The epithetOceanicis applied to this group because, with the exception of the Peninsula of Malacca, the tribes belonging to it are the inhabitants ofislandsexclusively.
The epithetOceanicis applied to this group because, with the exception of the Peninsula of Malacca, the tribes belonging to it are the inhabitants ofislandsexclusively.
The ocean is the highway between tribe and tribe, or nation and nation, just in proportion as there is the skill, the experience, the courage and the necessary equipment for using it. As long as the mariner's compass was undiscovered the New World was isolated from the Old. To the Turk on the Hellespont, in the deficiency of even the rudest elements of water-transport, the narrow stream was an obstacle. Hence the unscientific character of alla priorigeneralizations respecting the influence of land or water as the means of national intercommunication, or as elements of ethnographical dispersions. The desert, the prairie, or the ocean, are boundaries that limit, or paths that extend, the diffusion of tribes and nations, just in proportion as there is the camel, the horse, or the ship to make them available.
How nations may effect an extension over continuous tracts of land, has been seen in the examination of the Great Turk area; how nations may effect an extensionwhere the land is disconnected, and where the ocean alone is the means of communication, will be seen in the examination of the great Oceanic area. These two forms of extension stand in strong contrast to one another.
The best way to appreciate the magnitude of the great Oceanic area, is to state that with the exception of the Mauritius, the Isle of Bourbon, Ceylon, the Seychelles, the Maldives, and the Laccadives in the Indian Ocean, and the Japanese empire with the islands to the north thereof, in the Chinese Sea, every inhabited spot of land in the Indian and Pacific Oceans is inhabited by tribes of one and the same race.
Or taking the localities more in detail, we may say that from Madagascar, on the west, to Easter Island, half way between Asia and America, and from Formosa to the north, to New Zealand southwards, in the great islands of Borneo, Sumatra, and New Guinea, in the almost continental extent of Australia, in groups like the Philippines and the Moluccas, and in scattered clusters like the Mariannes or the other islands of the South Sea, the race is one and the same—and that raceOceanic.
Add to all this, that those tribes which are found so widely spread over the face of the ocean, are so spread almostexclusively. They are not onlyeverywhere in the islands, but they are well-nighnowhere on the continent. In the Peninsula of Malacca, and on no other part of the main land of Asia, is an Oceanic tribe to be detected.
In an ethnographical distribution such as this, so remarkable for both its negative and positive phænomena, there is ample ground for speculation; and of this there has been abundance. I prefer, however, at present, to suggest a distinction between the Oceanic area of dispersion and the Turk.
In respect to the former, thelaterthe date we assign to it the more explicable are the phænomena; in other words, the more advanced the art of navigation the easier the extension from island to island.
The converse is the case with the latter. The earlier a land migration takes place, the less is the resistance of the nations around it, and, consequently, the greater the facilities of its propagation.
Divisions of the Oceanic Mongolidæ.—I think that if we base our primary divisions of the great Oceanic stock upon difference of physical form, they will not be more thantwo; although, by raising the value of certain sub-divisions, the number may be raised to three, four, five, or six.
Now as the value of the members of the Oceanic groups is a point upon which there is a variety of opinion, and as the opinion of the present writer as to its unity as a whole, is at variance with the systems of ethnologists, with whom he is diffident of disagreeing, it will be well to take more than usual pains to give prominence to the leading facts upon which the current opinions are based; and for the sake of fuller illustration to carry the reader over the subject by two ways.
A.One class of the Oceanic islanders is yellow, olive, brunette, or brown, rather than black, with long black and straight hair; and when any member of this division is compared with a native of the continental portions of the world, it is generally with the Mongol.
B.Another class of the Oceanic islanders is black rather than yellow, olive, brunette, or brown; and when any member of this division is compared with a native of the continental portions of the world, it is generally with the Negro. As to the hair of this latter group, it is always long, sometimes strong and straight; but, in othercases, crisp, curly, frizzy, or even woolly. Upon these differences, especially that of the hair, we shall see, in the sequel, that sub-divisional groups have been formed.
The social, moral, and intellectual difference between these two classes, in their typical form, is, certainly, notlessthan the physical—probably more. Thecontinuousgeographical area is,—for the black division, New Guinea, Australia, Tasmania, New Ireland, and the islands between it and New Caledonia. For the brown division, all the rest of the Oceanic area,—Sumatra, Borneo, Java, the Moluccas, the Philippines, the South Sea Islands, the Carolines, &c.
Now this is one way of viewing the subject, and it is the way which gives us the contrast in the most marked manner; the typical instances of each group being put forward.
But another point of view limits the breadth of difference.
It may have been noticed by the reader, that in speaking of the area occupied by the black and brown nations respectively, I used the wordcontinuous. This was done for the sake of preparing the way for a new series of facts. In many of the countries proper and peculiar to the brown or straight-haired occupants, there are to be found, side by side with them, darker complexioned fellow-inhabitants; blackish and black tribes; tribes with crisp hair; tribes with woolly hair; and tribes with hair and hue of every intermediate variety. Furthermore, wherever the two varieties come in contact, the black and blackish tribes are the lower in civilization; generally inhabiting the more inaccessible parts of their respective countries, and, in the eyes of even cautious theorists, wearing the appearance of being aboriginal.
1.Names.—For the lighter-complexioned, straighter-haired type—Malay.
2. For the type that partakes of the character of the African Negro inhabiting New Guinea, Australia, and what may be called the continuous localities for the unmixed Black—Negrito.
3. The tribes with any or all of the Negrito characters, dwelling side by side with Malays in Malay localities, or in localities disconnected with the true Negrito area—the Blacks of the Malayan area.
Physical Conformation.—Modified Mongolian. Complexion, different shades of brown or olive; rarely black. Hair black, and straight; rarely woolly; oftener (but not often) wavy and curling. Stature from about five feet three, to, perhaps, five feet ten.Languages.—Generally admitted to contain a certain proportion of Malay words.Area.—The Malayan Peninsula, the Indian Archipelago, Polynesia, Madagascar. (?)Chief Divisions.—1. The Protonesians. 2. The Polynesians. 3. The Malegasi.(?)
Physical Conformation.—Modified Mongolian. Complexion, different shades of brown or olive; rarely black. Hair black, and straight; rarely woolly; oftener (but not often) wavy and curling. Stature from about five feet three, to, perhaps, five feet ten.
Languages.—Generally admitted to contain a certain proportion of Malay words.
Area.—The Malayan Peninsula, the Indian Archipelago, Polynesia, Madagascar. (?)
Chief Divisions.—1. The Protonesians. 2. The Polynesians. 3. The Malegasi.(?)
Physical Conformation.—Colour—-different shades of brown and yellow. Face, flat; nose, short; eyes and hair, black and straight; beard, scanty; stature, short. Frontal profile, retiring; maxillary, prognathic; occipito-frontal, brackykephalic; orbits, angular.Area.—Malayan Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, Timor, Borneo, Celebes, the Moluccas, the Philippines, &c.Distribution.—With the exception of the Malayan Peninsula, insular. Islands, large as well as small.Religion.—Paganism, Hinduism, and Mahometanism.Social and Physical Development.—Maritime, commercial, and piratical; imperfect agriculture; never nomadic; partially industrial. Foreign Influences—Arabic and Hindu.
Physical Conformation.—Colour—-different shades of brown and yellow. Face, flat; nose, short; eyes and hair, black and straight; beard, scanty; stature, short. Frontal profile, retiring; maxillary, prognathic; occipito-frontal, brackykephalic; orbits, angular.
Area.—Malayan Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, Timor, Borneo, Celebes, the Moluccas, the Philippines, &c.
Distribution.—With the exception of the Malayan Peninsula, insular. Islands, large as well as small.
Religion.—Paganism, Hinduism, and Mahometanism.
Social and Physical Development.—Maritime, commercial, and piratical; imperfect agriculture; never nomadic; partially industrial. Foreign Influences—Arabic and Hindu.
Locality.—The extremity of the Indo-Chinese Peninsula.Population.—Mahometan Malays; Blacks of the Malay area; tribes of intermediate character, both physically and morally.Dates (real or supposed).—The foundation of Singhapura (Sincapore) 1160A.D.The foundation of Malacca, 1252 or 1260A.D.The introduction of Mahometanism, 1276A.D.Alphabet.—Arabic. Limited to the Mahometan Malays.
Locality.—The extremity of the Indo-Chinese Peninsula.
Population.—Mahometan Malays; Blacks of the Malay area; tribes of intermediate character, both physically and morally.
Dates (real or supposed).—The foundation of Singhapura (Sincapore) 1160A.D.The foundation of Malacca, 1252 or 1260A.D.The introduction of Mahometanism, 1276A.D.
Alphabet.—Arabic. Limited to the Mahometan Malays.
Respecting the Peninsula of Malacca, the most important point is the fact of its being the only continental occupation of any Malay nation. This so naturally suggests the notion of it also being the original country of the numerous and widely-dispersed Malay tribes, that any refinement upon the current doctrine seems, at the first view, out of place. Nevertheless, there is so much room for the question as to whether Sumatra was peopled from Malacca, or Malacca from Sumatra, the island from the peninsula, or the peninsula from the island, that the claims for Malacca to be considered as the birthplace of the Malays will stand over until the details of Sumatra have been considered.
Whatever, however, may be the case with the antiquity of the people, the language of the peninsula is the standard Malay. According to Leyden, it is spoken in the greatest purity in the states of Kedah, Perak, Salangore, Killung, Johore, Iringano, and Pahang. At Patani it becomes conterminous with the Siamese. The alphabet is Arabic: the literary influences are Arabic also; and the highest degree of antiquity that can be assigned to any proper Malay work is the epoch of the introduction of Mahometanism,i.e.the thirteenth century. In stating this, I by no means imply that any extant is thus old: I only imply that none is likely to be older.
The proper Malays themselves, however, are not only a new people in the peninsula, but they consider themselves as such. All the inhabitants older than themselves they callOrang Benua, ormen of the soil.
I will first give the names of the particular tribes, and afterwards introduce the more general terms expressiveof the class; premising that, as a general rule, theOrang Benuapopulation live apart from the Malays, are found more in the interior than on the coast, are darker complexioned, and are wilder in their manners.
Halas.—Tattooed, inhabiting the interior of Perak.
Jokong, Belandas, Besisik.—Somewhat shorter than the Malays, although like them. Hair black, often with a rusty tinge; sometimes lank, generally matted and curly, but not woolly. Eye brighter and more active than that of the Malay, with the internal angle but little depressed. Forehead low, not receding. Beard scanty. Legs sturdy. Chest broad. Nostrils diverging.
The Benuas are divided into tribes, each under an elder, calledBatin, there being under each Batin two subordinates, a Jennang and a Jurokra. The punishments are bloody, murder being punished by drowning, impaling, and exposure to the sun; adultery also being punishable, under certain circumstances, with death.
In the inheritance of property the custom of primogeniture prevails.
The sun, moon, and stars receive much of their regard; perhaps worship. The two superior spirits of whom they have the most definite conceptions, are named Dewas and Bilun.
A spirit has his abode in the loftiest mountains. The priests, whose power is proportionate to the superstition of the natives, are called Poyangs. The soul of a Poyang after death is believed to enter into the body of a tiger. They are adepts in the magic arts of Besawye, Chinderwye, and Tuju; this last enables them to kill their enemies by the force of spells, however distant. The Besawye consists in burning incense, muttering spells, and invoking, by night, the spirit of the mountains.
Their food is the product of the hunt, not of agriculture.
Udai.—The inhabitants of the forests of thenorthernpart of the peninsula.
Semang.—The same. Complexion dark; hair curly and matted, but not frizzled. This is what Mr. Newbold relates; premising that he had no opportunity of personally judging. Mr. Anderson and Sir S. Raffles describe this darkness of complexion in stronger terms.
The Semang of Quedah has the woolly hair, protuberant belly, thick lips, black skin, flat nose, and receding forehead of the Papuan.
The Semang of Perak is somewhat less rude, and speaks a different dialect.
More than one Malay informed Mr. Newbold that the Semangs were essentially the same as the Jokong; having the same hair, but a somewhat blacker skin.
They live in rude moveable huts, constructed of leaves and branches, scantily clothed, and fed from the produce of the chase, at which they are expert. Their government is that of chiefs or elders. The Malays accuse them of only interring the head, and of eating the rest of the body, in cases of death.
They dip their weapons in blood when ratifying a solemn oath.
White is the favourite; perhaps, the holy colour.
They are fond of music, and have two native instruments—one like a violin, one like a flute.
They use the sumpitan, having three modes of preparing the poison.
Their dead areburied, sometimes in a sitting posture; generally with their arrows, sumpitan, and their most familiar utensils in the same grave.
The remaining aborigines belong to the southern parts of the peninsula.
Rayet Laut, orOrang Akkye.—Differing from the tribes last described, only in so far as they are residents of the sea-coast, not of the interior.
The divisions political rather than ethnological—the most important being the kingdom of Atchin, the Batta country, the kingdom of Menangkabaw, Rejang, Lampong, and Palembang.
The divisions political rather than ethnological—the most important being the kingdom of Atchin, the Batta country, the kingdom of Menangkabaw, Rejang, Lampong, and Palembang.
Locality.—The Northern or North-Western parts of Sumatra; conterminal with the Batta country.Religion.—Mahometan.Alphabet.—Arabic.
Locality.—The Northern or North-Western parts of Sumatra; conterminal with the Batta country.
Religion.—Mahometan.
Alphabet.—Arabic.
The Atchin stand apart from the other Sumatrans, from the extent to which the Arabs have modified them. The Atchin kingdom, which was powerful when first visited by the Portuguese, was of Arabic foundation, and it was through Atchin that the Mahometanism of the Mahometan Malays was propagated.
Locality.—South of the Atchin country, and nearly covering the northern third of Sumatra. Conterminous with the Atchin and Menangkabaw.Religion.—Mahometan.Alphabet.—Of Indian origin.
Locality.—South of the Atchin country, and nearly covering the northern third of Sumatra. Conterminous with the Atchin and Menangkabaw.
Religion.—Mahometan.
Alphabet.—Of Indian origin.
The Battas are somewhat shorter and fairer, than the other Sumatrans; polygamists; writing, according to Leyden, from the bottom of the page to the top; accredited cannibals.
Locality.—The centre of Sumatra; the kingdom being at one time extended over almost the whole island.Religion.—Mahometan.Alphabet.—Arabic.Language.—Malay of Malacca, or nearly so.
Locality.—The centre of Sumatra; the kingdom being at one time extended over almost the whole island.
Religion.—Mahometan.
Alphabet.—Arabic.
Language.—Malay of Malacca, or nearly so.
In its widest extent, the kingdom of Menangkabaw is a political rather than an ethnographical division. To make it ethnographical, it must be limited. In this sense it is conterminous with Atchin and the Battas on the north, extended from east to west, across the whole island in (at least) some portions of it, in others, probably interrupted in certain mountain localities of the centre, and probably interrupted between the river Jambi and Palembang.
Politically speaking, the minor kingdoms of Indrapura, Anak-sungei, Siak, and Passamang, have grown out of the breaking up of the great Menangkabaw kingdom. At present, its pure and almost typical Malayan character—at least as far as resemblance in language to the Malay of Malacca is concerned—is all that will be noticed.
Locality.—South Sumatra; conterminal with the Menangkabaw country and Palembang.Alphabets.—Of Indian origin.
Locality.—South Sumatra; conterminal with the Menangkabaw country and Palembang.
Alphabets.—Of Indian origin.
Of all the Sumatrans, writes Marsden, the Lampongs have the strongest resemblance to the Chinese, particularly in the roundness of the face, and the form of the eye. They are the fairest people on the island, and the women are the tallest and best looking; they are also the most licentious. The Mahometanism of the Lampongs is imperfect; much of the old superstition remaining.
The native Sumatran alphabets.—The alphabets of the Batta, Rejang, and Lampong tribes, are generally callednative, although really of Indian origin. It can scarcely be said that they embody a literature; still their existence is an important fact. A Sumatran manuscript is made of the inner bark of a tree, prepared and made smooth, andcut into long strips of several feet in length. These are folded up afterwards so as to be square, when each square answers to the page of a book. For commoner purposes the outer rind of the bamboo is scratched with a style; often in a remarkably neat manner. The lines run from left to right, like the lines of the Hindus, and unlike those of the Arabs.
The preparation of the bark is to shave it smooth and thin, and then rub it over with rice-water.
The style is used for scratching bamboos. The pen is used for the more important writings on bark; this is a delicate twig, or the middle of some leaf. The ink is the root of the dammar pine, mixed with the juice of the sugar cane.
Locality.—North of Lampong, on the eastern side of the island.Religion.—Mahometan.Political relations.—Subject to Java; and in a great degree, a Javanese settlement.
Locality.—North of Lampong, on the eastern side of the island.
Religion.—Mahometan.
Political relations.—Subject to Java; and in a great degree, a Javanese settlement.
The central parts of Sumatra are little known; the mountain chain, however, that runs from north to south in (about) 2° south latitude, has been visited by two Englishmen, Mr. C. Campbell and Lieutenant Dane. Their observations, which are to be found in Marsden's Sumatra,[50]apply to three elevated valleys—the Korinchi country, Serampei, and Sungei Tenang. I find in them no traces of any tribe different from those already mentioned in any important circumstance.
Just south of Sungei Tenang, and east of the Rejang country is Labun, a mountain district; whilst north of Palembang, and south of the River Jambi, on the eastern coast, is a flat country covered with wood and but thinly inhabited. Now, for those who look for the wildestvarieties of the Sumatran tribes, these are the most likely localities. Accordingly, when Marsden made his inquiries as to the aborigines of the island, he heard of the Orang Gugu, and the Orang[51]Kubu.
Of these the Orang Gugu, from the parts about Labun, are the wildest and scarcest, being described as having their bodies covered with hair, and as being moreorang utanthan human beings.
The Orang Kubu are said to be pretty numerous, belonging to the other district;i.e.the parts between the Jambi and Palembang. The worst that is said of these is, that they have a peculiar and unintelligible language, and that they feed indifferently on elephants, rhinoceroses, snakes, and monkeys.
A few small islands on the further side of Sumatra require notice.
Enganho Island.—Natives described by Mr. Miller, in 1771,A.D., as taller and fairer than the Malays.
Poggi Islanders, or people of Si Porah and Si Biru.—The manners of these people are those of the Battas, except that they are more rude; and that their custom of disposing of the dead is different. The Poggi Islanders deposit the corpse on a sort of stage in a place appropriated for the purpose, and strewing a few leaves over it, leave it to decay. Tattooing is common.
The Pulo Batu, or Nias Islanders.—These are lighter in complexion and smaller in stature than the Malays. The custom of stretching the ears so as even to flap upon the shoulders, is general here. Every district, and there are upwards of fifty of them, is at war with its neighbour, and the export of slaves is the consequence.
Orang Maruwi.—The small islands of Pulo Nako, closeupon the western side of Nias, also Pulo Babi, and Pulo Baniak.—These are merely noticed for the sake of saying that their dialect is said to be unintelligible to the Nias and Poggi people, and that a minute distinction between them has been recognized.
We may now consider some of the moral attributes of the Malay race; and in doing this there is no better a division of the different forms of their civilization than the one indicated and illustrated by Dr. Prichard. The two areas which we have just considered—the peninsula of Malacca, and the Island of Sumatra—have sufficiently shown that there are,at least, two degrees in the civilization of their occupants.
The civilization of the kingdom of Atchin, and of the proper Mahometan Malays in general, is aderivedcivilization, introduced by the conquerors, the traders, or the missionaries of Mahometan Arabia; in which we have a literature consisting, to a great extent, of annals, an Arabic alphabet, and no very prominent traces of any original paganism.
At any rate we have Mahometan culture as the result of Mahometan influence, the propagators having been Arabs.
The civilization of the Jokong, and of tribes still wilder, like those of Korinchi country, and other mountaineer districts both of the Peninsula and Sumatra, is the primitive civilization—such as it is—of the unmodified Malays. Without saying, that it is nowhere tinctured by Mahometan elements, it is still an indigenous, and an inferior culture. Hence, even without reckoning the Samangs as Malay, we have two types of moral character, and two types of social development—the Jokong type, or the type of the unmodified Malay, and the proper Malay type of the Mahometans of Malacca, Menangkabaw and Atchin.
But these two types are not the only ones. Savage as are the Battas, and nearly as they approach in this respect to the unmodified Malays, they exhibit signs of a second influence. Notwithstanding their imperfect Mahometanism, the influence alluded to is not Arabic. The same influence appears in the Rejang and Lampong Sumatrans as well. I allude to their alphabets. These areIndianin origin.
For Sumatra, then, and Malacca, we have in different degrees of development—
1st. The original Malay civilization, if so it can be called.
2nd. The same as modified by Indian influences.
3rd. The same as modified by Arabic influences, engrafted, in some cases, perhaps, on the original Malay rudeness; but more frequently upon an Indian modification of it.
This order is chronological;i.e.the primitive stage was (of course) earlier than the Indian, and the Indian earlier than the Arabic.
Another principle of arrangement is the relation which the three developments bear to each other. In Malacca and Sumatra the Indian development is the most insignificant, the Mahometan the most important.
To observe how far the ratio between these types varies in different portions of the Malay area, is one of the chief points in our future investigations.
Dr. Prichard would study the three forms of Malay development in Sumatra, in Java, and in the Philippines. In Sumatra for the Mahometan aspect, in Java for the Indian, and in the Philippines for the phenomena of indigenous growth and progress. In the main, this view is a right one. A Philippine language, of all the Malaylanguage, is the richest in inflections, perhaps also in vocables; and the Philippine civilization, as found by the first Spanish missionaries, was on a level with that of any other non-Mahometan or non-Indianized tribe. It was also essentially Malay. Marsden remarks upon the great similarity between the few facts known of the early Philippine Mythology and that of the Battas. So that thus far the Philippines are Malay; and Malay in its mostdevelopedform; also in its moreindigenousform. Still they are not wholly Malay; at least their development is not wholly independent of extraneous influences. Though there is little about them Mahometan, their alphabet isIndianin origin.
Borneo, perhaps, is the most unmodified Malay island of the Archipelago.
Hence, such remarks as require to be made upon the moral characteristics of the Malays in general, as well as the necessary notices of their manners and customs, must be taken from these two islands, as they are supplied by them respectively.
The primitive mythology of the Battas.—One of the few and fragmentary accounts which we possess of any of the primitive creeds, is the following one of the Batta theology:—
"The inhabitants of this country have many fabulous stories, which shall be briefly mentioned. They acknowledge three deities as rulers of the world, who are respectively named,Batara-guru,Sori-pada,andMangalla-bulang. The first," say they, "bears rule in heaven, is the Father of all mankind, and partly, under the following circumstances, Creator of the earth; which from the beginning of time had been supported on the head ofNaga-padoha; but growing weary at length, he shook his head, which occasioned the earth to sink, and nothing remained in the world excepting water. They do not pretend to a knowledge of the creation of this original earth and water; but say that at the period when the latter covered every thing, the chief deity,Batara-guru, had a daughter namedPuti-orla-bulan, who requested permission to descend to these lower regions, and accordingly came down on a white owl, accompanied by a dog; but not being able, by reason of the waters, to continue there, her father let fall from heaven a lofty mountain, namedBakarra, now situated in theBattacountry, as a dwelling for his child; and from this mountain all other land gradually proceeded. The Earth was once more supported on the three horns ofNaga-padoha; and that he might never again suffer it to fall off,Batara-gurusent his son, named,Layanglayangmandi(literally "the dipping swallow"), to bind him hand and foot. But to his occasionally shaking his head they ascribe the effect of earthquakes.Puti-orla-bulanhad afterwards, during her residence on earth, three sons and three daughters, from whom sprang the whole human race.
"The second of their deities has the rule of the air, betwixt earth and heaven; and the third that of the earth; but these two are considered as subordinate to the first. Besides these, they have as many inferior deities as there are sensible objects on earth, or circumstances in human society; of which some preside over the sea, others over rivers, over woods, over war, and the like. They believe, likewise, in four evil spirits, dwelling in four separate mountains; and whatever ill befalls them they attribute to the agency of one of these demons. On such occasions they apply to one of their cunning men, who has recourse to his art; and by cutting a lemon ascertains which of these has been the author of the mischief, and bywhat means the evil spirit may be propitiated; which always proves to be the sacrificing a buffalo, hog, goat, or whatever animal the wizard happens on that day to be most inclined to eat. When the address is made to any of the superior and beneficent deities for assistance, and the priest directs an offering of a horse, cow, dog, hog, or fowl, care must be taken that the animal to be sacrificed is entirely white.
"They have also a vague and confused idea of the immortality of the human soul, and of a future state of happiness or misery. They say that the soul of a dying person makes its escape through the nostrils, and is borne away by the wind; to heaven, if of a person who has led a good life; but if of an evil-doer, to a great cauldron, where it shall be exposed to fire until such time asBatara-gurushall judge it to have suffered punishment proportioned to its sins; and feeling compassion shall take it to himself in heaven: that finally the time shall come when the chains and bands ofNaga-padohashall be worn away, and he shall once more allow the earth to sink; that the sun will be then no more than a cubit's distance from it, and that the souls of those who, having lived well, shall remain alive at the last day, shall in like manner go to heaven, and those of the wicked be consigned to the before-mentioned cauldron, intensely heated by the near approach of the sun's rays, to be there tormented by a minister ofBatara-guru, namedSuraya-guru, until, having expiated their offences, they shall be thought worthy of reception into the heavenly regions."[52]
Cannibalism.—Of all the tribes of the old world those of the Oceanic stock have most generally, and, I fear, most justly, been accused of cannibalism. For the sake, however, of giving the full benefit of any modified form of this horrible habit to nations that have been improperly charged with feeding on the flesh and blood of their fellow-creatures, it must be remembered that the simple fact of human flesh being tasted, does not constitute cannibalism—i.e., habitual cannibalism. It has been tasted by savage tribes under three different influences.
1. As a mark of honour—Sir Walter Raleigh writes of the Arawaks, that this was showing posthumous respect.
2. Don Ruy de Guzman, writes of the Charruas, that they were not cannibals; and what Don Ruy de Guzman states has not been definitely contradicted. Nevertheless, it has not been denied that after their discoverer and enemy, Solis, had been killed in war, his body was tasted, if not eaten. This, however, was exceptional; and was done, not for the gratification of appetite, but in the way of revenge. Charles II. disinterred the judges of his father on the same principle; that is, he did a thing against his own nature and against the usage of his compatriots, under a violent stimulus.
3. Human flesh is eaten, asfood, in some cases under incipient famine only; in others, from absolute appetite, and with other food to choose from. This last is true cannibalism.
Of cannibalism so gratuitous as to come under the last of these categories, I know of no authentic cases: that is, I know of no case where the victim has been other than a captured enemy; but then I believe that the feast is one of thecertaminis gaudia.
The evidence is, in my mind, in favour of the Battas of Sumatra being cannibals in the most gratuitous form in which the custom exists.
Head-hunting.—No trophy is more honourable, eitheramong the Battas of Sumatra, or the Dyaks of Borneo, than a human head; the head of a conquered enemy. These are preserved in the houses as tokens; so that the number of skulls is a measure of the prowess of the possessor. In tribes, where this feeling becomes morbid, no young man can marry before he has presented his future bride with a human head, cut off by himself. Hence, for a marriage to take place, an enemy must be either found or made. To this subject I shall return when treating of Borneo.
Running-a-muck.—A Malay (and with the exception of the old Berserks, of the heroic ages of Scandinavia, I know of no one else with whom the same is said to occur in an equal degree) is capable of so far working himself into fury, of so far yielding to some spontaneous impulse, or of so far exciting himself by stimulants, as to become totally regardless of what danger he exposes himself to. Hence, he rushes forth as an infuriated animal, and attacks all who fall in his way, until having expended his morbid fury he falls down exhausted. This is calledrunning-a-muck. It is evidently, if real, a temporary form of maniacal excitement; but probably, so much under the control of the will, if strongly exerted, as to be capable of being either checked or guarded against; a so-calleduncontrollable impulse, to which, if men yield in England, they are either hanged or locked up.
Gambling.—This habit, or rather passion, is shared by the Malays, the Indians, the Chinese, and the Indo-Chinese; quail-fighting and cock-fighting being the forms in which it shows itself. A Malay will lose all his property on a favourite bird; and, having lost that, stake his family; and after the loss of wife and children, his own personal liberty: being prepared to serve as a slave in case of losing.
Slavery.—Although recognised by the Mahometan religion, and part and parcel of a social system like that of even the most advanced Malays, this, in itsworstforms, is less general than we are prepared to expect. Where there are savage tribes in the inland parts of large districts, and where there are small islands in the neighbourhood of large ones, where—in other words—the normal condition of society is a state of war, slavery exists, with a slave-trade superadded. In settled islands, however, like Celebes and Java, it is generally from debt, and the consequent forfeiture of personal liberty, that the supply arises. As such it is limited both in degree and severity.
Maritime Habits.—Nothing would be expected,a priori, more than that tribes like the Oceanic should be essentially nautical in their habits. Their insular position,—their wide dispersion equally indicate this. And such is the reality. With the exception of the Negrito portion, all the Oceanic islanders in contact with the ocean, are maritime in their tastes: many, indeed, of the Negritos are so. None, however, are more so than the natives of the Indian Archipelago; and, of these, the proper Malays are the most. ThePhœnicians of the Eastis a term that has been applied to them; and it has been applied justly. The primitive vessel is aprahu; a long canoe, rowed sometimes by fifty rowers. In the pirate localities this takes the form of junk with sails, netting, and brass guns. Of the piracy, however, of the Indian Archipelago, more will be said hereafter.
Narcotic stimulants and masticatories.—Chewing the betel-nut is almost universal in some of the Malay countries; the use of opiates and tobacco being also common.
The nut of theAreca catechu, is wrapped in the leaf of thepiper betel, the first being astringent, the secondpungent. The addition of lime completes the preparation. This stimulates the salivary glands, tinges the saliva red, and discolours the teeth.
Bodily disfigurations under the idea of ornament.—Of the well-known stories of the little pinched-up feet of Chinese women I said nothing; waiting until I came to a ruder stage of society, before I noticed any of those numerous imaginary improvements upon the human form, which are almost invariably found amongst the lower tribes of our species. The Malay dress is becoming; but the Malay habit of permanently disfiguring parts of the body under the idea of ornament, is of sufficient prominence to take place amongst the characteristics of the branch.
a.Tattooing.—This is sometimes limited, sometimes general: sometimes over the whole body, sometimes confined to the arms only. In Africa the patterns vary with the tribe. In certain Malay districts, an approach to this distinction may be found; for instance, we hear in Borneo of some tribes that always tattoo, of others that partially tattoo, of others that do not tattoo at all. Nay more; the habit of tattooing seems in some cases to go along with certain other habits—by no means naturally connected with it. Thus certain of the Borneo non-tattooed tribes never use theSumpitan, or blowpipe; whilst others are tattooed, and use it. So at least Sir J. Brooke was informed; although I think the careful peruser of his journal will find that the coincidence is not always complete.
b.Depilation.—Malay, but continental as well.—Depilation is effected either by quick-lime or tweezers. Generally, I believe, the parts of the body which are meant to be kept smooth are rubbed with quick-lime; and the isolated hairs that afterwards appear, are plucked out carefully by tweezers in detail.
c.Filing the teeth, dyeing the teeth.—A Malay habit. There are not less than three varieties of this operation.
1. Sometimes the enamel, and no more, is filed off. This enables the tooth to receive and retain its appropriate dye.
2. Sometimes the teeth are merely pointed.
3. Sometimes they are filed down to the gums. This is the case with many of the Sumatran women of Lampong.[53]
It may be doubted whether this last be wholly due to the process of filing down.
Dyeing may follow filing, or not, as the case may be.
In Sumatra, where a jetty blackness is aimed at, the empyreumatic oil of the cocoa-nut is used. Even, however, if no dyeing follow, the teeth will become black from the simple filing, if the chewing of the betel-nut be habitual.
d.Distension of the ears.—Many of the tribes that file their teeth, also distend their ears. Both are Malay habits. In some parts of Sumatra, when the child is young, the ear is bored, and rings are put in. Here the process stops in England, and the civilized world. In other parts, however, the rings are weighted, so as to pull down the lobe; or ornaments, gradually increased in diameter, are inserted; so that the perforation becomes enlarged.
Simple perforation may extend to a mere multiplication of the holes of the ear. In Borneo, the Sakarran tribes wear more earrings than one, and are distinguished accordingly; "when you meet a man with many rings distrust him" being one of their cautions. Mr. Brooke met a Sakarran with twelve rings in his ear.
e.Growth of the nails.—In Borneo, the right thumb-nail is encouraged to grow to a great length. So it is in parts of the Philippines.
Such are some of the more prominent Malay customs, others will present themselves, as other islands come under notice.
Was Sumatra or Malacca the original country of the Malays?—Theprimâ facieis in favour of the island having been peopled from the continent.
The traditions, perhaps, indeed, thehistoriesof the Mahometan Malays complicate this view. According to the earliest accounts, Malacca and Singhapura were built by settlers from Menangkabaw. The two commonest accounts of the Mahometan Malaccan settlement, although disagreeing in certain details, agree in this. Inonesense then, at least, Sumatra is probably the parent state: it is probably the quarter from which the more civilized Malays of the coast invaded Malacca; and, if so, is also the earlier civilized locality. But this may be the case, without invalidating theprimâ facieevidence in favour of the continent being the birthplace of the stock. The Malays of the Jokong type have never been derived from Sumatra; on the contrary, it is very probable that the earliest Sumatrans were offsets from Malacca.
At any rate, the Malaccan origin of the earlier Sumatrans, and the Sumatran origin of the later Malaccans, are perfectly compatible doctrines.
As to the presumed date of the Malaccan settlements, it has already been placed in the thirteenth century. Whether this be an historical fact or not, it is certain that when Marco Polo, anterior to any Portuguese voyager, visited Sumatra, and described it under the name ofJava Minor, the kingdom of Atchin, at least, was powerful, flourishing, and Mahometan.
Languages.—1. Sunda, spoken by one tenth of the population, and limited to the western side of the island.2. Javan proper, falling intoa.The Archaic dialect.b.The Court dialect.c.The popular dialect.Culture of Indian origin; which, after attaining its full development, was replaced by Mahometanism, is the leading fact in the ethnography of Java.Or—changing the expression—of the three forms of development the proper Malay, the Indian, and the Arabic, it is thesecondwhich is paramount in Java.The details of its displacement by Mahometanism are historical rather than ethnological. Neither are they well ascertained even as historical facts. The date, however, is some part of the fifteenth century.
Languages.—1. Sunda, spoken by one tenth of the population, and limited to the western side of the island.
2. Javan proper, falling into
Culture of Indian origin; which, after attaining its full development, was replaced by Mahometanism, is the leading fact in the ethnography of Java.
Or—changing the expression—of the three forms of development the proper Malay, the Indian, and the Arabic, it is thesecondwhich is paramount in Java.
The details of its displacement by Mahometanism are historical rather than ethnological. Neither are they well ascertained even as historical facts. The date, however, is some part of the fifteenth century.
So exclusively have the Indian elements of the Javanese history and archæology riveted the attention of scholars, that the Mahometan influence on one side, and the remains of the primitive Malay development, have been thrown in the back ground.
The Indian elements still extant, are referable to the three following heads. 1. Language. 2. Literature. 3. Art.
1.Language.—Notice has been taken of the existence in Java of acourtdialect, theBhasa KramaorBhasa Bhilem. This, perhaps, is a phenomenon more redolent of Hindostan, than of the proper Malay kingdoms. TheBhasa krama, however, is by no means the preeminently Indianized portion of the Javanese language. TheArchaicJavanese is the famousKawilanguage. The Kawi language was described by Sir Stamford Raffles as Sanskrit, that had taken a Javanese form in respect to its grammar; and it is from the notices of Raffles and Crawford that the details of the Kawi language were first made known. This view has been reversed by Wilhelm von Humboldt. His great work on the Kawi language supplies reasons for considering the Kawi, as ancient Javanese, loaded with Sanskrit vocables.
2.Literature.—The Kawi language, an Indianized archaic, or poetical dialect, is the vehicle for that portion of the older Javanese literature which is most based upon Sanskrit models. The great poem in Kawi is theBhrata Yuddha, an imitation of the Mahabharata. The Javanese annals, whether in Kawi, or Javan, in all probability deserve the low opinion that Mr. Crawford entertains of them; as there is no department in literature where a Sanskrit model would be more out of place, than for historical composition.
3.Remains of ancient art.—Palaces, tombs, images of Hindu gods, are all numerous in Java, and all evidence of a previous Hinduism. Some of the inscriptions are not only Kawi, but Sanskrit.
To these may be added, the still living witnesses to the original Hindu worship. The Bédui of Bantam, and the people of the Teng'ger mountains still retain it, although in a corrupted form. Of the latter, the following is a description taken from Sir S. Raffles'History of Java.
"To the eastward ofSurabáya, and on the range of hills connected withGúnung Dasar, and lying partly in the district ofPasúruan, and partly in that ofProbolingo, known by the name of theTeng'germountain, we find the remnant of a people still following the Hindu worship, who merit attention, not only on account of their being (if we except theBéduiofBantam) the sole depositaries of the rites and doctrines of that religion existing at this day on Java, but as exhibiting an interesting singularity and simplicity of character.
"These people occupy about forty villages, scattered along this range of hills, in the neighbourhood of what is termed the Sandy Sea. The site of their villages, as well as the construction of their houses, is peculiar, and differentirely from what is elsewhere observed on Java. They are not shaded by trees but built on spacious open terraces, rising one above the other, each house occupying a terrace, and being in length from thirty to seventy, and even eighty feet. The door is invariably in one corner, at the end of the building, opposite to that in which the fire-place is built. The building appears to be constructed with the ordinary roof, having along the front an enclosed veranda or gallery, about eight feet broad. The fire-place is built of brick, and is so highly venerated that it is considered a sacrilege for any stranger to touch it. Across the upper part of the building rafters are run, so as to form a kind of attic story, in which are deposited the most valuable property and implements of husbandry.
"The head of the village takes the title ofPeting'gi, as in the low-lands, and is generally assisted by aKabâyan, both elected by the people from their own village. There are four priests who are here termedDúkuns(a term elsewhere only applied to doctors and midwives), having charge of the state records and the sacred books.
"TheseDúkuns, who are in general intelligent men, can give no account of the era when they were first established on these hills; they can produce no traditional history of their origin, whence they came, or who entrusted them with the sacred books, to the faith contained in which they still adhere. These, they concur in stating, were handed down to them by their fathers, to whose hereditary office of preserving them they have succeeded. The sole duty required of them is again to hand them down in safety to their children, and to perform thepúja(praisegiving), according to the directions they contain. These records consist of three compositions, written on thelontar-leaf detailing the origin of the world, disclosing the attributes of theDeity, and prescribing the forms of worship to be observed on different occasions. When a woman is delivered of her first child, theDúkuntakes a leaf of thealanggrass, and scraping the skin of the hands of the mother and her infant, as well as the ground, pronounces a short benediction.
"When a marriage is agreed upon, the bride and bridegroom being brought before theDúkunwithin the house, in the first place bow with respect towards the south, then to the fire-place, then to the earth, and lastly, on looking up to the upper story of the house where the implements of husbandry are placed. The parties then, submissively bowing to theDúkun, he repeats a prayer, commencing with the words, 'Hong! kendága Bráma ang'-gas siwang'ga ána ma siwáha sangyang g'ni sira kang,' &c.; while the bride washes the feet of the bridegroom. At the conclusion of this ceremony, the friends and family of the parties make presents to each of krises, buffaloes, implements of husbandry, &c.; in return for which the bride and bridegroom respectfully present them with betel-leaf.
"At the marriage-feast which ensues, theDúkunrepeats twopúja. The marriage is not, however, consummated till the fifth day after the above ceremony. This interval between the solemnities and the consummation of marriage is termed by themúndang mántu; and is in some cases still observed by the Javans in other parts of the island, under the name,únduh mántu.
"At the interment of an inhabitant ofTeng'gerthe corpse is lowered into the grave with the head placed towards the south (contrary to the direction observed by the Mahometans), and is guarded from the immediate contact of the earth by a covering of bambus and planks. When the grave is closed, two posts are planted over the body: one erected perpendicularly on the breast, the other on thelower part of the belly; and between them is placed a hollowed bambu in an inverted position, into which, during seven successive days, they daily pour a vessel of pure water, laying beside the bambu two dishes, also daily replenished with eatables. At the expiration of the seventh day, the feast of the dead is announced, and the relations and friends of the deceased assemble to be present at the ceremony, and to partake of entertainments conducted in the following manner:
"A figure of about half a cubit high, representing the human form, made of leaves and ornamented with variegated flowers, is prepared and placed in a conspicuous situation, supported round the body by the clothes of the deceased. TheDúkunthen places in front of the garland an incense-pot with burning ashes, together with a vessel containing water, and repeats the twopújato fire and water; the former commencing with, 'Hong! Kendága Bráma gangsi wang'ga ya nama siwáha," &c.; the latter with, "Hong! hong gang'ga máha tirta ráta mejil saking háti, &c.; burningdúpa, or incense, at stated periods during the former; and occasionally sprinkling the water over the feast during the repetition of the latter.
"The clothes of the deceased are then divided among the relatives and friends; the garland is burned; anotherpúja, commencing with, "Hong! áwigna mastúna ma sidam, hong! aráning," &c., is repeated; while the remains of the sacred water are sprinkled over the feast. The parties now sit down to the enjoyment of it, invoking a blessing from the Almighty on themselves, their houses, and their lands. No more solemnities are observed till the expiration of a thousand days; when, if the memory of the deceased is beloved and cherished, the ceremony and feast are repeated; if otherwise, no further notice is takenof him: and having thus obtained what the Romans call hisjusta, he is allowed to be forgotten.
"Being questioned regarding the tenets of their religion, they replied that they believed in aDéwa, who was all-powerful; that the name by which theDéwawas designated wasBúmi Trúka Sáng'yáng Dewáta Bátur, and that the particulars of their worship were contained in a book calledPángláwu, which they presented to me.
"On being questioned regarding theádatagainst adultery, theft, and other crimes, their reply was unanimous and ready—that crimes of this kind were unknown to them, and that consequently no punishment was fixed, either by law or custom; that if a man did wrong, the head of the village chid him for it, the reproach of which was always sufficient punishment for a man ofTeng'ger. This account of their moral character is fully confirmed by the Regents of the districts, under whose authority they are placed, and also by the residents. They, in fact, seem to be almost without crime, and are universally peaceable, orderly, honest, industrious, and happy. They are unacquainted with the vice of gambling and the use of opium.
"The aggregate population is about twelve hundred souls; and they occupy, without exception, the most beautifully rich and romantic spots on Java; a region in which the thermometer is frequently as low as forty-two. The summits and slopes of the hills are covered with Alpine firs, and plants common to an European climate flourish in luxuriance.
"Their language does not differ much from the Javan of the present day, though more gutturally pronounced. Upon a comparison of about a hundred words with the Javan vernacular two only were found to differ. They do not marry or intermix with the people of the low-lands, priding themselves on their independence and purity in this respect."
As in Java, the people of Bali took a civilization from India. Unlike the Javanese, they have retained it to the present day.
At Bali and Java, the type is unequivocally Malay. At Timor it is Malay also, but altered. The Timorians are considerably darker than the Javanese; their features are coarser, their lips are sometimes thick, and their hair often frizzy. In the islands between, occur numerous transitional forms; both in feature and language.
In respect to this last, the islands at the head of this section afford three remarkable vocabularies. 1. The Timbora, from a district of Sumbawa; 2. The Mangarei, from a part of Endé, or Floris; 3. The Ombay, from the island so called; the inhabitants of which are described by Arago as black cannibals with flattened noses and thickened lips.
In each of these vocabularies, Malay words form the greater proportion. In each of them, however, are also found Australian vocables.
The following, from the threevery shortvocabularies of these three languages, are what I published in the Appendix to Mr. Jukes' Voyage of theFly.
1. Arm=ibarana, Ombay;porene, Pine Gorine dialect of Australia.
2. Hand=ouine, Ombay;hingue, New Caledonia.
3. Nose=imouni, Ombay;maninya,mandeg,mandeinne, New Caledonia;mena, Van Diemen's Land, western dialect:mini, Mangarei:meoun,muidge,mugui, Macquarie Harbour.
4. Head=imocila, Ombay;moos(= hair), Darnley Island;moochi(= hair), Massied;immoos(= beard), Darnley Islands;eeta moochi, (= beard) Massied.
5. Knee=icici-bouka, Ombay;bowka,boulkay(= forefinger), Darnley Islands.
6. Leg=iraka, Ombay;horag-nata, Jhongworong dialect of the Australian.
7. Bosom=ami, Ombay;naem, Darnley Island.
8. Thigh=itena, Ombay;tinna-mook(= foot), Wioutro dialect of Australian. The root,tin, is very general throughout Australia in the sense offoot.
9. Belly=te-kap-ana, Ombay;coopoi(= navel), Darnley Island.
10. Stars=ipi-berre, Mangarei;bering,birrong, Sydney.
11. Hand=tanaraga, Mangarei;taintu, Timbora;tamira, Sydney.
12. Head=jahé, Mangarei;chow, King George's Sound.
13. Stars=kingkong, Timbora;chindy, King George's Sound, Australia.
14. Moon=mang'ong, Timbora;meuc, King George's Sound.
15. Sun=ingkong, Timbora;coing, Sydney.
16. Blood=kero, Timbora;gnoorong, Cowagary dialect of Australia.
17. Head=kokore, Timbora;gogorrah, Cowagary.
18. Fish=appi, Mangarei;wapi, Darnley Island.
It is considered, that this list, short as it, is calculated to contract the broad line of demarcation, implied in the following extract from Marsden:—
"We have rarely met with any Negrito language, in which many corrupt Polynesian words might not bedetected. In those of New Holland or Australia, such a mixture is not found. Among them no foreign terms that connect them with the languages, even of otherPapuaor Negrito countries, can be discovered; with regard to the physical qualities of the natives, it is nearly superfluous to state, that they are Negritos of the most decided class."
The multiplicity of languages, or dialects, spoken on the island Timor, has been noticed by most voyagers. Some have put the mutually unintelligible forms of speech as high as thirty. Unfortunately the details of this variety are not known. Such Timor vocabularies as we possess, represent the language of Koepang; the locality where the contact with the trading world both of the East and West, is greatest,i.e., with the Dutch and with the Malays. This makes the language Malay—though less Malay than the Malay of Sumatra, Celebes, and Borneo; the points wherein it differs being, frequently, points wherein it agrees with the Bima, Savu, and Endé, and other intermediate islands. Nevertheless, it is highly probable that the Timor of Koepang no more exactly represents the languages of some of the wilder mountaineers of the interior, than the Malay of Kedah exactly represents the languages of the Samang or Jokong.
When the wilder inhabitants are represented at all, they are represented as approaching the character of the Negro.
On the other hand some are fairer than the generality. Both these are phenomena that we have either seen before, or shall see in the sequel—in the Samang of Malacca, and the Dyaks of Borneo, as well as in Durville's Arafuras of Celebes.
In one particular village, near the north-eastern extremity, Mr. Earle found red hair, a specimen of which was in the possession of Dr. Prichard. In noting this, we must also note the habit of colouring the hair, which will be shown in the sequel to be a Papua custom.
Curly hair also was met with by the same observer; and so was coarse bushy hair; those tribes where it was found being the tribes that suffered from the oppression of the others, and which supplied them with slaves.
From an English sailor who lived sometime in Timor Laut as a prisoner and a slave, I had the opportunity of collecting a few facts concerning Timor Laut, orTimor of the Sea. The numerals, which was all he knew of the language, were Malay. The people he described as dark, but not so dark as some of the slaves, whom they were in the habit of either purchasing or stealing. He knew of no second race, nor of any second language in the island.
For the Serwatty and Ki Islands, the best, indeed, nearly the only information, is to be collected from the voyage of theDurga, and from subsequent observations by Mr. Earle, the translator of the Voyage, and himself an independent investigator. Here, with one exception, the personal appearance was that of the Javanese and Bugis.
The language throughout, which was particularly investigated, is Oceanic,i.e., approaching the Malay or the Polynesian. The Kissa dialect, the one best known in detail, exhibited some letter-changes, which will be found frequent in the Polynesian, viz.,hfors,kfort,wforb, along with the ejection of the finalng.
Moa is one of the Serwatty group; and it forms the exception just noticed. In Moa, and in Moa alone, did Mr. Earle find the coarse bushy hair, the dark complexion, and the muddy sclerotica that suggested the idea of a Papua[55]intermixture. The Moa people are oppressed and kidnapped by the natives of the neighbouring island of Letti.
Subsequent enquiry showed that they had migrated from the south side of Timor.
Like the last, the Arru Isles are known to us, from the voyage of theDurga, and Mr. Earle's notices. He especially excepts them from the category of the Ki and Serwatty groups. In the Arru Islands, he recognised Papua characters, and refers them to Papua intermixture. In the southern part of the group this is most conspicuous.
Timor, and the Arru Islands bring us to Australia, and New Guinea, parts of Kelænonesia, or true Negrito areas. How far the transition from the Oceanic tribes of the Protonesian to the Oceanic tribes of the Negrito type, both in the way of language and physical conformation, is abrupt or gradual, is to be studied in the islands last enumerated. At present we will return to Java, and follow the Malay population in a different direction,i.e.from south to north, rather than from east to west.
Of all the portions of the Indian Archipelago, the vast island of Borneo, the greatest in the world after Australia, and lying under the Equator, presents us with the Malay development on the largest scale.
In the exceeding paucity of the elements of Indian culture it stands in remarkable opposition to Java, and even to Celebes and the Philippines, whilst the Mahometan influences are extended but little beyond the large towns and the coast. Hence the central parts are Malay in the most unmodified form; even as the Batta districts of Sumatra are Malay.
Our knowledge, however, has by no means been proportionate to the number and variety of facts capable of being elicited. Indeed, with the exception of New Guinea, Central Africa, and parts of South America, Borneo has been, to the ethnologist, the darkest area in the world. That there were Mahometan Malays in the towns, that there were pirates on the coast, and that there wereDyaksin the interior has, until lately, been the sum of our information. As far as it goes this is true. In addition, however, there has been (and continues to be) a belief in the existence ofBlacksin the more inaccessible parts of the mountains, especially the Kenebalow range.
As to the vocabularies, scanty as they were (and are), they have always been sufficient to prove a Malay origin, for such tribes as they represented. Whether, however, the population was homogeneous throughout, or whetherthere was a second (so-called) race, analogous to the Samangs of Malacca was uncertain.
The publication of the observations of the Rajah of Sarawak, and of his visitors, has dispelled much darkness. Still the light is imperfect; or, rather, it is partial. What we now know we know in detail, and on authoritative evidence; our knowledge being, chiefly, for the north-western coast, from Pontianak, on the Equator, to the parts round the Kenebalow mountain on the northern extremity of the island.
I shall just give so much of Sir J. Brooke's observations as bear upon those points wherein the ethnology of Borneo either explains or differs from that of Sumatra.
The Borneo equivalents to the Battas of Sumatra are the Dyaks; a term applied by the Mahometan Malays to the non-Mahometan portion of the population. The utter absence of an alphabet is the first point of distinction. Thecomparativeabsence of a Hindoo mythology is the second. Fragmentary and distorted as is the Hindu Pantheon in Sumatra, it has had still less influence in Borneo. However, it exists in the termsJowataandBattara(at least), and in certainrealelements of the Dyak creed as well. These names are connected with the cosmogony—when Jowata took the earth in both hands, and the right handful became man, the left, woman. Below the earth is Sabyan; where the houses are fitted up with moskito curtains, and where there are other creature-comforts besides. Euhemeristic elements are superadded. The memory of great chieftains is held in superstitious reverence; Beadum being one of them. Numerous details in the way of superstitions, regarding charms and omens, and the ceremonies attendant upon births, deaths, and marriages, fill up the picture of the paganism ofBorneo. I am not aware, however, that any of them, curious as they are, are of sufficient importance to indicate either new ethnological affinities in respect to the tribes that adopt them, or to induce us to refine upon old ones. Indeed, the customs, as between tribe and tribe, are far from being uniform; as, for instance, in regard to the burial of the dead. Some burn the corpse, but without any ceremonies. Others place it in a light coffin, suspended on the bough of a tree, and so leave it. In some cases the forms are few or none. In others they are preeminently elaborate.
As a mark of distinction between different tribes, two customs take a prominent place: the habit of tattooing, and the use of the sumpitan.
The first is either general, or limited to certain parts of the body. In some tribes it is not adopted at all.
The second is a pipe, about five feet long; with an arrow made of wood; thin, light, sharp-pointed, and dipped in the poison of the upas-tree. As this is fugacious, the points are generally dipped afresh when wanted. At least five arrows can be discharged in the time required for loading and firing a musket. For about twenty yards the aim is so true, that no two arrows shot at the same mark will be above an inch or two apart. The utmost range is one hundred yards. The poison is virulent, but not deadly.
In many cases the use of the sumpitan (which is by no means universal) and the habit of tattooing go together.
Numerous otherdifferentiæ, equally important (or unimportant), may be collected from any of the recent works on Borneo.
Head-hunting.—This is one of the Malay habits, which is better studied in Borneo than elsewhere. The earliestwriters describe the Dyaks as being cannibals, and something more; as being hunters of their kind, not merely for the sake of an unnatural feast, but simply for the sake of collecting heads as articles ofvirtù. Something of this sort, in the way of gratuitous bloodshed, we have seen in Sumatra, and something of the sort we shall find in the Philippines, and (I fear) elsewhere also.
In Borneo it is one of the essential elements of courtship. Before a youth can marry he must lay at the feet of his bride elect, the head of some one belonging to another tribe, killed by himself. According, then, to theory, every marriage involves a murder. I believe, however, that the practice is less general than the theory demands. Still a morbid passion for the possession of human heads is a trait of the Dyak character. Skulls are the commonest ornaments of a Dyak house, and the possession of them the bestprimâ facieevidence of manly courage.
There is, then, a continual cause of bloodshed on land, and there is piracy by sea; the northern parts of Borneo, and the Sulu Archipelago, being the chief seats of the latter. Indeed the corsairs that give a dangerous character to the Indian Archipelago are almost all from these parts.
These two forms of warfare, the chronic state of hostility for the parts inland, and the system of robbery on the high seas, supply some of the elements of an explanation of the system just noticed; to which may be added the division of the population into a multiplicity of distinct tribes. Still, it is so good a rule to receive with scepticism all accounts that violate the common feelings of human nature, that I allow myself to believe that causes, as yet imperfectly understood, modify and diminish a practice sohorrible as the one in question. That it should be so general as the theory demands is incompatible with the proportions between the male and female population, which are much the same in Borneo as elsewhere. So it is, also, with the express statement of Sir J. Brooke, who says, that the passion for heads has much diminished amongst certain of the Sarawak tribes. In one case, an offer of some was refused; the reason alleged being that it would revive fresh sorrows. The parties who thus declined, gave a favourable account of some of the customs by which the horrors of a Dyak war were abated:—