many other cnltiTated plants^ and when grown at allthe
fruit is always nearly equally good.
If ANQROYE, the Rhisophora of botanists. The generic name of this tree in MsIst
is manggi-manggi, from which is probably taken our popular one, as well as the tmkl
one of luangil used by botanists. One species of it goes under the name of kayu-R^«{i
literally fire-wood, from its bdng used as fuel. Tlds is the Rhizoferm gymnorbiEa. Th6
bark of the common or black mangroTC, Rhisofera mangil, is used in tanning, and tis
wood of one species for giving a red dyei The tree forms a striking fiaature is tbe
physical geography of the Archipelago, as it does, indeed, of all troinoal ooimtni>«
for a belt of it, as deep as the reach of the tide, is always found wherever then '»t
shallow and muddy sh<Nra. The tree which nses to the height of forty or fifty feet is
invariably found in such situations, constituting a dense, and almost impepetnbk,
forest Each tree stands on a cradle of its own roots from five or six feet high, bue
at low water, but at high water covered so as to give the appearance of trees growing
in the sea. The mangrove jungle is the favourite resort of mosquitos and alligaton,
and affords a convenient and almost inaccessible retreat to the pirvbe.
MANILLA. The capital of the Philippines is the most ancient European toirn in
India, after Qoa, and the laigest, after Calcutta, Madras and Bombay. It ts dtuated
on the eastern side of the spacious bay of the same name in the island of Losod in
latitude 14° 36' north, and longitude 120* 52' east It lies at the mouth of the smaU
but rapid river, the Pasig, whidi after a course of thirty miles, dischaigeB into the
sea the waters of the great lake of Bay. The dty of Manilla consists of two parts,
a fortified town lying on the south or left bank of the river, and of suburbi oo the
north or right bank, connected by a narrow but neat stone bridge of ten arcbe6,aboat
200 Spanish fathoms in length. Tlie circumference of the fortified town which h»
the form of an irregular triangle, of which the sea forms one side, the land a secood,
and the river the third, is 1234 Spanish fiaithoms, or 2288 English yards. The walls sie
of solid masonry, and on the land ahd sea faces, have bastions with embrasoree, and a
deep, broad ditch, double on the land aide. On the river side, there is but a curtain ^
a few weak bastions in barbette, while the river, not above two hundred fathoms brow,
has its opposite bank lined with houses of solid masonry, giving abundant shelter to an
asiaUant. It has six gates, two to each fiice, all fVimiahed with draw-bridges, except
one. The principal fortification is strengthened by several out- works, the chief of
which is the fort of San Ignacio at the mouth of the river, and forming the norw-
westem angle of the works. The river, which forms the fosse on the noithera bob
of the fortifications, has a bar at its mouth, on whidii, at spring tide^ there it a deptli
of 10 or 11 feet. Besides the weakness of the fortifications on the river &os> i^^^
be observed that the largest ships of the line have sufficient depth of water to ooo^
within two miles of them, and frigates within a mila Manilla, therefore, althongfi
impregnable against a native power, is defenceless against an European one htTiog
the command of the sea.
The walled town or city consists of eight straight narrow streets, running in ^^
direction, with an equal number at right angles to tham, and one smsll sqoir^
Within its precincts are contained all the public buildings, such as the palaces of to^
governor-general and archbishop, the town-house, the court of justice^, the csthedialT
the arsenal, and the military barracks. The total population within the waliB »
estimated at firom 10,000 to 12,000.
The mass of the population is in the suburbs, and these are reckoned to h^^
130,000 inhabitants. The warehouses, shops, and manufiioturee, are all in thes^ aa<i
all strangers reside in them. Outside the walls on the land side, there is ahsodsoiDe
promenade consisting of an avenue of trees. In the same direction there is a spacioQ^
and handsome burying-ground for the Catiiolio population, the most meritorvnK
public work of Manilla. Churches and convents abound, and it is thouf^t that on^
third part of the area within the walls is occupied by the latter. . ,
Manilla has more the character of an European town than any in India, bat v^J
no means distinguished for the beauty of its architecture. The most renatf^^
building is the cathedral, equally distinguished for the ugliness of its exterior, ^
the gorgeous richness of its inside. The original building was ereoted by Leg*^^
the conqueror of Luzon, and no time assuredly was lost by him, for this ^^^^
in 167 If the very year of the conquest His original rude structure was of faaisD^^
thatched with palmetto leaf. Within seven years of its erection, the church vas
raised to the dignity of a cathedral by Pope Qregoigr the lStfa» on the petition ^
MANTAWI 267 MARBABU
- ■.» ■ I ■ ■ ■ ■
PhUip the Second. lu due time it hod been built of eubstanttal materials^ but in
this shape having been repeatedly destroyed by fire or earthquakes, the existing
structure was built in 1654, in the pontificate of Innocent the 10th. Some of the
private buildings are large, but not well-arranged : they consist of two storied houses
of solid matermls, the upper one of which only is inhabited, the ground-floor being
frequently let as shops or warehouses. To the street fronts they are furnished with
a balcony, glased with thin plates of mother-of-pearl shells in moveable panels, and
the walls are daubed with grotesque paintings in flaring coloors, such as red, yellow,
and blue.
Manilla is a corporate town, having received a municipal form of administration
from its founder, Legaspi, in I57I9 the very year of its foundation, and Philip the
Second having confined it three years after. The total population of the city
and suburbs is reckoned at 140,000, which makes it about half as large again as
Batavia, and a^ut one-fourth of the size of Bombay. Its inhabitants are composed of
an extraordinary variety of races und nations, oonsiBting of the five principal nations
of the Philippines, of Chinese, of Creole and mestizo Chinese, with Spaniards Cfeole
and mestiflo; and representatives of all the commercial nations of Europe and
America. The most numerous class are the Tagalas, or Tagalogs, the nation in
whose territory the Spanish colony was planted. The Chinese with their descendants,
pure or mixed, are next in number. The Spaniards with their Creole descendants
are said not to exceed 6000, or one twenty-eighth of the whole inhabitants. These
are exempt from the capitation-tax, but the Chinese and their descendants, in common
with all natives of the country, are subject to it in one form or another. A few of the
genuine Chinese, and most of the mestkos of this nation, have embraced Christianity.
The different dMses of inhabitants speak their own native tongues, and consequently,
there is no part of the world in which so great a diversity of languages prevails ; not
even the Dutch and British settlements in the Archipelago. The Spanish language,
however, spoken with more or less purity, is the prevailing one in the city and its
immediate neighbourhood, while at a distance the predominant one is the Tagala.
The name of Manilla is that of the native town or village on the site of which the
Spaniards built the city, and which Legaspi, contmry to the usage of the Spaniards
in such oasesy adopted. It is said, with some probability, to be composed of two
Tagala words» abbreviated by syncope. These are mairon, "to be, or to exists" and
nila, the name of a shrub growing among the mangroves, and which abounds on the
shore of the bar. The luippy locality of Manilla, with its spacious bay, its good
anchorsge, and its navieable river, communicating by a*brief course with the great
lake, did not fail to && the early attention of the conquerors, and Legaspi performed
the ceremony of laying the foundation of the future city on the 15th of May, 1571,
idmoss immediately after his arrivaL
MANTAWI. This is a name given by tlie Malays to the people who inhabit the
islands on the western coast of Sumatra firom the equator to the third degree of
south latitude, namely, Sibatu» Sibiru, Sipora and the two Pagaia Mr. Logan in his
account of Sumatra, estimates the area of all these islands at 6640 square miles, and
their population at 5000, which is less than one inhabitant to a square mile, and this
is probably its utmost amount. The people are rude, but simple and inoffensive,
and have not adopted the Mahonunedanism of the opposite coast of Sumatra.
MABAPI. The name of a mountain of Sumatra, with an aotire volcano, as its
name, a derivative from api " fire," implies. It ii situated towards the south-western
side of the island, and about 27 miles south of the equator. Its height has been
reckoned at 9800 feet above the level of the sea.
MARAPI. The name of a mountain of Java, lying between the proyinces of
Samarang and Kadoe to the north-west, and Pajang to the south. It is an active
volcano, and rises to the height of 9250 feet above the level of the sea. There is no
record of any great eruption of this mountain, although both its eastern and western
acclivities furnish abundant evidence of ancient ones. At present, many parts of it
are cultivated up to two-thirds of its height.
M AEATXJWA. The name of a oonsiderable island on the eastern coast of Borneo,
having with the smaller ac^oining islands an area of 386 geographical square
miles. The inhabitants are Malays.
MABBABU. The name of a mountain of Java oontignoos to that of M&rapi,
and forming with it the western boundary of the great plain of Pi^ong, as the
mountain-chain of which Lawu is the principal, forms the eastern. It rises to the
MARIANES 268 MABIANES
height of 10,500 feet above the level of the sea, but has no active volcna like
M&ntpl it ia cultivated to a great height, and its valleys and slopes are found peeolinly
well adapted to the cultivation of coffee.
MARIANES. The Marian or Ladrone Islands form an Arohipelago of seventeen
different groups of islets in the Northern Pacific, lying between the latitude of If
and 17*, the 140* meridian running through them. The largest ialanda are seveatea
in number, of which the moat considerable are San Juan or Ghujaa, the Guam of oar
maps, Rotaa, Saipan, and Tmian. The geological formation of the whole Archipeh^
Is volcania Many extinct craters exists and there are some voloanoa in a state d
activity. All the islands are mountainous, and subject to violent earthquakei, of
which, in the months of January, Februaiy, and March, 1819, no fewer than 125 shoeki
were experienced in the island of Guajan. The climate is healthy, and the loO
represented as fertile. The cultivated productiona are the oooo-palm, the bnad-
firuit, called by the natives rima, the batata, the sugarcane, the *^t**"^ and the
water-melon. The islands when discovered were without any domeetic ft*^'"*^*, bat
a few have been introduced by the Spaniuxls. The native inhabitants are stated to
be of the aame race as the brown-complexioned and lank-haired inhabitants of tht
Philippines, and to speak a language resembling the Bisaya, but both aasertiona seem
very doubtfuL The first of them is more especially so, aa would appear from
Dampier's excellent description of their personal appearance^ which dmen fvj
materially from that which he afterwards gives of the inhabitante of Mindano, wbo
are certainly of the true Malayan race. " The natives of this island," says he, " an
strong-bodied, large-limbed, and well shaped. They are copper-coloured like other
Indians. Their hair is black and long, their eyes meanly proportioned. Iliey ha^
pretty high noses, their lips are pretty full, and their teeth indifferent white. T^«7
are long visaged and stem of countenance, yet we found them to be affitble and ooio*-
teous." Vol. i., page 297. At present they are slothful and poor, but inoffeosiTe ind
hospitable. All of them have been converted long ago to Christianity. Down to the
close of the last century they went almost stark ni^ed, but are now decently c]«i
The essential portion of their food is the bread-fruit. In 17S5, their whole numben
were but 2697. In 1801 they amounted to 7555, and by the census of 1850, to 8^69,
BO that in half a century's time the increase was little more than 18 per cent.
The Marians form a distinct province of the Philippines, subject to the Govenor-
General of these islands. The seat of admimstration is in the island of Guajan, where
is the town of San Ignacio de Agafia, which, with its district, contains 5620 inhabi-
tants, or the migority of the population of the Archipelago. This is divided in aO,
into fourteen districts. The islanders pay no capitation tax, and seem to yield no
revenue, their whole expenses being defrayed from the treasury of the Philippioea
The discoverer of the Marians was Magellan. Thej were the firat lands which he
reached after his painful passage across the Padfic in 1521. This is Pigafettae
account of the inhabitants as they first presented themselves to Europeans. " '^^
go entirely naked. Some of them have long beards, with black hair reaching to their
reins, although some tie it in a knot on the head. On their heads they wsar little
caps of palm leaves, in form like those of the Albaniana They are aa tall as our-
selves and well shaped. Their colour is an olive, but when bom they are white.
Their teeth are made bv art red and black, for this they esteem a beau^. The
women are handsome, of a slender form, and more fair and delicate than the men.
Their hair is jet black, dishevelled, and so long as to be able to reach the ground.
They too, go naked, with the exception of a modesty pieoe, conaisting of a narrow
band of bark, as thin as paper, made from the inner bark of the palm " (the rsfeica-
lated material at the insertion of the fironds of the coco palm?). They do not till
the land, but are found in their houses weaving mats and baskets of f^m les( with
other articles for domestic use. They eat bir&, flying-fish, batatas, figs a palm lent
(bananas), sugarcane* and other things. They anoint their hair and their wnole hodr
with the oil of the coco-nut or that of the sesame. Their houses are of wood,
covered with planks, over which are spread fig (banana) leaves two cubits long. ^
their houses they have chambers and garrets, with windows. Their beds are oovered
with beautiful mats made of palm cut into shreds, minute and delicate. They h*^
no other arms than spears pointed with fish-bones. They are poor, but artfiil> tad
above all thieves, on which account we named these three islands 'Isles of ThieraL'
Their amusement consists in going with their women in their little boats on es^^''
aiona These resemble the gondolas, which are used between Fusine and VentoOi
only that they are narrower. All of them are painted either black or red, and hiire
MA£Iin)naUE 269 MABIYELES
latine-flhapod Bails made of palm-leayes stitched together. On the opposite side to
the sail there is a beam, supported by transrerse ones, the object of which is to
presenre the equilibrium of the boat in sailing. The helm is in the shape of a baker's
shoTel, that is, a pole with a board at one end. This helm serves also for an oar,
and the stem and bow of the boats are of the same make. These islanders swim and
leap in the water like dolphins, from wave to wave. From the signs of wonder
which they exhibited, we concluded that before seeing us they believed that besides
themselves there were no other men in the world." Prime Viaggio, page 51.
From this faithful account of the personal aprearanoe and manners of the Marian
islanders, when first seen by Europeans, and before their intermixture with other
races, they would seem to have been a people much more nearly allied to the
Polynesian islanders than to the people of the Philippines. Insteaa of being short,
like Malays, they were as tall as Europeans. Their habits were maritime, like those
of the South Sea Islanders. Like them they were thievish in character : like them,
too, they knew neither iron nor any other metal, and like them they fed chiefly on the
brmd-fruit, the banana, and fish. They were, however, inferior to the Polynesians in
the absence of tillage, the want of the hog, dog, and common fowl, and of every kind of
dothing. The only evidence of foreign intercourse on the part of the Marian islanders
consists in their possession of the Malayan numerals, although in a very corrupt form.
The first appearance of the Spaniards was not auspicious. '* The Captain-CJeneral,"
says Pigafetta, wished to remain some time at the largest island (Qui\jan), in order to
obtain refreshments and provisions, but he could not, for these islanders came on
board the ships and stole one thing after another, so that we could not protect them.
In the long run they attempted to lower the ship's sails, in order to run our vessels
aground, and then with ff^t dexterity they robbed us of the boat which was attached
to the admiral's ship. The Captain-Qeneral, irritated on thii account^ landed with
forty armed men, set fire to from forty to fifty houses and many boats, killing seven
of the islanders. We then recovo^ our boat and ouickly took our departure from
the islands, pursuing the same oourse as before. Before buiding, some of our people,
who were sick, told us, that in the event of our killing an islander, man or woman,
we should bring the entrails on board, being persuaded that if they possessed them,
they would be restored to health. When we wounded any of these people with an
arrow that passed through and through a limb, they endeavoured to extract it, first
pulling one way and then another, and looking at it with wonderment. The same
did such as were struck in the chest and died of their wounds. This did not fail to
excite our compassion.'' Page 50.
The Marian Islands were taken possession of for the crown of Spain by Legaspi,
the conqueror of the Philippines, in 1 565, four and forty years after their discovery.
The subjugation of the poor but warlike natives was, however, a work of considerable
difficulty, for they resisted for a period of four-ond-twenty years. The name which
Magellan had given to them, Islas de los Ladrones, or ** Isles of thieves," which is
still continued as a synonym, was changed to the Marianee, which is an abbreviation
of Maria Ana, the name of Mary Anne of Austria, Queen of Philip IV.
MARINDUQUE. One of the Philippine Islands, forming a part of the provinoe
of Mindoro. It is a long narrow island lying between Mindoro and Luson, opposite to
the isthmus of Tayabas in the latter, between latitudes 18° 11' 10", and 18* 88^ 80", and
longitudes 121* 45' and 122* 5'. Its length is about 29 geographical miles, its utmost
brsadth 20, and its area 878 geographical square miles. The land is f^levated and
even mountainous, the mountain of Marlanga at its southern end, forming the Gape
of the same aame, being of considerable although unascertained height. From the
well-known fertility of the soil of Marinduque, and the vicinity of the island to the
moat vdoanic portion of Loaon, the geological formation is probably the same.
The natural fertility of the soil is enhanced by the existenoe of many brooks
applioable to irrigation. The chief production is noe, of which it exports a oonsider-
1^ quantity. The port of Malagi on its southern coast is a safe and convenient
harbour for the colonial craft that cany on the coasting trade between Luzon and
the Blsaya Islands. The population of Marinduque in 1850 was 19,969, giving a
density of near 50 to the square league.
M ABIYELES. The name of a chain of high mountains, — of a small town, — and
of a sea-port in the province of Bataan, and island of Luzon, in the Philippines. All
of them are situated on Uie peninsula which forms the western boundary of the
great Bay of Manilla. The sierra of Mariveles, which is a spur of one of the Cor-
dilleras, runs in a direction from north to souths to the length of about twenty miles.
MAR8DEN 270 ITARRIAOE
The town is in latitude 40° 27' 40", and lies between two mnmU. xiven whidi dis-
embogae at the port, and opposite to the island whidi ooee bote the same name, but
is now adled Ua de Corregidor. The town has 283 hooass, and a popnlafcioB of
1402 inhabitants. The chief productions of the neighbooihood are rice, mais, iniv-
oane, cotton, and the abaca bsnana ; but fishing is the diief occopalion of the
inhabitauts, who have constructed weirs and stews in which great quantities of fish
are taken or p i uii ei ve d.
MABRIAGE. The onlj terms for marriage in Malay are the Arabic and Persian
ones, respectiyely, nlkah and kawin, the nati-ve ones having probably been displaced hj
these and foigotten. In Javanese we have, besides these, Uie natrve worda, kxama nd
rabi Owing to the youth of the parties in a first marriage, the n^gociation is slmctf
always conducted by the parents. The courtship among the Malaya and other natioBi
of Sumatra, consists in the lover eending his xnistreBS a present of areca and beid
pepper, the ceremony, from the name of the first of these, being Gslled pinsogm.
Children are frequently betrothed at an early age, and this goes under the name of
tunangan.
The conditions of the marriage contract vary considerably among the diflenst
nations of the Archipelago ; but generally there u more or lees of a purchase of the
bride by the bridegroom, or more correctly by his parents. The most freouent form
of marriage among the Sumatrans goes under the name of jujur, and implies a com-
plete purchase of the wife, when she becomes the servant of the huabuid aod hit
&mily. Among the Javanese the money paid for the bride is, virtually, of the
nature of a marriage settlement on her, and is called, in the vulgar tongue, theptr
tukon, literally the " purchase money," and in the polite, the srahan, or " deposit^'*
but more generally than either, the srikawin, which is in reality a dowiy or settle-
ment. In Sumatra, however, it is, in a few cases, the husband and not the wife that
is bought. This happens when the parents of the wife are of higher rank than tbo«
of the husband. This is called the nuuriage by ambU-anak, which, literally trua^
lated, signifies "adopting as a son." In this case, the husband becomee the aenast
of the family adopting him. Among the civilised nations of the Philippines, the
purchase of the wife takes a ruder form than even a money payment, for the lover
has to serve the parents of his mistress for a period of three or four yean, modi
after the manner of the ancient Hebrowa
The marriage ceremony is everywhere a religious one ; and Sir Stamford Baffl«
gives the following translation of uiat in Java as pronounced by the priest '* I y*^
you, Raden-mas, in wedlock with Satiya, with a pledge of two reals weight b ^Id.
X ou take Satiya to be your wife for this world. Tou are obliged to pay the pledge
of your marriage, (srikawin), or to remain debtor for the same. Tou are respoosble
for your wife in all and everything. If you should happen to be absent from her
for the space of seven months on shore, or one year at ^ea, without giviog her any
sustenance, and are remiss in Uie duties you owe to 3^our sovereign, your marriage
shall be dissolved, if your wife demand it, without any further form of process;
and you will, besides, be subject to the punishment which the Mahommraan law
ordaina"
Marriages within certain degrees of consanguinity are prohibited ; but as with the
Jews, a man can intermarry with the widow of a brother, and then becomes liable
for all the obligations of the deceased husband. Polygamy and concubinage are le^
throughout the Malay Archipelago ; but these are, from the nature of tbingSi only
the riotous indulgences of the few rich and powerful. The first married wife beingi
generally, the person of highest birth, takes, in Java, rank of the rest In
Sumatra, the highest rank belongs to her for whom the highest price has been paid*
Divorce, in Malay, charaian and sarakan; and in Javanese, pAgatan and pisahao,—
all of them signifying ''a porting,' or " a separation," are easily obtained. In J^^
as already seen, a seven months' absenoe by land, or a year's by sea, without proviai^
for the wife, is declared to be a virtual divorce, ahould the win demand ona ABi<f^
the simpler inhabitants of the Archipelago, divorcee are of rare oocnrrence; but not
so in Java, where they are frequent.
MARSDEN, (WILLIAM),— the author of the " History of Sumatra," was bom
in Dublin, the son of a merchant of that city, and the second in descent (rooi a
Derbyshire gentleman, which had settled in Ireland in the last years of the rei|p| ?*
Queen Anna After the usual school education in Dublin, he received a civu
appointment for Benooolen, at sixteen years of age ; proceeded to that place in 1771 >
remained there eight years only, and returned to England in 1779. In 17S2» >^^
MARTABAN 271 MA8A
pabliiih«d his ** History of Sumatra," which eatablished his reputation as an oriental
Bcholari and a man of clear and sound judgment. His well-earned reputation obtained
for him, first, the situation of Under Secretary ; and, ultimately, of Chief Secretary
to the Admiralty ; and these offices be discharged with great credit for the twelve
Tears from 1795 to 1807i when he retired, and returned to his favourite studies.
^The fhiits of these were his Grammar and Dictionary of the Malay language, the
first deserving the name which had been published in England, and the best which
had been published anywhere. This work had engaged more or less of his attention
for siz-and-twenty years. In 1811, a new edition of his "History of Sumatra," which
had been translated into French and German, was called for and published. In 1817,
ho published, with copious and valuable notes, his translation of the celebrated
travels of Marco Polo, — ^that singular work which gave the hints that led to the dis-
covery of the New \^orld. In 1823, he published his " Numismata Orientalia, or
Description of Eastern Coins," a valuable collection of which hiid fallen into his
hands; and in 1834, in his seventy-eighth year, he gave to the world his last work, a
"Collection of Essays," the most valuable of which consists of a dissertation on the
** Polynesian and East Insular " languages. By his will he bequeathed his valuable
collection of Oriental coins, medals, and manuscripts to the British Museum ; and his
libraiy to King's College, London.
Mr. Marsden*s long and meritorious career terminated on the 6th of October, 1886,
when he had nearly completed his eighty-second year. He was the first literaiy and
scientific Englishman who, with the advantages of local experience, treated of the
Malayan countries; all our knowledge before him being confined to the crude narratives
of mariners and voyagers anaoqoainted with the language, through which, alone,
accurate knowledge could be obtained. He was the ootemporary of Sir William
Jonas of Colebrooke, and of his own relative, Sir Charles Wilkins ; and while they were
'studying the philosophy of Continental Asia, he was doing the same thing for its
ialands. The chief characteristics of his writings are laborious care and scrupulous
fidelity, ever under the control of a sound judgment, qualities in which he has
not been excelled, or even equalled, by any writer on the subjects he treated of,
foreign or native. He is, in fact, the model and example of all that has been done
since his time ; — sometimes with more knowledge than he could have possessed, but
never with more care or integrity.
MARTABAN. Sitaated at the eoufluenoe of three fine rivers in the ooontry of
tiie Mon, or Peguan nation, and now a portion of the British territory in India, is called
by the Malays, Maritanan. This place, which is in latitude 16* 28', was, probably, the
most northern limit of the navigation of the Malays. The Portuguese name, Mart»-
bantf, or Martavan^, is most likdy taken from the Malay one, for it is not a Peguan
word. That considerable intercourse subsisted between the Peguans and Malays,
before the arrival of Europeans, is testified by the fiiot, that the Portuguese found a
oonstderable number of Peguans settled at Malacca when they captured it This is
asserted by aU the narrators of that transaction ; and in the ** Commentaries of
Alboquerque,'* it is expressly stated, that they formed part of the auxiliaries that
aooompanied the Portuguese commander when he went in punuit of the fugitive
king, after his expulsion from the town. '^Alphonso Alboquerque,** say they,
" learning that the king of Malacca had fortified himself on the river Muar, sent
agaiost him seven of his captains with a force of 400 Portuguese, 600 Javanese
under Utemuta raja, and 800 Peguans under their native chidb." — Page 383. No
Peguan settlera now exist either at Malacca, or any other European settlement in
the same quarter ; nor do they seem to have done so at any time after the overthrow
of the Malay government.
HARUWL This is the nsme g:iven by the Malays to the natives of the group of
islands on the western coast of Sumatra, lying between the third and fourth
degrees of north latitude, and of which the principal are Simalu and SibalVah.
Mr. Logan conjectures that the area of this group may be about 600 square miles ;
and their population about 80o0, or five inhabitants to the square mile.
11 ASA. This is the name of a considerable island lying off the western shore of
Sumatra; one of the group called by the Malays Pulo-batu, or the "rock islands,"
and the most northerly of which touches on the equator. The word masa signifies
" time," in Malay and in Javanese, but it is taken from the Sanscrit language, and is
one of a good many names of places having the same origin. It is certain, however,
that these were not imposed directly by a people speaking or using the Sanscrit
MASBATE 272 MAYA
language ; but by the MaUya or Javaneee who had borrowed them, and incoipontod
_ them in their own lang^uagea.
HASBATE. One of the Philippine islands Ijring between north latitudes 11* 49^
and 12* 86', and east longitudes 128* 1' and 128* 49'. It haa LuEon to the north,
Samar to the ea8t» and Panay, Negroa^ and ^^bu to the south. Between it and Losoo
are the two smaller islands of Burias and Ticao, the last of which forms with iti
distinct government. Through the whole of Kasbat^ there rons a creaosntsh^
chain of mountains, most probably of plutonio formation, since the rivulets of the
island bring down a sufficient quantity of gold to make it worth while to wash ihsr
sands for it. Its area is estimated at 2884 square geographical miles ; and in 1846,
its population amounted to 5489 souls, giving, therefore, no more than 2*3 inbi^
bitants to the mile. Along with the smidler island of Ticao, the entire popols^ioo
of the province in the same year was 7994, distributed in four townships, three d
them in Maabat^ and one in Ticao. That in this last island, named San Jadnto, tiei
on a good harbour and is the capital of the province. The extent of Masbat^ under
cultivation is very trifling, as may be judged by the small amount of the populir
tion. The probability is, that the soil is sterile, and the island without natural fiKilitiei
of irrigation.
MASENRENG is the name of an inland oonntrj of the Bogis or Wngi nation of
Celebes, situated at the base of the south-western peninsula of that island* and
between the Bay of Boni and country of Mandar.
MASOY| correctly Misoi, is the aromatic bark of a large forest tree of Kew
Guinea and its adjacent islands, the Cortex oninus of Bumphius. It is a oonsidflr-
able article of trade, being much used by the Malays, Javanese^ and Chinese as a
cosmetic, and sometunes medicinally as an external application.
MATAK. This is the name of a Malay State on the western aide of Borneo, and
forming, at present^ pcut of a provinoe of the Netherland Government. The town of
Matan is situated about a degree south of the equator, and in east longitude 110* 85',
and by boat about three days and three nights sail up a oonsidenSle river of the
same name, which, at its mouth, has a hard sand-bar, with very little water. It
consists of about 800 houses, its population being almost entirely Malay, whaie that of
the rest of the country consists of Dayaks or Aborigines, in this instance, a barmlea
people, not addicted to head-hunting. To Matan bdoi^pa the island of Carimata, or
correctly Eurimata, inhabited or rather sojourned at by the «Ma>^faring fishermeD, or
sea-gipseys, called orang-laut» said to amount to about 800 in number.
MATABAM, or in the polite dialect Matawis, is the name of a j^orinoe of Ja^a,
in the country of the proper Javanese, and about equi-distant from the eastern and
western extremities of the island. It is bounded to ^e north by the prorinoe a
Eadu, to the east by that of Pajang, to the west by Baglen, and to the south by the
sea. The mountains Mftrapi and Sumbing lying northward of it ; the first, 9250, and
the last 10,500 feet high, furnish this province with a perennial supply of water ior
irrigation, and the result is that nearly the whole of it is one sheet of eoltivatioi^
including the slopes of M&rapi, to the height of 4000 feet, there being usually two
com harvests within the year. Mataram hae been twice over the seat of a satire
Srincipality. The first was founded in 1508, and the last, which still subsists, m 175^
[ataram forms the principal part of the dominions of the chief ^o has the title of
Sultan, and the population of whose territories was estimated in 1846 at 849,8^'
HATARAM. The same word as the last, and most likely borrowed from it) u
the name of a place in the island of Lomboc It is at present its chief town, and it
situated on the western side of the island, or that which is opposite to Bali, three
miles inland from the port of AmpAnan. A weU constructed roEud, being an aTenne
of fig trees, leads to it The town consists of streets running regularly at right anglea
to each other, the two palaces of the B%ja being in the oentie. The houses oootf^
of mud walls, thatched with the lalang grass or palmetto leaf, and the town is >ar*
rounded by a quickset hedge of bamb(K>, and a barricade after the manner of ehevsux-
de-frise. The population consists for the most part of Pftlinegfl^ the dominant natian,
but no account is given of its amount. See Louboo.
MAYA (Pulo)» This is the name of an island lying ofif the western side o(^
larger one of Obi» and between this last and the large island of Qilolo or HaJmaben
I mention it onlv on account of its name, which is Sanscrit, with the Blalay or JaTSseM
word Pulo prefixed, the compound signiQriog ''illuaioa*' or *' Deception Wtf^t
MAYON 273 MENANGKABAU
without doubt giyen to it by the Malay or Jaranesa spioe-tradenB, who would probably
enoounter it in their route to the Clove ialands.
MAYON. This ia the name of an aotire Toloano in the proyinoe of Albay, in
the island of Luzon, which has produced formidable irruptions since the arrival of
the Spaniards in the Philippines. The crater is in latitude 13* 14' 40/' and longitude
123** 84' 10." The mountain itself is of considerable elevation, being part of the
£^at Cordillera. One of the most formidable irruptions of this volcano took place
on the 28rd of October, 1766, which totally destroyed one town, that of Halinao, and
did great injury to Albay, the capital of the province^ along with four other towns.
Besides lava, a torrent of water was dischaiged, which after a course of two leagues
fell into the sea. A typhoon raged during the eruption which increased the destruc-
tion caused by it In 1814 an equally terrific eruption took place which destroyed
the entire town of Albay.
MEGA-MANDUNG. The name of a mountain of Java in the distriot of Chanior,
and Gountiy of the Sundas, 5000 feet above the level of the sea. The first part of the
Dame is Sanscrit^ meaning a doud> and the last, Javanese, signifying '* lowering."
It is not much more than one half the height of the neighbouring mountain of Q&de,
or " the great mountain.**
MELON. The only ouourbitaoeous OYiltiYated plants that thrive well in the Indian
and Philippine Archipelagoe are the cucumbw and c^urd. The humid climate of
these countries does not seem well adapted to the growth of the common or the
water-melon, the first being, indeed, Uttle known, and the last much inferior in size
to that of northern India and Persia. The cucumber is known in all the languages
by the name of antimun, or some slight variation of it, and may be presumed to be
a long-cultivated native plants since the name is not traceable to any foreign tongue.
The gourd is known in all the languages of the Archipelago by the one name of labu,
and as far as can be inferred from this, is indigenous. The water-melon is known in
Javanese and most of the other languages by the name of sftmangka, but in the
Lampung it is called Umi;ya. In Malay, besides s&mangka, it has t&o the name of
pAtaka, which appears to be a native word, and m&ndiki and tAmikai, both of which
are Telinga. The name, therefore, will not direct us to its origin, but it is most
probably a stranger, brought from the eastern coast of the Peninsula of India.
MEN ADO. The name of a port and town on the northern peninsula of Celebes,
on its northern coast^ and towards its extremity, in north latitude 1* 80^ and east
longitude 124" 56'. ThiB place, and the territoiy annexed to it, form part of the
NeUierland possessions, and have been so since the year 1677. In 1848 it was
declared along with Kema on the opposite coast of the same peninsula, a free port,
exempt firom all imposts on ship or cargo. The town and fort odled Amsterdam, are
situated on a spacious bay, which affords shelter onlv during the eastern monsoon,
being a lee<shore in the western. The anchorage in from 80 to 40 &thoms depth is
within a cable's length of the shore, and near a fresh-water stream with good potable
water. See Minahasa..
MENANGKABAU, or more correctly M&nangkabo, is the name of an inland
country of Sumatra, in which the Malay nation seems to have at one time attained a
greater amount of civilisation and power than in any other part of the Archipelago,
and to which the chieft of some of the other Malay tribes take a pride in tracing
their origin. It extends generally from the equator to a degree south of it^ and
Mr. Logan describes it as compoeed of a series of mountain valleys, 60 miles long
and 50 broad, or containing an area of 8000 square miles. Southward, it has the
mountain Talang; 10,750 feet high, with Singalangand MArapi, each 9800, while to the
north it has that of Sago of 6000 feet. Talang and M&rapi are active voleano^ and indeed
the name of the last of these siffnifiee as much. The geological formation is pertly
volcanic and partly plutonio and sedimentary, these diffiuent formations appearing
here to meet Withm this small territory there is a lake about 15 miles in length and
5 in breadth, abounding in fish. The soil of the valleys is described as fertile, and the
land is well supplied with water for irrigation, the result of whidi is that the country
is highly cultivated and populous. The late Sur Stamford Bafl^, who visited it, gives
the following glowing picture of it " As fitr as the eye could distinctly trace was
one continued scene of cultivation, interspersed with innumerable towns and yilla^,
shaded by the cocoanut and other fruit-trees. I may safely say, that this view
equalled anything I ever saw in Java. The scenery is more majestic and grand,
population equally dense^ cultivation equally rich." Sir Stamford estimated the
T
MENANGKABAU 274 MENANGEABAU
population of one small diatriot of thiB oonntry, not exceeding 50 square milea, i
million, or 400 inbabitantB to each mile ; bat as this fat exoeeded the popvilooas
of the best inhabited parts of Ja^a in hu time, the estimate seems eridlieiitly grea
in excess. Still, there can be no doubt but that the Talleys of Mftnangkabo
cultiTated and peopled to a degree unknown in any other part of Sumatra.
Of the history of Menankkabo no details are known, and most probably n<
exist. No time is assigned for its foundation, nor is it eyen known when or how
inhabitants were converted to Uie Kahommedan rehgion. Some £iirope«ii writi
have, notwithstanding, described it as having been onoe a great and powerful emp
of which Uie rule extended over the whole of Sumatni» an assumptum for whi
there is not a grain of evidence, natiye or European. It maj be safely aaaertad, inde
that the Malays have never attain^ that degree of dviliaation which ooald fas
enabled them to acquire and to hold tcgether so laige a dominion, especially in
forestKslad country Uke Sumatra, and of which, independent of rude tribes, the mc
advanced nations alone amount to five in number, speaking distinct langoages, ai
having different customs. De Barros teUs us that when the Portogueee arriTed
India the sea-coast of Sumatra was divided into no fewer than nine aod twea
distinct independent kingdoms, and as he furnishes a list of them, vre oaa see that t
but one of Uiem were Malay. As to Menangkabo, it is not included in the numbc
and mentioned only as a country that furnished some gold, and was fiimoiia for i
manu£M;ture of arms, a reputation which it still maintaina
With local advantages of soil and water, it is certain that Menangkabo nmat hai
attained an amount of .population and power beyond the less &voan^y ciicoi
stanced Malay States, and this woold naturally induce the latter to look op to it wit
respect, and make it a point of pride to trace their origin to it It seems howev*
more than probable, and indeed to a certain extent admitting of proo^ that the natur
advantages of Menangkabau were promoted by the intercourse and settlement «
strangers. I take these strangers to have been Javanese, already imbued vdth sckd
portion of the civilisation and religion of the Hindus, and most probably findio
theur way from Plalembang, where they are still settled, and have been so inum
morially.
The names of persons and places afford evidence of the preaenoe of the Javanen
Thus by one set of legends, the founders of Menangkabo are represented to hsT
been two brothers, caUed Papati-si-batang and Eayi Tum&ngung. The first wor
in the first of these names is Sanscrit, with a Javanese prefix, and signifies lord, an
the last is Javanese, meaning the shaft of a spear. Both words in the second nam
are Javanese, the last of them borrowed by the Malay, but the first the title of
class of Javanese nobility, and signifying "respectable," and unknown to the Malaj
According to another legend found in the manuBcript translated by Dr. Leydeo, act
which he called " Malay Annals," the founder of Menangkabau was a perBocaf
called Sang Sapurba, represented to have come from Palembangi that is, from i
Javanese colony. The name is a mixture of Javanese and Sanscnt, the first part o
it being a Javanese title prefixed to the names of gods and ancient kings, and tfa>
lost the Sanscrit word purba, ''first," with the abreviated Javanese ntmiend "one'
prefixed. Another party concerned in this supposed adventure is oslled Sang Nil
Utama. The first word here is that just explained, and the two last are Saiacrit
signifying in their order, " blue" and " excellent."
The evidence afforded by the names of places is perhaps more satis&ctoiy. Tb«
name of MAnangkAbo itself may perhaps be Javanese, for the two words of which i1
is composed are capable of being rendered without alteration in that language, " thi
victory of the buf&lo," that is, it may be presumed, the victory of the bnfUo ovei
the tiger, such being the usual result of the contest between these two anunala
The first place in which the fiskbled brother founders established their government, i
called Pravangan. This is Javanese and not Malay, and signifies «*pliioe of wood
spirits or fairies," and still exists as the name of an extensive region of Java. Th<
name of the mountain MArapi, signifies a volcano, and is tiie Javsneee but not tlM
Malay form of the word. Ringgit is the name of another mountain, and this woi^
which signifies a puppet, or marionnette, is exclusively Javanese. A place in tin
country of Menangkabo, is called Ayar-angat, it may be preaumed, from the exist
ence of a thermal spring, for this is the native name for one. The first word ii
this case, is modem Malay, signifying water, but is also found in the ancient languagi
of Java : the last is exdusiyely Javanese not Malay, signifying *< hot" Pugsmyung;
the name of a district of Menangkabo, has its first part common to the Malay aod
Javanese, but its last wholly Javanese, being the name of a species of aqoatie gxaoa^
MENANGKABAU 275 MENANGKABAU
and the entire word meaniog Uterallj fence, or indoaure made of the graes in question.
Linto is the name of another district of the same country, tiie word having no signi-
fication in Malavy but in Javanese meaning '' exchange or barter," probably from its
being the site of an established fiur or market Jambi is the name of a Malay state
and of a large river on the eastern side of Sumatra. The word is the Javanese for
the areca palm, and is equivalent to pinang in Malay. llfAdang and Koripan are the
names of towns or villages in the south-eastern part of Sumatra, and are evidently
taken from the names of the seats of two ancient principalities of Java. Then we
have Preng and Trap, Javanese words signifying '^ bamboo," and "conmiand or
order^' for the names of two rivers, and we have Rino signifying " day** in Javanese,
for the name of a river islet. BaAu, the Javanese for water, or river, we find in
BaSku-asin, Salt-river, the name of the most westerly of the four branches of the
Palembang river as it debouches in the sea. Again, we have the name of the
country of Palembang itself correctly Palimbang, a word derived from the
Javanese verb limbang, which signifies " to drain off a fluid." The complete word,
probably here abbreviated, would be Palimbangan, of which the sense would be,
the vessel or place from which water or other fluid is drained off, and, no doubt^
haa reference to the subsidence of the inundation, in the territory named, one of the
most striking phenomena belonging to it. In the countries of the Rejang and
S&rawi, as if on the road from Java to Menangkabo, we have equally decisive evi-
dence of Javanese settlement in the names of pistes. A lake with a district to which
it gives name, is called Ranu, which in Javanese signifies water or a lake. Ano-
ther district has the name of Padang-ratu, which in Javanese signifies ** king's plain :"
and a third is Surabaya, the name of a province of Java» a word half Sanscrit and half
Javanese, signifying ''heroic difficulty." Indragiii, mountain of Indra, and Indra-
puFAy city of hidra, are examples of names of pla^ entirely Sanscrit, and Bumi-agung
and Qunang-n^a, "great land" and "king's mount," of those in which the two languages
are combined. These Sanscrit and Javanese names, it should be remarked, are frequent
only in the south-eastern part of Sumatra, or that which is in proximity to Java.
Better evidence, however, than even these words, of the presence of the Javanese
in Menangkabo, exists in actual monuments of this people. Sir Stamford Bafiles, in
his visit to it, found a stone inscription in the ancient cnaraoter of Java, exactly like
those he had been familiar vrith in that island, and accompanied as he was by learned
Javanese, he could not well have mistaken the writing for any other character.
The inscription was on a slab of basalt, and my friend Dr. Horsfield who accom-
panied Sir Stamford, showed me a iac-simile of the writing which leaves no doubt of
its identity with that of Java. It is remarkable that when the Portuguese became
first aoquainted with Sumatra, a tradition of the former presence of the Javanese
still prevailed among its inhabitants. There is a passage m De Barroe to this effect
worth quoting, " The people of the coast as well as of the interior," says he, ** are of
a tawny colour, have flowing hair, are well proportioned, have a goodly aspect and
are not of the appearance of the Javanese although so near to them. From this &ct it
deserves to be noted how so small a distance may change the nature of things.
And more especially, as iJl the natives of Sumatra are called by the common name
of Jauiji (Jawi), for it is held by Sumatrians as certain that the Javanese had once
been masters of this great island." Decade 8, Book 6, Chap. 1. The word Jawi
here employed belongs still to the Malav, and implies a mixture of what is partly
native and partly foreign, a sense in which it is especially applied to the language as
now written.
About the year 1807, there sprang up in Menangkabo a new and conquering
religion, being a professing reformation of the Mahommedan. It is called that of Uie
Padris or Binchis, names given to the parties who first propagated it> and who were
three native pilgrims recently returned from (Mecca. The first name mentioned is
evidently the Portuguese designation of the Roman Catholic ecclesiastics, and the last is
an abbreviation of Korinchif the district in which the reform first sprang up. The
converts to the new sect were called by the Malays oring-putih or *' white men,*'
in reference to the dress they wore. The following account is given by Mr. John
Anderson of this singular reUgion, Uie only original one that has ever been known to
have sprung up within the Archipelago. *' The Binchis," says he, writing in 1822,
'* are the chiefs of a religious sect in the kingdom of Menangkabo in the interior of
Siak, who have been gradually extending their power and their influence during the
last twelve or fifteen vears. They are most rigorous in preventing the consumption
of opium, and punish with death all who are detected in this indulgence. They
prohibit coloured cloths of any description from being worn, ai^d allow only pure
T 2
METALS 276 MINAHA8A
white. Tobaooo andbetel* artiolM in saoh genenl «ue in all Mialaj oonntriea aad
oonBidered so easentiAl to oomfort, are not permitted. Every man ia obliged to flh*ve
his head and wear a litUe skull-oap. No man ii permitted to convene with another's
wife, and the women are obligCKl to eover their faees with a white oloth havii^
only two small holes for their eyes." Mission to the Eiast Coast of Sumaftn* 1S2^
p. 848. The reformers, in time, became conquerors, — subdued a lai^ pertioH of
the interior of Sumatra, and had they not come into collision with the Dnteh at
Padangwould most probably have succeeded in mastering a large portioii of the
island. In 1887 they were attacked by the Netherland tro<^pe^'inade a brave and
fimatical resistance, but after a war of three year^ continuance were wholly aobdaed
in 1840. The religion of these Moslem puritans was far too rigorous in its eigaciinni
for the easy and Iul Malays, and oonsequently, the Padris were very unpopular with
theuL See PAOAB-BUTUNa.
METALS. There is no word for this general term in Malay, Jayaneee, or any
other language of the Archipelago. Sometimes the word L&buran signifying the
** melted object" is used by the Malays. The metals immemorially known to the natires
of the Archipelago are gold, (mas), iron (b&si), tin (tinia), silver (perak and salska)
and copper (tambaga). The only alloys known to them are those of gold with copper
(suwasa), and those of copper with tin (loyang and kuningan). The tliree first-named
metal) only are native products and have native names. Silver has also naUve names,
the origin of which cannot be traced, but the metal is certainly a foreign one, and De
BarroB informs us that before the arrival of the Potoguese, the Malaya of Malarca
received their supply of it from Siam, to which De Barros teUs us, it had been brought
from Lao. The probability, however, is that most of it must haye come from China.
The name for copper is Uie corruption of a Sanscrit one, and the knowledge of tha
metal was probably made known by the Hindus, but at the arrival of of the Portu-
guese, the market of Malacca was supplied from China. Quicksilver was probably,
like copper made known to the Malays and Javanese by the Hindus^ for the only
name for it, rasa, is Saiucrit. Load is known hj a name which signifies " black tin,*
and is probably of Chinese introduction. The inhabitants of the Philippines know it
only by the Spanish name of plomo. Down to the year 1824, when it was first made
known to them by Europeans, the natives of the Archipelago were as ignorant of
antimony which abounds in their country, as were the natives of Europe four cen-
turies before. I was present when the first button of the regulus was obtained from
the ore of Borneo, a result which surprised the Chinese and Malays who witnessed
the operation, some of whom pronounced the metal to be tin and others silrer.
MINAHASA. — ^Thifl is the name of a proyinoe or distriot of the island of Celriies,
embracing the extreme end of its northern peninsula, between the first and second
degrees of north latitude. It appears to be about 60 iniles in length by 20 in average
breadth, and thus to have an area of about 1200 square miles, ^ke whole is a
yolcanic region, the great volcanic band embracing this small portion of the Celebes
only. Mimthasa is a romantic region of yolcanic mountains, several of them in a
state of activity, of valleys, table- lands, and lakes. Several of the mountains rise to
the height of 4000 and 5000 feet above the level of the sea, and the highest of them,
Klobat, to that of 6188 feet, so that the mountains of Minahasa are Utile more than
one-half the height of those of Java. One of these, the active volcano of Sempo, is well
described by a Dutch traveller who ascended it, and whose narrative is oontained in
the Journal of Netherland India, published at Batavia. " To keep ounelvea warm,*
says he, *' we walked to the right and left on a dry fiat, while the dense mist prevented
us from seeing to sny distance. But what an image of desolation and violence met the
eye when the mist cleared up 1 As fiur as the eye could reach, nothing waa visible
but a dry sandy desert, the ground being formed of lava, and having much resem-
blance to tbe cinders of burnt coal, and on which only small tufts of grass grew here
and there. This is the crater BiAu-as&m (in Javanese ** the sour-water or meer '^.
It is all a congeries of valleys, or basin-formed hollows, probably formed, as tbe
Tolcanic action has oonsumed and heaved up the ground under the surface of the
earth. We find here no sign of living things, except wild oxen, whose traoks are so
abundant that at one place we lost the direction of the proper path through them.
Shuddering, we approached this chaos of desolation. At some distance from the
margin of the crater, we began to creep, so that we might in safety receive the full
impression of all tbe terrible but grotesque features of ms work of nature. A noise
struck our ears, much resembling that produced by opening the valve of a steam
engine. This is audible at a great distwioe. It came from the sulphur-pool at the
MTNDA^O 277 MINDi^O
bottom of the crater. At first the sulphiirouB yapour hindered qb from distinguishing
objectSy but after half-an-hour it was driven off by the wind, and the whole basin was
exposed to view before us. The first impression was fearful. A boiling pool, about
500 faet m diameter, is surrounded by a steep rocky wall. We endeavoured to cast
stones into the middle of the crater : for this purpose we fiutened a tolerably heavy
atone to the end of a rope of about 110 fathoms long, and threw it forward, but it
ran out 100 fathoms without the stone reaching the pooL We saw no living beings,
save some swallows which wheeled above the pool. We observed, also, traces of wSd
oxen which had descended into the crater. What they seek there is a mystery^ for
neither in the crater nor in its immediate vicinity is a single blade of grass to be found.'*
The table-lands of Minahasa are generally fifom 2000 to 2600 feet above the level
of the sea, and on them are many lakes, seemingly tiie craters of former volcanos.
The largest of these is that of Tondano, which is three leagues long, and from a mile
to a league broad, with a depth of from 00 to 100 feet On this an Englishman of
the name of Davis, has constructed some small sloops with which he navigates it.
The lakes abound in fish of six different species, and their fisheries furnish a con-
siderable part of the subsistence of the native inhabitants. The discharge of their
waters gives rise to several magnificent cascades, and tibjit of Tondano is especially
remarkable for its picturesque beauty. The rivers of Mina^^^ft are all small, and
none of them navigable.
The cultivated productions of the country are rice, maiz, the American potato
in the high lands, ground pulse (Araohis hypogsaa), the Qomuti and sago-palms,
tobacco, coffee^ and the caooa (theobroma). Tlus last is produced to the extent
of about 250,000 pounds yearly; and Minahawa is the only country of the
Malay Archipelago, in which this rather delicate plant has been successfully culti-
TatecL The coffee is of a very fine quality, and considered superior to the best
of Java. The annual produce is about 1,500,000 pounds, but it is rather falling
off than increasing, which is not to be wondered at, since it is a monopoly of the
government^ which requires the delivexy to it of all that is produced at the price of
15a a cwt., payable in a depreciated small copper change. The fertility of the soil
is remarkable, as is the case generally in the volcanic formation, and water available
. fox irrigation to develop it seems not to be wanting. Notwithstanding the absence
of the plough, the harrow, and the buffiJo, and that the labours of husbandry are
performed by human hands only, the country produces more rice than it consumes,
and exports about 40,000 cwts. The usual n-uits of the western islands of the
Archipelago, including the durian and mangostin, are produced, but little attention
is ffiven to them by the rude and careless natives.
None of the larger ferocious animals exist hi Minahfutfi ; and, indeed, no laige
animals in the wild state at all, except oxen become so, most probably, from the
domesticated state. The domesticated axe the ox, the hog^ the goat, and the horse.
The buffido has not been introduced. The ox is abundant, the pastures of the high
lands being well suited to it. The hog forms the principal flesh used by the native
inhabitants. The horse is evidently a stranger, for it is known only by a corruption
of its Portuguese name (cavayo), and has none in the native languagci
Tlie native inhabitants of Minahasa are of the same Malayan race as all the other
inhabitants of Celebes, but they spaak a distinct and peculiar language, and in
civilisation, are far below the Bugis and Macassar nations. They are a simple,
inoflbnsive, but indolent, dir^ and poor people. Their chief subsistence is sago,
always evidence of poverty. The total population of the province is reckoned to be
96,218 souls, of whom 02,882 are aborigines, 8375 Malays or Bugis, and 510 Chinese.
This gives about 80 inhabitants to the square mile, a denser population than that of
any other part of Celebes, a result which must be ascribed to the salubrity of the
climate and the fertility of the soil.
On tiie arrival of the Portuguese, the country was subject to the little island of
Temate, one of the Moluccas, and the people had not then, nor have they since,
adopted the Mahommedan religion. The Portuguese occupied it, in virtue of their
conquest of the Moluccas, and they were expelled bv the Dutch in 1677* The
country is now a province of Netherland India, and is divided into 26 districts^
containing 286 villages.
MINDANO. This is the most southerly of the Philippine islands, and next to
Luaon, the largest of them. It lies between north latitudes 5* 81' and 9* 49' 80",
and east longitudes 121* 44' and 125"* 44'. Its general form is an irregular triangle,
havfaig one side to the north-west, one to the east and one to the south. The whole
\
MINDAirO 278 HINDAirO
is eitranriy irregnkr, and on its iMiiih-wwterii fend soathem adea, it k
iadflotod by n&renl ds^i ba.y% of vluok Butaan and Tligaa are the lai-geit os
the fiia^ aad lUaoo or thai of Lanim on the laafc. Those of Tligan and Lurm
hidont it opposite to eadi othsr to ao)^ an extent as to make the land betima
them an kthnms not wnrnwiding S5 geqgnphioal miles broad, making the islaod, in
fiaet* to eonaut of two poBiBsalaf^ a laiger or eastoni and a smaller or western. Tb
estrsBM Iw^th of Mlnitano is leckooad to be 283 geographical miles, and its braddi
about tha aamsi Itaana la about S7>000 aqoaro geographical milea, or about a»-
thnd pait luger thm Inland. Its geological formation would aeem to be, like Uiak of
lioaon, partly aadimentaiy and plntonic, and partly Toloanic. Tbe sor&OB is ooe-
sidered to be genanJly moantainoos «id nnoYen* bat, probably, contaniiB some
ezteniAve plaina. Of the height of tiie moontuna nothing is known. Setml of
theniy however, are active voloanoi^ ftom whidi. have |KOoeeded Kotmidable irraptko5.
since the iaiand became known to Boropoans. It contains several lakes^ as thoie of
linao or Mindano, of Laaao, of Eoguey, of lingasiny Boloan, Selangan, and Sapoo^
By fitf the l aig e st of theas is the fiist-named, which Spanish writers describe as being
by its estsnt a real inland sea. It ia sttnated towards the eastern side of the ishnd
and about 8 lei^es inland from the bay of Baguga in north latitade 7* 85^ ^os
ia emptied by the coBsiderable river which Mia into the sea in the bay of Botnin on
the north- we stern coast. It is from this lake that the island is sapposed to bsve
received its Malay and Eaiepeanname^ its two last syllables formiiig a word s^gnifyia?
"Uka* The Lanno or Malano is sttnated towards the isthmus between the bays of
Lsnun and Tligan, and disdiaiges its wataia into the latter by a river called fte
NinantoD. The Uke of Biwuey ia situated in the western penininila, and gives rse
to a considerable river, whidi &Us into the bay of Kamaladan on the southern oosst.
Yeiry little, however, bevond an enumeration of namcB; is known of the greater pirt
of the interior of Mindano, idiich has certainly never been trodden by the footo!
. an intelligent and instructed European. Hie rivers are numerous but small, ■&<!
^ fit only for the navigation of native crafts As lar as is known, the largest is the
Butuan on the north-western coasts and the ffalffinpyti vdiich fills into the bay w
lUanun on its esstem side^ and {ranting the island of Bunwut It is at the mouth of
this river that standa the chief town of the prince called the Sultan of ICindano, sod
which bears the same name.
The dimate of Mindano is hot and humid, and is under the influence of the moB-
soons of the northern hemisphere^ the north-east and south-west, but unlike the other
islands of the liiilippine group, it is beyond the reach of typhoons. The miiieral
|iroduots of the isljmd appllcikble to economical uses, are, iron, gold, sulphur, aod,it ^
IS said, meroury. Among many unknown forest-trees we find here the well-knownTeik
(Teotonagrandis), Mmdano being, except Java, the only iaiand of the Malay and PhHqp^
pine Archipelsgoe that is known to poduce it in any consideFable abundance,— « net
which in d icates the presence of a calosreous foimation, this Imng the one In which it
flourishes. The cultivated plants are rioe^ mai^ sugar-CBne^ the esculent >&«
the abaca banana, the coco, the areci^ and the sago palmo, wiUi the usual froit" ^
the Malayan countries, including the durian, but, as fiv as is known, not the dm^
gostin. Dampier, who tarried sue months on the southern cosst^ and is the most
accurate and mtelligent European that ever visited and described the island, ^P^
thus of the soil : ** The mould, in general, is deep and blade, and eztraordiDsrily »•
and fruitful . • • The vallevs are well moistened with pleasant brooks, end tarn
rivers of delicate water."— -Vol. i. p. 810. No doubt in the interior of the isIsiMlf s&d
in the vicinity of the volcanic mountains, fruitful and well-watered valleys will be
found, well fitted for the growth of com. Although the olaases of the inhabitaats m
easy drcumstanoes use rice, a great proportion of the people feed on sago, groves of
the palms producing which are said by Dampier to extend along the manhy
banks of the rivers to the extent of five and six miles. The eastern side of the
island appears to be mountainous, and generally barren, and the Spanish porti^^
lying chiefly on the north-western side, seems, generally, to be more remarkable for
Bteruity than fertility.
As far as is known, and it seems very probable, none of the larger ferootoos saiin^
exist in Mindano. The elephant^ the rhinoceros, and the tapir are s^ absent, and
the only known animal of the family to which tiiey belong is the hog^ which is "f^
abundant, and from the description given of it, it would seem to be the same as <'^
of the spedes of Java, the Sus verrucosus, with an excrescence over the ^^^
Monkeys and deer are also very plentiful, but the spedes unknown. Dam|»er, woo
went on a hunting yoitj with a native chieftain^ thus describes the abonduioe oid^v^
MINBOEO 279 MINDORO
" This aavannah abounda with long graas, and it is plentifully stocked with deer. The
adjacent woods are a coYert for them in the heat of the day, but mornings and eyen-
ings they fsed in the open plains, as thick as in our parks in England. I nerer saw,
smywhere^ such plenty of wild deer, though I have met with them in seyeral parts of
America, both in the north and south seas." — ^YoL i p. 847. The wild hogs are
equally numerous, according to the same authoritv, " yet," says he^ " there are wild
liOgs in the island* those so plentiful that they will come in troops out of the woods,
at nighty to the yery city, and come under tke houses, to romage up and down the
filth that they find there. The natiyes, therefore, would eyen desire us to lye in wait
for the hogs, to destroy them, which we did frequently by shooting, and carrying
them presenUy on board, but were prohibited their houses afterwards." — Vol. i. p. 848.
Wild oxen are also numerous, but whether a genuine wild race, or the domestic become
0O, is not known. The domesticated animals are those usual among the Malays, the
ox, the buffalo,[the goat, and the horse. The poultry consist of the common fowl and
duck. Fish, as in these regions generally, are abundant in tiie seas, lakes, and riyers.
The inhabitants of Mindano appear to be all of the true Malayan race, without,
as in some other islands of the Pldlippine group, any negritos. They are composed
of many distinct tribes, speaking distinct languages, but of which no specimens have,
that I am aware, been produced. ** This island," says Dampier, ** is not subject to one
prince, neither is the language one and the same, but the people are much alike in
colour, strength, and stature. He then describes those with whom he held most
communication, and this with a simple, graphic fidelity which cannot be excelled.
** The Mindanayans, properly so called, are men of mean stature, small limbs, straight
bodies, and little heads. Their &ces sre oyal, their foreheads flat, with black small
eyes, short low noses, pretty small mouths, thin lips, and their teeth black, yet yery
sound ; their hair black and straight ; the colour of their skin tawney, but inclining
to a brighter yellow than some other Indians, — especially the women." — ^VoL L, p. 824,
825. As to Umguage, what Dampier says of it is true to our own time. " In the city
of Mindano (Seiangan) they speak two Isnguages indifferently, — ^their own Mindanao
and the Malay, — ^but in other parts of the island they speak only their proper language,
haying little commerce abroad." — Vol. i. p. 880. Many of the inhabitants of the
island are little better than utter savages, but the people of the southern side,
and the Mindanese and Lanuns would appear to be nearly in the same state of socdal
adyanoement as the Malays, and superior to the Malays m our time in enterprise and
audacity, since firom among them proceed the most daring and most dangerous piratee
of the Archipelagos, the men that infest it by their cruises from one extremity to
the other.
Mindano was discoyered by the celebrated Magellan, on Easter Sunday of the year
1521, and, landing on its northern coast in the bay of Butuan, he took possession of
it in the name of the King of Spain. The more dyiliied inhabitants haye all been
long conyerted to the Ma hommetan religion, but with respect to the time or manner
in which the conyersion ^nuA brougnt about, nothing is known with certainty.
Spanish writers, howeyer, assert, with some show of probability, that it was efliscted
from Borneo. It does not appear that the inhabitants had, like those of Sumatra^
Jaya, Celebes, and Luson, inyented or used alphabetic writing before their oonyenrion,
but at present they* follow the Malays in wriung in an adapted Arabic character. Ko
ancient monuments of any description are known to exist in the island.
The southern portion of Mindano is subject to the prince, who calls himself Sultan,
and the whole northern, with a portion of the eastern and western, to the Spaniards,
much of the interior being still in tiie occupation of wild tribes whose yery
names are unknown. The Spanish proyinces amount to four, — Canga, Nueya
Guipusooa and Miiinia on the northern, and Zamboanga on the western side. The
area occupied by these is stated at no more than 8617 square geographical miles, or
less thm one-tenth of that of the island, and their population, in 1841, was reckoned
at 8000. The ssme rate for the whole i^and would giye between 800,000 and 900,000
inhabitants, about 28 to the square mile, which is probably fiilly as much as it contains.
MINDORO. One of the large islands of the Philippine Arehipelago, and of
these by far tiie poorest and least populous, lies between north latitudes 12** 12' and
18* 81', and east longitudes 120*^12' and 121'' 29'. It is 89 geographical miles in
length, and 56 in its greatest breadth, and is computed to haye an area of 2917 square
geographical miles. At its north-eastern end, it is separated from Luson by a strait
of about four miles broad, in the middle of which is the islet called Ida Verda To
the south-west it has tiie Oalamiancs group, the channel between them being that
l/
MINDOftO 280 MmDORO
called by our mariners the Straits of Mindoro, wkile the Spaniards give this iknme to
the narrow sea which divides Mindoro from Luoon. Soath of it lies the fine ialjuid of
Panay, distant aboat forty miles, and to the east of it Marindaque aacl Isla de
Tablas.
Mindoro is a mountain mass composed of a triple range running from iH>Tth to
south, some peaks of which are of considerable but unascertained elevatiqii, eBpacsally
that called Cakvite at its north-western extremity, with another on its northern coaa^
fronting^ Luzon and four leagues from the coast. The ranges decline in h«i^
southward, until they terminate in the southern extremity of the island. caUed
Buracan or Pnnta del Diablo. A narrow belt of low land, of about thirty lee^niea in
length, runs along the northern and eastern shores. The whole coast-line^ extandiii^
to about seventy leagues, is unbroken by^Ei^s^or inlets of any extent ; but on the
western side, and towards the southern extremity, there is one small and. aafd
harbour, called Marguirin, dose to the islands Ambolon and Tlin, and on the
northern coast fronting Luaon there is another a^Tording safe anchorage for nnall
vessela^ called Puerto galera, from its being the station for the galleys thet craiae
after pirates. The iiUand valleys are narrow, but one of them contains a lake
between six and seven leagues in circumference, and distant about two loagnes from
the eastern coast The geologioBl formation of Mindoro has not been described, but
it seems tolerably certain that it contains no volcanos, notwithstanding its proximity
to Luson, which abounds in tiiem. The most remarkable geological phenomena
connected with it are those produced by the action of water on its ooasta. A thj
interesting account of these is giyen in a description of the island contained in the
Diario de Mamlla, for 1847, and of whi<dL Mr. Logan has published a translation.
" The valley," says the Spanish writer, " which crosses from north to wes*^ finom
Abra de Ilog to Paluan and Mamburao, is passable during the dry months ; but that
which crosses from north to east, from Calapan to Bongabon is not to be tra^eraed at
any time except by the wild inhabitants of the interior. In the centre of this last
named valley, between the towns of Katgan and Pola, and at a distanoe of two
leagues frx)m the sea, there is a lake of six or seven leagues in drcumferenoe, fed by
the waters which fall frt>m the principal mountain chain. Those rivers which do not v
pursue their course until they collect in this lake, or the water which overflows from
the lake itself in the rainy season, flood the entire Talley, depouting in the lower
grounds so abundant a sediment, that when the waters retire, and the gnmnd dries
up, the land becomes six or seven inches more elevated. The church of the old town
of Nai:gan, situated in the immediate neighbourhood of the lake, has, in the course of
less than fifteen years^ become buried m the mud, as fiur as the key-stone of the
arched door, and the inhabitants have found themselves obliged to remoye to the
sea-side. Nor is this the only change that the surface of the island of Mindoro has
undergone. Every year the embajokments of the small rivers which run into the
sea change their position, oTeroome by the combined action of the wind and sea.
The bay of Pola ^at the extreme eastern point of the island) is formed by the sub-
mersion of a portion of the coast, in 1695, according to tiie chronicles of the religious
orders. The town of Balalacao, in the southern part of the island, vras founded less
than ten years ago, upon a hill of a perfectly conical form in the middle of a green
plain well cultivated. The hiU i» now an isolated mount, and the plain has become
an inlet of the sea in which small vessels can anchor,"— ^ouinal of the Indian Archi-
pelago, Vol. iii., p. 765.
The climate of Mindoro is hot and moiat^ but in general eq[ttal in saluMty to the
rest of the Philippines. Some of the close valleys, however, are pregnant with
intense malaria, producing their usual effects on the human constitution. " The deep
and marshy valleys we have described," says the writer above quoted, ''covered with
dense forests which preserve a perpetual humidity, are constantly exhaling miaama,
which prove prejudicial to health. The wind follows the direction of the valleys and
empoisons the air of the narrow gullies, through which it makes its exit. At Abra
de Ilog which is situated at the mouth of one of these valleys, a stranger cannot set
Mb foot down, especially during the south-west monsoon, without catching a putrid
or tertian fever. The inhabitants, taught by experience, have removed their pariah
church to Puerto Oalera, and when they viut Abra de Dog, they scarcely dare to paai
a single night there. We frequently hear that the crew of a vessel which has
anchored for only two or three hours in this dangerous spot, has become thoroughly
infected with fever, and a great part has died in the course of three or four days. It
is on this account that the labourers of the neighbouring provinces of Luson will not
go to the coasts of Mindoro for any amotmt of wage6."-r-lDid.
y
MINDORO 281 MINDORO
Nearly the whole island is covered with a dense forest, among wMch are found
ebony and sapan wood, with many timber-trees affording wood suited to bouse and
ship-building. The soil of the interior would seem to be generally stubborn or
sterile, and the alluvial lands of the valleys and Bea*coast intractAble from rankness
of vegetation and malaria. The products of the soil are the usual ones of the climate.
The culture of rice is carried on but to a small extent, and generally not by irriga-
iion, but by the rude and laborious one which consists in snatching an occasional
crop from the forest lands, by felling and burning the trees, and dibbling the seed, a
praotioe everywhere a sure indication of rudeness and poyerty. Yams and manioc
(Jatropha) are cultivated on the mountain sides, and the principal palms in culture
are the coco and gomuti. From the last, and not from the true sago-palm, a sago is
extracted which forms a main part of the subustence of the people. Mindoro does
not appear to produce any of the metals for economic use, and the only large wild
animals ascertained to exist in the forests are hogs.
The inhabitants of Mindoro consist of two classes, — ^those of the coasts, and those
of the interior. The first, now constituting the greater part of the population of the
island, are the descendants of yagabonds and fugitives from the neighbouring
provinces of Luzon, their language, which is the Ta^da, being sufficient evidence of
their origin. The most numerous people of the interior, of Uie same Malayan race
with the other nations and tribes of the Philippines, are most probably the aboriginal
inhabitants of the island. By the natives of the coast they go under the common
name of Manguianos, but they are divided into many tribes, and speak at least one
language (probably several), differing from any other language of the PhilippinesL
They are almost naked, and wholly miserable, yet inoffensive savages. The Spanish i^
writer already quoted gives the following lively account of their manners : — " The
appearance they present is, in general, filthy and repugnant. Almost all are dis-
figured by the cutaneous disorder from which they constantly suffer. Those who are
affected in a lesser degree are covered with a kind of white scurf, formed by the
constant excitation of the skin, and the absence of cleanliness. Many of them suffer
from chronic ulcers; others from laige excrescences; some have a foot or a hand
enormously swollen, while the leg or arm appertuning to it is withered or shrunken.
• . • . They have no fixed domicile. They plan^ here and there, tobacco, buvo
(areoa), sweet potatoes, and several other descriptions of edible roots ; and pass the
night under trees or hi the hollows of rocks. For the infirm or siddy they have
couches formed of trunks of small trees, parallel to one another, with one laid across
to serve as a pillow. If they scatter a few dried leaves over the trunks, they consider
this as constituting a very desirable bed. They have villages which contain two or
three houses, if a shed with one side resting on the ground, or at best on a floor of
bamboo, and the oUier elevated by means of two stakes or poles, deserve the name of
house. In these hovels, which are only twelve or fourteen feet square, fifteen or
twenty of these people shelter themselves, huddled together, without distinction of
sex, age? or relationship. It is to this custom of sleeping pressed close together, and
to squatting all day on their hams, that their peculiar mode of walking may be attri-
buted. They advance very timidly, especially the women, with the body stooping
forwards, precisely like an ape whose hands have been tied behind him, and who is
consequently obliged to walk on his hind feet."— Ibid. p. 759. Besides these people
of brown complexion and lank hair, there seems also to exist a race of n^gritosi, or
small negros, of whom, however, no description has been given.
The total number of the Manguianos or wild inhabitants of Mindoro has been
estimated at 6000. By the census of 1850, the inhabitants of the coasts, distributed
in six small towns amounted to 8921 souls, the greater number on the northern and
eastern coasts opposite to Luzon. Oalapan, the chief town, contained 2878 inhabi-
tants, and Naujan, 8191. The number contributing to the poll-tax was 1910, and
the amount of the tax 19,105 reals of plate. The total population, including the
wild tribes, would be about 15,000, giving 5 inhabitants to the square mile, a miserable
rate for a country so extensive and so fiivourably situated, and which proclaims
its poverty and essential sterility.
Mindoro was discovered and taken possession of by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, the
oonqueror of the Philippines, who deputed his nephew Juan de Salcedo to conduct the
enterprise, wMch he accomplished with 80 Spaniards and a crowd of natives. This
transaotion must refer to the pirates of Mindano and Sulu, who had immemorially
infested the Philippines, and formed their stations on the coast of Mindoro, and not
to the native inhabitants of the island, who have never been subdued, because never
thought worth while Bubdoing. In 1670, X^e^Api himself touched on this shore
i
MIXDORO S82 MOA&
of Hiodoto on bis vmy from Fnmy to the eanqoflrt of LaBOQ, and then imposed a
poO^n or tribnto oo the e u a q i i wed mhsKtMit ^ bang the firat example of this tax
in the FbilippineiL Its fom» on this orrwicin, was sn inqrast of 8 reals of phte
oa every fiunflj. Evor ones its oeeopatioii bj the &aiiiarda, Mindoro hss eao-
tianed to be auwug e d bj the pbstas of Mhidsna sod Solii, who sfflicted it in the
IMhoMtnry. Tlvej aeeia, even in the kst eentniy to have had their rq^nlsr ststionB
OB its coasts, shifting them seeoidiag to the monsoons^ Mambarae on the westea
eosst aifotdiiigtham ahdtsr in tiis northesstem monsoon, and Bslete on the easteni
dnring the north-wastarn. Stem nsngation will in all likelihood, pat an end to
this UMuuHai J nfiepooting.
MINDOROy firom the nnme of the ishmd just desoibed, is that of one of
the pitmneea of the Spaniah F1uIipiHne& It is composed of Miodoro, Lnbang, Ylim
and other smsU ^^^'^^ snd of Um considerable one of Marinduque, althou^ tbe
Utter be mneh nearer to Loaon. The proTince c ons is ts of ten towns, and in 1850 liad
s popnli^on of 85^136 of which^6445 paid the tribute amoimtiDg 64,450 reels of plate.
In 1735 its population smoonted to no more thsn 10,170; in 1801, to 15,845, and
in 1S18 to 18,796. The Islsnd of Msrindnqne which ia about one-eightii part of the
aiae of ICndoro, contains a good deal more ttian double its popolation.
MINTO, correctly Muntok, is the name of the small town which is the seat of
administnUi<m of the islsnd of Banca. It is sitoaied on the shore snd towards the
western end of the strait whidi parts the ieland from Snmstniy and c^poeite to tbe
river on whidk lies Pslembang. the o^Mtal of the princea to which Bancs once
belonged. It liea in a aandy plain, and a smsll river peases through it. In 1813,
it contained a population of 1547, which m 1847 had risen to 8000. South latitude
r 2' 45'', and east longitude 105* 10' 50^.
MISAMIS is the name of one of the four Spanish proTinees of the great island
Mindano^ the most southerly of the Philippinea It lies on the north-weatem aide of
the idand, having the province of Ouaga to the east, snd that of Zamboanga to the
weat with the territory of the Sultan of Mindano to the aouth. It haa a coaat line of
27 geogn^hioal miles, extends inlsnd to from 20 to 27, snd hss sn area of 1400 square
geographical milea The climate is hot snd dsmp, but not unheslthy. Moat of the
country is covered with fbrest of unusnsl density. The woods oontain such wild
>«i«i^1q as the buflUo, hog, deer snd monkeya Several eonaiderable riveia run
through the province^ affording £ualities for irrigation, not taken advantage of
Theee and the baya and oovea of the coast abound in fiah, whidi determines the
localitieB of the population. The waahing of gold-dust frwn the ssnds of the rivers
is one of the principal occupations of the inhahitanta, a poor and indolent people
compoaed of aeveral indigenous tribea. In 1801, the population is stated to have
amounted to 56,8iM), but in 1818, owing to the depredations of the pirates of the
southern side of the islsnd, it had fidlen off to 80,164. In 1850, however, it bad
inoreaaed to 47,888. On account of their poverty, most of the inhabitants sie esempt
from the poll-tax which, in 1850, amounted to no more thsn 45,120 resls of plats.
The total number of towns, or more correctly, of villsges in the province is* 80.
The chief place, cslled like ih» province Hisamis, is aitu^ed on the western side of
the gnat bay of Tligan in north latitude 8* 28' 10", and eaat longitude 128* 46'.
TbiB, in 1850, contained 8,880 inhabEtantai
MISOL, or MYSOL, but correotly MesUal, is an islaiid of the Molnoca sea, lying
west of New Quinea, and north of Coram. Its most westerly point is in south
latitude 1* 57', and east longitude 129* 41'. It is 40 miles in length, snd about 15
in sTerage breadth, and therefore has a superficies of 600 square milea. The popu-
lation of the interior is said to be n«gro, and that of the coast a mixture between
the negro and Malay. Beyond these alleged facts nothing is known of this consider-
able island.
MO A, one of the Sarawati islands or group of islets whidh lies off the western
end of Timur snd towards New GKiinea. It is in south latitude 8* 19' and east
longitude 128* 8'. The people are of the Malayan race, and are understood to spesk
the same language as those of the neighbouring island of Kisa.
MOAE or MUAR. This is the name of a river of some note in the histoiy of
the Malays, a place situated on it being that to which the Javaaeae fcmnder of
if«^i«ftna. flod when driven out of Singapore, and where hie desoendsnt first to(dc
refuge when driven from Malacca by the Portuguese in 1511. The place is shout
ten uagues sonth of Mfti«i*«^ At its embouohnre^ the river is 600 yards wide^ and
MOENA 283 MOLUCCAS
18 miles up dimiuiahes to one-aiztb part of this breadth. A aand bar obstructs its
mouth on which there is no more than threo-quartera of a fiithom -of water. The
whole country is an extensive primitive jungle. The district) which takes its name
from the river, is subject to the Malay chieftain of Segamat,^ himself a nominal
tributary of Jehor. The little state oomdsts of about seven principal villages with
a computed population of 2,400. Its productions are the tunial ones for such a
country, — ^most of them spontaneous products of the forest, as ivory, ebony, bees-
wax, rattans, fto. The interior, however, yields a little gold and tin.
MOENA, oorreoUy Muna, called also Pangasan^, is the name of a large island,
lying between Boeton and the south-eastern peninsula of Celebea The channel
between it and Celebes is about 15 miles broad in its narrowest part, and is inter-
spersed with numerous islets. That between it and Boeton is from three-quarters
of a league to a league in breadth, and full fifty long, and notwithstanding its narrow-
ness, is nayigable for large ships, having generally a depth of from 10 to 12 feithoms.
Moena is about 105 miles in length, and 30 in average breadth, and is computed to
have an area of 744 square geographical miles. The principal town, of the same
name as the island, is in the interior, but the only port of any traffic is at the northern
end fronting Celebes, and called Tiworo. giving name to the strait between the two
islimds. The inhabitants are of the Malayan race, like all those of Celebes, and
speak a dialect of the language of Boeton, to the Sultan of which the island is subject.
The Bajaus, orang-laut, or sea gypsies, fish tripane on the coasts of the island, and
Uiis article is the staple of its trade. The few traders are the Wajus of Celebes.
MOLUCCAS. The proper Moluooas, althongh the name has been extended to all
the islands east of Celebes and west of New Guinef^ consist only of five islets lying in
a chain running north and south, on the western side of the large island of Qilolo or
Halamahdra,and extending to about flve-and-forty miles on both sides of the equator*
Their names, beginning from the north, are Temate, Tidor, Mortier, Makian, and
Batjian ; or in a more correct orthogn4)hy, TAmati, Tidori, Mortir, Makiyan, and
BachuuL These constitute the native country of the clove; the celebrated islands
which mainly prompted the European nations of the 16 th century to the discovery
of the New World, and of a navigation which made known to them a portion of the
old one, equal to the New in extent. De Barros tells us, that their ancient names were
respectively, in the language of the natLves, Gap^ Duoo, Mental, Mara, and Sequ^
But the meaning of neither old or new names is known ; for the latter, which might
be expected to be Malay or Javaaesei are not so. The collective name, which the Por-
tuguese write Maluoa» and is correctly Maluka, is equally unknown, although said to
be that of a place and people of the island of Gilolo. No such name is, at present,
known to exist in that island. There can be no doubt^ however, but that this word
WHS used by the Malays and Javanese, who conducted the spice trade, before it fell
into the huids of the Portuguese ; for it is employed by Barbosa, who visited the
Arohipdago before the conquest of Malacca : and again in 1581, by Hgafetta, who
writes the word Malucco. All that De Barros tells us of the name is, that it is a col-
lective one for all the islands, as the Canaries and Cape de Verde are with European
nations for these groups.
By far the largest of the Moluccas is Baohluua, the most southerly. The rest are
mere volcanio cones, springing fix>m the sea ; and Temate, the most northerly and
important of them, as well as the seat of the Dutch administration, is an active vol-
cano, which has produced more eruptions since the first arrival of Europeans than
any other in the Archipelago. This is De Barros* description of these famed islands
as they were first seen by his countrymen. " The land of these islands," says he,
"is ill-fkvoured and ungracious to look at, for the sun is always very near, — now
going to the northern, and now to the southern solstice. This, with the humidity
of the climate, causes the land to be covered all over with trees and herbs. The
air is loaded with vapours, which always hang over the tops of the hills, so that the
trees are never without leaves. Generally the acclivities of the hiUs, ftom their
elevation, are healthy ; but the coast, particularly in the case of Bachluuti, is imwhole-
some. The soil, for the most part, is black, coarse and soft ; and so porous and
thirsty, that however much it rains, forthwith the water is drunk up. And if a river
comes from the mountains, its waters are absorbed before they reach the sea."—
Decade 8, Book 5, Chapter 5.
The same writer's account of the state of society among the islanders^ is graphic
and reliable. ''Although,*' says he, " they have some millet and some rice, all the
inhabitants of these Islands eat a nntriment which they call sagum (sago), the pith
MOLUGCAB 284 MOLUOCAB
of a tree rasBmblliig the palm, exoept that its leavw are more tender and tliar grecB
of a daikier hoe. . • • And althoog^ the inhabitante have animalw which serve forfnd,
aa hogi^ sheep (?) and goats, with Tsrioiis wild animals, they prefer fish to flesL Ii
these islands there are no metals* although some allege that there is gold, whid,
however, we never saw. l%e people are of a tawny complexion, — have lank hazr^
are rohost in person,— strong limbed and addicted to war. In everything bnt w
they are alothlol ; and if there be any industry among them in ac^calture or ttsde,
it is oon&ied to the women* They are agile on land and still more so on water; for
in swinmiing they are fish, and in fighting, buda. Altogether they are a mslioioos
people, false and nngiatefdl, bat expert in lesming anything. Althongh poor in
wealth, sndi is their pride and presumption that they will abate nothing from neoei-
aity ; nor will they sobmi^ except to the sword that cuts them, and through the
blood of their bodiesi Finally, these islands, according to tiie account given by our
people, are a warren of every evil, and contain nothing good but their dove treei'—
i>n»de 8, Book 5, Chapter 6. It is to be obeerved, Uiat when this un&voonbfe
picture of the inhabitants of the Moluccss was written, the Portuguese had been
engaged in hostilities with them, resisting the imposition of the monopoly of tlte
intruders*
With respect to langnagei, De Barroe obaervesy that the inhabitants spoke many
diflerent ones* so that the language of one place was not understood in another.
These tongues, he adds, differed entirely, even in pronunciation, some " forming the
word in Uie throaty others at the tip of the tongue, others between the teeth, and
others again in the throat.'* "And," he adds, "if there be any common tongae
through which they can understand one another, it is the Kalaya of MalacoB^ to
which the nobles have addicted themselvee of late, and since the Moors have resorted
to them for the dove.'* — ^Ibid.
Before the arrival of the Portuguese in India, all that was known of the Moluoctf
to the nations of Europe, amounted simply to the fact, that certain remote parts of
India produced cloves ; and this became known to the Romans about the end of tlie
second century, when the clove came to be an article of import into the Roman pro-
vinces. The first true account of them is given by Barboea, whose manuscript is dated
in 1516. He names the five islands eomotiy ; describes the growth and prepara-
tion of the dove, and the manner in which the trade in It was carried on. " From
the city of Malacca," says he, " there go many ships to the islands rf Maluco to load
with cloves ; and as merchandise they carry thither, doths of Cambaya, and other
cotton and silk stufb ; with commodities of Pulicat^ and Bengal, and quicksilver, tin,
unwrought copper, and copper made into bellfl^ (gongs), with a money of Cbio*
resembling a denier, (bagatino), but having a hole throush the middle, (the pitis or
pichis), and black pepper, poroelane, garlick, onions, wHh drugs of Gambaya. And
of all these things they take great quantities.*' — ^Ramusio, Yol. L, p. 817. ''At the
time," says De Barros, ** that we arrived in India, these two nations, the Javanese
and Malays, carried on the whole of the spice trade, bringing all the spioee to the
famous emporium and fair of Malaooa, now in our possession."
De Bmtus' account of the oonversion of the inhabitants to the Mahometan reli-
gion is as follows : "Before the arrival of the Moors, the people of Maluca had do
division of the year, and no weights and measures ; and lived without knowledge of
one god, or indication of any certain religion. Only some of them worshippod t^
sun, the moon and the stars ; while others adored the powers of the earth, wfaioh
some of them still do, the sea coast only beiog in the power of the Moors.** . . • • •
<* And now, in the Maluco islands, many peraons have been oonverted to the sect of
Mahommed. . . . The Javanese and Malaya themselves already oonverted, trading to
the Maluca and Banda islands, converted the inhabitants of their coasts with wfaidi tb^
held oommeroial intercourse. Of fourteen kings whidi the Maluca islands have hadt
the first who became a Moor was the king of Temate, named Tidord Vongu^ &tber
of king Boleifo, who entertained Francisco Senfto. According to the aooount givoo
by the inhabitants themselves at the time of our arrival, littie more than eighty yean
had eUtpeed since that pest entered the Malucas ; and when Antonio de Brito arrived
in Temate, there still lived a Ca^ who gave it that hdlish doctrine, finfemal doo-
trina)."— Decade 8, Book 6, Chapters.
The aooount given by De Barros of the time in whidi the inhabitants of the
Moluccas were oonverted to Mahometanism, would carry it back to about the J^
1440. Pigafetta, however, makes it a good deal later ; but it must be observedi that
he speaks of the island of Tidore, while De Barros refers to that of Tena^
** Scarcely fifty years have passed away," says the former, " sinoe the Moon cm-
J
MONEY 286 MONEY
quered Maluoo and dwelt there. Before then, these islanda were mhabited only by
Gentiles, who set no value on doves. There are still some Qentile families who
have fled to the mountains, where also the olove grows." — Page 161. This would
bring the conversion down to 1470.
The trade and interoourse of the Malays and Javanese with the Moluccas is cer-
tainly of a far higher antiquity than Is to be inferred from the expressions of De
Barros and Pigafetta. This is attested by the prevalence of the Malay language as a
common medium of communication, — ^by the frequency of Malay and Javanese words
in the native tongues, intermixed with Sanscrit ; such as the current names of the
spices themselves, articles not used by the natives even now, any more than they were
in the time of Pigafetta, as condiments ; and which, therefore, oould only be raised
to exchange with strangers.
The Portuguese, by &e conquest of Malacca, were at once in the beet position to
obtain full information respecting the spice islands, and quickly availed Uiemselves
of it "Alfonso Albuquerque," says De Barros, *' having, as already stated, taken
the city of Malacca in the year 1611 ; and seeing that it was the mart at which was
assembled all the trade of the east and of the west^ as well as of so many neighbouring
provinces and of thousands of islands, and feeling the importance of preserving it, since
it was now in our power, resolved to make known to all the places in question,
that they might resort to it without fear, and be treated with justice and favour. In
order to further this measure, he despatched Antonio de Miranda to SiSo, (Siam) ;
Buy d'Acunha to Peg^ and Jaiia, (Java) ; and Antonio d'Abreu to Maluca. Before
the last of these set out^ he sent on before him one Nakhoda Ismael in a trading junk
belonging to some Moorish Javanese and Malays of these parts, in order that when
he arrived in the ports of Maluca he should be well received. As our name was
wonderful in these parts, there seemed no risk of his not having a good reception.
Antonio d'Abreu having sailed with three ships, proceeded on his voyage by way of
Java, taking with him, besides his own Portuguese pilots, some Malays and Javanese
who had before made the voyage. The first port he touched at was Aga9im, in Java,
(Qressik), and from thence he proceeded to the island of Amboino, (Amboyna),
which now belonged to the lordship of Maluco, from which it was distant about
sixty leagues." — ^Decade 8, Book 5, Chapter 6. D'Abreu did not quit Malacca
until the end of December, 1511, so that the actual discovery was not made
until 1512, twenty yean after Columbus had attempted it.
D'Abreu, however, went no farther than Amboyna, a recent conquest of the kings
of the Moluccas, and to which they had carried the culture of the dove. It was not
until the year 1521, the same in which the companions of Magellan visited them,
that the Portuguese presented themselves in the true Moluccas, and commenced their
oonquest under Antonio de Brito. They held them in all about eighty years, a
period of anarchy and disorder. In 1602, the Dutch conquered Amboyna and Tidore
under their admiral, Stephen Van der Hagen, and the other islands quickly followed.
The same power has held them ever since with two short and profitless interludes of
British occupation during the war of the French Revolution, amounting, jointly, to
about twelve years.
MONEY. The onrrent and oonvenient principal eoin of the Malay and Philip-
pine Archipelagos is at present, and has long been, the hard Spanish dollar, the peso
duro of the Spaniards ; and that with globes and pillars, containing 870*9 grains of
pure silver, and worth in sterling money 51*79 pence, haiiB an universal preference.
The English rupee and Dutch guilder are but of local currency, and always, more or
lees, at a disoount The dollar, in the native languages, is known by various names.
The Malays usually call it real, which is, no doubt, an abbreviation of the Spanish
real de a echo, or " piece-of-eight." The common name with the Javanese is ringgit,
which literally means " scenic figure." Such figures had been represented on their
own ancient coins; and the impressions on the Spanish coin appearing to resemble
them, probably given rise to the name. They ^call it often also angres, that is,
"Englii^,*' probably from its being the money in use by English traders. Both
Malays, Javanese, and Bugis call it very frequently pasmat, which is a corruption of
the Dutch Spanish'mal
A great variety of small coins of brass, copper, tin and zinc are in droulation
throughout all the islanda The most frequent of these is the Dutch doit, of which
about 800 ought to go to a Spanish dollar. The intrinsic value of all such coins,
however, having no relation to their assumed one, and being usually over-issued, they
are generally at a heavy discount. The small eoins of Palembang, Achin, Bantam,
MONET 286 MOKET
and Qoeda are of tin. Those of the latter place go under the name of tn, whldi ia,
howerer, only the word ^ stamp" or " impreasion.'' Of tfaeee IGO are filed on a
filament of ralan, of which 8 strings or 1280 coins are considered equivalent to a hard
dollar. In Bali and Lomhoc the currency consists of Chinese sine coins witii a hole in
the middle for filing them on a string, each string having 200, and five of these called
a siah, that is, "one thousand," being the highest denomiioation of money in the
reckoning of ihe inhabitants of these islands. Their value nses and fidla in the
market according to the supply, like any ordinary artide of merchandise; so that a
Spanish dollar mil sometimes buy 800 of them, but often as few as 500 only. All these
small coins are generally known by the Javanese name of pichis, corru|^ied pttis by
the Malays, a name which had ertended to the Philippines. This was the name of
the andent coin of Java, and is now a frequent appellative for money in general, as
well as for small change. Chinese coins of this description were found in the ruins
of the andent Singapore, of as early a time as the 10th century, as will be presently
stated ; and we have the auth<»ity of the first Europeans that visited Borneo Proper, the
companions of Magdlan, that they were the only money of that part of the Archi-
pelago. ** The money,"* says Pigafetta, " which the Moors use in this oountiy is
of brass, with a hole for fiUng it. On one side only there are four charusters,
which represent the great king of China. They call it piciSk" — Primo Viaggio^
p. 121.
The only native country of the Archipelago in whidi a coin of the predous metals
seems ever to have been coined, is Achin. This is of gold of the we^ht of nine
grsins, and of about the value of lid, sterling ; to which European traders have
given the name of a mace> a com^>tion of the Malay mas, itself a oorruption of the
Sanscrit, masha, the name of an Indian weight. All the coins (^ this description
that have been seen are inscribed with Arabic characters, and bear the names
of the sovereigns under whom they were struck, so that they are comparatively
modem.
With the exception of the gold coin now mentioned, evidently suggested by the
Hindus, none of the nations of the Archipelago had any coin of the predous metals.
When serving in Java between 1811 and 1817, a small earthen vase of silver coins
was excavated in the province of Samarang, of which I recdved spedmena. These
consisted of small button-shaped pieces convex on one dde and concave on the other,
and having rude characters on both ddes, but too mudi defaced to be legible. Mr.
Marsden, to whom I presented them, and who was at the time engaged in preparing
his work on Oriental coins, pronounced them to bear much resemblance to some
andent Hindu coins in his own possesdon.
Previous to the arrival of Europeans, the natives of the Ardiipelago generally,
had no other coin than the small bits of copper, brass, tin, or sdnc, already named.
The Javanese appear to have coined some of their own money, as we find from many
examples excavated firom old temples and other places. These contain impresdona
of scenic figures, such as are still represented in their dramas called wayang or
sltadows, but having no dates, and, indeed, no written character, until after tlie
adoption of Mahometanism. But beddes these native coins there have been, found
in Java and elsewhere andent Chinese and even Japanese coins. In Singapore, after
our occupation, there were excavated some Chinese coins fi'om among quantitieB of
Chinese pottery. One of these bore the name of a Chinese emperor, whose death
corresponded to the year of our time 967 ; of another to 1067, and of a third to 1085,
so that it may be confidentially asserted that an intercourse^ direct or indirect,
existed between China and Singapore as early as the 10th and 11th centuries.
The absence of all other current coin than such as are now mentioned previous to
the arrival of Europeans is testified by the early Portuguese historians, and this, even
in Malacca, the most condderable trading emporium of the Ardiipdago. The enter-
prising Alboquerque before he quitted that place after its conquest, proceeded at once
to supply this deficiency, actuated at the same time, in a good measure, by his hostility
to the religion of its previous rulers. ** Having," says De Barros, " done these things
for the security of the dty (built a fortification and a church from materials fuxnisb^
by the tombs of ancient Malay kings), bo did other things for its grandeur and for its
commerce, and this, as if at the request of the people. With this view, he ordered
money to be coined, for in the country, gold and silver passed only as merchandise,
and during the reign of King Mahommed, there was no other coined money than
that made from tin, which served only for the ordinary transactions of the market."
Decade 2, Book 2, Chap. 2. Castaghneda is more full in his account of the trans-
action. " As," says he, " there was no money in Malacca except that of the Hoont,
MONEY 287 MONEY
the goTemoi^geiieral ordered some to be coined, not only that he might eztinguiah
the Moorish coin, but aleo in order that a coin might be ttruck withTSie stamp and
arms of his royal master. And taking on this subject the opinion of the Qentile
Chetins ^the Talinga Hindus), and other honourable men, dwellers in the city, he
oommanaed forthwith, that a tin coinage should be struck. Of the one small coin
called caixa (cash), he ordered two to be made into one, to which he gaye the name of
dinheiro. He struck another coin, which he named soldo, consisting of ten dinheiroe,
sjod a third, which he called bastardo, consisting of ten soldos. And as there existed
no coin of gold or of sUver, for the merchants made their sales and purchases by
weighing tM predous metsJs, the goyemoi'-general resolved, with the advice of the
persons above-mentioned, to coin gold and silver money. To the gold coin he gave
the name of Catholicos, and it weighed 1000 reas, and to the silver that of Malaques.
Both were of the purest metal that could be smelted." YoL 2.
Even tiie small coin now desoribed seems to have been confined to the more
advanced nations, for many of the ruder tribes had no money at alL In this state
were the inhabituits of Celebes, some of whom now understand its use so well, —
moet of the people of Bomecrand all those of the Hulippine islands. It is remarkable,
indeed, that the Malays of Brunai, or Borneo Proper, even to the present day, have
no other money than the small tokens already mentioned, using blue cloths of Bengal
and Madras as their laiger standard of exchange. Some employed salt, cakes of bees-wax,
and similar commodities, as a standard of exchange; but most of tihe civilised nations
used gold dust, estimated by weight end touch, a practice in which it is evident from
the derivation of the terms conneoted with them, that they were initiated by the
Hindus, most probably the Telingss of the Coromandel coast Thus, we have the
scarlet weig^iiing-bean rakit, from the Sanscrit raktaka, mas from masha, tail from
talaka in the same Isnguage, with mutu the touch of gold, firom the Telinga. The
values of the denominations are all Hindu. Thus 24 of the soarlet beans each 24 grains
troy moke a mas, and 16 mas make a tail, while the touch is a scale of 10, like that
of the HindusL A colony of the Hindus of Telingana still exists in Malacca, whose
profession it is to tiy gold by the touch snd to refine it.
In the collections of the customary laws of the Malays, the mulcts imposed are
always specified in the denominations thus named. The following are examples
taken from the collection of those of Malacca, supposed to have been compiled under
the direetion of the first prince that adopted the Mahommedsn religion. *' If a man
attempt to seduce a married woman, and her husband make complaint, the magistrate
shall cause the oflimder to humble himself before the husband by making to him an
obeisance in open court, and if he refuse, then he shall be fined 10 tails and one pi&a,
(J) or less, at the option of the msgistrate. If a man attempt to seduce a married
woman and the husband kill him, the slayer shall be fined 6 tails and 1 paa, for the
ofifender only attempted to seduce, which is not a justifiable cause of homicide,
excepting always, however, in the case of men of exalted rank. If a man attempt to
seduce an unmarried woman, and her parents complain, the offender shall be fined 2
tails and 1 pia, and if tiie parties appear a suitable match, the magistrate shall cause
them to be married, the offender paying to the parents the customary pecuniaiy
oonsideration. If a man attempt to seduce a female slave, the property of another,
he shall be fined 5 mas, but shcmld he have cohabited with her, the mulct shall be
double that amount. If a man deflower the slave of another, he shall be fined
10 mas, for he hss committed violence. If a man deflower a free unmarried woman,
the magistrate shall call the offender before him, and direct him to marry her, which,
if he refuse, he shall be fined 8 tails and 1 p&i, snd pay to the parents, moreover, the
customary consideration."
There is no word for "coin" in any of the languages of the Archipelago. For
money, the IbJay and Javanese name is uwang, abbreviated wang, but the Sanscrit
word biUida is used in both languages^ and yatra, also Sanscrit, in Javanese. Uwang
or wang, in Malay, signifies also ''the palace," and may, possibly, be the source from
which &e term for money is derived, in something like the manner in which our own
coin is cidled "a sovereign." Both the Malays snd Javanese use also the name of
their small coin pitis or pichis for money generally, but wang is the common name
throughout the Malay Archipelago. In the Tagala of the Philippines, however,
money is expressed by the word sali^ia, and in the Bisaya of the same group by pilak,
the fint of theee words beiag, no doubt, the salaka of the Javanese, and the last the
perak of the Malays, both signifying silver. This is exactly the same proceeding as
that of the modem European languages that use the Latin word for silver for the
same purpose.
KONEEY 288 MOHSOON
MONEET or APE. I do not believe there is any gennine neme to ezpren ^
Quadraxnanes or four-handed fiunily of animali in any tongoe of the Arcfaipebgo.
In the diiferent langoagea, each apeciea hae ita own proper name, and tiie frmily
ia referred to generally by the name of the moat fiimiliar apcoiei^ as kAxi ia
Malay, and k4tek in JaTaneae. In ICalay, there are names or synonyms for, as
leasty nine different apedea, and in Javanese for at ieaat twelve^ one or two of tbm
last, as palgusa, being taken firom the Sanscrit. The distcibution of thia fiunily over
the Arctiip«lago is singalar. In Sumatra and Borneo, there are for each ten apecias :
in Celebes four; in Singapore and Banca three each ; in Java four ; in Bali two^ and in
Lomboc only one. In Mindano, Luzon, and the other large islanda of the Philippans
Archipelago, there are several species. East of Celebea no ape is found, the £imity
being entirely wanting even in the large idanda of Qilolo, Ceram, Tixour and. Xev
Guinea. It is not leM remarkable^ that the greater number of species difier froa
each other in the diffirent islands. Thus the four species of Java are not to be fboad
in Sumatra, nor any of the ten of Sumatra in Java, although these islanda lie within afew
miles of each other. On the other hand, a few of the species of Sumatia snd Botnmo, ss
the orang-utan, the most manlike of all apes^ sgree, although these islands axe 600 miles
apart. It is probable that in the Malay and Philippine islands, there are, in all* not
fewer than 50 distinct species, from theaiBeof scat tothatof achildof tenyeara of age.
MONSOON. This is a oorruption of the Arabic word mnsim, " season," which
the Portuguese received from their fiivt instructors in Indian navigstion, the Arabs
and other Mahometan navigators, and which they corrupted into mu^io, whence the
form of our own term. The word in the sense of the Indian periodical winda
occurs in De Barros, who wrote his history in the middle of the 16th century. Thoe^
when he is giving an account of the fauoiine which took place in Malacca inunediateiy
after its capture, he ascribes it to the supplies of com from Java being intercepted l^
the fleets of the expelled Malays, and by the impossibility of the Portogueae ships
going for them themselves in consequence of the monsoon (mu^fto) being adverse
that is, the south-east monsoon prevailing.
The word musim is in use among all the maritime nations of the ArchipelagOv
but only as a svnonym for the Sanscrit words kutika and masa, " time'* or ** season.*'
To complete the sense, the words east or west, timur and barat in Malay, or vretan
and kulon in Javanese, must be added. There in a peculiar idiom of the Ifaiay
language connected with the monaoons, which requires a short explanation. The
Malays call all countries west of their own, '* countries above the wind," and their
own and all places east of it, " countries below the wind," the Malay words being
atas angin and bawa angin. The expression is really equivalent to ''windward**
and ** leeward," the west representing the first and the east the last The origia
of the phrase admita of no explanation, unless it have rdTerenoe to the most impor-
tant of the two monsoons, the western, that which brought to the Malayan countries
the traders of India. It is at least as old as the 16th century, and no doub^ a great
deal older. De Barros describes it, but mistaking east for west, he gives an ezplanatioa
of the phrase which is necessarily erroneous. '* For," says he, " before tiie founda-
tion of Malacca, which by its position ought to be the Saba of Ptolemy, it vras at
Cmgapura that the navigators of the western seas of India and the eastern aeaa of
Siam, China, Champa, Camboja, and of the many thousand islands whidi lie to the
eastward, assembled. These two different quartera (the east and the west), the
natives of the country (the Malays) call Dybanangim (dibawa-angin), and Atasangim
(atos-angin) which mean below the wind and above the wind, that is, the west and
the east. For as the chief parties that navigate these seas proceed from two great
gulphs, that of Bengal and that which extends towards the land of China reaching
to a high northern latitude, it is in reason to call the one hi^ and the other low."
Decade 2, Book 6, Chap. 1. De Barros adds, by way of confirmation, that the expres-
sion may also have reference to the rising and setting of the aun in the east and west, and
that it is consequently equivalent to the Levante and Ponente, or orient and ocddent
of European nations, a plausible theory founded, however, on a mis-statement of frets.
The monsoons which blow over the Malayan Archipelago, are not two, but in
roality four in number ; namely, the north-east and south-west to the north, and
t}ie south-east and north-west to the south of the equator. To the two first are
subject, the northern part of Sumatra, of Borneo and of Celebes, with the whole
Malay Peninsula, and all the Philippine islsnds. The ohief countries subject to
the two last, are the southern parts of Sumatra, Borneo, and Celebes, with all the
islands, from Java to New Quinea inclusive, south of the equator.
MONTRADOK 289 MUSIC
MONTB.AD0E. This is the name of the chief town of the Chinese gold-diggers
of the western coast of Borneo. It is situated ahout 45 miles north of the equator,
and about 25 from the coast, and in a wide plain within the territory of the decayed
Malay chief of the principality of Matan. The Chinese of Montradok are settlers
from the Chinese province of Canton, a rude but industrious people, all issuing
from the labouring classes of society. Coming without their families, they inter-
marry with the Aboriginal inhabitants, and hence the population of Montradok is a
mixed one. The manners, religion and dress of the parent country are preserved
by them unchanged, and they preserve also the oral language of their province, few
of them acquiring any knowledge of Malay. The washing of gold and occasionally
of diamonds, with the raising of food for the miners, are their chief occupations.
Of their number nothing is really known. They themselves estimate it at 110,000,
but probably with exaggeration. Nothing is known of the manner or time of their
first settlement, but probably the latter is of no very remote date. Since the resto-
ration of their possessions in the Archipelago to the Dutch, they have brought the
Chinese of Montradok under their authority, but this has been followed by several
rebellions, making the conquest of more than doubtful advantage.
MORTAI or MORTY. This is the name of an oblong island about 60 miles in
length, and 15 in its greatest breadth, lying off the northern end of the large island
of Qilolo or Halmahera in the Molucca sea. Its length is from north to south, and
lies between 1** 40', and 2** 44', north latitude, its northern cape being in longitude
128** 20'. The land of Mortal is described as high and forest-clad, abounding in
deer and wild hogs, but of its human inhabitants nothing is recorded.
MORTIER or MOTIR. This is the name of one of the five true Moluccas,
the smallest, and lying about 45 miles north of the equator. Like the others, it is
a volcanic cone, but since the extirpation of the dove trees from the group to which
it belongs in 1650, it has become of no importance.
MUSIC. There is no word for Music that I am aware of in any language of
the Archipelago. In Malay the term bufti-bu&ikn, a derivate from bufii " sound,"
is occasionally used to express it, but its real meaning is "musical instruments,"
the cause and effect being confounded. In Javanese the word tftmbaiig is sometimes
employed for it, but the true meaning of this word is "song/* In both languages the
Scuucrit word lagu is used, but this really signifies, " air" or *' time." Fine musi^ ears
often occur among all the nations and laibes of the Archipelago, and in this respect
they are favourably distinguished from the Hindus, and still more from the discor-
dant Chinese. They are all passionate lovers of their own music and capable of
acquiring considerable skill in European. Like all rude nations, their music is
composed in a single common enharmonic time, the sounds produced by their instru-
ments being the same as those by the black keys of the harpsichord. They have
wind and stringed instruments and instruments of percussion.
Of the first of these, the most singular is a sort of gigantic ^olian pipe, frequently
referred to in the poetry of the Malays under the name of buluh-pftrindu, literally
"the languishing bamboo," and occasionally of buluh-ribut, or "the bamboo of the
storm." By far the best account of it has been given by Mr. Logan, in the
narrative of his journey into the interior of the Malay Peninsula. It is as follows :
" On our right there was a succession of neat cottages, amongst coco-nut trees, form-
ing the village of Eandang. On nearing one of these, our ears were saluted by the
most melodious sounds, some soft and liquid, like the notes of a flute, and others
full like the tones of an organ. These sounds were sometimes interrupted or even
single, but presently, they would swell into a grand burst of mingled melody. I
can hardly express the feelings of astonishment with which I paused to listen to
and look for the source of music so wild and ravishing in such a spot. It seemed
to proceed fWnn a grove of trees at a little distance, but I could see neither musician
nor instrument, and the sounds varied so much in their stren^h, and their origin
seemed now at one place, and now at another, as if they sometimes came from mid-
air, and sometimes swelled from amidst the dark foliage, or hovered fiednt and fitful
around it. On drawing nearer to the grove of trees, my companions (Malays), pointed
out a slender bamboo which rose above the branches of the trees, and from which
they said the music proceeded, and when the notes had died away in the distance,
our ears were suddenly penetrated by a crash of grand and thrilling tones which
seemed to grow out of the air that surrounded us, instead of pursuing us. A brisk
breeze which soon followed, agitating the dark and heavy leaves of the fronds of
u
MTSOL 290 NABAJirJOS
the gomuti palms ezplamed this mystexy, while it prolonged the powerful awelL
As we went on our way the sounds decreased in strength, and gradaally becaaie
fainty but it was not until we had left 'the bamboo of the wind' far behind na» sod
long hidden by intervening trees and cottages that we ceased to hear it." Tb«
instrument which produced these fine effects was a bamboo cane, *' rough from the
jungle," from thirty to forty feet long, perforated with holes and stuck in the grouixi.
This is certainly a very simple contrivance, but would not have occurred to any peopk
who had not a natural taste for music. Certainly the Hindus and Chinese have, m
well as the Malays, been living for ages among forests of bamboo without makJig
such an invention.
But it is in the fiibrication and use of certain instruments of percussion that the
people of the Archipelago, or more correctly the most advanced of them, the Javanese,
especially excel. These consist of the well-known gongs, a natire word, and of bsn
of wood or of brass laid over wooden troughs, or suspended over them by oorda
The gongs are used separately in the manner of drums ; but smaller onea are slao
suspended over troughs, in the same manner as the bars. Both these form so many
keys, in the manner of an harmonioon ; and are struck by the musician sitting down,
with a small stick armed with elastic gum. A competent judge, the late Dr. Crotch,
after seeing the fine collection of Sir Stamford Baffles^ said of these instnunenta,
that he '* was astonished and delighted virith their ingenious fabrication, splendoor,
beauty, and accurate intonation.* A fcdl band of such instruments used to cost ui
Java up to 500/.
A band of music goes in Javanese under the name of gamftlan, a word of unascer-
tained derivation ; and from the Javanese it has passed into several other languages
of the Archipelago. For every instrument of the band there is a specific name ; luod
of the bands themselves there are no fewer than seven different sorts, each vnth its
proper name. But there is no native name for a musician, except that which is
formed by placing the word ** artist," (tukang), before the band or instrument played
on, the same idiom that is followed in forming the term for carpenter or blacksmith.
Sometimes the word niyaga, which signifies musician in Sanscrit, is used. The native
word, b&duwan, means' not a musician generally, but a public singer, which always
supposes also a public dancer.
MYSOL. See Misol.
MYSORY. This is the Sohouten Island of European geographers, aod lies at the
entrance of the great bay of Geelvink, on the northern side of New Guinea, pene-
trating the island so deeply as to convert it into two peninsulas. All we know «d>out
ICysory is, that it ia about 60 miles in length, and 12 in its greatest breadth, that its
western end is but 25 miles south of the equator, that it consists of high land, and
that it is inhabited by negros, who have acquired sufficient skill in nsTigatioa to
have, at one time, proved dangerous pirates to the Dutch poesesaions in the Spice
Islands.
N.
NAG A. This word, in Sanscrit the name of a fabulous snake or dragon, is of
frequent occurrence, singly or combined with other words, in all the cultivated
languages of the Archipelago, and in those of the Philippines we see it in the
names of places in composition, while standing alone it is the term for the prow or
figure-head of a vessel.
KANING. This ib the name of a small Malay State, lying inland fr^m Malacca,
and subject to it It has a mean length of 40 and a mean breadth of 10 milea, snd
consequently an area of 400 square miles. In 1836 its population, consisting almost
wholly of Malays, divided into ten tribes, or in the native language suku, amounted
to 5S81, but was increasing. Kaning formed a portion of the territory of the
ancient kings of Malacca, and from 1511 has been dependent successively on the
Portuguese, the Dutch, and the English. It is a poor unprofitable posaession, for
the most part covered with jungle, and containing only from fourteen to fifteen
inhabitants to the square mile.
NAEANJOS (Islas de los), literally, « the Orange Islands." These are six small
islands, lying between the extreme southern point of Luzon and the ialands of Ticao
and Samar. Their names are Sau Andres, the most northerly and the Uurgest, Medio,
lUso, Darseusi Esoarpada and Agnada. San Andres is three leagues in length, by
NATAL 291 NAVIQATION
half a league in breadth, and its oentre is north latitude 12** 23'. The Naranjoe
forms part of the provinoe of Albay in Luzon.
NATAL, correctly NATAR, meaning ground, surface or foundation, is the name
of a place on the western coast of Suujatia. The inhabitants are Malays of Menang-
kabo mixed with Achinese, but those of the interior are of the Batak nation. The town
is on the shore of an unsafe roadstead, not far from a small rivulet. It is an emporium
for the gold, camphor, and benzoin of the inland country, and for the iron, cotton
fabrics, and opium given in exchange for them. North of Natal, and distant about
30 miles from it, is the mountain Siduwa-duwa (double mount), 7000 feet high, and
enst of it, at the distance of 75 miles, the volcanic mountain of Seret-b4rapi (" fiery
flounce **), estimated to be of the height of 5200. The settlement of Natal formed by
the English in 1762, is now a Dutch possession. Latitude noi'th, 32' 30'', and
longitude esst 99° 5'.
NATUNA. This is the name given by nayigatoA to three groups of islets in the
China Sea, and lying between Borneo and the Malay peninsula, extending from north
latitude 2"* 28' to 4* 66', and from east longitude lO?** 57' to 108** 15'. The names
g^ven to them in our maps are the Grand, the Northern, and the Southern Natuna,
which in the Malay language are respectively Bungoran, Sarasan, and Pulo-lant. The
origin or meaning of the name Natuna is unknown, but vras probably imposed by the
Portuguese. All these islands consist of mountainous land, and the highest part of
the Grand Natuna, which ia visible from a ship at 15 leagues distant, must be from
2500 to 8000 feet above the level of the sea. This island is the only one of the three
groups which lb of considerable extent. Its form is round, and 15 miles in breadth,
probably, therefore, containing an area of about 460 geographical square milea The
South Natuna, or Sarasan of the Malays, has an area of no more than 64 geographical
miles. The larger of the Natuna Islands have the following wild quadrupeds, pigmy
deer, but none of the laiger species, hogs, and buffaloes ; and all the islands, monkeys,
squirrels, and the musang (Yiverra musanga). The larger islands have also a few
domestic oxen and goats, with poultiy, consisting of the common fowl and a few
docks. All the islands are deeply forest-clad, their soil is sterile, and their cultivation
consisting only of a few patches of rice without irrigation, maiz, the coco and sago
palma. The hirger islands only are inhabited, and by a population entirely Malay.
According to native information supplied to me in 1824, the Grand Natuna had then
a population of 600, the Northern group 300, and the Southern 400, making a total of
1300. The Natunas, in common with the Anambas, form part of the territory of
Jehor, owning allegiance to the prince who lives under British protection in Singa-
pore. The people of these islands exchange their fish, raw sago, and coco-nut oil at
the European settlements in the Straits of Malacca for rice, clothing, and iron.
NAVIGATION. The name for this in Malay, layaran, or p&layaran, taken from
layar, a sail, is a literal translation of our own Anglo-Saxon word " sailing." Most of
the inhabitants of the thousands of islands of the Archipelago are eminently mari-
time in their habits,— a real seafaring people. The Malays are more especially so,
and this character is strongly impressed on their language. A few examples of
this may be given in illustration. The words mudik and ilir, two peculiar verbs, not
I believe found in any other language, respectively signify, to ascend and to descend a
river, or to go against, and with the stream or tide. The aame words employed as
nouns signify the interior and the sea-board. Euwala and muwara are terms which
signify the embouchure of a river, either at its disemboguement in the sea or at its
junction with another river, and such places will be found often the residence of
the Malays. Anak-sungai means, literally, " child or offspring of the river ; " tAluk,
is a bight or cove, and rantau, the i^ach of a river ; but these words also, from their
being the frequent localities of Malay settlements, signify a district of country.
The veiy structure of the Malay houses has reference to the accustomed localities
of this people. They are all buUt on posts of 10 or 12 feet high, often half-
submerged at flood tides, whereas the habitations of the agricultural nations, such as
the Javanese, have their foundations on the ground. S&brang is a preposition which
means across the water, and when turned into a verb, to cross the water, and into a
noun, the opposite side. The Malay oompsss is subdivided into sixteen points, each
of which has a specific name, all but one, and this Sanscrit, being native terms. The
monsoons, or periodical winds, are distinguished by specific names by the Malays,
and by them only of all the nations of the Archipelago. For every part of a vessel
and her equipment, the Mahiy language has a specific name, and the names of the
NAVIGATION 292 NAViaATION
different kinds of Tessels are yery numerous — prau, that which is meet fcmiHi- to
Europeans, being the general one for all vessela. The language has aJso terms for the
different modes of sailing, such as to luff, to go free, and to tack«
When Europeans first became personally acquainted with the Archipelago in the
last years of the fifteenth and first of the sixteenth century, they found the Hakjs
navigating it from one extremity to the other, — from Sumatra to Luzon northwaz>i
and from the same island to Timur eastward. The course of their navigation and
trade is thus described by Barboea, such as they were before the arrival of the
Portuguese. After describing the voyage of the native traders of Malacca to the
Moluccas for doves, he adds, " They trade also at many islands on the way, as far le
Timur, from which they bring white sandal of which the Indians (Hindus) consume
much. In return for i^ they give iron, needles, knives, swords, cloths of Policat and
Cambay, copper, quicksilver, tin, lead, and paternosters of every sort coming tnm
Cambay (camelian beads). With such things they purchase the sandal-wood, and
also honey, bees'-wax, and slaves. Then, they go to the Banda Isles for nutmegs and
maoe, for these are the places that produce them, and they give in exchange for them
the merchandise of Cambay. They go also to Sumatra and other islanda^ whence
they bring black pepper, silk in hanks (?) bensoin, fine gold, camphor, and
aloes-wood, which are afterwards conveyed to Tanasori (Tennaserim), Bengal, Pulicat,
Ck>romandel, Malabar, and Cambay." Barboea in Ramusio, vol. L, p. 817.
At the time in question the Javanese were found to be conducting the carzying
trade of the Archipelago in common with the Malays. This is eTpreaely stated by
all the Portuguese historians. Indeed, the Javanese at the arrival of the Portuguese
were the most wealthy resident merdiants of Malacca. Their trade, however, was
not confined to this place, for it was carried on from several emporia of their own
island, as Bantam, Jacatra, and Ghressik. Both nations were found equally in posses-
sion of the mariners' compass, the name of which is derived from the Javanese word
for a needle, dom, the derivative being pandoman, or the object with the needle.
According to Ludovico Barthema they also used charts, but it is more than probable
that they received both these and the compass from the Arabs in comparatiTely
recent times, these people themselves having borrowed them from Europeans, as
without doubt they did gimpowder and fire-arms.
It was not however to charts or the compass that the Malays and Javanese w«re
indebted for their power to perform long voyages, but to the monsoons^ and to the
physical geography of the Archipelsgo, consisting of innumerable islands, etuch. of
which was a land-mark in its navigation. The periodical winds blowing steadily
for several months from one quarter, and for a like number from the opposite one,
enabled them to perform, without serious difficulty or danger, voyages outward and
inward, which in any other seas would have been wholly impracticable to a people
in the same state of society. Over 10* latitude of this navigation on each side
of the equator, the adventurers were even safe from the equinoxial gales that vex
regions beyond these limits.
The prevalence of the easy language of the Malays, as that of intercommunication
vrith strangers in every part of the Malayan Archipelago, and even in the Philip-
pines before their occupation by Europeans; the existence of Malay colonies or
settlements on the coasts of most of the islands remote from the parent country of
this people, and the infusion of more or less of the Malay and Javanese languages
into all those from Sumatra to New Quinea and Luzon, are sufficient proofc, even of
the antiquity of Malay navigation, for such effects are not the result of a few years'
intercourse, but of that of sges.
Malayan navigation, although it probably embraced an area of not lees than a
million and a half of square leagues, it is certain never extended much beyond the
bounds of the Malayan waters. The exceptions to this are few, and limited to places
at a very moderate distance from them. It extended as far as Martaban on the Bay
of Bengal, to the north, and to the south as far as the northern coast of Australia,
for the fishery of tripang and tortoiseshell as it still does. In the China Sea the
Malays went as &r as the 10* of north latitude, planting a colony in Kamboja, the
limit of the region which is free from the equinoxial storms. That Malayan influence,
although not navigation, extended far beyond these Umits, is sufficientiy attested by
the presence in the language of Madagascar, and in the languages of all the islands
of the Pacific, of words of the Malay and Javanese tongues. On this obscure and
mysterious intercourse, which more resembles the changes which have taken place in
the physical geography of the globe than the civU history of man, I have offered
some reuiarks in a Dissertation to another work which need not here be repeated.
^F^^-^^^^^^^^^^m^m^^^^^^mismi^mas^S^W^^^^^^^^^^fVt
NAVIGATION 293 NAVIGATION
The natives of Galebes have, in the navigation of the Archipelago, to a great
extent^ taken the plaoe which the Malays and Javanese occupied before the arrival
of the Portuguese. These consist of two nations^ the Macassar and Bugis, but
especially the laoter. It is singular that Barbosa, who describes so correctly the
trade which the Malays and Javanese conducted from Malacca, does not even name
the people of Celebes as being present at that place. The fir^t account we have of
them is in the native annals of Ternate, as given in the " History of the Moluccas "
by Argensola, where they are described as having frequented that island in 1388.
The earliest notice we have of them in the annals of the Malays is in the reign of a
prince called Mansur Shah, who ascended the throne of Malacca in 1374, and died in
1447. They are, in this case described, not as traders but as freebooters that harassed
the trade of Malacca* under the leadership of a notorious pirate of the name of
Samerluk, whose title of Elraing shows that he was of the Macassar, and not the
Bugis nation. When the Portuguese first became acquainted with the inhabitants of
Celebes, they had not yet been converted to the Mahommedan religion, and it seems
to have been subsequent to their conversion that they acquired that industry and
spirit of enterprise which has continued ever since to distinguish them. The account
which Barbosa, in the beginning, and De Barros about the middle of the I6th
century, gave of the people of Celebes, is probably greatly exaggerated, and indeed,
is hardly credible of a people possessed as they were of the art of writing, and even
of a literature. That they were, however, in a rude state, and possessed none of the
enterprise which now distmguishes them, is certain. It seems probable that th«ir com-
parative freedom from the depressing influence of European nations which has acted so
injuriously on the Malays and Javanese, has been one of the chief causes that favoured
the development of their character, and promoted their progress in civilisation.
The vessels in which the most distant voyages of the most civilised nations of the
Archipelago are performed, are all of small size, seldom exceeding the burden of 50
or 80 tons. What they want in sise is, in some degree, made up in numbers. The
number of foreign and native vessels which yearly frequents the port of Singapore,
and it includes the junks of China, Cochin China, and Siam, gives an average burden to
each vessel of no more than SO tons, their number being about 24 00. All native vessels
continue to use the oar as well as the sail The lai^er vessels of the Malays and Javanese
go under the name of jung, the same word which the Portuguese write junco, and
which we have coirupted into junk, and apply to the huge unwieldy vessels of the
Chinese. Neither of them have any name for a ship in our sense of the word, except
the foreign one, kapal, which they have borrowed from the natives of Coromandel,
who have immemorially traded with the western parts of the Archipelago in vessels
that have some right to this name. Each nation of the Archipelago has its own
form of construction, both as to hull and equipment, and by this their nationality
is readily known. Flags, in so far as shipping is concerned, have been taken from the
Portuguese, as the sole name, bandera, implies. Such rude native vessels as are here
referred to are to be seen in the same harbours with the sailing ships and steamers
of European nations, — with the unwieldy stereotyped junks of China, and with the
lighter and more manageable ones of Siam and Cochin China, — all affording true
types of the respective social conditions of the people to whom they belong.
The war-boats of the Indian islanders are but their merchant-vessels, built for
speed, furnished with bulwarks, and better armed and manned. For open war, the
presence of three powerful European nations has wholly superseded them, and the
present vessels of war of the insular nations are only piratical praus. Speed in, in
this case, the main object, and for this purpose, the hull is often built on a model
which rivals that of our £sstest steamers. In this fashion are constructed the praus
of the most notorious corsairs of the Archipelago, the Lanuns of Mindano.
In the early period of European intercourse with the nations of the Arohipelago,
we find them in possession of lai^e fleets of vessels of the description just referred
to. Thus, the king of Malacca, after his expulsion from his capital, was still in
possession of a fleet that in a good measure blockaded the town, interrupting the
supply of com from Java, so as to produce a famine in the recent conquest, and this
in despite of the fleet of Alboquerque, who was himself still in the roads of Malacca.
A still more remarkable instance was presented in a fleet which had been prepared
by certain Javanese chiefs, for the purpose of wresting Malacca from the Malays, an
enterprise which was persevered in, even after it was known that it had fallen into the
hands of the Portuguese. Castaghneda gives the following account of this singular
expedition :^ " FemAo Peres, admiral of tho Malacca Sea, observing that the city
was secure from attack, resolved to return to India. With this intention, he sent a
NEGRITOS 294 NEGKO
message io the goyernor of MalacoB, iDfonniog him that he would depart 'with the
monsoon in January, taking along with him the merchant ships of Diego If eodes.
Just as he was making preparations to leave, news came to the fortrasB ibat I^e
Unus, lord of Japara, in the island of Java, hcul passed through the Stndta of SAb45
(Sabon, one of the narrow straits leading through the islands at the eastern entrance
of the Straits of Malacca), with a great fleet, and such turned out to be In reality the
case. This Pate Unus was a Moor, a valorous cavalier, and not a vassal of the
Gentile king of Java, against whom on the contrary, he and other Moorish lords
had rebelled, calling themselves kings. Before the Governor-General (Alboqnerque)
had quitted Malacca, news had come, that Pate Unus had fitted out a great &at,
not only with his own means, but with the assistance of other lords, his friends and
relatives, with the intention of attacking Malacca, and taking it from ths Malay king,
who was then still in possession of it. With this object in view, he sent many
Javanese to reside in Malacca, in order to have them at his service when he should
arrive there. Pate Unus had entered into a league with Mutaraja, the same whom
the Gbvomor- General had put to death, and this person had promised him hs
entire assistance. This fleet having been prepared, he did not desist finom his
enterprise, even although he knew that Malacca was now in our posaessiony for he
was told that we were few in number, and might be easily overcome by the strength
of his armada, which was very powerful, consisting, between juncoe (jimg)» lancbvas
(lanchang, a barge), and calaJenzes, of three hundred vessels. The fleets equipped
as I have now said, sailed for Malacca, and passing the Straits of Sib^, was seen by
certain people of the town of Malacca, who brought information of it to the GovemOT,
Ruy de Brito, who forthwith communicated the news to the Admiral, FemSo Perez,
in order that he might ascertain what fleet it was, and whether it was as great as it
was represented." — Decade II., book 9, chap. 5.
Castaghneda*s account of one of the ships that formed this fleet is eurions : —
" Pate Unus," says he, " gave orders to construct a ship which should be of the sise
of ours, 500 tons. In building her, he commanded that a second layer of planking
should be placed over the first, and so on, to the number of seven coats. And
between each layer of planking there was put a coating consisting of a mixture
of bitumen, lime and oil Each layer of planking they called lapis (in Malay, ** fold *
or " lining.") In this manner the sides of the junco were three palms in thickness,
so that, wherever she might be placed, she would serve for a tower or bastioD.** —
Decade II., book 9, chap. 4.
A part of this expedition made an effectual landing, but quickly re-embarked, and
fled. It was pursued, attacked, and discomfited by five Portuguese ships, none of
which could have exceeded the size of an ordinary corvette. This is the historian's
account of the flight and pursuit : — '' At sight of the flight of the enemy, our people
were so overjoyed that tbey shouted ' Victory, victory, they fly !' Femio Peres;
making sail, gave the signal, 'Saint lago, at them t ' and it was marvellous what
every one then achieved. It would be difficult to describe the daring, the ooiinge,
which every man displayed in this action. Suffice it to know, that our few ships
appeared among the multitude of those of the enemy like so many wolves amid a
flock of sheep. Our people had only to reach their little vessels to set fire to them
with the materials we had prepared beforehand, and to pass on. The enemy,
without means of defence, and without even attempting to take refuge in the
river Muar, saw the vessel of Pate Unus himself turning her head in flight towards
the Straits of S^b4d, and followed her. He himself, when he saw one part of his
fleet burnt, and another sunk, ordered the vessels that were near him to oome closer,
in dread uf being boarded, or sunk by our artillery, notwithstanding his many-coated
ship." — Decade II., Book 9, chap. 5.
NEGRITOS, or Little Negros, a name given by the Spaniards to the negro race of
the Philippines. See Aktas.
NEGRO. Races bearing a great resemblance to, yet yery materially differing
from, those of Tropical Africa, occur, from the Andaman Islands, in the Bay of
Bengal, in the ninety*third degree of east longitude, to the Feejee Islands, in the
hundred and eightieth, and from Luzon, in the Philippines, in the nineteenth degree
of north, to New Caledonia in the twenty-first of south latitude, or over a space of
eighty-eight degrees of longitude, and forty of latitude. Over this vast surface how-
ever, they are strangely and almost capriciously distributed. Of the Andaman
Inlands they are the sole inhabitants, while the Nicobar group, but thirty leagues
diitant from them, is occupied by a different race. We next find them in the moon-
NEGEO 295 NEGRO
tains of ibe interior of the Malay Peninsula. But there is no trace of them in
Sumatra, or in any of the islands lying between it and the Peninsula. They are
absent in Borneo, in Java, in Celebes, and in all the islands east of them until we
reach New Guinea, and the islands near its coast, where they form the ouly inhabi-
tants, as they do of all the islands of the Pacific, east of it as far as the Feejees,
and south as far as New Caledonia. After these two limits they disappear, and are
not to be found in any of the islands of the northern or southern Pacific. In the
Philippine Archipelago they form a scanty portion of the population of four islands
only, namely, Negros, Panay, Mindoro and Luzon. These are all large islands, and
they exist in no small one.
While these Negros differ widely from those of Africa, they are themselves far
from being a homogeneous race, some of them even differing more from each other
than others do from the African negro. Thus, all of them to the north of the
equator, consisting of those of the Audamans, of the Malay Peninsula, and of the
Philippines, are pigmies whose average stature does not exceed four feet eight inches,
while those of New Guinea, and of the Feejee Islands are, at least, half a foot taller.
Some of the negros of New Guinea, both as to stature and features, might be taken
for Africans, which the most careless observer could not do with the puny negros
north of the equator. Even in the Austral Negro, there are wide differences. Those
of Malicollo and Tana are a diminutive people, while those of the Feejees and New
Caledonia are a tall one. Even in complexion there is much variety. All are
dark, although never of the ebony black of a Congo negro. The inhabitants of the
Andamans are black, while those of the Philippines are described as of the colour of
over-burnt coffee. The people of New Guinea are of a deep brown, with a bluiiUi
tinge. The hair of the head in all of them grows in separate spiral tufts, but in the
negro of New Guinea, and in some of those of the Pacific IsUmds, it attains such a
length that the wearer converts it into a huge turban, from whence Europeans have
given them the name of mop-headed Indians. The hair of the Boreal negros, also
grows in spiral detached tufcs, but is short and incapable of the same elongation, and
iu this respect more resembles that of the African.
When the test of language is applied, in so far as we can judge from the few frag-
ments we possess, all these negros seem widely different from each other. Of the
grammatical structure of their languages we know nothing, but their phonetic
character is often different, and their vocabularies never agree, except in a very
few instances in which tribes ai*e adjacent to each other, or when they have borrowed
the same Malayan words. This was the result of an examination of from tifty to sixty
words of seven languages, which I made myself in the Dissertation to a Malay dic-
tionary, and it is confirmed by Mr. Windsor East, a writer who, by his knowledge and
experience of these races, is by far the most competent judge. In his " Papuans'* he
has given a list of fifty-six words of four of the languages of New Guinea. Examining
these, I find, as to indigenous terms, that the word for water, although differing
materially in form, may possiblv be the same in three languages, with some suspicion
that all of them may be derived from the same Malay or Javanese word. The name
for man and for the verb to speak agree in two languages. This is the sum of agree-
ment in four languages, iu so far as native words are concerned. The Malay words
amount to six, namely, those for bird, tree, root, moon, fire, and dog ; but besides
these, there are the numerals in two of the languages. These last, are indeed, much
altered in form, and after a fashion of which there are exampl&s in the languages of
nations of the Malayan race, as in the instance of those of the remote island of Timur.
Thus, to the numeral one in Malay, sa, is added mosi, which, most probably, signifies
a stone or pebble, and is the equivalent of the sawatu, " one pebble," the usual form
of this numeral in Javanese, abbreviated satu in Malay. The four next numerals are
corruptions of the Malayan, but after these, instead of adopting the common Malayan
numerals, they combine the lower numerals with that for five, as five and one for six,
and five and two for seven, and so on. As to the languages of the Boreal negros,
they have absolutely not one word that I can detect, in common with those of the
Austral, except in the instance of the language of the S&mangs or negros of the Malay
Peninsula, and here the similarity exists only through the common medium of the
Malay. In so for, then, as the test of lang^uage is concerned, there may be as many
different races of negros as thero are tongues, and in the present state of our knowledge,
these are not countable. The languages of the negros towards the eastern side of the
Malay Peninsula, are stated to be entirely different from those of tribes towards the
western. The languages of the innumerable tribes of the Negritos, or little negros of
the Philippines, are stated to have no resemblance to each other, except in so far as
ISEGRO-UALAYAS RACE 296 ITEGEO-MALAYAN RACE
they have borrowed a few words horn, the leDgiuigee of the ciTiliBed brown eom-
plexioned people of the sune wlendm
In point of capecitj, tested by sodsl sdTancement^ there is an immense difiereoce
between the different negro races. The negros of the Andamans are abject eaTsges,
in no way superior to the Anstralians, and, indeed, hardly on a level with them ; and
those of the Malay Peninsola and the Philippines are erratic savages, living on the
precarioDS produce of the forest, and Tery little superior to them. Most of the negros
of New OoiDeSy on the contraiy, have fixed habitations, some knowledge of agricul-
ture^ and have domesticated the hog; and those of the Feejee group in the Pacific
are on a par with the most civilised of the brown Polynesian race. In the preaeol
state of our information, then, the only oonclusicm we can reasonably come to is, that
there are many difiRsrent races of Asiatic Kegro^ wholly unconnected with the negra
of Africa or Madagascar, — equally so with the Australians, and not traceable to any
common origin. See Ajeta, PaPUA, Samavo.
I!fE6R0-MALAYAN RACE. By this name may be designated a variety of
the Man of the Malay Archipelago, certainly distinct from the Malay and the Papuan,
but intermediate between them, or partaking of the characters of bK>th. The stature
is the same as that of the Malay or Papuan. The complexion is deeper than
that of the first, but a good deal lighter than that of the last The hair of the
head does not grow, as in the Papuan, in separate tufts, nor is it long and lank aa
in the Malay. It is uniform over the scalp, and either curls or frizzles. This race
embraces the aboriginal inhabitants of aU the islands of the Archipelago^ east of
Sumbawa and Celebes, and west of New Guinea, with the exception of those of a
few on the immediate coasts of the latter, peopled by negro& This includes, besides
small islands, Floris. Timur, Oilolo, and Ceram, excluding Sumba or Sandal-wood
island, which is inhalnted by the Malay race. In some of the smaller islands, the
character is less distinctly pronounced, as in the example of the five Molucca isleta,
where, by emigrations of Malays, Javanese, and natives of Celebes, there is a consider-
able admixture of the Malayan blood. No one has had personal experience of the
inhabitants of the tsiands to which I have referred, without being struck with the
difference which exists between them and the Malays. A judicious writer, who had
long resided in Timur, in giving an account of this island, and some of the adjacent
ones, thus describes the physical characteristics of its inhabitants : " The natives are
generally of a very dark colour, with frizzled bushy hair, but they incline leas to the
Papuans than the natives of Ends (Floris). They are below the middle size, and
rather slight in their figure. In countenance they more nearly resemble the South-
Sea islanders than any of the Malay tribes." The inhabitants of Solor, Sahrao, Puitar,
Ombay, and Wetter are described by him as resembling the people of Timur, "having
the same kind of frizzled hair, and very dark colour." Of Solor he adds, ** This island
and Floris appear to be the most westward islands in which the natives have frizzled
hair, as the people of Sumbawa, and of the islands to the westward of it, have invariably
straight hair. The form of countenance of the last, also, is entirely different, and
their manners and customs much less savage and ferodona" — Notices of the Indian
Archipelago, by J. EL Moor, ^ngapore, 1837. The few of the aboriginal inhabitants
of FloiiSy whom I had myself occasion to see in Singapore, certainly agreed with the
character given by this intelligent writer, whose account was corroborated by the
statements made to me by Bugis merchants, settlers in Floris. Of these statements,
I find the following memorandum in a note-book, of the date of 1823 : *' Near half of
the tribes have woolly or curly hair, and negro features, but not in the same dedded
degree as the inhabitants of New Ouinea.**
Of the existence of the physical characters thus described there can be no question;
but it may be alleged to have arisen from an admixture, in the course of ages, of the
Malay and Papuim races. This is, no doubt, possible, but we do not observe any such
admixture in progress, — and from the repugnance of the races it is not likely to have
proceeded to any considerable extent. On the contrary, the coasts of several of the
inlands are occupied by strangers of the Malay race, who hold themselves distant from
the aboriginal inhabitants of the interior, while the line of demarcation which separates
the Negro-Malayan race from the Malayan to the west, and from the Negro to the
east, is sufficiently well defined It may even be remarked, that it is the inhabitants
of the islands which are nearest to those inhabited by the Malayan race, as in the case
of Floris, that most nearly approach to the Negro character, while it is those of the
inlands nearest to New Guinea, as in the example of Timur, that partake least of
the Malay, the very reverse of what would have been the case from an admixture
NEGROS 297 NEW GUINEA
of the two rftcoB. One strange anomaly, however, defterves notice. The inhabi-
tants of one small ialand, that of Rotti, in the very oentre of those which I have
described as peopled by a Kegro-lCalayan race, is really inhabited by a Malayan
peopla " The inhabitants," says the anonymous writer, before quoted, " are below
the middle stature, and considerably darker than the people of Celebes (the Malayan
race), but are remarkable for having long lank hair, whilst nearly the whole of the
inhabitants of the surrounding islancb have Mzsled hair. Their features are much
more prominent, and they bear a stronger resemblance to the natives of India than to
those of the Eastern islands. The women are much fSurer than the men, and have,
many of them, very pleasing countenances. They are esteemed a mild-tempered
people, and are certainly not a jealous one." — Notices of the Indian Archipelago, by
J. H. Moor. The resemblance to the Hindu features here supposed, implies, pro-
bably, nothing more than a strong contrast with the half-Papuan ones of the inhabi-
tants of Timur, to which the writer was most accustomed.
NEGROS (ISLA DE). The island of Negros, so called from the number of the
Negritos or A etas found in it by the Spaniards, is one of the Philippines called the
Biaayas. It lies between Panay to the north-weet and ^ebu to the east, divided
from them by narrow straits from a league to three leagues broad. South from
it is the island of Miudano, distant about 30 miles. Negros is 87 leagues long by
from 6 to 10 leagues in breadth, and is computed to have an area of 260 square
leagues, or accordlDg to other estimates 8827 square miles. Its coast is very little <^
broken by bays or inlets, and does not contain any good harbour. A central chain
of mountains runs through it from north to south, which attains its greatest height
towards the latter point. The rivers are but of small size and unfit for the navigation *^
of vessels of burthen. The largest is the Ilog, which falls into the sea on the
western side of the island, and on which lies the chief town of the same name. The
forest-dad mountains contain deer, hogs, and buffalos, with monkey& The chief
inhabitants are of the Bisaya nation, the same which peoples Panay, Cebu, and
Leyte. The Augustine monks began early to convert them to Christianity, which
was completed by the Jesuits who entered on the task in 1623. On their expulsion,
the Dominicans succeeded them.
Negros forms, at present, a province by itself, although formerly united to ^^bu
and to parts of Panay. By the census of 1850, it contuned 81 townships or dis-
tricts, and a population of 58,773 inhabitants, exclusive of the Negritos or other wild
tribes, of whom the Spanish writers give no account. Out of this population 12,856
were subject to the poll-tax or tribute, which amounted to 128,860 reals of plate. The
density of population is little more than 15 to the square mile, a small rate, which
would seem to prove that Negros is one of the poorest of the larger islands of the ^
Philippines. The chief products of the soil, which although mountainous is fertile,
are, lice, cotton, and abaca, with the coco and gomuti psdms. The first of these
articles is exported, and from the second and third, various tissues are woven for
export, and cordage is manufactured from the gomuti.
NEIRA, correctly, Pulo-NERA, that is, in Malay, "Palm-wine Island," is the
name of one of the islets which form the little group of the Banda or nutmeg
islands. Neira, although much smaller than Loptar or the Great Banda, is the seat
of the Dutch local administration and the most populous of the whole group, having
had, by an enumeration made in 1840, besides slaves and convicts, 1225 inhabitants.
NEW GUINEA. The most northerly part of this vast island is only twenty
miles south of the equator, while its most southerly is in latitude 8* 22' south From
east to west, it is 1400 miles in length. It is conjectured to have an area of 200,000
square miles, which would make it about twice the extent of all the British islands
put together. To the south, it is divided from Australia by a sea only 80 miles
broad, and to the north it is washed by the Pacific Ocean, while to the west it has
Ceram and the other islands of the Molucca Sea. New Guinea ia composed of two
peninsulas, an eastern and a western, the first by far the largest. This is effected by
the deep gulf of Geelvink, which penetrates it so deeply from the northern side, as
to leave an isthmus not exceeding 20 miles in breadUi. Indeed, the isluid may be
said to consist of even three peninsulas, for the western or smaller one is itself so
deeply penetrated from the south by Mackluer's narrow gulf, as to make an isthmus
between it and the western side of the bay of Geelvink, which does not exceed 40
miles broad. Of the whole island we know but a little, and this confined to a few
spots of its sea coast. Of the interior, we know no more than Dampier and his
A
NEW GUINEA 298 NEW GUINEA
oontemporaries of the 17th oentoiy knew of that of AuBtralia. That interior has
never been trodden by the foot of an European, and, considering tbe nature of the
country, of the diniate, and of the inhabitukta, many generationa will probably pasi
away before it ib explored.
The geological formation of New Guinea, from its extent, will be found, no doubt« to
embrace almost every kind of formation. Aa yet, however, it has not been ascertained
to have any active volcano, nor, indeed, any volcanic formation, slate and limestooa
being the rocks chiefly met with. A range of mountains running from east to west,
is visible from both the north and south coasts, and which, having the appearance of
being snow-clad, are computed not to be less than 20,000 feet above the level of the
sea. On the southern side of the smaller peninsula, and forming the baok-ground to
the place which is called Triton bay, in latitude 3"* 12', and where a settlement vas
attempted in 1 828 by the Dutch, there is a mountain trigonometrically measured,
which proved to be only 2460 feet high, and exclusive of the great central range, the
highest land even on the north side of the island is not thought to exceed 3200 feet.
The rivers of New Guinea are unknown, the embouchures of a few only having
been seen, but it is presumed from the height of the great interior mountain range
and the distance of the water-shed from the coasts, that there must exist some
considerable ones. At a place called Oetenata on the western coast and on the larger
peninsula in south latitude 5" and longitude 187° SO' east, the Dutch disooTerers of
1828, examined the mouth of a river which they estimated at four-fifths of a mile
broad, but at a short distance above its debouchement it was found to branch off into
three different streams. No lakes have been seen or even heard of.
The whole island, as far as it has been seen is one uniform and luxuriant forest,
many of the trees of which run up to the height of 150 and 180 feet. The economical
use of the timber of these huge trees has not been determined, but the forests of
New Guinea produce three plants which have been immemorially in demand by the
nations of the Malayan islands, namely, the true nutmeg (Mynstica moechata) the
missoy or masui (Cortex oninus) and the pulasari (Alyxia stellate). If the timber
should prove to be of good quality, it is probable that it may come to be in
demand with the European colonies of Australia, when these attain a dense
population.
The character of the zoology of New Guinea partakes more of that of Australia
than of the Malayan Archipelago, but in part it does so of both. Every one of the
laiger mammiferous land aniinals is wanting, except the hog. No animal of the
bovine or equine families exist ; no deer, no monkey, and no ferocious animaL The
able and indefatigable Dutch naturalists, who pursued their researches on the
southern coast for three months in 1828, found no more than six mammifers, and all
of them belonging to the marsupial or pouched class. Three of these were new
species, two of them kangaroos distinguished from all others of the same name
by their singular habit of living in trees. French naturalists had before disoovered
another marsupial on the northern coast, and this with the hog, make the total
mammiferous animals of New Guinea, as yet ascertained, no more than seven species.
The paucity of mammiferous animals is in some degree balanced by the number of
species of birds. The Dutch, on a few points of the southern coast^ collected 119
species belonging to 60 genera. Among these, birds of prey were rare, and the fiunily
of pies altogether wanting. The most prevailing families consisted of the inaect-
eaters, parrots, and pigeons. Among the first were the birds of paradise, confined to
the country of the Papuan negros. Among the parrots, were some from the sise of
a sparrow to that of the cockatoo. One of these, among the most frequent, was
remarkable by its snow-white plumage, which, at a distance, gave a tree on which a
flock of them lighted, the appearance of a profusion of white blossoms. Aquatic
birds were numerous, both web-footed and waders, but more especially the latter.
Among the birds met with were the helmet-headed Cassowary, the suwari of the
Malays, and the megapodius which leaves its eggs to be hatched in earthen tumuli
Of reptiles, the Dutch naturalists collected on the southern coast six and twenty
different species, namely, fifteen lisards, five serpents, five frogs, and one tortoise. Fish
appears to be abundant along the coast of New Guinea, many of the species esculent.
The men of New Guinea may now be safely pronounced to be one and the same
throughout the island, a varietv of the oriental negro. No other indigenous race
has been found in any part of the coast, and the captives brought from the interior
as slaves are found to be essentixUy of the same race. The negro of New Guinea,
then, and in this matter the Dutch voyagers to the north, as well aa to the south,
agree, are men below the middle stature of Europeans, or abont the same as that of
NEW GUINEA 299 NEW GUINEA
thd Malay, that ia, from five feet three to five feet six inches high. The oomplexion
varies from a deep brown to a black ; the nose is more or less flat with wide nostrils ;
the month is laiige, the lips thick, the teeth fine and not obliquely set ; the iris of the
eye is black or brown, and the sclerotic coat tinged with yellow. The hair of the
head grows in spiral detached tufts to the length of, at least, nine inches or a foot.
The beard and whiskers partake, more or less, of this quality, and are ample. This
is, in fact, the negro of tropical Africa, the oomplexion lees dark, the facial angle
le^s exaggerated, the stature shorter, and a woolly hair growing in separate tufts to a
considerable length, instead of being spread equally over the scalp and short.
Even with respect to the detached spiral tufts of the hair of the head, the Papuan is
not singular, for the hair of the Hottentot grows in the same manner.
With respect to the state of society, a very wide difference seems to exist in
different parts of the island. The inhabitants of the coast of the western peninsula
and of the bay of Qeelvink, for ages in communication with the western nations
of the Archipelago, and especially with the people of the Moluccas, have been
imbued with a considerable portion of their civilisation. These have good
dwellings, are decently clothed, have large rowing and sailing vessels, a knowledge
of iron, a little agriculture, and two domestic animals, the hog and the dog. That
most of these improvements have been derived from strangers is attested by the
evidence of language. Thus, the names for iron, rice, the banana, the yam, the coco
and sago palms, are all taken, in such of their languages as have been examined, from
Malay and Javanese. Terms implying commercial intercourse are from the same
source. The names for silver and for bees«wax are Javanese, and all the numerals
are Malayan. As we proceed eastward, or remove to a distance from the nations of
the western part of the Archipelago, the tribes of New Guinea become more and
more barbarous; there being some of those of the interior and even of the coast,
that had never even seen the face of a stranger. When the Dutch, in 1828, visited
the southern coast, opposite to the western angle of the Gulf of Carpeutaiia in
Australia, they encountered, instead of the peaceable inhabitants of the coasts of the
western peninsula, a tribe of naked and hostile savages, every attempt to hold inter-
course with which proved vain. They had canoes, but neither iron, nor domesticated
animals. The point at which these men were seen was in south latitude 7** 28',
and east longitude 188^ 68', and there is no ground for supposing that the inhabitants
of the remaining five degrees of longitude to which the island extends eastward,
whether of the coast or interior, are more advanced than these arrant savages. Of
even the most improved of the negroes of New Guinea, it may be safely asserted, that
in civilisation they are much below the aboriginal inhabitants of Borneo. At the
same time, even the rudest of them must be admitted to be more respectable savages
than the negroe of the Andamans, of the Malayan peninsula, or of the Philippines,
and still more so than their neighbours the Australians.
As f ar aa they are yet known, the inhabitants of New Guinea are divided into
•mall, independent, and generally, hostile tribes speaking different distinct languages.
Both on the north and south coast, the Dutch discoverera of 1828 and 1885 required
fresh interpretere as they moved on but a few miles. The population of a country
of which the inhabitants are in such a condition must be small, but this is all that
can be safely a£Srmed respecting its amount. Five inhabitants to a square mile
would give New Guinea a million of inhabitants, but one-fifth part of this number is
far more probable. Such, then, is the condition of a vast island, a laige portion
of which is within the same latitudes, subject to the same monsoons, and having
the same temperature as Java, with its industry, its ancient civilisation, and its ten
millions of inhabitants. The contract must be ascribed to difference in the fertility
of the soils of the two islands, to difference in locality, and most probably also to
difference in the quality of the two opposite races which inhabit them.
New Guinea was certainly discovered by the Portuguese. Antonio d'Abreu was
aent by Alboquerque from Malacca in 1511, in order to find out the Moluccas, but
-went only to Amboyna, from whence he proceeded to Banda. It is not certain whether
he actually visited New Guinea, but he could hardly have failed to hear of a country
immemorially visited by the inhabitants of the Moluccas, and not more than 170
miles distant from Banda, where he most probably saw negro slaves brought from it.
The Portuguese called the country New Guinea, from the palpable resemblance of
its inhabitants to those of Guinea in Africa, at the time well known to theuL The
Malays and Javanese call it Tanah puwah-puwah, which Europeans have corrupted
into Papua. This word is a Malay or Javanese adjective, meaning " woolly or frizzly,"
and is applied to any object having this quality. The term at full length would be
BIAS 300 KIAS
Tanah oribis^ Pawsh-pitwah, thai k '* the land of frixsly or wooUy-hairod meo.* Tbe
name ia applied bj the woBtem natiooa of the Ardiipelago, not only to New Gainea, bat
to all the islandi near it inhabited bj the n«gro raoei Some reoent geographers have
thooght proper to give the great island the name of Piq>aa, bnt an innovation which
ia correct neither in aovnd, aenae^ or orthography, aeema to possess no advantage
over one whidi it has borne for now nou\j three oenturies and a half. No
European nation had ever aitonpted to form a settlement in New Quinea antal the
Dutch did so on its aonthem coast in 1828, in the bay of Oetenata, in the 5"* of
aonth latitade, and 1S8* SO' of east longitade ; and this ended in a total &ilan.
It required Beven weeks time to clear a spot for a small redoabt, and when thii
was effected the inaalnbrity of the place waa at once developed, and continued for
several years until necessity compelled its abandonment. A country, indeed, with-
out any other inhabitants than a few scattered savages^ and in so far as ooncems
Europeans^ having neither aptitude for pastors! or agricultural husbandry, no known
native products of much value for exchange, and no near and convenient market,
holds out no conceivable advantage for an European establishment. The futoxe
diaoovecy of mines of gold, silver, copper, or tin, might tempt the settlement of
Chineeei, but not of Europeans in tropical and forest-clad New Guinea.
NIAS, or in Malay Nia, is the name of an island on the western side of Sumatra,
and of the people inhabiting it» as well as of some others of the group called the
Batu, or " Rock Islands." The principal part of the inland of Nias is in north latitude
1** 22^, and east longitude 97** 31', and the island itself is distant from the shore of
Sumatra about 30 geographical milea Its length is about 65 miles, its greatest
breadth about 17 ; and it is computed to have an area of about 1200 square geogra-
phical miles. Its surface consists of mountain chains^ nowhere rising above 800
feet, and of plains and valleys about 80 feet above the level of the aea. The rock
formation ia slate with sand and lime-stone, the decomposition of which with a
considerable admixture of mould forms a soil of great fertility. Nias exhibits no
evidence of volcanic formation, but is yet subject to violent earthquakes. One of
these was experienced in 1843, which swallowed up a hill and a village, driving
boats at anchor to the distance of 160 feet over the beach. This consisted of a
single shock which lasted nine minutes, and is not stated to have been connected
with any eruption of the volcanos of Sumatra. The botany and loology of Nias have
not been explored ; but with respect to the latter, it ia ascertained to have none of
the larger ferocious quadrupeds. It wants also the elephant, rhinooeros, and tapir of
Sumatra, its larger wild mammaUa being confined to some deer, hogs, and monkeys.
The aboriginal inhabitants of Nias are of the Malayan race, and said to be a ahade
fairer than the nations of Sumatra, a cirsumstanoe from which some writers have very
absurdly supposed them to be descended fh>m Chinese, an hypothesis contradicted
by their stature, which is the same with that of the Malays ; by their manners, as well
as by their lang^uage, which has nothing Chinese in it as to wonls or structure. In the
** Malayan Miscellany," published at Benooolen in 1822, Uiere is a short vocabulary of
the Nias, consisting of sixty-eight words, of which thirty-four are common to the Malay
and Javanese, and six exdusively of that of the latter language, so that the native
words amount to no more than eighteen. All the Malay and Javanese words are so
altered and corrupted as to be very difficult of recognition. The inhabitants of Nias
are a simple, mild, and primitiTe agricultural people. They have domesticated the
ox, the buffalo, the hog, the dog, and common poultry, and in their husbcmdry use
the plough and harrow. They practise a skilful irrigation, and raise rice, cotton, and
other useful products. Their religion, without temples or images, consists in a
belief in good and evil spirits, and it is remarkable of them that> although for
centuries, in the neighbourhood of Mohammedans and even ruled by them, they
have resisted the adoption of their faith. They live in villages in the interior of
the island, these being surrounded by earthen walls and quickset hedges which, as
their localities are well chosen, gives them a very picturesque appearance. While
the other islands along the western side of Sumatra are inhabited by half savages,
without skill or industry, the inhabitants of Nias are, in fact, a civilised people, an
advantage for which they seem to be chiefly mdebted to fertility of soil and facility of
irrigation, the same conditions, although in' a lesser degree, to which the islands of
Bali and Lomboc owe their advancement. The result is shown in the extraordinary
amount of the population, the total number of which has been computed at 169,500,
which would give a relative one of better than 140 to the square mile^ which fiu-
exceeda that of any island of the Malay or Philippine Archipelago% except Java»
NIBUNG 301 NUMERATION
Bali, Lomboc, Luzon, and Pftnay. In the number of the population now named is
included 850 natives of A chin, and about 8000 Malaya inhabiting the coast, and living
by trade and fishing. The Malays, notwithstanding their small number, are the
dominant race, their chief town or village .being on a bay on the northern shore of
the island facing Sumatra. The island is daimed as part of the Dutch possessions.
INTBUNQ- AND NIPA. These are the names of two littoral palms, the Caryota
urens, and Nipa frutescens, which are common to most of the islands of the Malay
and Philippine Archipelago, and much used by the natives. The first forms the posts
of houses and palings, and when hollowed out, water*pipes ; and the leaf of the Nipa
is the chief material of thatch with the inhabitants of the coasts. In the Philippines,
but not that I am aware of anywhere else, the sap of the Nipa, a lowly plant, is used
as a beverage, and for the manufacture of vinegar, and the distillation of spirits. On
this account it yields a considerable part of the revenue of the Spanish government.
Although a wild plant, for it is so abundant that its culture is not necessary, it is
remarkable that its name should be the same in all the languages from Sumatra to
the Philippines.
I^ITRE OB SALTPETRE. The only name for this salt in Malay and Javanese
is sAndawa ; and it appears to be a purely native one, which has spread to all the
languages of all the nations with whom the Malays and Javanese have held inter-
course, although in some of them it be corrupted, ss in the laoguages of Celebes,
where it is sunrawa, and in those of the Philippines, in which we have it as sanyava.
Saltpetre, in the Indian islands, is prepared fix>m the decomposed dung of bats and
swallows, accumulated in caves or old buildings ; and is not, as in Hindostan, the
almost spontaneous produce of certain soils. That it was known to the people of
the Archipelago before they were acquainted with gunpowder, we may believe from
their having a native name for a commodity which they only produced by art. But
to what use they applied it, unless to the preparation of fire-works, for which also they
have a native name, m&rchun, it is hard to say. It is, at present, chiefly used in the
manufacture of gunpowder, to which, in Javanese, it gives its name.
KXJEYA ECU A, or NEW ECU A. This is the name of one of the proyinces of
the island of Luson, in the Philippines, which had previously formed part of the
large one of Gagayan. It consists of a portion of the eastern side of the island, or
that called by the Spaniards the Contracoeta. It is an extensive territory, which,
with the exception of a few sheltered valleys, is for the greater part of the year,
exposed to all the severity of the north-eastern monsoon. It extends in length to
240 miles; its greatest breadth being 48, and its area 5600 square geographical
miles. The exposed mountains are either naked or have stunted trees, but the
▼alleys are covered with forest. The climate, notwithstanding its tempestuousness,
is oonsidered salubrious. The land, although mountainous and generally sterile, con-
tains some fertile and well-watered valleys. In 1850 the whole province, consisting
of eighteen townships, contained a population, besides several wild races not brought
under the Spanish rule, of 82,704, which gives the poor relative population of 5*8
inhabitants to the square mile, making it> Uierefore, tne least populous sad poorest
provinoe of Luson.
NUEYA GUIPUSCOA. This is the name of a Spanisb proyince of the great
island of Mtndano, created in 1850 out of the southern portion of that of Caraga,
including the large but seemingly barren island of San Juan. No limits are stated
by my authorities, but it seems to embrace all the eastern coast of Mindano between
the latitudes of 7* and 9*. Neither is its population named ; but it consists of eight
townships, the most considerable being Davao, situated on a bay of the same name
and the seat of the local administration. Here there is a small fort, the main object
of which is, to afford protection against the pirates of Sulu and the southern coast
of Mindano, the immemorial scourges of the Philippine islands.
NXTEVA VISCAYA, or NEW BISCAY. This is the name of an nnder-peopled
province in the centre of the island of Luzon, the chief of the Philippinea. It was
erected into a separate province in 1889, out of the southern portion of the extensive
province of Cagayan. In 1850 it had sixteen tewnships; with a population, inde-
pendent of several wild mountein tribes, of 22,192, of whom 5410 paid tribute. Ite
area may be taken at 2500, and hence ite relative population will be no more than
8'8 inhabitante to the square mile, showing it to be one of the least populous and
poorest of the great island to which it belongs.
NUMERATION. The Malayan decimal system of numeration with its terms more
NUSINGAK 304 NUTMEQ
KTTSE^GAK. The name of a large lake in the interior of the island of Mindano,
in the temtoiy of the Illanos or I^ainniy and in the centre of the isthmus formed
by the Bey of Uigen to the north, end that of lUanoa to the south. It is said to
oommonicate with the lake of Apo, which dischaxges itself by a river into the lag^ine
of Auigail, a continuation of the Bay of Uigen.
KTTTMEG. This is the froit of the Myristica moeohata, the true nutmeg^, a tree
of the natoral order of Myristicacen. It is an evergreen, bearing a general resem-
Uanoe to the laurel or hay, and in its native dimate growing to the height of forty or
fifty feeL It is a dicecioos plenty or bears male and femsle flowers on separate
trees, but when cultivated, it has a tendency to become monoecious, or to produce
both flowers on the same plant* The rpices of the genus Myristica are nozneroos
and wide-spread, for some are found in all the islsnds of the Archipelago, in several
parts of Hindustan, in the Hindu-Chinese countries, in the Philippines, in Australia,
and in tropical America. As a ^ioe^ however, the moschata or aromatic is the only
one of which the nut or maoe is of any value, and of this the geographical limits are
comparatively narrow, being comprehended between the 126th and 135th degrees of
east longitude, and the Srd degree of north, and the 7th of south latitude. It is, or
has beoi, found wild in the proper Moluccas, in Gilolo, Ceram, Amboyna, Boeroe,
Demma, the north and south aides of the western peninsula of New Guinea, and in
all its adjacent islands. It certainly does not exist in its wild state in any of the
islands weet of these, nor in any of the Philippines. Wherever the soil and climate are
suitable for ita growth, the aromatic nutmeg is raised with great fsusility. It is even
transported to remote parts, and the seed is disseminated by birds that feed on the
mace dropping the nut. These birds conmst of two species of pigeon, Golomba perspi-
cillata and aenea^ which prey on the nutmeg as our own wood-pigeons on the acorn.
In its native country the nutmeg tree comes into full bearing in its ninth year,
and lives to seventy-five. In shape and sise, the ripe fruit resembles a peach, or rather
a nectarine. When ripe, the fleshy outer substance bursts, the nutmeg in its
black ■hiniTig aheU is seen through the interstices of its reticulated crimaon
envelope, the mace^ which last amounts to about one-fifth pert of the weight of the
whole dried fruit. These two articles, the nut and mace, constitute the spicee which
for so many ages have been in request among the nations of Europe and Asia, although
never used as a condiment by the inhabitants of the countries that produce it^
The Hindms who had trsded for sges with the western parts of the Archipelago,
such as Jacatra, Bantam, Malacca^ and Achin, appear at these places, to have obtained
the nutmegs, which they have immemorially used as a condiment. The Portuguese, on
theur arrival in the Archipelago, furnish us with the first accurate account of the
nutmeg, and of the course of the trade by which it was conveyed from the place of
its growth to western Asia and Europe. The Malays and Javanese, as stated elsewhere^
carried on the interior trade of the Archipelago, and brought the nutmegs, as well as
the cloves to the western ports, where they were purchased by the merdhants of
Continental India^ snd in later times also by the Arabs and Persians. The Bands,
and not the true Molucca Islands, formed, latterly at least, the emporium to which
the Malays and Javanese resorted for the purchase of both the clove and nutmeg,
although they yielded the latter only. "From Amboyna»" says De Barros, *' An-
tonio D*Abreu, (the Portuguese discoverer of the Spice Islands) proceeded to the
Isle of Banda, losmg on his way the ship of Francisco SerrSo, but» by Gtod's blessing,
saving the crew. And as the Moluccas comprehend five islands, so under the name
of Banda, there are also five, each with its appropriate name. In truth, the chief of
them IB called Banda, to the principal port of which, called Lutatam,** (possibly a
misprint for Lontar, the name of the principal island,) *'all ships resort that come
for nutmegs. Every year, there repair to Lutetam the Malay and Javanese
people to load doves, nutmegs, and mace. This place is in the latitude most esaly
navigated, and as the cloves of the Moluccas are usually brought hither, it is
not necessary to go there to seek for them. In the five islands above dluded
to, grow all the nutmegs and maoe which are conveyed to every part of the world,
in the same way as in £e five Moluccas are grown all the doves." — ^Deoade XL, book
5, chap 5.
This account of the course of the spice trade is confirmed by the current names of
objects of trade, as well as by the names of places, all of which are either Malay, or
Javanese ; or Sanscrit througn one of these tongues. Thus, in the case of tiie nutmeg
itself, it had a native name in the langusge of the inhabitants of the Banda Islands^—
galago ; but this was unknown beyond £e locality, and the current name for it wu
NUTMEG 305 NUTMEG
pala, as it Btill continaes to be, and this has every appearance of being a corruption
and abbreviation of the Sanscrit jatipahla. In the same manner we have Sanscrit
names for sugar, black pepper, sandal-wood, and even for the clove, which seems to
point to the fact of these commodities being chiefly wanted for the consumption
of Hindus. As to the names of places, we have that of the whole group, which is
properly Pulo or Nusa-b&nda, literally, " Islands of wealth,'* and Lontar, which is
half Javanese and half Sanscrit, and signifying, ** the leaf of the Palmyra palm." In
or near to the islands of the ifolucca Sea» we have the following Javanese names
of places : — Nusa-laut, " sea-island," Nu8a-niva!(niba), " fallen island, and Nusa t&nuh,
" magic island." As to Malay names of places, or names common to it and the
Javanese, they are innumerable within the navigation embraced in carrying on the
internal spice trade.
Barbosa^ in his price current, gives us the cost of nutmegs in the market of
Calicut in the beginning of the 16th century, before the native trade was inter-
rupted by the conquests of the Portuguese, and as £ir as can be made out from the
weights and moneys to which he refers, it seems to be about three pence half-
penny a pound. But as the nutmegs in this case were, no doubt, in the shell, the
actuid price of clean nutmegs may be stated at about five-pence. The cost of
nutmegs in Europe at the same time, enhanced by land and sea transports, and many
imposts, was about four shillings and six-pence a pound, or close upon eleven times
their prime cost at the nearest port of India to Europe. The present average price in
the European market, although aggravated still by a monopoly in the genial land of
production, does not exceed, exclusive of duty, above one-third of what it did before
the discovery of the route by the Cape of Good Hope, a striking illustration of the
difference between the Indian trade of the 16th and the 19th century.
The Banda or Nutmeg Islands, as elsewhere stated, were reached in 1512, by the
Portuguese, under Antonio D'Abreu. From this time, until they were expelled
by Uie Dutch in 1621, they were in possession of the monopoly, having driven away
the Malay and Javanese traders, and changed the whole course of the trade. The
aim of their successors, the Dutch, was exactly the same as theirs, — an exclusive
monopoly. In the course of their efforts to carry this into operation, they were
immediately involved in war with the natives, represented as a warlike and inde-
pendent people, and the end of the war was the extermination of the inhabitants
of all the Banda Islands, and the re-peopling of these islands by slaves and convicts.
After a lapse of between two and three centuries, the monopoly still continues.
This is certainly absurd enough in our times, but in justice to the Dutch nation, it
must be stated that any other European nation would have, at least, in the earlier
periods of the spice trade, pursued the very same policy they did. Our own was,
above all others, solicitous to do so, and when even, in very recent times, it had twice
over an opportunity of abolishing the monopoly, it left it untouched.
The result of the monopoly as to production is instructive. In 1708, after the
Portuguese and Dutch had been for close on two centuries tampering with the trade,
the total annual produce of mace and nutmegs was 870,000 pounds. In 1786, or in
70 years, it had &llen to 760,000, and at present is stated not to exceed
530,000 pounds, or by 840,000 less than it was about a century and a half ago, and
indeed singularly enough, exactly the same quantity which is supposed to have been
the consumption of all Christendom before the discovery of the route to India by
the Cape.
The English, after the unsuccessful efforts of two centuries, succeeded at length in
participating in the nutmeg trade, in consequence of having occupied the Spice
Islands in 1796. In 1798 Uie nutmeg was introduced into Bencoolen and Penang,
and in 1819 into Singapore, and at these places it is now largely cultivated, but
certainly under the diaiuivantage of growing a not readily acclimated exotic. In
countries native and oongeniu to it, the nutmeg is reared with great ease,
requiring little care beyond shelter from the sun and weeding. In the
countries to which it has been transplanted, the young trees require artificial
shade, rich dressings of manure, and a fastidious care and attention in every
stage of cultivation. With this expensive husbandry the trees will yield the same
quantity and the same quality of fruit as in their native country, but^ will not
attain above half the size or live above half the time. This is certainly very
remarkable, and proves that the nutmeg is a peculiarly delicate plant, for the
latitudes and monsoons of the countries of the western parts of the Archipelago to
which it has been transferred are, generally, the same as those of its parent countries,
nor can the soils be always dissimilar, for although those of the Banda Islands be
z
OBY S06 OBY |
_ ■ •!
^OHDic, UuMO of N«ir GimMa and ito lalandB are oertamly not ao^ bat probabiy
aradi the same aa those of Benooolen, Penan^ and Singapore. The growing of nnt-
BM^ therefore, in eonntriea not ao congenial to it aa its natiye one^ is somewfaai
Hke the attempt to grow mais or the Tine in the northern, in oompetitioQ with the
•oathera coontiiea of Eorope. Were the monopoly therefore abolished in the Dutch
pooaMTinM. the probability ia that the eoltivation would oeaae in the Britiah. fic^
ea ^he natmc|^ OTan in ita natiTe oonntnr is always inferior in its wild to its
cvhtTated states a considerable amount of skill and labour must oontinne to ba
ex erc ia ed in prododng it eren there ; and as in the remote and rather rade oountiits
most coi^enial to it, this is not likely soon to happen, it is probable that the culture
IB the British settlements may eontinne to be carried on for a long tima
In 1$50 the total produce of maoe and nutmegs in their parent country wis^ as
aht*dy atated, 5S0,0OO pounds, exdusiTe of wild ones, of which no estimate can be
giTOD. In the countries to which the culture has been transfarred withm iht
Arahqpelago (in eTsry other rogion than this in whieh it has been tried it has £ulad
fbr marketable purposes^, the whole produce in the same year was OBtiTnated ai
about 470.0lHy» making a total produce of 900,000. This, with the exception of wild
nutm^^ whi^ are not considerable, forms the whole consumption of the worM
**firam China to Peru.** The amount exceeds that of 1708 by no more than
30.0 vH) pounda. Aa eariy as 1615, and while the Portuguese and Dutch wete
atnigj^Ui^ for the monopoly, Uie consumption of our own country was estimated it
115.000. In 1S50 it waa short of 200,000. The consumption of black pepper in
1615 was BO more tiiaB 450,000 pounds, and in 1850 had increased to hear 3,200,000.
Thtt\ in a period of S35 years, our consumption of maoe and nutmegs had bu^
tncreBMd by 74 per cent., while that of black pepper, to say nothing of tlie correh-
latiTe cottduuents of oapsicnms and pimento^ had multiplied by no less than 611 per
cent When we consider these fii^cte, and advert to the vast increase which b«
taken place in the wealth and population of the worid during the last two centuries,
it mustk I think, be concluded that the taste for nutmegs in the middle ages, and
in the earlier periods of the Indian tnide, was a foshion which has been long on the
d<vline, and that the article is at present the mere Itixur^ of a Tsry small number.
This Tiew of the taste for it baring been in early times m some measure a caprice,
aeoma to be confirmed by the recent change which has taken place in the relatire
estimationa of the mace and nutmeg which have qualities so near to each other
that they cannot easily be distinguished, and which also, are always produced in the
same pro|M>rUou3 to each other. In former timea the mace bore what may be called
a fancy |vice» and sold for double the price of the nutmegs or even more^ whereas
at present it is hardly equal to it in market value.
With i>0epect to the nutmeg as an article of husbandry, it is hardly necessary to
obeerve that it oan have no possible advantage over any other conmKKLity except in
ao far aa it may be more suitable to a particular soil and dimate. Within its own
natural limits, very wide ones aa it happens, it ought when not interfered irith by
legislation, to be always a staple product, for the obvious reason that it can there be
reared with less labour than anywhere else. Beyond these it is certain that its
culture must be conducted with manifest disadvantage, and that m<»e congenial
pToducta ought to be prefiurred to it. The fiictitious value once put on it and on tiie
dove, and which it is evident they owed to the caprice of iiB»hion and their rarity,
ought to be utterly discarded as simply imtionaL
OBY, oorreotly, PULO-UBI, that is " Yam island." This is the name of seTeral
islets in the Archipelago, but that which is best known to navigators is one on the
coast of Cambodia, and at the entrance of the Oulf of Siam in north latitude 8* 25',
and east longitude 1 04* 54'. It is a mass of granite from 300 to 400 feet high* covered
with a forest of stunted trees. When I visited it on my wav to Siam in 1821, its
inhabitants consisted of about a dozen poor Cochin-Chinese cultivating a few patches
of vegetables. The soil is thin and sterile, and the place of consequence only as a
land-mark, and for the wooding and watering of the junks trading between Siam,
Cambodia and the Malayan countries. A lai*ge wild yam seems to be plentiful in the
woods, from which, most probably,the island takes its name. Its only wild quadruped is
a squirrel, and the most a2>undaat birds are the wldte shore pigeon, Columba Uttotalis.
OBY MAJOR 307 OPHIR
OBY MAJOR, a translation by the Portuguese of the Pulo ubi bdsar of the
Malays, that is '' Great Tam uland," the epithet being intended to distinguish it
from an islet near it called Oby latta, or correctly, F^lo nbi lata, " Creeping Yam
laland." Oby m^jor is a considerable island of the Molucca Sea, between 80 and
40 miles south of Qilolo and the true Moluccas. Its extreme length from east to
west is about 40 miles, its greatest breadth about 15, and its area 624 geographical
miles. Around it are several small islands, as Gk>mona, Lukisong, Oby latta, Pulo-
maya ^Deoeption Island), and Pnlo-pisang (Banana Island). Beyond these few
particulars nothing is known of the island, and nothing at all of its inhabitants.
OLANGO. This is the name of a long narrow islet on the eastern side of ^ebu,
one of the principal Philippines. M^tan, the scene of the death of Magellan, lies
between it and the main isiuid. It is in north latitude 10° 16', and in east longitude
124** 46^, distant about three leagues from (^bu.
OMBAY, correctly PULO-OMBAI (in Malay "fiinged island"), is the farthest
east, and the largest of the fiye islands which lie between the laige ones of Floris
and Timur. It is separated to the west from Pantar, correctly Putar, by a strait
five miles broad, and to the east from Timur by one of fifteen at its narrowest
part, Uie last weU known to navigators as the Ombay Passage. Its extreme eastern
point is in south latitude 8* 9' 40'' and east longitude 125° 6' ; and its extreme
western in latitude 8*' 9', and longitude 124** 27'. Its greatest len^h, which is from
east to west, is 45 miles, its greatest breadth about 10, and its area computed
at 782 square geographical miles. At its western extremity it is indented by a
deep bay. The Umd is high and bold, and the formation volcanic, although it is
not ascertained to contain any active volcana From the accounts given of them
the inhabitants appear to be oi the Negro-Malayan race, having dark brown com-
plexions, thick lips^ flattened noses, and frizzled or curUng hair. They are a rude
people, whose arms consist of bows and arrows^ spears, and krises, and who have no
knowledge of fire-arms. Like the rudest inhabitants of Borneo and Celebes, they
are head-hunters, contenting themselves, however, with preserving, as a trophy, the
lower jaw-bone, instead of the whole skulL They seem to have some acquaintance
with iron, to practise a rude husbandry, and to have domesticated the ox, hog, dog,
and common fowl. Such is the account g^ven of them by the companions of M.
Freycinet, who visited the island in 1817. Some of the natives of the coast,
however, seem to have adopted the Mahommedan religioiL
OIL, in Malay mifiah, and in Javanese l&nga, both of them words of extensive
currency throughout the Malay and Philippine Archipelagos. The plants from
which fatty oils are chiefly extracted are the coco-palm, the ground pea, the
sesame^ and the palma-christi ; the first for edible use, and the three last for the
lamp. In the islands of the Molucca Sea, a fine esculent oil is expressed from the
nut of the kanari tree ^Canarium commune). I am not aware that oil is ex-
pressed in any of the islands from cruciform plants, nor is flax reared for this
purpose. Animal oils are hardly used in any shape : ess^tial oils are obtained from
the dove, the nutmeg, the kayu-puti (Melaleuca ci^jeput) and in great abundance and
cheapness from the Malay camphor-tree (Dryobalanops camphora).
ONION (ALLIUMS The Malay and Javanese name for the onion is bawang, the
latter tongue adoing for the polite dialect, brambang. The word bawang is slmost
universal in the other languages of the Archipelago, wherever the plant is known.
As in many other oases, however, it is a generic term, the epithet " red " being
given to the common onion (Allium cepa), and " white " to garlic, the only two
species of the family known in the Archipelago. The onion, a small variety, is
largely cultivated in Java, but only at an eleva&on of three or four thousand feet
above the level of the sea, so that although bearing a native name, or at least one
not traceable to any foreign source, it is probably an exotic. It forms an article of
inland traffic, and has long been exported. Thus we find Barbosa enumerating it as
one of the articles brought by the Javanese to Malacca before the Portuguese
conquest.
OPHIR. Among the many places to which this name has been whimsically
given, there are two mountains, in the Archipelago to which the Portuguese have
applied it, — one in tiie Peninsula, and one in Sumatra. The last of these is in the
interior of the island, and towards its southern coast, inland from Posammah. Its
X 2
OPHIR 808 OPHIK
sammit ia computed to be 9200 feet above the level of the sea, but it la exceeded in
height by six other Samatran mountains. For the Peninsular Ophib see Jjsdasq.
Of the celebrated place itself nothing ia said in Scripture that will enable ua to
determine its g^eographical position. It is simply said to be one with which the Jevs,
with the assistance of the Tyrians, carried on a lucrative trade for about a centmy.
but more especially during the reign of Solomon. We are, therefore, left to judge of
its locality by the character of the people who conducted the trade witli it, by the place
from which it was conducted, and by the nature of the commodities brought from it
In the time of Solomon, about eight and twenty centuries ago, the Jewa were an
inland people, partly agricultural, and partly pastoraL They were unskilled in tbe
arts, aa we find from the necessity they were under of bringing skilled aitisans from
Tyre and Sidon. They were unacquainted with iron, and &e only metala known to
them were gold, silver and brassy or rather bronze, the last of these received eitber
from the Tyrians or Egyptians.
Neither do they seem to have possessed any maritime oommerce until David
effected the conquest of Edom or Idumea, when they became poaseeaed of a snail
portion of the coast of the Red Sea, the Qulf of Eloth, now called Akaba, at tbe
north-east part of its head. On this gulf was situated the port of Eziou^ber,
which is expressly stated to have been ** beside Eloth, on the shore of the Bed Sea,
in the land of Edom." Some, at least, of the ahipe with which the trade to Opidr
was carried on were built at this port, for it is distinctly stated that the king " made
a navy of ships in Ezion-geber," which, with the help of Tyrian mariners and pilotE,
performed the voyage to Ophir. Solomon is even atated to have visited Bzion-geber
in person, a journey of no great difficulty, since it is not, in a straight line, aboTe
120 geographical miles from JerusaleuL
The cause of Solomon's engaging in the trade to Ophir was evidently his havxDfr
become possessed of a portion of the shore of the Bed Sea, and his alliance viUi
the Tyrian king. The conquered Edomites of the coast were at least fisliermeB,
and most probably, as they are described as a people considerably advanced,
carried on some traffic along the coasts of the Bed Sea. The Jews them-
selves could have had no maritime skill, and the probability is that the Idtimeana
formed the bulk of the crews of Solomon's commercial navy. Even these, however,
would be destitute of the skill necessary to conduct a fleet on the distant voyage to
Ophir, and hence the necessity of employing the pilots and mariners of Tjt9, already
familiar with the voyage. It waa not, however, pilota and mariners alone that the
Tyrian king furnished, for he also supplied ships. ** Hiram sent him by the hands
of his servants ships and servants that had knowledge of the sea, and they went with
the servants of Solomon to Ophir."
But the Je?nah navy that traded with Ophir is also called a navy of Tarshish. This
Tarshish must in all probability have been a Tyrian port or emporium on the shore
of the Bed Sea, — most likely on the Gulf of Suez, and would be the port of departure
for the Tyrian fleet for Ophir, as Ezion-geber on the Oulf of Eloth, was for tbe
Jewish. Both fleets would appear sometimes to have joined at Tarshish before taking
their dcpartura Thus in Chronicles, the kings of Judah and Israel combine to
build ships for the Ophir trade at Ezion-geber, in order to proceed to Tarahish.
They were foiled in this project, however, for as the text says, " the ships were
broken ** (that is wrecked) ** so that they were not able to go to Tarshish." Hie
Tarshish thus referred to must have been on the same sea with Eaion-gebar, and
nothing could have been more natural than that the Jewish fleet should before
starting, take advantage of the superior skill and safe convoy of the Tyrian. To sup-
pose Tarshish, from its accidental resemblance in sound to have been, as some have
done, a port on the coast of the Mediterranean, would be to make the Jewish fleet of
Ezion-geber to sail over the Isthmus of Suez, since in Solomon's time there was no
canal connecting the Bed Sea with the KUe : nor even if there had been, oould it be
supposed that the boats suited to a canal would be fit to navigate an open sea.
Tarshish, then, we may conjecture with considerable probability, was one o^ and
perhapa the principal of the emporia or factories which the l!^;yptians, not themael?es
a maritime people, granted to the enterprising Phoenicians on the Bed Sea.
The Jewish trade with Ophir is said to have been conducted^ not by Jewish
merchants, but by the king, perhaps in the rude state of society which existed at
the time, the only party competent to do so. This is at all events quite consonant to
the practice of sdl the small rude and despotic countries of the East, aa for example,
of the Malayan princes. It was even so as late as in the Indian trade of the
Portuguese^ the monopoly of which was in the king's hands. That the govemment
OPHIR 309 OPHIR
of Solomon was a rude and arbitrary one is sufficiently proved from the &ct that the
Temple was oonstructed, as such edifices always are in the East, by corvde, or forced
labour, and that for want of skill in his own people, the labour was carried on under the
direction of the Tynans and Sidonians, whose services were paid for in com and oiL
With respect to the length of the voyage from the gulfs at the head of the Hed
Sea to Ophir, some writers have inferred that it must have been to a verv distant
country from the following expression from the text of Scripture, '* For the king had
at sea a navy of Tarshish with the navy of Hiram. Once in three years came the
navy of Tardiish, bringing gold, &c" This would not seem to imply that the voyage
occupied three years, a length of time which the voyages of no rude people ever did
occupy. With the Tyrians^ the voyage to Ophir was most probably, as in all similar
cases, an annual one, regulated by the periodical winds in the Bed Sea, and the
monsoons in the Indian ocean. The expression used would seem only to imply that
the Jews, who were new to the trade, engaged in the enterprise but once in three
years, having probably not the means of carrying it on regularly. Even what they
did effect, they were enabled to accomplish, only through the friendship of the Tynans.
It is, indeed, impossible not to suspect that the so-called friendship of Hiram for
Solomon was dictated by policy on the part of the Phcsnicians, a small commercial
people with distant factories, who would stand naturally in fear of the Jews^ who
had not only subdued all the nations of Palestine, but also the Idumeans, thus
becoming their immediate neighbours at home on the Mediterranean coast, and also
coming into close contact with their settlements on the Bed Sea.
We may next consider the character of the Jewish trade with Ophir, from the
nature of the commodities of which the cargoes of the ships consisted. Of the out-
ward investment, nothing is said in Scripture, but we may suppose it to have consisted
of Egyptian and Tyrian manulEUstures, since the Jews had none of their own fit for
exportation. These would consist of linen, pottery, utensils, tools, lamps, musical
instruments of bronze, and arms. Such commodities' as these would have been indis-
pensable for the payment of the gold and other articles which wore brought from Ophir,
unless we suppose the Jews to have been pirates, and the collection of a sufficient assort-
ment of them might have occupied the long period which elapsed between each voyage.
The imports from Ophir consisted, according to our translation, of the following
commodities, namely, gold, silver, precious stones, ivory, apes, peacocks, and almug-
trees. The quantity of gold brought is in one place called 420, and in another 450
talents. The smallest of these amounts woold make, according to the usual estimate
of the Jewish talent, 573,720 ounces, at 4/. the ounce equal to 2,294,880^ This is
an enormous and improbable sum, and most probably there is a mistake in the
transcription of the numbers, and this is the more likely when we find the quantities
differing in the two statements of it giyen. It is not, however, stated that the
quantity of gold brought was the result of each adventure, and it is even more
probable that it was the whole quantity brought from Ophir during the whole reign
of Solomon. He is stated to have reigned twenty-four years, and as he is said to
have inherited the trade from his &ther David, he may have made as many as eight
voyages during his life-time. This would reduce the quantity brought in each
adventure to vie average of 71)715 ounces, or 286,860Z., still a sum finr too large for
a trade conducted by so rude a people as the Jews were some eight-and-twenty
centuries ago. The countries which would furnish the largest supply of gold to the
Tyrians and Jews would be the eastern coast of Africa, such as Senna and Sofala,
where it is still found ; and in this early period the washings or diggings may have
been as productive as we have recently round them in California and Australia, a
supposition which would diminish our surprise at the large quantity stated to have
been brought by Solomon's fleets.
The same pitfts of Africa that furnished gold would furnish both apes and ivoiy,
for the first exist there in numbers, and the elephant still abounds* They would
not, however, produce the silver which was brought from Ophir, for these countries are
not known to produce any, and if they did, it Ib not probable that the rude Africans
would have understood the art of reducing the ore. As to the <' precious stones "
which were brought from Ophir, it is impossible to identify them under so general
a term with any country. With so rude a people as the Jews, such things as agates,
blood-stones, cameliana, garnets, and amethysts, would probably be considered as
precious stones, and it is, indeed, highly improbable that they brought from Ophir, or
obtained from any quarter, real orieutol gems, such as the diamond, emerald, sapphire,
and ruby.
What the almug-trees were, it is difficult to conjecture. They appear to have been
OPHia 810 OPHTB
foreign timber, known, however, to the Jews, for it had bean previously imported
both by themselyes and the Tyrians. * The navy of Hiram is expressly stated to 1uit6
brought from Ophir along with gold, "great plenty of almng-trees." The uses towfakh
the iJmug timber was put, show that it was in greater esteem than the oedara and firs
of Lebanon. Solomon " made of the almug-trees pillars for the House of the Lord, and
for the king's house, — Sharps also and peuilteries for singers. There came no such
almug-trees, nor were seen unto this day." Some commentators have supposed the
almug to be sandal-wood, or the Santalum album of botanists ; but this, from the
uses made of it, and the omission to notice its perfume^ its most remarkable quality,
is highly improbable. The sandal-wood is a small tree, not much exceeding in eise
a la^ myrtle, while it is much branched, and the wood crooked. The sandal, in
short» would not afford pillars for a temple which was thirty cubits high, nor is
the timber at all suited for the manufacture of any kind of musical instrumeata, an
use to which it is never put. In another place it is stated that Solomon made
terraces, that is floors, of the almug-trees. But setting aside the cost, it is oeftaia
that planks for terraces could not have been sawn or hewn out of crooked wood,
not above two or three feet long, or exceeding three or four inches in diameter. We
may conclude, then, that the trees which would make pillars for a temple and palace,
and terraces for the first, must have been of very considerable size, and hence thai
the vessels which imported them must have been of considerable burden, while the
voyage could not have been very distant that would admit of so bulky an arUcle
being imported to profit. Solomon, indeed, might have imported them without
regard to cost for the Temple, but the Tynans, who seem to have imported them as
a regular article of trade, would not have done so. If the almug-tiees were really
sandal wood, this would suppose a trade, — ^from the nature of the commodity, even a
direct one, — ^with India^ Malabar being the nearest country to the Red Sea that ^x>duce6
sandal-wood. That the almug or algum was a hard wood admitting of a polish, is to
be inferred from some of its uses. It was, probably, the high polish of which it was
susceptible, that recommended it in preference to fir and cedar as ornamental piUara
for the temple. The Jewish psalteries are described as a kind of staccatos with
wooden keys, apparently simihtr to the gambangs of the Javanese ; and if so, the
keys of these would require a hard and sonorous wood, which no native tree of S3fTia
or Egypt might have afforded in the same perfection as the foreign wood called almug.
According to the Lstin version of the Scriptures, and to our own and those of other
modern European nations, " Peacocks " are among the things brought firom Ophir.
The Greek version, however, passes by the word which we so render altogether, the
translators having been evidently unable to make up their minds what it meant^
The original Hebrew word is ** tuclmm,'* which, as a name for the peacock, cannot
certainly be traced to any foreign tongue. The nearest country to Egypt and Syria
in which the peacock is indigenous is Hindustan, and hence it has been concluded
that Ophir was in some part or other of that continent The Hebrew word, at least,
will give no countenance to this supposition, for it bears no resemblance to the name
of the bird in any language of that continent or its islands. Thus, in Sanscrit^ the
name for the peacock is " manyura," changed in the ancient and recondite language
of Java into " ma&ura.'' My friend, the learned and accomplished Professor Wilson,
has furnished me with the names of the peacock in eight of the principal languages
of Hindustan. In Hindi, Bangali, and Gujrati, they are merely corruptions of the
Sanscrit name. In the languages, however, of the nations of the south, or that
portion of India which the Phoenicians and Jews are most likely to have frequenteii
for trade, the terms • are different, and seemingly native. Thus in the Tamil and
Malayalam, the name is " mayil," and in the Telugu and Kanarese, ** nemali." Not
one of these, however, bears the remotest resemblance to the " tuchiim,*' of the
Hebrew. In Malay and modem Javanese, the name is " m&rak," evidently a native
and local word, and neither Indian nor Semitic.
The Persians appear early to have received the peacock in the domestic state from
India, and from Persia it would appear at an early period to have been received in
Greece, a fact which seems to be corroborated from the Persian and Greek names,
"taus'' or "tawus" being essentially the same. Even the Arabs seem, although
probably at a much later time, to have received the peacock through Panda, since the
Arabic name of the bird is identical with the Persian.
But there are other facts which make it highly improbable that the Hebrew word,
tuchiim, should mean the peacock. Independent of its great sise, this bird is of
delicate constitution, which would make it nearly impossible to convey it in small
vessels, and by a long sea- voyage, such as that from Gig rat or Malabar to the head of
OPHIE 311 OPHIR
the Bed Sea. Another argument still more cogent may be urged, that the tuchim or
peaoock is neyer mentioned, before or after, in any part of the Old Testament ; nor,
indeed, is it at all likely that the early Jews should be acquainted with this bird,
seeing that they were even ignorant of the hardy, useful, and easily transported
Common Fowl, like the peaoock a native of India. The pigeon, indeed, seems to
have been the only bird which the Jews had domesticated before their conquest
by the Greeks.
It seems far more probable that parrots were meant by the word tuchiim.
These hardy and long-Hved birds are easily conveyed by long sea-voyages. Many of
them, and of several speciesy are brought yearly as objects of traffic in small vessels
all the way from Kew Guinea to the most westerly parts of the Malay Archipelago, a
voyage which the peacock would not survive. It may even be added that the Persian
and Arabic name for parrot, tuti, bears a nearer resemblanoe to the Hebrew word,
than any Indian one of the peacock.
All the commodities forming the imports from Ophir, could not well have been
the native products of one and the same place, and hence it is to be inferred that
Ophir was an emporium at which the di£ferent articles enumerated were collected.
Africa would certainly furnish gold, ivory, and parrots, but it is not celebrated for its
precious stones ; and with the addition of the double voyage, which would be implied
by oonveviug them through an emporium, is not likely to have furnished the timber-
trees, called almug. It could not have furmahed the silver which formed part of the
homeward investment, since it is not known at any time to have possessed silver
mines; while, even possessing them, the rude natives cannot be supposed possessing
the art of smelting the ore. Another objection to placing Ophir in any part of the
eastern coast of Africa, is to be found in the incapacity of its savage inhabitants to
consume the valuable manufactures which, of necessity, the Tyrians and Jews must
have given in exchange for the rich cargos which they brought back. Ophir certainly
cannot, with any show of probability, be placed in any part of India or its islands,
since none of the peculiar products of India, sandal-wood and peacocks being
the only ones supposed, are shown to have been so. The great distance of that
country, a direct voyage to which from the Red Sea would be incompatible with such
skill as we are warranted in attributing to the early navigation of the Phoenicians,
makes it very improbable that Ophir was in that country.
All the enumerated commodities of the ophir commerce might easily have been col-
lected at an emporium convenient for all the parties engaged in the trade ; and the
most probable station for it would be on the southern coast of Arabia, or even within
the Arabian Gulf itself, on its eastern shore. The enterprising character of the
Sabseans^ or early Arabians, would determine an emporium to such a locality. With
the help of the monsoons, these Arabians might have traded not only to Ethiopia,
but even to India. With the first of these countries they are expressly stated to
have traded, and they could easily have brought from it gold, ivory, and parrots to
their own country. The monsoons would, in such a voyage, afford a &ir and steady
wind outward and homeward ; and even if the voyage extended beyond the entrance
of the Red Sea and as fSur as the southern shore of Arabia, it would not equal in
length that which is yearly performed at present, and has been performed for ages,
by Malay praus between New Guinea and Sumatra under similar auspices.
The Arabs might even have extended their navigation eastwai'd as far as India,
although from the nature of the commodities constituting the exports from Ophir, there
is no evidence that they did so, no mention being made of any of its peculiar proiduots.
If the Tarshish of Scripture was, as I have supposed it, situated on the Gulf of Suez,
the commodities which that place furnished to Tyre were probably brought from
India to Ophir, and thence b^ the PhoBuicians to Tarshish, to be conveyed by a short
land journey and a brief coasting voyage to Tyre. They consisted, according to Ezekiel ,
of silver, iron, tin, and lead. &dia Proper could only furnish of these commodities
iron, while the tin must have been brought to the emporia of Malabar from the
Malay Archipelago ; and as to the silver and lead, China, and the countries imme-
diately west of it, could alone have fumished them, — if they really were Asiatic
products. The lead might have come from the same countries through the Malayan,
Malabar, and Sabsmn ports; and the diffusive precious metal through many channels.
It seems probable that the Phoenicians themselves never went beyond Ophir, or
some other Arabian emporium, trusting to the Arabians to bring thither the com-
modities of India. This, at least, is consonant to what we know of the course of
trade among all rude nations. Thus, on the arrival of the Portuguese at the end of
the 15th century, the Malayan nations carried on the internal commerce within their
OPIUM 312 OPIUM
own wsten, bat never went bejond thcxn. TIm Chinese ftom the east^ and the
njKtionB of Hindnotan from the west, firequented only a few empotia of the MaJaj
Archipelago, and seldom went beyond them. The interoonrae between India and the
Arabian Qaif was then in the hands of the Arabs, the descendants of the same men
who conducted a portion of it in the time of Eaekiel, about 587 years before the birth
of Christ, bat now in po oDoiai on of astronomical instroments and the compaaL
The character of the Tynan shipping carrying on the trade of Ophir, and of the
Jewish which were an imitation of them, may be readily imagined. They must of
necessity haye been of inconsiderable siae to hare enabled them to carry on a coast-
ing voyage, in the course of whidi it would often be necessary to put into small
creeks for shelter against bad weather, as well as for wood, water, and provisioos.
They must have been equally adapted for the sail and the oar, the last indispensable
to save them ftx>m being wrecked on a lee shore. They must have been baUt of fir,
the only timber abundftot in Syria and the other oountries in the nei^bonrfaood of
the Red Sea ; and it may be conjectured that the largest of them would not exceed
100 tons burden.
If the Tyrian and Jewish fleet proceeded no further than Mokha, this would ttsdf
be a voyage extending over 18* of latitude. At Loheia» in latitude 15** 30', the fleet
would encounter the monsoons. If Ophir was on the Arabian coast^ at such a place,
for example, as the bay of Kanin-kanin, into which runs the river Sbab, the voyage
would extend over 21" of latitude and 13* of longitude, and in a straight line be
not less than 1320 miles in length. In the northern parts of the Red Sea, northerly
winds prevail for eight months in the year. If the fleet for Ophir sailed towards
the end of these winds, they would take them to Loheia, where, in the middle of
June, they would meet the south-west monsoon ; which, after quitting the Straits of
Bab-al-mandab, would be a hit wind along the whole southern coast of Arabia.
From all that has now been stated, I think it may be concluded that the Ophir of
Scripture was a commercial emporium, situated either close to the entrance of the
Red Sea on its Arabian side, or not far east on the southern coast of Arabia. The
nearest of these localities to the head of the Arabian Gulf, would assuredly have
been a long and difficult voyage even for the small coasting craft of the Phoenidana,
and still more so for the confessedly inexperienced Jews ; without supposing voyages
to India, or fiu- south on the coast of Africa.
The celebrated Oerman orientalist, Lassen, however, has placed Ophir somewhere
about the debouchement of the river Indus ; a locality which would have yielded no
gold, except as an emporium, and which, in that capacity, could have received it
from no country nearer than Sumatra, about 2500 miles of a coasting voyage distant.
His hypothesis is founded on some supposed resemblance between the Hebrew and
Sanscrit names of the commodities brought from Ophir. The nearest resemblance is
in the words for an ape, that in the Hebrew being koph or kof ; and in Sanscrit,
k&pi or kepi. The similitude then consists in the initial letters being the same, and
in the second consonant being one amenable to transmutation, while the vowels are
different, and the word in one language a monosyllable, and in the other a bi-
syllable. It is for more probable then, that the remote resemblance between the two
words is purely accidental, than that one should be a corruption of the other. The
resemblance between the Hebrew and Sanscrit names of other commodities is still
more remote. Thus, the Hebrew word which is supposed to represent the peacock,
has been sometimes written sukhlm, and this is fancied to be derived from the
Indian word, sikhi ; but this last word, although taken from Sanscrit, ia the name of
the bird in the language of Bengal, and not of any tongue of Western India, being,
moreover, only an epithet signifying '* crested." The German hypothesis, too, sup-
poses that Sanscrit was the vernacular language of the Indians that traded with
the Phoenicians, which is not probable, siuce it is not even ascertained that that
tongue was ever the living speech of any Indian nation, and was, assuredly, always
a foreign one In Southern India.
OPIUM, the inspissated juice of the poppy, is known to all the nations of the
Archipelago by no other name than its Arabic one, afyun ; from the absence of the
letter / in all the cultivated lang^uages, pronounced apyun. Neither is the poppy
cultivated for its juice, or its oil, in any part of the Archipelago, so that there can be
no doubt but that the Malayan nations were first made acquainted with opium,
directly or indirectly by the Arabs, the same people that made them acquainted
with flurdent spirits, and gave them a religion that denounces the use of both.
The earliest account we have of its use, not only for the Archipelago, but also
"^
OPIUM 313 OPIUM
for India and China, is by the £iithful and intelligent Barboaa. He writes
the word "amfiam/* and in his account of Malacca, enumerates it among the
artidee brought by the Moorish and Gtentila merchants of Western India, to
exchange for the cargos of the Chinese junks, and such is, in some degree, the
course of the trade even in the present day. He also tells us that it was an urticle
of import from Arabia into Calicut, besides being brought to that place from Cambay,
and he quotes its yarious prices. His account of it runs thus : — ** Opio (the ortho-
graphy here Ysries from that in his account of it given under the head of Malacca),
which comes from Adem (Aden), and is prepared there, is worth in Calicut, each
fiirazuola, from 280 to 320 fanoes (fanam), and another sort which is made in Cambaya,
from 200 to 250." The farazuola, he informs us, is a weight equal to twenty-two
pounds six ounces and a half of Portugal ; and the fanoes he reckons to be of the
value of a silver real, probably about fourpence halfpenny. With these data, the
value of the Arabian opium, most probably Turkish, brought by the route of Aden,
would be from 4a 8c{. to 6s. 6d. the pound avoirdupois; and that of the Indian,
most probably from Malwa, from Zs. id. to is, 5d. The average of these prices would
make the value of a chest of Turkish opium, weighing about 1S4 pounds, 157 hard
Spanish dollars; and one of Indian of 148 pounds, 132 dollars. These prices are
about one-third part the cost of Indian opium at present. But it is probable that
Barbosa's opium of the beginning of the 16th century paid little or no duty, while
that of our times, either through duty or monopoly, is subject to a very heavy impost.
Opium, is at present, largely consumed in the Malayan islands, in China, in the
Indo-Chinese countries, and in a few parts of Hindustan, much in the same way in
which wine, ardent spirits, malt liquor, and cider, are consumed in Kurope. Its
deleterious character has been much insisted on, but, generally, by parties who have
bad no experience of its effects. Like any other narcotic or stimulant, the habitual
use of it is amenable to abuse;, and as being more seductive than other stimulants,
perhaps more so ; but this is certainly the utmost that can be safely charged to it.
Thousands consume it without any pernicious result, as thousands do wine and
spirits, without any evil consequence. I know of no person of long experience and
competent judgment who has not come to this common-sense conclusion. Dr. Oxley,
a physician and a naturalist of eminence, and who has had a longer experience than
any other man of Singapore, where there is the highest rate of consumption of the
drug, gives the following opinion : *' The inordinate use, or rather abuse, of the drug
most decidedly does bring on early decrepitude, loss of appetite, and a morbid state
of all the secretions ; but I have seen a man who had used the drug for fifty years in
moderation, without any evil effects; and one man I recollect in Malacca who had so
used it, was upwards of eighty. Several in the habit of smoking it have assured me,
that, in moderation, it neiuier impaired the functions, nor shortened life ; at the same
time fuUy admitting the deleterious effects of too much." There is not a word of this
that would not be equally true of the use and abuse of ardent spirit, wine, and, perhaps,
even of tobacco. The historian of Sumatra, whose experience and good sense cannot
be questioned, came early to the very same conclusion. The superior curative
virtues of opium over any other stimulant are undeniable, and the question of its
superiority over ardent spirits, appears to me to have been for ever set at rest by the
high authority of my friend Sir Benjamin Brodie. *' The effect of opium, when taken
into the stomach," says this distinguished philosopher, " is not to stimulate but to
soothe the nervous system. It may be otherwise in some instances, but these are rare
exceptions to the general rule. The opium-eater is, in a passive state, satisfied with his
own dreamy condition while under the influence of the drug. He is useless, but not
mischievoua. It is quite otherwise with alcoholic liquors." — ^Psychological Inquiries,
p. 248.
It may be worth while to show what is really the relative consumption in those
countries in which its use is alleged to be most pernicious. In the British settle-
ment of Singapore, owing to the high rate of wages, and the prevalence of a Chinese
population, the consumption is at the rate of about 380 grains, or adult doses, a year
for each person. In Java, where the Chinese do not compose above one in a hundred
of the population, and where wages are comparatively low, it does not exceed 40
grains. Even in China itself, where the consumption is supposed to be so large, it
is no more than 140 grains, diiefly owing to the poverty of the people, to whom it is
for the most part inaccessible. It must not be forgotten, that some of the dele-
terious qualities of opium are considerably abated in all the countries in question, by
the manner in which it is prepared for use, which consists in reducing it to a kind of
morphine, and inhaling its fumes in this state. Moreover, everywhere consumption
ORANG 314 OBAKG-LAUT
is restricted by heavy taxation. The ophun of India pays, in the first instanoe^ a tax
which amounts to three milliona sterling. The same opium, in Singapore, with a
population of 60/>00, pays another impost of SO,00(M. ; and in Java, with a population
of ten millions, one of 800,00OiL Not the use, then, but the abuse, of opiozn is
prejudicial to health ; but in this respect it does not materially dUffer from wine,
distilled spirits, malt liquor, or hemp juice. There may be shades of difi«reiice in
the abuse of all these commodities, but they are not easily detennined, and, perliaf^
hardly worth attempting to ^predate. There is nothing mysterious a^ut the
intoxication produced by ordimury stimulantSj, because we are fiuniliar with it; but it
is othenrise with that resulting fiom opium, to which we are strangers. We have
generally only our imaginations to guide us with the last, and we assnaate it with
deeds of desperation and murder; the disposition to commit which, were the drug
ever had recourse to on such oooaaion^ which it never ia, it would surely allaj and
not stimulate.
ORANG. In Malay, a man or human being, in the singular or plural; also
people. It is probably the same word which appears in the popular language of
Java as wong.
OKAXQ^GirNU^G. A mountaineer ; and henoe, a rastio or down. The Malays
i^ply the phrase to any people less cultivated than themselves.
OBANG-L AUT, literally men of the sea, or sea-people. This is the most frequent
name given by the Malays to that rode class of their own nation whose permanent
dwelling is thdr boats, without any fixed habitation on shore. They are alao called
rayat-laut, or, abridged, rayat; litcorally, " sea-subjects," the last word being only a
sl^ht corruption of the Arabic word with the same signification, the phrase meaning
the sea-subjects of the kings of Malacca or Jehor. Occasionally, too, they go under
the name of Sika, the meaning of which I do not know ; and more frequently of
Bajau, which is probably the same as the Javanese word, bajag, a pirate or sea-robber,
a name to which they have often earned a title. Some EDglish writers, from their
wandering habits and suspicious modes of life, have, with a good deal of propriety,
called them " sea-gypsies." The native locality of this people, for it cannot well be
called country, is the straits or narrow seas of the many islands between Sumatra and
the Malay Peuinsula, towards the eastern end of the straits of Malacca There, at least,
they are congregated in the greatest numbers, and own allegiance at present to the
kings of Jehore, as in former times they did to those of Malacca. From this locality
they appear to have spread themselves, most probably step by step, to the shores of
Bauca, fiilliton, some of the islands on the eastern and western coasts of Borneo, the
coasts of Celebes, and even of Boeroe and other islands of the Molucca eea, from which
again they make voyages to the northern coast of Australia, in search of tripang and
tortoise-shelL " At Pulo Tinggi (on the eastern coast of the Malay Peninsula, in
north latitude 2° 17') we found," says Mr. Thomson, a very intelligent tiaveller,
" many orftng-lant, or sea-gypsies, assembled. A large crop of durians, this season,
had attracted tribes of them from the coasts of tiie Peninsula, as well as from the
islands of the Jehore Archipelago. Six boats from Mora, an island of that group
(about fifty miles north of the equator), we found on their way to Pulo TinggL They
had travelled by sea a distance of 180 miles to partake of the fascinating fruit. This
would appear incredible were it not explained, that these people live in their boats,
changing their position from the various islands and coasts according to the season.
During the south-western monsoon, the eastern coast of the Peninsula is much fre-
quented by them, where they collect as they proceed, rattans, damar, and turtle, to
exchange for rice and clothing. The attractions of Pulo Tinggi are also of a mors
questionable kind, by its offering, during the season that the Cochin-Chineee risit
Singapore in their small unarmed trading junks, considerable B&cilities for committing
occasional quiet piracies on that harmless class of traders. Prior to the introduction
of steam-vessels by the English and Dutch governments, these sea-gypsies were
notorious for their piratical propensities, tiiough less formidable than the Dlanuns
(people of the southern side of Mindano), owing to the smallness of their prans,
which, while it rendered them harmless to European shipping, did not cause them
to be less dangerous to the native trade, which is generally carried on in vessels of
small burden/'— Journal of the ludiau Archipelago, Vol. 5, p. 140.
This singular people, who are in fact maritime nomads, are, wherever found, in
race and language genuine Malays. Some of them have been converted to a kind of
superficial Mohammodanisui, while others are still Pagans. A few of their tribes have
OEANG-UTAN 316 OEDEAL
more industry than others, and a few are more attached to particular localities than
the rest, even practising a little husbandry, and intermarrying with the more civilised
Malays. What seem the original inhabitants of Banca» Billiton, and some of the
islands on the coast of Borneo and Sumatra, are only the same Malays in the same
rude state, the only difference being that they have the land instead of the sea for
their habitation. One can hardly, indeed, help conjecturing that even the more
advanced Malay States of the Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo, of whose history we
have no record, may have sprung from the same people, seduced by circumstances
favourable to social advancement to abandon their roving habits and precarious mode
of existence for a fixed life.
The first notice of the sea-gypsies that we possess is by De Bsrros, who describes
them at the beginning of the 16th oentury, very much as they are at the present day.
He calls them Cellatee, which is only a Portuguese oormption of sAlat, a strait or
narrow sea, the Malay idiom requiring or&ng, or people, to be prefixed, making
" people of the straits," a name by which they are still occasionally called by other
Malays. He describes them as a people whose life was passed rather on the sea than
the land, whose children were bom and reared on the sea without hardly landing;
and as a low and mean people, whose livelihood was gained by " fishing and robbing."
Besides all this, he expressly states that, like other Malays, they spoke the Malay
language. See Malacca and Malay.
OKAJNG-UTAN, literally signifies man of the wood or forest, but its current
sense is " wild man,'* or " savage." The man-like ape to which Europeans give this
name, is never called by this name by the natives, but said to be known to the Malays
of Borneo, under that of mias.
GRANGE. The species of the genns Citrus of botanists, cultiyated in the Indian
and Philippine Archipelagos are, the orange of several varieties, the pumplenoos or
shaddock (Citrus decumana), the lime (Citrus limetta), and the sweet lime (Citrus
lumia). In Malay and Javanese the name for fruits of this family is j&ruk, and to
this generic term an epithet is affixed for the species or varieties, as J&ruk-manis, the
orange, and J&ruk-machan, the shaddock, literally, the sweet and the tiger orange.
For the native generic term, there is frequently substituted by the Malays, limo,
lemon, from the Portuguese. A sweet orange, with a thick skin adhering closely to
the pulp and green, even when ripe ; the shaddock and the lime are, most probably,
indigenous, for they thrive at the level of the sea, and tUs from the equator to the
twentieth degree of latitude. The epithets applied to other species or varieties imply
that they are exotics, as J&ruk-China, or J&ruk-Jftpun, orange of China or Japan,
applied to the mandarin orange, which, moreover, attains perfection only at an
elevation of 3000 feet above the sea-level. The native name j&ruk extends to all the
lan^ages west of Celebes, but in this last island we have the Portuguese word limo,
and in the Philippines we have the native words, delandan, and kahil. The orange
was found, at the time of their discovery, to be cultivated in several of the islands of
the Pacific, and here we find it with native, and not Malayan names. Thus, in the
languages of the Marquesas and Sandwich Islands, it is called tiporo, and in the dialect
of Tonga, molL The inference to be drawn from these facts is, that the Orange family,
in its cultivated state, is indigenous in the Malayan, Philippine, and Polynesian islands,
and that in the western parts of the first of these, it was probably disseminated f^om
one point, which very likely was Java. The orange in all the Indian islands is gene-
rally of inferior quality to the varieties cultivated in the south of Europe^ the Azores,
and Northern India. The shaddock, however, when carefully cultivated, as in the
neighbourhood of Batavia, is far superior to any other fruit of this name. It seems
to have been conveyed to the continent of India from Java, in very modem times, as
its name, "the Batavian orange," implies. Its name in the West Indies, also, implies
that it was carried thither in recent times, for it took it from one Shaddock, the
master of a trading ship of the tune of Queen Anne, who brought it from Java.
ORDEAL. There is no name for this, except sumpah and supata, on oath or
imprecation ; each kind of ordeal being designated by an annexed epithet, ss the trial
by fire, by boiling oil, by melted tin, and by submersion in vaster. It must have
been, at least in former times, in use, as it is referred to in the Malayan collections of
written laws called Undang-undang, which may be translated *' edicts." The coUeo-
tion of Jehor has the following reference to it : — " If one party make an accusation,
and another deny its truth, the magistrate shall direct both to contend by diving
under water, or by immersion of the hands in boiling oil, or molten tin. The party
ORPIMENT 316 PACIFIC OCEAIT
who IB wonted in thia contest shall be deemed the guilty one^ and be prniiwhahlft
with death or otherwise, according to the oufitom of the country."
ORPIMENT, or sulphuret of arsenic, is not a native product of any part of the
Malay or Philippine Archipelagoe, but it is, notwithstanding, well known to tite inhar
bitants, and immemorially imported* being the produce of Lao, and coming direct from
Siam and Pegu. The name by which it is known is wftrangan, from the Javaneae
w&rang, a coUyrium, of which it was, most probably, an ingredient.
OX (BOS). ExduaiTe of the buffalo, which is doubtful, two speciea of the ox
are found in the wild state. One of these, called by the Malays, sftladan^ is soffi-
oiently well ascertained to exist in the forests of the Malay Peninsula, although not
as yet described by naturalists. The other is the Bos Sondaicus, or Sunda ox, which
exists in Java, the Peninsula, and Borneo, but, singularly enough, not in Sumatra, or
in Celebes, or any island of the Philippine Archipelago. It is a large, maesive^ and
powerful animal, of a light brown colour, with the hips and legs of the male of a
dear white. It is the same species which as found in the forests of Pegu, up at leart
as iar as Martaban.
The common ox, vaiying in race in the different countries, is found in the domestic
state in the Peninsula, and in all the considerable islands of the Malay Archipelago,
up to Timur ; but although now ftyia^-ing in great herds in all the larger islands of &e
Philippine group, it did not, like the bufSllo, exist on the arrival of the Spaniards. The
Bourcti of the domesticated ox of the Malayan Islands is as obscure as its origin every-
where else. The Sunda ox cannot be the source from which it has sprung, as^ according
to* the statements of recent Dutch naturalists, it has been ascertained, after many tiiali,
to be as incapable of domestication as the American bison. It is, notwithstanding,
certain, that a fertile cross between it and the domestic cattle has been long propa-
gated, and forms a distinct breed, known by the same name as the wild cattle. This
M alao the breed which is found in Bali and Lomboc. In Malay and Javanese, there
are two names for the domestic cattle, sapi and Umbu, and wherever the ox ii
domesticated, it goes under one or other of these, but most frequently under that of
sapi, which ia peculiarly Javanese. Beyond the Malayan Islands, however, neither
name extends. Thus, in the language of Madagascar, which has many Malayan words,
the ox is called ombai In the Javanese, the wild bull is called banteng, and the
cow jawi. The Malay has no specific name for the wild cattle to which they give the
same as to the domestic, adding the epithet utan, or wild. The Javanese name for the
wild cow, jawi, the Malays use for neat cattle, generally. All these words are native,
and afford no clue to the origin of the domesticated cattle. Some have Bancied them
to have been originally imported from the country of the Hindus, but this is m^«
conjecture, without evidence. The Javanese, have, indeed, a Sanscrit name for the
ox, andaka, signifying "the blind;" but it is only an obsolete synonym of their
recondite language. Images of the ox, in stone and brass, and representationa of it
in bas-relief on temples, are frequent in Java, but in all these cases the animal is the
aebu, or humped ox of the Hindus, and not the native ox, so that from this fact,
nothing as to the origin of the domestic cattle can be inferred.
The oxen of the Indian Islands are of considerable 020, generally in good condition,
and multiply rapidly, showing that the pastures are congenial to theuL Their chief
use is in husbandry, being, on account of their greater activity, preferred on light,
dry uplands, to the more powerful buffiJo, better suited to the low irrigated
lands. Like cattle everywhere near the equator, they give very little milk, which
forms no part of the food of the inhabitants. According to the statistics of the Dutch
government, the number of oxen in Java in 1842 was 431,357 head; and as they are
greatly on the increase, it is probable that they now exceed half a million, which,
however, is but one-third of the number of buffaloes in the same island. In the
Philippines, also, and especially in the great island of Luzon, they are very numerous,
although only introduced by the Spaniards in the 16th century. So suitable are the
pastures of Luzon to them that they have run wild, and, as in America, multiplied
greatly in this state.
P.
PACIFIC OCEAN. This is the Laut-kidul of the Javanese, literally, the " South
Sea,** but of which they know no more than the little portion of it that is yisible from
the shore of their own island. Europeans knew even less about this part of the Faci6o
down to the middle of the 16th century. De Barroe, in 1553, thus refers to it when
treating of Java : " The length of the island of Java is 190 leagues, but respecting its
PACHITAN 317 PADANG
breadth, we haye no oertam knowledge, for our people have not yet navigated its
southern side. According to the information of the natives, the whole of the south side,
on account of the great gulf of the ocean, has few harbours, and those who inhabit the
northern portion of the island hold no intercourse with the gentiles who dwell on the
southern coast." — ^Decade 2, Book 9, Chap. 8. This was written four and-thirty
years after the discovery and conquest of Mexico, and it is curious to mark the igno-
rance of Europeans respecting an island which probably at the time contained a larger
population than Mexico and Pern put together^ and, beyond all question, a more
civilised one.
PACHITAN, probably f]*om the Sansorit bhipta, oorrupted chita by the Malays
and Javanese, desire, wish, and signifying "place of desire." This is the name of a
small district or province of Java, part of the Dutch possessions lying on the southern
side of the island, bounded to the east by Eadiri, to the south by Madiyun, and to
the west by P^jang. Its chief town, situated at the head of a small bay, open to
the south, and affording little shelter to shipping, is in south latitude 8^ 15', and east
longitude 118** 18. The area of Pachitan is 778 square miles, and its population, in
1850, was 83,278, all of the Javanese nation, with the exception of 80 Europeans,
and about 100 Chinese. This gives about 114 inhabitants to the square mile, making
this district, therefore, one of the least populous of the proper county of the Javanese
nation, easily accounted for, by its remote position. Its chief product is rice, and to
this the Dutch government has added the forced culture of coffee, black pepper, and
dnnamon. Its homed cattle, in 1845, amounted to 58,000, and its horses to 9,800.
It was ceded to the European power during the temporary occupation of Java by the
British; and when I visited it, m 1812, was but a poor place.
FADANGh, in Malay, rignifLes a plain or open field, and is the name also of the
chief settlement of the Netherland government on the western side of Sumatra. The
town lies 1** south of the equator, and in east longitude 100^, and is the seat of the
Governor, or, correctly, Lieut-Qovemor of the whole western coast of the island. It
has a popuJation of 10,000 inhabitants, consisting of Malays, Achinese, Bataks, and
Chinese, with some European merchants, and is a place of considerable trade.
The total area of all the Netherland possessions in Sumatra has been estimated at
104,000 square geographical miles. The population has been called 4,000,000, which
would give 88*4 to the square mile. But it is far more likely to be one-fourth of
this amount, which would give only 9*6, a sufficient proportion for a country the
greater part of which is known to be a primeval forest, with a people notoriously
deficient in industry. In 1845, the gross revenue of this vast territory was only
200,0002., and the expenditure only 122,000Z., leaving an apparent balance of 78,000l
This statemept, however, will not bear examination. The income, for example,
includes as revenue the value of the provisiona and supplies received from Java,
amounting to no loss than 48,0002., while Sumatra is not debited with its share of
the metropoUtan chaiges. A few facta in illustration will demonstrate the slender
value of the European possessionB in Sumatra, obtained at a great expenditure of
life and treasure, while they wUl put the paucity and poverty of the inhabitants
beyond all question. These poesesaions are about two and a-half times the extent
of Java. The single item of the impost on opium of Java is about four-fold aa
much as all the Sumatran revenue put together, although in Sumatra, equally aa in
Java, opium is a subject of taxation, and the inhabitants equally addicted to its use.
The land revenue of Sumatra is no more than one forty-fifth part of that of Java. In
Java this tax consists of an impost on rent, because in that populous country a real
rent exists. In thinly-peopled Sumatra, it cannot do so any more than in the wilds of
America or Australia. It must inevitably, therefore, be a tax on the capital invested
in clearing and cultivating the land, and hence a very impolitic and injurious one.
The paltry amoimt of it for so vast a territory was, in 1845, no more than 18,7002.
Under the English administration, the Sumatran settlements were even still more
profitiess than under the Dutch, for at all times, they were a heavy drain on the
Indiui treasury, without any corresponding advantage. The original object of them
was the collection of pepper, an article of importance only in the early and rude
periods of the Indian trade, and which had ceased to be so long before the pursuit
was abandoned.
The total value of the exports of Padang and the other ports of the western coast
of Sumatra, in 1854, was about I75,0002w, treasure indaded, and that of the imports
157,0002., a lai^e portion of the first consisting of coffee, the produce of forced
culture, and of tiie lasti of government provisiona and stores.
PADBIES 318 TAEASGt
PADRIES. This is one of the names given to the sect of Pnritanical Mahom-
medans that sprang up in the interior of Sumatra aboat the b^gimiing of the preaeat
oentorj. See MmrAJtOKABAU.
FAGAEUYTJXa. This is l^e name of ^e ohief town of the Malay State of
Menaogkabo in the interior of Siunatra. According to Sir Stamford Baffle^ who
Tisited the place, it lies at the foot of the mountain called Gkmong-bongsa (youngest
child-monntain) at an elevation of 1800 feet aboye the level of the sea, and. ^ miles
inland from the coast settlement of Padang, in south latitude 14' and east longitude
lOO"* 20'. It was at the time of his riait a ruinous village, but contained some
architectural remains, and near it were found a mutilated Hindu imagei, and a
stone with an inscription in a character identical with the ancient Javanese, and such
as are of frequent occurrence in the central and eastern parts of Java. In a carreet
orthography the name of the place is Pagar-rayung, which in Javanese would tagtaij
a fence of the rayung, which is the name of a tall aquatic gprass.
PAGI, written also PAGEH and POGGY, is the name of two considerable islands
with several islets on the western coast of Sumatra lying between soatii latitudes
2^ 82' and 8° 15'. In our charts the two largest islands are designated the north and
south Pagi, whidi are parted by a navigable strait called that of Kakab, about two
miles long and a quarter of a mile broad. The nearest point of the Bngis is distant
from the coast of Sumatra, about 45 miles. Both islands consist of high Isnd
covered with large luxuriant timber. The most northerly and largest of the two
islands is about 21 mUes long and 10 broad, and the most southerly, sometimes
called by Europeans Nsssau, 27 miles long by about six in breadth. The principal
cultivated products of the Pagis are the coco and sago palms. The last of these
ftimishes the sole bread of the inhabitants, for they are unacquainted with the culture
of rice or other com. Coco-nuts are the article which they exchange with strangers for
implements of iron, but it is remarkable that they are unacquainted with the simple
art of expressing their oiL Some of the coarser fruits of Sumatra are cultivated.
The wild quadrupeds of the Pagis consist of deer, hogs, monkeys, and squirrels,
without any of the large carnivorous animals. The domesticated animals are the
hog, the dog, and common fowL The inhabitants are of the Malayan race, and alwig
with those of the islands Sipora and Sibiru go under the common name of Hantawi,
speaking a conmion language which contains a few words of Malay and Javanese, but
has all the appearance of an original and peculiar tongue. The Mantawi are a simple,
inoffensive, but very rude people. They live in villages, subsist chiefly by fishing,
have no clothing but a slip of bark round the loins for mere decency, and no dress,
except tattooing, which is general with them. Their arms are the bow and arrow,
and they have neither adopted fire-arms nor Mahommedonism. The population of
the two Pagis has been computed at 1400, and Mr. Logan, making the area of the
country of the Mantawi nation 2240 square miles, computes the total number of its
inhabitants at 5000, which would hardly give 2^ to the square mile, yet probably
fully as much as the population amounts to. The nsme if correctly written, Pagi or
Pagai, would signify, with the usual prefix of Pulo, " Morning Islands." The names
of the two northernmost Islands^ Sibiru and Sibatu, are obviously enough, *' The
azure" and "the rock islands."
PAHANG, the Pam of the Portaguese, and, correctly, Paang. This is the name
of a virtually independent Malay State on the eastern side of the Peninsula, bounded
by that of Jehor, with veiy undefined limits to the west, and by that of Tringaziu to
tiie north. Along the shore its length is about 80 miles, and it embrace^beaides
the territoiy on the continent, two chains of islets running parallel to its coast, and
generally at the distance of about 80 miles. The country of Pahang is mountainous,
the highest peaks however rising to no greater height above the level of the sea than
from 2181 feet to 3221. The geological formation consists of granite, sandstone,
shale, and clays. Some of the islands, as Tioman and Tingi, consist partly or entirely
of trap rock. The rivers are numerous, the Pahang and the Indau being the largest,
but even these are fit only for the navigation of native craft.
The whole coast of Pahang, although but an uninhabited forest, is beautiful and pic-
turesque, the result of a powerful sun, abundant moisture, and exposure to the easterly
monsoon for ages. Mr. J. S. Thomson who surveyed the coast, and from whose judicious
narrative a great part of this article hss been taken, gives the following account of it.
*' I was much struck with the beauty of the scenery along the coast, particularly
after entering the Sibu Channel. The Straits of Malacca on the opposite side of tibe
PAJAJARAN 319 PAJANG
Peninaula have invariably called forth, the admiration of travelleni, but they must
yield the palm to this aide. Spacious bays and fine sandy beaches extend uninter-
ruptedly along the coasts shaded by the high primiBTal forests, whereas on the
opposite coast the greater part is fringed by mangroves and slimy mud-banks. The
numerous islands outside the Sibu Channel also tend to impart great variety and
beauty to the view, some high and mountainous, assuming fantastic shapes and
rugged outlines, others low and diminutive, but in their turn presenting iJmost
equally interesting ieatures. By the exposure of their northern sides to the north-
east monsoon, the action of the waves has beaten down the soil and worn the softer
rocks into clifb and caverns. While most of the islands are covered with lofty
forests, others remain denuded, and where not barren and rocky, are coyered with
tuf)y grass, a circumstance uncommon in these latitudes." Journal of the Indian
Archipelago, YoL v., p. 1 47.
The vegetable products of Pahang, put to economical use, are its timber, ratans,
gutta-percha, and damar ; its^'.minenils, iron, gold, and tin, the two last being washed
both by Malays and Chinese, although not to the same extent as in the Malay states
of Tringanu and Elalanten, on the same side of the Peninsula. The wild MammfUia
are the elephant, two species of rhinoceros, the tapir, the tiger and leopard, several
species of deer and monkeys, the buffiJo, and the wild ox, <»Ued by the Malays the
sdladang.
The population consists of the more civilised Malays forming its bulk, several
tribes of the same nation in the wild and unconverted state^ and some tribes of the
small crisp-haired negros* The wild tribes of the Malayan race are here known to
the civilised Malays indiscriminately, under the names Sakai and Pungan. Mr.
Thomson, furnishing detaUs, has estimated the whole Malay population of Pahang,
exclusive of the wild races and the Chinese, at 14,110 only. From other sources the
Chinese are thought to amoimt to about 2000. It is probable, therefore, that the
total population does not exceed 20,000 ; and if we estimate the area of tiiie state at
8200 square miles, we shall have a relative population of littie more than six inha-
bitants to the square mile. The chief town, which gives its name to the principality,
lies on tiie left bank of a small river in latitude S"* 40' north, and is a very poor place.
On the opposite bank there is a village inhabited by the Chinese and other strangers.
The river is about a quarter of a mile wide at its mouth, but full of islets and sand-
banks, and navigable only for small native craft ; and not by these, except during the
south-west monsoon, for during the boisterous north-east it is almost inaccessible.
The rajah of Pahang is nominally a dependant of the sultan of Jehor, now a pen*
sioner of the British government and residing in Singapore, but he is really independent.
He holds the nominal office of b&ndara, " treasurer " or *' first minister of Jehor ; " as
does the virtual sovereign of the western side of the Peninsula that of tumangyung,
equivalent to that of *' first magistrate." At the time of the conquest of Malacca by
the Portuguese, the prince of Pahang appears to have been independent ; for he is
stated by their historians, under the name of the " king of Pam," as having been
present in Malacca during the combat which ended in its capture^, being there for the
purpose of espousing the daughter of the king.
PAJAJAEAN. This is the name of an andent kingdom of Java, the capital
of which was situated in the Sunda district of Bogor, about 40 miles east of
Jacatra or Batavia. The site is indicated by the foundations of a palace, and by a
monumental stone bearing an inscription, known imder the name of the batu-ttdis,
literally *' the inscribed stone." Pajf^jaran is the only ancient state known to have
existed in the country of the Sundas, — all others having been in the proper country
of the Javanese. The inscription is in an unknown character, a much ruder one than
any of the ancient Javanese inscriptions, and, most probably, that in which the
Sunda language vros written before the adoption of the Javanese writing. The pecu-
liarity of the character, — the locality of Pajajaran, and the names of the princes said
to have reigned in it, lead to the belief that the state was Sunda and not Javanese.
Of the time in which it flourished, nothing reliable is known, — one legend placing
its foundation in 1078, and another, two whole centuries later. The name signifies
'* arrangement," or " place arrayed,'' from the verb j%jar, " to put in order," or
"arrange," in Javanese.
PAJA^G. This is the name of a large, fertile, and populous province of Java,
situated in the plain of the same name, which extends in a direction east and west,
between the mountains Lawu and M&rapi, to a length of 75 miles. In it are situated
the ruins of the old capital, EartasurBy and the modem town of Siuakarta, or Solo.
PAKALOXGAN S20 PALAWAN
Nearly the vhole proYinee is one ahaek of coltiTatkm, the greater part of it by
PAKALONOAN, or PAKALUN6AN, (Pbuse of Kalang Bats or Yampiree). This
is one of the pnmnces of the alluyial northern aide of Java, haying that of Tftgal to
the weet^ that of «»«»*rMig to the east» and that of Baglen to the sonth, wiih the aea
to the north. It ia divided finom the two last-named provinoea by high monntainB, the
peaka of which rise to from 7000 to 11,500 feet above the level of the aeau These
monntaina, bending to the aonth-east, leave between them and the sea an alluvial
plain ; which to the west, where it ia widest^ ia from five to six leagaes broad. From
the moontaina, there proceed many streama, eleven of which are of considerable siae ;
and whidi, alUiongfa not navigable^ are extensively applied to irrigation, and are the
main cause of the great fertility of the province. The coast is an unbroken line
withoat harbour or bay. The chief town of the same name lies in sonth. latitude
6* 55% and east longitude 109" 40".
The climate of Pakalongan is hot but healthy. The thermometer in the shade
riMs to 88° and 90"* at the level of the sea; but on Prau, one of the mountains which
bounds it to the south, it fiUls to 50% and in the winter months of June and July
thin ice and hoar frost are seen in the early morning. The sugar cane thrives at
no greater height than 200 feet above the level of the sea ; but indigo at 600, and
rice and eofTee aa hi^ aa 8000. At this last height a few coco-palms are atill to be
aeen, after which the gomuti, or Saguerus saochariferus takes its place. The tea-plant
flourishes at the height of 5000 feet
Pakalangan has still 129 square miles of forest, containing some useful timber,
but teak only in quantity sufficient for local use. In this forest are found the tiger
and leopard, the wild dog of Java, deer, two species of hog, the rhinoceros, the
Sunda ox, and the otter, with as usual, deer and monkeys. It also contains the two
species of gallinaceous birds found in other parts of Java, Ghillus fiankiva and GaUus
furcatus. The vampire bat^ from which is derived the name of the province, is to be
seen in great numbers in the day-time hanging from the trees and at night preying on
the orcharda
The staple product of FSkalongan is rice, but the Dutch, in recent tunes, have
introduced the culture, by corvde labour, of indigo, sugar-cane, and the exotics, coffee,
tea, and cinnamon, all which are produced in considerable quantity. The bulk of
the population consists of true Javanese, with the usual sprinkling of Ifalay^
Chinese, Europeans, and their respective descendants. In 1845, the census made the
total population 285,539, and its area being 466 square miles, we have a relative one
of 505 to the square mile, which makes it one of the most populous of Java. In
1850, however, the population would seem, even within the short period of five
years, to have declined, for it is put down at no more than 228,852. In 1848, the
number of its homed cattle was reckoned at 81,000, and its horses at 4000, Faka>
longan was ceded to the Dutch in 1748, at the close of the long intestine war which
followed the massacre of the Chinese at Batavia in 1740, and ten years later the
Dutch fort was built, which still exists in the town.
PALAWAN, generally called by the Spaniards of the Philippines, Paragna, ia the
name of the most westerly of the Philippines, and after Luzon and Mmdano, the
largest of them. The name of Palawan, or correctly Palawang, is said to be taken
from the Bugis language, and to sig^fy a gate or sluice, in reference to its position,
serving as a protection or barrier against the violence of the China Sea. It extends
between north latitudes 8^ 18' and 11** 17', in a direction south-east and north-west, to
the length of about 280 miles. Its breadth varies from 10 to 25 miles, and its area
probably does not exceed 4500 square miles. The northern end consists of a
peninsula^ or rather of two peninsulas, a larger and a smaller, formed by the inter-
vention of the Bay of Malampaya Towards its northern end, the coast is studded
by numerous islands, the only ones of considerable sise being Dumaran and Doc.
Palawan is distant from Borneo to the south, many islets intervening; about 90
miles; from Mindoro to the north-east> about 100; and from Panay, to the east,
about the same distance ; so that in this manner, it is remote frt)m any of the other
considerable islanda.
The land of Palawan is represented as high, but the island does not appear to
contain any mountain of considerable elevation, and of its geological formation we
know no more than that its northern end consists of limestone rocks rising abruptly
from the sea to the height of 200 and 800 feet, and containing many caverns. It ia
expressly stated to be, like the other Philippines, vexed by earthquakei^ and we therefore
PALEMBANG 321 PALEMBANG
conclude that it does not come within the limits of the great volcanic band, and,
consequently, that no part of its formation ia volcania The climate la hot, and the
island within the latitudes of the typhoons, its western side being exposed to the
action of the Sea of China. Its vegetable productions are stated to bear much
resemblance to those of Borneo, and among them is the Malay camphor-tree (Dryo-
balanops camphora). Its canes are in great repute in Manilla. Its wild animals are
deer, hogs, monkeys, the porcupine, a species of civet or polecat said to be peculiar
to it, and it is alleged, one feline animal, a kind of leopard. The most marketable
of its products are beeVwax and the esculent nests of the swallow, which abound in
its many caves, and in gathering which the natives exhibit much skill and courage.
The inhabitants of Palawan resemble those of the Bisaya islands in person, but are
darker in complexion, with hair frizzling instead of lank. All of them not subject to
the Spanish rule, are represented as naked savages, but inoffensive ones, living chiefly
by the chase, and having no other arms than sumpitans or blow-pipes for discharging
little arrows. The northern end of the island, which is the narrowest, is alone subject
to the Spaniards, and forms part of their province of Calamianes. It is to this that
the name of Paragua especially applies. It comprehends about 60 miles of the
length of the inland, with an area of 1000 square miles, and its whole population,
most probably emigrants from the Bisaya islands, amounted, by the census of 1850,
to no more than 1570, paying a capitation-tax of 5475 reals of plate. This gives
about an inhabitant and a half to the square mile, distributed in eleven villages, and
converted to Christianity. The Spanish part is represented, and no doubt trulv, as
the most populous portion of the island. Some part of its west end is claimed by
the Sultim of Borneo, but the larger is occupied by the wild and independent
aborigines, divided into numerous tribes. We shall not greatly err in pronouncing
Palawan to be, although a great, yet an eminently sterile ialand, in this respect far
even below Borneo.
PALEMBANG. This is the name of a kingdom of Sumatra, composed of the
most southerly end of the great alluvial plain which lies between the central chain of
mountains and the sea, from the western entrance of the Straits of Malacca to the
eastern of those of Banca. It is bounded to the north by the state of Jambi, to the
south by the country of the Lampungs, to the north-west by Limun, to the west by
the central chain of mountains whi(m are a part of it, and to the south-east by
the sea which forms the Straits of Banca. Its area has been reckoned at 16,480
geographical square miles, or kttle short of half the extent of Java. It contains
many rivere, the most considerable of which are the Musi, or Sungsang, and Baliu-
asin which are connected by a branch or natural canal, and falls into the sea by four
different mouths.
The dimate of PeJembang^ as might be expected so near to the eqxiator, is uncertain
and variable as to seasons. The monsoons which prevail are the same as those of
Java, but lees constant, — namely, the south-east and the north-west. The rainy
season corresponds with the last of these, and during its continuance the rivers
overflow their banks, and the lower country is extensively inundated. While this
inundation is draining oS, the quantity of water is so great that the flood-tide ceases
to be felt in the rivers. This is the case from December to April inclusive. In the
other months of the year it reaches for 100 miles up the Musi, or principal river.
In Uie hottest season, Fahrenheit's thermometer stands at 80** in the morning, and at
92" at two o'clock, and in the coldest at 76° and 85**. The climate, notwithstanding
the superabundance of heat, moisture, marsh, and forest^ is remarked not to be
unhealthy, the country being open and well ventilated.
Of the geological structure of the territory of Palembang, no account has been
rendered. By&r the greater portion of it, however, Ib an alluvial plain, but it
contains, also, to the west, some mountain and hilly country, which has not been
examin^ Its forests yield ratans, dragon's-blood and benzoin, and its culti-
vated plants are rice, the sugar-cane, tobacco, gambir, indigo, coffee, and pepper.
All the larger animals of the forests of the other parts of Sumatra are found
here, as the tiger, the leopard, the elephant, and the rhinoceros. The chief domes-
ticated ones are the buffalo, the goat, the hog, and common poultry. The sheep
has been introduced, but the horse does not exist in this country of marsh and
forest.
The inhabitants of Palembang consist of the descendants of Javanese, — of Malays, —
of an aboriginal people called Kumring, and of a wild race known under the name
of Kubu, with a few Arabs and Chinese. The total population has been estimated
Y
PALEMBANa 322 PALEMBANG
at 250,000, which gives about 15 inhabitants to the square mfle. This is about
one-seyenteenth part of the rate of population of Java, a simple fact condusiveof the
real condition of Palembang, and diowing that it is in realil^ a foreaty with a few
scattered inhabitants on its river banks.
The town of Palembang which it is, as usually happens in such cases, that gives
name to the whole kingdom, is situated on the river Musi or Sungsang, about fifcj
miles above its mouth, and in south latitude 2*^ 58', and east longitude 105^. It lies
on both banks of the river, which is here 400 yards broad, with a depth of from eight
to nine fathoms, and a rise and Ml of tide varying from 10 to 16 feet. All the way
from the sea, and even for a mile or two above it, and until two affluents fall into it,
the Musi is navigable for ships of burthen, and deserves therefore to be considered
the most valuable of all the rivers of Sumatra. The town, in 1822, according to the
account given of it by a judicious vmter in the ninth volume of the Transactions of
the Batavian Society of Arts and Sciences, contained a population of from 20,000 to
25,000, including, besides Javanese and Malays, 500 Arabs and 1500 Chineaei, the most
valuable parts of it. These strangers are the chief merchants and traders, but the
native inhabitants are represented as skilful artificers in wood, iron, gold, and silver.
Many of the houses of the town are built on moveable rafts moored to the shore, as
in the Siamese capital : nearly all are of the perishable materials of wood, ratan, and
bamboo. The only buildings of stone are the mosque and the tombs of the kings.
The mosque is in the form of a parallelogram with a dome, is ornamented with
pilasters, has casemated glazed windows, a marble floor and a stone pulpit. Near it is a
minaret 50 feet high with a spiral stair. It deserves, therefore, to be considered the
most considerable edifice ever erected in the Archipelago, not being European, since
the conversion to Mahommedanism. Nothing is known about the time or manner
in which it was built, but the architects, it may be presumed, were not natives, but
most probably Arabs, in the same manner as were those of the ancient temples of
Java, Hindus. The tombs of the kings about three miles below the town, are all of
solid masonry, of a square form, vrith arched rooft, two of the sides of each tomb
being of hewn stone. No ancient Hindu remains of buildings are known to exist
That they must have once done so is certain, but the probability is that they were
destroyed by the Mahommedans, and that their materials now form part of the
mosque and royal tombs in a country where stone is rare and must be brought
from a great distance.
Palembang, notwithstanding its extensive alluvial land and its scanty population, does
not produce even sufficient com for its own consumption and receives a supply from
Java. Some other necessaries of life and native luxuries, it yields, however, in great
cheapness and abundance. In 1822, a moderately sized buffalo cost only 22 florins of
2Qd. to the florin, a large hog 44 florins, a sheep 17, a goat 11, a pullet l^t and a pound
of venison three doits. For a single florin might be had 6 pine-apples, or 16 durian^
or 50 shaddocks, or 55 maogos, or 150 mangostius, or 400 oranges. The comparatiTe
cost of these different productions indicates the amount of labour necessary to pro-
duce them. A buffalo that lives in the marshes, feeds on their spontaneous produce
and weighs probably 800 pounds, costs only one half the price of a stall-fed hog, of
probably not one-eighth part of its weight. The sheep is within five florins of the
cost of the buffalo, that will probably weigh 16 times as much. As to the five fruits
above named, the soil and climate are represented as peculiarly suited to them and
in no part of the Archipelago are they produced in such cheapness and perfection,
llie trade of the country is vnth Java, Banca, Siam, China and the Euit>pean
settlements in the Straits of Malscca, and when Banca with its tin formed a part of
the territory it was very considerable.
The name of Palembang, or more correctly Palimbang, seems to be a verbal noun
derived from the Javanese verb ''limbang *' to drain off or decant a fluid, as is done in
tho process of washing gold, which is performed in wicker baskets. The word at full
length, namely Palimbangan, would signify, " the place or the implement in which or
with which the operation of decanting or drawing off is performed.** We have many
examples of such a mode of formation in the Javanese, as, for example, pasarcan, a
sleeping-place or bed, from sare, to sleep, and pakapuran, a place where lime is made,
or a lime-kiln, from kapur, lime ; nor does it always happen that the affix '* an " is
included. It is, probably, that the name may have been given fr^m the drawing off
or subsidence of the periodical flood, which is one of the most striking characteristics
of the country.
That Palembang was a settlement formed from Java, and by the proper Javanese,
and not tho Sundas who are nearer to it, is placed beyond all doubt by the Javanese
PALMA-CHRISTI 323 PALMS
being still the spoken and also, in its own proper character, the written language
of the Court, and by the titles of nobility of office, and often of names of places
being in that language. Thus, we find the word ratu for king, priyayi and raden
as the titles of classes of nobles, and banu for a river, all of which are purely
Javanese. But of the manner in which the immigration took place or the time in
which it happened nothing worthy of credit is known. As Java is not likely, at
any period of its history, to have been so overpeopled as to have encouraged
emigration, the settlement is most likely to have been formed by fugitives fleeing for
their lives after defeat in a civil contest. That an intercourse should afterwards
have been maintained between the mother country and its colony is almost certain.
It is very probable too, that the emigrants would look up with respect to the prin^
cipal state in Java, compared to themselves, wealthy and powerfuL According
to Javanese tradition, therefore, it is asserted that Palembang was a settlement
founded by the state of Majapait towards the last years of its existence, which, as
that place was overthrown in the year 1478, would make its foundation about the
middle of the 15th centiury. There is, assuredly, no ground for making its origin
so recent an event, and, on the contrary, it can be shown to have been much earUer
than even that of Majapait itself to which the Javanese ascribe the date of 1221 of
Salivana or Saka, corresponding to 1299 of our time, making the whole duration of
that kingdom, so £Eimed in the history of the Archipelago, only 179 years. According
to the accounts given by the natives to the Portuguese at the time of the conquest
of Malacca, fresher by three centuries and a half than any thing we can now get from
their descendants, Malacca had been founded little more than two hundred and fifty
years before the arrival of the Portuguese. This would carry us back about a
hundred years before the era of the foundation of Majapait, which is alleged to have
given birth to Palembang the country from which, Singapore first, and Uien Malacca
were colonised. According to the apocryphal Javanese chronicle, Palembang must have
been founded from Java only 60 years before the arrival of the Portuguese. De
Barros, however, enumerates it in a very correct Portuguese orthography, Palimbam,
as one of the twenty-nine established kingdoms of the sea-board of Sumatra at the
epoch in question, without any reference to its being a new establishment.
From the first appearance of the Portuguese to a very recent time, Palembang
continued to be a virtually independent kmgdom, ruled by a prince, who, like many
others, assumed the Arabian title of Sultan, being, however, under treaty with the
Dutch to deliver to them, at a low price, the tin of Banca, the staple produce of his
dominions. In 1821, the 'kingdom of Palembang was subdued by the Netherland
government, and now forms part of the sub-government of Sumatra. What led to
this was an act of atrocity on the part of the reigning prince. When in 1811, Java
and its dependencies were occupied by the British, the Dutch officials of Banca fell
into the huids of this chieftain, and fancying, like a true barbarian, that he would do
an acceptable service to the new rulers, he put the whole of them to death. He was
undeceived by the British government sending an expedition against him, dethroning
him and wresting Banca from him. At the restoration of Java, ho resumed his
authority and kept the Netherland government at bay for five years, having defeated
one expedition, and a second of greater strength being necessary for his subjugation.
PALMA-CHRISTI, the castor-oil plant ; the Rioinus communis of botanists. This
is cultivated from Java and Siunatra to the Philippines inclusive; and Mr. Marsden
says it is found growing wild on the sea coast of the western side of Sumatra.
The name by which it is known in Malay and Javanese is jarak, and this is a very
general ono in the Malayan languages ; but it is not the only, for in the Sunda and
Madurese it is called kaliki Both words are native and not traceable to any foreign
source ; so that, as fiur as this kind of evidence is good, the plant must be considered
as indigenous. In the languages of the Philippines the name is tangan-tangan, a
word which, not reduplicated, signifies in Msday "the hand," no doubt given
to it from the palmate form of the leaves. This may lead to the suspicion that the
plant was introduced by the Malays, at least as an object of culture, for the name
is Malay, but not that for the hand in the native languages of the Philippines. For
the lamp, the oil of the palmarchristi is less esteemed, or probably less easily pro-
duced, than that of the sesame or of ground pea, and hence its culture is not
extensive. It is a coarse hardy plant, and easily reared in very indififerent soils.
Its medicinal use is unknown to the natives.
PALMS. The palms cnltiyated in the Indian islands, and which form bo con-
siderable a branch of their husbandry, are : — ^the coco, (Cocos nucifera) ; the sago,
Y 2
PALM-WIXE 324 PANAOX
(Metroxylon sago) ; the gomuti, or cabo-negro of the SpuikniB (BonaBos gomuti^ ;
the Palmyra, or lontor, (Borassus flabelliformis) ; and the araca, or pinan^ <Areca
catechu). Those put extensively to eoonomieBl usea, b<it not cultivated hecan^
spontaneously produced in abuudance, are the nibung, (Caiyota arena) ; the palmetto,
or nipa, (Nipa frutiooea) ; the common ratan, (Calamus rotan); and the dzBgonV
blood ratan, (Calamus draco). Some account of all theee wiU be found under their
reepectiye heads.
PALM -WINE. The sap of palms is called in Jayanese, tawak; and in Malay,
nera and tuwak. The palm chiefly used for the production of this liqaor In the
Malay islands, is the gomuti, or sagwire ; and in the Philippines, this and the nipa.
The coco-palm is too yaluable, on account of its oil, to be so employed. The sap of
palms is, to the inhabitants of these iaUnds and of other inter-trapieal countries.
what wine is to the countries of southern Europe ; cider and beer to those of the
northern ; and the sap of the agave to the Mexicans. But it is in some respecti
more useful than any of these, for it is produced with less labour, and yields,
by the simple process of boiling, the chief supply of sugar for natire con-
sumption.
PAMANUKAN, (" place of birds.") This is the name of a district of Java, in the
country of the Sundas, and on the northern side of the island. During the British
occupation, it contained 124 villages; and a computed population of 18,475 inha-
bitants, all of the Sunda nation, at present^ probably, greatly increased. It fonw
part of the province of Krawang.
PA M AXtU ANG. The name of a considerable island on the eastern ooast of Boineo,
with a computed area of 480 geographical square miles. It forms part of the delu
of the Cootie river, and is mostly covered with jungle.
PAMPANGA. This is the name of one of the finest provinces of the island of
Luzon, in the Philippines. It is bounded to the south-east by Bnlacan, to the north-
west by Pangasinau, to the west by Zambalea, while the northern shore of Ihe bay
of Manilla forms its southern boundary. From north to south it is 68 miles iix
length, and from east to west 51 miles broad. Its area will probably be about 226i>
geographical miles. The more elevated portion of the province enjoys a oool and
delicious climate, but is under-cultivated and under-peopled. The lower is hot but
healthy, highly cultivated and densely peopled. Here the principal crops are rice
and maiz, the same land yielding one crop of the first of these and one crop of the
last, sometimes even two within the year. The other chief crops are tobaooo, sugar-
cane, sesame, and cacoa. The coco-palm does not flourish so well as in some other
provinces of Luzon. Great quantities of fruit are raised in it for the market of
Manilla. In the mountains, good iron ore is found, and some gold is washed from
the sands of the brooks. In the forest, deer» bufialos, and hm are so numerous,
that in a single year as many as 8000 have been killed. As far back aa 1818, the
number of oxen belonging to Pampanga was 18,000, of bufialos, 23,000, and of horsea,
12,000. The inhabitants are of the same race with the Malayan Tagalas and ^aayms.
but of a distinct nation from both, speaking a different language, called, like the
province, Pampanga. The twenty-five townships of which Punpanga is compoead,
contained in 1818, a population of 106,881 souls, which, by the census of 1850, had
risen to 166,272, xnaking the relative population about 68 to the square mile. The
chief town of the province is Bacolor, about 10} leagues distant from IfMiH^
and in latitude 15* 15'. This is in the interior of the province, on the right bank
of a river of the same name ; and contains a population of 8787 inhabitants, with
1456 houses, for the most part native huts of temporary materials. Pfeunpanga
was subdued by Martin Goiti, one of the lieutenants of Legaspi, as early as the
years 1571 and 1572, and the conquest was effected by a force of 80 Spaniards, a
striking proof of the feeble resistance made by the natives of the Philippines to their
invaders.
PANAMAO. This is the name of a considerable Philippine island at the northern
end of that of Loyte, and divided from it by a narrow strait^ which forms a safe
harbour with the land of the main island. It ia inhabited, and forms a portion of
the township of Leyte, and province of the same name.
PANAON. This is the name of an islet at the southern end of the Bisayan
island, Leyte. It is described as being nine leagues long and three broad; and its
centre to be in latitude 9* 88', but no other fiicts are statM regarding ik
PANAY 325 PANGARANGO
PAN AT is the name of the largest of the Philippine islands after Mindano ; and
of the whole Archipelago the most fertile and de nsely pe opled. It is separated from
Kegros to the east by a ehanHeTwhrcH, in its narrowest part, does not exceed four
miles broad. To the west, nothing lies between it and the distant Calamianes Islands
and Paragua or northern end of Palawan, except the little Cuyos Islands. To
the north it is, at least, 90 geographical miles distant from the nearest part of Luzon,
the islands Burias, Tablas, and Sibuyan intervening; while its southern part is about
130 miles from the nearest part of Mindano. The form of Panay is a triangle, of
which the base la to the north, and the apex to the south. Its greatest length is
95 geogmphical miles, and its area has been computed at 3960 square geographical
miles, or near double the size of the British island of Trinidad. A chain of high
mountains runs through it from north to south, but of its elevation or formation we
have no account.
The soil of Panay, well irrigated by abundant mountain streams, is eminently fer- i
tile, its staple products being rice, sugar-cane, cotton, coffee, tobacco, pepper, and
cacoa. Its forests yield ebony and sapan-weed ; and its shores and rivers abound in
fish, including the mother-of-pearl oyster, the tripang, and tortoise. The mass of
the inhabitants consist of the Biraya nation, speaking a dialect of the same language
as those of Negros, ^^bu, and Leyte ; but in the mountains there are negritos, or
little negros, stated to be of the same race with those of Luzon and Negros, although
nothing regarding them, beyond their bare existence, is really known ; and that here,
as elsewhere, they preserve their wild independence, in the inaccessible recesses of
the mountains. In 1850, Panay contained a population of 666,957, equal to 145
inhabitants to the square mile. Tius makes it the most populous island of the Philip-
pines, yet not above one-fourth part of the populousness of some parts of Java of
the same extent, and full 100 short of the average density of that island. In 1799,
it had a population of no more than 271,748, so that if these statements can be
relied on, the population, in the course of half a century, had more than doubled
itselfl Panay exports rice, sugar, and its other staples to a considerable extent, to
Luzon, and to some of the less productive islands in its neighbourhood. It was
conquered, or at least occupied by Legaspi on his way to the conquest of Luzon.
Here he found the supply of food which ^ebu was incapable of furnishing. It is,
at present, divided into three provinces, called Capiz, Iloilo, and Antique, having
between them 46 tovrashipe. See these heads.
PANCHUIl. This is one of four low aUuvial islands, which seem at a distance
to be bat parts of the eastern side of Sumatra, being divided from it by a very narrow
but navigable channel, called by European navigators Brewer^s Straits, but by the
natives S&lat-panjang, or the long strait. The principal inhabitants of this and of
its neighbouring islands are of the Malayan race and nation, speak a rude Malay
language, are in a very low state of society, and like the inhabitants of the interior
of the Malay Peninsula have not adopted the Mahommedan religion. Their chief
employment is the cultivation of the sago-palm. The name Pulo-panchur signifies
in Malay, "spouting or gushing island." It is subject to the Malay prince of
Campar.
PAND'AN. This is the native name of a family of plants which botanists,
Latinising, have adopted for a genus, and for the natural fiunily of " screw pines."
The name, and at least two species of the genus, prevail over all the countries from
Sumatra to Luzon. One species, the Pandau-wangi of the Malays and Javanese, the
Pandanus odoratissimus of botanists, yields the perfumed flowers which are as much
in repute with ihe Malays as tibey are with the Hindus. The tough rigid leaves are
used in mat and basket-making. The word " pandan " is both Malay and Javanese,
and from them has spread to many other toog^ea It has no other signification
than the name of the plant. Some European writers tell us that its meaning is " to
see or observe," but this is a mistake, arising from imperfect knowledge. The verb
to see or observe is written with a dental d, and ends with the nasal ng, whereas the
name of the plant has a palatid d, and ends with a nasal n, not to say that the last
vowel of the two words differs. This is a good example of hasty etymology.
Pand'an is a name frequently given to places, as Pulo-pand'an, or I^md'au Island,
in the Straits of Malacca, and in the Philippines, I see it given to no fewer than
eleven different places, none of them, however, of any importance.
PANGARANGO. The name of one of the highest mountains of Java in tho
district of Bogor and country of the Sundas, 10,600 feot above the level of the sea.
pa^oxsaxe *1> paxtun
1'a at tbe sjcer ^n*-*^^^ c( •jri,--*r., fcc^rirg fraoe. tihe mne base^ bat not, like h, u
PAy'3A.>AXE- 1^ y^*?*^ of a Tf?y ^trnsLLcnb^ isljiid, lying off the 90uth-
PAXGA5I5A3f, ra MiI^t «&i Jinn-^se, *• pLi^ of salu" » " salt-pans," is the
^^-'^ if a zc-iTzz^x li Lix:e =. ^-s Pl_- ri-aa* bcMuded to tlie MKith by Punpas^
to z^^ Zf:rL:i zj L.o^i. ^? i^ «es cy ZalziTifcrfa sad to the east by the chain mI
y. .T rj.~>t vi^i^ tA^ae ii:f zone 6*::= ib* v^i iribee that oeeapy it, the Igorr>:eN
tLe E'-ar-xeaL a= i ii.e Aluri^as^ I: exie^i is to 7S mzka in length, and 44 :.:
izA greufsc Ir^tiih, c:=^:rsiis$ 1$ ic «::ksLip8w an-1 has an area oif about 121'*
». i^r% z^*-^zrk', ^^ zzll-iA, Its eliaef pliee is Linsaym. distant 120 miles north of
vV-- -^ a^ii ^ likiimle I-r* =.cru:. Cljaeto slik place is the port of Siul, asafa
Lar&.-nr for re&sels ci zk>I±r&;«» -urien. Trie wk^Ie country eeems to be a well-
vaur^i ^kLer. oi f r- rjesi fer: J rr. Ijult berveen tbe sserra of Zambales and that of
ize Iz^croces, d;wTi to \z.e r^i • f L-r^^T«u or Pangasinan. The torrents fr.u
the E^jH'-.iA r.-^ bnoz dDwn p«4rr::'.^ c: g^^Il, the washing of the sands afforiin^
occa.«i.'BaI e:n:'. vment to tb.-? i:iii- .:&z;:^ and the moontains themselves yieMi^
tr^i hir azvi ats^iLc The zn:>^ \xi.^ierAlIe riTcr of the proTiooe is the Ano, which
ar.r-Is mxA^* ylnrms^r: for iLe pr>iu>> of the forests of the range of the Igorrous,
frxjia vLica .z Las its aourjc T^e inaal ::ants of Fangasinan consist of two distlQCt
n.ii:o2.? sz'^akiiiz ^il±^^ezLZ li^ri^^zes, oAsielT, the proper f^ngasinaii and the Uocoa,
acl iLi?. in dependent of :re will tr..-<^ of the monntains on its eastern borden.
In 17-15, PjLn^isicAn, wLi.-h thea incluled the provinoe now called ZambAlci
»*-=eX ai pres^z.:, c3nt\:Ti-r.j J3,'2.\« Lahabitants,'^ was compatedto haTe a populati n
of nu Ei:re tliui 7-^.C o s<:iil^ In I'^IS. afior the separation ^m it of Zambales.
t£.e p^'pul^u.n was 11. '.S 1:2. In ISGX dre new townships, however, haTing lxn.'j
annexe- 1 to i:, the inLilitants asi:>anted to 224.150. of whom 4S.321 were subject to
ti.e poll-tax- Its relative pi:>pulati3n drives 1>«» to the squire mile, twaVing it one of
the mo^t pjpuloos provinces of the PhiLppuies. Its chief productions ore rioc.
maiz, pulse:^ and su^rar-cane, and it produces on the coast, much bay salt, from whicii
it takes its name. It is evi lently one of the most fertile and productive proTintxs
of the PLilippLoes, altho'igh much wild land still remains tmredeemed-
PANGOLIN. The scaly ant-eater, or Manis Javanica of naturalistB, is foand in
most of the lari^r inlands of the Archipela^, a slu^c^h ftnlrn ^] of nocturnal hal':t>
which, in self-defence, rolls itself up, and hence the Malayan name, which literail/
means "roller," from the verb guliag, to roil or revolve.
PANJANG (PULO), Uterally, " locg island." This is the name of several ialanl^,
or idlets, all the way from Sumatra to Celel>es. The largest of them is one of the
four alluvial isIantLs on the eastern side of Sumatra, and nearly opposite to MalaciU
Of these, Paojang is the nearest to the Suiuatran coast and hence the strait between
them takes its name. It lb chiefly inhabited, as are the other three idlondj
near it, by wild unconverted men of the Malay nation, and speaking its langua;;e,
or rather a rude dialect of it Panjang la best known as producing the best crudi!
sago, which is exported by the Malays to Singapore and Malacca to be refined by the
Chinese.
PAN J I. This is the name of an ancient king of Java who reigned in a oountry
called Janggala, the capital of which was in the modem province of Surabaya. This
personage, called also Ina-karta-pati, is the hero of many of the romances of the
Javanese, and from them of the Malays, and is supposed to have flourished aboat the
year 1300 of our time.
PANTAR. This is the name given in our maps to one of the little-known islaods
lying between Floris and Timur. I find it sometimes called by the Malays, Pul«>
Putar, which would signify turning or twisting island, and sometimes Pulo-PsD'hu-
which would literally be *' artificer or blacksmith island." It consists of high land,
most probably volcanic, and is about 8 leagues in length. The inhabitants are
described as having dark-brown complexions with frizzled hair, and are, therefore, of
the race that I have ventured to call the Kegro-Malayan. A few of the inhabitantj
of the coast have adopted the Mahommedan religion, but the people of the interior
are described as rude, half-naked heathens, armed with bows and arrows.
PANTUN. This word is Malay, and may be translated epigram. It is a quatniin
stanza, in which the alternate lines rhyme, the two first containing a propositioD, and
PAPANDAYANG 327 PAPER
the two last, its application. The application or point, however, must not be obvious,
but obscure, so as to try the ingenuity of the party, to whom the pantun is addressed,
BO that, in fact, the pantun is a kind of enigma or riddle. These riddles are
favourite pastimes of the Malays, to whom they are confined, for they are not known
to the Javanese or other nations of the Archipelago. The follo>ving are translations
of three of these : '* The waves beat white on the reach of Katawan — day and night
without cease. The garden is white with blossoms, but among the flowers, one only
is love-inspiring." ** The diamond falls in the gross, and there still glitters, but
love is like dew on the grass. It vanishes when the sim appears." '' The peacock
nods its head; the peacock that perches on the battlement. When her loclot wave,
new beauties shine m her face."
PAPANDAYANG. This is the name of a moTmtain of Java, in the country of
the Sundas, and of a district of the province of Cheribon called Sukapura (city of
gladness, Sanscrit). It is an active volcano, of which the summit, which is also the
crater, is 8000 feet above the level of the sea. My friend. Dr. Thomas Horsfield, has
given an account of the last eruption of this mountain which is worth quoting^ as
being one of the few of the Archipelago satisfactorily authenticated. " The Papan-
dayang, situated at the western part of the province of Cheribon, in the district of
Sukapura, was formerly one of the largest volcanos of the island ; but the greater
part of it was swallowed up in the earth, after a short, but very severe eruption in
the year 1772. The account which has remained of this event asserts that near
midnight, between the 11th and 12th of August, there was observed about the
mountain an uncommonly luminous doud, by which it appeared to be completely
enveloped. The inhabitants, as well about the foot as on the declivities of the
mountain, alarmed by this appearance, betook themselves to flight ; but before they
could all save themselves, the mountain began to give way, and the greatest part of
it actually fell in and disappeared in the earth. At the same time, a tremendous
noise was heard, resembling the discharge of the heaviest artillery. Immense quantities
of volcanic substances, which were thrown out, at the same time, and which spread
in every direction, propagated the effects of the explosion through the space of many
miles. It is estimated that an extent of ground of the mountain itself, and its
immediate environs, fifteen miles long, and full six broad, was, by this commotion,
swallowed up in the bowels of the earth. Several persons sent to examine the
condition of the neighbourhood, made report that they found it impossible to approach
the mountain, on account of the heat of the substances which covered its circum-
ference, and which were piled on each other to the height of throe feet, although
this was the 24th of September, and full six weeks after the catastrophe. It is also
mentioned that forty villages, partly swallowed up by the earth and portiy covered
by the substances thrown up, were destroyed on this occasion, and that 2957
of the inhabitants perished. A proportionate number of cattle was destroyed, and
most of the plantations of cotton, indigo, and coffee, in the adjacent districts were
buried under the volcanic matter. The effects of this eruption are still visible." —
Transactions of the Batavian Societies of Arts and Sciences, voL 9.
PAP AW FIG, (Carioa Papaya). This ooarse and little esteemed fruit is easily
reared in very indifferent soils. It is evidentiy a plant of tropical America, intro-
duced by the Spaniards and Portuguese, and most of its names, in the different lan-
guages, point at its being an exotic. The most frequent of these is papaya, which is
the papayo of the Spcmish. In the language of Bali it goes under the name of
gftdang-castila, or the Castilian banana; and the people of Celebes, who probably
received it directly from Java, call it the Javanese banana, in the same manner in
which they sometime coll the buffalo the horse of that island.
PAPER. The art of making a true paper from fibrous matter reduced to a pulp
in water, has never been known in, or introduced into, any of the Indian islands.
The usual name for it, in all the languages of those nations that are now acquainted
with it, is the Arabic one, k&rtSs, although they may have received it, before the
arrival of the Arabians, from the Chinese, its original inventors. We possess Javanese
inscriptions on stone and brass which carry us back six centuries, probably only a
brief part of the time in which the Javanese wrote on these materials. But the
current materials for writing on in ancient times, by all the nations of the Archi-
pelago, as it still is of those that have little communication with strangers, was the
leaf of the Palmyra palm, the lontar or rental, a word half Javanese and half Sanscrit.
The Javanese alone nave a native paper, or more correcUy, a kind of papyrus, prepared
PAPUA 328 PASia
much in the same manner as that ancient and imperfect material, hut made of a
more plastic and manageable substance. This consists of the inner bark, or liber, of
the paper mulberry, the Broussonetia papyrifera of botanists, the same plant fitm
which the South Sea islanders make their clothing. In Javanese, ^e nama of the
plant is gluga ; and of the £abric d&luwang in the YiUgar, and fiAlAnriinmg in the
polite toDgue, both native words. This is of a yellow colour, strong, tough, but of
rather uneven texture, very liable to be preyed on by insects, but sorprisingly
cheap considering the great amount of labour which must be bestowed on its
manufacture. «
PAPUA. This word is a slight oormption of the Malay word, which is written
either papuwah, or puwoh-puwah. It is an adjective, the meaning of which is crisped
or frizzled, or of a woolly texture, as in the hair of the negro. Orftng-papuwah and
Tanah-papuwah are terms which signify crisp or woolly-haired men, and conntiy
of crisped or wool-haired men. Some recent geographers have applied the word Papua
to New Quinea, and Papuasia, derived from it, to itself and other neighbouring ooud*
tries, but I see no advantage in such an innovation, neither definite nor oomprehenave^
that entitles it to supersede a name of three centuries and a half standmg. — See
New Quinea.
PARADISE (BIRDS OF). The first mention made of these remarkable birds is
by Pigafetta, who informs us that the king of Bachian, one of the true Moluceasy gave
the companions of Magellan a pair of them, along with a slave, and two bahm, or
near 1000 pounds weight of doves, as a gift to the emperor Charles the Fifth. *< He
gave us besides," says he, '* two most b^utiful dead birds. These are about the Bze
of a thrush, have small heads, long bills, legs a palm in length, and as slender as a
writing quilL In lieu of proper wings they have long feathers of different coloon,
like great ornamental plumes. Their tail resembles that of a thrush. All the other
feathers, except those of the wings, are of a dsrk colour. They never fly, except
when the wind blows. They informed us that these birds came from the terraatriaL
paradise, and they called them Bolondinata, that is, ' birds of God.' " — Prima Yiaggio,
p. 156. The name of the bird, as given by Pigafetta in this account of it, is properly
burung-dewata ; and I have no doubt was correctly enough written by the author,
but corrupted in transcription. It is the Malay -name, and signifies " bird of the
gods ; " that is, of the Hindu deutas or deities. The name manuk-dewata is Javanese,
and has exactly the same import. These are common names for a feimily of birds of
which there are several species ; but they are names given by the strangers who traded
with the Spice Islands, to which the prepared birds were brought from their native
country, New Guinea, as they still continue to b& The Spaniards or Portogaeae
evidently paraphrased the Malay or Javanese name into Ave de paraiso, conformably
to Pigafetta's account of their origin, and hence the "birds of Paradise" of the
European languages. Before the arrival of Europeans, the Malay and Javanese
traders seem to have brought the birds of Paradise to the western emporia of the
Archipelago from the Spice Islands, most probably for sale to the Chinese, for
sudi an article would not have been in demand either by Hindu or Mahommedan
consumers,
PARAGUA. This is the name of the northern part of the large island of Pala-
wan, and frequently given by the Spaniards to the whole island. It forms part uf the
province of Calomianes. See Palawan and Calauianbb.
PARI-PARI. The name of a place on the western side of the south-western
peninsula of Celebes, in south latitude 4** 2' 30", and east longitude 119** 36'. It is
situated on a bay which penetrates the land in a northern direction to the extent
of some seven miles. This affords a safe harbour for native craft, and is a place
of some external trade, carried on by the Bugis of Wcgu, and belonging to the prince
of Sedenreng.
PASAR, which occurs not un frequently prefixed to, and part of, names of places
in Java, is, no doubt, a corruption of the well-known Arabic word, bas^, a market or
market-place, the native word for which is p&k&n.
PASIG. This is the name of a river of Luzon, in the province of Tondo. It is
the canal which empties the surplus vmter of the Lago de Bay into the great bay of
Manilla. At its issue from the lake it consists of five different branches, which
quickly imite ; and the river, after a brief course of sixteen miles, disembogues at the
city of Manilla. It is navigable only for native boats, but might evidently be made so
for vessels of considerable burden.
PASia 329 PAT-I
PASIG. This is the name of one of the largest towns in the Philippines, situated
on the river to which it gives Dame, and in a fertile and populous country. In 1850
it contained 4000 houses, many of them of solid materials and Spanish architecture,
and a population of 22,106.
PASIR, probably Tanak-pasir, <' sand-land," is the name of a Malay state on the
eastern side of Borneo, or that which fronts the south-western peninsula of Celebes.
The principal town lying on a river, navigable only for small craft, the mouth of
which is in south latitude 1° 44' and east longitude 116° 26' 30'', is about 45 miles
up this stream. It was described to me in 1824, as containing about 400 native
houses, but the banks of the river, along its whole course, as many as 4000 ; which,
at the usual estimate, would give a total population of 20,000. The inhabitants
consist of Malays ; of Bugis settlers from Celebes, the most influential and enter-
prising part of the population ; and of several tribes of Dayaks, or wild aborigines^
the most numerous of which were described imder the name of Madang. The pro-
ducts of this veiy rude and scantily-peopled tropical forest rather than country,
consist of esculent swallows'-nests, bees'-wax, ratana, damar, and a little gold-dust,
obtained from the wild inhabitants of the interior. The external trade is wholly
conducted by the resident Bugis.
PASOEROAK, (pasurohan, << plaoe of the betel pepper,") is the name of a fine
province of Java, embracing the western portion of that narrow part of the island
which runs parallel to Madura. It extends from sea to sea, — ^is bounded to the
west by the province of Surabaya, and to the east by that of BesukL It is com-
puted to contain an area of 1784 square miles; and by the census of 1850 had a
population of 864,497, of which, 842 were Europeans or their descendants, and 2369
Chinese and their descendants. The native inhabitants consisted of Javanese, with
settlers from Madura retaining their own language and customs. The relative popu-
lation is about 204 inhabitants to the square mile, which is far below that of the
central provinces of the island, and even below the average one of the whole island.
In 1843, its homed cattle were reckoned to be 90,000, and its horses at 24,000. This
Ketherland province comprehends the native ones of Pasuruhan, Bangil, and Malang.
Within it are some of the highest moimtains of Java, as Arjuna, 12,000 feet; and
Sumira, the highest peak of the whole island, 12,500 feet. Both of these are active
voloanos, and it contains, besides, the Brama with its " sea of sand." Situated, also,
in this province are the Hindu ruins of Singasari. The staple agricultural products
are rice, pulses, cotton, and sugar^iane ; to which the Dutch, for the upland soils,
have added coffee. The northern parts of Pasoeroean were acquired by the Dutch in
1743 from the Susimans of Java as a result of the war of the Chinese insurrection,
and the southern in 1777.
PASUNDAK ; a deiivatiye from Sunda, the name of the nation occupying the
western part of the island of Java, signifies ** place or countiy of the Sunda people ; '
and is a name given to it by the proper Javanese to distinguish it from their own
countiy, which alone they designate Jawa or Java.
PATANI. The name of the most northerly of the Malay states on the eastern
side of the Peninsula. It is situated between Kalanten and Sungora, the last
the most southern province of Siam. Its chief town, or rather village, consists
of a couple of hundred huts, lying on a shallow river, in north latitude 7% and
east longitude 101** 85'. The population of Patani, wholly Malay, ia thought to have
amounted in 1780, to 90,000; and in 1832 to have fallen off to 54,000, both figures,
probably, greatly exaggerated. In the last-named year it underwent the last of many
invasions by the Siamese, when several thousands of its inhabitants were carried
into captivity. It is, at present, understood to be incorporated with Siam. Patani
in common with every other state of the Malay peninsula, Malacca included, have
been, at one time or another, more or less tributary to Siam ; the degree of sub-
jection depending on the relative power or weakness of the paramount state and its
tributaries. From their propinquity, Patani on the eastern, and Queda on the
western side of the Peninsula, have suffered most from the paramount state. Mr.
Newboldt, in his history of the Malayan states of the Peninsula, fiunishes the names
of nineteen princes of two dynasties who reigned in Patani. At the usual estimate
of 20 years to a reign, this would give a period of 380 years for the history of the
state ; but as it has, chronologically, neither a beginning uor an end, the statement is
necessarily of little value.
PAT'I, (literally, "meal" or "farina.") This is the name of one of the four
PATUWA 330 PEDIE
natiTe districts, of which the NetherUuvl province of Japan, on the norfehem aide of
Java, is composed. Of these it is the largest, and is a populous, fertile, and well-
coltiTated oonntry, containing no fewer thim 519 villages.
PATUWA, (literally, " ancient fiather,") is the name of a mountain of Java,
without an active volcano, situated ia the district of Bandong and country of the
Sundas, and of which the summit has been computed to be 8000 feet above tiie level
the sea.
PA YUNG in Malay and Javanese, and Songsong in Javanese only, an umbrella.
This is the universal badge of rank from the prince to the humblest office-bearer
among the civilised nations of the Malayan Archipelago, and stands instead of the
crowns, coronets, stars and ribbons of the nations of Europe. The quality of the
party is expressed by its size, colour, or material
PEACOCK, in Malay and Javanese Mirak, and in the polite dialect of the latter
Miiflura, which is Sanscrit. The bird known by this name is the Pavo muticus
of ornithologists, and a distinct species firom the Indian one which is that of
our poultry-yards. It appears to be confined to Java, Sumatra, and the Malay
Peninsula, and has never been domesticated by the natives of the Archipelago.
PEARL, and MOTHER-OF-PEAHL. Pearls worth fishing are found in the seas
about the Arrow Islands, and in those of the Sulu Archipelago, but none in size or
quality to be compared with those of the Henar or Persian gulls. Mother-of-pearl
oysters are found in the same situations and on the coasts of several of the Bisaya
i^ands of the Philippines much more abundantly. From Manilla there are yearly
exported about 200,000 pounds weight of them. Mr. Windsor Earl has given the
following very satisfactory account of the fishing of the Arrow Islands on the coast of
New Guinea. " But the great sources of wealth are the pearl and tripang banks which
lie on the eastern side of the group, and are often several miles in width, being
intersected by deep channels, some of which will admit vessels of burden. The
pearl oysters are of several varieties; first, the large oyster with its strong thick
shell from six to eight inches in diameter which funushee the mother-of-pearl shell
of commerce. These are obtained by diving and are highly prized, being nearly
always in demand at Singapore for the European and Chinese markets. This oyster
produces few real pearls, but gnarled semi transparent excrescences are occasionally
found on the surfScice of the inner shell, which are so highly esteemed by the Chinese
that they often fetch enormous prices. The other description is the small semi-
transparent pearl oyster, having the inner surfig^^ of the shell of a bluish tint. The
shell IB of small value as an article of commerce, but the oyster itself often contains
pearls which although individually of no great value, are so numerous, as amply to
repay the labour of collection. Pearls of sufficient size to undergo the process of
boring are sometimes found, but the greater portion are what go by the name of
seed-pearls, and are only marketable in China, where they are much valued as a
medicine when pounded and mixed with some liquid." Journal of the Indian
Archipelago, vol. iv. p. 490. The names for the pearl in Malay and Javanese, muti,
mutya, and mutyara, are all Sanscrit, and I am not aware that in any of the Malayan
languages, there are native names for it. Occasionally the Persian word lulu is used.
The name for the mother-of-pearl oyster, indung-mutyara, is exactly equivalent to
our own, for the Malay word indung signifies mother or matrix. From tills we may
suppose that both the pearl and mother-of-pearl were most probably made known
to the Malayan nations by the Hindus. It may be remarked, that the pearl-fishing
of the Sulu Islands was certainly carried on before the arrival of Europeans, for they
are mentioned by the indefatigable Barbosa. " Qoing on,** says he, " in a northerly
direction towards China, there is another island abounding in the necessaries of life
called Solar (Sulu), inhabited by a gentile people, almost white, and in person well
made. Thev have their own proper king and language. In this island is found much
gold by washing the soil, and over against it, the people go to fish small pearls, and
even nnd occasionally larger ones, fine as to colour and roimdnesa** Ramusio,
vol. L
PEDIR is the name of a Malay state on the eastern side of Sumatra, and com-
prising that portion of the sea-board of the island which extends from Diamond Point,
the Tanjung-p&rlak of the Malays, to Achin. This portion of the Sumatran coast is
known to European traders under the name of the '' Coast of Pedir," and is noted for
its large produce and export of the areca nuK In the beginning of the 16th ceu-
tuiy, Pedur was aa independent state, one of the twenty^ine of tiie sea-board of
f
y
PEDRA-BllANCA 331 PENANG
Sumatra, and De Bairos eniuneratea it as such, in the orthography which it has ever
since borne. It was the first spot in the Archipelago at which the Portuguese touched,
and they found it carrying on some foreign trade, being frequented by ships from
different parts of the continent of India. At present it is a place of no moment,
except for its export of the aroca-nutand a little pepper, which is carried to the British
settlement of Peuang. The principal town bearing the same name, is situated on a
small river, a little east of a headland which is in north latitude 5** 29' and east
longitude 96°.
PEDRA-BRANCA, or the "White Rock" of the Portuguese navigators, a well-
known land-mark 82 miles distant from Singapore, is thus well described by Mr. Wind-
sor Earl. " Pedra-branca is a detached rock 24 feet in height above the level of the sea,
situated nearly in the centre of the eostem entrance of the Straits of Malacca, which
has been the leading mark for vessels entering or leaving the strait for ages past.
The main channel which lies immediately to the north of the rock, is four miles wide
[ in the narrowest part. A light-house of dressed granite 75 feet in height has
recently been erected on the summit of the rock, which is probably the most perfect
of the kind that has ever been constructed to the eastward of the C^pe of Qood Hope. ^
The light which is regularly illumiuatod is on the revolving priaciple, attaining its
greatest brUliancy once in a minute as the concentrated rays strike the eye of the
spectator. It is visible from the deck of a ship at the distance of 15 miles, when it
disappears below the horizon, but it may be seen much further from the mast-
head, as its brilliancy is so great that the horizon is the only limit to its range. The
reefs and dangers which beset the eastern entrance of the Straits of Malacca are
all within the influence of the light as visible from a ship's deck.*'
PENANG, Pulo-'Pinang, that is " Areoa palm island" in Malay. This is the
island to which we gave the clumsy and unmeaning name of Prince of Wales
Island, but which is fortunately becoming obsolete. This British settlement is
situated towards the western end of the Straits of Malacca, separated from the main
land of the Peninsula by a channel, about two miles broad, forming a safe and
spacious harbour and distant from the nearest point of Sumatra about 150 miles.
The insular shore of the harbour, the site of the fort and town, lies in north latitude
5'> 25' and east longitude 100"* 21'. The island is about 15 miles long and from 7
to 8 broad, and is computed to contain an area of 139 geographical or 160 statute
square miles, so that it is by 30 square miles less than the Isle of Wight. Annexed
to it, however, is a territory on the opposite main of the Peninsula which goes imder
the name of Province Wellefley, and which has an area of 121 geographical or 140
statute square miles, so that the entire territory of the settlement amounts to 260
geographical or 300 statute square miles. With the exception of a plain of about
three miles in depth fronting the mainland, the island is a mass of granite with
narrow valleys. The highest i>eak is above 8000 feet above the level of the sea
(2922). The territory on the main is, generally, an alluvial flat, but a few feet above
the level of the sea.
The influence of the regular monsoons is more distinctly felt at Penang than in
the more easterly part of the Straits of Malacca owing to the wideness of the latter
to the west, and vicinity to the Bay of Bengal. During the north-easterly mon-
soon, from November to March inclusive, clear settled weather prevails, and in the
south-westerly from April and October the rains take place. But neither rain nor
drought are of long continuanca The average heat of the year at the level of the
sea is 80" and at the height of 2410 feet, the highest inhabited point 70^ the annual
range being about 20°. Wherever there is a free ventilation, the climate is equal
in salubrity to that of any other tropical one, but in a few dose valleys wanting this
advantage the malaria is poisonous, and such localities, few in number, are not
habitable by Europeans. Much of the island is still covered with its primeval forest
of heavy timber trees, and even the cultivation, consisting as it does, for the most
part, of tall evei^green plants, such as palms, bamboos, bananas, fruit trees, tiie clove
and the nutmeg, has from its luxuriance much the aspect of a forest. There are
plenty of brooks, a beautiful waterfall, an abundant supply of potable water, but no
stream that deserves the name of a river.
Penang was taken possession of as a British settlement on the 17th day of July,
1786. The British government of India hod been long desirous of possessing a
commercial emporium, but abovo all a naval station at the eastern side of the Bay
of Bengal, and the chief instrument it employed in carrying this object into effect
was Francis Light, the master of a merchant vessel and a man of the same
PENANG 332 PENANG
daas of society, aad the same profeaston as the Dampiera and the Honburig^.
The questioii of the formation of such a settlement ttos, on the zepreaentaUoa of
tiiis gentleman, first entertained and resolved apon under the administnition of the
able^y active, and ambitious Warren Hastings, although not carried into effect until
that of his immediate successor. Mr. Light had be^ in the habit of trading with
the Siamese possessions on the Bay of Bengal, and with Queda and other Malay
states on the eastern side of the Peninsula. He first recommended for the locality
of the future settlement the larger island of Junk Ceylon, the Salang of the
Malays belonging to the Siamese, and finally, Penang an uninhabited island belonging
to Queda, itsdf a tributary of Siam. A romantic story had long obtained currency
that Mr. Light had married the daughter of the king of Queda, and received with
her as a dowry the island of Penang, which he sold to the East India Company.
There was no foundation of truth in tills tale. The wife of the enterprising adven-
turer was neither a princess nor a Malay, but a mestifo Portuguese of Siam, and
the ng'a of Queda did not give his desert island to any one, but sold it to the ftitlah
government for the payment of a quit-rent of 10,000 hard Spanish dollars a year,
which sum is at the present day paid to his descendant Frauds Light the agent in
this transaction became the first governor under the title of superintendant^ planted
the colony and carried on its administration until 1793, when he died at his post.
When Penang Was first occupied it was an entire forest throughout, without a rood
of cultivation, or an inhabitant, with the exception of a fitmily or two of migratory
Malay fishermen, whose huts were on the beach near which stands now Qeoigetowu.
In 1800, the territory on the main was annexed to the island, having been purchased
from the king of Queda for the consideration of 2000 Spanish doUars, about 430/.
sterling, or little more than a penny an acre, which was probably fully as much as it
was worth to the vendor.
That the founder of Penang was a man of comprehensive' mind and forecast is
testified by the extent to which his views have been realised by experience. Li a
despatch to the Indian government, he gives the following summary of the advantages
to be expected from his colony, for such, in reality, it was. "A harbour with good
anchorage, secure from bad weather, and capable of containing any number of vessels ; —
an island well watered, of excellent soil, capable of containing 60,000 people^ and
abounding in all necessary materials for their service and security ; — a port fi&vouiable
to commerce, the present imports amounting to upwards of 600,000 dollars per
annum ; — a place of refuge for merchant ships, where they may refit and be supi^ed
with provisions, wood and water, and protected fh>m the insults of enemies, and an
emporium, cenloically situated, where the merchant^ of all nations may conveniently
meet and exchange their commodities."
Most of the antidpationB here held out have been realised, and some of them have
even exceeded the sanguine expectations of the founder. The only serious exception
relates to the supposed excellence of the soil, which Mr. Light fanded was well
adapted for the growth of com, a vulgar error derived from the notion that the land,
which grows huge forest trees, must, of necessity, be fertile and adapted to produce
the staple necessaries of life. The soil of Penang, notwithstandixig the luxuriant
vegetation which, with the help of heat and moisture it produces, is anything but
fertile, and found by experience very ill suited to the production of com. It consasts
of a thin coat of vc^table mould over a sharp sand, or a stiff clay, both the produce
of the decomposition of the granite, on which the soil rests. Fertility might with
equal truth be predicted of the ** barrens" of North America, or the mountains of
Scandinavia, on account of the tall pines which they produce.
In 1792, or within seven years of its establishment, Penang had a population of
7000 resident inhabitants, or, including public establishments and sojourners, 10,000.
By a census made in 1810, the population, which now included the annexed territory
on the continent at the time of its occupation, nearly as destitute of inhabitants as was
the isknd itself, amounted to 81,600. In 1827, it rose to 55,354, and in 1851, sixty-
five years after its foundation, to 111,096, this last extraordinary augmentation having
been, in a good measure, caused by migrations from the neighbouring Malay state of
Queda, laid waste by Siamese invasion. The relative popu£tion is, according to the
statements now given, at the rate of 870 inhabitants to the square mile;, and yet by
fiir the larger part of the country is still unoccupied, and a mere forest Thns» of the
territory on the continent, the most fertile and available for cultivation, not above
one-fourth is reckoned to be redaimed from the jungle.
In 1789, or within three years of its estabiiiihmeut, its founder reported the imports
of Penang to be of the value of 1 30,000^ In 1 854, or in sixty-five y ear»' time, they were
PEPPER 333 PEPPER
of the value of 581,2402. Bat in the first of these years, Penang was the only British
Sort in the Straits of Malacca, and its imports represented, therefore, the whole
ritish trade of the Straits. In 1854, it was competing with two other British settle-
ments, as an emporium, the joint imports of the three settlements in that year haying
amounted to 4,928,237^, or to near thirty-eight fold what they were three years after
the foundation of Penang. These figures represent the progress which British oom-
meroe has made in this remote quarter in little more than sixty years time.
The products of the soil of Penang include none of the staple articles of food, its
rice and pulses being all imported. It produces the coco and areca palms, nutmegs,
doYes, and in perfection all the Malayan fruits. At one period of its history, no less
than three millions and a-half of pounds of black pepper were yearly produced by
Europeans and Chinese, but, in time, it was found out that this article could be pro-
duced far cheaper in the wide lands, and with the cheap labour of Sumatra and other
places, and the culture has now been wholly abandoned. On the territory on the
continent the sugar-cane is largely cultivated, and several thousand tons of sugar are
yeoi'ly exported. Sheep cannot be reared, but are imported, nor is the pasture fit for
rearing oxen, the only useful domestic animal that flourishes being the dull, coarse,
but useful buifolo. Poultry is chiefly imported, but abundant, and flsh is of finer
quality and more abundant than in any other part of India.
Penang at present forms with Singapore and Malacca what is called the Straits*
government, which u^ in fitct, a Lieutenant-Gk>vemorship, subject directly to the
Qovemor-Qeneral of India. The laws administered from its first foundation have
been those of England, and the all-sufficient proof of their having, upon the whole,
given satiafiiction, is to be found in the constant immigration of strangers seeking
their protection. Snce 1807 they have been administered by a ReoordeiPs Court.
In 1852-53 the gross revenues of Penang, drawn from excises on opium, spirits,
and intoxicating drugs, quit rents, and s^e of waste lands, Ac, &c, amounted to
18,236/. This, however, does not include the municipal revenue or rates imposed on
police purposes, which is considerable. As at the other Straits' settlements, there is
an entire exemption from all imposts on ship or cai^.
PEPPER (BLACK). Piper nignun. This oommodity, although now oompoiod
to others, such as sugar, coffee, cotton, and indigo, all of them either unknown, or
little known, in the early period of the Indian trade of Europe, of very littie import-
anoei, formed for many ages the staple article of it The great Vasco Di Qama ^d
not think his achievement complete, until he had loaded )ub ships witii caigos of it,
and for three centuries alter his time, the nuoitime nations of Europe contended with
each other for the possession of the monopoly of it, forming costly establishments in
India that had no other object in view.
The pepper vine grows readily in very indifferent soils, which consist of dry upland.
Heat, moisture, and some shade are alone indispensable to it. Unlike the sugar-cane^
indigo, and even coffee, the careless husbandry of the Malays is sufficient to rear it in
perfection. Sumatra is the principal Malayan country which produces it, but it is
also produced in the Peninsula, Borneo, Java, and to a small extent in some of the
Philippines. Thus we find it growing from the seventh degree of south, as fiir as the
eighteenth of north latitude. In an easterly direction, however, its cultivation,
within the Malay Arc^pelago, is not known beyond Java and Borneo. The soils
most £ftvourable to it seem to be those of sedimentary and plutonic formations, and it
does not succeed equally well in the richer volcanic ones, such as those of Java.
There is no doubt but that black pepper is an exotic in the Indian Archipelago,
and as little, that it must have been intioduced from Malabar, the only other country
that produces it. It is not found wild in any of the Malayan islands, but abundantly
so in the mountains and valleys of most of the countries of the western side of India^
according to the testimonjr of an excellent botanist. Dr. Frands Buchanan Hamilton.
This fact would be sufficient to prove its foreign origin, but it is corroborated by
etymology. In Malay, the name of the plant, lada, which in the language of the
Sundas of Java, among whom we may suppose the exotic to have been first cul-
tivated, signifies ''pungent," but it is a generic one, requiring the epithet "black,"
in fact corresponds exactly with our own name for it, and this, of course, proves
nothing as to its origin. So it is with several other of the insular languages, but in
Javanese the name is marioha, which is pure Sanscrit. The Javanese appear to have
extended this Hindu name to the languages of Celebes, Bali, and Lomboa In those
of the Philippines, again, we have the Malay name, lada, corrupted lara, by the
conversion of tiie palatial d into r, a very frequent oommutation. Of the time in
PEPPER 334 PEPPER
which the pepper Tine was introduced into the Archipelago, we know nothing, bat aa
a commercial interoonne had immemori&lly existed between Calicut and other
emporia of Malabar and the Malayan ialandw, we can have no doubt about the channd
by which it found its way.
The consumers of pepper may be said to be the whole world, with the singular
exception of the parties that produce it, for, as in the case of the clove and nutmeg,
these have no taste for it as a condiment. With the exception of salt^ there ia perhaps
no condiment of such general use, and it has been an object of consumption among
the civilised nations of Europe for probably not less than 2000 years. Pliny expresses
his surprise that people should go all the way to India in quest of this commodity,
which had nothing to recommend it but its acrimony (anuuitudo). — ^Lib. xii In his
time the price of a pound of black pepper in the Roman market was about 8>t. 9\<L,
and of the same article, white or blandied, 69. 7i<2, for both sorts seem then to have
been imported as they are now, and it is remarkable that their relative prices should
be nearly the same at that time that they are at the present day. The cost of black
pepper in Europe immediately before the discovery of the new route to India, appears
to have been about ds. 6d. a pound, or near the same which it had been in the time
of Pliny, fourteen centuries before, which would seem to indicate that in this long
interval, no material improvement had taken place in the mode of conducting the
Indian trade. Neither did the fiusilitiea of the new route itself produce any diminu-
tion of price, owing to the rapacity of the European nations. During the period of
near a century that the Portuguese had the trade of India to themselves, driving the
Indians out of it, by a conduct not less than piratical, the European price of pepper
seems to have been genendly about O. a pound, or by ikL more than before the
discoveiy of the new route, llie matter was not mended when the Dutch superseded
the Portuguese, but, on the contraiy, was greatly aggravated by their more stringent
monopoly, for the cost of pepper in £urope rose to double what it had been under the
Portuguesa The French and English, each with a monopoly of the market of their
own country, quickly entered the field of Indian competition with the Dutcb, and the
price fell to !<. S<L, between which and 1«. it fluctuated for two centuries, when,
towards the beginning of the present centujy, the monopoly having ceased by the
awakening of the public, after a long dream, to common sense, the price fell to about
Sd, a pound, or one-fifteenth part of what it was in the time of Pliny, and in the
middle ages, and one-fourth of what it was when at the lowest, or least aggravated
state of the monopoly. In the last year of our monopoly, 1813, our consumption of
pepper fell short of a million of poimds a year ; it is now about three millions and
a-hidf, the result of lower prime cost» lower duties^ and, in a less degree, to increased
population.
As to the quantity of pepper actually produced, nothing better than an approximate
estimate can be given. The smallest supply is furnished by Uie parent country,
Malabar, and this, probably, does not exceed 1,000,000 of pounds a year. By far the
largest supply is furnished by the western side of Sumatra, which exports it from no
fewer than fourteen different ports, the entire quantity being estimated at 22,000,000.
The produce of the eastern side of the same island has been computed at 9,000,000,
making the whole produce of Sumatra 31,000,000. The Malay Peninsula, Borneo^
and the western part of Java produce a considerable quantity which may probably
equal 8,000,000 of pounds, making the total supply about 40,000,000. The total
vsJue of this quantity, at the whol^ale Indian price is, at present, little more than
half a million sterling. As the prices were fiir higher, and the consumers fewer, in
the 15th and 16th centuries, the quantity and value could not have been even one-
half of this. It was then, in order to establish for themselves a monopoly in an
article of which the intrinsic prime cost was, at the utmost, not more than a quarter
of a million sterling, that the nations of Europe, for three long centuries, made such
a notable display of ignorance and rapacity. They fancied that a commodity natu-
rally cheap, because produced with little labour, had a specific intrinsic value, becsraae
they had received it enhanced by the multiplied charges of a barbarous commerce.
This notion is even discoverable in the very manner in which we quote its price. That
of pepper, on account of its once fiictitious value, is always given in pounds, whereas
coffee, an article of superior intrinsic value, but never a fit one for monopoly, is quoted
by hundred-weightB. For the same reason, we reckon tea by pounds, while the
Chinese sell it to us by a weight of above one hundred and thirty times that amount
The accurate Barboaa gives an account of the pepper trade, shortly after the arrival
of the Portuguese in India, and this both at OflJicut and Sumatra. This is his state-
ment : — ** Pepper is produced in the kingdoms of Malabar and Calicut^ and « bahar
PEPPER 335 PEPPER
sells in the latter at from 200 to 280 fonoes, each faaoe being worth a real of Spain,
and the bahar being equal to four cantaros of the old weight of Portugal, at which all
spices are sold in Lisbon. The duty paid to the King of Calicut is 12 £uioe8 on each
bahar. The purchasers of pepper convey it to Cambay, Persia, Aden and Mecca, and
thence to Cairo and Alezandna. Pepper also grows in the island of Sumatra in the
neighbourhood of Malacca, which is finer and larger than that of Malabar, but not so
gocKl and strong, and this is conveyed to BengaJ and China, and to some parts of
Arabia, by contraband, and unknown to the Portuguese. This pepper is worth, in
Sumatra, from 400 to 600 maravedis the cantaro of the new weight of Portugal,
the difference between the old and new weights being two ounces, — the pound of the
first being 14 ounces, and of the last 16.'* — Ramusio, Vol. i. p. 322.
The bahar, or Persian weight, so called, varies from 400 to 450 poimds, but by a
note of Ramusio it would appear in this case to be 425, and the fanoes is certainly no
other than the silver fanam of Calicut, of the intrinsic value of 4|(2. Assuming these
data to be correct, the market price of pepper at the emporium of Calicut about the
year 1500, ranged from 2'2ZcL to 2*57(2. the pound avoirdupois. The Sumatra quota-
tions are not so easily determined, but seem to be higher, and to take a higher range.
1 make them from 2'68(i. to id. It is remarkable that the price of pepper, at uie
present day, and what it has steadily been for some years, at the Briti^ settlements
in the Straits of Malacca, do not materially differ from those of Barboaeu I make
them, in the Singapore market, from 2'S2a. to 2'52d a pound. The cause of this
correspondence of prices, at an interval of near three' hundred and fifty years, is, I
think, obvious. At both periods the trade was free ; at both the land fit for the
production of pepper was practically boundless and consequently bore no rent, and in
both periods the wages of labour were probably the same, or, in fact, the same
amount of labour, under the same circumstances, being expended in the production
of the article at two periods so distant, the price was necessarily the sama One very
important inference may, I think, be fairly deduced from this fact, namely, that the
popular belief that gresX depreciation in the value of the precious metals, with a cor-
responding increase in the cost of all other commodities, took place after the discovery
of the mines of America, is without foundation. The depreciation in the value of gold
has been supposed to have amounted, in the first fifty years after the influx of the
precious metals from America, to one-fourth part of its previous value, which, if true^
must have affected the cost of pepper proportionally, which it has not done any more
than it has yet done by the stUl larger influx, in our own time, of gold from California
and AustraUa. This view, taken from the prices of pepper, is corroborated by Bar-
bosa's quotations of other commodities, not likely, any more than itself, to be affected
by rent or variations in the wages of labour, compared with present prices. Opium,
camphor, and stick-lac are examples, for in these three commodities the quality is
not, probably, now different from what it was in the beginning of the 16th century,
while their prices nearly correspond.
PEPPER (BETEL) ; Pipee Betel. This plant, the leaf of which is in tmiversal
use as a masticatory, along with the fruit of the areca palm, is found cultivated
among all the more civiliseid nations of the Malay and Philippine Archipelagos, but
is not known to the ruder, and does not extend to the islands of the Pacific. In so
far as can be judged by the names which it bears, and which are all native, and
generally different in different languages, this plant, which grows freely in a rich soil,
is probably indigenous. In the popular language of Java, it is called suruh, and in
the polite, s&dah. In Malay, it is sirih, which is most likely the same word as the
Javanese, but in the Bali it is basi, in the Lampung, chambai, and in the Tagala of the
Philippines, buyo. Being an article of such general consumption, attempts have been
made to make it, like tobacco, an instrument for levying a capitation-tax, but with
little success, since the plant must be used in the fresh state, and not being capable
of storing, an impost on it can be levied only in retail, and is, therefore, easily evaded.
PEPPER (LONG), PiPEB L0KGT7K. This is the ohabe of the Javanese, and the
lada panjang of .the Malays, which is a literal translation of our own and the botanic
name. Thu commodity, is probably a native of Java, although now grown in
other countries of the Archipelago. It is rather singular that it is not named by
Barbosa, but there can be litUe doubt but that it must have been an article of trade
in his time. It is, at present, about half as high-priced again in the Indian market
as black pepper. If it be the pepper which Pliny calls " long," its cost in the Roman
market was between three and four times the price of black pepper.
PEPPER (Cubeb). See Cttbeb.
PERAK 836 PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO
PERAK, is the name of the second Malay state of the western side of the
Pemnsola, counting finom the north. It is bounded to the north by Queda, to the
Boath by Salangorey and to the east by Tringanu and Pahang, the central mountain
chain dividing them. The coast line of Perak is said to be 100 miles in length, and
the depth of the country inland generally 50 miles, so that it may contain an area of
5000 square milea. Besides the territory on the mainland, the uninhabited Dending
and RftmKil^w islands belong to it. The name Perak signifies silver, and is probably
taken ftom that of the principal riyer of the country. This is a tortuous stz-eam of
intricate navigation, and aooeesable only to small cnuFt, having its debouchement in
the Stnits of Malacca in north latitude 6* 10'. On the banks of this river are situated
the bulk of the inhabitants, consisting of Malays and a few Chinese, while the moun-
tains of the interior contahi some wild and wandering tribes of the Malayan race,
here known under the name of Sakai, and a few of the Negritos or S&mang. The total
population is a matter of conjecture. It has been reckoned at 15,000, and as high as
85,000. but 20,000 is supposed to be the most likely approximation, and this would
give the scanty rate of four inhabitants to the square mile. The whole country is,
in fact» a vast jungle, in which are scattered a very few villages. The principal
cultivation is rice, of which about enough is produced for local consumption. The
durian, mangostin, and rambutan (Nephelium lappaoeum) grow in perfection. The
productions of the forest for commerce are the usual ones, ivory, beeeT-wax, rhinoceros'
horns, ratans, and some perfume and dye-woods. Its tin, however, is the product
which has always given some importance to Perak : this is, as usual, alluvial, the
workings existing towards the foot of the mountain range, and being chiefly wrought
by the Malays without the aid of Chinese^ and consequently unskilfully and unpro-
ductively. The quantity of metal producAd, and which is all exported to Penang or
Sing^Kwe, has bsen estimated at tnm 500 to 600 tons.
When or how the state of Perak was founded is unknown, — a mystery, like the
founding of all the other states of the Peninsula. At present, it is nominally subject
to Siam, and in former times, had been occasionally so to Malacca, Jehor, Achin, and
the Dutch. Yirtuaily, it is entirely independent.
PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAQO. This comprehends the many islands extending
between the fifth and the twenty-first d^p;ee of north latitude, and is bounded to the
east by the North Pacific Ocean, and to the west by the sea of China. It embraces
about 16* of latitude, and 9° of longitude^ To the north the nearest land to it is the
iiJand of Formosa, distant about SO nulee ; to the north-west China distant about
SOO miles ; and to the south Borneo about 45 miles. According to this view, the
long chain of the Sulu Islands form the southern boundary of the Archipelago, and
the Basins its northern ; but these last can hardly be said to belong to it geogra-
iJiuoally, and probablv, therefore, the Babuanes islands, in about latitude 19"* 80',
ought more justly to be considered so.
Aocordinff to the reckoning of Spanish writers, the Philippines amount to 408
islands, exuusive of rocks and uninhabited islets. Two islands are pre-eminently
larse^ Luion which is by more than one-half, and Mindano by one-fifth larger than
Ireland. These are followed by seven islands, Panay, Negros, 9®bu, Samar, Leyte,
Mindoroi, and Palawan, the smallest of which, 9^bu, Lb about one-fifth, and the largest,
Panay, about one-half the siae of Sicily. After these come two considerable ialands,
Bohol and Maabate, of about one-half the extent of the smallest of the last-named
group. Finally, we have about twenty such islands as Marinduque^ Catanduanee,
and Calamianes. The islands now named, about thirty in number, constitute the
important part of the Archipelago. One island, Luzon, is pre-eminently sup«ior to
all the rest put together ,* and for extent, fertility, and other natural advantages, is,
probably, the finest in the tropical world. The entire ArohipeUigo may probably
contain an area of about 200,000 square geographical miles.
The configuration of most of the larger islands is longitudinal, their length being
in a direction north and south, and in all of them, a chain or range of mountains runs
through them in this direction, seldom exceeding 6000 feet high, or about one-half the
height of the mountains of the Sunda Islands. All the laiger islands are abundantly,
almost superabundantly, supplied with rivers flowing from these mountains, many of
them contributing by irrigation to the fertility of the countries they water, but few to
internal communication. The two largest islands contain some fine lakes, — Luson
foxir laige ones, and Mindano five; the first, moreover, having periodical Idces of vast
extent, which may be compared, for the feortility they bestow, to the inundations of
the Nile and Qangea. The western side of Luzon alone oontains safe and apacioaa
PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO 337 PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO
harbours, but the Bouthern portion of the Archipelago, out of the region of storms,
stands in little need of them.
The geological formation of the Archipelago consists of almost eveiy kind of rock.
The basis of the mountain chains is considered to be granitic, but the most charae-
teristic feature of the geology of the group, consists in the great volcanic band which
begins in the bay of Bengal and ends with the Kurile Islanob passing through it. This
band, after proceeding from Sumatra and Java to the Banda Islands in the 180th
meridian, in a direction nearly east, turns to the north-west, and after passing the
Molucca islands and a small part of the north-eastern peninsula of Celebes, enters the
Philippines at Mindano at the distance of about 220 miles. From Mindano, it
extends through the whole Philippine Archipelago, (its western portion from
Palawan to Mindoro excepted), as far as the Babuyan islands, so that its length here
extends over about 280 leagues. Extinct volcauoa are numerous in all the large
islands, and active ones in Luzon and Mindano, in which, since the Spanish conquest
in 1564, BO fewer than eleven destructive eruptions are recorded as having taken
place, the earliest being in 1 627.
" The metals ascertained to exist in the Philippines are gold, found in most of the
larger islands but most abundant in Luzon and Mindano, iron, chiefly in the same
islands, with copper, lead, and mercury, in Luzon. Sulphur is abundant in most
of the islands, but especially in Ley te, Mindano, and the province of Albany in Luzon.
Coal, a lignite, has been found and partially worked in the islet of Bapu-rapu on
the eastern coast of Luzon, at the entrance of the great bay of Albany, and the two
small islands at the southern extremity of Mindano called Sirangan, are stated to be
nothing but coal beds, not improbably part of the same Bomean field, which crops out
in Labuan, and is now worked by an English company in that island. Variegated marble
is found in the province of Bataan in Luzon, and has been occasionally used in church
building in Manilla. Carbonate of lime is widely disseminated, but gypsum sparingly.
« The native vegetable products of the southern portion of the Philippines corre-
spond, generally, with those of the Malayan Islands, but as the Archipelago
extends by twelve degrees of latitude further north, there must be in many respects
a material divei^gence. No fewer than 218 forest trees, chiefly of the more northern
provinces, have been subjected to experiments in the arsenal of iiianilla, and the
relative strength, tenacity, and specific gravity, of the timber, ascertained for
economic uses. For ship-building the following six are most in use, the Molave
Yitex genicutala or Y. pubescens, the Banaba, the lacal, the Dongon a Sterculia, the
Mangachapiu Yateria mangachapoi, and the Quita-quita. Of the timber of these, large
ships have been built which are stated to have lasted 40 years, a feust which would place
them on a level with teak or oak, which would not be asserted of any of the woods
of the islands of the Malay Archipelago. The teak itself, it is singular, is found only
in the island of Mindano, at the distance of 1300 geographical miles from Java and
Sumbawa, the only two islands of the Malayan Archipelago, which yield it It grows
in Mindano, in such parts of that island as are in native occupation and is, conse-
quently, not available to European use. The Philippine forests yield several dye-
woods, the most valuable of which is the Sibucao of the natives, the sApang of the
Malays and our sapan-wood (Caaealpinia sappao). This is largely exported, and in the
foreign markets, is worth 50 per cent, more than the same article brought from Siam,
or in other words, yields half aa much more colouring matter. The author of the
" Informe sobre el estado de las Islas Filipinas," furnishes a list of 600 wild plants,
with names which have but a very small sprinkling of Malayan ones. Among these
are some yielding dyes, gums, resins, and textile materials, which like the Indian-
rubber and gutta-percha of the Malayan Archipelago, may be found of value in the
arts. It seems not unlikely that in the southern portion of the Archipelago, even
these articles themselves may be found.
^ The zoology of the Philippines has received but little attention from European
naturalists. Among the larger mammalia, monkeys and deer of several species, and
at least one species of hog are ascertained to be natives of most of the islands from
Mindano to Luzon. The elephant, the rhinoceros, and the tapir of the Bialayan
Archipelago, are all absent. Some Spanish writers have supposed that the elephant
once existed, because there is what they fancy to be a native name for it This name,
which is variously written garya, gadia and gadya, is only a corruption of the Sanscrit
word gajah taken from the Malay or Javanese, so that the supposition in question is
much on a par with supposing that the same animal was within the historical era, a
native of Europe, because there are naturalised names for it, received very much after
the same manner. All tli e huge animals of the feline family/such as tigers and leopards,
z
PHELIPPiyK AECHIPELAGO 338 PHILIPPIXE AKCHIPELAGO
flo abundant in ibe Halajao, are vsnting in the Philippine Archipelago. One
email wild cat and the mosaiig of the Malays, known by this name also, in the
Philippine tongoee^ the Paradoxus musanya of natunliste» are the only two mammalia
of prey known in the Arcfaipelaga Some domesticated animals, however, hare
become wOd, and Civoured by aJbundance of suitable pastures and fineedom from
beasts of prey, hsTe greatly multiplied. This has bem liie caae wiUi the bufilo^, the
ox, and even the horae. Dampier saw wild oxen of this deacription in Mindano in
1656, and was present with a party that hunted them. It is to be oba^ired, indeed,
that the names of all the •Ji^m^la domesticated in the Philippines b^ong to foreign
languages. This applies to the dog, the ho& the goat, the buffiilo, the cat, and eren
to &e domestic fowl snd duck. The names of all these are either Malay or Javanese,
while those of the horse, ox, and sheep, are Spanish. If these animals, as is most
probable, were introduced by strangere^ it follows that the inhabitants of the Philip-
ptnes» before their intercourse with the dvilised nations of the Malayan Archipelago,
were far worse off in domesticated animals for food or labour, than even the more
advanced nations of Americs, who had, at least, the lama^ the alpaca^ and the
turkey. Of small mammalia, the Philippines have sevend species of btits and of
squirrels, including among the latter the flying one of the size of an ordinary hare
the krawak of the Malays, and Sciurus maximus volans of naturalists.
The largest bird of the Philippines is a species of heron, rising to the height^ it is
aaserted, of ^le or six feet, called by the natives, pagala. This has a bag in front of
the throat, and may be the same bird known in Boogsl as the adjutant, or in the
native language azgala, and which, in that country, is migratory. Anotber of this
family measuring from two to three feet high, called by the natives the tapol, is
tamed and taught to dance to the sound of a flute or drum. In the forests of Luzon
there is one species of pheasant, and the jungle fowl, GaUus bankiva, is widely dis-
seminated over most of the larger islands. Tbe most numerous birds are thoee of
the parrot and pigeon families, among the first of which is said to be a cockatoo, a
bird nearly unknown to the Malayan Archipelago, west of New Guinea. Ko species of
peacock seems to exist. Among the Philippine birds is the tubon, which leav^ its
e^gsin the sands of the sea-shore, to be hatidbed by the sun. The swallows which build
the esculent nest, frequents the many limestone caves of the islands, and the nests are
collected, as in the Malay islands, for the market of China The bird is known in
the Philippines under the native name of aalangan. Wild ducks and geese which, as
birds of passage are unknown in the Malayan islands, frequent the Philippines.
Among reptiles, serpents are numerous in the Philippines, and a few of them
poisonous. A python exists and of such size as to be capable of destroying the
calf of the bui&la One of them, it is stated, was killeid in the mountains of
Cavity, near the bay of Manilla, measuring 18 Spanish yards, which would make
it about 50 English feet in length. Alligatoni are numerous in all the lakes and rivers,
and there are several species of land and sea tortoise, including that which yields
the precious shelL
Fish, in reference to their utility to man form, periiaps, the most important branch
of the zoology of the Philippines. They seem to be more abundant than in almost
any other country, for they are not only numerous in the sea, but unlike the Islands
of the Malay Archipelago, are even more so in the fresh water, — ^in tbe rivers, in the
permanent lakes, and in the periodical onea Even the cultivated fields, during their
temporary submersion, yield a supply. Some of these fish are migratory, entering
particular rivers from the sea for the purpose of spawning, when great quantities of
them are taken with little care or art. Of this description is one called the ipon or
dolon, which frequents one of the rivers of the province of Ilocos in Luzon in the
dry season from October to February, and which, it is alleged, can only be captured
during the first five days of the moon's age. A fish called the sablao, of the size of
a salmon, is peculiar to the lake Taal in Luzon, of volcanic origin. The Lago de Bay
or lake of Manilla, produces a great variety of fish, of which those called the
curbina and dalag are most abundant and most esteemed. Fish forms the principal
animal aliment of all the inhabitants of the Philippines, and great quantities of them
cured, form an important article of the internal native trade. One may form some
notion of the abundance of fish, when it is stated that the retail price of a dalag fish,
enough for six persons, is in the market of Manilla, no more than a real of plate or
about 5 pence. On several of the shores of the Philippines the tripang, called in tbe
native languages balatd, is fished for the market of China. On the same shores are
also carri^ on the fishery of the pearl-oyster or mother-of-pearl-shell, of which the
Philippines furnish to Europe and China, their largest supply.
PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO 339 PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO
Among insects, mosquitos, and yariouB kinds of ants, including the termes, or
white ant, are numerous and troublesome in all the islands. On the other hand,
fleas and bugs are almost unknown, and the common fly is not frequent. Flights of
locusts are experienced, but they do not appear to be very destructive.
The climate of the Philippines varies with latitudes which range from 5** to near
20** from the equator. At Manilla, in latitude 14° 86', the difference between the
longest summer and the shortest winter day is but one hour, 47 minutes, and
12 seconds. The monsoons are, the north-east and south-west, the first, as in all
countries lying on the China Sea being the most violent, contrary to what is the
case west of it. In the southern and western portions of the Archipelago the rainy
season corresponds with the summer and autumn, but the case is reversed in the
northern and eastern parts, occasioned by the ranges of mountains which run north
and south, in the same manner as is the case on the eastern and western sides of
Southern India. At the changes from one monsoon to another take place those
terrible hurricanes so well known to mariners as typhoons. These are most severe
at the autumnal equinox, and the month of October is the most remarkable for them.
From these scourges all parts of the Archipelago within ten degrees of the equator
are exempt, which include the island of Mindano and the long chain of islands
extending between it and Borneo. The rainy season commences in May, and lasts
to September inclusive. At Manilla, which is not far from the centre of the Archi-
pelago, reckoning from north to south, the lowest annual fall of rain is 84 inches,
and the highest 114, giving an average of 98. A vast quantity of rain falls within a
comparatively short space of time, and the consequence is that much of the low
countiy is submerged, — ^the rivers overflow their banks and periodical lakes of
many leagues in extent are formed. At Manilla Fahrenheit's thermometer never
falls below 72**, nor rises above 95% so that the range is but 23^. In the
mountain valley of Banhao, 6400 feet above the level of the sea^ aud but 12 leagues
from the city, the thermometer stands at from 45° to 47°. The greatest heata
are experienced from April to Augxist in the fair season, but Spanish writers
declare that those of Manilla never equal those of Madrid in severity, although they
last longer. A fall of hail is recorded to have taken place in the Philippines twice
only since the Spanish occupation— once in May, 1749, and once in February, 1808.
The Philippines are inhabited by two distinct races of men, the Malayan and the
Philippine Negro ; the first constituting the great mass of the inhabitants, and the
last consisting only of a few tribes of mountaineers found only in four of the principal
islands. The Malayan race is known to the Spaniards by the vague names of " Indians "
and " natives," and among themselves, they have certainly no common denomination.
Spanish writers thus describe their physical form — Stature, seven lengths of the
head ; facial angle, from 67 to 78 ; nose, broad, flat, and between the eyes hardly
any relief; lips thick; inner angle of the eye depressed; head broader than that of
the European ; hair, harsh, rigid, and black ; beard very scanty ; complexion, olive
coloured. There can be no doubt but that this is the genuine Malay. The negros,
or as the Spaniards call them negritos or little negros, are in physical form diminu-
tive Africans, the negro features less pronounced, and the complexion less black.
Although of shorter stature, those who have seen them have been struck by their
resemblance to the natives of Australia. Some writers have &ncied the negritos to
be the aboriginal inhabitants of the Archipelago and the fairer race to be intruders
from some unknown couhtry, but for this hypothesis there is not a shadow of evidence,
historical or lingual, and it must be regained as the mere dream of the inventors.
For anything known to the contrary, both the Malay and negro race have an equal
claim to be considered as aborigines.
The Sponiiurds divide the fairer race into two classes, namely, the nations or tribes
that have been subdued, who pay the capitation tax, and who have been converted to
Christianity, and the rude independent people who are still, either pagans or Mahom-
medans. This division is, in fact, nearly equivalent to civilised and uncivilised.
The first of these classes is divided, as they were at the conquest, into several distinct
nations, speaking distinct languages. Of these there are in the great island of Luson
alone no fewer than five. It is asserted that one nation speaking one language
inhabits all the islands lying between Luzon and Mindano. This has been called by
the Spaniards the Bisaya, from a native word signifying to paint, derived from the cir-
cumstance of the inhabitants of those islands practising tattooing when first seen by
the Spaniards. The fact, however, is not very clearly ascertained, for Pigafetta certainly
takes no notice of it, while he describes the people of ^ebu who are ranked with the
Bisaya nation as speaking a very difierent tongue from those of Massana whom he
2 2
PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO 340 PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO
had previoTisly seen. Whether, however, the Bisaya language be subetantially one
and the same tongue throughout, there is no doubt but that it is divided into seTcral
dialects, so widely different that the parties speaking them are not mutually intel-
ligible. They may really be practically considered as so many distinct nations, and
thus among Uie more civilised inhabitants of the Philippines there are in all probably
no fewer than a dosen distinct people.
In character the more civilised nations of the Philippines may be described as
simple, docile, indolent, credulous, rather excitable, and very superstitioua. The
Spaniards affirm that they are as easily led by an European of good understanding
that takes the pains to understand them, as the horse, the ox, or the buffalo. They
are in fact led, guided, and virtually governed by the Christian priesthood, who may
be truly said to have conquered them, and to have maintained them since in subjection.
Of their wonderful credulity and proneness to imposition, some singular instances
have been recorded. In 1672, a report was spread in one of the Bisaya islands that
his majesty the King of Spain had gone on a fishing party, — that he was fallen upon
and made prisoner by the Tiurks, and that for his ransom the inhabitants of a certain
district were demanded. The people of the district in question abandoned their
houses, fled to the mountains, and it was with the utmost difficulty that they were
disabused of their delusion and induced to return. In the same year a silver mine was
supposed to have been discovered in the district of Tanavan, but an impostor gave
out that it could not be worked, unless the vein was first anointed with an unguent
made of " old women's eyes " and similar ingredients. All the old women were im-
mediately concealed by their friends, — the district was in a state of commotion and the
ministers of religion had the greatest difficulty in reassuring its inhabitants. In 1832,
a ship of war having brought 250 soldiers from Spain to Manilla, a report inunediai«>lj
got abroad among &e women engaged in the state manufactory of tobacco, that the
object of this force was to seize their children for the purpose of watering with their
blood, in the manner of a charm, the gold and silver mines of Spain. The women
fled from the manufactory, began to hide their children, and the men took up arms.
To disabuse them in this case also was a work of some difficulty. But the most dangerous
insurrection took place in 1820, when the Asiatic cholera made its first appearance
in Manilla. The people ascribed its introduction to the foreign European resident
or sojourning strangers. A commotion was the consequence, in the course of which
sevond innocent persons were assassinated, among whom were some French natural-
ists, considered, on account of their preserved specimens, the greatest offenders.
Notwithstanding such weaknesses as these, the natives of the Philippines have
many estimable qualities. They are a good-natured, cheerful, happy, and hospitable
people. The Spaniards found them, on their first arrival, much inferior both to the
Malays and Javanese in the social scale, and at present they must be considered, on the
whole, superior to either of them. They are, indeed, the people of all Asiatic and
American nations who have made the greatest advance in civilisation under European
rule, if, indeed, others have not rather retrograded. Their education has not been
neglected : many have acquired the use of the Spanish language, which has be^n
encouraged, and it has been observed that more of the humbler dasses can read and
write than even among European nations. As mariners, in so far as skill and presence
of mind are concerned, thev excel the natives of Hindustan, as is shown by their
frequent employment in Bntish ships as quartermasters or steersmen, a duty which
cannot be entrusted to any Hindu or Mahommedan of our own possessions.
In 1849, the total number of the civilised native inhabitants of the Philippines,
subject to Spanish rule, was reckoned to be 8,698,780 souls. This statement is founded
on the registers of the tribute or capitation tax to which all natives, with trifling
exceptions, as well as all mestizo-Chinese are subject The usual estimate is that
one person in five pays the tribute or poll-tax, but it appears that in some cases the
calculation is at the rate of one in four. Many parties, however, it is well-known evade
paying the tax, and the general belief is that the population is understated. Several
additions have to be made to the numbers even as here given. The wild independent
tribes are estimated to amount in Luzon alone at 200,000, and in the Bisaya islands
to 50,000. In the Spanish part of Mindano the independent idolatrous tribes have
been estimated at 7500, and the Mahommedan at 70,000. This is, however, exclusive
of the inhabitants of the same island, beyond the pale of Spanish rule, and these
have been computed at 800,000. The negro population has been reckoned for Luzon
at 7700, for Nogros at 3476, and for Panay at 5400. This does not include those of
Mindoro, or those asserted to exist in Mindano, and the usual estimate for the negroa
in the whole Philippines is 25,000. To these numbers have to be added parties not
PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO 341 PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO
included in the registers of the native capitation tax, namelyi Spaniards 1500, Creole
Spaniards 8500, mestizo Spaniards 20,000, and Chinese of the pure blood, 8000. To
complete the population of the entire Archipelago it would be necssary to add that
of the Sulu and other islands, some of which are populous, extending from Mindano
to Borneo, but for this we have no date whatever. Making allowance for this and for
the admitted defects of the registers, Uie whole population of the Philippines in 1849
will probably not be exaggerated if we take it in round numbers at five millions,
whidi after all is but one-half of that of the single island of Java.
The population is very unequally distributed, being usually in proportion to
extent of fertile land in the different islands. According to the registers for 1849
the population of Luzon was 2,418,445, or near 65 parts in 100 of the whole of that
of the Archipelago, giving about 42 inhabitants to the square mile. The population
of Panay was 566,957, making 128 to the square mile, which is three times the rate
of that of Luzon which has a great extent of mountain and sterile land, while Panay
has comparatively little, and is in reality the most fertile and densely peopled island
of the Archipelago. The relative population of Qebu is 118 to the square mile, that
of Leyte only 24, of Samar, 18 ; and of Negros but 9.
According to the registers for 1849 the total number of marriages in a population
of 8,698,730 was 84,055 ; of births, or as they are called " baptisms," which would
include still-bom children, 139,888, and of deaths, 88,986. The excess of births
over deaths would, according to these figures, make the period in which the popula-
tion would double itself about 45 years. This may be compared with the actual
censuses as g^ven by the public registers. The first census fituued on these data is
for the year 1735, and it makes the population of the then Spanish Philippines
837,182. In 1799 it vras 1,522,224, and in 1849 it rose to the number already given.
According to these figures the increase in the first period of 64 years was better than
80 per cent., and in the last 50 years no less than 148 per cent. This seeming dis-
crepancy may be accounted for. The first period was one of disorder, insurrection,
and commercial monopoly. It was within it that the English invaded the country,
occupied its capital, and raised an insurrection of the natives and Chinese, which
lasted for several years. The last period, on the contrary, has been one, for the greater
part of it, of commercial freedom and most of it of iminterrupted tranquillity.
The increase of population, as expressed by the proportion of births to marriages,
varies greatly in the different provinces. Throughout the great island of Luzon the
doubling period is made to extend to an average of 76 years. In three of its
twenty provinces, indeed, the deaths are in excess of the births* In the populous
province of Tondo, which contains Manilla, the capital, the doubling period reaches
to 195 years, whereas in North Hooos, it is no more than 85. In the poor island of
Mindoro, peopled in a good measure by emigrants of doubtful character firom Luzon,
the doubling period reaches to 187 years, while on the other hand, in the fertile
islands of Panay and 9^bu, it fiJls to twenty-five. These results are curious, and
would be satisfactory, could we implicitly rely on the datiL
As to the constitution of the inhabitants of the Philippine Islands, in so far as regards
age of puberty, period of gestation, and length of life, there is no reason to suppose
that they differ in any respect from the rest of mankind. According to the registers of
population, there were living in 1848, sixty-two individuals whose ages exceeded 100
years. It is remarkable that four and twenty of these belonged to one province,
Iloilo, the most populous one of the fine and fertile island of Panay. The senior of
the whole, and who had attained the age of 137, was a native of the metropolitan
province of Tondo in Luzon.
•^ The agriculture of the Philippines, in so fiir as concerns the principal crop, rice,
is in point of skill and ingenuity, greatly below that of the islands of Java, Bali, and
Lomboo. The only material agricultural improvements which the European con-
querors have made, consist in the introduction of some exotics, as maiz, tobacco,
coffee and cacoa, and a better culture of the sugar cane and the rearing of the horse
and ox. For the main corn crop, rice, the ground is prepared for the plough by levelling
it with a small harrow armed with wooden spikes and loaded with a weight The plough
itself consists of a single piece of crooked timber tipped at the lower end with iron,
being at once handle, beam and share, without coulter or mould-board. Like the harrow,
it is drawn by a single buffalo, tho horse aud ox never being used in field-labour. After
ploughing, the seed is sown broad-cast without any subsequent harrowing and trans-
planting as practised in the best husbandry of Java : the artificial irrigation, so exten-
sively practised in that island is equally unknown; all seems to depend upon the
periodical rains which, it is obvious, perform more than half the labour of tillage. The
PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELA.GO 342 PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO
usual agrioultural vehicle is a car without wheels, drawn by a single buflalo, and
capable of carrying about 200 pounds weight. Occasionally, however, a cart with
wheels is employed drawn by a pair of bu&los, and this will cany 1200 pounds^ or
little more than one half what a single English horse will draw on a good road.
The staple product of Philippine agricultiire is, of course, rice. Next to it may
be ranked maiz, of which two crops are yearly produced, the variety usually in
cultivation coming to maturity in nine weeks. Then follow pulses^ the abaca
banana^ cotton, the sesame, sugar-cansi, coffee and cacoa, with the coco, areca, and gomuti
palms, and all the firuits of the Malay Archipelago, the mangostin and durian excepted.
^ The soil of the Philippine Islands is exempt from all public and municipal imposts,
a great advantage, which is owing to the existence of the poll-tax which takes the
place of all other direct taxes. In the rude and under-peopled condition of these
islands when they were conquered, unlike Java, Hindustan, China, and other popu-
lous countries of Atia» no proper rent existed, and consequently no source of a land-
tax. The only means of raising a revenue was the rude one of a capitation tax, and the
S^niah government imposed it much after the same fashion that the proprietor <^
a Russian or Polish estate imposes it upon hia 8er& Over a land tax, it has undoubtedly
the advantage of being fixed, invariable, and in this particular instance, of being really
moderate in amount^ and even economical and easy in collection. This tax affects
only the native inhabitants and some of the mixed races descended from them.
European proprietors and religious and charitable corporations pay the state a tithe
of the produce of their estates, but this amounts to little more than a nominal quit-
rent, for it is the same now as when the estates were first granted centuries
ago. The theoiy in respect to such real property held by the natives is, that the
sovereign is the proprietor, and that the occupant has only the usufruct of the soil,
so long as he continues to till it. In practice, however, the actual possessor is the
real owner ; and land of whatever description is a heritable and vendible property
like moveables. The eflfect of this, and of the increase of populatiou is, that in many
parts of the country, land bears a high price. Thus in the province of P&ngasinan, a
quinon of land, which is a measure of 1000 square fiithoms, each of three varas or
Castilian yards (33-88 inches) sells at frt>m 220 to 250 hard dollars ; in the province
of Tjignna or that of the great lake, at from 250 to 300, and in the district of Pasig
near the city of Manilla and in the province of Bulacan, sometimes as high as 1000
dollars. The places thus named are all in very fertile and populous districts, and the
lands referred to, cleared and enclosed. The most valuable lands are those subject to
periodical immersion, or in other words those fit for the growth of the great staple, rice.
Dry uplands fit for the growth of sugar-cane, cotton, cofiee and the abaca, are of
inferior value as are all such lands in other tropical countries. The chief value of land
in a country in which it is still abundant, is derived from the labour bestowed in
clearing and bringing it into a state fit for cultivation. The amount of this is large,
when a country, as is usually the case in an unpeopled one, is covered with a heavy
forest. Henoe, in the few cases in which it is not so, even fertile wild lands con-
veniently situated begin, with the progress of population, to fetch a considerable price.
The land in the Philippines, when not tUled by the proprietor, is everywhere
cultivated on the m^tairie system, that is, half the produce going to the owner and
half to the cultivator. The latter furnishes the plough, the buffido, and his own
labour, and the proprietor shares equally with him in the expense of sowing reaping,
and thrashing, in so fiu* as concerns rice the main crop, for in the case of the less
costlv cultures of mais, sesame, and pulses, the cultivator incurs the whole expense
of labour, the proprietor still receiving half the crop. It is generally considered
that in practice the act\ial shares of the two parties, are three-fifths for the tenant and
two-fifihs for the proprietor. The tenements or holdings, are all small, usually, the
amount that a metayer and his fomily are able to cultivate, which is considered to be
one quiflon. The m^tairie system is considered, and I think justly, as the best
suited to the state of society in the Philippines. The wages of labour, for an Asiatic
country, are very high : in Manilla and its neighbourhood, for example, they are,
about a quarter of a dollar or thirteen pence a day, which is at least three times the
day wages of an ordinary labourer in Calcutta or Bombay, and probably twice as much
as in Java. Notwithstanding these high rates, and the laige share of the crop received
by the metayers, they are, with few exceptions, indolent, and needy, — ^fr^uently
in debt and in the hands of money lenders^ — in short, cheerful and contented sluggards.
The useful arts are certainly in a more advanced state among the Philippine
islanders than among any of the Malayan nations, and this is, vrithout question, the
effect of Spauitih rule : for before the conquest, they were in this respect^ very bix
PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO 343 PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAOO
below them. The highest degree of skill is displayed in the numu&cture of textile
fobrics, the raw materials being cotton, the fibres of the abaca banana and of the pine-
apple leaf, all of them domestic products, with lilk imported from China. The manu-
facturers ore women, and as in sdl other Asiatic countries, the manuiactures entirely
domestic. They extend all over the islands, but are more especially determined
towards the provinces of which the raw materials are the staple products. Thus, in
llocos which is remarkable for the growth and export of cotton, there are supposed
to be no fewer than twenty thousand looms. Camarines and Albay in Luzon, and
Iloilo in Panay, are the chief provinces for the production of the abaca^ and here,
also, are the principal manufacturers of it. Manufactures of cotton and abaca, as
also of the pifia or fibre of the leaf of the pine-apple, are carried on in the metro-
politan province of Tondo. The finest cloths are made of the pifia^ and from
it are produced fabrics which are as great curiosities as the muslins of Dacca,
or the shawls of Cashmere. A single dress of pifia richly embroidered, has sometimes
been sold for the enormous sum of 325/. The art of dyeing is but very imperfectly
understood. The materials are native vegetable products such as the sibucao or
sapan-wood, and the colours produced are neither bright nor permanent The
art of calico-printing is unknown, as it is iudeed to all Asiatics except the Hindus.
The art of manufacturing cotton and abaca fabrics was certainly known to the Philip-
pine islanders for many ageH, and seems not to have been derived either from Malays
or Europeans. This is sufficiently proved by the names of the cotton and abaca
plants, and of all the terms connected with the art of weaving which are, in every
caae, native and not foreign words. The pi&a manufiBUJture as its name implies, was
evidently introduced since the Spanish conquest. The extent to which textile manu-
factures is carried may be judged by the fact, that with but a small exception for
foreign fabrics, some five miliious of people are clothed with them, and that there is
even some considerable exportation.
The art of mat-making is carried to much perfection by the Philippine islanders,
the raw material being palm-leaf and the ratan. In the shape of hats, cigar-cases,
and the like, there is even a considerable exportation, besides a large domestic con-
sumption of articles of this description. The highest degree of mechanical skill is
probably exhibited in the manufacture of gold trinkets, consisting of works in filagree
and necklaces. Some of the last under the name of bejuguillos are even highly
appreciated in foreign countries. The goldsmiths, equally with the weavers, are
women. The art of manufacturing a coarse unglazed domestic pottery has been
immemorially practised, but all the earthenware of any value is brought from
China. The manufacture of glass is altogether unknown. Salt is made both by
solar evaporation and by boiling, and moat probably in a climate so damp not
economically, or it would as in other parts of the world, have been seized
upon by the state as an instrument of taxation. The manufacture of malle-
able iron is very imperfectly anderatood, and the iron of inferior quality, and hence,
the chief consumption is fui*nished from Europe. The building of boats and
small coasting craft is carried on in sevend of the provinces, but more especially in
Pangasiuan.
The internal tiade of the Philippines is canied on both by land and water. This
IB exempt from the nuisance of transit duties, but subject to many impediments^
natural and factitious. One great obstacle, is the absence of good roads in a country
immersed in water for several months of the year. Even for some time after the
waters have abated, they leave such a deposit of mud on the highways, that it is
impossible to travel over them with horses, and the buffiilo is the only available
conveyance. The roads are besides intersected by innumerable rivers and brooks, for
the most part without bridges, or with wooden ones of which the materials must be
removed in the rainy season lest they be carried away by the floods. In the absence
of bridges, goods and passengers have to be ferried over on bamboo rafts, furnished
by the corv6e labour of the neighbourhoods. In passing from either end of Luzon
to the capital, it is said that not fewer than a hundred of these rude ferries have to
be crossed. In the few places in which good causeways exist, they require to be
raised five feet above the level of the plains which during the inundation have the
appearance of a sea or lake. Some of the periodical lakes must be crossed in boatsy
and that of Mongabol between Pangasinan and Pampauga, has at the height of the
nuns, a depth of 30 feet, so that the navigiition is impeded by the tops of the trees.
The coasting trade is attended by hardly fewer difficulties. It has to encounter
the storms and hurricanes of the equinoxes, and when the monsoons themselves set
in, they cause either the outward or homeward voyage to be carried on with an
PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO 344 PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO
adTerse wind, often too strong to be encountered. Tbe extensiye introduction of
steam navigation alone can obviate this difficulty. Another obstacle to the internal
trade is tbe piracy of the southern tribes which has harassed the Archipelago fix>m
the conquest to the present day. But there is yet one more obstacle to it, the crea-
ture of European misrule. The petty governors of provinces and districts, have the
privilege of carryiDg on trade to eke out their incompetent salaries, and of course use
their whole authority to monopolise the commerce of their respective jurisdictions.
Notwithstanding those many impediments, the internal trade is more considerable
than might be looked for. A weekly fair or market is held in every province or
district, and considerable traffic results from the exchange of the peculiar products
of the different provinces, the staple articles in which are rice, salt, oil, cattle, jerk-
beef, stock-fish, indigo, and sugar. In the ooasting-trade, there are employed about
240 vessels from 40 tons burthen and upwards, and above 800 of smaller tdsa, ex-
clusive of the craft that navigates the lakes and rivers, which are very numerous.
The whole foreign trade of the Philippines is by law confined to the single port of
Manilla, an impolitic arrangement, since, in many cases, it subjects both exports and
imports to the cost of a double transport. The port is free to all friendly nations,
the duties being double \mder foreign flags. The countries with which the external
trade is carred on are Spain, Great Britain, France, the Hanse Towns, the United
States of America, China, Java, Singapore, and Australia. For a commercial inter-
course with China, it is easy to see that, in so far as the navigation is concerned, the
Philippines possess an obvious advantage over every other Asiatic country, the course
being not with or against the monsoons, but across them, so that instead of one
voyage, several can be performed within the year. The following are the staple
exports, — ^rice, sugar, coffee, cotton, abaca hemp, tobacco, indigo, hides, sapan-wood,
ebony, tortoise-shell, tripang, abaca-doth, hats, and gold-dust. The imports consiEt
of the silks of China, the wines of Spain, and the cottons, woollens, iron, and copper
of Great Britain. In 1841, the latest year for which I have seen any account^ the
value of the exports was about 762,7502., and the imports 400,7572., the difference
being made up by bills of exchange drawn on Europe, and chiefly on England.
The weights and measures of tJ&e Philippine islanders, and even their money, seem
to have been chiefly derived frt)m the Malays, and some of them are still in use.
Thus we have the gantang or gallon, the chupak or quart, the pikul or load, the ddpa
or fathom, the j&nkal or span, and the pichis or farthing ; respectively corrupted,
gonta, chupa, pico, dips, dangkal, and pitis. Without supeiseding these, the Spaniards
have introduced their own weights, measures, and monies. The current weights are,
the pound, which is 2 per cent, heavier than the English ; the arroba, of 25 Spanish
or 254 English pounds; the pico (pikul) of 5^ arrobas, or 1374 Spanish pounds,
equal to 140 English pounds, instead of being as with us 138^ pounds. To these is
added a seeming native dry measure for corn, called the caban, which the Spaniards
have defined to be equal to 3*47 cubic Castilian feet, and which in weight is about
105 pounds of rice in the husk. This name, which appears to be native, may how-
ever be the Malay word kawan, signifying company or assemblage, in reference
possibly to this measure being, as it is, the complement or union of the lower Malay
measures, the guontang and the chupak. The measures of length, besides the fathom
and span, are the Spanish vara or yard of 33*88 English inches. The superficial
measure is the quiiion, which is equal to 1000 square fathoms, each fathom of three
Castilian varas or yards. The Malay kodi, the Hindu kori, and the English corgei,
that is, the " score," is in use, and written by the Spaniards of Manilla, coija. The
current money is the peso-duro or Spanish dollar, which ought to contain grains 370*9
of fine silver, worth 51*79 pence. This is divided into 8 reals, and the real into 12
granos, represented by copper tokens.
The govemraent of the thirty-four provinces of the Philippines, including the
Marian Islands, is administered by a governor and captain-general, in whom is vested
with little check, the whole civil, military, and naval administration. To cany on
the executive details, he is assisted by three secretaries-general. There lies an appeal
from his acts to the Real Audiencia, or exchequer, but it is rendered in a great degree
nugatory by the prerogative which he possessee, of carrying his orders at once into
operation, pending a. reference to the crown, on the plea of urgency. The assessment
and collection of the revenue is imder the direction of an officer called the supers
intendant of the Real Hacienda, who, in extraordinary cases, refers for advice to a
junta composed of the six principal fiscal functionaries. This officer is directly
responsible to the home-government, and next to the govemor^neral and arch-
bishop, is the first person in rank in the Philippines. In case of the death or absence
PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO 345 PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO
of the governor-general, it is not he, however, but the commander of the forces that
Bucceeds to the temporary government.
The Philippines are divided into provinces of very various sizes. The local admi-
nistration of the larger of these is confided to officers named gobemador, and the
smaller to functionaries called Alcalde mayor. Each province is divided into pueblos
or townships, which are administered by chiefs called gobemador^hillos, or petty
governors. The township itself is subdivided into barangays, each of which is com-
posed of from 45 to 60 faxidlies, or rather, tribute-payers, with a headxnan known by the
native name of manguin6o, or the Malay one of dato, which last signifies an " elder."
This is an original native institution, and bears no inconsiderable resemblance to our
Anglo-Saxon tithings and hundreds. The dates, or elders, appear to be hereditary,
but it is remarkable in the institution of the townships and their subdivisions, that
the petty governors are elective periodically, and that the electors are the elders,
restricted however to the twelve seniors among them.
The revenue of the Philippines is derived from the following sources, — a capitation
tax, corvdes, a tobacco monopoly, an excise on palm-wine, licenses for cock-fighting,
and custom duties. The capitation tax is of three kinds, — that paid by the natives,
that paid by the Chinese mestizos, and that paid by the Chinese of the full blood.
The native impost comes under three heads, — the contribution to the state which
amounts to five reals of plate, that for municipal purposes which is one real, and that
to the church which is three reals, making the entire poll-tax nine realB; or at six-
pence to the real, four shillings and sixpence. The capitation of the mestizo Chinese
is double that of the natives, or nine shillings. Both are paid by all males above
twenty years of age, and by all females on marriage, or after the age of twenty-five.
The Chinese of the full blood are divided into three olaasee acoon^g to their con-
dition in life, and their lowest tax is twelve hard dollars, but the average is above
seventeen, so that the assessment on the Chinese is about seventeen fold that on the
natives The parties exempt from the tribute or capitation-tax, are Spaniards and
their mestizo descendants, all foreigners except the Chinese, all natives above the age
of sixty, a few native families hereditarily on account of services rendered to the
Spaniards by ancestors, and the gobemadorKshillos or petty governors with their
families while in office. The natives paying the poll-tax are reckoned at about
700,000. The tax was first imposed by the conqueror, Legasp^, and is of the same
nature with that imposed by the Mahommedan conquerors on those who refused to
accept their religion, with this difference that the Miahommedans imposed it on the
infidels, and the Spaniards on the believers. It is not unlikely, indeed, that the
Spaniards took the hint of the impost from the practice of the Arabian conquerors
in Spain itsell
There is another kind of poll-tax, the amount of which cannot be stated in figuNs;
this consists of corvdes or forced labour, in making and maintaining roads, bridges^
and ferries, in conveying the mail, and transporting the baggage of the military and
of travellers, all which falls on the native inhabitants. The tobacco monopoly, which
furnishes the lai^est branch of the Philippine revenue, is of the same nature. This
is but a comparatively recent impost, for it was first established with much difficulty
by the governor-general, Josd Basoo, who administered afifairs from the year 1778 to
1787. The monopoly extends only to the island of Luzon, and the production of
tobacco is confined to a few of its most fertile districts. The whole crop is carried
to Manilla and its neighbourhood, where it is stored for exportation, or made
into cigars, in manufactories where from 3000 to 4000 persons^ chiefly women, are
employed.
An excise on palm-wine at one time yielded a considerable revenue^ but from the
year 1836, owing to the increased consumption of foreign wines and spirits, it htm
been constantly falling off. A tax on cock-fighting is another source of the Philippine
revenue. A cock-pit, or rather stage, exists in every pueblo *or township, licensed by
the government. Stamp and customs duties, neither of them veiy productive, form
the other branches of the revenue, the total amount of which, in 1841, was 3,480,000
Spanish dollars, or 754,0002. This is supposed to be at the rate of a dollar, or near
4<. id. a-h^, for the population subject to Spanish rule, a lower rate of taxation than
that of any portion of our own Indian dominions.
The supreme administration of justice in the Philippines is vested in a high courts
the Real Audiencia, composed of a regent or president, with puisne judges adminis-
tering the law of Spain. This is a court of primary jurisdiction for Manilla and its
neighbourhood, and an appellate one for the provinces. The country judges are
the Alcalde mayor or governors of provinces, and the native heads of townships called
PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO 346 PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO
gobemador-chilloB. In civil causes the jurisdiction of the first is limited to the Talne
of 100 hard dollars, and of the last to two tails of gold, or ii dollars ; in both cases
subject to appeal. In criminal matters, the authority of the heads of tovmahips is
limited to apprehending malefactors and taking informations. The power of the
alcaldes, or provincial governors, extends to all criminal matters, but eight dajs
detention is the limit of their power to punish, without the confirmation of the
supreme court, or Real Audienda. In the person of these functionaries, therefore,
are united executive, fiscal, magisterial, and military authority. The parties thus
empowered are generally military officers, and in all cases without legal education.
At every step of a process, therefore, they have to refer to an assessor, a fonotionary
not present, being an advocate of the supreme court residing at the capital. The
salaries of the provincial governors are most inadequate, and to make up for their
deficiency they enjoy the privilege of trading. Out of a list of 23 governors, or
alcaldes, 17 receive salaries of 600 hard dollars, or about IZOl. a-year; and this u
the highest amount given, except in the single instance of Mindoro where it is 1000
dollars, or about 216/. Five of the governors receive only 800 dollars, or 652. For
the privilege of trading, these functionaries, moreover, pay yearly sums varying from
40 to 300 dollars. The privilege, however, during the six years to which the tenure
of office is limited, is estimated to be worth from 40,000 to 50,000 hard dollars. This
barbarous form of administration seems to imite every vice of a judicial system, in so
far as the office of the alcaldes or provisional governors is concerned.
We may form some idea of the state of crime and the administration of justice in
the Philippines, from the schedule of trials in the Real Audiencia. The trials in the
five years ending 1841 amounted to 1607, of which the acquittals were 518, and the con-
demnations 1089. The ofiences were classed as follow, — ^rebellion and conspiracy, 2 ;
homicide, 43d; robbery, theft, and imposture, 270; incendiarism, 26; commotion
and libel, 12 ; falsehood and perjury, 19 ; scandal and immorality, 212 ; injuries and
misdemeanours, 227. The capital punishments amounted to 28, and the condemna-
tions to penal servitude to 735. The minor punishments, such as deprivation of
office and the like, amounted to 828. This was for a population of about three
millions and a half in roimd numbers, and does not imply either a great amount of
crime or a harsh administration of justice.
The ecclesiastical establishment of the Spanish Philippines consists of a metro-
politan and three suffragans, — ^namely, the Archbishop of Manilla, and the Bishops of
New Segovia, of New Carceres, and of ^ebu. The metropolitan,besideB his general super-
intendence, has under his immediate charge nine provinces, having 167 pimshes, served
by 95 regular and 72 secular priests. The Bishop of New Segovia's ^ocese oonsists
of six provinces, with 92 parishes, served by 80 regular and 12 secular priests. The
diocese of New Caroeres consists of five provinces, with 84 parishes, served by 27
regular and 57 secular priests. The bishopric of Qebu extends over eleven provinces,
which contain 148 parishes, served by 86 regular and 57 secular priests. I^e three
first-named dioceses are wholly confined to tiie great island of Luzon; that of 9ebu
embraces all the Bisaya islands, with Mindano and the remote Mnri^nff.
We see from this statement that the number of parishes in the Philippines is 486,
served by the same number of priests. The whole number of ecclesiastics, however,
is computed at 1150, of whom 450 are Europeans, and 700 mestizo-Europeans, or
mestizo-Chinese, or natives of pure blood. The capitation-tax for ecclesiastical
purposes is three reals, of about 6d. each, on every taxable inhabitant. Reckoning
the parties subject to this impost at 700,000, its produce will be 52,000/. per annum.
But independent of this a large portion of the land belongs to the Church, or to
conventual establishments, and the parochial clergy are maintained out of the special
funds of the townships, or by fees, so ihat the income of a parish priest is estimated
to be equal to a hard dollar a head for each tribute payer within his cure, so that if a
parish should contain 1500 tribute payers, his income would amount to the same
number of dollars, that is, to about 825/. a year. When the parish exceeds this
number of tribute-payers, the priest is allowed an assistant, who, besides a house and
provisions, is allowed an income varying from 85 to 40 hard dollars a month. The
ecclesiastical establishment now sketched began with the conquest, and has been
extended with it. The monastic orders have, however, been the most active instru-
ments, not only in the religious, but virtually, also, in the civil conquest of the
islands. The chief merit belongs to the Augustines, the Dominican!!, and the Fran-
ciscans, for the Jesuits did not interfere until the main work had been accomplished.
From the account now given, it will be seen that in their religious establishment, as
well as in their other institutions, the Philippines bear a much nearer resemblance to
PHILIPPINE AKCHIPELAGO 347 PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO
an European colony than any of the Asiatic poMesaionB of the other European nations,
in which the ecclesiastical establishments are trifling, and the converts to Christianity,
instead of being the majority, are but exceptions.
The education of the natives has, by no means, been neglected by the Spanish
government. In every township there is a school of primazy instruction maintained
from the funds of the commune. *' Elementary education," says the author of the
Informe sobre las Islas Felipinas, "cannot be considered in a backward state. On
the contrary, I really believe that there is a larger proportion of persons who can
read and write in the Philippines than in Spain, or any other civilised country;" and
this favonrable opinion is confirmed bv a very intelligent English traveller, the auUior
of the " Recollections of Manilla and the Philippines." B^ond mere reading, writing^
and a little religious instruction, however, education has made no considerable
advance, and the Philippine islanders are certainly still as superstitious as any people
of Asia, while their superstitions are of an excitable character, which leads to tiie
commisaion of dangerous excesses. They still practise circumcision, because their
forefathers did, to the great scandal of their present spiritual instructors, and they
still believe in sorcery and witchcraft^ notwithstanding the pains taken by these
instructors to disabuse them.
The military of the Philippines consists of five regiments of regular in&ntry, a
battalion of artillery, a regiment of cavalry, and an embodied regiment of militia.
Besides this, there is the provincial militia, dispersed over the different provinces,
under the orders of the Alcaldes^ amounting to about 2000. The entire force amounts to
9200 infantry, 1000 cavalry, and a field-train of 24 guns. The rank and file of all these
different arms is native, the commissioned and non-commissioned officers only being
European, somewhat after the manner of our Indian sepoy force, but much inferior,
from the inferiority of the native raw material of men, and for the cavalry, of the
horses also, which are mere ponies. Tlie force is one wholly incapable of defending
the islands against the invasion of an European maritime power, which would easily
capture Manilla, defeat the main force, and, if necessary, capture one island after
another in detail, without any serious resistanoeu The climate, and the army of
ecclesiastics, however, would offer a fiur more formidable resistance. No power,
however, can have any interest in conquering, and still lees in retaining, the Philip-
pines, which will probably remain to Spain long after she has lost all her other
colonies.
The Philippine local marine consists of about 68 small aimed vessels, under the
names of goletas, lamkas, faluccas, &a, with crews, in all, of about eleven hundred
men. Their object is the protection of the trade and coasts of the blands fh>m
piracy and inroads of the Mahommedan marauders, that have harassed them from the
first moment of the conquest. For this purpose their laiige draught of water and
want of speed have rendered them very mefficient, snd steam vessels, with great
advantage, have been recently in great piurt substituted for them.
In so far as the civilised nations of Europe are ooncemed, the history of the
Philippine Archipelago begins with the dav of its discovery by Magellan, before which
it was as unknown to them as the Columbian. " There being in this region," says
Pigafetta, ''many islands, and their disoovery having been made on Sunday, the
anniversary of St. Lazarus, we called them the Archipelago of San Lasaro." The day
of the discovery was Passion Sunday, the 17th of March, 1521, nine and twenly
years after the discovery of America, and two after the conquest of Mexico. The
name given by Magellan was changed for its present one by YUlalobos, the leader of
the second unsuccessful expedition, in honour of the unworthy son and sucoenor of
Charles the Fifth, Philip the Second, who, at the time, was I^nce of the Asturias.
The Philippines, although wholly unknown to the Europeans of antiquity, or the
middle ages, were not so to the Malays, the Javanese^ the Chinese, and JapancM, who
appear to have frequented them for ages, for the purposes of trade, and occasionally
for settlement.
When the Spaniards arrived in the Philippines, they found the inhabitants every-
where divided into small, independent, and often hostile tribes, or hordes, governed
by elective elders, and no state or principality existed of any extent, such as the
Portuguese found in the islands of the Malay Archipelago. The name by which the
tribe or horde was known was barangai, and their chiefs were called either manguinoo
or date,— the first a native, and the last a Malay word, signifying chieftain, or elder.
Hie people were divided into three classes, — nobles, free labourers, and slaves. Of
the origin of the inhabitants of the Philippines, nothing is or can be known. Spanish
writers attempt to trace them to Borneo and the other islands of the Malayan Archi-
\
PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO 348 PHILIPPINE AKCHIPELAGO
pelago, but a wide difference in language, both as to structure, pronundatioD, and
words, shows, at once, that there is no foundation for this hypothesis. A sample of
the manner in which it is supported may be given as an etymological curiosity. The
name for a tribe, barangai, signifies, also, a particular kind of large boat, and is
supposed by the authors of &e hypothesis to have been bestowed on the tribe
because the first settlers arrived in a boat of this description. But it happens that
the word in question is native, and belongs neither to the Malay nor to any other
cultivated language of the Malay Archipelago. By arguments equally baseless, some
of the wild tribes are imagined to be descendants, some of Chinese, some of Japanese^
and others of natives of the South Sea Islands.
The more civilised nations of the Philippines, when first seen by the Spaniards,
were in a far ruder state than the cotemporary Malays and Javanese, but they were,
at the same time, very far from being utter savages, l^e many of the American tribes
discovered about the same time. They had cultivated com and fruits, wore textile
fabrics for clothing, were acquainted with malleable iron and with gold, had a few
domestic animals for food and labour, and were in possession of a phonetic written
character, although a far less perfect one than any of those of the Malayan Archi-
pelago. Much of Uie imperfect civilisation of the Philippine islanders was undoubtedly
imparted to them by the nations of the Malayan Archipelago, who not only carried on
trade with them, but, most probably, also settled among them in considerable num-
bers. This is sufficiently attested by the presence, in their most cultivated languages,
of a considerable body of Malay and Javanese words, amounting to from four to five
hundred, or perhaps to a thirtieth part of their vocabularies. Among the words thus
introduced are to be found Sanscrit and Arabic ones, which had been previously
naturalised in the Malayan tongues. From the nature of the adopted words, some
notion may even be formed of the amount of civilisation which the Philippine derived
from the Malayan nations. Thus the names of moat of the cultivated plants, as rice,
yam^ sugar-cane, coco-palm, indigo plant, are all Malayan. So are, without an excep-
tion, the names of all the domestic animals, the hog, the dog, buffido, goat, the com-
mon fowl, and common duck. Among the metals, we find diver, copper, and tin, to
be Malayan words. Of terms connecteid with the mechanic arts, however, one-third
only are Malayan. Of commercial terms, again, the great majority are Malayan, as
higgle, bargain, wages, profit, price, debt, cheap, dear, pledge, account, merchant,
merchandise, with the names of weights and measures, and those of staple articles of
foreign trade, such as black pepper, dove, pearl, mother-of-pearl, and indigo. To all
these may be added the numerals, which, though much corrupted, are entirely
Malayan. Of terms connected with war, a few only are Malayan, as fortress, arms,
bow and arrow, and sword, the last being expressed by a corruption of the Malayan
word for a dagger. The rude calendar of the Philippines, so far as it extended, seems
to be taken from the Malayan, as in the words for month and year. Of literary terms,
we have such words as to write, to read, story, and language. The religion of the
Philippine islanders was a very rude and very superficial Hinduism, engrafted on
many local superstitions, and was evidently derived directly from the Malayan
nations. The words for deity, fortune, adoration, and place of worship, and of Avatar
in its Malay and Javanese sense of a chief deity, are examples.
From the terms in the Philippine languages, which are native and not foreign, we
may form some estimate of the amount of the civilisation of theArchipelngo, which is
purely indigenous. Thua, among cultivated plants, tho only ones bearing native names
are the banana, esculent and textile, with their many varieties, the batata, the bread-
fruit, and the cotton-plant. Among the domesticated animals, not one bears a native
name. Among the metals, the names for iron and gold alone are native. Terms
connected with the ordinary mechanic arts, such as house, thatch, spin, weave, thread,
woof, shuttle, cloth, are ail native, while the tools and processes of manipulation in
wood and metal, as hammer, chisel, saw, anvil, aro Malayan. As to the Philippine
alphabet it is far more imperfect than any Malayan one. Thus, instead of 20 consonants,
like the Javanese, it has but 16, and for these but 14 characters, the same letters repre-
senting d and r, and p, and f. As to vowel characters, instead of having five, like the
Javanese, it has only three, being mere dots, the sounds of which depend on their
position. The vowel sounds, however, are really five in number, two of the characters
representing one of them, either e or i, and the other o or u. The form of the
characters is, moreover, wholly different from that of any Malayan alphabet, and the
Philippine writing must, therefore, be deemed indigenous. As to religion, the titles of
priests, of astrologers, and of all the local deities with the word for circumcision, were
all expressed by native words. From all this it may be inferred, so far as the evidence
PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO 349 PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO
of language can be trusted, that the Philippine ialanders before their intercourse with
the Malayan nations were a very rude people. They cultivated no com, their yege-
table food consisting of the banana and batata. They had no domesticated animals
whatever. They were acquainted with malleable iron and gold, but had no knowledge
of any other metaL They were clothed in domestic woven fabrics of cotton and the
abaca. They had invented a native alphabet, and their religion consisted in a belief
in good and evil spirits, in the practice of circimicision, and a belief in sorcery and
astrology. They were superior to the Polynesian people of the South Sea islands in the
possession of gold, malleable iron, and textile fabrics, but inferior to them, by wanting
the tame dog, the hog, and domestic fowl.
With respect to the intercourse of the Chinese and Japanese with the inhabitants of
the Philippmes^ previous to the arrival of the Spaniards, all that is known respecting
it is, that these nations furnished them with silk tissues and raw silk, with utensils
of porcelane, iron, and copper, and, probably, with .the small currency of zinc,
although known by a Malay name. In return, these nations received the esculent
swallows' nests, the tripang and pearl-oyster shells, which are still staples of the trade
with China. Besides, the Chinese and Japanese, other people of the Asiatic continent
appear to have traded with the Philippines. Thus, Magellan and his companions
found at ^ebu a Moorish merchant of Siam, who had come from that country in his
ship, and who is stated to have paid for liberty to trade, and in return for his
merchandise to have received payment in "gold and slaves." With all foreigners,
the medium of intercourse was the Malay language, which Pigafetta informs us, that
all the native chiefs, that is, all the persons who held intercourse with strangers,
understood, although the native languages were different.
In 1524, three years after the discovery of the Philippines the Emperor Charles
the Fifth sent on expedition for their conquest under ihe command of Juan Jos^
Garcia de Loaissa, which ended in total failure. AU that it saw of Magellans
Archipelago of San Lazaro was the Ladrone Islands, and a small part of Mindano, its
two extreme north and south limits, when it proceeded to the Moluccas, after losing
three successive commanders. A second expedition in 1528 was undertaken by the
same Emperor, of which the command was given to Alonzo de Saavedra, but this was
equally unsuccessfuL The third expedition was not undertaken until 1542. This
was under the conduct of Ruiz Lopez de Villalobos, the person who gave the Archi-
pelago the name which it has ever since borne, but this too was equally unfortunate
with its predecessors. There was not one of these fruitless expeditions that was not
as powerful as to equipment as that with which Columbus discovered America. It
was not until 1565, four and forty years after the discoveiy, that the conquest was
effectually commenced. The great leader in this achievement was Miguel Lopez de
Logaspd, a man equal in enterprise, resource, and courage, to Cortez or Pizarro,
and in humanity, far superior to them. His expedition consisted of no more than five
vessels, his whole force, soldiers and sailors included, amounting only to 400 men.
On the 21st of November, 1564, he sailed from the port of Natividad in New Spain, —
in the beginning of February, 1565, reached the Morions, ond on the 18th of the
same month entered the proper Philippines, reaching a small island lying at the south-
east end of Somar, which he called Bonsefkol or ** good omen," in commemoration of
the event, a nome which it still retains. It was not until the 27th of April that
he reached ^ebu. Legasp^ was accompanied by a corps of Augustine monks, more
effectual in the conquest of the Philippines than his soldiers. Its leader was a
remarkable man, Andrea de Urdafteta, who had commanded a ship in the first
expedition, twenty years before, and who had afterwards entered the order of the
Augustines. 9^bu was soon brought under subjection, and Legasp^ then discovered
the fertile island of Panay, where, even then, provisions were abundant. The natives
of Qehu and Panay informed him of o still larger island than their own, ond in 1569,
four years after his arrival, he discovered Luzon, in two more founding the capital of
Manilla. The subjugation throughout was effected, for more through the timid and
credulous choracter of the inhabitants, and the skilful and politic character of the
leaders of the conquest, than by the martial prowess of the Spaniards, although this,
too, when on occasion offered for its display, was conspicuous.
A few examples will show with what facility the conquest was effected, and with
what slender means. In 1569, Legasp^, while himself at Panay, having heard of the
island of Luzon and of Manilla, described as ** a rich Moorish town " with a wooden
fort or stockade, defended by twelve cannon and several falconets, sent against it his
two chosen captains with a force of 120 soldiers and some natives of ^ebu. The
Spaniards were at first favourably received, but some acts of treachery having been
PHILIPPINE AECHIPELAGO 350 PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO
committed by the natiye chief, Soliman, a convert to the Mahomtnedan religion, the
fort was attacked by 80 Spaniards, taken, bumt^ and its artillery carried o£ In 1571,
the year of his death, Legaspi himself, undertook, and in a good measure achieved*
the conquest of Luzon, a country not much short of twice the size of Ireland, with a
force of 280 Spanish soldiers, with some thousands of auxiliaries from ^ebu and
Panay. During his short administration of six years, he brought under subjugation,
the i^ands of 9®bu, Leyte, Panay, Mindano, Masbate, and several nations out of the
five which occupied Luzon, embracing provinces which now contain above a million
and a half inhabitants.
Since the first conquests, the most prominent incidents of the history of the
Philippines have been, the attempts made to subdue the Mahommedan tribes and
nations of the southern islands of the Archipelago, or the Malayan countries bordering
on them ; the invasions and insurrections of the Chinese and Japanese, and the attacks
or invasions of European nations. If the Spaniards found it a comparatively easy
task to subdue the rude and simple pagan inhabitants of the northern islands of the
Archipelago, they have found, by near three centuries experience, the subjugation of
the more civilised Mahommedan tribes and nations of the southern islands wholly
impracticable. Against the Sulu Islands and southern parts of Mindano not fewer
than twelve different expeditions have been fitted out firom Manilla, the earliest in
1677, and the last in 1850. To defeat these tribes, and to capture and destroy tiieir
strongholds was not a matter of much difficulty, but their permanent subjugation
and religious conversion have hitherto been found impossible. It has been the
same with the huge island of Borneo, the conquest of that portion of it to which this
name especially belongs, having been attempted with a fleet of thirty sail as early as
1677- Instead of being able to subdue these tribes, the Spaniards have found them,
from the first moment of the conquest to the present day, through their piracies, the
greatest scourge of their possessions.
The Chinese and Japanese, as already stated, had carried on some commercial
intercourse with the Philippines before the arrival of the Spaniards, but there is no
evidence of their having formed any settlements within them. No sooner, however,
had the Spaniards established themselves than we find both nations in great numbeis,
either as corsairs and invaders or peaceful settlers. In 1574, only three years after
the foundation of Manilla, this place was attacked by a powerful corsair, called by
the Spaniards, Li-ma-hong, said to have been a native of the province of Canton, and
the son of a highway robber. By skill, courage, and good management, he had
contrived to assemble a considerable piratical fleet, which plundered the coasts of
China, and set the imperial navy at defiance, much in the same manner as Chinese
pirates have often done in our own time. The corsair in question, in the course
of his depredations, having heard of the supposed riches of the Spanish settle-
ment, resolved to attack it, and accordingly made two different assaults on it, the
first with a force of 400, and the last with one of 600 men headed by himself. He
met with a very different reception from what he had been accustomed to on the
coast of China, for he was beaten off by a mere handful of Spaniards, and afterwards
pursued as far as the distant province of Pangasinan, where his whole force was either
destroyed or dispersed. This event, it may be observed, took place about four and
forty years before the conquest of the northern provinces of China by the Manchoo
Tartars, and the piracy of Li-ma-hong was, no doubt, only part of the system of
disorder in the government of China, which portended the revolution which over-
threw the native dynasty of Ming, and substituted for it that of a foreign oonqueror.
As early as 1608, or within two and thirty years of the foundation of Manilla, the
Chinese were already settled in great numbers in the capital and its neighbourhood,
and their numbers exciting the fear and jealousy of the Spanish authorities, they
proceeded to measures of restriction. This brought on an insurrection, in which all
the Chinese, with the exception of 2000, were involved. Twenty-three thousand are
said, on this occasion, to have lost their lives, 100 of the actual insurgents only saving
their lives, and those, on surrender, being condemned to the gallies. In 1639, or only
thirty-six years after this event, the Chinese amounted already to 30,000, an increase,
no doubt, caused, in a great measure, by the emigration, which the progress of the
Tartar conquest, which had now reached the southern provinces of China, had pro-
duced. Measures of persecution on the part of the Spanish government, again drove
them to insurrection, and this rebellion ended in the surrender of the survivors,
amounting to no more than 7000. In 1759, in consequence of repeated commands from
the court of Madrid, an order was issued for the tot^ expulsion from the PhUippines of
all Chinese that had not adopted the Christian religion, and a locality was appointed, to
PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO 361 PHILIPPINE AECHIPELAGO
which thej might resort for the purpoBes of trade, after the manner practised by the
Chinese towards the nations of Europe, and by the Japanese towards the Chinese and
Dutch. The edict, however, so iiyurious to the Spanish colony itself, was never carried
into effect, and three years after its promulgation, the English captured Manilla, when
the Chinese, of course, heartily joined the invaders.
The Chinese in the Philippines are still placed under restraints and disabilities
unknown in the possessions of the other European nations, and especially in those
of the English ; and hence, although the Philippines be &r more conveniently situated
for an intercourse with China than the possessions of the Dutch or English, the total
number of Chinese in them, native and mestizo, does not exceed one-fourth of those
of Java, and hardly equals that of the small island of Singapore. But for the acci-
dental, and it must be added, fortunate presence of the Spaniards, it is certain that
at this day the Philippines would have been principally peopled with Chinese, in the
same manner as is now the case with the island of Formosa ; and it is a mystery not
easily explained how it came to pass that this did not happen both with Formosa
and the Philippines long before the arrival of Europeans, considering the strong
and decided tendency to immigration on the part of the Chinese which was eyinoed
almost immediately on the occurrence of that event.
The Japanese, before their laws excluded them from all communication with the
rest of the world, showed the same disposition to frequent and to settle in the
Philippines as the Chinese, and in the early history of the Archipelago, we find a
considerable number of this people as settlers in Manilla. They were, indeed,
encouraged in this by the Spanish authorities, on account of the fabrics of their
native country which they imported, and which were found to be well suited to
the once celebrated Acapulco trade. In 1608, they were settled in such numbers in
Manilla, tliat the Spanish government, taking advantage of their well-known antipathy
to the Chinese, employed them in counteracting the machinations of the latter.
The Spaniards, however, found them equally unmanageable as the Chinese. Tliua
in 1581, a Japanese pirate with a large fleet, landed, encamped in, and took posses-
sion of the province of Cagayan, at the northern end of the island of Luzon, a place
not less than 1000 miles distant from the nearest part of the Japanese Archipelago,
yet an easy yoyage at the height of the monsoons. " It was no easy matter," says Uie
Spanish writer from whom I quote, *' to expel them, for the Japanese fight with
obstinacy, not retreatmg before fire-arms, but rushing to receive death on the points
of our weapons.*'
The Portuguese first, and afterwards the Dutch, made some feeble efforts to dis-
poesess the Spaniards, but the only serious invasion of the Philippines ever made by
an European power, was that by the English in 1762, during the seven years' war.
The attack was made from Madras, by a force of 2800 men, a part of it consisting of
sepoys, a description of troops which, at this early period of our dominion in India»
could not have been of a superior quality. The naval part of the equipment con-
sisted of thirteen men-of-war and transports. Such was the force destined for the
conquest of a vast Archipelago, in which it had taken the Spanish nation two centuries
to establish their power and their religion. The Spanish authorities were taken by
surprise, for they nad not even heard of the war which England had declared against
Spain the year before. The English expedition landed without resistance, besieged
Manilla, battered, breached, stormed and captured the town within ten days of its
landing. The citadel capitulated, the governor, an archbishop, engaging to pay a
ransom of four millions of hard dollars, 862,500/., on condition that the sack should
last only three hours. According to the Spanish accounts it lasted for four-and-
twenty ! The public treasure, a small sum, had been removed into the interior, and
of the whole ransom a contribution levied on the city of Manilla, together with the
confiscation of some church plate, yielded no more than a fourth part of the
stipulated sum. The governor drew a bill for the balance on the Treasury of Madrid,
which was very propeny dishonoured. The commonder of the expedition was Sir
William Draper, celebrated for his controversy with Junius on this very subject
The Spanish troops composing the garrison of Manilla did not exceed 550 men, and
therefore a force of 5000 Pampangas, supposed to be the bravest people of the
Philippines, was called in as auxiliaries. With the help of these, two sorties were
made against the British entrenchments, both easily defeated. It was no difficult
enterprise to capture and hold Manilla, but the BritiBh conquest never extended
beypnd ten miles from its walls, and after a ten months' occupation, Manilla itself
was restored by the Treaty of Paris. Its chief result was an insurrection
of the Chinese population, followed by severe punishment Some insurreottons also
PIGAFETTA 852 PINE APPLE
took pUce among the natiTe inhabitants, encoaraged by a proclamation of the
hiTaders promising to abolish the capitation-tax, which, had they acted on it, on
Mhieving the oonqueBt» would have left them devoid of revenue to carry on the admi-
nistratioii, since at the time the other main branch of income, the tobacco monopoly,
did not yet exist. The Manilla expedition must be considered a mere marauding
adventore, conducted in a manner that would not be tolerated in our time. By the
SpanJards of the Philippines^ it is stLU considered as the most imtoward event in the
history of the Archipelago.
PIQAFETTA, ANTONIO, the oompanion of Magellan in the first oircnnmavigation
of the globe, and] the fidthf ul narrator of his voyage, was a native of Vicenza, and of
a patridan fiuoaily, but the years of his birth and dea^ are not known. He was only
a volunteer in the celebrated expedition ; and having leisure and industry he kept a
journal, the work by which he is known. He accompanied Magellan in the rash
adventure in which he lost his life, — ^was slightly wounded in it, and was one of the
fiew survivors of the voyage that returned nfe to Spain. He afterwards became a
knight of the order of St John.
The first publi^ed account of IMgafetta*s Journal was in French, from an abridg-
ment presented by the author to Louisa of Savoy, mother of Francis the First, and
regent of France in the abaenoe of her son in his imfortunate Italian campaign. From
the French, tliis abridgment was rendered into Italian by Ramusio, and appeared ia
his celebrated Collection in 1550. The original work was found in the Ambrosian
library of Milan; and published in 1800 by Amoretti, with some corrections as to
language, indispensable from the coarseness of some of its descriptions. Pigafetta,
although noble by birth, seems to have been but imperfectly odacated, for his manu-
script contains errors both of grammar and orthography ; but these are more than
compensated by his good sense and fidelity. For much of his information, it may be
presumed, that he was indebted to his companions, Magellan and Barbosa^ both of
whom had passed several years in India before the last great adventure ; and Bar
bo8a*8 manuscript is dated in 1516, or three years before the expedition quitted Spain.
He was, however, himself inquisitive, industrious, and intelligent ; and his descrip-
tion of the manners, customs, religion, and productions of the Philippines and
Moluccas are equal to those of our best modem travellers, and form a contrast to the
obscure glimpses of knowleilge which we get from his countEyman, Marco Polo. After
the Malay slave of Magellan, hitherto the interpreter, had absconded on his masters
death, Pigafetta seems already to have acquired such a competent knowledge of the
Malay language, that in Mindano, Borneo, and the Moluccas he was able to supply his
place. The vocabularies, which form a part of his journal, are sufficient proofe of
his industry. These are called respectively the Philippine and Molucca languages, bat
are, in fact, the ^ebu dialect of Bisaya and Malay. The first amoimts to 140 words,
but the last to 450 ; and making due allowance for errors of transcription, it is
wonderfully accurate. Independent of this, it is a grsat curiosity, being the most
ancient specimen of Malay which we possess, for in that language there exist neither
old inscriptions nor old manuscripta
PILGRIMAGE. It is probable that pilgrimages were made in the times of Hin-
duism to some of the ancient shrines of Java, such as those of Brambanan and
Singasari ; but there is certainly no record of any such having been made, nor of
pilgrimages having been performed to any of the sacred places of Hindustan, although
sudi may also have occasionally taken place. Since the conversion to Mahommed-
anism, pilgrimages to Mecca have been frequent ; the greater number of the pilgrims
proceeding from Java, and a few from Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. I was, myself,
told by one of those who had seen the lists in Arabia, that the usual number present
at Mecca was about 900. The annual number proceeding from Java alone is about
400. The performance of the pilgnmnge, in Malay, Nayik-hSj, brings with it the same
honors and consideration as did that of the pil^rrimage to Jerusalem to the Europeans
of the middle ages. Tlie pilgrim wears for life the Arabian costume ; is clothed in
white, — ^is a person of importance, and sometimes a fimatic and an intriguer. It wa$s
for example, persons of this description under the name of the Padris, who set up the
puritanical Mahometanism that caused a civil war in Sumatra about the beginning of
the present century.
PINE APPLE. The Ananassa sativa grows in great perfection, and with such
facility as to be very abundant throughout every part of the Malay and Philippine
ArohipelagOB. It may even bo said to be produced with the facility of a native weed,
PINA 353 PIRACY
and yet there cnn be no question of its being a native of tropical America, introduced
by the Spaniards and Portuguese, although at what precise time is unknown. The
name given to it, in nearly all the languages of the two Archipelagos, is but a corrup-
tion of that which was received from their European conquerors, ananasa. Thus, in
Malay and Javanese it is nanas ; in Baliue^e, manas ; in Madurese, lanas ; and in
Lampnng, kanias. In the languages of Celebes it is called pandang, which is but a
corruption of the Malayan name for the Pandauua, given to it from the general
resemblance between the two plants. The natives of the Philippines frequently give
it the name of pifia, the Spanish name of a pine-cone, which is equivalent to our own
name. The fruit is considered by the natives a coai-se one, and less esteetued even
than the banana.
PINA. This is the name by which the cloth manufactured in the Philippines
from the fibre of the leaf of the pine-apple is known. From the extraordinary
facility and certainty with which the pine-apple is grown in the vicinity of the
equator, it seems almost certain, that by the a])plication of European skill to the pro-
cess of separating the fibre from the pulpy matter of the leaf, a valuable raw mateiial
composed of it, might be obtained for the manufactories of Europe. The cloth made
from the pine-apple fibre, by the rude industry of the Philippines, is well known to
be of great strength, durability, and beauty. To show the facility with which the
pine-apple is reared, I copy the following passage from a very intelligent writer.
** This (that of the pine-apple) is a cultivation for which Singnporo is famous. The
beautiful islands and islets, to the we«t of the harbour, are covered with plots neatly
planted with rows of this favourite fruit. The peculiar soil of these is said to impart
the delicious flavour possessed by the Singapore pine-apples. The principal culti-
vators are Bugis. The produce, at times, far exceeds the consumption; and then,
when bought at the gardens, is sometimes to be had at the rate of ten apples to a
cent, (1000 for a hard dollar). The plant is hardy, and requires little care or culti-
vation. The principal labour is in collecting the fruit The fibres of the leaf are
prepared, to a small extent, for shipment to China." — ^Mr. J. T. Thomson, in the
Journal of the Indian Archipelago. Vol. iv. p. 140. The production of fruit and of
leaves in no manner, it should be remembered, interfere with each other, the leaves
being fittest for fibre after the fruit has ripened, the reverse of what is the case vnth
the poppy, which cannot produce both opium and oil ; and with the coco-palm, which
will not yield both sap and fruiL
PIRACY and PIRATE. There is no name in Malay and Javanese, or indeed in
any other native language, for piracy or robbery on the high seas. There is, in fact,
no word to distinguish the element on which the act of plunder is committed, a thing
natural enough with a pe«>ple who live as much on the sea as the land. Bompak is to
rob or plunder generally ; and from this is derived the most usual name for a pirate,
])4rompak; and for piracy, pftrompakan. In a region like the Maky and Philippine
Archipelagos, abounding in narrow seas, rivers, creeks, coves, and mangrove swamps, and
often inhabited by rude and lawless tribes of fishermen, piracy mu<«t have existed as early
as there was anything to plunder. It has so existed in every part of the world similarly
circumstanced ; as for example, in the Grecian Archipehigo at various times, and in
northern Europe, including our own islands, and the countries from which our fore-
fathers sprang, in the middle ages. The account which Thucy«iides gives of the
manners of the early Greeks, so closely resembles that of the Malayan nations in
this respect, that it is worth quoting as an illustration. *' The Greeks of former
times," says he, " as well as the barbtuians of the continent dwelling on the sea coast,
and all the inhabitants of the islands, as soon as they had acquired the art of passing
to and fro in their vessels, betook themselves to piracy under the leadership of the
most able among them, for the purpose of enriching them.'ielves and maintaining
their poor. They landed, — surprised, and plundered unfortitied towns and dispersed
villages, and in this manner, chiefly, they gained a subsistence. lu these times such an
employment was, by no means, considered a subject of reproach, but ratiier a matter to
glory in. Even to this day, some of the people of the c«mtinent attach credit to
exploits of this nature, provided they be performed with decency and humanity. The
inhabitants of the continent, also, exercised robberies on one another ; and down to
the present day, many people of Greece are supported by such practices, as, for
example, the Ozolian Locrians, the ^tolians, and Acamanians, with their neighbours.
The custom of wearing weapons, introduced by this old life of rapine, is still retained
among these people. It once prevailed, indeed, all over Greece ; for as houses had
no manner of defence, and travelling was full of hazard, the Greeks passed their
A A
PIRACY 354 PIRACY
whole liret in armoar, like berbariaiiB. A proof of this is the oontinuanoe stiU, in
some parts of Greece, of those manners which were once general over the whole of
it. The Athenians were the first who passed finom this dissolute course of life to
polite and elegant manners."
If the term, piracy, be restricted, as it ong^t» to robbery committed on the high or
eren the narrow seas, it is necessarily confined to the inhabitants of the sea coast, or
of the rivers debouching upon it ; and to such of these as have, by the posseesion of
stout vessels, of fire-arms, and of skill in navigation, the power to commit it : and it
would be an abuse of language to bestow the name on Uie depredations committed
on each other by rude tribes, without other vessels than paddled canoes, or other
arms than spears, with swords and bucklers. The boldest and mof^t dangerons
pirates of the Indian islands, at present, are two nations of the Philippines, ireK
known to native traders as the Lanuus and Balanini ; the first being a people of the
great bay on the southern side of Mindano, and the last, of the group of the Sula
ialftfiHiL These tribes, ceutrically situated and taking advantage of the monsoons,
scour the coasts both of the Philippine and Malayan Archipelago from Luzon to
Sumatra, in fleets of stout vessels of from fifty to one hundred tons burden, genenUJT
armed with a few cannon or wall pieces, with some muskets ; and having a stoat
bulwark, called in Malay an ampilan, a mark by which they are sufficiently distin-
guished from merchant praus. Kext to these come the Malay pirates, once the m<»t
formidable of all, but now comparatively few and feeble. Their principal seat, ever
since the conquest of Malacca by the Portuguese in the b^inning of the 16th oentnrT,
had been the group of islands at the eastern extremity of the Straits of Malacca ; an i
the principal parties concerned, the oriing-laut, or *' men of the sea,"* the same race that
b denounced by I>e Barroe, as a people whose habitual occupation was '* fishing and
robbing.** This class of pirates, if it has not wholly disappeared, has, at least» ceased
to be dangerous, since the establishment, in the very centre of their haunts, of
the British settlement of Singapore, and the Netherland one of Rhio, both of
which localities had themselves, down to the year 1819, been favourite piratical
haunts.
Besides the piratical tribes now named, there is hardly any other maritime people
of the Archipelago, that at one time or another, has not luul its pirates, such as
those of Celebes and the Moluccas, and even of New Guinea. The people not
addicted to piracy, or, at least, i^ho have committed none in our times, are the
Javanese, the people of Bali and Lomboc, all the nations of Sumatra, except the
maritime Malays, and all the inhabitants of the Philippines subject to the rule
of Spain, and these constitute the great majority of the population of the two
Archipelagos.
The receivers of the stolen goods, or at least the sharers in the booty, have been
many of the native princes, who, far from thinking piracy any discredit^ have looked
on its gains as a fiiir and regular branch of their incomes. Strangely enough, the
government of the Philippines, which has suffered most from piracy, gives the prac-
tice, in one instance at least, a tacit countenance, most probably from nec<>8sity.
" Yligan, in the province of Misamis, and island of Mindano," says the author of the
Informe sobre las Islas Filipinas, " is a kind of stockaded place to which the Moors
resort for trade, bringing, yearly, about 80,000 cavans of rice in the husk, from
20,000 to 30,000 cavans of cacoa, from 1200 to 1400 cavans of coffiBe, and from 50
to 60 tails of gold dust ; with great quantities of fine cloths, mantlets, crises, and
whatever they collect in their incursions in the interior, or their piracies at sea, in-
cluding money, on which they set no high value. In return they receive earthen
and hard- ware, chintzes, but above all, coco and areca nuts which are scarce in their
country. The inhabitants of this town do not exceed 1500 souls; are constantly
exposed to the attacks of the Moors ; and it would be well to fortify the place with
a rampart and fosse." The pirates here alluded to are the well-known Lanuns.
The only formiduble piratical praus are those of the Lanuns and BalaninL These
are vessels of from 40 to 100 tons, have crews of from 40 to 60, and carry half-a-
doien wall-pieces, with a supply of small arms, spears, cutlasses, and krises. They
are furnished with oars or sweeps, as well as sails, and are made for speed. They
are, in fact, the regular native war boats. To the native trading vessels tliey are
irresistible, but utterly contemptible to the smallest European man-of-war, and it is
seldom they have ventured to attack, even the smallest European merchant ship, —
hardly ever, when manned by Europeans. The lai^r junks of the Chinese are
equally safe from them, and it is only the smaller or the unarmed junks of the
Cochin Chinese and native trading praus to which they are formidablsi
^^
PISANG 355 POLO
Piracj, as already atated, has existed in the Malay and PhUippiDe Archipelagos
ever since they were known to Europeans, and without doubt had existed for many
ages before. In the annals of the state of Malacca it is asserted, that the trade of
that place was greatly harassed by pirates of Celebes, under the leadership of a
Macassar chief who^e name was Kraing Samerluk, in the time of Sultan Mansur Shah,
whose reign commenced in 1374. The Spaniards, when they commenced the con-
quest of the Philippines in 1565, found the inhabitants of Mindoro carrying on
piracy ; and those of Mindano and Sulu soon after commenced those incursions which
have continued to the present day, and often set the Spanish power at defiance. As
early as the year 1589, or only eighteen years after the foundation of Manilla, the
first attempt to conquer the Sidu Archipelago, and to suppress the predatory habits
of its people was made, and many others have followed, the last of them as late as
1851. In I'eference to the first of these, the historian Zu&iga makes the following
remarks : ** From that time to the present the Moors have not ceased to infest our
colonies. It is incredible what a number of Indians have been made prisoners ; what
yillagea have been destroyed ; and what vessels they have captured."
The Malayan nations are not the only people that have committed, or now commit
piracies in the waters of the Archipelagos. When disorder and civil war prevail in
China, as always happens during its revolutions, it is sure to produce hordes of
pirates ; which, although they usually confine their depredations to the coai>te of their
own country, occasionally extend them to the Philippines, and to the northern por-
tion of the Malayan Archipelago. Such piraciei*, as already stated, were rife during
the revolution which placed the present Tartar dynasty on the throne ; and they are,
at present, rife pending that which threatens to overthrow it. The Chinese pirates,
from the superior siae of their vessels, and the superior skill of those that navigate
them, are more formidable to native trading vessels than even the worst of the
Malayan buccaneers. The piracy of the Chinese, a civilised people, will necessarily
cease with the temporary causes which have given rise to it ; but the utter exter-
mination of Malayan piracy is as hopeless as that of theft and burglary in the best
ordered states of society. It may, however, be greatly abated, and made not worth
following as a profession, by a vigilant police exercised, not only over the plunderers,
but the receivers of the plunder, by the European nations having territorial posses-
sions in the two Archipelagos. The obvious means of pursuing the pirates are armed
steam vessels of very small draught, which can pursue them into the shoals to which
they resoi't, and from whose speed there is no escape. The destruction of the
supposed haunts of the pirates by lai^ge and costly expeditions, seems by no means
an expedient plan for the suppression of piracy. In such expeditions the innocent
are punished with the guilty; and by the destruction of property which accompanies
them, both parties are deprived of the future means of honest livelihood, and hence
forced, as it were, to a continuance of their piratical habits. The total failure of
all such expeditions on the part of the Spaniards, for a period of near three centuries,
ought to be a sufficient warning against imdertaking them.
PISANO, (PULO), literally " banana island," is the name of no fewer than six
different islands, or rather uninhabited islets of the Malayan Archipelago, extending
from Sumatra to the Moluccas. The name, pisang, is one peculiarly belonging to the
Malay language, all the other tongues having their own separate names for this fruit ;
BO that the word, applied to the names of places, points to the extent of Malay
navigation. Except for navigation, the islands which bear this name are of no impor-
tance whatever.
POETAJIE, correctly PUTAR, which, in Malay, signifies " to turn," or " re-
volve," is the name of an island lying between Floris and Timur^ computed to have
an area of 209 square geographical miles.
POLILLO. The name of a considerable island lying on the eastern coast of the
great island of Luzon. It is of a triangular form ; in length about 25 miles, and in
breadth 20 in its widest part. The chief town lies on its south-western side, bears
the same name, and lies in north latitude 14° 30'. The island is mountainous and
well watered, but seems indifferently cultivated, for its whole population is no more
than 1214.
POLO, MAECO. The celebrated Venetian traveller passed through the Malayan
Archipelago, in a voyage from Fokien in China to the Persian Gulf, performed by
a fleet of fourteen Chinese junks. This happened about the year 1291, or 218 years
before the first appearance of the Portuguese in the waters of the Archipelago. In
A A 2
POLO 356 POLO
BO £» as the Malayan countries are conceroed, the work of Marco Polo is most meagre
and unsatisfactory. It gives, in fact, but obscure glances, leaving us, in the matte
of names, dates, and distances, to mere conjecture. The information communicated
is, indeed, more like what might be expected from a Chinese than an European
tntveller, and the author who had gone to China at eighteen, and lived there for
twenty years, was probably in his turn of thinking as much a Chinese as an European.
In the voyage in question he must have chiefly associated with Chinese, or wilii the
Arabian pilots which must have been present in a fleet bound for the Persian Gal£
A few examples may be given of the nature of the information which he gives us.
He is the first European author that names Java» but he hod not seen it. His
description of it, in reality, comprehends the whole Archipelago, except Siimatza,
for he alleges it to produce gold, doves, and nutmegs, as well as its own natire
products, and he asserts it to be of vast extent, making Sumatra but a lesser Java,
under the name of Java Minor. The first Malayan land that the fleet reached after
quitting Eamboja, or Champa, was an island that he calls Pent&n, which is most
probably the large island of Bent4n, improperly Bintang, at the eastern entrance
of the Straits of Malacca. Malacca itself seems to be indicated by the word Malacur.
no doubt a corruption of Malayu, or Malay, and it is described as being at once an
island, a state, and a town. *' The people,** he says, '' are governed by a king, and
have their own peculiar language. The town is large and well built. A considerable
trade is there carried on in spices and drugs, with which the place abounds."
According to the usual reckoning, Malacca at the time in question had been founded
only forty years.
The fullest account given by the Venetian traveller is of Sumatra, not under this
name, but that of Java Minor, evidently imposed by himself in order to distinguish
it from all those other lands which he comprehended under the common name of
Java. He describes the elephant and rhinoceros as natives of the island, and his
account of the gomuti and sago-palms is correct, and the earliest ever given. He
says that the majority of the inhabitants were idolaters, and some of them, evidently
referring to the Bataks, cannibals. In speaking of one of its kingdoms, which he
calls Felech, and which is probably P&rlak, he says that " many of those who dwell in
the sea-port towns had been converted to the religion of Mahomet by the Saracen
merchants who constantly frequent them.** The place referred to is in the territory
of Achin, and the Achinese, by their own account, had been converted in 1206, or
85 years before the arrival of Marco Polo.
Sumatra is described as beine divided into eight different kingdoms, each having
its own proper language, but these alleged kingdoms, in so fur as they can be iden-
tified at all with real names, turn out to be mere petty places, and all on the northern
coast of the island. Marco Polo expressly described himself as having visited six out
of these eight kingdoms, which, judging from another part of his narrative, is so
improbable that we are obliged to consider the assertion as either a fiction or an
interpolation, — ^most likely the latter. He was, he informs us, detained in one of
the eight kingdoms, namely, that called Samara, the place supposed to be the present
Sambalans^an, for five months, waiting the return of the north-eastern monsoon in
order to prosecute his voyage westward. ** As it was necessary/* says the narrative,
" to continue so long a time at this island, Marco Polo established himself on shore,
with a party of about 2000 men, and in order to guard against mischief from the
savage natives who seek for opportunities of seizing stragglers, putting them to
death and eating them', he caused n large and deep ditch to be dug round in
such manner that each of its extremities terminated in the port where the shipping
lay. The ditch he strengthened by erecting several block-houses or redoubts of
wood, the country affording an abundant supply of that material ; and being defended
by this kind of fortification, he kept his party in complete security during the five
months of thoir residence. Such was the confidence inspired among the native^
that they furnished supplies of victuals and other necessary articles, according to an
agreement made with thorn." Tho place where this fortified camp was made is distant
from two of the other kingdoms, supposed to be Kampar and Junbi, between 800 and
900 miles. How, it may be fairly asked, was it possible for Marco Polo to have
visited these remote places without any protection, when the protection of his own
fleet, and of an intrenched camp with a garrison of 2000 men were necessary in
one locality to secure stragglers from being killed and eaten by the savage inha-
bitants ]
Marco Polo's notice of the trade between China and the Archipelago is conflned to
mere hints. The firdt of these is to the following effect, in reference to Java^ evidently
POLO 357 POLO
including Borneo and the Spice Islands. " The quantity of gold collected there
exceeds all belief. From thence it is that the merchants of Zaitun and Manji (the
northern and southern provinces of China) in general have imported, and to this day
import that metal to a great amount ; and from thence also is obtained the greatest
part of the spices that are distributed throughout the world." The second is this. —
** It (Java Minor or Sumatra) contains abundance of riches and all sorts of spices,
lignum-aloes, sappan-wood for dying, and various other kinds of drugs, which on
account of the length of the voyage, and the danger of the navigation, are not
imported into our country (Venice), but which find their way to the provinces of
Manji and Kataia, (the southern and northern provinces of China.)" His own voyage,
indeed, gives us but a very poor idea of the navigation of the Chinese in his time,
compared even with its present imperfect condition. The first departure of the fleet
was from Fokien, which produces now, and most probably did then, the most skilful
and adventurous mariners of China. He could only have sailed with the north-
easterly monsoon, and in all likelihood, only when it had set in steadily in the month
of December. Yet by the time he had paused through the China Sea and the Straits
of Malacca, and reached the north-western end of Sumatra, that monsoon was already
expended, and he was obliged to await its return during five tedious months. It
would not return earlier than the beginning of November. The monsoon with which
he quitted China would end in the beginning of March, but the voyage through the
Straits of Malacca would be performed with the variable winds which always prevail in
them. The voyage, then, from Fokien to the port at the western entrance of the
Straits, where the fleet was arrested by the south-western monsoon, occupied the six
months from December to May inclusive, and it was detained in tlie port of Samara
for the five months from June to October inclusive. The greatest difficulties of the
voyage to large junks, and some of the fleet of Marco Polo wore certainly of this
description, for they had crews of 250 men, would be amongst the sand-banks of the
Straits of Malacca. The voyage, which it took the Imperial fleet six months to
perform in the thirteenth century, would now be performed in one-sixth of the
time. A Fokien junk makes the voyage from Amoy to Singapore in 15 days, and
probably would not take a longer time in passing from one end of the Straits of
Malacca to the other.
It may be asked through what channel Marco Polo acquired his knowledge of the
Malayan Archipelago, scanty as it is. He is described as being acquainted with three
Tartar and one Chinese dialect, but these would not help him among the Malays,
nor is it probable that his Chinese companions were themselves capable of rendering
much assistance. The probability then is, that he had most of his knowledge from
the Arabian pilots that, although not mentioned, must have been in the fleet, and
this notion is confirmed by the Arabian and not Chinese stamp of the names of
places. The words are, indeed, Malayan, but written just as an Arab would pro-
nounce them. Thus the Champa of the Malays is converted into Siamba or Ciamba,
the Arabs not having the sound ch. The name of Java is written nearly as Europeans
now pronounce it, with the letter v, instead of with a w, as the natives themselves
do, and this seems also taken from the Arabian pronunciation. It may be further
mentioned that a derivative of this, namely, Jawi, or Javi, is a common term among the
Arabs for all the coimtries and people of the Archipelago, and this is not unlikely to
have been the source of Marco Polo's error in uniting so many countries under the
common name of Java. Another example is found in the name of one of the six
Sumatran kingdoms said to have been visited by the traveller. This he writes
Felech, and is, correctly, the P&rlak, or Diamond Point of our maps, and vnth the
exception of the letter r, the Arabs having no p, and always substituting an f for it,
the pronunciation is what an Arab would give, and an Italian write from an Arab's
pronunciation.
The amount of knowledge concerning the Archipelago communicated by Marco
Polo, small as it is, yet is great in comparison with what Gibbon justly calls ** the
ignorance of the ancients." Still, the wonder is that, considering his opportunities^ it
i^ouid not have been greater, when i^e recollect the extensive and accurate know-
ledge obtained by such writers as Barbosa and Pigafetta, within a very few years of
the first appearance of Europeans in the Indian waters. Much allowance, however,
must be made for the short-comings and errors of his narrative, when it is considered
that it was circulated in manuscript for a century and a half before it was printed,
and that the author, as his judicioiia commentator, Mr. Maraden remarks, had no
ready use of his own, or any other language, and was, in fact> although an enterprising,
yet an illiterate traveller.
POLYNESIA 358 POLYNESIA
POLYNESIA. The Islands of the Pacific Ocean are referred to in the present
work only on account of a certain connection by langtiage which exists between
them and the Malayan Archipelago. Their inhabitants may be divided into three
great classes — those of the islands of the Northern Pacific, the Sandwieh group
excepted, — ^those of the islands extending west and east from the Tonga group to
Eastern Island, and north and south from the Sandwich to the New Zealand islands;
and those of the islands from New Guinea to the Fiji group, lying between the
equator and the southern tropic.
The first class are supposed to belong to the Malayan race of man, or to be the
same with the fairer inhabitants of the Malay and Philippine Archipelagos. The
tribes inhabiting these islands, however, seem to speak languages not only difierios:
from those of the Malayan nations, but also diiTering among themselves. 'The secood
class differ from the first in physical form, being a stout, athletic, handsome people
whose stature exceeds that of the Malayan race by at least three inches. They speak a
language which is essentially the same throughout, and differing in phonetic character,
grammatical structure and vocabulary from, those of the first class of inhabitaots, aa
well as from sll the languages of the Malay and Philippine Archipelagos. The third
class of inhabitants are negros, woolly-headed, in complexion dark but not bhck,
and of at least the average stature of the Malayan race. They differ, therefore, essen-
tially from the pigmy negros of the Malay Peninsula and of the Philippines, and may
be pronounced a peculiar and unique race of men. Their languages differ wholly from
those of the two first classes of inhabitants, and as far as our information extends, would
seem also to be entirely different among the different negro tribes themselves. From
the account now rendered of the geographical distributions of the three classes, it will
appear that they are not found territorially intermixed, as is the case in the Malay Penin-
sula and the Philippines, with the foirer race and the negros. Even the laiiger islands
contain no intermixture. New Guinea is i)eop]ed only by n^ros, and New Zealand
only by what has been called the great Polynesian family. Negros are only to be foun<i
south of the equator, and the islands of the Northern Pacific are, with the exception
of the Sandwich group, wholly occupied by what is believed to be the Malayan race.
In all the languages of the islands of the Pacific, whether of the negros or of the
fairer races, a small infusion of the Malayan languages is to be found, in the same
manner as we find words of Norman French in English, of Teutonic words in the
languages of the south of Europe ; of Arabic in Spanish, Portuguese, Turkish and
Persian ; of Persian in the languages of Hindustan, and of Sanscrit in Malay and
Javanese. The proportion of the Malayan ingredient in the langtiages of Polynraia
is smaller, however, than in any one of the cases now quoted in illustration, not
exceeding where it lb largest above 200 words in 1000. It exists in the languages
of the negros, equally as in those of the fairer races, although from greater barbarum
and stronger antipawy of race, not generally to the same degree.
The nature of the Malayan words introduced into the Polynesian languages is a
consideration of not less importance than the proportion in which they exist. The
most frequent class consists of the numerals, which are always imperfect as to the
number of them introduced, and always corrupted as to form. The South-Sea
islanders, both of the faur and negro races are in poesession of one or all of these
domesticated animals, namely, the hog, the dog, and common fowl, but not one of
these, in any of the Polynesian tongues that have been examined, is known by a
Malayan name. So far then as language is good evidence, the Polynesian nations
are not indebted to the Malayan for them. Not so with cultivated plants: the
evidence of language shows, that the Polynesians have received from the Malay
nations the yam, the coco-palm, and the sugar-cane, for all these are known by names
which although greatly disfigured, are unquestionably Malayan. Some degree of
instruction received by the Polynesian from the Malayan nations is to be inferred
from the existence in their tongues of the following words which are of undoubted
Malayan origin, — thatch, plank, comb, adso, weapon-point, mesh of a net, ladder,
bow, year, and chieftain or lord.
This analysis reduces the advantages which the islanders of the Pacific have derived
from Malayan intercourse to a very inconsiderable amount The Malayan nations
taught the islanders a convenient system of numeration ; they introduced the culture
of the yam, the coco-nut, and the sugar-cane, and bestowed, perhaps, some rude
instruction in the mechanic arts. But they introduced no useful domestic animal,
nor com, pulse, or cotton. They did not instruct the islanders in the fabrication of
iron, or in the manufacture of any textile fabria Still less did they iustvuct them in
law, in letters, or in religion.
POMEGRANATE 359 PORCELANE
But the interesting question arises, in what manner the small number of Malayan
words came to be infused into the languages of the Polynesian Islands, the nearest
of which is far beyond the usual limits of Malayan nayigation. A few suggestions
may be thrown out in explanation. In the course of the present work, it has been
shown that the two leading nations of Sumatra and Java, the Malays and Javanese,
have been for ages pushing their enterprises, whether commercial or predatory, as
far as the Philippines, the Moluccas, and New Quinea, and, therefore to the very
confines of the Polynesian inlands to the west. It is from this quarter that it is
natural to suppose that the Malayan words must have found their way into the
Polynesian languages. The words certainly belong to these two languages, and it can be
proved that they do. Thus in the 85 Malayan words existing in the Maori or language
of New Zealand, 18 are Malay and 10 Javanese, the remaining 57 belonging equally
to these two tongues, while they do not contain a word of any other Indian language.
The praua of the Malays and Javanese when at the eastern confines of the Archi-
pelago, might seem, at first sight, to have theii* further progress eastward arrested by
the trade winds. Such, however, is not practically the case, for in the first part of
their voyage they would have the westerly monsoon in their favour, and in the
Pacific itself, within a zone of about seven or eight degrees on each side of the
equator, it is not trade winds but variable ones, blowing even more frequently from
the west than the east, that prevail. By this track, then, Malayan praus might easily
enough penetrate a considerable way, among the islands of the Pacific. They might
do so either through the Southern Philippines, the Moluccas or Torres Straits, and
most probably did so by all these channels. Were our vocabularies sufficiently
copious, we might even be able to trace the progress of the Malayan nations among
the Polynesian islands by the proportion of their languages found in the Polynesian
dialects. Thus, supposing that the Malayan nations entered the Pacific by the route of
Torres Straits, leaving out the negro nations on account of ferocity and incompatibility
of race, the first of the fairer people they would encounter would be the inhabitants
of the Tonga or Friendly Islands, and judging by the inadequate specimens of their
language which we possess, it contains a far larger proportion of Malayan words than
the languages of the remote Marquesas, Sandwich and New Zealand islands, although
all be dialects of the same tongue. — See Preliminary Dissertation to a Grammar and
Dictionary of the Malay language.
POMEGRANATE. (Punica Granatum.) The pomegranate is cultiyated in the
Indian Islands as an ornamental plant, on account of its flowers, but bears a poor
fruit, hardly esculent. It is, without doubt, an exotic, but when or by whom intro-
duced is unknown. It bears notwithstanding a native name, dalima, which is also
that of "the ruby." The natives state that this word is derived from the numeral five,
lima, in reference to the remains of the five segmented calyx on the top of the fruit.
This opinion of the origin of the name seems confirmed by that given to the tree in
the polite language of Java, gangsalan, which is a translation of the vulgar name.
PONTIANAK, or PONTIYANAK. This is the name of a Malay town and state
of the western coast of Borneo. The town lies on the left bank of the river, usually
called by the same name, about 15 miles from its mouth. The river, a navigable
one for vessels of moderate burden, is formed by the junction of two considerable
streams, the Kapuwos and the Landak. The town is almost on the equator, and in
east longitude lOQ** 10'. Pontianak is at present the chief place of the Netherland
administration of the Province of the west coast of Borneo, and contained in 1825,
with the territory belonging to it, a population of 36,676, consisting of the following
elements : Malays SOOO, Dayaks or wild tribes, 13,891, Chinese 17,693, Arabs and
their descendants 819, and Europeans 2273. The total population of the province
of which it is the head, was computed, at the same time, at 590,000, the majority
composed of the wild races.
PORCELANE and POTTERY. All the more civilised inhabitants of the Archi-
pelago have possessed immemorially the art of fabricating a coarse unglazed pottery,
much resembling that of the Hindus, but not borrowed from them, judging by the
native names connected with the art. For either pottery or porcclane there is no
common native term, but a great many names, to diatinguish the vessel or utensil made
from them, these often varying in the different languages. A coarse domestic earthen-
ware is of much less general use among the islanders than the Hindus, its place being
frequently taken by the coarse porcelane of China, which has been imported for ages.
Fragments, or even entire vessels of it, have been found in ancient ruins in Java ; and
PORCUPIXE 360 PRAYAXGAX
wheD SingTipore was esUblisfaed by ouraelres specimeiM wen fonnd aJcmg with
ancieDt CLineee eoins of tlie lOih and 11th centoriea. It seems probable, too, that
the sacred jaxs of the Dayaks of Borneo, known to these people under the name of
(■ana^a, and nndonbtedly Chinese, are of considerable antiquity, since none of the
same description are at present mannfartnred.
PORCUPINE (Histrix). The porcupine of the Malayan islands, is found in
most of the large inlands, and differs but little from the African porcnpine Icog
naturalised in Italy. It is the landak of the Mahiys and JaTanese. 1 he Malays,
howerer, assert the cxiBtence in the Peninsula and Snmatm of two species wiucfa
they distzn^juish by the epiihets of great andsmalL
PORTUGAL, PORTUGUESE. The Portognese made their first appearance in
the waters of the Arebipelago under Sequiera in 1509, twelve yean after their aninl
in Calicut. The insults which they then received and tmdoubtedly provoked, led
two years alter, to the conquest of Malacca, and from that event is to be dated the
commencement of their domination, which virtually terminated with the loss of the
same place in 1^41. Thus the supremacy of the Portugueee lasted in ail but 130
years. Their temtoxial possessions comprehended only the principality of Malacca
and the Clove and Nutmeg I&lands, but even in these, their sovereignty was never
peaceably established, for througfaouty they were involved in hostilities ipiith tbeir
nominal subjects, or with neighbouring native states. Notwithstanding, howerer,
their short and disputed power, it must be observed that they have left behind them
more marks of tbeir ditminion than either the Dutch or English. The facts which
attest tLis. are the number of words of their language which have been naturalised
in the languages of the Archipelago, and the numb^ of converts to Christianity which
they have lefi. These results are most probably attributable to the grestor congeni'
allty of their manners and language with those of the Ardiipelago, and to the spirit
of propagandism being £ir more active with them than with their successors in
pow^r.
POTATO. The American potato, Sclanum taberosnm, the Ubi yuropa of the
Ma]ays» and the Kdntang faolanda of the Javanese, names equivalent to European
and Dutch yam, was £rst introduced into Java bj the Dutch, and in comparatively very
moilern times. It will produce fruit and tubers only at an elevation of not less tbao
4Ov'0 feet above the level of the sea. and consequently its production must always be
coD!:r;od to a few localities. In all the higher mountain valleys of Java, it is produced
easily and of very good quality, chiefly for the consumption of Europeans, for with the
natives it never can become a general article of food, as long as they have cheaper
farinaoev^us rcK^ts in the yam and Ixtt^ta. It is alao grown in some of the mountains
of Celebes, and far more readily and abundantly in those of the Philippines.
PRAMBANAN. This is the native pronunciation of the celebrated Hindn rains
in Java, which European^ rightly or otherwise, write Brambanan. See B&AJfBA2f a9.
PRANARAGA, or, as pronounced by the Javanese, Pronorogo, is the name of a
native province of Java, situated south-west of the volcanic mountain Wilis, aod
towards the southern side of the island, in the proper country of the Javanese naUoo.
This fine proviuce abounds in relics of Hinduism, oonsUting of temples and images.
In it was situated the kingdom of Daa, which appears to have flourished in the 12th
century, and at which, in the reign of Jayabaya, was composed by a Bnunin of the
name of Ampusadah, the paraphnse of the Hindu epic, the Mahabarat, called the
Bratayuda. The name, Pranaraga, is Sanscrit, and signifies " the desire of life."
PRAU, is in Malay and Javanese the generic name for any vessel, whether rowing
or sailing. The different sorts are distinguished by specific names, according to form,
size, use, and nationality.
PRAU (Gunung}, that is " boat or ship mountain," from its form, is the name
of a mountain of Java with an active volcano, lying between the provinces of Kadue
and Pakalongan. It rises to the height of 6500 feot above the level of the sea, ami
ita table-lands and valleys contain the ruins of many Hindu temples of hewn inch}te
of the best architecture, but there ezitst no inscriptions to tell when or by whom th^y
wore built.
PR A YANG AN. This is a name given by the proper Javanese to certain of th^
Sunda districts of Java. It has been adopted by the Dutch with the corrupt ortho-
graphy of Priyanger. Prayang, iii Javanese signifies a ghost, or wandering spirit
of the' dead, and Prayangan is *' country of ghosts. * The districts in question ha^«
PRINCE OF WALES ISLAND 361 QUEDA
been constituted a proyince by the Dutch, under the name of the Preanger Regencies.
This embracea an area of 6077 square miles, and in 1850 had a population of 737,46(5,
which gives little more than 104 inhabitants to the square mile, or not more than one-
fourth part the density of some of the most fertile provinces of Java. The country,
indeed, although in picturesque beauty equal to any in the world, is very mountainous,
and relatively to other portions of the island, not fertile. The Preanger Regencies have
been, since the first introduction of coffee, the chief locality for its forced cultivation.
PRINCE OF WALES ISLAND. This is the name which is given to Penang, or
Pulo Pinang, by its English founders, an unmeaning piece of flattery to the Prince of
Wales of the day, the future Qeorgo tlie Fourth. See Penano.
PROBOLINOO, or, as a Malay would pronounce it, Prabalinga, called also
Bang&r, or " the Fetid," on what ground I do not know, is the name of a native
district of Java, which now forms part of the Dutch province of Besoekie. The soil
of the lower lands of this district, lying between the sea and the slopes of the moun-
tains Tengger, Lamongan, and lyang, all active volcanos, is of eminent fertility, and
the best suited of any of the island for the growth of the sugarcane, which is
extensively cultivated. The great majority of the inhabitants are emigrants from
Madura, who began to settle in this part of Java about the middle of the lost century,
and still continue to migrate to it. They have brought with them from their natiye
island, whose language they continue to speak, that private hereditary right of
property which has been nearly obliterated among the proper Javanese, although it
exists among the Sundas. The name is, most probably, San&crit, the first part of it prabo
or prabu, t*iguif)ing " a lord," and the last linga, the Hindu priapus, an emblem of the
worship of Siva, and the whole signifying a place where such an emblem was erected.
PULO, or in the pronunciaation of the Malays, pulao, is equivalent to the nusa of
the Javanese, and signifies an island, or more correctly, an islet, for it is rarely
applied to any of the larger islands, the idea of insularity in regard to which, is
scarcely consistent with the state of knowledge, even of the mora cultivated nations
of the Archipelago. It is of very frequent occurrence from one end of the Malayan
Archipelago to the other, and even where the Malay language is not vernacular,
and points, of course, to the extent of the navigation that was familiar to the Malays.
The name, however, does not extend to the Pliilippine Islands, nor to those of the
Northern and Southern Pacific oceans.
PULOSARI is the name of a mountain of Bantam in Java, rising to the height of
4000 feet above the level of the sea, and an active volcano.
PULSES. The generic name in Malay and Javanese for aU leguminous plants, is
kachang, by adding an epithet to which we have the name of the species. Several
species are regular objects of cultivation, as Phaseolus max, lunatus and radiatus ;
Dolichos kachang; Lablab vulgaris; Soja hispida; CytiBus cajan, and Arachis
hypogssa. In Java, the greater number of these are cultivated in the dry season
from irrigated land, which during the wet had yielded a crop of rice ; that \a, they
form one of the two crops from the same land within the year. The last-named
plants the ground nut, is raised in inferior dry lands, and is the chief source of the
lamp-oil consumed by the natives. Most of the cultivated leguminous plants may be
judged by the epithets annexed to them to be exotics; thus, Phaseolus lunatus, is
called Kachang-China, or Chinese pulse; and Soja hispida, the soy-bean, Kachang-
J4pun, or Japanese pulse; Phaseolus max has a T&lugu or Telinga name annexed to
it, kAdAl^.
Q.
QUEDA. The name of the most northerly of the Malay states on the western
side of the Peninsula of Malacca. This is the Portuguese orthography of the
name, correctly written K&dah, and which, following the Portuguese, has been con-
tinued by other European nations. The word signifies in Malay ''an elephant
trap." Queda is bounded to the north by the Siamese territory of Ligor, to the east
by the Malay state of Patani, to the south by the state of Persk, and to the
west by the sea, and partially by the continental portion of the British territory
annexed to Penang. Its length is about 150 miles, and its average breadth
about 30, so that it is computed to have an area of 4500 miles. Besides this
territory, a chain of many islands, including Lancavy, correctly Langkawi, and
Trutao, of considerable size, run along its coasts and form part of it, so that its actual
QUEDA 362 UUEDA
is probftbly not mach less than that of the oountj of York. Queda is distin-
gniahed from the other states of the Peninsuls by the greater amount of its level
land. The highest of its moontaiDS ia Jerai, an isolated one, which rises to the height
of 3S94 feet above the level of the sea. It contains no lake, but at least tweutj-six
riTerSy ax of which are of oonsideFable aixe, but all of them obstructed at their mouths
by bars, over which at spring tides there is not above 9 feet water. The most con-
siderable of them is that on which the chief place stands, a mere village, and of this
the emboDchure is in latitude 6' 5' north. Between the main land and Langkawi
and the other islands, indeed, there lies an extensive mud bank, so that vessels of
anv considerable burden cannot oome nearer the coast than four miles.
The geological formation of Queda, generally, ia granite, which contains iron and
tin, of the last of which near 150 tons used to be produced. The vegetable products
are the usaal ones of the Peninsuls* and the country seems to be better fitted for
the production of rice than any of the other states ; for, besides feeding its own
popidation, it used, in the time of tranquillity, to furnish Penang with 30,000 quarters
of husked rice. All the peculiar Malay fruits, and especially the mangoetin and
durian, grow in it in great perfection. Among its wild animals, the elephant is very
numerous, and is used as a beast of burthen, — even bred, and occasionally exported
to the Coromandel coast. The ox, a small compact and hardy breed, and the bufialo
of great size, are abundant in the domestic state. The horse does not exist. The
whole coast is most abundant in fish, and some of them are of exquisite fiavonr,
especially that called the bawal putih, or white pomfret of the £nglish, which is lew
rich but more delicate than the turbot.
The inhabitants consist of Malaya, of Samsams or Siamese converted to Moham-
medanism, and speaking a mixed language of Malay and Siamese ; of the peninsular
Negritos, of mestizo Telingas speaking both Telugu and Malay, and of a very few
Chinese. Before the Siamese invasion and conquest of 1821, the country is believed
to have had a population of 50,000, which in 1839 was reduced to 21,000, the rest
having been either killed in action, perished by disease and famine, or taken refuge
within the British territory. The last of these numbers gives a relative population of
less than five inhabitants to the square mile, and even the higher of one under twelve.
Indeed, at all times, the greater part of the country seems to have been little better
than a primeval jungle.
The history of tins state, as of all the others of the Peninsula, unless we except
Malacca, is involved in obscurity. The people themselves really know nothing
of their origin. My friend, CoL James Lowe, translated a Malay manuscript,
entitled " Annals of Queda,** but this production is a dateless tissue of rank &ble,
from which not a grain of reliable knowledge can be gathered. Col. Lowe discovered
in the forests some remains of temples, and some inscriptions in the Pali character,
and which, consequently, indicated not Malay but Siamese occupation. It would
appear that even in the beginning of the 16th century, the Malays had been but
partially converted to Mohammedanism. The earliest authentic information we have
of Queda is from the Portuguese writer, Barbosa, whose manuscript is dated at Lisbon
in 1516, and he describes it as '* a place of the kingdom of Siam." *' Having,*' says he,
" passed the aforementioned country of Tenassire, and proceeding along &e coast of
Malacca, there occurs a sea-port called Quedaa, to which an infinite number of ships
resort trading in all kinds of merchandise. Here come many Moorish ships from all
quarters. Here too is grown much pepper, very good and fine, which is conveyed to
Malacca, and thence to China.** — Ramusio, vol. i. p. 318. Queda, in common with all
the other states of the Peninsula, has been immemorially tributary to Siam, and being
with Patani the nearest to it, has been most subject to its direct influence. In token
of its subjection, it sends once in three years an offering consisting of an artificial
" flower of gold," which is the literal meaning of the name of this offering, Bunga-mas.
Notwithstanding this dependence the raja, in 1785, alienated to the British govern-
ment a portion of his dominions, namely, the island of Penang, and subsequently a
further portion of it on the mainland, aJl without the sanction or even knowledge of
his liege, tiie king of Siam ; but still without the right of alienation being disputed.
By the cession of Penang, the prince of Queda lost some of the native foreign trade
which used to frequent his ports, but this was more than counterbalanced by the
annual stipend paid to him by the British government, and by the demand which the
new settlement gave rise to for the produce of his country. The revenue which
the prince received, including a stipend from the British government, had amounted in
all to 82,000 Spanish dollars, or near 18,000^., a large sum for a Malay prince. In
1821, the nga was either refractory, or alleged to be so, and the Siamese invaded his
RABABU 363 RAFFLES
country, over-ran it, and after an occupation of several years, abandoned it after
ruining it. The prince fled to the Britiah for protection, but had by treaty no claim
to aasistance. He of course received an asylum.
R.
KABABTJ. The name of a mountain of Java, rising to the height of 10,500 feet
above the level of the sea It seems to be only a coiTuption or abbreviation of
M&rbabu, which sec.
RAFFLES, SIR THOMAS STAMFORD, was the son of the commander of a
West India merchant ship, and born at sea off the island of Jamaica on the 15th of
July, 1781. After a very imperfect education, he was entered as a clerk in the
secretary's office at the East India Hou^e, at the early age of 15, an inauspicious
training which would have made the object of it, under ordinary circumstimces, a
mere drudge for life. Fortune and his own abilities rescued Sir Stamford from this
position, and raised him to eminence and distinction. In 1805, after serving nine
years at the India House, he was appointed deputy-secretary to the absurd and
extravagant government, with which tlie authorities at home thought proper then to
overlay the little island of Penang, at the time with barely 80,000 inhabitants. Tfais
was certainly no field for the active mind of Sir Stamford, but it placed him in a
position to obtain an elementary acquaintance with the Malay language, and to
acquire the friendship of the celebrated orientalist, Dr. John Leyden, who had visited
the island in quest of health, and there acquired himself that polyglot acquaintance
with the Malayan languages which gained him so much distinction as an orientalist.
In 1811, it became known that an expedition for the conquest of Java, and the
other possessions of the Dutch in the Ardiipolago, was prepariog by the British
government of India, and Sir Stamford Raffles repaired to Calcutta, was introduced
to the govemor*general, the Earl of Minto, by his friend Dr. Leyden, and tendered his
services, which in the paucity of information respecting the Archipelago which then
existed, were gladly accepted. Sir Stamford was appointed secretary to the Qovemor-
Qeneral, who himself accompanied the expedition in person. In this capacity he acted
until the conquest was completed, when he was appointed nominally lieutenant-governor,
but in reality governor of Java and all its dependencies, with, as matters turned out,
the unlucky exception of the Spice Islands, which had been captured the previous
year, and placed under a distinct authority. In Java, Sir Stamford found the
government still conducted on the old and vicious principle of commercial monopoly
and forced labour, and intrepid innovator as he was, he overthrew the whole system.
But he was not so successful in the more difficult task of reconstruction. Many
errors were committed both by himself and by the officers who served under him, of
whom I was one. The changes from one scheme to another were too frequent, the
draughts on the treasury of British India became burthensome to it, and Sir Stamford,
after an administration of four years, was removed by the government of the Marquess
of Hastings, the successor of the Earl of Minto.
After his removal from the government of Java, he returned to England, and
during his short stay there, published his History of Java, a work which, although
hastily written, is replete with valuable information ; and a lasting monument of hie
ability and industry, the more meritorious when it is considered that the materials
for it were collected amidst the distractions of a most stirring and busy administra-
tion. In 1817, he was appointed to the government of Benooolen, with the title of
lieutenant-goTomor. This poor settlement, however, afforded no scope for his
ambition and activity. He betook himself therefore, to the study of natural history;
made an enterprising journey into the interior of Sumatra, visiting a part of that
groat island which no European had ever seen before, and with the view of establish-
ing a commercial emporium and free port in a convenient and central position, he
proceeded to Bengal, and laid his scheme before the Marquess of Hastings. This
gave rise to the establishment of Singapore in 1819, the most enduring monument of
his reputation. In carrying his plan into execution, he encountered obstacles which
would have discouraged and baffled a man of less determination, but he was rewarded
with a success which was almost immediate, for in his last visit to it in 1823, he saw
a miserable village of piratical Malay fishermen already converted into a prosperous
commercial community.
Sir Stamford Baffles finally returned to England in 1823, and there, continuing the
study of natural history, through his indefatigable activity, the Zoological Society and
KAJA ;;o4 KAMI
^'sjdidu were foraitrd. His licnder fraa«e and neaiL^j ouii6Ututaua oontraBted with tue
eoercj and activity of bii miiKL His beelth had neier been good, and in 1826 he die«l
Boddenljy from the effect of an afasoese on the brain. ActiTity, industiyy and political
oooraere were the mo»t remu^uible en^iuwments of bia cbaricier. In the transaction of
public ba*ine9e be was readj, rapid, and expert, — pvtij the lebolt of early training,
but ftf more of innate ener^gy and ability. He was not, perhaps, an original thinker, but
readily adopted the notions of others^ — not always with adequate diBciimination. Thai^,
witboat much time for rxaiulnadon, seeing it landed by its partieana, he adopted, and
at once csiried into executicn among the then fire millions of inhabitants of Java, the
fanciful and pemiciotts Indian revenue system called the Kyotwarry, and saw it
break down eren before he had himself quitted the administration of the ialand.
BAJA« This Sanscrit name for a king or aorereign prince is current nearly
throiurbout the whole Malay Archipelago, usoally as a synonym with a natiye word,
or Witti the well known Arabic one of ikiltan.
BwAJANG. The name of a river of the north-western coast of Borneo, and
described by Mr. Robert Bama, who had ascended it, as the finest and, perhaps,
the largest of the island. It falls into the sea by six diflerent mouths, the largest of
which IS in latitude 4** 40' north. This is easy of entrance for ships of considerable
burthen, having, on its bar at low water, a depth of three latiioma, and a rise and iall
of tide of ten feet. WitiAin the bar the depth increases to eight and ten &thoms, and
it is naTiirable for lar-je vessels as far as the tide reaches, which is up to the gresit
rapids, or from 90 to 100 miles, llic rapids are fully two miles in length, and are
formed by the river in breaking through a range of hUIa. Their ascent is difficult
and dangerous, from the many rocks and islets which interreue, around which the
river rushes with fearful rapidity. These, unfortunately, offer, at present, an almost
uuBurmountable obstacle to the development of the extenave coal fields and deposits
of iron ore which cbaracterisea the country above them. The ooun^ traversed by
the Kajang is in the occupation of the Kajan nation, the most numerous^ powwfixl,
and civilised of the wil<i tribes of Borneo, but, with the exception of rare patches of
cultivation, it is a continuous jungle.
HAKAN, frequently written in our charts, Reccan, is the name of a riyer of the
north-eastern side of Sumatra. The mouth of the R&kan is, at its widest part^ about
fifteen miles broad. Within are two islets, the laiigest of which is, in north latitude,
2^ 10' and east longitude 100^ 36' 50*. The channel between them, ahallow. and
never three miles wide, forma the entrance to the river. After ascending the Rikan
for about eight or nine miles, its breadth contracts to four, and afterwards to two
miles, when it is joined by a tributary to its rights and another to its left bank.
Towards its debouchement, the Kakan, which Beems here to be but an estuary, is
almost a diy bed at low water spring tides. The navigation is extremely dangerous,
owing to the excessive rapidity of the tide«, which, at springs, run at the rate of seven
miles an hour, the rise and fall of water amounting to thirty feet. The river more-
over, like others in its neighbourhood, is subject to a bore or tidal wave which adds
to the danger of its navigation. The country, on the lower portion of the Rftkan, is in
the possession of scattered Malay settlers, and the upper inhabited by the Batak
nation.
BAMA. This Hindu demi-god, and all the personages of the Sanscrit poem which
takes its name from him, with his own adventures in search of his stolen wife Sita, are
nearly as familiar to the Malays, and more especially to the Javanese, as they are to
the Hindus themselves. The Javanese have poems, both in the ancient and modem
tongue, narrating the adventures of Bama, and from these have been formed romances
in prose by the Malays. These adventures, too, form the most frequent subject of
the drama of both people.
BAMBUTAN. The name of an esculent fruit, the produce of a tree of moderate
size (Nephelium lappaceum). Like the durian and mangostin, it is peculiar to the
Malayan Archipelago. The semi-transparent, subacid pulp which envelopes the seed
is of grateful taste, but the quantity is too email to make the fruit be much valued.
The native name is derived from the word rambut^ the human b^ur of the head
taken from the shaggy rind of the fruit.
BAMI. This is the name of a species of nettle, — Urtica estuans, the fibre of
which is of extraordinary tenacity, and used by the natives of the Archipelago in the
fiabrioation of cordage, fishing lines, and fishing nets. It is supposed to be the same
RANUM 3G5 KEJANG
?lant, or a species of the same genus which is used in eeyeral parts of continental
ndia, for similar purposes, as well as that which is the material of the grass-cloth of
China. It is not cultivated bj the Malays or Javanese, but is abundant in the wild
state.
IIANUM is the name of a monntain of the eastern end of Java, and within the
province of Besuki, 8500 feet high, but without an active volcano.
11 ANT AIT, in Malay, signifies, literally, the reach of a river or of a narrow strait, and
from thence a district of country. It is the specific name of one of four low islands
close to the eastern coast of Sumatra, opposite to that portion of the Malay peniusula
which lies between Malacca and Singapore. The island is about forty-five miles long
and fifteen broad, in its widest part The few inhabitants consist of Malays, and the
chief, if not only produce for exportation is crude sago, sent to Smgapore to be there
manufactured by the Chinese.
K APURAPU. The name of an uninhabited islet, one of several, at the entrance
of the great bav of Albay, on the eastern side of Luzon, in the Philippine Archipelago.
Latitude 13^ 22'.
HAT. The common brown rat is frequent all over the Malay and Philippine
Archipelagos, — wlierever there is a considerable population. In Singapore, until the
formation of the British Settlement, there were very few, but immediately after, they
appeared in vast numbers, and I have nowhere seen them so numeroua The Malay
and Javanese name for the rat is tikus, and it is the same for the mouse, for there is
no distiction between them, except as large and smalL The word is purely native,
and there is no other, except in the recondite Javanese, the Sanscrit one musika.
There is a name in Javanese, even for the young mouse, chiudil. It seems
probable that the word tikus belonged, originally, to the mouse only, as being indi-
genous, and that the brown rat was brought to the islands, as to other countries,
from the continent of India, although there be no record of the time or manner of
its introduction.
IIATAN (Calamus). In Malay, rotan, an abbreviation of raotan, from the verb
raot, to pare or trim, that is, the object pared or trimmed. Of this universal product
of the forests of the islands, the name, as might be expected, is different in all the
different languages. Thus, in Javanese, it is pdiijalin, and in Sunda kowe. The plants
which yield ratans are considered by botanists as a genus of the family of palms*
which consists of many species, from the girth of a goose-quill to that of a stout
walking-stick. They are abundant in all the forests of the Malay and Philippine
Archipelagos, and are everywhere extenf<ively used as cordage or ligatures, or in the
manufacture of mats and basket-work. These singular plants creep along the ground
or climb trees, and, according to the species, to the length of from 100 to 1200 feet.
The ]>rincipal places of production for the general market are Sumatra, Borneo, and
the Peninsula. By far the most valuable, probably a distinct species, is brought from
Banjarmasein on the southern coast of Borneo, for in the market they are worth about
150 per cent more than any others. A vast quantity of ratans are exported from the
Malay Archipelago to Europe, Hindustan, and China.
RAW A, literally, in Malay and Javanese, a morass or lake. It is the specific
name of an inland country of Sumatra, drained by the great river RAkan, which
disembogues in the Straits of Malacca. Its population is of the Malay nation, and Mr.
Logan has estimated it at 25,000, occupying an area of 1600 miles, which gives from
fifteen to sixteen inhabitant:) to the square mile, a poor rate for a people who have
had for ages a knowledge of the common arts, and possessed the art of phonetio
writing.
REJANQ. This is the name of one of the most civilised nations of Sumatra,
having a peculiar language in an original written character. The country of this
people is bounded to the north-east by the territory of Palembang, to the south-east
by that of the Lampung nation, to tlio north-east by the Malays of Anak-Sungai, and
to the south-west by the sea. Mr. Logan has estimated the area of the country at
4500 miles square, and its population at 72,000, or at the rate of sixteen inhabitants
to a square mile.
The Rejangs, like the Malays, are divided into tribes (suku), and every village is
ruled by a head-man, called a Dupati, which, however, seems only a corruption of the
Sanskrit Adipati, taken most likely from the Javanese. For the transaction of public
afiaira, all the chiefs of villages situated on the same river meet in council, and are
REMBANG 366 RHIO
then denomioated proatins, which seems to be a native word, and not Malaj or
Javanese. Over this assembly presides a chief, with the Javanese title of pangerau or
prinoe. It is from this people that Mr. Marsden has drawn hia general character of
the natives of Sumatra. " The Sumatran of the interior country/' says he, '' though
partaking in some degree of the Malayan vices, and this partly from the contagion of
example, possesses many exclusive virtues ; but they are more properly of the nega-
tive than the positive kind. He is mild, peaceable, and forbearing, unless his anger
be roused by violent provocation, when he is implacable in his resentments. He is
temperate and sober, being equally abstemious in meat and drink. The diet of the
natives is mostly vegetable. Water is their only beverage, and although they kill a fowl or
a goat for a stranger whom, perhaps, they have never seen before, nor ever expect to see
again, they are rarely guilty of that extravagance for themselves ; not even at their
festivals (bimbang), where there is plenty of meat, do they eat much of anything but
rice. Their hospitality is extreme, and bounded by their ability alone. Their man-
ners are simple ; they are generally, except among the chiefs, devoid of the Malay
cunning and chicane, yet endued with a quickness of apprehension, and on many
occasions discovering a considerHble degree of penetration and sagacity. In respect
to women, they are remarkably continent^ without any share of insensibility. They
■re modest, particularly guai*ded in their expressions, courteous in their behaviour,
grave in their deportment, being seldom or never excited to laughter, and patient to
a great degree. On the other hand they are litigious, indolent, addicted to g^min^r,
dishonest in their dealings with strangers, which they esteem no moral defect, suspi-
cious, regardless of truth, mean in their transactions, and servile. Although cleanly
in their persons, they are dirty in their apparel, which they never wash. They are
careless and improvident of the future, because their wants are few, for though poor,
they are nut necessitous, nature supplying, with extraordinary &cility, whatever she
has made necessary for their existence." — History of Sumatra, p. 208.
It was among the Rejangs that the English establiHhed themselves in the latter
part of the seventeeuth century, persevering for 140 years in the attempt to create
wealth by the forced culture and monopolv of black pepper. Their chief station
here was Bencoolen, in south latitude 3"* 47' 30'', and east longitude 102° 18'. This
place, with the territory annexed to it, now forms a district of the Netherland
territory of Sumati-a, having been exchanged for Malacca in 1824. See Bur-
OOOLEN.
REMBANG. The name of a province of Java, situated on the northern side of
the island, its principal town, of the same name, lying in south latitude 6** 40' SO", and
east longitude, 111** 16'40". It contains an area of 1983 square miles, and in 1850 had
a population of 536,478 souls, equal to 270 inhabitants to the square mile. Rembang
contains some of the principal teak forests of Java, said to embrace one half its surface.
Its staple products are rice, sugar, coJQfee, and tobacco. The fisheries on its coasts are
considerable, and it produces bay salt to the yearly amount of about 10,000 tons.
In 1845 its homed cattle were reckoned to amount to 116,000, and its horses
to 16,800.
RESIN and Gum, in Malay and Javanese, damar. See DiiHAR.
RETTEH, correctly RATEH. This ia the name of a place situated on the left
bank of a river on the eastern side of Sumatra, which falls into a bay opposite to
the tin-producing island of Singkep, the most southerly of the numerous group which
almost chokes up the eastern end of the Straits of Malacca. Retteh was, at one time,
in the occupation of the Lanuns of Mindano, and prior to the establishment of the
British settlement of Singapore and the Netherland one of Rhio, a noted, haunt of
pirates.
RHIO in the English, and RIOUW in the Dutch orthography, but correctly
RITAU, is the name of the Dutch settlement established by the government of the
Netherlands shortly after that of Singapore by the English, and like it, and in
imitation of it, a free port. It lies Routh of Singapore, and distant from it about
50 miles. It is situated on a strait formed by several small islands with the main
land of the island of Bintang. The town lies on the northern shore of a promontory of
Bintang called Tanjuog Pinang, or Areca Point, but which, however, is almost insulated
by a shallow strait. North of this promontory is the island of Singarang, and west of it
that of PAningat The hai'bour of Rhio consists of an outer with a depth of four and
five finthoms, and an inner one, not exceeding two fathoms. These are sheltered
by the larger island of Bintang from the north-eastern monsoon, the only one that is
RHIO-LINGGA ARCHIPELAGO 3G7 RHIO-LINGGA ARCHIPELAGO
felt heavily in this pai*t of the Straits of Malacca. The small town ia neat and clean,
with a church and a small fort The staple articles exported from Rhio are the
black pepper and gambir of the large islands of Bintang and Batam, cultivated by
the Chinese who are settled iu great numbers on both. The soil of these two islands
consisting, like that of the Peninsula, of decomposed laterite or cellular clay iron ore
and g^ranite, seems peculiarly favourable to the growth of the two plants in question,
although ill adapted to that of com or similar products. The establishment of Rhio,
instead of provmg unfavourable to that of the neighbouring one of Singapore, has
contributed much to its prosperity, while it has itself gained largely bv its supposed
rival, with which, after Java, it conducts its principal trade. The port lies in latitude
6i' 40" north, and east longitude 104'' 23'.
RHIO-LINGGA ARCHIPELAGO. This is the name which has been lately
given by Dutch geographers to the numerous group of islands, islets, rocks, and shoals
which lie between Sumatra and the Peninsula towards the eastern end of the Straits
of Malacca. When the Malays refer to it they usually call it Tanah-sAlat, that is the
** land of straits." The equator runs through it ; to the east it is washed by the China
Sea, and to the south-east bouuded by the island of Banca.
Dutch writers have divided this Archipelago into two parts, a northern and a
southern, distinguishing each by the name of its largest island, namely, Bintang for
the first, and Lingga for the last The Bintang group comprises the following con-
siderable islands, namely, the island of this name, Batam or Bntang, Galangor Gall at,
Bulang, Chumbul, Sugi, Durian, Krimun and Sagupong. Singapore also naturally
belongs to it, but is not included by Dutch writers. The southern group compnses
only two considerable islands, namely, Lingga, which gives it its name, and Singkep.
Besides small straits, practicable only for boats, no fewer than niue navigable
ones afiford routes through this Archipelago. Of these, the most important and
frequented are the Straits of Rhio, which lie- between Bintang on the one side, and
Galang and Batam on the other, and that of Singapore, having the island of this name
and the Malay Peuiiisula to the north, with Batam and Bintang to the south.
Tho monsoons and seasons of rain are much more irregular and uncertain in this
Archipelago than in places at a greater distance from the equator. The north-east
monsoon prevails from November to April inclusive, and the south-west in the
opposite half of the year. The influence of the monsoons which belong to the
southern hemisphere are not felt The greatest quantity of rain falls in the months
of November and December, and in those of July and August. There is, in fact, no
regular period of continuous rain, showers, seldom excessive, falling throughout the
year.
The geological formation of all the islands of this Archipelago is the same as that
of the Malay Peninsula, and consists of granite and sandstone, with laterite or clay
iron ore. The metals found etre iron and tin. The land usually rises from 100 to
200 feet above the level of the sea, and is generally hilly, the hills being round or
table-topped. At a few points, however, it rises to the elevation of mountains.
Thus the peak of Lingga is 3755 English feet above the level of the sea; the
mountain called Lanjut in the island of Sinkep, 1597, and the Saddle-mount on
Bintang, 1368 feet.
All the islands are with the exception of a very few rare spots in a state of
nature, covered with a tall forest, impenetrable wherever the land is low and marshy,
and not easily penetrated anywhere. The soil, usually a stiff clay, is unproductive
of plants useful to man, with the exception of a few articles peculiarly congenial to
it, the coco-palm, the black pepper vine, the gambir plant, and some fruits
native or long acclimated. Of the gambir, now so useful in the arts, this Archi-
pelago is the principal place of production. The forests yield the usual products,
honey and wax, with some dyeing and aromatic plants. Mr. Kops, an officer of the
Dutch Royal Navy, who has renderod the best account of the Archipelago,
enumerates about 80 different forest trees either yielding timber of fair quality, or
some other useful product. Among these are the trees which yield gutta-percha,
India rubber, damar, and wood oil.
The aboriginal population of this Archipelago is the Malay nation, that is a people
speaking the Malay language. This is divided into three classes, according to social
condition, namely, men of the shore or drv land, having their dwellings on land and
to a greater or less extent cultivating the soil ; men of the sea, living exclusively in their
boats, and subsisting by fishing, and men of the forests, or wild men, leading a
wandering life in the woods, and subsisting on their spontaneous products. The
RICE 368 RICE
native terms for these classes are orang-darat, orang-laut, and orang-utan, literalij
" men of the dry land/' '* men of the sea," and " men of the forest" The Chinese
are, probably, at present not less numerous in this Archipelago than the native in-
habitants, attracted to it chiefly by the suitiibleness of the soil for the giowth of
gambir and black pepper, of both which they are the chief cultivators. No
estimate either of their number or of that of the native inhabitants has been given,
but in proportion to the area of the land, it is certain that the amount of both is
very inconsiderable.
RICE (Oryza sativa). This is the universal bread-corn of all the nations of both
the Malay and Philippine Archipelagos that have attained any considerable amount
of dvilisation, and the existence of its culture among the wild tribes may be looked
upon as the beginning of their social advancement. Rice bears the same relation
to other corns among the natives of these islands as indeed it does with all the inter-
tropical people of Asia, that wheat does to other corns among the nations of the
temperate regions of Europe and Asia. As food, it is more esteemed than any other
grain, and its cultivation demands more skill and labour than any other product of
husbandry. It is only in the most fertile parts of both Archipelagos that more of
it is grown than suffices for local consumption. The principal of these are Java,
Bali, Lomboc, Luzon, and Panay, all of them countries of volcanic formation, of
great fertility of soil, and suppUed with easy means of irri^tion. Many parts of the
Archipelagos, indeed, do not produce rice enough for their own consumption, and a
few, such as the Spice Islands, none at all. Tiiis com, therefore, must have been
from the earliest times the chief staple of the internal commerce of the islands.
Thus, we find Malacca to have been wholly supplied from Java at the first appearance
of the Portuguese. Such also was the case with the Spice Icslands, and, indeed,
continues to bo so to the present day. Even now* the European settlements within
the Straits of Malacca, and in Borneo and Sumatra are in a great measure fed from
Java, Bali, and Lomboc.
There is no evidence to show that rice is other than an indigenous product of the
Malayan Archipelago, and I am disposed to think that its first culture is traceable
to Java. Its own name in its difierent forms and all the terms connected with
its culture are native and not foreign. Tiius the name of the com in the husk,
^tllikusual form in which it is presented, is universally native in every tongue, the only
exception being the Sanscrit word, dahna^ wliich belongs to the recondite language
of Java. A few examples may be ^iven. In Javanese the Word is pan, and so it
is in Sunda and Lampung, while in Malay, Bali, and Madurese, by turning the
liquid r into a palatal d*, a frequent practice in the Malayan languages, it becomes
padi, now almost naturalised iu our own language. In the Philippine tongues the
letter r not existing, an ^ or an s is substituted for it, as is the case in several other
instances, and the Javanese paii thus becomes pall, or paai. In the languages of
remote Timur the initial letter is elided, and we have the word as art The
Javanese name has extended even to far Madagascar, and here, by substituting one
labial for another, we find it as vari. The name for husked or clean rice has also
had a large, although not so wide a diffusion, being confined to the languages
of the Malayan Archipelago. The Javanese name is bUras, and this, with various
corruptions, is to be found in at least twenty different languages. In Malay it is
biu^t, in Sunda bias, in the Bugis of Celebes warasa -and barasa. The term for
artificially imgated laud is also very widely spread over the Malayan Archipelago,
but confined to it, for the practice itself has not extended to the Philippines. In
Javanese it is sawab, and so it is in Malay, while the sole variation I see in it is in
the Lampung, where the labial w becomes the labial b. The name for the rice mortar,
14sung, extends over the whole Malayan Archipelago, and with the slight corruption
of losong, is found also over the Philippine. No word whatever belonging to rice
exists in any language of the islands of the Pacific Ocean, although in them are
found the Malayan names for the coco-palm, the sugar-cane, and the yam. Sacb
could not have existed, since the culture of this com was unknown to their in-
habitants when they were discovered by Europeans. Had it reached them, there
certainly would have been no canuibalisra, and they would have been in a much
higher state of civilisation than that which they had attained when discovered.
The numerous varieties of rice in cultivation are proof that this com has been for
many ages in cultivation. Such varieties exist with all corns that have been for ages
under culture, but probably they are more multifarious in the case of rice than of
any other, for the Javanese reckon no fewer than forty-six, and the people of the
RICINUS COMMUNIS 369 KOMANIA POINT
— — ^ . — ■■ — 1 ■ ■
Philippinesy who have a greater variety of oUmate, carry the number up to ninety.
The only material diBtinctions in these consist in the sorts grown respectively in dry
and in irrigated land, and those which take a longer or a shorter time to ripen.
The dry and wet land corns di£fer only in the habit of growing with or without the
help of irrigation, very much like the difference between our European corns which
«re sown as autumn or spring crops. In Java, when a single annual crop only is
taken, the grain chosen is that which takes about seven monUis to come to maturity,
but when two crops are taken from the same land within the year, the oom of more
rapid growth, although less productive^ is preferred. In all warm countries a
broad distinction is drawn between irrigated and unirrigated land, and this distinction
IB widest when the object of cultivation is rice, to which a copious irrigation is more
congenial than to any other crop. As a general rule, i^egularly irrigated land, as tested
by the amount of rent, is from five to ten-fold more valuable than dry land of the same
natural fertility. In Java the land is permanently laid out into small chequered
fields of a perch or two each, surrounded by a dyke, not ezoeeding a foot high, to
retain the water, which is frequently supplied by brooks and rivers. This is the kind
of land known properly by the word " sawah/' already mentioned. It is the most
skilful exercise of Javanese husbandry, and is not known in the Philippines, where
the copious periodical rains alone are relied on. Spanish writers quote this as
evidence of the superior fertility of the Philippines, whereas it is, in fact, only proof
of a ruder husbandry. The Javanese pursue the culture of their favourite crop
with pleasure, and consider it more an enjoyment than a task. Such, also, is the
case with the Philippine islanders. " It costs the Indian,'* says a Spanish writer,
'* no trouble. On the contrary, it is to him a source of pleasure, for he loves
the water and the mud as much as the bufOdo, the companion of his labour."
RICINUS COMMUNIS, the oastbr-oil plant, is cultivated throughout the Malayan
Archipelago, but more especially in Java, and in so far as the natives are concerned,
only for lamp-oil, its medicinal use being unknown to them. It Lb a hardy, prolific
plant, growing in very indifferent dry lands, and with small care. The most frequent
name for it is jarak, and such we find it in the Malay and Javanese, but in the Sunda
and Madurese langusges It is called kalikl Both are purely native words, and there
is no ground for believing that it was introduced from any foreign country. It is
frequently found wild, but with a plant so easily propagated and so hardy, this is no
sufficient proof of its being indigenous. As the oil is known to mix well with the
alkalis, it is probable that, economically produced, it might be used in the manufacture
of soap.
RINCHI. This is the most usual name by whioh the sect of purest Mahommedans,
which sprung up in Sumatra about the beginning of the present century, is known.
They are the same that are also odled Padri and Orang-putih, " white men," that is,
men dressed in white. I am unacquainted with the literal meaning of the word
RinchL It is probably, however, an abbreviation of kormchi See Msnanqkabo.
BINGGIT. This is the name of a mountain of Java, situated towaids its eastern
end, and in the district of Panarukuan, celebrated for the great and destructive
volcanic eruption which took place from it in the year 1586, the last on a large scale
which has occurred in Java. The mountain is of no great height, rising only to
4200 feet above the level of the sea. The name in Javanese signifies a scenic figure
or puppet. See Yoloano.
JIOMA. This IB the name of the largest of a cluster of isleta lying east of Wetter,
and north-east of Timur, in south latitude 7^ 30'. It is about six leagues in
circumference, and consists of l^gh land. The inhabitants are of the Malayan or
brown-oomplexioned race, inoffensive, industrious fishermen, and have been converted
to Christianity. Roma produces good timber, and furnishes bees'-waz, and tortoise-
shell for exportation.
ROMANIA POINT. This is the name given in our maps to the most southerly
point of the Malay Peninsula, and consequently, of the Continent of Asia. It is in
north latitude 1** 22' 80". The origin of the name is unknown, but probably Poi^
tuguese. In Malay it is called Tanjung-pafiusu, literally "wet-nurse cape." The
whole country near this last joint of the tail of Asia, the fertile mother of so
many civilisations, is a continuous forest, without human inhabitants, and the abode
of the tiger and wild boar.
B B
^
ROTTT 870 RUPAT
ROTTI, is the name of a flmall island lying off the western end of Timur, and
distant from it about twenty miles. Its leng& is about 60 miles, its greatest breadth
about 88, and its area 492 geographioal square miles. The surfaoe of the island is
rugged, rocky, full of fastnesses, and easily defensible against an enemy, but scantily
supplicfd with water. The objects of culture are^ a small quantity of rioe^ mail,
millet, yams, and sweet potatoes, with the lontar-palm for its sugar. The principal
domestic animals are the horse and bufEilo, the first considered a superior breed.
The only articles of export are horses and the sugar of the lontar or Boraesna
flabelliformii. The inhabitants of Rotti are distinguished from those of Timur and
of the neighbouring island of Savoe, by a darker complexion, more prominent
features, and lank instead of frizzled hair. Their houses, instead of being like those
of Timur, built on the ground, are raised on tall posts, in Uie Malay manner, and
under them they bury their dead. A few of the inhabitants have been converted to
Christianity, the rest remaining pagans. Their language is peculiar, with an inter
mixture of Timurean, Malay, and Javanese words. The whole island is divided into
petty independent states, of which no fewer than fifteen are enumerated, — an ordtf
of society seemingly arising from the physical aspect of the country. Rotti fonns
a dependency of Uie Netherland government of Coepang in Timur.
RUMBOWE (correctly R&MB ATI), is the name of a very small inhind Malay state
of the Peninsula of Malacca, lying between Salangor to tne north, and Malacca to the
west. The Malay population is computed not to exceed 9000, divided into eight
tribes or sukus, each ruled by elective chiefs called batin, who form a oouncU of
goverxtfnent presided over by a ohie^ also elective, with the title of Pingulu,
literally "headman." Rumbowe, besides its Malay inhabitants, has several wild
tribes, such as the Udai, the Jakun, and the Sakai, but no negritos.
RUMPF (GEORGE E VERARD) ; Latinised RUMPHIUS. The celebrated anthor
of the *' Hortus Amboinenae " was, like several other persons who acquired distinctioo
in the Indian service of the Dutch, a German, having been a native of Solms, in
Hesse CaaseL He was bom about the year 1626, and educated as a physician at
Hanau. At the age of twenty-eight he proceeded to India, and arriving at Batavis,
entered the civil, or rather mercantile service of the East India Company, in which
he attained the rank of a senior merchant, being stationed at Amboyna, where he
passed the remainder of his life. At the age of forty-two, when contemplating a
return to Europe, he was struck blind by gutta serena, yet continued in that state to
prosecute his researches in natural history. He died at Amboyna in 1693, at the
age of sixty-seven. The naturalists of the French Expedition of D'Entrecasteaux are
stated to have discovered his tomb, after the neglect of a century. Tet the English,
after occupying the island twice over for several years, and making diligent search.
were unable to find it The first literary performance of Rumphius was a ciril
history of the Moluccas, still in manuscript, and of which there exist several copies
besides the two in the Dutch archives, one of them deposited by myself in the
Library of the Advocates in Edinburgh. His great work, the " Herbarium Am-
boinense," was not published until forty-eight years after his death, when it was
rescued from the Dutch archives by Burman, and the original, which was in Latin,
printed along with a Dutch translation. Rumphius' account of plants contains many
which are not peculiar to the little island of Amboyna, and embraces their names
and synonyms, their botanical description, their flowering seasons, their habitats,
their uses, and the modes of culture of such as are objects of cultivation. He is
stated not to have been a professed botanist, but having received a medical educatioD,
which necessarily included a certain acquaintance with plants, he was probably as much
BO as most of his cotemporaries in an age when botany hardly existed as a science.
Rumphius was evidently a man of talents, sound sense, and indefatigable industry.
Much of his information was obtained through the natives of the oountiy, and
his work affords ample evidence of his familiarity with their language. It was he
that taught the natives of Amboyna the improved process for preparing sago, which
is still followed by them, and for which his name is still remembered.
RUPAT. The name of a considerable island, divided from the mainland of
Sumatra by a very narrow strait, and lying nearly opposite to the town of Malacca,
the straits here not excectj^g twenty-five miles broad. The island is, for the most
part, a sheer jungle, havin^^ few MsJay fishermen on ite coast, with some of the
wild unconverted people of thasame race, called Sakai in the interior.
i
SACRIFICE 371 8A00
s.
SACRIFICE. In Malay and Jayanese the word slimHlih signifies '< to saorifioe
with religious rites," and s&mb4lihan, a derivative from it-, is a " sacrifice or immo-
lation." These woi^s, which are native, are now used for the slaughter of animaUi
with the forms of the Mahommedan religion, but what kind of sacrifice they referred
to before conversion to this faith, it is difficult to cd^ecture. It cannot have
been the self-sacrifice of the widow or concubine on the funeral-pile of the husband,
for that is known by a different name, — bela, signifying ** expiation or atonement.**
The Arabic word for a sacrifice or atonement, — ^kurban, is occasionally employed.
SADDLE. Although the horse was unknown to the inhabitants of the Philip-
pines before it was introduced by the Spaniards, the people of Java, Celebes,
and the interior of several parts of Sumatra, with Bali, Lomboc, and Sumbawa,
had been in possession of it immemorially, using it, however, only for the saddle.
In Javanese the name for the saddle is a native one, — k&kapa, while that in Malay
is pMana, which is Persian, with the frequent use of sola, a corruption of the
Portuguese silla^ The bridle, always a snaffle or plain single bit, is called in
Javanese kftndale, and in Malay kakang, abbreviated kang. At present, at least, the
stirrup, although unknown, as is believed, to the Qreeks and Romans, is in use
among all the islanders, but except in the language of the Sandas of Java, I can
discover no name for it. The Sunda one is sanggawftdi, a compound word, which
literally signifies ** guard-fear," from which there may be ground to suspect that it is
only of recent introduction. The women of Java, it may be noticed, ride on horseback
with the same seat as the men.
8AFFL0WER ; the Carthamns tinctorius of botanists. This plant, which has
a geographical distribution, extending from the South of Europe and Egypt to the
equator, is well known in the Malayan Archipelago, being cultivated for the colouring
matter of its flowers, but not for the oil of its seeds. Bali is the place in which it is
chiefly grown, and from whence it is distributed, as an article of trade, to other parts
of the Archipelago. The name by which it is universally known, kasumba, is
Sanscrit ; and the Malays, to distinguish it from amotto, the Bixa orellana, add the
epithet Jawa or Javanese, giving to the latter that of kling, or the safflower of
Telingana. There can, therefore, be litUe doubt of its being an exotic, and introduced,
like indigo, by the Hindus ; but when, or how, is unknown.
SAGO, in Malay, Javanese, and all the other languages of the Archipelago, sagu,
most probably a word of one of the languages of the Moluccas. It is, probably, the
name of the farina or meal, for each species of the genus of palms producing it has
its own specific name. Of these there are supposed to be five, the most frequently
cultivated of which are the r&mbiya, Sagus Konigii or Metroxylon sago, and the
bamban or Sagus Isevia All the species much resemble each other, and all yield an
immense quantity of farina, the wood being a mere sh(*ll, containing a mass of
medulla. Sogo trees are found in every part of the Malayan Archipelago and Philip*
pines, as far as Mindano, wherever there is a genial soil for them, and this soil eonsists
of a marsh or bog, composed of decayed land vegetables, near the sea, but excluding
tidal action. They are most abundant in the eastern parts of the Malay Archipelago,
as the Moluccas and neighbouring islands, with New Quinea and Borneo, and in the
Philippines, Mindano. In all these, they are more or less the bread of the inhabitants.
From these countries, they are believed to have been introduced into Sumatra and
the Malay Peninsula.
The sagos differ from all other palms in two important particulars. They propagate
themselves by lateral shoots, as well as by seed, like the banana, and they die after
producing fruit. From the first of these properties, a sago plantation once formed is
perpetual. The trees are cultivated in small patches, and a man and his family are
thought, without much care, to be equal to the management of a plantation of 100
square fathomH, which will contain 400 trees. The trees are cut down immediately
before bearing fruit, which is usually about the age of 15 years. " When,'* says Mr. Logan,
who has given by far the beet and folleiit account of the culture and manufacture
that has ever been publiBhed, " a plantation has once arrived at maturity, there will
be a oonstant harvest, because the natural mode of growth secures a continued
succession of new plants from the time those first planted have begun to extend their
bb2
SAGO 372 SALAWATI
roots, and this suoeeanon can be regulated by the knife in anj manner the planter
desires The sago^tree when cut down and the top aevered firom it ia » cylinder
about 20 inches in diameter, and from 15 to 20 feet in height ABWiming 20 incfaei
as the diameter and 15 feet as the height of the trete, the contents will be nearly
26 bushels, and allowing one half for woody fibre, there will remain IS bushels of
starch, which agrees very closely with our previous calculation of 700 pounds for
each tree or 12^ bushels. It may give some idea of the enormous rate of tfajs produce,
if it be considered that three trees yield more nutritive matter than an acre of whett,
and six trees more than an acre of potatoes. An acre of sago, if cut down at ant
harvest will yield 5220 bushels, or as much as 163 acres of wheat, so that aoooiding
as we allow 7 or 15 years for the growth of a tree, an acre of sago is equal in
annual produce to 28 or to 10 acres of wheat." Journal of the Indian Archipelago,
vol. 8. p. 812.
Sago is the sole bread of the inhabitants of the Spice Islands and of New Guinea
and its neighbouring islands, but of no other part of the Archipelago. In the
Malay countries it is only the food of the wild tribes, and is haidly used by the
Malays themselves. In Mindano it is consumed only by the poorer clawiea, and is
Java, Bab', and Lomboc, fertile in rice, it is altogether unknown as an article of food
It is far from being either so palatable or nutritious as it is prolific^ and is never ^n-
ferred, even where it is most abundant, to rice. It has the obvious disadvantage of
being the lowest quality of farinaceous food, and living on which it is impoaaible to
fall back on any other. In this respect it is like the potato or the banana, although
over the first of these it possesses the advantage of the crop being less liable to failore ;
if, indeed, liable to it at all. One thing is certain, that no nation of the Arohipelago,
of whom it has been the chief vegetable diet^ has ever acquired any respectable amoimt
of civilisation. Those doing so, who had attained the greatest degree of it, were the
inhabitants of the small islands producing spices, and they owed their advancement
to the trade they carried on in these commodities, but even these had neither a
kalendar nor a written language, and received the useful metals and their clothing
from the nations of the west.
The granulated &rina of sago, of a dirty brown colour, used to be exported from
the Archipelago in small quantities, under the old system of monopoly, but about the
time when the trade with Europe was first thrown open in 1814, the CSiineee of
Malacca began to prepare a much superior article, known in oommerce under the
name of pearl sago. Of this and of sago flower, or the ungranulated starch, Singapore
is, at present, the chief place of manu&cture and principal mart^ the Chinese being
the sole manufacturers, and the raw material being brought from various neighbouring
countries, but chiefly from the north-western coast of Borneo, and the north-eastein
of Sumatra with its adjacent islands from Siak to Indragiri. In the year 1847-iS
the quantity of sago exported from Singapore was about 80,000 cwt.^ worth on the
spot about 45,000/.
SAKA, This is the name of a celebrated personage of Souihem India, and the
same as Salivana, the founder of an era that is called after him, and which the
Hindus introduced into the Archipelago. It dates 78 years after Christ, and stillf
exists in Bali, and nominally in Java, for here, in consequence of the adoption of lunar
time in a-d. 1638, the years no longer correspond. The Javanese, prefixing the
word Aji, signifying in their language king, to the name of Saka, fable this personage
to have arrived with a colony from India in the first year of his own time, and to
have been the introducer into their island of letters and civilisation. This is a good
example of the manner in which the early chronology of this people is fabricated.
SAEAI. This is one of the most frequent names given by the civiliBed Malaya to
the rude tribes unconverted to Mahommedanism inhabiting the interior of the Malay
Peninsula from Perak southward, as well as the opposite coast of Sumatra and its
islands. These are of the same race and apparently of the same nation as the Malays
themselves, for they speak a rude dialect of their language. (Generally, they are an
inofibnsive and simple people, living by hunting, but occasionally practising the cultaie
of rice, or the sago palm. The Malays, according to tiieir localities or states of
dvilisation, divide them into forest or wild, and tame or dodle, expressed in their
language by the words utan and jinak. See Orano-laut.
SALAWATI. The name of an island lying off the western point of New Guinea,
having the island of Balanta to the north-west It is computed to have an area of
528 square geographical miles.
SALAYAR 373 SAMAUW
SALATAR, The name of a considerable island lying off the end of the south
western peninsula of Celebes. Its length runs from north to south, and is about 40
miles, but its breadth is small, and its whole area, including some neighbouring islets
annexed to it is but 720 geographical square miles. In 1824, the whole population,
including that of dependent islets, was 80,524, bo that it is one of the most populous
pcurts of Gelebea It raises, at present, a sufficiency of food for its own maintenance,
although before a burthen to the Dutch treasury, and this revolution has resulted
from the abolition of monopolies. The teak tree has been introduced into Salayar
from Java, and appears to flourish. The straits which divide it from the main-
land of Celebes are the highway to and from the Spice Islands, and in them ia first
experienced the change of seasons, between the western and eastern halves of the
Archipelago, in which the rainy^season is reversed, and by which they conform, to the
west with the north-westerly, and in the east with the south-easterly monsoon.
SALIBABO. See Talant.
SALT. The name for cnlinanr salt in Malay is gar&m, and in Jayanese uyak, the
last of these words, with trifling corruptions extending to all the languages of the
countries in the neighbourhood of Java» as Bali, Madura^ and the country of the
Lampungs in Sumatra. I know no place in the Malay and Philippine Archipelago,
in which salt ia made by the cheap process of solar evaporation, except some parts of
the northern coast of Java, and the province of Pangasinan on the western side of
Luzon ; and this, no doubt from the absence of land suited for the formation of salt-pans,
and the want of sufficient heat accompanied by drought for evaporation. From all
we know of the coasts of the other islands, the land is either too elevated or it is
skirted with mangroves, or the shore is so flushed with fresh water, so as to render
them wholly unfit for this process. In Borneo, the ashes of littoral plants are
lixiviated in order to obtain fram them an impure muriate of soda, and the same
practice seems to be followed in several of the Philippine Islands. Generally, how-
ever, the islands of both Archipelagos are supplied from Java or Luzon, and to a
large extent from foreign countries producing a cheap bay-salt, especially the Coro-
mandel coast of India» Siam and Cochin-China. On some parts of the southern
coast of Java an impure salt is obtained, from boiling a concentrated brine, obtained
by mixing with common salt water sea-sand impregnated with salt previously
watered from the sea, as a gardener would water a flower-bed. With the exceptiun
of a small quantity employed in curing fish, all the salt of the islands is used only
as a common condiment. It is everywhere subjected to a custom duty, but it forms
nowhere the subject of an excise tea or a monopoly, except in Java^ where it realises
to the Netherland government an annual revenue of about 400,0002.
SALTPETRE. The name for this oommodity in Jayanese and Malay, indeed,
with some corruptions, in all the languages of we Malay and Philippine Archipelagos,
is s&ndawa. It is obtained from the decomposed dung of birds and bats in caves. To
what purpose it was applied before the knowledge of gunpowder, is imcertain, but,
probably, to the manufacture of fire-works. It is the name which the Javanese apply
to gunpowder, and it is entirely a native word.
SAMANQ. This is the name which the Malays give to the raoe of small negros
found in the mountains of the Malay peninsula. See Nbobos and Nbw Guinba.
SAMAUW or SAMAO, is the name of a small island lying off the western end of
Timur, separated from it by a safe navigable passage, three miles broad, with good
anchorage and shelter in the south-west monsoon, when there is none in the road of
the Dutch settlement of Coupang opposite to it The island is 20 miles in length and
7 in breadth, with an area of 184 square geographical miles. The interior and south-
eastern side consist of a chain of mountains of moderate height, — the rest of the island
of a sandy, bare, and sterile plain, formed of decomposed Ume-stone and fossil shells.
The mountains are of lime-stone, and covered with a coat of sulphur and sulphuret
of iron. Here there are two hot springs, strongly impregnated with sulphuret of
iron, and close to them is a remarkable banian or fig-tree — the Ficus benjamins,
which has above 8000 stems, and, of which the spread would afford shelter to a small
army. It is an object of worship by the nativea Samao Ib the residence of the
raja or native prince of Coupang, and has been so from the year 1616, when the
Dutch, by the expulsion of the Portuguese, took possession of the western part o{
Timur. The inhabitants are the same dark-complexioned, frizzle-haired race as those
of Timur, and amount to 3000.
6AMAR 374 SAMBAS
SAMAR. TMs is one of the names of Bima, one of the heros of the Hindu poem
of the Mahabarat, of which the Javanese epitomes go under the name of Brmtayuda,
or the War of the Descendants of Brata. Samar is a noted personage of the JaTsnese
drama taken from the poem.
SAMAR, formerly called Ibadeo, one of the larger Philippine islands, called by the
Spaniards the Bisayas or of "painted men." It lies north-east of the island of Leyte,
and south-west of the extreme eastern eud of Luzon, — the peninsula of Camarine«,
and separated from the first by the narrow strait of San Juanico, and from the Uht by
that of San Bernardino. It lies between north latitudes ll** I' and 12^ 36% and east
longitudes 124"* 7' and 125° S7', and has an extreme length of 140 miles, its greatest
breadth being 45. It has a coast line of 376 miles, and an area of 4574 geographical
square miles, which would make it about 800 miles larger than the island of Porto
Rioo in the Columbian Archipelago. The island, generally, is mountainous^ but
contains some fine plains under culture.
Down to the middle of the last century, Samar formed with Leyte one prorince,
but was then separated from it, and has since formed an independent one. In ISIS
it contained 27 townships, and a population of 57,922 ; and in 1850, its townsbi{>3
were 28, and its population had risen to 110,103, of whom 22,023 paid the capitation-
tax, — that is, were genuine natives. These are of the Bisaya nation, sp^Lking t
dialect of the language which goes under this name. It has no negritos like Luzon,
Negros, and Panay. Samar is one of the islands which, from its position, is most
harassed by the Mahommedan pirates of the south ; and as a protection against them,
the coast is studded with numerous small forts, garrisoned only by the inhabitants
themselves, serving as places of refuge to them when invaded.
SAMARANG. This is the name of one of the finest proyinces of Jaya, and of its
principal town. The province lies on the northern coast, about midway between the
eastern and western end of the island, and towards the eastern angle of the wide bay
or indentation of the coast, which extends for about 130 miles, from the Point of
Indramaya to that of Japara. It is computed to have an area of 1425 square mi'esL
Some portion of this along the sea is a low alluvial plain, but to the south the country
rises to the height of 2000 feet, forming a plateau, containing several mountain^
the highest of which is Ungarang, attaining the elevation of 4970 feet above the
level of the sea. To the south-west the province is bounded and separated from that
of Kadoe, by the high volcanic mountains of M&rapi and RAbabu, rising respectively
to the heights of 9250 and 1 0,500 feet above the sea level. It is well watered by numerous
small rivers, but none of them navigable except for boats, and even this only to the
reach of the tide. A good highway passes through it from east to west, and another
from north to south ; the latter extending across the island, here about 70 miles
broad. In 1845, the population of this province amounted to 758,815, composed of
the following elements : Javanese, 732,098 ; Chinese, and their mixed deacendants,
9057 ; Arabs, and natives of Celebes, with their descendants, 2277 ; and Europeans,
with their descendants, exclusive of military, 2883. The relative population gives
no less than 426 to the square mile, which is by far the densest of any portion of
the Malay or Philippine Archipelagos, except that of the island of Bali, less cor-
rectly determined. It is to be observed, however, that this population had been
exaggerated, or has since declined ; for by the census of 1850, we find it to be no
more than 624,874.
In 1845, the number of homed cattle in the province was reckoned at 110,000;
and of horses at 7500. In the same year, exclusive of corn, it produced for
exportation, about 82,000 cwts. of coffee ; 50,000 of clayed sugar ; and 1,200,000
lbs. of tobacco, besides some tea and cochineal. The town is situated on a river
about a mile from the sea, in south latitude 6^ 57' 20'', and east longitude 110* 20' 8u".
It constitutes, with Batavia and Surabaya, the only three towns of Java that can
be properly called European ; and is a place of considerable population, but I have
not been able to ascertain its present amount It is the entrepot of all the com-
merce of the interior of the island lying behind it, thus embracing the richest and most
populous provinces of the island. The fishery is so large, that about 5000 of the
indabitants are supposed to find employment in it. Besides numerous native trading
praus, it has an European coasting craft of thirty vessels.
SAMBAS, is the name of a Malay state on the western dde of BomeOy and now
forming the most northeriy district of the Netherland provinoe of the west eoest of
that island. To the north, it is bounded by ike territory of the sultan of Borneo at
SANDAL WOOD 376 SANGIB
Tai^jung Datu, literally *' Elders' promontory." Inland, it is bounded by the oountnr
of yariouB wild tribes, and to the west by the sea. The town of the same name u
situated on the tributary of a considerable river, about 50 miles from the embouchure
of the main stream, which embouchure is itself in north latitude 1** 12' 3", and east
longitude 108° 58' 30''. Sambas is purely a Malay town, the houses being raised on
posts along the river side, or standing on rafts moored to the shore, after the manner
of the town of Borneo, and the Siamese capital, Bangkok. There is not a furlong
of road in the whole country, nor a single beast of burthen, all communication being
by boat. With the exception of a few patches of cultivation, the whole country is,
in faot, a low primeval jungle. The population, the number of which is not stated,
consists of Maiays, various wild tribes or Dayaks, and a considerable number of
Chinese engaged in gold-washing, for it is with Sambas that the gold-fields of Borneo
commence.
SANDAL WOOD, (Santalam album). The wood oalled in oommeroe white sandal
is the produce of a lowly tree bearing a general resemblance to a large myrtle,
although belonging to a different natural family of plants. It is a native of seveitJ
of the islands of the Malay ArchipeUgo, but more especially of Timur, and of the
island which takes its European name from it. From these it extends to the South
Sea Islands, having been found abundant in the Fiji, Marquesa, and Sandwich groups.
It is, therefore, a very widely-distributed tropical plant, since it is also found in the
forests of Malabar. The only name by which it ii known to the Midays and Javanese
is a Sanscrit one, although, no doubt, it has native ones in the languages of the coun*
tries in which it is indigenous. This name is ohandana^ which the natives of the
Philippines write sandana, but apply to a different tree. It may be inferred from
this, that as in the case of the clove and nutmeg, its use was first made known to the
natives of the Aixshipelago by the Hindu traders, who had immemorially frequented
the islands. Barboea mentions it as an article of native tiude, before the arrival of
the Portuguese, and quotes it in his " Calicut Price Current," as follows : " &mdal-
wood, white and cedar-coloured, which grows in an island called Timur, oosta the
Faraauola from 40 to 60 fanoes." The foreign consumers of sandal- wood, to be used
. as a perfume, an incense, or a fancy wood, are the Hindus and Chinese, but especially
the last, with whom the consumption is still large.
SANDAL-WOOD ISLAND, oalled bv the natives of Celebes and the Malays,
Sumba, is a considerable island of the Malayan Archipelago on its southern out-
skirts, lying south of the western end of Floris, and distant from this inland about
80 miles. The tenth degree of south latitude runs through it, and except Timur and
the islands a4jacent to it, it is the most southerly land of the Archipelago. The
oountry ii mountainous, and like the neighbouring ones ia, most probably, volcanic.
Its area is estimated at 3766 geographioal square milesu The inhabitants are of
the Malayan race, but a distinct nation, speaking a peculiar language. They have
made considerable progress in civilisation, cultivating rice and mais, the last being
their principal bread com. They possess the goat, buffido, and horse, the last in
considerable numbers, and said to be the largest and best of the whole Archipelago.
They are clothed in cottons, not their own, but received in exchange for sandal-
wood, bees'-wax, swallows' esculent nests, and tortoiM-shell. Like the Javanese, and
people of Bali and Lomboc, their houses are not raised on posts, but built on the
ground, showing that they are not a maritime but an agricultural people. They do
not, indeed, go abroad, and have no vessels larger than their fi;^ng boats, their
trade being carried on by the Bugis. Of the number of the inhabitante nothing
is known.
SANGIR is the name of an island surrounded by many smaller ones, situated
between Celebes and Qilolo to the south, and Mindano to the north. The nsual
anchoring ground for European ships is on the western side of Sangir and lies in north
latitude o 28', and east longitude 125* 44'. The area of this island is computed at
208 geographical square miles. It is of volcanic formation, containing many extinct
craters and several active volcanos, so that by it, we trace the great volcanic band
from the Malay to the Philippine Archipelsgo. The inhabitants of Sangir are of the
Malay race, but seem a peculiar people, speaking a peouliar languaga Sir Stamford
Baffles has given a list of forty-eight wonls of it, in which, the numerals excepted,
I can find but eight that are Malay or Javanese. The people have acquired some
amount of dviliaation, and are simple and inoffensive. Before the arrival of the
Portuguese, the Sangir islands had been oonquered by the people of Temate, one of
the Spice Tslands.
376
8A&ASAN
SANSCRIT.
cultmted languages of the Indian lalaods
wad the JwntnmB, ewea a great deal ;
it cxKt IB Java, the name is wholly vrnknowzL
oi other hagiiage^ derived from that of a
of BO Ttrj remote inreatioii, and giTcn after
it^ aa their Temacolar toi^giUi
8APAB0WA, eaDed hy the aatms H05IM0A. CoRectly vritten it is probably
S^iarva» or Sepoiha* fioaa the BBtire amBeral, ja» utanding as an artide, and the
S ai M uit , porva^ ** fiist»* or "aoaroe." Hub aeme wa^ probably, like eoTenl othen,
imiMiefd by the aaciait Malay aad Jaianeae ipiee txadera. Saparowa is one of the
Amboyna groap of islaads lyiag off the aooth-westem end of Geram. It has a popo-
IstioB of 12,0(N), and prodnees okore ^tob thsn all the other islanda of the same
groop pot together. To the residency or district to which it gives name* are annexed
the smaller islands of Nnsa-lant or Sea Island, and Melano^ which added to it mske
the total popolataon S0,000. Hie district oontaina twenty-two villsges, all of whidi
are inhabited fay Prototant Lutheian Christi&ns^ except two, of wMch the people
are Kahonunedana. After the restoration of the Spice Islands by the ^^^gKA to
theDotch in 1S17» a rebellion broke out in Sspaiowa* which inTolved nearly the whole
island, and which it leqoired the efioEts of two yean to suppress. The leaden in it
were, it is remaiAable^ idl Christiana. «
6API, or 8APPT. This is the name given by navigaton to the strait which
divides the islands of Sombawa from Floris; and within or near to v^ch are the
islaads of Gmnmg-api, Gilibanti, and Comodo. It is one of the highways between
the sees of the Malay Ardiipdago and the I^idfie Oeean, the navigable pasnage being
between the last-named island and Sombawa. The word sapi, in Malay end Javanese,
signifies "kine," or "oxen,* end seems to be taken from the name of a bay on the
Sombawa shore of the strait.
6AP0N6AN. This is the name of a lake in the Spanish provinoe of Caraga on
the northern side of the island of Mindano. A river proceeds from it which
shortly sfier quitting it» divides into three brsnchesy and fidls by sa many mouths
into the bay of Butuan. Of the extent of the lake, nothing is stated beyond its
being laige.
SAPPAN^WOOD. (CsBsalpinia sappan.) TMs dyeing material, the wood of a
lowly tree^ is found in msny psrts of the Malay and Philippine Archipelagoe but is most
abundant in the island of Sombawt, and in the provinces of Iloilo in Pa^y and Panga-
sinan in the great island of Luaon. In 1850, Uiere were exported, chiefly to Europe
and America, no less than 11,000 tons of this article from the port of Manilla. The
sappan-wood is the wild produce of the forests, and that it is indigenous wherever
it grows there can be little question. It has, like many indigenous products a
distinct name in the different languages^ the only agreement, and this not perfect,
being between the Malay and the Javanese, in the first of which it is called sftpang, the
origin of the European commercial and scientific names, and in Javanese sftchang. In
one language of Uie true Moluccas we have it as samya, and in another as roro, while
in Amboynese it is lolan, and in the Tagala of the Philippines sibukao. It seems
probable, however, that the Cssealpinias which produce the dye-wood of countries
which extend from the 9th degree of south to the 19th of north latitude, may be
distinct species. The sappan-wood of Luson is by from 40 to 50 per cent more
valuable than that of Siam, that is, yields by so mudi more of colouring matter. In
this respect all the Asiatic CsBsalpinias rank far below those of BraaiL
SAPUTXJ. The name of one of the mountains of the northern Peninsnla of
Celebes^ with an active volcano. It rises to the height of 5800 feet above the level of
the sea.
SARASAN is the name of one of the many islets ofiT the eastern coast of the
Malay Peninsula. Like all the rest, it is inhabited by the orang-laut» or sea-
gypsies, amounting to about 300. The people of Sarasan had, at one time, the reputa-
tion, not without good foundation, of being habitual pirates. Since the establish-
ment of Singapore, however, they have taken to peaceable pursuits, and bring their
birds-nests and coco-nuts to the British settlement to exchange for com, salt and
dothing.
SARAWAK 877 SAVOE
^
SABAWAK, 10 the name of the most southerly district of the western sea-boatd
of Borneo, and of the territory of the sultan of that islandi bounded to the south by
Sambas, at the projecting head-land called by the Malays Tanjung Datu, meaning
" elders" or " clueftain's promontory." It is described by its present possessor as
extending along the coast for sixty miles with an average breadth of 6fty, so as to
give it an area of SOOO square miles, which would make it by about one-fifth part
larger than the West Riding of York. With the exception of a few specks, it is a
vast forest^ without any sign of having ever been otherwise, with the ape, the deer, and
the wild boar for its most numerous inhabitants, The climate i^ moist and hot, the
average temperature of the year being 83° of Fahrenheit. The geological formation
consists of sandstone and granite, but it possesses neither the gold of the southern dis-
tricts of the island, nor the coal of the northern, its only discovered mineral hitherto,
being antimony. This previously little known country, was brought into notice in 1 82 4,
by the accidental discovery within it of the richest, the most easily worked, and
the most easily transported supply of sulphuret of antimony in the world, and
which has ever since furnished Europe and America with their principal supply. There
are three considerable rivers within the territory, or forming its boundary. The chief
of these which bears the name of the place itself, is formed by the union of two
streams proceeding from the mountains of the interior, which after their junction
pass in a course of 20 miles, through the territory, and at 12 miles from the sea divide
into two branches entering it by the same number of considerable mouths with
several small ones. The eastern of these channels called the Morotabas is the
navigable one, and is about three quarters of a mile brocul, with a depth of from $4 to
4 fathoms at low water spring-tides, which makes it to a short distance navigable
by large ships. On the banks of this river stood the only Malay settlement^ distant
about fifteen miles from the sea. This was called Kuching (the cat), and contained a
population of about 2000, of a rather miserable kind. It is now the town of S&r6wak,
with a population of 15,000. The primitive inhabitants of the soil are the wild tribes
known to the Malays under the common appellation of Dayaks. These are not a
homogeneous people, but however small the tribes, really distinct and independent
nations. " There are," says Sir James Brooke, " twenty tribes in about fifty square
miles of land.** All these, although with a little occasional admixture, speak really
distinct languages, which exhibits a state of society far more resembling that of Africa
or South America than of Asia. The Malays, by virtue of superior civilisation^
became the rulers of the land, as in other parts of the coast of Borneo, and the
Dayaks, in so far as they came within their reach, their Helots."
In 1841, Sir James Brooke an English gentleman, a man of great enterprise, strong
will, and ample courage and ability, obtained a grant of S4r&wak, from its little more
than nominal lord, the Sultan of Borneo, and has ever since governed it as a virtually
independent sovereign, xmder the Malay title of Baja, token from the Hindus,
and literally signifying '* king." The result has been a great accession of population
by immigration, consisting of Malays, Dayaks, and Chinese, and a large augmentation
of trade, for in 1854, its exports are stated to have amounted to the value of a million
of Spanish dollars, and its imports to eight hundred thousand. Such a result, indeed,
in these rude and anarchical countries, never fails to follow from any administration
which gives a fair amoimt of security to life and property, and examples of it now
and then occur, even under native governments, although the effects, in such cases,
are necessarily temporary.
6ARAWI, is the name of a nation of the western side of Sumatra, whose
locality is between that of the Rejang and Palembang. They speak a peculiar
language, but write it in the same character as the Rejangs. Their country includes
Pai^mak-ulu and Pa84mak-lebar, that is "inland" and ''broad" PasAmak, with
Manah. Mr. Logan estimates the territory occupied by the Sarawi at 5000 square
miles, and the population at 16,000, giving consequently 82 inhabitants to the square
mile, a large proportion for Sumatra. The Sarawi must be considered as among the
dvilised people of the island.
SAY AGE. The only term for savage in any of the languages of the Malay
Archipelago is equivalent in English to "man of the woods, or forests." This in
Malay, is orftng-utan, our well-known orang-utang, and in Javanese wong-alas. The
word dayak seems more especially restricted by the Malays to the wild people of
Borneo, Sumatra, and Celebea
SAYOE 01 SAWEE la the name of a small island lying west of Timur and distant
378 8HABKS
180
with a ▼«K7 Bcantf
supply of vstcE. Lt o nL— r y t«h% ho ncw, the iBhabitaafei naae a snfficiwicy
of m*iL mil.«a aad jaaMi» f*>r t&or ova gnhiiitfca, and in tunes of scardtf , obtain a
hru^ froa t£ie *^"«**. aftd ike fogv cf the lootar pafan (Bonaaos flahriliformia), both
of vaic& are abcsriaas- Tbe ig.'ardii prodiaeei a nnali quantity of tobaeoo reputed to
be of a Tciy lae i^-=^tT. Tb.us ve find two Amecican pbotB, emang the atapla
prod^cs of ^La 9«iq:2£Sfifet«d WwA, naokelj, maia and tobeooo. T^e principal
d:siefr^cascd *^--^'* cf S&v» are the bo^Ealo and hocae, both of whidi are abundaot.
In persxui apc«eanacey she pcopie naemble those of Tfamir, bat are said to
dzSer i&aSe»Lj frya. thoae of the nesghboanng idand of Botti, that is, they are
dark ocnpwexijoed, and baTe firinled hair imtfad of lank. Their langiu^e is
[zLc-:*^ inscrrnixed with some vords of the dialftcto of Timor and with
ij and JaTi'ifaa Tbe woces go naked widi the ezesption of a ahovt pettiooat,
and the zn«n wear no otzier dreai than a bit of doth wiapped round the loina. The
who> popG^a&o* k re^'^ced at 5^".>0. and the idand^ with the neighbomiqg onea, are
dependencieB of the Xetherland goreramcnt of Knpang in Timnr.
SEA, the OcEAS^. The Malay has time verds for the sea, namely, laat and
taak. whics are nadve vorda, and Icji wfaicfa is Arahtc, the last of rare ose. The
JaTaneae has fire, namely, the two If ilar onesy and samndra and sftgara which are
Sancrit. with eftgantaa, a derxTatioa from the last of these for the polite dialect. The
natiTe wcrdU laat as*! tasik are of Tery wi-le enrrency, being fomid in nearly ad the
ianzxxajes of the Malay Archipelago, and extending even to the brngoagee of the
I^dlir >-inee; altboozh in these accompanied by natire synonyms. They do not
extend to the taaguaees of the Lsiaods of the South Sea, nor to the language of
Madagascar, yet in the last, the sea is expressed by a Malayan compounded word,
rannmasina iranu-masia), which signifies ** salt water. In Malay all that is connected
with the eea, as mizht be expected with the language of a pecnliariy sea-faring people,
has a copioas phraseology. Thus, we i^are specific terms for interior and sea-board, for
going with or against the current, for current, tide, ebb and flow, for coveiy islet, strait,
various kin^is of dioada^ dry land the correlative of sea or wat»; not to mentioQ the
enumeration of winds, which amount to no fewer than sixteen.
6ERWATI, or SELAWATI, is the name of a chain of islets extending from the
lacge island of llmur, towards the considerable one of Timur-Uot^ the most westerly
of which is Kisser or Eissa, and the most easterly Sermata. The inhabitants are of
the Malayan race, speak a peculiar language, and are a peaceable and industrious
people raiding yams and sweet potatos, the lontar palm for its sugar, and rearing
poultry and hogSb Mr. Windsor EUu*! who Tisited them, describes the people as
divided into three castes, namely, lords or rulera^ proprietors of tbe lan^ and
serfs or labourers.
SHADDOCK, or PUMPLEXOOSE. The Citrus decnmana of botaiUBts, the
kadangsa of the Malays, and the jAruk*machan. or tiger-orange of the Javanese, is very
generally disseminated oTer the whole Malay Archipelago, but unlike the mangoetin
and durian, is a fine frait only when well and carefully cultivated, as it is at Bataria
and Malacca, where it attains a perfection which, in these regions, no other of the
orange family reaches. It is, most probably, a fruit originally peculiar to the Malay
Arclupclago, and the names which it besrs in other countries diows that in these it
is an exotic. Thus in the continent of India it is called the " Batarian orange,** and
in our West Indian islands the shaddock, which it takes from the name of the com-
mander of a merchant ship that carried it from Batavia to these islands. As Batavia
vras only foimded in the year 1619, and Captain Shaddock lived in the reign of
Queen Anne, it is certain that the introduction of the fruit into both the countries
named is of comparatively modem date.
SHAFEI. The patronymio of a celebrated Mahommedan doctor, tbe foonder of
one of the four sects considered by the Arabians as ortiiodoz. All the Mahommedans
of the Indian Islands belong to his sect. He was a native of Syria, and flourished in
the eighth century, or about three centuries before the earliest conversions of the
inhabitants of the Archipelago to IsUm. These know little about him or ius
doctrines.
8HABK8. These predatory flsh, whioh are numerous, and of great size in the
seas of the Archipelagos, are only named here on account of their nns being a tegular
article of trade for the market of China, where they are prized fi>r their real or ima-
SHASTRE 379 8IAM
ginary stimulating and restorative qualities. The name for the shark in Malay and
JavAnese is lyu, or, abbreyiated, Yu, and this has a very extensive ourrency, for it is
even found in some dialects of the islands of the Pacific
SHASTRE. This celebrated Sanscrit word is unknown to the languages of the
Malay Archipelago, in its sense of a scripture or sacred writing. In the form of
sostra, it signifies, in Malay, an alphabetic character, and written language, as distin-
guished from oral.
SHEEP. This animal is undoubtedly an exotic in all the islands of both Archi-
pelagos, the moist and hot climates of which are ill suited to it. It exists only, and in
small nxmibeis, in a few places where the Hindus or Europeans have settled, as Achin,
Java, and Luzon in the Philippines. They ai'e moat numerous in the latter country,
particularly in the province of Ilocos, introduced by the Spaniards, most probably,
through America. The wool, however, is coarse, and the natives will not eat the
flesh. The name by which it is known to the Malays and Javanese is the Sanscrit
one, bin, although they occasionally call it " the European goat."
SHIELD, OR BUCKLER. This arm seems to have been universal over the Malay
and Philippine Archipelagos before the introduction of fire-arms, and is still continued
by all the ruder tribes. In Malay, there are no fewer than seven different names for
it, four of which are native, — two taken from the Javanese, and one from the TAlugu.
These names, however, rather refer to the different forms of it> than constitute
synonyms.
SHIP. The name for a large trading vessel in Malay and Javanese is jung, which
the Portuguese converted into junco ; and we, improving on this corruption, into
junk. This is the word which we apply to the large trading vessels of the Chinese,
which the Malays and Javanese call by the name of wangkang. The natives of the
Archipelago have not now, and seem never to have had a square rigged vesseL The
people of the Coromandel coast, the Telingos, who traded immemorially with the
Archipelago, had vessels of this class, and from them the Indian Islanders borrowed,
and natuiulised the name for them, namely, kapal.
SHRIMPS AND PRAWKS. These are very numerouB along the ooasts of the
islands of both Archipelagos, under the name of udang in Malay, and urang in
Javanese. They form, almost everywhere, a very matenal portion of the animal
food of the people. The form in which they are commonly used is that of a paste,
formed by mashing them, — well known to the Malays under the name of b&lachan,
turned by Europeans into balachong, and to the Javanese by that of trasl. This is
used as a condiment, and forms a very material article of native trade between the
ooasts and interior.
SIAK, OS SIYAE, is the name of a Malay state on the north-eastern side of
Sumatra, as well as of its principal river and town. The river, the finest in Sumatra,
has its origin in the central chain of mountains, and, after passing through an exten-
sive alluvial plalo, disembogues in the Straits of Malacca, nearly opposite to the
islHud of Bungkalis, and at the northern end of Brewer's Strait, in north lati-
tude 1* 30', and eant longitude 102° 10'. The mouth of the river is about three-
quarters of a mile wide, but almost closed bv a sand-bank, in some places dry at low
water, and leaving a very narrow navigable channel only, but still a safe one for
vessels of considerable burden. After passing this bar, the water deepens to five
fathoms, and fifteen miles from the mouth of the river, there are still from seven to
nine fathoms. The river is, in fact, navigable for vessels of large burden for eighty miles
up, and for a hundred for vessels not exceeding 200 tons. Altogether, including boat
navigation, its navigable course ii not less than 150 miles, so that it may be considered
the most useful stream in Sumatra. The town of Siak is about eighty miles feoxa the
mouth of the river, and described as a considerable place, but no details are given.
Neither have we any account of the extent or population of the state itself. Siak,
under the name of Ciaca, is one of the twenty-nine states mentioned by De Borros as
occupying the sea-bourd of Sumatra when the Portuguese first appeared in the waters
of the Archipelago.
SI AM. This name for the kingdom and its people is taken directly from the
Malay, in which it is Siy&m, and this again is said to be derived from the ancient
Siamese name of the country and its principal inhabitants, Sayam. The present
Siamt-ee, however, call themselves Thai, a word which, in their language, means
*• free.** It is probably equivalent to Fraoks^ or freemen, and was probably first used
8IAM 380 SUM
to distmgnish the ruling and priyileged nation finom aabjeoted tzibeB. It is aJao
applied to the Laos, with the epithet '' greats" while the Siamese themeelves bear that
of " little/' terme, however, which, probably, signify no more than elder and jonziger.
The kingdom of Siam extends from about the 4** to the 22** of north latitude
or to the length of 1080 geographical miles. Its breadth is very irregular, varying
from 150 to 860 miles. Its entire area, tributary states included, has been eatimated
at 12,880 geographical leagues, or 111,000 geographical miles.
To the north Siam is bounded by the territory of the Burmese in one quarter, and
by the British in another; to the west by the British territory and the Bay of Bei^al;
to the south by the Malay States of Perak and Jehor, and by the Gulf of Siam, and to
the east by the territories of Cochin China. The essential parts of the kingdom, how-
ever, seem to lie between the 14° and 17* of latitude, and embracing about 36,000
geographical square milea^ do not much exceed in extent the island of Java.
The coast line of Siam, on the gulf of its own name, extends to about 1000^ miles,
but on that of Bengal, to not more than 200. It contains no deep bays or inlets,
but on the Siamese gulf, the embouchures of several large rivers. The Qulf of Siam
extends from between the 8** and 9* of north latitude to between the 13" and 14% and
all its upper or northern coast is in possession of the Siamese. Along its coaata the
depth of water is usually from nine to ten fathoms, and in the centre from fifty to
sixty. A current at the rate of three miles an hour prevails in the gulf running from
north to south during the northern monsoon, and in the opposite direction during the
southern. It is beyond the reach of the region of hurricanes, and usually its naviga-
tion IB safe and easy. Both its eastern and western coasts contain many ial«n4ff, — ^a
few of them thinly inhabited, and all of them green, wooded, but sterile.
The mountain chains of Siam have a direction from north to south, and seem to be
throe in number, but of their height and geological formation we have no reliable
information. The most westerly range seems to be a continuation of the great central
one, which runs through the Malay Peninsula. Some of the highest points of this
rise to the height of 5000 feet, yp to the 14* of latitude, this range yields iron, tin,
and gold, and no doubt the formation is sedimentary and plutonic.
The Menam, the Mekong, the Meklong, the Petriii, the Tachin, and the Chantibnn
are the principal rivers of Siam. The first of these, of which the literal meaning ia
" mother of waters,*' is by far the most important, in so far as regards Siam itselt It
is said to have its source in the Chinese province of Tunan, and is computed to have
a course of 800 leagues. Between the 17** and 18* of latitude it receives a large
affluent, the Phitsalok, and in about the 16° it divides into several branches, pro-
ducing an extensive system of irrigation. At the ancient capital Tuthia, it reoeives
another afBuent, and nine leagues from the sea, above the modem capital Bangkok,
all the branches unite, and thus debouche at Paknam, literally ** the river's mouth.'*
From the ancient capital to the sea, the Menam is navigable for large vessels, having
from bank to bank, a depth varying from six to nine fathoms, and at Bangkok it is
half-a-mile broad, a spacious river and convenient harbour. A bar, composed of mud
and sand, however, obstructs its entrance, about ten miles in breadth, on which the
depth at low water does not exceed three feet, nor at high, even during spring tidea, above
fourteen. The three rivers, the Meklong, the Petriii, and the Tachin, all of short course,
have their distinct embouchures at the head of the gulf, but are connected with the
Menam, or principal river, by natural canals, which contribute to extend its irrigation
and navigation. All these together inundate the lands in their neighbourhood, from
Juno to November, and, by their deposit, fertilise a plain which is considered to be about
sixty leagues in length, by twenty-five in breadth, or having an area of 6750 geogra-
phical miles. In the month of August the water overflows the banks of the Menam,
rising to the height of forty inches above its ordinary level in the dry season, in some
years having even an elevation of double this amount. It is remarkable, however,
that this inundation does not extend to the lands which border the river for eleven
leagues inland from the sea, which are so high as not to be afifected by it. The
valley of the Menam is obviously of modem creation, for even at the city of Bangkok,
at the depth of twenty-five feet below the surface, abundant debris of sea-shells and
Crustacea) are found, and the water reached is stated to be as salt as that of the gulf.
The river of Chantibun, which Ib of short course, disembogues on the eastern coast
of the gulf, between the 12* and IS* of latitude, and is stated to fertilise a narrow
plain twelve leagues in length. The Mekong, or great river of Kamboja, is said to
nave a course of 500 leagues, and must be reckoned one of the greatest rivers of Asia.
A small portion of it only passes through the territory of Slam, — that whidi is inha-
bited by the tributary Laos and Kambojans.
SIAM 381 SIAM
Lakes do not eeem to be numerous in Siam, or at least not to be of great extent.
One, however, is described as existing in the tributary part of Kamboja. This is
called Talesap, — said to be situated between the 11<> and 12** of latitude^ — ^to be
twenty leagues in circumference, and to abound in fish.
As to climate the year in Siam as in other Asiatic countries within the same
latitudes, is divided into two seasons, a wet and a dry, the first of which extends
from the middle of June to the middle of October. The south-west monsoon during
this time blows over the country, and for the rest of the year, the north-east. At
the capital, Bangkok, Fahrenheit's thermometer ranges in the months of December and
January from 50° to 53**, and in March and April, the hottest months, from 86" to 96".
Over the great alluvial plain the ventilation is as complete as in the open sea, and
hence the country equal in salubrity to any tropical one. fiut in many of the confined
and thickly wooded valleys the climate is deleterious from malaria.
The mineral products of Siam of economical use are iron, lead, tin, gold, sine, and
antimony. Iron is chiefly manu&ctured in the little town of Thasung on the Menam
in about latitude 16" 8(K. The ore obtained in the western range of mountains and
said to be of good quality, is brought to the place of manufacture by a small river,
and being smelted by the Chinese is sent in pigs to be cast into those caldrons
which are so generally used in the country itself, and largely exported to the Malayan
countries. Tin is described as the produce of four different provinces, exclusive of
the tributary Malay States which also yield it These provinces extend from about
the 8" to the 15" of latitude, and seem to be part of the same formation which
extends to the Malay peninsula and its islands db far as Banca and Billiton. Lead,
sine, and antimony are found in the ranges of mountains which lie on the western
borders of Siam between the 18" and 14" of latitude, but no mines of them seem ever
to have been worked, and, indeed, although the two first metals are well known to
the Chinese, they are unacquainted with the last. Gold is produced only in the
same localities which yield tin, the most noted mines being at a place called Bang-
tapan, at the base of the range of mountains called the " Three hundi*ed peaks^" close
to the western shore of the gulf, and between the latitudes of 11" and 12".
The only remarkable gems found in the Siamese territory are the ruby and
sapphire, said to be found in the valleys among the mountains of Chantabun or
Chtintaburi, on the eastern side of the gulf between the 12" and 18" of latitude.
These precious stones, however, would seem to be much less abundant than those of
the Burmese mines in the country of the Shans or Laos. Long ranges of limestone
mountains exist in the western part of the Siamese territory. Culinaiy salt obtained
by solar evaporation is largely produced near the sea on the banks of the river
Meklong. This which is in unusually large crystals of great purity, furnishes the
whole kingdom, and is the commodity which chiefly supplies the Malayan countries,
with the exception of Java.
The useful spontaneous or cultivated vegetable products of Siam are, with a few
exceptions, the same as those of the Malayan Archipelago, and especially of Java,
although there be a difference of some eight degrees of latitude between them. The
cereal corns are rice, the great staple of the country, of which no fewer than forty
varieties are reckoned to be cultivated, and mais, of course, as a plant of American
origin of comparatively recent introduction. The chief pulses grown are the
Phaseolus radiatus, or Soy bean, and the Araohis hypogssa or ground pea, the first
but not the last being an article of exportation. The chief cultivated palms are the
•coconut, the areca, and the palmyra. The first yields the principal supply of oil
for home consumption, and is a large article of export^ and the last, the sugar, for
domestic use. The sugar-cane has been immemorially known to the Siamese, and
the historian, Diogo de Cauto states that both sugar and spirits were made from it
when the Portuguese first visited Siam towards the commencement of the sixteenth
century. This, however, seems to have ceased for a long time, and it was not until
about the year 1810, or about eleven years before my own visit to the country, that
the Chinese settlers began to cultivate the cane for the manufacture of sugar. After
Bengal, Java and the Philippine island of Luzon, Siam is, at present, the principal
sugar-producing country in Asia, and the produce is of a very high quality and well-
known in the markets of Europe.
Cotton is extensively cultivated in upland regions, but not within the tract of
inundation. It supplies not only the whole domestic consumption, but is to some
extent exported to China. Its Siamese name, fied, would seem to imply that it is
a native and not an exotic. Black pepper is confined to the district of Chantabun or
Chantaburi on the eastern side of the gulf and between the 11" and 12" of latitode.
8IAM 382 8IAM
pappor, nakcB it probabite that it is an
to ib» H J inifB imdflr the name of " modiciiie "
»" ii of eomae an artide introdnead directly or indirecUj by EuTopeftiu^
most probablj by the F i Mti i |n ieB B, but at vbat partiealar time or under what cii^
n i rl 'vn ii aot kaown. The plaat a tbtj geaeraUy cnlliTated, and it may be
■ad to be of uimmI Ma.
The feUawiag an the prodaete of the Siamaaa foreats put to econoiDical nae, the
teak, or Teekona graadia; aappaa wood, Ctemlpniii a^ypaa ; a kind of red wood called
by tha luuiikot PoKtagaeoa nM>-iQBa or roae wood ; AipSbk or eag^ wood ; and a kind
of *»*— ~" iliifiahtfl, from that of fluinaUa , more abandant^ hot inferior in quality ;
two irpf * f of eardamom, wiiiminftlj diflerent firom the Amomnm cardamomnm of
Makbar, with the gan&bosa of rommnree, the pcodnee of a Qarcininm confined to
that portion of Siam eonqnefed from Kambqja. In Tmrioiu parta of the kingdom,
eapeoally ^ ila aovthecn diatrieta^ the tree or traes yielding the Taloable gntta-
percfaa, haTe bean reoantly djeoovered and the gam exported. From all aocoonta
teak foreata are not foond in any part of Siam farther soath than the 16^ of latitade,
which will oorraqKBd with the locality of oar own in Pega and Mantaban. Aa in
Jafa they will probably be foond confined to the limeatone formation. The timber is
broogfat down to the capital by a long naiigation, and being largely oaed in the con*
atroetioii of templei^ monaateriea and ahip-^bailding» little probably remaina for expor-
tatioB to fiweigB eoontiiea*
The moat eooapicaoaa of the wfld mammalia of Siam are the elephant^ the
ihlnooaroa, the 1k^, the ok, aeraral apedea of deer, the harOp the otter, the royal
tiger and leoperd, with some amaller feline animala, and aome apectea of Tivarnu
The dog is at^ed, on natiYe aothority, to exist in the wild states bat the hyeDa» wolf,
jackal and fox are all abaent. Elaphanta are abandant in all the wildest parta of
Siam, iodading I^o and Kambcga, and are largely domesticated aa beasts of burden,
the finest being esteemed thoee of the provinoe of Sapfaan, lying west of the riTer
lfAn*m^ and in aboat the 16** of latitodsL
The domesticsted quadrapeds, besides the elephant, are the ox, the boffiJo, the
horse, the hog, goat, and dog. The ox is aaed for laboor only, and this confined to
the drr uplands ; the ba£Uo, the aame powerful and unwieldy animal as that of
the Indian lalandR, is the <Hily beast of draught employed in the deep and niarehy
irrigated tracts. The domesticated hog is of the Chinese breed, and largely reared
by the Chineae. The Siamese horse, like that of all the countriea south<east of
India ss fiur aa China, ia a pony, not exceeding 13 hands high, and ia in general
nse only in the uplands, bdng rsffely seen within the tract of inundation. The dog,
as in all other eastern countries west of Cochin-Coina, is an unowned Tagrant in towns
andTillagea:
The ornithology of Siam ia a subject for future naturalists. The most conspiooous
birds are an eagle, a Toltuiey the carrion crow, all numeroua about the capital,
becauae attracted to it by the disgusting character of some of the Siamese fimeialfl,
and from religious motiyea, they never being either killed or disturbed. The
common Indian peacock, and the beaatifdl double-spurred one are to be seen in the
wooda, aa well as the common fowl, and several species of pheasant The common house-
sparrow, which, as a native, is unknown in the Malay and Philippine Archipelagos,
is very frequent in the Siamese capital. The domesticated poidtry are nearly con-
fined to the oommon fowl and duck, the g^oose being rare, and the tarkey unknown.
The reptilea of Siam are numerous, consisting of various tortoises^ lisards^ and
snakes. Kot only the egga of turtles, but also of alligators, are used by the Kamese
as food. The anakes are of many species, but few of them poisonous. A python, of
which I saw an example when in the country, measured 12 feet long. Both the sea-
coasts and rivers of Siam abound in fish, the latter more especially in the period of
inundation. Dried fish is, indeed, a considerable article of export, besidee forming
the largest part of the animal food of the people. A sauce or rather a paste
made of crushed and pickled prawns is an article of universal consumptioD.
Thia, which the Siamese call kapi, is the blachan of the ICalays, and the trasi of the
Javanese.
Among insects the most useful are the honey-bee, only wild, snd the )ac
insect. The stick-lac of Siam ia in the quantity and quality of its colouring matter,
the best in the east, and continuea to be an artide of export. At the capital, the
mosquito was not found more troublesome than in other hot and damp countries,
but towards the mouth of the Menam, they exceeded in nmnber anything
I had ever experienoed elsewhere. The common fly is by no means freest
SIAM 383 SUM
or troablaeome in Siam, and it is rather remarkable that lioe, bugs, and fleas are
nearly unknown, as is the case also in the Philippines.
The man of Siam, including all the nations and tribes which inhabit it, is the same
with the Burmese and Kambojan. It is the race which prevails from Bengal to
China, a peculiar one that hss not been much commingled with other races. The
average stature of the male sex is about five feet three inches, which is about an inch
taller than the stature of the Malay, and an inch and a hidf shorter than that of
the Chinese. The complexion is a light brown, nearly the tame with that of the
Malay, but considerable darker than that of the Chinese. The hair of the head, is black,
lank, course, and abundant. That of every other part of the body scanty, the beard
consisting only of a few scattered piles. The nose is short, round at the point yet never
flat. The upper part of the forehead is narrow, and the face broad at the cheekbones,
giving it a losenge instead of an oval form. It is not difficult to distingpiish a
Siamese from a Malay or a Chinese, when the parties are present to the observer,
but by no means easy to convey by words the difference between them.
The dominions of Siam are inhabited by four distinct nations, — the Siamese proper,
or Little Thai, the Lao, or great Thai, the Eambojans, and the Malays, and of three
rude tribes,— the Karieng, the Chong, and the Law&. All these have their separate
languages, and are more or less distinct in manners and customs.
The proper Siamese^ or ruling nation, as far as our imperfect knowledge extends,
inhabits from the seventh degree of latitude to the twentieth, and from the shores of the
Bay of Bengal to about the one-hundred-and-second degree of east longitude. This
embraces the whole fertile tract of the inundation of the Menam, and other rivers which
debouche at the head of the Gulf of Siam, and to this favourable locality is, no doubt,
to be attributed their supremacy. The Lao nation lies north of the Siamese, extending
eastward as far as the Mekong, or great river of Eamboja. The Laos are composed of
several petty states, governed by their own princes, and paying tribute to the Siamese.
There is no record of their having existed as an independent people, their states
being subject either to the Siamese, Burmese, or Kambojans. The Kambojans, called
by the Siamese, Khmer, inhabiting the Siamese territory, occupy a considerable
portion of the oountiy on the eastern side of the Qulf, from between the tenth and
eleventh degree of latitude up to about the sixteenth.
The vrild raoe of the Chong inhabits the mountains to the esst of the province of
Chantibun, on the eastern side of the Gulf, and the Eariengs have their locality to
the north of them. The Lawil are found in the range of mountains lying between
the Menam and the river of Martaban. In reference to the Siamese, the Lao, and
Kambojans, those three rude tribes stand in the same relation as do the mountaineers
of Hindustan to the civilised Hindus, or those of the Philippine Islands to the
advanced inhabitants of the lowlands. They sre not without some knowledge of
agriculture and the useful arts, but have not adopted the religion of their masters, to
whom they, notwithstanding, pay tribute.
Besides the native nations of Siam, a large number of strangers are permanently
settled in it, retaining their own languages and manners. These are chiefly Chinese,
from the maritime provinces of that empire, with some Peguans, and Cochineee or
natives of Anam. M. Pallegoix, in his recent work, makes the whole population of the
kingdom, tributary states included, 6,000,000, composed of the following elements, —
namely, proper Siamese, 1,900,000 ; Laos, 1,000,000 ; Malays, 1,000,000; Kambojans,
600,000 ; Peguans, 50,000 ; and rude tribes, also 50,000. As the area of the whole
kingdom is estimated at 111,000 square geographical miles, the relative population,
by these dates, is about 54 inhabitants to a mile. The statement, however, is not
only suspicious on account of its round numbers, but also from no data whatever being
furnished of the principle on which the estimate has been formed. That portion of
it which relates to the Malay population is, beyond doubt, a monstrous exaggeration,
since we know that English writers, with far better means of information, do not make
the population of the four tributary Malay states to exceed 180,000. Their estimate,
however, does not include the Malays living within the proper Siamese territory, but
if we make these 20,000, the exaggeration will still amount to 800,000, which must be
deducted from the total population of the kingdom.
In the estimate of M. Pallegoix, the proper Siamese population is put down at
1,900,000, which is probably not overrating it. The tenitory occupied by them is
the fertile inundated plain of the Menam, and its affluents. Estimating the area of
this at 24,000 square miles, it would give, excluding Chinese and other strangers, a
relative population of near 80 to the square mile. The population of the Laos
is given at 1,500,000, and considering that the territory they occupy is extensive, and
SIAM 384 8IAM
that they are a peaceable and rather a civilised people, it may not be orer-rated.
The Kambojane are set down at 500,000, but we know ao little of them and their
country, that no means exist for checking the statement
The presence of a hirge Chinese population is certainly a mngnlttr £acfe in the
history both of China and Siam, and the more so since the emigration ia of oom-
paratively recent origin, for at the close of the 17th century, according to the
statements of the missions sent by Louis XIV. the number did not exceed 5000.
M. Pallegoix gives it at 1,500,000, which I have no doubt is over-rating it. In 18361,
it was stated to myself at about half-a-million, and supposing it to have since increased
by one-half, the number will be 750,000, which far exceeds the number of this pe<^le
to be found in all the other coimtries put together to which this people has nugrated.
They are chiefly confined to the fertile part of the country occupied by the fii»nk»^
attracted to it by trade, and the manufactures of iron and sugar. Adding them,
therefore, to the Siamese we shall have a total population for an area of 24,000 square
miles of 2,650,000, or 110 to the square mile, which in density is one-half that of
the island of Java, and scarcely a third of that of the plain of the Ganges.
With the deductions now made, the total population of Siam will amount to
4,450,000, which would give about 40 inhabitants to the square mile. Most of the
country, indeed, consists of mountain and forest, and even the most fertile portion
of it is under-peopled The people are rude, and have never enjoyed any other than a
barbarous and arbitrary government. The country is now, and has been for the last
half-century, better governed than perhaps in any other period of its history. It has the
example and the labour of a large body of industrious Chinese, and is no doubt from
all this, more populous than it ever was before. The abundance and cheapness of
com and the other necessaries of life, show that muph fertile land is yet unoccupied,
and still abundant room for a rapid increase of population.
The country of the proper Siamese nation is divided into forty-one provinoee,
named, after the manner of the Chinese, from their chief towns. The tributary
Kalay states amount to four, namely, TrAnganu, Kalanten, Patani, and Queda» which
are described under their respective heads. The tributary Lao states amount to
seven, and the Eambojan to five. It is only where their own language is vernacular
that the Siamese administer government directly.
As to towns, the Bishop of Siam renders some account of twenty-four, most of
which he had himself visited, and which, exclusive of the capital, contained popu-
lations varying from 4000 up to 80,000, giving a total between them of 830,000, or,
including the capital, of about 730,000. This, according to the estimate of the
population of the kingdom which I have attempted, would make the town inhabitants
to amount to one-sixth pcurt of the whole, a result highly improbable in a rude state
of society, and in a country which, with the highest estimate of its population, is veiy
thinly inhabited.
By far the largest and most important of the towns of Siam is Bangkok, the modem
capital, in north latitude 13° 38', and east longitude 100** 34'. It lies on both banks
of the river Menam, where it is about half-a-mile broad, and about eight leagues firom
the sea, its site being within that portion of the lower valley of the Menam, which,
as already stated, is elevated above the level of the annual inundation. The present
reputed population of Bangkok is 404,000, composed of the following nationalities,
namely, Siamese, 120,000; Laos, 25,000; Malays, 15,000; Peguans, 15,000; Kam-
bojans, 1 0,000 ; Cochin-chinese, 12,000 ; Burmese, 3000 ; Portuguese Christians^ 4000 ;
and Chinese of the whole, or mixed blood, 200,000.
There is no doubt but that Bangkok is a populous and busy place, but the prober
bility is, that this estimate of the number of its inhabitants is greatly in excess.
The number given would make its population equal to that of Calcutta or Bombay,
which, considering the difference of government, and that these towns are of earlier
foundation than ifcself, is highly improbable. The town is described as occupying an
area of twenty-five square miles, but this includes the river, the palace which has a
circumference of three-fourths of a league, and many temples with their courts.
Most of the houses, too, consist only of the ground-fioor, or k there be a second, the
lower is uninhabited, owing to the insuperable repugnance of the Siamese to have
any one over their heads. The Chinese, it will be seen, form near one-half the
population, and to them is entirely due its commercial prosperity. The Menam
within the town, and indeed for many miles above and below, forms a safe, spacious,
and commodious harbour. Bangkok was founded in the year 1769, after the
destruction of Ynthia by the Burmese, and in the long period which has 'since
transpired, has never suffered by foreign invasion or serious insurrection.
SIAM 385 STAM
Yathia, or Ayuthia, a cormption of the Sanscrit AyudyAi the name of the country
of the Hindu demi-god, Rama, the ancient capital is situated on the river Menam,
fifty-four miles above Bangkok, and seventy- eight miles from the sea, and lies in
latitude 14* 88'. It is within the tract of inundation, surrounded by water, and
intersected by canals. Its present population, consisting of Siamese, Laos, Chinese,
and Malaya, is computed at 40,000. The ruins of this old capital are very extensive,
and several of the temples still standing, although neglected.
Changmai, or in Portuguese orthography, Xiengmai, is a town of Lao, and the
capital of a principality of the same name, situated apparently in latitude 20* 46'.
It lies at the foot of a mountain, but has an extensive fertile plain near, and is
close to the Menam. The town, surrounded by a double wall and fosse, is said to
occupy an area of 1000 toises in length by 900 in breadth, and to have a population
of 60,000.
The only other large town in the Siamese dominions is Luang Phra-bang. This
is also a town of Lao, and the capital of a tributary state. It is situated on the
the Mekong or great river of Kamboja, in latitude 17* 50', and is a flourishing place,
supposed, although probably with much exaggeration, to have a population of
80,000.
Of all the people inhabiting the Siamese territory, the Thai, or proper Siamese,
have attained the highest degree of civilisation, and it is of them only that the state
of our knowledge will enable us to speak with any confidence, — the Malays idone
oxcepted. Siamese civilisation is intermediate between Hindu and Chinese^ but
much below either of them. It has received a good deal firom both these sources, but
in the main is indigenous, nor is there any reasonable ground for concluding that it
sprang up in any other locality than that in which it at present exists. Considering
the extent, the fertility, and easy communication by water possessed by the country
occupied by the Siamese, it is difficult to account for their inferiority to the Hindus
on one side, and to the Chinese on the other, except by supposing the race an inferior
one. That race although undoubtedly a different one, is, probably, intellectually not
superior to the Malay, as may be seen where the latter has had a fair opportunity of
development, as in the example of Java, for it cannot be asserted that the Javanese
are in any respect a less civilised people than the Siamese.
For the character of the Siamese, we may safely take the description given of it by
M. Pallegoix, who resided 20 years among them. He represents them as a lively,
mild, timid, and inconstant people, disliking wrangling, and Vhatever savours of anger
or impatience. They are scandalised, for example, when they hear a priest express
himself with any degree of vehemence in delivering a homily. They are indolent ;
and above all, great beggars. Thus, if they see anything curious in the possession of
a stranger, they do not hesitate to ask for i^ yet will express their thanks on receiving
i^r ^y gi^Dg Bome trifle in return. They are of a very charitable disposition, and
never suffer a beggar to pass without giving alms in some shape or another. In their
relations with the female sex, they are vexy reserved, and on this head their laws are
severe. The smallest caress bestowed on another man's wife or daughter, will often
incur the risk of a law-suit, which may end in the offender's being sold as a slave.
The Siamese are greatly addicted to games and" amusements, and it may be truly
said that one-half the year is passed in them. Mildness and humanity are, according
to the bishop of Siam, characteristics of the nation. In the populous capital serious
quarrels are of rare occurrence ; and a murder is so uncommon an event, that a whole
year will sometimes pass without the occurrence of a single case. In this respect the
Siamese are favourably distinguished from most of the Malay nations, and even from
the heterogeneous populations of our own insular possessions. The Siamese have
this mark of a civilised people that they do not wear side-arms ; and this, with a very
phlegmatic temperament, must contribute materially to the infrequency of broils and
homicides.
The Siamese exhibit the most profound respect for all superiors, from the king,
whom they reverence almost as a deity, to the humblest of his officers. Europeans,
indeed, would call their submission not respect but abject servility. Reverence to
jiarents, and, generally, to old age, are held in great respect The bishop observes,
that among the resident Chinese, suicides are not unfrequent, while they are scarcely
ever known among the Siamese; but this is an observation not applicable to the
Siamese alone, but to all the Asiatic nations, not of the first rank of civilisation.
The moat remarkable feature of the Siamese character is a national vanity, which
is excessive. This was observed to distingulBh it by the French travellers of the
17th century, and equally distinguishes it at the present day. One of these travellers
8IAM 386 SIAM
the AbM QervBiae, obeenres of them, thai " they commonly deepiso other natioiw.
and are persoaded that the greatest injnstice in the world ia done to them when their
pre-eminence is diapnted.** Thia delnaion no doobt arises from their having imme-
morially domineered over the small and inferior nations suironnding them ; and their
having no political equaL The presence of a large body of Chinese liying among them,
and superior to them in laboriousness, ingenuity — even in personal strength and stature
— has by no means contributed to disabuse them. In so fiur as security of life and peisoo,
and to some degree, even of property is concerned, the Samese are a safe people for
strangers to live among, but they are by no means an agreeable one. The chief instru-
ment for maintaining subordination and order, is the rod, administered very freely to
all ranks, and its infliction held to be no disgrace by any, a matter in which tiiey
agree with the Burmese, Cochin-Chinese, and Chinese, but differ wholly from the
Halays, vrho are as impatient of a blow as the most sensitive Europeans.
Among the Siamesei, the distinction of castes has no existence, and in ao &r is
religion is concerned, there is no hereditary privileged order. Except official nmk,
which is entirely personal, the only civil distinctions among them are of freemen and
slaves. Slavery \b an estabUshed institution, and it is thought that about one-third
part of the whole Siamese nation are bondunen. These are of three descriptions,
namely, prisoners of war, parties sold for a consideFation by their parents under a
written contract, and parties who mortgage their services in liquidation of a debt
The second class is the only one not redeemable, and the last the most numeroos.
We are assured by the bishop of Siam, that the Siamese treat their slaves with kind-
ness and humanity, exacting from them no severe labour^ and treating them ntha
as domestic servants than bondsmen.
Harriages are contracted by the Siamese at from 15 to 17 years of age, that is, after
the attainment of the age of puberty, rather a late period for an eastern people.
When the time is delay^ by parents over-anxious for favourable matches for th^
daughters, elopements are not unfreqaent, the law afterwards enforcing a marriage if
the parents should not be voluntarily reconciled. The husband has a right to sell a
wife that he has purchased, but not otherwise. Qenerally, wives ace well treated,
not immured even among the higher classes, but among the lower performing much
drudgery. In Siam the wages of labour are comparatively high, that is, high in
proportion to the labour performed. Hence, a large family is not a burthen but
an advantage, parents being even enabled to dispose of their children by sale to
advantage. This is a state of things that was to be expected in a fertile country
underpeopled, and it is what has led to the extensive immigration of the Chinese,
who find no difficulty in obtaining Siamese wives, or wives from the half-caste settlers
of their own country. It is the paucity of inhabitants, too, that has no doubt led to
the existence of slavery, found in every underpeopled country of Asia, but hardly
perceptible in such populous countries as Bengal, China, and Java.
lu the common and necessary arts, the Siamese have made but slender progress,
Immemorially they have been possessed of a knowledge of the useful and precious
metals. They have grown their own cotton, and manu&ctured their own clothing.
They manufacture coarse pottery, and they make bricks and tiles, but in no art have
they attained any marked eminence. The women are the spinners and the weaven
of their tissues, as among all the less civilised nations of Asia. The smelters and
workers in iron are the resident Chinese ; and the raw silk which their women weave
is imported from China, for they have none of their own; nor, indeed, do they
possess any native textile material except cotton.
The only remarkable exhibition of Siamese skill in the arts is shown in their
architecture, and this is almost wholly confined to their religious edifices, among
which may be included the royal palaces. One temple, or rather many temples with
one large central one, which I visited myself In 1821, was contained within a square,
the wall of which measured at each side 650 English feet. All the temples within
the inclosure contained 1500 images of Buddha, some of them of most gigantic size,
while the number of priests was 500, and of neophites 750. In one temple out of the
many within the inclosure, there was an inscription which stated that it was built in
the year of 2338 of the sacred era, corresponding with the year 1795 of our time^ and
that it cost 465,440 ticals, or about 58,1802.
The lower part or ground storey of a Siamese temple is of ordinary brick and
mortar, and all ornament is reserved for the upper portion and roo^ which are com-
posed of solid teak-wood, richly and elaborately carved, and richly gilt both inside
and out, or covered with a coat of bright vermilion. The statues are of brass» or of
mortar, but in either case richly gilt
SUM 387 SIAM
Attached to the temples are the monasteries, and always near to them certam
pyramidal spires, usually containing a single image of Buddha. These are of solid
brick. The most remarkable of these is to be found still standing within a league of
the old capital This is computed to be 400 feet in height^ and is said to have been
built in the year 1887 of our eriL Like many other ancient buildinga of the Buddhists
it is utterly neglected, and its gigantic gilt bronze statue of Buddha has, according to
M. Pallegoix, for its sole worshippers, some thousands of bats.
The agriculture of Siam owes more to peculiarity of situation, rich alluvial land,
and periodical inundation, than to the skill of the people. The country contains no
great works of irrigation like those of Southern India, nor does the practice of trans-
planting rice prevail as in Java. In the month of May the land for rice is carefully
weeded by means of a rude harrow, and with the firat fall of rain in June, the seed
is sown, afber a ploughing with a very simple one-handed implement. The crop keeps
pace in growth with the rise of the inundation, and as this abates and the land becomes
dry, the grain ripens, and is reaped in January. As in other countries where rice
has been mimemorially cultivated, the varieties are very numerous, but the principal
cultivated within the tract of inundation is a large and fruitfid one, as is snown by
its taking seven months to come to maturity. Of this, forty seeds are considered an
average return. The horticulture of Siam, and especially of that portion of the valley
of the Menam which is within about 10 or 11 leagues of the sea, and not periodically
flooded, is distinguished for successful culture, producing most tropical fruits in
perfection, and some of the most distinguished of the Malay fruits which refuse to
grow in any similar latitudes, in any other part of the world in which the trial has
been made.
The Siamese language is peculiar, differing materially from those of the neigh-
bouring nations, except the Lao, which is said to be fundamentally the same tongue.
The Siamese call it pbaBa-thai, that is, ** the language of freemen." The first word in
this term, however, it is evident is only a corruption of the Sanscrit bahasa, " tongue,*'
or " speech." The Siamese consists of two dialects, the vulgar and the court. The
sacred language is a distinct tongue, that is, the Pali or Pakrit, common to all the
nations wMch have embraced the Buddhist religion, and brought along with them from
Hindostan, the parent of both. The alphabet in which the vulgar and court languages
are written is peculiar in the form of its letters, which, however, are arranged according
to the organic classification of the Hindus. It forms a complex, but for its own pur-
pose, a complete system. Thus it has no fewer than 12 vowels, 3 diphthongs, and 5
»emi-vowel characters or liquids imited to vowels. Its whole vowel characters, there-
fore, amount to no fewer than 20, — some long and some short, and some very long
and some very short. The consonants amount to no fewer than 43, divided into
gutturals, palatals, linguals, dentals, and labials ; with a nuscellaneous class composed
of liquids, sibilants, and aspirates. As in the Sanscrit alphabet, in the first four
classes, each simple consonant character has a corresponding aspirated one, with its
own peculiar nasal. Thus, the entire system consists of no fewer than 63 characters,
which approaches to three times the number of the letters of the Roman alphabet,
excluding double ones from the latter. The Siamese alphabet is described by M.
Pallegoix, who studied the language as ingenious ai.d comprehensive ; adding, that
when recited in all its oombinatious, it forms a complete dictionary of the language.
This, however, must refer only to the native portion of it, which is wholly monosyllabic,
and cannot include its polysyllabic ones which are foreign, and chiefly Pali.
The Siamese is not of easy acquisition to a stranger, on account of the difficulty of
pronouncing certain of its sounds, — of its different accents, which amount to five in
number, and of its frequent idioms. It has, properly, no inflections of nouns to
express gender, number, or case, nor of verbs to express time or mode ; tbe first
being effected by modals or adjectives, and the last by auxiliaries. In fkct, it is a
language of verv simple structure; and considering that the great body of its words
are monosyllables, it could hardly be otherwise.
The SisLinese write on long sheets of native paper, nearly of the texture of paste-
board, and folded sdg-xag. It is either white or black, the writing being with a pencil
of chalk of the opposite colour. Their sacred books are, however, written on slips
of palm-leaf, gilt at the edges, the characters being scratched with an iron style, and
rendered distinct by lamp-black. Thirty or forty narrow palm slips, loosely connected
by a silk cord, make a volume, and a library uf such books belongs to every monastery.
Books on religion, it is singular, are not written in the Siamese character, nor
in the Pali as with the Cingalese and Burmese, but in the character of Kamboja.
The literature of Slum is in the form of both prose and verse, and is divided into
2
SIAH SSS BIAU
Mcred Wld pmbiie ; the first bedng in the Tulgar toDgae, and the last in Vali. M.
PaJlegoii hu pieu truisUtioiu of some ipecimenB of the popQlKr literBtiii«. The
foUowing are eumplae of Siamese proverbs. " Whan jon go to tha forost, do
not leave your axe behind jou." — " Do not pitee jour bark acroa th« anrrent of tha
liver." — "The elephant, alljiough he have four legs, yet Bometimea trips; uid a dud,
however learned, u liable to loake mietake^" — " If ;ou land, jron maj enoomnter a
tiger; if jou oontinae in year boat, you may £kU upon a crocodile." — ^"Nobility
impiies but pedigree, but manners the nian.** — "If a dog bite you, do Dot b;u
the dog in return." — "Wliy ihould a nun fear the nin nho dwalls onder the
The following is a Siamese fable. " Avarioe is an enemy to pnwperitj and imv
even lead to death. A certain hunter was in the pnctioe of ehootiog elepluuits, fur
the nourishmeot of his wife and cbildrea. One day be discharged his bow at an
elephant, which, struck by his arrow and maddened by the pain of the wound, pur-
sued him in order to kill him. The hunter, in order to escape, ascendod a white aot-
hilJ, on whidi lay a snaks that bit biuL Enraged, he slew the snake. The elephant
coatinned to pursue, but the arrow, by which he had been struck, being s poisoned
one, be fell dead alose to the ant-hill ; and the hunter himself died of the bite of tbe
■nake, leaving hie bow ettll strung. Meanwhile a wolf, in search of prey, came to the
spot, and rejoiced exceedingly at what he saw before him. ' Behold me ridi, for thii
turn,' sud ha, ' for good fortune haa befallen me. The elephant will last me thm
mouthy — the man seven days,— and I wilt make two me^ of the anake. Bai,'
added he, ■ why should I allow the bow-string to be waatedl Bettor Uiat I «t it
first to appease my hunger.' Thus meditating, he bit the string ; snd the bow re-
bounding broke hie skull, and he perished, on the spot."
The following is given as the tranalation of a ^amese poem. "The pnns whidi
men eodure in this world are a tfaouaand-fold less then theme the wicked shall un-
dergo in the infernal regions; — there the king of hell shall torment them cmelly. —
The wicked man shall be immured and loaded with an iron ruff and fetters, an aocnont
of the crimes he committed in this world, when, pitiless, be cast others into fatten.
— He shall be mads to lie on a bed of red-hot iron, — he ahalt be trsi^fixed, and die.
and be bom again seven times in a day.— Rapadaas of bribes, he has not feareJ
lying; his tongue shall be torn out,teoBUBe he had judged unj astly. — When ho was
a judge OQ earth, he used menaces to extort gold; and obtajoing it, he decided in
favour of the guilty, making falsehood pass far truth. — When he diee, assuredly he
shall not escape vengeance ; he has not spoken truth, and for this he shall be thrown
into hell, there to remun for a long duration. — He has not seen his own orime : be
boa despised tha laws of his forefathers, and on this account, dogs of the obb of ao
elephaut, and crows and vultures shall devour his fioah."
Among the Siamese, the only branches of knowledge with which they are
acquainted, that can be called science, refer to their caleodar, their money, and
their weights and measures ; and these are of such a character as eotttlea them to
rank in the third class of Asiatic civilisatian. They have two eras, a eacred an4 a
civiL The first of theae they reckon from the death of Buddha, which they plu«
543 years bafors the birth of ChrisL The seoond corresponds with the year of our
era, 6SB, and is said to have beea institulad by an ancient Siamese king. It pro-
bably, however, dattt from tbe introduction of the Buddhist religion into Siam, an
event which, it may be remarked, nearly correBpouda in time with the origin of the
Mahommedan in Arabia. The Siameee year is lunar, the alternate months being of
S9 and 30 days. The oalsndar, however, is soUr, and the time ac^usted by addiif
a month to every third year. The week consists of seven days, and has been obfi-
•d fhim the Hindus, since its days are named after the same objects, ai
■day, to., although the names be Siamese traoBlatians of the SaaactiL
obaervancea, however, the month is divided into two parte : a bright or
id a dark or waning moon. The Siamese have two cycles, a amaller of
a greater, whic^ is its multiple by 6. Each year of the lesser cycle ii
lome fiuniiiar animal, ae the ox, tbe horse, the do^ the ape, ikc, and the
is divided into 6 decades.
lae have the advantage over the Burmese in possesdng coined monej.
is matter, thay are above even the Chinese, who have no ooined money,
I of base metal This advantage is probably no more than a matter of pun
le standard Siamese coin is known by the name of a bat; and is the
is known to Europeans as a tical, a word of unknown origin. The coined
he tical ore halves, quarters, and eighths ; and its own nine about three
/
8IAM 389 SIAM
French francs, or 2f. 6d., which makes it about one-fifth more valuable than the
Indian rupee. For small change, cowrie shells are used as in Hindustan ; and of
these, 1200 are considered to be equal to the lowest denomination of silver money,
the fiang, or eighth of the tical, namely, about 15 farthings.
The smallest Siamese weight is called in the native language a hun, and weighs
45 centigrammes, or grains 6*948. Above this, and up to the bat or tical, the weights
have the same denominations as the coins, the tical itself being of the weight of 18
grammes. What may be called the Siamese pound, weighs 720 grammes ; and the
Siamese quintal 72 kilogrammes. These two weights, however, are in much less use
than the Chinese cattie and picul, which are of one-half their weight ; making the first
9383 grains, and the last the multiple of it by 100, or 188J pounds avoirdupois.
The standard Siamese long measure is the fathom, which is two French nidtres, or
78*74 English inches. It is composed of 4 cubits, each cubit consisting of two mea-
sures, called empangs or feet. These consist of 12 parts or inches, and the inch is
divided into 4 parts, known by the native term of kabit.
The lowest denomination of road measure is the fathom already mentioned, 20 of
which make a sen, or 40 French metres; and 400 sen, equal to 16,000 mdtres,' make
a yotw This last measure is, probably, the Sanscrit yojana, which is nearly equal to
10 English miles. The other measures seem to be locfd.
The lowest measure of capacity is the coco-nut, and this, by law, ought to be
equivalent to half a French litre, or 81*10 cubic English inches. Twenty of these
make the measure called a thang, and 25 a set; and 80 thangs, or 100 sets make the
largest measure, which is called a kien.
The religion of the Siamese is the same as that which prevails in Ceylon, — which is
universal from Arraccan to the western frontiers of Anam, — which, in a modified
form, is the worship of Tibet, and of the nations of Tartary, and which is partially
established in Anam, China, and Japan.' The Siamese ascribe its origin to the pnnce
of a kingdom within the valley of the Ganges, which they name Kabilaphat, no doubt
the KapilawBstu of the Sanscrit. This prince was Gautcuna, named Buddha, or tho
sage. They consider him a prophet and law-giver of incomparable wisdom, but not
a god ; for they describe him as dying in the 80th year of his age, and before Christ,
543, which would place his birth in 623, only 297 years before Alexander's invasion
of India.
The leading characteristics of Buddhism are the existence of a priesthood living on
the eleemosynary gifts of the laity, practising a rigid celibacy and exclusively devoted
to religion, — the transmigration of souls, — a professed tenderness for all animal
life, — a belief in a future state of rewards and punishments, and qs the last reward
of super^excellent piety and virtue, annihilation, or at least, absorption into the
essence of the deity. Some European writers have described such a religion as a
virtual atheism, for which, however, it is obvious that there is no ground. The
religion of Buddha, although in theory more mild, and less monstrously superstitious
than the Hindu, does not seem to have contributed to humanise or civilise its votaries.
With the exception of Japan and of China in which it is not in much esteem, all the
nations professing it are less advanced than those professing Hinduism.
The soil, climate, physical geography, and geographical position of Siam, make it a
country well adapted for trade. The most active part of the internal trade is carried
on by the Chinese, who are spread over every part of the kingdom where gain is to
be made, much facility being afforded to their enterprise by the principal rivers, their
branches and affluents. The main part of the foreign trade is with China, the traders,
mariners, and the shipping at least, as to form, being Chinese. The next most
important branch of the foreign trade is with the Malay islands, and this is confined
to the Dutch and British settlements, and is of very modem origin, having originated
«ith free trade and abolition of European monopolies in European commerce.
This branch also is, for the most part, in the hands of the Chinese^ aa to capitalists,
mariners, and shipping.
The articles of export from Siam are very various, no fewer than fifty-three native
products being enumerated. The prindpsl articles are as follows, rice, pulses, cooo-
nut oil, wood oil, resin, cane-sugar, palm-sugar, cardamoms, black and long pepper,
sappan-wood, a certain yellow dye-wood, mangrove bark, gamboge, teak-wood, rose-
wood, benzoin, eagle-wood, cotton-wool, liquid indigo, stick-lac, iron in the form of
caldrons, tin, lead, horns, and hides, of the ox, buffalo, deer, and rhinoceros, ivory,
jerked beef, salt, and saltfish. Coffee has, of late years, been cultivated and exported,
and, as the climate and many localities of the kingdom are well suited to its growth,
it promises to become a large article of export.
SIAM 390 SIAM
The principal imports are the productions of China, chiefly for the oonsmnptioa ci
the large resident Chinese population. These oonrist of coarse pottery, paper, fan^
umbrellas, raw and wrought silks, and tea. From Hindustan the staple imports a2«
cotton fabrics and ophim, and from Europe, mostly from British Indikn BetUemeots,
cotton and woollen &brics, glass-ware, cutlery, arms and ammunition.
The govemment of Siam is as thorough a despotism as can well be oonoeiTed. Hie
soYereign is looked upon as a sort of demigod, who, after many migrationa, is on the
high-way towards final absorption into the essence of the Creator. His oonrtieFS dare cot
look him straight in the &ce and so speak to him. They approach him in the erawliag
attitude of the lower animal w, their knees and elbows being absolutely cicatrised by the
long habit of this practice. When he appears abroad, which is seldom, erery one
prostrates himself as he passes, and all persons, even passing the royal palace, make a
reverential obeisance to it His real name, during his life-time, is never uttered, but he
is alluded to under such titles or epithets as the following, — ^the meet reverent, tbe
perfect one, the godlike feet, the descendant of ancient kings, the deacendant of
angels, and the lonl of perfect justice.
Siamese nobility is wholly personal and official, although from the nature of thingi,
often heritable in families. It consists of five orders. Two persons only belong to
the highest order, the two first miniBters of state, one of whom is superintendant ^
the northern or interior provinces, and the other of the southern or maritime. In
fact these functionaries constitute two distinct prime ministers, havuig each a moietj
of the kingdom for his province. To the second class of nobles belong five ministen^
namely, the governor of the palace, the treasurer, the minister of agricultore, tbfi
chief of the royal guards, and the superintendant of the Hon or Peguan resident
inhabitants of Siam. The third order amounts to twenty-five in number, and are
either the deputies of the officers of the two first classes, or holders of subordinate
offices. The nobles of the fourth and fifth class are very numerous, and nsuallj
subordinate to those of the third.
The different provinces have each their own governors, and are named after their chief
towns as in China. According to their importance, they are divided into four orden,
the Siamese capital and the chief towns of the tributary princes, constituting the fint.
Huang, in Siamese, is a town or a country, and by affixing to it the numerals we have
the degree to which each belongs. It may be remarked that the numerals employed
for this purpose are not those of the vernacular language but the Sanscrit ones, or
rather the corruptions of these in the Pali or sacr^ tongue, namely, ek, tho, tri,
chateva.
A tolerable notion of the character of Siamese govemment and society may be
formed from the manner in which public services are rewarded. Duibursemente for
this purpose are made yearly from the royal treasury in the month of Novembo*,
the operation usually lasting about twelve days. The royal princes and the seven
principal ministers receive each a sum equal to 2002. a year. Functionaries of the
third class are paid, according to the importaoce of their charges, at the rate of from
*IL 10«. to 1202. : officers of the fourth class have salaries of from 72. lOi. to 152., and
inferior officers of from 22. to 152. Common soldiers, police officers, medical prac-
titioners, artisans, and the like, are paid according to merit, at the rates of from 25i:
to 80«. a year. These rates of remuneration are sufficient provocations to the
extortions, peculations, and evasions, which are known to be generally practised.
The revenue of the kingdom is stated by M. Pallegoix at the sum of 26,964,100
ticals, equivalent to 8,870,5122., probably a great exaggeration. It consists of poll-
taxes, land-taxes, monopolies, and custom duties, of all of which a brief account will be
satisfactory. With the exception of the Chinese of the pure blood, that is, of emigrants
direct from China, all the inhabitants subject to the direct govemment of Siam,
excluding, of course, the tributary states, are amenable to the performance of corv^
labour to the crown, commuted when the services are not exacted into a money pay-
ment This varies for a slave, from two to four ticals, and for a freeman from four to
six ticals. The total amount of the commutation is stated at 12,000,000 of ticals, or
1,500,0002. At the medium rate of 4 ticals a head, the contributors to this tax
would amount to 3,000,000 of peraons.
The Chinese are also subject to a capitation tax, but at a higher rate. A census of
them is taken every three years, and then every male of the age of 20 and upwards
pays a tax of 5 tioala The total amount of this tax is stated at 2,000,000 of ticals
or 250,0002. The amount of the tax would make the number of the contributors
400,000, and if these constitute one-third part of the population, the total Chinese
inhabitants of Siam would amount to 1,200,0002L
SIAM 391 SIAM
The tax on land is of three different descriptions, namely, an impost on land,
yielding rice by irrigation, — one on such lands as produce such articles as sugar-cane,
pepper, and tobacco, and a third on garden lands. The first of these imposts is a
fixed tax of one tical for a measure equal to an arpent, and, if we consider this as an
English acre, we have a moderate fixed impost of half a crown the acre. The produce
of this tax is said to be only 2,000,000 of ticals, or 250,0002. The actual extent of
land underwater-field cultivation is, according to this estimate, only 2,000,000 of acres,
but this, of course, excludes the lands of all the tributary states. The tax on lands
yielding such products as sugar-cane and tobacco, is said to yield a sum of 500,000
ticals or 62,500/., but the principal on which it is assessed is not stated. The tax on
garden lands and orchards is far more productive than either of the other two, for it
is stated as yielding 5,545,000 ticals, or 692,7502. This is a tax on every fruit tree
or other tree, the produce of a garden or orchard, and it includes even Uie bamboo.
The Durian pays the highest tax, namely, a tical, or 2«. 6<2. on each tree, while the
mangostin, the mango, and the jack, pay no more than one-fourth part of that suul
This impost is assessed at the beginning of each reign, and throughout, it is invariable,
without reference to increase or diminution in the number of ti^ees cultivated. This
is, of course, an excise or a tax on the produce of the land, and not on the land itself.
The other two taxes on the land are, no doubt, of the same nature, for in a country
so under-peopled as Siam, no true land tax, or impost on rent, can correctly speaking
exist.
Many roval monopolies exist in Siom, and the most considerable of these are
farmed, and yield a considerable part of Uie public revenue. The monopoly of the
retail vend of opium yields 50,0002, of rice-spirit 62,5002., of tobacco 18,888/.,
of gaming 62,500/., of the fishery of the Manam 88882., of the public markets
12,5002., and of the floating shops on the Menam 18,8882. The total of these
farmed monopolies amounts to 281,6642. The practice of farming such taxes has been
introduced only of late years, and has evidently been borrowed from that of the
neighbouring European governments.
Inland duties appear to be levied on many articles, exclusive of those imposed on
the land, and of custom duties. Thus, the tax on coco-nut oil, a staple product, is
stated at the sum of 62,500/., that on sapan-wood at 25,0002., that on cane and palm
sugar at 32,5002., and that on black pepper at 50,0002.
The customs, including measurement duty on European and Arabian shipping,
yield only 47,5002. excises and inland duties, having, in fact, anticipated them.
Besides the taxes now enumerated, there ore some peculiar ones which deserve notice.
Thus, thera is a lottery which produces 25,0002., and a tax on public prostitutes, which
yields 62502.
Some particular articles are monopolised by the government, or received by it as
tribute paid in kind. Thus, esculent swallows* nests are stated at 12,5002. Tin at
75002. ; iron, probably a royalty, at the same sum ; gamboge, at 80002. ; eagle-wood,
at 56252., and rosewood at 5000/. Besides the various sources of revenue now stated,
the King of Siam is himself a merchant, trading to a considerable extent to China and
the Malay Islands, but the extent of his profits in these unsuitable enterprises, if any,
is unknown. The revenue derived by the Siamese government from the tributary
states would appear to be but small, for that of the northern ones, or Lao, is set down
at no more than 62502., wliile that of the southern, or Malay and Eambojan, amounts
only to 50002.
As to laws, the Siamese possess a written code in forty volumes, divided into three
ports, the first of which contains the titles and attributes of all legal functionaries, the
second the institutes of ancient kings, snd the third the modem laws, dating ^om
king Phra Naret, who ascended the throne in the year of our time, 1564. This last
and most important part of the code consists of the following titles, namely, theft and
robbery, slavery, marriage contracts and debts, inheritance, and finally forms and pro-
ceedings. M. Pallegoix, who states that he read the code, afiftrms it to be conformable
to natural justice, and well suited to the genius of the people for whom it was framed.
All the chief officers charged with the administration of justice are bound by law to
be possessed of a copy of it, and daily to peruse some pages. He adds, however, that
the laws are hardly ever followed, and he gives an example. They ordain that no suit
or trial should exceed in duration three days, notwithstanding which they are fre-
quently drawn out to the length of two and three years 1
The Siamese, in the administration of the laws, make no distinction between judi-
cial and executive functions, both being in the hands of the same parties. There are
three classes of tribunals, the lowest that of the governors of provinces, the second
8IAM 392 8IAM
that of princes and ministers at the capital, of which there are seyeral, and third, t
of the king. No causes of importance are tried by the first, and it is only the jA
that exercises unlimited jurisdiction. Every court has its assessors, and all proc»K
ings are taken in writing. In criminal cases the punishments are occaaioiiallT /
extreme severity. Thua^ a thief who melts down a gold or silver idol stolen fri/i.i
temple is condemned to be burnt alive. Adulterers are branded on the cheek, ai
TalapoinSy or priests, convicted of a breach of ohastiW are stripped of their sacerd -2
drees, scourged, and condemned for life to cut grass for the royal elephants^ a piz£^:-
ment considered infamous, and for which there is no pardon. According to I&c,
capital punishment ought to be inflicted for murder, and several other crimes, be: >:;
present it is confined to high treason and rebellion. Sentence of death is paa»i cr
the tribunal, but usually commuted by the cro?ni for a smaller punishment. Wbo
the extreme sentence of the law Ib carried into e£fect, it is by decapitation, or br
binding the malefactor to a poet, and transfixing him with spears, the body in eii^
case being left to be devoured by birds of prey. In the case of criminals of the rcral
family, their blood must not be shed, and with them the mode of executioa n
to sew them in leathern bags and sink them alive in the Menam. In cases i
murder and of suicide, neighbourhoods within a radius of fifty fathoms are mV.*
responsible under the penalty of a heavy fine. When quarrels take place^ theref jnv
the neighbours take much pains to prevent their ending in death ; and acts of BUicrie,
lest they should be construed into murders, are carefully concealed.
The Siamese prisons appear to be most execrable dungeons. The prisoners are all
chained together at night, and in the day subjected to hard labour, while throughcu
their incarceration, they have no other food than a little rice and salt, while they an
subject to the ill-usage and extortion of the jailers. Prisoners for debt, however, an
usually set free in no long time by the interference of their relatives. A Ssam«se
who had been confined in these dungeons observed to the Bishop of Siazn, that he
could not imagine hell itself to be worse.
The art of war, as may well be imagined, is in a very low state among the Siamese^
By the accidents of position they are an agricultund and by no means a wariika
people. The masses go unarmed, a mark of civilisation which distinguishes this
people from the Malays and other rude nations of the same class. The strength,
however, which a civilisation derived chiefly from the advantages of locality has con-
ferred upon the Siamese has immemorially enabled them to subdue and hold in subju-
gation inoet of the smaller nations of their neighbourhood not so favourably situated,
as well as to hold their own with their equals in power and civilisation, the Burmese,
Peguans, and Eambojans. The Siamese have never, indeed, been permanently con-
quered, although their country has frequently been invaded and over-run.
When the ELig of Siam declares war he issues a proclamation to the princes, cfaiefr,
governors, and tributary states, to furnish the quotas of their respective followers,
prescribed by custom. Each soldier is clothed, and supplied with one month's
rations, the state furnishing arms. Such is the constitutional army of Siam ; but
within the last twenty years a sort of standing army, disciplined and formed on the
European model, has been organised, under the instruction of some Englishmra.
This consists of infantry and artillery, and is said to number 10,000. The route of a
Siamese army Ib usually by water, and when it lands, in the absence of all roads, its
artillery is conveyed on elephants, and its small baggage on the backs of the soldiers
and camp-followers. In former times, and in wars with the Burmese, Peguans, and
Kambojans, a Siamese army is said to have sometimes amounted to 100,000 men, and
1000 elephants. Such a rabble host could only have subsisted, and subsisted miser-
ably, too, on the plunder and devastation of the country it invaded.
The Siamese marine is a good deal more respectable than the land force. It con-
sists of 120 war boats, furnished both with oars and sails, some carrying two and some
four guns, these being in the bow and stem only, so that in action each must be alter-
nately swept round by oar, to bear on the enemy. In addition to these boats, the
present king has built no fewer than six frigates and sixteen corvettes, on European
models, and these are commanded by Europeans.
The Arsenal, for security against insurrection or rebellion, is within the indosure
of the royal palace, and amply stocked with small arms and cannon, kept in good
repair. These are of foreign, chiefly English manufacture, but the gunpowder is of
Siamese make, coarse and weak. Towards the mouth of the Menam, there have been
erected, since my visit in 1822, several fortresses, well constructed of earth, and on
European principles, some of which mount as many ss 100 guns. These seem to be^
with the exception of the weak wall round the king's palace, the only fortifications in
8IAM 393 SIAM
the kingdom, for in this respect Slam, as well all the other Indo-Chinese countries^
differ widely from Hindustan, which abounds in fortified places.
The Siamese are said to treat prisoners of war with humanity. This is probably a
matter of policy. The paucity of population seems to be felt, and the prisoners are
hence adopted as citiaens, and planted as colonists, under a leader of their own nation.
In this manner we find settlements of Peg^uans, Kambojans, Cochin Chinese, and
Malays. The exception to this rule of good treatment are captured rebellious chiefs,
who are exposed, in iron cages, to the insults of the populace, and then immured in
dungeons. An example of this took place as late as 1829, under the late king, when
the Lao prince of Vieng-chan was brought prisoner to Bangkok, exposed in an iron
cage, and soon after died from the ill treatment to which he was subjected.
The history of Siam is divided by the Siamese themselves into two parts, an early
and mostly fabulous, and a modern and comparatively authentic one. In the first,
the founders of the kingdom are described as having been two Bramins, who were
cotemporaries of Buddha, or who lived 548 years before Christ. The first date, how-
ever, which is, quoted for any event, is 950 of the saored era, corresponding with
407 of Christ Siam, at this time called Sayam, for it had not yet taken the name of
Thai, was tributary to Kamboja, but threw off the yoke under a prince called Arun-
nftrat, said to have been bom in the year in question. To his time is ascribed the
invention of the Siamese alphabet, and the restriction of the Kambojan to religious
purposes, as at present. In the year of Christy 688, was established the civil era, and
this is ascribed to a king oedled Phaya Krek. It is probable, however, that this
era is contemporary with the first introduction of the Buddhist religion into Siam.
At whatever time this last event happened, we must conclude that the Siamese must
have been already a tolerably civilised people when they were capable of adopting a
system of worship so refined as that of Buddha, with its transmigration, its priest-
hood supported by voluntary alms, its temples and its monasteries.
The modem or authentic history of Siam dates from the establishment of the seat
of government in Yuthia, evidently a corruption of the Sanscrit Ayudhya or Oude. This
happened in the oivU year, 712, corresponding to 1350 of our time, under a prince
named Phaya Uthong. This event) then, took place only 161 years before the arrival
of Alboquerque at Malacca, when the name of Siam became first known to Europeans.
From that time to the accession of the reigning king. 475 years have transpired,
during which there have reigned twenty-nine kings, which gives an average of between
sixteen and seventeen years for each reign. Some of the princes reigned only a few
months, and others even only a few days. Some were assassinated by brothers,
uncles, and ministers, and four different dynasties have occupied the throne. I'he
country within the period named was repeatedly invaded by Peguans, Burmese, and
Kambojans, even the capital having been taken, sacked, and its inhabitants carried
into captivity. In the year 1583, one of the best of the Siamese kings, Phra Naret,
in retaliation of an invasion of his own country, invaded Kamboja, captured its
capital, and took its king prisoner. He had made a vow that he would bathe his
feet in the blood of the Kambojan monarch, and he kept his word, for he caused his
prisoner to be assassinated in his own presence, and went through the ceremony to the
sound of cymbals and other musical instruments.
In 1656, a prince called Phra Karai, who on his accession took the title of Phra
Ch&o Champhuok, ascended the throne. He was the second of his dynasty, for his father
had been a noble who had usurped the government by the assassination of his pre-
decessor. Phra Narai was the ally of Lewis XIY., and the same who sent missions
to France and received ambassadors from that country. The intercourse was brought
about by an adventurer of the name of Constantino Falcon, a Greek of the island of
Cepbalonia. This person had been the steward of an Euglish East Indiaman, but
had the talents and dexterity to raise himself to the post of first minister of
Siam, and is justly quoted by Voltaire as a signal example of the superiority of the
European over the Asiatic races. His master and protector, however, dying in 1688,
Falcon was deposed and put to death, and with him ended the prospect, at one
time promising, of establishing French influence in Siam.
In the 80 years between the death of the ally of Lewis XIY., and the year 1767,
no fewer than five different sovereigns reigned in Siam, most of them usurpers. In
1758, the celebrated Birmese king, the conqueror of Pegu, and known to Europeans
as Alomprah, invaded Siam, laid siege to Yuthia, but dying during the siege, his
army retreated. The Siamese capital, however, was captured and sacked by his
son and successor in 1766. Next year the son of a Chinese by a Siamese mother,
seized the throne on the death of the reigning prince and expelled the Burmese,
SIAOW 394 SILK
This 18 the king known by the Sismeee titie of Phaya Tak. He appeare to hare
ruled the oonntiy with ability and equity for fifteen yenn, bat having incurred ihe
hostility of the nobles, he flew to the allium of a monastery in 1782, from wluch he
was dragged and asEassinated by one of the nobility who ascended the tfanme aod
was the fint prince of the reigning dynasty. He was sncoeeded-by his son in 18i],
the prince, who wa6 on the throne during my nussion in 1822. On his death in ISii^
the throne was seised by (me of his sons by a concabine to the prejudice of ^t
legitimate h&r, the present king, who ascended the throne in 1851, under the nase
of Somdet Fhxn and several others. Ihuing the lifetime of his brother, he had liTcd
in a monastery and worn the yellow garb of a talapoin for protection. Here he had
studied for twenty years, and apparently to good purpose, for he appears to be the
most intelligent and liberal monarch that ever ruled Siam. Along with him reigBS
his brother, as seind, or junior king.
8IA0W, or SIYAOy is the name of a small island lying off the Sangir cLaifi
which extends from the end of the north-eastern or volcanic peninsula of Celebe«
towards Mindano. This islet contains a mountain which rises to ihe heig^ht of €0"%*
feet above the level of the sea, and is the most elevated point of the chain to which
it belongs. It is a volcano which has produced many eruptions.
SIBmU (Polo), literally " the blue" or " the azure isle" is one of the largest of
the islands lying off the western coast of Sumatra, between 2° 15'' and 4^ 5' south
latitude. It is sometimes called also Mintaa Sibiru is in length from north to
south, about 50 geographical miles, but of unequal breadth, and has been computed
to have an area of 4 SO geographical miles, or 16*6 myriometers. In its centre it
has an active volcano. Its inhabitants belong to the Malayan race and speak tL«
same language, and are of the same nation as the people of the isIandB imniediataly
south of it, Pora and Pftgi.
SIBUYAl^. A considerable island lying between the Philippine Islands of
Masbat^ to the east and Isla de Tablas to the west, and north of the laiige island of
Panay, to the province of Gapiz in which it belongs. It is five leagues in leng^th and
three in breadth in its widest part It is mountainous but fertila The inhabitants
are chiefly fishermen, and amounted, in 1848, to 5634 souls.
SILK. This commodity is known to the Malays and Javanese by the name of
Sutra, which is the Sanscrit for thread or yam, the form in which it was probably
first made known to the Indian Islanders, llie same name, with more or Ices corrup-
tion, is that by which it is called all over the Malay and Philippine Archipelagos. In
most of the languages, it is, letter for letter, the same as in Malay and Javanese, but
we find it in the Lampung of Sumatra as Sutagha, and in the Tagala and Biuaya of the
Philippines, respectively Sutla, and Sukla, and in the Tagala, accompanied by a
native aynonym. Silk may probably have been first made known to the iuhabitaots
of the Indian Islands by the Hindus, if we are to judge from its Sanscrit name, but
in all times known to us, they have been supplied with this article raw and wrought by
the Chinese, the original inventors of silk. Pigafetta, in 1521, found not only the king
of Borneo and his courtiers dad in silk, but the very housings of the royal elephants
made of it. The same thing was found to be the case at Malacca on its capture tea
years before, and Barbosa expressly names raw and maniifactured silks as among the
articles brought by the Chinese junks, to Malacca. From the raw silk of China, the
Malays and Javanese always wove and still continue to do so, some strong and
often rich domestic fabrics suited to their own peculiar tastes. The culture of
the mulberry and the rearing of the silkworm have never been practised by the
natives of the Archipelago, whether from the unsuitablencss of this branch of in-
dustry to the climate, or to the state of society, is not ascertained. De Barros, indeed,
after enumerating, with great correctness, the commodities produced by Sumatra,
such as gold, camphor, and pepper, says, ** It produces, also silk, in such quantity
that there are cargos of it sent to many parts of India," but this is probablj an
error on the part of that usually reliable writer. I am not even aware that wild
silk is produced in any of the insular forests such as it is found to be in many of those
of Hindustan. The only country of the two Archipelagos in which the rearing of the
silkworm has been attempted is Luzon. In 1786, a governor-general of the Philip-
pines caused four millions and a half of mulberry trees to be planted in the province
of Camarines. Their culture, however, being voluntary, and the natives showing no
disposition to attend to this branch of industry, the project wholly failed. It has
since, more than once, been renewed, and very good silk produced, but still the
J
SILVER 395 SINGAPORE
rearing of the silkworm as a braDch of industry has not succeeded, and most pro-
"bably from being uncongenial to the habits of the natives and incompatible with
the relatiye high price of labour.
SILVER. No yeins of this metal have hitherto been disooyered in any of the
islands of the Malay or Philippine Archipelagos, many of which contain such abun-
dant stores of iron, gold, tin and antimony. A small quantity of it, however, appears
to be contained in all the gold of these countries. In Malay the name for silver is
perak, and in Javanese sftlaka. Both are native words of which the origin has not
been traced, aud both have a very wide currency, for the Malay word is found as far as
the Philippines in the slight disguise of pilak, and the Javanese without any alteration,
in all the languages from the southern parts of Sumatra to Celebes inclusive. In
some of the ruder languages, however,^ as those of Timur, Floris, and Madagascar,
it goes under the name of ** white gold," while gold itself is distinguished from it by
the epithet of " red.**
The silver with which the Indian Islanders were supplied before their intercourse
'with Europeans, was most probably derived froija Tonquin, China, and Lao. Indeed,
De Barros expressly states, that the silver which Alboquerque coined money from at
Malacca in 1511, came from the last-named of these countries through Siam. Ever
ainoe, or at least since the discovery and conquest of Mexico and Peru, they have
been furnished from America in the course of trade, and their favourite form is the
column dollar or " piece of eight" of the old coinage.
SINGALANG. The name of one of the highest mountains of Somatra, rising
to the height of 9800 feet above the level of the sea. It lies in the inland part of
the Netherland province of Padang towards the western side of the island and about
80 miles south of the equator.
SINGAPORE, correctly SINGAPURA, from the Sanscrit singa, lion, and pnra
city. This is the name of an island, which with the exception of a single village ot
poor and predatory Malay fishermen, and that only formed in 1811, was covered with
a primeval forest aown to the 6th day of February, 1819, and is now the fourth in
rank of the European emporla of India, ranking aiter Batavia. De Barros gives a
whimsical etymology of the name " Anciently, says he, ** the most celebrated city
which existed in the land of Malacca, was called Cingapui«, which, in the language
of the country signifies ' false delay' (falsa demora)." This derivation must have come
through the Malays who, no doubt were then, as they now are, ignorant of the true
meaning of the name, and indeed, even of the fact that it is derived from the sacred
language of the Hindus.
Singapore is the most northerly of the large islands of the almost countless group
that in a great measure blocks up the eastern end of the strait which divides the
Peninsula from Sumatra, leaving but narrow channels for navigation, and forming
as it were, a region of straits. It is about thirty miles distant from the southern
extremity of the Asiatic continent, and separated from the mainland by a strait
generally about a mile broad, but in some parts little more than three furlongs. This
is the S41at tambraa (strait of the tambrau fish), of the Malays and the " old Straits
of Singapore" of European navigators. It was the old passage into the China Sea, but
has long been abandoned for that by the southern side of Singapore. I went
through it in a ship of 400 tons, and found the passage tedious but safe. Singapore
in its greatest length from east to west, ia 25 miles long, and in its greatest breadth 14,
having an area of 206 squaro geographical miles, which will make it 70 miles larger
than the Isle of Wight To the north, it is bounded by the territory of Jehore,
the limit between them being the continental shore of the narrow strait already
mentioned. Everywhere else, the British settlement extends to 10 miles from the
shore of the main land, and within this distance are contained no fewer than 75
islets of various sizes, embracing an area of 17 square miles, so that the superficies of
the entire British settlement amounted to 223 square miles.
Viewed from a distance, Singapore presents no marked elevations, but has the
unvarying aspect of one continuous forest. The surface, however, is undulating;
consisting, generally, of roxmded hills of from 80 to 120 feet high, with narrow
valleys not above 15 or 20 feet above the sea level. A chain of rather higher hills
runs through the island from east to west, making the water-shed in one direction
to the north, and in the other to the south. The culminating point of the land is
a hill, nearly in the centre of the island, called Bukit-timah, that is, '* tin-hiH," and
this rises to the height of 519 feet above low water-mark spring tides.
The geological formation of Singapore consists of the same rocks as the Peninsula
generally, and is plutonic and sedimentary ; the first consisting of granite, and the
SrXGAPOKE 396 SINGAPORE
lactk which embraces the greater portion of the island, of sand-stone, almte, and claj
iron-ore. The only metallic ore that exists in abundance, and this is -very rich, is
that of iron. The island lies also in the f<»mation moat frvoorable for the existence
of tin, namely, between the junction of the granite and sand-stone, but no ore of it
has as yet been discoTered. The bine clays furnish an excellent material for bricks
and tiles ; and the decomposed feldspar of the granite the finest kaolin which Lms
yet been seen in India, but it has not been applied to the manufacture of porre-
lane. Some portion of the island, as that which is the site of the town, is of aUuTial
formation, chiefly sand with a yery thin corering of vegetable mould.
The climate of the island is well described by Mr. lliomson, in the Journal of the
Indian Archipelago. " Singapore," says he, " though within 80 miles of the equator,
has an abimdance of moLsture, either deposited by the dews or gentle refreshing
showers, which keeps its atmosphere cool, prevents the parching effects of the
sun, and promotes continual verdure. It never experiences furious gales. If more
than ordinary heat has accumulated moisture and electricity, a squall generally sets
in, followed by a heavy shower of rain ; such squalls seldom exceeding one or two
hours in duration. According as the monsoon blows, you will have the squalls
coming from that direction. But the mo6t severe and numerous are firom the soutL-
west, called 'Sumatras,' and these occur, most frequently, between 1 and 5 o^ciock
in the morning. The north-east monsoon blows from November to March; after |
which the wind veers round to the south-eaat and gradually sets in the south-wes\
at which point it continues to September. The north-east blows more steadily than
the Bouth-we«t monsoon. The temperature is by one or two degrees cooler in the
first than in the last." The average fall of rain is found, from the observation of s
series of years, to be 92*697 inches ; and the average number of days in the year in
which rain falls is found to be 180, thus dividing the year almost equally between
wet and dry ; the rain not being continuous, but pretty equally distributed through
the whole year, January, however, being the month in which the greatest quantitj
fallii. The mean temperature of Singapore is, at present, 81 "'24 7, the lowest beiolc
79*'-55 and the highest 82*'-31, so that the range is no more than 2'''7d. It woold
appear from this that the temperatura of the island Ib by 9*" 90' lower than that of
many other localities in the same latitudes. Compariog the temperature now stated
with that which was ascertained 20 years earlier, and in the infancy of the settlement,
it would appear that it had increased by 2" 48', a fact ascribable, no doubt, to the
increase of buildings, and to the country having been cleared of forest for three miles
inland from the town, the site of the observations. The general character of the
climate as to temperature is, that the heat is great and continuous, but never exces-
#sive, and that there is little distinction of seasons; summer and winter differing from
each other only by one or two degrees of the thermometer. Thunder showers are
of frequent occurrence, but the thunder is by no means so severe as I have expe-
rienced it in Java, and seldom destructive to life or property. "That interesting and
wonderful phenomenon, called a water-spout," says Mr. Thomson, ** is often to be seen
in the seas and straits adjacent. They ought more properly to be called whirlwinds
charged with vapour. Tbey occur, generally, in the morning between the hours of
eight and twelve, and ri8e to the height of half a mile, appearing in the distance
like large columns supporting the heavy masses of cumuli above them. I noticed in
October, 1841, six of these attached to one cloud, under action at the same time.
In August, 1838, one passed over the harbour and town of Singapore, devastating
one ship and sinking another; and carrying off the comer of the roof of a house in
its course landward. No other atmospherical disturbances of any moment occur.
The typhoons of the China Sea and Bay of Bengal do not reach those parts, nor are
there hot winds to parch the land. The equable and quiet state of the atmosphere
and seasons of these regions, consequently create analogous properties in the &ce of
indigenous vegetation. Evergreens abound ; few trees shed all their leaves at the
same time ; and many of the fruit trees produce all the year round. Such as have
their seasons of fruit will produce crops out of season, bearing small irregular onee
at intervening times. This continual verdure is* perhaps, more grateful to the
stranger than to those who have been accustomed to it. I'o the former it bears the
pleasant ap;>earance of exuberance and fecundity, — of a region where the lofty forest
not only hangs over the beach, but clothes the mountains to their tops, so unlike the
sterile barrenuess of higher latitudea To the latter, the continual sameness palls
the senses. They want variety, and call for a sterile winter, only that they may renew,
with doubly keen perception, their acquaintance with the beauties of returning
summer, a season that always here reigns."
Notwithstanding its heat and its monotony, the climate of Singapore is even
SINGAPORE 397 SINGAPORE
remarkable for its salubrity; and with, perhaps, the exception of a few little-
frequented spots in the interior, it is certainly free from the malaria which often
infects countries, apparently more favourably circumstanced. This advantage it
seems to owe to its perfect ventilation by the monsoons, — by land and sea-breezes, —
and by frequent squalls. That this is the main cause is proved by the eminently
pestiferous air of a land-locked harbour at the western end of the island, and not
above two miles distant from the town.
A popular view of the botany of Singapore has been given by Dr. Oxley, a man of
science, and long familiar with the place. " If nature," says he, ^* has been frugal
in her gifts of the higher orders of the animal kingdom in Singapore, she has lavished
with unsparing prodigality, the riches of the vegetable one. Notwithstanding the
infertility of the soil, climate more than compensates for the loss : heat and moisture
cover the lean earth with unceasing verdure ; and we realise, what fancy paints as the
most desirable of all climates, — an eternal spring. But independently of its position,
the botany of this place possesses several other interesting considerations. Being a
connecting link between the Indian and Australian forms, we have types of both, and
many genera of either region. We observe the Indian forms in the natural families
Palmee, Scitaminea), Aroidese, Artocarpeae, Euphorbiacea), ApocynesD, Guttiferss,
ConvolvulacesB, Leguminosse, all numeroiis. The natural &miUes Casuarines, Myr-
tacesB, particularly Melaleuca and Proteacete, connect us with Australia.*'
*' The plants," he observes, *' which usually spring up when the primeval forest
has been cut down ; and where the bane of all the rest of the vegetable kingdom, the
Andropogon caricosum, or Lalang grass, has not taken possession, belong to the fol-
lowing genera: Melastoma, Myrtus, Morinda, Solanum, Rubus, Rottlera, Clerod en-
drum, Commersonia, Ficus, and Passiflora. The jungle, with the exoeption of its
outskirts, is unexplorable, without great riak, from the number of tigers ; but I have
collected between forty and fifty orchideous plants, including epiphytal and terres-
trial, and about the same number of ferns. Fici are extremely numerous. Of palms
I have not seen more than twenty species, although, I believe, there are a much
greater number. The most interesting of these, in an economic point of view, are the
coconut, the Areca catechu or pinang, the Areca sigillaiia or nibung, the Sagus la)vis
or r&mbuja, the Nipa fruticana or nipa, and the Gomutus or iju. Of the natural
families which most abound, the Asclopiadese, EiiphorbiacesB, Scitaminese, and Urti-
cacesQ are the chief." The forest contains an immense number of species of timber
trees, most of them of great height and growth. Above two hundred have been
cullected, and of these about half-a-dozen afford good timber for house and boat
building. The teak is not of the number. The forest, also, produces the two species
which yield the useful gutta-percha, and a fig which affords an elastic gum. But
for use these articles, as well as timber, are not obtained from Singapore itself,
but from the wider and more accessible forests of the neighbouring continent.
The zoology of Singapore is that of the neighbouring continent, to the exclusion
of some of the larger animals, as the elephant, the rhinoceros, the tapir, and the ox.
The largest feline animal indigenous to the island is a small leopard, called by the
Hfulays arimau-daan, that is *'the branch" or climbing tiger. But the tiger, an
auinial unknown to the island in the earlier years of the British settlement, made its
firi^t appearance five or six years after it was formed, and is now too abundant. It
seems to have crossed over from the continent, attracted no doubt by the sound of
human voices and the lowing of cattle. It has multiplied greatly, and Is supposed
to destroy, yearly, from two to three hundred persons, proving the greatest bane of
the settlement Large rewards have been offered for the destruction 6f tigers, and a
good number have been captured by pitfalls, but all attempts at their extermination
have been unsuccessful and are likely long to prove so in this still forest-clad island,
parted from a region in which the tiger is abundant by a channel of no more than a
few furlongs broad. The channel between Penang and the main is two miles broad,
and this has been sufficient to exclude the tiger, for although there have been
examples of individuals having crossed over, it has been in an exhausted state, and
they have been immediately destroyed.
Of the natural family of Mustelidsa, there are two in Singapore, the musang of the
Malays, Paradoxurus musanga, and the binturung, Ictides ater, of the size of a
badger. Otters are occasionally seen along the coasts, but are rare. The wild hog
is frequent, and there are five species of deer, the usual ones of the Peninsula and
Sumatra, from the Rusa of the size of a heifer to the kanchU, which is hardly as
large as a rabbit. Among mammals, one species of bat is often to be seen, the same
which iB so frequent in almost all parts of the Archipelago, the kalong or Pteropus
SINGAPORE 398 SlNaAPORE
javanlcuB. This is about the eize of a rayen, and a troop of them in flight hma
much the look of a flock of crows, and by a stranger may be easily miBtaken for one.
** I may add," says Dr. Oxley, *' In rendering a sketch of the zoology of Slngaporev
several species of the bat tribe, and among them that most destmctiTe one to all finiita*
the flying fox or Pteropus. Fortunately, however, they are as yet aearoe, but at no
distance from us they are numerous beyond count. I have seen a flook of theo
while anchored in the Stndts of Malacca, so large as to take several hours in paasin^.
A colony is at present located in a mangrove creek at the head of the eetuazy of the
Jehore nver. In the day they are seen asleep hanging in millions fi*om the branches
of the mangrove. At sunset they begin to stir, and presently they ascend into the
air and wing their way to the south-east in one Taat uninterrupted cloud. They pm
the whole night in the jungle and plantations devouring fruit, and as soon as dawn
begins to appear, they mount the air again and return to their roosting-plaoe at the
head of the estuary. Their flesh is eaten by the natives, but no real fox smells to
my mind half so rank as they do. Methinks a rat would be palatable food compared
with them." These bats, in so far as the orchard is concerned, are the locoflt of the
country, in which flights of the insect itself as far as I am aware are unknown. The
Pteromys, or flying squirrel, the krawak of the Malays, is very frequent in Singapore,
and so are three different species of monkey.
As with the larger quadrupeds, the larger birds of the Peninsula and Sumatra are
not found in Singapore. It has neither their peacocks, nor their pheaaantBy and the
only birds of the Rasorial family which exist in it are two species of quaiL Neariy
all the web-footed birds, whether indigenous or of passage, are not to bie seen. There
are six different species of pigeon, firom the size of our wood-pigeon to that of a
thrush. Parrots are frequent, but the species only two or three. The only bird
that can be called game is the snipe, which seems a stranger to no coontry in the
world that has marshes. The birds of prey of four different genera are sufficiently
numerous, and Dr. Oxley remarks that among birds of this £unily is " that pofect
type of the true falcons, the beautiful little Falco cssrulescens, which, although not
much larger than a sparrow, will kill and carry off a bird the size of a thrush."
Among reptiles, alligators are common in the salt water creeks, and along the
shores of the island, but having an abundant supplv of fish, are not troubleeome to
man. The Iguana lizard, the bewak of the Malays, js not unfrequent, but the noisy
house lizard or tokay, the t&kd of the Malays, so common in Penang and so much more
so in Siam, is not found in Singapore. The esculent turtle is xery abundant along the
shores of Singapore and the neighbouring islands, and being, as food, restrieted to
the European and Chinese population, is the cheapest animal food in the market,
one of the largest weighing several hundred weights selling for six or seven shilliui^
" Snakes," says Dr. Oxley, ** are not numerous. The most common is a dark cobn.
I believe this with a trigonooephalus are the only well-authenticated yenomoua
species on the island. The first possesses the peculiar property of ejecting Tenom
from its mouth. The Malays say there is no cure for its bite. I have seen it prove
fatal to a fowl in two or three minutes, but have not observed its effects on large
animals. Those I have kUled have measured from 44 ^ ^1 ^^^ ^ length. This
reptile being slow and sluggish is easily overtaken and killed. When attacked, it
erects the body and dilates the skin on either side of the head, uttering a noise like
that of an irritated cat. If attacked it throws, to the distance of from six to eight
feet, a venomous fluid of a most poisonous quality.*' Fish and crustaceans are in
great plenty, and Dr. Oxley has enumerated forty species of them as seen by himse)£
About half-a-dozen of these are excellent for the table, fully equal to the beet fish of
our own coasts. Among these the best is the white pomfret of Europeans, the
bawal-puteh of the Malays, of richer flavour than our soles and lees luscious than the
turbo t.
The agriculture of Singapore, although conducted with sufficient spirit and activity,
is limited to a small number of objects, and nearly excludes all the cereal grasaes and
pulses constituting the staple articles of human food. The soil of the island, with
very few exceptions, ia like that of the adjoining peninsula, unfertile, — there is no
natural, and therefore no cheap source of irrigation^ and hence the land is incapable
of furnishing a cheap supply of the main necessaries of life, which are yielded only
within the Archipelago by rich volcanic or alluvial soils, assisted by a copious
perennial irrigation. For such plants as rice, the sugar-cane, the indigo-plant, pulsea,
maiz, tobacco, cotton, the soil Aust be considered as ill-suited. Besides want of
fertility of soil, Singapore wants sufficient elevation to give a climate fit for the
production of coffee. Even the nutmeg thrives only when forced by rich dresaings,
SINGAPORE 399 SINGAPORE
aad the clove does not succeed at all. On the other hand, all plants which
depend more on heat and moisture than on soil, flourish luxuriantly, such as the
coco and areca palms, with the Uncaria gambir, which is indigenous. Black
pepper, which is a long-naturalised exotic, although it answers well, yet even it
requires some manuring. In 1854, the quantity of pepper produced amounted to
8,116,533 pounds, and the betel or areca nut to above 40,000 cwts. Among the
plants congenial to both soil and climate are most of the intertropical fruits, whether
indigenous or exotic. Among theee the most easily reared, and even cheaper than
thebanana is the pine-apple, equalling in size and flavour the finest productions of
our hot-houses. Besides fruits, the soU and climate are well adapted to the produc-
tion of the yam and igname, and to that of the coarse pot-herbs which belong to the
latitude.
The following judicious remarks are made by Mr. Logan on the soil of Singapore :
" The soil is much more varied than it was supposed to be in former years, and so
far from consisting entirely of decomposed sandatone and clay-iron ore, it contains a
plutonic (granitic) tract of about sixty square miles, and another in which shales pre-
dominate. Although the soils have not the fertility of the volcanic and calcareous
ones which occur in many parts of the Indian Archipelago, they are covered with an
indigenous vegetation of great vigour and luxuriance, supporting numbers of animals
of different species. The hills of plutonic rock support dense and continuous forests
composed of more than 200 species of trees, many of which are of great size. So long
ad the iron is not in such excess as to reoompose the clay into stone, or render it hard,
those soils which contain most iron are most fertile. The purely, or highly felspathio
are the worst. But even felspathic soils, when intermixed with a sufficient proportion
of quartz, are, in this estimate, capable of producing an abundant vegetation.
Although it is obvious to every observer that there is no kind of soil in the island
for which nature has not provided plants, that flourish luxuriantly in it, yet it must
not be hastily concluded, as some have done, that this exuberant vegetation indicates
a general fertility in the soil It is found, on the contrary, when the native plants
are destroyed, and the land is employed for agriculture, that there are very few soils
in which cultivated plants not indigenous to the region, but whose climatic range
embraces it, will flourish spontaneously. While the coco-nut, areca, sago, gomuti, and
the numerous Malayan fruits succeed with little care, the nutmeg and clove are
stunted, and almost unproductive, unless carefully cultivated and highly manured.
Yet the dimate is perfectly adapted to them. Place them in the rare spots where
there is naturally a fertile soil, or create one artificially, and the produce is equal to
that of trees in the Molucca plantations. With respect to indigenous plants, gambler,
pepper, and all the fruits flourish on the Plutonic hills, provided they are not too
deficient in iron and quartz. The hills of violet shale, where they are not too sandy,
are equal to the best Plutonic soils, — those, namely, in which there is a sufficient
proportion of hard granules to render them friable, and sufficient iron to render them
highly absorptive of water, without becoming plastic. Of all the sedimentary soils,
the sandstone and very arenaceous shales furnish the worst Of the alluvial soils,
the sand, particularly when it contains a mixture of vegetable matter, or triturated
shells, is the proper soil of the coco-nut and the vegetable mud of the sago. When
the country has been better and longer drained and cultivated, the latter soil will
become a rich mould. At present it is too wet and sour to make a fertile soiL Rice
is grown on some patches of it The bltiish sea mud contains good ingredients, but
the day is in excess, and the animal matter in it appears to assist in rendering it hard
and intractable, when it is not saturated with water. Even for such soils, however,
nature has provided plants useful to man, for the areca and some of the indigenous
fruit trees grow well in it with little cultivation. Although there are cultivated
plants adapted to every kind of soil in the island, and it has indigenous tribes of man
who can live exdusively on its yams, sago, fish, and wild animals, it is incapable of
feeding a population of the more civilised races, and the latter most always be
dependent on other countries fur the great necessary of life — ^rice."
In the husbandly of Singapore, neither plough, harrow, nor spade are employed.
All is done with the hoe and mattock. The whole is, in fact, a garden culture, in
which no great crop is cultivated giving scope for the plough, and which is perhaps
best performed by the hoe, the congenial and habitual implement, for this purpose,
of all Asiatic nations. With respect to tenures, wild lands, when alienated by the
government, are granted in fee simple, on payment of thirty shillings an acre, if
within two miles of the town, and of one-half that amount, if beyond this distance.
At this simple arrangement the government arrived at last, after the higgling and
SINGAPORE 400 SINGAPORE
Uaiulcriiii; of a quarter of a teobaij, and the ezpeoditim of THt qoaatitieB oF izik
and po^wr.
The only mamifactars desenring tliis nasme thai is carried on in Stngapore, is that
of aago, mad for this, it ia the woriufaop of nearijall that at present appe^n in
oommeroa Thia amoonta to abont 8000 tons yearij, of the valae of about 30,0002.
Great qnantitiea of toola, implementa, swords* and wall-pieoes are mannfaetored by
the Chinese, and there ia some mannfiurtnre of faraitare, with some boat and ship-
boildingy but not to any great extent, for wet and dry docks remain yet to be oast-
stracted, althongfa there be localities well adapted to them.
Bat every branch of indostry is merely snbsidisry to trada Singapore^ ia^ in fibct,
a great commercial emporinm, in which are warehoosed for fotnre distribation, the
staple products of Europe, Asia, and America. The town, the seat of this commerce,
lies in north latitude 1* 17', or only seventy-seren miles from the equator, and in east
longitude 103" 50' iV. Its locality is on the southern side of the island, on s salt
creek, into which falls the brook c^ed the river of Singspore ; the commercial pert
of it being on the western hank, and the public buildings and private houses on the
eastern, which spreads into a sandy plain, a little above the level of the sea. There
is, properly, no harbour, but the bay which fronts the town, and which is also the
highway through the Straits of Malacca, is a roadstead equivalent to a harbonr in a
region never vexed by storms. Ships of the largest burdens lie in good anchoring-
ground at the distance of two miles from the shore, those of moderate draught of
water, within a mile, and small craft close to it. The salt creek, which has a quay
on the commercial side, is navigable at all times for lighters up to the warehonsea of
the merchanta
In 1826, or seven years sfter the British occupation of Singapore, the population of
the island, in round numbers, had already amounted to 13,000. In 1850, it had rxaen
to nearly 60,000, of which 26,000 were in the town. The ingredients of thia popu-
lation were very heterogeneous, and composed of no fewer than fifteen nationiditiea
The most numerous party were the Chinese, forming fifty-three parts out of a
hundred, or better than one half of the whola Then followed the Malays, or proper
natives of the country, forming twenty-three parts, or less than a fourth ; natWaa of
the Continent of India, chiefly of Bengal and the Coromandel coasts, forming fourteen
parts, natives of Celebes four parts, and Javanese three parta The ooloured
descendants of Europeans amounted to no more than 922, and the Europeans them-
selves, the rulers, only to 360. The languages spoken are, at least, as numerous as
the nationalitiea The Chinese speak three different tongues, the people of Conti-
nental India four, and those of Celebes and Java two each. Then oome igng^"**,
Arabic, and Persian. But the common medium of intercommunication, the language
which unites all classes of inhabitants, and prevents such a variety of tongues from
making a Babel of the place, is the liquid, easily-acquired Malay, of which all
strangers acquire at least an useful smattering.
One peculiarity of the population of Singapore deservei special notice, — the
extraordinary inequality of the sexes. This applies, more or less, to every class of the
inhabitanta In the whole, the females form little more than one-seventh part, or
to six men there is but one woman. But the disproportion is far greater in the
Chinese population, for here the females form but one-nineteenth of the whole
number, so that there is but one woman to eighteen men. This arises from the
peculiarity of Chinese emigration which, with rare exceptions, and those very recent
ones, is confined to the male sex, and this too, of men in the prime of life. Even the
few females classed as Chinese, are not really so, but the offspring of native women
married to Chinese or their mestizo deecendanta This state of things, especially in
regard to the Chinese inhabitants, forming too the majority of the population, is a
source of much immorality and disorder, but it is hard to say how it can be
remedied.
The commercial intercourse of Singapore is carried on with most of the European
ports carrying on a distant foreign trade ; — with the ports of Continental Asia, from |
the Red almost to the Yellow Sea, including those of Arabia, Persia, Hindustan, Siam,
Cochin-China, and several of China ; with all the ports of the Malay Archipelago, j
from Sumatra to New Guinea ; with the capital of the Philippines ; and with several ^
of the east and west coasts of America. In the public returns of exports and imports,
these places are classed under two-and-thirty different heads. The most important
branch of the trade is that with the United Kingdom, and then follow respectively
the trades with China, with British Continental India, and with Netherland India.
In 1855, the whole imports amounted to the value of 21,267,696 Spanish dollars^ and
SINGAPORE 401 SINGAPORE
the exports to 17>504,898 Spanish dollars. This, as at all our Indian ports, included
treasure as well as merchandisa The number of square-rigged vessels which arrived
in the same year was 892, the departures 825. The number of junks and native
praus was 2513, and the departures 2615. The staple imports from Europe are,
cottons, woollens, and metals ; from the continent of India, opium and cotton-wool
for the Chinese market, and from China, coarse porcelain, silk, tea, camphor, and cassia.
An ordinary price-current will contain at least forty different articles of the Malay and
Philippine Archipelagos, with the countries immediately in their neighbourhood, as
Tonquin, Cochin-china, Kamboja, and Siam. Among these, the staples are, rice,
sugar, pepper, coffee, tin, gold, antimony, tortoise-shell, and fossil coal. The first
appearance in commerce of several of the articles of this branch of the trade may
said to be almost coeval with the foundation of the settlement, or to have appeared
in consequence of its existence, such as the abaca or banana hemp, gutta-percha,
Indian-rubber, vegetable tallow, pearl and flour sago, hides aud horns.
Singaporo is in every sense a free port, open to the flags of all nations upon equal
terms, and has continued so nearly from its foundation. There is no impost whatever,
on ship or cargo, saving a small charge for the light-house on the rock of Pedra-braoca,
and even from this, all native vessels are exempt. This freedom, and its highly con-
venient position, with security for life and property, are the causes of its rapid pros-
perity, — a prosperity of which there is no other example in the east, and which far
more resembles that of an American than an Asiatic settlement. The example of
Singapore has been followed by the Netherland government at several points of its
vast possessions in the Archipelago, and with great, although not equal success.
In 1858, the number of dwelling-houses, shops, warehouses, and public buildings,
eonstniotcxl for the most part of brick, and roofed with tile, was 4719. A municipal tax
of 10 per cent on the rental, yielded 52242., which would make the yearly rent 52,2402.,
and reckoning house property at fifteen years' purchase, the value would be 788,6002.
But as the rating for the assessment is low, this probably falls greatly short of its
actual worth.
The executive government of Singapore is exercised conjointly with that of
the two other British settlements in the Straits, Malacca and Penang, distant
respectively about 90 and 400 miles, by an officer who has the title of Governor, but who
is virtually but the lieutenant of the Governor-General of India, in whom is vested
the essential attributes of government, — those of making laws, and directing their
administration. Under the Governor, at each of the three settlements, is an officer, with
the title of Resident Councillor. The laws are those of England, modified, in so
far as concerns the native inhabitants, by an attention to their respective laws
of inheritance and domestic usages. They are administered by the Court of a
Recorder. There is also a Small Debt Court and a Court of Petty Sessions always
sitting.
The public revenue is derived from excises, chiefly on the consumption of opium,
spirits, and wine ; the rent of public markets the property of the government ; the
sale of wild lands, the quit-rents on lands within the town held on long leases,
namely, some for ninety-nine years, and some for ten times that time ; fees and
fines in the courts; and the poet-office. In 1852-53, the gross amount of this
revenue was 45,720/., and the chief branches of it being fiirmed, and always by the
Chinese, the nominal charge of collection was but three-and-a-half per cent., which
was, in fact, for the most part, the cost, not of collecting, but simply of receiving the
amount. The expenditure in the same year, was 44,2342., or by 14862. less than the
income. The balance in favour of the last ought to have been much larger, but for
certain charges which are preposterously debited to the settlement, such as a naval
establishment for the general suppression of piracy, in which all India is equally
interested, and the maintenance of the convicts of British continental India. These
two items alone amount to near 10,0002., or close on one-fourth of the whole expen-
diture. In 1854-55, the public revenue had increased by the sum of near 10,000/.
The main part of it is derived from excises on articles of luxury, and from the
rents of public markets, the property of government. These taxes, with their
amounts, were as follow in the year in question : — opium, 32,5202. ; ardent spirits,
11,4122. ; palm wine and hemp juice, 6702. ; and public markets, 33722., making a total
of 47,8742., exclusive of the sale of public lands.
Besides the public revenue, there is a municipal one, under the management of a
committee composed of public officers and merchants, or rate-payers, being justices of
the peace. From this fund are maintained the police, roads, bridges, watering and
lighting. It is derived, as already stated, from a rate of ten per cent* on* the rent of
D D
SINGAPORE 402 SlNaAPORE
bouses, of five per cent, on the value of agrioultursl produod, aud a tax on hocsee an
carriages. In 1853, it yielded a gross sum of 8S92Z.
The ancient history of Singn^ore is, as usual, in all that relates to native story, fa
of obscurity. It has been stated in native writings, quoted by the Dutch vrriter
Van der Worm, and Valentyn, but which I have never seen, nor am I aware that an,
one else of our times has, that Singapore was founded by a colony of Malaya frou
Palembang in Sumatra in the year of Christ 1160, and abandoned by theoa in tb
year 1253. The first palpable objection to this statement is that Palembaa^; is nai
now, and is never known to history, as having been a country occupied by the Sfalajs
the mass of its iuhabitants being a distinct nation called Uie Sarawi, and ite ruler
immemorially Javanese. Another palpable objection is, that we have a Christian en
given, without the Asiatic era from whence it is reckoned, and, indeed, what Aaiatii
era would it have been calculated from, for the Kal&ys had none of their own, not
could they be supposed to have adopted the Arabian, since they did not embrace tL^
Mohammedan religion until 116 years after the supposed date of the establishment oi
Singapore] If the first settlers of Singapore came from Palembang — and from its Ticitiitj
and the superior civilisation of its rulers, it is not improbable they did — they mu»s
have been Javanese and nut Ifalays. This opinion gains some support from the ha
that, for the most part, the names and titles of the princes who are stated to hive
reigned in Singapore, not to mention the name of the place itself, are either JavaQe»<;
or Sanscrit, — such names, in a word, as the modern Javanese would, under simihr
circumstances, have imposed.
The account given by De Borros, and which he states to have been derived frou
the natives, makes the colony, which fled from Singapore and eventually establisbtJ
itself in MsJacoa, to have been Javanese, which is, in fact, virtually the same as tb-.
assertion of the Malays themselves, that it came from Palembang. The relics, rcn
rude ones, discovered on the ancient site of Singapore, which is also that of thr
modem town, afibrd some corroboration of this opinion. The most remarkable oi
these is an inscription on a great mass of unhewn white sandstone. This nodule lu^
been split in the centre, the two fragments lying opposite to each other, at about u
angle of forty degrees, and at the base not above a couple of feet apart. The writing t^
on the two opposing faces of the rock, which itself seems to have been adopted for tLii
purpose on the very -spot where it lay, being still surrounded by several other masses
of the same description. Nothing of tb> kind can be ruder. By time and the decompi.^
tion of the rock, most of the writing has been obliterated, idthough here and there a
few letters are sufficiently distinct. These are, in form, rather round than angular, aci,
making allowance for the material and the rudeness of the execution, they bear tiie
greatest resemblance to Kawi or the ancient writing of Java, the same which is found iu
most of the old monuments of that island. At all events, they bear no reBembIa:ice
whatever to the Rejang of Sumatra, the character used by the majority of the peopi«|
of Palembang, nor to the Korinchi, that in which the Malays most probably wr^Mj
before their adoption of the Arabic letters. I
The other relics discovered are equally rude with the inscription. These were, tb«l
remains of an earthen wall, a fosse, a sepulchre, and a supposed temple on the hill'
behind the town, on which now stands the government house. Some old Chine^
coins, such as formed the currency of all the civilised nations of the Archipelago,
still continue to do of some of them, were found among the ruins. The oldest
these bears the name of a Chinese emperor, who died in 967 of Christ, which carriu
us back to some 200 years before Uie supposed foundation of Singapore in thij
year 1160. |
The remains discovered in Singapore are cei*tainly not such as to convey a )n^
opinion of what De Barros calls " the celebrated city of Cingapura, to which resort^J
all the navigators of the western seas of India, and of the eastern of Siam, Chisi^
Champa, and Camboja, as well as of the thousands of islands to the eastward.^
Earth, brick, unhewn sandstone, and wood, seem to have been the only material
made use of, and there is not a vestige of the granite which abounds in the neiga^
bouriiood and is now so largely employed. {
From the time of its subversion down to the year 1811, or for a period of about fin
centuries and a half, there is no record of Singapore having been occupied, and it vem
only the occasional resort of pirates. In that year, it was taken pos:j088ion of by tU
party from whom we first received it, an officer of the government of Jehore called tli^
Tum&ngung. This person told me himself that he came there with about 150 foUowei^
a few months before the British expedition which afterwards captured Java passed tM
island, and this happened in the summer of 1811. The history of the formation
SINOASARI 403 8INGKEL
of the British settlement ia as follows. After the restoration of the Dutch possessions
in the Archipelago, it was seen that no provision had been made for the freedom
of British commerce, and various projects were suggested for the establishment of
emporia within the seas of the Archipelago to obviate this inconvenience. One of
these was submitted to the Marquis of Hastings, then governor-general of India, by
Sir Stamford Raffles, and adopted by him in 1818. This, Sir Staimford proceeded to
carry into effect, and with the courage and promptitude which belonged to his character.
Many local obstacles, by nameless parties vested with a little brief authority, were
thrown in his way, but he overcame them all, and the result has been such as has been
described in this article. The convenience of a port at the eastern end of the Straits
of Malacca was too obvious to escape observation, and to this quarter Sir Stamford
Raffles directed his attention; but in the first instance the island of Singapore did not
occur, either to himself or any one else. Tet, it is remarkable that in what was
called a century and a half ago a " New Account of the £a8t Indies," it is expressly
pointed out in the following unmistakable words, "In the year 1703," says the
author, Captain Hamilton, " I called at Johor on my way to China, and he (the kiog
of Johor) treated me very kindly and made me a present of the island of Singapore,
but I told him it could be of no nse to a private person, though a proper place for a
company to settle a colony on, lying in the centre of trade, and being accommodated
with good rivers and safe harbours, so conveniently situated that all winds served
shipping both to go out and come into these rivers." But this striking reoom-
meudation of Singapore was at the time unknown to Sir Stamford and his ootem-
poraries. He hod hence to grope for a suitable locality. The first place thought of
was Rhio, but it was found to be already in the occupation of the Netherland govern-
ment The next was the Carimon Islands, out, however, of the convenient tract of
navigation, and here Sir Stamford and his expedition tarried three days, but found the
place unsuitable. The river of Jehor was then thought of, but on the way to it, the
expedition touched at Singapore to make enquiry, and then for the first time, the advan-
tages and superiority of its locality presented themselves. A cession of a small portion
of the island, to the extent of two miles along the shore, and to the distance of the
point-blank range of ordinary cannon, inland, was obtained from the resident chief.
This was afterwards confirmed by the Sultan of Jehore, or the person whom we found
it convenient to consider as such, who on our invitation quickly repaired to the place.
The inconveniences of a state of things, which, vrith the exception of the patch on
which the town was to stand, left the sovereignty of the whole island, with its adjacent
islets to the Malay princes, were quickly experienced, and obviated by a treaty which
I drew up in 1824 under the direction of the Earl of Amherst, then governor-geneiti],
and this convention continues to be the tenure on which we hold the main island, with
the islets and seas surrounding it, such as X have already desciibed the limits of
the British settlement.
SINQASARI. The name of certain Hindu rains in the eofitem part of Java.
These are situated in the diiitrict of Malang, and in the elevated valley which lies
between the Tengar range and the mountain of Arjuna, at a height of from 1000 to
1500 fuet above the level of the sea. They consist of temples dedicated to the
worship of Siwa, of whom, as well as of the personages and objects connected with
him, such os his consort Duigo, Ghinesa the Indian Pluto, and the bull Nandi, there
are well sculptured images. The material of the temples, instead of being brick or
trachyte, as in other parts of the island, is here a firm calcareous stone, but the stylo
of buUding is equally fine as in the temples of Brambanan. On one of the images, that
of Siwa, there is an inscription in the Dewanagri character, or that in which Sanscrit
is usually Written, but it has not been translated, and is probably a mere Hindu
scripture text. To the time in which these temples were constructed, the enigmatical
memorial words, in which dates are most usually written, give the various years of
Salivana or Saka, 818, 846, and 1082, but an inscription, found at no great distance
from Singasari, and seemingly belonging to the same class of buildings, in numeral
characters, gives only 1242. Seventy-eight years added to all thcae give the year of
Christ. The name Singasari is composed of Singa, " a lion," which is Sanscrit, and of
Sari, *'a flower," or "beautiful," which is Javanese. Most probably, however, it is
not the original name of the temples themselves, but rather of the place in which
they were built
SINGKEL. This is the name of the largest river of the western side of Sumatra.
Its embouchure, about three-quarters of a mile broad, is in north latitude 2° 15',
opposite to the group of islands called by the Malays Pulo-bafiak, or "the many
D D 2
SUCKEP 404 SLAVERY
idea." The eonne of the iiTer is of considerable length, with abimdaiit deptb. mni
the place which gires neme to it is said to be sixty miles distant from its debonebe-
ment. At its month, however, there is a bar, over whidi, even at spring tidee, then
is no more than twelTC feet water. The country through which it pasncn forma a
portion of the territory of Achin, although chiefly inhabited by the Batak nation, ar :
on the coast by Malays. The river of Singfcel used to.be a place of export for benxoui
camphor and gold-dust.
8INEEP, is the most aoatherly of the larger islands oonBtitating the Azchipela^.
at the eastern end of the Straits of Malacca, and is not above twenty miles distaE:
from the shore of Sumatra. Its geological formation is the same as that of tii«
Malay Peninsula and Banca^ from which last it is distant about eighty milesL Its ana
is reckoned to be 162 geographical square miles. Mines, or washings of allavial tir
are found and worked in Suikep, with this peculiarity, that in some situations the on
exists within high-water mark, and is collected by the Malays by a kind of rule
dredging. The inhabitants are Malay fishermen. Nominally, Sinkep is part of ths
territory of Jehore, and consequently subject to the Netherland government.
SIPORA is the name of one of the considerable islands which form a chain from
between the third and fourth degrees of south to the third degree of north latitudv'.
along the western coast of Sumatra. It lies between the Pagi Islands and Sibim, iu
northern extremity being in south latitude 56', and its southern in 2* 25'. It»
extreme length is about 45 miles, and its extreme breadth about 15, and with it^
adjacent islets it is computed to have an area of 1200 geographical miles. The inhabi-
tants are the same people, and speak the same language as those of the Pagi Ishmd^,
namely, the nation called by the Malays Maotawi. Sipora has been sometimes calkd
by European navigators ^'Qood Fortune Island," which does not very well accord
with its Malay name, that seems to mean '' Pretender, or Simulation Island.*'
6IWA, OB MAHADEWA, one of the three personages of the Hindu triad, the
destroying power, is not often called by either of these names, even among tbe
Javanese, but images of himself and of the personages and objects connected with his
worship are frequent in Java, and his sect appeara to have been the most prevailing
form of Hinduism throughout the Malay Arohipelago, and, to some extent, to have
reached even as far as the Philippines. He is the Batara-guru of the Javanese ami
Malays, and the Batala of the Philippine islanders. Batara is an obvious corruption of
the Sanscrit " Avataray" and guru is ** spiritual guide."
SLAMAT, OK SALAMAT (GUNUNG). The name of the mountain in Java
usually called by Europeans that of Tegal, from the district within which it is chieflv
situated. It is an active volcano, and its height above the level of the sea has been
calculated at about 11,500 feet
SLAVERY. In Malay there are six different names for a slave, and there is even
one for the " slave of a slave." In Javanese, there are also several, but the most
frequent in Malay ia &mba, and in Javanese kawula. These, as well as all the others,
are used as pronouns of the first person in addressing a superior. Slaveiy exists in
every state of society in the Malay Archipelago, and in every counti^ of* it, except
Java, where it is not found even in a predial form. This peculiarity has, no doubts
arisen from an experience of the superior economy of free labour in a populoos
coimtry. To breed and maintain slaves was useless when the labour of freemen vaj>
cheaper, and slavery thus came to be naturally extingmshed. Slavery, however, still
exists in Bali and Lomboc, equally populous with Java. But this extends oxily to
I)arties sold to strangers, and condemned as slaves, for some real or supposed offence,
and slavery, as an institution, cannot be said to exist even among the people of theee
islands. In Malacca, when first discovered, all labour appears to have been performed
by slaves, a fact which not only implies a very rude state of society, but also a paucitv
of population in relation to the land, or, in other words, comparative high-priced
labour. "The Malay nation," says De Barros, "as they live by trade and no other
pursuit, so are they the moat luxurious people of these parts, and the proudest in
their sentiments. All with them is nobility, and this proceeds to sudi a length that
you will not find a native Malay who will carry on his back his own or any other
man's property, however much you may offer him for doing sa" — Decade 2, Book 6,
Chapter 1.
Slaves are of two classes in the Archipelago, bondsmen and bond-debtors, — the first
called, in Malay, t&buaaO| which signifies the object purchased or redeemed, and the
SLING 405 SOLDIER
last iriogan, which means a follower, or retainer. The distinction between the slaTe
and the freeman (m&rdeka), is distinctly enough drawn by the Malaya, but yet the line
is not BO offensively drawn as to view the first as a mere chattel, for the slave can
possess and inherit property, — purchase his freedom, and has in other respects, his
prescribed rights. The only description of slaves that had not the power of redeeming
themselves, appears to have been those of the kinf. The real condition of the slave
may be seen from incidentiJ notices of them in collections of the customary laws, and
the following are examples from those of Jehor. " If a slave cut and wound a free-
man, he shall be condemned as a slave for life to the king/* " If a freeman wound a
slave, he shall be fined to the extent of one*half the value of the slave, or, if very
poor, in the sum of ten mas." " If a slave give a freeman a blow on the face, the
offending hand shall be cut o£" " If a freeman give a slave a blow on the face^ with-
out any provocation on the part of the slave, he shall be fined^ — if poor, five, and if
rich ten mas. But if the slave have been insolent, the freeman in such a case, shall
be held blameless." "If a slave, whether male or female, strike another slave a
blow on the face without offence given by the latter, the offender shall be fined to the
extent of half the price of the slave assaulted." " If a slave give abusive language to
a freeman, he shall receive a blow on the face, or have a tooth extracted." " If a slave
conmiit a murder, it shall be lawful for a third party to put him to death, provided
the act shall have taken place in a remote part of the country, where there is diffi-
culty in securing the person of the offender. But if the crime be perpetrated near a
public authority, the Blayer shall be fined five tails and one paa, because he has killed
the alaye without leave of his owner or the permission of the public authorities.
However, in this last case, should the slave have been mortally wounded, it shall be
lawful to put him to death."
*' If a freeman kill a slave of the king (&mba-raja) he shall be fined the value of the
slave seven times seven-fold, and if he cannot pay the fine, he may be either put to
death, or be condemned to be for ever, with his family and relations, slaves to the
king. But, if the slayer of the king's slave be a man of high rank, he may not be put
to death, but fined to the extent of one kati and five tails, of gold. In case, however,
euch great personage shall have killed the slave for some crime, then no notice shall
be taken of the matter." ^ If a slave commit a theft, and is seised and put to death
in the act, the slayer shall pay a mulct equal to half the value of the slave, to be
shared equally between the master of the slave and the magistrate, for the offence of
the slayer consists in not informing the magistrate."
One circumstance, probably, mitigates the condition of slavery among the people of
the Indian Islands, that the master and slave are almost always of the same race, —
that there is no broad disparity in their conditions, such as exists in civilised commu-
nities, and that the severe labour of a calculating taskmaster is never exacted.
SLINO. In Malay Ali-Ali, and in Javanese Bandreng, although used, does
not seem to have been a favourite weapon with any class of the inhabitants of
the Malay or Philippine Archipelagos. One is tempted to suspect that this may have
arisen from the scarcity of pebbles in countries covered with forest, and of which the
shores consist of mangroves or sand. The blow-pipe for shooting arrows, and
the bow and arrow, the materials for both of which are so oonstCntly at hand, seem
naturally to have taken its place.
SMALL-POX. This epidemic is well known to the inhabitants of both the Malay
and Philippine Archipelagos, and of all the maladies with which they are afflicted, it
has proved the greatest scourge. The Javanese call the disease by the two names,
chachar and planting, both native words, of which the origin is not traceable. By
the Malays it is called chachar and also katumbuhau, the last of these signifying a
sprouting or efflorescence, evidently taken from the eruption. Of the origin of the
small-pox, or its first appearance among them, the people themselves, as might be
expected, are wholly ignorant, and from the names we leam nothing, except that
being purely native, they do not point to a foreign origin for the disease. Some
European writers have fancied that it was introduced by the Arabian traders, but had
this been the case, it is probable it would have had an Arabian name, or, at least,
such a name as would give some indication of its being exotic.
SOLDIER. In all rude states of society, every man capable of bearing arms is
alike a soldier, and the military profession, as a distinct one, is, of course, unknown.
This is the case with all the people of the Indian Islands, and hence, there is no name
in the languages of the Archipelago for a professional soldier, except soldado, which
has been taken from the Portuguese. We find, however, words for a warrior, as in
SOLO 406 800LO
Javanese pnjarit, of which this is the literal sense, the word bang oomipleJ ia
Malay pAnjurit. Satriya or chatriya from the Saascrit is also used, and has the aasBe
sense.
SOLO, according to Javanese, and Sala, according to Malay pronimciationy is the
name of the largest native city of Java, and capital of the tributary prince who Lu
for some generations assumed the religious title of Susunan, or "object of adoration,'
and is called by Europeans, " Emperor of Java." The town is situated in the proviaM
of Piyang, on a river of the same name. It contains a large palace, a Dutch f^.>rt
and a laige Javanese population with a suburb, inhabited by Europeans or their
descendants, but I have not seen any statament of the total number of its inhabitants.
Solo was founded only in the year 1742, after the previous capital, a few miles to the
west of it, had been abandoned as unlucky, in consequence of having been captnre'i
by Chinese insurgents, although retaken by the Dutch and their allies the Madurese.
The name of the abandoned capital had been the Sanscrit one, Kartasuzmy wLicb
signifies " work of gods or heroes.** The word having essentially the same meanr.^r
was reversed in position, and the proper name of the new capital becomes Surakarta.
SjIo being only the name of the village, the site of which the town now occupiea.
The entire native principality embraces an area of 1803 square miles, and in 1850 was
computed to have a population of 603,759, or 334 to every square mile. The bulk vf
the inhabitants is of the pure Javanese nation, the number of Europeans and Chineee
being inconsiderable, the first no more than 868, and the last 1649.
SOLO ElYER. This is the largest and most useful river in Java. It has its
source in the range of moimtains which runs along the southern side of the iaUmd,
— passes through the rich and extensive valley of Pajang, by the city of Surakarta,
through the districts of Sukawati, Jagaraga, Blora, and Bembang, and disembogQes
between Sidayu and Gressik in the strait which separates Java from the western ecd
of Madura. From Surakarta to the sea, a distance of about 200 miles, it is navigab'o
for large cargo boats, and affords cheap transport for rafts of teak timber, large forests
of which it passes through.
SOLOR. The name of one of several islands between Floris and Timor, lying
close to the eastern coast of the first and to the south of the isle of Adenara, the strait
between these two being the navigable p:issage called the Straits of Floris. It ia
computed to have an area of 80 geographical square miles. The island is of rolcanie
formation and barren. The inhabitants of the coast are the fiir-spread Malays callei
orang-laut, or men of the sea, but those of the interior, the aborigines, have dark
complexions and crisped hair, resembling in their persons the aborigines of Timur.
These are certainly savages, and have been represented as being even cannibals. The
inhabitants of the coast are fishermen and pursue a small whale of about twenty feet
long, from the blubber of which they extract the oil by the heat of the sun, oollecting
it in rude gutters. They profess Mahometanism, for the most part, but a few have
adopted Christianity. The Dutch drove the Portuguese from Solor as early as 1613,
and have a small fort and garrison on it, for the purpose of maintaining their right to
what appears of very small value.
SOOLO, or S0EL6E, and in Malay correctly Sulnk, is called by the Spaniards
Jolo. The Soolo Islands, usually called an Archipelago, extend from the meet
easterly extremity of Borneo, the promontory of Unsang to the most westerly of
Mindano, that of Zamboanga, a distance of above 200 miles. They are said to be no
fewer than 150 in number, most of them, however, uninhabited islets. They are
divided into four groups, named from the largest ishmd of each, namely, Tawi-tawi,
Sooloo, which gives name to the Archipelago, Basilan and Cagayan Sooloo, the last,
however, forming no part of the chain, for it lies 120 miles to the north-west of it,
although inhabited by the same nation. The Archipelago lies between the fifth aod
seventh degrees of north latitude.
SOOLO, called by the natives Sug, and by the Malays Snluk, from which onr own
word is derived, is the name of the principal, although not the largest of the four
chief islands of the Archipelago to which it belongs, and that which gives name to it.
Its length is about 35 miles, its greatest breadtli 12, and its computed area 28S
geographical square miles. Its general aspect is hilly and undulating, without any
mountain of great elevation. Respecting its geology, we have little or no information,
but it will probably be found to consist of sedimentary rocks, chiefly limestone and
sandstone. The only metallic ore ascertained to be abundant is that of iron, although
gold is reported to exist. The face of the island is, as usual in these latitude^ooverad
SOOLO 407 SOOLO
with tall trees, having, however, it is stated, many open or cleared spots, which give
the island a veiy picturesque appearance, that distinguishes it from most others in
the same latitudes. The teak-tree has been reported to exist, but this seems very
doubtful. The ascertained larger wild animals are the hog and several species of deer.
Dairy mple names the elephant, but this is very improbable in so small an island.
Soiolo, as well as the whole Archipelago to which it belongs, is within the influence
of the north-east and south-west monsoons, which, however, interrupted by so many
islands, do not blow with the same regularity as in the open sea, and odms, and
variable winds, are not unfrequent. It ia not within the range of hurricanes and
experiences no storms. The thermometer rarely rises above 87^ or falls below 75**, so
that the range of temperature is reduced to 12^. But the seasons are unequal as to the
fall of rain, and droughts, with their concomitant scarcity of food, occasionally occur.
The inhabitants of Soolo are of the Malayan race, and have attained a considerable
Amount of civilisation, cultivating rice, and rearing the buffiilo, the ox, the goat, the
horse, and common poultry, and all of these in abundance and cheapness. They also
write their own language in the Arabic character like the Malays. That language is
peculiar, but seems to partake of the character of the Philippine tongues, and sounds
harsh to those accustomed to the soft Malay. Of this last language it contains a
considerable proportion, but much corrupted. The principal people of Soolo, besides
their own tongue, speak also Malay, as did those of the Philippines before the Spanish
conquest. In a list of about 170 words of the Soolo language, given by Dalrymple,
65 are Malays, but these are not a fair specimen of the language, for they include the
numerals, the names of the winds, of weights and measures, and of objects of com-
merce, the majority of which are Malayan in most of the insular languages. The
orang-laut, bajaoe, or sea-faring migratory Malays, are foimd on the coasts of Soolo,
as well as of others of the Archipelago, and, no doubt, have had some share in com-
municating their language to the native inhabitants.
Of the number of the population nothing is known that can be relied on. A
Mr. J. Hunt who visited, and for some time resided in the island in 1811, and whose
Account was printed by Sir Stamford Ra£9es in the Batavian Transactions for 1812,
states that he had access to the sultan's archives, and that these made the whole
population 200,000. This would give to a society of buccaneers, for such are the
people of Soolo, near 700 inhabitants to the square mile, or about double that of the
most populous provinces of peaceful and industrious Java. Of course it is purely
fabulous, and even the more usual estimate of 60,000 is most probably an
exaggeration.
The principal articles of commerce furnished by the Soolo and neighbouring
islands are the usual ones of the rudest of the Malay and Philippine Archipelagos, such
as tortoise-shell, tripang and esculent swallows'-nests, to which are to be added two
which are in a great measure peculiar, pearls and pearl oysters. The principal place
of commercial resort is the seat of the native government, exercised by a prince who
like other petty sovereigns, has long assumed the title of sultan. This is situated
in a bay, the anchorage being a mere road towards the north-western end of the
island in north latitude 6* I'and east longitude 121° 12'.
The people of Soolo have been long converted to the religion of Mahomed, but are
very far from being rigid Mahometans. When they were converted, or by whom is
uncertain, but the great probability is, that the Malays and the Arabs of the half-
blood were the instruments of conversion, and that as Soolo is far removed from
Sumatra, where the Mahometan religion was first propagated among the Malayan
nations, and from which it was disseminated over other parte of the Archipelago,
it is not likely that its inhabitants were converted earlier than those of the Spice
Islands, who adopted Mahomedanism only eighty years before the arrival of the
Portuguese in 1512. In 1521, the people of Cagayan-Soolo were certainly Mahome-
tans, for Pigafetta mentions them as such, when the companions of Magellan touched
at it on their course from ^bu to Palawan and Borneo. " Quitting that place (a port
in Mindano)," says he, '* and pursuing a course between west and south, we arrived
at an island almost uninhabited, which we afterwards learnt was called Cagayan.
The few whom we saw were Moors and robbers from an island called Bum^."
Prime Viaggio, p. 109. Of the early history of the people of Soolo, nothing is known.
Tlie island is stated to have been, at one time, subject to Sukadana on the southern
side of Bonieo, which was a Javanese settlement, and this notion certainly receives
Bome countenance from the existence in its language of words which are Javanese,
without being at the ssme time Malay. The first authentic notice of Soolo is by
Barbosa. After describing Celebes and an island which he calls Tendaya, possibly
SORSOGON 408 SORSOGON
f
4
Sangir, he says, " Proceeding in a northerly direction towards China, there occnn f
another island most abundant in the necessaries of life, called Solor, inhabited byi
civilised people of fair complexions and good dispositions. They have a king, and i
language of their own. In this island much gold Ib found by washing the eartfa,
and in the sands of rivers. Opposite to it small pearls are fished, and even large ones
occasionally found, fine as to colour and roundness." Rumusio, vol. L p. S20. Ic
is evident from this description that the island alluded to, notwithstanding the ortho-
graphy, is Soolo, or Suliik, and not Solor between Floris and Timur, and to wiudi
the description in no respect applies. • Barbosa's account was written at Lisbon in
1516, and evidently refers to a time four or five years at least earlier. In 1521, the
surviving companions of Magellan passed the Soolo Archipelago, in their route from
the Philippines to the Moluccas, and Pigafetta names Soolo, writing it Solo, the Job
of the Philippine Islanders and Spaniards. " We turned back,** says he, " after leav-
ing Borneo proper, between the island of Cagayan (Cagayan-Soolo), and the port of
Cipit (in Mindano), pursuing a coiu*3e a quarter east of south in order to discovn-
Malucco (the Moluccas). We passed through certain islets, around which we fouod
many plants (marine), although there was a great depth of water. Having passed
through these islets, it seemed to us as we were in a difierent sea. Leaving Cipit to
the east, we saw to the west two islands, called Zolo and Tsghima (Suluk and Basilani.
Near these islands grow pearls. The two pearls of the king of Borneo, of which 1 hare
spoken, were found here." (Primo Yiaggio, p. 125.)
Owing to some cause or other, there has sprung up in Soolo, a civilisation and
power far exceeding those of the surrounding islanders. A superior fertility of th«
soil, and better means of maintaining a numerous and concentrated population, has pro-
bably been the main cause of this superiority, but whatever be the cause, it has enabled
this people not only to maintain a paramount authority over the whole Archipelago,
but to extend it to Palawan and to the northern coasts of Borneo and islands adywynt
to it. It was from them that we ourselves obtained a cession of one of the islands off
the coast of Borneo, Balambangan, twice taken possession of, — onoe driven out of it by
the very parties who bad made the grant, and once finally abandoned by us. The only
reputation that the people of Socio have ever obtained, is not an enviable one, that of
being with the Lanuns of Mindano, the most daring habitual pirates of the Malayan seas.
Both these nations are now, indeed, the only freebooters that are seriously troublesome.
Their predatory fleets extend their cruizes from one end of the Malay Archipelago to
the other, but the chief theatres of their depredations are, and have always been, tlie
Philippines. These they have continued to infest nearly from the first establiahmeot
of the Spanish dominion down to our own times. The first expedition against them
by the Spaniards took place in 1 629, only 58 years after the foundation of Kamlla,
and it has been followed by many others even to the present time. Their strong-
holds have been captured and their villages burnt, but they have proved mere
razzias which left the robbers irritated but not suppressed, and the Spanish govern-
ment of the Philippines has never found it prudent to take possession of and occupy
them.
Our accounts of the principal island of the Soolo Archipelago is extremely imperfiict,
for the islands comprising it have been rarely visited by intelligent Europeans with
opportunity of collecting information. The best account of them is that of Mr.
Alexander Dairy mple, afterwards hydrographer to our Admiralty ; but this is near
a hundred years old, the author having visited Soolo in 1759 and 1761, although
publishing his account of it in his Oriental Repertory as late as 1792. The chief value of
this work rests on its hydrographical information. In other matters, the author's state-
ments are trivial, for he possessed neither the means nor accomplishments necessary to
accurate inquiry, trusting much to native information. He gives himself with much
frankness an example of the manner in which this led him into error. He was anxious
to obtain accurate information respecting the history of the country, and at length
obtained a manuscript which purported to be history, but when he displayed his trea-
sure to competent judges in England, the pretended history turned out to be a collec-
tion of Arabian fables, and not in the Soolo or Malay language but in Arabia At
an interval of half a century, Mr. Dalrymple was followed by Mr. Hunt already
noticed, and he either copied his predecessor, or added only loose grataitoua asser-
tions of his own.
60RS0G0N is the name of a bay, a harbour, and a town on the western side
of the island of Luzon in the peninsula of Camarines and province of Abbay. The
bay is both spacious and secure as a harbour. It is li leagues in circumferenoe
SPEAR 409 Sugar-cane
and 4^ in breadth, haying at its entrance the islets of Poro and Malaoimbo. Next to
CsTit^ in the great Bay of Manilla, it is the best port in the Philippines. The town
of Sorsogon is situated at the head of the bay and on its shore between two rivulets
at their debouchement, in north latitude 12° 80' 30% and east longitude 123*' 41'. It
contains a population of 7316 inhabitants. Behind it is a high peak, but of which
the height has not been ascertained.
SPEAR, LANCE, JAVELIN. Weapons of this class from their simplicity and
the abundance of materials for them, must in the Indian Islands, have been, after
clubs, the earliest weapons used, and notwithstanding the introduction of fire-arms,
they still continue in present use, even among the most civilised tribes. The half
savage inhabitants of the little island of Maktan in the Philippines encountered,
defeated and slew Magellan and several of his companions, wiih no other weapon
than bamboo spears, sharpened at the end and hardened in the fire, and long spears
were the chief weapons of the Javanese when they made a show of encountering the
British troops in 1811, near three centuries later. The Javanese spear or lance is
about twelve feet long, and is armed with a simple iron pika In the hands of
resolute men, disciplined, and acting in unison, this would have been a formidable
weapon ; but it is probable that the effectual discipline never existed. A phalanx
of men thus armed resists the spring of the tiger, as I have frequently witnessed
with great ease and without any risk. The most general name for the spear in all
the languages of the Malay Archipelago, but not extending to the Philippines is
tumbak, which I take to have been originally Javanese, the people of Java having
been, as we find from Barbosa, the great manufacturers of warlike weapons, even for
the Malays, before the arrival of Europeans. In describing the trade of Malacca^
after enumerating other commodities imported by the Javanese vessels, he says,
" They also bring many kinds of arms for sale, such as spears, shields, and swords
with handles worked in marquetrie (kris ?)." In the polite language of Java, the name
for the spear is the same which expresses ' steel,* and in the languages of Celebes, it is
the same which in Malay and Javanese expresses 'iron,' the reference, in both cases,
being to the principal part of the weapon, the pike. . For the javelin or half-pike, the
Javanese and Malays lukve the same name, which is l&mbing.
STEEL. The art of oonyeiiing iron into steel has been immemorially known to
the more civilised nations of the Malay Archipelago, and they have native names for
it. These are, in Javanese, waja and m&lela, abbreviated lela, and in Malay baja,
the same word as the first Javanese, with the exchange, — a frequent one between
those languages, — of one labial for another, and k&luli, a synonyme taken from the
T&lugu or Telinga, but not of frequent use. These names do not extend to the
Philippines nor to Madagascar, fur in the languages of the first, the Spanish word
acero has been introduced, and into the last the French acier, corrupted isi. It may
be inferred from this, that steel was not known to the rude people of the countries in
question until made acquainted with it by Europeans. The probability is that, with
the more civilised nations, steel was a native invention, and that it originated with the
Javanese, the principal manufacturers in iron for the other nations of the Archipelago.
There is, at all events, no evidence of its having been made known by strangers.
SUBIG. The name of a bay and of a township situated on its shore, on the
western side of Luzon. The bay, which is one of no great extent, is a safe harbour
for vessels of small draught, and the town, in north latitude 14" 32' 58'', and east
longitude 122" 8' 80", has a population of 3836 inhabitants. A high peak of the
Cordillera of Zambales lies inland from the town at the distance of six leagues.
SUGAR-CANE and SUGAR (Sacoharum ofiicinalis]. The cane is called in
Malay and Javanese t&bu, with the accent, as usual, on the penultimate. This name
is universal, and there is no other popular one throughout the Malay and Philippine
Archipelagos. Indeed, there is no synonym at all, except in the polite dialect of
the Javanese, where it has the factitious one of rosan, which signifies literally "the
jointed object," t^at is, " the cane." But the word tftbu has a still wider extension,
for we find it in the languages of all the islands of the Pacific in which the sugar-cane
was grown when they were discovered by Europeans. No doubt the word has been,
more or less, corrupted in all the ruder languages, but still there can be no doubt of
its identity. Thus, in the language of the Philippines, it is tubu ; in the Kayan of
Borneo, tuvo ; in the languages of Floris, tau ; in the Polynesian Tonga also, tau ;
in the Tahiti and Marquesa, to; and in the Sandwich Islands, ko. This essential
* conformity of name, and that name too a native one, and not as is the case with its
SUGAR-CA5E 410 SUGAJt-CANE
product ragar, taken from a foreign sonrce, leada to the belief that the plant is
indigenous, and ivas disseminated bj one people directly or indirectly. What peopk
that waS) it is impotsible to determine, bnt it is most natural to conclude tfa&t it wae
one of those in whose language the word appears in its most perfect or least coiTapt«d
form. This would limit us to the Malays and JaTsnese, and 1 should incline to tbe la^t
as tbe people who had made the greatest progress in agriculture, as in every depart-
ment of ciTiliaation.
With respect to the names for sugar, the case is just the reTerse of what it is -with |
the cane, for every one of them is foreign, with the exception of those of the polite |
language of Java, namely, kara and gftndia. The ordinary JaTanese name is gula. a
slight corruption of the Sanscrit gura or gud'a, which properly applies to the crude
article before separation from the molasses. This name has extended to almost
every tongue of tbe Malay Archipelago, but has not reached the Philippines^ where
sugar was unknown in any form when discovered by Europeans, although palm-wine
which it is made from in Uie Malay Archipelago was copiously used, as we find from
the narrative of Pigafetta, and this beverage too, designated by its Malayan name,
tuwak. Another name for sugar in Javanese, but confined to that language, ia sakara,
with its abbreviation kara. This, too, is Sanscrit, the original word being aarkara,
the probable origin of the Arabic word slkar, from which all our European names
are undoubtedly derived. In Javanese, however, the word sakara belongs to tl^e
recondite language, and is equally applied to honey as to sugar, the popular synonym
for honey, namely, madu; being, it is singular enough, also Sanscrit, while the comb,
tbe wax, and the hive are all expressed by native terms.
But it by no means necessarily follows that the sugar of the Indian islands ^th
Sanscrit names, was the produce of the cane. On the contrary, the great probability
is that the sugar to which these originally applied was the product of the sap of
palms. This, and not the sugar of the cane, forms the saccharine consumption, not
only of the Indian islands, but of most of the people of tropical Asia, as of tbe
Cochin-chinese, the Siamese, the Burmese, and all the nations of Southern India,
including that particular on^ tbe Telingas, from whom the Malayan nations received
the Sanscrit names, and from whom most probably they acquired the art of making^
sugar, even that from the sap of palma The islanders obtain their palm-sugar from the
gomuti (Borassus gorouti), and the people of the continent from the Palmyra
(Borassus flabelliformis). Sugar, it should be observed, is obtained from the sap of
palms, by a far simpler and easier process than from Uie cane. This consists in
mere boiling in small earthen vessels, and no attempt is ever made at any kind
of refining, although the crude product is equally capable of it as that of the cane.
The sugar-cane, in so far as native industry is concerned, is grown everywhere
luxuriantly in the Indian Islands, in small patches near the dwellings of the inha-
bitants where rich dressings are easily available, but nowhere as a bran<£ of husbandry.
It is grown, in fact, only to be used os a kind of sweet-meat to be masticafed in its fre»h
state, and never for the production of sugar, an art which, there is every reascm to
conclude, was unknown to the natives until taught by the Chinese. To grow the
cane profitably on a large scale as a branch of husbandry, for the manufacture of
sugar, is quite another matter. In this view it can be produced only in rich volcanic
or alluvial lands, such as exist in some provinces of China, in some parts of Java,
in some of the Philippine Islands, in parts of Cochin-china, Siam, and tbe valley of
the Ganges. Even in these, it is excluded from the perennially irrigated lands, on
which it is more profitable to grow rice. In general it may be said that, for native
use, sugar is only produced from the cane in countries where palms cease to be
abundant, which Is the case in every country of Asia without the tropic. Hence it is
grown for this purpose, as it were by necessity, in the upper valleys of the Junma and
Ganges, as well as in the greater part of China.
The sugar of the Indian Islands, therefore, to which the Sanscrit names were applied,
we may safely conclude was that of palms and not of the cane, and this commodity
must always have been, as we see it now, in its crudest form mixed with its molasses.
The Javanese press out the sap of the cane to use it in its fresh state as a beverage,
and have a specific name for it, — juruh 'but beyond this very simple proceeding they
have not gone. Tlie name gula is applied alike to the palm and cane sugar, but to
distinguish the last from thefirst, the word is added which makes cane-sugar, gula-t Abu.
The names given to the sugars made from the cane have even a modem air, consisting
simply of the generic name with epithets, clayed sugar meaning literally ** sand
sugar" (gula paser); and candied or crystallispd ''stone sugar" (gula batu). In the
early int^tsourse of Europeans with the Archipelago, it may be added that sugar is
^^
SUGAR-CANE 411 SUGAR-CANE
never onoe mentioned as an article of commerce, whether of the cane or palm.
Barboaa gives nn enumeration of abore fifty different articles to be found in the
emporium of Ifalacca, naming, for example^ such inconsiderable commodities as
safilower and eubebs, but he makes not even an allusion to sugar.
I strongly suspect that the same remarks apply to the sugar of the Hindus, their
gora and sarkara^ namely, that it consisted of a coarse unrefined article, the produce
of the Palmyra palm: and, indeed, the first of the names mentioned, even now
expresses only the ugly unrefined mass of sugar and treacle which is the form in
which the natives of Hindustan still consume sugar, — ^the jaggory of Europeans, a
name which is a corruption of the Kanara word sharkari, itself a corruption of the
Sanscrit sarkara. The modem names, too, of cane-sugar, both clayed and candied,
are certainly foreign, — the first, chini, signifying Chinese, and the last, misri,
Egyptian. This would lead to the belief that the Hindus were unacquainted with
the art of refining sugar in any manner until instructed by their Turkish and Persian
invaders, themselves instructed by the Arabs, the same people who taught the
nations of southern Europe. This notion is strengthened by the aocount which the
Emperor Baber gives in his Memoirs of the vety rude condition of the Hindus when
he himself invaded India, which was twenty years after the arrival of the Portuguese
at Calicut. It may be considered a further corroboration of this opinion, that
Barbosa, in his price-ourrent of the merchandise of that emporium, although it
amounts to near thirty articles of several countries, such as iudigo, borax, cinnamon
of Ceylon, Chinese rhubarb, the clove and nutmeg, does not enumerate sugar in
any shape, and Barbosa*s manuscript is dated ten years earlier than the last successful
invasion of Baber. The only early notice of cane-sugar in any Asiatic country except
China that I have seen, relates to Siam, in which De Cauto (1548) expressly states
'' that, near the capital, Odia (Ayudya) much cane was grown, and sugar and spirits
made from it, but the Chinese had been immemorially settled iu Siam." — Decade 8,
chapter 22. No doubt there was palm-sugar in the markets both of Malacca and
Ciilicut in the time of Barbosa, but the article was evidently too coarse and rude a
commodity to bear the cost of distant transport, even after the discovery of the route
by the Cape of Qood Hope, and hence would not be an article capable of competing
in the European markets with the cane sugars of Sicily and Egypt.
With respect to the Indian Islands, then, the conclusioD we must come to is, that
sugar made from the cane was wholly unknown to their inhabitants, until introduced by
the Chinese, and not even by them until exercising their industry under the protection
of European governments. Down to the present day they are the sole manu&cturers,
not only in the Malay Archipelago, but in the Philippines, Cochin-China, and Siam ;
the origin of this branch of industry in the two last-named countries, or at least its
revival, being an affair of our own times.
With respect to the Hindus, there is, at least, no evidence to prove that they manu-
factured a marketable sugar before the invasion of their country by the Mahommedan
nations, in the 11th century. The probability then, is, that the Chinese were the
inventors of the processes of making clayed and candied sugars from the catie. But the
Greeks and Romans of antiquity were acquainted with sugar as a commodity which came
to them in the course of the oriental trade, and Pliny describes it as a product of Arabia
and India. This is his account of it, such as, we may presume, it appeared in the
market of Rome in the 1st century: "Saccharon is a honey, which forms on reeds,
white like gum, which crumbles under the teeth, and of which the lai^est pieces are
of the size of a filbert.** — Book 12, Chapter 8. The account of Dioscorides, a little
earlier in the same century, gives the article the same name, and adds, that " in con-
sistence it was like salt," that is, like salt of solar evaporation, or iu lai^e crystals, the
kind known to the Greeks and Romans. Plmy's account seems to be a very fair one,
of sugar-candy, the only mode of refining from clayed sugar known to the present day
by all the eastern nations. But it is to Chinese sugar-candy, which is in distinct white
crystals, and not to Indian, which is in the form of a confused brown crystallised mass,
a very inferior article, to which it is applicable.
Had the sugar-cane existed in northern India, and sugar been made from it, as it
now is, it is not likely that so remarkable an object should have escaped the Mace-
donian and Bactrian Greeks so long in communication with that part of the country,
or that they should have failed in giving an unmistakable account of it. As soon as
it was actually seen by Europeans, and this was by the Crusaders in Syria, in the
beginning of the 12th century, their historians not only desoribe the plant, but the
process of manufacturing sugar from it, in a manner which leaves no room for mis-
apprehension. In the pUlological part of this account, I have been assisted, as I have
»-- I-T iieforo on similar
often b««'„^!Srwa»on.
Horace Hayi««»J^^e nativ*
Wikl' rr?^ <^ ^ never 1
cultivated <^'2S;i'^itat« ba
ia, that ita °"Sf^ " t least as
Indian B««**^rCSy cultiva
ihe plant tom««ao^ 7
by Buropoans «? f". . ^d th
tivated as the I°dj^' ^^ An.
'"-^ "^*yJ^or1^ti^et^ Tarie
l^ ^L^^A Chinese canes, .
the I""**. ,~j *»,„ same seem
they are. u«i««^', *xJ^
^es already alluded to.
°"^m these facts it n»»y,?V!
A J^^laKO, taking for granted t
Archipeu««^ aU be considered
^i b^ be^nCmemorially culti
ffi^tTwere the sole discoverers .
product from it. ^ i
SUKADANA. The name of a pL
western coast of Borneo mlatit,
p,!^vince of the west ?<««* ^^ ^J^^\
quenco. The name, imposed no *
*• Parrot's gift."
fiUKAPURA. The name of one of
by the Javanese Prayangan, or lar
" city of gladness."
SUKAWATI is the name of a die
Javanese, and situated in the exten
Sanscrit signifies " gladness-possessu
SUKU AND CHATTO. These are t
situated in the districts of Pajang a:
the volcanic mountain Lawu, 11,000 i
few miles apart, Suku 3626 feet, an«
These buildings are composed of blocl
rude, and some of the objects represc
differing, in this respect, from all the o
the Javanese themselves were the buil
consist of a series of terraces, one risii
between them being by flights of stHirs
and gateways* There are no Hindu ini
snakes, birds, and tortoises. The temph
or Hindu Priapus, not as usual obscure 1
fonn. An inscription on the Suku tern]
date of 1361 of Saka, and one on those i
respond with the years of Christ, 1489,
but 44 years before the destruction of 1
final extinction of Hinduism in Java.
SULPHUR, in Malay baHrang, and in .
word. This name extends from Sumatra
it, cholok. In one of the languages of th
the name is Banyaya, which is, no doubt, a
saltpetre. In the Bisaya, as well as in the
ling, doubtless a corruption of the Malaj-
Madagascar, the name for it is suUfara, a ci
it may be safely inferred, tbat the artick
ToYcaxiio isiUxid. >jknU\ \>rought to their know
Mcun and he thus *»^«"*='"^™ *"<Si.i:
"isnlH Kt day we BmbM-1t«<i in h i^v. J^
Ksmu, <fii»mM-a,), tteire >-» ° --a tuH'
tilitj,
SUMATRA 414 SUMATRA
arriTal of the Portuguese in the Archipelago, Pigafetta writes the name Samalana, bat k
mentions it only incidentally, and his information was most prohab)y obtained frot.
hta better informed ship-mate, Barbosa. *' On the night of Tuesday and Wednesday,
the 11th of February, 1522/' says he, "quitting the island of Timur, we entered tLc
great sea called Laut^hidol (Javanese, Laut-kidul, the south sea), and taking OuT
course between west and south, we left to the right hand, and in a northern directiui:.
for fear of the Portuguese, the island Samatra, anciently called Taprobana."* — Pnoic
Viaggio, p. 179. It is remaikable that the name of Sumatra had not reached Mara
Polo, although he was six months wind-bound at the island, and in communicatitia
with the natives. That of Java, the only large territory of the Archipelago, fiumliarij
called an island by the natives, had done so ; and he called Sumatra, knowing it to b«
an island, but ignorant of its relative extent, Java Minor. About two oentuiies and
a quarter, therefore, before the arrival of the Portuguese, the name of SamAtra ins
not known to the Chinese of Marco Polo s fleet, nor even to its Arabian pilots^ or it
would hardly have escaped the Venetian traveller.
As to the first origin of the name Sumatra, or Samatra, as employed by the Moorish
merchants trading to the Archipelago, and borrowed from them by the Portuguese, it
has certainly hitherto baffled etymologists, but is very probably of Hindu or Sanscrit
origin. Sumatra is the nearest part of the Archipelago to the ooimtry of the Hindus,
and is, moreover, that part of it which is now, and has at all times been, mo^t
frequented by them for the purposes of trade. That trade was carried on from tfa«
eastern coast of the southern part of Hindustan, being also that part of it from
which the islanders are reasonably believed to have derived the Hindu religioo,
and their languages their admixture of Sanscrit. The first syllable of the name
of the island, when written with the vowel «, signifies, in Sanscrit, good, or
excellent, but of the remaining two, no reasonable conjecture can be formed. Is it
not probable, then, that the original word may have been Samudra, the sea, or ocean,
in Sanscrit, and thence, in Javanese 1 The Hindus would add dipa, and henoe ve
should have " sea-island, or sea-land," and traders, dropping the last named word, might
easily have corrupted Samudra into Samatra. This seems at least as probable as any
other conjecture that has been offered on the subject, for it is not unreasonable to
fancy that the Hindus would call the nearest land to them sea- ward, by such a name,
— that land from which, directly or indirectly, they drew their suppliee of gold, tin,
spices and incenses, and which they had immemorially supplied with salt and cotton
&bric8.
But there are two other names which have been occasionally given to Sumatra —
Indalus and Pulo-pftrchah. Both are more mythic than real, and the first can neither
be traced in sense or derivation. The last means, literally, rag, or patch island, but
unluckily for it, the word p&rchah is neither native nor Sanscrit, but Persian, and
henoe, however given, must of necessity be a comparatively reoent one, since no
ancient communication between the Archipelago and Persia is traceable.
Sumatra is the most westerly island of the Malay Archipelago, formiug ita barrier
to the west against the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal Ita length is from north-
west to south-east, and it stretches across the equator, which bisects it, leaving about
an equal port in the northern and southern hemisphere, its most northerly point
being, in north latitude 5° 45', and its most southerly, in south latitude, 5'' 55'. To the
east it has the Malay Peninsula, and the chain of islands which extend to Banea inclu-
sive. To the west, the nearest land is the continent of India, about 1000 miles
distant To the soath, there is no land near it, except at its southern extremitr,
where it approaches within twelve miles of Java.
Sumatra is about 1000 miles in length, its extreme ends are its narrowest parts, and
its centre its broadest Its area is recJconed at 128,560 geographical square miles.
Thus it is the largest island of the Malay or Philippine Archipelago, except Borneo.
It is above three times the size of Java, or of Cuba, and better than half as laige again
as Qreat Britain.
The geological formation of Sumatra consists of sedimentary, plutonic and volcanic
rocks. ''The circumstance,'* says Mr. Logan, in an excellent sketch of the inland, "of
of the mountain belt being partly plutouic and partly volcanic forma its peculiar
character. Its configuration is, in fact, a combination of that of the Malay Peninsula
with that of Java, with this difference, that its middle region ia more elevated and
expanded than any part of the Peninsula, several of its masses being about thrice the
height of the summits of the peninsular mountain range. If a number of volcanic
mountains rose, here and there, among the peninsular groups, and in greatest numbir
where the Peninsula is broadest, it would be identified, iu character, with Somatnu
SUMATRA 415 SUMATRA
The greater elevatiou of the mountains of the hitter ie, however, acoompanied by a
greater ezpaoBion of the plams and valleya whioh lie among them. In croaaing it
aoy where, save towards its northern and southern extremities, three> and sometimeB
more, principal ranges are found, with wide table-lands, plains, or valleys between
tham, watered by numerous streams, and in some places oontainiug lakes ... The
most western ranges form the water-shed, and as the land to the west of it, chiefly
luUs, is not more than twenty -Ave miles broad, about oue-flfth only of the waters of
the island fidl into the Indian Ocean, — ^the Straits of Malacca and the Java Sea
roceiving the reaiainder, in nearly equal proportions, as regards the drainage of the
mountains, but with a large exoass to the latter, from the wide plain traversed by the
rivers which disembogue in it. The western margin of the mountain belt, washed by
the strong waters of the Indian Ocean, has retrograded to the eastward, the sediment
of the rivers and the debris of the coast being carried away, instead of being depo-
sited. The northern part of the coast, exposed to the assault of the Bay of Ben^,
litis retained its ancient dimensions, if it has not contracted, but as soon as the open
eea is exchanged for the Straits of Malacca, the mountain belt begins to retire from
the coast, and a great alluvial belt commences."
The highest mountain in Sumatra appears to be Lub^, in the territory of Achin, and
in nt>rth latitude about 4° 20', and this rises to the height of 11,000 feet above the
level of the sea, but there are at least six more which attain the elevation of 10,000,
or better. Of the mountains of Sumatra, five only are active volcanos, while tho
voloauos of Java amount to fifteen. In fact^ the volcanic portion of Sumatra seems to
be confined to a small part of its central region, — ^the volcanic baud, afterwards con-
tinued in Java and the islands east of it, appearing here to be limited to a zone com-
prised within about a degree on each side of the equator. One of these volcano^,
Taluug, rises to the height of 10,250 feet, an elevation equal to the average of the
lieights of the volcanos of Java, Bidi, and Lomboo. Two of them, B&rapi, 6000, and
Marapi, 9500 feet high, indicate their character by their names, whioh signify volcano.
Tlie plains, table-lands, and valleys of the mountain region, are many of them of
oousiderable extent, such as those of Korinchi, Menangkabo, Tobah, Pertibi, and Man-
daling. Some of these, especially of the volcanic formation, are fertile, while othera,
and by far the greater number, are sterile and ungeniaL Mr. Wilier, a Dutch writ-er,
has given a very spirited account of the two last-named plains, which are in the
country of the Bataks, but now forming parts of the Notherland dominions. He thus
describes Pertibi, remarkable for its sterility, and presenting an appearance little to
be expected by those accustomed to the luxuriant seaboards of Sumatra: "It is
otherwise when we dobcend Gunung-Tuah (old mountain), and cast our eye down-
wards from the top of Sipopol. There we see unrolled a plain without horixon and
without variety. The lalang grass (the rank and worthless Andropogon caricosum)
makes the only diversity. On this plain not a single living creature appears to move;
a tree is a rarity, and has an appearance of stunted dwarfishness. At the distance of
miles we may descry, as an oasis in the desert, an insignificant thicket, or a small strip
of brushwood, along the banks of a nuirsh, or brook. A fell scorching wind blows,
for months together, and, from the numerous conflagrations, spreads a dull glow,
through which the sun-light scarcely forces itself, — wavering and heavy. In a word,
all nature appears to have gone to an eternal sleep. Such is the appearance of
Padang-luwas (spacious plain), and of the greater part of Pertibi" " The naked and
flat terrcUn of Padang-luwas offers no other diversity than the ravines and morasses
with which it is intersected. The upper soil is of the most meagre and unfruitful
kind, and is seldom more than six incties in depth. Beneath it, we soon come to layers
of white clay, limestone, sandstone, and other formations. The climate, although not
exactly unhealthy, is extremely rough. Frequently, we have in the afternoon a
temperature of from 27° to 29° of Reaumur, and in the night of from 14° to 15°.
The heat is accompanied by great dryness. The violent gftnding, which blows over
Probolingo, in Java, can give but a faint idea of the storm which, for the greatest part
of the year, day after day, bellows from the west over Padang-luwas. Like the mUtral,
this wind has a strong desiccating power, cracking the ground, and, in a few minutes,
removing all traces of mud and rain."
The neighbouring district of Mandeling offers a totally different aspect, and is thus
described by the same writer : " The appearance of Mandeling is as luxuriant and
varied as that of Pertibi is arid and monotonous. True, the southern ulu (interior)
consists of high and naked mountains, over which the lalang grass again spreads its
monotonous mantle. Here hamlets and cultivated tracts appear to be stuck on
frightful steeps, where uniruitfulnesis and poverty Lave establuilied their hungry scat.
SUMATRA 416 SUMATRA
True, also, the northern Ankola exhibits some dry and desert places like thoae of
Padang-luwas. But for the rest, the district consists of one chain of beautiful valleyB,
hemming the banks of the Batang-gadis (Virgin River), which runs between the csentjna]
mountains of Sumatra. These valleys, like the river itself, become wider and wider
as we proceed to the north aud west The high chains of mountains are covered to
their summits with stately woods, which afford abundance of good timber and other
valuable articles. On the lower mountains, too, woods are here and there dispezsed,
and these are commonly adorned with the wild Aren palm (Soguerus sacohanfenis),
yielding a wine ; while some bare red spots indicate the existence of gold mines,
which, however, can seldom be considered as signs of true prosperity. We may more
safely give way to satisfaction when we see the well-watered rice-fields, which in small
valleys, like amphitheatres, climb up a considerable portion of the acclivitiee, and in
the distance, extend to an invisible boundary. Nowhere does the landscape weary.
The eye rests constantly on ornamental groups of bamboos and various trees, or on
the small clumps of miit-trees in which the villages lie concealed, their position
especially marked by the abundance of coco and areca palms. Towards evening, we
observe near the villages numerous herds of buffaloe, oxen, and goats ; while men,
well-fed and well-clothed, and what is more, a superabundance of children, prove that
in this favoured region, the greatest prosperity has reigned for some years.'
The great alluvi^ plain of the eastern side of the island, generally but a few feet
above the level of the sea, is 600 miles in length, and from 60 to 110 inileB in breadth,
giving an area of about 42,000 square miles, equal to better than half that of Qreat
Britain. This, with the rare exception of a few patches in the river banks, and usually
beyond the reach of the tide, is covered with a stupendous forest, probably older than
the races of men that inhabit it, or wander over it. No doubt much of this vast
territory is of ample fertility, and suited to the growth of most of the useful pro-
ducts of intertropical countries ; but to clear and cultivate it effectually has alwajs
been a tssk far too difficult and gigantic for the rude and unskilful races of men
who occupy it.
Sumatra, as far as can be asserted of a country, many hundred square miles of
which have probably never been trodden by the foot of an intelligent European, is
like the other great islands of the Malay, but not those of the Philippine Archipelago,
deficient in li^es. The largest is described as being the source of the river of
Indragiri, and is called the Danau Singkara, or the " Lake Singkara." This is described
as being 20 miles in length, by from 12 to 15 in breadth, with a depth of 24 fiithoms.
Another lies near the foot of the mountain Mftrapi, and goes under the name of the
Danau Sapuluh kota, or *'Lake of the ten forts." Two others are situated in the
country of the Korinchi Malays. These last were visited, in 1804, by an English
gentleman, Mr. Charles Campbell. The largest of them was described by him and
his companions, as a beautiful and clear expanse of water, abounding in fish, and
about seven miles broad. Another lake exists in the country of the Lampungs, towards
that part of the island which fronts Java. This is called the Ranu, a word which, in
Javanese, is a synonym for water, and probably the same word as danu, a lake. Two
English gentlemen visited this lake in 1820, and estimated its length to be about 16
miles, and its breadth 8. It is surrounded in every direction by steep mountains,
ranging from 1200 to 3000 feet high, and abounds in fish and water-fowl.
The cOast-line of Sumatra is not broken by any great bay or deep inlet, as is that of
Luzon or Celebes. Tapanuli on the western coast is the most extensive bay in the
island, and contains behind the shelter of the islands within it several harbours, but
with this exception, the anchorages of Sumatra are mere roads. In a sea without
storms, however, the absence of harbours is comparatively little felt.
The principal rivers of Sumatra are those of its eastern side, and this, owing to the
wide alluvial plain over which their course runs in their way into the Straits of Malacca.
Beginning from the north-west, they are as follow : the Assahan, the Baruman or
Bila, the Rakan, the Siak, the Kampar, the Indragiri, the Jambi, and the Palembang.
These, it should be observed, are only the names by which they are known to
Europeans, for generally, both here and in other parts of the Archipelago, no great
river throughout its course is designated by the natives by a common name, each
portion of it having a different one, generally taken from the place by which it flows.
On the western coast, the only considerable stream is the Singkel. Disemboguix^
in the Straits of Sunda, we have the Mas-uji and the Pagadungan. All the Sumatran
rivers have bars of mud or sand at their mouths, which preclude their navigation by
vessels of burden ; and the greater number of those of the eastern coast are subject
to the bore or tidal wave. The finest of the rivers of Sumatra are those of Siak and
SUMATRA 417 SUMATRA
Palembang, the mouths of which are protected, the first by a low island close to it,
and the last iu a good measure by the island of Banca. These are navigable by
vessels of considerable burden.
The mineral products adapted to economical use hitherto discovered in Sumatra,
are fosnil coal a lignite, sulphur, naphtha, granite, marble, iron, and gold. Indications
of copper have been discovered, but no mines of it have ever been worked. Tin
might be expected in a country so near to the Peninsula and Banca, and much of
'vvbich is of the same formation, but I have not heard of its being anywhere worked
except in the interior of Eampar, which is opposite to Malacca. It is certain, how-
ever, that it is nowhere abundant, or the ore would have been washed as in the
Peninsula and Banca. The iron ore is described as of fine quality, and iron and steel
liave been immemorially made from it by the workmen of Menangkabo, who have
attained a local reputation for the manufacture of tools and weapons. Gold is found
in many parts of the interior, but seemingly not in such abundance as in Borneo, the
Peninsula, or Celebes. Mercury, zinc^ and antimony may be fairly looked for when
the cotmtry is explored.
The vegetable products of Sumatra include none, as far as economic botany ia
concerned, which distinguish them from those of the Peninsula, and especially of
Borneo. The island produces all the corns, pulses, farinaceous roots, and esculent
fruits which belong to other portions of the western part of the Archipelago. Its
eastern coast, and the islands lying off it, are the chief source of the sago of commerce.
Benzoin and Malayan camphor are peculiar to it and Borneo. Sumatra is the great
Bouroe of black pepper, producing far more than all the other countries of India
put together. Of late years, coffee has been grown in larger quantities than in any
other island except Java, and this production has even extended to the native culti-
vators, so that the island promisee to furnish an almost unlimited supply. The
Bugar-cane has never been cultivated for the production of sugar, which here, as in
most other places, is furnished by the sap of palms. The teak, the finest timber tree
of the Indies, is not a product of the forests of Sumatra, although so abundant in the
neighbouring island of Java, The ratan, producing the dragon's-blood, is, I believe,
peculiar to the island.
The surprising dissimilitude of the soologies of Sumatra and Java, islands parted
from each other only by a narrow channel, has been already noticed. The elephant,
and the tapir of Sumatra have no existence in Java. Even the rhinoceros and
wild hog of Sumatra differ in species from those of that island. The orang-utan is
found in Sumatra, but not in Java, while the Sunda ox of Java does not exist in
Sumatra. The dissimilitude extends even to the birds of the two islands^ and
especially to those of the gallinaceous and pigeon families. Thus, the Arous pheasant of
Sumatra does not exist in Java, nor the pea-fowl of Java in Sumatra. Even when the
species of the feathered tribe are the same, the birds are larger and their plumage
brighter in Sumatra. These curious fiicts we have on the authority of a great orni-
thologist, M. Temminck.
The aboriginal man of Sumatra is uniformly of one raoe^ however different in manners,
customs, language, and social condition. This is the Malayan. There is no diminutive
negro, as in the neighbouring peninsula ; nor an intermediate race between the Ma-
layan and N^^, as in Floris» Timur, and the islands adjacent to them. Fifteen
different nations, speaking as many distinct languages, inhabit Sumatra and the islands
adjacent to it, of which eleven are found in the main island and four in the islets.
Six of the nations of the main island have made considerable progress in civilisation,
being possessed of the art of writings and made respectable advances in the mechanic
arts and agriculture. These are the Malays (liAlayu), the Achinese (Ach^), the Battaa
(Batak), the Palembangs, the Rejang and the Sarawi. Four tribes, the Lubu, the
Kubu, the Abung, and the Kumring, — ^for these are the names hj which they are
called by their more civilised neighbours, — are m the same wud and rude con-
dition as the least advanced of the Dayaks of Borneo, or the Bftnuwa of the Malay
PeninsuliL
Mr. Logan has given an approximate estimate of the number of these different tribes
and nations, the most reasonable as it is the most moderate which has ever been pub-
lished, and the following is the substance of it. The first in power, in number, and
dvilisation is the Malayan nation. Its number he estimates at 898,650, occupying an
area of 59,050 square miles, or at the rate of 15 inhabitants to the square mile. These
are the conquerors of the island, and the same people who have spread theniselves or
their language as fiur as the Philippines and New Guinea, and even to the islands of
the Pacific Ooeaii, or to within no great diatanoe of the western shore of America.
B B
SUMATRA 418 gUMATBA
Next to the Mialays in number and, petbAps, eqoal to them in civilisiitiony are the
Achineee, with a population of 450,000, occapying 22,000 aqnare miles, and giving^ dj
inhabitants to the aqoare mile. This is the nation whidi is nearest to the oontanent
of India^ which has held most intercoorse and intermixed most with Asiatie 8traDg>en,
and which was the first in Sumatra to embrace the Mahommedan reli^on. After
this nation comes the Palembang, amounting to 201,000, occupying a territory of
13,400 square miles, which gives 15 inhabitants to each square nula This people is
partly Javanese and partly Malay, and is equal in civilisation to the Malajrs and Aciii-
nesa The Sarawi, a neighbouring nation to Plalembang and an inland people are
computed to amount to the number of 160,000, and to occupy an area of 4875 square
miles, which gives a relative population of 82 to the square nule. The niunber of the
Bejang nation is computed at 72,000, and the territory it occupies at 4500 miles,
giving 16 inhabitants to the square mile. This is the people among whom we planted
our black pepper settlement of Bencoolen ; and who have been described so graphi-
cally and so truthfully by Mr. Manden, in hia well-known History of Sumatra. They
are^ notwithstanding, a small obscure people, who have made no figure even in the
local annals of Sumatra. The Lampung nation, occupying that part of Somatia
which fitces Java^ is an equally small and obscure people. Their number is put
down at 92,000, and the tenritory they inhabit at 8280 square miles, giving 11 inha-
bitants to each mila The last of the civilised nations is the Batek, the oecasiooal
cannibals who had invented what neither Astecs nor Peruvians had done — phonetic
writing. Their number is set down at 811,860, occupying 15,800 square mUes,
which gives nearly 20 inhabitants to the square mile. Mr. Logan makeB tiie wild tribes
of the main island no more than 6000, which, as they are spread over a vast snrftce,
and as he has not included anywhere the inhabitants of the low isUnds of the
eastern coast, for the most part, of the same class, is probably under-esttznating
theoL He makes the population of the islands of the western coast 294,900, on an
area of 5040 square miles, giving 48 inhabitants to the square mUe.
From these data, the totid population of the main island is reckoned at 2,486,410,
or 19 inhabitants to the square mile, which is about one-fifteenth of the relative
population of Java. From these statements, which are, probably, as near approxi-
mations to the truth as the nature of the subject would admit, it will appear that
the greater portion of the surface of Sumatra is what the best part of it is well
known to be, a sterile or intractable wilderness ; for in the rude state of society
which exists in the Malay Archipelago, it must never be lost sight o^ that population
and civilisation are eommensurate with fertility of soil, aoeompanied by adaptation of
the land to easy culture. This is tested by comparing Sumatra with Java, and Borneo
with the little islands of Bali and Lomboc; or even Sumatra itself with the sterile
and poorly-peopled Peninsula and Borneo. Even in comparing one part of Sumatra
vnth another, we are famished with an illustration of the same tact. The Malays of
Menangkabo, inhabiting the volcanic valleys and plains of the interior of the moun-
tain region, the cradle of Malayan power and civilisation, have a relative population
of 128 to the square mUe. On the western coast the same people amount only to 80
to the square nule ; and in the great plain of the eastern coast, covered by uncon-
querable forest, the rate fiJls to 20, and even to 6 to the square mile.
The agriculture of Sumatra diJQfers in no respect from that of Java, ezoept *h*t it
is less skilful ; and that, with few exceptions, it has to contend with an unfruitful
soil. The same corns, pulses, palms, and fruits are cultivated as in that laland. In
the culture of black pepper and of the coco and areca pahns only, it aeema to excel
Java ; for, for these plants, the poor soil of its coasts seems peculiarly adapted. A
country so extensive necessarily possesses a great variety of soils. Thus, the plains
and valleys of Menangkabo, situated among the mountains of the voleanie band, are
in fertility and capacity of perennial irrigation not, perhaps, inferior to the finest
provinces of Java; and Sir Stamford Raffles, who personally visited this part of the
island and was well acquainted with Java, asserts that the country was as extensively
cultivated and well- watered as the finest part of that island. This gifted portion of
Sumatra, however, constitutes evidently but a small part of its surfiioe; and although,
no doubt, many other fertile spots exists the best known parts of the island are
ascertained to be the reverse of fertile. Mr. Muisden's account of the soil of each
parts of the western coast as he had an opportunity of observing, proves it^ mi^tj>i y|
of being fruitful, to be both sterile and stubborn. ** I cannot," observes this fiuthfiil
writer, " help saying, that I think the soil of the western coast of Sumatra i^ in
general, rather sterile than rich. It is, for the most part, a stiff red olay, burnt nsariy
to the state of a brick, where it is exposed to the influenoe of tiie sun. The am^l
SUMATRA 419 SUMATRA
portion of the whole that is cultivated is either ground from which old woods have
been recently cleared, whose leayes had formed a bed of vegetable earth some inches
deep, or else ravines into which the scanty mould of the adjoining hills has been
'washed by the annual torrents of rain." — History of Sumatra, p. 78. Even the land
of the neighbourhood of Bencoolen, to which this description more especially refers,
IB fidrtile, if compared to the plains of Pertibi, in the centre of the island, already
described. Many parts of the great alluvial plain of the eastern side of tiie island
liave an abundantly fertile soil ; but covered as they are by a mighty forest, and as
very probably they were before the creation of man, the labour of clearing and cul-
tiTating them is as much beyond the power of the present race of inhabitants,
as that race would be to cover them with a net-work of railways. Sumatra would
certainly be a more valuable territory if it wanted this huge plain altogether.
Of the ancient historr of Sumatra we know little ; and this is not to be wondered
at when we advert to the state of society, even of the most advanced of its nations,
— a state in which no reliable records have ever been preserved by any race of man.
The very little that we do know is derived, not from the people themselves, but from
the strangers that held intercourse with them, or from the evidence of language,
much in the same manner as we derive our knowledge of the ancient Britons, &e
Qauls, and the Iberians. The people of Sumatra had certainly adopted a kind olT
Hinduism, and this is sufficiently attested by an examination of their languages,
and even by a few monuments and inecriptionB. The more civilised nations of Java
seem, also, to have mixed with the Sumatrans, and to have had a considerable share
in the formation of their manners. This is shown by the existence, even to the pre-
sent time, of the Javanese language in Palembang, — by inscriptions in Menangkabo in
the ancient character of Java, — and by many purely Javanese names of places in both
the cotmtries thus named. What De Barros says on this subject is worth quoting,
since his information could only be derived f^m the natives themselves ; and since
be wrote by three centuries nearer the events than our times. " The people of the
coast, as well as of the interior of the island, are all of a yellowish-brown colour
(ba(o), — having flowing hair, — are well-made, — of a goodly aspect, and do not resemble
the Javanese, although so near to them, a hct which shows how a small distance may
alter the forms of nature. And this is the more remarkable, since all the natives of
Sumatra are called by the common name of Jftuij (Javri) ; for it is held by themselves
as certain, that the Javanese had been once masters of this great island, and that
before the Chijs (Chinese), they conducted ito commeroe as wdl as that of India." —
Decade m. Book v. Chap. 1. The inference of a Javanese connection with the word
Jau^ , as it is written by De Barros, but correctly Jawi, is mest probably a mistake ;
for it is a common term applied by the Arabs to all the natives of the Archipelago,
but more especially to the Malays ; although, no doubt^ it is a corruption of the word
Jawa, Java, or Javanese.
The most remarkable event in the history of the people of Sumatra is the conver-
sion of the most civilised of them to the Mahommeaan religion, but even this is not
correctly determined. De Barros states that the conversion took plaoe about 150
years before the arrival of the Portuguese, which would carry us back, only to about
the year 1860. Maorco Polo, however, found the people of the eastern side of the island
already Mahommedans, about 1290, or 70 years earlier than the time specified by
De Barros. The account which tbjs last author gives of the manner in which the
conversion was effected, has every appearance of verisimilitude, and is worth extract-
ing. ''The inhabitants of the coast," says he, "follow the sect of Mahomet The
pnnoes of the maritime ports were ori^ally Moors, Persians, Arabs, — Moors of the
kingdoms of Ghijratt India (Southern), and Bengal, who, in pursuit of trade, came to
the ports of this coimtry. These men observing l^e state of the country, — its great
extent, — ^that the inhabitanto were without law, and well dinx>sed to receive
their own religion, — ^they converted many of them, took their daughters in marriage,
mi^dng themselves masters of the coun^, and in time assuming the title of kings."
— ^Decade m. Book viii. Chap. 1.
The attempte of the Portuguese to establish their power in Sumatra, were
productive omy of petty wars and massacres, and never had the least prospect of
success, nor are they worth narrating, affording only evidence of fiwaticism
and bootless courage. The Duteh and English petty estabUshments had only in
view the paltry object of monopolising black-pepper, a mean and profitless one, which
they both pursued with much assiduity for two whole centuries. It was not until
the restoration of their possessions in the Archipelago to the Duteh in 1816, and,
espedally, since the conTention with the English in 1824, that the government of the
B B 2
SUMBA 420 SUMBAWA
Netherlands began to pnraue a conTse of territorial oonquest in SamatIt^ throisgh
which they have become masters, at least nominally, of the whole of its ooaats a^
islands, from Kampar on the Straits of Malacca to Singkel on the western coaet.
bordering on the territory of Achin, with much also of the interior of the island
The territory thus acquired, exclusive of the islands in the Straits of Malaociiy and of
Banca and Billiton, amounts to 6939 geographical leagues, or 3642 myriametras^ which
is little short of three times the extent of Java. The vs^ue of this acquiaition to itB
masters may be easily judged. In 1843, the expense of maintaining it amooiited to
29Oy000L, and the revenue which it yielded was 165,0002.^ which was aboat one-
twentieth part of the revenue of Java, of one-third its size. No better result could
reasonably have been anticipated from a country, generally unfertile, thinly inhabited
by savages or by'turbulent semi-barbarians, and without any true rent to y^d a land-
tax. The Netherland conquests in Sumatra^ then, may be quoted aa a flagrant
example of the ambition of territorial extension run wild.
STJMBAy the proper name of Sandalwood Island, lying south of Snmbawa and
Floris, out of the line of the Sunda chain, and in the same parallels as Tlmur. See
Sandalwood Island.
SUMBAWA. The name given by strangers, and taken from that of its principal
nation, to the fifth island of the Sunda chain, reckoning firom Sumatra incluaive. Ik
lies between Lomboc to the west and Floris to the east, being about a degree farther
south than Java. Among the islands of the Malay Archipelago, it ranks in magnitude
with Qilolo and Coram, but in real importance, is far below Bali and Lomboc^ wfaidi
are not much more than one-third part of its size. The form of the island is oblong
its southern or exposed coast forming an unbroken line, while its northern or sheltered
is broken by several bays, two of them of great extent, and one of them but pene-
trating the island to the extent of 20 miles, so as to make its eastern end a peninsula.
Its length is 140 miles, its greatest breadth 50, and its computed area 278 square
geographical leagues, or 152*5 myriameters, so that it is somewhat larger than
Jamaica.
The geological formation of Sumbawa ia eminently volcanic, and it contains both
active and quiescent volcanos. Generally the height of its mountains is inferior to
those of Java, Bali, and Lomboc, usually not exceeding 5500 feet, but the mountain
of Tomboro is computed to rise to the height of 9250 feet above the level of the seiL
It was from it, that took place in 1815, the greatest eruption recorded in history, and
which is supposed to have caused, directly or indirectly, the death of 12,000 of the
inhabitants of the island.
Sumbawa contains a good many small valleys of considerable fertility, but com-
pared with the three islands to the west of it, it must be deemed a very unproductive
land, less most probably from want of fertility of soil than the absence of what is
even more necessary in a hot climate, an abundant perennial supply of water for
irrigation, which so eminently distinguish Java, Bali, and Lomboc. The following
account of the physical character of the neighbourhood of Bima by Mr. Zollmger is
probably applicable to a large portion of the island. "Like every country of the
Indian Archipelago," says he, " which occupies the sides of an old volcanic mountain,
this country consists of a great number of trachytic ridges, which descend diveigenUy
to the Bay of Bima, and which are separated by ravines often very deep, and of which
the sides are frequently perpendicular. In these ravines, run streams very impetuous
in the rainy season, while their beds are nearly empty in the dry." Such is the case
in a country which the Dutch have been masters of for a period approaching two
centuries. The water is abundant, and it is seems only necessary that it shoiUd be
husbanded and stored for use in reservoirs. Nature does this, with very little care
on their own part, for the people of Java, Bali, and Lomboc, but it does not do so for
those of Bima, and they are too weskk and rude themselves to supply the wanL
The only remarkable forest products of Sumbawa for economic use are sandal and
eappan wood The teak, it is singular, is a product of this island, after ceaaiDg to be
so in the intermediate ialands of BaU and Lomboc, but it is cither scarce or not
accessible. The elephant, the tiger, and all the larger animals are wanting, and there
are no considerable mammalia except deer and the hogs, but the island is remarkable
for the number and beauty of its small horses, the most esteemed of all those of the
Archipelago, and largely exported to Java, the native breed of which island is vexy
inferior to it.
Before the great volcanic eruption of 1815, Sumbawa is thought to have had a
population of better than 170,000, distributed among six different states, as followi^
SUMBING 421 SUNDA
Bixna, 90,000; Sumbawa, 60,000; Dompo, 10,000 ; Tombora, 6000; Sangar, 2200, and
Popekat 2000. By an estimate made in 1847 this population would seem to haye
decreased in the course of 32 years to 74,500, two of the smaller states seeming to
l&aTe disappeared altogether, according to the following statement — Bima, 45,000;
Sumbawa, 26,000 ; Dompo, SOOO ; and Sangar, 500. In thu last enumeration, the total
number of Europeans, exdusiTe of the xmlitary, was 70, and of Chinese but 6, while
of Malays and Balineee there were 2000, of settlers from Celebes 8000, and of those
from Floris, Timur, and Sumba 1000.
In manners and language, the inhabitants of Sumbawa bear a nearer resemblance
to those of Celebes than of Java and Sumatra, but are inferior to them in energy and
enterprise. The more advanced of them are composed of six different nations,
Bpeaking as many languages and forming separate states, of which the two most
considerable, as will be seen from the estimates of population, are Sumbawa. which
gives name to the island, and Bima, where the Dutch establishment exists ; — for the
"whole island is subject to the government of the Netherlands and has been so since
the year 1676. All the more civilised inhabitants have adopted the Mahommedan
religion, and probably did so about the same time as those of Celebes, which was
about the epoch of the first arrival of the Portugueea Many of the mountaineers, a
rude and simple people, are still unconverted. Attempts at their conversion are how-
ever in progress, and, according to the statements of Mr. Zollinger, a very intelligent
traveller, these are of rather a singular description. "For some time past," says he,
" Hajis (pilgrims) and fanatic Arabs have endeavoured to convert the Orang Dongo
(mountaineers) to Mahommedanism, but they have not had much sucoees. They do
not adopt a very attractive method. They traverse the villages of the mountaineers^
rod in hand, and crying, 'Dogs, do you wish to pray, or notV The converts, for there
are some, continue as they were before, except Uiat they wear a scrap of cotton hand-
kerchief on the head, do not eat pork any more, unless in secret, and construct their
houses like the peo{^e of the plain. They call the stones which they worshipped
before Nabi-Mahomed, or Dewa, a god ia Sanscrit, putting their confidence in &em
aa they have always done."
SUMBING. The name of one of the highest mountains of Java situated in the
provinces of KAdu and "RafinmAfl^ and in the most fertile and cultivated part of the
udand. It rises to the height of 11,250 feet above the level of the 8ea> forming with
Sundara the mountains called by mariners "the Brothers."
SUMERU. The name of the highest mountain in Java, for its height is 12,600
feet above the level of the sea. It is situated in the western part of that narrow
Sortion of the island which fronts Madura, and within the districts of Malang and
esiJd. The name is Sanscriti Su signifying good or excellent, and Mem, the Olympus
of the Hindus.
SUNDA. This is the name of the people who occupy the western portion of
Java, and who differ in language, and to a considerable extent in mannerst, from the
Javanese, who occupy the centre and eastern end of the island. The proper Javanese
call the country in contradistinction to their own, which alone they denominate Java,
or more correctly the land of the Javanese, Pasundan, signifying the place or country
of the Sundas. It is reckoned to count from the extreme western portion of the
island up to Cheribon, which is itself partly Sunda and partly Javanese. It consists of
what, before the arrival of Europeans, constituted the kingdoms of Bantam and Jacatra.
Among the European nations, the name was first made known bv the Portuguese,
and it has been since applied by geographers to the Strait which divides Java from
Sumatra, and to the whole cham of isUnds from Sumatra up to Timur. The entire
country occupied by the Sunda nation embraces about 12,000 square miles, or about
80 parts in 100 of the whole island of Java, and has been computed to contain a
population of 2,389,475. This is exclusive of some part of Cheribon, but includes
the city of Batavia and its environs, containing a large population of foreign origin.
The rate of population therefore is barely 200 to the square mile, while that of the
country of Uie Javanese is about 270. The country of the Sundas is, in fact, of
inferior fertility to that of Java, and although it contains some rich valleys and fine
plains is more mountainous than that of the Javanese. It may be said to bear the
same relation to Java proper that Wales does to England, or the Highlands to the
Lowlands of Scotland, or the Basque provinces to the rest of Spain.
The only native state of any importance ever established in the country of the
Sundas was Pajajaran, literally " place atxanged or put in order." This stands in the
SUNDAEA 422 STTPTDARA
I
district of Bogor (the mat or carpet^ and near the present oountiy-reBidano* of tJas
gOYomor^eneral of Netherlaod India and about 40 miles from Batavia.
It ia alleged to have been foimded in the year of Saka 1084, and to haTe been over-
thrown or abandoned in 1221 of the same em, years whioh ooneqpond with 11€2 and
1299 of Christ, the last date being some nine yean later than the time when Msevsq
Polo passed through the Archipelago, and made known to the European world by its
proper name that such an island as Java existed in the world.
^e Hindu religion ma certainly established in the country ^of the Sandaa, ws
well as in that of the Jayaneee, but it contains no ruins of templea. £ven flie
images which have been discovered are few in number, and of small size^ yet saffkaexxt
to prove that the sect of Hinduism which prevailed was that of Siwa, or the power
of destruction. The earliest attempt to convert the Sundas to the Kahammedan
religion was made in the year of Saka 12^0, corresponding with that of Christ 1S23.
But the real conversion did not begin until the year of our time 1480. Aeeordia^
to De Borros many of the people were still Hindus when in 1522, Heariqae lism^
deputed by Jorge Alboquerque from Malacca, first visited Sunda Ealapa or Jacaira (the
modem Batavia) and Bantam. . This is the account of the state of the people giTen by
De Barros, writing only thirty years after the miasion of Lem^. " The people are noC
very warlike, but much addicted to their own idolatries, on which account they have
many temples. They wish ill to the lioors, and the more so since one Saaque de Pate
of Dama (Sang Adipati of Damak f) conquered them. There can be bought hero four
or five thousand slaves on account of the poverty of the jwople, for the law allows of
fishers selling their children for any trifling neoessity. The women have a goodly
appearance, and the nobility are very chaste, but not so the common peopla. Tliey
have convents for women who preserve a perpetual virginity, and this more oat of
vanity than devotion. The nobles, when tJiey cannot marry tiieir daughters to their
liking, place them in the convents against their wish. As to the married womea,
when their husbands die they have to die with them, as a point of honour. But if
they fear to die, then they must repair to the convents and pass their lives aa nuna."
— ^Decade nx. book i. chapter 12.
De Barros' account of the country of the Sundas is a curious mixture of fact and
error, and shows how little the Portuguese knew of Java, the most important island
of the Archipelago, even forty years after their arrival at Malacca. " A third part of
the island of Java, embradDg its western portion, is called Sunda," says he^ "and ita
inhabitants hold it to be an island separated from Java by a river little known to
our navigators, which they call Chiamo or Chenano (Cbi-manuk, Uterally, ' bird-
river,' which is the river of Indramaya). This intersects the whole island from sea to
sea in such a way that when the people of Java describe their own country, they say
that it is bounded to the west by tiie island of Sunda, the aforesaid river Chiamo
parting the two countries. The people hold that whoever passes this strait (the
river Chiamo) into the South Sea va carried off by violent currents and unable to
return. For this reason they do not navigate the South Sea, in like manner as the
Moors from Caffraria to Sofala never pass the Ca^ on account of the great enrrents
which there prevail. The inhabitants of Sunda, m prairo of their own eountry, and
boasting of its superiority over Java, say that God established the aforesaid division
of the river Chiamo between the two countries. The island of Sunda is mors
mountainous in the interior than Java, and has six notable sea-ports, namely Chiamo,
at the extremity of the island, Xaoatra (Jaoatra, that ie, Javakarta, * work of victory ')
called also Caravam (Erawang, a difierent place), Cheguide (Chaigftde, literally, 'great
river/ but probably meant for Chitarum, 'indigo or blue river'), Pondang (Pontang),
and Bintam (Bantam, properly Bant&n). These are places of great traffic on aooount
of the trade of Java as well as of Malacca and Sumatra. The prindpal town of Sunda
is Daio, situated a little in the interior, and which, when Henrique Lem4 was in the
country, was thought to have 50,000 inhabitants, while in the whole kingdom there
were 190,000 men capable of bearing arms." Decade m. book L chapter 12. What
place Daio was, if such a place existed at all, it is impossible to coiyecture^ as no
place resembling it occurs in Javanese topography. The locality would point to the
ancient capital of Pajajaran, although that is described as having been abandoned
long before the first risit of the Portuguese.
SUNDARA. The name of one of the highest mountains of Jaya, and an active
volcano, lying between the provinces of KAdu and Ba&uwangi, and rising to the
height of 10,500 feet above the level of the sea. With the nei^bouring mountain
Sumbing, it forms one of the two called by European mariners " The Brothfim"
I
SUNGAI 423 SWORD
8XJI7QAI, in Malay, a river, and equiyalent to the Jayanese Kali, or the Sonda
Chai. As riyeiBy nearly tfajroughout the Malay Archipelago, have no specific names,
but take them from the places through which they pass, and as the Malayan
nationa dwell almost always on riTen, the word is of very frequent occurrence in the
names of places.
STJNGORA is the name of the most southerly proyinoe of Siam, and consequently
that which borders on the Malayan states of the Peninsula, and it is to it that the
^Temment of Siam entrusts the charge of its four Malayan tributaries.
STJHABAYA. This is the name of a large province of the Ketherland Govem-
ment of Java, and of its chief town. The province includes also the island of Madura.
The first part of the name Sura is Sanscrit, meaning brave or valiant, and the last,
Baya, Javanese, danger or difficulty. Its area in .^va is 2029 square miles, and in
3f adura, 1557, the population of the first being computed at 986,868, and of the last
295,748, making the total 1,232,616 inhabitants. Thus we have a densitv for the
Javanese portion of 460, and for the Madurese of only 189 to the square mile. This
is accounted for by the great fertility of that part which is in Java, and the veiy
inferior one of that in Madura. By the census taken in 1850 the population of the
Javanese portion of the province had risen to 967,889, or in five years sustained an
increase of about 2} per cent.
The river of Siirabaya is, next to that of Solo, the largest in Java. It has its source
in the southern range of mountains, passes diagonally across the island, receives in
its course many tributaries, runs through the fine provinces of Rawa and Eediri, and
falls into the sea in the Straits of Madura by five separate and distant branches. It is
one of these branches that passes by the town of Surabaya, and disembogues in the
narrowest part of the channel which separates Java from Madura. Throughout a
great part of its course the river is navigable for large boats, but has nowhere sufficient
depth for shipping.
The town lies on the left bank of the river, about a mile from the sea. It was but
an inconsiderable place in 1815 when I had civil charge of the province, but it haa
since, from its advantageous position, become of much importance, and by the censua
of 1845 contained a population of 82,203 inhabitants. This, however, included sur-
rounding villages over an area of 45 square ndles. The harbour is properly the only
one in Java, the rest being mere roadsteads, unless we except the little frequented
one of ChAlachap on the southern coast. It is accessible both from the east and
west, the channel in the latter direction being however a very narrow one.
SURAEARTA. See Solo.
BURIGAO. The name of the ohief town of the Spanish province of Caraga in
the island of Mindano. It lies in a plain on the banks of a river called the Tomun-
day, which falls into a beautifrd bay, but on account of strong currents difficult of
access to shipping. Surigao is situated at the most northern extremity of Mindano,
where it forms with the island of Leyt^ the Straits of Surigao, the passage for all
ships trading between the Philippines and the western coast of Ainerica. The town
consists of 1400 houses, chiefly native huts, and haa a population of 7417 inhabitants,
of whom 1568 are subject to the capitation tax. Latitude 9" 29^ north, and longitude
125* 24'.
SURIGAP. The name of a group of islands, thirty in number, lying off the
north and north-east end of Mindano, and in the strait of Surigao, wmph separates
that island from that of Leyt^. The largest of them, which gives name to the rest^ ia
84 leagues in length, 2 in breadth, and inhabited.
BWORD. The usual common term for this weapon in Malay and Javanese is
pAd'ang, written with a palatal d, but for modifications of form there are other names,
as lam£ig and klewaog, which may be translated hanger and cutlass. All the names
for sword seem to be native and not foreign words. The most general, padftng,
extends to all the languages of the Malayan but not of the Philippine Archipelago,
for in the last the sword is called kalis, an obvious corruption of the Malayan k&ris,
a dagger. The spear and dagger, and not the sword, were, and indeed still are,
the favourite weapons of the Indian idanders. De Barros does not include the sword
at all among the weapons used by Uie Malays in defending Malacca when attacked
by the Portuguese in 1511. "The arms,** says he, "which they use are daggers,
of from two pialms and a half to three palms long, straight and two-edged. Along
with these they employ bowa and arrows, javelinea for throwing, and blow-pipes from
which they discharge very small darts, barbed and poisoned. These blow-pipea they
TAAL 424 TAAL DE BOMBOK
have borrowed from the Jayanae. They have two kinds of bocklerB with, -wfaklx t. \
shield themselTes. a large one which pniteets the whole pencm, and a ■mailer.*— t
Decade u. book tL rhaptwr 1. i
In the Kcnerallj meagre and obscure chnmologieal listi of the JaTanese, it i* \
remarkable that the first use of swords and jsTelins is stated to have taken plaee ii ,
the year of Saka or Solivana 1502, whidi would oorrespond with the year of Chxi£ j
1580. This was abont 70 years after the first arrival of the Portugnese in Ifftlsira
It is poasibley then, that the Portogoese may have introduced the sword into tae
Archipelago^ and the Malayan word, p&d'ang, may be no mora than a oomptian d '
the Portogaese espada, a word difficult of {Nronmiciation to a Malay, and which wooM
certainly be altered in some way or another, aa in the example of 'eeigiiigarda, i
maidiloi^ oonyerted into satinggar, or even tinggar. Tet the sword, a straight one,
is very deariy represented in the sculptures of some of the ancient GQndu temples of
JsYSy and especially in those of the splendid one of Boro-budor, which ia believed to
have been built in 13S8 of ChiiBL To be represented in a myth, and to be ** uaed,*
for that is the expression in the Javanese chionide^ are, hovrever, two Tery diffenBt
thing&
T.
TAAL. The name of a lake in the piovinoe of Batangas and iaiand of Luxoo,
called also the lake of Bombon, or Bongbon. It is situated between latitadeB 13* 52'
and 14* 6'; is in length from north to south 5 lesgues, with a breadth from east to
west of 3 leagues, and a drcumferenoe of 15. It ia of such depth that, in some parts,
it has not beoi fathomed. In every direction it is surrounded by a ridge of hill^ so
as to give it, according to the description of Spanish writers, the semblance of a huge
caldron filled with water. In the midst of the lake stands an islet which goes under
the name of " the volcano," and which, at a distance, has the look of a partially sub-
meiged mountain. It is of a triangular form, and has a ciroumference of thres
lesgues, and a height above the level of the sea of 600 Spanish varas, or 1667 English
feet. At its summit is a volcanic crater, within which is a lake of about a league in
circumference, on a level vrith the lake of Taal, and of great depth. The whole
surfi&ce of the islet is incrusted with a coat of hard lava about two inches thick, except
in a few spots where it has been washed away by the action of the periodical rains.
In such spots grows the only plant which the island produces. This is called by the
natives cogon (Imperata Koenigii, a species of cane allied to saocharum, or sugar),
grows to the height of a man, and affords food for deer, jungle fowl, and pigeons.
The island of the volcano had been cultivated with crops of cotton and other
products down to 1716, when, on the 24th of September in that year, a terrible
volcanic eruption took place from it. This was accompanied by detonations resem-
bling the sound of heavy artillery, which were heard in the city of Manilla, 50 miles
distant, and by shocks of earthquake which produced a conmiotion in the lake as if
it had been agitated by a hurricane. This state of things lasted during Thursday,
Friday, and Saturday, and did not cease until Sunday. All the fish in the lake, laige
and small, were killed and thrown on the shores in a state as if they had been boiled.
On Sunday, being the fourth day since the commencement of the eruption, the son
became again visible, and then the water of the lake was seen ** black as ink," says
the Spanish narrative of the catastrophe. In 1754, a still more violent eruption
took place from the same volcano, for on this occasion the towns of Sals, Lepa,
Tamapan, and Taal were destroyed by it. This eruption was accompanied by a total
darkness^ and the ashes from it fell abundantly in the streets of Manilla, and were
carried even as far as the provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga. No eruption since
1754 has taken place, now above a hundred years. The fishery of the lake of Taal
is valuable, and is successfully prosecuted by the natives, who make use of wean
and stakes after the manner of the Chinese. Some of the fish, weighing fiY)m six to
seven pounds weight, are considered to be the most delicate of all those of the
Philippines. They are chiefly caught in the river by which the Iske discharges its
waters in the sea, and, it is said, on their way to spawn in the latter, although the
contrary seems more probable.
TAAL DE BOMBON. This is the name of the town which was built afber the
destruction of the first of the same name, which was .situated on the borders of the
lake. It stands on the shore of the bay of Balayan; tins site, for safetyi having been
TABANAN 425 TANAH-LAUT
oboeen as fiff as practicable from the scene of the Tolcano. The coontry around it is
described as of great fertility, much of it highly cultiTated, and the rest affording
pasture, which supports herds of oxen, horses, and bogs. The town of Taal seems to
be the largest in the Philippines, next to Manilla, for by the census of 1849, it con-
tained a population of 41,847, of whom 8546 were subject to the capitation tax.
T AB ANAN^. The name of one of the states of the island of Bali. See Bali.
TAG ALA, but oorrectl^ Tagalog, is the name of one of the six principal nations
flknd languages of the island of Luzon. The nation speaking this tonfnie embraces the
province of Tondo, with its capital Hanilla, with the proyinces of Bulacan, Bataan,
Batangas, Tiagi m a, Nueva-Ecija, Tayabas, and Cavity The Tagala language is also
spoken in Mindoro, the pro-nnce of Zamboanga in Mindano, and the Marian Islands.
The language and nation therefore amounts to a population of 1,170,000, or to near
one-third part of the native inhabitants of the Spanish Philippinee.
TALiAGA, from the Sansorit taraga, a pond, tank, or reservoir, is the name of a
district of the Sunda countir of Cheribon in Java, which it takes from a beautiful
lake which has the epithet bodas, in the Sunda language signifying " white."
TAIiANG. The name of a mountain of Sumatra, rising to the height of 10,500
feet above the level of the sea. It lies inland from the Netherland settlement of
Padang, the most fruitful part of the Dutch possessions in the island, distant about
25 miles.
TALAUT, called also Tubour, is the name of a group of islands lying about half-
way between the Moluccas and the Philippine island of Mindano, and to the north-
east of the Sangir group, at the distance of 22 leagues. Three of them, called
Karkelang, Salibabo or Lirong, and Kabruang, are of considerable size and inhabited,
— the rest mere islets. The first of these is the laigest, being about nine leagues long
firom north to south. M. Melville de Camb^ estimates the superficies of the whole
group at 18 geographical square leagues, or 9'9 myriametres. The people appear
to be a simple race, with some amount of civilisation, for they rear yams, batatas,
and coco-nuts, and breed hogs, goats, and the common fowl. Of their languages
nothing is known, but in race they are Malayan. The Dutch claim, without apparently
exercising sovereignty over this group.
TAMARIND (Tamabhtdiciis IitdicusV A frequent name for this tree in
Javanese is asftm, which, however, signifies also, sour or acid, either as a noun, or
adiective. Its more appropriate name in the same language is kamal. The Malays
call the tree and fruit Ae&m-Jawa, that is, the acid of Java. The name as&m, which
mav here be rendered " the acid,** has extended to almost all the languages of the
Malay Archipelago, the only exception being the Lampung of Sumatra, where the
tree is called by the Javanese one, kamal. Both words are native, and not foreign,
and therefore, as far as we can trust to language, the plant is indigenous, at least in
Java. The tree^ a handsome one, is very extensively planted in Java, both for its
wood and fruit. The last serves the natives for all the purposes of vinegar. " The
Sundaa," says De Barros, " have abundance of ordinary flesh, much venison, and
abundant com, with tamuinds, which serve them for vinegar."
TAMBALAN. The name in our maps of a group of Islands. See Tucbalan.
TAKAH, most probably from the Sansorit thana. This is the most frequent word
to express, land, earth, or ground; and also country, land, and r^on, both in
Malay and Javanese. Placed before the name of a people, it represents the
country they inhabit, as Tanah-Jawa, the land of the Javanese, or that portion
of Java occupied by the proper Javanese. Tanah-Sunda, the country of the Sundaa,
or that part of the same island inhabited by the Sunda nation, Tanah-Bugis,
the land of the Bugis, or country of this nation, frequently extended to the whole
island of Celebes, because the Bugis are its chief nation ; and Tanah-Kling, the land
of the Kalinga nation, or T&lugus, often extended to the whole country of the Hindus,
because the TAlugus were the people of Hindustan best known to the inhabitants
of the Malayan Archipelago. This is very much the manner in which the name of
our own country is formed.
TANAH-LAUT, literally, " sea-land," is the name of the most southern portion
of Borneo, lying east of Banjarmasin, and opposite to the distant islands of Bali and
Lomboc The name is most probably derived from its character of being flooded by
the
TAJfAHKEKE 426 TATTOOING^
TANAHKEKE. The name of an islet in South latitude 6° 30% Ivin^ towards ti-
extreme end of the coast of the south-western peninsula of Celeboa. The nssse,
partly Malayan and partly Macassar, signifies " land of sorcerero."
TANGAMUS (GUNUNG). The name of a mountain of Sumatra, in ike eoiontr
of the Lampung nation, which has an elevation of 7500 feet above tfa.e level of tj
sea, but of which the geological oharacter has not been ascertained.
TANGEUBAN-PEATJ is the name of a mountain of Java, in the oonntz^ of tk
Sundas, and district of Bandong. It is an active volcano 6500 feet high, -with thra
separate craters^ called, respectively, Kawah-ratu, Eawah-badak, and Eawah-npas, ££"
nifying respectively, kings, rhinoceros, and poison caldrons. An eraption of th^
mountain took place in 1829, and another as late as 1846. These have been aocxaaXetj
and scientifically described by Dutch writer&
TANJUNG. In Molayy but not in Javanese, a headland, point, cape, or pframofi-
tory,— any land, whether high or low, projecting into the sea, or a river. The word
is of very frequent occurrence in the geography of Malayan countries, and exaxnplei
are abundant, as Tanjung-datu, Tanjimg-api, and Tanjung-B&latan, literally, "eldatt^
" fire,** and south-points, — ^names of Bomean headlands.
TAPAKULY. The name of the only extensive bay in the island of Sumatra, and
situated on its western coast, in the country of the Sataks. It contains many islandi,
and within it are several well-sheltered coves and harbours, with ample depth of
water for ships of burden. One of the islands towards its entrance, called Ponchong-
kAohil, or little Ponchong, was one occupied by the English, and is in north latitade
V^ 43' 50'', and east longitude 98** 45'. This spacious bay, however, has never been s
scene of industry, or much frequented, for the inhabitants on its coastSy fvw in.
number, are barbarous, and the country itself, with few exceptions, a mere forest.
TAPARANG. This is the name of a Bugis country, situated nearly in the centre
of the south-western peninsula of Celebes, but the name is also frequently applied to
its most remarkable feature, the Tftparang-danau, or lake of Tftparang, called, also, tfao
Lake of Labaya. According to the accounts given to me by intelligent merchaotB,
inhabitants of its shores, this lake, by far the laigest in Celebes, is twenty-four miles
in length, from north to south, and about half this breadth. It is fed by many
streams, at the disemboguement of each of which there is usually a viUageu Its
superfluous water is carried off by the river Chinrana, which falls into the bay of
Boni, in about south latitude 4** 15^. The Chinrana is navigable up to the lake for
vessels of twenty tons burthen, and the lake itself is also navigable, having a deptii of
f^om two to three fathoms in the dry season, and in the wet as much as eight* It
abounds in fish, and its shores are populous and well cultivated.
TAPIR (TAPIRUS MALAYENSI8), in Malay, T^ok. The tapir was thought
to be exclusively a native of the New World, until it was found, also, to belong to the
old one, and, strange to say, not until the beginning of the present centmy. It had
been seen in Sumatra as early as 1772, but Uiought to be a hippopotamua In 1803,
a specimen was obtained in Penang, from the opposite side of the Peninsula, but it
excited no attention, and the first account of it was rendered, in 1816, by my friend
the late Colonel Farquar. The Portuguese, the Dutch, and the English had been,
therefore, one or other of them, in Sumatra and the Peninsula, the only countries of
the Archipelago in which the tapir exists, for three centimes without discovering that
they produced one of the laiger mammalia^ the animal being all the while weU Imown
to the natives, and having a specific name.
TARAEAN. The name of one of the many islands in the bay which is included
between Cape Unsang and Cape Jarum, on the eastern side of Borneo.
TASMAN (ABEL). This great and enterprising Dutch navigator and discoverer
is noticed here on account of his having sailed from Java under tho auspices of its
Governor-General Van Diemen. His two voyages were performed in 1642 and 1644,
and in these Tasman's principal discoveries were Van Diemen's Land, New Zealand^
and the Friendly Islands. The first of these, in honour of him, has lately received,
and it is hoped vnll retain, the name of Tasmania. Even the dates of the birth and
death'of this man, who equalled Dampier and Cook, and whose discoveries preceded
those of the first by 50 years, and of the last by 180, are unknovm.
TATTOOING. The practice of making indelible stained figures in the skin^ hy
way of ornament or distinction, is called, in Malay, chaohah, a word which also signi-
fies to chop, or minoe. It obtains only among the rudest tribes, such as some of the
H
TAWALI 427 TEA
Di^aks of Borneo, bat i» unknown to all the more ctTiliaed raoes, nor ui it asoertained
to hare exiated among the latter in any period of their history. It appears to have
been general among one far-spread nation of the Philippines at the time of the
Spanish conquest These are the Bisaya, whose name, signifying " to paint," is
■aid to be deriTed from this custom.
TA'WALI is the name of a small island l3ring close to the north-western coast of
Bachian, the largest of the five true Molucca or Clove Islands. Its most southerly
point is thirty-three miles south of the equator, and in east longitude 127'* 9' 30".
T ATVI-TAWI. This is one of the three most considerable islands of the Sola-
Archipelago, and the largest, although not the most fruitftd of them. Its area is 416
square geographical miles. Of the large islandB of the Archipelago, it is the nearest
to Borneo, being distant from the Point of Unsang not above twenty miles. Its
inhabitants belong to the same Malayan race as Uiose of the chief island, Soolo,
■peak the same language, and have, as rovers, the same evil reputation as the
people of that island.
T A IT ABAS. The name of one of the pioyinoes of the island of Luzon, bounded to
the north by the great lake and province of Bay,-— to the east by the Qulf of
Ltsmon, and to the west by the province of Batangas. To the south, it is composed of
the narrow isthmus which makes Luzon to consist of two peniusulas. The general
character of the province is ragged and mountainous, yet it contains several plains
and rich valleys, well adapted to the culture of rice, or which contain good pastures^
in which are bred homed cattle and horses, the last of high reputation in other parts
of the Philippines. The inhabitants of Tayabas are of the Tagala nation. In 1735,
the population was only 10,000. In the first year of the present century, it was
89,690; m 1818, it rose to 48,676, and in 1845, to 80,110, of whom 17,847 paid the
capitation tax.
The chief town of the province bearing the same name stands in north latitude
IS*" 87' 30", and east longitude 121'' 80', m a plain, and on a small river near its dis-
emboguement, opposite to the island of Marinduque. It consists of 1800 houses, and
a population of 22,265 souls, of whom 4712 were subject to the poll-tax. Taking the
area of the province at 1575 geographical square leagues, the rate of population is
50*8 to the square mile.
TEA. The Chinese name for tea, adopted by the Indian Islands, is the same as
our own, teh, and as we received our earliest supply from Bantam, it is probable that
the English name comes directly from the Malay. This commodity must have
been introduced into the Indian Islands with the first commercial intercourse of the
Chinese with them, but, moat probably, at first in very small quantities, and for the
use only of the Chinese sojourners themselves. It is certainly not mentioned as an
article of trade by the early Portuguese writers. Thus, Barbosa g^ves a list of seven-
teen different articles imported by the Chinese into Malacca, such as porcelain, raw
and wrought silks, iron, nlver, musk, rhubarb, but there is not a word about tea. It
was not until 1600, or ninety years after the arrival of the Portuguese, that tea was
first seen by them in the market of Malaooa, and the first sample was imported into
England, not nntil 1662, a century and a half after the conquest of that place. The
upper dsss of the Javanese drink tea occasionally, although they have no taste for
coffee, now so cheaply produced in their own country.
Of late years, among other frotitious projects for increasing the wealth of Jav% the
Dutch have introduced the cultivation and preparation of tea, by corvee labour. All
the chances are, I think, against the ultimate success of such a scheme, and this for
reasons which are transparent. No good tea has been produced hitherto in any
country within the tropics — ^not even in China itself, where all the requisite know-
ledge, skill, and low-priced labour exists and it is not probable, therefore, that it
should be produced within seven degrees of the equator, where equal knowledge,
skill, or cheap labour do not exist. It may be pleaded that elevation above the level
of the sea will furnish the requisite average temperature. No doubt it will do so in a
great many parts of Java, but it cannot, there or anywhere else, supply the summer
and the winter that may be neceasarr to the successful growth of tea. A moderate
elevation furnishes the neoeasary cumate for coffee^ which, although a native of
Abyssinia, is succeasfully grown at the equator. A long experience has proved that
oo&e may be grown in any tolerable soil in any country within the tropics, but it
cannot be infeiTed from this that tea, a plant of a different natural family, can be so.
On the contrary, we have known tea nearly as long as coffee, snd alter tiie lapse of
TEAK 428 TENGAB
near two centuries faaye never succeeded in growing it for oommercial purpcK*
China, being now, as in the time of Charles the Second, the only oonntiy to farmi ■
the Tfut consumption of the world. Moreover, co£fee is produced with. leBS agrijii- 1
tural skill than even wheat, and tea demands a great deal mores. Coffee requizcs ks |
manipulation than the same com, and tea a great deal more than any other Tegetabl: f
product used as food. To conclude, the successful growth of a few thousand po«mc# |
of tea, supposing such to be the case, by a government, with the help of carvi*^
labour, would be no evidence of a successfm culture of the same article as a legitina:e
product of free labour and private enterprise.
T£A£ (TECTONA). In Javanese and Malay the name of this celebrated tne
which yields at once* the strongest and the most durable timber of all Asiatic, Msii
perhaps, also, even of all European or American woods, is Jati, — a word vrhi<ii, h
Javanese, signifies also "true, real, genuine." This tree, abundant in a few places, ii
confined to a very few localities, both on the continent and inlands. In the latter, it
is unknown to Sumatra, Borneo, and the Peninsula, and is limited to part of Javi,
Sumbawa, and Mindano, which last is the only one of the Philippines that prodocei
it. Java is the only one of these that is known to yield it abundantly, or a* least ia
which it is accessible for use in any abundanca
TEGAL, or, in the orthography assumed in this work, T&gal, which in Javanese
means "a field,** is the name of one of the provinces of the proper country of the
Javanese, situated on the northern sea-boanl of Java, bounded to the east by the
province of Pakalongan, to the west by that of Cheribon, and to the south by that ef
Batkumas. It is separated from the last by a mountain chain, the culminating point
of which is the mountain which is usually known to Europeans by the name of the
province, but is correctly SAIamat. Next to Sumeru and Aijuna, it is the higher
mountain in Java, being 11,250 feet aboye the level of the sea. The greater part of
the province is a fertile alluvial plain, the whole of it containing an area of 850 aquan
miles, with a population of 293,996, or 345 inhabitants to the square mile. The oeosoi
of 1850, however, represents this population to have amounted to no more thaa
250,739, or to have fallen off by 43,257. In 1845, the number of its homed cattle
was estimated at 38,000, and of its horses at 8000. Its staple vegetable products, in
the same year, were estimated as follow, — namely, rice in the husk, about 250,000
quarters, equal to about one-half that quantity of clean com; coffeet, 4,488,000
pounds ; sugar, 4,615,000 pounds ; and tea, to the same extent as sugar.
TELINGA, OB KALINGA, in Malay and Javanese KUing, the name of the nation
of Southern India with which the Indian islanders have at all known times held most
intercourse, and through whom, it is believed, they received, in ancient times^ the
Hindu religion, and some of the civilisation which belongs to those who profiess ii
See Kling.
TENGAR, OB TANGAR MOUNTAINS. The name of a gronp of mountauu in the
eastern part of Java, situated in the provinces of Surabaya and Pasuruhan. The name
signifies " wide, spacious." My old and greatly esteemed friend. Dr. Thomas Hors-
field, has given the following excellent description of this singular mountain, or
rather cluster of mountains : "This mountain,** says he, ''constitutes one of the most
remarkable volcanos of the island. It rises from a very lai^e base by a gentle slopes
with gradually ascending ridges. The summit, seen from, a distance, is leas conicsl
than most of the other principal volcanos, varying in height at different points, firom
7000 to 8000 feet The crater is not at the summit, but more than 1000 feet below
the highest point, and consists of a large excavation of an irregularly circular form,
surrounded on all sides by a range of hills of different elevations. It is by far the
largest crater in the island, and probably exceeds in size every other crater existing
on the globe. It constitutes an immense gulf, the bottom of which is level, and
denominated by the natives the dasar (the floor). This is naked of vegetation, and
covered with sand throughout. In one portion, in the middle, the sand is loose, and
blown by the wind into slight ridges. To this the natives give the name of Ssgaia-
wftdi, literally, 'sea of sand.' The largest diameter of the entire crater is, according
to my estimate, full three miles. From the interior, near the middle, rise sevenu
coniod peaks, or distinct volcano^ The chief of these, the mountain Brama (in San-
scrit^ the god Brama, or fire), is a perfectly regular cone, and still in partial aotirity,
with occasional eruptions. It is surrounded, on one side, by the sea of sand aboTe
mentioned. Adjoining it stands another conical peak, more than 1000 feet high,
named Watangan (the Javanese Campus martius), or Widadaren (abode of oelestial
TENIMBER 429 TENURE OF LAND
nympha), covered externally with sand, quite naked, and, on account of its steepness,
tho top has never been examined. At a small diatanoe from the Brama rises a smaller
cone, called Butak ('the bald'). The two last have not exhibited any activity in
recent times.'* To this account of the volcanic phenomena, Dr. Horsfield adds the
following observations on the soil and productions of the T&ngar valleys : " The soil
of the Tenger hills is extremely fertile, consisting of a deep vegetable mould, accumu-
lated for many ages on the sand and debris thrown up from the mountain. Vege-
tables of northern latitudes, potatoes, cabbaffes, onions, &g., ftc, are planted by the
natives in great abundanoe, for the supply of the markets of Pasuruhan and Surabaya.
European fruits, as apples and peaches, are also raised, as well as wheat, and other
northern grains. Rice refuses to grow, and the coco-nut produces no fruit" —
Geographioal Preface and Postscript of PlantoD Javanise rariores. 1852.
TENIMBER. This is a name of unknown origin or derivation given to a group
of islands in the Timur Sea, of which the only large island is Timur-laut The
group forms the termination of the long chain of islets which extends east of Timur
towards the Aroes. It is composed of many islands, but five only are of considerable
size, namely, Timur-laut, Larat, Yerdat^, Moeloe, and Cerva. The first is incom-
parably the largest of these, being about 90 miles long by 80 broad in its widest
part. The area of the entire group has been reckoned at 2400 square geographical
miles. They are all low, coral or madrepore-formed land, surrounded by reefo,
without harbour or shelter for shipping. The natives are of the Malayan race, with
goodly persons, and possess a considerable share of industry, raising farinaceous
roots and the coco-nut, and rearing hogs, goats, and the common poultry. They are
skilful fishermen, their seas abounding in fish. The Tenimber Islands form, at least,
nominally, part of the dominions of the Netherlands. The population of the group
has been reckoned at 22,000.
TENNASSERIM, in Malay TANAHSRI. Onr name for this part of Pegu is
taken, directly, from the Portuguese TanaserL All our popular names for those
countries inhabited by the Burmese, Peguans, and Siamese seem to have come to us
through the same quarter, the original source being Malay, such as Siam from Siy&m,
Ava from Awak, Pegu from Pttigu, and Martaban from Muritanau. At the time of the
arrival of the Portuguese in Malacca, a very considerable commercial intercourse is
described as existing between that place and the nearest parts of P^gu, then an inde-
pendent monarchy. Peguans are even described by De Barros as being settled in
Malacca, and among the auxiliaries who went to Muar in pursuit of the fugitive
king of Malacca, we find 800 Peguans. This state of things soon ceased under the
government of the Portuguese, nor has it, for reasons not easily understood, been
renewed under their European successors.
TENURE OF LAND. With the exception of the populous islands of Java, Bali,
Lomboc, and a few parts of the Philippines, the land is so superabundant, and the
population so small in relation to it, that the greater part of it has,m reality, no saleable
value at alL With the exceptions thus enumerated, no real or theoretic rent exists,
andthe only value of the land^ derived from the labour invested in clearing it of forest,
in making it amenable to irrigation, in digging wells, and in the fruit trees planted on
it All lands which have received a value from labour so invested, are a private
heritable property, or an heir-loom, — in the languages of the Malays and Javanese,
pusaka. If any public tax be imposed on such lands, it is taken in kind, and does
not exceed a tithe. Even the rude laws of the Malays proclaim this private
property in cultivated or reclaimed land, as the few following extracts from those of
Jehore will satisfinctorily show. " Land is of two descriptions, appropriated and un-
appropriated. The last has no owner, and therefore cannot be a subject of litigation."
" He who reclaims forest land, or builds upon it, shall not be molested in his pos-
ssssion." " The proofs of land being appropriated are the presence of wells, of fruit
trees, or marks of tillage, and if any one intermeddle with such lands, he shall be
amenable to prosecution." " If any one trespasses on such appropriated lands, he
shall be fined ten mas, more or less, at the discretion of the magistrate, according
to the extent of the land." " If a man builds a house, and makes a garden upon the
appropriated luid of another, not knowing that it had an owner, and the owner
return, he shall be entitled to one-third part of the produce.'* " If a man cultivate
the irrigated land (sawah) of another, not knowing it had an owner, he shall pay such
owner, as in the last case, one-third of the produce of the land." " If a man take
possession of the land of another, after it has been prepared for upland culture
TERNATE 430 TERKATE
(mnah), he shall pay a fine of ten mas, and if a man seise npon such land forei^
he shall be fined one tail and one paa." " If neighbours nnite for the pnzpOR I:
clearing, cultivating, and fencing a portion of forest land, and one out of the number 1
neglecting the portion of the fence assigned to him, and cattle or wild lu^ga enser •
and destroy the crop, such person so neglecting shall be compelled to make good tb; I
crop which has been destroyed." " If a man steal the materiids of a fence, and the I
owner of it meet him, it shall be lawful for him to seize and bind the thief, to tak*
from him such articles as krises, haDgers, or spears, and to carry him, if a free maa.
to the magistrate, or if a sUve, to his master." " If a man go to hunt with toils, or
nets, or decoys, or to fish in nrers or lakes, it shall not be lawful for the chief in
authority oyer the land to hinder him, for the game he is in qnest of are wild
animals.'' " If however a person rob a beehive on another^s land, without the knov-
ledge of the owner, it shall be lawful for the owner to seize and take saA hire finosB
him, and tiie offender shall be further fined to the extent of half a taiL It is troa
that bees are wild animals, but the hives had yielded the owner of the land a
regular and certain revenu&"
But the tenure of land stands on a very different footing in the populous islands
of Java» Bali, and Lomboc, and in the better peopled parts of the Plulippines. In
Java» it far more resembles its state in several parts of Hindustan than that now
described. Here, a true rent, independent of the labour invested in the soil, has
immemorially existed. In the most fertile and populous part of the iidand, the
proper countiy of the Javanese nation, the greater part of this rent has^ as in Bengal,
been absorbed by the state in the shape of a land-tax, under the native gOTemments
usually taken in kind. In this manner little remains to the actual ooeapant or
cultivator beyond the right of cultivating, and the sovereign is virtually the pro-
prietor. In the mountainous and less populous country of the Sunda nation, a true
rent also exists, but by custom less of it is taken by the state as tax, and enough
remains with the occupant to make the land a saleable and heritable private
property, which it seldom is in the country of the Javanese.
It is only in the Philippines, however, that the land is a private property in the sense
in which that is understood in Europe, and unless in China, it is probably the only
populous country of eastern or central Asia in which such a tenure exists. It was of
course introduced by the Spanish conquerors, who found the country under-peopled
and occupied by rude tribes, with the greater part even of the beet landa^ as yet,
unreclaimed and wild. In such a state of society there was no rent^and conaeqnently
no source of a land-tax, such as has immemorially existed in the old and
civilised coimtries of Aata. In lieu of it, the conquerors had reooorse to a capitation
tax, which has been continued ever since, and no attempt has ever been made to
impose a tax on the land in any form whatsoever. The result of this is that knd
has a value in the most improved parts of the islands^ imknown in any,other eonntiy
of Asia. Thus in the province of Laguna in the island of Luzon a quifion of land,
a measure of 1000 square fiithoms, each of three varas of Castillo, seUs for tnaa.
220 to 300 hard Spanish dollars, in that of Pangasinan at from 120 to 250, in South
Hocos at 300, in that of Tondo, near Manilla, and in Bulacan at 1000, and in T^*i»n«g
at 500. — ^Informe solne el Estado, p. 629 and 633.
TERNATE, correctly TARNATfi, one of the five original Molucca or Clove
Tftlftn^H. It lies on the western coast of the large island of Gilolo or Halmahera,
48 miles north of the equator, and in east longitude 127** 24^ This mere islet has
an area of no more than 11*5 square geographical miles. It is, in ftuot, the mere
pedestal on which stands the active volcanic mountain of the same name, and which
rises to the height of 5750 feet above the level of the sea. De Barroe gives a veiy
good accoimt of this volcano on the authority of Antonio 081*^10, who was captain of
the island in 1538. It has produced during the Dutch occupation no fewer ihaa
fourteen different eruptions, beginning with the year 1608, and ending with 1840.
In the eruption of 1840 the earUiquakes lasted from the second to the fifteenth of
February, with intervals of a few hours only. The inhabitants fled to the sea-beach
or took to their boats. Every stone building in the town was overthrown, and the
people were on the point of abandoning the island altogether, a reaolution to this
effect having been come to by the public authorities of the place, afterwards over-
ruled at Batavia. The loss of property amounted to 85,0002., a lam sum for a vezy
small place. By a census taken in 1840, the population of the ismnd amounted to
6710 souls, of whom 4071 were natives of the island, 1216 settlers fh)m Celebes,
401 Clunesey 412 Europeans with their mixed descendants, and 581 slaves. But^
TEXTILE MATERIALS 431 TIMBALAN
besides the xnhabibanto of Ternate itself, there was dependent immediately on it a
population of 18,918, namely, in Qilolo, 8686 ; in Makyan, 6730 ; in the Xulla Islands,
10,769 ; making a total of 86,397. Ternate is the seat of the Dutch administration
of the Moluccas. As is sufficiently known, the only staple product of its soil, the
olove, that which brought it trade and civUisation, has been long extirpated. Sago
is now, as it immemorially has been, the bread of the inhabitants^ for rice is as much
a foreign and imported article as it is in Britain.
TEXTILE MATERIALS. As these are mentioned in their respeotire places, it
'will only be necessary here to enumerate them. They are — cotton, the abaca or
textile banana, the pine-apple fibre, the rami or urtica estuans, the fibres of the coco
and gomuti palms, the paper mulberry or Broussonetia papyrifera, the bara or wara
(Paritium tileaceum), and, perhaps, the universal ratan. No animal fibre ia ever
employed for textile purposes, except silk, and that is always imported.
TIC AO. The name of one of the Philippine Islands fonning, with the larger one
of Masbat^ near it, a distinct, although small province. Ticao lies off the coast of
the extreme southern end of Luzon and nearly opposite to the fine bay and harbour
of Sorsogon, between the 12th and 13th degrees of north latitude. Its length is
about 25 nules and its extreme breadth about 10. It is mountainous, and to judge
by its population, 2312, not fertUe. Its chief town is named St. Jacinto.
TLDOB, oorreotly TIDORI, is one of the fare original Moluooa or Cloye Islands.
It is situated off the western coast of the large island of Qilolo or Halamahera, and
ijDEiinediately south of Ternate. It is larger than that islet, but I have seen no state*
ntent of its actual area. Like Ternate^ too, its formation is entirely Tolcanio, and the
mountain of which it ia chiefly composed rises to the height of 6000 feet above the
level of the sea, its extinct crater being 39 miles north of the equator and in east
longitude 127"* 24'. The population of Tidor itself, according to a census made in
1840, was 5924, of the territory belonging to its prince in Qilolo 8937) and in New
Guinea and its adjacent islands 10,000, making the total population subject to this
petty tributary of the Netherland government 19,861 souls. Tidor was the Clove
Island visited by the companions of Magellan, at which they were so hospitably
received, and at which the celebrated ship " Victoria," that accomplished the first
circumnavigation of the globe, obtained the cargo of spices which she succeeded in
conveying to Spain. This was in 1521, about 10 years after the arrival of the Portu-
guese in the Moluccas. The people of Tidor had, at this time, been but recently
converted to the Mohammedui religion, in which, however, they have since per-
severed after a lapse of more than three centuries. This is Pigafetta's account of the
transaction : "Hardly fifty yean have elapsed since the Moors conquered (converted?)
Malucco and dwelt there. Previously, these islands were peopled by Qentilee only,
who did not appreciate the dove. There are still some faxnilies of these fugitives in
the mountains exactly where the cloves grow." — ^Primo Viaggio, p. 161. This state-
ment is, in some respects, not quite correct It is true that the natives set no value
on the clove as a condiment, which is the case even at the present day, but for ages
it had been an article of trade vrith strangers, and gave their whole importance to
the petty islands which produced it, and without which, they would have been
inhabited only by a few wretched fishermen.
TIGER. This dangerous animal is too frequent in the peninsula, Sumatra, and
Java» but wholly unknown in all the other large islands of the Malay Archipelago,
nor does it even exist in the small islands near those mentioned, except where
accident has introduced it, as in the case of Singapore. In the Philippine Axxshipelago
it is wholly unknown. The tiger of the Malayan countries is the same as that of
India. In Malay, tiie name for it is arimau, and by elision of the initial vowel, a
frequent practice of the language, rimau. In Javanese, the most frequent name
for it ii machan, occasionally used also by the Malays, but it has four others, sima,
from singah, a lion, sridula and mong. The three first of these are Sanscrit, and the
last native, probably taken from the roar of the animal But the royal tiger is the
type which, in the native languages, furmahes the generic name of all the laiger feline
animiJs, the others being designated by adding an epithet. Thus, the leopard is
called by the Javanese machan tutul, or the ''spotted tiger," and the Malays call a
kind of tiger cat arimau-akar, which may be rendered " the scandent or climbinflr
tiger." The tiger itself to distinguish it from the rest of the family, is dengnated
arimau-tunggal, which signifies ** the unique tiger, or the tiger itaell"
TIMBALAl^, written in our charts Tambalan, is the name of a small group of
TDfOAlir 432 TDfUR
sAndB Iji^ imkIt midway bekwMn tlw easfeera end of the Stnito of
Bonkeo» in north U^itnde 1* 1'. The laigcst of them seems to be a mnas of grax u
eoTcred, for the moet part, with a heaTj forest The whole group ia oompated t.
have an area of 113 geographical aqnare milea. The inhabitaats are Malay fiidtencc
aboat 75^ in anmbo', ooeapying a Tillage in a cotb at the easteni aide of the ialaad
The prudacdoiM exported £ram it are coco-nata^ coeo-nat oil, palm sagpr, and su
fish, for which they reoeiTe in exchange at Singapore, rice, clothing, and utenflila. Pd.-:
T^mbalan, in Malj^, means literally, j^l^w^** equipoise, or requital island, but why tki
name^ lua not been explained. It forma with all the other islands between the Peiua-
sola and Borneo, at leaet noaunally, part of the territory of the principality of Jehor.
TIMOAX and TDfUN, oomcClyy in Malay, Tiyoman, a word, howerer, with thf
origin of whidk I am mucqoainted. This is the name of the laigeat of a diain of
kleia» lyii^ o^ the eastern coast of the Maky peninsula* and towards its southaa
extremity, bdonging to the petty state of Fdhang: It lies between north latitada
2* 44' and 2* 54'. is aboat ten miles lon^ and fiom fiTO to six broad, and, aa fiv at
examined, eonasts of a mass of trap ro^ bold and precipitoas, presenting Tiews oot
only pic ture s q ue bat grand. Sadi is the aecount giTsn of it by a most intelhgmfi
and judicioaa writer in the Joomal of the Indian Ardiipelago^ Mr. J. Thomsoa,
who Tisited it in 1849. SeTeral of its peaks rise to the height^ above the lerel
of the sea, of from 2394 to S444 feeL " On the soathem shore of Tloman," esji
Mr. Thomson, "are two remarkable peaks, or pinnacles, called bj the j^glii^
the Ass's Eare," and by the Malaya, Chnla-naga (chnla, a horn, and naga, the fiibulcos
snake or dragon of the HindnsV. They rise out of the spnr of one oi the aontben
moontaitt^ at about 1500 feet above the level of the sea, and fixmi this hejgfat^ on
one side, they spring perpendicolsrly 1000 feet They form a moat nugnificent
feature in the aspect of the island, and cannot be beheld without wonder and awe,
even by the moat unsusceptiUe." In another plaoe he observes, "T^oman beicg
mountainoua and bold in its configuration, and alioanding in lofty pinnadea, peaki
and precipices, naturally inspires feelings of wonder not unmixed with awe^ when
doaely approached. These emotions may be occasionally heightened, if the ob eeiie r,
when nearing it, experience, as was the case with ns, a heavy squall, which covers tlM
towering masses, wrapping the whole in gloom, exaggerating their apparent height^
when these can occasionally be discovered through the lurid haasu It is, therefore^
not to be wondered at, that we find this island to be the subject of mythic traditioD.
The feelings whidi the scene inspires in the breasts of the 8un|de races that inhs>it
these uarts have sought expression in figurative language^ what it would be othenrisB
difficult to explain, or whidi would, at least, have reqmred a lengthened deacriptioiL
Tioman has been pictured as a dragon, the most hideous and powerful monster of
tradition. Whether the myth had or had not its origin in a metaphor, the native now
HteraUy appeals to the peaks and ridges, in which he seeks to discover a similitude to
the various parts of the monster, in order to give evidence to the trsditions which
spring from the prior idea."
Tioman produces nothing for e x portation but swallowsT esculent nests, ratans and
damar, all wild products of the rocks or forests. About 80 years ago, according to
information furnished to myself by some of its natives, the whole population of
this oomparativdy sterile i^and amounted only to 50 souls. Most of these were
seised and carried off as slaves by the corsairs of Mindano, and the remainder
abandoned the place. About 1889 it was re-oceupied, and during Mr. Thomson's
visit, ten years after, the population was reckoned to be 200, or about one-eeventh
part of that of the smaller but more fertile Pulo Aoar.
TIMUR. Thia is the Malay name of the eighth in niunber, reckoning frtim
Sumatra, of the more conaiderable of the chain of islands which geographers hare
called the Sunda. It is, however, out of the direct line of these, extending to near the
11th degree of south latitude,— difiers from them in geological formation, and in animal
and vegetable products, and, therefore, ought not to be classed with them. To the
west, the nearest large island to it is Floris, with many islets intervening, and to the
east the nearest extensive land to it is New Guinea, with which it is almost connected
by a chain of islets, although the distance be 440 milea. To the south, Australia ii
not above one half that distance with notMng between but ocean. Tixnur is about
870 miles long, about 50 broad in its widest part, and is computed to contain an area
of 9808 geographical square miles, so that it is about one-fourth ^e siie of Jsts, and
about double that of our island of Jamaica.
The geological formation of Timor, instead of being, like that of the ialanda torn
TIMUE 433 TIMUE
Java to Floris, volcanic, U, on the contrary, platonio and sedimentary, the principal
rocks consisting of clay schists and espedallv of madreporic limestone, containing
many cayea and caveins. Notwithstanding the absence of volcanic formation, the
island is subject to frequent earthquakes, and a particularly destructiye one took place
in 1794, which overthrew the church and other buildings of the Dutch setUement of
Koepang. A chain of mountains runs through the length of the island firom east to
west, the highest points of which are from 4000 to 4500 feet above the level of the
Bea. The surface of the island generally consists of hills and narrow steep valleys,
but there are a few plains of considerable extent, such as that of Koepang at the western
end, which is about 10 miles square. The only metals, besides iron, that have been
found are gold and oopper, but neither of them in any great quantity. The rivers are
numerous, but firom the formation of the land thev are but precipitate brooks of short
course, and not navigable, even for boats, above the reach of the tide, generally not
exceeding 400 yarda There are no lakes. The only two harbours in the island are
Dili, the Portuguese establishment on the north-eastern side^ and Koepang at the
western end, and both are imperfect ones.
The vegetation of Timur, instead of being luxuriant like that of the western islands
of the Archipelago, is comparatively thin, meagre, and sombre, more in the character
of that of the northern part of Australia. The Cassuarinas, especially, remind the
observer of the Australian vegetation. The palms are few in number, the only
species that is frequent being the G^bang, or the Corypha gebanga of botanists. The
coco-nut is scarce, and the rich fruits of the western islands, the durian, the
mangostin, and the duku do not exist. The zoology is scanty like the botany. None
of the largest mammiferous animals, as the elephant, the rhinoceros, the ox, the
bu£Palo, the tiger, or even the leopard exist. The largest animal, and the only deer
of the island is the same as that of the Moluccas (Cervus Molucoensis). There is one
uudescribed species of wild hog, differing from those of Jav% Borneo, and Sumatra.
There is but one marsupial animal, an opossum, the Phalangista cavifirons, and there is
also but one monkey, the Cercopithecus cynomologus, being the same as that of the
Moluccas, and the only ape which reaches so far eastward. The squirrels and
porcupines of the western islands are all wanting, and the only representative of the
class of gnawers is the common brown rat. There is one species of the feline family
only, and this is new, a small cat, Felis megolotis. The £unilv of bats \b numerous,
and some of the species either rare or altogether new. Among birds, crows, jays, and
birds of Paradise are wholly absent. There exist two gallinaceous birds, one of them
resembling the Gallus bankiva, the supposed original of our domestic poultry.
Among reptiles which are not numerous, the most remarkable is that crocodile,
named by naturalists biporcatus, but a variety from that of Java and the other
western islands. Even the fish of the seas of Timur are not abundant, nor do the
natives possess any skill in taking theuL
The domesticated animals of Timur are the horse, the buffiilo, but not the ox, the
goat, the sheep introduced by Europeans, the dog, the domestic cat, the conmion
fowl, goose, and duck, but except the horse and buffiilo none of them abundant It
is evident from the number of the two last that are bred, and their low price, that
Timur IB better adapted for pasture than for tillage.
The inhabitants of Timur seem to be of a race intermediate between the Malay
and Pspuan negro, but partaking most of the first. It is &r more likely to be
an aboriginal and distinct race thtm an admixture of these two, since it is difficult
to imagine how such admixture could have taken place, ss no negro race exists
nearer than New Guinea, between four and five hundred miles distant, the inter-
mediate islands being all peopled by the Malayan. They are thus described by the
well-informed but anonymous author of an account of the island contained in a
compilation called Moor^s Indian Archipelago, being a collection of articles from the
first newspaper published in Singapore^ a considerable number of which were con-
tributed by myself. '* The natives," says he, " are generally of a very dark colour, with
frizzled bushy hair, but less inclining to the Papuan than the natives of End4 (Floris).
They are below the middle size, and rather slight in their figure. In countenance
they more nearly resemble the South Sea Islanders than any of the Malay tribes."
Compared with the principal nations of the western portion of the Archipelago, the
people of Timur stand very low in the social scale. They seem to be divided into
many small tribes, speaking different languages, among which two, the Manatoto and
the Timuri, are the most prevalent The first of these tongues is spoken in the
north-eastern part of the island, and the last used as a medium of communication
among several tribes in the south-wssteni part Alphabetic writing has never been
TIMUR 434 TnCUB
invented by the people of Timnr, nor have thej erer adopted the written
of any foreign people. The rade state of the country is attested by the ooiiditio& :
the arts. The ,plough, although the buffiJo be abundant, and here of great sb»
strength and docility, is unknown and the only agricultural implements of cj
aboriginsl inhabitants is a wooden hoe, and a stick sharpened at the end. Owiog i: .
the hilly nature of the land, and probably also its sterility, riee is little ealtzrate^i |
and irrigation but rarely had recourse to. Mais is the 4^ef bread-corn ci ii-t
Timurianty and as this is an undoubted American plant, introduced by Boropessa. I
it is certain that the people must have been even poorer and fewer in number tias |
they are now, before the arrival of Europeans, llieir fishing is ooiidiicted in tht i
same fashion, and this is the account given of it by the anoaymoua writer alreadj '
quoted. "Fish," says he, "can scarcely be considered as an artide of
as there are hardly any of the natives who will venture into a canoe. And ahncs
the only method they have of taking them is by building suooessive walls of Bias».
one without the other, and within the reach of the tide, in plaoea where tbe coast ii
flat enough to admit it, so as to prevent the return of the fish when the wakr
ebbs."
The religion of the people of Timur seems to be a kind of demonology, and is we!l
described by the writer just quoted. "The religion of the iaLand,'* aays he, ""is
pagan. Host of the princes, however, profess Christianity, but are at the same time
entirely guided by their pagan priests and customs. There does not appear to be &
single convert to Islamism on the island. Their deities are represented by partteakr
stones and trees, and although the same stones or trees are generally worahipped bj
successive generations, instances are said to occur of their changing them. They
style these Nieto, or evil spirits, considering the sun and moon as the good spiriU)
the latter as the superior. They conceive it to be impossible that their good epzia
should occasion them any harm, and therefore deem it unnecessary to pray to tbem.
But they pray to the Nietoe to avoid the evils they are otherwise liable to sufier.
Sacrifices are common, generally, of buffiJoee, hogs, sheep, or fowls, but sometimes of
a human being. An annual sacrifice of a virgin used to be made to the sharks aa J
alligators close to the town of Koepang, until the interference of the DnUdi gortra-
mont put a stop to it about 30 years ago. At the interment of a sovereign priooe
a male slave is to the present day buried alive with him, to be ready to wait 03
him in the world to come. This used to take place immediately in the acughboorhood
of Koepang, but has also been put a stop to by the Dutch. It still exists througfaoat
the interior. The natives place great reliance on auguries, particohurly from tiie
inspection of the entrails of animals, and, indeed, never embark in any undertakioi^
without first obtaining a lucky omen. On occasions which oonoem the State, a bu&Io
is generally slain, but on private account, usually a chicken. The liver is the part
chiefly attended to." iU to these accounts we add " head stealing," which is practiied.
it is certain that the people of Timur are not more advanced than tbe savagei of
Borneo, and, indeed, are not even on an equality with some of these.
With respect to the population of Timur it is evident, from its social condition,
that nothing better than reasonaUe conjecture can be offisred. We naay be quite
sure, however, that in relation to extent it must be very small. The popolatioa of
the district of Koepang, so long under the administration of the Dutch, nnmbera
only 7000. It is asserted, however, that subject to the government of the Nether-
lands, there are 40,000 more. This would make 47,000 for the Dutoh part of the
island, which is the most populous and undoubtedly the best governed, and it is
supposed to embrace half the whole island. Of the population of the Portnguoe
portion we know nothing, but supposing it, which is not likely, to be equally
populous with the Dutch, t he entire population of the island would be no more
than 94,000, or 9*58 to the square mile. The population in this ease would be
about one^ighth part of that of the little island of Bali, which is barely oneeixth
part of its size. Such is the vast difierenoe in the results of eminent fertflity on (he
one side, and to say the least, the absence of it on the other.
Timur appears to have been well known by this name before the arrival of the
Portuguese in the Archipelago, and the Malays and Javanese to have extended
their trade to it. It was probably the furthest limit of their ordinary trade in a
south-easterly direction, and hence most likely the name which in Malay, but not in
Javanese, signifies "the East" Barbosa, evidently on native authority, for his
countrymen had not yet penetrated so far east in the Archipelago, thiM refers to it
in describing the coume of native trade. ''Ftasnng the island of Java Mi^or," (the
real Java and not Sumatra, the Java M%jor of Maroo Polo), '^ there oooar many
TIMUR-LATJT 436 TIN
other islands, great and small, inhabited by Gentiles speaking their own proper
languages. In Timur ia produced much white sandal wood, and those who go to
buy it, take thither iron, needles, large and small knives, swords, cloths of Cambay
and Pulicate, porcelain cups, beads of all sorts, tin, quicksilver, and lead. Besides
BA n dal wood they take away from that island honey, bees'-wax, slaves, and some
little silver which is found in it." With the exception of the silver, which ought to
have been gold, this is a correct account of the trade of Timur, such as it was
conducted for three centuries after Barbosa wrote, and indeed with little differ-
ence, enioh as it is at the present day. The companions of Magellan touched at
Timur on their return to Spain in 1622, and Pigafetta's account of it is surprisingly
correct. " All the trade in sandal-wood and bees'-waz, conducted by the people of
Malacca and Java is carried on at this place (Cabanaza 1), and, in fact, we found here
a junk which came from Luzon for the purchase of sandal wood, for white sandal
grows only in this country." — Primo Yiaggio, p. 171. The Mahommedans never
appear to have gained any footing in Timur, nor to have made any conversions. The
inhabitants, indeed, seem to have been too rude and poor to have been capable of
receiving any strong religious impression whatever. Christianity itself, has fared not
much better, for in the Dutch half of the island, the total number of native ChrlRtians
is no more than 1200. It is probable they are more numerous within the Portuguese
territory, but on this subject we are without information. When it was that the
Portuguese first formed establishments in Timur I am not aware, but in 16 IS they
they were driven by the Dutch from the western end of the island, and owe their
possession of the eastern, only to the accident of the peace concluded between the two
nations on the separation of Portugal from Spain and the restoration to the throne of
the first, of the house of Braganza.
TIMUR-LATJT (Pulo), literally, " sea-ward Timur," or rather sea-waxd Timur
Islands. See Tennihbbb islands.,
TIN, in Malay and Jayanese timah. The word, howeTer, is used as a generio
term for both tin and lead, the epithet " white," or " flowery," — putih and sari, being
given to tin itself, and that of " blank," itam, to lead, a metal with which, being
entirely a foreign product, the Malayan nations are but little acquainted. The word
timahy without any change, extends to all the languages of the western portion of the
Archipelago, and is, no doubt, the same which appears in the languages of the Philip-
pines, as tmg& It is even probably the tumora of the languages of Celebes. In the
ruder languages, however, such as those of Floris and Timur, it has names distinct
from the Malayan, probably epithets, as it is not likely that the metal should have
original and specific names in countries which do not produce it, and the inhabitants
of which know it only as a foreign and imported commodity. In the polite
language of Java, the name for it is Hljasa, which is the Sanscrit adjective ** bright,** or
*' sUning." The people of Madagascar have' no name for it but what signifies *' white
iron," vi-fiitsi, both of which words are, most probably, corruptions of the two Malayan
words, with the same meaning, b&sih-putih.
What may be called the Malayan tin district, or tin field, is, beyond all com-
parison, the most extensive and the richest in the world, for it stretches from Tavoy,
in the 14'' of north latitude, to Billiton, in the S"* of south latitude, that is, over seven-
teen degrees of latitude, and ten of longitude. Tin has been found or worked in a
great many looJities within these wide bounds, afe in the British territory of the Ten-
nasserim coast, — ^in the Siamese island of Junk-Ceylon, — ^in various parts of the conti-
nental territories of the Malayan States, and in several of the islands at the eastern
end of tiie Straits of Malacca. The ore would seem only to become the more abundant
as it approaches its termination at Banca and Billiton. The localities richest in tin
are ascertained to be those near the junction of the sandstone with the granite, and
all the countries rich in tin are also observed to be so in iron. All the ore hereto-
fore worked, it should be noticed^ has been found in the alluvion, or detritus of ancient
mountains, — ^wbat is called in mining language *' stream- works,"^btained, in fact,
by washing the soil in the same manner as, for the most part, gold in Australia and
Califomia ; for no ore has ever been obtained by mining ^e rock containing veins of
it, although it has been traced to them. It must also be remembered that the greater
part of the tin district is covered with an immense forest, and has not been explored,
80 that tin may reasonably be expected to be found in many situations which have
hitherto remained unexamined. The supply of tin from the Malayan countries promises
to last for at least as many ages as that of the coal of England. It is produced, in fact,
in quantity proportionate to Uie labour and capital invested in working it, and without
F F 2
TINGI 436 TOBACCO
restriction from any other cause. With partial exceptions, the Chinese are at p:
effectual miners and smelters, and the increase which has taken place in the qoAiit
produced is remarkable. In the beginning of the present century the quanti^ yield
by Banca did not exceed 560 tons, and at present, increasLug yearly, it i» not Leas ^ha|
5540 tons. Yet Uie mines of Banca have now been worked for near,a century and a-lsaj i
being stated to have been first discovered only in the first years of the ei^li^eeiit*
century. The tin mines of Malacca were not worked at all, until as late as 1793,
not effectually by Chinese until 1840, but in 1848 they yielded, paying a seig^xso:
of a tenth to the state, better than 250 tons. The production in the neighbouring^ ^ '
states had also greatly increased, so that the whole quantity exported from
amoimted in that year to above 960 tons. Mr. Logan estimates the whole q
produced in the Malav Peninsula at about 2350 tons, exclusive of the produce
Siamese territory; and when this is added to the produce of Banca, namely, 554 O torn
we have an aggregate annual yidd of 7890 tons, or, making but a moderate alloi97au3«>
for the produce of the Siamese mines, of which we have no estimate^ probably no^ 1«^ i
than double the amount of the tin of ComwalL Probably, not lees than five-eixt:l&&
this amount have been brought into existence in the course of the present ceix.4^ixr-«
The price has not £EJlen with this new supply to the market, and aa in the caae Qf tli
gold of California and Australia, it may be asked how this has happened, and tli
answer must be the same, that new sources of consumption have been found, in
wealth and population keeping the demand equal to Uie supply.
Barbosa mentions tin among the commodities taken by we Malay and Javaxi
traders to the Moluccas and other eastern islands from Malacca ; but in a detiiil
list of the articles taken by the junks to China, and amounting to ten in number, tir
is not found. Neither does he name it in his Calicut Price durent of thirty
although among them there be several, the peculiar products of the Malayan oouii-
tries, such as the dove, nutmeg, white pepper, agila-wood, and benzoin. De Bazrrod
names the metal as one of those found in the market of Malacca, but calls it, eirro-
neously, a product of Sumatra. The tin referred to by these writers, was, no doubts
the produce of rude Malayan industry, for in their time the Chinese had not yet settled
in any part of the Archipelaga It would, consequently, have been small in quanti-^,
and, as it is, at present at least, by twenty per cent, lees valuable than that smelted
by ihe skUfiil Ciunese. Malay tin must have reached Hindustan at an early period*
for it is otherwise difficult to understand from whence the Hindus, who have none of
their own, could have obtained their supply of a metal which is largely used by them
in the formation of alloys. In the Periplus of the Erythrsaan Sea, tin is named as An
article to be found at the emporia of the western side of India, namely, Bamgasa,
supposed to be Baroach, and Baraks, believed to have been Nilcunda. From both
places it is said to have been exported, and from the first to have been brought from
Ozen^, or Ougein. Dr. Vincent is of opinion that this tin was British, but it is fitr
more likely to have been Blalayan, part of it» probably, brought overland from the
Coromandel coast. The most usual Sanscrit names for tin, vanga, and ranga, seem to
be Indian, and to have no relation to the Malayan word timah.
TINGI (Pnlo), literally, <' High Island," is the name of the most southerly of
a group of islets, close to the easteem coast of the Malay Peninsula, towardis its
extreme end, and belonging to the State of Pahang. It is a mass of trap and porphyiy^
rising to the height of 2046 feet above the level of the sea, and covered with forest
Along with the iuets near it, it contains a population of 800 Malay fishermen. North
latitude, 2* 17'.
TOBACCO (Niootiana), in Malay and Javanese tambako, a slight oormptioii
of the Spanish and Portuguese, tabaoo. In the polite dialect of the Javanese^ it
has the whimsical name of sata, which signifies a " fowl," or " cock." According to a
Javanese chronicle, tobacco was first introduced into Java in the year 1601, which
was ninety years after the conquest of Malacca by the Portuguese. It was, most
probably, introduced by this nation, for at the time alluded to, the Dutch had as yet
formed lo establishment in the island, and, indeed, had appeared there aa traden
only four years before. Of the time when it was first introduced in other parts of the
Malay and Philippine Archipelago there is no record. It was, most probably, earliest
introduced into Malacca, and could not have been introduced into the Philippinas
sooner than 1565, the date of the first settlement of the Spaniards in these islands.
As in other parts of the world, the culture and use of tobacco became, throughout
both Archipelagos, rapid and universal. For home use, it is grown almost every-
where, but it is only in the most fertile islands, as Java^ Bali, and Luaon^ that it is
TOMAIKI 437 TOMINI
- producod lai^ely afi an article of trade. The tobacco of Java and Luzon are exten-
sively consumed in the respective Archipelagos to which ther belong, and that of the
latter, in the form of cigars, is exported to &e continent of India, and to Europe and
wA.zDerica. Tobacco is not a taxed article in any part of the Malay Archipelago, but it
ia a monopoly of a Spanish government of the Philippines, confined, however, to the
island of Luzon, where, in 1839, it yielded a net revenue of 1,280,288 Spanish dollars,
or 277,843/., being the largest branch of the public revenue.
OMAIKI. Tbe name giTen to a great bay which divides the eastern from the
south-eastern peninsula of Celebes. At its entrance, reckoning from the island of
^ IVowoni to the Cape of Tolabi, it is not less than 180 miles wide, but does not
penetrate the land to a greater depth than 120. Its coasts are rude, little known
countries, without any evidence of industry or civilisation. Such a name as this and
others given to the otiier great gulfs of Celebes, it should be recollected, are unknown
to the natives of the Arcl^pelago, and have been imposed by European navigators,
although the terms which designate them are of native origin.
OMBORO, the name of the mountain in the island of Sumbawa, in which, in
the month of April, 1815, took place the greatest and most destructive volcanic
eruption of which there is any record. The erater of this mountain is in south lati-
tude 8^ 14' 80", and east longitude 117'' 55' 80'^ and the mountain itself rises to the
height of 9000 feet above the level of the sea. The year preceding the eruption, I
accompanied an expedition to Macassar in Celebes, and in our course we passed close
to the coast of Sumbawa, and even then the volcano of Tomboro was in a state of
great activity. At a distance, the clouds of ashes which it threw out blackened one
side of the horizon in such a manner as to convey the appearance of a threatening
tropical squalL In faudt, it was mistaken for one, and the commander of the ship in
which I was, took in sail, and preparedlto encounter it. As we approached, the real
nature of the phenomenon became apparent, and ashes even fell on the deck. When
the great eruption took place, I was in civil charge of the province of Surabaya, in
Java, distant from Tomboro about 800 miles. The noises proceeding from the volcano
at this distance much resembled, at first, a distant but heavy cannonade, and the
illusion, indeed, was so complete that gun-boats were ordered out, under the supposi-
tion that a merchantman was attacked by pirates in the Straits of Madura. The same
deception] respecting the detonations extended to Yogyakarta, 180 miles further west
than Surabaya, or, in all, 480 miles distant from the volcano, for there my friend the
late Colonel Didton, marched out vrith his battalion to the relief of a fortress eighteen
miles east of that place, which he imagined had been attacked, and had got half way
to it before he was undeceived. The day after the sounds and shoc^ of earth-
quake which accompanied them were heard at Surabaya, the ashes began to fall, and
on the third day, up to noon, it was pitch dark ; and for several days after I trans-
acted all business by candle-light. For several months, indeed, the sun's disk was
not distinct, nor the atmosphere clear and bright, as it usually is during the south-
east monsoon. The explosions of the volcano were heard, and even ashes fell, as far
as Bencoolen, a thousand miles distant from the volcano ; and the same evidence of
the eruption was experienced in the Banda Islands, at the distance, in an easterly
direction, and against the monsoon, of 750 miles. The total number of persons
supposed to have lost their lives from the immediate effects of the eruption has been
reckoned at twelve thousand, but its indirect effects extended much further, for the
ashes fell so thick in Lomboc, Bali, and the eastern end of Java, as to destroy or
injure much of the growing rice crops. The future effects of the ashes, however,
were, in some places, evidently beneficial, for I see it stated that, in some parts of
Lomboc, where, from its proximity, they fell heaviest^ they had greatly increased the
fertility of some districts.
TOMBORO is also the name of a native state of Sumbawa, whieh probably gives
its name to the volcanic mountain. Before the eruption of tho volcano in 1815, this
was computed to have had a population of 6000, but ia 1847, 1 do not find it named
as a state at all, and most probably it had disappeared aathe result of the catastrophe.
TOMINI. This is the name of the great gulf, which penetrating the island of
Celebes to the depth of 220 miles, divides its northern from its eastern peninsula.
At its entrance, it is about 65 miles wide, and in its broadest part about 90. At its
extreme western end, an isthmus, not above 20 miles broad, divides it from the
Straits of Macassar, which separate Celebes from Borneo. On the northern shore
TONDO 438 TORTOISE-SHELL
of the gulf is the Dutch settlement of Gorongtalo, a name which has been ala
occafdonally applied to the gulf itBelfl
TONDO, the name of one of the proyinces of the island of Luzon, and that whii
contains the capital, the city of Manilla. It is bounded to the west by the haj i|
M tinilln, and the province of Bstaan, to the east by the proyinoes of Nueva £U:ija sc:i
LagunSy to the south by those of Cavity and Laguna, and to the north by the prorii. t
of Bulacan. It is considered to have a circumference of 95 geographical milfts, «ni
an area of about 300 square miles. A rocky ridge of hills passes through it^ frca
north to south, with the exception of which it is a fertile plain, well watered, ^il
adapted to the culture of rice, and of most other tropical products. It ia, in fact, =
a high state of cultivation. The mass of the inhabitants are of the Ta^ila nati-i
In 1735, the population amounted to no more than 31,805. In the first year of a?
present century, it had risen to 100,000 ; in 1818, to 149,951 ; in 1845, to 254,01 5, sn
in 1850, to 281,499. Deductmg the population of the city of Manilla, 140,000, i>
relative one for the rest of the proyince is 471'6, which is equal to that of the fins
parts of Java. Thus, in half a century, the increase was above 180 per cent., axitz:
from immigration from other provinces and the advent of strangeis, attracted by u
commerce of Mi ^"'ll»- The chief town, having the same name as the province itsei.
is distant from the city of Manilla about half a league only, and is situated on a rin;
which had passed through the provinces of Pampanga and Bulacan, and over whi^.
at the town, there is a handsome stone bridge, one of the few in the Fhilippincsa. Tfce
town is built in the Spanish fashion, contains some fine buildings, and in 1850 had »
population of 29,257, being one of the largest in the Philippines after Manilla, for
Binondo in the same province is considered but a suburb of the capitaL It contain
4855 houses of all descriptions, many of them of solid masonry, among the uK^t
remarkable of which is the government manufaotoiy of cigars, in which 8000 work-
people of both sexes are employed. The town of Binondo oommnnieates witl
Manilla by a fine stone bridge of 149 Spanish vana^ or 138 English yards span. Tb:
population in 1850 was 29,211, of whom 4817 paid the capitation tax, amounting u
48,170 reals of plate. Binondo is the commercial part of MamlU^ ukd the reudence
of the foreign merchants.
TORTOISE-SHELL, in Malay, Sisik-p&iSu, literally, " tortoise scalea.'* The only
part of the sea tortoises or turtles held of much value by the natives of the Indiar
islands is the shelL Tortoises are found in all the seas of the Malay and Philippin ■
Archipelagos, but the imbricated kind that yields the finest shell is most abundant is
those of Celebes and the Spice Islands, as far as the coasts of Kew Guinea. Tbe
parties chiefly engaged in their capture are the Bajaus, or Malay sea-nomadic
hunters, of whom the turtle is the principal game. These people distinguish four
species of searturtle, to which they fgive the names of kulitan, akung, ratu, and
boko. The last is the pdfiu of the Malays and the green esculent turtle, of which the
carapace is of no use, the animal being valued only for its flesh to sell to the Chineea
and Europeans, for among the Mahommedans it is unlawful food. The three first-
named species all yield a marketable shell The ratu, which signifies king or
royal turtle, is said to be of great size, measuring from five to six feet in length,
but is not often taken, and the shell is of inferior value. All the finest ^eS U
afforded by the first, the kulitan, the name, in fact, signifying "aheU turtle." A very
interesting account of the tiutle fishery of Celebes, contained in the 16th volume
of the Transactions of the Batavian Society of Arts and Sciences, describee the
animal as follows. ** The first named'* (the kulitan) "is the kind which, on account of
its costly shell, is the most prized. It is the so-named caret tortoise. The shell or
back of this creature is covered with thirteen shields or blades, which lie regularir
on each other in the manner of scales, five in the centre of the back and four on
each side. These are the plates which furnish such costly tortoise-shell to the srtF.
The edges of the scales of the back are further covered with twenty-five thin pieccf,
joined one to another, which, in commerce, are known under the appellation of 'feet'
or ' noses ' of the tortoise. The value of the tortoise-shell depends on the weight of
each ' head,* by which expression is understood the collective shell belongiog to one
and the same animal. Such is the article of commerce so much in request, both for
the Chinese and European markets. Shells, which have white and dark spots that
touch each other, and are, as much as possible, similar on both sides of the blade,
are, in the eyes of the Chinese, much finer, and, on that account, more greedily
bought by them than those which want this peculiarity. On the contrary, shells
which are reddish rather than black in their dark spots, which possess little whit«.
TOWN 439 TRADE
'whioh are more damasked than spotted; in a word, of which the ooloura, aocoiding to
Chinese taste, are badly distributed, are less valued. The caprice of the Chinese
xnakea them sometimes yalue single 'heads' at imheard-of prices, such for example,
as go under the name of ' white heads,' for the Tarieties of which they have peculiar
namea. It is impossible to give an accurate description of these varieties, and their
Bub-divisions, for these depend on many circumstances unappreciable to our senses.
It is enough for me to observe that such heads as possess the above named
qualities, that is, are very white in their blades, and have the outer rim of each blade,
to the depth of two or three fingers, wholly white, and the weight of which amounts
to two and a half catties, qualities that are rarely found united, may be valued at
1000 guilders or even more (above 2il. per pound, avoirdupois). The 'feet' or
' noses ' of the tortoise-Bhell are in demand only in the Chinese market. Whenever
the two hinder pieces of these have the weight of a quarter of a catty (between 5 and
6 ounces), which is seldom the case, they may reach the value of fifty guilders, or
more. The whole shell of a tortoise seldom weighs more than three catties (four
pounds), notwithstanding, it is asserted, that there occur 'heads' of four and five
catties. Tortoise-shells are sometimes found of which the shell, instead of thirteen
blades, consists of a single undivided one. The Bajos call this, which is rarely met
with, loyong (brass ?). The usual modes by which these people catch the tortoise are the
adang (intercepting), the harpoon, and the net. To these, we add the simplest of all,
namely, falling on the females when they resort to the strand to lay their eggs. This
is also the most usual, I may say almost the only way, by which the inhabitants of
the coast catch this animal. They need nothing more than, as soon as they have got
the creature in their power, to turn it on its. back, when, unable to turn itself
again, it lies helpless. It sometimes, also, falls into the hands of the dwellers on
the coast, through means of their fishing stakes, into which it enters like the fish,
and from which it can find no outlet, but remains imprisoned in the innermost
chamber. When the Bajoe have caught a tortoise, they kill it immediately by a few
blows on the head. They then take its upper shield, or the back itself off, being the
only thing about the animal that has value But as the shells adhere fast to each
other, there would be danger of tearing them, if they at once pulled the plates
asunder, they usually wait three days, in which time, the soft parts become decom-
posed, and the plates ore loosened with very little trouble."
The Indian islands furnish, I believe, the largest supply of tortoise-shell for the
European and Chinese market, the chief emporia being Singapore, Manilla, and
Batavio, from which are exported yearly about 26,000 pounds : one half of this quantity
is from Singapore.
TOWN. There is no word in Malay or Javanese for town or oity, except such as
are Sanscrit, namely, nftgri or n&gara, pura and praja, with kut'a, which signifies,
literally, " a fortress." The application of the word praja to a town is rather singular,
for in Sanscrit it signifies "subjects " or "inhabitants," that is, tho inhabitants of the
town are taken by the Javanese for the town itself. I state this on the highest
authority I can quote, that of my friend Professor Wilson. It is not, therefore, an
unreasonable conclusion to come to, that towns were unknown before the arrival of
Uie Hindus, even to the most civilised nations of the Archipelago.
TRADE, COMMERCE. In Malay and Javanese, and, generally, in the other
knguagea of the Archipelago, the most usual word for these is an abstract noun,
derived from the word which signifies "a stranger," dagang. In Malay bSmiyaga or
b&miyagan is a synonym of frequent use, and this is Sanscrit. The simple native
expression, jiial-bli, " selling and buying," is of frequent use also. To sell, to buy, to
be in debt, are all expressied by native worda Interest of money is expressed by
the figurative phrase, "flower of gold,** which also signifies "tribute." Mercantile
profit is usually expressed by the Sanscrit word laba, but sometimes by the native
figurative word bunga, flower or produce, and, occasionally, by the word untung, which
signifies, " luck." ^e only wonl for capital or stock is modal, which is from the
Telioga. The most usual expression for money is mas-perak, that is, gold and silver,
or pichis, which is the name of the small tin or zinc coins borrowed from the Chinese.
Another word is uwang or wang, which also signifies " a palace." The Javanese use
the Seuisorit words arta and yatni for money. For a merchant, the most usual native
word is the same which signifies a stranger. AnoUier native name, juragan, means,
literally, the master or commander of a vessel. Two others are Sanscrit, bopari, and
santri, Uie last being literally scholar or priest, and a fifth ,Budag&r, is Persian.
TKINGANO 440 TRUBU
TKINGANO, oorrectly TRLNGGANU, is the name of the aeoond Malay state on the
eastern side of the Malay Pemnsola, coantmg from its southern extremity. It is
bounded on the south by the principality of Pabang, to the north by that of KaJantaa,
and to the west by that of Per^ the central range of mountains parting it from the last
Of its area nothing certain is known, nor does it seem of much consequence that tbsrs
diould be, since nearly the whole is one oontinaous jungle, in its present stacte of
Tery little use to man. The inhabitants consist of the dominant people, or Malsji
converted to Mahommedaniam, — some wild tribes of the same race unconverted, — a
few of the Negritos in the mountains, and a few Chinese engaged in trade or in taa-
Tnining, The total population of the state has been computed at 87,500. Of this
number, the town of the same name, situated on a small river not far from the so,
has been estimated to contain from 15,000 to 20^000 inhabitants^ or about one-half the
population of the state. Among the inhabitants of the town are about 600 Chinev
settlen. A little gold, some black pepper, and some tin are the staple products of
Tiingano, the tin being by far the most important, and said to amount yearly to about
480 tons. This state is one of the hereditary tributaries of Siam, but has long, and
at present sucoessfully, resisted the assumed supremacy of the Siamese.
TRrPANG-, the name of a species of Holothoria, is found in most of the aihallow
seas of Uie Malay and Philippine Archipelagoe. The word tripang is Malay, and the
animal is called by the people of Celebes, siiala^ which our traders write swallo&
It is the bSche de mer, or sea-worm of the Portuguese, and our own " sea-cucomber*"
for in appearance and shape, although not in colour, for it is a dirty brown, it g^reatlj
resembles a cucumber. The esculent holothuria is by no means confined to the
seas of the Archipelago; it \b found in the upper part of the Gulf of Siam,
and is so abundant on the northern coast of Australia, that the people of Celebes^
receiving advances from the resident Chinese, have been long in ue habit of mat-rng
annual voyages thither in quest of it. Qutted, dried in the sun and smoked, it is
considered cured, and fit for its only market, that of China, to which many hundred
tons are yearly sent for the consumption of the curious epicures of that country.
The fishery of the tripang is to China what that of the sardine, tunny, and
anchovy is to Europe. It is, for the most part, caught by hand^ for it has little
power of locomotion, but in deep water sometimes by diving. This is the account
given by Mr. Windsor Earl of the fishery on the shores and banks of the Aroe
Islands, where this animal appears to be very abundant. *' But the great sources of
wealth are the pearl and tripang banks, which lie on the eastern side of the group.
These extend the entire length of the islands, and are often several miles in width,
being intersected by deep channels, some of which will admit vessels of burthoL
The tripang, or searslug, is of several varieties. The greater portion is caught in
shallow water, where it can be picked up off the bank without diving.'* — Journal of
the Indian Archipelago, Vol. 4, p. 480. The tripang, although an article of con-
siderable importance in the trade of the Indian Island^ is never found in the printed
price-curreuts of an European emporium, because never dealt in by Europeans^ which
arises from nice or rather capricious distinctions in their quality, which no European
ia competent to appreciate. I can discover no mention of the tripang in the early
Portuguese writers; which seems to be another proof that the Chinese, who carry ob
the trade and advance the funds, had not yet settled in the Archipelago when the
Portuguese first appeared in it.
TROTTO (Pulo), correctly TRUTAO, is the name of one of the nnmerons islands
at the western end of the Straits of Malacca, close to the coast of the Peninsula, and
belonging to the state of Queda. It is barren, covered with forest^ and uninhabited.
TRUBU. This is the name of a fish, the scientific appellation of which I have not
ascertained, but of which the salted and dried roes form a very considerable article
of trade in the western parts of the Malayan Archipelago. It seems to be local, and
like Bidmon and some other fish, to frequent rivers for the purpose of spawning. Its
fiekvoarite resort is the muddy eastern coast of Sumatra, and more especially the
narrow strait which divides Bancalis and some other low islands from the main land,
and into which the river of Siak disembogues. At a place called Bukit-batu (rock-
hill), a considerable fishery of the trubu is carried on, which is thus noticed by Mr.
Anderson : — " The river of Bukit-batu is a veiy small stream, close to the mouth of
which stands the town of Bukit-batu, which is a place of considerable trade, the giand
staple being roes of the trobo-fish, or telmvtrobo (trubu roea^ or eggs), as they are called.
Here there ia a veiy extensive fishery, and three or four hundred boats, with two and
TUBAN 441 TYPHOON
^kuree men in each, often go out at a time to the fishery, which is outside the Straits
of Tanjung- Jati " (teak-tree promontory). — ^Anderson's Mission, p. 885. The fishery
of the trubu is of immemonal antiquity, and is referred to by De Barros as eidsting
on the arriTal of the Portuguese just as it does at present. "The riyers" (of Sumatra),
says he, " contain a great variety of fish, and in some of them, such as that of Siaca
(Siak) they catch small shads (saves), of which the people of the country use the roes
only, and of these they have a greater abundance than we have of the fish themselves."
— ^Decade 3, Book 5, diap. 1.
TUHAN. The name of a district^ and formerly of an ancient proyinoe of Java,
and now forming part of the Netherland province of Rembang.
TTJHAJA* The name of a monntainous country in the yery centre of the island
of Celebes. The inhabitants are desoribed as savages who have not adopted the
Mahommedan religion, and in the same social condition as the Dayaks of Borneo.
£y the Malays, indeed, they are called Dayaks. Little is known about them^ as
they seem never to have been visited by Eiut)peans.
TURKEY. This bird has been long naturalised in Jaya and the Philip-
pines, but is bred only by Europeans and their descendants, for, preposterously,
the Mahommedans consider its flesh unlawful food, although the bird was unknown to
any of them for near nine centuries after the time of their prophet. The prejudice
arises, it is said, ft«m the tuft on the breast, which bears some resemblance to a
hog's bristles. The name given to the turkey by the natives sufficiently points to the
source firom which they derived it, — ayam-Yuropa and ayam-Holanda, the " fowl of
Burope," and the " fowl of Holland."
TUWAJIJ, or WAJU, is the name of a tribe of the Bngis or Wugi nation of
Celebes, by far the most industrious and enterprising people, not only of that island
but of the whole Malay Archipelago. Their parent country is in the centre of the
Bouth-westem peninsula, between the third and fourth degrees of south latitude, its
■ea-board being on the Gulf of Boni, and its boundary to the south, the great lake
of Labaya. But they are, at present, found as settlers in almost every trading port
of the Archipelago, native and European, having in some of the ruder countries, as
Floris and Borneo, independent settlements. In Singapore, although of such recent
origin, they already number Jtroxn 2000 to 8000. Besides this, they perfbrm voyages
from one end of the Archipelago to the other, — ^to the eastward as far as New
Guinea, and to the westward as far as Sumatra. In fact, they conduct most of the
native carrying trade, and seem, in this respect, to occupy now the same position
which the Malays and Javaneee did before the arrival of Europeans. I can find no
mention whatever of them in the early Portuguese writera, and therefore conclude
that their rise, as a mercantile people, is of comparatively very recent origin. I copy
the following account of this people in their own country, from notes which I took in
1823, from communicationa made to me by respectable membera of the tribe trading
to Singapore : — '' There are large Wigu villages on the banks of the great lake
(Labaya), all of which carry on a considerable foreign trade. The trading praus are
tracked up the stream of the Chinrana river, the voyage being performed in about
thirty-six hours, whUe that from the lake to the sea does not occupy above one half
that time. The depth of water in the river is abundant during the rainy season for
the largest praus, but not so in the dry. The tribe of Waju consists of a confederation
of forty princes. By these, assembled in council, the general affain of the whole
nation are conducted, and the council, like an English jury, must be unanimous.
Its chief is elected by the other memben, and holds his place during good conduct.
He goes under the title of Arung-matuwa, which may be rendered ' the prince-elder.'
Six of the princes, under the name of Bati-lumpo, literally ' gn^eat banners,' form a
select oouncU to advise and assist the president in his ministerial functions. These
councillors are hereditary in particular families, the choice of the individual being
made by his own particular tribe. The Waju people pay no taxes, direct or indirsct^
being even exempt from import or export duties. The princes are supported from
their own domains, the Aruog-matuwa, or presiding prince, alone receiving three days'
corvee labour. — one at the time of ploughing, another at that of planting, and a third
at harvest The Waju men of all ranks, unUke the rest of Uie Bugis people, have full
liberty to go abroad and to return at pleasure, at once a cause and effect, it may be
presumed, of their independence, enterprise, and prosperity."
TYPHOON, it is to be presumed from the Arabic word tufim, a storm. This is
the name by which those frightful equinoctial gales are known to- Europeans^ which
412 UPAS
the t wni i M cu mlu Mie -mijh htCt
mci tht moA vmIcbI knd, tber
tm^tm, wteA the ChJHfw call ti-fcn, MidHie PkQp^
T<y«ardi tke end of tL« j«v 1831, one of tfaeae took place,
fin- xIjjmI from the bcBdi, and the fri^ite * Union,' cf
CKTot frocn her anrfcin in the hai ho m of Gsviti^ and throwm on tie
of the &ir^ Wbo^ galknca rae torn from the hooaea of Manilla, and
•Leets of knd £rcv their rocfe canied hj the f orea of tha wind acniaa the lirer
Pane. The &c«d in thegxeat lafcewaaanch aa tocuiyoffhoaafSOBitafaanlci^ aloo*
with their icLacctanfii^ awee^in^ them into the liver. On anch ocrarinmi^ the ends
of pocta zEjd cases are accn vhh a Came plajing on than, aa if they were no manr
t£Trbes ; tLis c^znifcent LLsmioaticitt pcoriiig the Taat qoantitj of deciriaty vitii
vticn the air ii c&aised.*'— Infonce aolxe d wtido de las Islaa EQipinnB.
u.
UjL^G, in Mala^r and Jartnese, agnifif pcnnty or ahaip end, and is also &cqiieDtlT
mpi/\ied to a lomt of land, or head-land, pcvMnontoKy, or famgnw. It oeeon frequent]/
in the geography of the Malej Axcfaipelago, as in Ujin^-tanah, which ii frequently
applied to the land's end of the Malay Peninsula, <^ at iMt to the most salient point
of it. We hare another eauunple of it in the name of the island called by £un>peana
Jnnk-Ceylon ; and which is in reality the name of s promontaiy of thai islsnd, called
by the Malays Ujung-Salang^ or the point of 8ahm&
UMBRELXA, in Mahiy and Javanese, paynng, and in the latter, also, songsong.
To use an umbrella at all, or nther to have it carried over one, for no native carries
an umbrelU himseli^ is a msrk of rank, and its quality impfiea the degree of that rank.
The sorereign alooe uaes one whidi is g^lt throughout. In Java, a small umbreUa,
called a bawat, ia the special bodge of the higher nobility, called by the Sanscrit title
of bopatL This is not made use of to screen from sun or rain, but carried liy a
retainer, before the party.
U^GSAJ^G is the name of the most aouthem easterly part of the island of Bozneo,
which is a kind of peninsula, a large bay to the north, and a still larger to the south,
making of the interrening land a kind of isthmus. Very little is known of this
peninsula, which has hardlv ever been visited by an European, but it seems to be a
CNtrren wilderness, claimed ojihe Sultans of Sulu, whose insular dominions i^proach
within twen^ miles of it. xbe elephsnti escaped most probably from the domceti*
Gated state, is now well known to exist in this remote corner, althoagh in no other
part of Borneo.
UPAS, in Javanese '* poison," or << venom." The sap of some plants of the Malay
and Philippine Islands yields poisonous juices, which, by concentration, produce a
poison of considerable activity, which has been sometimes employed by the ruder
natives to render their weapons deadly. The most potent of these plants in Java are
the Anchar, the Antiaris toxicaria, a large forest tree, and the Chetek, strichnoe tientc,
a climbing shrub. In all these cases, the poison, even when fresh, is hr lees active
than that of the cobra snake, for the most powerful will take an hour to kill a dog,
which the venom of the hooded snake would certainly accomplish in half the time.
To effect a fatal purpose^ too, it is necessary that the poisoned weapon should be
J
VALENTYN 443 VILLAGE
left in the wound, and not withdrawn, so that the probability is that few human
beings have ever lost their lives by means of these poisons*
V.
VALENTYN (FRANCIS). The author of the great work on the Dutch Posses-
sions in India, was a clergyman of the Lutheran church, and born in Dordrecht, about
the year 1660. In the year 1685 he proceeded to India, in his capacity of minister,
and in the following year reached Batavia. After exercising for a short time his pro-
fessional functions at Japara, on the northern coast of Java, he was transferred to
Amboyna, the future field of his ministry and literary labours. He applied himself
diligently to the study of the native languages, and with such success that in a few
months' time he was able to preach in Msday. After twelve years' residence in
Amboyna and the other Spice Islands, his health obliged him to return to Europe in
1694. After a stay in Holland of eleven years, he returned a second time to India in
1705. On this occasion, he remained in Java two vears, and then proceeded to
Amboyna, where he continued for seven years, and finally returned to Holland in
1714. He then began to arrange for publication the vast mass of materials which,
during his Indian residence, he had so industriously collected. His work was pub-
lished from 1724 to 1726, in eight folio volumes, with plates. It embraces not only an
account of the Dutch possessions in the islands of the Archipelago, but of all those
from the Cape of Qood Hope to Japan. The most valuable part of it is that which
relates to those places of which he had personal experience^ Java and the Spice
Islands, but especially the last. The rest consists of mere compilation, and relates
to matters now obsolete, and never of much public interest. The time of the death
of this eminent person is unknown, but he must have been in his sixty-sixth year
when he completed the publication of his most laborious woi^
Y ABEL A (Pulo). This is a name glyen by nayigators to several islets in the
western part of the Malayan Archipelago, — one, for example, in the group of islands
at the eastern extremity of the Straits of Malacca, another on the north-eastern side
of Sumatra, and a third in the little chain which lies close to the Malay Peninsula on
its eastern coast, and towards its extremity. The word is a Portuguese oorruption of
the Malay b&rala, which signifies an idol, or image.
YENEREAL. There can be no doubt but that it was the Portuguese who first
introduced this malady into the Malay, and thence into the Philippine Archipelago.
The companions of Magellan, on their return from the Moluccas to Spain, touched at
the island of Timur, and Pigafetta thus refers to the subject on quitting it : — ** In all
the islands of this Archipelago which we visited, the malady of Sui Giobbe was preva-
lent, and more here than anywhere else. They call it For-franchi, that is, the Portu-
guese disease." Some have fitmoied that the disease of St. Job might mean leprosy,
but that indigenous disease would certainly not have been called a Portuguese malady,
nor would the small number of persons labouring under leprosy, a non-oontagious
disease, have attracted the special attention of the companions of Magellan. The
passage in Pigafetta is dated in 1522, and at this time the Portuguese had been already
above ten years in the Archipelago, and frequented many parts of it, from Sumatra
to the Moluccas. During all this time, too, there were no Europeans in the Archi-
pelago but themselves. In twenty-eight years' time, then, from the discoveir of
America, the malady had already pervaded the remotest islands of the Archipelago,
but had not reached the Philippines, unless left there by the companions of Magellan^
for Pigafetta takes no notice of its existence in that Archipelago.
YILLAQE, in Malay and Javanese d'usun, and desa, the last being from the
Sanscrit. A small village or hamlet is called dukuh. The word kampung is frequently
used for a village, but it properlv signifies a close, or place enclosed by a fence, which
the village generally is. The habitations of the Indian islanders, for the obvious
purpose of protection, are grouped into villages, as, indeed, in all other countries of
the east. Each cottage composing it is surrounded by fhiit or ornamental trees
and shrubs, so that the village is, as if it were embosomed in an orchard, and the
cottages, in a good measure, hidden firom view. Even a town of several thousand
inhabitants is no more than an aggregation of villages, divided into a number of closes
or incloaures, the only conspicuous building in it oeing the chieftain's dwelling. In
Java, Bali, and other agricultural countries of the Archipelago, the village is a corpo-
ration almost as complete as in Hindustan. It has its head-man, known by various
TISCATA 444 WAR
as bikil, lanhy iMtingili, and pAngnlu, — Uie two last sigmfyiiig,
iiwtij,^tka hi^ M ca AarnMatA^imdted^9DdthBhiBtA-man. The head-man has his i
and s aoEibe or aeeoantant^ with a priest^ eomplete the offioe4)earera. The actual tH-
Isge, which migfat move eonectly he called a township, with its houses and <Hrchsrda,
are the private piop c ttj of die serend oeeapants, and not held collectiToIy, as in aomfe
of the Hinda eoontriea. The adjacent cam-lands alone are sobjeet to the Innd-tax.
whedicr the whole rant has been abeo r hed under that name or a part iji it still
remaina as the privste property of the cultivator.
TISCATA (5UETA). The nime of a prarinoe of the isLand of Luzon. See
KCKTA TnCAZA.
TOLCAXOS. The Indiaii ialandfl eontun the largest Tolcanie region in the
worhL The band of this fonnataon begins wiUlSamsi^^nusingthnNlgh a coosidctable
portion of the oeotnd part of iL It embraces tiie whole of Jiava, and all the ialandi
east of it as &r ss Ombay, in longitade 125*. Fkom this it tskes a oonrBe north of
east, snd presents itself in the Bioida Idanda It thus extends in an easterly direc>
taon orer 30* of longitode. Tlie band, if it reslly be the seme, then tskee a north-
weeteriy oomse, and shows itself in the Molnocaa* or true Clove Talanda, and
spun, at the extremity of the northern peninsula of Cddiea, opposite to them.
We hare it next in the most soutberiy of the Philippinea^ and it pensos through the
whole of this Archipelago to the Babuyanes Tnlan<lii, over 13* of latitudeu With
the exception of a pert of Sumatra there is no ToLcanic formation in the Malay
Ardiipdago, north of 6* aouth laJ^de. Thus the Peninsula, Borneo, and th«
greater part of Sumatra and Celebei^ with the great island of New Guinea, are
non-Tolcanic The Philippines embrace the plutonic and sedimentary formations as
well as the Tolcania
The number of extinct Tolcanos in the two Archipelagos is yeiy great, and even
the actiTe ones are numerous. Of the last> there sre in Sumatra five, in Java twenty,
in the islsnds immediately east of it about aeren ; in the Bands and Molucca IslaiMis
three, and in the Philippines at least ten. There is no record, that I am aware of. of aoy
destructiTe eruption in Sumatra, and although there have been several minor erup-
tions in Java of late years, the last great one in that island took place as long ago as
the year 1586. This was from the mountain Ringgit (puppet), a peak only 4200 feet
above the level of the sea. (See RiH ooir). In the Javanese chronicles an eruption is
stated to have taken place in Java, without naming the mountain, as early as 1273 of
Saka, or 1351 of our time. In the Moluccas the eruptions have been numerous since
the arrival of Europeana In the Philippines, also, there have been some veiy
destructive ones, but hardly on so great a scale as that of Ringgit in Java, or Tomboro
in Sumbawa. One of these took place in 1645, in the province of Cagayan, when a
whole mountain sunk into the earth, carrying with it an entire village and its
inhabitants. The succession of earthquakes which accompanied it is said to have
lasted during two months, and although the dty of Manilla be at least two hundred
miles distant from Cagayan, every stone building in it was levelled to the ground,
with the exception of the churches of the Augustins and Jesuits, and 600 of the
inhabitants perished under the ruins.
w.
WAIGIOE. The name of a oonsiderable island off the north-western end of New
Guinea. It lies between five miles and seventy-five miles south of the equator, and
stretches as far east as longitude 131" 16'. Its area has been estimated at 960
geographical square miles. Waigioe is mountainous in the interior, with a low and
marshy coast. The officers of the Freneh discovery-ship Coquille gave to the highest
peak of the island the name of the Cone de Beuffle, and made it 480 toises, or 1516
feet above the level of the sea. The climate appears to be moist and hot. The
inhabitants of the coast are represented as a cross between the Malay and Papuan
negro, and most probably those of the interior are pure Papuan. The bread of the
inhabitants, like that of all those of the neighbouring islands, is sago, and the culture
of rice is unknown.
"WAJTJ. The name of a tribe of the Bugis nation of Celebes. See Tttwaju.
WAR. The most frequent name for this in both Malay and Javanese is pftranfr,
or abbreviated, prang; but the Javanese has also two native words peculiar to itself,
WAX 445 WEAVING
j urit and laga, with the Sanacrit one yuda. The chief force of the agricultural nations
IB an in&ntiy, but the people of Java, Bali, and Lomboc have also a cavalry, mounted
on ponies, seldom thirteen hands high, and therefore little formidable. To the
maritime tribes the prau is what the horse aud the camel united are to the Arabs
and Tartars, and their armies, in £Mjt, are fleet& An army in the Malayan countries
is, OS in all rude states of society, a mob composed of the followers and retainers of
the chiefs, every adult being supposed to be a soldier. The words for an army are
Sanscrit, bala and balatantra, which signify " a host," or " the people." Between a
fleet and an army there is no distinction. Both are expressed in Malay by the word
angkatan, which literally means a lifting or rising. For a soldier, the Javanese have
the derivative word prajurit, from jurit, war, but.thia signifies only a warrior. They have
also the Sanscrit chatriya, and the Malays, with some corruption, have adopted the
first of these. For a soldier by profession they have adopted the Portuguese
soldado. For miUtaiy exercise, liter the European manner, the term is baris^ which
literally signifies " a row or line."
"WAX (BEES'). In Malay and Javanese lilin, but in the latter more frequently
malam. This last word, it is singular enough, is to be found in some of the Papuan
languages of New Guinea, where the negros have had an intercourse with the
Malayan race, but generally there are distinct native words for it in each language.
This is also the case with the bee ; but for honey it is curious to find the general
name, madu, to be Sanscrit, the Javanese adding another from the same language,
sakara, or abbreviated, kara, which is properly sugar. Wax has always been
a considerable article of exportation from the Indian Islands, chiefly the produce
of the wilder parts of it. Barbosa names it .as one of the chief articles
obtained by the Malay and Javanese traders in Timur and the other islands on
the route to the Spice Islands. It is always the produce of the forests, for
the bee has never been domesticated in the Malay or Philippine Islands, and in a
region where there are flowers throughout the year, and consequently no inducement
to form a large store, its domestication would probably be difficult. The honey is
always thin, poor, and flavourless, compared to that of more temperate climates.
Although the bees be wild, their hives, once appropriated, are considered as private
property, which other productions of the forest, whether animal or vegetable, are
not, and the ground of this distinction is explained in the following law of the Malaya.
After declaring that game and fish are not private property, it says ; — " If, however,
a man rob a bee-hive without knowledge of its owner, such owner meeting him
may take the honey firom him, and bring him before a magistrate, who shall
further fine him in the sum of half-a-tail. It is true that bees are wild animals, but
their hives afford the owner of the land in which they are a regular and certain
revenue."
WAY (Pulo). There are three islands of this name in the Malay Archipelago,
— one in the Roads of Achin, one in the Gulf of Siam, and one near the Banda
Islands. The word wai, or we, is probably a corruption of ayAr in Malay, or er in
Javanese, "water," for in this form we find it in the languages of Celebes, and even
in those of the South Sea Islands. If this be true, Pulo Way means simply "water
island."
WAYANG signifies in Malay and Jayanese a soenic figure, and also an aotor, or
player, and the drama. The word is probably the same as bayang^ a shadow and an
apparition, and most probably taken from it
WAYANG (GUNUNG). The name of a mountain of Java, between the districts
of Bandong and Sukapura, in the country of the Sundas, an active volcano, and rising
to the height of 6000 feet above the level of the sea. The name signifies "mountain
of the drama or scenic exhibition."
WEAVING. The weaving of cloth from some raw matorial or another seems to
have been immemorially practised by all the more advanced nations of the Malay
and even of the Philippine Archipelago. There is no ground for believing that this
is an art which the inhabitants were taught by strangen, for nearly all the torms
connected with it in the two leading languages, the Malay and Javanese, are native
words, as, to spin, antih; yam, bAnang or lawe; warp, lungsen; woo^ pakan; to
weave, t&nun; shuttle, turah and balera; loom, pftkakas-t&nun (lltorally weaving
apparatus) ; distaff, raat ; bow for clearing cotton, busor ; and cloth, kain in Malay
and sinjang in Javanese. The onl^ exceptions are^ the name of the principal raw
material now employed, oottoOy which is kapaa» from the Sanscrit karpasa; and that
WEIGHTS 446 WEIGHTS
of the spinning-wheel, also Sonaciit, jantn, aignifying <*» machine." Wliafc raw
material would have been employed before the introduction of cotton from India, it
is not ea^ to understand, although there are several native textile fibres on ifafi spot
which were available, such as the fibre of the banana, and of several urticasy or netUes.
As nearly all the terms now enumerated are found in all the languages of thi
Malay Archipelago^ it is natural to conclude that the art of manufacturing woven
cloth from thread was the invention of one country, and not unreasonable to faacy that
country to have been Java, the one in which civilisation earliest sprung up, aod in
which it made the greatest progress. Althou^^ the terms connected with the art oi
weaving a textUe fabric have extended to all &e languages of the civilised nations of
the KfJay, they have not extended to those of the Philippine Archipelago, which
have their own peculiar ones, and even a native word for cotton, along with the
Sanscrit one, received, like other words of the same tongue, through the Malayan
languages. The art of weaving a cloth, as is well known, had never spread to the
tribes of the islands of the Pacific, and this is one of iJie many fiu;ts which show
how little they really received through the Malayan nations. It is remarkable, how-
ever, that the Malayan words for weaving and sewing should have found their way
into the language of remote Madagascar. All the cloths manufactured by the inha>
bitants of the Malayan islands are strong, coarse, and durable fiibrics, and the fine
textures woven by the Hindus are wholly unknown to them. The native manufactures
are purely domestic, and the women the only manufacturers. The best are the fabrics
of Celebes and Java, and these continue to form a considerable article of external
commerce, although competing with the manufactures of Manchester and Qlai^gow.
WEIGHTS and MEASURES. The original measures of the Malays and Javanese
were evidently by capacity (tak&r) and not by weight, for which there are no words
in their language, except such as signify heaviness or balance. The lowest denomi-
nation for a measure of capacity among the Malays goes under the name of chujuJE,
most probably taken from the shell of the coco-nut or the joint of the bamboo. Of
this, 4 make a gantang, and 800 of the last a koyan. These are native words, with the
literal meaning of which, however, I am unacquainted. The measures of length, as
with other people, are taken from the members or parts of the hunum body, as finger-
length, span, foot, pace, fiithom, with the length from the foot of one side to the tip
of the outstretched hand on the opposite one. Superficial or land measure is still
more rude. Thus the Javanese, in reference to their irrigated land, the only descrip-
tion on which they set a special value, have, for the laxgest measure, what they term a
jong, which, literally signifies a ship, and this divided into halves called kikil, or a leg;
and into fourths called bau, which means a shoulder. Another admeasurement of land
goes under the name of chachah, of which gawe-ning-wong is the synonym, the first
word signifying *' count" or *' census," and the last, *'a man's work," that is, the
qtiantity of irrigated land that a family of peasantry can tilL This last term is of
the same nature as our own "plough-land."
All such weights and measures are vague and uncertain, and vary, not only in the
different countries of the Archipelago, but often in districts of the same country.
Strangers have in some degree contributed to give them precisi<m by the introduction
of their own, the native names being generally preserved. To judge by the
name, the Persians seem to have introduced the balance (traasu), and the Chinese,
probably, the steelyard (d'achin). The weighing of gold wa^ of course, an important
operation, which required to be conducted with nicety in a country producing gold,
and where all large payments were made in this metal by weight and assay. It seems,
immemorially, to have been conducted, as it still is, by the Telingas, and these people
introduced the Hindu gold weights. The denominations of these correspond in value
with the Indian, although in some places, having native terms, as the saga or ** counting
beau," the mayam, the bungkal, and the katL In others they are expressed by
corruptions of the Sanscrit ones. Thus the scarlet bean is called lakftty from the
Sanscrit raktaka ; the weight of 12 beans, a mas ; from maska, andthe tail or 16 maskas,
from the tolaka or tola. For long measure the Hindu haata or cubit has generally
superseded the native measures, at least for commercial purposes. The only weight
introduced by the Arabs is the bahar, usually considered as equal to three pikuls, and
this was in use even as far as the Moluccas, when the Portuguese first arrived.
The business-like Chinese have introduced their own well-defined weights,
although under native names. Thus we have the tail or weight of 2S drams,
avoirdupois, the kati, consisting of 16 tails, and the piknul, which literally signifies a
jnan'i load or burden, composed of 100 katis or IftS^ pounds, ayoirdupois. The
WETTER 447 XULLA
weights and meaaures of the Malays, with their denomiaationB, have not only extended
over the whole Malay Archipelago, but are also prevalent in the Philippines. In the
settlements of European nations the weights and measures of the natives have been
fixed with precision.
^WETTER. The name of a oonsiderable island on the northern side of Timor,
and towards its eastern end. Its most northerly point is in south latitude 8* 6', and
east longitude 125'' 58^ Its length from east to west is 60 miles, with a breadth of
about 25 miles. The northern coast is mountainous, but the southern has some open
plains and valleys. The inhabitants are of the same race as those of Timur, that
which is intermediate between the Malay and Negro. The conjectural population
is made to amount to 82,000, probably an exaggeration, since it would give not less
than 70 inhabitants to the square mile, a proportion not to be looked for in a poor
mountainous countxy, and in a very rude state of society. The bread*oom of Wetter,
like that of Timur, is maiz and the principal export, bees' -wax.
"WHEAT. This oom, known to the natires of the Indian Islands only by its
Persian name of gandum, or its Portuguese of trigo, is cultivated in small quantities
for the consumption of European settlers in Java and Luzon, with a few other parts
of the Philippines, at an elevation above the level of the sea of from 4000 to 6000
feet
TVIDADAREN. The name of a moantain of Java, with an aotive volcano
rising to the height of 8000 feet above the level of the sea. It is one of a range
which divides the distriots of Besuki and Balkuwangi, the last forming the eastern
extremity of the island. The name signifies place or abode of the Widari, a class of
celestial nymphs, acoording to the local mythology of the Javanese..
WILIS. The name of a monntain of Java, without an active volcano, 7957 feet
above the level of the sea. It forms the eastern boundary of the plain of Madiyun,
as Lawu does the western. The name in Javanese signifies "green," but for what
reason does not appear, since every mountain of the island is equally verdant.
WOWONI. The name of an island lying north of that of Boeteon, and divided
from the south-eastern peninsula of Celebes by a fatrait about two miles broad. As
laid down in the maps, it appears to be about seventeen miles in length, and ten in its
broadest part I can discover nothing recorded about it, and suppose it to be almost
imknown to Europeans.
WRITING, in Malav and Javanese tuUs, but in the last of these it has two
synonymy chiri ana tanu. AU these are native words, but in both languages the
Arabic surftt is also of frequent use. AU the native words signify " to paint" as well
as to write. See LANOUAai.
X.
XULLA. This, with an epithet to each, is the name given in our maps to three
islands, which, with a fourth^ much smaller, form a ^up lying east of Celebes, and
west by north of Boeroe, in the Molucca Sea. They he from one to two degrees and a
half south of the equator, and run as far east as longitude 126*. The group extends
over thirty-six leagues, and has been estimated to contain an area of 1808 square geogra-
phical miles. Respecting the natural history of these islands, or the condition of
their inhabitants, I have seen no notices. That they were discovered and named by
the Portuguese, there can be little doubt The odd orthography can, I think, be
explained. The initial x, in Portuguese is equivalent in power to our sh, or the
French ch, but such a sound is not known in any of the Malayan languages, and the
real one intended was most probably our own, and the Spanish ch, which would make
the xula, chula, a word which in Malay and Javanese signifies a horn, or a homy protu-
berance, like the horn of the rhinoceros. The name of one of the islands, XuUa-bAsi,
would, in this case, be Chula-b^ literally, " iron horn." Another of the islands is
called Xulla-mangola, and this is probably meant for Chula-manggala, which, in
Javanese, would Im literally "elephant horn," for in that language manggala is one of
several synonyms for the elephant The name of the third, Xulla-taliabo, is not so
clear, but it may be meant for Chula-t&rlabuh, or Chula-t&labuh, which would literally
be, " horn let fall" or " horn at anchor.**
YAM 448 ZAMBALES
Y.
YAM (DIOSCOEEA). This plant is universally cultivated among all the tribo,
and generally most so where rioe is least abundant, but it no where forma tbe chief
bread of the people, as rioe, maiz, or sago do. The batata, indeed, and I think jnstij,
is preferred to it The Malay and Javanese name, ubi or uwi, extends not only to tbe
languages of the Malay and Philippine Islands, but to those of the Pacific, and to Mada-
gascar. In the Philippine laoguAges the name is identical with that in the Malay ; in
the Tonga it is ufi ; in Uie Tahiti eiii ; in the New Zealand the same as in Javaneae, namely,
uwi ,' in the language of New Ireland u, and in the Madagascar uvi With all th^
varieties of pronunciation there can be no doubt of the virtual identity of the name. It
is probable that several species of Diosoorea are natives of the Malayan Archipelago,
but that the culture originated with one people, and was direcUy or indirectly
disseminated by them, seems likely from tbe universality of the name. It may be
remarked, that in the language of Madagascar, a wild yam is called uvi-ala, which ia,
without doubt, the Uwi-alas— the wild or forest yam of the Javanese, with the elisioD
of the final consonant, conformably to the genius of Malagasi pronunciation. He
word ubi, besides being applied specifically to the yam, is used as a generic for fari-
naceous roots. Thus the batata, or Convolvulus batatas, is called by the Malays Ubi-
jawa, or the Javanese yam, to distinguish it from the Dioscorea.
YAMORA. The name of a mountain on the norths-eastern side of Sumatra,
within the territory of Achin, and not feur from the western end of the island. It is
the Golden Mount, or Queen's Mount of our navigators, and, rising to the height of
5250 feet above the level of the sea, is a conspicuous land-mark to the mariner.
YOGYAKARTA, oe AYOGY AKARTA is the name of the capital of one of the
two native princes of Java, who still retain the administration of their own territories,
— the same party who assumes the title of Sultan. The town is situated in the plain
which extends from the volcanic mountain M&rapi to the southern coast, from which
it is distant about twelve miles. It consists of the Kraton, or walled palace of the
prince, which is in itself a considerable town, and of several quarters or doses, being
an aggregate, in short, of large villages, with wide streets, or rather roads, dividing them
from each other. When I represented the British government at the court of the prince
in question, in 1816, the population amounted to about 85,000, much of it consisting
of retainers and followers of the court and chieftains. I have seen no recent account
of it, but, as there have been since, large cessions of territoiy to the European power,
it is probable that the population has not much increased. By the census of Java,
made in 1850, the population of the whole territory of the Sultan was computed to
be 864,045, and the area of the principality being 926 square nules, we have a ralative
population of better than 398 to the square mUe. Yogyakarta, or, as the Dutch write
the name, with a clumsiness and inaccuracy not usual in their orthography of Malayan
words, Djocjacarta, was founded only in 1755, when a long rebellion was brought to a
close bv a compromise, in which the territories of the Susunan, or Emperor of Java,
as he has been called by some European writers, were partitioned between two
princes of the same fiuuily. The name is Sanscrit, the first part of it, Ayugya, being a
corruption of Ayudya, the kingdom of the Hindu demi-god Rama, and the same which
we ourselves write as Oude. The last part, karta, means labour or woric
z.
2AMBALES. The name of the most westerly proyinoe of the Island of Luzon.
It is washed by the sea of China, and extends from latitude 14'' 45' to Id"* 24', and
from longitude 119** 84' to 120'' 18. To the north, it includes the western shore of
the great Gulf of Lingayen, and to the south the bay of Sulig. This last penetntes the
island to the depth of forty miles, and at its mouth, its width is but five miles, while
"within it widens to double that breadth. This bay, protected at its extremity, forms
a safe harbour against all winds except the south-west. The province forms a strip of
land along the foot of the range of mountains called Zambales, and which run in a
direction north and south, ending to the north in the conspicuous promontoiy of
Bolino. Its length iB a hundred miles, and its greatest breadth about twenty, but its
ZAMBOANGA 449 ZAMBOANGA
area does not exceed 1200 geographical miles. The inhabitants of Zambales speak a
peculiar language of their own, but in manners, customs, and social state, resemble
the other civilised nations of Luzon. On the arrival of the Spaniards, they were found
in possession of a wiitten language, and some poetical composition& ^e Zambales
range of mountains, and its valleys, are occupied by some tribes of Negritos, and
by the brown or Malayan tribes called Igorrotes and Cimmarones. The mountains
themselves are steep and rugged, but the land between them and the sea, forming the
main part of the province, is fertile, well watered, and suited to the growth of rice,
the sugar-cane, and even to wheat in its more elevated parts. In 1818, Zambales con-
tained a population of no more than 18,841, and this, in 1846, had increased to the
extraordinaiy number of 95,260, of whom 8494 paid the capitation tax. The relative
population is but seventy-nine to the square geographical mile. The chief town of
Zambales is Iba, or Yba, in north latitude W 19' 45' , and east longitude 119*' 51'. It
is situated on a river navigable for small craft only, and distant from its mouth about
three quarters of a league.
Z AMBOANGA. The name of a Spanish province of Mindano, forming the sonth-
western extremity of that island. The clunate is described as hot, but healthy, being
a good deal tempered by regular land and sea breezes. It is beyond the region of
typhoons, and is, strictly speaking, the only part of the Spanish Philippines that is
wholly so. Water is abundant, and the soil described as fertile, but neither its
exported produce or number of inhabitants afford satisfactory evidence of this. The
area of the province has not been stated, and most probably has never been ascer-
tained. The greater part of the territory is inhabited by wild tribes, not included in
the registers of its population. The inhabitants subject to the Spanish rule amounted,
in 1 801, to 5162; in 1818, to 8640 ; but in 1 847 to no more than 8281 ; so that in thirty
years, instead of an increase, as in the better islands of the Philippine Archipelago, there
was a positive falling off. The principal town bears the same name, and contains the
bulk of the population of the province. It has a quadrangular fort, with four bas-
tions^ — The Island of Basilan, one of the largest of the Sooloo Archipelago, has been
lately annexed to the province. This is four leagues distant from the town of Zom-
boanga, but has only the miserably small population of 424 souls. The chief piU7)ose
of the province of Zamboanga is as a defence to the northern islands of the Philip-
pines against the piracy of the natives of Soolo and Mindano.
G G
INDEX.
A.
Abaoa, 1
Abang, 1
Abang-abang, 1
Abra, 2
Achin, 2 ; dencription, 2 ; population, 3 ;
history, 8.
Atlang, 6
Adenara, 6
Aeta, 6
Agar-agar, 6
Agila, 6
Agno-grande, 7
Agung, 7
Agutaya, 7
Alabat, 7
Alas, 7
Albay, 8
Albino, 9
Alboquerque, 9
Alforaa, 10
Almahera, 10
Alam, 11
Ambergris, 11
Amblau, 11
Amboyna, 11
Amp&nan, 11
Amuk, 12
Auambas, 12
Anai, 12
Anam. See Cochin-China, 105
Andaman, 12
Anjier, 12
Anona, 12
Antimony, 13
Antique, 18
Aor. See Awar, 25
Aparri, 18
Apayo, 13
Apo, 13
Arabia, 13
Arachis, 18
Arayat, 18 , . . ,«
Archipelago (Asiatic), 13 ; descnption, 18 ;
geology, 14 ; botany, 15 ; Jtoology, 16 ;
man of, 16 ; population, 17 ; history, 17
Areca, 20
Arjuna, 20
Arms, 21
Aroe, 23
Arrack, 24
Arsenic, 24
Artocarpus, 24
Aaahan, 24
Ass, 25
Astina, 25
Australia, 25
Averrhoa, 25
Awar, 25
Ayar, 25
B.
Ba, 25
Babi, 25
Babuyan, 26
Babuyanes, 26
Bachian, 26
Bacolor, 26
Badong, 26
Baglen, 26
Bagu, 26
Bagau, 26
Baka, 27
Balabac, 27
Balabalaga, 27
Balachong, 27
Balambangan, 27
Balambuang, 28
Balanguini, 28
Bali, 28 ; description, 28 ; plants and ani-
mals, 28 ; people, 29 ; population, 29 ;
Hindu religion, 29
B&liling, 80
Bamboo, 30
Banajo, 31
Banana, 81
Banca, 31 ; description, 31 ; plants, 31 ;
anboalB, 82 ; inhabitants, 82 ; produc-
tions, 32 ; history, 33
Bancalis, 38
Banda, 83 ; desoriptire, 38 ; geology, 84 ;
KLZi
432
KDEX.
and d ca e iipU oM, 45;
IS
Baoanta^ 44
BteaTiA, 44; un
popdatkn, 45
BMo, 46
B^tii, 46
46
46
Bawiaa, 46
Bay, lake oi; 47
Bencoolen, 47, 48
BeniuK 49
BenzaiD, 50
Besiiki,51
BeteL See Ane^ 20
Bexoar, 53
Bila, 53
BiUiton, 53
Bima, 53
Binondov 53
Bintaag, 53
Bintalo, 54
Biid of Pandiae, 54
Rrds'-nesto (escoleDt), 54
Biaaya, 55
Blora» 55
Boat^ or Teasd, 55
Boeleknmba, 55
Boeroe, 55
BoetoD, 59
Bogor, 57
Bohol, 57
BomboD. See Taal, 424
Boni, 57
Bonirati, 57
Bontheiii, 57
Boonting, 57
Borneo, 57 ; geological formation, 58 ; vege-
jrgdaeca; 59 ; animalw, 59 ;
ciaatc, 60; lioragn 8ettlBa» «>•. ;
p.^i^lxdiA, 63; hisUxjf 63
B:c -ifeaiiy, 66
B>5U«. ^« Buetaa, 56
Be--*- aad am>«, 66
Bix^M, 67
67
67
67
Brktavaia. 6S
Bnt2^ 72
Brscai, 63
Brvfiai-tovn, 70
Barkia; 73
Baii^ 73
Bcf&t^k 73
Bozia, 74
Bnid, or Bnji, 76
Bakit, 76
Balacan, 76
Boiacan tovn, 77
Boiflaa, 77
Banvnt, 77
Baracaii, 77
Baria^ 77
Buii, 77
Bank, 77
Bnsao, 77
Bnsoagaii, 78
Bntuan, 78
Buyo, 73
C.
Caooa, 78
Cagayan, 78
Cagayan Snln, 79
Cajeput^ 79
Galambuoo, 79
GalamiaDea, 79
Calamna, 79
CaUnten, 80
Galasnngai, 80
Calmgaa, 80
CSamarinea, 80
Gamboja, 80
Camel, 81
Gamotes, 81
Gampar, 81
Camphor, 81
Canaren, 81
Candaba, 81
Cannon, 82. See AxmB, 21
Capis, 82
Capsicoffl, 82
Capol, 82
Oapnlan, 82
Car, Cart, Cbatiot, 82
Caraballos, 82
Caraga, 83
Coraog-Asam, 83. iSice KanLng-Asam, 195
Gardamoma, 83
INDEX.
453
INDEX.
CarixDAta, 84
Carixnoa Islands, 84
Carixnon Java, 84
Caasoirary, 84
Cat, 84
Oatanduanes, 84
Catechu, 85
Canto, 85
Cavity, 85
^ebu Island, 85
^ebu town, 86
^ebu province, 86
Celebes, 86 ; description, 87 ; mineral and
vegetable products, 87 ; animals, 88 ; in-
habitants, 88 ; population, 89 ; history, 89
Ceram, 92
Ceram-laut, 93
Chai, 93
Cbampa, 93
Ch&mp&da, 93
Cfaeiibon, 93
Chess, 93
Chetto, 94
China, 94 ; intercourse between, and Archi-
pelago, 94; emigrants from, 96
Christianity, 98
Cimmarones, 100
Cinnamon, 100
Circumcision, 100
Citron, 100
City, 100
Civet, 100
Clove, 101
Coal (fossil), 105
Cochin-China, 105 ; description, 105 ; climate^
106 ; vegetable and animal productions
106 ; inhabitants and population, 107
stranger settlers, 108 ; character, 108
arts, 108 ; language, 109 ; kalendiur, 109
religion, 109 ; trade, 109 ; government,
110 ; Uws, 110; army, 111 ; history, 111 ;
Christianity, 112
Cochineal, 112
Cock, 112
Coco-palm, 114
Cocos, 115
Co£fee, 115
Comodo, 115
Compass, 115
Copper, 116
Cowry shells, 117
Cuheb pepper, 117
Cupang, 117. See Timor, 432
Cuyos, 117
D.
Daa, 118
Damar, 118
Damar (Pulo), 118
Dampier, 118
Deer, 119
Delli, 119
Dempo, 119
Dending, 120
Desa, 120
Diamond, 120
Dieng, 120
Dili, 120
Diseases, 120
Distillation, 121
Djllolo, 121. See Almahera, 10
Djocjocarto, 121. See Yagyakarta, 448
Dog, 121
Dongala, 122
Dory Harbour, 122
Dragon's blood, 128
Drama, 122
Dress, 124
Duck, 125
Dugong, 125
Duku, 125
Dumaran, 125
Durian, 125
Dnrian Islands, 126
Dusun, 126
Dutch, 126
Dyak, 127 ; character and manners, 128 ;
religion, 131
Dying, 134
B.
Eaolk-wood, 135. See Agila, 6
Earthenware, 135. See Porodane, 359
Ebony, 135
EcUpse, 135
Elephant, 135
Engano, 136
Era, 137
P.
Fire-arms, 137. See Arms, 21
Faiia y Sousa, 137
Pish, Pisheries, 187
Floris, 188
Formosa, 134
Fow, 139
Funerals, 139
G.
Gaddake, 142
Gideh, 142
Gambier, 142
Gambling, 142
Ghimboge, 142
Gebi, 143
Geelvink, 143
GiUbantah, 143
Ginger, 143
Gluga, 143
Goat, 143
Goga, 144
Gold, 144
Golo, 145
Gomuti, 145
DfDEI.
4.>1
INDEX.
fs^nz^^ , 145
«ir: I" •-:*=, 144
G«a.i^-pe. 144
&QaTi, 147
(rcisamm, 147
Gr.""arM, 117
tjiuitar, 147
GvnvB^ 147
GuBva^-Api, 147
, 147. 5k Anu, 21
H.
r'.xh
H^LKAHXKJu 147. SeeJUmahen, 10
Hanf vn, 147. See Alfun, 10
Hazockje, 147
Hemp. 14S
Hii-iu ^id Hmdnstan, 14S ; monexi -n
the Arrhipdaigo, 14d
HisWrr. 151
Hj^ 1^2
Hoa^T, lo3. Set Wax, 445
Hvng-.'tes, 153
Hox^ 153
LiEV, 155
Bim, 155
U'.-e. 155
Il,o.«, 155
no<»^-Xortc, 155
Bo-iafl-Sar, 156
Iloiio, 154
India, 157
Indian-o.ni, 156. SeeUau, 237
Indigo, 154
Indragiri, 157
IiviramAva, 157
Indrapara, 157
Interest of mvney, 157
Iron, 157
Iflinayes, 140
IsUm, 140
Itanegs, 140
Itapanes, 141
Itaa, 141. Ste Negroe, 294, and Aetas, 4
J.
Jacatka, 141
Jack-fruit, 141. See ArtocaipoB, 24
Jakim, 141
Jambi, 141
Jambn, 148
Janggija, 143
Japan, 143
J&pan, 165
Jara, 145 ; name, 145 ; dewsription, 167 ;
geology, 145 ; lakes and riTcra, 149 ; cli-
mate, 170 ; botany, 170 ; fauna, 171 ;
infaabitanta, 173; agricnltare, 174; me-
chanic arts, 174 ; aeienoea, 178 ; mnmc,
179; langoaee, 179;
p.Tcmment, 182 ; nataTe
i::iux*pean kistaiy, 186 ;
stnngtr aetden, 187;
1S»0
JaTaknsniaa, 192
Jii:ala. Iir2
JoLie, 192
J'jhA, 192
Joh^r, 192
Jolo, 193
Joan Sans 193
Joan del Mt/DM^ 193
Junk. 193
KImki, 193
Kidm 193
Kjeuipfer, 194
Kaiii, 194
KaUnUn, 194
Kali, 195
Kauibing, 195
Kaiiipar, 195
Kangean, li^5
Karang-Asam, 195. See Carang-
Earimon, 194. See fi*"™""| 84
Kartasoia, 194
Kasumla, 194
Kati, 1^6
Kawi, 194
Kawi ^Gunnng), 197
Eavan, 197. See Dyak, 127
Kei Islands, 197
Kema, 197
Kidul, 197
Kinabalo, 197
Kisa, 19S
Kilns, 193
KloUt, 198
Klonkong^ 193
Kint, 198
Keen, 193
Komodo, 199
Komhng, 199
Kor6, 200
Eorinchi, 200
Koripan, 200
Kotaringin, 200
KTaau^ 200
Knunan, 201
Krawang, 201
Kris, 202
Kroe, 202
Knbo, 202
KndoB, 202
Knpang, 202. Su Timor, 432
Kurimata, 202
Knti, 202
li:
; 1=4
l&S;
S3
Labo, 203
Laboan, 208
INDEX.
455
INDEX.
204
LAoca, 204
Liadrone IslandB, 204
"LoLgonYf 204
Utaguna, 204
Lta^una proyince, 205
Liaksamana, 205
LiAinoD, 205
Ij&mpuiig, 205
Li&mTmgan, 206
Landak, 206
LAngka, 207
Ijangkat, 207
Xiangkawi, 207
Language, 207
Liansiam, 214
LanTin, 214
Laut, 215
Liant-pulOy 215
Liawang, 215
Lawu, 215
Lead, 215
Ledang, 215. See Ophir, 807
Licgaspi, 215
Leprosy, 216
Leyden (John), 216
Leyt4, 217
Lignum aloes, 217. See Agila, 6
Limasagna, 217
Linao, 217
Lin gay en, 218
Liiigin, 218
Lion, 218
Literature, 218
Ijokon, 219
Lombata, 219
Lomboc, 219 ; description, 219 ; vegetable
and minei'al products, 220 ; inhabitants,
220 ; arts, 220 ; religion, 221 ; history,
221.
Lompo-batang, 221
Lontar, 221
Loory, 221
Los Batios, 222
Lubang, 222
Las6, 222
Luzon, 222 ; name, 222 ; description, 223 ;
geology, 224 ; climate, 224 ; vegetable
and' mineral products, 225 ; inhabitants,
226 ; population, 226 ; agriculture and
land tenures, 227 ; arts, 228 ; trade, 229 ;
civil divisions, 229 ; history, 229
M.
MACASSA1^ 231
Madagascar, 232
M^ilang, 232. See M&ndang, 264
Madioen, 233
Madre (Sierra de), 238
Madura, 233
Magellan, 234
Magnet, 236
Mahabarat, 236
Mahometanism, 236
Mail armour, 237
Maiz, 237
Majapait, 288
Majindano, 238. See Mindano, 277
Malacca State, 238 ; description, 238 ; soil,
239 ; vegetable and mineral products, 239 ;
trade, 240 ; revenue, 240 ; native history,
241 ; Buiopean history, 248
Malacca town, 248
Malacca Straits, 249
Malang, 249
Malay, 249 ; name and nation, 249 ; history,
250
Malay Peninsula, 258 ; name, 253 ; descrip-
tion, 254 ; mineral and vegetable products,
254 ; animals, 255 ; dimate, 256 ; in-
habitants, 257 ; population, 250
Malawar, 250
Man, 250
Mana, 264
Manchanagara, 264
Maudhar, 264
Mandur, 265
Mangarai, 265
Mango, 265
Mangostin, 265
Mangrove, 266
ManUla, 266
Mantawi, 267
M&rapi, 267
Maratuwa, 267
Mitrbabu, 267. See Bababu, 863
Marianes, 268
Marinduqu6, 269
Mariveles, 269
Marriage, 270
Marsden, 270
Martaban, 271
Maruwi, 271
Masa, 271
Masbate, 272
Masenreng, 272
Masoy, 272
Matan, 272
Mataram, 272
Maya, 272
Mayon, 273
Megam&ndung, 273
Melon, 273
Menado, 273
Menangkabo, 278
Metals, 276
Minahasa, 276
Mindano, 277
Mindoro Island, 279
Mindoro province, 282
Minto, 282
Misamis, 282
Misol, 282
Moa, 282
Moar, 282
Moena, 288
Moluccas, 288
INDEX.
456
INDEX.
Money, 285
Monkey, 288
Mod soon, 288
Montradok, 289
Mortal, 289
Mortier, 289
Mnsic, 289
Mysol, 290
Mysory, 290
N.
Naoa, 290
Naning, 290
Naranjofi (Islaa de l<x\ 290
Natal, 291
Natuna, 291
Naylgaiion, 291
Negritos, 294. See Aetas, 6
Negro, 294. See Aetas, 6 ; Papna, 328 ;
SAmang, 373 ; New Guinea, 297
Negro-Malayan race, 296
Negrofi (Islands), 297
Neira, 297
New Guinea, 297 ; description, 297 ; vege-
table, mineral, and animal products, 298 ;
inhabitants, 298 ; history, 299
Nias Island, 300
Nibung, 301
Nitre, HOI. See Saltpetre, 801
Nueva Ecija, 301
Nueva Guipuscoa, 801
Nueva Viscaya, 301
Numeration, 801
Nusa, 303
Nusa Kambangan, 303
Nusingan, 303
Nutmeg, 303
0.
Obt, 806
Oby Major, 807
Olango, 307
Ombay, 307
Oil, 307
Onion, 307
Ophir, of Scripture, 307
Opium, 312
OrAng, 314
Orftng-gunung, 314
OrAng-laut, 314
Or&ng-utan, 816
Orange, 316
Ordeal, 315
Orpiment, 816
Ox, 316
P.
Pacific Ooeak, 816
Pachitan, 317
Padang, 317
Padries, 318. See Menangkabo, 273
Pagaruyung, 818
Pagi, 318
Pahang, 318
Pajajaran, 319
Pajang, 319
Pakalongan, 320
Palawan, 320
Palembang, 321
Palma Ghristi, 323
Palms, 323
Palm-wine, 824
Pamanukan, 324
Pamaruang, 324
Pampanga, 324
Panamao, 324
Panaon, 324
Panay, 326
Panchur, 325
Pandan, 325
Pangarango^ 825
Pangasan^, 326
Pangasinan, 326
Pangolin, 326
Panjang (Pulo), 326
Panji, 326
Pantar, 826
Pantun, 326
Papandayang, 327
Papaw fig, 327
Paper, 827
Papua, 328
Paradise (birds of;, 328
Paragua, 828. See Palawan, 820 ; and
Calamianes, 79
Pari-Pari, 828
Pasar, 328
Pasig river, 828
Pasig town, 329
Pasir, 829
Pasoeroean, 329
Pasundan, 329
Patani, 329
Pati, 329
Patuwa, 330
PayuDg, 330. See ITmbrella, 442
Peacock, 330
Pearl and Mother of Pearl, 320
Pedir, 330
Pedra-branca, 331
Penang, 331 ; description, 331 ; dimati,
831 ; history, 331 ; population, 332 ;
trade, 332 ; productions, 333 ; govern-
ment and revenue, 333
Pepper (black), 333
Pepper (betel), 836
Pepper (long), 835
Pepper (cubeb), 335. See Oabeh, 117
Perak State, 336
Philippine Archipelago, 336 ; descriptioD,
336 ; geology, 837 ; botany and zoology,
337 ; climate, 839 ; inhabitante, 389 ;
population, 340 ; agriculture, 842 ; land
tenures, 342 ; arts, 342 ; trade, 343 ;
weights and measures, 344 ; government,
INDEX.
457
INDEX.
844 ; revenues, 845 ; ecdeaiastioal eeta-
bUshment, 846 ; edunUoiiy 847 ; military
force, 847 ; histoiy, 847
Pigafetta (Antonio), 852
Pilgrimage, 852
Pine-apple^ 852
Pi&a^ 858
Piracy, 858
Pisang (Palo), 855
Poetare, 855
Polillo, 855
Polo (Maroo), 855
Polyneoa, 858
Pomegranate, 859
Pontianak, 859
Poroelane, 859
Porcupine, 860
Portugal, 860
Potato, 860
Prambanan, 860. See Brambaiuui, 67
Pranaraga, 860
Prau, 860
Prau (Qimimg), 860
Prayangan, 860
Prince of Wales Island. See Penang, 881
Probolingo, 861
Polo, 861
Pulosari, 861
Pulses, 861
QUEDA, 861
Q.
R.
R^ABV, 868. See Mftrbabu, 267
Baffles, Sir Thomas, 863
Baja, 364
Rajang, 864
Rftkan, 864
Rama, 864
Rambutan, 864
Rami, 864
Ranum, 865
Bantau, 865
Rapu-rapu, 865
Rat, 365
Ratan, 865
Rawa, 865
Rejang, 865
Rembang, 866
Resin, 866
Retteh, 866
Rhio, 366
Rhio-Linga Archipelago^ 867
Rice, 368
BidnnB, 869
Rinchi, 869. See Padries, 818, and Uenaog-
kabo, 275
Ringgit, 869
Roma, 869
Romania Point, 869
Rotti Island, 870
Rumbowe, 870
Rumphius (George Ererard), 370
Rnpat, 870
8.
Sacrificb, 871
Saddle, 371
Safflower, 871
Sago, 871
Saka, 872
Sakai, 872. See Or&ng-laat, 841
Salawati, 872
Salayar, 873
Salibabo, 878. See Talant^ 425
Salt, 873
Saltpetre, 878. See Nitre, 301
S4mang, 878. See Negzo, 294, and New
Guinea, 297
Samauw, 878
Samar, 874
Bamar Island, 874
Samarang, 874
Sambas, 374
Sandal^wood, 875
Sandal- wood Island, 875
Sangir, 875
Sanscrit, 376
Saparowa,, 876
Sapi, 876
Sapongan, 376
Sappan-wood, 876
Saputu, 376
Sarasan, 376
Sarawak, 877
Sarawi, 377
Sarage, 877
SaToe, 877
Sea, the Ocean, 378
Serwati, 878
Shaddock, 378
Shafei, 878
Sharks, 878
Shastre, 879
Sheep, 379
Shield, 879. See Buckler, 78
Ship^ 879
Shrimps, 879
Siak, 879
Siam, 879 ; name, 879 ; description, 880
dlmate, 881 ; mineral products, 381
Tegetable productions, 881; animals, 382,
inhabitants, 388 ; population, 883 ; towns,
884 ; character of the Siamese, 385 ; cus-
toms, 886 ; arts, 386 ; agriculture, 387 ;
language, 387 ; literature, 387 ; scienoes^
388 ; money, weights and measures, 888 ;
religion, 889 ; government, 390 ; laws^
391 ; art of war, 392 ; history, 898.
Siaow, 394
Sibiru, 804
Sibuyan, 894
Silk, 394
Silver, 895
H H
INDEX.
458
INDEX.
Singalang, 895
Singapore^ 895 ; name, 895 ; deacriptiony
895; gedlo(^cal foimatioin, 895; dlmate^
896; plants, 897; zoology, 897; agri-
caLtoie, 898 ; mannfiEMJtiirefl, 400 ; trade,
400 ; popolation, 400 ; gOYemment^ 401 ;
rerennes, 401 ; history, 402
^gasari, 403
Singkel, 403
Singkep, 404
Sipora, 404
Siwa, 404
Slama1> 40. Su Tegal, 428
Slaveiy, 404
Sling, 405
Small-pox, 405
Soldier, 405
Solo, dty, 406. See Soiakarta
Solo^ riyer, 406
Solor, 406
Sooloo Archipelago, 406
Sooloo Island, 406
Sorsogon, 408
Spear, 409
Steel, 409
Snbig, 409
Sugarcane and sngar, 409
Snkadana, 412
Snkapora, 412
Sokawati, 412
Snkn temples, 412
Solphnr, 412
Snltan, 418
Sulok, 418. See Sooloo, 406
Somatra, 418; name, 418; description, 414;
geological formation, 414; mineral pro-
ducts, 417 ; Tegetable poradncts, 417 ;
animals, 417 ; inhabitants, 417 ; popu-
lation, 418; agricoltaxe, 418 ; history, 419
Samba, 420. See Sandal-wood Island, 875
Sombawa, 420
Snmbing^ 421
Snmero, 421
Sunda, 421
Snndara, 422
Snngai, 428
Snngora, 428
Surabaya, 428
Snxakarta, 428. See Solo, 406
Snrigao, 428
Surigap, 428
Sword, 423
T.
Tail, 424
Taal de Bombon, 424
Tabanan, 425. Su Bali, 28
Tagala, 425
Talang, 425
Tamarind, 425
Tambalan, 425. See Timbalan, 481
Tanah, 425
Tftnah-laut, 425
Tanahkeke, 426
Tangamns, mountain, 426
TangknlMm-pran, 426
Tanjmig, 426
Tapannly, 426
TllpaiaDg, 426
Tapir, 426
Taiakan, 426
Tasman (Abel), 426
Tattooing, 426
Tawall, 427
Tawi-tawi, 427
Tayabas, 427
Tea, 427
TeiOc, 428
Tegal, 428
Telinga, 428. See Kling, 198
Tengir, 428
Tenimber, 429
Tennaaserim, 439
Tenure of land, 429
Temate, 480
TextQe material^ 431
Ticao, 481
Tidor, 431
Tiger, 481
Timbalan, 481. See Tambalan, 425
Timoan, 482
Timnr, 482
Timur-lanl^ 435. See Tenimber, 429
Tin, 435
Tingi, 436
Tobacco, 486
Tomboro, 437
Tondo, 438
Tortoise-sheQ, 438
Town, 489. See (Sty, 100 ; and YiUagev
448
Trade, 489
Tringano, 440
Tripang, 440
Trotto, 440
Trabn, 440
Tnban, 441
Toraja, 441
Turkey, the^ 441
Tvwajn, 441
Typhoon, 441
U.
IJjcira, 442
Umbrella, 442. See Payimg, 330
Ungaang, 442
V.
YiiLKsm (Francis), 443
Yarela, 443
Venerea, 443
Tillage, 448
Viacaya (Nneva), 444. See Nnem Vlscsy*,
801
Volcanos, 444
INDEX.
459
INDEX.
W.
'WA^KXJOMf 444
Yfa^xL, 444. See Tawign, 441
MV^ar, 444
^Waz (Bees'), 445. See Honey, 158
YTay (Pulo), 445
^Wajang^ 445
W^ayang (Chmung), 445
Weaving; 445
Weijglits and MeasureB, 446
Wetter, 447
Wheat, 447
Widadkren, 447
Wilis, 447
Wowoni, 447
Wrildng, 447. See Language, 207
X.
XULLA, 447
Y.
Tax, 448
Tamora, 448
Togyakarta, 448
Z.
Zakbalss, 448
Zamboanga, 449
THB END.
BRAPBVRT AND KVAHS, ntllfTICM, WTTITBrRIABil.
SAMUEL & JAMES GRIFFIN,
NAVr BOOKSELLERS,
STATIONERS, BINDERS, & PRINTERS,
82, Queen Street,
PORTSEA.
S. & J. GRIFFIN beg to call the attention of the Officers of
Her Majefty*s Navy to their New and Enlarged Stock of Naval
Worksy Atlafes, Maps, Books of Reference and General Literature.
A great variety of Defpatch Writing Boxes of improved con-
ftru£lion, Deiks, Travelling and Note Cafes in Ruilia, Morocco, and
other Leather.
The Stock of Stationery is of the first defcription and quality.
To the binding of Ships* Books careful attention is specially
dire^ed.
Manufcript Books, Journals, Log Books, &c., in great variety.
Foreign Paper and Envelopes. Printed Log and Watch Bills.
Patent Inkftands, Mordants Deik Pencils, and every requiiite for
the Writing Table,
taX.%»-'S. ■V.^^N. ■»
Newfpapers, Quarterly Publications, Navy
Lifts, and Magazines, fupplied to Officers on
Foreign Stations and Officers* Mefles,
