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reft, on the back of the head, for that purpose. A comb, often of tortoifefhell, and fometimes filagreed, helps to prevent it from falling down. The hair of the front, and of all parts of the head, is of the fame length, and when loofe, hangs together behind, with most of the women, in very great quantity. It is kept moift with oil, commonly of the coco-nut, but thofe perfons who can afford it make ufe of an empyreumatic oil extracted from gum Benjamin, as a grateful perfume. They wear no covering, except ornaments of flowers, which, on particular occafions, are the work of much labour and ingenuity. The head dreffes of the dancing girls by profeffion, who are ufually Javans, are very artificially wrought, and as high as any modern English lady's cap, yielding only to the feathered plumes of the year 1777. It is impoffible to defcribe in words these intricate and fanciful matters, so as to convey a juft idea of them. The flowers worn in undrefs are, for the most part, ftrung in wreaths, and have a very neat and pretty effect, without any de gree of gaudinefs, being ufually white or pale yellow, fmall, and frequently only half blown. Those generally chofen for these occahons, are the boongoo-tanjong and boongo-melloor: the boongo-choompaco is used to give the hair a fragrance, but is concealed from the fight. They fometimes combine a variety of flowers in fuch a manner as to appear like one, and fix them on a single stalk; but these, being more formal, are lefs elegant, than the wreaths.

Among the country people, paricularly in the fouthern countries,

the virgins (orang gaddees, or goddeffes, as it is ufually pronounced) are distinguished by a fillet which goes across the front of the hair, and fastens behind. This is commonly a thin plate of filver, about half an inch broad: thofe of the firft rank have it of gold, and thofe of the lowest clafs have their fillet of the leaf of the neepab

tree.

Befides this peculiar ornament, their state of pucelage is denoted by their having rings or bracelets of filver or gold on their wrifts. Strings of coins round the neck are univerfally worn by children, and the females, before they are of an age to be clothed, have, what may not be inaptly termed, a modefty-piece, being a plate of filver in the fhape of a heart, hung before by a chain of the fame me tal, paffing round the wait. The young women in the country villages manufacture themselves the cloth that conftitutes the principal, and often the only part of their drefs, or the cayen farrong, and this reaches from the breast no lower than the knees. Thofe worn by the Malay women, and men alfo, come from the Bugguefs iflands to the eastward, and with them extend as low as the feet; but here, as in other instances, the more fcrupulous attention to appearances does not accompany the fuperior degree of real modefty.

Both fexes have the extraordinasy custom of filing and otherwife disfiguring their teeth, which are naturally very white and beautiful, from the fimplicity of their food. For a file, they make ufe of a small whetstone, and the patients lie on their back during the operation. Many, particularly the women of the Lampoon Coun

try, have their teeth rubbed down quite even with the gums; others have them formed in points, and fome file off no more than the outer coat and extremities, in order that they may the better receive and retain the jetty blacknefs, with which they almoft univerfally adorn them. The black ufed on thefe occafions is the empyreumatic oil of the coco-nut fhell. When this is not applied, the filing does not, by deftroying what we term the enamel, diminish the whitenefs of the teeth. The great men fometimes fet theirs in gold, by cafing, with a plate of that metal, the under row; and this ornament, contrafted with the black dye, has, by lamp or candle light, a very fplendid effect. It is fometimes indented to the shape of the teeth, but more ufually quite plain. They do not remove it either to eat or fleep.

At the age of about eight or nine, they bore the ears of the female children; which is a ceremony that must neceffarily precede their marriage. This they call betenday, as they call filing their teeth bedabong; both which operations are regarded in the family, as the occafions of a festival. They do not here, as in fome of the adjacent iflands, (of Neas in particular) increase the aperture of the ear to a monftrous fize, fo as in many instances to be large enough to admit the hand, the lower parts being ftretched till they touch the fhoulders. Their car-rings are mostly of gold filagree, faftening, not with a clafp, but in the manner of Auds.

Difference in Character between the Malays, and other Sumatrans; from the fame Author.

T

HE Malay and native Su

matran differ more in the features of their mind than in thofe of their perfon. Although we know not that this ifland, in the revolutions of human grandeur, ever made a distinguished figure in the hiftory of the world, (for the Achenefe, though pow erful in the fixteenth century, were very low in point of civilization) yet the Malay inhabitants have an appearance of degeneracy, and this renders their character totally different from that which we conceive of a savage, however juftly their ferocious fpirit of plunder on the eastern coaft, may have drawn upon them that name. They feem rather to be finking into obfcurity, though with opportunities of improvement, than emerging from thence, to a ftate of civil or political importance. They retain a strong share of pride, but not of that laudable kind which reftrains men from the commiffion of mean and fraudulent actions. They poffefs much low cunning and plaufible duplicity, and know how to dif femble the ftrongest paffions and most inveterate antipathy, beneath the utmoft compofure of features, till the opportunity of gratifying their refentment offers. Veracity, gratitude, and integrity, are not to be found in the lift of their virtues, and their minds are almost totally strangers to the fentiments of honour and infamy. They are jealous and vindictive. Their courage is de

fultory,

fultory, the effect of a momentary enthufiafm, which enables them to perform deeds of incredible defperation; but they are ftrangers to that fteady magnanimity, that cool heroic refolution in battle, which conftitutes in our idea the perfection of this quality, and renders it a virtue. Yet it muft be obferved, that from an apathy almost paradoxical, they fuffer under fentence of death, in cafes where no indignant paffions could operate to buoy up the mind to a contempt of punishment, with aftonishing compofure and indif ference; uttering little more on thefe occafions, than a proverbial faying, common among them, expreffive of the inevitability of fate apoo boolee booat?" To this ftoicifm, their belief in predeftination, and very imperfect idea of a future, eternal exiftence, doubtless contribute.

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Some writer has remarked, that a resemblance is ufually found, between the difpofition and qualities of the beails proper to any country, and thofe of the indigenous inhabitants of the human fpecies, where an intercourfe with foreigners has not deftroyed the genuineness of their character. The Malay may be compared to the buffalo and the tiger. In his domeftic ftate, he is indolent, ftubborn, and voluptuous as the former, and in his adventurous life, he is infidious, blood-thirsty, and rapacious as the latter. Thus the Arab is faid to refemble his camel, and the placid Gentoo his

COW.

The original Sumatran, though he partakes in fome degree of the Malay vices, and partly from the contagion of example, poffeffes many exclufive virtues; but they are more properly of the negative than the pofitive kind. He, is mild, peaceable, and forbearing, unless his anger be roufed by violent provocation, when he is implacable in his refentments. He is temperate and fober, being equally abftemious in meat and drink. The diet of the natives is moftly vegetable; water is their only beverage; and though they will kill a fowl or a goat for a ftranger, whom perhaps they never faw before, nor ever expect to fee again, they are rarely guilty of that extravagance for themfelves; not even at their feftivals (bimbang), where there is a plenty of meat, do they eat much of any thing but rice. Their hofpitality is extreme, and bounded by their ability alone. Their manners are fimple; they are generally, except among the chiefs, devoid of the Malay cunning and. chicane; yet endued with a quicknefs of apprehenfion, and on many occafions difcovering a confiderable degree of penetration and sagacity. In refpect to women, they are remarkably continent, without any fhare of infenfibility. They are modeft; particularly guarded in their expreflions; courteous in their behavior; grave in their deportment, being feldom or never excited to laughter; and patient to a great degree. On the other hand, they are litigious;

*In the hiftory of the Portuguese wars in this part of the east, there appears fome exception to this remark, and particularly in the character of Lacfemanna, who was truly a great man, and moft confummate warrior.

indolent;

indolent; addicted to gaming; dishoneft in their dealings with ftrangers, which they efteem no moral defect; suspicious; regardlefs of truth; mean in their tranfactions; fervile; though cleanly in their perfons, 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 not neceffitous; nature fupplying with extraordinary facility, whatever he has made requifite for their existence. Science and the arts have not, by extending their views, contributed to enlarge the circle of their defires; and the various refinements of luxury, which in polished focieties become neceffaries of life, are totally unknown to them *.

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ftrong, harfh, and of mixed colours, the most prevalent being a brownith red, and blue nearly approaching to black. They are fond of adorning it with strings of beads. The covering of the head is ufually the bark of a tree. The young women wear rings of tin in their ears, often to the number of fifty in each.

The food of the lower people is jaggong (maize), and fweet potatoes; the rajas and great men only, indulging themselves in ordinary with rice. Some mix them together. It is on public occafions alone that they kill cattle for food; but not being very dainty in their appetites, they do not fcruple to eat part of a dead buffalo, aligator, or other animal; which they happen to meet with. Their rivers do not abound with fifh; which is the cafe with most in the island, owing to their rapidity and frequent falls +; yet no fea-coaft teems with greater abundance or variety. Theit horfes they efteem the moft luxurious food, and for this purpose feed them with great care, giving them grain, and rubbing them well down. They abound in this country, and the Europeans get many good ones from thence; but not the finest, as thefe are referved for their festivals.

Some excellent fpecies of tim

*The Macaffar and Bugguefs people, who come annually in their praws from Celebes to trade at Sumatra, are looked up to by the inhabitants, as their fuperiors in manners. The Malays affect to copy their ftyle of drefs, and frequent allufions to the feats and atchievements of these people are made in their fongs. Their reputation for courage, which certainly furpaffes that of all other people in the eastern feas, acquires them this flattering diftinction. They alfo derive part of the refpect paid them, from the richness of the cargoes they import, and the fpirit with which they spend the produce in gaming ock-fighting, and opium-fmoking.

Some of the fouth eastern rivers are an exception. Siak is noted for a trade in fish roes, cured there, and called troba.

VOL. XXVI.

ber',

66

ber, particularly the camphire, (the wood in general of the country being light, porous, and prone to decay) are in plenty here, and their houfes are all built with frames of wood, and boarded; with roofs of ejoo, a vegetable fubflance that refembles coarfe horfe-hair. They ufually confifl of one large room, which is entered by a trap-door in the middle. Their towns are called campong," " in which the number of houfes feldom exceeds twenty; but oppofite to each, is a kind of open building, that ferves to fit in, during the day, and for the unmarried men to fleep in at night; and thefe together form a kind of street. There is alfo to each campong a balli, (as it is called by the Malays) or town hall, for the tranfaction of public bufinefs, feftivals, and the reception of ftrangers, whom they entertain with hofpitality and franknefs. At the end of this building is a place divided off, from whence the women fee the public fpectacles of fencing and dancing; and below that is a kind of orcheftra for the mufic.

The men are allowed to marry as many wives as they pleafe, or can afford, and to have half a dozen is not uncommon. Each of these fit in a different part of the large room, and fleep expofed to the others; not being feparated by any partition, or diftinction of apartments. Yet the husband finds it neceffary to allot to each of them their feveral fire-places, and cooking uten fils, where they drefs their victuals feparately, and prepare his in turns. How is this domeftic ftate, and the flimfinefs of fuch an imaginary barrier, to

be reconciled with our ideas of the furious, ungovernable paffions of love and jealoufy, fuppofed to prevail in an eastern haram? Or muft cuftom be allowed to fuperfede all other influence, both moral and phyfical? In other refpects they differ little in their customs relating to marriage from the reft of the island. The parents of the girl always receive a valuable confideration (in buffalos or horfes) from the perfon to whom he is given in marriage; which is returned when a divorce takes place against the man's inclination. The daughters, as elsewhere, are looked upon as the riches of the fathers.

The condition of the women appears to be little better than that of flaves. They alone, befide the domeftic duties, work in the rice plantations. These are preparedin the fame mode as in the rest of

the ifland; except that in the central parts, the country being clearer, the plough, drawn by buffalos, is more ufed. The men, when not engaged in war, their favorite occupation, lead an idle, inactive life, paffing the day in playing on a kind of a flute, crowned with garlands of flowers; among which the globe amaranthus, a native of the country, mostly prevails. Their mufic is fomewhat preferable to that of the other Sumatrans.

They are much addicted to gaming, and the practice is under no kind of reftraint, until it deftroys itself, by the ruin of one of the parties. When a man lofes.. more money than he is able to pay, he is confined and fold as a flave; which is almoft the only mode by which they become fuch. A ge

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