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ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY.

JUNE, 1882.

PUBLISHED HALF-YEARLY.

SINGAPORE:
PRINTED AT THE GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.

1882.

AGENTS OF THE SOCIETY:

London and America,... Tripnur & Co. | Paris,.,. ERNEST Leroux & CIE.

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List of Members, ie ae ae oe v
Proceedings of the General Meeting. sf 5. SADE
Council’s Annual Report for 1881. ve e Bs
Treasurer’s Report for 1881, e ce ext
List of Exchanges, Soh tee? Ma ieee eat
Rules of the Straits Asiatic Society, a one Babe
Journey on Foot to the Patani Frontier in 1876, by W. E.

Maxwell, ie 1
Probable Origin of the Hill Tribes of ee by John

Dodd, sit me ia Od
The History of Perak from Native oe by W. E. Max-

well, ae a Oo
Malayan Ornithology, by Captain H. R. Kelham, ee Oo
On the Transliteration of Malay in the Roman Character, rs

W. #. Maxwell, wy zx 141
Kota Glanggi, Pahang, by W. Cameron, ae weeatees 15933
Natural History Notes, by WV. B. Dennys, ae ta. | clGil
Miscellaneous Notes :—

Statement of Hast Manomep Aur, .... Ga GS

Pantang Kapur of the Madek Jakun, soe Ari

Stone from Batu Pahat, ... 53) rn GS

Rainfall at Lankat, Sumatra, oe sae wee

n t : ‘eee Nl ‘ ’ ay)

“PELE.
STRAITS BRANCH

OF THE

ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY.

PATRON:
His Excellency Sir Freprerrcx Atoysius WELD, K.C.M.G
COUNCIL FOR 1832,

The Hon’ble Cecrt Ciuementr Suitu, c.M.c., President.
EK. Breser, Esquire, tu.p., Vice-President, Singapore.
G. W. Lavrno, Esquire, Vice-President, Penang.
F. A. Swetrennam, Esquire, Honorary Secretary.
Epwin Koerk, Esquire, Honorary Treasurer.
The Hon’ble A. M. Sxryner, \
The Hon’ble James GrauaM, |
A. Durr, Esquire, Councillors.

Dr. C. TaEsrine,

C. Sterxcer, Esquire,

vi MEMBERS FOR 1882,

Apamson, Mr. W.
Anson, Mr. A.
Armstronec, Mr. A.

BaumGarren, Mr. C.

BE INTLEY, Dr. ie Be
BERNARD, Mr. F. G.

BIEBER, Dr. Bi.

Biees, Revd. L. C.
BIRCH, Mr. #. W.
Brrcu, Mr. J. K.
Bonn, the Hon’bie I. 8S.
BovttTsBes, Mr. F. R.
Brown, Mr. D.

Browy, Mr. L. C.
Bruce, Mr. Robt. R.
Burginsuaw, Mr. J.

CAVENAGH, General ORFEUR

Datmann, Mr. C. B.
Diaries) se):
Denison, Mr. N.
Dennys, Dr. N. B.

Dent, Mr. ALFRED
Dovetas, Captain B.
Durr, Mr. A.

Duntop, Lieut.-Colonel S.
Duntop, Mr. C.

EmMeERsON, Mr. C.
Everett, Mr. A. Hart

Favre, Revd. L’ Abbé
(Honorary eae
Fi.rcuson, Mr. A. M.,
Frank, Mr. ee
Fraser, Mr. J.

GILFILLAN, Mr. S.
Grauam, The Hon’ble JaAv EB;
Gray, Mr. A.

Hervey, My. D. F. A.

a
ne

Herwie, Mr. H.

Hewett, Mr. R. D.

1stose, Ge 19, OO.

Hore, Mr. W.

Hoss, The Right Revd. G. F.
(Honorary Member.)

Huuietr, Mr. R. W.

Incut Iprazim BIN ABDULLA
Irvine, The” Hom ble Gaae
C.M.G.

Joaquim, Mr. J. P.
Jouonr, H.H. The Maharaja of
(Honorary Member.)

Keupine, Mr. EF.
KELLMANN, Mr. H.
Ker, Mr. T. Rawson
Korx, Mr. Epwin
Kroun, Mr. W.
KyNNERSLEY, Mr. C. W.S.
Lambert, Mr. J. R.
Lavino, Mr. G.

Lertcu, Mr. H. R. €.
LEMPRIERE, Mr. H.

Locayn, Mr. D.

Low, Mr. Hucu, c.m.a.

Mackay, Revd. J. ABERIGH
Man, General H.
MansFie_p, Mr. G.
Maxwert, Mr. R. W.
Maxwent, Mr. W. E.
Mitier, Mr. James
Mixtvuno-Mactay, Baron

(Honorary Member.)
Mouamep Bin Manzoos, Mr.
Mouamep Sarp, Mr.
Muury, Mr. O.

Noronua, Mr. H. L.
ING ys Mine

MEMBERS ror 1882.

Orp, Sir Harry St. GEorGE,
K.C.M.G., C.B.

PanGrave, Mr. F. Girrorp,
(Honorary Member. )

Pacer, Mr. W. F. B.

Pevy, Mr. Bennetr

PrerHaM, Revd. J.
(Honorary Member.)

Prcexerine, Mr. W. A.

Reap, The Hon’ble W. H.
Ritter, Mr. E.

hoss, Mr. J. D.,. Jr.
moweunn, Dr: T. I.

Sarawak, H. H. The Raja of
(Honorary Member.)

ScHAALJE, Mr. M.

SERGEL, Mr. V.

SHeitrorp, Mr. TuHomas

SkinNER, The Hon’ble A. M.

SmitrH, The Hon’ble Cerciu C.,

C.M.G.

Sousr, Mr. T.

Sourmpro Monun Tacory,
Raja, MUS. D.

vii

Stiven, Mr. R. G.

Srrincer, Mr. C.

Swetrennam, Mr. F. A.

Syep ABoo Bakar BIN Omar
AL JUNIED, Mr.

Syep Mouwamep BIN AHMED AL
Sacorr, Mr.

Syvers, Mr. H..C.

neon. Mire Aj.

Taw Kin Coene, Mr.
Tuompson, Mr. A. B.
THompson, Mr. H. A.
Tuomson, Mr. J. TuRNBULL
Touson, Mr. G. P.
Tracusuer, Mr. H.

Treacuer, The Hon’ble H. W.
Trepine, Dr. C.

TRUBNER & Co., Messrs.

Vermont, Mr. J. M. B.

Watker, Capt. R.'S. F.
Watson, Mr. Epwin A.
Wuampoa, Mr. (Hoo Au Yir)
Wapriny. Mar Jog. L.

Val

PROCEEDINGS
OF THE
GENERAL MEETING
OF THE
STRAITS BRAN Ce

OF THE

ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY,

HELD AT THE

EXCHANGE ROOMS.

MONDAY, 30TH JANUARY, 1882.

ee

PRESENT :
E. Breser, Esquire, 1u.p., Vice-President.
F. A. Swertrenuam, Esquire, Honorary Secretary.
Epwin Koex, Esquire, Honorary Treasurer.
W. Krouy, Esquire, ; Bennreatloe.
C. Stringer, Esquire,
and the following Members :—
F. G. Bernarp, Esquire.
C. B. Datman, Esquire.
C. Duntop, Esquire.
J. Fraser, Esquire.
A. Durr, Esquire.
Manomep Satp.
H. L. Noronwa, Esquire.
VY. SeraeEt, Esquire.
The Hon’ble A. M. Sxrnnez.
Dr. C, Trestna.

Tho Vice-President, in the unavoidable absence of the President
the Hon’ble Crorn C. Ssrru, c.si.c., took the Chair.

The Minutés of the last Meeting wore read and confirmed. |

PRocwepInce. ix

The Vice-President then explained the object of the present
Meeting.

The’ following gentlemen, recommended by the Council. were
elected Members :—
Atrrep Dent, Esquire. .
Hoo Au Yip, (WHampoa), Esquire.
Epwin A. Watson, Esquire.
A. B. Tuompson, Esquire.

The Right Revd. Bishop Hose was elected an Honorary Member.

The Honorary Secretary laid upon the table proofs of the papers
to form Vol. VIII. of the Society’s Journal.

A proposal of the Council to amend Rule 12 of the Rules of the
Society is considered, and the following Rule is unanimously adopt-
ed to take the place of Rule 12, viz. :—

12. “The Council shall meet for the transaction of business once
a month, or oftener if necessary. At Council Meetings,
three Officers shall constitute a quorum.”

The Honorary cet read the Annual Report of the Council
for 1881.

The Honorary Treasurer read his Annual Report.

The election, by ballot, of Officers for the year 1882 was then
proceeded with, with the following result :—

The Hon’ble Cecizn C. Smitn, c.m.c., President.
Ernest Birser, Esquire, uu.p., Vice-President, Singapore.
G. W. Lavrno, Esquire, Vice-President, Penang.
F, A. SwETtENHAM, Esquire, Honorary Secretary.
Epwin Korx, Esquire, Honorary Treasurer.
The Hon’ble A. M. Sxixyre, \
The Hon’ble James Grinan,
A. Durr, Esquire, Councillors,
Dr. C. Tresine. oe
“CO, Srrincer, Esquire, .

On the motion of C. Duxop, Esquire, a cordial vote of thatiks

to the Chairman was unanimously agreed to.

ANNUAL REPORT

OF THE

COUNCIL

oF THE
STRAITS BRANCH

OF THE

ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY,

FOR THE YEAR 1881.

——a

Tuer Report of the Council of the Straits Branch of the Royal
Asiatic Society for the year 1881, though unsatisfactory from its
necessary brevity, and the fact that it records only one meeting of
the members of the Society during the year, is satisfactory as shew-
ing that the publications of the Society are regularly issued, and
contain matter as interesting as those which preceded them, that —
the finances of the Society are in a healthy state, and that the inter-
change of publications with foreign Societies 1s increasing.

It has been found so difficult to obtain the attendance of a
quorum at a general meeting, and failure to secure even that
limited number having dissolved more than one proposed meeting
of the Society’s members, the Council was compelled, with regret,
to abandon the idea of monthly or even two-monthly réunions for
the purpose of hearing read the papers offered for pubheatinay in
the Journal of the Society.

‘It is satisfactory to be able to oe thet the new map of the
“Malay Peninsula, published under the auspices of this Society, was
received from the lithographers early in the year, and issued to
members at half the price at which it was offered to the public.

ANNUAL REPORT. xi

A considerable number of copies have been disposed of, both
here and in England, while a few have been presented to impor-
tant learned Societies in Europe and the East.

Though this map cannot pretend to either completeness or
accuracy, it is very far in advance of anything hitherto published,
and, with it as a base to work upon, it may be reasonably expected
that, within a few years, the many blanks will be filled in and
inaccuracies corrected.

The Council takes this opportunity of appealing to all mem-
bers who are in a position to furnish interesting information—and
there must be many such—-to exert themselves in the cause of
learning and in support of the literary reputation of the Society
by contributing papers for publication in our Journal.

Our best thanks are due to those who have hitherto contribu-
ted, and who, in many instances, continue to do so, but there are
many other members of the Society who are equally able to furnish
papers of great interest, and to these we appeal.

Singapore, 30th January, 1882.

Xll

THE TREASURER’S REPORT:

ID I ION IN IN INIT

In submitting to the General Meeting my statement of Cash
Accounts for 1881, I am glad to state that the Receipts amounted
to $1,759.21, and the Expenditure to $961.56, shewing a balance of
$797.65 in my hands. j

On the 31st December, 1881, the outstanding subscriptions were
as follows :—

For 1879, ae a % 42.00
1880, a oe 48.00
1881, ae oe 120.00

Total,...$210.00

Since then, a sum of $24 has been received to account of the
subscriptions for 1879, 1880 and 1881, and there has been a sale
of 14 numbers of the Journal, amounting to $28. There were bills
for 1881, outstanding at the end of the year, amounting to $59.46,
which have since been paid. Out of the $59.46, a sum of $48.83
was paid for two packages of paper which will be used for the
No. 8 Journal of the Society. There is now in the hands of
the Treasurer $790.19, which, with the outstanding subscriptions
for 1879, 1880 and 1881, shew a balance to the credit of the Society
of $976.19. In addition to this balance, there is a sum in the hands
of our Agents in London and Paris, which cannot now be accurately
stated. }

I regret to state that several Members have been lost to the
Society by death and retirement since the last Annual General
Meeting, and that the new admissions have not been proportion-
ately numerous. Four Ordinary Members have been lost by death,
and seventeen Members haye retired, whilst no more then one

TREASURERS REPORT.

Xill

Honorary Member and six Ordinary Members have joined the
Society in the same period, so thet the losses exce2ded the acces-

sions by fourteen.

The followiag is a list of the deceased,

Members :—

retired, and elected

DRCHACED.

The Hon’ble R. CamMPprett.

Capt. P. J. Murray.

| H. Hewerson, Esq.

The Howble J. Lame.

RETIREMENTS

Resident.

Tuomas CaRrGILy, Esq.

B. M. A. Cornetivs, Esq.

Revd. W. H. Gomes.
FF. Maacx, Esq.
C. Scuompurer, Esq.
BH. Hazie, sq.

Non-resident.
The Chevalier Fssra.
JAMES J INNES, Esq.
Sir P. Benson e AXWELL.
PF. MaxweE Lt, Eoq.
ce ASO: ae. sq.
G. A. Remé, Esq.
R. L. Symes, Es}.
ated te eee Es }
[> we E. Biack, Es 2
Douieeat Haver Drouze
Major SWINBURE.

ELECTED.

Resident.

Benyett Pett, Esq.
V. SERGE!,, Esq.

J

IT also regret to state that
their subscriptions.

Of this number,

General Ornreur, CavENAGH,

R. D. Hewerr, Esq.

HE. KeLuMANN, Lisa.

Revd. J. #. MACKAY.

F. Girrorp Paierave, Esq.,
| (Honorary Member.) —

1ineteen Members have failed to pay

twelve are considered as

-having resigned their Membership in accordance with Rule 6, but

XIV TREASURER 8S REPORT,

the operation of this rule is suspended in the case of the remaining
six Members, who are likely to pay their subscriptions.
The list for 1882 contains 109 Members, that is to say, 7
Honorary and 102 Ordinary Members. |
EDWIN KOEK,

Honorary Treasurer.
Singanore. 20th January, 1882.
q 1 b, Y,

XV

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XVI

XVII

LIST OF
SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES
WITH WHICH
fae 5S) RAITS BRANCH

OF THE

ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY

EXCHANGES
PUBLICATIONS.

on

Royal Geographical Society, London.

Royal Asiatic Society, London.

North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society.
Asiatic Society of Japan. .

Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society.

The Geological Survey Office, Calcutta.

La Société de Géographie, Paris.

La Société de Géographie Commerciale de Paris.
La Société de Géographie de Marseille.

La Société Académique Indo-Chinoise de Paris.

Reale Societa Geografica Italiana.
Instituto Geografico Guido Cora, Torino.

Gesellschaft fiir Erdkunde, Berlin.
Geographisohe Gesellschaft in Hamburg.
Geographische Gesellschaft in Bremen.
Museum fiir Volkerkunde, Leipzig.

xv

24.

LIST OF EXCHANGES,

Oberhessische Gesellschaft fir Natur und Heilkunde,
Giessen.

Deutsche Gesellschaft fiir Natur und Volkerkunde Ost-
asiens, Yokohama.

Orientalische Museum, Wien.

Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen,
Batavia.

Indisch Landbouw Gennootschap, Samarang.

Het Koninklyk Instituut van taal-land-en Volkenkunde van
Ned. Indie.

Nederlandsch-Indische Maatschappy van Nyverhiid en |
Landbouw, Batavia.

La Société des Sciences de Finlande, Helsingfors.

xx

RULES
OF THE

Peet ES ASIATIC SOCIETY.

+ ——Dii-- —

I.—Name and Objects.

1. The name of the Society shall be “Tue Srrarrs Asrarie
Soctrety.”

2. The Objects of the Society shall be—

a. The investigation of subjects connected with the Straits

of Malacca and the neighbouring Countries.
b. The publication of papers in a Journal.

c. The formation of a Library of books bearing on the
objects of the Society.

II.—Membership.

3. Members shall be classed as Ordinary and Honorary.
4. Ordinary Members shall pay an annual subscription of $6,
payable in advance on the Ist January of each year.

5. Honorary Members shall pay no subscription.

6. On or about the 30th June of every year, the Honorary
Treasurer shall prepare a list of those Members whose subscrip-
tions for the current year remain unpaid, and such persons shall
be deemed to have resigned their Membership. But the operation
of this rule, in any particular case, may be suspended by a vote of
the Council of the Society.

7. Candidates for admission as Members shall be proposed by
one and seconded by another Member of the Society and if agreed

XX RULES OF THE STRAITS ASTATIC SOCIETY.

to by a majority of the Council shall be deemed to be duly elected.

8. Honorary Members must be proposed for election by the
Council at a general meeting of the Society.

III.—Officers.

9. The Officers of the Society shall be :—
A President ;

Two Vice-Presidents, one of whom shall be selected from.

amongst the members resident in Penang;
An Honorary Secretary and Librarian ;
An Honorary Treasurer, and
Five Councillors.
Those Officers shall hold office until their successors are chosen.
10. Vacancies in the above ofiices shall be filled for the current
vear by a vote of the remaining Officers.

1V.—Council,

11. The Council of the Society shall be composed of the Officers
for the current year, and its duties shall be :—
a. To administer the affairs, property and trusts of the
Society.
b. To recommend members for election by the Society.
c. To decide on the eligibility of papers to be read before
general meetings.
d. To select papers for publication in the Journal, and to
supervise the printing and distribution of the said
Journal.
e. ‘To select and purchase books for the Library.
f. ‘To accept or decline donations on behalf of the Society.
g. ‘To present to the Annual Meeting at the expiration of
their term of office a Report of the proceedings and
condition of the Society. :
12, The Council shall meet for the transaction of business once
a month, or oftener if nocessary. At Council moctings, three Offi-
eers shall constitnte a quorum.

;

RULES OF THE STRAITS ASIATIC SOCIETY. XX1

13. The Council shall have authority, subject to confirmation
by a general meeting, to make and enforce such by-laws and re-
gulations for the proper conduct of the Society’s affairs as may,
from time to time, be expedient.

V.—Meetings.

14. The Annual General Meeting shall be held in January of
each year.

15. General Meetings shall be held, when practicable, once in
every month, and oftener if expedient, at such hour as the Council
may appoint.

16. At Meetings of the Society, eleven members shall form a
quorum for the transaction of business.

17. At all Meetings, the Chairman shall, in case of an equality
of votes, be entitled to a casting vote in addition to his own.

18. At the Annual General Meeting, the Council shall present
a Report for the preceding year, and the Treasurer shall render
an account of the financial condition of the Society. Officers for
the current year shall also be chosen.

19. The work of Ordinary General Meetings shall be the tran-
saction of routine business, the reading of papers approved by the
Council, and the discussion of topics conuected with the general
' objects of the Society.

20. Notice of the subjects intended to be introduced for dis-
cussion by any member of the Society should be handed in to
the Secretary before the Meeting.

Visitors may be admitted to the Meetings of the Society, but no
one who is not a member shall be allowed to address the Meeting.
except by invitation or permission of the Chairman.

VI.—Publications of the Society.

21, A Journal shall be published, when practicable, every six
months, under the supervision of the Council. It shall comprise a
selection of the papers read before the Society, the Report of the

XxXil RULES OF THE STRAITS ASIATIC SOCIETY.

Council and Treasurer, and such other matter as the Council may
deem it expedient to publish.

22. Every member of the Society shall be entitled to one copy-
of the Journal, deliverable at the place of publication. 'The Coun-
cil shall have power to present copies to other Societies and to,
distinguished individuals, and the remaining copies shall be sold at
such prices as the Council shall, from time to time, direct.

23. ‘Twenty-four copies of each paper published in the Journal
shall be placed at the disposal of the Author.

24, The Council shall have power to sanction the publication,
in a separate form, of papers or documents laid before the Society,
if in their opinion practicable and expedient.

VII.—Popular Lectures.

25. Occasional Popular Lectures upon literary or scientific sub-
jects may be delivered, under the sanction of the Council, on
evenings other than those appointed for General Meetings of the
Society.

VIII,.—Amendments.

26. Amendments to these Rules must be proposed in writing to
the Council, who shall, after notice given, lay them before a Gene-
ral Meeting of the Society. A Committee of Resident Members
shall thereupon be appointed, in conjunction with the Council, to
report on the proposed Amendments to the General Meeting next
ensuing, when a decision may be taken.

A
meeeeeNEY ON FOOT

mer ANI FRONTIER
EN £576

A Journal kept during an Expedition undertaken to capture
Datoh Maharaja Lela of Perak.

ee

x2, N the autumn of 1875, when the recent purchase of the
Suez Canal shares was the topic of the day, an event
occurred which temporarily turned public attention upon
a very remote part of Her Majesty’s dominions in the
East. The Colony of the Straits Settlements (Singapore,
Penang and Malacca ) had, a year or two before, under-
taken new responsibilities by extending its political influence
among the Independent States on the West coast of the Malay
Peninsula. In October, 1874, a British Resident (Mr. Biron)
had been stationed in Perak. In November, 1875, after little
more than a year of office, he was murdered by Malay subjects of
the State. The crime was distinctly political, and it was followed
immediately by the despatch of a military and naval force to
Perak.

A column under General Cotgognre (now Sir Francis Cotr-
BORNE, K.c.B.) advanced up the country from the South and
penetrated as far as Kinta—Sultan Ismarz’s capital—which that

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2 A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER.

Chief abandoned on their approach. A second column under
Brigadier-General Ross (now Sir Joun Ross, k.c.B.) had advanced
as far as Kwala Kangsa in the North, when the capture of Kinta
in December, 1875, and the flight of Ismarn, rendered all further
movement of troops unnecessary. Two or three months of inacti-
vity followed, the troops occupying numerous posts throughout the
country. :

The chief object of the Colonial Government, namely, the cap-
ture of those responsible for the murder of the Resident, had not,
however, been attained. Sultan Ismarm was a fugitive in the
North of Perak, accompanied by Maharaja Luna (who was believed
to be the actual instigator of the murder) and other influential
chiefs. The part of the country in which he had taken refuge was
entirely unknown to Huropeans. Rapids rendered the Perak river
almost altogether unavailable for the transport of stores in this
part of its course, and the nature of the country, thick forest with
a very sparse population on the river banks, was not favourable
for the operations of civilized troops.

During January, 1876, the conduct of the Malays of Kota Lama
and adjacent villages rendered necessary repressive measures on
the part of the Field Force encamped at Kwala Kangsa, but after
February 5th, all hostile movements of troops ceased. Proclama-
tions issued by His Excellency the Governor offered large rewards
for the capture of the murderers of Mr. Biren, still at large,
namely, $6,000 for Maharaja Leta and $3,000 for each of five
others suspected of being implicated.

In January, a Police expedition was sent from Province Welles-
ley to attempt the capture of Sultan Ismait at his hiding-place— —
Jambai, on the Perak river. It failed, for Ismart and his retinue,
chiefly women and children, fled further North as soon as they
heard of the approach of the native auxiliaries ( Sumatrans fur-
nished by Cuz Asput Karim of Salama) who preceded the Police.
The expedition returned from Batu Berdinding (where a Chief
bearing the title of Sri Adika Raja had been killed by the advance
guard) without encountering ismaiu’s party. The latter made
their way to the frontier and thence into the neighbouring State
of Kedah, to the Raja of which they surrendered.

Maharaja Lena and the other proscribed offenders still remained

A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANE FRONTIER. 3

at large in Ulu Perak,* the most inaccessible part of the country.
All sorts of contradictory rumours about their movements were
received from time to time by the British officers serving in differ-
ent parts of Perak. At the time that Panpax Input, one of the
proscribed persons, was reported to have been killed in Ulu Perak,
information, which proved better founded, was received at Kwala
Kangsa that he was living in Lower Perak more than one hundred
miles from the scene of his supposed death. In March, Datoh
Sacor was captured, but, so far, the large reward offered for the
principal offender, Maharaja Lua, had been inefficacious.

The Larut Field Force, which had been organised in Calcutta
and despatched to the Straits in November, 1875, was recalled in
March, and Kwala Kangsa, which had for some months been the
head-quarters of a Brigadier-General and a force composed of
detachments of two Regiments (lst Battalion “The Buffs” and
Ist Ghoorkhas) besides Artillery, Madras Sappers and a Naval
Brigade (H. M. S. Modeste and Philomel) was comparatively
deserted, the place of the departing troops being taken by a small
detachment 1st Battalion 10th Regiment.

While the Larut Field Force remained in Perak, I had the
honour of being attached to it as a political officer, and it was my
duty to obtain information of all kinds bearing upon the objects
of the expedition. By the orders of the Governor of the Straits
Settlements, I had taken with me from the district (Province
Wellesley), in which I had served for two years as Stipendiary
Magistrate, a small body of Malays (British subjects) to facilitate
communications with the Malays of Perak. These men had wil-
lingly enlisted for temporary employment without regular pay, a
trifle of money in hand to leave with their families and their daily

* Ulu in this context signifies “ upper’ “ up country” “ interior.”
Other Malay words which will be used in connection with the names of
places are :—

Gunong, mountain.
Sungei, river.
Kwala, mouth of a river.
Bukit, hill.
Ayer, Water, stream.
Pangkalan, place of landing and embarkation.
Kampong, village, hamlet, plantation.
Dusun, grove.

4. A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER,

rations were all that they received. The conduct of most of them
was excellent throughout, and their merits are borne witness to by
a recent writer on Perak.*

Early in March, information reached me which described Maha-
raja Lena as living with a few followers at a place called Kwala
Piah in the North of the State. He was said to be in straightened
circumstances and reduced to pawning valuables in order to pro-
cure food. The information was communicated at once to the
Governor at Singapore, and I received orders to attempt the cap-
ture of the fugitive.

Several difficulties had to be surmounted. The country N ort
of Kwala Kangsa was little known to Europeans. Chigar Gala
was the furthest point reached by officers of the Field Force,
though the late Mr. Brrou had penetrated as far as Buluh Miniak,
several miles further North. It would have been useless to
attempt a march from the British camp as a starting point, for the
route lay through kampongs inhabited by Malays friendly to the
men of Kota Lama who had lately been in arms against us.
Through them warning would certainly have reached Kwala Piah,
even if armed resistance were not made to the advance of any
party towards that place. It seemed, therefore, advisable to take
the same route as that followed by the Police expedition by whom
the capture of Iswarn had been attempted in January, and this
havine been decided on, a trusty messenger was despatched to
Province Wellesley to collect a few men who could be depended
on. At Kwala Kanesa all mention of the intended expeduuion
was of course wnat avoided.

A week was spent in Penang and Province Wellesley busily
enough in collecting men, buying provisions, arranging for trans-
port and obtaining information. Two days after the troop-ships
with the late garrison of Kwala Kangsa had left for India, I
started with forty Malays on my return to Perak. How we fared
the following journal will tell.

Friday, March 24th, 1876. I left Butterworth, Province Wel-
lesley, at 8 a.m. in the Government Steam-Launch Mata Mata
(Watchman ), and steamed southwards for the mouth of the river

* Sarong and Kris, or Perak and the Malays, by Major McNatr, B.A., p. 263.

A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER. 5

Krian, from the head of which we were to strike across country
and gain the interior of the Peninsula. The Malays engaged for
the expedition were all on board. and, including my one-armed ser-
vant Masran, numbered exactly forty. By midday we reached
Nibong Tabal, a large village on the right bank of the river. This
was our frontier station before the recent accession to our terri-
tory of a strip on the left bank of the river. The station isa
substantial building surrounded by a loop-holed wall, a necessary
precaution here, for the Kedah and Perak frontiers are close by
and the Malays on the borders have never borne a good character.
At Nibong Tabal we learned that only the night before our arrival
a gang of Malays had attacked and robbed a house in the village
and that one life had been lost in the affray.

A short halt only was made at Nibong Tabal and then conti-
nuing our journey up the river we passed the brick pillar which
marks the British and Kedah boundary. Above the boundary pillar
the Krian river divides jtwo Malay States—Kedah on the right
bank and Perak on the left.

Padang Lalang, the first halting place, was reached towards
evening. Here four Malay boats awaited us, as the bed of the
river is much obstructed higher up by fallen trees and sunken logs
and is not navigable by craft of the size of the Mata Mata. ‘To
them, men, baggage and arms were transferred, and during this
process I landed on the Kedah bank of the river on a spot where
the forest had been cleared at some time or other, and where a
field of the coarse grass called lalang had taken its place. Fires
were lighted and the evening meal was soon in course of prepara-
tion ; at nightfall we were once more afloat. The Krian boatmen are
skilful polers and know every bend of the river and every snag in
it, so, notwithstanding the darkness, our progress was tolerably
- rapid. My boat hada roof of palm thatch aft, under which my
servant had made a luxurious bed of rugs and wraps. The regular
splash of the poles, the tramp of the four boatmen along the light
bamboo grating forward as they propelled their craft along, and
the shouts of the look-out man in the bow as he gave voluble direc-
tions to the steersman, were the only sounds that disturbed the
stillness of the night and did not long interfere with my slumbers,

March 25th. Morning found us stationary at the mouth of a

6 A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER.

tributary stream—the Serdang, on the Kedah side of the river. At
this place there are a few Malay huts, the inhabitants of which
made us welcome. Here a fine fish (called tapa* by the Malays)
of ten or twelve pounds weight was shewn tome. It had been
caught with a night line in a deep pool.

The greater part of the day was spent on the river, the scenery
being much the same as on the previous afternoon. About 3 F. M.
we reached Salama, the terminus of our river journey.

Salama consists of two substantial villages, one at the mouth of
the Salama river (a tributary of the Krian) where the tin produced
from the mines is stored and shipped, and another higher up
on the Krian river, where Cuz Asput Karr and the bulk of the
mining population live. We landed at the former and took tem-
porary possession of some wooden buildings, erected originally for
the accommodation of a small body of police, who were stationed
here until the outbreak of hostilities in Perak.

Cue Aspun Karim soon made his appearance with a few fol-
lowers, and offered me the hospitalities of his own house. I was
obliged to refuse, as much had to be done in preparation for next
morning’s march, but promised to pay him a visit next day before
leaving his village.

He was a bright and intelligent little man, rather dark for a
Malay, and with a larger share of moustache and whiskers than ~
usually falls to the lot of his race. He came over from Sumatra
in his youth, and spent several years in the employment of the
Mantri of Larut and of his father Cuz Lone Jarar.

This night the arms, ammunition and rations for the next three
or four days were distributed. Out of forty men, about fifteen
carried smooth-bore carbines, others had spears or ladings (a for-
inidable short sword) ; all carried the national kris. They arranged
among themselves who should carry the cooking pots of each mess;
the betel-nut, sirih, tobacco and other luxuries were entrusted to
the leaders. It may be useful to the future traveller in Malay
countries who has to trust to his own legs for means of locomo-

* Tapa, the recluse, or ascetic. (Sanskrit, tapasya, religious penance.)

This fish is said to be found, always alone, in the deepest and darkest
pools.

A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER. t

tion and to a party of Malays for escort, if I describe my own pre-
parations for the journey. A rope hammock and a waterproot
sheet in case of rain, a couple of changes of clothes, a boat lamp
which would burn in a gale of wind, a rough map of the country in
a bamboo case, a few tins of provisions, chiefly Liebig’s extract
and chocolate and milk, a couple of small copper cooking pots of
native manufacture and a small hand-bag containing toilet neces-
saries and writing materials composed my equipment. Rice and
fowls can be purchased at any Malay hut, if the proprietor is
friendly, but in view of possible difficulties, I hada few tins of
hermetically sealed provisions. Native cooking pots are much
more convenient in the jungle than English saucepans, the handles
of which stick out inmconveniently; beer, wine and spirits were
luxuries which the difficulty of transport compelled me to Jeave be-
hind, but a small stock of tea and sugar was taken. Costume it is
unnecessary to describe, as every traveller or sportsman has his
own ideas on the subject, but thick leather boots (English shooting
boots or Army ammunition boots) and flax leggings may be men-
tioned as indispensable for protection against the thorns and
leeches of a Malay jungle. As for arms, [ burdened myself un-
necessarily with a short Snider carbine (cavalry pattern) and
twenty rounds of ammunition (in addition to a Colt’s revolver
which I carried as a matter of precaution), but was not rewarded
by any sport. An elephant, cow and calf were the only wild ani-
mals which I saw on the journey, except pigs, from first to last.

It was nearly midnight before Hast Apvpaxar finished doling
out cartridges and rice to my followers, enjoining upon them care
of the former and sparing consumption of the latter. Cue Karim
sent down an addition to our matériel in the shape of a Spencer
repeating rifle, which was appropriated by the Hasz and carried by
him, till our return to Province Wellesley. The Salama Malays
seemed to take much interest in our proceedings, and I got much
well-meant advice and not a little useful information about the route
to the Perak river. At length they took their departure, and left
me to the peaceful enjoyment of the hardest wooden bedstead
ever contrived by perverse human ingenuity, a legacy from the
last European occupant of the quarters.

March 26th. We were on the move betimes, and after a very

) A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER. —

early breakfast, everything was packed, and the party moved off in
single file to Cue Asput Kariw’s kampong, on the Krian river.
The path lay through recently cleared land, on which the stumps of
trees still stuck up in all directions. Plantains and Indian corn
seemed to flourish remarkably well. A bridge formed by the trunk
of a tree, felled so as to rest on either bank of the Salama river,
leads into Cue Karim’s village. He had promised to have guides
and two or three coolies ready at his house in the morning, so
thither we repaired accordingly ; externally the dwelling in question
is not more pretentious than most of the other houses in the village,
being built simply of wood and atap (palm-leave thatch). I ful-
filled my promise of paying the owner a visit, while waiting for the
guides, who were as unpunctual as most Malays.

Sitting on a comfortable carpet spread in the narrow room, or
verandah, which forms the front of most Malay houses, Con Karr
and I discussed native politics to the accompaniment of some very
good tea (the milk was Swiss, the biscuits English). The lower
end of the verandah was gradually filled with Malays, and if I did
not misconstrue certain whisperings and the agitation of a curtain
before the door-way which communicated with the inner rooms,
the ladies of the house were also interested spectators of the inter-
view.

About five years ago, when Larut, the principal tin-producing
district of Perak, was the scene of a desultory conflict between rival
factions of Chinese professedly supporting rival Malay interests,
Cue ABpuL Karim emigrated with a number of his countrymen
from Larut, where all mining operations were ata standstill, and
sought a new sphere of industry. They found what they wanted
at Salama, then unexplored, for the place, besides possessing valu-
able deposits of tin ore, has good soil and climate and easy water-
communication with Penang. Mines were established, and a flour-
ishing settlement soon sprung up. But with the restoration of
peace and order in Larut early in 1874, there came fresh anxieties
for the miners of Salama, for the neighbouring native potentates
who had not troubled their heads about the place when it was un-
distinguishable jungle, took a deep interest in the prosperous
mining district which was capable of contributing a handsome ad-
dition to the revenue of a Malay Raja in the shape of the custo-

A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER. 9

mary royalty on the gross produce. Cue Axnput Karim made
haste to invoke the powerful protection of the Governor of the
Straits Settlements, by whose influence the troubles in Larut had
been brought to an end, and was thus able to keep his place and to
reap the reward of his enterprise without molestation.

Mining at Salama, and indeed in all parts of the Peninsula, is
carried on by the Malays and Chinese in a primitive way. The ore
is generally found at no great distance below the surface, and, after
being washed and freed from the surrounding earth, stones and
sand, has the appearance of black shining sand or fine gravel.

The smelting furnace is built of brick or clay and is often pro-
tected outside by a casing of wood—rough upright posts placed
close to each other and bound by rattan hoops. At the foot of it
there is a small hole on one side, through which the molten metal
finds its way into a hollow scooped in the ground. Charcoal, of
which the surrounding forest yields any quantity, is the fuel used.
A hollowed log in which a wooden piston coated with cock’s
feathers fits closely answers the purpose of bellows. ‘The piston
is worked backwards and forwards by hand, producing a double cur-
rent of air, one for each motion. The draught reaches the furnace
by a nozzle fixed in the side of the log about the middle. This in-
genious contrivance is a Chinese invention, and is probably as old
as TuBat Carn or the personage who corresponds to him in Chinese
mythology. I have seen a somewhat similar arrangement for pro-
ducing a continuous current of air in use in the forge of a Malay
iron-worker in Perak. This consisted of two upright wooden
cylinders about 23 feet high placed side by side. A piston, similar
to that described above, was worked perpendicularly in each by a
man standing behind them. He grasped a handle in each hand
and worked them up and down quickly, one rising as the other des-
cended. Both cylinders communicated with the furnace by the
same nozzle, and the effect seemed to be all that could be desired.*

* This is the national Malay bellows. From the fact that it is found
among the Hovas of Madagascar, it has been concluded that the coloniza-
tion of that island was subsequent to the practice of the art of iron-work-
ing in the Eastern Archipelago. (Peschel, The Races of Man, 355; Tylor,
_ Early History of Mankind, 215.) It is found also in India in the Khasi
Hills, in the Kuki and Naga villages, and also in Arakan and Burma, in
Sumatra, Java and Philippine Islands. (Journal Anthrop. Inst., 1880.)

10 A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER.

But to return to the mines. When the furnace has been heated
to the proper pitch, and every blast of the bellows is sending out
flames from the charcoal piled high on the top and a sharp jet of
fire from the small opening below, the head workman in the smelt-
ing house takes a shovelful of ore from a box and after the proper
incantations to propitiate evil spirits deposits it on the top of the
furnace. Another and another follow; the men at the bellows pull
the long piston with redoubled energy and send showers of sparks
fiying about in all directions. Presently a thin stream, red and
elowing like the fire within, commences to run from the hole at the
foot of the furnace and one of the Chinese workmen, shading his
eyes with his hand to protect them from the fierce glare, pokes
away at the hole witha rod to assist the passage of the metal.
More ore and more fuel are heaped on the furnace, the molten
stream continues to pour, and the men-at the bellows to tramp up
and down their beat, the hollow into which the liquid metal falls
becomes full, it is poured into moulds made in a bed of sand close
by and is cast in slabs in which shape it is taken to Penang for
sale.

In the East, as in the West, miners are the most superstitious of
mortals. No iron implements or weapons may be taken into a
Chinese sinelting house under pain of the displeasure of the spirits
who preside over smelting operations and consequent loss to the
miner. At the mines in Larut, visitors, if they wish to descend,
must take off their shoes, the genius loci having an antipathy to
leather! Umbrellas are also forbidden within the limits of the
workings.* The rites and ceremonies which have to be gone
through before a new mine can be opened with any chance of suc-
cess would occupy pages in description. Among the Malays no
such enterprise would be undertaken except under the auspices of
a Pawang, or wise man, whose professional familiarity with demons
and spirits procures him the deepest respect of his countrymen and
is also the source of a comfortable income. .

Cuz Appin Karim’s relations with his miners are peculiar.
Within the district in which he claims the sole right of mining, he

* The prejudices have, to a great extent, disappeared since British in-
fluence has been ag at the mines in Larut, but a few years ago
they were frequently the cause of quarrels and assaults.

A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANT FRONTIER. rE

clears from time to time a few acres of jungle and lays open the
tract for intending selectors. Any one may select a spot and com-
mence to dig for tin on condition that he sells all the ore obtained
to the lord-paramount at a fixed price. The miner usually runs
into debt with his landlord for the necessaries of life, during the
infancy of his mine and until a vein of ore has been struck. In
that case, the value of the ore, instead of being paid for in cash, is
deducted from the miner’s advance account. In fact the truck
system flourishes in Salama as it does in most native mining dis-
tricts, where the owner grows rich at the expense of the coolies by
charging exorbitant prices for all the staple articles of food. But
as the Salama mines are supported by borrowed capital, their
profits are burdened with a ruinous rate of interest to Penang
money-lenders.

The population of Salama seemed to be about two thousand.

It was getting very hot when Mart Dananrt, the Penghulu or
headman of Ulu Salama, the village which was to be our first halt-
ing place, arrived with a few ryots. Cur Karrm’s cordial “may
thy journey be prosperous” was responded to by an equally cordial
“may thy tarrying be peaceful,” and then we filed out of the village.
As the sun got higher it was a relief to get out of the clearings
and to plunge into the shady forest. There was nothing new or
striking about the scenery. The narrow path winding along be-
tween lofty trees and flanked on each side by a thick undergrowth
of brushwood, palms, ferns and creepers might be matched in any
State in the Peninsula, and probably in Ceylon, Sumatra and Bor-
neo. Though the forest has many beauties, its density and still-
ness are depressing, and the general impression left on the mind
after much jungle walking is one of monotony. We met no one
during our first day’s journey and saw little sign of man’s presence,
except here and there traces of charcoal burning and sometimes
long lines of rollers by means of which some dug-out canoe fashion-
ed in the jungle had been dragged down to the river; not a bird
was to be seen or heard, except perhaps when the curious cry of
the hornbill (enggang) broke the silence.

In the course of the day we crossed two streams, tributaries of
the Salama—Sungei Kinalau and Sungei Rambutan. In the after-
noon we reached Ulu Salama, a small hamlet near the foot of the

12 A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER.

mountains where the river takes its rise. The houses are on the
left bank ; there are well-grown cocoanut trees near them, a fact
which shows that this little settlement is of much older date than
Cue Kartm’s villages. Mar Danart invited me to his house, and
here, after a bath in the river, we proceeded to make ourselves com-
fortable. There was a herd of twenty or thirty head of cattle in the
kampong, which their owners, Patani Malays, were taking to Ijuk
and thence to Larut. Large fires were kept burning under the
cocoanut trees all night to keep away tigers.

March 27th. After an early breakfast we started for Ijuk. The
herdsmen and their cattle had preceded us, and my companions
vowed that the beasts were stolen, or so much expedition would not
be used in driving them off, but I believe that they took away the
characters of the Patanis quite unnecessarily. The day’s march
was entirely through forest, and there was little in it to chronicle
except the streams crossed. On leaving Ulu Salama we struck the
Sungei Nur, which, owing to its windings, we had to cross three
times. Further on we reached another stream, the Sungei Brah,
which runs into the Sungei Manekwang. The country is undula-
ting and abounds in these little mountain streams which are feeders
of the Salama and, therefore, more remotely, of the Krian. Some-
times the path disappeared and then we followed the bed of the
stream. Walking in the cool water was a welcome change, except
when the bottom was stony, on which occasions the men exhausted
heir most scathing invective on Perak roads and their authors.
We halted for some time at an open glade on the Sungei Brah,
which seemed to be a recognised resting place for travellers.
Fragments of broken bottles gave unmistakeable proof of a previ-
ous visit of an European. They were perhaps relics of the Police
expedition after Ismartz, undertaken two or three months before.
Leaving the Sungei Brah we crossed a low range of hills which is
the watershed between the Salama and Ijuk rivers. The Sungei
Lepong and the Sungei Trah, both tributaries of the Tjuk, were
successively reached, and eventually, after crossing some open fields,
the Ijuk itself. Wading through it we soon reached the house of
Wan Axsuspakar, the headman of the Ijuk valley. By this time
it was 4 p.m, and as we had been walking since 7.30 a.M., and it
was raining hard, we were not sorry to take possession af Wan

A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANT FRONTIER. 18

ABUBAKAR’S bale? (outer reception room). To be hungry, wet
and dirty are physical conditions which the traveller in the Malay’
Peninsula must make up his mind to endure frequently. The dis-
tances between settlements have not been accommodated to the
eravines of the inner man. To stop to cook may result in being
late at the intended halting place, or in being overtaken by dark-
ness and having to camp out for the night, so the only remedy is
to acquire a Malay facility for eating whenever it is convenient,
and during this expedition it was my usual custom to breakfast at
6 a.M., and to walk all day until the evening halt without further
food.

Wan ABuBAKAR was a man of good Patani family, and slow,
deliberate and carefully courteous in manner. His voice was low,
his delivery measured, and his language almost pedantically pure.
He did the honours of his house perfectly, insisted on adding a
present of some poultry to the commissariat supplies and looked
after the comfort of the men. Four Malay policemen detached
from Larut were stationed at his house to keep up communication
between this part of the country and British authorities in Perak,
and I found here an elephant-load of rice awaiting my arrival. It
had been sent at my request by Captain Sprerpy, the Assistant
Resident at Larut, for it was impossible to ascertain whether fresh
supplies of food could be procured in the interior of Perak. Poor
Penpexk (“the short one”), a diminutive Mandheling Malay who
was in charge of the elephant, was mysteriously murdered in Larut
a year later; the motive was said to be jealousy, but never did man
look less like a distuber of conjugal peace.

March 28th. Wan ABusakar had incautiously promised in the
evening that he would send an elephant or two to help in trans-
porting our baggage over the pass ( Bukit tiga puloh tiga, “ the
thirty-three hills”) which leads from Ijuk to the Perak valley.
But when morning came and all were ready for the road the
unpleasant truth became apparent that no elephants were forth-
eoming. Jt was in vain that our host pressed us to remain at his
kampong for a day or two while the stray animals were being caught.
It was essential that no time should be lost, the baggage was divided
among the men and we started at last. PrnpeK and the Larut
elephant laden with rice bringing up the rear. Our way lay at

14 A. JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER.

first through fields and clearings. As we approached the foot of
the range the path was much obstructed by felled timber, and in
some places, where the wood had been burned on the ground, was
obliterated altogether. Indian corn and plantains, the first crops
generally taken off new land by Malays, were growing luxuriantly,
but their owners were invisible, probably from a fear of being
impressed as baggage-carriers. At length the ascent was com-
menced. “The thirty-three hills” is the name of a pass, not of a
range. The range runs nearly North and South; we were travelling
from West to Hast. The pass follows the course of the river Ijuk
to its source; a ridge, Bukit Kubu, is then crossed and the water-
shed of the Krian river is left behind. The streams further on
run down to the river Perak. This is not the only pass where the
Malays gravely assert that there are thirty-three hills to cross. To
the East of Tasek in Province Wellesley there is a path over a low
range of hills near the Kedah frontier by which Sardang, Mahang
and Dingin (all in Kedah ) can be reached. Taking this route
once, on the way to Salama, I was informed that there were thirty-
three hills to climb and thirty-three rivers to wade, but these
obstacles resolved themselves into the usual ups and downs of a
mountain path, which repeatedly crossed and recrossei a moun-
tain torrent. The use of the number thirty-three is perhaps
referable to a much more remote origin than the caprice of Malay
peasants. Malay folk-lore is deeply tinged with Hindu supersti-
tions, the survival of a worship which must at one time have been
established in Malay countries, though Islamism supplanted it six
centuries ago. The heavens of the Hindus are populated by
330,000,000 deities, though the origin of all is traceable to the
three principal gods. Buddhism also affords instances of the use
of the mystic number. Travellers in Japan will remember the
temple of the 33,000 Buddhas. Ninety-nine, too, is a popular
number. The river Dinding in Perak is credited locally with
ninety-nine tributaries. Among Muhammadans there are ninety-
nine names or epithets of God and the same number of names or
titles of the Prophet.

On the way to Perak from Tjuk we failed to identify the popular
number of hills in the pass. I took down the names of twenty-six,
however, from a guide who seemed to have a name for every rock

A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER. jas

and tree he met with. Burton ( Pilgrimage to El Medinah and
Meccah ) mentions the ingenuity shown by the Bedouins in dis-
tinguishing between places the most similar, and says that it is the
result of a high organisation of the perceptive faculties, perfected
by the practice of observing a recurrence of landscape features few
in number and varying but little among themselves. The same
faculty is to be found among Malays. They name localities after
little peculiarities, hardly recognisable except by a practised eye ;
and on a frequented route, even through forest or on a river, the
names often follow each other in such rapid succession that the
traveller puts up his note book in despair.

We reached at about 2 p.m. a spot near the top of the pass
which seemed by the presence of a rude hut and traces of fires for
cooking purposes, to be the usual halting place on this route.
The Ijuk, diminished to the proportions of a little mountain
stream, is here seen for the last time. Beyond lies the ridge
which marks the watershed. As the men came up, one after
another, several lagging behind, and all more or less knocked up, it
became evident that it would be unwise to attempt to push on to
Tampan in one day as we had hoped to do. The approach of rain
decided me to camp where we were for the night. A second hut
was hastily improvised and roofed with a waterproof sheet. We
were hardly under cover when the rain came down in torrents and
all annoyance at the delay vanished before the reflection that our
discomfort would have been increased tenfold if we had gone on.

Rest and food had an exhilarating effect upon the men, who
huddled together under the scanty shelter of the huts and enliven-
ed the evening by relating all sorts of adventures, the point of the
stories generally being the perfidy of Perak Malays, or the iniquity
of Malay Rajas. Some were going to Perak for the first time,
others were old acquaintances and had travelled with me frequent-
ly before. ‘To some of them the fame of former exploits had at-
tached nicknames by which they were known to friends and ad-
mirers. Mar Lincuin or Slippery Mat was one of these, but
whether he had earned his title in eluding private enemies or
escaping from the officers of justice, I cannot say. Another was
Mar Sarexn Lima Puloh (fifty) and this was the history of his nick-
name. He and some of his neighbours had a dispute once upon a

16 A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER.

time about a piece of land. Mar Sateu was in possession, and defied
any number of rival claimants. These took counsel together, and,
with friends and sympathisers to the number of fifty, went off one day
to surprise their opponent. They found him on the land in ques-
tion engaged in some agricultural pursuit; his wife was also there
helping him, and between two posts swung the cradle of the baby
who, it was natural to suppose, could not well be left at home.
The brave fifty advanced with shouts and threats looking on the
land as already theirs, but Marv Sateu instead of flying peacefully
rocked the cradle. No sooner had the first of the half hundred put
his foot across the boundary than the anxious father put his hands
into the cradle and lifted out, not a Malay baby, but a mighty
blunderbuss with which he threatened to do for the first man who
trespassed on his ground. The fifty aggressors, so the story ran,
retired incontinently, none wishing to test the sincerity of the threat.
“Therefore,” said the historian of the chronicles of this village hero,
“was Mar Sauzu called ‘ Fifty,’ because fifty men went up against
“him and returned without having accomplished anything!” Has1
ABUBAKAR, the headman of my party, deserves a paragraph to
himself. He was a good specimen of the native lawyer and politi-
cian (I was nearly saying agitator, but well-to-do Malays are too
imbued with Muhammadan solemnity of demeanour to agitate),
one of a class created by English civilization and law courts. On
the passive cunning of his race, many years of intercourse with
Europeans and of loitering in the passages and verandahs of the
Colonial Courts have grafted much worldly wisdom and not a little
familiarity with business. A journey to Mecca gave him a title
and a turban, and added polish to his manners. He had a fluent
tongue and a lively imagination, knew the weaknesses of his country-
men well, and was not slow to turn them to his own pecuniary
advantage ; finally, he was one of the most original and entertaining
companions I ever met with among Malays, though, I fear, he was
not burdened with too much principle. ‘In base times,” says
Lord Bacon, ‘‘active men are of more use than virtuous!” Lrppy
AspuLt Manan was the Imam of the party, and led the devotions
when any one could be persuaded to pray with him, which, I am
afraid, was not often; with the Malay love for abbreviation, his
friends generally spoke of him as Leppy Nay. So Munammap

A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER. 17

becomes Mar; Osman is shortened to Swan; and SvuLerman is
barely recognisable in Leman and sometimes Man. The only
others of my companions, whom I need mention by name, are
_ Penghulu Satam, a sturdy little Patani Malay, who was headman
of a village in the Krian district; Dewan, a Perak Malay, who had
joined me at Kwala Kangsa some months before; and Mustray,
valet, cook and cashier,a Muhammadan of Indian descent, who
lost a hand by some gun-accident, and yet managed to get on as
well as most men do with two. The temperature at Teratah Da-
gong, the site of our camp at the top of the pass, was pleasantly
cool, and the consoling thought that our next halt would be on the
banks of the Perak river was conducive to sound slumber, even
under less comfortable conditions.

March 29th. Soon after seven o'clock a.m. we were breasting
the steep ascent which leads to the top of Bukit Kubu. Then
began the descent on the eastern side of the range, which was easy
work compared with yesterday’sclimb. Lofty trees obstructed the
view on all sides, and, though we were travelling over high ground,
not a glimpse of the surrounding country could be seen. About
midday we reached the foot of the range, and emerging from the
forest found ourselves at a small kampong called Batu Berdinding
inhabited by Patani peasants. The headmen of this and two other
villages were waiting here to receive me, notice having been sent
to them from Ijuk. While! was waiting for some of the men who
had lagged behind, the natives of the place related the circum-
stances under which the Chief, called Sri Adika Raja, one of the
eight Perak Chiefs of the second rank, had met his death at this vil-
lage two months before. I was shown the house in which he was sit-
ting when shot by Coz Karim’s men. It had been left uninhabited
ever since, for the Malays are very superstitious and often believe
a place where a man has met a violent death to be haunted by his
spirit. The Sri Adika Raja was in the neighbourhood of Kwala
Kangsa when the headquarters of the Indian column first reached
that place in December, 1875. In company with the Orang Kaya
Besar, one of the four Chiefs of the first rank, he fled up the river
imm ediately on the arrival of the troops, and remained in hiding in
Ulu Perak until the arrival of Sultan Ismatt in that part of the

18 A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO TITE PATANI FRONTIER.

country, when both Chiefs joined their fallen master. The Sri
Adika Raja was at Batu Berdinding impressing the Patani peasants
as labourers for the purpose of closing the pass to Ijuk by felling
trees across the path, when he was surprised and killed by the
scouts of the police expedition already mentioned. After this
collision with the natives, the Police fell back on Teratah Dagong
and the main obiect of the expedition, the capture of Ismarn, was
abandoned.* The natives declared to me that the closing of the
pass had no hostile signification, but was intended to prevent the
escape of the Sultan’s elephants, some of which belonged to the ~
Tjuk district.

After an hour’s rest at Batu Berdinding, all my followers having
come up, we resumed our march to Kota Tampan under the gui-
dance of the friendly Patani Penghulus. A good path led ina
south-easterly direction through fields and hampongs, the Perak
river being still shut out from view by a low ridge which gives the
name Batu Berdinding (“the rock which forms a wall”) to the locality.
The grave of the unfortunate Sri Adika Raja and a house be-
longing to our late host, Wan ABupakar, at Bangul Blimbing,
were the only objects of interest pointed out to us. Kota 'Tampan,
which we reached in the afternoon, is asmall hill on the right bank
of the Perak river, the value of which as a strategic position in
Malay warfare is well known to the Ulu (up-country) Chiefs. It
has often been stockaded and held by hostile parties in the little
wars which Malay Chiefs wage with each other, but had never, I
believe, been reached by any European before my visit. On the
land side, the approach to the hill is hidden by thick brushwood, or
protected by a little stream, Ayer Tampan, which runs into the
Perak river just below. On the top of the knoll I found a neat

* It was reported on their return that the Police expedition had cap-
tured IsmatIn’s seventeen elephants, which, however, had somehow
escaped from their captors! The Malays on the spot assured me that no
such capture had been made, or any elephants seen by the force. It was
officially reported, too, that Panpak Input (one of the men charged with
the murder of Mr. Bircw) had been killed; but Panpax InpuT was
captured several months later, and was subsequently executed for the
murder. It would be unnecessary to refer to the elephant story, but for
the fresh authority given to it by the gallant auther of “Sarong and
Kris’’ (pp. 396, 405) who must have been misled,

A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO TILE PATANT FRONTIER. 19

little hut erected inside a bamboo stockade overlooking the river.
A flight of rough-steps cut in the steep bank led down to the water.
The fort was occupied by a number of Mandheling men under one
Jan Desa, who had established himself here immediately after the
Batu Berdinding affair above related. Supplied with money, arms
and ammunition by the Assistant Resident at Larut, he had secured
this outpost for the British authorities, and was warmly supported
by the Patani inhabitants of the neighbouring districts, who wel-
comed protection from the exactions of Perak Chiefs.

The view up-stream from Tampan is lovely. The broad, shining
river stretches away in the distance till it seems to reach the back-
- ground of the picture, ranges of lofty wooded hills. When I first
saw it, the afternoon sun was giving full effect to the contrasts of
light and shade, and the shadows cast by the tall trees on the right
bank only brought out in greater relief the clear outlines of purple
mountains faraway. Nota habitation was to be seen, no sight or
sound, beyond our own little encampment, betokened the presence
of man. In the fore-ground the smooth surface of the water was
broken by a few rocks against which the current spent itself fruit-
lessly. The country seemed fresh from the hands of nature and
still unsullied by the touch of mankind, and yet a glance round at
the scene on the bamboo floor of the hut, where Malays and their
weapons and baggage lay scattered about in picturesque confusion,
was quite enough to dispel the illusion.

When it was cool enough, boats were procured, and, with a few
men, I paddled up to the rocks in mid-stream where we bathed, and
some of the more devout said their evening prayers. Then we
returned to the Mandheling stockade, where culinary operations were
in fullswing. Haji ApuBaKar, whose love of good living is strong,
announced piously that, please God, he intended to rest to-morrow
and taste Patani buffalo, a sentiment which seemed to command
universal acceptance. The only stranger who visited us was one
Dotan, Penghulu of a Perak village called Beah, lower down the
river. He was inquisitive as to our numbers and intentions, pro-
bably in the interests of the Kota Lama Malays, who, though
scattered by the destruction of their villages, were hostile and ill-

20 A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER.

disposed. He informed us that Raja Muda Yusur was at Chigar
Gala organising fishing operations on a large scale.

March 30th. After four days of incessant tramping sable
jungle, it was a relief on getting up in the morning to remember
that there was to be no march to-day. Some of the men set to
work to improve our temporary quarters. The steps leading down
to the river were rendered safe, and a bamboo bedstead for myself
was constructed under the direction of Penghulu Satam. Indoors
letters were written for transmission to Kwala Kangsa under the
charge of men of the Mandheling garrison, who were waiting below
in a long canoe. Mine were to Jet the persons most concerned in
the success of the expedition know that we had reached the Perak
river, but the Haji’s correspondence was much more practical,
being in fact an order for sugar, tobacco, opium, and other delica-
cies of which the chief caterer stood in need. This was a day of
visits. Datoh Amar, the Penghulu of Tampan, was the first to
arrive and made himself acceptable by bringing a buffalo and some
rice, which he presented to me. Most of the Malays of this part
of Perak are Patani men, and are honest, quiet, and fairly indus-
trious. Some have been settled here for generations, others are
recent immigrants from the other side of the border. They dislike
the Perak Malays, by whom they have been systematically oppressed
and misgoverned. Datoh Amar and his Patani brethren had some
experience of the acquisitive propensities of Perak Chiefs while
IsMAIL was encamped in this neighbourhood, and he groaned as he
related the exactions of the Sultan’s followers.

I had been making enquiries on the previous day for guides to
the Patani frontier, and to-day when most of the men were occupied
in the interesting task of cutting up and distributing buffalo meat,
JaH Desau mysteriously introduced aman who was willing, he said,
to take me to Maharaja Leta’s retreat.

Etam was a thorough specimen of the Malay freebooter. Ac-
cording to his own account of himself he had made several parts of
the country too hot to hold him, and he spoke of the crimes he had
committed with a modesty and candour hardly to be expected from
one who so evidently excelled in his own particular line. He was
a big man, darker than the average Malay, with a thick moustache

A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER. val

and a strong Patani accent. He was naked from the waist upwards,
but for a handkerchief knotted round his head, and he deposited a
musket outside the door as he entered with a glance round to make
sure that the avenger of blood was not one of the company. Then
we proceeded to business. Eram had lately been up to the Patani
frontier, and now informed me that since the date of my last in-
formation Maharaja Lexa had shifted his quarters from Kwala Piah
to a place called Banai, further up the river, and had now probably
crossed the frontier. Nothing could be finally settled at once, so
Eram was left to ponder for another day over his own plan for the
capture of Lexa, which was simply to le in wait for him, and to
shoot him with three golden bullets which a confiding Englishman
was to furnish for the purpose. Other visitors soon thronged the
bamboo floor, for the news of the white man’s arrival had evidently
spread rapidly. Datoh Tun Leta Seria (commonly called Tou Tty),
the headman of Lunggong, a neighbouring village, and an old
Malay from Tumulung with the Siamese title of Mengkong, were
the chief of these. The latter wore a striped silk jacket, which, in
virtue of his official position, he had received on the occasion of
some festivity in Siamese territory, where changes of raiment are
still bestowed on those “whom the king delighteth to honour.”
Another visitor who deserves mention was lputT, a Burmese, who
gave the following account of himself :—-Thirty years before, he had
sailed from Rangoon in a native craft bound for Penang. She was
driven out of her course in a storm and was wrecked on the coast
of Perak, where Iput and one or two companions landed. They
wandered for ten days without falling in with a habitation, and had
to support life as well as they could on such leaves and fruit as the
forest supplies. When they were almost dead from exhaustion
and fatigue they reached the district of Kinta, and were kindly
received by the natives. There, in process of time, the narrator
married a daughter of the soil and adopted her country and religion.
He had not seen a white man since he had left Rangoon thirty
years before. He said that he had forgotten his native language
but bared his legs, and showed his tattooing in evidence of his
Burmese birth.

That evening was enlivened by a second visit from the Meng-

De, A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER.

kong, who, having got over his shyness at the presence of so many
strangers, became most friendly and communicative. His stories of
the Sakai tribes in the interior were as new to the Province Wel-
lesley men as they were to me, and we sat listening for hours to
descriptions of curious customs and wonderful adventures, tradi-
tions of fabulous mines guarded by the wild tribes to which no
Malay can gain access, and tales of Sakai medical skill and familiarity
with the occult sciences. I puzzled the old man not a little by
exhibiting a map of Ulu Perak (prepared a month or two before at
Kwala Kangsa from native description) from which I read off
the names of-kampongs, hills and rivers never yet visited by any
European. I have an idea that he believed it to be directly refer-
able to one of the many “ Sheitan,’ whom the English have at their
command.

March 31st. We had cultivated friendly relations with the
people of the land, we had eaten buffalo and were satisfied. But
there was one thing I wanted to do before we set our faces north-
ward, and that was to visit Jambai which had been the temporary
refuge’ of the old Sultan (Ismarn) and his patriarchal following of
women and slaves. Another day’s detention was unavoidable, as
Fram and his friends had not yet joined us, and I was expecting visits
from some Perak Chiefs who were reported to be coming in to see
me. So this day was devoted to sight-seeing. Sending on some of
the men on foot along the river bank, I started up the river in a
dug-out canoe poled by a Malay in the bow and steered by another
in the stern. Haji AsvuBakaR was in another, assuming vast im-
portance on the strength of having tempted the perils of the rapids
once before, and explaining the modus operandi as if he had origin-
ally designed the rapids of the Perak river for his private pastime.

The anak jéram (children of the rapids), as the boatmen of this
part of the world are called, standing in the bow, took us into mid-
stream with a few vigorous strokes of their ight bamboo poles, and
as we glided along against the current, I questioned the steersman
about names and localities. He was to the full as fruitful in
proper names of the places as my guide on the “ thirty-three hills.”
Every pool, rock, bend, eddy had its title as my note-book bears
witness, but they are not worth transcribing here.

&A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER. 23

' Troubled water betokened that we had commenced the passage
of the rapids called Jeram Kling, and the exertions of the polers
were redoubled. Every effort was required to keep the head of the
canoe against the stream and nothing but marvellous intimacy
with the different passages could have kept us clear of the rocks
over which the river was bubbling and boiling.

Evidence is not wanting that the country about here was at one
time more thickly populated than it is at present. A grove of fine
old durian trees on the left bank and a fringe of lighter green in
front of them where the bamboos bent gracefully over the water,
told of former cultivators, victims or fugitives, perhaps, in one of
the unchronicled wars of former years. Here Datoh Sannatv, the
erandfather of the late Sri Adika Raja, once lived and ruled, anda
grim memorial of departed power, the batw pembunoh (execution
rock), was pointed out further on, on the opposite bank. Butit was
in vain to ask for stories of naughty wives, incautious lovers, or
faithless slaves who may have perished here. The silent river
itself could not more effectually conceal all evidence of sins and
sinners than the mist of years their memory. Jambai, too, was
empty and desolate, a few charred remains of Ismait’s huts, which
had been burnt after his departure by the Salama men, and the
deep footprints of his elephants in the sand being the only traces
left of his sojourn. Yet Jambai was once the abode of a celebrated
family, if Perak legends have any foundation, and J affirm that if
the following story seems uninteresting in its English dress, it is
because the adjuncts of open air and Malay scenery are wanting.

Cue Putren Jampat and his wife were very poor people, who lived
many generations ago at Pulo Kambiri on the Perak river. They
had so few clothes between them that when one went out the other
had to stay at home.* Nothing seemed to prosper with them, so
leaving Pulo Kambiri, where their poverty made them ashamed to
meet their neighbours, they moved up the river to the spot since
called Jambai. Shortly after they had settled here Cuz Prren was

_* The solar myth is plainly recognisable here. The husband and
wite who are not seen together, but one of whom remains concealed when
the other comes out, are evidently the sun and moon. [I have heard the
same incidents introduced in legends in other parts of Perak,

24 A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER,

troubled by a portent which has disturbed the slumbers of many
great nen from the time of Pharaoh downwards. He dreamed a
dream. And in his dream he was warned by a supernatural visi-
tant to slay his wife, this being, he was assured, the only means by
which he could hope to better his miserable condition.

Sorely disturbed in mind, but never doubting that the proper
course was to obey, CHE Putzu confided to his wife the commands
which he had received, and desired her to prepare for death. ‘The
unhappy lady acquiesced with that conjugal submissiveness which
in Malay legends as in the “Arabian Nights” is so characteristic of
the Oriental female when landed in some terrible predicament.
But she craved and obtained permission to first go down to the
river and wash herself with lime juice. So taking a handful of
limes she went forth, and, standing on the rock called Batu Pem-
bunoh she proceeded to perform her ablutions after the Malay
fashion.* The prospect of approaching death, we may presume,
unnerved her, for in dividing the limes with a knife she managed
to cut her own hand and the blood dripped down on the rocks and
into the river ; as each drop was borne away by the current, a large
jar immediately rose to the surface and floated, in defiance of all
natural laws, up-stream to the spot whence the blood came. As
each jar floated up, Cuz Puren’s wife tapped it with her knife and
pulled it in to the edge of the rocks. On opening them she found
them all full of gold. She then went in search of her husband
and told him of the treasure of which she had suddenly become

* Limes are used in Perak, as we use soap, when a Malay has re-
solved on having a really good “scrub.” They are cut in two and
squeezed (7amas) in the hand. In Penang a root called szntok is usually
preferred to limes. When the body is deemed sufficiently cleansed the
performer, taking his stand facing the East, spits seven times, and then
counts up seven aloud. After the word twoh (seven) he throws away
the remains of the limes or sentok to the West saying aloud, Pergz-lah
samua sial jambalung deripada badan aku ka pusat tasek Pawangi. ‘ Mis-
“fortune and spirits of evil begone from my body to the whirlpool of
“the lake Panjangi!’’ Then he throws (jurus) a few buckets of water
over himself and the operation is complete.

The lake Panjangi is situated in mid-ocean, and its whirlpool most
likely causes the tides. All the waters of the sea and rivers are finally
received there. IJtis probably as eligible an abode for exercised spirits
as the Red Sea was once considered to be by our forefathers, |

A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER. 25

possessed. He spared her life, and they lived together in the enjoy-
ment of great wealth and prosperity for many years. Their old
age was clouded, it is believed, by the anxiety attending the pos-
session of a beautiful daughter, who was born to them after they
became rich. She grew up to the perfection of loveliness, and all
the Rajas and Chiefs of the neighbouring countries were her suitors.
The multitude of rival claims so bewildered the unhappy parents
that, after concealing a great part of their riches in various places,
they disappeared and have never since been seen. Their property
was never found by their children, though, in obedience to instruc-
tions received in dreams, they braved sea-voyages and went to seck
for it in the distant lands of Kachapuri and Jamulepor.

Several places near Jambai connected with the legend of Cre
Puren are still pointed out; at Bukit Bunyian the treasure was
buried and still lies concealed. A deep gorge leading down to the
river is the ghaut down which Cue Puren’s vast flocks of buffaloes
used to go to the river. Its size is evidence of the great number of
the animals, and, therefore, of the wealth of their owner. Two deep
pools, called respectively Lubuk Gong and Lubuk Sarunai, contain
a golden gong anda golden flute which were sunk here by Cue
Ptten Jampart. The flute may sometimes be seen lying on one ot
the surrounding rocks, but always disappears into the depths of the
pool before any mortal can approach it. The treasures of Lubuk
Gong might before now have passed into human possession, had it
not been for the covetousness of the individual selected as their
recipient. A Malay of Ulu Perak was told in a dream to go and
fish in the pool of the gong and to take a pair of betelnut scissors
(kachip) with him. He was to use the kachip immediately on being
told to do so. Next morning he was at the pool early, and at his
first cast hooked something heavy and commenced to draw it up.
When the hook appeared above water, there was a gold chain at-
tached to it. The lucky fisherman them commenced to pull up the
chain into his canoe and hauled up fathoms of it, hand over hand,
until the boat could hardly hold any more. Just then a little bird
alighted on a branch close by and piped out a couple of notes
which sounded for all the world like kachip. The man heard, but he
wanted a little more and he went onhauling. Keehip, said the bird

26 A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER.

again. “Just a very little more,” thought the fisherman, and he
still continued dragging up the chain. Again and again the warn-
ing note sounded, but in vain, and suddenly a strong pull from the
bottom of the pool dragged back the chain, and before the Malay
had time to divide it with his tweezers, the last link of it had dis-
appeared beneath the waters. A warning to all persons guilty of
avarice and covetousness! The pools of the gong and the gold-
en flute still, for ought I know to the contrary, preserve their
treasures. Time pressed, and we did not seek to explore their
depths.

While at Jambai I was visited by Kutup Monamep (a nephew of
the Panglima Kinta), who was on his way to Tampan with several
followers to see me. At his invitation, I made the return journey
down-stream on his bamboo raft. The centre of the raft, which was
of an oblong shape, was occupied by a raised bamboo platform
walled on three sides and roofed like a hut. Inside, comfortable
mats were spread, handsome spears and krisses were slung to rattan
loops on the walls and roof, and a neat little tray contaiming pipes,
a lamp and a small horn box of chandoo proclaimed that my host
indulged a weakness for opium. Two men, squatted in the forepart
of the raft just in front of the little stage on which we sat, plied
their paddles lustily, and a third between them wielded a pole with
marvellous activity. Behind, two or three more with paddles or
poles worked incessantly to keep the raft straight with the current,
yelling directions of all kinds to their brethren in front, for to shoot
a vapid broadside on would be an experiment attended with seve-
ral inconveniences and some little danger. One brawny fellow in
front of me got literally red with his exertions in spite of his
brown skin, when we commenced at last to slide down a long
reach of troubled water perceptibly out of the horizontal. The
raft buried itself under the surface, leaving dry only our little
stage, and the whole fabric shock and trembled as if it were about
to break up. Yelling “ Sambut, sambut” (Receive, receive) to the
spirits of the stream, whom Kurup MonameEp was propitiating with
small offerings of rice and leaves, the panting boatmen continued their |
struggles until we shot out once more into smooth deep water and
all danger was over. ‘“Isn’t he like a buffalo ?” said Kuve Mo-

& JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER. 27
HAMED, pointing to the broad back and muscular neck of my
brawny friend. So we parted with Jeram Kling.

The raft was moored by the steps below the stockade at 'Tampan,
and our new friends were admitted to a share of the rice and buf-
falo meat of the camp. At night Kurup Monamep came up to
the hut and told me what he knew of affairs in Ulu Perak.
Sayyid Manmup (Orang Kaya Besar) was, he said, at Tumulong,
not very far off, and anxious to come in and be friendly, if sure of
his reception. Maharaja Lela was said to be at Kwala Kendrong,
on the other side of the Patani frontier, where no Perak Malays
need hope to follow him, for Kunrure Monamep and his men had
been turned back from the border. Encouraged by the reward
offered by Government, they had, it seemed, been watching the
proscribed Chief in the hopes of finding means to earn it. I sent
civil messages to Sayyid Maumup, and accepted, not without
some misgivings, the offer of Kutve Mouwamep to accompany me
up-country with his men.

April 1st. The first thing I encountered was the familiar face
of an old Malay of Kubang Boya where the Larut Field Force
had encamped at one time. Panpak Keran was distinguisnable
above his fellows by a total absence of teeth, anda habit of opening
his mouth very wide at the conclusion of each sentence, as if to
punctuate his remarks. Furthermore, he was perhaps more shame-
less in asking for small loans or presents than the generality of
his countrymen. Te was the bearer of a letter from Captain
Speeepy to the Orang Kaya Besar, whom he hoped to take back
to a disconsolate wife and family at Kwala Kangsa. He was fed
and speeded on his way, but an application for a small donation of
three doilars was mildly but firmly refused.

Lunggong is a village about five miles to the North of ‘lampan,
but, unlike the camp which we were quitting, it is at some distance
from the river. It nestles under the lee of some low limestone
hills, a curious mixture of white cliff and green foliage.

Reinforced by seven Mandheling men, whose service Jan Desa
pressed upon me, we commenced our march northward. Delay
was still unavoidable, as it was desirable to have a good under-
standing with Sayyid Maymvp before leaving him in our rear, but

28 A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER.

at all events Lunggong was one stage in the right direction, and I
had promised Datoh Ttn to be his guest.

The Penghulu must have borne testimony to the peaceable inten-
tions of our party, for I observed none of that panic on the part of
women and children which I had sometimes unwittingly caused in
Perak hamlets. I am reluctantly compelled to bear witness that
the ladies whom J saw at Lunggone were not one whit better
looking than the specimens of womanhood whom I had seen from
time to time in other parts of the country. Kota Lama and Kam-
par have the reputation of producing the best favoured damsels in
Perak, but to the Western imagination it seems that even those
happy spots have earned their fame too cheaply.

While a house was being prepared for my reception, and while
Mastan looked on in a superior kind of way as much as to say
“Do you really expect my master to sleep here?” the Penghulu
invited me into his house. Various elders were introduced, and
the politest of small talk was interchanged for a time. Presently
refreshments were served, consisting of bullets of dough in a
molten sea of brown sugar. My host and his brother, with true
Malay hospitality, shared this delicacy with me, no doubt for the
usual unspoken reason—to prove that no poison was to be feared.

I was glad to fall back on some excellent plantains and to leave

the bubur to those more capable of appreciating it.

It was all very well to le perdu in a hammock in my new quar-
ters all the afternoon, but the villagers were not to be cheated in
that way, and when with one or two “ faithfuls”” 1 started in
the evening to bathe in a little stream which flows past the kam-
pong, the whole population turned out to assist. To attend
another to the bath is a polite attention among Malays !

Kunivue Monamep brought unsatisfactory accounts of Sayyid
Maumup. The latter, so far from meeting me at Lunggong, as |
had reason to hope he would do, had written to say that illness
detained him at Tumulong. It was time to settle definitely what
our movements were to be, without further reference to this man,
so I told my people to be ready to march on the morning of the
8rd. The neighbouring Penghulus mustered strong in our hut
that evening, each with his grievance. One had been squeezed

i
fe
.
i
}
4

A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER. 29

and pillaged by C= Karim’s men in January ; another had rela-
tives in captivity at Salama, and there was a general wail over the
exactions of the Perak Malays of Chigar Gala, whose devices for
extorting supplies of rice from the Patani planters seemed to be
conceived, with more talent than honesty. I counid do little for
them then, but promised enquiry and redress at some future time.

Eram unfolded the details of the route we were to pursue, and
promised the services of three other guides and some coolies. So
the day ended hopefully, and lighted by the Mandheling sentry,
I picked my way over the bodies of sleeping Malays to my ham-
mock.

It requires practice to be able to sleep ina Malay hut of the
humbler sort if the lodgers be numerous and the entertainer’s
family large. All kinds of sounds conspired to “ murder sleep”’
on this particular night, a middle aged bowrdon snore imported, I
think, by our own party. an intermittent infantile wail, a purely
local production, and expostulation, coaxing at first but ending in
wrath, of sleepy matrons ; then somebody got up in the middle of
the night and said his prayers aloud, and the man on guard crooned
little songs to himself. Never was daylight more welcome.

April 2nd. Detentionat Lunggong being unavoidable, the only
thing to do was to see something of the country ; the people of
the place took me in the morning to Bukit Kajang, the limestone
range which had attracted my attention the day before. These
limestone hills occur in several parts of Perak and are generally
honey-combed with caves and peopled by bats. We had to pass
through a belt of low dark jungle, where everything was very damp
and earthy, before reaching the foot of the hill and the mouth of
the first cave. The latter was not of great extent, but a number
of narrow dark passages branched off from it. In exploring these.
our torches set in motion dozens of bats, which flitted along the
low galleries just over our heads. ‘he Malays pointed out one
or two curious stalagmites, which they had honoured with names.
One, | remember. bore a rough resemblance to the shape of a
crocodile.

Then we went higher up the hill to a second range of galleries
bearing the poetical name Goah Putri, or the “Cave of the

30 A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER.

Princess.” It was easy to appreciate here the imagination which
had discovered in beautiful stalagmites, fashioned by ages in the
likeness of drapery, the kalambu, or bed-curtains, of the invisible
lady. They reached nearly from the floor to the arched roof where
stalactites hung to meet them. Close at hand was a small cham-
ber known locally as the bathing-apartment, in which a step led
up to a bath formed in the rock. I almost wondered at not find-
ing the looking-glass or other toilette necessaries of the tenant!
But such a discovery would have involved a search for the owner
at the cost of unknown delay to the expedition. I know a Malay
Raja who spent many days once in searching for some fair spirit
in the niountains of the interior of Kedah, guided only by the
report of some ryots who had disturbed her at her toilette besides
a stream. I think they brought back a magic comb to witness if
they lied.

Chinese come to Malay countries and ruin by their prosaic com-
mercial habits all the association of caves with princesses and other
agreeable ideas. These caverns are carpeted with the article of
commerce known as taht kalawa, guano, the droppings of innumer-
able bats. In connection with caves, the Chinaman knows of
nothing more ethereal than bats’ dung!

Penghulu Dotan and some of his friends were to have met us at
the caves, but they did not appear, and we returned to Lunggong.
There we found out the cause of their failure in their engagement.
Even in this secluded district there were to be fonnd men capable
of carrying out a housebreaking job in a fairly workmanlike man-
ner, and it seemed that a house had been robbed the night before
in the most civilized way in the world. The discovery of the loss
and the subsequent search had detained our friends. I only mention
this incident, because we were instrumental in arresting the offenders
afterwards.

Two Sayyids of Chigar Gala to whom I had written (at the
entreaty of Haji AnuBAKAR who was tired of walking) asking for
the loan of two elephants, appeared to-day. They related with
much empressement how they had hastened from their village at
my call, only too honoured at being asked to lend their beasts. But
where were the elephants? Alas! did not the Tuan (Master) know

A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER. 31

that this was the ninring * season, and that all the male elephants
were gila? Allah! Such a misfortune! Hardly had the descendants
of the Prophet got one stage beyond their vlllage than their ele-
phants strayed into a herd of wild ones, and if it pleased God they
might be caught again in a week! I was sufficiently versed in the
guile of the Perak Malay to know how much to believe of this
story, and though I dismissed them civilly, I was not at all surprised
to hear, after my return to Kwala Kangsa a month later, that these
two rogues had left their elephants at Beong when they came on
to see me, and rejoined them there on their return!

The day was spent in Tou Ttn’s house, and the only important
event was the receipt of a piece of information about one of the
proscribed offenders of whom we were in search, which rather
surprised me. It leaked out through some of the Malays in the
place, who had made friends with my men, that St Tuan, one of the
persons mentioned in the Governor’s proclamation, had fallen into
the hands of Cuz Karim’s men after Ismatn’s flight from Jambai.
They had scoured the country round Jambai for two or three weeks,
and had picked up several slaves, chiefly women. Tuan had success-
fully concealed his identity, so said my informants, by giving his
name as Untona, but before he had been taken over the hills to
SaLaMA, his master, Maharaja Lela himself, had offered to pay
thirty dollars to the people in whose village Tuau was detained if
they would bring about his escape. The man was said to be still
in captivity at Salama, with other slaves.

JaH Desa had sent me a letter that morning warning me that a
noted robber, named Raga AxBBasf with five companions was out
in the district South of Tampan; his messenger took back from me
a letter, written in Haji AsuBaKar’s most flowing Malay, asking
Cue Karim of Salama, to send to Kwala Kangsa, to await my re-
turn, the person of St Unrone, said to be a captive in his village.

* Ninring, a kind of fruit. The condition, called musth in India, to
which the male elephant is subject periodically is attributed by the natives
of Perak to this fruit, which, they say, is greedily eaten, when ripe, by
elephants.

+ Raja Abbas was a freebooter of Bugis origin, but a native of Krian.
He had escaped a few years before from the Penang Prison, where he was
confined on a charge of gang-robbery and murder. He was eventually
killed (in 1876) resisting an attempt to capture him.

32 A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER.

April 3rd.—A wizened little old mau named AsputL Raor, a
messenger from Kuturp Momamen, arrived early in the morning
with the news that Sayyid Maumup (Orang Kaya Besar) was on
his way to see me. Shortly afterwards he arrived, attended by
Kurve Mowamep and the old Mengkong of Tumulong, and followed
by a string of spear-men and hangers-on. He was elaborately
dressed in a green silk jacket flowered with gold, and was obsequi-
ously addressed as “'Tunku” by all his attendants.

The interview which followed took place in the Penghulu’s house.
Sayyid Maumup professed the utmost friendliness, said that as
long as Sultan Ismatn had remained in Perak he had felt bound
to follow him, but that since the ex-Sultan had passed over into
Kedah, he was free to bestow his political allegiance elsewhere.
He spoke feelingly of the distress which the fugitives in Ulu Perak,
himself among the number, had suffered during ther flight, in
consequence of the scarcity of provisions. Various agricultural
occupations were taking him, he said, up to the North, his people
having settled temporarily near Jeram Panjang (‘the long rapids’),
so he could not accept Captain SprEpy’s invitation to go to Kwala
Kangsa. This was an opportunity of avoiding several days’ marching,
which. did not escape Haji Abubakar, and at his suggestion it was
arranged that he and one or two others should accompany Sayyid
Maumvp in his boat up the river and rejoin me at Kwala Kendrong.
Then, with many speeches of a reassuring nature to my new ally, and
many farewells to Tou Ttn andthe Malays of Lunggong, I left
their hospitable Lampong. The order of march was much the same
as it had been between Salama and Tampan, the men having to
earry their rations and cooking-pots besides their arms, but our
numbers were augmented by five guides and three coolies (Patani
Malays) and the seven Mandheling men from the Tampan stockade
whom I have already mentioned. The path which we followed
leads ina N. W. direction through the kampongs and padi fields of
Gelok and Sumpitan. All the inhabitants were in the fields busy
with the padi harvest, and the houses stood empty, a fact which
seemed to the Province Wellesley men to speak volumes for the
honesty of Patani Malays. Sumpitan boasts of a tin mine, which
is worked by a few Chinese, but I did not see it, for we crossed

A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER.. ois

the Sumpitan river .far below. the workings, After. leaving Sum-
pitan, cultivation ceased, and the rest of the day’s journey was
performed through forest. Ayer Labu, Bukit Sirai, Ayer Ninring
and Siro Talak are the names of localities which we successively pass-
ed, the jast-named being a kind of “salt-lick’”’ much resorted to, ac-
cording to the guides, by wild animals, a fact to which abundant foot-
prints bore testimony. The attraction seemed to be earth of a low
mound which was scratched up or otherwise disturbed in several. .
places, Elephant tracks were numerous. In the afternoon we. .
camped at a stream called Ayer Membalik. My hammock was
slung between two trees, andabove it a water-proof sheet. stretched
over a line and tied down to pegs in the ground formed an excellent
substitute for a hut. The stream was dammed up to make a bath,
and while some of the men rapidly improvised a hut of sticks and
branches, others lit fires and commenced cooking operations. The
only drawback to enjoyment was the persistent assault of a small
kind of bee called by the Malays peningat, “the stinger,” or apit-
apit, a nest of them haying been disturbed incautiously just after.
we had made ourselves comfortable. - r

The regular camping ground for travellers between Perak and ..
Patani used to be, the guides informed me, at Ayer Bah, a little
further on, but this place has a bad name, owing to a tragedy which
occurred there a few years ago. A Malay and his wife and child,
who stopped there one night, were surprised by a tiger which sprang -
in among them as they sat round their camp-fire and carried off the
woman. The man ran away, and the child, left to itself, wandered
into the forest in search of its parents. In the morning, when the ©
father returned with assistance, the child was nowhere to be found
and was never recovered. The spot is now shunned, and no one
ever camps there.

‘This and other stories served to pass an hour or two after darkness
had set in. The stillness in the forest was intense, the only sounds
being the occasional call of an argus pheasant or the cry of the
wah-wah ape.

April 4th.—This day’s march began and ended in the forest, and
we did not see av inhabited house or meet a human being all day.
The main route between Perak and Patani is nothing but a track ,

34 A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER.

through the jungle and the Semang tribes and wild animals, the
rightful owners of the forest, seemed to be little disturbed by
travellers. Frequently during the day, my attention was called to
traces of the Semangs; now it was a path or a small clearing, now
it was a hole dug at the foot of a tree from which an esculent root
had been taken, and so on.

Shortly after starting, we passed Ayer Bah, the scene of the tiger
story which had been related the night before, and later in the day
we made a short halt at Sungei Kenering. For the rest of the day, we
followed this river upstream, crossing it and recrossing it repeatedly,
when a short cut could be made and a long detour avoided. The
Kenering is the first considerable tributary of the Perak river (on
its right bank) North of the Dedap. It rises in the mountains on
the Kedah frontier and runs into the Perak several hours’ journey
below the place where I first crossed it.

At Padang Puroh, a clearing on the left bank of the Kenering,
which seems to be a usual camping ground, we fell in with the
tracks of Ismail’s elephants (which we had last seen at Jambai)
and followed all day the route which had been taken by the
ex-Sultan. From Padang Puroh, J could see to the eastward
the top of Gunong Lunei, which is on the other side of the
Perak river. Sungei Pari, a little stream which runs into the Ke-
nering, is said to be a great place for wild elephants, as it possesses
2, siro, where they and other wild animals, so the Malays rightly
or wrongly declare, find some earth which they like to “eat”.
(lick?). We passed a deserted settlement at Sungei Pari. The
houses were falling to ruin and the patch once cultivated was
being invaded by jungle. Some of the men discovered some
bushes of the bird pepper and helped themselves liberally.

Sungei Leweng was the name of the next stream crossed, and
from an open field of Jalang here there is a good view of Gunong
_Inas, looking West. This same range is one of the principal
features of the landscape at Salama looking East.

These open patches were a welcome relief to the monotony of
the forest, enabling me, as they did, to guess our position and
direction of march from occasional glimpsés of well-known peake
or ranges. Further on, at Padang Pulo Sari, Bukit Naksa, the

dA JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANT FRONTIER. 85

present boundary between Perak and Patani, was pointed out.
The tracks of elephants were everywhere extremely numerous, the
lalang was tramped down in many places, and here and there wild
fruit of different kinds partially eaten lay scattered on the ground.
When we had crossed the Kenering river—it seemed for the
fiftieth time—at Padang Langkuas, the men in front shouted out
that there were elephants in sight, and I hurried forward just in
time to see a female elephant and a young one standing knee deep
in the lalang on the edge of the forest. They were not a hundred
yards from us; the cow stood still facing us, while the calf trotted
round her. There were no weapons among the party fit for
elephant shooting, even if I had felt inclined to try to bag a female
which has no tusks, so both mother and young one were allowed
to disappear into the jungle uninjured, though several of the men
would have tried the effect of smooth-bore carbines if permitted
to do so!

In the afternoon we camped at Ayer Jiri, a stream which runs
into the Kenering. Traces were not wanting of Sultan Isaart’s
temporary encampment here. Relics were picked up and brought
to me by the men—the rattan ring of a shield, the sengkala or
hobbles of an elephant, a vessel made of bark for cooking pulut
rice, &c., &e.

By the time that the huts were ready, the hammock slung, and
dinner in course of preparation, I received a welcome surprise in
the arrival of messengers from Kwala Kangsa, who brought me
letters and the supplies for which Haji Anusaxkar had written
while we were at Tampan. They had been following in our wake
all day. These messengers fared better than others subsequently
sent off by Captain SrrEepy, with letters, &c., for me, who were
surprised and disarmed by Raja Axnsas and his party, and only got
away with the loss of their rifles and despatches.

The letters, curiously enough, reached me months later, having
been again stolen in Kedah from the original robbers and taken
to some one who could read English through whose means they
were ultimately forwarded to their destination.

April 5th.—Soon after leaving camp this morning, we crossed
the Kenering river for the last time and struck a much smaller

36 A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER,

- stream, the ‘Ayer Naksa, which we followed up to its source in the

« 0)

‘hills of the same name. The general direction was North. At the

summit of Bukit Naksa I found myself ‘at the place” popularly
assigned as the boundary between Perak and Patani.

In all the Native States of the Peninsula, the interior of the
country is under forest, roads are almost unknown, and communica-
tion by land difficult. The rivers are the main arteries by which
trade is carried on, and it ison the banks of rivers and on the sea
coast that the bulk of the Malay inhabitants are to be found. It
follows, therefore, that the inland boundaries of the various States
generally have reference to the watershed, a particular river being
generally found to belong in its whole course to one particular
State. Thus the State of Kedah, or rather the southern portion
of it which is nearest to- Penang, extends as far to the East as the
sources of the Muda and the Krian. So Perak owns all the terri-
tory through which the Kinta river flows, right up to the source

‘of that river in the mountains, beyond which is Pahang. Reason-

ing from this analogy one would expect to find the Perak river, in
its whole length contained in one kingdom, and there is no doubt
that at no distant time Perak jurisdiction extended much further
to the North and North-east than Bukit Naksa and Jeram Panjang.*

The ancient boundary, say the Perak Malays, was at Gunong
Jambul Mrak+ (Peacock’s crest mountain). Here, before the sins

of mankind caused such’ prodigies to disappear, the Creator had,

out of solicitude for the peace of Perak and Patani, placed a

miraculeus tree (kakabut), the blossoms of which were white on

* the side turned towards Perak and red on the side turned towards

Patani. This, it is to be feared, no longer exists.

* Malay Kingdoms are agglomerations of river settlements, and I
doubt if a single instance can be found where ariver district is politically
divided by the river.”—J. R. Logan, Jour. Ind. Arch., vol. v., p. 64.

+ ANDERSON, in his Considerations, calls this mountain Sablah. Speaking

- of the river Muda he says: “Its source is at the foot of the mountain

“ Sablah” in the Patani country. On the opposite side, the Patani river,

which empties itself on the eastern side of the Peninsula, also takes its

rise, and it is positively asserted by the Malays that the Perak river has
_its.source at.the. base of.the. same mountain, which is remarkable, the
~ mouth of the” two livers being’ d fista nt about a degree anda half of
Tatiade

A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER, 37

~~ Gunong Jambul Mrak is the water-parting between Patani and
Perak. From it ‘the Patani river, the river Sah (which runs into
the Patani river) and the Kalantan river are said to flow eastward,
while the Perak river takes a westward course.

But the Perak river has an important tributary, the “ Rui,”
which runs into the main river many miles West of Gunong Jambul
Mrak. The whole of the country watered by this stream was once
Perak territory and the boundary with Patani was Lobang Gandang,
a subterranean stream (a feeder of the Rui), which is said by the
Malays to disappear under ground for several hundred yards.
Nor are these the only defined boundaries. The inland boundary
between the heads of the rivers was “ Padang Limau Nipis” (‘the
plain of the Orange”), and here Perak Chiefs had a stockade

within the present century. The ancient frontier may, therefore,
‘be said to be a line drawn from Lobang Gandang to Padang
Limau Nipis and thence to Gunong Jambul Mrak. The tin-mines
of Intan and Endah were then within Perak territory. They were
opened originally by a Perak Malay “ Pawane Szntne, ” son of the
Chict of the northern district “Ton Latane.” The durian trees at
~Dusun Kalik were planted by him. After his death, the mines
were a constant source of discord between his cousin Ton Lampon
(who had then become Sri Adika Raja) and the Patani Chiefs
and a petty border warfare was the result. Sometimes: one party
got possession of the mines and-sometimes the other. The same
‘~sort.of thing went on in.the time of Tou Torsou, the next Sri
“Adika Raja. Then came the war with Kedah (1817-8) and the
“mines passed into Patani hands.° Since then the Patani Malays
have practically owned the country down to Bukit Naksa and
Berlah Bujuk at the head of Jeram Panjang (“long rapids”).
The Perak Chiefs and ryots have had to acquiesce tacitly in this
arrangement, but they have always, when possible, asserted their
right to the ancient boundary, though ‘they have not been able
- to enforce it. Many years have passed since the Intan and Endah
mines paid a royalty to Perak and since their produce was taken
on elephants to Lubok Goloh and sent down to the Perak river.
But the claims of Perak are not forgotten by the men of the Ulu,
~ and this boundary question was one of the -first points on which

38 & JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER,

the assistance of the first British Resident was asked. I shall
return to this subject again when describing the Intan mines.*

We descended Bukit Naksa on the Patani side and camped
about eleven o’clock beside a stream called Ayer Kulim. We
were getting short of rice, and the men were on half-rations on this
day. By pushing on we could have reached the first Patani kam-
pongs easily, but it was important to us to obtain information, if
possible, regarding the object of the expedition before our presence
in the neighbourhood became known. So I sent Eram and two
other men on to obtain information and to buy a few gantangs of
rice. <A shorter march than usual and a longer rest were not un-
acceptable. At Ayer Kulim we were overtaken, in the course of
the day, by Kutup Monamep and his party, who brought me some
deer’s-meat. They had been more fortunate than we had been in fall.
ing with game. Penghulu Douan produced another addition to jun-
gle farein the shape of a basket of fish which he had caught among the
boulders in the little river, much as trout are tickled ina stream on
Dartmoor. He also eclipsed all his previous performances as a racon-
teur after dinner, and told story after story, traditions of early kings,
and legends which would have rejoiced the hearts of lovers of
folk-lore.

April 6th—Eram arrived early in the morning reporting Maha-
raja Lena to be at Kwala Kendrong with thirty men. We ac-
cordingly set out, as soon as breakfast had been despatched and
baggage repacked, for Bétang, the first Patani village beyond the
frontier. We passed some hot wells called Seah Kulim, which,
under any other circumstances, I should have liked to have ex-
amined. The water was uncomfortably warm to the hand when
plunged into it. Crossing an open clearing (Padang Kuniet) and
then a streamlet (Ayer Bétang), we came in sight of a few houses
and buffalo pens and were guided to the house of Lesspy Kasim,
the headman of the place. He was suffering from severe injuries
received in an endeavour to escape from an enraged elephant, one
of Sultan Ismatu’s herd. He had guided the Perak Raja in the

* Since the period of my visit to the frontier, two Siamese Officials have
been sent there by orders from Bangkok) and have surveyed the Bukit

Naksa and Jeram Panjang line, which was pointed out to them by the
Raja of Reman’s people. A copy of their map has been sent to Singapore,

Sp ee” te ee

A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER. 39

latter part of his flight towards the Kedah border, and had been
attacked by the male elephant on which he rode, dragged along
the ground and trampled on. He was lucky to have escaped with
his life. No bone was broken, but the whole of the calf of one leg
had been nearly torn away from the bone. A month or two had
elapsed since the accident, and the patient seemed to be getting on
fairly well under rude Malay treatment ; the usual native remedy,
fire, had been used to some extent apparently, for the limb was
scorched and blackened. Leaning against the fence outside Lessy
Kastm’s house was a Sakai youth, whose appearance seemed to
interest my Province Wellesley men very much. He had the
restless eyes of a wild animal and never kept them fixed upon any
person or object; in fact he seemed to look right and left or up
and down without moving his head. He gave his name as Lecua
(mud), people of his race being generally named from some
characteristic of the locality in which they happen to be born.

No rice or information was to be got at Bétang, so we went on,
after only a short delay, to Kampong Padang, a considerable hamlet
in a pretty grove of fruit trees adjoining extensive rice-fields
which seemed to be excellently cultivated. All the men of the
village were assembled under the trees near the Penghulu’s house,
and seemed to await our approach somewhat uneasily. Moat
of them were armed with spears or krises, a few only had
firearms. There was a sulky silence when I asked for the
Penghulu, and when at length he was identified, he seemed any-
thing but disposed to give us a friendly reception. The most civil
explanations that we wanted shelter and rice and were willing to
pay for both met with the unpromising reply that there was no
house which we could have and no rice for sale. My conversation
with the Penghulu was broken short by high words in another
part of the group where some of the Malays who were with me,
disgusted with the attitude of the villagers, had begun to use
strong language and had started a very promising quarrel. Nothing
would have been more unwelcome to me than any collision in
Patani, where I probably had little right to be, and the suppression
of the incipient disturbance had an excellent effect, for the Pen-
ghulu began to believe that our intentions were not hostile after

40° A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER.

all. ~‘Phe minds of the villagers were set at ease when I offered to
write a letter then and there to their Chief, Tuan Prang, who lived

at Kernei a few miles off, and while the letter was being written.

by. Lespy Naw in the Penghulu’s house, a house was cleared out
for our reception. It was not a very big one, and was not given
very willingly. The suggestion that we should have to appropri-

ate the Penghulu’s house and help ourselves to provisions, if quar.

ters and rice were not forthcoming, probably had something to do
with the eventual compliance with both demands. I had anticipa-
ted no difficulty with the natives of this part of the country, having
experienced so much attention and kindness from Patani Malays
in Perak, and the delay at Kampong Padang was a great annoy-
ance and disappointment. An understanding with the people of
the place was, however, essential before I could safely divide our
party and leave our baggage there. About two hours were thus
wasted, but after the letter to Tuan Prang had been written, signed
and handed over to Penghulu Lupin for delivery, I left a party to

look after the arrangement of quarters and the bestowal of bag...

gage and went on with twenty picked men to Kwala Kendrong.

A good path led along the bank of the Kendrong river, and this’

we followed in single file, two men and Cue Mar Att, a Patani

‘guide, preceding me. As we neared the Perak river, into which the -
Kendrong flows, the guide pointed out a path which turned off to -

the right, and said that Maharaja Lexa’s retreat lay in that direc-
tion. By this time it had commenced to rain in torrents; we had
not met a soul in the path, and I had every hope.of reaching the
house unperceived. We went on silently until only a turn of the
path concealed us from a house which we could distinctly see
through the bamboos. It was an admirable hiding place and an
exceedingly pretty spot. A small hill sloped down sheer to the
water’s edge and was clothed from base to summit with the large
bamboo, except where a small clearing had been made and plan-
tains and Indian corn had been planted. Two or three men crept
forward to reconnoitre and returned saying: that they had seen

three men with muskets, but. that none of them were the men we.
-_wanted. Suddenly a-man~ behind: (I found- out afterwards that:
-he was one of Kunve Mo#aiixep’s Perak men ) shouted out that

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A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER. 41

he saw people running down to the river. An advance was imme-
diately made and the house surrounded. No fugitives were in
sight and none could have been seen. _ The only defenders of the
place were three Malays armed with muskets, who stood at bay on
the far side of a low platform used for drying grain. It is much
to the credit of the Malays who were with me that these men were
not shot. I had given orders on starting that no shot should be
fired without express direction, but I had little hope that undis-
eiplined men would obey them implicitly in a moment of excite-
ment. The Mandheling men who had joined me at Tampan bran-
dished their rifles and yelled to me to let them fire, and the three
men opposite seemed for a second inclined to take the initiative
themselves. But, though probably Maharaja Luna’s slaves or
followers, they were not the men we were in search of, and a few
words sent them off into the jungle unharmed, much to the dis-
gust of some of my party. We then overhauled the house, which
had evidently been very recently evacuated. One or two bundles
of clothes hastily tied up for flight had been dropped outside and
a few arms and some powder and bullets were secured. A path
led down to the shinely bed of the river, but no boats or rafts were
to be seen. The house stood quite alone, and there was nothing
to shew what route the fugitives had taken. After a thorough
search, therefore, we reluctantly turned back re tnfectd, and after
another miserable walk through the pouring rain reached the
inhospitable kampong which we had left a few hours before. A
supply of rice had been obtained, and there was food for every-
body, but none of the villagers came near us, and the depression
consequent on failure was aggravated by the inclemency of the
weather and the croaking of one or two of the guides who pro-
phesied a night attack by the people of the kampong. |
April 7th. Kampong Padang and its inhabitants improved upon
better acquaintance. After last night’s rain the fields through
which I walked in the morning were cool and glistening; teal flew
up out of the ripe padi and gave prospect of sport; among the
native, curiosity had evidently succeeded to fear, and my men were
‘making acquaintances on all sides. We by no means gave up hope
of gaining the object of our long journey, and Eram and the other

42 A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER.

Patani guides went off at an early hour to try to get information
in the neighbourhood as to the whereabouts of the fugitives. In
the course of the morning Haji AsuBaKkar arrived, having lett
Sayyid Maumup in his boat at Kwala Kendrong. He had heard
before he saw me that we had made our attempt and had failed,
and pursuit being out of the question as lone as we did not know
tho direction taken by Maharaja Lena and his companions, philo-
sophically occupied himself dining the day in conciliating our new
acquaintances in the Ramp ong and actively reorgamising the com-
missariat. Many of the villagers came to see me in the course of
the day, each with a little offering of rice, fruits, or eggs, &c. They
seemed sorry and ashamed that their reception of me on the day
before had been so unfriendly, but explained the fact by saying
that they were utterly unprepared for the sudden appearance of a
white man and a body of armed followers, and suspected hostile
intentions. They had received strict orders (sent through Siam)
that they were not to receive any porsons from Perak into Patani
territory, and had on this account already refused a passage to
Sultan Ismari; they would, therefore, have sent us back again into
the forest without any supplies if our numbers had been less
formidable. 1 heard to-day an untortunate circumstance which
had materially assisted in defeating my plans. We had happened
to enter the kampong ona day fixed for afeast, given by the
Penghulu in observance of the seventh day from the death of some
near relation who had been drowned in descending the Berhala
rapids. A buffalo had been killed and the people from several
neighbouring villages had flocked in, when the ceremonies were
brought to astandstiil by our arrival. Some of the slaves and
followers of Maharaja Lena had been actually in the kampong when
we arrived and had hastened at once to Kwala Kendrong to give
the alarm. We were shewn the loads of padi in mat bags which
they had been carrying home and which they had thrown down in
the fields when hurrying off to warn their Chief. (I learned later
that the person who actually carried the warning and enabled
Maharaja Lena to escape us, was one Sreat, son of the Penghulu
of Grik, a village close by: he was one of those invited to the feast
and would not have beén at Kampong Padang on ordinary days.)

A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER. 43

Té was annoying to think that all our calculations had been upset
by the unlucky chance which had made our arrival coincide with a
village festivity. It was an accident which could not have been
guarded against.

Intervals of leisure which the curiosity of our visitors left me
were bestowed in writting letters reporting progress for the infor-
mation of Government and others. Haji ABUBAKaR superintended
the transformation of our ball of opium into chandoo, the form in
which the drug is used by smokers. This was eifected by cooking
the raw opium im acopper vessel with the addition of a littie
molasses and other ingredients. It was a task which seemed to
require the undivided attention of several men for a good many
hours and resulted in the production of a large bottle full of a
brown seri-liquid substance of the consistency of treacle. It was
very useful afterwards in dealing with Sayyid Maumup and Kulup
-Momamep, both devoted to opium-smeking.

I saw to-day a Sakai girl who had been adopted by a Patani
family. She was dressed in all respects lke Malay girls, but
differed a good deal from them in height and features. She wore
a pair of huge silver earrings, which I was told are a national
characteristic of Patani costume. As an illustration of the size of
the holes whieh Patani women produce in the lobes of their ears
by the use of these enormous earrings, I was told by sume eld
inhabitants that many women taken prisoners by the Siamese in
Tunku Kvpin’s war (1831), were tied together on the march by
long lines of rotan seni (a fine kind of rattan) passed through the
holes in their ears.

Eram returned in the afternoon and announced that Maharaja
Lena and his people were certainly on the other side of the Perak
river, most likely at Berkuning, just opposite the mouth of the
Rui river.

At night the Penghulu paid me a visit to inform me that he had
received intelligence from Kernei, where Tuan Prang resides, that
Waw Mousty, the brother-in-law of this Chief, would come and see

me to-morrow. Tuan Prang’s wife is the sister of the Raja of
Reman and is credited with much power aud influence. Penghulu
Lupin evidently and very naturally did not like his position. He

Ad A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER.

was afraid that any friendliness towards us might be an offence in
the eyes of his Raja and was determined to do as little for us as
he could until he should see his way clearer. In the meantime
‘supplies were plentiful, as everything was paid for promptly and
liberally.

There are generally numbers of Sakai in this neighbourhood,
but the Penghulu declares that the sight of so many armed men
alarmed them, and that they have moved five days’ journey off. He

gave me some interesting details about some of the customs of the

‘Sakai tribes. 1 also ascertained from him the names of the prin-
cipal neighbouring Patani Chiefs. They are Mrenexone Cur of
Betong, Tou Trane of Tumungau, and Menexone Jama, his son.

April 8th.—The Malay Kingdom of Patani is divided into seven
districts, each governed by a Raja or Chief, subordinate to the
Siamese Governor of Sangora. The district or petty kingdom
adjacent to the Perak frontier in which I now found myself is
called Reman, and its Raja lives at Kota Bahru, six or seven days’
journey to the North-east. The Penghulus or village headmen of
the neighbouring hamlets stand in great awe of the Raja of Reman,
who in his turn has, no doubt, a wholesome dread of Siamese
severity. Hence it became daily more apparent that I should get
no local assistance in tracing and arresting the Perak fugitives
until an understanding should be arrived at with the Raja, the
distance of whose capital (Kota Bahru) from the Perak border
makes communication dificult. Any move on our part towards

Kota Bahru with a view of opening personal negotiations with the
Raja would be treated as an act of hostility, and would be prompt-
ly resisted. It was impossible to form any plans until the pro-
mised interview with Wan Monst. ial taken place, and to this I
looked forward with great interest.

This morning a long lithe Malay lad carrying a chandong, a
formidable weapon curved like a reaping hook, introduced himselt
as the bearer of news from Kernei, the residence of the nearest
Patani Chief, Tuan Prang. He had lately come from Baling in
Kedah, and gave me a most intelligent description of the route,
which was the one I intended to pursue on the homeward journey.

Wan Moustw arrived in the middle of the day attended by

A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER. 45

Haji Dat, the Kazi of an adjoining village, and Penghulu Pau
Sirat, the father of the youth who had warned Maharaja Lena
two days before. In Patani a man often drops his name as soon
as he becomes a father, and is thenceforth known as the father of
such-a-one, son or daughter as the case may be. Tuan Prang’s
brother-in-law and envoy was not a prepossessing person. He was
spare and thin, had a restless, suspicious look, and was very guard-
ed and cautious in his remarks. J explained to him that I had
ascertained that certain enemies of the British Government had
been received in Patani territory, in spite of the strict orders of
the Siamese Government to the contrary, and that I believed them
to be still in the neighbourhood. Under these circumstances, it
was expected that he and other influential men in Reman would
lose no time in tracking the fugitives and giving me full informa-
tion of their movements, besides actively co-operating, if necessary,
in effecting their capture. Wan Monern was not at all prepared
to accept this programme, and with much shrewdness commenced
by disputing my premises. Neither he nor Tuan Prang, he
declared, had any knowledge that Maharaja Leta or other fugitives
had been received in Patani territory, and he appealed to the Pen-
ehulus who were present for confirmation of this assertion of his
absolute ignorance on the subject. Of course the Penghulus were
equally ignorant and had no information whatever on the subject
of political offenders. I hinted that I had excellent reason to
believe that Maharaja Lexa had been supphed with rice from the
_ very village in which we were then sitting, and that he had also
been received at Kernei. Wan Monsin shuffled uneasily when
any attempt was made to persuade him to adopt any definite line.
He would willingly communicate all my wishes to the Raja of
Reman, but until an answer came from Kota Bahru he could not
promise to do anything. He had no men to follow up the fugitives,
he did not know where they were, and he had no arms. He could
give orders that no more rice or other provisions should be sold
to them by Patani ryots, but that was all that could be got out of
him. The only pomt on which he was really candid was in his
reply to a question of mine whether I could go on to Kota Bahru
and see the Raja of Reman. He very emphatically assured me

46 A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER.

that this was out of the question, unless the Raja’s leave was first
obtained. Before he left, I handed him an open letter addressed
to the Rajas and Chiefs of Patani demanding, in the name of the
Governor of the Straits Settlements, the surrender of the Perak
refugees. The result of the interview was not altogether satisfac-
tory, but every allowance had to be made for one of the hizh econ-
tracting parties, who had, very likely, never seen an Englishman
before and suspected treachery in every sentence. That a man
should march about the country with a number of armed followers,
and yet have no intention of killing men, capturing women, and
burning villages, was not to be explained by any ordinary Malay
reasoning.

Rather a singular incident occurred in our little camp in the
evening. JI have mentioned a robbery which took place near
Lunggong on the day before we left that place. I had not con-
nected with that occurrence the casual appearance of two men at
Sumpitan the next day, who asked to be allowed to travel North
with us. To-day, however, I received a letter from Jan Dusa
charging two men named Sutiman and Dotan with the offence,
and stating that he understood that they had joined my party.
Haji ABUBAKAR at once undertook their arrest. They were
beguiled into friendly conversation and then deprived of their
krises suddenly. ‘Then there being no bloodshed to be feared they
were secured and brought-to me. Both confessed their guilt, and
several small articles of jewellery were found on their persons.
Then the question arose: How were we to secure them for the
night in a land which did not offer the usual facilities of civiliza-
tion—stocks, handcuffs, or iron bars? et me explain how this
little difficulty is surmounted in a Malay State. A long bamboo
pole is split up the middle, and the neck, wrists and ankles of the
criminal (who is placed in a sitting position) are fastened between
the two halves of the pole. He is thus trussed in a most effectual
manner and escape isimpossible, for he cannot rise. The people
of the village thought the arrest of two of my own followers a
a most unaccountable proceeding, it being sufficient usually in
Malay countries to be a great man’s adherent to have the right to
commit every ordinary crime with impunity.

A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER. 4.7

The man on whose information I had originally proposed the
expedition, made his appearance for the first time this evening.
He could give me no certain tidings of the fugitives, and did not
console me much by the assurance that we had been very close
upon them on the 6th, many having had to wade the river to get
away, leaving the greater part of their property behind.

Their plight in the jungle must be most lamentable, for it has
rained steadily ever since the 6th, and all the rivers are rising.

April 9th.—All preparations were made this morning for break-
ing up our camp here as soon as possible, neither information nor
assistance being obtainable from the Patani authorities. Pending
reference to the Raja of Reman, I decided to return to Penang
through Kedah territory, travelling down the Muda river to the
sea. Iselected twenty men to accompany me, and ordered the rest
to remain here with Haji ABuBAKAR and get information, it being
my intention to return, if necessary, after reporting the situation
of affairs and getting further orders from Singapore. A mes-
senger was despatched to Tuan Prang at Kernei to say that he
might expect to see us there on the following day, but our de-
parture was postponed in consequence of a letter from Tuan Prang
which I received that evening. In it he said that he would come
and see me on the following day, and would work with me to get
what I wanted “if it were to be found in the land of Reman.”

One of the men produced this afternoon a sumpitam, or blow-pipe,
the weapon of the aborigines, and some of the natives of the place
made some very good practice with it. The mouth-piece is put
into the mouth, not merely to the lips, and then by a sudden puff
ihe poisoned dart may be propelled for a considerable distance.
The blow-pipe itself is formed of two tubes of bamboo, both per-
fectly straight and one fitting inside the other. The poisoned
darts are carried in a kind of quiver attached to a belt which goes
round the waist. Some tribes use the bow and arrow in preference
to the blow-pipe.

April 10th.—Imprisonment under the cocca-nut trees of Kam-
pong Padang, which a steady downpour of three days’ duration
rendered unavoidable, began to get rather tedious, and I took
advantage of a fine morning to visit the junction of the Kendrong

48 A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER.

and Perak rivers. The Kendrong river, which we followed down
to its confluence with the parent stream, was an angry yellow flood,
and it was hard to recognize in it the clear, sparkling, well-behaved '
little river which we had passed on the 6th. The path unfortunate-
ly does not follow one bank of the stream the whole way, and we
had to cross the Kendrong six times, wading waist deep at an
imminent risk of being carried off our legs by the force of the
current. The Perak river even as far up the country as this,
nearly two hundred miles from its mouth, is still a noble stream.
The left bank is high and steep, while the right bank on which we
stood is a long stretch of pebbles and shingle. With the exception
of an unimportant village at the mouth of the Kendrong, there is
no sign of life or cultivation. Here, as lower down, every reach
has its legend. A little further up-stream two rocks facing each
other, one on each side of the river, are said to have been the forts
of two rival tribes of monkeys, the Mawah (Stmia lar) and the
Siamang (Sema syndactyla) in a terrible war which was waged
between them in a bygone age. The Siamangs defeated their
adversaries, whom tliey have ever since confined to the right bank
of the river. If any matter-of-fact person should doubt the truth
of this tradition, are there not two facts for the discomfiture of
scepticism—the monkey forts (called Batu Mawah to this day)
threatening each other from opposite banks of the river, and the
assurance of all Perak Malays that no Mawah is to be found on
the left bank ?

A journey of two days further up this beautiful river brings
the traveller to Tumungau, in the neighbourhood of which is the
Belong gold mine. Here gold dust is the currency, and silver
dollars are scarce. Iam not aware that this place has ever been
visited by an European. The writer of a work on the Peninsula,
published in Penang in 1824, (AnpERson), mentions Belong, of |
which he had heard from native report. He states the probable
yield in his day to have been about ten catties (about thirteen
pounds avoirdupois) annually, not a very startling quantity.

A Malay opium-smoker is not an early riser. He begins to live
about the middle of the day and is probably at his best late in
the afternoon. He will sit up to any hour at night and is then

A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER. 49

less drowsy than the non-smoker, but morning finds him a very poor
creature. Sayyid Maumvp was no exception to this rule. Noone
was stirring at the chief’s house when we reached Kuala Ken-
drong, and when at length he appeared he was shaky and unstrung.
We visited the house which had harboured Maharaja Lena and
which he had so suddenly vacated a few days before. It was a
much better dwelling than my hut at Kampong Padang, and if I
had contemplated remaining longer in the country I should have
shifted my quarters. As it was, I put ten men init, to be in the
way of getting information if any were to be obtained in the
neighbourhood.

On my return to Kampong Padang I found that the indefatig-
able Haji had adorned the hut with clean mats and hangings
borrowed from the villagers in anticipation of Tuan Prang’s visit.
A messenger had reported the arrival of the chief at Grih, the
next village, but the latter, with a deliberation of movement which
befitted his rank, did not put in an appearance for some hours.
Nothing is more undignified in the eyes of a Malay, or indeed of
any Mohamedan, than hurry. Haste is discountenanced in an
increasing ratio as you ascend the social scale, till a royal wedding
has become a proverbial illustration of Malay procrastination.
“ Put off again and again, as if a Raja were being married” is a
homely smile well-known to the Perak peasant. A feverish im-
petuosity and anything approaching to fussiness often procure for
Englishmen in the East the hearty contempt and pity of Orientals.

Haji Asvusakar did not allow the process of waiting for cur
visitor to become tedious. His stories were numerous and ex-
cellently told, but alas! Oriental humour is not always suited to
the sober pages of an English journal. One, however, I will
transcribe here because I recognised in it an old Indian fable and
it was interesting to find it domesticated among Malays.

“A certain crane (burong pala) who had long found his living
in a pool which was well supplied with fish, began to feel the
approach of old age. He was no longer as active as he had been
and the fish were too quick for him. In vain he stalked round
‘the pond; the fish sought refuge in the middle before he could
snap one up and he was in imminent danger of perishing of hun-

DO A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER.

ger. In this difficulty he bethought himself of a plan. He per-
suaded the fish to give him one little fish of the smallest kind
(anak sampilei ) and he flew off with him to a neighbouring pond,
where there were no fish, and put him into the water. The little
fish enjoyed himself amazingly, having no big fish to dispute it with
him. After a time the crane carried him back to the original pool,
and before long all the fish in it had heard glowing descriptions of
the delights of the new pond and all wanted to go there. The
crane very kindly promised to take them there one by one and the
confiding fish believed in him. Every day he came for a fish, and,
when he had carried him a little way, of course, he ate him up. At
last all the fish were finished and nothing eatable was left except
an old crab at the bottom of the pond. The crane carried him off
also with his usual evil intention. But the crab, suspecting that
all was not right, laid hold of the crane’s neck with one of his claws
and put an end to him.” From this let all men learn that fraud
and cunning, though they may be temporarily successful, bring
their own punishment or discomfiture in the end! *
Tuan Prang appeared at last attended by the Penghulus and a
number of followers. He wore a tight fitting blue jacket and a
short sarong which left his legs bare from the knee downwards.
His hair which was cut in the Siamese fashion stood straight up
on his head in a tuft like a shaving-brush. He was not so intelli-
gent as Wan Monpsin, but much more open and straight-forward.
He did not attempt to deny that Maharaja Lena had been in the
neighbourhood, but lamented that he had not had private intima-
tion of what I wanted before I appeared on the scene in person.
I explained that when I started I believed the man to be still in
Perak territory and that if I had known all along that he was in
Patani my journey would probably not have been undertaken.

* Dr. Backer has noticed theparallel between this fable, which the Sia-
mese possess in the collection called Nonthuk Pakkaranam (the Prudent
Ox) and La Fontaine’s fable of the Heron. Is it not probably to be
found inthe Malay Kalla wa Damnah (also called Hakayat Si teruboh
after the bull who became the lion’s friend) and, therefore, to go further
back, in the Hvtopadesa and Panchatantra? See Dr. Backer’s transla-
tion of the Malay poem Bidasar?, Introduction, p. 42. I have not gota
eopy of the Anwar-1-Suhaili to which to refer.

A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER. at

The question now was would Tuan Prang give me active assist-
ance in tracking and following up the fugitives if they were still
in Patani territory? The advantages to be gained by performing
a signal service for the British Government were placed promi-
nently before him. Would he assemble some men and co-operate
with me, or would he undertake himself the seizure and surrender
of the proscribed persons? Tuan Prang vowed and declared that
he was powerless and that he could not move hand or foot without
orders from his Raja. He would not help the Perak men, but at
the same time he could not act against them without orders.

After this, it was of no use to remain longer at Kampong Padang,
and I told the Chief that I should now return to Penang to report
to my Government. I asked his permission to travel through
Patani territory to the Kedah frontier, as my intention was to
return by a shorter and less fatiguing route than that by which we
had come. Tuan Prang made no objection to this, stipulating
only that I should not take more than twenty men with me, as a
larger number might alarm his people. Before leaving, Tuan
Prang presented me with an elephant load of rice, and we parted
with mutual protestations of friendship, he to pass the night at
the house of Pau Srrar in trying to conjecture whether our inten-
tions were really as peaceful as described, and I to make all
arrangements for an early move on the morrow.

April 11th.— The pelandok (mouse-deer ) may forget the net,
but the net does not forget the pelandok.” So quoted Haji
ABUBAKAR sententiously in reply to farewell wishes for our ulti-
mate success. He and about twenty men were to move to-day to
the empty house by the.sriver side and were to report all move-
ments of Maharaja Lexa and his followers to me at Kuala Kangsa,
where I hoped to be in a week or so. Lesspy Naw and some inva-
lids were sent down the river on a raft, preferring the perils of the
rapids to another long jungle tramp. The rest of the men, num-
bering with the guides about twenty, started with me about 7 a.m.
on the first stage of our homeward journey. A good path through
comparatively open ground led us to Grih, Pau Srrat’s kampong,
where we stopped for a moment to exchange farewells with Tuan
Prang, who was sitting at the door of the Penghulu’s house. He

52 A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER.

was in undress, the blue jacket of the day before being dispensed
with, and the shaving-brush was more striking than ever. He had
sent on messengers to his own village, he said, to let the people
know that we should pass by, and he hoped that I was not taking
more than twenty men. Heads were counted, and it was found
that the number agreed upon had not been exceeded. The peaks
of Gunong Kendrong and Gunong Kernei are very striking fea-
tures in the landscape as viewed from this village. Their steep
conical peaks are very unlike the rounded undulating ranges
(granitic) elsewhere so common. I should imagine that they are
composed of limestone, but they were too distant to allow of my
visiting them Scen from some points, the two peaks appear to be
close together, but I was assured that they are a long distance
apart,

- After leaving Grih we entered the forest and struggled for some
hours over one of the worst jungle paths that I can imagine pos-
sible even in a Malay jungle. It may be described as a network
of roots of trees separated from each other by deep elephant tracks
which the recent rains had filled with water. There was hardly a
square yard of sound footing in a mile of it. At last, crossing a
little river (Ayer Kernei), we reached open ground again, and, pass-
ing through some fields, came in sight of a grove of fruit trees,
which concealed from view the houses of Kernei. At the entrance
of the village we became aware of the presence of three or four
armed men at a stile across the path. They told us that we were
to take the lower path, and must not march through the kampong.
This was altogether too unfriendly, and I heard significant growls
behind me at this latest evidence of Patani suspicion. We did not
take the lower path through the padi fields, and the few lads with
ladings (Malay swords) who guarded the entrance moved aside
with some alacrity when we made for the opening. They made no
rejoinder to a good humoured remark that we had come too far to
be willing to return without having a look at Kernei, of which we
had heard so much. There was not much to see. There was the
usual group of atap houses scattered about irregularly under the
cocoanut trees; the Chief’s own house was not distinguishable
from the bem by any architectural pretensions. My excellent

A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER. O38

acquaintance, Wan Monsry, who had visited me in the character .
of an envoy only a few days before, now came hurrying down a .
sidepath in a very bad temper carrying a Snider rifle in his hands.
He made no salutation, and did not reply to my polite greeting.
Evidently he did not approve of our presence in Kernei, but this
mattered little as the Chief’s permission had been obtained. His
wrath had a visible effect on the villagers, however, who would not
enter into conversation with my men or tell them anything. At
the other end of the village we met some Malay acquaintances,
British subjects of Province Wellesley, of whom some were here
on a quest similar to ours and others were temporarily settled in
Patani territory. British law occasionally obliges even prominent
citizens to remove for a time from the shadow of the British flag,
and to seek an asylum in lands where more liberal views are enter-
tained on the subject of penal legislation. A polite and hospitable
outlaw supplied us with green cocoanuts, and sent us on our way
refreshed.

Kernei is on the river Rui, which runs into the Perak river some
-distance above Kuala Kendrong. For the rest of the day we tra-
velled up the right bank of the Rui, crossing several minor streams
which run into it. For some way the country was open and shewed
signs of considerable cultivation. Acres of lalang grass had in
some places covered ground formerly cleared for upland padi, but :
in others there were promising plantations. Rain overtook us at
Kampong Jong soon after we quitted Kernei, and left me little
inclination to observe beauties of scenery. A range of seven peaks
(Bukit Tujoh) on the other side of the Rui did not fail, however,
to impress me with its beauty.

Our halting place for the night was the deserted village of Plan.
It was a group of half-a-dozen houses, some in good preservation,
others falling into ruin, surrounded by fruit trees. It had been
abandoned by its inhabitants, because they found that living on the
main route between Kernei and Baling exposed them to the exac-
tions of too many travellers. Hospitality is a virtue when exercised
voluntarily, but the perpetual involuntary harbouring of strangers
is apt to try the temper. The inhabitants of Plan came back
periodically, I was told, when their fruit ripened, but at other

S54 A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER.

seasons the desolation which we now encountered was the normal
condition of the Settlement. We took possession of the principal
house, not sorry to get under cover after an afternoon of incessant
rain. The abandoned gardens supplied us liberally with vegetables
of various kinds, but leeches, mosquitoes, and sand-flies made us
regret the departure of the Malay owners. Rank vegetation grew
right up to the houses, and, of course, harboured an undesirable
quantity of insect life.

April 12th“ Before the flies were astir,” as the Malays say, we
were up and preparing for an onward movement. The decaying
huts of Plan were soon left behind, and we went forward with the
energy of men whose faces are turned towards home. During the
early part cf the day we were still marching up the valley of the
Rui river, through the usual jungle scenery, silent forest and run-
ning water. Jive times did we wade through the Rui, which, even
as far up as this, is no inconsiderable stream. Groves of ancient
durian trees, telling of former cultivators, long dead and gone,
fringed the river bank in places, but no hut or column of smoke
betokened human life anywhere. Crossing over a hill (Bukit
Berapit), which overhangs the river, we descended to a stream,
Lubok Golok, which runs into the Rui close by. Here, in former
days of Perak supremacy, the tin produced from the mines of Intan
and Endah was put into boats for conveyance down the Rui to the
Perak river. But all signs of trade have long disappeared, for the
Patani rulers find a nearer market for their metal at Baling in
Kedah than at any point in Ulu Perak. At Kuala Kapayang
signs of cultivation were apparent. A field or two of Indian corn
and a few Siamese and Malay kampongs in the vicinity—the first
inhabited places we had fallen in with since leaving Kernei—were
a relief after miles of undisturbed jungle. A woman who stood
in her corn-patch, astonished at the sight of so many strangers,
said, in answer to questions, that there were six or seven houses
(Siamese ) about here. Wondering what induced people to settle
in this remote place, we went on again along the forest track
which we had followed since the morning. Truly, Malay travel-
ling, if one travels as a Malay, is a rough experience. The jungle
abounds in traps for the unwary, tangled nets of roots which catch

A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER. 55

the feet and disturb the centre of gravity, long graceful fronds of
the rotan cane armed with a series of claws which claim a portion
of everything in which they fix their hold, fallen logs which have to
be climbed over wearily and painfully when a break in the pace is
an additional exertion. Here the torrents of the rainy season have
worn. the path into a minor watercourse, high and slippery on the
sides, rough and uneven at the bottom; would you walk on the
sides you can get no footing and slip at every step ; you follow the
centre of the track, and the result is a series of jars decidedly try-
ing to the vertebre. Rivers and streams must be crossed by
wading, except when a bridge of, perhaps, a single narrow log
offers a dry passage. While in the forest you are stifled for want
of air, when you emerge into the plain you are roasted for want of
shade. Arms and impediments of any sort become a burden, and
I often thought when we halted late in the day, tired, hungry and
half-blinded with the glare of the sun, that men in our position
were not exactly in the trim to offer a very effectual resistance in
ease of attack. But all hostile possibilities had been left behind
when we quitted Kernei and another day would see us in Kedah
territory.

As we approached the famous Intan mines we passed the scenes
of other unsuccessful mining adventures. A drove of wild pigs
scampered across the path as we neared Galian Che Drahman,
where the remains of an old smelting house and furnace were
slowly mouldering into decay amid the ever encroaching vegeta-
tion. The story of this mine is not an uncommon one in Malay
mining districts: the discovery of a lode of ore, the opening of a
mine by a party of Malays, a quarrel about shares, a fatal blow
with a kris, the flight of the murderers and abandonment of the
works. The story was told as we followed the little river, Ayer
Kapayang, up-stream. Passing another abandoned mine, Galian
Isang, which had once been worked by Chinese, we emerged from
the forest at an old clearing, Padang Kalik, beyond which is a
fine grove of durian trees. Then, descending into a valley at the
foot of a steep hill, we came upon the small colony of Chinese who
work the Kalik mine. Here we sat and rested for a while, and I
talked to the Chinese headman about his prospects. The majority

56 A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER.

of his men looked ill and anything but hopeful or prosperous. The
towkay said that he had worked here for ten years, and, though he
found it difficult to make money now, he could not find it in his
heart to abandon the place, and was working on in hope of better
times. His name was Bory Tan. He said that the terms on
which he heid his mine from the Patani Chief of the district were
terribly high, that he had to give the Raja half of his produce and
to pay an extortionate price for opium. All that he saw of the
outside world was comprised in a monthly visit to Baling, with
an elephant hired from Mrencaxone Cut, to convey his tin to market
and to buy rice and other provisions for his coolies. Once there
were a good many people living at Kuala Kapayang, and rice
could be obtained there, but now nothing to eat can be got nearer
than Baling, almost all the former inhabitants of Kuala Kapayane
having left it. His monthly output, he said, is, in good months,
two or three bharas ; sometimes it does not exceed two or three
slabs (jungkong). He had about twelve coolies altogether.

It was rather a melancholy tale, and I could not help feeling
sorry for the man when we rose to continue our journey, leaving
him at the bottom of his cheerless valley to pursue the chimera of
making a fortune as well as Malay rapacity will let him. The
enterprise of the ubiquitous Chinaman is very great, and there are
few places in the Peninsula where trade is possible to which he
has not penetrated. It is a pity that he cannot teach the Malay
to imitate his industry as well as his vices. But gambling and
opium-smoking are more easily domesticated in a Malay kampong
than a taste for hard work and a dogged perseverance that over-
comes all obstacles.

The pull up to the top of Bukit Intan is a very steep one, but
fortunately the hill is not very high. From the top of it we caught
a farewell climpse of the distant peak of Gunong Kendrong.
Descending on the other side we soon reached a cluster of houses
and a smelting-house which constitute the mining village of Intan.
_ The inhabitants—Chinese, Siamese, and a few Malays—vwere full of
- enriosity, but very civil. We were shewn a hut usually assigned
to the use of travellers between Kedah and Patani which was
placed at our disposal. While some of the men got it ready for

A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER. 57
occupation I stopped with some of the others at the smelting-
house where the furnace was being prepared for the night’s opera-
tions. Smelting is always carried on at night, principally, I fancy,
because it is cooler at night than during the day. While looking
on I was amused at the request of the Chinese operators that I
would send away one of my men who was carrying a musket, as no -
iron or steel instrument was allowed inside the smelting-house. Of
course this concession to superstition was readily made and the
forbidden metal was removed. The head of the village, or Pang-
lima as he is called, is an intelligent Chinese called Cowane. He
paid me every attention, and willingly gave me all the information
J asked for. At night I sat for hours, in such a scene as I have
before described in Salama, watching the molten metal running
out of the glowing mouth of the furnace and listening to the
Chinese complaints of the hard terms on which they hold their
mines from Patani.

The Perak Malays claim that the mines of Intan were originally
opened by men of their country under the auspices of the Sri
Adika Raja, Chief of Ulu Perak. The first allusion to these mines
which I have found in any European author occurs in ANDER-
son's “Considerations” (p. 168) where he mentions a letter
written by the Raja of Perak to the Raja of Kedah in 1814 con-
taining the following passage: ‘“‘ The Patani people have attacked
our country and taken possession of our tin-mines.” After this
occurrence considerable exertions seem to have been made by the
Government of Penang to facilitate intercourse with Patani and to
encourage the export of tin with the view of benefiting the trade
of their Settlement. Among the objects of Mr. Crawrorn’s mis-
sion to Siam in 1822 was an effort “to open free intercourse with
the tin-mines of Patani. whence large supplies were offered to
Colonel Bannerman (Governor of Penang) and where there is
no doubt almost any quantity may be derived through the Murbow.
Muda and Prye rivers. ” *

Mr. AxpDERson, who was in the service of the East India Com-
pany at Penang, appears to have employed every means, short of
visiting the localities himself, to obtain information about the

* ANDERSON’S “ Considerations,” p. 97.

58 A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER.

mines of Kroh, Intan and others. Perhaps the most interesting
statement he makes regarding them is that “a very intelligent
native who came from Banca and surveyed the tin-mines up the
Kuala Muda declared that the produce might, in a few years, be
rendered fully equal to Banca, and offered to establish a colony of
miners, but was prevented by the exorbitant demands of the King,
who wished to have one half of all the produce.” The monthly
produce of the mines seems to have been, prior to 1824, about 50
bharas from Kroh and 200 from Intan. These two mines, together
with Galian Mas and Ampat Ayer, are described by ANDERSON as
being “the principal tin-mines in the Patani country.” In his
time, as at the present day, the tin exported from this district was
taken on elephants over the hills to Pulai and thence sent down
the river to Kuala Muda in small boats.

I gather from observations in some of Colonel Low’s con-
tributions to the Journal of the Indian Archipelago * that he
visited these mines in 1836, but I am not aware that he ever pub-
lished any account of his journey.

At the period of my visit, the miners at Intan numbered about
40 persons, all being under the control of Panglima Cuwane, who
seems to share the Banca man’s opinion as to the value of the
mines, for he told me that, if the term were easier, he would have
no difficulty in getting 1,000 men to work there. The Raja of
Reman and his Mengkongs certainly seem determined to kill the
goose with the golden eggs. The title on which Panglima Cuwane
holds his mine was shewn to me and I read it aloud to a group in
the smelting house amid various expressions of opinion not
favourable to the dynasty of Reman. It was a long Malay docu-
ment with the Raja’s seal stamped in red upon it in the upper
right hand corner. The conditions were that all the tin produced
from the mines should be delivered to the Mengkong of Betong
at the rate of $24 a bhara. No smelting was to be carried on
except in the presence of an agent sent by the Mengkong, who
would check the amount of tin produced. Opium was to be sup-
plied by the Patani Chief at $24 a ball, and provisions of various
kinds at fixed prices.

as WO HID 2B} 180. Dissertation on Province Wellesley, 2287,

A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER. 59

The Mengkong of Betong receives the tin at the mines and con-
veys it on elephants to Baling in Kedah, where the market price is
usually $22 less than the price ruling in Penang. This is account-
ed for by the fact that the Raja of Kedah imposes a tax of $20 per
bhara on all tin brought down the Muda river. Six slabs, or one
bhara, more or less, form an elephant’s load. When I was at
Intan the price of tin in Penang was $62 a bhara, and at Baling
40, so the Patani Government made a profit of $16 a bhara upon
their sales at the latter place.

The water used for washing the ore obtained at Intan is the
stream called Ayer Kwah, which runs into the Rui near Bukit
Berapit already mentioned. I had no opportunity of examining the
workings in the valley, but it is clear that the ore must be obtained
with great facility to enable men to produce tin, at a point so
remote from supples, at the price of $24 per bhara. The mines
at Kroh mentioned by ANDERSON are now abandoned, probably
the result of the illiberal Malay policy of driving the hardest pos-
sible bargain with the Chinese.*

There can be little doubt that, under proper management, and a
government which would give some security for life and property,
these mines might be rendered very productive and remunerative.
Whether the Patani Malays will ever see the wisdom of encour-
aging Chinese miners by the offer of better terms, it is impossible
to say; the Perak claim, which has been dormant since the war
between that State and Kedah in 1818, may perhaps some day
receive consideration, and its recognition would probably be the
best security for the future prosperity of the Intan tin industry.

April 13th.—This morning, while preparations were being made
for quitting our temporary lodging, a friendly Chinese presented
himself for an interview. He gave his name as Fone Kwi, and
had many questions to ask as to the object of our visit. His
curiosity having been satisfied on this head, he volunteered much
interesting information about Intan and its neighbourhood. Two
Siamese, he informed me, passed yesterday on their way to Betong,
commissioned by Tuan Prang to inform the Mrenexone that I had
insisted upon passing through Patani territory and was even now

* I heard in 1881 that they were again being worked.

69 A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER.

on my way. They were the bearers of a letter of which this was
said to be the purport. Malays, unlike us, do not put in a letter
all that they have to say ; the despatch of a letter usually involves
a special messenger, and to him are confided viva voce most of the
requests, commissions or information, which we should entrust to
the penny post. The letter itself often contains little beyond
complimentary phrases, and is useful rather as evidence of the
genuineness of the errand than anything else. This accounts for
Tuan Prang’s messengers being able to tell the Chinese of Intan
the nature of the communication of which they were the bearers.
Fone Kwr was anxious to know if there was any chance that this
part of the Peninsula would come under British rule. The pro-
eress of events in Perak was evidently beimg closely watched by
the Chinese in Patani who would like to find themselves indepeud-
ent of the Malays.

When al! was ready for the start, a financial difficulty had to be
encountered. Various purchases had been made on the evening
before, and dollars were now tendered in payment. Copper coin,
however, was terribly scarce and change was not to be had. The
shopkeeper proved to be the gainer by this, for additional articles
had to be bought to bring the account up to an even sum in silver.

From Intan there is a path towards the N. E. which goes to
Endah and Kroh. Avoiding this, we commenced the day’s march
by a short but steep ascent which took us to the top of a hill W.
of the mines. At the foot of it, on the other side, the path crosses
Ayer Kajang, a stream which runs into the river Kwah, one of the
tributaries of the Rui. From this point the ground again rises
and several slight elevations have to be crossed before the Kedah
frontier is reached. From two of these—Bukit Petai and Bukit
Daru—good views of the white cliffs of Gunong Wang near Baling
were obtained. Monkeys were numerous on this part of the
track and we repeatedly encountered troops of them (a long-—
tailed species ) leaping and chattering among the trees to which
wild fruit of some kind had probably attracted them. At one
point the monotony of the march through the never-ending forest
was broken by the appearance of two men coming from the direc-

A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER. GL

tion in which we were going. They were Malays, and both were
armed with kris and spear. The usual enquiry “where are you
going?” which among Malays is a mark of polite solicitude, not
of ill-bred curiosity, elicited the information that they were bound
from Baling to Kernei. Shortly afterwards we reached an open-
ing in the forest which was occupied by a pool of dark-coloured
water. It was a sombre, uninviting locking place, but is dignified
by the Malays by the name of Tasek, or “the lake.” This is the
boundary between the States of Patani and Kedah.

“The lake” did not present sufficient attractions to induce us
to prolong our stay there, and after a brief halt the journey was
resumed. High ground was again in front of us, and two hills—
Bukit Tumsu and Bukit Sempang—were successively passed. Seii-
pang means “ cross-road”’ and at the hill so called a path branches
off to the right, which leads, I was told, to Percha Deredah, a
Siamese hamlet of some fourteen or fifteen houses on the Patani
side of the border. leaving the hills at last, we descended to a
clearing occupied by Siamese peasants. We were now fairly out
of the forest, and evidences of life and industry were to be seen on
every side. Ata Siamese kampong called Ayer Juang, we crossed
a river (Sungei Rambong) by a good plank bridge and followed
a path which intersected a wide expanse of open padi fields. The
village of Rambong, which we did not visit, was left on our right
when we passed Ayer Juang. Right ahead of us, and seen to great
advantage beyond an open foreground of green fields, was the sin-
gularly shaped mass of Gunong Wang, a large limestone moun-
tain which dominates Baling. It stands alone and seems to rise
abruptly from the plain, its white, precipitous sides being in places
altogether free from vegetation for hundreds of feet while the
summit and slopes are covered with a thick forest of stunted trees.

The path seemed to improve as we proceeded, especially after we
had passed a junction at which the track from Kroh and that from
Intan (which we had been following ) unite. Presently the river
Baling was reached and crossed, and we entered a Siamese kam-
pong. Comfortable looking houses, flourishing plantations and a
stone causeway, which led through the hamlet, gave this place an
air of long-established prosperity such as I had not seen since

62 A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER.

leaving British territory. A Siamese priest in his yellow robes
sauntering about idly under the trees had evidently chosen an
exceedingly pleasant spot for his meditations on the virtues of
Buddha.

Our march was now nearly ended. At a short distance further
on we came to a Chinese village built of sun-dried bricks, where a
small crowd turned out to look at us as we passed, and thence my
guide piloted me to the house of the Malay Penghulu, which we
reached at 1 P.M.

Mart Aris, the Penghulu of Baling, who governs this district for
the Raja of Kedah, presently appeared and made us welcome.
Green cocoa-nuts were produced and soon emptied of their refresh-
ing contents. Declining all hospitable invitations to prolong my
stay, I opened negotiations at once on the subject of boats for the
river journey to Kuala Muda. I thought at one time that Malay
procrastination would be too strong for me, but I formed an unex-
pected ally in a Penang acquaintance, Mar Arir by name, whom
an approaching wedding, the preparations for which were going
forward in the Penghulu’s house, had brought to Baling. He
undertook to engage a boat and polers, and in the meantime I
visited the Chinese quarter with the Penghulu. The right to keep
a gaming house and the privilege of selling opium and spirits are
farmed out to monopolists, and we visited their establishments in
turn. The only foreign spirit obtainable was a vile concoction
known in the British Settlements as “Eagle Brandy,’ which is
imported, I believe, from Hamburg or some other German town.
It is sold wholesale in the towns of the Straits Settlements at a
price which, when the cost of bottles, corks, capsules, labels, case,
packing and freight is deducted, seems to leave little for the liquid.
There can be little doubt that itis a most deleterious compound, but
either the state of the Colonial law, or the inaction of the authori-
ties, permits our soldiers and sailors to be poisoned with it in the
streets of our own sea-ports. Huntiny & Patmer’s biscuits in
tins and some bundles of Burmah cigars also formed part of the
stock-in-trade of the spirit-seller. Fowls were cheap, and a number
were secured by my people at five cents (about 23d) apiece. In
Patani, the Penghulu told me, they are much cheaper and can be

~~ el en

ee eee

A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER. 63

obtained for one cent each, or eight centsadozen. Bullocks and buf-
faloes seemed to be plentiful in Baling, and altogether itis a thriving
place. The Chinese traders there purchase the tin produced at
Intan and all kinds of produce from the Malays and send periodi-
cal cargoes to Penang.

Several individuals of the aboriginal tribe called Sakai were
noticed by my people at Baling. Some of them are slaves in the
houses of Malays, by whom they have been brought up from child-
hood. .

In the evening, after an infinity of trouble, I succeeded in ob-
taining a covered boat, large enough to convey my whole party of
20 men, with the requisite number of polers. Our few possessions
were put on board, and we were soon floating down the Giti river
on our way to the Muda. The Baling river, which I have previ-
ously mentioned, is a minor stream which joins the Giti near the
town. The latter river winds in the most picturesque manner
round the base of Gunong Wang, at the gigantic cliffs of which
we gazed up as we passed. All these limestone mountains abound
in caves, the homes of bats and of the swallows which furnish the
edible bird’s nests of Chinese commerce. Gunong Wang is honey-
comed with caves, and so are Gunong Geriyang* (commonly
known as the “Elephant” mountain) near the Kedah capital,
and Gunong Pondoh and others in Perak. It is only on the crags
and peaks of mountains of this formation that the kambing gurun
(“wild goat”) is found. It is as shy and active as the chamois,
and rarely falls into the hands of the Malays. I have, however,
seen specimens of the horns in Perak, and Colonel Low mentions
having seen a live one on the very mountain which I was passing.

* Geriyang, “the mountain of the Divinity,’’ from gir’ (Sansk. ), a
mountain, and Ayang, godhead or divinity in the ancient religion of the
Javanese and Malays. So Chenderiang, the name of a river and district
in Perak, is derived from chandra (Sansk.), the moon, and hyang.
Other Malay words of similar derivation are kuyangan, the heavens,
(ka-byangan, of or belonging to the deities) and sembahyang, to pray
(from sembah, to pay homage, and hyang ).

+ “I observed one of these animals far above my head standing on
the point of the perpendicular limestone rock of Khow Wong near the
frontier of Patani.’”’ Colonel Low. Journal Indian Archipelago, ITI.,
23 (1849). :

64: A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER.

Pulai was the first settlement on the river bank which I noticed.
The population seemed to be numerous and a good many groups
assembled at the river side to stare at us. At Kampong Datoh a
little lower down the river we stopped for the night. Penghulu
Cuz Wane, the headman of the place, came on board to see me
and to offer his services and the resources of his village such as
they were. It was dark by this time and it was not worth while
to land, J remained on board the boat for the night, while most
of my people billeted themselves on the villagers.

April 14th. The Giti is terribly obstructed in the whole of its
course by fallen timber. The conservancy of rivers is not under-
stood in Malay forests, and where every successive rainy season, by
the undermining of the river-banks by floods, causes the fall of
numbers of trees into the stream below, the state of the navigable
highway may be conceived. Just enough is cleared away to per-
mit boats to pass, but in going down-stream, even by daylight, the
most skilful steering is required to avoid contact with snags, and at
night progress is almost impossible except in very small boats.
Ours was one of the largest boats in use on the river and the
bumps which she received in the course of the day were so numer-
ous and severe that it was wonderful how she held together.
Before the day was over we had lost a great part of the framework
in the stern, which formed a sort of deck-house and supported a
palm-thatch roof or awning. After a very winding course of a
sood many miles, the Giti joins the river Soh and from the junc-
tion the broad placid stream which flows down to the sea is known
as the Muda River.

I was determined not to spend another night on the Giti river,
but to push on to the Muda in one day, so before daylight every-
body was on board and we were under weigh. ‘The history of this
day would only be an account of the exertions made to keep the
polers at work and to prevent them from idling and losing time.
From the first they declared that it was quite impossible to reach
Kuala Giti in one day, that it had never been done in their recol- -
lection except by small boats and that we should be overtaken by
darkness and capsized by collision with snags. No halt was per-
mitted for cooking ; our morning meal was prepared on board, and

A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER. 65

we stopped once all day. The principal places passed were Sungei
Limau and Kubang Panjang (right bank) ; Kuala Kupane (mouth
of the Kupang river); Kamoong Lela, where there was a consi-
derable patch of sugar-cane; Kuala Pegang ;* Kotumbah ; Kuala
Balu; Mangkwang; Kuala Kijang (river and village); Tawah ;
Sungei Soh Kudong (a clearing on the left bank) ; Besah; Kuala
Injun; Kampong Tiban and Padang Gias.

At Mangkwang our boat was for a few moments a scene of the
liveliest commotion. From my place, under the mat-awning aft,
I heard shouts of alarm forward. All the men yelled to one
another at once so that I could catch no intelligible words at first,
and, the view ahead of me being interrupted by squatting figures
and hanging clothes and weapons, it was impossible to see what
the impending danger was. When, however, those nearest to me
eaught the infection, and, yelling 1%b2 (bees), threw themselves
down and pulled their jackets or the nearest garments available
over their heads, I understood that we had encountered a swarm
of bees and lost no time in seeking shelter under the mosquito
curtain. The swarm was following the course of the river up-
stream, finding no doubt that the open passage through the forest,
formed by the channel of the river, afforded an easy route for
emigration. They passed right over our boat from stem to stern,
A few of the men were stung, but the unfortunate steersman
suffered most, for he could not leave the rudder to seek protection.

At Tiban the river winds so much as to form a loop, and, in order
to avoid the fatigue and delay of going a long distance only to
return to nearly the same point azain, the Malays have cut an
artificial channel connecting the two sides of the loop. This cutting
is called Sungei Trus, and the reach at which we emerged at the
other end bears the name of Rantau Goah Petai. Both at Tiban
and at Padang Gias the boatmen made strenuous efforts to soften
my determination to proceed, but I was inexorable. It was pitch-
dark before we reached Padang Gias, the last place on the Giti at
which camping was possible, there being no other clearing until

* At Kuala Pegang and other places there were ratts of telegraph
poles destined for the construction of a line of telegraph from Kedah to
Siam, a useful work, which has never, I believe, been carried out.

66 A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANI FRONTIER.

the junction of the two rivers is reached ; snags were still nume-
rous and repeated bumps warned us that the boatmen had reason
on their side in representing that there was danger to a large boat
proceeding down the river by night. The poler who stood in the
bow directing the boat’s course solemnly disclaimed all responsi-
bility and declared that he could see nothing ahead and could not
therefore avoid obstacles. Still we proceeded and were rewarded
at last about 9 p.m. by quitting the tortuous and timber-choked
Giti for the broad, smoothly-flowing Muda. The tired boatmen
were now permitted to le down and rest, the poles were laid aside,
and half a dozen of my own men took up the paddles. We pad-
dled all night, and before daylight on the 15th, landed at Pangka-
lam Bongoh in Province Wellesley, in British territory once more.

A few words are wanting to compiete the narrative. The expe-
dition, though it failed in its primary object-—the surprise and
capture of Maharaja Lrta—was not altogether barren of result.
The man Tuan, who, it has already been mentioned, had been
taken to Salama as a captive of their bow and spear by CHE
Kariu’s followers, had been sent down to Province Wellesley with
other slaves at the request of the Licutenant-Governor of Penang.
The latter had interfered in the interests of humanity to free
these captives from slavery, but no one suspected that one of them
was the person for whom a reward of $3,000 had been offered es
one of the principal actors in the tragedy of Pasir Sala. In anti-
cipation of this, and acting on the information which I had obtain-
ed at Lunggong, I had brought with me to Province Wellesley the
Patani Penghulu Dotan, who, when confronted with Tuan, identi-
fied him at once. He was eventually tried with the other prisoners
and condemned to death, but reprieved on the ground of weakness
of intellect.

The detachment of twenty men whom I left behind at Ken-
drong, occupied the house which our arrival had compelled Maha-
raja Leta to quit, and their presence effectually prevented his
return to the right bank of the Perak river. There was no safety
for him in Patani, for Tuan Prang and other chiefs to whom I had
applied for assistance were now afraid to harbour him. He was,

ee

A JOURNEY ON FOOT TO THE PATANT FRONTIER. 67

therefore. obliged to retrace his steps and to take refuge at a
place called Kota Lama on the Perak river. where he eventually
surrendered. He and others were tried for the murder of Mr.
Brren, convicted and executed.

The passage of the expedition through a part of the country,
neyer previously visited by a European, had its interesting side
from a geographical point of view. I had no instruments of any
kind with me, and the service on which I was engaged did not per-
mit of any delay for exploring or map-making. ‘The knowledge
gained, however, led in 1877 to the despatch of a government
surveyor to Ulu Perak by whom part of the route has been laid
down in the new map of the Peninsula lately published by Sran-
FORD & Co.

W. E. MAXWELL.

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MEE VW, IDEAS

ON THE
ERObabLE ORIGIN
Pee TRIBES OF FORMOSA.

JOHN DODD,

Formosa.
SOTO SS
a
~~ aS x China and in all parts of Asia, there are to be found

“of not only in remote regions high up in the mountains,
RG e but even in less wild districts, types of men who have
SSE defied for ages the march of civilization. It would bea
very difficult task to write the early history of any of
these savages, or to trace their origin with any feelings of certainty.
Traditionary reports, handed down from one generation to another,
cannot be believed implicitly, and, if followed up, are often found
to be very conflicting and almost invariably lead the enquirer into
a land of doubt and speculation.

In handing to the Straits Branch of Royal Asiatic Society a
short vocabulary of words used by the Tangao tribes, I have
thought that perhaps a few ideas of mine on the probable origin
of these tribes, who now occupy the lofty mountain ranges of
North Formosa, might be acceptable. The tribes in question,
who differ very materially in appearance, language, manners, &c.,
from the tribes of the plain called Peppowhans, have, J should
imagine, the credit of being the first arrivals in this beautiful

3

aa
g

70 HILL TRIBES OF FORMOSA.

island. Craniologists alone would be able to trace the section
of the human family to which they belong, but I should be
inclined to doubt if they decided that all the various tribes. num-
bering, I should think, over one hundred, spread over a wild and
mountainous country some two hundred miles long by fifty to sixty
miles in its broadest part, were descended from one pure stock. I
have, for many years, held the opinion that the hill tribes are
descended from a mixture of sources, but chiefly Malayan. It is
very probable that the earliest inhabitants of this island were of
an Indian type—short in stature, but not very dark-skinned—the
descendants of a very ancient race, the origin of which is lost in
obscurity. Subsequently, the Malayan element must have appeared,
many centuries ago, for the Malays were found by the Spaniards as
far North as the Philippines as early as a.p. 1521, at which date
the principal islands were almost entirely occupied by them, and
it is very likely that those islands, as well as Formosa, had been
colonised by them many hundred of years before.

The variots dialects spoken, especially in the Southern half of
the island, lead one to suppose that the Formosan Hill Tribes are
descended from several sources.

Some of the dialects contain undoubtedly words of Malayan
origin, but the bulk of them do not resemble, as far as I have been
able to ascertain, any language spoken in the East, and although
there are many Chinese words now in use amongst the tribes
residing on the Western border-land, such words are only used to
describe articles obtained from Chinese hillmen, for which these
border savages have no names.

It is generally supposed by those who have carefully observed
the hill savages called Chin Wans that they are not direct descend-
ants of Chinese, for they do not resemble Chinese of the present
day in any point, except perhaps in the high cheek-bone, which
many of them have, in common with Malays, Siamese, Japanese
and other Eastern races. In many savage tribes in the North of For-
mosa—and all our remarks refer to them—prominent cheek-bones
are not the rule, but the exception, and the contour of the face and
the small round-shaped head at once prcclaim them to be children
of another race. Their eyes, which are straight cut. have a widely

HILL TRIBES OF FORMOSA. 7st

different appearance from the eyes of Chinamen, and the way in
which they wear their hair—parted in the middle, and tied at the
back of the head, or worn sometimes loose, hanging down the back
of the neck, but kept off the forehead by a string of beads or plain
piece of hempen string—at once decides that they are not of Chi-
hese origin, but more like Malays than any other Asiatic people.

Kiver since I first made the acquaintance of the hill tribes of
North Formosa—as far back as December, 1864—I have been
strongly of opinion that they were, for the most part, sprung from
an offshoot of the Malayan race, and it is not inconsistent to sup-
pose that such daring pirates and buccaneers as the Malays then
occupying the Malay Peninsula, the East of Borneo, and Islands
belonging to the Philippine group, should have found their way in
numbers to Formosa. It may be that they visited for the purpose
of settling here, or simply as traders, or explorers, but it is more
likely that, whilst pursuing their piratical courses in the South,
their vessels were driven by storms to the coast of Formosa, and
were either wrecked or found shelter there, eventuating perhaps
in the survivors deciding to remain in the island.

It is only about thirteen or fourteen years ago that a number of
Bashee islanders drifted in their boats to the South Cape, and were
rescued by Mr. PickErtnG (who was then in the South of the
island) from the savages, and were sent back to their homes.
Under other circumstances, they might have been compelled to take
up their quarters for good in Formosa,

During. my residence here, there have been numerous wrecks of
Lu Chiian junks on the North-eastern and Western Coast, the
crews of which, in less civilised times, might have been allowed to
remain all their lives on the island, if not put to death by Chinese
wreckers, who were, not many years ago, worse than savages on
such occasions. In previous years, similar wrecks of Lu Chtan
vessels might have taken place, and the crews may have remained
in the island, and may have settled down, married, and left behind
a curious mixed progeny.

Previous to my arrival here, and when living at Hongkong, it
was thought by many people there, that certain vessels which had
left Hongkong and other Ports in China, had been lost on the Coast

4 HILL TRIBES OF OF FORMOSA.

of Formosa, and that the crews and passengers, in some instances,
had been murdered, but, in other cases, had been taken into the
interior and there made to work underground in certain mimes.
In 1865, I was requested to make enquiries of the savages, wher-
ever I might go, as to the truth of the supposition, and, after tra-
velling all through the North of the island, and as far South as
Lat. 24°, I could find no trace of mines in the interior, neither
could I hear of the presence, amongst savages, of any foreigners.
It is, however, very likely that people wrecked on the Western or
Chinese side of the island were not only robbed, but, in many cases,
murdered or starved to death. Chinese wreckers on the North
and West Coast, in my own time, were not above taking advantage
of the helpless state of either Li Chiian or Huropean wrecked ma-
riners, and many, no doubt, would never have been again heard of,
if strenuous exertions had not been made by foreign residents,
who appeared on the scene, protected the crews, and, on several
occasions, saved the ships from plunder and fire—the usual finale to
a successful raid by Chinese wreckers.

On the savages’ side of the island, or what is called the Hast Coast,
many ships must have been lost.

Some ten or twelve years ago, an American vessel was wrecked
on the South-east Coast, and the unfortunate crew was murdered.
The savages were punished, to some extent, by the H. B. M.’s gun-
boat Cormorant, I think it was, and subsequently the American
Flagship, with Admiral Bett on board, anchored off the place, and
landed Marines and Sailors with the view of punishing the sa-
vages, but, after eight hours’ march through forest and over hills,
they returned without having effected much damage. On this
occasion, Lieutenant MacKewzis, v.s.N., lost his life, and several of
the men suffered from effects of the sun. After this, General Lu
GunpreE, U.S. Consul at Amoy, proceeded across country from
Takao, accompanied by Mr. Prcxerine (now Protector of Chinese
at Singapore), Mr. A. U. Barn and, I believe, Mr. J. F. Hucuus
of the Imperial Maritime Customs, to interview the Principal Sa-
vage Chief in that part of the island.

I believe his name was Tox i Tox. He was previously known
to Mr. Proxrrnine and to General Lu Grenypre, and being friendly

HILT, TRIBES OF FORMOSA. 73

disposed towards foreigners, they succeeded in extracting a pro-
mise, that in the event of European ships landing their crews to
obtain water, or in the case of wrecked mariners being cast on shore;
they were, in future, to be well treated and taken care of, &c. One
stipulation of Tox i Tox’s was, that vessels anchoring there must
fly a red flag, boats landing men and people wrecked in that neigh-
bourhood must shew a red flag, and Tox ?t Tox and his tribe would
not molest them. It is to be hoped that Tox t Tox and his sue-
cessors will abide by the terms of this important little treaty.

There was also the case of a Li Chiian junk lost higher up on
the East Coast, the crew of which was supposed by the Japanese
Government to have been murdered by the savages. The event
led to a serious misunderstanding between China and Japan,
which was patched up by the payment to the Japanese of a heavy
indemnity. ;

The chances, in recent times, of wrecked people being allowed to
settle in the country, especially on the East Coast, seem to have
been very slight, but, in earlier times, many unfortunate castaways
may have been permitted to retain a footing in the island, and may
have been strong enough to establish one, and, in course of time,
may have married into a tribe and become amalgamated with it.

In continuation of the subject. and bearing very closely on the
general idea that the population of the island has been mixed up
by the periodical advent of castaways, it is probably in the re-
collection of one or two residents in the island that, on a certain
day not many years ago, two or three savage-looking canoes of a
huge catamaran type suddenly made their appearance in the bay of
Kelung, and, on being encouraged to land, out jumped a dozen or
more of half-starved men, who proved to be Pellew islanders.
On looking at the Map of Asia and Pacific Ocean, it will be
seen what an enormous distance these men must have come in
these open boats. They were a dark-skinned frizziy-haired lot,
a half-starved, wild-looking set of men, and were anxious to en-
gratiate themselves with the friendly foreigners and inquisitive
Chinamen whom they found on shore. Attempts were made to
interrogate them in many different dialects, but not a single word
except one struck the ear as being familar, and that was the word

74 HILL TRIBES OF FORMOSA,

“Pellew.” It was very singular that an officer on board the British
sunboat then in port, who was struck with the appearance of the
men, and who had been at the Pellew Islands, at once recognised
their resemblance to the natives of those parts. It was subse-
quently ascertained that these men had been driven by bad wea-
ther from their fishing grounds, had drifted about for some time,
had finally been caught in a storm lasting twelve days at a stretch,
had been carried before the wind all that time, had subsisted chief-
ly on cocoa-nuts and fish, and had finally, after many days—how
many was never definitely understood—-arrived within sight of the
inviting and pretty harbour of Kelung. It was very fortunate
that they landed at Kelung, for they found friends who were so
interested in them as to furnish them with food and clothing; a
subscription was started, and they were forwarded eventually to
Hongkong, then to their own country, in rather a roundabout
way, but; as far as I know, they were taken back to the Pellew
Islands.

It struck me very forcibly at the time that if Pellew Islanders
in open boats could fetch formosa, the island might not have
looked, in former years, so far for an addition to its population.
Had these men been wrecked on the East Coast, or had they sought
shelter where savages lived, they might, if their lives had been
spared, have settled down, they might have intermarried and assist-
ed more than ever in mixing and confusing the breed of the island,
or rather that part of it occupied by the hill tribes on the Hast
Coast and central Mountains.

In addition to the foregoing instances of how the island popula-
tion may have originated and subsequently become intermixed by
various accidental causes, there is still one other important point
to be considered. It is well known to Captains of vessels who
have sailed past the South Cape of Formosa and along the East
Coast on their way to Kelung or Tamsui, that, at no great distance
from the shore, a warm current of varying breadth, called the
Black Stream, or Ku-ro-si-wo, sweeps along at a good pace towards
the North, assisting very materially vessels bound in that direction.
In fact, in what is called the “old schooner days” (when steam-
ers were almost unknown at Tamsui), sailing vessels were fre-

HILL £RIBES OF FORMOSA. #5

quently carried by the force of the Ku-ro-si-wo from the neigh-
bourhood of the South Cape of Formosa to the North-east end of the
island, in perfectly calm weather, without any assistance of sails.
This fact is well known to mariners, and, in certain seasons of the
year (North-east Monsoon), it is considered often advisable to go
to the Eastward of the island rather than to beat wp the Formosa
Channel—the “Black Stream,” as it is called, being nothing more
nor Jess than a strong tide running in a Northerly direction.

This current, flowing as it does past the Philippines, directly
towards Formosa, possibly, in the far away past, brought to the
island the first specimens of humanity. It is not unlikely that
boats containing fishermen, perhaps their wives or daughters and
sons, engaged in fishing on the Coast of Luzon or Mindanfo or even
further South, have, on numerous occasions, been carried away by
the force of the Ku-ro-si-wo Northward, and, like the fishermen of
the Bashee Island, been taken to the Coast of Formosa. It is indeed
most probable that the force of the storm drove the Pellew Islanders
right into this current, for, without the assistance of some such aid,
it is hard to understand how, after the gale had abated, they were
able to propel their canoes to such a distance as Kelung. It will
be seen from the foregoing, that a separate creation of man was not
absolutely necessary in this Eden of islands.

On questioning the aborigines of the hills, as to where they
originally came from, they invariably pointed Southwards, remark-
ing that the place was distant very many “sun-go-downs,” mean-
ing many days’ journey Southward. The expression “ Jib wa gti,”
our day of twenty-four hours, timing from sunset to sunset, is a
common mode of expressing the distance, or time it would take to
so from one place to another. IJ feel convinced that the hill tribes
originally came from the South and gradually extended themselves
Northward, keeping always to the mountains in preference to the
plains. I do not believe that any body of them were the offspring
of men from the Eastern and Northern islands of Mei-a-co-si-ma,
Lu Chi, or Japan, although it is said that a Japanese Colony once
existed at Kelung, and at a time when perhaps the savages, and
certainly the Peppowhans, resided there (as many of the latter
do to this day) though their numbers are yery insignificant.

76 WILL TRIBES OF FORMOSA.

Jf Northern castaways or colonists came in former times to
Formosa, the Li Chian or Japanese type would appear in some
shape to the present moment, but all the tribes of the North which
have come under my observation, resemble the Japanese and Lu
Chiians in nothing, but their short stature, and dark straight hair ;
and in their mode of dress, or manner of arranging their hair, there
are no similarities whatever. Japanese tattoo their bodies, and so
do savages, to some extent, but, as far as I have been able to judge,
there is no resemblance even in this point. The knowledge pos-
sessed by certain tribes of weaving, and of the art of embroidering
their coats, of carving their pipes. scabbards of their knives, &c.,
would make one believe that the first occupants of this island brought
with them certain arts, not generally known by uncivilised peoples
of a low type. If the art of weaving, possessed not only by the
Peppowhan women, but by the hill squaws, was not introduced by
the original or subsequent settlers, but was discovered by the abort-
vines themselves, it goes to prove that, although wild and untamed
as they are, and to this day without any written language, they
have at least inventive powers of no mean order. The knowledge
of weaving may have been acquired first of all from the Dutch or
Spanish, both nations having had a footing in the island in the 16th
century, but it is more likely to have been learned from the Duteh,
who had extensive settlements in the South, about Taiwanfoo, and
who, it is said, were on very friendly terms with the Peppowhans
(lit., half-cooked or half-civilised natives), about whom I shall have
to write separately at some future date. If the knowledge of
weaying was acquired by the Peppowhans first, it might have been
imparted to the hill tribes by women taken prisoners in tribal bat-
tles, which must have been frequent between the plain and hill
savages in earlier times.

The loom and shuttle used by the women are of the most pri-
mitive shape and construction, but the work turned out in the
shape of bleached hempen cloth, and which I have seen in the pro-
cess of manufacture, is more finely made and far more durable than
the Chinese made cloth. Some of the dresses, the mantilla of the
women especially, are of fine and close texture, of well-bleached
hemp, and are embroidered with strips of scarlet and blue Long

HILL TRIBES OF FORMOSA. ve

Is, obtained in barter from Chinese bordermen, when friendly rela-
tions exist between the aborigines and the wily invader. Their
curious taste in colours and the shape of their clothes would lead
one to conclude that such fashions came from the Philippines. The
mantilla, often worn over the head by old women, at other times
over the shoulders, must have come from the South, and the cut of
the lower garment, worn at times by both men and women, very
much resembles the sarong of the Malays, only it is not worn so
long as the sarong.

(To be continued.)

os

HILL TRIBES OF FORMOSA,

List or Worps or Tancio Dratect, Norru Formosa.

N.B.—Words or syllables with v over them mean that quick
pronunciation is required.

Liglish.

i

Man

Woman
Husband
Wife
Father
Mother
Boy

Girl

Remarks.

Tribe of Tangéo.*

Kaw toh hei Meaning “One Man.”

English pronuncia-
tion of man, ‘“ Hay.”
Ka ni diin Often, Ka nif di it.

Bad li kui

Kui ying ka ni diin

Ya ya
Wa la ki or Wu la ke.

Wai Ja ki ka ni diin

Mobu

Nam mii and Li-bu.

Parahim

Tarri Strong accent on dou-
ble r.

Pa pack

Lao yiek English pronunciation,

“Low yéck.”

*Accent on last syllable.

HILT. TRIBES OF FORMOSA, 79

English. Tribe of Tangdo. Remarks,
Eyelids Pai oti li lao yiek
Finger T’la litng
Foot Kah pahl
Hair (human) Si nitt rook “Pi” is often affixed,
, in that case accent on
penultimate.

,, (ofotheranimals) Kab bock

Hand Kab bah
Head Toh noch “Noch” like Scotch
“Loch.”
Mouth Lit quick Often, La quass.
Nail Kah mil
Nose Neo hoh
Skin Kia hell Strong accent “ Hell.”
Tongue Ma Je
Tooth or Teeth Gtn noch “Noch” like Scotch
“och.”
Wt.—
Bird Ka pau nick
Fish Ngo lé
Capon Ga lin bid gak Lit., Cut-stones hen.
yeng a tah
Fowl! (Hen) Yéng a tah
Partridge Yéng at&h bad 1a hii
1V.—
Memeo ke Does not exist in For-

~ mosa,

SO HILT: TRIBES OF FORMOSA.

Linglish. Tribe of Tango. Remarks.
Turtle Kuti kal akut
Deer Ma gau lock, or Ma
A A A
nga ru, also Mah
hah. :
Dog Ati yin
Mlephantee tar io ey ee. Does not exist in For-
mosa.

Pig (Wild Hog) Bi wak bid 14 hfi

Pheasant Chia kong
WaiMOCeHOS "ae se ae Does not exist in Por.
mK.
Squirrel Kao hi
Flying Squirrel Kao li bihd lack kah
Monkey Liong-ai
Vi—
Tlower Pa pa
Tree fern Nii hentig Strong prolongedaccent
on last syllable.
Bamboo Tah kan
Rattan Kwa yi
Tree Po kieng ktinntis “TKitin ” like “ kéon.”
Wood Hiin niék “Hin” like Sioenas
Timber Po kieng htin nick
Camphor Tree Pa lah ki po kieng
kinntis.
YiI.—

Banana Ko ko

English.

Orange
Rice
Anta
Hemp
Indigo
Potatoe

Tobacco

Sugar
Grass
VITI.—
Gold
Gold Dust
Silver
Copper
IxX.—
Arrow
Bow
Boat
Mat
Gun

Powder

HILL TRIBES OF FORMOSA, S]

Tribe of Tangdo. Remarks.
Utack

Man mé

Hab-ao
Lao-wha

Mau gah héi
=,

Ta mi ki Both Savages and Pep-
powhans use this
word.

Kum siit

Kim min

Had lak it
Ba nak? had lak it
Pid lah Often, Pi lih.
Kti li whan mick
ta Jah
Pin ni lawk
Hiin nitik
Kah sti
Loh pai
Pah tas Chinese hillmen always

make mistake and

, : pronounce “ Pah ttt.”
Kao bidi

English.

Large Knife

Arrow belt

Waist cloth

To shoot or fire gun

Mountain
XJ.—
Earth

Sky

Moon
Star
XIT.—
Thunder
Lightning
Wind, Air
Clouds
Rain
Fire

Water

Tribe of Tangdo.

La tao
Ti bieng

Hab bock

Miin pah tiis

Bad 14 hii.

Urio

Kan yat

Awe toh ptin niek

A
Tu long

Shin lock or Bien git

Kwii lick

Pin niek

K’tsia or Kut sii

HILL TRIBES OF FORMOSA,

Remarks.

Made of hide generally.

Sort of girdleof hempen
cloth between which
and the body the La-
lio (knife) is insert-
ed.

Meaning hill or wild.

Meaning, mud or dirt.
No name for the
world.

Pronounce “‘ Wha gay.”

Meaning God or Devil
of Fire.

“Pun” pronounced like
“< Poone:
The “ktt” short,

WILL TRIBES OF FORMOSA. 83

English. Tribe of Tangdo, Remarks.

XIIL—

Day Jib wha gei Meaning “sungodown”

or one day.

Night Bad lah hang an

To-day Pi lio Pronounce * Pee low.”

To-morrow Sah san

Yesterday Seéh sin hei lah “Her lah” pronounced

“Haylah.”’

XIV.—

To live Ki dn or Mah ki

To kill Ku tan

Dead Ho ke it

Cold Wah yack

Hot | Ki lok

Large Ht pah or_Hiti } ak.

Small Chi bik

Black Ma ka lock

White PAlkdi

Green Ka ld siek

Red Mack ta lah
XV.—

Come Mwa or Méa Moya lit ni= Come here.

Go Hah tack also Kwa

yat.

S4 HILL TRIBES OF FORMOSA,

English. Tribe of Tangao. Remarks.
East , Mau niek ) For to eat, to drink,
or and to smoke, the
Drink j Neun niek same word is used.
Sleep Ma bei ‘ Bei’? pronounced like
Waive
Awake Ongat ma bei
XVI.—
il Kaw toh
2 Sa diing or Sa ying.
5) Chiu giin
4 Pai yat
i) Man gan
G Tai yin
A IP ip
8 Si pat
g ‘Tai 80
10 Mou poh ov Pong.
if Mou pth kaw toh or Pong kaw toh.
12 Mou poh sa diing or Pong sa ying.
20 Sa diing mou poh or Sa ying pong.
30 Chit gin mou poh or Chiu gan pong.
100 Kaw toh ka ptt “Put” pronounced as

in * Moote

THE HISTORY OF PERAK FROM NATIVE SOURCES,

BY

W. E.- MAXWELL.

Extract rrom tHe Marong Mahawangsa RELATING TO THE
FounDING OF A KINGDOM CALLED PERAK.

“One day Raja Marone Mana Popisar went into his outer
audience hall, where all his ministers, warriors and officers were
in attendance, and commanded the four Jantris to equip an ex-
pedition with all the necessary officers and armed men, and with
horses and elephants, arms and accoutrements. The four Mantris
did as they were ordered, and when all was ready they informed
the Raja. The latter waited for a lucky day and an auspicious
moment, and then desived his second son to set out. The Prince
took leave after saluting his father and mother, and all the minis-
fers, officers and warriors who followed him performed obeisance
before the Raja. They then set out in search of a place of settle-
ment, directing their course between South and East intending to
select a place with good soil and there to build a town with fort‘
moat, palace and balez. They amused themselves in every forest,
wood and thicket through which they passed, crossing numbers of
hills and mountains, and stopping here and there to hunt wild
beasts, or to fish if they happened to fall in with a pool or lake.

“ After they had pursued their quest for some time, they came to
the tributary of a large river which flowed down to the sea. Fur-
ther on they came to a large sheet of water, in the midst of which
were four islands. The Prince was much pleased with the appear-
ance of the islands, and straightway took a silver arrow and fitted
it to his bow named Indra Sakti and said: ‘O arrow of the bow
Indra Sakti, fall thou on good soil in this group of islands ;
wherever thou mayest chance to fall, there will I make a palace in

S6 THE HISTORY OF PERAK FROM NATIVE SOURCES.

which to live.” He then drew his bow and discharged the arrow,
which flew upwards with the rapidity of lightning and with a hum-
ming sound like that made by a beetle as it flies round a flower,
and went out of sight. Presently it came in sight again, and fell
upon one of the islands, which, on that account, was called Pulau
Indra Sakti. On that spot was erected a town with fort, palace
and bale?, and all the people who were living scattered about in the
vicinity were collected together, and set to work on the various
buildings. The Prince reigned here with great justice and gene-
rosity, and all the poor and indigent prayed for him that he might
be preserved in his state and dignity. And Raja Manone Maua
Poprsat and his Counsellors called this country Negré Perak, from
its connection with the silver arrow. The Prince was then form-
ally established as Raja in Perak, and he sent an embassy to inform
the King, his father, of the fact, and his power increased, and num-
bers of peopie flocked to Perak on account of the justice and
liberality of his administration.’’(*)

Of this story, it is necessary to say that it has no local currency
in Perak, and that the Perak Malay commences the history of his
country with the legend of the white Semang.(?) I have, how-
ever, heard an attempt to reconcile both legends by the statement
that it was after the dynasty founded by the son of the Kedah
Raja had died out, that the new line of kings from Johor was
brought in.

It is not easy to name any spot in Perak which corresponds in
the least with the lake and islands described in the text. Colonel
Low suggests the Dindings, or some tract near the Bruas river.
The latter is probably the oldest settled district in Perak. The
Sajarah Malayu mentions a “ Raja of Bruas” before there was a
Raja of Perak of the Johor line. Local traditions, too, all speak of
Bruas as the ancient seat of government. Localities on that river

(1) Translated from a copy of the Marong Mahawangsa in my
possession. See also Colonel Low’s translation, Journal of the In-
dian Archipelago, III., 176.

(?) I have given this legend at length in a paper recently con-
tributed to the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, N. 8., Vol.
oh ares

THE HISTORY OF PERAK FROM NATIVE SOURCES. S7

are identified by natives as the scenes of the fabulous adventures
described in the Ilikayat Shainsu-l-bahrin (+), and it is traditionally -
related that the Bruas was formerly connected with the Perak
river at a place now called Tepus, but then called Tumbus. An-

ee ee eS — ——— — SSS SS

() See a short description of this work in Van per TuvR’s ac-
count of the Malay M.S.S. belonging to the Royal Asiatic Society,
Woy). .

The following extract is translated from a copy in my posses- ~
sion. It is the opening passage, and summarises the adventures
described in the body of the work. The mixture of Hindu and
Muhammadan names is very characteristic of Malay Romances :—

“Tn the name of God, the Compassionate. the Merciful. God
knoweth the truth.

“This is the tale of Shamsu-l-bahrin, the incidents of which are
related by the author in the most elegant language. This prince
was descended on the male side from the posterity of God’s Pro-
phet Apam, on whom be blessings and peace, and on the female side
from the stock of Raja Inpra.* He it was who was famed for his
nobility, beauty of form, benevolence, wisdom, and fidelity. And
it was he who was endowed with the twelve virtues, and who had
exceeding compassion for those servants of God who snffered in-
justice, and who aided them to the utmost of his power wherever he
mignt be. This was the prince who was widely renowned in the
lands of the Jin, and the Peri, the Dewa, Mambang, Indra, and
Chandra. Even down to mankind all feared and admired and stood
astonished at his wisdom and prudence, to which must be added his
boldness and courage and his supernatural power and knowledge of
all the secret sciences and arts. He it was who possessed himself
of the bow of Rama Bisnu, + called Kinduwan Braksana,t (of
exceeding virtue not to be surpassed in those days), having taken

*In Hindu mythology, Jvdia is the king of heaven.

+ Bisnu=Vishnu, one of the gods of the Hindu Triad. Ruma is one of the incarnations of
Vishnu.

+ Rama’s bow and arrows are famed in the Rémdyana,

SS THE WISTORY OF PERAK FROM NATIVE SOURCES.

cient tombs at Bruas support the popular tradition of its import-
ance as a settlement in former times. ‘The most venerable spot in

it from Yan al Jan. He it was who rode upon the horse named
Mardan Darakas, the offspring of Yan al Jan; and it was he who
slew the Jin called Mula Bazat, who dwelt on the mountain Maha
Prabat guarding the sword of Yapat,* the son of the Prophet
Noah, on whom be peace; and who possessed himself of the sword of
Yapat, the son of Noah, which is not to be surpassed in this world.
He it was who was a pupil of Brama Sakti,+ whose like there was
not for supernatural virtues. He too it was who shit the nose of the
son of the Raja Mambang Gangga Mahadira, and who cut off the
ears of the son of Raja Dewa Mahajata. It was he who slew the
demon Daniawa, whose bulk was that of a mountain, and the Deira
Puteh who had fifty heads and one hundred arms. He too, took
the ivory tablet bearing the picture of the princess Chandra Nulela
from the hands of the Jin whose name is Sama. It was he who
killed Raja Dewa, inthe world called Harmandan Dewa, and also
the Raja of the Spirits of the Green Sea, whose name was Chakra
Kahana. He it was who was imprisoned by Chakra Kahana for
the space of a year and seven months in an iron prison, and yet
came to no harm. It was he who slew the dragon in the sea of
Para-Lankapuri, and who took the princess Langli [lang at the
lake of the four brothers; and he also took the jewelled bracelet,
the workmanship of Raja Jemshid, which was wonderful to behold,
and, over and above that, of magic power and virtue. He it was
who slew the spirit of the sea of Para-Lankapuri, whose name was
Darma Gangga and the demon Hasta Brama, whose body was two
hundred fathoms long, whose skin was red like fire, whose hair
fell down to his ancles, whose tongue reached to his knees, and who
had tusks seven fathoms in length. Andit was he who slew the Jin
that dwelt below the earth whose name was Patlamah Sakti, and
whose supernatural power was such that his brightness reached to
the heavens. He it was who killed the Raja of all the Dewa and

* Yapat=Japhet.

+ Brana Sakti is described as an ascetic living a life of religious austerity. Possibly the
incident has been derived from some one of the puranas in which god Bramha’s appearances
on earth in the character of a religious mendicant are related,

THE HISTORY OF PERAK FROM NATIVE SOURCES. 89

Perak, however, is Tumung on the Perak river, a few miles North
of Kwala Kangsa which is the scene of the legend of the white
Semang already alluded to.

Tue LEGEND OF THE WHITE SEMANG.

(Reprinted from the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, N. S.
son, Part LY.)

‘* Baginda Dar reigned in Johor Lama.(!) He despatched a trust-
ed counsellor, one Nakhodah Kast, to sail forth and look for a
suitable place for a settlement, for there were plenty of willing
emigrants. Nakhodah Kasim got ready a fleet of prahus and sailed
up the Straits of Malacca, hugging the coast, till he reached Bruas
(a district and river in Perak). While there, he saw that a brisk
trade was being carried on between the coast and the interior, im-
ported goods being despatched up the country and native produce
brought down from the inland districts. He made inquiries and
was told that there was a big river in the interior. His curiosity
was now aroused and he penetrated on foot into the interior and
discovered the Perak river. Here he traded, like the natives of the
country, making trips up and down the river, and selling salt and
tobacco(?) at the villages by the river-side. On one of these trips
he reached Tumung in the North of Perak, and made fast his boat

the spirits of the sea, the land and the water, whose name was,
Raja Baranggi, whose sway extended from the Kast to the West
from the South to the North, and to whom all spirits were subject.
God knoweth the truth! ”

(+) Johor Lama was the old capital of the State of Johor, which is
the southernmost of the Malay States of the Peninsula.

(2) Tobacco was first introduced into the Eastern Archipelago by
the Portuguese at Malacca in the sixteenth century. Anachronisms
of this kind are common in native histories.

90 THE HISTORY OF PERAK FROM NATIVE SOURCES.

to the bank. After a few days the Semangs (Perak was not yet
populated by Malays) came down from their hills to buy salt. They
came loaded with the produce of their gardens—sugar-canes, plantains
and edible roots—and brought their wives and families with them.

“A Semang girl, while her father was bargaining at the boat,
took up a sugar-cane and commenced to strip off the rind with a
knife; in doing so she accidentally cut her hand. Blood issued
from the wound, but what was the astonishment of all around her
when they saw that its colour was not red but pure white! A re-
port of this prodigy quickly spread from mouth to mouth, and
Nakhodah Kasim landed from his boat to see it with his own eyes,
Tt occurred to him that this was a family not to be lost sight of, he
loaded the father with presents. and, in a month’s time, by dint of
constant attentions, he had so far won the confidence of the shy
Semangs that he was able to ask for the girl in marriage. The
father agreed and Nakhodah Kasim and his wife settled at Kuala
Tumung, where they built a house and planted fruit-trees.

‘Now, the Perak river overflows its banks once a year, and
sometimes there are very great floods. Soon after the marriage of
Nakhodah Kasim with the white Semang, an unprecedented flood
occurred and quantities of foam came down the river. Round the
piles of the bathing-house; which, in accordance with Malay custom,
stood in the bed of the river close to the bank in front of the
house, the floating volumes of foam collected in a mass the size

f an elephant. Nakhodah Kasrm’s wife went to bathe, and find-
ing this island of froth in her way she attempted to move it away
with a stick; she removed the upper portion of it and disclosed a
female infant sitting in the midst of it enveloped all round with
cloud-like foam. The child showed no fear and the white Semang,
carefully lifting her, carried her up to the house, heralding her
discovery by loud shouts to her husband. The couple adopted the
child willingly, for they had no children, and they treated her
thenceforward as their own. They assembled the villagers and
wave them a feast, col eine announcing their adoption of the
daughter of the river and their intention of leaving to her every-
thing that they possessed.

“The child was called Tan Puten, but her father gave her the

THE HISTORY OF PERAK FROM NATIVE SOURCES. 91

name of Tren Pugsa.(1) As she grew up the wealth of her foster-
parents increased; the village grew in extent and population, and
gradually became an important place.

“Qne day some Semangs were hunting at a hill near the river
Plus, called Bukit Pasir Puteh, or Bukit Pelandok. They heard
their dogs barking furiously, but. on following them up. found no
quarry, only a large bamboo (buluh bétong), small at the top and
bottom, and having one large thick joint. which seemed to be
attracting the attention of the dogs. They split open the thick
part of the stem and found in it a male child, whom they forth-
with took to Nakhodah Kastu. The latter adopted him as his son,
and when the two children were grown up they were betrothed, and
in due time were married. The marriage was, however, merely
nominal, for Tan Puren Pura preserved her virginity, and Ton
CuancKkat Prtannok, her husband, returned to his native district,
Plus. Nakhodah Kastm at length died, leaving Tan Puren mis-
tress of the whole of Perak. As he lay dying, he told her his his-
tory, how he had come from the land of Johor, of the Raja of
which he was an attendant, and how he had been despatched to find
a suitable place for a settlement. He declared the name of his
master to be Sultan Maumup of Johor, and with his dying breath
directed that a Raja for Perak should be asked for from that country.

“Tan Pure now called one of her ministers, Tan Saban, whom
she had adopted in his childhood. He came of a noble family,
and belonged to the district called Tanah Merah (Red Earth). A
wife had been found for him by Tay Puren, and he had two chil-
dren, both girls. Tan Sapan was commanded by his mistress to
open negotiations with Johor, and this having been done, a prince
of the royal house of that kingdom, who traced his descent from
the old line of Menangkaban. sailed for Perak to assume the
sovereienty. He brought with him the insignia of royalty, namely.
the royal drums (gandang nobat), the pipes (nafiri), the flutes
(sarunet and bangs), the betel-box (puan naga taru), the sword

(7) Teh, short for Puteh, white; Purba, or pirva, Sanskrit “ first.”
This name is also given to the first Malay Raja in the Sajarah

Malayu.

92 THE HISTORY OF PERAK FROM NATIVE SOURCES.

(chora mandakini), the sword (perbujang), the sceptre (kaya
gamit), the jewel (kamala), the ‘surat chiri,’ the seal of state
(chap halilintar), and the umbrella (ubar-ubar). All these were
inclosed in a box called Baninan.

“One his way up the Perak river the new Raja stopped at
Selat Lembajayan for amusement. One of his attendants happen-
ed to point out some fish in the water, and, in leaning over the
boat’s side to look at them, the Raja lost his crown, which fell
from his head and immediately sank. THis people dived in vain
for it, and from that day to this no Sultan of Perak has had a
crown. Near Kota Setia the Raja was received by Tan Pursn, Tan
Saban and all the chief men of the country, who escorted him to
Kota Lumut. Here he was formally installed as Sultan of Perak un-
der the title of AHamapD Tas-upprIn Suan, and one of the daughters
of Tan SaBan was given to him in marriage. It is this Raja to whom
the Perak Malays popularly ascribe the political organization of the
country under the control of chiefs of various ranks, each having
definite duties to perform. After a short reign, AnamaAD TAs-UDDIN
SHAH died, leaving one son about two years old.

‘As soon as the Sultan’s death was known in Johor, a nephew
of his (who was afterwards known as Sultan Manik Suan) started
at once for Perak. Having reached his late uncle’s astana (palace)
at Tanah Abang, to which place the capital had been removed from
Kota Lumut, he called for the nurses and attendants of the infant
Raja and demanded permission to visit his young cousin. He was
accordingly introduced into the prince’s apartment, and seizing the
child by violence broke his neck and killed him. He then seized
the royal sword and other insignia and established himself as Raja
under the title of Sultan Matix Suan. By degrees all the chiefs
and people came in and accepted the usurper as their sovereign,
with the single exception of Tan Sasan, the grandfather of the
murdered boy. His obstinate refusal to recognize Matix Suan led
to a sanguinary war, which lasted for three years. Tan Saban was
gradually driven further and further up the Perak river. He for-
tified numerous places on its banks, but his forts were taken one
after another, and on each occasion he retreated to another strong-
hold. His most determined stand was made Kota Lama. where he

THE HISTORY OF PERAK FROM NATIVE SOURCES. 93

fortified a strong position. This was closely invested by the Sul-
tan’s forces, and a long siege ensued. During the siege an un-
known warrior joined the Sultan’s army. He came from Pagaru-
yong in Menangkabau and was the illegitimate son of the Great
Sultan of that country, by a concubine. In consequence of his
illegitimate birth, he was driven forth from his native country,
having for his sole fortune a matchlock (istinggarda) (+) and four
bullets, on each of which was inscribed the words, ‘This is the son
of the concubine of the Raja of Pagaruyong; his name is Magar
TERAWIS;(?) wherever his bullet falls he will become achief.’ Magar
Terawis did not declare his name or origin to the Perak men, but
served with them as an obscure soldier. At length, having selected
an auspicious day, he asked one of the Sultan’s followers to point
out Tan Sasan to him. This the man had no difficulty in doing,
for Tan SaBan was frequently to be seen on the outworks of his
fort across the river dressed in garments of conspicuous colours.
In the morning he wore red, at midday yellow, and in the evening
his clothes were green.(?) When he was pointed out to Magar

(7) Another anachronism. So, cannons are mentioned in several
places in the Thousand and One Nights. See Lanz’s transla-
tion, vol. ii., p. 329, note 100. The istinggarda (Portuguese espin-
garda) is the old-fashioned matchlock, specimens of which may
still be found in use among the Malays. In former times a bow
and four arrows may probably have occupied the place given to
the matchlock and bullets in this narrative.

(2) Alagat, a Malay title of Sanskrit origin. MWdgadha (Sansk.)=
the son of a Vaicya by a Kshatriya woman. In Malay, magat is
applied to a chief who is noble on one side only.

(3) A superstitious observance found among more than one Indo-
Chinese nation. “Le général en chef doit se conformer a plusieurs
coutumes et observances superstitieuses; par example, il faut qu il
mette une robe de couleur différente pour chaque jour de la semaine;
le dimanche il s’habille en blanc, le lundi en jaune, le mardi en
vert, le mercredi en rouge, le jeudi en bleu, le vendredi en noir, et
le samedi en violet.” —PatiEGorx, Description de Siam, vol.i., p. 319.

Regarding the signification attached to various colours by the
Turks and Arabs. see Lanr’s Thousand and One Nights, vol. i1.,
p. 326, note 78.

94 THE HISTORY OF PERAK FROM NATIVE SOURCES.

TERAWIS, it was the morning, and he was dressed in red. Magar
TErawis levelled his matchlock and fired, and his bullet struck Tay
SaBan’s leg. The skin was hardly broken and the bullet fell to
the ground at the chief's feet; but, on taking it up and reading
the inscription, he knew that he had received his death-wound.
He retired to his house, and, after ordering his flag to be hauled
down, despatched a messenger to the opposite camp to call the
warrior whose name he had read on the bullet. Inquiries for Macat
TERAWIS were fruitless at first, for no one knew the name. At
length he declared himself and went across the river with Tan
SABAN’S messenger, who brought him into the presence of the
dying man. The latter said to him, ‘Macat Trrawis, thou art
my son in this world and the next, and my property is thine. I
likewise give thee my daughter in marriage, and do thou serve
the Raja faithfully in my place, and not be rebellious as I have
been.’ Tan Sapan then sued for the Sultan’s pardon, which was
eranted to him, and the marriage of his daughter with Maqat
TERAWIS was permitted to take place. Then Tan Sapan died, and
he was buried with all the honours due to a Malay chief.(1) Magar
Trrawis was raised to the rank of a chief, and one account says
that he became Bandahara.(?) ,

“Not long after this, the Sultan, taking Magar Terawis with
him, ascended the Perak river to its source, in order to fix the
boundary between Perak and Patani. At the foot of the moun-
tain Titi Wangsa they found a great rock in the middle of the
stream, from beneath which the water issued, and there was a
wild cotton-tree upon the mountain, which bore both red and
white flowers, the white flowers being on the side facing Perak,
and the red ones on the side turned towards Patani. Then the

(1) This legendary war of Tan Sapan with the second king of
Perak owes its origin probably to mythological accounts of the
wars of Salivahana and Vikramaditya, which Hindu settlers, not —
improbably, brought to Malay countries. Saban is a natural cor-
ruption of Salivahana.

(2) Bandahara, treasurer. (Sansk. bhandagara, treasure), the
highest title given to a subject in a Malay State.

THE HISTORY OF PERAK FROM NATIVE SOURCES. 95

Sultan climbed up upon the big rock in the middle of the river,
and drawing forth his sword Perbujang, he smote the rock and
clove it in two, so that the water ran down in one direction to
Perak and in the other to Patani. This was declared to be the
boundary between the two countries.

“On their return down-stream, the Raja and his followers halted
at Chigar Galah, where a small stream runs into the river Perak.
They were struck with astonishment at finding the water of this
stream as white as santan (the grated pulp of the cocoanut mixed
with water). Macar Trerawts, who was despatched to the source
of the stream to discover the cause of this phenomenon. found
there a large fish of the kind called haruan engaged in suckling
her young one. She had large white breasts from which milk
issued.(1)

“He returned and told the Raja, who called the river ‘ Perak’
(‘silver’), in allusion to its exceeding whiteness. Then he return-
ed to Kota Lama.”

TRANSLATION OF PART OF PERAK Sausita, or ‘“ Boox or
Descent,” oF THE Royat Famity, cOMMENCING
WITH THE DEATH OF SuLtTAN Maumup, THE
Last Kine oF Matacca.

“Sultan Maumvup fell sick, and in his illness he gave orders that
the Bandahara, Paduka Tuan, the Sri Nara Diraja, and two or
three other Chiefs should be summoned. And the King leaned on

(+) This recalls the account in Northern mythology of the four
rivers which are said to flow from the teats of the cow Audhumla.

In a great many Malay myths the colour white is an all-import-
ant feature. In this legend we have the white Semang and the
white river. In others white animals and white birds are intre-
duced.

96 THE HISTORY OF PERAK FROM NATIVE SOURCES.

the shoulder of Sri Nara Diraja, so that his forehead touched that
of the latter, and Sultan Maumup Suan said: ‘In my belief my
sickness is unto death, therefore I give the Sultan Muda into the
charge of ye all, for he is yet a boy.’ Then the Bandahara and all
the Chiefs said: ‘'Tuanku, may God avert from your Highness all
evil, nevertheless, if the grass should wither in the court-yard of
your Highness, we will by no means do ought in breach of your
commands,’ and the King was greatly comforted by the assurance
of the Bandahara and the Chiefs.

“And after a few days Sultan Maumup Suau died, and his body
was buried by the people with all the honours customary in bury-
ing Rajas when they are dead. It was this Sultan who was called
after his death Marhum Kampar, and the time that he had reigned
in Malacca was thirty years, and at the end of that time Malacca
was conquered by Mor(') and he fled to Pahang for a year, and
thence to Bentan, where he spent twelve years, and thence to Kam-
par, where he remained for five years. Thus the whole time that
he was Raja was forty-eight years. (7) As soon as Marhum Kampar
was dead the Sultan Muda was made Raja under the title of Sultan
Aua-Eppin Ayat Suan. Raja Mozarar was driven out by the
Bandahara and all the Chiefs, and he said: ‘Why am I driven
out? Am I going to wrest the sovereignty from Inche Tan (*) by
force ?’? All the Chiefs said: ‘Away with Raja Mozarar Suan from
this country.’ Then said Raja Mozarar Suan: ‘ Wait a while, for
my rice is still on the fire and is not yet cooked.’ But the Chiefs
said: ‘Of what use is it to wait longer ? Go down now without de-

(*) y9¢ Gp ald! O Se we The capture of Malacca by the Portu-
guese under ALBUQUERQUE is of course the event alluded to. The
Sajarah Malayw mentions a Portuguese “Captain Mor.” LrrpEn’s
Malay Annals, p. 326. I am indebted to Mr. Noronua for the
information that ‘‘Capitao-mér” (literally Captain-in-Chief) was
an ancient rank in the Portuguese Navy corresponding more or
less nearly with “ Admiral of the Fleet.” .

(2) See Journal of the Indian Archipelago, Vol. IX., p. 68.

(?) This is an allusion to Tan Farra, the favourite wife of Sul-
tan Maumup Suau, in favour of whose son AtA-Eppin (according
to this account) the real heir Mozarar Suan was disinherited. —

THE HISTORY OF PERAK FROM NATIVE SOURCES, o7

lay. So Raja Mozarar Suan went down with his wife Tan
Trane and one of the late King’s sons, Raja Mansur, who lived
with him. And Raja Mozarar Suau said to the Chiefs: ‘Take
word to Inche Tan that if I die, St Mansur must be received back
by her.’ And the Chiefs said: ‘Very well.’ Then Raja Mozarar
SHAH took a passage on board a vessel—baluk—(*) and went to Siak,
and thence to Kalang where he dwelt quietly. And there was a
certain man of Manjong, (7) Stu-Mra by name, who was constantly
trading between Perak and Kalang. And he saw Raja Mozarar
Suan at Kalang and he brought him to Perak and made him Raja
there, and the King took the title of Sultan Mozarar Suan. (°)
“His younger brother (who inherited the throne of Johor) was
entitled Sultan Ata-Eppin Ayart Suan. He dwelt at Johor, fixing
his capital at Pasir Raja. He had two daughters, the elder of
whom was married to Raja Jautu, a grandson of Sultan Maumup
Suan (his mother having been a daughter of the late Sultan). His
father was one Raja Tunecat. who was not of the line of the
Malay Kings.
“When Sultan Ata-Epprn died. he was called by the people Mar-

(:) Baluk. The Arabic fulk, which signifies a ship or other ves-
sel; whence “ felucca.”’

(2) Manjong. This name appears to have been given in old
times to some portion of the State of Perak, but I can get no infor-
mation about it in Perak itself. The Sajarah Malayu contains an
account of an expedition against Manjong despatched by Sultan
Manmup of Malacca. There was then a “Raja of Bruas.” “ Man-
jong was formerly a great country and was not on friendly terms
with Bruas.” LerypEy’s Malay Annals, p. 264. The name of the
trader Stu-Mta seems to be Indian.

(*) According to the Sajarah Malayu, the Sultan Mozarar Suan
who became Raja of Perak was quite a different person from Raja
Mozarar, the son of the last Sultan of Malacca. The former was
nephew of the Raja of Bruas and became Bandahara of Johor.
His name was Tun Vraset, and he took the title of Sultan Moza-
FAR SHAH on becoming Raja of Perak. LrypEn’s Malay Annals,
p. 265.

9§ THE HISTORY OF PERAK FROM NATIVE SOURCES.

hum Sayyid Mangkat di Acheh (1). Then Raja Jartu became Raja;
he had two sons by a concubine. He it was who had the nobat, or
royal drum, both in his own right and in that of his wife. When
he died the people named him Marhum Batu. And his consort,
after her death, was called Marhum Bukit. Then the eldest son of
Raja Jatin became Raja, and he begot Raja Busane. And when
this King died, he was called Marhum Kampar.

“And his younger brother succeeded him and had a son callep
Raja Basav. When this King died the people called him Marhum
Tembalan. Then Raja Busane became Raja, and Raja Basau
became Raja Muda. The Raja Muda had a son called Raja
Isranim, who was adopted by Raja Busayc. When Raja Busane
died the people called him Marhum Mangkat di Pahang. Then
Raja IpRanim was made Raja, and when he died he was called
Marhum Bongsu. Then the son of Raja Isranutm™ became Raja;
it was this sovereign who was called Marhum Manghkat di Kota
Tinggi. He had no offspring, and with him ended the line of Malay
Kings in Johor.

“ But his Bandahara had many children and grandchildren, and

(:) “Maruum Sayyrp who died at Acheh.”

Marhum, one who has found mercy, #.e., the deceased. It is the
custom of Malays to discontinue after the death of a King the use
of the title which he bore during his life. A new title is invented
for the deceased monarch by which he is ever afterwards known.
The existence of a similar custom among other Indo-Chinese races
has been noticed by Colonel Yute: “ There is also a custom of
dropping or concealing the proper name of the King. This exists
in Burma and (according to La LouBERE) in Siam. The various
Kings of those countries are generally distinguished by some nick-
name derived from facts in their reign or personal relations and
applied to them after their decease. Thus we hear among the
Burmese Kings of “The King dethroned by foreigners,” “The King
who fled from the Chinese,” ‘The grandfather King,” and even
“the King thrown into the water.” Now this has a close parallel
in the Archipelago. Among the Kings of Macassar, we find one
King known only as the “ Throat-cutter ;” another as “ He who ran
amuck ;” a third, “ The beheaded ;” a fourth, “He who was beaten
to death on his own staircase.” Colonel YuLE ascribes the origin
of this custom to Ancient India. Journal Anthrop. Institute,

THE HISTORY OF PERAK FROM NATIVE SOURCES. 99

this Johor Bandahara was of the same stock as the Malay Kings,
for the origin of the Malay Bandaharas was in Singapura. The
King of Singapura was Raja Sryea, (1) who came out of the sea,
and who married a princess, the daughter of Demane Lesar Davy ;
he reigned at Singapura, and had two sons, the elder of whom
became Raja and the younger Bandahara. It was ordained by the
Malay Rajas, as to the male descendants of the Bandahara, that they
could not intermarry with the family of the Raja, but must seek
wives elsewhere. They were, however, entitled to be addressed
with respect, and it was lawful for the members of the royal fami-
ly to take wives of the descendants of the Bandahara, and these
were addressed as Raja also (7). This is the account of the descent
of the Malay Rajas and Bandaharas of the line of Singapura down
to that of Johor.

“ After the death of Marhum Mangkat di Kota Tinggi, the Johor
Bandahara became Raja. Raja Mozarar Suan, who had gone to
Perak, had a son named Raja Mansur (*) who remained behind at
Johor when his father went to Perak, and who married a sister of
Marhum Bukit.

“Raja Mozarar Suan, when he became Raja of Perak, established
his capital at Tanah Abang, and after his death he became known
as Marhum di Tanah Abang. Then Raja Mansur and his wife
were sent by Sultan Aua-Eppin (of Johor) to Perak, and they were
established in the sovereignty there. They made their capital at
Kota Lama. They had sixteen children, three of whom were sons.

(:). No Raja Sryca is mentioned in the Sajarah Malayu, but
the name of the mythical founder of Singapura matters little, for
the whole account of it is mythological not historical. The table
of the genealogy of the early Malay. Kings, which will be found in
Vol. IX. of the Journal of the Indian Archipelago, p. 66, assumes
the historical accuracy of Malay chronicles, though the early por-
tions of them belong eannely to the domain of my tholog gy.

(7). See LeypEn’s Malay Annals, p. 48.

(3). Raja Mansur is mentioned in the Sajarah Malayu as “he
who reigns at present,’ an allusion which supplies some evidence
of the date of that work. Raja Mansur was the father of Sultan
Mansur Suan of Acheh, who, when he died in A. H. 993, was old
enough to have a grandson to succeed him.

100 THE HISTORY OF PERAK FROM NATIVE SOURCES.

When Raja Mansur died the people called him Marhum di Kota
Lama,

“ After this the country was conquered by the men of Acheh, and
the widow of Marhum di Kota Lama and her sixteen children were
taken as captives to Acheh. After their arrival there, the eldest
son of Marhum di Kota Lama was taken by ABD-EL-KHANA as her
husband and became Raja of Acheh.(+) During his reign he sent
his next younger brother to Perak,and installed him there as Raja,
with his capital at Julang. That place having been inundated by
floods seven times, the Raja moved his residence to Garonggong.

“And the Raja of Acheh went across to Perak to amuse himself
and to visit his brother, on whom he had bestowed the kingdom.
On his return from his visit to Perak, he had just reached Kuala
Acheh when he died.(?) He was called by the people Sri Pada
Mangkat di Kuala.(*)

“ After that the mother of Sri Puda Mangkat di Kuala returned
to Perak with all her family; one of his sisters had in the mean-
time married at Acheh and had given birth to a daughter who
accompanied her mother to Perak.

“And the brother of Sri Pada Manghkat di Kuala, who reigned
in Perak, begot a son named Raja Kucuiz. After this King died he
was spoken of by the people as Marhum Muda. His younger brother
then became Raja. It was at that time that Marhum Pahang
created his son Raja Muda (of Pahang) because he was about to

(1). It is interesting to compare this with the genealogy of the
the Kings of Acheh. Paduka Sri Sultan Mansur Suan, described
as the King of Perak, reigned in Acheh for 8 years 3 months and

3 days, and was killed on ‘Monday, the 17th Muharram, A. H. 993
(A.D. 1585). See Journal of the Indian Archipelago, TV 593s
CRrAWFURD, Hist. Indian Archipelago, I1., 506.

(ae According to CRAWFURD, Mansur Suan, his queen and
many of the principal nobility, were murdered by the Commander-
in-Chief of the Army. A grandson of Mansur Suan, known as
Sultan Busane, who succeeded him, was murdered three years later
by the same Chief, who then usurped the throne.
~ (3). “Sri Papa who died at the mouth of the river.” Ci. -pada,
‘ Holy feet,” is by Buddhists employed as a title of Buddha. Ma-
lays, though Muhammadans, are not particular as to the origin of
the Sanskrit titles they adopt.

THE HISTORY OF PERAK FROM NATIVE SOURCES. 101

ask in marriage for him a princess of the royal family of Perak.
The object of this was to take advantage of the custom which re-
quires reigning sovereigns to take their wives with them into their
own countries. After Marhum Muda of Pahang had made his son
Raja Muda, he sent to Perak to demand in marriaze for him the
niece of Sri Pada Mangkat di Kuala, who had come from Acheh.
The Pahang escort came as far as Kuala Tambalang at the head of
the river Sak. And the Raja Muda of Pahang was installed as
Raja by his father [who abdicated in his favour ?] in order to com-
plete the happiness of the royal couple. And he returned to Pa-
hang and reigned there, and begot two daughters. And when he
died the people [of Perak ?] called him Marhum Muda Pahang,
After his death his widow and his two children were sent back to
Perak by. his successor.

“And after a time the brother of Marhum Muda of Perak died,
and the people called him Marhum Muda Mangkat di Tebing (*).

“Then the son of Raja Kecurn, who was also the grandson of
Marhum Muda, became Raja. He was known after his death as
Marhum Mangkat di Darat (?).

“A sister of Marhum Sri Pada Mangkat di Kuala had borne two
sons in Perak, one of whom was called Tunku Tuan, and the
other Raja Bonesu, Tunku Tuan now became Raja. In his time
the country was again conquered by Marhum Makota ’Alam (*)
of Acheh. Tunku Tuan and Raja Bonasv and all the members of
the royal family and all the Chiefs were carried captive to Acheh.
And the two daughters of Marhum Muda Pahang were made captive
also with their mother. But Raja Mansur, son of Raja Krecurn

(1). “ The younger, who died on the river-bank.”

(2). “‘ He who died in the country.”

(3). Although I do not find the title Marhum Makota ’Alam,
“Crown of the World” in the Acheh Annals, there can be little
doubt that the sovereign meant is Sultan Iskanpar Muna, the
greatest of all the Kings of Acheh, who, during his long reign, con-
quered most of the neighbouring States. It was to him that JaAmMEs
J. sent a letter and presents (including two brass guns) by Cap-
tain Best. Lovrs XIII. of France sent Commodore BreauLieu
with letters and presents to him in 1621. Journal of the Indian
Archipelago, IV., 608, note 8.

®

102 THE HISTORY OF PERAK FROM NATIVE SOURCES.

and brother of Marhum Mangkat di Darat, made his escape to
Johor. And there were left in Perak only Maharaja Lela and
Paduka Raja, the former of whom went to Johor to fetch Raja
Mansur. The latter, while in Johor, had married Raja Ampun
Jampr. Paduka Raja, on the other hand, went to Acheh to fetch
Raja Bonesv. The first to arrive in Perak was Maharaja Lela
bringing Raja Mansur, whom he proclaimed Raja of Perak with
his Court at Semat. Raja Ampun JAmpr was left behind in Johor,
and while they were arranging to send for her, Paduka Raja arrived
with an army from Acheh, and brought Raja Bonesu and establish-
ed him as Raja in Perak under the title of Sultan Manmup Suan.
Raja Mansur was taken away to Acheh. When Sultan Manmup
Suan died he was named Marhum Mangkat di Baroh.()

“Then Raja Kusaz, the son of Marhuwm Mangkat di Baroh, became
Raja, and took the title of Sultan Saua-Eppin. And after a time
he presented himself at Acheh and there died, and people speak of
him since as Marhum Mangkat di Acheh.(?)

“Now among the captives at Acheb, there was a son of Raja
Maumup, grandson of Marhum Kasab of Siak (his mother was a
daughter of Bandahara Paduka Raja, and her name was Tanpa
Marana Jouara). His name was Raja Sutona. He had married
at Acheh, where Sultan Muxan(*) had given him as a wife a
daughter of Marhum Muda Pahang, herself also a captive at Acheh.
Raja Sutona and his wife were sent over by Sultan MuxKat to
Perak, where he (Raja SutonG) was installed as Raja and took the
royal title of Sultan Mozarar Suu.

“This sovereign was father of the Yang-di-per-tuan of Perak,
afterwards known as Sultan Maumup Suan. The mother of the
latter was daughter of Marhum Muda Pahang, grand-niece of
Marhum Mangkat di Tebing, grand-daughter of Marhum Kota Lama,
and great-grand-daughter of Marhum Tanah Abang.

ae
2). “He who died at Acheh.”

(*). This is evidently Sultan Macuut, who succeeded his fa-
ther-in-law Sultan Iskaypar Mupa of Acheh, in A.H. 1045 (A.D.
1635).

THE HISTORY OF PERAK FROM NATIVE SOURCES. 108

full blood, namely two brothers and two sisters, and two of the
half-blood on the father’s side. His full brother, Raja Mansur, was
called Yang-di-per-tuan Muda, and had ten children—seven sons
and three daughters. And when Sultan Maumup Suan died, the
people called him Marhum Besar.

“During his life-time, Marhum Besar had adopted three of his
nephews—Raja Raptin, Raja Inv and Raja Bisnu.(1) Raja Rapin
was created Raja Muda, and was afterwards called Sultan Muda.
Raja Inu was made Raja at Bernam under the title of Sultan
Mozarar SHau and was honoured with the insignia of royalty and
with a following of warriors and officers according to custom.

“After Marhum Besar had returned to the mercy of God, Sultan
Muda was made Raja of Perak, and took the title of Sultan Ana-
EDDIN GuHRAYAT SHau. His younger brother, Raja Brsnu became
Raja Muda, and carried on the government under his brother the
Sultan.

“ After Sultan Ana-EDpDIN had been Sultan for some time, Sultan
Mozarar SHan came from Bernam and invaded Perak. And by
the decree of God most high, who executes his will upon all his
creatures by any means that he may choose, there was dissension
among the Chiefs of Perak. And there was war between the Raja
of Bernam and the Toh Bandahara and the Chiefs of Perak and all
was fighting and confusion, one with another. And the Yang-di-
per-tuan of Bernam was defeated, and after a battle he had to move
down the river. After this the Laksamana reinforced the Raja of
Bernam and his penglimas, and brought them up the river to Ban-
dar. Again there was a battle with the Toh Bandahara of Perak
and the Chiefs, and the latter were worsted and had to retreat up
the river.

“The Laksamana halted below Bandar, and sent forward an agent
to present himself before the Yang-di-per-tuan of Perak with a res-
pectful message to His Highness and the Raja Muda to the effect
that he (the Laksamana) had no intention of being disloyal to the
three royal brothers, but that his only desire was to meet with the
Datoh Bandahara and his warriors, for it seemed as if they wished
to make themselves equal to their Highnesses. ‘And so,’ said the

(7). Vishnu. “2

104 THE HISTORY OF PERAK FROM NATIVE SOURCES.

messenger, ‘I have come up the river and have presented myself
before the Yang-di-per-tuan, and the Raja Muda and have respect-
fully made known to them all that the Laksamana has bid me com-
municate.’

“Then the Sultan and the Raja Muda reflected and took counsel
about the matter saying: ‘If we allow this to take place (i.e., a
war between the Bandahara and Laksamana) the quarrel will spread
all over the country.’ And when the Sultan had decided what to
do, he went hastily to look for his younger brother at the elephant
yard. And when he arrived there, the three royal brothers em-
braced and kissed each other. After this the Yang-di-per-tuan of
Perak started up the river for Sayong, where he abode for a long
time, and where the royal drums (nobat) (:) of Sultan Ata-mppry
were heard for many a day.

“ After a time the Bandahara, Macar IskanDar, disappeared, and
was succeeded by Macat Terawtn, who became Bandahara. And
all parties agreed to return to the old order of things ; the Yang-
di-per-tuan of Perak returned to Kota Garonggong, and the Yang-
di-per-tuan of Bernam returned to Bernam. So the three brothers
were all firmly established in their respective jurisdictions. Some
time afterwards Sultan ALA-EDDIN made a journey to Bernam to
amuse himself and to visit his younger brother, Sultan Mozarar
Suan. On his arrival at Bernam, he joined his brother, and they
enjoyed themselves after the manner of Malay Rajas, and after a
time he returned with safety to Perak. And it pleased God, who
is ever to be praised and most high, to bestow the blessing of peace
upon the rule of the Raja Muda, the King’s brother, who adminis-
tered the government under his elder brother in concert with the
Ministers and Officers of State, the warriors and chamberlains, who

(1) Naubat (Windustani, from Arabic), “ Instruments of music
sounding at the gate of a great man at certain intervals.” Shake-
spear’s Hindustani Dictionary. Among the Malays, the use of the |
naubat is confined to the reigning Rajas of a few States, and the
privilege is one of the most valued insignia of royalty. In Perak,
the office of musician used to be an hereditary one, the performers
were called orang kalau, and a special tax was levied for their
support. The instruments are of several kinds; the great drum is
called gendang naubat,

THE HISTORY OF PERAK FROM NATIVE SOURCES. 105

were organised in accordance with the customs of Malay Kings.

“ Sultan Ara-rnpprn had two children—one son and one daughter.
The name of his son was Raja Kecutx Bonasv, and the princess
was called Raja Kecutk Ampuy. The Raja Muda had eight chil-
dren—five sons and three daughters—by several mothers. The only
two who had the same father and mother were two sons, the elder
of whom was called Raja Iskanpar and the younger Raja Ker
Amas. By other mothers there were three more—Raja ALA-EDDIN,
Raja Ixu and Raja Kecurk. And the Yang-di-per-tuan and his
brother, the Raja Muda, agreed upon a marriage between Raja
Ker Amas and Raja Kecurk Ampvy.

“After Sultan Ata-EppIN had been on the throne of Perak for
about seven years, there came a revolution of the world, when he
died. Sultan Mozarar Suan then removed from Bernam to Perak
and from being Yang-di-per-tuan in Bernam became Raja of Perak.
His brother, the Raja Muda, continued to act in that capacity and
to govern the country on behalf of his elder brother. After the
death of Sultan Ara-EDDIN he was called Marhim Sulong. The
Bandahara, too, died and» was succeeded by Sri Dewa Raja, who
became Bandahara. Order was established, and the country was at
rest, and the port was populous and frequented by traders.

“ There isa tributary stream below the fort called Bidor and this,
too, was a populous place. The Laksamana was ordered by the
two Rajas (the Sultan and the Raja Muda) to take charge of this
place. And after a time he died, and their Highnesses created his
son Laksamana in his stead. About this time, by the will of God,
the country was thrown into confusion, and tumult was caused
among the people by the invasion of a Bugis named Kuana. This,
however, by the help of God and the blessing and intercession of
the Prophet, came to nothing, and the enemy departed. But some
time afterwards there came a fresh invasion of Bugis men under
Datne Cuetak. All the Chiefs of Perak were at enmity one with
another, so there was fresh confusion and commotion in the coun-
try until it was impossible to tell friends from foes, and even the
regalia were nearly bemg endangered.

“As for the Yang-di-per-tuan, his condition was indescribable,
not so much on account of the fighting as on account of the want

106 THE HISTORY OF PERAK FROM NATIVE SOURCES.

of any unanimity among his counsellors, everyone working against
everyone else. | |

“ At last some of the Chiefs joined the Bugis, and destruction was
near at hand, for the Bugis took possession of the regalia in con-
sequence of the quarrels between the Chiefs of the country. Then
the Toh Bandahara and the Chiefs made the Raja Muda Sultan.
And the King knew not what to think, such was the confusion
owing to the conduct. of the Chiefs which had nearly led to the
loss of the regalia.

“The investment of the Raja Muda with the nobat was duly
celebrated by the Chiefs and the warriors and officers of Perak ;
and, by the decree of God, the reign of Sultan Mozarar San
ceased, and his brother, the Raja Muda, became Raja and was duly
installed by the Chiefs under the title of Sultan Munam™ap San.
Raja Iskanpar, the younger brother of the Raja, became his Raja
Bandahara, and Chiefs, warriors and officers were appointed.

“Tor about seven years Sultan Munamyap Suan was established
in his sovereignty, and then he returned to the mercy of God, and was
called Marhum Aminullah.*) The insignia of royalty were then
returned to Sultan Mozarar Suan, whose son was confirmed as
Raja Muda. And the country was at peace, and Tanjong Putus
waz populous, and the Dutch too were permitted to live and build
a fort at Tanjong Putus and to buy tin and to trade.

“ And there came a time when the Raja thought of a certain pro-
ject which he discussed with his Chiefs and the members of the
royal family, and when it was agreed upon he sanctioned it. He
had a daughter named Raja Bupak Rasvn and it was his desire to
give her in marriage to the Raja Muda. LHvery one was pleased
with the arrangement, for every one in the State, from the Yang-
di-per-tuan downwards, was agreed in the opinion that the Raja
Muda was the pillar on whom the royal succession depended. So
the King raade every preparation for the marriage, and after wait-

(7). It was probably the tomb of Marhum Aminullah that
Colonel Low saw near Pulo Tiga in 1826, and described as the
tomb of Amina, a female. Journal of the Indian Archipelago, TYV.,
501. |

s

THE HISTORY OF PERAK FROM NATIVE SOURCES. 107

ing for an auspicious day, the princess was married to the Raja
Muda.

“After Sultan Mozarar SHau had reigned a short time longer, he
returned to the mercy of God most high, and was called Marhum
Haji (+). And the Raja Muda succeeded him on the throne; he
fixed his capital at Pulo Indra Sakti, and his younger brother
became Raja Muda. After a time the King went down to the sea
to amuse himself, and at the same time to erect a fort at Tanjong
Putus. He was attended in his journey by his brothers and sons
and warriors and thousands of ryots were in his train. He went
for amusement as far as Kuala Susunan, and by the help of God,
whose perfection be extolled, no evil or misfortune befell him, and
he returned in safety to his palace. After this the Dutch received
permission to guard Kuala Perak, and to stamp all the tin with
letters. The length of the King’s reign on the throne of Perak
was fourteen years, and he then returned to the mercy of God.
And when he died he was entitled Marhum Kahar.

“His younger brother, the Raja Muda, because Raja in his stead,
and established himself at Pulo Besar Indra Mulia (?). And the
country was settled and peaceful.

“ About this time the army of Pangivan Raja Bugis entered Perak,
and that Chief had an interview with the King, but by the help
of God most high, and the dignity of the King, no evil or misfor-
tune ensued to His Highness or to the people of Perak.

“When the King had reigned for eight years, he returned to
the mercy of God most high, and was entitled Marhum Muda di
Pulo Besar Indra Mulia.

“Tt was this sovereign who begot Raja Iprautm, who was after-

(:). Miraculous stories are current in Perak of the piety of
Marhum Haji. He used to go to Mecca and back every Friday,
and on one occasion, to convince the sceptical, he produced three
green dates which he had brought back with him from the sacred
eity! His tomb is opposite Bota.

. (*?) Pulo Besar is near Bandar Baharu, the place selected for the
first British Residency. Indra Alulia is a title given to the place
which the reigning Sultan honours by selecting for his residence
for the time being,

108 THH HISTORY OF PERAK FROM NATIVE SOURCES.

wards called Raja Kechik Muda. And Raja Kechik Muda begot
Ktaja Manmup, and took the higher title of Raja Bandahara Wa-
kil el Sultan Wazir el Kabir, and ruled over the country of Perak.
He lived at Sayong by the long sandy shore. After he had ruled
Perak for along time, he returned to the mercy of God most high,
and was called when he died Aarhum Sayong di Pasir Panjang.”

SR PAHOLOGICAL NOTES
MADE IN THE

weeekis SETTLEMENTS

AND IN THE
WESTERN STATES OF THE MALAY PENINSULA
BY
Captn. H. R. KELHAM, 74tH Hichianpers. |
Jeeves a
( First published in the Ibis. )

my XS
t SBE cap
‘30 ew
Boal % OMPARATIVELY little having been written concerning the
> AR Be
me i Ornithology of the Malay Peninsula, the following
\ S52 notes may prove of some interest, more especially to
{SRY oa ;
“a5 those ornithologists fated to pass most of their life in

Les

? the far East. That something about Malay birds, how-
ever meagre it may be, is much wanted, I well know from personal
experience, having still fresh in my memory the up-hill work of
my first few months in the country. These I spent among the
jungles of the peninsula, daily shooting heaps of specimens, yet
without the means of satisfactorily determining their identity, or
finding out any thing about them beyond what I myself observed,
only knowing this bird to be a Pitta, that to belong to the Picide
or Cuculide, but in most cases being quite in the dark as to their
particular species, though afterwards ‘‘ JErpon’s Birds of India,”
a few volumes of “ Stray Feathers,” and some of the monographs,
notably Mr. SuHanrpe’s beautiful work on the Kingfishers, gave me
much assistance. So, with the view of helping any one, yery likely

LO MALAYAN ORNITHOLOGY.

without a library close at hand, about to take up the study of
Malay birds, I have put down my experiences, however slight,
about each species I met with, at the same time adding details
which, with very few exceptions, have been taken from my own
specimens before they were skinned.

Regarding the Malay Peninsula in an ornithological point of
view, the range of mountains running down the middle of the
country may be said to divide it into two divisions—the Western
or Indo-Malayan, where the avifauna has much in common with
that of India and Ceylon, and, on the other hand, the Eastern,
of which the ornithology shows a strong relationship with that
of China, Borneo, and the Eastern Archipelago.

My observations are confined entirely to the Indo-Malayan divi-
sion, and, though extending over a period of nearly three years’
continuous and most essentially practical work, are necessarily of
a fragmentary and incomplete nature, as, in a country so rich in
birds, there must be many species of which I know but little:
several I never even saw. |

During a good deal of my time in the country, I was stationed
with my regiment at Singapore, in itself by no means a bad collect-
ing-ground, while from it I made many bird-hunting expeditions
to the mainland, visiting Malacca, Penang, Province Wellesley,
Johor, the Moar river, and many islands of the Singapore
Archipelago.

My first seven months were passed in the native States of Pérak
and Larut; and during that time I personally obtained examples
of over two hundred different species, though, if I had but had
an assistant to help in the skinning, I could have collected many
more. Often, after a hard day’s shooting, I had far more on hand
than I could possibly manage, particularly in that hot, damp
climate, where, in spite of carbolic acid, nothing would keep for
any length of time. Nor must I forget to mention those mortal
enemies to the naturalist—the ants ; for, though I stood the legs of
iny tables in oil-jars, hung my boxes to strings passed through
bottles of water, used any amount of camphor, and tried every
ingenious precaution that man could devise against their attacks,
I haye to thank them for the loss of many a specimen.

MALAYAN ORNITHOLOGY. iid inl:

I found the oil-jar plan to answer best; but as sure as a straw.

or even dust in any quantity, blew into the oil, so surely would
the ants at once find out the bridge, cross it in myriads, and in a
few minutes one’s cherished skins were a moving mass of these
pests.
_ I have known them attack in thousands, and even eat holes in
the skin of, a sickly bird in my aviary some time before it was
actually dead; and in this way, among other specimens, I lost my
only one of that curious pheasant-like bird, Rhizothera longirostris
(Temm.).

The peninsula, more particularly its western half, is now being
extensively worked by ornithologists from India; so, before very
long, doubtless, its birds and their habits will be much better
known than they are at present.

Oroayps caLvus (Scop.).

Early in February, 1877, near Kwala Kangsa, on the Perak
river, I came across one of these Vultures in company with sev-
eral of the common brown species—Pseudogyps bengalensis. They
were all busily engaged feeding on the decaying carcase of a buffalo,
but rose at my approach; and this bird flew so close over head
that a charge of snipe-shot brought it flapping to the ground. Erx-
cept on this occasion, I never met with O. calvus; nor did I see °
any specimens in the Malacca or Singapore collections. My bird
was an adult, of such dark plumage as, ata short distance, to look
quite black; legs, bare skin of head and neck pinky red, irides
yellow.

PSEUDOGYPS BENGALENSIS (Gm.).

The common Vulture of the country, collecting in the most
marvellcus manner wherever there is carrion.

One evening in Pérak T lay concealed at the edge of the thick
jungle, and watched for a long time a crowd of these scavengers
squabbling over a dead buffalo, which had died on some open
ground within 50 yards of where I was. They became so gorged
that, on my coming out of the bushes, it was with difficulty they
took to wing, then flying but a short distance and squatting in
rows along the upper branches of a large dead tree, from which
I picked off three of their number with my pea-rifle.

ie MALAYAN ORNITHOLOGY.

Across the wings, from tip to tip, they measured slightly under
7 feet; irides dark brown; legs, bare skin of head and neck black.

MIcROHTERAX FRINGILLARIUS (Drap.).

This tiny Falcon, not much larger than a Sparrow, is plentiful
in the South of the peninsula, and on the island of Singapore.

I noticed it was particularly fond of perching on the upper
branches of dead trees, from its elevated position making short
flights into the air after beetles and other insects, but each time
returning to the same bough, after the manner of the Flycatchers.

One afternoon, near Tanglin, Singapore, I stood within a few
yards of one of these Falcons, and watched it feeding on a large
beetle, which it held firmly in one foot and tore to pieces with its
strongly notched beak. Possibly they sometimes prey on small
birds ; but they themselves are so small that I doubt if they could
kill any thing more powerful than a Sun-bird or small Warbler.
Certainly, as a rule, they are insectivorous; for I have dissected
several, and in every case the stomach contained only fragments
of beetles, dragonflies, and other things of a like nature. no bones
of mice or small birds.

The sexes appear to be of similar plumage, in colour a deep
blue-black, marked on the face and wings with white, the under-
parts are also white ; length between 6 and 7 inches.

BuvastuR Inpicus (Gm.).

Fhe only one I obtained I shot near Kota Lama, Perak on Fe.
bruary 17, 1877. I had just killed a Snipe: and at the report of
my gun this bird rose from the topmost limb of a large tree, and,
passing within range, fell to my second barrel.

ACCIPITER viRGATUS (Temm.).

The Besra Sparrow-hawk appears to be migratory, as, though
eommon in Singapore during Octoberand November, I did not meet
with it at any other time of year, and a friend who, early in No-
vember, was a passenger on one of the small steamers plying be-
tween Sarawak and Singapore, informed me that when near the
latter place fifteen or twenty of these little Hawks settled on the
rigging ; and being weary, seven of them were easily caught by the
seamen.

My first acquaintance with the species was from seeimg one

MALAYAN ORNITHOLOGY. es

dash along under the verandahs of the bungalows in the Tanglin
barracks right into the midst of a flock of tame pigeons, scatter-
ing them in all directions. During the following week I obtained
two, which, in the excitement of their chase after the pigeons,
flew into the barrack-rooms and were caught. One of these I kept
for some weeks; and it became fairly tame, taking raw meat and
small birds from my hand. It was a young male, its irides being
pale yellowish brown, and the dark brown feathers of the upper
parts blotched with white and edged with rusty brown. Length
104 inches, tarsus barely 2 inches, legs greenish yellow, beneath
white with a slight rufous tinge, and having long, oval, brown
drops on the breast, and bands on the abdomen and flanks; tail
ashy grey with brown bars.

In November, 1879, while collecting on Pulau Battam, one of the
thickly wooded islands near Singapore, I saw a pair of these
Hawks, and shot one of them while in hot pursuit of a small bird.
It was a male; length about 11% inches, tarsus 2 inches, legs
yellowish green, tail ashy grey crossed with dusky bars. The
plumage of the upper parts was of a much darker brown than
in the above-described specimen ; still the feathers were all edged
with rufous brown, and the underparts white, which, according to
Dr. JeRvon, is characteristic of the immature bird ; he also states
the mature male to have the breast and flanks almost ferruginous.

LIMNAETUS CALIGATUS (Raffles).

This Hawk-Hagle breeds in Pérak. Near Kwala Kangsa, du-.
ring May, 1877, I obtained a nestling, so young that it was a mere
ball of fluffy down. It throve wonderfully, its appetite being
simply insatiable, and rapidly grew into a very handsome bird, so
tame that I could handle it with impunity.

Its usual perch was on a rung of the ladder leading up into one
of the huts occupied by the men of my company, with whom it
was a great favourite; and when the troops were withdrawn from
Pérak it accompanied us, along with wild cats, monkeys, lorikeets,
and pets of all kinds, to Singapore, where I placed it in the aviary
of the Botanical Gardens. .

In December, 1880, when I left the Straits, the bird, then nearly
three years old, was in a very flourishing state, but had

114 MALAYAN ORNITHOLOGY.

changed very little either in size or plumage from what it was at
the age of six months; in fact, it appeared to attain its full size
when about three months old. At that time its upper parts were
dark brown, marked with white on the wingcoverts, tail brown
barred with a darker shade of the same colour, underparts and
legs white, the breast slightly streaked with brown; the feathers
of the head were brown with dark tips, and formed a short crest,
which, when surprised or startled, the bird had a habit of raising,
at the same time moving its head from side to side; its irides were
clear brown, cere and bill bluish black, legs pale yellow, and
feathered to the toes.

PANDION HALIAETUs (Linn.). The Osprey.

One November afternoon (very unlike an English one though,
the thermometer standing at between 85° and 90° F. in the
shade), while snipe-shooting in the Mount-Echo valley, Singapore,
I saw two large birds coming towards me; so I crouched down in
hopes of a shot. On they came, sailing along about forty yards
over the swamp, every now and then swooping down to seize some
luckless fish or other prize. When quite close to me one of them
suddenly stopped, as if to make sure of its aim, then dashed down
at a tremendous pace into a small stream which wound through
the valley, and sent the water flying all directions, the next moment
rising with something in its claws. This, however, it didnot live
to enjoy, as my shot brought it down; and I found I had gota
magnificent Osprey, a male, measuring 5 feet 8 inches across the
wings.

PoLIOAETUS ICHTHYAETUS (Horsf.). The White-tailed Sea-Hagle.

In January, 1877, I shot one of these Eagles, which for some
time had frequented a jheel near Saiyong, on the banks of the
Peérak river. Several days passed before I managed to get a chance
at it, as it was generally far out in the middle of the jheel, sitting
on a fallen tree which rose a few feet above the surface of the
water, in a part devoid of reeds or other covert. |

Its head and neck were grey, upper parts brown, irides dull
yellow, tail white with a broad black bar.

HALIAETUS LEUCOGASTER (Gm.).

The Grey Sea-Hagle is common round the southern coasts of

MALAYAN ORNITHOLOGY. AES

the peninsula, particularly at the mouths of the rivers, where I
often used to see it sitting on the fishing-stakes.

I found it very plentiful about the mud-flats at the entrance to
the Larut river. An officer of my regiment, stationed at Penang,
tells me it breeds there, making a large nest near the tops of high
trees.

Circus ZRuciNosus (Linn.). The Marsh-Harrier.

During November, while shooting Snipe near Bukit Minyak,
Province Wellesley, I shot a Marsh-Harrier as it was quartering
over the paddy-swamps ; it was a young bird, with the irides brown
instead of yellow as in the adult.

Crrcts crneracevs (Montagu). Montagu’s Harrier.

In August, 1877, while travelling down the Moar river, and
when within about thirty miles of its mouth, one of our party
shot a Harrier as it flew over our boat. Besides being much
knocked about by the shot, it fell into the water, and was such a
draggled mass of feathers when we picked it out that I did not
think it worth preserving. I also unfortunately neglected to
write down a more acurate description of it than that it was a
Harrier of ashy grey plumage, vent and thighs white, irides yellow,
length from 18 to 20 inches; still, probably, it was C. cineraceus.

Haiastur rnpvs (Bodd.).

The Brahminy Kite is common throughout the Straits Settle-
ments, particularly about the harbours, where it may be seen in
considerable numbers picking up the refuse from the ships.

I found them plentiful in Pérak. At Kwala Kangsa, in com-
pany with the Crows, they used to collect at the place where all
the offal from our camp was deposited, and carry off any filth they
could find, often chasing the Crows and making them drop any
particularly dainty morsel, which was quickly picked up by the
pursuing Kite, though he, in his turn, frequently had to run the
gauntlet of his comrades.

In the Straits Settlements, both this species and AZtlvus affnis,
on account of their foul feeding, have obtained a most expressive,
but very objectionable, nickname.

Minyvvus aFFINIs (Gould).

On October 21, 1879. I shot a Pariah Kite in the Mount-Echo

116 MALAYAN ORNITHOLOGY.

valley, Singapore.

PERNIS PTILORHYNCHA (Temm.). The Crested Honey-Buzzard.

I am able to record but a single specimen of this Buzzard, shot
during November, near Changi, Singapore; it showed no signs
of the crest.

Length nearly 27 inches; legs yellow, beak dusky yellow at its
base ; the wings reach to within 3 inches of the end of the tail;
feathers of face very scale-like, tarsi well plumed; entire plumage
rich brown with a decided rufous tinge, particularly about the
head and neck; all the feathers are dark-shafted; central streal:
and one on either side from the gape dark brown, very distinctly
marked ; tail dull brown faintly barred with white.

Baza Lornores (Temm.). The Crested Kite.

I saw a specimen of this bird in a collection made by an officer
of my regiment while at Malacca.

S@RIx JavANICA (Gm.). Malay Screech-Owl.

While quartered at Kwala Kangsa, Pérak, 2 Malay whom I
employed to snare birds brought me one of these Owls alive; it
was rather like S. flammea, except in being more spotted, parti-
cularly about the facial disk.

KeETUpPA JAVANENSIS (Less.). Malay Fish-Owl.

I shot several specimens of this large Owl in Pérak, where it was
by no means rare, though not often met with, owing to its nocturnal
habits. It retires during the heat of the day into the densest
parts of the jungle.

One afternoon in May I was making for a nesting-place of the
Weaver bird, Ploceus baya, in the neighbourhood of Kwala Kang-
sa, and on my way had to pass through a gloomy swamp, clear of
undergrowth, but with the trees interlacing so thickly over head
as to throw the whole place into deep shade, while from above
long tangled creepers hung down into the pools of stagnant water.
Altogether it was a most weird spot; and I was hastening on to
get out again into the sunlight, when, within a few yards, up rose
a huge Owl, which I shot; but being only winged it turned on its
back and, till I put an end to its struggles, fought most fiercely
with my retriever. Its last meal had been of a most miscellaneous
nature ; for, on dissection, its stomach contained a piece of stick,

MALAYAN ORNITHOLOGY. 117

the jaw-bone of a rat, portions of beetles and dragonflies, some
vegetable matter, and, lastly, a great red centipede measuring 7
inches in length.

This bird was a female, leneth 19 inches; irides golden yellow,
legs grey, plumage pale rufous brown, the feathers having bold
central streaks of dark brown ; wings and tail dark brown, barred
with rusty white; throat and shoulders white; ear-plumes over
2 inches in length; feet and talons very powerful.

T kept one of these Owls alive in a cage for several weeks,
feeding it on raw meat and dead birds. It throve well, but was
exceedingly savage, so much so that when leaving Pérak, not being
able to take the bird with me, and yet wanting its skin as a speci-
men, I hardiy knew how to kill it without damaging its plumage
or it tearing my hands, until I thought of chloroform; and a hand-
kerchief soaked in that soporific and thrown over the bird’s head
quickly solved the question. I once saw one of these Owls in
Singapore ; it was flushed by the beaters when beating the jungle
for sambur and pig.

Scops temMpist1 (Horsf.).

For some time, owing to their small size, I put down my speci-
mens of this little Scops Owlas S. malayanus, (Hay); but they have
now been identified by Mr. Gurney as Horsfield’s S. lempzji; and
on carefully reading what Dr. Jerpon says on the subject, I see
he states that there are several phases of S. lempzji. Both as
regards plumage and size and with the description of his third, or,
as he terms it, Malabar or rufous variety my birds agree.

They now lie before me. in plumage exactly alike, but in length
one measures 8 inches, the other 8? inches; both had yellow irides,
thongh in the case of the smaller bird they were rather dull, with
a brown tinge.

I obtained two of these Owls alive by their flying into our
barracks at Singapore; the first was caught late in October, the
other on the 2nd December.

Round Tanglin, Singapore, on a still evening, their mournful
monotonous hoot was commonly to be heard; and soft and low as
it seemed to be, it was wonderful at what a distance it could be
heard, certainly at from a quarter to half a mile. I do not think

118 MALAYAN ORNITHOLOGY.

I am mistaken as to the vocalist being of this species; for on one
occasion I stood within a couple of yards, listened for some time,
then frightened the bird out into the moonlight. It might possibly
have been S. malayanus, but I think not: that species puzzles me
considerably ; it seems so like some varieties of S. lempiji. My
friend Mr. W. E. Maxwett, Assist. Resident of Pérak, I believe,
refers to S. /empzji in a letter to me, in which he says :—“ The
‘punggok,’ a small Owl, has a soft plaintive note, and is supposed
to make love to the moon. ‘Seperti punggok merindu bulan’
(‘just as the punggok sighs for the moon ’) is a common expression
in Pérak, applied to a desponding lover.”’

Ninox scutunata (Raffl.). The Brown Hawk-Owl.

After a day’s Teal-shooting on Saiyong jheel, I was returning,
in the dusk to camp, walking along the side of the Pérak. river
when I noticed two birds sitting on a stump which stood a few
feet out of the water at about thirty yards from the river-bank ;
every now and then they left their perch, and either fluttered up
into the air or else swooped down and skimmed close over the
surface of the water as if hawking for insects, always, however,
returning to their original position on the stump.

Wondering what they could be, I shot one, and found I had got
a fine male specimen of this curious Owl. My conjecture as to
what they were feeding on proved correct; for, on dissecting the
one I shot, its stomach contained five large beetles, nothing else.
T looked most carefully for traces of fish, thinking that possibly
the prickly cactus-like bristles which grew all over the bird’s toes
were intended by nature to assist it in securing slippery prey ;
but apparently such is not the case, unless it feeds exclusively on
water-beetles and aquatic insects, which would certainly be difficult
to hold. |

This bird, a male, measured 11 inches in length; irides yellow;
entire plumage dull brown, rather rufous beneath; some of the
feathers of the breast and belly white-edged; tail crossed by five
dark bars; under tail-coverts white; legs feathered to the toes, —
which were covered with stiff bristles.

T{1RUNDO GUTTURALIS (Scop.).

This Swallow is common throughout the Straits, and identical

MALAYAN ORNITHOLOGY. 119

with the Chinese race, as specimens I shot at Singapore were
exactly similar to others which I got near Hongkong; nor does
it appear to differ much from the well-known European I. rustica,
unless perhaps in being slightly smaller.

CHZTURA LEUCOPYGIALIS (Blyth). The Small Spine-tailed Swift.

I obtained this birdin Singapore in July, 1879; also in Pérak.

CHETURA GIGANTEA (Temm.).

The large Malay Spine-tailed Swift is apparently distributed
in considerable numbers throughout the country, as I met with it
in all the Straits Settlements, also in Johore, Pérak, Larut; and,
far up the Moar river, at Sagamet, in the very heart of the Penin-
sula, I saw large flocks of them hawking over the river. I shot
my first specimen one morning in February.

While walking along the flat sandy beach bordering the Pérak
river near Saiyong, a party of eight of these large Swifts darted
past at a tremendous pace, so fast that one heard the shish! of
their wings, and the next instant they were almost out of sight,
but circling round, again came within shot, which I took advantage
of and secured one. It was a female, 94 inches in length, irides
dark brown, legs and feet dark purple, under tail-coverts white,
with the feathers dark-shafted ; rest of plumage brownish black,
lightest on the back, with a steel-blue metallic lustre on the head,
nape, wings, and upper tail-coverts : the tail consisted of ten fea-
thers, with their terminal portions bare and as sharp as needles;
the wings projected 3 inches beyond the tail.

CyYpsELus suBFuRcaTus (Blyth).

Plentiful throughout the Straits. When at Malacca, during
the first week in December, 1879, I found a colony of these Swifts
breeding in the ruined convent which stands on the hill overlooking
the town and anchorage. In the early part of the day hundreds
of them were flying in and out of their nests of clay and straw,
which hung in great clusters of thirty or more under the crumb-
ling arches of the convent windows, and apparently contained
young. The old birds became very much excited at my approach,
and made 4 tremendous noise as they flew backwards and forwards.
I was told that they commence to build early in November.

Without a ladder it was impossible to get at the nests; so I was

120 MALAYAN ORNITHOLOGY..

unable to examine their contents.

One of this species, which I shot at Singapore on 5th May, out
of a flock of six, measured 54 inches in length; irides dark brown,
under parts brownish black, darkest on the back, and slightly gloss-
ed with green ; head brownish, palest on the forehead ; chin, throat,
and rump white; underparts brownish black; tail square. To me
this bird seems to answer exactly to Dr. Jmrpon’s description of
the Indian Swift, C. affinis. |

CYPSELUS INFUMATUS (Sclat.). The Palm-Swift.

Common in the Straits, where it breeds, affixing its tiny nest to
the under surface of the leaves of the palm trees. During the
month of July I saw a large gathering of these Swifts flying round
some betel-nut palms bordering the Bukit Timah road, Singapore.
They kept up an incessant twitter, every now and then darting
under and remaining for some seconds among the leaves, where
they evidently had nests, as I could hear the feeble twittering of
the young birds. The day being extremely hot, and the tall, slen-
der stems of the trees anything but inviting, I regret to say I had
not sufficient energy to climb up and secure a nest; however, I
shot one of the birds, so as to be quite certain as to their species.
it measured 42 inches in length; irides dark brown; plumage
mouse brown, darkest on the head and wings, which have a faint
bluish green tinge, beneath pale brown.

Cottocata LIncut (Horsf.). The Hdible-nest Swiftlet.

This tiny Swift is one of the Malayan representatives of the
genus Collocalia, or Edible-nest-building Swifts, of whose gelatine-
like nests, formed of mucus from the bird’s salivary glands, is
made the glutinous soup which, with Sharks’ fins and other deli-
cacies strange to the European stomach, is found on the dinner-
tables of the ‘‘ upper ten”’ among the Chinese, though, as the nests
cost something like a guinea an ounce, it is only by the wealthy,
and probably by them only on great occasions, that this expensive
luxury is indulged in. This delicacy tastes rather like ordinary
vermicelli soup. [ was told that the birds built in caves on the
coast; the nests adhere to the rocks, often in very precipitous
places, and are only obtained at considerable risk to the collectors ;
hence the fancy price they fetch.

MALAYAN ORNITHOLOGY. UAL

My specimens I shot on the island of Singapore, late in August ;
but doubtless the species is distributed throughout the Straits.

Length 4 inches ; irides dark-brown; the wings project 14 inch
beyond the tail; tarsus 2 inch; plumage black, glossed on the
upper parts with bluish-green ; beneath dusky, the feathers of the
belly and vent elged with white, presenting a mottled appearance.

DENDROCHELIDON xiEcio (Horsf.). The Malayan Crested
Swift.

My first acquaintance with this species was while travelling in
Pérak, where it certainly cannot be put down as common. Larly
in April, with H.B.M.’s Resident, I visited some tin mines ata
place called Salak, situated at the foot of the range of mountains
running about ten miles East of Kwala Kanesa. After an intense-
ly hot ride of several hours on elephants, we reached our destina-
tion, a settlement of about half-a-dozen huts occupied by Chinese
miners, who received us civilly, but were extremely anxious lest
we should enter the workings with our boots on, or touch any of
the burning joss-sticks—little smouldering tapers ht to propitiate
the good or keep off the evil spirits. These miners, being ex-
eeedingly superstitious, imagine the ground to be peopled with
demons who have the power of rendering the metal scarce or other-
wise. Anybody entering a mine with his boots on is supposed to
give such offence to the spirits that the ground ceases to yicld ore,
and becomes worthless—a strange superstition, the origin of
which I was unable to find out.

These Salak mines had been worked in former years; but, when
the disturbances broke out in Pérak, the Malays burned the
shanties, and the miners fled. The old workings had filled with
water, forming several smail ponds, over which were flying some
birds of the Swift tribe; there were twenty or thirty of them
flying backwards and forwards over the pools, at one moment
dipping suddenly down and just breaking the surface of the
water, then rising high into the air, uttering a loud twittering
note. Every now and then they deserted the ponds, and settled
along the bare upper branches of an enormous dead forest-tree
which stood near. They were too high up fur me to ascertain as
a fact that they were nesting ; but probably such was the case, and

122 MALAYAN ORNITHOLOGY.

the birds which I saw squatting along the bare limbs of the tree
were in all probability sitting on their nests—small, clay, cup-
’ shaped structures, usually, I believe, built on the upper horizontal
branches of high trees.

While on the tree the Swifts were far out of gun-shot; but by
waiting till they returned to the water, I secured two or three
specimens ; and the following is a description of one of them :—It
differs from D. coronatus, the Indian species, in being mueh
smaller, also the tail does not project beyond the tips of the wings.
Length from beak to end of tail 8 inches; irides dark-brown; legs
aud feet dull-purple: head, crest, upper parts, wings, and tail
bright metallic bluish-green, except the rump, which is grey ;
underparts grey ; becoming white on the abdomen and vent.

In Singapore, late in August, J shot a Crested Swift out of a
flock of about twenty as they dashed past in a southerly direction.
Could they have been migrating? It was the only time I saw
any of them on the island; and they did not loiter, but flew
straight on in a direct line, as if with a fixed purpose.

DENDROCHELIDON CoMATA (Temm.).

I saw specimens of this curiously plumaged Swift which had
been shot near Changhi, Singapore; mine were killed on Gunong
Pulat, Johor.

CapRIMULa@us MacruRUs (Horsf.). The Malay Nightjar.

“One of the most common of Malay birds, but more so in ecultiva-
ted districts than in the thick jungle, though even there it abounds
wherever there are roads or clearings.

About the Singapore roads it is very plentitul of an evening,
either hawking for the insects which then swarm, or else squatting
motionless on the road till almost trodden on, when it rises with
a flutter into the air, and skimming close over the ground, settles
again a little further on. During the heat of the day, the Nightjar
retires to the depths of the jungle, frequenting those parts which
are in deep shade ; but towards dusk it sallies forth in search of
food, and, particularly on moonlight nights, its monotonous “ chunk!
ehunk ! chunk! chunk !” is heard on all sides, about the most notice-
able of the many strange nocturnal sounds. These peculiar notes
have a inetallic-ring, very like the sound made by throwing a stone

MALAYAN ORNITHOLOGY, 128

on the ice. I never heard the bird utter them while it was flying,
occasionally when squatting on the ground, but more often from a
post or dead tree—the same bird frequenting the same position
night after night, much to one’s annoyance if it happens to select
a place near one’s bed-room window.

When I was in camp at Kwala Kangsa, one of these Nightjars
came every evening to an old seat of tree-trunks within ten yards
of my hut, and made such a “chunking” as to render sleep im-
possible. So, after putting up with it for several nights, at last
(one evening when it was particularly noisy) I took out my
oun and shot it; and from that time the nuisance ceased, and
I slept in peace. One of my Pérak specimens, a male, shot
on 10th March, 1877, measured slightly under 12 inches; irides
dark-brown ; rictal bristles white at their bases; upper plumage
ash-brown, minutely speckled with a darker shade of the same
colour ; bold longitudinal dashes on the crown, nape. and sca-
pulars, also dark-brown blotches on central tail-feathers ; chin,
face, and nape rufous-brown; bar across primaries, the ends
of outer tail-feathers and of under tail-coverts, also triangular
patch on the throat pure white; beneath dull rufous-brown, pale
on abdomen, and barred with dusky-brown.

Merors guinticotor (Vieill.) ; and M. Bapivus (Gm.).

I obtained both these birds on the banks of the Pérak river, also
at Malacca and Singapore.

On reference to my note-book I find :—“ Kwala Kangsa, Pérak,
15 Feb., 1877. Saw several Bee-eaters near the river; two of
them kept flying about a leafless tree, now and then resting on its
topmost branches; wanting specimens, I shot them both, and
found them to be IW. quinticolor, not unlike the European JZ.
apiaster. One of these birds, a male, measured 8 inches in length;
head and nape pale ruddy chestnut, wings bluish-green ; chin and
throat pale-yellow, bounded below by a dark bar ; lower back and
upper tail-coverts pale-blue, tending to white.

“Tts stomach contained beetles and small flies.”’

“ Kwala Kangsa, Pérak, 25 Feb., 1877. Close to camp I came
on several Bee-eaters, which were flying about a sand-bank near
the river; they were of two species—M. quinticolor and M. badius,

124 MALAYAN ORNITHOLOGY.

“ T shot specimens of each. One of the latter, a male, measured
12 inches in length; irides crimson; head, nape, and upper back
rich dark-chestnut; the two central tail-feathers taper to a point
nearly 8 inches beyond the rest of the tail; chin, throat, and tail
blue; lower back and tail-coverts pale-blue; beneath bright-green,
becoming whitish and slightly tinged with pale-blue towards the
vent.”

Merors prittepincs (Linn.). The Blue-tailed Bee-eater.

Very common in Singapore during the North-east monsoon.

Arriving in great numbers towards the end of September, it
keeps in flocks of from ten to twenty, and frequents low-lying
ground and wet paddy-fields, over which it hawks for insects, at
one moment swooping down at a great pace close to the ground,
the next rising high into the air and sailing along without a move
of its wings; when at rest it is generally to be seen on some con-
spicuous isolated spot, such as the top of a post or the highest
branch of a dead tree.

In Singapore, I think I may put it down as migratory ; for, on
reference to my notes, made daily, I can find no record of its
occurrence except during the wet season.

On 17th October, 1879, they were very plentiful at Séranggong,
Singapore. One I shot measured 12 inches in leneth, bill at front
15 inch; irides crimson; bill black; upper parts dull-green,
tinged on the head and tertiaries with pale-blue ; ramp and upper
tail-coverts beautiful light-blue; tail dull-blue, two central fea-
thers elongated ; chin pale-yellow ; throat pale-chestnut ; abdomen
pale-green ; streak below eye black, bordered below with light-blue.
The entire bird, with the exception of the light-blue portions of its
plumage, was most beautifully glossed with a gclden coppery tinge,
giving it, when in the sun, a brilliant burnished appearance.

NycriogNis amictus (Temm.).

Certainly not a common bird, as I only once myself obtained
it, though I saw it in Malaccan collections; then, being new to me,
I assigned it to the Meropide. The following extract is from my
notes made at the time :—

“ Kwala Kangsa, Pérak, Feb., 1877. This morning my native
bird-eatcher brought me two birds of most gaudy colours; he had

MALAYAN ORNITHOLOGY. 125

snared them in the neighbourhood. From their long curved beaks,
brilliant plumage, and general appearance I think they must be-
long to the Meropide or Bee-eaters ; anyhow, they are certainly
related to them.

“These birds have a most peculiar and rather pleasant aromatic
scent aboutthem.”

I put them into my aviary, and at first they did well, feeding
on plantains, and hopping about most cheerfully, every now and
then flirting up their long tails after the manner of Copsychus
musicus; but after a few days they sickened, and, much to my
regret, died: so, all I couid do was to add their skins to my collee-
tion. The male was slightly less than 13 inches in length ; irides
bright-orange; toes four in number, one inclined backwards ;
forehead hlac; throat and -pectoral plumes scarlet, the centres of
the latter dusky ; rest of plumage bright-green, except tips of tail-
feathers, which were black beneath, their basal portions being
yellow. Some specimens of this species which I bought at Malacea
measured under 12 inches in length; but probably the skins had
shrunk.

Evurystomvs ortentatis (Linn.). The Broad-billed Roller.

This Roller appearsto be distributed throughout the country,
but is particularly plentiful among the virgin forests of Pérak. I
hardly like to say it is nocturnal in its habits; still it is rarely met
with during the heat of the day; but in the country round
Kwala Kanesa, Pérak, I frequently saw it of an evening when on
my way home after a day in the jungle; it was usually perched on
the upper branches of some tree, from which it made short flights
into the air in pursuit of insects. The first one I shot was only
winged, and, turning on its back and uttering harsh screams, it
fought most savagely with my dog. It was a male; leneth 11
inches; irides dark brown; legs, feet, and beak scarlet ; plumage
greenish-biue ; head almost black; wings very prettily marked
with blue and black, each having on it a spot of very pale blue ; patch
on throat rich violet ; beak short, strong, and hooked at tip; gape
and eyes very large.

I also shot specimens at Changi, Singapore.

PELARGOPSIS MALACCENSIS (Sharpe.). Large Stork-billed Kine-

5S

126 MALAYAN ORNITHOLOGY.

fisher.

This magnificent bird is fairly plentiful, particularly about the
jheels of the interior. I shot several on Saiyong and Kéta Lama
jheel, Pérak ; one of them, a female, shot on 24th March, 1877, was
132 inches in length, bill scarlet.

Hatcyon SMYRNENSIS (Linn.). The White-breasted Kingfisher.

By far the most common of all Malayan Kinefishers ; it is a
very widely distributed species ; I have shot specimens as far East
as Hongkong (that is to say, if the Chinese and Malayan birds
are identical, which they seem to be); westward it is plentiful
throughout India and Ceylon, according to Jmerpon extending even
to the eastern shores of the Mediterranean.

In Canton the skins of this Kinefisher are articles of commerce.
the beautiful azure-blue plumage of the upper parts being much
used in the manufacture of jewelry, and I saw ear-rings and other
trinkets in which particles of its feathers had been so deftly worked
as to look exactly lke blue enamel.

In the Malay Peninsula it is exceedingly abundant about the
wooded jheels and rivers of the interior, though also plentiful
among the paddy-fields of the cultivated districts ; it is occasionally
met with in the mangrove-swamps bordering the coast, though
near the sea its place is to a great extent usurped by the white-
collared species (H. chloris).

It appears to be more of a wanderer and of stronger flight than
most of the Kingfishers; Loften saw it at some distance from
water, frequently perched on the topmost bough of a tree utter-
ing its harsh grating cry.

I found it exceedingly plentiful on the banks of the Pérak river.
In the neighbourhood of Kwala Kangsa it simply swarmed, and
any morning I might have shot a dozen specimens; as it was,
its beautiful plumage induced me to shoot many a one which, but
for its fatal beauty, would have escaped.

I am unable to distinguish any difference in the nbamage of the
SOXES.

Hatcyon prneata (Bodd.). The Black-capped Purple King-
fisher. ,

Not so common as H. smyrnensis, still fairly plentiful through-

MALAYAN ORNITHOLOGY. 137

out the country. I obtained it in Pérak, Penang, Moar, Malacca,
and Singapore.

As regards its habits, i¢ has much in common with the White-
breasted species, frequenting the same localities, and, like it, feed-
ing on frogs, small fishes, and crabs ; butit can at once, even ata
distance, be distinguished from that bird by the rich purple colour
of its plumage; also it is rather larger. One evening in November,
while Snipe-shooting in the swampy paddy-fields of Singapore, I
saw one of these purple Kingfishers perched on a post which stood
eight or nine feet out of a large pool formed by the damming-up
of a stream which flowed through the swamp; suddenly it darted
down with a splash into the water, then returned to its former
position with its prey, a small frog, which, holding it in its beak by
one leg, it despatched by shaking it violently from side to side.
At this stage of the proceeding I shot the bird, as I wanted to be
sure as to its species and food.

Hatcyon cutoris (Bodd.). The White-collared Kingfisher.

Particularly plentifulon Pulau Battam, Pulau Nongsa, and all
the small islands near Singapore; also common along the mangrove-
girt coasts of the mainland; in fact, it appears to confine itself
to the salt or brackish water, and is never met with far from the
sea.

Besides restricting itself so entirely to the sea-coasts, it has
other characteristics which seem to separate it from the paddy-
field and fresh-water Halcyons: unlike most of them, its beak is
black, rather short, and the gonys distinctly curves upwards
throughout its entire length.

CARCLINEUTES PULCHELLUS (Horsf.).

By no means rare; but of its habits 1 know nothing.

ALCEDO MININTING (Horsf.).

Not very scarce; I shot it in Perak, and often saw it about the
lake in the Botanical Gardens, Singapore.

Creyx ruFrporsa (Strickl.). The Three-toed Ruddy Kingfisher.

By no means common, though I obtained it at both Malacca
and Singapore; at the latter place, during the wet and stormy
weather prevalent at the breaking of the S. W. monsoon, many
birds used to appear, which were rarely met with at other seasons

128 MALAYAN ORNITHOLOGY.

of the year. Among these, after a very rough night in
October, I obtained alive one of these little Kingfishers, which
having flown into the barracks, had been caught by the soldiers.

In exactly the same way one was caught by some of the detach-
ment of my regiment at Malacca.

ALCEDO BENGALENSIS (Gm.). The Blue-billed Gaper.

This Kingfisher, very like but smaller than the English species
is common everywhere, frequenting the small streams w ee:
meander through the paddy-fields.

An adult, shot in Pérak on 6th Feb., measured 62 inches in
length, beak at front 13 inch ; irides dark-brown; legs red.

CYMBIRHYNCHUS MACRORHYNCHUS (Gm.). The Blue-billed Ga-
per.

A common bird in the country round Malacca, also in Pérak ;
but I only once met with it on the island of Singapore ; it is aoe
often found on the outskirts of thick jungle, or on the edges of
clearings, though, if it were not for its bright colours, it would
seldom be noticed, being a retiring and particularly silent bird,
and, except during the breeding-seasons, rather inclined to be
solitary.

The Blue-billed Gaper breeds during April and May; and the
following account of its nesting I take from my note-book :—

“ Kwala Kangsa, Pérak, 5th May, 1877. This afternoon, while
stalking jungle-fowl, which towards dusk come out to feed along
the outskirts of the jungle, I saw a Blue-billed Gaper fly out of a
large, roughly-made, domed nest, which was hanging from the
topmost twigs of a slender sapling, at about 10 feet from the
ground; over the entrance, which was on one side, a kind of roof
projected, like the slanting shade of a cottage-door. Internally
the nest was rather neatly ae with flags and Bree leaves, and
contained four white eggs, 1; inch long by -& broad, blotched
(principally at the larger end) with rusty-brown eres 3

I found several other nests, all very much alike, both as regards
construction and situation: in fact the above is a typical deserip-
tion; but I may add that in every case the tree to which the nest
was suspended grew either in or on the edge of a swamp.

The sexes do not differ in plumage; and apparently there is

MALAYAN ORNITHOLOGY. 129

very little, if any, seasonal change. A female. which I dissected,
had been feeding on berries.

Buceros rurnoceros (Linn.). The Great Malay Hornbill.

Fairly plentiful in the jungles of the interior, more especially
in those parts were trees are of great size.

I obtained it near Kwala Kangsa, Pérak, and, on several occa-
sions, saw it high up among the enormous forest trees of the
Gapis Pass, a most magnificent piece of tropical scenery, through
which one had to travel on one’s way from Pérak to Larut and
the sea-coast.

I first came across these Hornbills within a mile or two of
Kwala Kangsa. In my notes is :— |

“28th January, 1877. Towards nightfall I hid myself in the
jungle, near where I saw the boar last night, hoping he would
revisit the pool; but he did not come, though I waited till after
dark, and was much bothered by ants and mosquitoes. |

While waiting, a flock of Hornbills, of the large Rhinoceros-
horned specie, flew overhead. Their flight was strong and exceed-
ingly noisy, every flap of their wings making a most peculiar
sound, audible at a great distance; it was very like the “shish!
shish! shish!” with which a railway-train starts: the birds flew
in a V formation, not unlike, but more irregularly than, geese.”

An officer of my regiment shot one of these Hornbills in
the camp at Banda Bharu, near the mouth of the Pérak river:
it was sitting on the fork of a tree, eating fruit of some kind,
but rose on being approached. It was not rare in Malacca
coilections, and, I am told, is often seen amongthe high trees on
Penang hill; it can at once be distinguished from the other
Bucerotida by the enormous red and yellow- horn attached to
the upper surface of its beak. From Mr. W. E. Maxweutu, H.
M. Assistant Resident of Lirut, I hear that the Malays havea
strange legend connected with one of the large Hornbills; but
which species, I was not able to find ont. It is as follows:—

“A Malay, in order to be revenged on his mother-in-law (why,
the legend does not relate), shouldered his axe and made his
way to the poor woman’s house and began to cut through the
posts which supported it. After a few steady chops, the whole

130 MALAYAN ORNITHOLOGY.

edifice came tumbling down; and he greeted its fall with a peal
of laughter. To punish him for his unnatural conduct, he was
turned into a bird; and the “tebang mentuah” (literally, he
who chopped down his mother-in-law) may often be heard in the
jungle uttering a series of sharp sounds like the chops of an axe
on timber, followed by ‘Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!’ ”

T asked Mr. Low, H.B.M. Resident of Pérak, if he could give
me any information as to which species of Hornbill this legend
relates to; and he writes :-—‘“‘ It is the largest Hornbill which is
found in Pérak, bigger, I should say, than the Rhinoceros Horn-
bill; but I have never seen it except flying or on very high trees.
The legend about it is very common; but I do not know the
scientific name of that particular Hornbill: but it is not that you
refer to, viz.. Berenicornis comatus, Raffles: nor is it the Rhi-
noceros.

HyYpDROCISSA CONVEXA (Temm.).

During August, 1879, I saw one which had been shot a few days
before on Pulau Battam, near Singapore.

Hyprocissa Mabayana (Raffl.). The Malay Pied Hornbill.

I occasionally saw this black-and-white Hornbill in the neigh-
bourhood of Kwala Kangsa, generally in the vicinity of villages.
During March, 1877, a pair were continually about the village of
Kota Lama; but they were so wary that I never got a chance of
shooting either of them. The species undoubtedly breeds in
Pérak, as the Malays brought me young birds but a few weeks old.
In August, 1877, when up the Moar river, I got one of these Horn-
bills near Bukit Kopong.

Like all the Hornbills, it is easily tamed, and makes a most
amusing pet; the tamest I ever saw was at Trafalgar, a tapioca-
plantation on the North side of Singapore, where I stayed fora
few days in May, 1879. The following is from my no te-book :—

“Singapore, 80th May, 1879. On reaching Trafalgar we put
on sarongs, and made ourselves comfortable in long chairs, out in
the open air, the evening being quite cool. In the course of con-
versation, Mr. K
he had a tame Hornbill; and a few minutes later we saw it sitting
on the top of the house: but on being called, it flew down and

, our most hospitable host, mentioned that

eee eee

MALAYAN ORNITHOLOGY. Tew h

perched on the backs of our chairs. I never saw such a tame bird.
It was quite at liberty ; and though it had the full use of its wings
and flew about among the trees, it seldom went far away, coming
when Mr. K called out its name, “ Punch,” and taking bread,
plantains, and other things out of our hands. It was much pleased
with the round buttons on my coat, and tried to tear them off—lI
suppose, thinking them to be berries of some sort. It was of the
black-and-white species, with white bands near the ends of the
long tail-feathers ; irides red-brown; casque and beak dusky-white.
At dark it flew up and roosted among some cocoa-nut trees close
to the house.”

BERENICORNIS COMATUS (Rafii.). The White-crested Hornbill.

A rare bird in the South, though more common, I believe, in
the little-explored jungles of the North of the peninsula. I obtain-
ed two specimens from Malacca; and the following are my notes
on a third, which I tamed and kept alive for some time, and hoped
to bring safely to England :—

“Singapore, 1Sth September, 1879. To-day Mr. H , Secre-
tary to H. H. the Maharaja of Johor, sent me about the queerest-
looking bird I ever saw; it was caught somewhere in the neigh-
bourhood of Mount Ophir, and is, I expect, rare, or the natives
would scarcely have thought it worth bringing so far as a present
to Mr. H I certainly never saw a Hornbill like it: the
enormous yellowish-white beak is without a casque; bare skin of
face dull fleshy purple; irides pale bluish-grey ; legs and feet black ;
head, neck, and under parts covered with hairy plumes, in colour
white, with black bases, which form a large crest on the head,
which the bird can erect or depress at pleasure; some of the
plumes are of great length, and project forwards over the beak.
In length the bird is about 86 inches; but of that the tail is nearly
14 inches; tips of wing and tail-feathers white, as are also the ends
of some of the wing-coverts; upper plumage black, very faintly
glossed with green. This most extraordinary-looking creature has
a voice as strange as its appearance. From the first glimmer of
daylight until dark, with scarcely a minute’s cessation, it utters a
loud monotonous ‘hoo! hoo! hoo! hoo!’ like a dog barking in the
distance, only yaried by the most demoniacal shrieks and cries at

LIZ MALAYAN ORNITHOLOGY.

the sight of food. At this time it stretches out its long thinly-
feathered neck, and shakes its ungainly head from side to side
in the most ridiculous manner, as if it were saying ‘no! no! no! no!’
which it certainly does not mean; for a greater Cormorant I never
came across; plantains, potatoes, oranges, rice, fish, all are eagerly
swallowed; in fact it is hard to say what it will refuse. This
afternoon it bolted a dead Lark, feathers and all, and even then
was not satisfied. First holding its food near the tip of its great beak,
it turns the plantain, or whatever else it may have, over and over
several times; finally, getting it lengthwise, it tosses it into the
air, catches it in its enormous mouth, and, with a tremendous
gulp, bolts the dainty morsel entire, though occasionally, when
something unusually tough and indigestible has been swallowed,
and the bird apparently feels slightly uncomfortable inside, the
offending morsel is reproduced with a croak of satisfaction, and
the tossing and catching performance is again gone through.”

This Hornbill became exceedingly tame, and allowed me to
carry it about perched on my hand; but its incessant hoots and
occasional unearthly shrieks so irritated my neighbours, that, after
putting up for some days with wnat I must allow was rather a
nuisance, they insisted on the bird’s removal to the outhouse, in
which our Chinese servants lived. This removal, I believe, sealed
its fate ; for two days afterwards I found it dying on the ground,
apparently from a blow, doubtless administered by one of the
servants, whose siesta had been disturbed by its cries ; unfortunate-
ly (or, rather, fortunately for the culprit) I was not able to prove
this to be the case. |

This example being a young bird, showed scarcely any signs of
the casque on the beak. It was a female. In both sexes, when full
grown, the tail is white; the adult female has the breast black.

A pair from Malacca, which are now before me, measure from
36 to 88 inches in length.

PaL#orNISs LoNetIcauDA (Bodd.). The Malay Long-tailed Par-
rakeet. :

Common among the islands scattered along the South coast of
the peninsula. I often saw it in Singapore, congregating in large
flocks during July and August, particularly among the high trees

MALAYAN ORNITHOLOGY. 133

(relics of the old jungle) on the Changi side of the island; but
they were hard to shoot, nearly always flying at a great height
and very fast, skimming close over the tree-tops, and uttering their
shrill cries. When they settled, it was generally on the topmost
boughs of an enormous tree, where they were well out of gunshot.

It is easy to identify them, even at a distance, by their charac-
teristic flight and long pointed tails. On 21st July, 1877, I shot
one out of a flock of about fifteen, on Pulau Tekong, an island near
the mouth of the Johor river.

Loricutts Ga.eutus (Linn.). The Malay Lorikeet.

A common cage-bird in all the settlements, prized on account of
its gaudy colours and the ridiculous way it climbs about the wires
of its cage, often hanging head downwards. During December, I
came across a small party of them on Pulau Battam, a large thickly-
wooded island near Singapore.

Iyneipicus variecatvs (Wagl.). The Grey-headed Pigmy
Woodpecker.

One August afternoon I was collecting Honey-suckers in a
eocoa-nut plantation on the Bukit Timah road, Singapore, when a
small bird flew past, and, settling on a dead cocoa-nut tree, com-
menced running up it and searching for insects. On shooting it,
I found I had got a tiny Woodpecker, and put it down as I. cani-
capillus of Blyth, until Mr. Davison pointed out that, instead of
the whole head being grey, the forehead only was of that colour.

Length 5 inches, tarsus 4 inch; irides brown; legs dull-green ;
upper parts dull-brown, whitish on the rump, and banded with
white; beneath dirty white, streaked longitudinally with dull-
brown ; head and cheeks dull-brown, forehead light-brown ; streak
over eye extending to ear-coverts, and another from gape, pure
white: on each side of the back of the head is a narrow but very
bright orange streak.

HEMICIRCUS soRDIDUsS (Eyt.).

My specimen of this heart-spotted Woodpecker was shot on
Gunong Pulai, Johor, on 5th September, 1879.

MEIGLYPTES TRISTIS (Horsf.).

I saw, but never shot, this Woodpecker in Pérak.

Tiga JAVANENSIS (Ljung.).

134 MALAYAN ORNITHOLOGY.

This Woodpecker is not very scarce; L shot several in Pérak,
and some few in Singapore. It frequents cocoa-nut groves.

A female, which I shot near Kota Lama, Pérak, on 14th Febru-
ary, 1877, measured in length 10} inches; irides brown, legs black,
beak plumbeous.

The male has a crimson crest, aud is altogeher more decidedly
marked than the female, the white drops on the breast being very
distinct and regular.

MUELLERIPICUS PULVERULENTUS (Temm.).

Mr. Davison’s collector showed me a specimen of this large
Woodpecker which, during June, he had shot on Gunong Pulai,
Johor.

Length 20 inches ; head grey.

THRIPONAX JAVENSIS (Horsf.). The Great Black Woodpecker.

I found this handsome Woodpecker plentiful round Siagamet,
some sixty or eighty miles up the Moar river. J never came across
it in the North of the peninsula.

A male I got at Bukit Képong, on the Moar river, was 15 inches
in length ; irides yellow; top of head and streak from base of lower
mandible scarlet ; abdomen rusty white; rest of plumage black.

CaLLOLOPHUS PUNICEUS (Horsf.).

I shot a male of this fine bird while it was running up a tree-
trunk in the jungle, near Kwala Kangsa, Pérak; date 6th May,
1877. T.ength 103} inches ; beak at front 1,2; inch. Irides dark-
brown. During July, 1879, I saw, but could not get a shot at, one
of these Woodpeckers among the high trees at the foot of Bukit
Timah, Singapore.

MrcgatmMa cHRysopocon (Temm.). The Golden-bearded Bar-
bet.

Common in Malacca and Singapore collections. It breeds in the
Malay States.

During May, 1877, while shooting on the banks of the Perak
river, close to Kampong Saiyong, a Malay brought me two of these
Barbets, saying he had caught them high up in the thickly-wooded
range of hills behind the village. They were young birds, and
unable to fly more than a few yards; so, putting them in my game-
bag, among dead Teal, Snipe, Quail, and other spoil, the result of

MALAYAN ORNITHOLOGY. 135

the day’s sport, I took them home, hoping to be able to rear them.
At first they did very well, hopping about with a most sprightly
gait, every now and then uttering a harsh croak and flirting up
their. tails; they lived in perfect harmony with the Pheasants,
Ground-Thrushes, Doves, and other members of the “ happy family”
inhabiting my aviary, and fed freely on plantains, pine-apples, and
other fruit; but in about a week, just as 1 began to have hopes of
successfully bringing them up, they sickened and died. The sexes
are alike.

MecGaLr®MA DUVAUCELI (Less.). The Scarlet-eared Barbet.

During the last week in August, while bird-hunting in the jun-
gle, at the foot of Bukit Timah, on the island of Singapore, my
attention was attracted by the peculiar cries of a pair of small,
ereen-couloured birds. Creeping quietly through the bushes, I
got unobserved beneath the tree on the topmost twig of which sat
one of the birds, and watched it for several minutes. While send-
ing forth its strange notes, which sounded like the words “ ter-rook !
ter-rook |”? uttered several times in succession, it sat perfectly still,
with head raised, neck stretched out to its full extent, and throat
distended, apparently quite absorbed in its vocal performance, and
heedless of my presence till my shot brought it down.

On dissection it proved to bea male; and its stomach was full
of berries. Its companion, which I also shot, was of smaller size,
and had very little black on its head; probably it was a female ;
but, unfortunately, I did not examine it so as to make sure of the
sex.

The most noticeable characteristic of the species is the yreat
length of the rictal bristles, which project even beyond the point
of the beak.

XANTHOLEMA WHMACEPHALA (Mill.). The Crimson-breasted
Barbet.

I found this little Barbet fairly plentiful in Pérak; I obtained
it during March at Kwala Kangsa.

Hearing a bird uttering a most peculiar, full, clear note in a
tree within a few yards of my hut, I took out my gun, bent on
securing what I felt sure was something new to me. Though but
twelve or fifteen feet away, the bird’s voice was so deceptive, and

136 = = ~
1s MALYAYAN ORNITHOLOGY.

its small size and green plumage made it so difficult to sce, that
it was several minutes before I caught sight of it and brought it
down.

I most carefully examined this bird, and found it to agree exactly
with Jerpon’s description of Xantholema indica, with which it
appears to be identical. It breeds in Pérak, in holes which it
excavates in trees ; but personally I did not find a nest. The eggs
are white. The sexes are alike. I met with it near Bukit Timah
in Singapore.

CucuLvUs mMicropterus (Gould.). The Indian Cuckoo.

I heard what I supposed (and, I think, rightly) to be the ery
of this Cuckoo in the jungle near Kwala Kangsa, Pérak ; it was
very like the “cuck-oo ! cuck-oo !”’ of our well-known English species.

I once, during September, shot a specimen of. C. micropterus
near Cluny, Singapore.

Hrerococcrx Frue@ax (Horsf.). The Hawk Cuckoo.

Though common, I believe, in India, it certainly is not so in
Malayana; I only met with it once, viz., in November, 1877, at
Tanglin, Singapore. During the early part of the month a great
many birds of different sorts flew into our barracks, and were
caught by the soldiers. During one week, I had brought alive to
me three Sparrow-hawks (Accipiter virgatus), a Scops Owl (Scops
lempiji), and a most beautiful specimen of this Hawk-Cuckoo, all
caught in the barrack-rooms. It was so like a Hawk in its general
appearance that, on first seeing it, and not having before met with
the species, for a minute I thought it to be one; but, on close
inspection, the feeble beak and feet disclosed its true character.
It was an immature female, and had been feeding on seeds and
vegetable matter.

I saw a specimen of this bird, shot by Mr. Davtson’s collector
on Gunong Pulai, Johor, during August.

CACOMANTIS THRENODES (Cab.). The Rufous-bellied Cuckoo.

Plentiful both throughout the Straits Settlements and the
interior of the peninsula. I got it in Pérak, Penang, Malacca,
and Singapore; in the last-mentioned place it was quite common,
though not often noticed, owing to its small size, plain colours,
and habit of keeping, as a rule, to trees of dense foliage. It has

’

MALAYAN ORNITHOLOGY. 137
a most peculiar, monotonous and rather plaintive cry, which I
seldom noticed during the heat of the day, though often towards
dusk several birds could be heard at the same time, frequently
continuing their cries right through the night.

Such was also the case in Hongkong, where one frequented a
tree close to my quarters, and nightly uttered its strange notes,
sometimes for hours without cessation. ‘These consist of a series
of loud and very clear whistles, uttered in a descending scale, and
terminating with a shake or trill, and are heard at regular inter-
vals of two or three minutes. I obtained my first specimen at
Penang during May; but its plumage was exactly similar to that
of others which I got later in the year at Singapore. On 19th
July, 1879, while driving along the Bukit Timah road, I heard one
of these Cuckoos in a mangosteen orchard, and soon spied it out,
perched among the highest branches of a clump of bamboos; so,
dodging behind the trees, I got within shot and brought it down,
a beautiful specimen, ¢.

Length 8+ inches; irides and the inside of the mouth red; beak
dusky, reddish at its base; legs yellow; head, neck, and upper tail-
coverts pale ashy, the last approaching the dull-brown of the back
and wings, which are very faintly glossed with metallic green;
under parts bright rufous-brown ; tail black, but tipped and nar-
rowly barred with white.

EuDYNAMIS MALAYANA (Cab.). The Malayan Koel.

During June, 1877, I shot one of these Koels near Kwala Kangsa,
Pérak ; it was a female, with its. ovaries much developed; its
stomach contained several large beans. Length 18 inches; irides
crimson-lake ; legs plumbeous ; beak pale-green.

The male is considerably smaller than the female, and quite
unspotted, being entirely of a deep shining blue, with rich purple
and green reflections. Late in November, 1879, I visited Pulau
Nongsa, a small island near Singapore, barely half a mile long by
sixty or eighty yards in breadth, in fact a mere strip of thick jun-
gle surrounded by a broad coral strand. Hearing most strange
mellow notes issuing from the jungle, I sent my Malay boatmen
in to beat, and, standing outside on the beach, shot a pair of these
Koels as they were driven cut into the open. Both were in

138 MALAYAN ORNITHOLOGY.

beautiful plumage, the white markings of the female being ex-
ceedingly distinct, and without the slightest sign of the rufous
tinge which overspread the above-mentioned Pérak specimen; it
was also three inches shorter, and more glossed with green and blue
than was that bird.

tHOPODYTES SUMATRANUS (Rafil.). The Green-billed Malkoha.

From my note-book I extract the following account of this non-
parasitic Cuckoo :—

“Kwala Kangsa, Pérak, 16th March, 1877. This afternoon, I
visited one of the nests I found yesterday, but the owner of which
I was then unable to identity ; to-day I shot it as it rose from the
nest. It is a most curious velvety-faced bird, with the long tail,
deeply-cleft beak, and short wings characteristic of the Cuculide.

“In plumage, its wings and upper parts are of a greenish-blue
metallic colour, the tail-feathers tipped with white; head, neck,
and under parts dull ash-grey ; the head, throat, and chin are cover-
ed with peculiar spiny hairs; bare velvety skin of the face scarlet,
the very curved beak pale pea-green ; the eyes are furnished with
lashes. Length of bird, including the tail, 16 inches.

“The nest was a loosely-put-together structure of dry twigs,
sheghtly cup-shaped, and built at about 5 feet from the ground, in
a bush standing on the edge of a jungle-path. ‘The eggs, two in
number, were nearly hatched; they were 1% inch in length, in
colour white, but much stained with brown matter.

“The bird appears to build its own nest, and certainly hatches
its own egg; for on two occasions during the last few days 1 have
stood close by and watched it sitting. It did not utter any note
or cry, not even when disturbed from its nest.”

Unfortunately I neglected to determine the sex of this bird, so
cannot say whether it was the male or female which was incuba-
ting.

JI got another near Kwala Kangsa, during April; but the species
is decidedly rare, and I saw very few specimens among the many
hundred skins I went through at Malacca.

RuAMPMOCOCCYX ERYTHROGNATHUS (Hartl.). The Large Malay
Malkoha.

Concerning this species, my note-book says :—

MALAYAN ORNITHOLOGY. 189

“Kwala Kangsa, Pérak, 9th June, 1877. This afternoon, cross-
ing the river, I shot Saiyong Jheel for an hour, then struck inland
after jungle-fowl.

“The trees were of great size, but the undergrowth not as thick
as in most parts, and easily got through. While moving quietly
along, on the look-out for a shot, I saw a bird new to me perched
on the upper branches of one of the highest trees, so high up that
I almost feared it was out of shot; however, such was not the case,
and down came a magnificent Malkoha. Length 19 inches; irides
pale milky blue; legs dark bluish black; bare skin of the face
crimson ; beak pea-ereen, with a red blotch at its base; head dark-
grey, both it and the chin covered with spiny hairs; back, wings,
and tail rich metallic green ; the tail is 10 inches in length, with
its terminal third deep red-brown, as are also the throat and breast.
On dissection it proved to be a male; and its stomach contained
the remains of large grasshoppers.”

I saw specimens of this bird in the Malaccan collections; but it
certainly is not common.

RHINORTHA CHLOROPH HA (Rafifl.). The Small Malkoha.

I shot a male near Kwala Kangsa, Pérak, on 26th May, 18
it had been feeding on grasshoppers.

Length 12 inches; irides dark-brown ; legs and feet plumbeous ;
beak and bare skin of the face pale-green.

CenTrococcyx Eurycercus (Hay). The Malay Coucal.

Very plentiful throughout the country, both on the mainland
and also among the islands. Owing to its flight much resembling
that of the common Hnelish Pheasant, while its head has a certain
likeness to that of a Crow. Itis well known to Europeans by the
name of “Crow-pheasant.” In India its near relation, ©. rufipen-
nis, also goes by that name.

Their notes, or more correctly hoots, are most peculiar, quite
among the most noticeable of jungle noises; and for some time, I
put them down to the monkeys which abounded round our camp
at Kwala Kangsa, till one day I detected the real culprit, as, hear-
ing the cries coming from a thick bush, I threw in a stone, and
out came a Crow-pheasant.

The hoots may be described by the syllables “hoo! hoo! hoot!

lol?
Te

140 ; MALAYAN ORNITHOLOGY.

1»?

whoop !” repeated very loudly over and over again, but occasionally
varied by a loud gulp, as JERDON says exactly like somebody chok-
ing.

CENTROCOCCYX BENGALENSIS (Gm.). The Lesser Indian Coueal.

A common bird, particularly among low secondary jungle, and
in districts covered with ‘“ lalang”—a long coarse grass which springs
up to a height of over three feet on ground where the jungle has
been burned. In such localities it is plentiful at all seasons
throughout Pérak, Lirut, Province Wellesley, Johor, and all the
Settlements. In Singapore, I shot innumerable specimens, in all
stages of plumage, some very dark with only the wings rufous,
others pale-rufous all over; in fact their plumage varies greatly,
according to their age and sex, some being so different from others
as to almost seem of another species.

A male which I shot at Singapore, on July Sth, nearly in full
adult plumage, measured 12 inches in length, tarsus 13 inch; irides
deep-red; legs plumbeous; beak black ; head, neck, upper tail-
coverts, tail, and under parts black, glossed with metallic green
and blue; but the under parts were a good deal blotched with white,
which is not, I believe, the case in the quite mature male; wings
rufous, with the feathers dusky at their tips; feathers of the back
pale-shafted.

Another male, shot in Pérak during June, is similar to the
above, except that its upper tail-coverts are narrowly barred with
rufous-brown.

In striking contrast with both of these is a female, shot at
Singapore on 80th August, which was entirely of a pale rufous
colour with its upper parts and wings narrowly barred with black :
irides brown; beak fleshy, but dusky on the culmen; legs black.
Length of bird 134 inches.

This species is insectivorous; I have seen it chasing grasshoppers.

POL AUCGHAD >

ON THE TRANSLITERATION OF MALAY

IN THE

ROMAN CHARACTER.

BY

Were cebh oe MAS XOOWeE Is 1.

SOR

f
=P)
Qeu

§—) OME years ago, in compliance with the directions of the
») Secretary of State for the Colonies, a system was adopt-
ed by the Government of the Straits Settlements for
the spelling of native names,in which a want of con-
formity was complained of. It is convenient and desira-
ble that there should be some standard for the spelling of names
which may appear in official correspondence, which may be printed
in Blue-books, and quoted in Parliament. But a system may satis-
factorily secure wniformity which may nevertheless be wanting on
the score of scholarship, and, unless sound in the latter respect, it
will not answer the purposes of the philologist or geographer.

he adoption of the Government system by the Council of the
Straits Branch, Royal Asiatic Society, as that which members are
invited to adopt,* laysit open to their criticism. It may be ques-
tioned if it is satisfactory from a scientific point of view, or in ac-
cordance with principles of true scholarship. Two distinct sub-
jects-—transliteration and pronunciation—are confused, and the re-
port which deals with them does not sufficiently distinguish between
instructions how to spell and instructions how to pronounce.

Ses
BA

Nase
- \\
ma), NS
ee!

oh

* “ Malay and English Spelling,” Journal of the Straits Branch
of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. I., p. 45.

142 TRANSLITERATION OF MALAY.

The subject is a dificult one. Marspry, Crawrurp and Logan
have failed to find a satisfactory settlement of it, but I do not think
that the last word on it has yet been said. The following remarks
on the transliteration and pronunciation of Malay words are offered
to the Society with the view of drawing the attention of the Coun-
cil to the advisability of the adoption for literary and scientific
purposes of some better system of rendering Malay words in Ro-
man letters than that hitherto recommended.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES.-

There are two objects to be kept in view in deciding upon a
system by which to render Malay in Roman characters :—

1st. To obtain a faithful transliteration of the Malay charac-

ter.

2nd. Toclothe the words in such a form that they may be

pronounced correctly by an English reader.

The first regards letters before sounds, the second regards
sounds before letters.

Hither of these objects may be attained separately, but to com-
bine both without perplexing the reader is more difficult of accom-
plishment. If the reproduction in some form or other of native
letters (for some of which the English alphabet has no equivalent)
is too exclusively attended to, the result may sometimes be a word
which is difficult of pronunciation to the uninitiated. CrawFrurp
claims the advantage of simplicity for his system, yet few persons
probably would recognise in S’ex * the common Arabic word Sheikh.
On the other hand, if the system be purely phonetic, the ear must
be entirely depended on ; sounds which nearly approach each other
will be mistaken one for another, and persons professing to use the
same system will very likely speil words differently.

Another important point must be borne in mind. Malay con-
tains a large number of pure Sanskrit and Arabic words; it is
necessary, therefore, to avoid any serious departure from the prin-
ciples sanctioned by European scholarship of transliterating those
languages. Any system of spelling Malay would be discredited

* CRAWFURD’S Dictionary.

TRANSLITERATION OF MALAY. 143

which should present common Sanskrit and Arabic words in un-
couth forms hardly recognisable to students of those languages.

It is submitted, therefore, that in a really sound system of
Romanised Malay,—(1) the native spelling must be followed as far
as possible; (2) educated native pronunciation must be followed in
supplying vowels which are left unwritten in the native character ;
(3) native pronunciation may be disregarded where the written
version is not inconsistent with the true pronunciation of a Sans-
krit or Arabic word.

Examples :—
li by Mari, come. (Here the four letters m, a, r andi

exactly transliterate the four native letters).
2. easel Tampang, & coin.

Tampong, a patch.

Tempung, a game.

Tempang, lame.

Tumpang, to lodge.
These five words are spelt in the same way in the native character,
in which only the consonants, ¢mpng, are written. Regard must,
therefore, be had to pronunciation in assigning the proper vowels
to them when rendered in Roman letters.
8. (oye Mantr?, a minister. This word is pronounced by
Malays Mntri, as if there were no definite vowel between the m
and z, but its Sanskrit origin shews clearly that a is the vowel
which ought to be supphed.

Gps; 3 Putra, a prince, Putri, a princess; in these words,
too, the vowel-sound in the penultimate is indefinite, but the vowel
wis properly supplied, both being common Sanskrit words ; to write
them petra and petri would be to disguise their origin.

VOWELS.

The difficulty of arriving at asatisfactory system of translitera-
tion of Malay is caused partly by the insufficiency of the Arabic
vowels to render the Malay vowel-sounds.

The vowels borrowed from the Arabic are four :—

| Alf, a, asthe ain father. Gr baniak, many, much, very ;

144 TRANSLITERATION OF MALAY.

ed Zama length of time.
39 Wau, 0,0, as theoin nose and the win truth. 3 tolak,

to push ; oa gina, quality, use.
i¢ Ya, 6, i, as the @ in fete and the double e in thee. 3» beda,
difference ; (g~ bind, wite.

¢

Ain, ‘a, ‘e, i, ‘u. This vowel conveys a deep and some-

what nasal sound which must be heard to be understood ; examples :
yes ‘umur, life, age; jae ‘akal, mind, intelligence ; als ‘tlmu, science.

These are always long. A short vowel is not written. In
Arabic indeed it may be denoted by what are called vowel-points
placed above and below the consonants, but vowel-points have
been generally adopted in Malay, and the short vowels are left to
be supplied by the reader like vowels in our ordinary short-hand.

To shew how completely the use and the accentuation of the
vowels in Arabic differ from Malay, to which language nevertheless
the Arabic alphabet (with some additions) has been applied, it is
only necessary to examine a passage of Arabic transliterated in the
Roman character, e. g., an extract from the Kur‘an or from any
other book, or to hear it correctly read.

The majority of the words, it will be found, end in open vow-
els, and in pronunciation the long vowels are strongly accentuated. -
A short e is of rare occurrence.

Take a sentence of equal length in Malay; it will be remarked
that most of the words end in consonants, the exceptions being
generally words of Sanskrit or other foreign origin, in many words
the nominally short vowels, namely those not written, will have
equal value in pronunciation with those which are written, and a
sound which corresponds closely with the short ein the English
words belong, bereft is abundant.

In writing Malay, therefore, the Arabic alphabet has to express
sounds very different from those of the language to which it
belongs.

The short e in Malay is often “a distinct and peculiar sound,
which has a separate character to represent it in the Javanese
alphabet,”* but for which there is no particular sign in the Perso-

* CRAWFURD, Malay Grammar, p. 4,

TRANSLITERATION OF MALAY. 145

Arabic alphabet used by the Malays.
This sound can only be expressed in Avabic writing by the
vowel-point called fathah (Malay, baris di-atas); it is a dash

placed over the consonant to which the vowel belongs. The parti-

i oF 07
cles ber-, ter- would be written 3, >.

(The fathah, however, denotes a short a as well as a short ¢

ae oe oe
as kapada nea).

In the words sembah, salutation, homage, bendang, a rice-field,
senduk, a spoon, the first syllables are not pronounced like the
English words gem, men. An indefinite sound is given to the
syllables mentioned, as if it were attempted to pronounce the two
consonants without an intervening vowel, s’mbah, b’ndang, s’nduk.

Some English scholars seeking a satisfactory mode of render-
ing Malay in Roman letters have attempted to do what the Malays
have not thought it necessary to do for themselves, namely to de-
note this peculiar vowel-sound by a particular sign. Crawrurp
professed to distinguish it by @; Krasperry wrote 7; there is per-
haps good reason for this in works intended for the use of students
beginning the study of the language, vocabularies, grammars and
the like. But the authors of the Government spelling-system, who
selected ¢ to express the sound in question, might have spared
themselves this additional vowel-symbol.

As we have seen above, this sound can only be expressed in
writing by Malays by the fathah, short @ or short e. Why not be
satisfied with @ or e to express it in English? This is quite suffi-
cient for purposes of transliteration, and scientific men do not want
to burden their text with accents to denote sounds not expressed in
the native text. We do not distinguish by a different sign each of
the numerous ways of pronouncing ¢ in the English or French
language.

Once quit the safe ground of transliteration and trust to that
uncertain guide—the ear—and all chance of uniformity is at an end.
Let us see how the systems mentioned above have worked in prac-
tice. Take, for instance, the short syllable sa, which is frequently
found as the first syllable of Malay words. The authorities who
have been quoted are not agreed when to give the syllable the

146 TRANSLITERATION OF MALAY.

force of the vowel a and when to introduce their signs for the pecu-
liar vowel-sound which they want to represent.

KEASBERRY writes samoa and sakarang, but siblah, sidikit and
siibab,

CrawFurp writes sabenar, sdbab, sadikit and sadikit, sakarang
and sdkarang, sambilan and sémbilan; one word is spelt in four
different ways, sépdrti, sapdarti, sapurti and sdpurti ; he introduces
the vowel in a curious manner in the Sanskrit words srigala, which
he spells sdrigala, and sloka, which he spells sdloka. The short
vowels in the Sanskrit word sdbda and the Arabic word sdbti are
represented in different ways.

The Spelling Committee of the Straits Settlements write
Selangor, Sarawak and sembilan, though it is not clear why sa is
allowed to stand in Sarawak while Salangor is held to be wrong.
The adoption of the syllable se in sembilan (nine) is still more sin-
cular, for the vowel is clearly a, sambilan being derived from sa-
-aimnbil-an, “one taken away (from ten).” In most instances this
initial syllable is derived from the Sanskrit sa or sam (with) and
it cannot be right to render it by se or sé, which do not more
nearly approach the Malay pronunciation than sa.

Many other instances might be given. I have seen in Govern-
iment publications the name of the Malay State “ Patani,” spelt
“Pétani.” Yet it can hardly be gaid that there is good reason for
departing from the established mode of spelling this word (which
has been spelt “ Patani’’ from the days of Jamus I.), when itis
remembered that the Malay historical work called Sajarah Malayu
says that the state was called after a fisherman who had a son
called Zuni and was therefore called Pa-Tani (Tani’s father). How-
ever absurd this derivation may be, its occurrence in a purely na-
‘tive work is at all events conclusive as to the pronunciation of the
first syllable.

SYS THM PR OL Oy aD:

VOWELS.

The only use of the accents which will be inserted is to denote
that the yowelis expressed in the Malay text. No sign will be used

TRANSLITERATION OF MALAY. 147

to denote the accentuation of any particular syllable; translitera-
tion, not pronunciation, is the first object to be kept in view. For
general purposes, the accents may be omitted at option. It cannot
matter whether wl, the eye, is rendered méta or mata. Thus :—

dé corresponds with \ written in Malay, as .sls papan.

g and e correspond with futhah where the vowel is omitted, as
= panjang, gy» ber-cheret.

i and é correspond with .¢ written in Malay, as ie bini, eS
kéchek.

7 and e correspond with kesrah where the vowel is omitted, as
ex dinding, »\b zahir, ,3\8 patel.

mw and 6 correspond with , written in Malay, as oy» dita, ae
béhong.

w and o correspond with dammah where the vowel is omitted.
as wis duntut, 53:3 pondok.

* The Greek rough breathing before a vowel denotes the pre-
sence of & ain in the native writing. as jac ‘akal, sc “umur a sxe
ma‘aluin.

DIPTHONGS.

at corresponds with | and «& when followed by a consonant,
as pb baik wai naik.

au corresponds with ,, as J pulau.

et corresponds with (¢, as (Ew sunget.

¥Y and W::

Y should be written for ., when it precedes or is preceded by
a long yowel,as fale sdyang: ȴ layar; 4 bayang ; 215. moyang ;
&s2 buyong. Exception, .¢ should never be rendered by iy for this
gives two letters to one Malay character where one letter is
sufficient ; ace siang, not siyang; ¢ se0 siong not siyonyg.

W should be written for , when it precedes or is preceded by
a long vowel, as), awa: ys kawan; gs¥ lawak.

Exception :—
- should never be renderei by we, for this gives two letters to

148 TRANSLITERATION OF MALAY,

one Malay character and one sufficiently expresses the sound: ly

buat, not buwat ; WS kuala, not kuwala: cls tuan, not tuwan.

LIQUIDS.

The combination of two consonants the latter of which is a
liquid, which is so common in Aryan languages, is not to be found
in indigenous Malay words. Where it apparently occurs its pre-.
sence is caused by the elision of the vowel in one of the Polynesian
prefixes ber, ter, ka, sa, and pe.

There are, of course, plenty of Sanskrit words in Malay in which
the junction of two consonants, one being a liquid, occurs, such as
satru, indra, sri, mantri, but I believe that no instance of two con-
sonants sounded together can be pointed out in Malay which can-
not be accounted for either by foreign derivation or elision of the
vowel of a particle.

Malay is an agelutinative language, and many of its dissyllabie
radicals have been developed from monosyllables by the prefix of
particles. Their origin has been forgotten and by the gradual
growth of the language they may be now lengthened into words of
three, four and five syllables by the addition of prefixes and affixes,
each change giving fresh development to the simple idea embodied
in the radical.

To analyse the origin of indigenous Malay words and to get
some idea of their derivation, and of the connection between many
which present distinct forms and get obvious similarity, it is ne-
cessary to identify the agglutinative particles and to distinguish
them from the root. Where the syllables are distinct this is easy ;
in the words mekik, to cry out, to hoot; pekik, to squeal or scream
as a woman ; berkik, the snipe, literally, the squeaker,—the common

root kik, and the agglutinative particles, me, pe, and ber, are easily
distinguished. |

But where the first letter of the root or radical is a liquid, there
is a tendency in pronunciation to blend with it the first letter of
the particle. Nevertheless, it is quite clear that in spelling such
words as pelandok, the mouse-deer ; pelantak, a ramrod ; peluru, a

TRANSLITERATION OF MALAY. 149

buallet,—the full value of the particle should be shewn, and that
plantak, plandok and plurw are incorrect and unscholarly.

Pe is the sign of a verbal noun. I do not know of any Malay
verb landok, but that the name of the mouse-deer is derived from
a word haying something to do with rapidity of motion is sufficient-
ly shewn by the meanings of other words having the same root :—-

Lanchit and lonchat, to jump, spring.

Lanchar, quick, direct, fluent.

Lanchur, to flow, spurt out.

Lanjut, long, stretching forward.

Lantak, to strike home, transfix.

Lanting, to fling.

Langsong, to proceed direct, &e.

On the same principle, it is not incorrect to shew, by the in-
sertion of the vowel before the liquid, the existence of the forgotten
particle in the first syllable of such words as, bri (be-ri), give;
blanja (bel-anja), expend; blanga (bel-anga), a cooking pot; trang
(te-rang), cleared ; trima (te-rima), receive; trus (te-rus), through.*

* One advantage of inserting the vowel is that the separation of the
particle from the root renders apparent etymological features which
might otherwise be unsuspected. Thus, in the examples given above, the
same root may perhaps be detached in the Malay words for *‘ give” and
“receive.”

So the common derivation of delanga and other words having to do
with heat or burning becomes apparent :—

Bel-anga, a cooking pot.

Hangat, hot.

Hangus, burnt, scorched.

Hangit, smell of something burning.

The meaning of van or rang appears to be “ to cut;” it occurs in such
words as, rantas, to cut a passage through jungle ; ranchong, to whittle to
a point, ete.; terang, or trang.is “ cleared,’ ‘cut away,’ and therefore
“clear,” “ plain ;” pa-rang, is ‘“‘the cutter,’ the chopper or jungle-knife
used in agriculture.

Us, the root of terus or trus, seems to convey the idea of admission

or penetration :—

Terus, through.

Chelus, admissible.

Lulus, admissible, permissible.

Tumbus, pierced, perforated.

Halus, fine, slender.

Kurus, thin, &e.

150 TRANSLITERATION OF MALAY,
CONSONANTS.

The following are the consonants used in writing Malay with
the equivalents by which I propose to represent them in Roman
letters :—

Saeed ba cee eee b

a @ eat

sa oS ... §& * in Arabic th, pronounced

as in thin.

a jim ie sae |

= cha Re joa Gln

a ha ne Heel

mall ee Oe heat,

5) dal © Bl

Sec iall she .... dh pronounced in Arabic like

: th in this.

i) Yra 369 ore Yr

5) nay a a eReae

usin, sim ee PLES

eo Slee, Shui 6. wee ash

ue sad Si, ka Sa

ue dad oe ... ad |] Gn pronouncing this let-
ter the tongue touches
the back of the upper
front teeth).

b ta ~ RAE

I Tey, 740) AN ot eae

¢ ghrain ae one Chreir:

* Only two words are in common usein Malay which commence with
this fects namely the names of the second and ‘third days of the week.
t+ is a strong guttural. It resembles the sound of ch, in the

Qi

Scotch word loch.

£ UP : a strongly articulated palatal s, somewhat like ss in hiss.

ice the true sound of this letter must be learnt by the ear.
It is hee a strong d.

** the power of this letter is that of z, pronounced with a
hollow sound from the throat.

++ ¢ 1s a hard guttural g. It somewhat resembles the sound of
the Northumbrian r.

TRANSLITERATION OF MALAY. ESE

e nea ae a he
ea Ta oe eee:
es pa . Eee om
us «ket A ei ket
S kaf Ne fe ks
dort oa i: ae oo hard:
3 lam a AT
e« mm ue eerip iil
y nun de eect
5 wau a PNY
a, 5,2, ha a prt apied i
Ss ya aes ew
w nia ni, ny, nia, nya

Some of the ieneetine ee represent sounds which do not
belong to the native Malay language, but which are found only in
words taken from Arabic. Uneducated Malays make little attempt
to pronounce them, but every boy who learns to read the Kur‘an
has to do so and the present tendency of the language is to borrow
more and more from the Arabs.

f is almost always turned by Malays into ap; e. g., pikir for
jikir.

k and k are generally pronounced alike by Malays and kh is
not always distinguished from them.
, _», Ve are all pronounced alike, as s, by the Malays.

In the same way little or no distinction is made in pronuncia-
tion between t andt. The letters denoted by d and z are generally
mispronounced by Malays, who sometimes render them by / and
sometimes, as do Muhammadans in Persia and India, by z.

=)

SPELLING OF ARABIC WORDS.

Certain rules remain to be noticed which should be observed
in transhiterating Arabic words in Malay literature.
Al (el-) is assimilated before the solar letters, which are :—
Su, 5; ons: > Ur Us UA &, L, Jand y.

* 5 1s a gutturalk. This and the five preceding notes are
taken from Faris-El-Shidiac’s Arabic Grammar.

152 TRANSLITERATION OF MALAY.

The other letters are called the lunar letters and do not assimi-
late the J, namely :— |
Is er ee er Br Bs Si G sy 6, and |.

Examples: -r-rah-mani-r-rahim, the merciful, the compassionate ;
méliki yaumi-d-din, the Lord of the Day of Judgment; aleyhi-s-sa-
lam, on him be peace. Proper names: Abdurrahman Dia-uddin.

The force of the orthographical sign called teshdid may be
rendered by doubling the consonants over which it is placed as tam-
mat, finished; jannat, Paradise (lit. “the garden”), Muhammad,
Mohamed ; Sayyid, a descendant of the Prophet.

me KUTA GLANGGI OR KLANGGI,
Pol AN Ge

BY

Wieee AOE ON .

gout this place there are many legends amongst the
natives, but hitherto no European has ever been allowed
» to visit it, and I think your readers will be pleased to
have an account of it. Native rumour describes it as an
ancient ruin, the inmates of which, as well as all their
furniture and utensils, have been turned to stone. This
is the substance of most of the native descriptions of the place.
Here, they say, can be seen the old man of the house sitting
on his chair by his oven or furnace, the ashes, or slag of which
are strewn on the floor, whilst his tools are lying around him
just as he had been using them when dissolution or petrifaction
overtook him, and man and chair, oven, ashes, tools, a!l are turned
to stone! Petrified loaves of bread are not wanting, and in an
adjacent cupboard, to complete the picture, can be seen the flour
and sugar which he had been in the habit of using, now ail flavour-
less and turned to dust. In the course of narration, particulars in
the native accounts accumulate, but it is needless to go further into
details,

The story was imparted to me whilst lying becalmed oppo-
site Kwala Kuantan, and seven idle Malay boatmen under the com-
bined influence of sri and réko’ ess sted in spinning the yarn. I
must say that I was not deeply impressed with the truth of the
narrative as a whole, but comparing what I heard with what I
had previously seen on the Patani river, I was enabled to guess

154 KOTA GLANGGI.

what these fabled ruins would turn out to be. Nevertheless, my
curiosity was excited, as that of other Europeans has been, regard-
ing this place, and I resolved to see it if I possibly could.

Circumstances favoured this resolve without any effort on my
part, for, as we were making our way up the river Pahang, we were
detained for two days at Pulau Tawar, from which Kota Glangei is
distant only about three or four miles, and the Sultan having given
me a carte blanche to visit whatever place I chose, Lavailed myself of
this opportunity to settle the question as to these ancient ruins.

The wonderful ruins are, after all, only limestone caves, with
no trace of man’s handiwork about them, and no evidence what-
ever of having ever been even occupied by man. Still, as caves
they are wonderful and well deserve a visit. Before proceeding to
deseribe them, I think it will not be out of place to make a brief
reference to what L had previously seen of the same kind on the
Patini river. I was detained on one occasion in a similar manner
at a place called Biserah in the Province of Jalor, where there
are some isolated limestone ranges of the same character as those
at Kota Glangei, and was told of a wonderful cave in one of them,
but no mention was made of man having had anything to do
with it, or of any wonders similar to those alleged of Kota Glanggi.
I went to see this cave, and found it situated about a hundred
feet above the base of a precipitous cliff; a long flight of steps
broad and regular, partly built and partly cut in the solid rock,
led up to the entrance.

On entering I found, after penetrating a small cavern, a cou-
ple of large doors closing up the approach to what was apparently
the cave we were secking. On opening these doors, I was startled
at the sight of what appeared, in the dim light, to be arow of giant
men guarding the entrance; a closer investigation proved them to be
statues, and, as I afterwards found, Siamese idols. Passing this
euard, we made our way along a lofty natural corridor or
vestibule, and found ourselves in an immense cavern about sixty
feet in height, two hundred feet wide, and about five hundred feet
long. From its roof hung masses of stalactites resembling the
groins of an arched roof, and stretched in a recumbent position,
lengthways of the cave, and facing a large opening in the cliff, which

KOTA GLANGGI, 155
let in a flood of light, lay a figure, about one hundred feet long, of
what I took to represent Bhudda. The head reclined upon the right
arm, whilst the left arm lay by the side of the figure, the face was
tolerably well painted, and the robe was coloured green and its
edges gilt. In front of this image and at its head and feet were
collossal statues of other idols, some erected on pedestals, and
from fifteen to twenty feet high; there were in all eighteen of
these statues. The place was kept tolerably clean, being evidently
swept occasionally ; how long this cave had been used as a place
of worship, I could not learn. This cavern-temple was tended by a
company of Siamese Imams, who dwelt at the foot of the cliff
and had besides a small temple outside.

Since then I have seen and traversed many other wonderful
caves amongst the limestone mountains on the Patani River, some
of them with rivers running right through them, but I never saw
any that could compete in natural grandeur and imposing effect
with those at Kota Glanggi.

The situation of the limestone range in which the latter exist,
will be best indicated on the Asiatic Society’s map of the Malay
Peninsula by the word “ Gold” marked below Kg. Pénghulu Gen-
dong Jélei. About this point a small river called the Tckam
falls into the Pahang, and about three-miles up the course of. this
river, the caves are reached. There are a good many of them, but
only the four principal ones—Kéta Tongkat, Kota Birong, Kota
Glanggi and Kota Pipan—are deserving of notice. Kota Tongkat
and Kota Papan are the nearest, and are close together; Kota
Birong is the furthest off, and Kota Glanggi lies between.

Kota Tongkat, as it is seen and entered, is like the gigantic entrance
to ‘some vast citadel ; it is open on two sides, it pierces the ridge of
lhmestone under which it lies from one side to the other, and the
road leads right through it. This extensive natural porch is sup-
ported, or appears to be supported, by huge columns of stalactites
and stalagmites, which have thickened through the dripping of
endless ages, until they have become like the pillars of some great
temple. This, so far as I saw at the time, is the only entrance to
a valley which lies basin-like at the foot of a range of hills. Asa
natural fort, this place would be impregnable; a handful of men, to

156 KOTA GLANGGI.

use the hackneyed phrase, could hold it against an army.

Passing through Kota Tongkat, we went first to Kota Birong. I
was rather disappointed with this cave, but it was welll saw it
first and not last. It lies low, and consists of two or three
long and wide, comparatively low-roofed caverns, of great extent,
but not imposing in appearance. The most striking feature about
it was the enormous number of bats that swarmed in myriads;
and the flutter of whose wings made a noise like the distant sound
of a water-fall; indeed I mistook it for that at first, and expected
to meet with a subterraneous river, but was soon disabused of
that idea. We had about twenty torches, and the bats came
fluttering around us so thickly, that I kept bobbing my head
about perpetually to avoid their dashing against my face, but the
marvel was that, although two or three times one brushed my
sleeve not once did we collide. ‘The air was so dense with them,
that it seemed an utter impossibility to pass and repass amongst
them without coming in contact.

We next inspected Kota Glanggi, which is situated higher up
the cliffs. It is approached through a narrow entrance of some
length, from which one emerges into a fine, open, lofty cave,
with a large opening in the face of the cliff. As this entrance
brought us in at the back of the cave, the first effect pro-
duced on looking through the stupendous gloom which surrounded
us to the distant yet dazzling light of this opening, was very fine,
and this effect was enhanced by the circumstance that about
twenty of our company had reached the cave before us, and having
seated themselves close to the opening, looked like so many
pigmies, whose small dark forms were thrown athwart the light
with startling distinctness of outline, and served to give some idea
of the vast proportions of the cavern. The appearance of this cave
is not unlike that I have described on the Patani, but much larger
in its proportions; from it, however, branch off other caves of extra-
ordinary height. Ascending a steep and slippery incline at an
angle of about 60° or 70° by the aid of holes chipped in the rock, a
eallery is reached, on each side of which rises a lofty dome about one
hundred feet high, and both narrow, one being only about fifteen feet
wide at the bottom: one of these domes is lighted from the top by

KOTA GLANGGI. 157

three round holes which are placed at regular intervals and give
the roof almost the appearance of artificial construction, whilst the
narrower one is lighted by a square hole near the top and looks
like a gigantic belfry ; a third, rather wider, leads up, by a series
of cyclopean steps, to a narrow exit higher up the precipice, and
from this we emerged, and by the aid of a rattan climbed up and
over an awkward ledge, and reached a jagged pinnacle four hun-
dred feet high, with a sheer drop to the valley beneath. From this
point we had a very fine view of the country and of distant moun-
tains, by means of which I obtained some good bearings for future
guidance.

Retracing our steps, we approached Kota Papan, which is really
the great cave of the district. Our road lay through another
part of Kota Tongkat, a series of dark and dangerous galleries,
with dismal abysses of unknown depth, yawning at our feet ; along
one of these we had to travel by a narrow ledge against an over-
hanging wall to the right, whilst to the left one of these horrid
culphs was gaping to reccive us in its maw, should we make a false
step. At last we emerged from this “ hell’s gate,’ and found our-
selves under the entrance to Kéta Papan, but no one unacquainted
with the locality would ever guess that there was a cave here at
all, much less one of such gigantic proportions as this. An over-
hanging ledge projects from the face of the cliff, and up to this we
climbed by the aid of arattan ladder. Reaching the ledge, we
found an insignificant-looking entrance, with no appearance of
depth or size. Stepping within, however, we were assailed by a
blast of air which came rushing continuously from the interior
with an amazing force and with a sound lke the rumbling in a
chimney on a windy night. This considerably disconcerted our
torch-bearers, whose futile attempts to light their damars were
accompanied by volleys of “ chélakas.” Having at last got our
torches alight, we began first to descend, then to ascend, then to
descend and ascend again, wending our way between immense
angular masses of fallen stone, and groping and clambering with
hands and feet over shin-breaking ledges, until we found ourselves
involved in a labyrinth of passages. Selecting that on the right.
our guides led us into the great cave of Kota Papan,

158 KOTA GLANGGI.

I do not know how to describe it, language fails me, from the
fact that there are no familiar objects to which I can liken it.
Perhaps the dome of St. Paul’s might serve to give some idea of the
height aud size, but the cave is polysided. It is lighted from a
grotto-like opening in one of its sides about twenty feet above the
floor. This opening is backed by a screen of velvety-green foliage
about thirty feet high, through which the sun’s rays scintillate from
a wide opening above, so that the interior is illuminated chiefly by
reflected light, a few small holes in the top of the dome just admit
enough to prevent the roof being altogether lost in the gloom. The
angles of this polygon are fluted and columnar and radiate at the
capital, branch meeting branch, so that the dome is like the many-
arched roof of the nave of some Gothic cathedral, whilst the drip-
pings from the limestone have wrought themselves into combina-
tions of stalactites of endless variety of form. and have decked this
edifice of nature with more elaborate and fantastic ornamentation
than all the genius of Gothic art could devise.

There are no idols of man’s construction, but the floor of this na-
tural temple is strewn with curious and weird-like forms. There
is one huge block of stone about fifteen feet square which might
represent the altar of an ancient race of giants; there are four
or five upright stones like those of the Druids on Salisbury plains,
three of which are placed symmetrically at the grotto-like opening,
one at each side, and one in the middle, as if to guard the entrance:
one could almost imagine they had been put there by design.

I do not wonder that the superstitious Malays should have
sought an explanation in the supernatural : according to them,
this cave is the home of a great hantw, and the violent wind which
met us at the entrance was the breath of the angry spirit opposing
our intrusion. The petrified man referred to by the boatmen is
simply a block of stone covered with drippings from the limestone
till its shoulders are smooth, but with no resemblance whatever to
the human form divine; the oven or furnace is like an oven, but it
owes its form to the same cause; the slag and the loaves of bread are
also the result of the same action, the slag consists, as one can see
on breaking it, of small angular stones which have become rounded
and cemented together by this process, and the mass really does

KOTA GLANGGI. 159

resemble the refuse of afurnace, whilst the loaves are merely larger
isolated stones covered in the same fashion. Far in the recesses of
another cavern which branches off this, or rather a part of the same
eayern, but to reach which one must ascend a smooth plateau which
rises from the floor of the first, I found the flour and sugar secreted in
one of nature’s cupboards. Between two round columns or sta-
lactites, each topped with a crown of lotus leaves as symmetrical
as 1f they had grown in the usual manner, was imbedded a vein
of decomposed felspar, which the popular imagination had con-
verted into household stores.

I shall not proceed further with this description lest I should
tire your patience, I have not told you one half of what interested
me, and I myself did not see half of the mysterious underground
passages with which this cavern is again undermined. I lost
myself in one of those labyrinths into which I had ventured
alone, and wandered about hopelessly for some time; at one turn
I came to a spot where four or five galleries met, and away in the
distance at the far end of one of them I saw a light glimmering like
a star from its other entrance. Ithought of the story of ‘Sinbad
the Sailor” and got lostin a reverie, when I was rudely awakened from
my dream by the shouts of some of the party who had come in search
of me. I tried to take a sketch of the main cavern, craning my
neck to get a proper view of its roof, but I gave it up in despair.
The breadth of this polygon from side to side each way was ninety-
three paces, and I should guess the height at about one hundred
and fifty feet. I am sure a couple of days would not exhaust all
the branches and subterraneous passages of this wonderful cave,
but my time was limited, and I was reluctantly compelled to return.

Tt would not do, however, to pass away from these caves without
reciting the legend of Kota Glanggi, as narrated to the company
by one of the oldest men at the kampong, as we rested ourselves
after our labours on a rock at the foot of Kota Papan. In olden
times there was a Raja Gruanecr who had a beautiful daughter,
whom the son of Raja Memsane of Lépis had fallen desperately
nlove with. This son of MemBane got his father to open negocia-
tions with Raja Granecr for the hand of his daughter. Raja
GLaNGGr was willing enough and consented, but the person of the

160 KOTA GLANGGI.

son of MmmBana was distasteful to the daughter. In the meantime
the son of Raja Usut of Bér’a was out hunting one day in the
neighbourhood of Kota Glanggi and accidentally got sight of the
intended bride; straightway his breast was fired with passion, and
he with his attendants loitered about the neighbouring forest for
days until he could see her again. Fortune favoured him, and being
one of your bold wooers, he seized and carried her off by force.
The young lady took kindly to her captor, and was eventually
carried off by him to his father’s court, after some unavailing ef-
forts to gain Raja Guanear’s consent to their union. Here they
lived happily for a short time, until the rival lover, hearing of the
abduction, got his father to appeal to Raja Guancer to have the
girl restored, and as neither the daughter herself nor her bold win-
ner would consent, a war ensued between Raja Usun of Bera and
Raja Guanear, because Raja Usun, like a sensible man, said that
if the girl liked his son they were now married, and he did not see
why he should go against his son for the sake of Raja MemsBane.
The result was that seven of Granaei’s best men got killed, and as
he was not very warm on the subject of the abduction, seeing his
daughter was pleased he resolved to get out of the embroilment as
creditably as he could; accordingly, he wrote a letter to Raja
MempBanea of Lépis representing that it really was his affair and
recommending him to go to war with Raja Bird on his own
account, and this, poor old Mempane did and was killed, whilst
Graneet and Usur of Béra became reconciled, and the bride and
bridegroom lived happily ever afterwards. I give you the story as it
was told to me, without any attempt at improvement, and just as I
took it down in my note-book.

Huxv Raves,
Interior of Pahang, 26th July, 1882.

~ APA, 35. 4
= Nails) AD), 4
HSS aie

NATURAL HISTORY NOTES.

Witu ILLustRAtTIONs.

SNAKE POISONS.

Captain Dovetas, r.n.z., H. M.’s Resident at Sélangor, has just
furnished me with conclusive proof that the oft-repeated dictum
that “the nervous system of a poison snake is proof against the
specific action of its own poison” [Cassell N. H., vol. 4, p. 45] is
incorrect. He recently irritated a cobra until, in striking at the
stick with which he was touching it, the snake inflicted a well-
marked wound on its own back. In ten minutes it was dead.

The same gentleman informs me that he recently captured an
ophiophagus elaps (hamadryad) measuring 18 feet 6 inches! To-
lerably large for a venomous snake, and that the most aggressive
of any known.

A propos of snakes, residents would do well to provide them-
selves with the remedy which Mr. Knaaas has discovered—perman-
ganate of soda. There is unmistakable evidence that it has saved
life. Internal doses of strong spirit should be administered every
five minutes after the permanganate has been injected into the
wound,

Any reader of this Journal who knows of a case of death from
snake bite within the last twenty-five years (excepting the case of
the Malay who mistook a cobra for an eel and put his finger in its
mouth) will greatly oblige by communicating the facts to me.

NBD:
PYTHON’S EGG.*

The species of Python whose egg is the subject of illustration is
known as python reticulatus from the beautiful diamond-shaped

*Tho three coloured plates presented with this Number of the Journal are the gift of
N. B. Dunnys, Esq., Pu. D.--Ep.

162 NATURAL HISTORY NOTES.

reticulations which form its distinctive marks. Two others are
described in popular natural histories, viz.:—P. regius and P. sebe ;
a fourth variety found in Singapore and named P. Curtus being
ignored. The latter has a red in place of an olive ground, and, as
only one example—that in the Leyden Museum—has reached Eu-
rope, specimens command a high value, fifteen or twenty dollars
being readily given at the Raffles Museum, which possesses the
only two caught during the last few years.

The python reticulatus is frequently (and erroneously) called a
boa constrictor, all boas being of American origin. All snakes of ~
this species contradict the assertion in the Encyclopedia Britan-
nica that “no reptile is known to hatch its eggs.” The egg from
which this drawing was made was detached from a mass of about
one hundred, cemented together by a glutinous substance. Around
this mass the female snake coils herself. Cold-blooded as snakes
are, its temperature on such oceasions rises to 75° Fahrenheit, which
is maintained for 56 days, when the young begin to emerge from

the shell. The latter resembles tough parchment, and is elastic to
the touch. All the eggs in the mass described were found to con-
tain live snakes about 16 inches long.

The Raffles Museum is indebted to the Maharaja of Johor for
this interesting addition to its collection.

N. B. D.
FLYING LIZARD.

This pretty little animal, of which a life-size illustration is given,
abounds in Singapore, and is known as draco volens. The specimen
from which the drawing was made gave me a slight shock by
missing its leap and plunging between my collar and neck, causing
much momentary discomforture, until its long tail sticking out mace
a companion exclaim “ Why it’s only a lizard !”

Few natural histories give any particulars of this interesante
reptile, which is capable of a considerable length of flight, if such
it can be termed. The eggs are tiny little things about the size
of peas, but I have never succeeded in obtaining an embryo, or
seelng a newly-hatched specimen. It may here be noted:that no

NATURAL HISTORY NOTES, 1638

species of lizard whatever is in any sense poisonous, while very
few possess teeth sufficiently developed to inflict a wound. Spiders
are, like snakes, great enemies of lizards, the usual proceeding being
to catch the latter asleep and swiftly weave a web round its mouth,
after which the spider bites the lizard on the lip causing speedy
death.

Readers interested in natura] history might furnish interesting
information by keeping this animal in confinement.

IN; BD:
SINGAPORE LOBSTER.

This crustacean has not hitherto been figured or described, and,
though occasionally found in the Singapore markets, is by no
means common. The illustration is exactly one-third of the na-
tural size.

Na BED:
FLOWERING BANANA.

This is the most brilliantly flowering of the MWusacee, and is
known to botanists as the musa coccinea, or “ pisang sole” of the
Malays. It has a triangular rose-coloured fruit, which is not
eatable. Some fine examples may be seen in the public gardens,
Singapore, near the orchid house, and it is rather surprising that so
handsome and easily grown a plant has not found more favour
amongst residents.

The flower is figured in “ Choice Flowers, Fruits, and Leaves of
Java” by Madame B. Hoona van Noorten, but the plate herewith
was printed prior to the publication of that work, and was, at the
time, the only coloured plate of the plant which had appeared.

IN rs):

AOL OLGAO D2

.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES.

=<—SFVvozyS]

SratEMENT OF HAJI MAHOMED ALT, « Mavomepan oF
Arapic EXTRACTION, BORN IN THE Isnanp or Harnay,

CHINA. REGARDING MAHOMEDANS IN CHINA.

J, Haji Manomep Att Brn Yusur, of the country of Hainan, have
heard the following story from the old men of Hainan.

Once, when Raja Tane-wane@ was King of China, he was uneasy
in his mind foralong time. One night he dreamt that there existed
Mahomedan people on either side of China, who wore cloths
wrapped round their heads, and long coats down to their feet, and
had their faces covered with hair; and that if he could bring those
people to China, his mind would be at ease. Upon this, he sent a
number of junks in search of the people of which he had dreamt,
and brought them to China, giving them orders to live in different
parts of the country, such as Canton, Hu-nan, Yu-nan, Ham-su,
Su-sun and Hainan. Now, one of these Arabs had a great many
descendants, of whom I am one. In course of time, the race be-
came scattered about the country, until a man named Sultan
Stiman became King of Yu-nan. After this various disturbances
arose in different parts, and since the death of Raja Tanc-wane I
can only partially remember what took place.

The custom among Mussulmen in China was that they were
called Hué-Hué, and wore towchangs like the Chinese: but we con-
tinued to wear the long coats of our ancestors. But now, however,
the custom has been changed by the Chinese as regards those lone
coats, and they have become the exclusive costume of great men. or

166 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES,

of people going to be married, nor can they be worn by the com-
mon people.

In onr habits of life, such as our way of eating, drinking, sit-
ting, standing, &c., we are like the Chinese, but differ a little in
some things. The Chinese have the custom of nailing pieces of
paper to their doors with the names of their idols (To Peh Kong)
written on them. We, on our doors. write the name of God and
his Prophet.

It is easy to distinguish the Chinese from the Hué-Hué rice-
shops. In the latter, the fowls and ducks exhibited for sale have
all been killed by their throats being cut; while in the shops kept
by the Chinese there is no mark of a knife on the bodies of the
dried poultry. In their shops, too, there are many things contrary
to the Moslem faith.

In Hainan, there are only four mosques, as that is a small coun-
try, but in the other provinces mosques are very numerous. The
Koran is written in Arabic, interlined with a Chinese translation,
and this practice is pursued in the other Arab books translated into
Chinese.

All the Hué-Hué’s in China are of the Khanafi sect, and there
are none of the Shaf¢i. They speak Chinese and therefore few
come to the Straits; many however go on the Mecca pilgrimage.

I have heard that, in the time of our grandfathers and great-
grandfathers, we were very powerful and were independent, but
the death of Raja Tane-wane marked the commencement of the
decline of Mahomedan power in China.

The majority of us are rice-cultivators, cocca-nut and pinang
(betel-nut) planters and gardeners. There are also amongst us
many fishermen, but no large merchants.

The foregoing is a short sketch of our position in China.

J, Haji Manomep Art, can speak Hainan, Macao, Téchew, and
know a little Keh. but I cannot read or write more than a few
characters.

Singapore, May. 1882.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 167

PANTANG KAPUR OF THE MADEK JAKUN.

The following are a few notes which I omitted to insert in my
paper on the Endau and Stmbrong :—

English.
Stone
Rain
River
Clouds

Deer (Kijang)

Bear

White

Heart

Belly

Cloth
Headkerchief
Baju, Trowsers
Spear

To fell trees
Prahu

To drink

Pantang Kapur.
Che-ot
Péjur*
Sempelth
Tongkat cheléo"*
Bisan sés¢rong*
Semungkor pényiku*
Minchor
Chégiiam*
Péntol
isi dalam
Mambong panjang
Pompoin
Sapu tinggol
Pérsok
Pénahan
Mémantil
Lopek

Meénekoh s¢mpelth

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES.

English. Pantang Kapur.
To lay by Bétaroh*
To go Béjok*
Tired Beérajul
Pinang Péngélat
Hog Pényiku kotol*
Fire Péhangat

Musket-ball

-Biah che-dt

Oar Pémaut*

Axe Puting bépéninga
Pérda Péermat

To buy Meényeleh

The words marked * only are different from those given in my
former list (Journal No. 3, July, 1879, p. 118) the remainder being
radically the same, and presenting merely differences of pronuncia-
tion, or a change in the form of prefix.

The word “kabo” given in Locan’s list as the “ pantang kapur”
equivalent for “tired” seems to be another instance of the identity
of the “ pantang kapur” with the original Jakun dialect, “ kébok ”
having that meaning amongst the Jakuns of the Madek in their

own dialect.
D. F. A. HERVEY.

STONE FROM BATU PAHAT.

In a former paper,(?) I mentioned a tradition that stone was
brought from Batu Pahat to Malacca for the construction of the

(:) Journal No. 8, Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society,
December, 1881, p. 93 (Note 2).

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 169

fortress there, but expressed a doubt as to its trustworthiness,
there being plenty of good stone lying much nearer to hand than
Batu Pahat, the cutting of which is also attributed by another
tradition to the Siamese.

This view is confirmed by the account given in Rarries’ “ Trans-
lation of a Malay Manuscript” (Journal No. 4, Straits Branch of
the Royal Asiatic Society, December, 1879, p. 14) which runs as
follows :—

“ As soon as the letters arrived at Malacca from the Raja of Goa,
“the Portuguese who were in Malacca ordered such of the people as
“had remained there to bring iron-stones for the fort from Kwala
“Lineggi,(?) Pilau Upeh,(?) Batu Bras,(*) Pdlau Jawa (a small

oD” iF

“island near Malacca), from Téluk Mas,(*) from Pésan Pringgi,(*)
“from Ptlau Birong,(*) and from the country in the interior of
“ Malacca; and the price the Portuguese paid for them was at the
rate of thirty dollars per hundred stones of large, and twenty
“dollars per hundred stones of small size. For the eggs which
“they used in their mortar, the Portuguese paid at the rate of a
“wang bhadru (new coin) (7) for each. For lime (kdpur) they
1) N. W. boundary of Malacca. Formerly there was a fort here,
. Ts “4 . y . ~ . i
at which NewsoLp was stationed for some time; the Police Station

which has taken its place is a little nearer the mouth of the river.

(7) This was originally part of the town, and occupied, at the
time ALBUQUERQUE took Malacca, by nine thousand Javanese un-
der a chief named Utemuti Raja, who made overtures to ALBU-
QUERQUE to protect himself in case of the latter’s success. A cen-
tury ago the island was only a pistol-shot from the shore, and
twenty or thirty years ago the shore at Limbongan opposite ex-
tended a quarter of a mile further to sea than it does now. ‘There
are three krdmats on the island still visited by the natives, of
which one is the tomb of a Javanese.

(3) The site of this I cannot ascertain, but the rock is said to be
white and of a friable character.

(+) About 7 miles South of Malacca, said to derive its name from
gold once found in the sand of the sea-shore.

This should probably be “Sauh Pringgi,” where the Portu-
Ss
guese anchored ; it is a rock not far from Téluk Mas.

(©) This is a small islet not far from the preceding.
(7) Value 24 cents.

170 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES.

‘paid fifteen dollars for a koyan; (1) and the coolies employed
“digging away the hill were paid at the rate of hali-a-dollar each
“for one day’s work. During thirty-six years three months and
“fourteen days the Portuguese were employed in the construction
“of the fort, and then it was completed.”

D. F, A. HERVEY.

~ (@) About 23 tons.

171

NOTES.

MISCELLANEOUS

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— ENo. 10.]

JOURNAL

OF L£HE

STRAITS BRANCH

OF PEE

MOYAL ASJATIC SOCIETY.

~ DECEMBER, 1882.

PUBLISHED HALF-YEARLY.

SINGAPORE:
. PRINTED AT THE GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.

1883.

EE

AGENTS OF THE SOCIETY:

London and America, ... Tripner & Co.
Paris,...fznest Leroux & Cre.—Germany, ..Kornxier, Leipzig.

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Pepe OE CONTENTS.

ep

PAGE.
Council for 1888, ire Sr: Ee + Vv
List of Members for 1888, te a tt v1
Proceedings of the General Meeting. ne) oe agua
Council’s Annual Report for 1882. nn ane Xx
Treasurer’s Report for 1882, Be sae son OSI

Journal of a Trip from Sarawak to Meri, by N. Denison, Esg., 173
The Mentra Traditions, by the Hon'ble D. F. A. Hervey, ... 189

Probable Origin of the Hill Tribes of Formosa, by John

Dodd, ESO: a - see LOD
Sea Dyak Religion, by the Rev. J. Perham, ... seg Pals
The Dutch in Perak, by W. HE. Maxwell, Esq., ... oo 2A

Outhne History of the British Connection with Malaya. by
the Howble A. ML. Skinner, a Hee 209

Miscellaneous Notes :—

Extracts from Journals of the Socicté de Géogra-

phie of Paris, we a mene eal
Memorandum on Malay Transliteration, ope 2
Landing of Raflles in Singapore, at. Seet213)
Me Chirt, ... a ee so. 2ST

Register of Rainfall, me oie Ano

RS

IBsve,
Sen AlitS. BRANCH

ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY.
ae PATRON: ;

His Excellency Sir Freperick ALoystus WELD, K.c.M.4.

~ ee

COUNCIL FOR 1888.
The Hon’ble C. J. Irvine, c.m.a., President.
The Hon’ble A. M. Sxryvir, Vice-President, Singapore.
D. Logan, Esquire, Vice-President, Penang.
W. E. Maxwen1, Esquire, Honorary Secretary.
Epwiy Kok, Esquire, Honorary Treasurer.
The Hon’ble JAMES GRAHAM, \
N. B. Denyys, Esquire, Ph. D.,
Cu. Trepine, Esquire, M.p., > Councillors.
A. Durr, Esquire, |
H. L. Noronua, Esquire, /

LIST OF MEMBERS
FOR

1883.

ADAMSON. Mr. W:
Anson, Mr. A.
Armsrronc, Mr. A.

Bameryupe, Mr. H.
BaumMGarteEN, Mr. C.
BERNARD, Mr. F. G.
BiepERs adr) H,

Brees, The Revd. L. C.
Biren \ Erase
Bonp, The Hon’ble I. S.
Brown, Mr. D.
Brown, Mr. L.-C:
Brucrt, Mr. Robt. R.
Burxinsuaw, Mr. J.

Cavenacr, General ORFEUR
Croix, Mr. J. Ei pe 1A

Datwann, Mr. C. B.
Dane. Mire De:
Denison, Mr. N.
Dernnys, Dr. N. B.
Dent, Mr. ALFRED
Dovetas, Captain B.
Durr, Mr. A.
Duntorp, Colonel S.
Dunuop, Mr. C.

Emmurrson, Mr. C.
Everett, Mr. A. Hart

Favre, The Revd. L’ Abbe
(Honorary Member.)
Ferauson, Mr. A. M., Jr.
Frank, Mr. H.
Fraser, Mr. J.

GILFILLAN, Mr. 8.

| PD aS

GRAHAM, The Hon’ble James
Gray, Mr. A.

Harton, Mr, Frank

Haveuton, Mr. T. H.

Hervey, Mr. D. WAS

Herwie, Mr. H.

Hewett, Mr. R. D.

init Vir:

Hous, Mr. W.

Hose, The Right Revd. Bishop
(Honorary Member.)

HuLierr, Mr ROW:

Inout [pRAHIM BIN ABDULLA
Irvine, The Hon’ble ieee
C.M.G.

Joaquim, Mr. J. P.
Jonor, H. H. The Maharaja of
(Honorary Member.)

Krnpine, Mr. E
KetimMann, Mr. E.

Ker, Mr. T. Rawson
Korx, Mr. Epwin

Kroun, Mr. W.
Kynnerszuey, Mr. C. W. S.

LamBert, Mr. J. R.
Laren, Dr. B. W.
Lavino, Mr. G..
Leecy, Mr. 2... Ce
LEMPRIERE, Mr. EH.
Logan, Mr. D.

Low, Mr. Hueu, c.m.e.

MEMBERS ror 1883. Vil

Mackay, The Revd. J. Aprrtau | Sercer, Mr. V.

Man, General H. SHetrorp. Mr. Tuomas
Mawnsrietp, Mr. G. SKINNER, The Hon’ble A. M.
Maxwent, Mr. R. W. Smiru, The Hon’ble Ceci C.,
Maxweu, Mr. W. E. | C.M.G.
Mtrxtvuno-Macriay. Baron Soust, Mr. T.

(Honorary Member.) | Sourtypro Mouun Tacore,
Mruxer, Mr. James | Raja, Mus. D.
MouwaMeEp BIN Mansoor. Mr. Stiven, Mr. R. G.
MowamMep Sarp. Mr. | Srrincer, Mr. C.
Money, Mr. O. - SwetTrennam, Mr. F. A.

| SyED ABUBAKAR BIN Omar
Noronua, Mr. H. L. | AL JuNIED, Mr.
Woy, Mr! P. SyeD Monamep pin ABMED AL
j | Sacorr. Mr.

Orp. Sir Harry Sr. Grorce. le Svan. Mi abba,

G.C.M.G., C.B.
WaATmomn. Mia vAy Pe

Panarave, Mr. F. Girrorp Tan Kim Cuene, Mr.
(Honorary Member.) | - Tomson, Mr. J. TuRNBULL

Pace. Mr W..E. B. THomrson, Mr. A. P.

Pett, Mr. Bennerr | THomepson, Mr. H. A.

PsruAm, The Revd. J. Toxtson, Mr. G. P.
(Honorary Member.) | ‘Tracusier, Mr. H.

Pickxerine, Mr. W. A. | ‘TreacHER, The Hon’ble W. H.

TrEBING, Dr. C.

Reav, The Hon’ble W. H. Trisnrer & Co.. Messrs.

Ritter, Mr. E.

fos, Mr. J. D., Jr. Vermont, Mr. J. M. B.

howe, Dr. T. I.
WALKER, Capt. R. 8. F.

Sarawak, H. H. The Raja of Watson, Mr. Epwiw A.
(Honorary Member.) Wuameoa, Mr. (Hoo Au Yir)
Souaause, Mr. M. WHreariny, Mr..J..J). Iu.

— BLS ORS te LSS

PROCEEDINGS
OF THE |
GENERAL MEETING
OF THE
STRALTS- -B EACNICr

OF THE

ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY,

HELD AT THE

EX@HANGE. VXOO@ Ms:

WEDNESDAY, 2ist FEBRUARY, 1883.

PRESENT :

EE. Breser, Esquire, uu.p., Vice- President, in the Chair.
The Hon’ble A. M. Sxrywer, acting as Honorary Secretary
Epwin Kork, Esquire, Honorary Treasurer.
Dr. C. Tresine, Councillor. ;

and the following among other Members :—
Col. 8. DUNLOP, R.A.
N. B. Dewnnys, Esquire, Ph. D.
Hveo Deynys, Esquire.
Breynetr Pein, Esquire.
C. Duntop, Esquire.
J.P. Joaquim, Esquire.
HK. C. Hixt, Esquire.
FE. G. Bernarp, Esquire.
EK. B. Dantmann, Esquire.
O. Miury, Esquire.
H. L. Noronua, Esquire.
Incur Monamen Sar.

The names of the following gentlemen provisionally elected by ~
the Council to be Members of the Society since the last annual

PROCEEDINGS. 1x

mecting were circulated and approved :—
H. A. Toompson, Esquire.
Monsieur J. E. DE ua Croix.
T. Hancock Haventon, Esquire.
H. Bampryyipe, Esquire.
Frank Harton, Esquire.
EB. Lemprtiere, Esquire.

The Honorary Secretary read the Annual Report of the Council
for 1882.

The Honorary Treasurer read his Annual Report.

The election, by ballot, of Officers for the year 1883 was then
proceeded with, the result being as follows :—

The Hon’ble C. J. Irvine, o.u.a., President.

The Hon’ble A. M. Sxrynen. Vice-President, Singapore.
D. Locan, Esquire, Vice-President, Penang.

W. E. Maxwetr, Esquire, Honorary Secretary.

Epwry Koex, Esquire, Honorary Treasurer.

The Hon’ble James GrawamM, \

WN. B. Dennys, Esquire, Ph. D.,

Cu. Tresine, Esquire, M.D., Councillors.

A. Durr. Esquire,

H. L. Noronna, Esquire,

The Chairman, referring specially to the duties of Honorary
Secretary as being those of most consequence to the Society’s wel-
fare, regretted that Mr. W. E. Maxwett, whose election he had
just had much pleasure in announcing to the meeting, had not yet
returned to the Colony.

He believed, however, that Mr. Maxwert would shortly arrive ;
and it was hoped that he would then undertake the office, to which
this meeting had unanimously elected him, with the same readiness
with which he had so frequently contributed to our Journals. In
the interval, he was authorised to state that Mr. Skinner, who
had been acting as Honorary Secretary since Mr. SweTTENHAM’s
absence, would kind!y continue to carry on the work.

The meeting was closed with a cordial vote of thanks to the
Chairman,

ANNUAL REPORT

OF THE

COUNTS

OF THE
RAIS: SiAN@ in

OF THE

ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY,
FOR THE YEAR 1882.

pee Sa

The Council of the Straits Asiatic Society. in reporting upon
the Proceedings for the year 1882, have to present to the
members a satisfactory account of the Society’s finances, of the
publication of its Journal, and of the growth of its Library; and
have to congratulate the members upon entering into the seventh
year of the Society’s existence with so much that is encouraging
for the future.

The June number of the Journal appeared early in September,
and was an unusually full Journal, comprising 171 pages inall. As
it included every MS. received by the Society up the end of
August, there has naturally been experienced some difficulty and
delay in bringing out the December number, which is, for the same
reason also, a short one. It is now in the printer’s hands. |

This Journal will contain some further interesting particulars of
the interior of the Peninsula by Mr. W. Cameron, who has made
prolonged journeys of the most enterprising character, some of
them in regions hitherto unexplored. ‘Tracings of his routes have
been purchased by the Society, partly with a view to a new edition
of its map, which seems likely to be required before long; a
lithographing machine is also to be procured from England, and
will be of use for this among other purposes. .

ANNUAL BEPORT. x1

The following accounts, which have been received and adjusted,
show the nett result of-the Society’s venture in printing and
publishing this map; and it will be seen that, notwithstanding the
fact that the ultimate cost (£167) of the 400 copies much exceeded
Mr. Sranrorp’s original estimate, yet the Society’s outlay is
already very nearly recouped, and 101 copies remain on hand for

sale :
Sale of Maps in 1881, Straits Settlements,...$485.00
Do. in 1882, do., a MELE
Do. in London, fon L5G. Sal
1881. $703.41
feoeaid Mr: Stanford, ... ... ... $527.47
Proceeds of sale of Maps
returned by Mr. Stanford, £29. 9/ 156.91
Meee bad Mr. Stanford, ... .... ... 210.98

——- 9899.36
In hand on 1st { 50 copies in Straits, @$8—$150
Jany., 1883, (51 do in London,@12/— 153

Value of copiesin hand, ... $803

The Society’s aid has recently been solicited by the Govern-
ment in getting together information for a text book of Geogra-
phy, without which the map is of comparatively little use in our
schools. The matter will be one for our successors to deal with
finally in the present year. But it will not be out of place for us
here to repeat what was said in our predecessors’ Report :—

“This tracing will be of most service when it induces those who
“travel to furnish corrections and additions as our knowledge of
“the country extends. Probably not one-tenth part of the Penin-
“sula has, even at the present time, been traversed by Europeans,
“ and it becomes clear from the Geographical Notes, printed in each
“successive Journal, that if the Peninsula’s Geography is ever to
“be really known, explorations are required on a more comprehen-
“sive scale than can be looked for in the occasional journals of
“ district officers.”

x1 ANNUAL REPORT.

Some pains have been taken this year, for which the Society is
particularly indebted to the Vice-President, to get in order and to
catalogue our growing Library of exchanges, and also to obtain
missing copies, &c, &c. An agent (Messrs. Korn ier of Leipzig)
has also been appointed for Germany, in addition to Messrs.
Tripner in London and Messrs. Ernust Leroux & Co. in Paris.

The Council has felt itself justified, in view of the large balance
of $1,032 in hand, in reducing the annual subscription for members
from $6 to $5.

The Council now resigning office has, in the course of the year,
been weakened by the departure of its President, its Vice-President
for Penang, and its Honorary Secretary, and also of one of its
Councillors; but it has been enabled to hold its meetings owing to
the quorum of three officers now allowed under the amended Rule
12, passed at the last annual general meeting. The duties of-
Honorary Secretary have, since Mr. Swerrennam left the Settle-
ment, been undertaken by one of the Councillors (Mr. Skinner).

The number of new members elected during 1882 was 6, exclu-
sive of the 5 members elected at the last annual meeting in
January, 1882,

The total number is now as follows :—

Honorary Members... 0
Ordinary Members, ......... 104

fae TONORARY *“ TREASURER’S REPORT.

OO eee eae

In submitting my Annual Report to the Members of this
Society, I have much pleasure in being able to speak of continued
prosperity.

On the lst January, 1882, there was a balance of $797.65 in my
hands. The Receipts for the year 1882 amounted to $852.‘70
and the expenditure to $711.28, shewing a Balance of $141.42 to
the good, making the Society’s Credit Balance at the Bank $939.07
in all. This amount is made up as follows :—

Amount deposited in the Bank for one year at

5% per annum, ee oe ... $900.00

In Bank, eels ee = ae 35.67
In Hand, ue ie ast core 3.40
$939.07

On the 3lst December, 1882, the outstanding subscriptions were
as follows :—

For 1879, ae ie bik a $6.00
B-Los0, a ele i a 6.00
‘a. esl, a8 -. ae ae 6.00
oo . £S82, aA fe ns oy 47.33

$65.38

The interest due on the Bank deposits is $41.22, and, after
deducting the sum of $18.10 paid for Clerk’s salary and other dis-
bursements for December, 1882, there will be a balance to the
credit of the Society of $1,082.52. -

With reference to the outstanding subscriptions, the sum of
$35.38 may be considered as good, and the remainder as doubtful
debts.

EDWIN KOEK,

Honorary Treasurer.
Singapore, 4th January, 1883.

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‘STILITIGVIT GNV SLASSV

P04 RN Aad:
( from 29th April to 25th Muy, 172 )
WHEN ON A TRIP FROM
mene WAK TO MERI,
ON THE NORTH-WEST COAST OF BORNEO

IN THE BRUNEI TERRITORY.

te y
NE
eat , pee Z
Get. PRIL 29¢h, 1872—Having had a passage offered me

pray by C—— in his steamer the Bertha, a small craft
} pon seventy feet long, fifty-five tons burthen, of ten (nomi-

@ 26) nal) horse-power, I gladly availed myself of his kind

8. na ) horse-power, I gladly availed my

ae invitation, especially as he was bound for Meri in
the Brunei territory, touching at some of the Sarawak coast stations.

Left Sarawak at 7 a.m., steamed down to Pinding, and break-
fasted with M-——, the Vice-Consul at Tanah Puteh. We got out
of the Sarawak river at the Muaratebas entrance soon after 9 4.M.,
and cleared Tanjong Poe at noon. I see the hill has been cleared
here for the light-house, which is in course of construction.

80th April.—At daylight off Sirik. The neap tides prevented our
entering one of the Rejang entrances to visit Bruit, so we stood off
along the coast for Oya. Weather very fine, but extremely hot. At
5 P.M. we passed the steamer Sr? Sarawak from Bintulu bound to
Kuching. Entered the Oya river at 6.30 pu. This river has a
bar with nine feet on it at high water. At 8 p.sr. we were anchored
off the jetty of the Oya Trading Company, where we met W
awaiting us.

174 SARAWAK TO MERI.

lst May.—The Resident De C- came over to call on me in the
morning, and I walked round with him to see the new buildings
which are being erected. I found Oya improved since I last visited
it. The new Court House has been built, and I attended De C
holding Court in the afternoon. W and C-——— have now got
their stores up, and the engines in working order for sago-washing.
They speak very hopefully of their prospects if they can only once
get fairly started, but their difficulties are great in opening in sach
a new place as Oya. DeC dined with us in the evening.

Ind May.—Left Oya at 3 v.w. Weather fearfully hot, with a
light breeze. Steered North for Bintulu.

3rd May.—Still steering for Bintulu, making a slow passage,
wind and tide against us; the heat intense. Reached Bintulu at
1.30 p.m., and found S- inthe Fort. I walked through the bazaar
with § , which L found had considerably extended, but was not
so clean and smart as when I last visited this place. J found my
friends Gantean and Pangéran Bunrar still alive and well.

The conversation at night turned on Brunei and Borneo polities.
Orders have been given to clear Kidurong point for a light-house,
and it is hoped a settlement will be formed here, but I question
if it will ever come to anything. Where is the trade to come
from ?P

4th May.—We were delayed getting away till 3.30 v.at., C
having a case in the Malay Court against a man named Binion
Rato, which cost a great deal of wrangling and disputing.

We left with the ebb tide in a squall of wind and rain, and
nearly came to grief on the bar at the mouth of the river, there
being only five feet of water. I can see very well C
much of a skipper.

Sailed a N.E. course, enjoyed a fine evening with astrong breeze,
which, however, died down at sunset.

5th May.—Passed Soubise mountain and later a high mountain
could be perceived in the interior, the name of which I could not
learn. The weather very fine, but the heat intense. The coast-
line hilly, covered with jungle. with what appears to be limestone
cliffs occasionally showing.

We made the mouth of the Meri river at 4 P.., and not
knowing the channel grounded, eventually anchoring in two

is not

SARAWAK TO Ment. 175

fathoms, C--— and myself amused ourselves walking on the
sandy coast. We returned on board after dark in a boat from
the Meri village bearing a deputation headed by the chief trader
Awane Babar.

After dinner, a long conversation was carried on. which lasted
till well into the night. the chief topic being trade. The Awang
stated that the Sultan’s Officers bearing his chop had already been
down the coast giving notice that no oppression would be allowed,
and that only the fair and lawful taxes would be allowed to be
collected. This is the first-fruit of the treaty between Brunei and
Sarawak, and shows that the Sultan’s territory is not in such a
state of anarchy as is generally supposed. Oyow Asrr, the Kayan
Chief who was at Bintulu, was spoken of as a bad character.

The Awang stated that two Chinese had proceeded up the Ba-
ram river, leaving two others in their prahu at Meri. Everything
reported quiet up the Baram. The Awang undertook to look for
cinnabar, saying he was sure it was to be found in the interior of
the Baram. He seemed afraid of compromising himself with the
Sultan, but C told him there was nothing to be afraid of.

The Awang finally stated he would proceed to Kuching in the
Bertha, if we would give him a passage; he seems a perfectly civi-
lised Malay. and told us he had been twenty-seven times to Singa-
pore, but only once to Sarawak, 7. e., Kuching.

The Malays who accompanied the Awang told us almost any-
thing might be found in the Baram, and mentioned cinnabar, earth

oil, birds’ nests, gutta, gold, diamonds. in fact everything that is to
be met within Sarawak. The rice crop in the Baram had failed.
and rice is now selling at high prices; there is every chance of a
famine breaking out.

We were told that the point we had walked out to in the
evening was Tanjong Baih, the rock facing which we found to
rise about fifty or sixty feet from the water’s edge. and composed
of what seemed to me to be sandstone.

6th May.—At 8 a.m. tried to enter the Meri river ; we experi-
enced much difficulty in finding the channel. owing to the numerous
sand-banks, and we found only 53 feet of water to get in on. The
southern bank of the river slopes back to a low range of hills, the
lower portion of which seems admirably suited for gardens. On the

176 SARAWAK TO Mert.

opposite bank an extensive plain extends to the sea, and, T should
think, to the northward as far as the Baram river, the mouth of
which is visible from the sea-shore here. We anchored off Meri
village, which bears a similar appearance to other Malay villages on
the coast.

Meri village consists of ten houses, and is under Orang Kaya
Setia Raja. I landed on the right bank of the river, accompanied
only by my boy, and crossing over the plain to the sea, bathed and
spent some time in strolling about, C being busy with the
steamer. I found the natives quiet and obliging, and I felt just
as much at home here as if I had been at Oya. The villagers
appear to keep a good many buffaloes, I counted as many as fifty
head.

Ju the evening an old Brunei Chief came on board and said it was
all up with the Brunei people, as the Chinese had got into the
Baram and were giving the Kayans $40 per pikul for gutta, while
they had been paying a lower price. It is very evident that, if the
Chinese obtain a footing in this river and come into direct contact
with the Kayans, the Brunei dealers’ occupation is gone.

The two Chinese who were in the village paid us a visit. They
belonged, they said, to Sarawak, and were awaiting the return of two
friends from the Baram who had gone trading in the company of
some Brunei men; these Chinese seemed quite contented and satis-
fied with Meri.

I gathered from the conversation at night that Meri village,
where we were, was only the Malay Kampong, the Milanos were to
be found only a day’s pull up the river. The entire population
—Malays and Milanos—in the Meri river was estimated at 1,000
souls.

There was formerly a Milano village below the present one of
Meri, the posts of which attracted my attention as we ascended
the river. This village was abandoned in times gone by, as the
natives were so harassed and ravaged by Dayaks and Kayans, that
they bad to move their quarters, and they are now scattered over
the different rivers in the neighbourhood.

Our Nakodah’s son and his nephew had just returned from
Brunei, and gave C-——— and myself some curious information as to

the immorality prevailing in the Brunei capital.

SaARAWAK TO Mert. Ai

7th May.—Up early and enjoyed a delightful bath in the sea
with a walk on the sands.

The Orang Kaya of Gamun—the headman of the village round
Baili Point which bears the same name as the bay, namely, Luak—
came on board. He spoke of the village as extensive, the anchor-
age being good for prahus, sheltering them from the N.E. monsoon.

The Orang Kaya not being a Brunei man complained of the
exactions of Pangéran MonamMep Atam, to whom the village had
to pay eighty catties per annum per man.

I learnt to-day that Meri and Sibuti are the property of Pangé-
ran Anak Chuchu (called Pangéran Mudain Brunei) and Pan-
géran Monamep Aram; the former claims 87, and the latter 107
doors. The population may be estimated at 1,250 souls.

Nyah to Suai inclusive is the property of Pangéran PeMAaNcHaH ;
population 500. Suai to Kidurong belongs to the Sultan.

Bliat, on the other side of the Baram, belongs to Pangéran
PemancuHau ; population 1,59). The Bliat river flows so close to
that of Baram that boats can be pulled across and cargoes tran-
shipped. Bliat may, therefore. become a better station than Meri.

The Baram population may be estimated at about 30.000, under
four or five independent Chiefs. The Malays assure me that this
river is safe for trading purposes from its mouth to its source. If
this iscorrect, the Baram is not in sucha state of anarchy and con-
fusion as the Sarawak people would lead us to expect.

To-day I had to hear au argument between C and the Brunei
people as to the relative merits and demerits of the Sarawak and
Brunei Governments. Awang Bapan and Tuan Pansane defended
Brunei, and C took up the cudgels for Sarawak.

The former said : “‘ Look how the Sarawak people are fined for the
‘ slightest offence, which fine goes to the Government, while here,
except the serah, we rarely fine people, unless it is for some
“grave offence, and then the fine goes to the injured party.”

In reply to this C said: ‘* Your rule is even worse than se-
rah, which is bad enough. How about that case where Panglima
Barinc—the headman of avillage—had to pay Pangéran Anak
‘ Chuchu 20 pikuls of gums : not having these, he borrowed them
‘from you, Awang Banavy, and he has to pay you sixty pikuls of
eutta value about $2400. You, Awane Banpay. who are a

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oe
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“
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178 SARAWAK to Ment.

és

wealthy Brunei man, pay nothing, while Panglima Bariye ( who
“ does not belong to Brunei) and his people have to pay. You get
“ three pikuls of gutta for one pikul of gums, that is to say, sixty
“ pikuls of gutta for $1,509, which gutta is worth $2.400, and this
“ way of dealing you call trading, for this is not an unexceptional
“ ease, but of constant occurrence. ”

The above-quoted case originated whilst Pangéran Anak Chuchu
( whose property the Meri district is ) was proceeding from Sarawak
to Brunei in his schooner. Meeting with head-winds, he brought up
in the Meri river, and, finding this a good opportunity for replen-
ishing his exchequer, levied the above tax. The Pangéran carried
away plunder from the unfortunate natives to the extent of $9,000,
leaving the population so deeply in debt that it will take them
years to recover themselves.

Sth May.—Trading seems slow work in these parts, as C
had great difficulty in getting his friends to come to terms, and it
was not till he got up steam and showed that he was in earnest in
what he had said that the traders began to make up their minds to
commence business.

Having settled his affairs, and got up steam, we commenced
working our way downstream, and at about 1 Pp... were out at sea
steaming §. W. with a light breeze. but the weather intensely hot.

The Brunei people say that. in former times, their profits, when tra-
ding in the Baram river, sometimes reached 400 per cent., but this
has been reduced by competition to 100 per cent., and, as the tra-
ders borrow their money at Brunei at from 2 to 38 per cent. per
mensem, and in trading with the Kayans have to make advances for
the produce, which it takes, in many instances, twelve months to
come to hand, they cannot be said to be such large gainers by this
apparently large profit, considering the risk run. |

The Kayans in the Baram appear, from all I can learn, to be very
unsophisticated in matters of trade, and their ignorance and sim-
plicity are taken advantage of by a lot of Malays for their own
ends, who cheat and swindle these aborigines to their heart’s ”
content. The Malays, however, all tell the same story. namely, that
is it easy to humbug the Kayans, but dangerous to bully them; they
barely acknowledge the rule of the Sultan. if they do so at all,
which appears very doubtful.

Sarawak To Mert. BES

The upper-viver Kayans are jealous of their brethren lower down
working white birds’ nests, and they consider it infra dig. to work
the inferior quality, which is all they have. The birds’ nests may
be estimated at about fifty pikuls per annum, which at $200 per
pikul would give $10,000.

The Orang Kaya of the upper-river Kayans is known by the
name of Prana Nreut, and can command about 5,000 fighting men.

Tingir is a tributary of the Baram, running to the head of
the Bintulu. There are now ten Chinese settled here who have
opened a bazaar. These traders are from Bintulu. Having gone
overland, they have, by competition and combination, pushed out
the Brunei dealers.

A rough estimate of the population between Bintulu and Ba-
ram may be taken as follows :—

Meri district. aa ee OOO
Sibuti ,, ny ere) ;
ivan, ., pe Ai a OOO
Suai Fe ae ae 150

say, 2,000 in all.

The Kayan Chief of Tinjir, Trmatone by name, appears to be
more or less enlightened ; he flies his own flag, erected on a regu-
lar staff, affects looking-glasses, and encourages Chinese settlers.
He commands about 1,000 fighting men.

A Kayan Chief, Ovow Azir, has asked permission to settle in Bin-
tulu, and he has moved and fixed his residence at Seping, at the
head of the Bintulu, about eight hours’ march from TrmaLone’s
house on the Tinjir. Report says that this movement has been

brought about in a measure to avoid payment of a debt of 5800
due to a Brunei Chinaman.

The headman at Meri confirmed what we had heard before, that
cinnabar is supposed to exist in the interior of the Baram.

We made very slow progress to-day ; wind failed us. and we could
make no use of our sail; the engines were out of order.

9th May.—Off Balignian in the morning at 6 a.m. ; weather very
hot. At 3 Pp... we were off Muka, and off the mouth of the Oya
river about sunset. just too late to cross the bar; we, therefore, lay
off all night. /

180 SARAWAK TO Murr.

10¢h May.—Got up steam at daylight and crossed the bar,
reaching the Oya Trading Company’s Wharf about 8 a. Made
my arrangements for proceeding to Muka on Sunday. In the
evening Pangéran Asu Bakar came to call, and we had some
talk about Meri and Brunei.

Llth May.—W—— off early this morning in the Bertha up
river to collect sago. I remained quiet all day, preparing to start
to-morrow for Muka.

12th Afay.—Left Oyathis morning at 10 a.m. for Muka, walking
along the sea-shore. I had good walking, the sands being dry and
firm, but the heat and glare were very great.

I had several small streams to cross, and, being unable to swim,
and there being no bridges, I had to float over one stream after
another by means of batangs or trunks of trees.

The first stream thus crossed was Benutus. There were no inhab-
itants here; then came Bulu also uninhabited; the Penat with a
small village of about 100 souls; then Judan with 400 or 500; Petian
uninhabited; and Petanak with 500 or 600. These villages are all
up-stream, and there are no habitations near the sea where I crossed.

My legs and face were very much scorched, and I was very glad
to reach Muka, which I did at about 3 p.m., after having been
thoroughly wetted to the skin by a thunder-storm. I called on
H of the Borneo Company, where I met F from Tigora,
who was here on business; from thence I went on to the fort,
where I found De C and R The former is now the
Resident vice R , who is promoted to Sarawak. R-—— is only
here now for the purpose of “coaching” De C in his new
duties.

14th May.—Walked over to the Borneo Company’s works and
saw N The company talk about extending their operations,
and an engine will soon be at work here. |

I went up the Tilian river to-day with R——. Sago is actively
worked in this small stream; houses, on both sides, full of sago.
Men, women and children find ample employment. At the same
time the stench was almost overpowering. .

Some Sea-Dayaks from up-river to see R——. They have a
grieyance, or a béchara, which will be looked into to-morrow.

Sarawak TO Menrr. 181

De C told me to-day that a young male mas, shot by him on
the Padas river, in the North of Borneo, measured eight feet ten
inches across the span, height four feet seven inches, and across
the face thirteen inches. *

15th May.—The Sea-Dayak complaint was gone into to-day
by R Tt resolved itself into a request on the part of these
“spoiled children of nature” that they might obtain a head.

It seems that one of their relatives had died, and, therefore, they
wanted a head. Some one had told them that a head belonging to
one of the Lanun pirates killed off Bintulu was available there, and
they wanted permission from the Resident to go and find it. ~R-———
talked them over and sent them all home again. Had he granted
the permission they asked, the whole story might have been a
myth, and instead of proceeding to Bintulu to look for an old
smoke-dried skull, they might very quietly have picked up a fresh
head without the owner’s knowledge or consent—-a httle game
these people are fond of playing among themselves.

16th May.—Made arrangements to leave for Oya to-day. R
tells me that there are some nine Milano kampongs up the Muka
river, and three up the Tilian, all working sago. Their united popu-
lations may amount to about 5,000 or 6,000, while at Oya there
may be nine or ten kampongs with a population of 5,000 or 6,000.

At the head-waters of the Muka and Oya rivers some Sea-Dayaks
have settled. On the Oya river are three Chiefs with a following
of perhaps 100 fighting men; on the Muka there are four Chiefs
with perhaps the same following. These Dayaks have come in from
the Rejang and Kanowit rivers, there being a great teudency on
the part of the people of these rivers to settle in Muka and Oya.

R —-, in answer to some questions of mine, such as, whether
women are allowed by the Milanos to take part in religious cere-
monies, whether they sell their children, and whether there is any
record of cannibalism having been practised in this part of the
country or not within the memory of the present generation, very
kindly gave me the following information :—

“The Milanos have no established religion of their own,
* though there is no doubt that they acknowledge and believe in

* [This is the largest ever heard of if the figures are correct.—ED. ]

1

82 SARAWAK TO Meri.

‘one Supreme Being and give him the same name as the Maho-
~medans—Allah taala.” They seldom appeal to him, however,

in their troubles, and rely rather upon the power of hantus, or

‘spirits, whom they propitiate in time of sickness by letting off

‘guns and feasting. It is generally the practice, after a feast of

this kind, to place a portion of the viands in the jungle, at a dis-

‘tance from the house where the prayer-meeting has taken place,

to lure away the evil-spirié which is troubling the house.
‘Sorcery m this part of the country is chiefly practised by

‘women, and the older and uglier they are the greater is sup-

‘ posed to be their knowledge of the art; men who practise these

‘ tricks are called manangs.

“ Milanos and Dayaks have the strongest possible affection for

‘ their children, it being considered a disgrace for any woman to be
“childless ; so strong is this affection among the Milanos that

a
.

.
©

they will readily part with a child in order to better its condi-
tion, and money never passes on such occasions. People will
often thus adopt the children of others poorer than themselves,

‘not with any idea of making slaves of them, but showing them

the same affection that they would do were they their own.
‘Human sacrifices were common among the Milanos previ-

* ous to the cession of the country to Sir James Brooxr. At Rejang
‘village, a young virgin was buried alive under the main-post of

house, and it was not at allan uneommon practice, when an

“ Orange Kaya died, to sacrifice from 10 to 12 of his slaves and
‘bury them with him, the poor wretches receiving a solemn ad-

‘monition to tend well upon their master in the new world.

“That cannibalism was once prevalent in Borneo may be

‘a fact from the traces of it which are still seen existing. Among
‘Dayak and Milano tribes, in many parts of the country, it is the

-

‘practice still to cut up and consume the raw heart of “‘a brave”
‘killed in battle, under the idea that the partakers will in time

become braver.* The way in which they establish a brotherhood

‘between people of different tribes, viz., by puncturing the arms
‘and each imbibing a portion of the blood, points also to the

fact of such practices of cannibalism having been anything but
uncommon in the country.

ae

* [A similar practice prevails amongst the Chinese in China, the liver being

the part usually selected. Eb. ]

SARAWAK TO Mert, 188

De C tells me that in this district sons are a curse, and
daughters a blessing to their parents, both amongst the Malays
and Milanos, for this curious reason. that when the sons grow up
they look to the parents to help them with the bri-an, or wedding
portion, and when married they leave their home to live in the
house of their father-in-law.

A man and woman with a family of daughterswould thus be

gainers by a number of young men coming to live in their house
and working for them on their sago plantations, aud would, at the
same time, have the pleasure of seeing the gongs ranged round
the posts and walls which the young men have brought as bri-an
into the family.

De C , who was amongst the Muruts shooting mas in
the north of Borneo for some months in 1870, speaks of these
people as thorough savages. Some of them are tattooed. They
was up the Padas river,

are great head-hunters, and when De C
a sacrifice took place in the neighbourhood, and I cannot do better
than use his own words :—

“One of the Muruts had been murdered by a roving party of
“ head-hunters, 7. ¢.. killed with blow-pipes. The tribe, determin-
“ine to avenge his death, seized on an old woman belonging to
“the hostile tribe. who had been long living in the village, and,
binding her on a bamboo grating over the grave. proceeded to
“despatch her with knives, spears and daggers.

“The brother of the murdered man struck the first blow, then

“all joined in till life was extinct ; the blood was allowed to flow
into the grave over the corpse; the skull was cut into fragments,
“and with the corresponding portions of the sealp, the hair
“ attached, was divided amongst the friends and relatives ; the nails
were also extracted.
“The Orang Kaya then proceeded to ornament a pole in the
native fashion, with strips of plantain bark, the summit of which
“he surmounted with his portion of the skull: on either side of
“the centre pole, another pole was erected, on each of which the
“five nails of a hand were exposed. The body of the woman was
“ buried with that of the murdered man.

* The Muruts have a curious prejudice against pork that has not
“been raised under their own houses; the people of one village
“will not eat of a pig which has been reared in a neighbouring

.
©

ké

ye SARAWAK To Mert.

village. This prejudice extends even to European bacon in tins,
which they refuse to touch, although jungle pigs are eaten rea-
dily.

“The sago plantations in the Muka district are strictly conel-
dered personal property of individuals, as a general rule, and

‘questions as to proprietorship form the principal cases in our

Courts. The plantations are either acquired by hereditary suc-
cession, or by purchase. Occasionally a plantation will be found
which is held in common by the members of one family, but
generally this occurs when the parents have not long died, and
the children consist principally of girls. In the north, amongst
the Dusuns, where sago is unknown and padi plentiful, I have
visited some villages where the padi is common to all. These
are inland villages. Those near the sea have not this custom.

‘“As for the presence of women at religious ceremonies, here
at the swinging ceremonies they are always present, and also
when feasts are held in honour of the padi spirits. So far as I
had power of observing, women do not become spectators of
human sacrifices, even though the victim be a woman. The
Muruts never sacrifice one of their own people, but either cap-

‘ture an individual of a hostile tribe, or send to a friendly tribe to

¢

‘purchase a slave for the purpose. The Dusuns do not sacrifice

human beings, even when they build their houses.

“In this country, when an aged Milano is sick unto death, and

‘no hope remains of his recovery, it is the custom for the nearest

a
~

oo

relative to present the dying person with a shroud, generally a

‘gold-cloth. Among the northern tribes it is the custom, at this

erisis, for friends of the dying person to present the nearest
relation—husband, wife, or child—with small tokens of affection,
such as a piece of black cloth, tobacco, &c. The corpse is
invariably kept in the house until it is far advanced in decom-
position—from ten days to a fortnight—and then, if it can be
squeezed into a jar, this is done at once, if not, the corpse is put

‘up a tree or covered with stones, until it is reduced in dimen-

sions.

“ Among the Murats the women till the soil and reap the padi,

‘roam the forest in search of edible leaves and fungi, while the

men hunt, fish and make war, and when not employed in any of

SARAWAK To Memrt. 185

“these occupations, remain: idle, as they never help the women
‘“‘in the fields.

“ The Dusuns, on the contrary, till and hunt also, the women
“ earrying wood and water and attending principally to household
“ duties, seldom going afield except when all hands are wanted.

“The Muruts will fell forest trees in order to clear land, but
‘* will not clear secondary jungle. Certain fruit trees are considered
“the common property of the village, and others are private pro-
“erty; unless the tabw mark is placed on any particular tree
“(a few dead leaves bound round the tree), it is generally
‘“‘ considered that passers-by may help themselves to the fruit.

‘“‘] have never met with cannibals in Borneo, although Tam sure,
‘from all I have heard, that the practice of eating human beings
“ has not long died out, and I think it very likely it may still exist
“in obscure and little known places in the far interior.

“With regard to slavery, the Muruts have slaves and will sell
“their children to pay their debts. They follow a fixed custom
“in not selling a slave to another person, unless with the slave's
“ consent. |

“Dusuns will not have slaves, nor will they sell their children,
“nor will they give up runaway slaves.”

I left Muka to-day in a prahw with K——- of the Borneo Com-
pany. We had both wind and tide against us, and reached Oya
only at 7 P.M.

18th AMay.—I find Oya very much improved since my first visit
last year. The cultivation of sago is rapidly extending. During the
last twelve months the Government has erected a Court-house and
Officers’ quarters, a bazaar has sprung up, a road has been con-
structed connecting the Oya Trading Company’s sago manufac-
tory with the village, and on to the sea-shore. The Oya Com-
pany's works are all new, and besides the manufactory itself with
its various sheds, there is a substantial dwelling house for the
partners.

19th May.—Went over the sago mill with W——-, who gave me
some particulars about the works and the manner in which they
prepare the sago.

The engine is one of 14 horse-power, and, when the mill is not in
use in grinding and washing sago. can be used for driving sawing-
machinery,

186 SARAWAK To MrEnrt.

Both raw sago and sago trees are purchased and worked up ;
when the former i3 bought it is simply washed and prepared for
the market, the grain having been previously stamped out of the
tree trunks by the feet of the natives; when, however, the trunks
of sago trees are purchased, the process is a longer one.

The trunks of the sago trees are some thirty to forty feet in
length and are sold by the cut or krat of three feet, the aver-
age price being thirty cents per cut. One cut may be said to
contain a little more than half pasu of sago, though some cuts may
run higher, even as high as a pasu, but this is rare.

These krats in coming to the mill are denuded of the outer bark
and then split with a wooden wedge ; the sago tree being nothing
but a cylinder of pith, splits with great ease.

The krats are then placed before a revolving cylinder studded
with steel points, driven with great velocity and liberally supplied
with water; this cylinder tears or pulverizes the Arafs imtoa
pulpy consistency with extraordinary rapidity.

Placed immediately under the cylinder is a cireular vat in the
centre of which stands a vertical shaft with revolving wings, which
agitates the sazo pulp with great velocity and drives it into a hori-
zontal cylinder of fine wire. The interior of this gauze cylinder *
is provided with means to propel the fibrous matter forward while
the pulp is forced through the gauze into a vat or tank beneath ;
in this the sago flour sinks to the bottom while the refuse is dis-
charged at the other end of the open cylinder on a tray covered
with wire-gauze.

The sago on being removed from the tank is placed in yats
supplied with clean water in which are revolving agitators. When
it has been thoroughly stirred up by this process, it is drawn off
through taps and aliowed to fall on a tray of fine wire-gauze, under-
neath which are long wooden gutters to receive the sago water,
while the refuse is thrown off the tray in another direction. |

* This gauze cylinder works in about five inches of water, and is internally
arranged with wings or paddles on the Archimedean principle of screw.

The cylinder at the admission end is six feet in diameter waile the discharge
-end is but four feet; hence this enables two-thirds of the cylinder to revolve
in a few inches of water, while the tray at the discharge end is just above the
“-water level placed there to receive any sagc-flour that may escape from the
cylinder, of which, however, there are no traces,

SaRswak TO Mert. 187

From these gutters the sago is dug out and placed in the sun to
dry when it is ready for market.

I find there are a dozen Chinese settled in Oya and perhaps half
a dozen engaged in trade up the river.

21st May.—As f wished to get to Siba as quickly as possible and
having very little kit or impedimenta, I engaged only a small boat
with a crew of five men, our only arms being a snider rifle and our
swords.

I left Oya at about 11 a.m. after some trouble with my crew.
When off the Mudan, found the stream dry ; so I had to stand off
with a fair wind, but in a heavy squall of rain, for the mouth of the
Jean, which I reached at 6 P.M.

The shore between Oya and Igan differs entirely from that.
between Oya and Bintulu, the casuarina trees entirely disappear
and are replaced by jungle down to the very water’s edge, anda
muddy foreshore replaces the fine sands which exist further north.

The Igan village is a dirty collection of Malay huts and hovels,
and it being dead low water J had the full benefit of the smell which
arises from the accumulation of mud and filth under the buildings.

I left the village about 8 p.m. and proceeded up-stream with the
flood tide.

22nd May.—All day engaged in working my way up the Igan
stream, one of the most uninteresting rivers it has ever been my
lot to explore. The shores, low and muddy, are covered with jungle
to the water’s edge, so much so that it was very difficult to find a
spot where we could land to cook our mid-day meal. Not a bird
or beast of any sort to be met with, and not a human habitation
till very late in the evening when we approached Sibu Station. I
think we passed only one boat the whole day. Weather very hot,
but a steady breeze enabled us to make good progress, and I
reached Sibu fort atabout 7 p.m.

23rd May.—I heard to-day that the bala or expedition against
the up-river Dayaks under Anpam, who had built a small stockade
on the Mujok, had been quite successful, and had only just return-
ed; one man of the enemy was killed, and a good many wounded,
our bala losing two men killed, but no heads, and a few wounded.
The expedition went on to Intiman, and found the Dayaks moving
to Entabai. Meeting with no resistance, our Chiefs ordered all the

188 SaRkawak To Mert.

houses to be destroyed, and the Dayaks were ordered to move to
Entabai. ANbAM rau away, but is expected shortly to return to
Entabai and sue for peace. FirzC , In chargeof Sibu fort,
tells me that the Rejang is now free of enemies, and perfect peace
may be said to prevail. I wonder how long it willlast. Our bala
was a Kalukka and Rejang one.

I walked over the island of Sibu and through the bazaur and
kampongs, finding everything much improved, and was told that
trade had very considerably increased. It must,however, be terribly
monotonous living on this island.

25th May.—The gun-boat Heurtsease steamed up-river to-day
bringing powder, which had run short in the fort.

I took a passage in her for Kuching, arriving there on the 26th
May.

N; DENISOX

Coma Se co 3 =).
—SStre ties

THE MENTRA TRADITIONS.

i 2 ea at aw ae ew a a a a

PHE following traditions were communicated to me by Batin
e Pa’ inan, who claims to be the head of all the Batins of
a the Méntra tribes. He has resided in Johol for the last

fifteen years or so. His original name was Konot, and his native
place was Tanah Taseh in J iene

Some of these legends somewhat resemble Sane stories on the

same subjects.

Ttuan prpiwaH made the earth, and lives beneath it; it is sup-
ported by an iron staff sustained by iron cross-bars ; beneath these
again is Tanah Nyayek, which is mhabited by a sort of sétan, who
have children not born in the ordinary way, but pulled out of the
pit of the stomach. They were visited by Mérrana, the first
Péyang, who brought back this account of them.

TtHan prpiwau dwells beneath Tanah Nyayek, and by his power
supports all above him.

The earth was first peopled through Mérrane. the first Péya ng,
and Biito his younger brother. Their mother was Tanan SAKEPAL
(a handful of earth) and their father Aver SatitiK (a drop of
water).

They came from Tanah Bangun in the sky, and returned to it,
taking with them a house from Ulu Kénaboi, on the other side of
Jélébu, which flows into the Pahang. Béto died, and when he was
buried, a m?ngkdrong* came towards the grave, and Mérrane
threw his pdrang at it, and cut off his tail, and the méngkdrong ran
away leaving his tail behind him, and BExto thereupon came to life
again, and left his grave and returned to his house.

* Wétngkdrong, lizard, small variety.

190 THE MENTRA TRADITIONS.

When Mérrane took his house away with him to Tanah Bangun,
a dog, the first of the species, appeared where the house had been,
and was prevented by Miirrane’s power from attacking mankind.
Then Béxo had a dog at his house; from this dog came the tiger,
which devours mankind and animals. When Mtrrane left the earth
for Tanah Bangun, he flew away with his house in the air.

BiLo went to Tanah Bangun by the sea on foot; he was go tall
that the water only reached to his knees.

Originally the sky was very low, but Bino raised it wath be
hands, because he found it in the w ay of his pestle when he raised
it to pound his padi.

Mértane took his youngest sister to wife, and from them are
descended the Méntra.

BéLo married the other sister, but they had no offspring.

In course of time the descendants of Mirrana multiplied to
such an extent that he went to T0naw preAwan and represented the
state of things, which TtnHawn pisAwaH remedied by turning half of
mankind into trees.

In those days men did not die, but grew thin with the waning
of the moon, and waxed fat as she neared the full, and when their
numbers had again inereased to an alarming extent, To’ Eran, the
son of Mérrane and the first Bdtin, brought the matter to his
father’s notice. The latter wished things to remain as they were, but
Béxo said it was better they should die like the “pisang,” which leaves
young shoots behind it, and leave children behind them when they
died, and the matter was submitted to T0Han prpAwan, who decided
in favour of Bixo’s view, so that since then men have died leaving
their children behind them.

In the earliest times there used to be three suns—husband, wife
and child—and there was no night, there being always one sun left
in the sky, if the others had set. In those days people a as
they felt inclined, and there were no divisions of time. __

After along time To’ Enran thought the heat was too great, and
he devised a plan for reducing it, in pursuance of which, he went
to the moon, which then gave no light, and told her to call her hus-
band Bintang Tiinang, the evening star, and the stars their children,
and to put them into her mouth, but not to swallow them, and to

THE MENTRA TRADITIONS. 191

await his return, when she had carried out his wishes, he went to
the female sun, and by representing that the moon had swallowed
her husband and children, induced her to swallow completely her hus-
band and child—the other two suns. To’ Eyran having thus gained
hisend, returned to the moon, and told her she could release her
husband and children, which she did flinging them out into the sky
again.

As soon as she discovered this deception practised on her, the
sole remaining sun waxed very wrath, and withdrew in dudgeon to
the other side of the heavens, declaring that when the moon came
across her path she would devour her, a promise which she carries
out at the time of eclipses.

It was from this time, this separation between the sun and moon,
that the division between day and night, and the rule of the moon
and the stars over the latter took place.

Till the time of Batin To’ Enran men used not to drink, no water
“was to be had, and the sensation of thirst was unknown. It came
aboutin thisway. One day To’ Eyran shot a monkey with a blow-
pipe, and made a fire, and cooked and ate the monkey, after which he
became sensible of a desire to imbibe something, and went about
in search of water, but could find none, not even an “akar’”’ (water-
giving liane, monkey-rope). The “akar” did not produce water
then. Atlast he came upon an old jélotoug (a “ gétah”’) stump, and
through a hole in it heard the sound of water trickling down below ;
he fastened a ‘‘rotan manau ” (a variety of rattan of which walking
sticks are made) above outside, and then let himself down into the
hole by it till he reached the water, and there he slaked his thirst.
He then made his way out again by the “ rotan,” and when leaving
the spot he saw a large white /¢/dabi or Iabi-labi (a sort of turtle)
issue from the hole with a vast body of water, and begin chasing
him; he ran for his life, and called to the elephant for help, but
they were driven away by the water; then To’ Enran met a tiger,
whose help he lkewise begged, the tiger accordingly attacked the
head of the lélébi, but could do it no harm. To’ Enrax continued
his flight till he met a sélddang, whom he implored to come to his
rescue, and the sélddang (a sort of bison) trampled on the /éldbi,
but to no purpose. He next begged the aid of the rhinoceros, but

192 THE MENTRA TRADITIONS.

equally without effect, and they had to fly before the lelabi. At
last he had to apply for the intervention of the kanchil (the small-
est of all the deer kind, not so large as a hare); the kanchil said:
‘What can small creatures like us do?” To’ Hnran said: “I have
‘asked all the others, and they have been able to do nothing.”
Then said the kanchil: ‘“ Very well, we will try ; you get to one
“side.” And he called together an army of kanchil, the whole of
the race, and said: “If we do not kill the /éldbi, we all perish,
“ but if we kill him, all is well.”

Then they all jumped on to the leldbi, which was of great size,
and stamped on him with their tiny hoofs, till they had driven
holes in his head and neck and back and killed him.

But in the meantime the body of water which accompanied the
lcladbi had inereased to a vast extent, and formed what is now the
sea.

After the destruction of the léldbi, the kanchil asked To’ Eytan
what was to be his reward for the service he had performed, on
which To’ Eytan replied that he would take the root of the kledek
(a sort of yam) and the kanchil could have the leaves for his share,
and they have accordingly ever since been the food of the kanehil.

From Ulu Kénaboi To’ Exran went to Pagar-rityong* (inSumatra),
and his son To’ TérsiLtt came across again thence and settled
in Jelebu.

To’ Téxsixt had eight sons—Batin Tunagana GAgan, who settled
in Kélang; Batin Cuanexc Bist, who lived in Jélébu; Batin Anam,
who settled in Johor; Batin PERweEr, who wentacross to Pagar-ri-
yong; Batin Stam, who went to Siam; Batin Minane, who crossed
to Ménangkibau; Batin Panane, who settled in the country of
that name ; Baitin SramBuL, who went to Stambul; and Batin RAsa,
who ruled over Moar.

Pénghilus were first made by To’ Tirsitr, who placed one at
Bérinang in Kélang, the To’ KiuAna PurrA at Sungei Ujong, To’
Axi Saman in Jélébu, To’ Muvan Janvan, a woman, at Kwala Moar,
and her husband Jannan Pantiwan Lita PirxKisa he removed to
Johol: hence, to preserve the memory of the first female ruler, the

*« Riyong” is the ‘“nibong,’ of which the fence round the Raja’s place
was made, (Areca nibong’).

THE MENTRA TRADITIONS. 193

Dato’ of Johol always wears his hair long, down to the waist.

The To’ Klana Putri of Sungei Ujong established the States of
Rémbau and Naning, placing his sons over them.

Likut was also established by the To’ Kléna. The Dato’ of
Johol made Térichi, Giinong Pasir, Géméncheh, Jémpol and Ayér
Kining. Jélei was originally part of Johol, but afterwards broke
away.

After the death of To’ Mtray Jantan, the succession passed to
her nephews, and has since been held by males, but always passing
through the female side, as in Nining. After To? Mtran Janran
eame To’ Unar Bisa (the poisonous snake), next To’ Mamardsa
GAranc, who was succeeded in turn by To’ Tineau, To’ Nant, To’
Buycurr (pot-belly), and the present Pénghilu To’ Era.

The first Raja was Sarenexar Aram of Bukit Guntang Pényaring,
(Ulu Ménangkabau). Guntang Pénydring is said to be derived
from “guntang,” the shaking of the “jaring” (net) used to
catch the Kéltiang (flying-fox) for the feast at which SaLenGKAR
Atam was proclaimed Raja. After the feast they descended the
hill (Bukit Guntane Pényaring) and cleared the settlement of
Meénangkabau for the Raja. The Batin Minane previously men-
tioned remained in the jungle.

The “Kabau” in “ Ménangkibau ” is taken from hundreds of
buffaloes which issued from a hole in the ground behind the Raja’s
house; the chief of them had his horns and hoofs covered with
gold; on being chased by the people, they all returned to the hole
before they could be caught, and disappeared, and were never seen
again ; hence the name, as they won in the race for the hole.

Kauatis MArim Sitimay, the son of SarencKar Anam, came over
to the Bukit Pérajain Ulu Jémpol with a pdrang,* a patil,t a pahat,t
and a kachip,§ in pursuit of a beautiful Princess, and after search-
ing in vain for food, he went to sleep near an enormous bambu a
fathom in diameter. During the night the Princess appeared and
cooked him some food, and passed the night with him, but disap-

* Wood-cutter’s knife.

7 Adze or hatchet, according to the turn given to the blade.
t Chisel.
§ Betel-nut clippers.

194. THE MENTRA TRADITIONS.

peared at dawn. .

The Khatib tried in vain to cut the bambu, in which the Princess
had told him he would find her, using in turn the pérang, pdtil, and
pakat. Then he tried the kdchip on the point of the bambu with
success, after which he was able to split it downwards, when the
Princess fell out, and he secured her, and she did not disappear
again; then she was conducted on horseback by many followers
with her husband to Bukit Péraja, where they both disappeared ;
but there they both live invisible to this day; their horses in full
trappings are occasionally to be seen in certain favourable seasons.
Tf their aid is invoked with burning of kémndan, they will come and
“béchara”’ and then disappear. The Princess was quite fair in
complexion and her hair white and seven fathoms in length.

All the different tribes of aborigines are said to be merely varie-
ties of the original Méntra, who also exist in the Ménangkabau
country, but, says the Batin, perhaps they have turned Malay.

D. FF. AW HERVE

® Ar 2An0f pew =
— ECE ey Gesete =

Pe VE EW IDEAS

ON THE
PROBABLE “ORIGIN
OF THE

mite TRIBES OF FORMOSA.
(Continued from Journal No. 9, p 77.)

POL DILGAO D>

HE aborigines are manufacturers of matting of a supe-
rior kind, made out of a sort of long grass. There are
four or five different qualities; the best kinds are very
fine, smooth and closely interwoven. A few years back
they were obtainable from savages only, but now the

same mats are made by Chinese living on the borders, and are

hawked about the streets of Chinese towns in the summer months.
when there is some demand for them, Chinese as well as foreigners
using them chiefly as a covering to their beds, and finding them
cooler to sleep on than the customary sheets, or palampores. Another
article of manufacture is the wicker-work skull-cap, of a circular
shape, worn at times by the savages. These caps are made to fit close-
ly to their small round heads, and often have a peak resembling that
of ajockey’s cap, but this is always worn at the back of the head
to protect the neck and long lank hair from sun andrain. There
are many other minor articles of manufacture, such as bows
and arrows, spears, string made of hemp, pipes of bamboo; &c. ;
but the principal articles are cloth and wearing apparel made of
bleached hemp fibres. The mode of manufacture is simple. The
loom is generally a hollow piece of wood about three feet long and
one foot and a half in diameter, and is placed on the ground ; the wea-

196 HILL TRIBES OF FORMOSA.

ver sits down on the ground placing her feet up against the hollow-
ed wood; the strands encircle the wood, and the opposite ends are
kept tight by a strap passed round the back of the weaver; the shut
tles, or needles, are passed by hand, from right to left, drawn
tight, and adjusted with a piece of flat wood, of the shape of a paper-
knife: it is inthis way that ordinary savage cloth is manu-
factured. The knowledge of the art of weaving, of embroidery, of
the use of hemp, may have been derived from the first occupants,
and I am strongly inclined to believe that such was the case; also,
that the present manners of life in the hills and the mode of gov-
ernment are the same as existed hundreds of years ago, long before
the advent of the Malay element and certainly anterior to the
appearance of Chinese and Dutch settlers. Amongst the hill and
especially amongst the plain tribes, the Malay language and phy-
siognomy are observable, whereas, excepting on the borders and in
Chinese territory, any trace of Chinese admixture is scarcely no-
ticeable. Marriages between Chinese borderers and captive savage
girls have taken place, but not to any very great extent. In the
case of .Pepowhans, however, Chinese have intermarried freely,
often for the sake of the fat paddy lands possessed by the Pepo-
whans, but after marriage the native dress is discarded, the language
is unused and the progeny becomes Chinese; the grand-children
know perhaps of their mixed origin, but can seldom speak the Pe-
powhan dialect. There are certain peculiarities in the shape of the
head, and the eye peculiar to descendants both of Pepowhans and
savages is not to be mistaken; the latter, in the course of a few
generations, is almost the only discernible difference between them
and pure-bred Chinese.

The aborigines still in possession of the most elevated ranges of
mountains in the central and eastern points of the island have, I feel
sure, sprung originally from a very ancient stock, and have been
left almost undisturbed until within the last three centuries or so,
retaining all their primitive mode of life, manners, and customs,
absorbing gradually and at intervals fresh blood and connections
from the periodical influx of wandering castaways, or by the cap-
ture and admittance into the tribes of prisoners taken in warfare
with neighbouring savage tribes, receiving perhaps but few new

: ILL TRIBES OF FORMOSA. 197

ideas, but, in course of time, confusing or changing somewhat the
original type and adding, no doubt, to the original language many
words previously unknown.

Everything connected with these hill savages, which I have
noticed, goes against the idea of a Chinese ancestry, and although
Malay blood has undoubtedly found its way into the mountains in
many directions, and Malay words are to be found in several of the
dialects, the root of the language is decidedly not Malay, and most
certainly the very opposite to the Chinese local dialects spoken in
Formosa. The type of face and figure, and the manners and customs
are as distinct from Chinese as if an ocean separated them instead of
mere mountains and forests. No doubt certain new ideas have,
from time to time, filtrated through the strata of Chinese pioneers
(called Hakkas, immigrants from the South of China, who are sur-
rounding the savages and driving them back slowly but surely)
and ofthe Pepowhans, who inhabit many of the plains adjoining the
savage districts, and it is most probable that these ideas have, espe-
cially of late years, penetrated into the savage substratum, and, to
a certain extent, metamorphosed the character and changed
somewhat the customs of the aborigines living on the borders of
Chinese territory, who, at certain times, are on friendly terms
with the Hakkas and other Chinese neighbours; but it is a most
extraordinary fact that although the Dutch had a firm hold on
many parts of the western and northern coasts, and possibly pene-
trated into the hills in numerous directions, and although the
Spaniards and Japanese are said to have had a footing at Kelung in
the north, or thereabouts, and though the Chinese have been
colonising and annexing territory in all directions for two or three
centuries, the impression made by contact with these various peo-
ples has not extended further than the thin shp of borderland,
acquired year after year from the aborigines by the pushing but
often treacherous Hakkas. ‘These remarks apply to the north end
of the island. In the extreme south, I understand, it is different,
and certain chiefs of tribes there are descended from Chinese, and
actually wear the plaited appendage called a tail. In the north
and centre of the island, I have met savages belonging to inland
tribes who have never seen a Chinaman, and only know from

198 HILL TRIBES OF FORMOSA.

hearsay of their existence. All, however, of the border tribes have
come in contact with the hardy Chinese pioneers, and have acquired
thereby certain knowledge, such as the use of fire arms, of gun-
powder, of the beneficial effect of salt as a condiment, and of the
soothing influence of tobacco (which plant seems to be indigenous
like hemp, camphor-tree, &c.**) ; like other savages too, they have
developed most perfectly an insatiable liking for alcoholic drinks,
Drink will assuredly prove their ruin, for it is the best weapon
the Chinese have and they often use it freely and after making the
poor savages drunk, cut their heads off, and so assist materially in
the incessant work of extermination. and consequent acquisition of
new territory,

It has been said that certain savages living towards the south of the
island claim to be descendants of Dutchmen, but I have never seen
them. and am disinclined .to believe that the Dutch made much
impression beyond the plain lands of the west in the neighbour-
hood of Taiwanfoo and other places on the western and northern
coast. Books have been written by Dutch travellers about For-
mosa, giving descriptions of the country and its savage inhabitants,
but I am inclined to think that the savages they came in contact
with, instructed and improved, were our friends the Pepowhans of
the plain lands and not the savages of the mountains.

The most powerful evidence to be brought to bear on the proba-
ble origi of the hill tribes will possibly come from craniologists,
but here again a difficulty of an almost insurmountable nature will
arise, as the small round-shaped heads of the northern tribes may,
on examination, shew many diversities of configuration, and when
compared with the larger skulls of the mop-headed savages of the
southern hills, the differences in the facial angle may be, as 1 am
sure they are, very great.

In the north, the heads of savages seem to be extremely small
and almost circular, and the caps they wear are nearly all quite
round, resembling somewhat an inverted finger-glass.

The hair of the northern savages is lank and straight, invariably
black, and much finer than the hair of Chinese. They wear it

* (‘Tobacco was introduced into the Far Hast by the Portuguese in the 16th
Century.—ED. |

HILL TRIBES OF FORMOSA. 199

parted in the middle, and either tie it up at the back or allow it to
flow loose over the shoulders, whereas the mop-headed savages
wear their locks long enough to cover the neck only, and cut the
ends off straight, something in the style affected by Malay sailors.

I have never observed, in any of the tribes of the north, any
crispness or curliness of the hair. which might easily have resulted
in the case of intermarriages in earlier times with Pellew Islanders
or other castaways from the Polynesian Islands. It is said that
SWINHOE reported, several years ago, that there was in the interior
a tribe of woolly-headed negroes of a very diminutive stature, but
as this information was probably derived (at the time he made
the statement) from Chinese sources, it ought to be taken eum grano.
It would be very interesting to learn, however, that there really
was sucha tribe of negritos. It would assist us more than any-
thing in crediting the theory that the aborigines of the hills are
descended from a mixture of sources. and not from one pure stock.

The report alluded to has not, to my knowledge, been verified by
other travellers in either the north or south of the island.

The peculiar manners and customs of the hill tribes would, no
doubt, help to indicate the sources from which these people are
sprung. but a description of them must be left to form the subject
of another paper.

. Another important factor in determining the question in point
will be the various dialects spoken by the hill tribes, and, on com-
paring the short vocabulary sent herewith to the Society with
various languages spoken by the Archipelagan section of the world.
philologists will probably discover a great resemblance to certain
words used by the natives of New Zealand to the south and as
far west as Madagascar, embracing the isles of the Pacific as well
as Java, Borneo, Philippines, Celebes, &c., &c. It must not be
supposed, however, that I consider the Tangao dialect a representa-
tive dialect of the language spoken by all the hill tribes. It isa
noticeable fact that in all the high ranges in the north, and as far
south as the “Sylvian” and “Dodd” ranges, the tribes living
high up in the mountains, differ somewhat, in their manners and
customs, as well asin their language, from those occupying the
lower hills and plains of the interior. In the very highest

2.00 HILL TRIBES OF FORMOSA.

mountains, they dress in skins and warm clothing, whereas
in the lower levels they go almost naked. Although there is a
general similarity in the dialects spoken in the north, many words
and numerals being pronounced almost alike, yet there are
ereat dissimilarities, and in passing from one tribe to another
I have frequently been obliged to engage a squaw or two on
occasions not only to carry certain articles required on the road,
but to interpret and explain to my new friends all about myself.
I have always understood that savage women are the best passports
you can take with you, for if the tribes you wish to visit are not at
open war, you are considered safe if in their company. A single
individual would be safe, or perhaps two, but I doubt if a large
number of foreigners would be allowed to proceed far, excepting
they were prepared to force their way. When moving from one
hunting ground to another, I have always had told off to me several
squaws, and the chief or father of the tribe has always insisted on
my being accompanied by them, informing me that I should be
safe with them in the event of my losing my way, or coming in
contact with men belonging to other tribes whom we might meet.

On several occasions I found this to be perfectly true, and if it
had not been for such a generally recognised passport, my skull
might long ago have been hanging up in a skull bag in the house
of some dashing young warrior, bent, as most of them are. on collect-
ing heads.

It is not at all an uncommon occurrence when passing through
dense jungle and forest to be interrogated by unseen savages, on
the hunt or prowl, who, from their places of concealment, ask innu-
merable questions, before allowing you to pass on. If alone and una-
ble to give satisfactory replies, a featherless arrow would probably
end your fate. The women are, of course, invaluable on such occa-
sions, and their escort in times of peace is always respected.

But to return to the subject of language, there are undoubtedly
in the north and central ranges several dialects, all containing
many words and numerals of a similar sound and meaning, the
diversities, however, being so numerous as to prevent certain tribes
from understanding the languages of adjoining tribes. In the
south, about Mount Morrison, and in the woody mountains reach-

.

HILL TRIBES OF FORMOSA. . 201

ing right down to South Cape, the dialects, I understand, are more
numerous and varied even than in the north.

Jf an accurate examination of certain representative dialects of
north and south, i.e.. the languages spoken by the largest tribes,
were made, and compared with other savage dialects spoken in the
Philippines, Borneo, Java, Papua and Polynesian Islands, it would
afford perhaps the means of proving that an affinity existed, and
consequently a kindred origin, with the primary inhabitants of
some of those countries. The Pepowhan language is full of words
pronounced almost like, and meaning the same as, words and nume-
rals used by Malays and inhabitants of New Zealand, Madagas-

ear, Java, Philippines and many of the Polynesian Islands, and on
‘reference to Pricuarn’s “ Physical History of Man,’ * I notice one
or two Tangdo words, which resemble oe words to be found
in many of the dialects of other islands.

I extract a few words herewith and give the comparisons :—

English. Tangao. Comparison.
One Kaw toh or (Kota hai (Easter Island)
K6 toh (Kata he (New Zealand)
( Pai too (Batta)
| Pitee (Java)
Seven Tea < Pita (Philippines)
| Pito (Manila)

| Ifei too (Madagascar)
and from other vocabularies at hand, I understand also that in the
Fini dialect it is Pitt, and in Maori Witi, and in Guham Fiti.

English. Tangdao. Comparison.
Silver or Pid lah or ( Perak (Malay)
Money Pi lah ( Pi lak (Tagala Bisaya)
ih: TT kit (Ta bakit (Tagala Bisaya)
Tobacco Ta ma kit ( Tam ba kut+ (Malay)
Blood La bi or RA bi = Rah (Malagasi, Javanese)
( Boo acha (Friendly Isles)
Hog (wild) Bi wik Bia ka (Tonga)
| Pi a ka (Marquesas)
Male, Boy Walaki Lake ee Malay)” a
alay
Drunk Ma bt sok or Ma bik (Malay)

Ba sok

eel. sect. VI.,_p. 317.
} [These words are merely imitations of the word found, in slightly differin g
forms, in most European languages—tobacco. Portuguese tubaco.—Eb. |

2

202 HILL TRIBES OF FORMOSA.

On looking carefully through Crawrurp’s “ Malay Grammar and
Dictionary,” I can only find the above words which resemble some-
what the Tang&io words of same meaning, and it is this fact which
leads me to suppose that, in the north at least, the Malays have not
amalgamated freely with the hill tribes, however much they may
have done so with the Pepowhans of the plains. From this fact
also we may conclude it to be probable that the first inhabitants
arrived in the island before the Malays, and brought with them a
language more ancient than the mixed language of the Archipelago,
extending back further than the exportation of the clove and nut-
meg to western markets, and prior to the days when these arti-
cles and others lke cinnamon and camphor (both apparently
indigenous to Formosa) were known to people in Europe. Hf,
after eareful comparison with Archipelagan languages, the dialects
of Formosa, and especially those spoken by the hill tribes of the
north, are found to be entirely dissimilar, or containing only a few
words having certain features of similarity, it will, I think, be found
that the root of Formosan hill dialects will be traceable more
directly to the dialects of Polynesia and Philippine islands, from
which parts, I am at times inclined to think, most of the castaways
came at all sorts of intervals.

With only limited vocabularies before me, it is impossible to
follow up the research in this direction, but others may be in a
position to do so, if in possession of more words than are given in
such works as Crawrurp’s “ Malay Grammar and Dictionary.” In
the dialects of Formosa, I think, the secret of “probable origin”
lies, and in offering these few ideas thereon, I trust it will be
understood, that I do so simply in accordance with a desire to con-
tribute towards the general object of the Society, and with a
strong hope that this imperfect and unsatisfactory statement of my
ideas on the subject may induce others, who have studied not only
the cognate but lost and unwritten languages of the East, to open
out the subject and add to the general knowledge of every one in-
terested in such matters.

The present subject might be enlarged considerably by refer-
ence to peculiar customs, such as tattooing, as compared with like
customs of inhabitants of Pacific islands, Pintados of Luzon, &c. ;

HILL TRIBES OF FORMOSA. 203

the peculiar fashion of extracting the hair of the beard and chin
of men, also of the eyeteeth of women of a certain age; the pecu-
har ceremony of drinking at the same time, lip to lip; the comical
fashion of piercing the lobes of the ears and wearing pieces
of bamboo or cuttlefish therein—similar customs being the vogue
in Borneo, also in New Caledonia and elsewhere in South Seas.
It has not been my lot to witness any case of anthropophagy, and
I have always understood that, in the hills of Formosa, there is
no occasion for the exhibition of any cannibalistic tendency, there
being plenty of deer, wild boar, &c. in the island, but there is no
doubt that certain tribes (not known to me) have been accused of
eating the bodies of their enemies under extreme circumstances,
and I have understood that even particular friends of mine have
not hesitated to stew and eat the brains of a foe previous to hang-
ing the skull up as arelic of prowess and in case of young men, as
a proof of manhood. Head-hunting is very common on the borders,
and J have known men to lay in wait behind rocks for days on the
chance of getting a « pot-shot”’ at a Chinaman. Skull-preserving,
teeth and tusk-wearing are as common as among the Haraforas of
the Indian Isles, and in the same way that they enact that a man
must take the head of an enemy before he is entitled to marry, so
do certain of the northern tribes of Formosa. A full account of
manners and customs of hill tribes might assist very much in elucida-
ting the problem before us, but as this paper has been extended
beyond the limits originally intended, I must leave a description of
them to form a subject for another paper.

JOHN DODD.

<-SOF 9/05 AO 2~>

2O4 H(LL TRIBES OF FORMOSA.

List or Worps of Tancdéo Dratuct, Norru Formosa.
(Continued from Journal No. 9, p. 84.)

——————

N.B.—Words or syllables with Y over them mean that quick
pronunciation is required ; 7 designate a strong accent.

Hnglish. Tribe of Tangao. Remarks.
Eye-brows Ni ht
Cheek Tao chieng
Cheek, tattooed Tao chieng pa tags pi CS Pie aniline)
Neck Kao in
Throat Ma tak kan kao Jt.
Shoulder, Hai yan
Back Toa ro
Arm Kab bah
Elbow He ku
Waist Kin mun
Thumb Tiab bah
Leg Kah kai
Calf of leg Mar riu
Toes Tsa lu ling
Skin Kawah hel
Teats Mo bi

Ancles Mo mo

English.
Thigh

Fundament

White
Black
Green
Yellow

Red

No
This
That

I, me, mine

We. us, (present)

We, us, (all)

We, us, (distinct

from you)

You, thou, thee

: You, ye

He, she, him, her

They, them

HILL TRIBES OF FORMOSA.

Tribe of Tangao.

Mt yi

Kat chien

CoLourRs.

Pa la kt
Ma ka lock
Ka ta siek

Kwa yi

Bahd lahk
Tyat

Kan ni
Kan ni

Kui ying

Gid la kui
Ttah kwa lah

Sam mi
isi
Si méh

Tmah

Tinah or Bid la

A A
Imah

k soft.

Remarks,

208

206
Haglish.

What, what
what thing

When

Just like, the same

as

Alnght

By and bye
Wait a little
Long time
Before

No, nonsense
Make haste, quick
Good, well
Better, best
Large

Long

True

Tattoo

Cap made of rat-
tan

Cap covered with
skin

Cap with a peak
at the back

HILL TRIBES

Tribe of Tangao.

Na ntl
Kin loann

Man tan nae or.
Tan nae

Yah sadl’

Ix? rah

La lat

Bi ¢h sek

S6 nt

Ongat bissiao
Héh héh
Bahd lak
Kim bahd lak
Hii pak

Kum rti yuk or

Ka ri yuk
Bahd 181

Pa tiss
Mo bi
Hwan kai nga lok

Kia sido mo bu

Or

FORMOSA.

Remarks.

Quick pronunciation.

“ Pi” often atixed.

HILL TRIBES OF FORMOSA. 207
English. Tribe of Tangdao. Remarks.

Native coat Lii kis
Coat embroidered

with red Long

Ells La kis lin hwhin
Coat embroidered

with blue Long

Ells Li kus niak kian

Arrow belt or
Pouch Yu bieng

Shot, (generally a
piece of metal) Bad li yak

Pipe Th th
Pipe stem Ti ttt bidna kta
Metal to strike a

hght Bad liek piin nick
Flint to strike a

light Mak to lok pun

niek Lit., stone fire.

Tinder Poh tong
Hempen rope-light Cho biet Worn round the wrist and

used for firmg their guns
with. It is generally fixed
to the nipples and, when the
trigger is pulled, light goes
into the pan holding the
priming.

House, on the
ground Nea sat Generally built with upright
posts strengthened with rat-
tan work and thatched with
leaves and grass.

208
English.
Door
Bed
Grave
Cloth material

Rope, (hemp)

Charcoal

Cool or cold

Cough or cold in

the throat
Lead

Chief

HILL TRIBES OF FORMOSA.
Tribe of Tangdao. Remarks.
Mak kah li or kali
Sa kao
Bui yat tirio
Pah lahk

k acarcely pronounced.

Hid lan or Twa
kong bid lan

Che kti hid lan
Mah gat

Mah gat ptin nik
Hah yak or Hai
Ah si

Mad di¢k

Kap su yan

Drink wine ov spi-

rits

Drunk

Bottle
Cup

Bracelets

Manni¢k koh

Ma biti sok o7 Ba
sok

Yidi zit Border word.

Pai ya ti Border word.

Kin mi ma

Bracelets on wrist Ung

Bracelets on right

arm

Yiin nérn Pronounced “ nairn.”

HILL TRIBES OF FORMOSA. 209

English. Tribe of Tangao. Remarks.
Har-rings Bi yi ka
Stone Mak to lok
Snow ‘Hat 14 ki
Tce Hai yak buad lak
kin
Quicksilver K’tsia pid lah Lit., Water silver.
Friend Mok piong
Enemy Tyat si mao yah
Small knife Ba le
Fear King hin

Have no fear ) Lakan kiine hin “ Pi” is an affix.
< »
Don’t be afraid } pi

To be ashamed Sa diok

To buy Mai yi or Mai ying To buy or barter.
To ask Kah yat
To ery Mung hi dit
To come Maa or Mwa
To cook Ha piu
To eat ate
mm :; Manni¢k or Neun-
Po drink ee
To smoke §
To go Ha tak
To give Biék
Present Biék ist or Biék
sil Litterally “ Give you.”

To gape Mngaéh k&h

210

English.
To fight
To forget
To kill

To know
To understand

To hear

To love

To like
To wish
To desire

To laugh

To hi ve

To make
To do

To see
To sing

To walk

To swim

I went

To take care

In O talk

HILL TRIBES OF FORMOSA.
Tribe of Tangao. Remarks.
Bibbi hei
Ning yang
Ka tan

) Mak kin also
y Mak kwa 4h

“A

Ponggiin

Shim mou yah or
STA me A
Shim mao yah

Long long

in si mao yah

Nad

Mat siak and Lak
kwak

Kian and Mah ki
) Kal Is 0
; ab ba lai
Ki tah and Kin
mi tah

Mok kwat and Mak
kwas

Pog ge he

Diit mung yak

Why yat ktu ying

Ham wai

Kam mi yat

Tio wash hands or

feet

To wash clothes

Ni mah

Tam ma hok

Page

HRRATA.

*« HILL TRIBES OF FORMOSA.”

( Journal No. 9. )

, line 11, dele then

, 13, after the word group, insert were in earlier
times

pee yor Mr A. U. Baim read Mr. A. N. Bain

English.
Man

Eye

Bird

Deer

Tree fern
Potato
Large knife
Arrow belt
Clouds
Yesterday

Green
Line 1,

VOCABULARY.
Tangdao.

for Kaw toh hét read Kaw toh hei and in

the “ Remarks’”’ insert word for between
of and man.

fov Lao yiek read Lao yeek. English pro-
nunciation “ Lou yeek.”

for Ka piu nick read Ka pan niek.
for Ma gau lock read Ma gan lok.

for Nt hentg read Ni henng’

for Mau gah hei read Man gah hei.

for La tao read La lao.

for Tu bieng read Yu bieng.

for Bieu gat read Bien gat.

for Séh san héi lah read Sah sin hei lah.
for Ka la siek read Ka ta siek.

for Hast read Eat and for Mau niek read
Man niek,

Numerals 10, 11, 12, 20 and 80, for Mou poh read Mon

poh,

bem (DYAK RELIGION.

2 N a former paper*® some account was given of the deities
believed in by the Sea-Dyaks of Sarawak; of Petara
innumerable, of Salampandi, Singalang Burong and
Pulang Gana. The two latter occupy, in the Dyak mind,
a distinct personality, possess a certain character, and
exercise definite functions over the Dyak world. Although the-
oretically inferior to Petara, they may be regarded as the racial
gods of the Sea-Dyaks, for an amount of story and legend, of rite
and sacrifice, gathers round them which is not found in connection
with the more colourless Petara, which is yet regarded as the bet-
ter being. The word Peiara is none other than the Hindoo “Ava-
-tara”—the incarnations of VisHyu—the ditterence of spelling being
accounted for by the fact that the Dyaks never sound the v, but use
p orb instead. Again, in an invocation to Pulang Gana there
occur the names Int InpA and Raja Jewara, which look like InpRa
and Dewars. And the function in which these terms figure is
called “buja,” Malay “ puja,’ which is the word, I believe, com-
monly used in India for worship in the present day. Now, do
these Indian words indicate an organic connection of religion and
race with those to whom they naturally belong, or have they been
adopted by Dyaks from later external sources? Itis not impossible
that such words may have been obtained through contact with
Hindooism during the period of ascendency of the Majapait king-
dom, whose influence, it seems, extended to Borneo; but at pre-
sent I know of no evidence for this theory, beyond the fact of the
appearance of the words in Dyak. The probable explanation is.
that these terms have been brought into Dyak use from the Malay.
Under the word Indra, Marspen gives a quotation of Malay which,

*See Journal No. 8, p. 133 ef seg.

214 SEA DYAK RELIGION.

in form, is not unhke the passage in the Dyak invocation. It be-
gins, ‘‘ Maka sagala raja-raja dan dewa-dewa dan indra-indra.”
‘“Jewata”’ is evidently “dewata” from “dewa;’’ and “ Iudra-
indra,”’ might easily, with those unfamiliar with the term, have
become ‘“‘Ini-Inda.” That the terms are an accretion and not an
original possession, I conclude for two reasons. First, the Dyaks
seem to know nothing about them. Pulang Gana, with whom in
the invocation they are associated, is all their own. They have a
theory of what he is, and why invoked; but of the others they can
tell little beyond the fact that their names have been handed down
to them. Sometimes they say they are merely titles of Pulang
Gana, and this is strengthened by the fact that the whole passage of
the ‘‘Sampi” is addressed to one individual. Sometimes, however,
they hesitatingly represent them as having a separate personality.
In the second place, they are clearly subordinate to Pulang Gana,
and indeed wherever they occur, they are, I believe, always named
after what I may call the recognised deities. Dyaks have always

>

an inclination to incorporate new titles with their ancient forms.
In the invocation in question, Pulang Gana is also addressed as
Sultan, Pangiran, Jegedong, Temenggong, which can have no ob-
ject beyond that of magnifying him whom they wish to propitiate.
The same tendency can be observed at the present time when
Christian terms and ideas are brought to bear upon them. In
heathen rites they will now shove the name ALLAN Taana to fill
up a niche of a pantheon, or to complete a lne or make up a
rhyme.

But this theory of mere adoption hardly suits the word “Petara,”’
which is such an essential term of their language and belief, that
the borrowing of it from others would argue an amount of external
influences approaching to absorption. And of this there seems no
sufficient evidences forthcoming.

The question however is a wide one, and depends, for its solution,
upon many data of various kinds, some of which must be very
hypothetical, since we have no historical basis to work upon; and
yet no less a question than the origin and history of the race is
involved. But the discussion of this question is not the object of
the present paper, which aims at the less ambitious task of con-

SEA DYAK RELIGION, 215

tinuing the account of Dyak religion already introduced in the
Paper on “ Petara.”’* That dealt with the theories of their belief ;
this will carry the same subject into the region of religious rite
and practice.

Spirits, Goop anp Bap.

The every day working thoughts of the Dyak about Petara are
very indefinite, and there is room for the reception of any amount of
spirits—good, bad, or indifferent—to demand the awesome attention
of him who may not imaptly be described as a thorough curld of
nature. Nearly all races of men have imagined a class of inter-
mediate beings between deity and humanity, whereby the gap
between the two is bridged over. And the Dyak is no exception :
yet his religion would seem to be not so dependent upon ima-
ginary mediators, as some higher philosophic heathen systems,
because his gods, according to his idea, actually give him their very
presence when, in answer to invocations and sacrifices, they visit
these human regions, and partake of his hospitality. But his
receptivity of belief is omnivorous, and he has surrounded himself
with thousands of “antus” or spirits, which are supposed to fill
earth and air, sea and sky; and which scheme as adversaries, or
appear as helpers of man, until the lne of demarcation between
Petaras and antus is altogether indistinct. As a matter of habit,
some beings are spoken of as Petaras and some as antus: but when
you ask the specific difference between the two, only a very inde-
finite answer is obtainable. They slide into each with an imper-
ceptible gradient. and remind one of the “‘ Avatara”’ manifestations
of the gods.

Any unusual noise or motion in the jungle, anything which
suggests to the Dyak mind an invisible operation, is thought to be
the présence of an antu, unseen by human eyes. but full of mighty
power. He is mostly invisible, but often vouchsafes a manifesta-
tion of himself; and when he does go, he is neither a graceful
fairy, nor a grinning Satyr, but a good honest ghost of flesh and
blood, a mouster human being about three times the size of a man.
with rough shaggy hair, glaring eyes as big as saucers, and huge

* See Journal No. 8, p. 133 et seg.

216 SEA DYAK RELIGION.

glittering teeth; sometimes dark, sometimes white in complexion ;
but sometimes again devoid of all such terrifying features, a com-
monplace human form, in fact, a magnified reflection of the Dyaks
themselves. When he is seen, it is generally, as might be expected,
on moonlight nights; but sometimes, s0 Dyaks aver, in the broad
daylight. A young Dyak told me that one night he was watching
for wild pigs on his farm on the skirts of Lingga mountain when
there appeared a great white antw which he tried to catch by the
leg, hoping to get something from him; but the antu shook him
off, and with one bound disappeared into the jungle. Another
man told me that when a boy he was going to a well to bathe, when
he suddenly saw close to him an antu of gigantic stature, and he
ran for his life and shut himself up in his room. That evening, a
few hours later, a boy in the village suddenly died, killed of course
by the antu. Such stories could be multiplied by the hundred.

The antus also reveal themselves in dreams; and whenever one
has been seen by night or day, the apparition will be almost cer-
tain to revisit the Dyak in his dreams; and there is not the remo-
test suspicion that these visions of sleep are mere states of the
subjective consciousness, but they are regarded as objective
realities.

Antus rove about the jungle and hunt hke Dyaks themselves.
Giraast, the chief of evil spirits. is especially addicted to the chase,
and may be exactly described as a roaring lon walking about
seeking whom he may devour. An old man solemnly assured me
that he once saw this terrible demon returning from his hunt and
carrying on his back a captured Dyak whom he recognised. That
very day the man died. There are certain animals in the jungle
which roam about in herds, which the Dyaks call “pasan;” these
are supposed to be the dogs of the antus, and do their bidding.
Irom what I can gather about these creatures, I imagine them to
be a kind of small jackal; they will follow and bark at men, and,
from their supposed connection with the spirits, are greatly feared
by the Dyaks, who generally run away from them as fast as they
can. A Dyak was once hunting in the jungles of the Batang Lu-
par, and came upon an antu sitting on a fallen tree; nothing
daunted he went and sat upon the same tree at a respectable dis-

SRA DYAK RELIGION. 217

-tance from the antu, entered into conversation with him, begged
for his spear, or anything he could bestow; but the spirit had
nothing to give except some magic medicine (ubat) which would,
by the mere fact of its possession by him, give his dogs pluck to
attack any pig or deer. Having given him this, he advised the
man to return quickly, for his dogs, he said, would be back soon,
and might be savage with him. The man needed no further
urging, retired a short distance in good order to save appearances,
and then bolted through the jungle in the direction of his exit.

And not only do entus hunt; but they build houses and work
and farm just as Dyaks do. They love to erect their invisible
habitations in trees, especially of the waringin kind; and many a
tree is pointed as sacred, being the abode of a spirit or spirits ; and
to cut one of these down would provoke the spirit’s vengeance.
I remember an instance of a Dyak dangerously ill, whose malady
was generally attributed to his having unwillingly cut down one
of these possessed trees. A sacrifice was made at the foot of the
tree; but the disturbed antw would not be pacified, and the man
died. Stories are told of men being spirited away into these trees
for days, and found again at the foot of the tree safe in life and
limb; but I will not say sound in mind. The fact of a tree hav-
ing a supernatural inhabitant is generally revealed through
dreams. A case of this kind occurred at Banting. It was told to
somebody in a dream that in a paltry looking kara (ficus) tree on
the hill there lived an antu who desired to be fed, and a space
round was cleared and an offering made. As soon as I became
aware of it, | cut the tree down, and heard no more about it.
Another way of discovering these tree spirits is the following:
Strike an axe in the tree at sundown, and leave it adhering to the
tree during the night. If it be found in the morning still in that
position, no antu is there; if it has fallen to the ground, he is
there, and has revealed his presence by displacing the axe.

The tops of hills too are favourite haunts of this invisible socie-
ty; and when Dyaks fell the Jungle of the larger hills, they often
leave a few trees standing on the summit as a refuge for them. A
hill on the Saribas river was supposed to be so much the property
of the spirits that it was dangerous and unlawful to farm it, and

218 SEA DYAK RELIGION.

the jungle remained, until a few years ago, when a village of Dyaks
near by, receiving Christianity, lost their fear of antus, and cleared
it.

It will have been observed that these antus are either good or
evil, either assist man orinjure him. The good ones are nearly
identified with Petara, of whom no evil is predicated, and who
never entraps man to his destruction. The benevolent spirit is the
next grade of good being, and intercourse with it is coveted, for
thereby come riches and wealth. The antwu story generally relates
that the man who sees the spirit rushes to cateh him by the leg
(he can’t reach higher) to getsomewhat from him; but is nearly
always foiled in the attempt; for the antu suddenly vanishes.
But some men, it is believed, do obtain these much coveted gifts
and if a Dyak invariably gets a good harvest of paddy, it is by the
magic charm, the “ubat,” of some favouring spirit: if he has at-
tained to the position of a war-leader, or be markedly brave, it is
by the communion or touch of the same power: and in fact every
successful man in Dyak life is eredited by his fellows with the
succour of one of these beings of the mystic world. They give
men occult powers, charms, and magic protection against disease,
and sometimes convey similar virtues by a simple pronouncement
which is called a “sumpah” (oath). Stories are told of Dyaks
who have the good fortune to meet with antus who have spoken
somewhat thus:—‘‘ You shall obtain so many heads of your ene-
mies,” or “ you shall get plenty of paddy,” or “you shall have brave
dogs to hunt with,” or “shall be protectedagainst small-pox,” or “‘ne-
ver be caught by an alligator.’ Medicines for the sick are believed
to be given in dreams; and many a Dyak has related how, when
despaired of by all, some ‘ uwbat” was given to him in sleep, by
the magic virtue of which he was completely cured. And some-
times when antus bestow these gifts—bits of stick or other rub-
bish—they also mention the price to be paid for them by others
who need them. And they do more than give magic medicines ;
they appear in dreams to guide and direct men’s actions in various
matters of conduct, and especially in matrimonial affairs, some-
times telling them whom to marry in order to get wealth; some-
times requiring them to divorce to avoid the displeasure of the

SEA DYAK RELIGION. 219

higher world. There is plenty of room here for the play of selt-
interest and trickery, but the fact that such pretended revelations
are acted up to, is evidence of a true belief.*

The longing to communicate with the supernatural, common to
all religions, has,in the Dyak, produced a special means to satisfy
the aspiration. He has a “custom” for the purpose, viz., “nan-
pok.” To “nampok” is to sleep on the tops of mountains with
the hope of meeting with the good spirits of the unseen world. A
man who was fired with ambition to shine in deeds of strength and
bravery, or one who desired to attain the position of chief, or to
be cured of an obstinate disease, would, in olden times spend a
night or nights by himself on a mountain, hoping to meet a bene-
volent spirit who would give him what he desired. To be alone
was a primary condition of the expected apparition. It can be
easily seen that the desire would bring about, in many cases, its
own fulfilment, the earnest wish combined with a lively and su-
perstitious imagination and the solemn solitude of the mountain
jungle would, in most cases, produce the expected appearance of a
Petara, or mythic hero with whose story he would be familiar, I
have said in olden days, for the custom is now much less frequent ;
at least, in the coast district of Sarawak. But it is not altogether
obsolete, for, a year or two ago, a Rejang Dyak, afflicted with some
disease, tried several hills to obtain a cure, and at length came to
Lingea, and was guided by some Dyaks of the neighbourhood to
Lingga mountain. He offered his sacrifice, and laid him down to
sleep beside it, saw an antu, and returned perfectly cured. Dyaks
have erected no temples to Petaras or to antus, and therefore can-
not do as the ancients of the western world who made pilgrimages
to the temples of Escunapius, and of Ists and SEerapis to obtain
healing from the gods; but a pilgrimage to the temple at Cano-
pus, where the suppliant spent a night before the altar in order to
receive revelations in dreams, is exactly paralleled by the unso-
phisticated Dyak sleeping on the still mountain-top with his little
sacrifice beside him. The spirit and object are the same, and
stories of cures are similar in each. :

*The Revd. H. RowLey writes of a like belief among the African races.
* Religion of the Africana,”’ p, 60,

220 SEA DYAK RELIGION,

But the bad and angry spirits are far more numerous in Dyak
belief than the good ones. These are regarded with dire dread.
There 18 hardly a sickness which is not attributed to the unseen
blow of an antu. “ What is the matter with so and so?” you ask,
“Something has passed him,” is the reply: an antu hag passed
him and inflicted the malady. A serious epidemic is the devasta-
ting presence of a powerful and revengeful spirit. You ask where
such an one was taken ill, and you are told that at such a place
“it (antw) found him.” Small-pox is spoken of as Raja the Chief.
Cholera is the coming of a great spirit from the sea to kill and
eat. When a report of cholera is bruited abroad, somebody or
other will be sure to have a dream in which he will be told that
the spirit is making his way from the sea up the rivers, and will
speedily swallow up human victims, unless he be fed with sacrifice
and offering. These antus are always hungry, and will accept the
sacrificial food in substitution for human beings.- A sacrifice is ac-
cordingly made to avert the evil. The same idea prevails about all
internal maladies; and as people constantly get ill, the propitia-
tion of the antu is an ever recurring feature in Dyak life. I¢ is
the worship of fear, the demonolatry of the less intellectual races of
mankind. Petara is good, and will not easily injure them, and
they may worship it as suits their convenience; but these antus
always about their path are violent, savage and hungry, and must
be reckoned with; hence the frequency of the demon-cultus.

It hardly need be pointed out that this relation with the spirits
is no more ghost-seeing, where the apparition comes without ob-
ject, and passes away without result. It is a system which has a
definite function; which bestows favours, which brings evil, which
directs conduct, and receives religious homage; and therefore a
constituent part of Dyak religion. ;

Another way in which the antu appears to men is in the form of
animals. A man and an antu are often interchangeable. A man
will declare that he has seen an anéu, like a gigantic human being;
and in his dream he will find the same antu in the form of a deer,
or other animal. The following is toldof a Dyak, whom I know
well. He was at work alone in the jungle, and cut himself with
his parang: he bled profusely and fainted: and after recovering

SEA DYAK RELIGION. papal

his senses he saw beside him a maias (orang-utan) which had
starched the bleeding and dressed the wound; and when departing
the creature hung up some what for use in future contingen-
cies. In other stories, the man is spirited away by the animal as
in the following. A Dyak was fishing by a large deep pool, and
saw in the water a huge python, about 50 feet long and big in pro-
portion. He at once rushed to the conclusion that this was no
mere beast, but an entu in serpent form; and without a moment's
hesitation jumped down upon its back. The python dived, and
then crept up the bank, and crawled along the road, but they had
not gone far before the serpent was metamorphosed into aman,
thus justifying the man’s guess. As the two proceeded, the antu
asked what he wanted; did he wish to be a hunter, a diver, a
fisher, a climber, a pig-trapper, or to be a rich man? No, he wish-
ed to have a brave spirit and an invulnerable body, and to over-
come his tribal enemies without mortal hurt to himself. The antu
was complacent, and told him that if he married a certain woman,
(naming her) his request should be granted. He made overtures
to the lady, but her parents refused, and the marriage was not
consummated: consequently he got only a part of the luck which
the antu prospectively gave him. His after life, however, was
thought to have verified the truth of the apparition ; for he rose
to a position of note among his people; and distinguished himself
in that very line in which the autu said he should.

The alligator, also, is more than a canny beast; it 1s believed to
be endowed with spirit-intelligence ; and Dyaks will not willingly
take part in capturing one, unless the saurian has first destroyed
one of themselves; for why, say they, should they commit an act
of ageression, when he and his kindred can so easily repay them ?
But should the alligator take a human hfe, revenge becomes a
sacred duty of the living relatives, who will trap the man eater in
the spirit of an officer of justice pursuing a criminal. Others, even
then, hang back, reluctant to embroil themselves in a quarrel which
does not concern them. The man-eating alligator is supposed to
be pursued by a righteous Nemesrs ; and whenever one is caught,
they have a profound conviction that it must be the guilty one, or
his accomplice; for no innocent leviathan could be permitted by

22D, SEA DYAK RELIGION.

the fates to be caught by man. The only time when anything like

homage may be supposed to be offered to the alligator, is in the
ordeal of diving. When Dyaks left to themselves cannot settle
their litigations by talking and arguing, the opposing parties each
select a diver; and victory goes to the side whose diver can remain
longest in the water without fainting.* When the divers proceed
from the village-house to the water, somebody will follow saying
a samp, (invocation) ;+ and casting rice about right and left, and
on the water as he monotones his part. He calls out to the Royal
Alligators and Royal Fishes, and all the minor denizens of the
waters to come to his party’s aid, and confound their opponents by
shortening the breath of the opposite diver. The whole, often dis-
orderly, always exciting. is an appeal to Petara: and all that live
in the waters are asked to give their assistance.

Among all Oriental races, the serpent has been credited with
large capacities. The Phoenicians adored it as a benificent genius.
With the ancient Persians it symbolised the principle of evil. The
Chinese attributed to the kings of heaven bodies of serpents.
“There is no superstition more universal than ophiolatry. There
“is hardly a people on earth among whom the serpent was not
“either an object of divine worship, or superstitious veneration.”
The Dyak is no exception. His feeling towards prominent mem-
bers of the snake tribe is something more than reverential regard.
And if his form of the cultus is far from the elaborate proportions
of the worship of the Danhgbwe in the serpents’ house of
Dahomey,t the belief in serpent guardianship is, where it exists,
as strong. All Dyak worship, to whatsoever directed, is irregular
and occasional; and it is only here and there that an instance of
ophiolatry is found; but the veneration. such as 11 is, is the same
which is given to antus and deities in general. The serpent is, in
fact, in tne Dyak view an antu, and partakes of the capricious

* [The ordeal by diving can be traced from India to Borneo through the
Burmese, Siamese and Malays. Sce As. Researches, I., 390-404; Journal R.A:S.
Bengal, V. XXXV.; De Backer, L’Archipel Indien, 376; Low’s Dissertation on
Province Wellesley, 284; De la Loubére’s Siam, §7; Journal R. A. 8. (Straits
Branch) IT., 30.—Ep, |]

+ [ Malay, jampi.—Ep.]

{ Row ry’s “ Religion of the Africans,” p. 46,

SEA DYAK RELIGION. 223

inovements of the super-human race, who generally confer their
favours upon the great, and pass by the poor and insignificant. It
is a personal and not a tribal deity. The python (sawa), and the
cobra (tedong) are the snakes generally selected by the antus for
their habitation, not all the members of either class, but only
individuals which become known as spirit-possessed through dreams,
or inference from other signs. Should one of these reptiles be in
the habit of frequenting the vicinity of a village house, it is always
regarded as the good genius of some one or other of the principal
men init. Not long ago, I saw a small cobra come under a house,
and crawl about, not heeding half a dozen of us who were watch-
ing its movements; it did not attempt to touch the chickens, nor
did it show fright when I poked it with a stick, but simply inflated
its hood a little, hissed, and went on in eager search of something!
At length it caught a frog, and seemed satisfied. I founditwas a con-
stant visitor, and was said to be a “ spirit-helper”’ of a man of the
place, who, no doubt, would have fined any one who dared to lay
violent hands upon it. I was not told, however, that any worship
was paid to it. In another case, a large python went up into a
house, and the inmates interpreted the visit as that of one of the
beneficent powers. They put it undera pasu, (paddy measure)
and offered a sacrifice to it, made a feast also for themselves, sat
round the snake, and ate, congratulating themselves upon their
good fortune. This done they let it go again into the jungle.
In a third case, the python came at night, and astonished the com-
munity by swallowing one of their pigs. This bold attack was
thought to mean that they had been guilty of neglect of duty to
his spiritship ; so with all haste an offering was prepared, and laid
out on the floor of the house, the snake, gorged with the pig, being
still underneath: some words of submission and entreaty were said
and lo! the beast vomited up the pig, thereby affording indubitable
proof that their view of the case was right! They then managed
to secure it in a bambu cage, and left it in honourable captivity
until the morning when [ arrived and saw it. A company of them
afterwards took it into the jungle, where they offered it another
sacrifice, and then allowed it to slide out of the cage into the wood.
It was‘believed to be the twah, the “ luck-bringer,” of the head-

224 SEA DYAK RELIGION.

man of the place, who was also chief of the district.

In many regions of idolatry, the dread which animals inspired in
man, more or less defenceless against their attacks, may have led
to their being regarded as objects of worship This has been
urged of ophiolatry. “If the worship perpetuated itself,” says
Mr. B. Gouxp,* “long after other forms of idolatry had disap-
“peared, it was because the serpent was that creature against
“ which weapons and precautions were of least avail.’ Whether this
dread of the beast be accepted as the true account of the origin of
the eultus or not, all trace of the idea of propitiating an angry
deity in the snake worship of the Dyak has long disappeared. One
Dyak with whom I am acquaimted keeps a cobra in this house, and
regards it as his tutelary spirit, and everywhere among them these
spirit-possessed reptiles are regarded as friendly visitors sent by
some higher power for good; and the sacrifice becomes an acknow-
ledgement of obligation, and a gift to keep theur in good humour,
according the maxim—“ Presents win the gods as well as men.”
But ophio-worship needs to have no special cause assigned for its
existence. It is a natural outcome of that primitive system of
thought which has everywhere personified inanimate nature, and
attributed human intelligence to the animal creation, one of the
many fruits which has grown up from the wonder, the awe, and
the dependent feeling with which uncivilised races have looked
upon the mysteries of the great natura naturans; one more ele-
ment to complete the circle of nature-worship which has had charms
for many of the world’s primitive races. |

To this account of spirit- worship, manifested in many forms, I
may add, that the extreme anxiety to obey the dictates of the
spirits, especially when made known in dreams, led, in one instance,
to an act of anthropolatry. A certain village-house was preparing
a grand celebration in honour of Singalang Burong, when a Dyak—
not very respectable in character—gave out that an antu had in-

formed him in a dream, that this house must offer a sacrifice to
himself (the man), or bear the brunt of the antu’s displeasure.
This alternative, of course, could not be borne, and they fetched
the man, in a basket, put him in a place of honour, presented

<COrioin and Developement of Religious Belief,” Volk I., p. 138.

SEA DYAK RELIGION. 225

to him an offering of food and drink as a religious act and then
carried him back again to his own abode. This fellow was at
the time committing a flagrant breach of social laws, and possibly
invented the message from the spirit, with the object of screening
his reputation by showing himself a favourite of the gods. But
this view of the matter did not present itself to the Dyak mind,
which is capable of swallowing any monstrosity, or absurd falsehood,
if it only pretends to bea revelation from the spirits. Such, too, is
the implicit faith they put in dreams. )

SACRIFICES.

Something must now be said about the sacrifices which have
been so frequently mentioned. The ordinary offering is made up
of rice (generally cooked in bamboos), cakes, eggs, sweet potatoes,
plantains, and any fruit that may be at hand, anda fowl or small
chicken. This piring, when offered in the house, 1s put upon a
tabak, or brass salver: if the occasion of the sacrifice necessi-
tates its being offered anywhere away from the house, a little plat-
form is constructed, fastened together with rotan, upon four sticks
stuck into the ground. This is para piring, altar of sacrifice.
The offering of course is laid upon it. But generally this is cover-
ed with a rough roof, and thatched with nipah leaves, looking lke
a miniature native house; but itis the most rude and flimsy thing
imaginable and soon tumbles to pieces. This is the langkau
piring, shed of sacrifice. The god or spirit is supposed to come
and partake of the good things spread there, and go away content-
ed. I once remonstrated with them on the futility of the whole
proceeding, on the ground that the food was clearly not eaten by
any invisible being, but by fowls or pigs, or perhaps by reckless
boys full of mischief, who would brave the fear of the spirits. But
their answer was ready. The antu, whatever form it may take in
showing itself to human eyes, is, asa spirit, invisible, a thing of
soul, not of matter: now, they said, the soul spirit comes, and eats
the soul (samangat) of the food: what is left on the altar is only
its husk, its accidents, not its true essence. Now this answer, re-
markable as coming from them, contains, as it does, something
similar to an old philosophic idea, which, in better than Dyak

226 SEA DYAK RELIGION.

society, is not altogether obsolete as a disputed matter in the pre-
sent day.

An important element of many sacrifices is the sprinkling of
the blood of the slain victim, ginselan, ov singkelan. The per-
sons on whose behalf the sacrifice is offered, is sprinkled with
the blood of the fowl, and not only persons, but farms of growing
paddy: the persons, I imagine, to atone for some infringement of
pemali, the paddy, to make it grow. Sacrificing on behalf of
farms isa vital part of their agricultural system, and no Dyak
would think his paddy could possibly come to maturity without
continual application of the fowl’s blood. The bird is killed and
waved about over the farm, but on some occasions, when the grow-
ing is supposed to need only a slight application of sacrificial
virtue, the comb of the fowl is just slit to allow a Ale blood to
ooZe out.

On most occasions when a victim is slain, it is afterwards eaten,
be it pig or fowl; but in some cases, it is otherwise disposed of.
If it be a sacrifice to Pulang Gana at the commencement of the
farming, the pig and other elements of the offering are conveyed
with great. pomp, the beating of gongs and streamers flying in the
breeze, to the land to be prepared for receiving the seed; the pig
is then killed, its liver and gall examined for divination, and the
whole put into the ground with some twak (native drink) poured
upon it, and dedicated with a long invocation to the great paddy
producer. This is the function which is called buja. If the
sacrifice be for the crime of adultery, the victims are thrown into
the jungle, and on the occasion of a marriage, I remember the
offering was cast into the river. For all ordinary sacrifices, a fowl
suffices; but a pig, being the largest animal which the Dyak
domesticates, is naturally selected as the highest victim: should
pigs, however, not be procurable at the time, two fowls can be sub-
stituted. And why? Iasked. Because the legs of two fowls are
equal to those of a pig! *

These sacrifices are not bound up with any priestly order; any

~* Among the Dyaks of whom I am specially writing, I find no memory
of human sacrifices: but the Melanos were once addicted to the practice,
and I question if, even yet, they have died out amongst the Kayans of the
interior.

SEA DYAK RELIGION. 297

one may offer them: but old men are generally selected in respect
of the honour due to their age. No priesthood, in the proper sense
of the term, seems to exist among these Sea-Dyaks; for the Manang
or medicine man does not fulfil the necessary conditions. Any man
who is a chief, or who has been fortunate in life, or who is well up
in ancient lore, and knows the form of address to the deities, may
perform the sacrificial function.

And the worship is a purely external matter, unconnected with
morality, a simple opus operatum, a magical action which effects
its object irrespective of the condition of mind, or habits of life of
the worshipper. A man of sober conduct would be preferred to
one of notoriously bad character, to offer a sacrifice; but I have
not perceived that any good moral or spiritual dispositions are re-
quired to secure the object of the function. This indeed follows
from the fact that no improvement of the moral being is sought
for, or even thought of. as the purpose of a piring. However
good Petara may be supposed to be, the spirits in general have not
made known that they delight in virtue; and the Dyak does not
offer sacrifices and repeat invocations to promote personal righteous-
ness and wisdom ; but to get good crops of paddy, the heads of his
enemies, skill in craft, health and long life. Neither bis prayers
nor aspirations reach higher than the realm of the visible and pre-
sent. And in cases where we can see that propitiation for sin is
the esoteric basis of the institutions, as for instance, in the slaying
of sacrifice after an act of adultery, yet the thoughts of the Dyak
are not directed to the cleansing of the offenders, but to the appeas-
ing of the anger of the gods, in order to preserve their land and
their crops from blight and ravage. There is no confession of sin,
nor petition for the pardon of the offenders. It is a witness of a
belief that the offences of man provoke the displeasure of the gods,
and that satisfaction is demanded; but there is nothing to show
that the ultimate purity and improvement of the offender is con-
templated as the thing desired. It is compensation for wrong done.
and a bargain to secure immunity for their material interests. I
am speaking of the sentiment consciously entertained by the Dyak
himself coneerning his own piring; not of the whole rationale
which we can give of it,

228 SEA DYAK RELIGION.

I must now pass on to a further element of Dyak religion, which
is yet only another phase of that nature worship which pervades
all their institutions. The Dyak, like other races, feels his igno-
rance of, and dependence upon, every part of the world about him.
Ife feels that nature, which has voices so many and wondrous,
must have something to say to him, something to tell him. When
is its voice to him to be heard? He feels a need of some guidance
from the powers around and above him in his going out and coming
in, in his precarious farming, in his occupations in the sombre depths
of the jungle, in his boating over the dangerous rapids, or the
treacherous tides of the swift rivers. He is aware that death
and destruction may suddenly confront him in many a hidden dan-
ger; and he longs for something to hint to him when to advance
and when to recede. His is a “questioning humanity;’ and he
has devised for himself an “ answering nature.”

4

OMENS.

Like the aneient Celts, who adored the voice of birds*; like
the Romans who took auguries from the flight or notes of the
saven, the crow, the owl, the cock, the magpie, the eagle and the
vulture, the Dyak has his sacred birds, whose flight or calls are
supposed to bring him direction from the unseen powers. The law
and observance of omens occupy. probably, a greater share of
his thoughts than any other part of his religion or superstition ;
and I cannot imagine that any tribe in any age ever lived im more
absolute subservience to augury than do the Dyaks. |

The system, as carried out by them, is most elaborate and comph-
cated, involving uncertainties innumerable to all who are not fully
experienced in the science, and the younger men have constantly
to ask the older ones how to act in unexpected coincidences of
yarious and apparently contradictory omens. ‘To give a complete
account of this intricate system would exceed my lmits, and
severely tax the patience of the reader; but an attempt to give
some definite notion of it is necessary.

‘The birds thus “ used,” as Dyaks say, are not many. I can only give

* MACLEAR’S “ Conversion of the Celts,” pp. 25, 26.

SEA DYAK RELIGION. 229

their nativenames:—Katupong, Beragat, Kutok, Mhuas, Nendak,
Papan, Bejampong. Mostare, I believe, beautiful in plumage; all are
small, and, like most tropical birds, have nothing that can be called
song; but their calls are sometimes shrill and piercing. The reason
why these are the birds selected, andonly these, willappear in the end.
But in practice, the system goes beyond birds, and embraces the
rusa (deer), pelandok (mouse-deer), the kijang (gazelle), tenggiling
(armadillo), rioh (insect). rejeh (insect). burong malam (insect),
tuchok (lizard), sandah (bat), the python and cobra, and some-
times even the rat: all these may be omens in various ways and
circumstances, and therefore, in this connection, they are designated
burong (birds), and to augur from any of them is beburong.
But these other creatures are subordinate to the birds, which are
the foundation upon which the superstructure of good luck is to be
raised ; and from which alone augury is sought at the beginning
of any important undertaking,

The yearly rice-farming is a matter of much ceremony as well
as of labour to the Dyak, and must be inaugurated with proper
omens. Some man who is successful with his paddy will be the augur
and undertake to obtain omens for a certain area of land which
others beside himself will farm. Sometime before the Pleiades are
sufficiently high above the horizon to warrant the clearing the
erounds of jungle or grass, the man sets about his work. He will
have to hear the nendak on the left, the katupong on the left, the
burong malam and the beragai on the left, and in the order in
which [I have written them. As soon as he has heard the nendak,
he will break off a twig of anything growing near, and take it home
and put it inasafe place. Butit may happen that some other omen
bird, or creature, is the first to make itself heard or seen; and in
that case the day’s proceeding is vitiated; he must give the matter
up, return and try his chance another day; and thus sometimes
three or four days are gone before he has obtained his first omen,
When he has heard the nendak, he will then go to listen for the
katupong and the rest, but with the same labilty to delays; and it
may possibly require a month to obtain all those augural predic-
tions which are to give them confidence in the result of their
labours. The augur has now the same number of twigs or sticks,

230 SEA DYAK RELIGION.

as birds he he has heard, and he takes these to the land selected
for farming, and puts them in the ground, says a short form of
address to the birds and Pulang Gana, cuts a little grass or jungle
with his parang, and returns. The magic virtue of the birds has
been conveyed to the land.

For house-building, the same birds are to be obtained, and in the
same way. But for a war expedition, birds on the right hand are
required, except the nendak, which, if it make a certain peculiar
eall, can be admitted on the left.

These birds can be bad omens as well as good. If heard on the
wrong side, if in the wrong order, if the note or call be of
the wrong kind, the matter in hand must be postponed, or aban-
doned altogether; unless a conjunction of subsequent good omens
occur, which, in the judgment of old experts, can overbear the pre-
ceding bad ones. Hence, in practice this birding becomes a most
involved matter, because the birds will not allow themselves to be
heard in a straightforward orthodox succession. After all it is
only a balance of probabilities ; for it is seldom that Dyak patience
is equal to waiting until the omens occur according to the standard
theory; but this just corresponds to the general ebb and flow of
good things in actual life.

There are certain substitutions for this tedious process, but I
believe they are not muchin vogue. Thus for farming, it is said,
that a bit of gold in any shape may be taken and hidden in the
ground ; and the result will be as though the proper birds had been
heard. This looks like a case of bribing the spirits. Or the mat-
ter may be compounded for by sacrifice. A fowl may be killed so
that the blood shall drop into a hole in the earth, in which also the
fowl must be buried. Or the augural function may be shortened
by using an egg newly laid, which must be taken and broken on
the ground. If it should turn out to be rotten, it is a bad omen;
if quite fresh, it is good. This is to be recommended, for it would
certainly always secure the desired result. So on the occasion of
a war expedition. Jf an offering be prepared and some tuak
(drink), and the sacrifice be offered with beating of gongs and drums
on starting from the house, no birds need be listened to on the
way. But these ceremonies are supposed to fall short of the real

SEA DYAK RELIGION. 931

thing, and are not much practised.

These are the inaugurating omens sought in order to strike the
line of good luck, to render the commencement of an undertakin z
auspicious. The continuance of good fortune must be carried on
by omen influence to the end.

To take farming again, where the practice becomes most exten-
sive and conspicuous. When any of these omens, either of bird,
beast, or insect. are heard or seen by the Dyak on his way to tlie
paddy lands, he supposes they foretell either good or ill to himself
or to thefarm ; and in most cases he will turn back, and wait for the
following day befere proceeding again. The nendak is generally
good, so is the katupong on right or left, but the papan is of evil
omen, and the man must beat a retreat. A beragai heard once or
twice matters not; but if often, a day’s rest is necessary. The
mbuas on the right is wrong, and sometimes it portends so much
blight and destruction that the victim of it must rest five days.
The “shout” of the kutok is evil, and that of the katwpong so bad
that it requires three days’ absence from the farm to allow the evil
to pass away; and even then a beragazi must be heard before com-
mencing work. The beragai is a doctor among birds. If the cry
of a deer, a pelan ok, or a gazelle be heard, or if a rat crosses the
path before you on your way to the farm, a day’s rest is necessary ;
or you will cut yourself, get ill, or sutfer by failure of the crop.
When a good omen is heard, one which is supposed to foretell a
plentiful harvest, you must go on to the farm, and do some trifling
work by way of “leasing the works of your hands” there, and
then return ; in this way you clench the foreshadowed luck, and at
the same time reverence the spirit which promises it. Andshould
deer, pelandok, or gazelle come out of the jungle and on to the
farm when you are working there, it means that customers will
come to buy the corn, and that, therefore, there will be corn for
them to buy. This is the best omen they can have; and they
honour it by resting from work for three days.

But the worst of all omens is a dead beast of any kind, especially
those included in the omen list, found anywhere on the farm. It
infuses a deadly poison into the whole crop, and will kill some one
or other of the owner’s family within a year. When this terrible

932 SEA DYAK RELIGION.

thing happens, they test the omen by killing a pig, and divining
from appearances of the liver immediately after death. If the pre-
diction of the omen be strengthened, all the rice grown on that
ground must be sold ; and, if necessary, other rice bought for their
own consumption. Other people may eat it, for the omen only
affects those at whom itis directly pointed. A swarm of bees light-
ing on the farm is an equally dreadful matter.

And there is another way of escaping the effect of omens less
vicious than the foregomg. Some men, by a peculiar magic in-
fluence, or by gitt of the bird spirits, are credited with possessing
in themselves, in their own hearts and bodies, some occult power
which can overcome bad omens, (penabar burong). These men are
able, by eating something, however small, of the produce of the
farm, to turn off the evil prognostication. Anything grown on it
which ean be eaten, a bit of Indian corn, a little mustard, or a few
cucumber shoots, is taken to the wise man; and he quietly eats it
raw for a small consideration and thereby appropriates to himself
the evil omen which in him becomes innocuous and thus delivers
the other from the ban of the pemalz, or taboo.

The burong malam is an insect so called because it is generally
heard at night ; it is especially sought after on the war-path as the
guide to safety and victory. It is altogether a good genius, as the
nendak is among the birds. And in farming it is equally valued.
A man heard it-on one occasion in a tree on his farm-land, late in
the morning ; and dedicated an offering to it at the foot of the tree,
which was afterwards regarded as sacred, and was not felled with
the rest. And he had his reward in an abundant harvest.

These omen-creatures are the regular attendants of the Dyak,
not only in his farming, but in all his travels and works of every
description. If he be only going to visit a friend a few miles off,
a bad bird will send him back. If he be engaged in carrying tim-
bers from the jungle for his house, and hear a kutok or a bejam-
pong or a mbuas, the piece must be thrown down, and left until a
day or two after, or it may have to be abandoned altogether. A
man built a boat, and, when nearly finished, a kutok flew close
across the bows; it was cast aside and allowed to rot. If at night
they hear an owl make a peculiar noise they call sabut they will

SRA DYAK RELIGION. Doe

hastily clear out the house in the morning ; and remain away some
weeks, it may be, in temporary sheds, and then only return when
. they have heard a nendak, anda beragai on the left. There are
many omens which make a place unfit for habitation, and among
them are a beragai flying over a house and an armadillo crawling
up into it. |

When visiting the sick, birds on the right are desired, as possess-
ing more power for health. And here [ may mention another

ray of communicating the virtue of the good omen to the object.
When a Dyak hears a good bird on his way to see a sick friend, he
will sit down, and chew some betel-nut, svzh leaf, lime, tobacco
and gambier for his own refreshment, and then chew a little more
and wrap it in a leaf and take it to his friend, and if the sick man
can only eat, it will materially help the cure; for does it not con-
tain the voice of the bird, a mystic elixir of life from the unseen
world?

To kill one of these birds or insects is believed to bring certain
disease, if not death. J was told that a woman was once paddling
her canoe along near the bank of a stream, and saw a little beragat
on a bough, and not recognising it she caught it, and took it home
for a child’s plaything. She was soon made aware of her mistake,
and offered the bird a little sacrifice and let it go. That night she
had a dream wherein she was told that, if she had killed it, or
omitted the offering, she would have died. But this idea of sacred-
ness of life does not apply to the deer, the gazelle, the pelandok,
the armadillo and iguanas which they freely kill for food, and rats
as pests. Physical wants are stronger than religious theory. Ano-
ther inconsistency appears when, in setting up the posts and frame-
work of a house, they beat gongs and make a deafening noise to
prevent any birds from being heard.

This is only the merest outline of the practice, the full treatment
of which would require a volume; but it is sufficient to show that
there never was a people in more abject mental bondage to a super-
stition, than are the Dyaks of Borneo to the custom of bebu-
rong.* In a race of considerable energy of temperament, like

* This remark perhaps hardly applies now to Dyaks of the coast, who, being
subject to other influences, are gradually relinquishing the custom,

234 SEA DYAK RELIGION.

the Sea-Dyaks, one would have expected that the tediousness of
the system would have produced a remedy. To consult omens at
the commencement of importaut undertakings is one thing; to be
liable to obstruction and restraint at every step of life, is quite -
another and far heavier matter. The substitutions before-mentioned,
no doubt, were invented as a short cut through a troublesome mat-
ter, but they have evidently failed in the object. And then the
intricacies of the subject are so endless. Old men, industrious and
sensible in ordinary matters of life, will sit for hours at a stretch
discussing lawful or unlawful, lucky or unlucky, combinations of
these voices of nature, and their effect upon the work and destiny
of men. Only the older men are able to tell what is to be done in
alleases. The deaf who do not hear, and children who do not under-
stand, are conveniently supposed to be exempt from obedience.
And this involved system of life is thoroughly believed in as the
foundation of all success. Stories upon stories are recounted of the
failures, of the sicknesses and of the deaths that have resulted from
disregard of the omens. You may reason with them against the
system, but in the coincidences which they can produce they think
they have a proof positive of its truth ; and with them an accidental
coincidence is more convincing than the most cogent reasoning.
But it need hardly be said, that the citing of precedents is very one
sided. All cases in which the event has apparently verified the
prediction, are carefully remembered, whilst those in which the
omen has been falsified are as quickly forgotten.

The object of the bird-cultus is like that of all other rites: to
secure good crops, freedom from accidents and falls and diseases,
victory in war, and profit in exchange and trade, skill in discourse,
and. cleverness in all native craft. 1 say bird-cultus; for it rises
from observance of omens into invocation and worship of the birds,
as the following extractfrom a “Sampi Umai” will show :—

I call to ye, O Birds!

Which birds do you call, do you beckon ?
The false, the lying birds,
The mocking, the wicked ones,
The evil ones which in sideways,
Those which start in sleep,

SEA DYAK RELIGION.

ho
(os)
Cr

Which flutter their wings as a sail: *
These I do not eall, I do not beckon.
Which then do you call, do you beckon ?

Those which lay and hatch to perfection,

Which are clean of breast and heart.

Whose discourse compels assent,

Whose fame reaches afar,

Whose praise is heard and repeated,

Which are just and pure and simple,

The palms of whose hands are lucky,

Which sleep and have good dreams.
These I eall, these I beckon.

That when they pass through the jungle,

They may keep their hands 1n order ;

When they pass other men’s things,

They may be on guard against stealing ;

When they talk they may also understand;
When men quarrel they may rebuke them ;
When men strive they may cool the fiery spirit.

Katupong of the late Menggongq.

Papan of the late Dunggan.

Kutok of the late Wanok.

Buntu of the late Puanku.

Pangkas of the late Lunas.

Kunding of the late Sumping.

Burong Malam of the late Airan.

Rioh of the late Manoh.

Rejat of the late Lunchat.

Kasui of the late Gali. +
These I eall, these I beckon.

That they may never labour in vain nor return empty,
Never be fruitless, never be barren,
Never be disappointed, never be ashamed,

* This probably refers to locusts which eat the young paddy,

} These profess to be the names of ancestors who have been specially
favoured by the birds named: and the variation of the names of the birds is
probably to be accounted for by the fact: that the same birds are called by
different names,

236 SEA DYAK RELIGION.

Never be false, never tell lies.

These I eall, these I beckon,

That when I go on the war path,

They may be with me to obtain a head ;

When I farm,

They may be with me to fill the paddy bins ;

When I trade, :

They may be with me to get a menaga jar. *
These I cail, these I beckon,
These I shout to, these I look to,
These I send for, these I approach,
These I invoke, these I worship.

The birds are here contemplated as in company with the Dyak,
ordering his life, and giving effect to his labour; and the invoca-
tion and offering are to impetrate their favour. Another function
in which the cultus of these winged creatures comes out distinctly
is the festival which is described as mii burong makat, giving
the birds to eat, that is, giving them an offering. It may be said
to be a minor festival in honour of Singalang Burong and his sons-
in-law, the omen spirit-birds. The sacrifice, which follows upon
the usual invocation, is divided into two portions; one of which is
suspended over the roof-ridge of the house, and the other upon tae
edge of the tanju, or drying platform, which fronts every Dyak
village- house.

In answer to the question of the origin of this system of “ bird-
’’ some Dyaks have given the following. Jn early times the
ancestor of the Malays and the ancestor of the Dyaks had, on a
certain occasion, to swim across a river. Both had books. The
Malay tied his firmly in bis turban, kept his head well out of water,
and reached the opposite bank with his book intact and dry. The
Dyak, less wise, fastened his to the end of his strat, waist-cloth,
and the current washed it away, for in swimming, the sirat was of
course in the water. But the fates intervened to supply the loss,
and gave the Dyak this system of omens as a substitute for the
book.

* Dyak property consists in, and is reckoned by, jars of certain recognised
patterns.

ing,

SEA DYAK RELIGION. PY

Another story relates the following. Some Dyaks in the Batane
Lupar made a great feast, and invited many guests. When every-
thing was ready and arrivals expected, a tramp and hum, as of a
great company of people, was heard close to the village. The hosts,
thinking it to be the invited friends, went forth to meet them with
meat and drink, but found with some surprise they were all utter
strangers. Jlowever, without any questioning, they received them
with due honour, and gave then all the hospitalities of the occasion.
When the time of departing came, they asked the strange visitors
who they were, and from whence, and received something like the
following reply from their chief: “Iam Singalang Burong, and
“these are my sons-in-law, and other friends. When you hear the
“ voices of the birds (giving their names), know that you hear us,
“for they are our deputies in this lower world.” Thereupon the
Dyaks discovered they had been entertaining spirits, and received,
as reward of their hospitality, the knowledge of the omen system.

But the full Dyak explanation of the subject is contained in the
legend of Siu, which is perhaps worth epitomising. Scu lived in the
very early ages of the world, when men were still but few, and con-
fined to a comparatively small area, and with only such knowledge
as raised them a little above the brute creation. One day he goes
out shooting with his blow-pipe; but loses his way, wanders about,
and at last emerges on the sea coast. Here he sees a Dyak wo-
man wondrously beautiful, who straightway recognises him, and
offers to marry him. He objects on the score that he has lost his
way, and knows not how to reach his home again; but she overrules
the objection by informing him that she is well acquainted with the
way both to his and her own country, and, if he will only follow
her, she will conduct him to his friends. He consents, and ina
short time they reach the village, and find Siw’s parents wailing for
him as dead. In the sudden surprise of his arrival, they hardly
recognise his wife, but after the joy is somewhat sobered down,
they bethink themselves of the strange lady, and are lost in admi-
ration of her beautiful form and features. No questions are asked
about her parentage. In course of time, a child is born, who is
named Seragunting, who grows big in a miraculously short space
of time. One day he cries and won't be pacified. All caress him

Zoo SEA DYAK RELIGION.

but to no purpose. THis face is as red as a capsicum with weeping,
and Siu asks his wife to take him again, and she refuses; whereupon
he reproaches her with slight irritation of temper. She replies
nothing, but quietly packs up her things, marches out of the house,
and departs through the jungle to her unknown home. The boy
continues to cry, and persistently begs his father to take him after
hismother. After some demurring, Siw yields, and father and son
depart to go they know not where. Nicht comes on, and they: rest
under the shelter of the forest, and a strange thing occurs. Ina
leaf on the ground they find some fresh milk, which Seragunting
drinks. They trudge on for three or four days, resting at night, when
they always find milk ina leaf for Seragunting. At length they
come to the coast, and see in the distance the mother’s hat floating
on. the water; and there is nothing to do, but to encamp again for
the night. Again more milk is found in a leaf.

Next morning, a boat, and Seragunting, who, takes the lead of his
father in all things, hails it and asks the paddlers to take him and
his father. The boat veers towards the land, but some in the boat
recognize the two wanderers, and shout out: “Oh, it is only Siu,
and his boy ; let them alone to die if they must. The boat is shoy-
ed off again and disappears. ‘his is the boat of Katwpong, son-in-
law of Singalang Burong. Exactly the same scene enacted six times
nore on the passing of the boats of Beragat, Kuto, Mbuas, Nen-
dak, Papan and Bejampong. Again the two are left alone on the
shore, and again the milk mysteriously appears on the leaf.

On the following morning, they behold a strange shape rise out
of the sea in the distance, and soon recognize it to be a gigantic
spider, which gradually approaches them and asks what they are
doing. They reply that they want to go across the sea. The
spider affirms it can guide them, gives Seragunting some rice, and
bids them follow, not turning to the right nor to the left. They
all walk on the water which becomes as hard as a sand bank under
their feet. After being a long time out of sight of land, they ap-
proach an opposite shore, and find a landing place with a large number
of boats betokening a place well inhabited. The spider directs them
to the house of the mother ; and they find themselves at last in the
house of no less a personage than Singalang Burong.

SEA DYAK RELIGION. 239

And thus it comes to light that this mysterious woman, who so
strangely and suddenly falls across Siu’s path, is in reality an in-.
‘habitant of the spirit-world, who has condescended to become the
wife of a mortal. She is Bunsu Katupong, the youngest of the
Katupong family, niece of Singalang Burong, and one of that family
of spirit-birds of whom he is chief.

But at first no one takes any notice of them, and Singalang Bu-
rong is in his panggah or seat of state, and the mother does not
appear. Seragunting with his usual precocity calls the sons-in-law
of the great spirit his uncles, but they will not acknowledge him,
and threaten to kill him and his father. They watch to mark
whether the boy recognises his mother’s cup and plate, her sirch
box, and mosquito curtains, and behold, he makes straight for
them without the slightest hesitation. They are not satisfied, and
propose several ordeals in all which Serayunting is miraculously
successful. Asa last trial they all go hunting, Katupong, Beragai
and the rest all take their well-proved dogs, and leave the boy and
his father to get one where they can, yet they are both to be killed
if they are not more successful than the others. Seragunting
ealls to him an old dog which is nothing but skin and bones, and
can hardly walk, and gently strikes him, whereupon the dog is in
an instant fat, plump and strong. MKalupong and his friends re-
turn in the afternoon without anything, and in the evening. Sera-
gunting and his dog appear chasing up a huge boar to the foot of
the ladder of the house, where the pig makes a stand. Katupong
and his friends fling their spears at him, but they glide off, and
they themselves are within an ace of being caught in the tusks of the
beast; then Seragunting goes to the room, gets a little knife of
his mother’s and gently throws it at the pig, and it instantly drops
down dead.

After these miraculous feats, there is no longer any room for
doubt, and Seragunting is acknowledged and treated by all as:
true grandson of Singalang Burong. They now live happily
together for some time, until one day when Singalang Burong
goes to bathe; Seragunting in his absence plays about the panggah,
and turns up his grandfather’s pillow, and sees underneath, as in a
elass, the place of his birth and all his father’s relations, and calls

240 SEA DYAK RELIGION.

his father and they both see the mystic vision. From that time the
father is sad and home-sick, and cannot eat food, and soon asks
to be allowed to return to his own place. Singalang Burong dis-
covers that they have looked under his magic pillow, but is not angry,
and gives his consent to their departure.

But before returning to the lower world, Szw and his son have
several things to learn. They are taken on a war-expedition, that
they may know how to fight an enemy with bravery and successful
tactics; they are taught how to plant paddy, and wait until it is
ripe in order to have a practical knowledge of every stage of rice-
vrowing ; they are initiated into different ways of catching fish and
are shown how to set traps for pig and deer and, above all, the obser-
vance of all the omens good and bad is carefully explained to them.
“ These birds,” says Singalang Burong, “possess my mind and spi-
“rit, and represent me in the lower world. When you hear them,
‘“remember it is we who speak for encouragement or for warning.”
Some paddy seed is then given to them and a variety of other pre-
sents and they depart. No sooner are they out of the house than
they are suddenly transported through the air to their own home.

This legend implies the belief that the primitive Dyak lived in
the lowest state of barbarism, subsisting upon the fruits of the
jungle, and plantains, and yams, ignorant of fishing and trapping,
and of the great industry of rice-farming ; that the knowledge of
these things with the omen system was brought from the higher
world by Seragunting, the offspring of the spirits above, and,
therefore, able to obtain the knowledge ; and that the working of all
is to be carried on with the continual direction and assistance of
the supernatural author of the whole. The sacredness of the omen
birds is thus explained: they are forms of animal life possessed
with the spirit of certain invisible beings above, and bearing their
names; so that, when a Dyak hears a Beragai, for instance, it is
in reality the voice of Beragai, the son-in-law of Singalang Bu-
rong ; nay, more, the assenting nod or dissenting frown, of the great
spirit himself,

We may now conclude with a summary reference to those ele-
ments of worship to which the Dyak clings for the support and
satisfaction of the religious side of his life; and if we can see with

SEA DYAK RELIGION. QA

his eyes, we shall probably be able to understand what shadows of
“truth it embodies ; and how much or how little it supplies the place

_of a better knowledge. If the strength of worship be in propor-
tion to the number of objects venerated, the Dyak is most empha-
tically a “worshipping animal,’ but the fact is, that the Dyak
character contains the smallest amount of real veneration. His
adoration is brought down to the mere external work of making a
sacrifice and repeating an invocation, which is done in an off-hand
manner, withoutany posture of humility or reverence and without any
idea that it involves the offering of a life in a course of good con-
duct. Butin the number of his deities, such as they are, he is
certainly rich. He has not risen to the idea of an omnipresent
deity, but he imagines the world, especially the heavens, to be
everywhere inhabited by separate Petaras, whose function it is to
eare for men. Yet in this manifold personal providence, there is
room fora spirit of fatalism. He will cry out to Petara, and
talk of the relentless march of fate. To Pulang Gana he applies
for good crops; and to Singalang Burong for general luck and
success In everything. His idea evidently is that good gifts are
from the gods.

But while he has this appreciation of a secret power behind the
realm of the visible, the world of nature is to him a great, wide
terrible and wonderful combination of phenomena, whose influence
he feels as that of a living presence, which elicits his sense of awe
and regard. ‘There is no separate worship offered to the heavenly
bodies; but in a prayer at farming, the sun is invoked together with
Pulang Gana, Petaras and Birds; andisaddressed as Datu Patinggi
Mata-ari. The idea of its personification is suggested by its name,
“the eye of the day.” The moon and stars are not invoked, but,
according to him, they have an “invisible belonging,” a Petara,
just as all parts of the earth have. It is probable that no inani-
mate objects themselves, not even the sun, though treated as before
mentioned, are supposed to be divinities; it is an underlying spirit
in them which is adored, a hidden living influence in them which
effects their operations. Thus the sea has its Antu Ribai; and the
wind is the mysterious effluence of Antu Ribut who resides in
human form in aerial regions; and when a violent storm sweeps

JA2 SEA DYAK RELIGION.

the jungles, Dyaks will beat a gong for a few minutes to apprise
the Wind Spirit of the locality of the house; lest he should lay it
level with the ground, as he does sometimes the most majestic of
forest trees. Veneration for natural phenomena then determines
the direction of his religious instincts; and we find ourselves in a
region of belief which reminds one, to some extent, of the primitive
religion of the Vedic age. This nature-worship soon runs into
practical polytheism ; for the human spirit ever seeks a personality
as the receiver of its homage, and the repository of its wants. To
this, the best side of Dyak religion, is added a less poetical ele-
ment, a cultus, waich though occasional and spasmodic. is yet
degrading in character ; one inspired by a mixture of fear, anxiety
and self-interest, and consisting in demonolatry, zoolatry and ayi-
olatry, in the practice of which there are found the same re-
ligious acts as are offered to other’ beings—invocation, petition
and sacrifice. The Dyak’s religious belief is thus the offspring
of the earthly as well as the higher side of his nature ; and tozether
forms a compound of law. religion and superstition in inextricable
contusion.

And in the omen system, the Dyak advances still further into
the great field of human religion, and touches other faiths higher
than his own. The forms in which he manifests this is sure to be
material and crude; but nevertheless it may contain the germs of
thought more fruitful of results elsewhere. What is the essential
thought or principle which underlies these dreams, omens and
divinations? A morbid anxiety to foreknow the secrets of the
future no doubt is there; but surely there is also a hidden convic-
tion, that the supernal power and wisdom has a way of revealing
its will to man, wherein he is told what to do, and what to refrain
from. Looking at the matter from his point of view, the Dyak
has a continual direction from that power, a living guide book for
life’s work and journey. The statement of the legend that bird-
omens were given instead of the book, exactly hits the point. And
he implicitly obeys, though he knows not of the why; but the gods
see further than he can, and he is content, though the obedience
involves a present inconvenience.

To sum up then, the Dyak has gods for worship, spirits for

SEA DYAK RELIGION. 243

helpers, omens for guides, sacrifices for propitiation, and the tradi-
tions cf his ancestors for authority. And with submission to every
- stronger power, good or evil, he lives and works. His look beyond
into a future sphere is another matter, and reserved for separate
consideration.

J. PERHAM.

EOF CCH AS ~~

mae OU ETCH IN PERAK.

HEN, a few years ago, in pursuance of a new policy res-
pecting the Native States on the Peninsula, a British
Political Officer with a small guard took up his resi-
dence just above the navigable part of the Perak river,
it was within the knowledge of few persons probably
that the Dutch had, more than two hundred years before,
established a trading station a few miles lower down. And when,
after one year, the experiment collapsed, the Resident was mur-
dered and the Residency placed in a state of siege, it was never
pointed out, as far as I remember, that history was repeating itself
and that the Duteb traders who had settled on the Perak river in
1650 were murdered in 1651 by the Malays. Fortunately the
parallel ends there, for the speedy punishment which overtook the
murderers, in 1876, was of course more effectual than the efforts of
the Dutch to obtain satisfaction for the tragedy of 1651, efforts
which were protracted, as will be seen further on, for ten years.

Perak now bids fair to become as settled and prosperous as any
British Colony, but the Dutch episode in its history should not be
forgotten, and the following pages contain a collection of extracts
from Huropean and Malay authors bearing upon it, more interest-
ing, as I think, in the original words of the writers than any con-
nected accounts which could now be compiled.

Hamitton alludes to the Dutch disaster in the following pas-
SE 3

“ Perak is the next country to Queda. It is properly a part of the Kingdom
of Johore, but the People are untractable and rebellious and the Government
anarchical. Their religion is a heterodox Mahometism. The Country pro-

duces more Tin than any in India, but the Inhabitants are so treacherous,
faithless and bloody, that no Huropean Nation can keep Factories there

*« A new account of the Hast Indies, being the Observation and Remarks of
Capt. A. HAMILTON whospent his time there from the years 1688 to 1723.”
Edinburgh, 1727, Vol. II., p. 73.

246 THE DUTCH IN PERAK.

with safety. The Dutch tried it once, and the first year had their Factory
cut off. They then settled on Pullo Dingding, an Island at the Mouth of
the river Perak, but about the year 1690 that Factory was also cut off, and
I never heard that anybody else ever attempted to settle there since.

There are several other places along that coast of Malaya, that produce
great quantities of Tin, but Salangore and Parsalore are the most noted, though
little frequented by Huropeans, because they RE too many of the Perak
Qualities to be trusted with honest Men’s Lives and Money. Their Religion
is also a sort of scoundrel Mahometism.’’

I have lived in Perak for several years, and have sought in vain
among natives of the state for any traditional accounts of the
attack upon the Dutch and the negotiations which followed. I
have never succeeded in meeting a native who could remember
having heard that such a thing had happened. Yet these
people have plenty of legends going back to pre-Muhammadan
days. This 1s an example of the small hold which, in the absence
of written accounts, the events of modern times have upon the
minds of men in comparison with the mythical stories of antiquity.

The Jutch, who became in 1641 masters of Malacca, having
successfully attacked the Portuguese garrison there, turned their
attention shortly afterwards to the tin-trade of the State of Perak,
then in a condition of vassalage under the Kingdom of Achin. In
a manuscript collection of Dutch Treaties prepared in Batavia
under the orders of Sir Sramrorp Rarrxies, while he was Lieu-
tenant-Governor of Java, the following engagement is to be found.
It is dated the 15th August, 1650, Cornenis van DER Lyn being
then Governor-General :—

“Contract with the Chiefs of Perak Dependent on Acheen stipulating that
the exclusive Tin Trade granted to the Company by the Ratoo of Acheen will
likewise embrace the State of Perak, that is to say, that the same will in
future be restricted to the Dutch Company and the Inhabitants of Acheen.

Yang de per Tuan, Sultan of Perak, further promises, in obedience to the
order received from Acheen, to direct all foreigners now trading at Perak to
depart without delay with an interdiction against returning hereafter. The
Company to pay thesame duty as at Acheen for the Tin it shall export and
the value of the Tin Coinage to remain as it is at present, namely, 1 Bidore
for 4 Spanish Dollar and 1 bahr of 3 peculs for One hundred and twenty-five
bidore or 317 Spanish Dollars.”

The interdict upon trade as regards other foreigners is very cha-
racteristic of the times. The object of each European nation in
the Eastern seas was to secure exclusive advantages which should
not be shared by any other flag and in this competition the Dutch

THE DUTCH IN PERAK. 947

were, as DAMPIER quaintly puts it, “never slack to promote their
Interest.’ In pursuance of this treaty, the Dutch formed some
establishment in Perak in 1650, as HamtrrTon says, and their people
were murdered by the Malays a year later. No particulars of the
affair are given by VALENTYN, but it is clear, from his brief state-
ment, that the Government at Batavia was not strong enough to
take in hand retaliatory measures at once. This is how he first
alludes to the matter :—

“There are several detached factories under Malakka some of which are
on-the same coast, and others on the E. coast of Sumatra, the Superintendents
of which are appointed by the Governor and Council.

These are Peirah, Keidah, Oedjong Salang and Andragiri.

The first named, Peirah, is situated on the Malay Coast and is subject to the
Queen of Acheh. The Kstablishment which is under the control of an Onder-
koopman, is maintained by the H. Maatschappy solely for the trade in tin,
which is obtained for ready money or piece-goods at the rate of 50 Rix-dollars
the Bahar, but the people are very foul and murderous, and they made no
ssruple in 1651, of killmgallour people. In subsequent years their Excellencies
frequently had occasion to order the Governor and Council to leave the place
alone, until a good time arrived for avenging this detestable act; which was
atterwards taken in hand witha result of which we shall speak more fully
presently.”

Representations were no doubt made to Achin, the suzerain
power, with the view of bringing pressure to bear upon Perak, but
the next authentic piece of evidence is the following treaty dated
Gth December, 1655, Joan Maarsuyker being then Governor-
General:—

“Treaty of peace between the Company and Sultana AMINA TODINE, Raja
Muda ForcaA andthe Chiefs of Perak tributary to the Crown of Achin. There
shall be from this day perpetual peace between the State of Perak and the
Dutch Hast India Company. The Chiefs of Perak will pay to the Company
a sum of 50,000 reals, partly in Tin (100 bahrs) within a few days and the
remainder at the option of the Sultana and the Governor-General whose order
on this head will be implicitly obeyed. The Treaty of 15th August, 1650,
vill be considered as in full force. The Sultana and the Chiefs of Perak
will poimt out a convenient spot tothe Dutch for building a plank house in
which not heavier fire-arms than muskets will be introduced by them.
_ Criminals of either nation will be punished by their own Tribunals.

All those who are implicated in the murder of the Dutch at Perak, in 1651,
will suffer punishment of death, the Shahbandar not excepted. The Dutch
will pay such duties on the Importation of tin and for weighing dues etc.
as are expressed in the original Treaty.”

From the terms of the foregoing Treaty, it would seem that events
had occurred between 1651 and 1655 which had induced the Perak

248 THE DUTCH IN PERAK.

Chiefs to accept terms from the Dutch and to agree to pay a money
indemnity of $50,000, besides giving up the murderers of the Euro-
peans. It is curious to find that in 1650, as in 1875, the Shahban-

dar for the time being was one of the Chiefs implicated in the
murder of the foreigners.

To sign an engagement is one thing, and to carry out its pro-
visions is another. The Dutch. we learn from VaLENTYN, re-opened
their factory on the Perak river in 1655. Notwithstanding the
promise of ‘‘ perpetual peace,’ they had by no means given up
their determination to avenge the murder of their countrymen
when a fitting occasion should be found. In 1656 this time arrived
and operations were commenced against Achin, the State which
the Dutch Company in Batavia held to be answerable for the con-
duct of its tributary province.

“In July, 1656,” says VALENTYN “ they sent JOHN TRUITMANS, the Com-
missary, with the ships Domburg and Concordia to Malakka, which they reached
on the 25th, together with the Ambassadors from Acheh. His instructions
were to attack the people of Peirah as enemies, but not to venture upon doing
so until it should be seen what would be the result of his negotiations at
Acheh, after he had landed the Ambassadors there and had conferred with

the Queen. He was also instructed, after the withdrawal of our factory at
' Peirah, to keep away all foreigners from that place by blockadine the road-
stead there. :

Thereupon Mr. TRUITMANS departed on the 2nd August wita the afore-
said vessels for Acheh along with the Queen’s Ambassadors. He blockaded
the roadstead there for several months taking out of all vessels whatever
goods he found in them, in accordance with the instructions he had received
from their Excellencies, thereby to bring that Sovereign to her senses.

Ao. 1657. On the 25th July, their Excellencies gave orders to avenge the
foul massacre in Peirah and to occupy Acheh roadstead anew. Mr. BORT was
appointed head of the blockading force owing to Mr. TRUITMANS being una-
ble to proceed there. Later Mr. SYBEN, the Fiscal, was appomted Command-
er ( when Bort was detained elsewhere ), to be subsequently replaced by Mr.
BoRT again.

Ao. 1658. Between our people and those of Peirah several skirmishes
took place on the 27th May. Taey came down upon us with 7 war-vessels (to
which the Queen of Acheh was to add 30 more) after the people of Ujong
Salang (on the 23rd April) had surprised and burned our establisoment there,
killing and wounding several of our people both there and on board the chaloep,
Barnam, which they had captured (on which occasion they killed nine per-
sons). Among the wounded were the merchant GROENEWHGEN, the Chief
Officer, VAN GUNST, and many more.”

This narrative shews that there had been a fruitless embassy
from Achin to Batavia in 1656, the members of which were taken
back to Achin by Trurrmans. The desultory warfare which then

THE DUTCH IN PERAK. 249

ensued, carried on almost entirely at sea, seems to have resulted in
1659 in the despatch of fresh envoys from Achin to Java.

The following treaties speak for themselves :—

Governor-General JOAN MAATSUYKER. June 20th, 1659.

“ Proposed articles of accommodation between the Company and the State
of Achin, delivered to the Achinese ambassadors SIREE BIDEE INDRA and SIREE
NARA WANGSA in the Castile at Batavia. Her Highness will cause all persons
to be punished with death who are guilty of the murder of the Dutch at
Perak with the exception of the Bandahara who shall however be removed
from tnat place. The Chiefs of Perak will pay to the Company in compen-
sation for losses sustained the sum of 50,000 reals. The tin trade at Perak
will in future belong exclusively to the Dutch and the inhabitants of Achin
in the porportion of 47d to the latter and 2rds to the former, the established
price of tin will be 31} reals per Bahr. The Dutch will be permitted to
build a commodious house on the river side.”’

Governor-General JOAN MAATSUYKER. 1660.

“Treaty of peace between the Company and the Ratoo of Achin. The con-
tract proposed on the 20th June 1659 at Batavia to Her Highnesses Ambas-
sadors SIREE BIDEE INDRA and SIREE NARA WANGSA are acceded to by her with
the following modifications.

The Governor-General will pardon the Bandahara and allow him to reside
at Perak.

The Governor-General will also extend his forgiveness to the Shahbanda
and the Sedria (Sri Dewa ?) who engage to pay 50 bars of Tin to make good
in part the loss sustained by the Company at Perak.

The remainder of the Company’s claim amounting to 44,000 reals will be
settled by diminishing the price of Tin from 31} to 30 reals per bar until the
debt shall be extinguished, when the former price will again be paid. The
tin trade at Perak to be confined to the Company and the Achinese, equal
shares and not in the proportion of 2 to 1 as proposed.

The rates of Duty to be the same as heretofore.”

Thus all the satisfaction ultimately obtained from the Perak
Malays was the promise of the gradual extinction of the indemnity-
debt by a reduction of the price of tin by 14 real per bhara.. The
Chiefs were “forgiven” by the Governor-General. a euphemism
which probably conceals the practical impossibility of seizing and
executing the persons named. With traders of other nations
willing to buy tin at a higher figure, it is clear that the Malays
would only submit to the terms extorted by the Dutch as long as
the latter were strong enough to enforce them and the position of
the monopolists in the ‘‘ plank-house”’ named in the treaty of
1655 was not an enviable one. They had to prevent the Malays
from evading the treaty by smuggling tin down the river past
their station, and, with no help nearer than Malacca, they had to
live in a flat, marshy situation whence fear of the Malays would sel-

250 THE DUTCH IN PERAK.

dom allow them to move. There was, we may presume, periodical
communication with Malacca, upon which the station was depend-
ent in # great measure for food, and periodically the members of
the Perak “factory” would be relieved and return to the safer
quarters afforded by the stone walls of the Malacea fort.

Fresh difficulties were not long in arising :-—

“On the 26th August, 1660, Mr. MAssIs reported to the Governor of Ma-
lakka that the Achinese had again broken the newly-made treaty in Peirah by
exporting thence more tin than they should. The King of Peirah and his
Chiefs had granted passes to convey the same to Acheh without troublmg
themselves further about it. Thereupon the authorities at Malakka decided
that MAssis should endeavour to check this amicably and, on experiencing
nothing but dissimulation, should, as the establishment was on a bad, marshy
site, ship all the tin and ready money on board the “ Alkmaer” and, in case of
need, keep it there; also that he should collect all out-standing debts as far as
practicable and duly report on the situation of affairs in Peirah to the Com-
missary at Acheh, Mr. Bort, and to Mr. GROENEWEGEN at the same station.
Meanwhile the authorities at Malakka would write on the subject to their
Excellencies to ascertain what further instructions they would be pleased to
give.’—VALENTYN.

These instructions were carried outin 1661, when the Dutch
factory on the Perak river was abandoned. ‘The unsettled state of
affairs at the time is alluded to in an account of a visit to Pulau
Dinding given by one WovterR Scuoutsn, an old Dutch navigator,
from whose voyages the following extract is translated :—

Leave again

for the North.

Pass the Cape
Ressados.

On the 25th November in the evening signted Malacka for
the second time, and advanced four miles with the land wind ;
then anchored, waiting for day-break, weather now lovely.
Sunshine and a temperate sky with a following breeze, with
which we set sailand passed the green, rocky Mountains of Cape

essados, steering now Southwest for some hours and then
North to fetch above the dangerous reefof Poelo Passelar.
Coming under the green coast of the kingdom of Pera, we
sighted the Poelo Sambilan or Nine islands which having passed
we headed for the island of Dingding and arrived on the 29th
November inthe Roadstead between that Island and the main-
land of Pera, close to tae Watering-place. Wefound here theship
“ Cabo Diaskes” at anchor waiting for tae Merchant ADRIEN
Lucasz, head of the Company’s Factory in the kingdom of

Poelo Pas-
selar & Sam-
bilan.

Arrival in
‘the Road-
stead of the
island of Din-

Pera, which factory, (owing to the breaking-out of enmity and
disputes between our folk and the Malays of Pera) being at
present abandoned by the Netherlanders, the trade in Tim is
stopped fora time andthe yacht “ Alckmacr” is already on her
way from Malacka to blockade the river of Pera; but all the
Envoys of the Kingdom of Pera were now on board the Nether-
lands Ship “ Cabo Diaskes” in order to sail with our folk to
Malacka for the furtherance of Peace.

dine.

Disturban-
ces between
the Dutch
and the Ma-
lays of the
Kingdom of
Pera.

Situation
of the King-
dom of Pera.

Tin-Mimes.

High Moun-
tains and
frightful
Wildernesses.

Concerning
the Kingdom
of Queda.

Nature and
Condition of
the Natives.

Procure
water and
firewood for
the Bengal
Voyage.

Fishing off
the Island of
-Dinding.

The au-
thors’s ad-
venture on
the Island of
Dinding.

THE DUTCH IN PERAK. risa f

We find this Land of Perack or Pera to be under the rule of
the reigning Queen of Achin; the State and River lie in 4° 30!
on the mainland of Malacka, and thence comes abundance of Tin
of which a great deal is collected and washed out of the sand and
earth by the flowing waters in the Rivers.

The Country is favoured with Tin Mines, but everywhere in
the Interior it is covered with very high Mountains, thick Forests
and frightful Wildernesses and there are many Rhinoceroses,
wild Hlephants, Buffaloes, Tigers, Crocodiles, Serpents; and
many other monsters are to be found.

Further to the North lies in 6° 30' the Kingdom of Queda
which, like Pera, was formerly a place with a pretty good Popu-
lation, and a good Trade to which merchants from Bengal,
Arakan, Pegu, Martaban, Coromandel, Malacka and other places
used to come in numbers for Commerce. They have, however,
suffered many misfortunes, miseries and disasters in the war
with the Achinese until at last they have been brought under
the subjection of the latter.

The Countries of Pera and Queda should be reasonably fruit-
ful, but they abound, for the most part, with very high Moun-
tains, Forests, Wildernesses and Morasses where the wild beasts
come in contact with the Natives, and labour is dreaded so that
no one will take in hand the cultivation of the many beautiful
and well-situated Plains and Valleys. Nevertheless these
Countries still produce fine Pepper to exchange for Coromandel’s
Muslinsand Rice. These Natives, like many other Hast-Indians,
are accustomed to support themselves in a simple manner with
a moderate amount of food and clothing.

Having reached the neighbourhood of the Watering-place on
the inner side of the Island Dinding above-mentioned, we
immediately sent a good party of sailors to the Coast of Pera
opposite to procure firewood for our further Voyage to Bengal.
The others went to Poelo Dinding to fetch fresh water from
one of the principal Rivers of the Island, and we, not to be idle,
went also on shore with a line of 80 fathoms and brought up
fish out of the Gulfs and Bays of the Island Dinding, going on
board in the evening with a good haul of all sorts of well-
flavoured delicate fish.

In the same way, on the next day, the 30th November, our
people still being engaged in fetching water and firewood, we
roamed all about and visited all parts of the Island Dinding,
taking at last a good haul; we remained on shore all night with
our Sub-Merchant ABRAHAM DE WIJs and others in the same
way inclined, and there we enjoyed our catch. Our people had
pitched a capital tent in the shady wood not far from the Beach
and there we took our repast together and were jovial, taking
thought only for the present. Here on a dark night, on an
uninhabited Island, in the frightful Forest and vast Wilderness
where there were many Serpents and other monsters, we found
so much pleasure that for this once we managed to forget all the
weary wanderings of the voyage to Bengal, drinking after sup-
per to the health of ourselves and our friends (even those who
were not drinkers), every-one taking a little glass one with
another : we kindled a good fire to keep off wild Beastsand passed
the rest of the night in many pleasant discourses and tales.

DIED) THE DUTCIE IN PERAK.

This Island Dinding about 30 miles to the north-west of
Malacka is uninhabited, full of high Mountains, vast Forests
and very dreadful Wildernesses. The Sea-coast is here and
there covered with terribly large Rocks and overhanging Cliffs
Which are overgrown in a wonderful way with Verdure and
Underwood and some with very high Trees, so that one cannot
very well waik round the Island along the beach. We saw a
Rock on the beach as big as a House and quite hollow inside,
into which we entered and came outon the other side; inside
it was formed like a cave and fashioned by nature with divisions
like small rooms. The sweet water flowed down from the
high, woody Mountains between great ravines making its way
down to the Sea in numerous little Rivers and we found it
lovely, agreeable and clear. It is said thatin Amboyna and
on this Island Dinding the best fresh water of the whole
Hast-Indies is found, and thisI believe to be the fact, for I
myself Gn my own opinion) have neverin anyother country
in India drunk betteer woter than in these two places.

We heard in the wildernesses many Rattie-snakes but we
did not see any, though we were anxious to doso and made
search for these monsters. I haveread that on the tail of the
Rattle-snake is found a small longitudinal bladder in several
joints, by means of which they make the rattling sound * like
Crickets and Grasshoppers, that they are greyish and pretty
large and have sharp teeth in their mouths, also that their
bite is generally deadly, etc. but how much of this is true I
cannot declare. This, however, I believe, that they are of a
pretty good size and very shy, for we heard them in the
thickest part of the wood, in the hanging cliffs of the moun-
tains and in the highest of the Trees; sometimes their rattling
sound seemed to be pretty far from us.

On this Island Dinding we plucked tne Oysters of the Trees,
which grew there on the stems and boughs in innumerable
quantities; this might seem to some people incredible, but I
shall explain that the beach and shores of this Island, as also
those of the Coast of Pera, situated only half a mile from
Dinding, are almost everywhere, as has been said, covered
with an absolute wilderness, the Trees of which, standing with
their stems nearly in the salt water, are almost continually
washed by the same. Their great branches hang down into
the briny foam, and round their bark (some I have seen -abso-
lutely petrified) a great quantity of Oysters grow; we did not
find them to be large, but they were good and of a pleasant

flavour.
December, 1668.

Thus we daily pitched water and firewood and caught an
abundance of very good Fish, such as Mullet, Pike, Bream,
Flounders, Flatfish and Sea Turtles of good flavour. Mean-
while the black Envoys of Pera started with the Netherlands
Opperhooft for Malacka, and we, being at last ready left the
Island Dinding on the 3rd December to proceed on the voyage

Short des-
cription of
the Island of
Dinding.

Rattle-
snakes.

On the Is-
land of Din-
ding Oysters
grow on the
trees in great
number.

Departure
from the Is-
land of Din-
ding for Ben-
gal.

*[What the sound described is, it is difficult to conjecture. The author
may have been misled by the sounds made by cicadas or other insecis.—HD. ]

THE DUTCH IN PERAK. 253

to Bengal, but were scarcely beyond the straits of Pera and
out at Sea again, when we were overtaken by sucha v-olent
storm from the North and such a heavy Sea that our Topsails
nearly flew away and were torn in many pieces; the Fore-yard Having
was broken in the middle and fell down, so that ina distressed put to Sea
condition we were obliged to go back again to Dinding, there are overte -
to make another Fore-yard and avoid the rage of the violent ken by hea-
tempests and yawning billows. Sailing back, we arrived again, vy storms
towards evening, at the anchorage between the Island Dinding and obliged
and the Coast of Pera, and we soon got accustomed to the to return to
place where we had been before and to which we had now Dinding end
again returned. At night we again hal rough and stormy anchor there
weather, but we now lay quiet encircled by Land and secured for the se-
against stormy winds and rolling Sea. cond time.
Our Sailors went on shore early in the morning, cut down
one of the largest Trees, and. having made out of ita new yard,
put it up and also other sails, then weighed anchor and went
to sea again. Steered towards the North with a handsome Pass Poelo
wind, passed the Islands Poelo Pinang,* Perack and Lada, met Pinang, Pe-
here a Malay Junk coming from Queda which steered close rack and
behind us for the Kingdom of Achin; and we sailing on Lada, Button
passed the wooded Island of Button and now lost sight of and the King-
the mainland of Queda in 6 degrees and 44 minutes.” dom of Queda.

Perhaps the old records of Malacca, if any are still preserved among
the archives in Batavia, could tell the result of this Mission of the
“black envoys” of Perak to Malacca. That the object of the
Dutch—“ the furtherance of peace’—was attained, is exceedingly
doubtful, as the station on the Perak river was abandoned after
this, and the island of Dinding (or Pangkor) occupied instead. It
was uninhabited when Wouter ScHouren touched there, but at
the time of Damprer’s visit, twenty-six years later, a fort had
been constructed and was garrisoned by Dutch soldiers. Dam-
PIERS description of the Dutch fort and garrison has often been
quoted in works on the Far East, but it is so vivid and amusing
that this paper would be incomplete without it :—

““We stood in pretty near the Shore, in Hopes to gain a fresh Land Wind,
About ten a Clock the Land Wind came off, a gentle Breeze, and we coast-
ed along the Shore. But a small Tornado coming off from the Shore about
Midnight, we broke our Mizen Yard, and being near a Dutch Island called
Pulo Dinding, we made in for it, and anchored there the Night ensuing, and
found there a Dutch Sloop, mann’d with about thirty Soldiers, at an anchor.

This is a small Island lying so nigh the Main, that Ships passing by can-
not know it to be an Island. It is pretty high Land and well watered with
Brooks. The Mould is blackish, deep and fat in the lower Ground: but the

Being ready
we leaveagain

[ *I have met with but one earlier mention of Penang, namely, in the account
of the voyages of Sir JAMES LANCASTER, who visited the island in 1592, and
buried twenty-six of his men there. ]

254 THE DUTCH IN PERAK.

Tillis are somewhat rocky, yet in general very woody. The Trees are of
divers Sorts, many of which are good Timber, and large enough for any Use.
Here are also some good for Masts and Yards; they being naturally light
vet tough and serviceable. There is good Riding on the Hast-side, between
the Island and the Main. You may come in with the Sea Breeze, and go
dut with a Land Wind, there is Water enough, and a secure Harbour.

The Dutch, who are the only Inhabitants, have a Fort* on the Hast-side,
close by the Sea, in a Bending of the Island, which makes a small Cove for
Ships to anchor in. The Fort is built 4 square, without Flankers or Bastions,
like a House: every Square is about ten or twelve yards. The Walls are of
a good Thickness, made of Stone, and carried up to agood Heighth, of about
thirty Foot, and covered over Head like a dwelling House. There may he
about twelve or fourteen Guns in it, some looking out at every Square.
These Guns are mounted on a strong Platform, made within the Walls about
sixteen Foot high; and there are Steps on the Outside to ascend to the
Door that opens to the Platform, there being no other way mto the Fort.
Here is a Governour and about twenty or thirty Soldiers, who all lodge m
the Fort. The Soldiers have their Lodging in the Platform among the Guns,
but the Governour has a fair Chamber above it, where he lies with some of
the Officers. About a hundred Yards from the Fort on the Bay by the Sea,
there is a low timbered House, where the Governour abides all the Day Time.
In this House there were two or three Rooms for their Use, but the chiefest
was the Governour’s Dining-Room. This fronted to the Sea, and the End of
it looked towards the Fort. There were two large Windows of about seven
or eight Foot square; the lower part of them about four or five Foot from
the Ground. These Windows were wont to be left open all the Day, to let
in the refreshing Breeze; but in the Night, when the Governour withdrew
to the Fort, they were closed with strong Shutters, and the Doors made fast
till the next day. The Continent of Malacca opposite to the Island, is pret-
ty low champion Land, cloathed with lofty woods; and right against the
Bay where the Dutch Fort stands, there is a navigable River for small
Craft.

* « January 9, 1822.—Yesterday morning we were im sight of the island
usually called in the maritime charts the Dindings, (correctly Pangkur, for
Dinding is the name of a place on the opposite main, ) and group of islets
farther south, called by the Malays, Pulo Sambilan, or the Nine Isles. We
gratified our curiosity by landing on the largest Dindmg. The sea-
breeze carried us in between this island and the mainland of Perak, with
which it fcrms a beautiful and safe harbour, running north and south,
and seemingly sueltered from every wind. After rounding the south point of
the island, of which we sailed within one hundred yards, we came upon a
little cove, with a sandy beach, and here landed. The island consists of
abrupt. hills of a few hundred feet high, clothed with tall wood almost to
the water’s edge. Except in one or two spots, such as that on which we
landed, there was no beach, the coast being formed of great blocks of granite,
the cnly rock which we any where perceived. Tin ore is asserted to be
found on the island. It is utterly uncultivated and uninhabited; but near
the landing-place we observed two or three temporary and unoccupied huts
thrown up, consisting of a few boughs of trees and some long grass. This is
afamous haunt of pirates, dnd our Malay interpreters informed us that
these huts were of their construction. In the seventeenth century, the
Dutch occupied the island as a post to control the trade of the country, and
chiefly to secure a monopoly of the tin of the Malay principality of Perak.

THE DUTCH IN PERAK. 955

The product of the Country thereabouts, besides Rice and other Eatables,
is Tutaneg, a sort of Tin ; I think courser than ours. The Natives are Mala-
yans, who, as I have always observed, are bold and treacherous: yet the
Trading People are affable and courteous to Merchants.

These are in all respects, as to their Religion, Custom, and manner of Liy-
ing, like other Walayans. Whether they are governed by a King or Raja, or
what other manner of Government they live under, I know not. They have
Canoas and Boats of their own, and with these they fish and traffick among
themselves: but the Tin Trade is that which has formerly drawn~ Merchant
Strangers thither. But tho’ the Country might probably yield great quan-
tities of this Metal, and the Natives are not only inclinable, but very desir-
ous to trade with Strangers, yet are they now restrained by the Dutch, who
have monopoliz’d that Trade to themselves. It was probably for the lucre of
this Trade that the Dutch built the Fort on the Island; but this not wholly
answering their ends, by reason of the distance between it and the Rivers
mouth, which is about 4 or 5 Miles, they have also a Guard-ship commonly
lying here, and a Sloop with 20 or 30 armed Men, to hinder other Nations

Dampier, who visited this place in the year 1689, gives an accurate descrip-
tion of it. Relying upon his known fidelity, we sought for the remains of the
Dutch fort, and found it exactly as he described it. The brick walls are still
standing after a lapse of one hunéred and thirty-two years; concealed, how-
ever, from the first view, by the forest which was grown round them. The
fort was merely a square building of masonry of about thirty feet to a
side. A platform, about sixteen feet high, contained the guns and
troops, and in the walls were eight round embrasures for cannon
and sixteen loop-holes for fire-arms. The governor and officers’ apart-
ments were in the upper-story. There was but one entrance to the
fort, and this by a flight of steps towards the sea-side. Dampier tells
us that the governor had a detached house near the sea, where he passed the
day, but which, for security, he always abandoned for the fort at night; and
accordingly we found, in the situation he mentions, the terrace on which the
house in question stood, with fragments of broken bottles and coarse china-
ware scattered here and there in its neighbourhood. The whole appear-
ance of the place conveyed a very good picture of the state of alarm and dis-
trust in which the garrison perpetually lived—the effect of the lawless and
unprofitable object in which they were engaged.”—CRAWFURD’S “Journal of
an Embassy to Siam and Cochin China,” p.p. 45-7.

“ We enter the Strait of Dinding and stop to get water. Dinding isa low
densely wooded hill range, having exactly the appearance of one of the South-
erm ranges of Pinang. The rock is a large-grained granite ( spec ) which like
most granites produces a soil favorable to natural jungle. The watering place
is in the first cove on entering the strait. A path leads through the jungle,
and a little way up the hill to a cool shady spot, where after scrambling over
some mossy rocks the water is seen falling in a slender cascade in a small
cave. This is said by the Malays to be the place where the Dutch had their
factory and they spoke of a stone having a figure of a tiger cut on it. The
strait is here landlocked on the North, but open to the South. On the land
side there are two ranges of hills the inner about as high as the Dinding
range. Proceeding up the strait, a deep cove is seen on the land side dividine
the hills and exposing the distant mountams. At the extremity is the mouth
of the river Dinding in which the To Kayo of Pera has lately established
himself to work tin.’—LoGan: Journ. Ind. Arch., IV.,759. [LOGAN evidently
did not see the ruins of the Dutch fort, which are, however, stil! there. ]

256 THE DUTCH IN PERAK.

from this Trade. For this 7utaneg or Tin isa valuable Commodity in the
Bay of Bengal, and here purchased reasonably, by giving other Commodi-
ties in exchange: neither is this Commodity peculiarly found hereabouts,
but farther Northerly also on the Coast; and particularly in the Kingdom
of Queda there is much of it: The Dutch also commonly keep a Guard-
ship, and have made some fruitless Essays to bring that Prince and his
Subjects to trade only with them; but here over against P. Dinding, no
Strangers dare approach to Trade; neither may any Ship come in hither but
with consent of the Dutch. ‘Therefore as soon as we came to an Anchor a
the East-end of the Island, we sent our Boat a-shore to the Governour, to
desire leave to wood, water, and cut a new Mizen-yard. He granted our re-
quest, and the Boat returned again aboard, and brought word also that Mr.
Coventry touched here to water, and went out that Morning. The next
Morning betimes Captain Minchin sent me a-shore to cut a yard. I apply-
ed my self to the Governour, and desired one of his Soldiers might go with
me, and shew me the best Timber for that use; but he excused himself, say-
ing, that his Soldiers were all busie at present, but that I might go and
cut any Tree that I lik’d. So I went into the Woods, where I saw
abundance of very fine strait Trees, and cut down such a one as I thought
fit for my Turn: and cutting it of a just length, and stripping off the
Bark, I left it ready to be fetcht away, and returned to the Fort, where I
dined with the Governour. Presently after Dinner, our Captain, with Mr.
Richards and his Wife came a-shore, and I went aboard. The Governour
met them at Landing, and conducted them into the Dining-Room I spoke
of, where they treated the Governour with Punch, made of Brandy, Stgar,
and Lime-juice, which they brought with them from aboard: for heie is
nothing, not so much as the Governour’s Drink, but what is brought from
Malacca: no Herbs or Fruit growing here: but all is either fetch’d fiom
Malacca, or is brought by the Malayans from the Main. Itis not thro gh
any sterility in the Soil, for that is very fat and fruitful: neither is it
through laziness of the Dutch, for that is a Vice they are not guilty f:
but it is from a continual fear of the Malayans, with whom tho’ they he ve
a Commerce, yet dare they not trust them so far, as to be ranging about
the Island in any work of Husbandry, or indeed to go far from the Fort
for there only they are safe. But to return to the Governour, he, to retal-
liate the Captain’s and Mr. Richard’s kindness, sent a Boat a fishing, to get
some better Entertainment for his Guests, than the Fort yielded at present,
About four or five a-Clock the Boat returned with a good Dish of Fish. These
were immediately drest for Supper, and the Boat was sent out again to gct
more for Mr. Richards and his Lady to carry aboard with them. In the
mean time the Food was brought into the Dining-Room, and placed on the
Table. The Dishes and Plates were of Silver, and there was a Silver
Punch-Bowl full of Liquor. The Governour, his Guests and some of his
Officers were seated, but just as they began to fall to, one of the Soldiers cried
out Malayans, and spoil’d the Entertainment; for immediately the Governour,
without speaking one word, leapt out of one of the Windows, to get as soon
as he could to the Fort. His Officers followed, and all the Servants that
attended were soon in Motion. LHvery one of them took the nearest way, some
out of the Windows, others out of the Doors, leaving the 3 Guests by them-
Selves, who soon followed with all the haste they could make without knowing
the meaning of this sudden Consternation of the Governour and his People.
But by that time the Captain and Mr. Richards and his Wife were got to the
Fort, the Governour, who was arrived before, stood at the door to receive
tiem. Assoon as they were entred the Fort, the Door was shut, all the

THE DUTCH IN PERAK. 257

Soldiers and Servants being within already: nor was any Man suffered to
fetch away the Victuals, or any of the Plate: but they fired several Guns to
give notice to the Mulayans that they were ready for them ; but none of them
came on. For this Uproar was occasioned by a Malayan Canoa full of armed
Men that lay skulking under the Island, close by the Shore: and when the
Dutch Boat went out the second time to fish, the Malayans set on them sud-
denly, and unexpected, with their Cressets and Lances, and killing one or two
the rest leapt overboard, and got away, for they were close by the Shore : and
they having no Arms were not able to have made any resistance. It was
about a Mile from the Fort: and being landed, every one of them made
what haste he could to the Fort, and the first that arrived was he who cried in
that manner, and frighted the Governour from Supper. Our Boat was at this
time a-shore for water, and was filling it ina small Brook by the Banquetting-
house. I know not whether our Boats Crew took notice of the Alarm, but the
Dutch cal’d to them; and bid them make haste aboard, which they did;
and this made us keep good watch a!l Night, having all our Guns loaded and
primed for Service. But it rained so hard all the night, that I did not much
fear being attack’d by any Malayan ; being informed by one of our Sea-men,
whom we took in at Malacca, that the Mulayans seldom or never make any
attack when it rains. It is what I had before observed of other Jndians, both
Hast and West: and tho’ then they might make their Attacks with the
ereatest advantage on Men armed with Hand-guns, yet I never knew it
practised ; at which I have wondered; for it is then we most fear them, and
they might then be most successful, because their Arms, which are usually
Lances and Cressets, which these MWalayans had, could not be damaged by the
Rain, as our Guns would be. But they cannot endure to be in the Rain: and
it was in the Evening, before the Rain fell, that they assaulted the Dutch
Boat. The next Morning the Dutch Sloop weighed, and went to look after
the Malayans ; but having sailed about the Island, and seeing no Enemies,
they anchored again. I also sent Men ashore in our Boat to bring off the
Mizen-yard that I had cut the Day before: But it was so heavy a kind of
Timber, that they could not bring it out of the Woods. Captain Minchin was
still ashore, and he being acquainted with it, desired the Governour to send a
Soldier, to shew our Men what Trees were best for our use: Which he did,
and they presently cut a small Tree, about the bigness and length of
that which I cut, and brought it aboard. I immediately went to work, and
having fitted it for use, bent my Sail, and hoisted it up in its place. In the
Evening Captain Winchin and Mr. Richards and his Wife came aboard, having
staid one Night at the Fort; and told me all that hapned to them ashore.” *

In 1690, the year following that in which Damprrr visited the
island, the Malays must have successfully surprised the garrison at
Pulau Dinding, who were “cut off,” as Hamitton puts it. The
fort was dismantled and was neveras farasI can discover, reoccupied.
ANDERSON} mentions the date, 1743, as being still visibleon the ruined
building in 1824, but this must not be accepted as the date of its
erection. No doubt the figures seen by ANDERSON were inscribed
by some European visitor who touched at the island. Crawrurp,
in 1822, found the initials of several names and the dates 1727,

* DAMPIER’S “ Voyages,” II., p.171.
+ ANDERSON’S “ Considerations,’ p. 179.

258 THE DUTCH IN PERAK,

1754 and 1821, in very plain figures carved on the plaster of the

embrasures.

I have not been able to find out in what year the Dutch again
established themselves in: Perak to obtain a command of the tin-
trade. In 1757 they had a military detachment there consisting
of :—

“] Ensign as Superintendent in Pera.

1 Sergeant.

1 Corporal.
33 Rank and file of whom 7 were natives.

1 Arquebusier and assistants. :

1 Assistant-Surgeon.

1 Master-Mason.’”’—NETSCHER : “ Twee Belegeringen van Malakka.”
This force was, no doubt, posted at Pangkalan Halban, or Tan-
jong Putus, on the Perak river, in accordance with an agreement
with the Raja of Perak, of which I have found an account in a Ma-
lay Chronicle called in Perak “ Misal Malayu.” The presence of a
‘‘ master-mason” among the garrison would seem to shew that
brick buildings were in the course of erection in that year and we
may conclude accordingly that the factory was then only lately re-
established.

Here is the account by the Malay chronicler of the re-opening of
trade with the Dutch. No date is given :—

“Thus Sultan MozAFAR SHAH was again firmly established on the
throne of his kingdom and carried on the government with the help of the
Raja Muda. It is said that the Dutch then came to live at Tanjong Putus.
By the orders of their Raja they went from Batavia to Malacca and thence
came to Perak. They asked the Raja of Perak for a place to live in and:
selected Pangkalan Halban. Their object was to buy tin withveals ; for a
bhara of tin they could pay thirty-two reals; the duty was two 7eals besides.
And all the wishes of the Hollanders were approved by Sultan MOZAFAR SHAH
and they accordingly came to live at Pankalan Halban. They builta gedong (a
brick house) and surrounded it with fortifications and, after this, people
could no longer take tin out of the river for export, but all was given to
the Hollanders, traders thenceforth having to take dollars with them on
their voyages. Regarding the Hollanders themselves, their Captain was
relieved every three years. For a long time they continued to live at Pang-
kalan Halban and to watch the mouth of the Perak river, and in that time
quantities of reals were paid by them to the Sultan towards the revenue of
the State, and all the people in the country put by plenty of money. It is
related that a certain Raja KHALIM was ordered by the Sultan to be sent to
the Dutch at Malacca. This Raja KHALIM was the son of Raja PUTEH and
nephew of the Sultan himself, but his father was a son of the Raja of Kedah;
the Sultan had formerly been very fond of him and when the Sultan had been
obliged (by civil war) to remove to Kuala Kangsa, Raja KHALIM had lived
with him and had followed his fortunes, receiving the title of Raja Kechik

THE DUTCH IN PERAK. 259

Besar. But when the Sultan was restored to Brahman Indra by the Yang
di per Tuan Muda, Sultan MOHAMED SHAH, and the Raja Muda, Raja Ka-
LIM remained behind at Kuala Kangsa and did not remove with the Sultan;
and when Sultan BAKABAT attacked Bukit Gantang, Raja KHALIM took no
part in the measures taken for resisting him, but remained perfectly passive.
When the Sultan heard this report, he was extremely angry with Raja Kua-
LIM and he ordered the Raja Muda to turn him out of Kuala Kangsa. The
latter brought him down the river to the Sultan’s presence and afterwards to
Pulo Tiga before the Yan 2 di per Tuan Muda. He was allowed to live at
Pulo Tiga and afterwards went to Tanjong Putus, where he planted hill- -padi,
but he still refused to mix with the other princes of the royal family who
were in attendance on the Raja Muda (ail young Rajas in Perak being under
the Raja Muda’s orders) and he plotted with a certain Inche KHASIL, a.
Harua, ( whose daughter he asked in pease and associated with all sorts
of bad characters—Bucis, Harua, and others. When Sultan MozAraAr SHAH
heard the character of Raja KHALIM’S ens he was more than ever in-
censed against him. Raja KHALIM went up the river on one occasion from
Tanjong Putus with the object of fetching his wife and children from Pulo
Tiga and taking them back to Tanjong Putus. When he reached Pulo Tiga
With all his followers, information was given to the Sultan, who ordered the
Raja Muda and the Chiefs to prevent their removal, for his wife (whom he
wanted to take away down the river) was the daughter of Raja DAHA (who
was called Raia Kechik Muda) and niece of the Sultan and of Sultan Mona-
MED SHAH. The Raja Muda and the Chiefs opposed Raja KHALIM accord-
ingly and the latter resisted them and there was fighting for seven days. Raja
KHALIM then retreated and went from Bukit Lada to Sungei Dedap and
thence back again to Tanjong Putus. There he lived quietly in Inche KHASIL’s
house and married his daughter. Still bent on opposition, he assembled men
at Tanjong Putus, whom he bound by oaths of fidelity, and planned an attack
upon the Raja Muda at Pulo Tiga. The men of Tanjong Putus were divided,
half joing Raja KHALIM, and the other half being unwilling to be disloyal
to Sultan MozArar SHAH and the Raja Muda. While these proceedings
were going on, information was carried to the Sultan, who wrote a letter
which he desired might be conveyed to the Dutch Captain, but not a man
knew the contents of it. After it had reached the Dutch Captain, Raja
KHALIM happened to come to him oneday to getsome dollars in exchange (for
tin ? ). The Captain took him into the brick factory, and the will of God wasac-
complished upon his servant, who was not permitted tosinanylonger. Raja
KHALIM was received by the Hollanders and taken on board their sloop, in
which he was immediately conveyed to Malacca. Inche KHASIL too was
subsequently seized by the Hollanders and taken to Malacca, and by order
of the Raja of Malacca was thrown into a dungeon (gedong gélap). All
that were left submutved to the alia. 4
= * *

“ Soon ae Sultan Monitent SHA had returned from Kuala Kangsa, he
started again down the river to Tanjong Putus, attended by the Raja Muda
and all the young Rajas, the Chiefs, hulubalangs and ryots. Whenhe reached
Tanjong Putus, the Laksamana and Shahbandar and all the inhabitants and
- traders of the place assembled and presented themselves before His Highness
and the Raja Muda, and brought offerings and presents of al! kinds in quantity
innumerable. The Dutch Captain too waited upon the Sultan with presents.
After spending a few days at Tanjong Putus in amusement with his followers,
the Sultan returned to Brahman Indra.

* * * * * * *

260 THE DUTCH IN PERAK.

‘“ When this was decided on (i. ¢., the selection of Pulau Champaka Sari to be
the future capital of Sultan IskANDAR SHAH ),* the Raja Muda and Chiefs
craved leave to depart to their respective homes to summon all the head-
men and ryots from all parts of the country and desire them to attend
quickly, each with his parang and axe, at Pulau Champaka Sari. Now while
the people were being collected in this way to build the fort at Pulau
Champaka Sari, a calumnious report was invented by acertain Kling named
PIR MOHAMED. This Prk MOHAMED had been appointed by the Raja of
Malacca to be interpreter to the Hollanders who were living at Pangkalan
Halban, and during the reign of Sultan MozZAFAR SHAH this interpreter
was in high favour with the Sultan and could do very much as he liked.
But now that Sultan ISKANDAR SHAH was Sultan, he could no longer do as
he liked and he accordingly hated Sultan IskKANDAR. So hespread a mali-
cious report. He went up the river from Tanjong Putus to ask an audi-
ence of the Sultan at Brahman Indra and gave out that he was the bearer
of a letter from the Company, but he did not inform the Laksamana and
the Shahbandar before he went up the river. When he reached Brahman
Indra, he wanted to go into the presence of the Sultan, but the latter
hearing that he had not informed the Laksamana and the Shahbandar
and further that the letter was not accompanied by presents, refused
to receive him, for it is customary for letters from one country to
another to be accompanied by presents. So the letter was not received and
the messenger was ordered to return down the river again. Not being able
to gain admission to the Sultan, he returned to Tanjong Putus and went to
his Captain and told him that Sultan ISKANDAR was no longer inclined to be
friendly. with the Hollanders and that he had refused to receive the letter
because “this Sultan ISKANDAR evidently intends to have something to say
“to us down here and has already collected all his men together and with his
“ Chiefs is planning an attack upon us.” When the Captain heard this report of
the interpreter’s he was exceedingly disturbed in mind, and forthwith there was
prepared by the interpreter a letter, the contents of which were very abominable,
and this was ordered to be despatched to Malacca and thence to Batavia to
the Company setting forth how the Raja of Perak intended to destroy all the
Hollanders at Tanjong Putus. These statements were received at Malacca
and forwarded to Batavia,and the Company ordered up seven sloops from
Batavia to Malacca and thence to Perak ; one of their Panglimas was called
“Commissary” and the other “ Capitan Malayu”’ and they came to ascertain
whether the intentions of the Raja of Perak were as they were described in
the interpreter’s letter to be, or not, The seven sloops sailed from Batavia to
Malacca and came on to Perak. All this time Sultan ISKANDAR had no know-
ledge of the malicious accusation which the interpreter had made against him,
but was employed in building his fort and making his settlement at Pulo
Champaka Sari. When all the headmen and ryots were assembled, all ready
with their parangs and axes, His Highness departed to Pulau Champaka Sari,
attended by the Raja Muda, the young Rajas, the chiefs and ryots, and com-
menced the foundation of his settlement in the customary way. All were busy
cutting timber for the fort when the Commissary and Capitan Malayu arrived
at Kuala Perak with their seven sloops. They came up the river to Pangka-
lan Halban and joined their friends who were looking after the Dutch factory
there. Then they made arrangements for visiting the Sultan, and told the
Laksamana and the Shahbandar that they were Ambassadors from Batavia

* Sultan MozArArR SHAH of Perak died A. H. 1167 (A.D. 1756) and- was
succeeded by Sultan ISKANDAR SHAH,

THE DUTCH IN PERAK. 261

and wished for an audience with His Highness. The Laksamana and Shah-
bandar went to the Sultan and told him that seven sloops had arrived with an
Embassy from Batavia and that an audience was demanded. The Sultan was
displeased at this news and he referred the matter to the Raja Muda and the
‘Chiefs. And the Raja Muda and Chiefs discussed the matter as follows:
“ The arrival of the Hollanders in numbers in our country is certainly very
“annoying, for the island is not yet fortified; the best way will be to put
“them off for three days, after which we will bring them before the Sultan.”
‘This was the resolution of the Raja Muda and the Chiefs and three days’ delay
was insisted on. Then the inner fort was made, and by the help of God and
his Prophet and by the majesty of the Sultan it was completed in three days,
and guns then were ranged all round it. And all the weapons and war mate-
rials were collected. Then the agreement with the Hollanders was carried out,
and they came up the river to Pulo Champaka Sari, and all the Rajas, Princes,
Chiefs, hulubalangs, bantaras and ryots assembled, every one fully armed
and equipped, and all of high wmank being beautifully dressed. Sultan
ISKANDAR ZULKARNEIN himse!f wore the full dress of his rank. All the
war material and weapons of all kinds were ranged round, rows and
rows of them, and when all was prepared in the customary manner His High-
ness came out into the front hall of audience ( balei pengadap ) and seated
himself on the throne faced by the Raja Muda and all the Rajas, Princes, Chiefs,
etc. And the Sultan’s guards were all in waiting, each performing his ap-
pointed office, some with istinggars, others with muskets, blunderbusses, pistols,
or spears and shields, etc., etc. All were drawn up in this way when the Com-
Missary and Capitan Malayu and ARIFIN ALBARAK entered escorted by the Lak-
samana and the Shahbandar and followed by a number of soldiers fully armed
with muskets, blunderbusses and pistols, for they came solely with the design
of carrying things with a high hand. When the Ho!landers reached the end
of the dbalei, they all lifted their hats and bowed to His Highness, but they
Were wroth when they looked on-his face and when they saw all the Rajas
and Chiefs and the royal state of the Court and the mien and bearing of the
hulubalangs, officers and guards. They were quite confounded and struck
with alarm and with fear of the Sultan, so that with the help of God and his
Prophet, added to the good fortune which attended His Highness, the Hol-
landers could not longer entertain any evil designs against him. Then the
letter which they had brought from Batavia was duly received and its con-
tents were satisfactory, and the presents too were accepted, all beautiful of
their kind. And each of the Panglimas of the embassy was honoured
by the Sultan with a helping of sirih (sirih sachepir), which they
received with every respect and honour and placed on their heads and then
ate. The conversation which followed was extremely agreeable and most polite,
and elegant expressions were interchanged. In fact, they behaved with much
humility, being struck with the magnificence and grandeur of the Sultan, and
they did not venture on anything hostile. As for their requests, they were not
numerous and, so far from being heavier, they were rather lighter than for-
merly ; these amounted to a request that they might be permitted to buy three
hundred bharas of tin, which were to be furnished in three days’ time. On the
fourth day five hundred bharas of tin were furnished, all of which were bought
by the Dutch. Then the Sultan ordered an answer to be written to the Com-
pany at Batavia to be accompanied with presents, and both letter and presents
were duly prepared by the Raja Muda and the Chiefs in accordance with cus-
tom. There had been presents for the Raja Muda also from Batavia, and he
too sent a suitable return. When all this was ready, the Commissary made
out a letter to add to the permanence of the alliance of the Dutch with the Raja

262 THE DUTCH IN PERAK.

of Perak, and when this was laid before Sultan ISKANDAR, he ordered his.
assent to be recorded in writing and delivered it to the Hollanders. Anda
permanent understanding was come to with the Raja Muda and the Chiefs
regarding the sale and purchase of tin. The Dutch and the men of Perak,
each kept a copy of theagreement. After the execution of this document, the
Commissary aud Capitan Malayu craved leave to depart to Malacca, and thence ~
ca to Batavia, tothe Company. And His Highness excused them, and they
sailed away.”

The Dutch records enable me to fix the date of this event. The
following is a copy of the treaty, taken from the manuscript collec-
tion made by Sir StamForD RarriEs :—

“ Governor-General PETRUS ALBERTUS VAN DER PARRA,
aa — ® ~
‘* October 17, 1765.

‘ Contract between the Dutch Hast India Company and Paduca Siry Sultan
MOHAMED SHAH, King of Pera.

1. An upright, true and everlasting confidence and friendship shall sub-
sist between the contracting parties.

2. Tne King promises to deliver all the tin which his Country produces ex-
clusively to the Company.

3. At the rate of C. 361 or Spanish Doilars 114 per 125 Ibs., or per bhar of
375 lbs. Spanish Dollars 34.

4. The King promises to deliver the tin at the Company’s Factory where
the same as well as what his subjects supply shall be weighed with the Com-
pany’s Scales and never to deviate from that rule.

5. Tne King promises to take proper measures to prevent the smuggling
of tin and to interdict the exportation of the same, on pain of forfeiting ves-
sel and cargo.

6. If any person were detected to export tin clandestinely, his vessel and
cargo shall be confiscated and the produce be divided between the King and
the Company.

7. All vessels departing, those of the King and Chiefs not excepted, shall
touch at the Factory and be visited there.

8. If the crew of a foreign vessel were to commit hostile actions during the
visitation, the King and his subjects shall pursue and seize the same and deli-
ver them over to the Company's Resident.

9. All European Deserters shall be delivered over to the Resident and not
be permitted to adopt the Mohamedan religion.

10. The King promises to assist the Dutch Garrison onall occasions and
not permit the equipment of pirate vessels.

11. The Company engages to punish her Servants and subjects who should
cause any loss to His Highness.

12. The King and Company promise strictly to fulfilall the articles of this
Contract. ;

13. The King finally promises to publish the Tenor of this Contract.
throughout his dominions.

Signed, Sealed in the Kingdom of Perak,
in the Island Inderasati, by a Dutch
Commissioner and several Deputies of
His Highness. ”

THE DUTCH IN PERAK. 263

The next extract from the “ Misal Malayn” is subsequent in
date to the making of the treaty :—

“Again there came an embassy from Batavia in three sloops, and when they
arrived, they cast anchor off the fort. The head of the mission was ARIFIN
ALBARAK who held the office of Commissary. He went up the river and
was presented to the King at Kota Lumut by the Laksamana, the Shahban lar,
and the writer Sri Dewa Raja. He brought a letter and presents in accord-
ance with ancient custom, and was received by the King with customary
ceremony. His Highness at the the time was holding his Court at the balei
at Kota Lumut, and the Raja Bandahara, the Chiefs, the young princes and
the officers and people were in attendance and everything was arranged and
ordained in the time-honoured way. The purport of the letter was to ask for
some tin, with a request that it might be sent down the river to be weighed.
This demand did not meet with the King’s approval, but the Raja Bandahara
and the Chiefs suggested Kuala Bidor as a convenient place at which the tin
might be weighed. The King then*directed them to build a balei at Tanjong
Bidor, and a shed for weighing tin in. When the dalci and jetty and a weigh-
ing shed were completed, the Raja Bandahara went up the river and saw the
King at Pulo Indra Sakti. The Datoh Mantri and the Shahbandar were left
in charge of the ba/ci, off which the Dutch ketch and sloop were lying. The
Shahbandar used to go backwards and forwards between his own house and
the balci at Kuala Bidor. One day as the Shahbandar was going up the river
in a boat, on his way from his house to join the Datoh Mantri, he passed close
by the sloop. The Captain hailed him and told him to come alongside the-
ketch. This the Shahbandar would not do, but paddied on to join the Datoh
Mantri at the dalci, cailing back as he went: ‘Il am not going to stop: if
‘there is any business about which the Captain wants to see me, let us go up to.
‘the balci where the Datoh Mantri is.. When the Captain saw that the Shah-
bandar would not stop, he was angry and he ordered his sailors to follow with
a boat, so no sooner had the Shahbandar reached the da/ei than the Duich sail-
ors arrived there too with orders from their Captain tosummon him. They
tried to make him go with them saying: ‘ Datoh Shahbandar, why would not you
‘stop at the ketch just now and see the Captain ? Do you suppose that we have
‘gota tiger in her?’ The Shahbandar replied: ‘It is true that I would not stop.
‘and that there is no tiger on board. Is not the balci the better place of the two »
‘I think so, and so I would not go alongside the ketch.’ The sailors wanted to:
force him to go and see their Captain, but the Shahbandar would not go, for he
Was a ereat warrior and was ashamed to submit to the dictation of the
infidel Hollanders, besides which the Datoh Mantri would not permit him to go.
This being so, they went back and told their Captain, who became exceedingly
angry and told his gunner to fire a gun to frighten them.

To return to the Shahbandarand Mantri. When the Dutch sailors had taken
their departure, the Shahbandar said to the Mantri: ‘ We had better leave this
‘quickly lest the Dutchmen return,’ so the prahu of the Mantri and the sampan
of the Shahbandar set off from the jetty. Just after the Shahbandar left the
jetty and had gota little past Tanjong Bidor, the Dutch fired a gun, and both the.
Chiefs saw that a ball passed near the prahu. The Shahbandar said: ‘it seems
‘that these Dutchmen are firing at us with ball.’ Said the Mantri: ‘ Let us stop.’
The Shahbandar said: ‘We had better go back to the jetty where we can get
‘cover,’ so they returned to the jetty, a good deal startled by the cannon-ball
which they had seen.

As soon as it was night the Shahbandar returned up the river and presented
himself before the King at Pulo Indra Sakti and told him all about the con-

264 THE DUTCH IN PERAK.

duct of the Dutch. When the King heard it, he kept silence and was wrath
against the Dutch, and the King said : ‘I will not deliver that tin or permit it
‘to be sent down to Kuala Bidor. If they are determined to quarrel, we will
‘fight, for they have fired upon our Chiefs, just as if they were bent upon testing
‘our manhood.’ His Highness then directed men to go and look after
the Datoh Mantri at Kuala Bidor, but they did not find him at the jetty,
and word was brought to the King that the Datoh Mantri was lostas his boat
could not be found. When the King heard this, his wrath against the Dutch
was increased so much the more, and he ordered his Chiefs and people to be
assembled. Then the Raja Bandahara and all the Chiefs discussed the subject
of the anger of the King against the Dutch, for they feared trouble to the
country.

As for the Datoh Mantri, after his return to the jetty he had paddled up
the Bidor river and had then taken his boat into a paddy-field covered with
brushwood and had hidden himself there from the Dutchmen. On the
next day, as soon as the tide made, he come out of the paddy-field and pad-
pled up-stream to Pulo Indra Sakti, and went before the King and gave his
account of the behaviour of the Dutch. This made the King more and more
incensed against them

The Laksamana was coming up the river from Tanjong Putus with all the
warriors of that place, and when he reached Kuala Bidor he stopped at the
Dutch sloop. The Dutchmen had heard that the King was incensed with
them because they had fired on the Shahbandar and Mantri, and they were
very much afraid of him, so when the Laksamana came off to the sloop, they
told him of the whole occurrence. Said they: ‘The shot was fired at a
‘monkey up in a tree, but it happened to be in the direction of the Shahban-
‘dar. In this the fault lay with us white men and we can only sue for the
‘Yang diper Tuan’s pardon, but if he were to killus we could not blame
‘him.’ The Laksamana duly represented to the King the state of fear in
which the Dutch were. When the King heard it he kept silent, but his
wrath was a little softened. And the Raja Bandahara took counsel with
the Chiefs and the Laksamana with the view of averting the possibility of
danger to the country, and they begged the King for permission to take about
one hundred bharas of tin down to Kuala Bidor and to send it on board
the ketch. The King granted the tin and directed the Laksamana to take
it down the river to the Dutch accompanied by; the Bandahara, warriors,
princes, etc., who were to wait at Kota Lumut while the Laksamana stamped
the tin. This was settled, the tin was brought out of the store (gédong), about
200 bharas, and was loaded in a number of boats, and the Laksamana set off
down the river with the warriors, etc.* The Raja Bandahara and the Chiefs
and Princes went down as far as Kota Lumut. After they had started, a
thought occurred to the King and he said to himself: ‘These Dutch are full
‘of cunning and they have been exhibiting it to me with an idea of frightening
‘me. For this reason, I had better go down the river myself.’ Having thus de-
termined, the King set off down the river to Kota Lumut that very night, with
alarge number of followers and went on shore at the dalci there. The Raja
Bandahara and the Chiefs and Princes assembled there also, and attended him
that night. The Raja Muda was not present, for he had gone up the country
to catch elephants. Next day Sultan IskKANDAR went down the river as far as
Kuala Bidor. All the others followed him, but no one knew what his inten-

* From what follows, it seems that there was some attack made upon some of
the Dutch by Malays, but this act was disclaimed by the Raja and Chiefs, and the
chronicler wisely gives no details of Malay misconduct.

_—— _

THE DUTCH IN PERAK. 265

tions were until Kuala Bidor was reached, when His Highness said that he wa
gome to amuse himself and to visit the farms of some of his people. At Rata
Bidor the King’s boat stopped atthe landing-place of Maharaja Dinrnpa. All
the chiefs, warriors, princes, etc., moored their boats near the sand. When the
Dutchmen saw the King’s boat at Maharaja DININDA’S place and a vast num-
ber of other boats, they were very much disturbed in mind. The Captain and
the Commissary then came to visit the King, introduced by the Laksamana.
The King was at the time in his boat called Si Kutum Batu attended by the
Raja Bandahara, the Chiefs and others; he was wearing the dress of a leader in
war and was standing ona platform fully armed: On their arrival the Com-
missary and Captain stepped up upon the bow of the roya! boat and came
forward taking off their hats ( chapio ) and bowing low before the King’s
throne. They then sat down, thrusting their feet underneath the decked
portion of the boat. The King then addressed them in the following terms:
‘We have heard that certain Dutchmen have been attacked at the port
‘of our Kingdom. What is the opinion of the Commissary and Captain on
“this subject? One of our friends and a servant of the Company is missing.’
When they heard this they came forward making respectful salutations, and
taking off their hats and they replied: ‘All that your Highness says is
‘true, but, if you will pardon us, we would ask for a boat and about four
*strong rowers and we willsend to seek for our companion who was attacked,
“even as far as the mouth of the river. If heis not found after thorough
‘search there is nothing more to be.done.’ The King said: ‘Very well,
‘our present intention is only to go down the river as far as Tanjong Putus for
‘amusement, when we get there we willsend people down to. the sea to get
‘shell- fish and will instruct them at the same time to search for your com-
*panion who was attacked in this hestile manner, to our great dis pleasure.’

When they heard the King’s words the Dutch Commissary “and Ca ptain were
very much disturbed in mind, wondering what could be the real object
of the King in going down to Tanjong Putus. But the design of the King
was to outdo those accursed Dutchmen in diplomacy.* As soon as the King’s s
decision to proceed to Tanjong Putus was heard, the LAKSAMANA interposed,
for he was one of the principal warriors, and he said: ‘If it is only the setile-
‘ment of this difficulty with the people of the Dutch Company who have been
‘attacked, do not let your Highness take the trouble to go down the river
*to Tanjong Putus; if you will give me full orders, I will undertake to carry
‘them out.’ But the King replied: ‘I only intend to go down the river for
‘amusement.’ After this the King set outand went down the river to Tan-
jong Putus, and as soon as he arrived there all the warriors and people came
bringing presents of various kinds, every man according to his station. When
the King had been there for some time, he sent people to look for the persons
who had attacked the Dutch, but they were not found. The King then went
up the river again and returned to Pulo Indra Sakti.” +

Here the account of this little episode breaks off abruptly, and
whether it ended peaceably or not, we are not told; the subsequent
allusions to the Dutch in this work, are unimportant. There isa
mention of another embassy from Batavia, just before the death

* This was evidently written for a Malay audience and with no idea that it

‘would ever be read by Europeans. The writer, therefore, allows himself some

freedom of language.
{ For an account of the manuscript from which I have translated these

extracts, see Journal, Straits Branch R. A. S8., I, 187.

266 THE DUTCH IN PERAK.

of Sultan Iskanpar SHan (Marhum Kahar), and further on, where
the Bugis invasion of Kedah (a.p. 1770) is alluded to, the fleet
of the invaders is said to have entered the Perak river and to have
somewhat alarmed the Dutch, by anchoring off their settlement.

From the foregoing extracts, it is clear that the relations between
the Malays and the Europeans were not always too friendly,
the former being ready to resent any high-handed dealing and
the latter being constantly on the watch for signs of treachery.
Circumstances, to which I have no clue, probably led to the aban-
donment of the station again between 1770, the date of the
last mention of the Dutch in the Malay chronicle, and 1783,
the year in which Captain Forrest visited Perak.* No Dutch
were then in occupation of the factory at Tanjong Putus, for
Forrest was asked by the Sultan whether they were likely to
return. Writing of the Perak river, this author + says that it—

“Ts navigable with safety, having acontinuel muddy bottom and sides up
to where the Dutch have resettled{ their factory at Tanjong Putus (Bro-
ken Point). The country is flat, consequently favourable for the cultiva-
tion of rice, and abounds with the anecbony tree fit for many uses; it gives
at the head a cabbage. I carried several bags of the seed to Bengal, but
they did not grow, for what reason I cannot tell. Cattle and poultry are
not near so cheap here as at Kedah; but oysters are to be had in quanti-
ties near the river’s mouth and great plenty of excellent flat fish as at
Penang. The Dutch contract with the King for all the tin at 10 Spanish
dollars per pecul; but much of it is smuggled to Pulo Pinang by way of
Laroot and Qualo Consow. Gunong Gantong (Hanging Hill)$ is remark-
able near Larut river, on the bar of which is said to be 3 fathoms water.

I went up in a country covered boat from Tanjong Putus, where the
vesse! lay, to pay my respects to the King of Pera who received me in a large
upper-room house with great state having about 20 guards in the room,

dressed in black satin garments embroidered on the breast with a golden
dragon; they wore mandarin caps and appeared altogether in the Chinese

* The detachment in Perak was doubtless re-called to Malacca in conse-
quence of hostilities with the English, MARSDEN mentions that in 1781 an
expedition against Padang was fitted out at Fort Malborough ( Bencoolen ).

+“ Voyage from Calcutta to the Mergui Archipelago.” London, 1792.
FoRREST mentions “ the Dutch ruined fort’ at the Dindings as a place behind
which water for shipping could be obtained, p. 27.

+ FORREST’S book was published in 1792, by which time the Dutch were “re-
settled’? in Perak, but he visited the river in 1783 during the temporary
abandonment of the station.

§ The hill which is such a noticeable land-mark is Gunong Pondok, not
Bukit Gantang. The latter is a kampong situated within ’a circle of hills and
supposed therefore to be like an object at the bottom of a gallon pot
(gantang ). Tt bas nothing to do with the word guntong ( hang ).

THE DUTCH IN PERAK. 267

style; some were armed with halberts, some held pikes in their hands, and
a few had musquets without bayonets.* The King made me sit on a chair
before a sofa on which he sat himself; his courtiers, about 12 or 14 in
number, all, stood. After some little conversation the King asked me if the
Dutch meant to return to Pera. I answered that I believed they did, on
which he looked grave. He then withdrew: and his brother entertained me
with a cold collation at which two more persons sat down. I had presented
the King with two pieces of Bengal taffeta and found when I got into the
boat a large present of jacks, durians, custard apples and other fruit. I left
Pera river in December, 1783. Much rain fell in November.”

The founding of our Settlement of Penang im 1786 had a decided
effect on the Dutch monopoly of the Perak tin trade, and ANDERSON
quotes the following description of Perak given by Captain Grass,
the Commanding Officer of the Troops. after Penang had been
occupied a short time :—

« Perak borders on Quedah and extends about 50 leaguesinland. Near Perak
river it is well cultivated and it contains 30,000 people, exports annually 5,000:
peculs of tin which is delivered to the Dutch at 32 Spanish dolars per bhara of
428 lbs. The Dutch have a small Stockade Fort with about 50 people there to
prevent the natives from carrying the tin to other markets; but with all their
precautions, the quantity they used to receive is greatly lessened since the set-
tlement of this island. The people of Perak are in general very ignorant, their
revenues so sma!l and their residence so far inland that little is to be feared from
their animosity and less to be hoped from their friendship while connected with
the Dutch.” t+

The settlement of Penang was only nine years old when the
Dutch were compelled finally te surrender the commercial advan«
tages which they had held so long. In 1795 Malacca was taken by
the English, and in the same year, the little detachment in Perak
was forced to retire from their stockade on theriver bank. ‘‘ Lord
“CaMELFORD, then a Lieutenant in the Navy, and Lieutenant
“ MacaisterR proceeded there with a small force and compelled
“the Dutch Garrison to surrender.”{ The position then lost was
never recovered. Malacca was restored to the Dutch in 1818, but,
owing to the establishment of Penang as a commercial port, all
chance of regaining the tin-monopoly was gone for ever. “In
“1819,” says Colonel Low, ‘‘the Dutch tried to re-establish them-

* This agrees very much with the Malay chronicle as to the pains which
the Perak Malays took to impress their European visitors with the grandeur
of their Raja.

ft ANDERSON’s “ Considerations,” pp. 52-53.

{ ANDERSON.

268 THE DUTCH IN PERAK.

‘ selves.on the island of Pangkor off the mouth of the Perak river,
‘ but were unsuccessful. They were equally so in their endeavour
" to control Salangor.”’ *

No vestiges now remain of the brick buildings of the Dutch factory
at Tanjong Putus. The materials have long since been removed by
the Malays for their own use. The site, which was pointed out to
me some years ago, was then covered with low jungle, and I never
carried out the intention which I then entertained of having it
cleared and the foundations, if possible, traced. The long inter-
course of the Dutch with the Perak Malays has not, however, been
forgotten by the latter. The repeated demands of the Europeans
for permission to settle and for sites for establishments have
passed into a proverb, and importunity is often laughingly derided
in the phrase, Ai ka-lagi-lagi saperti blanda minta tanah! “OQ!
more, more! like the Dutchmen asking for land.” + Fruits and
vegetables of foreign importation are also called blanda or wolanda
(Hollander), which really meant formerly “ European,’ the natives
having been quite unable to distinguish different nationalities
among white men. When our recent intercourse with Perak be-
gan, in 1874, small Dutch silver coins were still current in the
State, and 1 was able, when I first went to Perak, to collect a good
many. They are now difficult to obtain, and the old Perak eur-
rency —lumps of tin, weighing 24 katé each, called bidor, (mentioned
in the Dutch treaties quoted in this paper)—-have altogother dis-
appeared.

Trading monopolies have, happily, long been things of the past,
and our allies and neighbours in Netherlands India have, in some
places at least, recognised, like ourselves, the advantage of free
trade. But whatever we may think of the object of the Dutch
settlement in Perak in former days, there can be but one opinion ~
as to the courage and tenacity with which they held their own
in that little-known kingdom during various periods embraced
between the years 1650 and 1795, nearly 150 years.

W. EB. MAXWELL.

* Journ. Ind. Arch., IV., 21.
7 Journ. Straits Branch, R. A. S., IT, 20, 45.

THE DUTCH IN PERAK. 2684

NOTE.—VALENTYN gives the names of the Dutch Opperhooften in Perak
from 1655 to 1661.

Isaak Ryken, wa ae see 1655 to 1656
Pieter Buytzen, oe Eire te 1656 to 1656
Cornelis van Gunst, ao £m 1656 to 1656
Johan Massis, 2) oe cae 1659 to 1660
Abraham Schats, ... Sais or 1660 to 1660
Johan Massis, ave ee vce 1660 to 1661
Adriaan Lucassoon,... 1661

There is no record of the officers in Giaeid of the Diiding 1670 (? ) to 1690,
or at Tanjong Putus 1756 (?) to 1795.

)

Bs wale aa.
StS Sie

OUTLINE HISTORY OF THE BRITISH CONNECTION WITH MALAYA.

[ Tue following “Outline History”? has been compiled in the
hope that it may be of assistance to those, both in and out of the
Colony, whe are anxious to know something of its antecedents.
The information has been collected from a variety of sources, and,
so far as is known, can nowhere be found in the form of a suc-
cinct and connected narrative here adopted |.

GENIE RAVES

The history of the Colony is, properly speaking, but the latest
chapter in the history of the British intercourse with Malaya, now
extending over 280 years, and this intercourse may be divided into
three periods, viz. :—

1. That of individual trading (1602-1684).

2. That of trading closely connected with the East India Com-
pany (1684-1762).

3. That of more direct—political and military—intervention
(since 1762).

A brief reference to each of these periods will best serve as
preface to the history of the Colony.

The earliest dealings of our countrymen with Malaya ( 1602-
1684) were entirely of a commercial character, not excepting the
quasi-ambassadorial Commissions of Queen ExuizaBeTH and her
Successor to Sir James Lancaster, Captain Best and others in
this first period. These so-called Envoys were, in point of fact,
ship-owners and merchants, sailing, almost always at their own
charge, under the encouragement of the English Sovereign, but
without having, so far as is known, any other than commercial
objects committed to them, and certainly without any success
in obtaining other than commercial results from their missions.

At the time when these English navigators first appeared on the
scene (1602), they had been preceded by the Portuguese as con-

1602.

1654.

270 BRITISH CONNECTION WITH MALAYA.

querors or settlers in Malacca and elsewhere (1510-11) ; by the
Spanish in the Manilas (1571); by the Dutch in Bantam (1596),
Amboyna (1609); a little later Batavia was occupied (1619),
and later still Banda (1627), and Padang (1660). No factories had,
before this last date, been established in Sumatra, Borneo. or on
the Hast Coast of the Malay Peninsula. On the Malacca side of the
Peninsula the Dutch had already opened factories in Pérak, Kédah
and Junk Ceylon.

This period consists exclusively of individual enterprises of a
non-political character. These enterprises were almost wholly
concerned with the pepper-trade in Bantam and the spice-trade in
Banda, Amboyna, Ternate and Tidore. These were the local
names then most familiar in England, and are to be found in Mit-
ron’s “ Paradise Lost,’ in Drypsy, in Crarenpoy’s History, &e.

There were also ventures to Bantam and the coast of Sumatra
for pepper, and to the northern parts of the Peninsula for tin and
pepper. The English E. I. Company, though it did not promote
them, and before long began to oppose them, took advantage of
these enterprises In some cases. For instance, after LancasTEr’s
visit to Bantam in i602, the Company established a factory there.
As to political status; our merchants were entirely excluded
from it by the older settlers—the Portuguese and Spaniards,
und afterwards the Dutch. When they were admitted, as at Ban-
tam and Amboyna, into a kind of alliance with the Dutch, it was
always one of subordination, even before the latter became para-
mount through the capture of Malacca by the allied Dutch and
Achinese (1641). After that event, the Dutch supremacy was, of
course, more exclusive. No satisfaction could be obtained, either
before or after 1641, for the ‘ Massacre of Amboyna, ” though
the story excited some indignation in England for many years.

The next period (1684-1762) is one of mixed commercial and
political intercourse, promoted, and as far as possible monopolised,
by the East India Company,—commerce being still first and fore-
most in the consideration of all, both at home and abroad.

The long Naval Wars with the Dutch, which terminated in 1674
were looked. upon with little satisfaction in England, but they

BRITISH CONNECTION WITH MALAYA. 271

undoubtedly led to an improved position for our Company’s mer-
chants in Malaya. The Dutch found the difference when they
tried against them at Bantam (1683) the tactics which had been so
successful at Amboyna (1625). Our merchants did not, on being
expelled from the former, yield up the pepper-trade, as they had
yielded the clove-trade at Amboyna; on the contrary the East India
Company's Government at Madras took the first opportunity to
establish new forts and factories in Indrapore (1684) and Ben-
eoolen (1685). The former settlement did not long continue, but
that in Bencoolen was afterwards strengthened and secured by a
strong Fort named after the great Martporovucn (1714); and Ben-
coolen may thus be considered to be the germ of all our subsequent
erowth in these parts.

Other experimental establishments were also made at Achin
(1666 and 1695), Jambi, Tapanuli, Natali (1752), Moco-Moco,
Patani, &e., but none of them proved permanent. After 1686 all
the Sumatran Settlements were rendered subordinate to Bencoolen.

The latest of the three divisions. comprising the period since 1762,
is a period of political and military connection, commencing with
the Bengal Government's expedition against Manila (1762). and
continuing down to the present time.

The result of that expedition was that the Spanish possessions
were captured without difficulty. but were restored at the Peace of
Paris (1763), when our possessionsin Sumatra were also secured
tous. The only token of success retained by the English was the
island of Bélambangan, which was ceded by the Sultan of Sulu
in gratitude for his release from Spanish captivity on the taking
of Manila. This island lies off Maludu Bay in Sabah, and is
interesting as being, together with Labuan, which was then
occupied for a still shorter period, our first acquisition of territory
in Bornean waters. It was finally abandoned in 1803.

The familiarising of the Bengal merchants with this part of the
world, consequent on such an expedition, and on the negotiations
that followed at the Peace, was of importance ; and after the Treaty
of 1763 Fort Marlborough (Beneoolen) was formed into an inde-
pendent Residency, which arrangement lasted till 1802. In 1781

LiG2

272 BRITISH CONNECTION WITH MALAYA.

Padang and the other Dutch Settlements in Sumatra were seized by
a military expedition from Bencoolen. These acts fostered the
enterprises Captain Lrenrand Captain James ScorT were carrying
on when a Settlement on Pulau Pinang was first projected (1784-6).
That political motives and objects were not wanting is clear
from the Treaty with Kcédah, and the correspondence that preceded
it, and particularly from the interest Warren Hastines took in its
foundation. The Settlement was made in 1786 by friendly cession.
In 1797-8 a second expedition against Manila was fitted out from
Madras by Sir J. SHore, under the command of Colonel WELLESLEY.
It was recalled before it left Penang; a full account of the island
at that time, written by its Commander to his brother, who
had become Governor-General, is to be found in “The Wellington
Despatches”? (Supplementary Despatches, Vol. I., p. 25).

The history of this latest of the three divisions into which
the British connection with Malaya naturally falls, is, speaking °
generally, the history of enterprises in which the Government,
actuated by political considerations, has taken the lead im pro- |
moting British connection with these regions. There are certainly
two recent exceptions to be made, in Borneo, of enterprises
which bear something of the earlier private character, viz..—Mr.
Brooxke’s actionin Sarawak(1840-2), and Mr. Drent’s more recent
enterprise in Sabah (1880). But the general character of the period
is seen in the two Manila expeditions—the successful one of 1762.
and the abortive one of 1797; in the occupation, loss, recapture,
and final surrender of Bélambangan (1775-1803) ; in the foundation
of Penang (1785), after some years of negotiation both in Bengal
and Kédah; in the cessions and retrocessions of Malacca (1795-
1825) ; in the foundation and support of Singapore (L819) ; and in
the protection (since withdrawn) afforded to Achin (1819), and
the States of the Malay Peninsula, with which Treaties have, from
time to time (1818-76), been entered into since that first one with
Kédah. |

There are three principal dates in this interval :—1805, 1827,
and 1867.

The first of these brings toa close the period in which no
regular English administration had been organised; affairs were

BRITISH CONNECTION WITH MALAYA. 973

managed by commercial Superintendents. and the Indian Govern-
ment was content to leave their factories and possessions, in
Penang at all events. outside the Indian political system.

The next stage exhibits an entire change. The Indian Govern-
ment went from one extreme to the other. The rapid progress
of the new Settlement’s commerce at Penang was duly appreciated
by the Government of Lord WELLESLEY, the early prosperity of the
place supporting his views regarding “ private trade ;” the expedition
of 1797, and, no doubt, Colonel WELLESLEY’s communications,
brought enquiry, when quieter times followed, into Penang’s
political prospects. Exaggerated notions then came to be entertained
of the new Settlement’s importance for naval and political purposes;
and in 1804-5 the East India Company decided to confer upon
it an independent Government, and sent outa Governor and
Council, Secretary, Assistant Secretary and several Writers, after
the fashion of the older Presidencies, with which Penang was
now to rank. A Recorder’s Court followed (1807), and enquiry
was also made as to the desirability of abandoning Malacca
(1808), the better to secure Penane’s position. Then came the
Java expedition (1811), and the old commercial struggle with the
Dutch also entered into the political phase ; not so much through the
temporary occupation of their possessions, asin consequence of the
great political stroke of abolishing monopoly (1818), which followed
shortly after our occupation. What Lord Minto took in 1811, was
restored; but his successor, Lord Hasttyeas, was equally ready to
support the talented administrator, Sir T. 8. Rarries, upon whom
his predecessor had relied, and who had governed Java until its
restoration; and he allowed Rarries to found Singapore (1819),
for objects which are very clearly explained in one of RaAFFLEs’s
first letters from Singapore, dated June 10th, 1819 (preserved
in the Raffles Museum).

The Penang Government was also alive to the importance of
preventing any re-establishment of Dutch monopoly at this crisis,
and for that purpose entered into negotiations, which will be found
recorded in the earliest of our Treaties with Pérak and Stlangor
(1818).

1805.

S27,

1867-83.

274 BRITISH CONNECTION WITH MALAYA.

Soon after Malacca was finally ceded to us by the Dutch (1825) ;
and when the shiftings and changes thus came to an end, the numer-
ous experiments theretofore made resulted in the existing form of
united Colony. as finally settled in person by Lord W. Bentinck
(ES2I0)

The next period is one of 40 years (1827 to 1867), in which
the Colony remained an Indian dependency, but was left to develop
quietly upon its own resources: with some pecuniary aid, though
on a more economical scale than formerly, from the IJndian
Government; nor has any great break been made by the transfer,
under Act of Parliament, to Colonial Office rule in April 1867: which,
though a momentous change, well deserving of the trouble that
was taken in bringing it about, has not disturbed the continuity
of our recent history.

The prosperity of the Colony since then, and the increased
importance of its administration, comprising as it now does the
three Natives States taken under our protection in 1874, can be
eathered from a comparison of the Revenues to be administered
in 1868 and those estimated for the current year:—

1868. 1875. 1883.

Singapore, .. . $864,918 $967,235 31,697,920
Penang, 324,196 4:58 ,029. 1,006,020
Malacca, 2s 118,307 303,330
Protected Native States—

?érak, 270,000 1,236,120

Selangor, 115,651 383,750

Sungei Ujong, 66,474 128,990

Total,... $1,801,839 $1,990,696 $4,756,130

—— ee

The Census returns shew an increase in the population of the
Colony alone, during about the same period, from 273,090 (in 1865)
to 423,384 Gn 1881),

BRITISH CONNECTION WITH MALAYA, 275
EIOIGrAGIES

The following notices of the various Settlements and the Native
States now comprehended in the Colony’s administration, are chiefly
taken from official sources. The Settlements are treated in the
order of their seniority.

Mualacea.

Malacea is situated on the western coast of the Peninsula
between Singapore and Penang, about 110 miles from the former
and 240 from the latter, and consists of a strip of territory about
42 miles in length, and from 8 to 25 miles in breadth, containing
an area of 659 square miles.

and 102° 14’ East long. The local Government is administered
by a Resident Councillor.

The principal town, called Malacca, is in 2° 10’ North lat.

Malacca is one of the oldest European possessions in the East,
having been taken fromits Malay Sultan, Maumup Suan, by the
Portuguese under ALBUQUERQUE in 1511, to punish an attack upon
his Lieutenant, SrquETRa, in 1509. It was held by them till 1641,
when the Dutch, after several fruitless attempts, succeeded, with
the help of the Achinese, in driving them out. The place remained
under Dutch government till 25th August, 1795, when it was
taken military possession of by the English. It was governed by
them on the Dutch system of monopoly till 1818; and it was still
held by the English, after that system was abolished, till 1818; at
which date it was restored to the Dutch, in accordance with the
Treaty of Vienna. It finally came into our hands under the
Treaty with Holland of March, 1824, in exchange for our Company’s
Settlement at Bencoolen, and other places on the West coast of
Sumatra. By that Treaty it was also arranged that the Dutch
should not again meddle with affairs, or have any settlement on
the Malay Peninsula, the British Government agreeing, at the
same time, to leave Sumatra to the Dutch, saving only Achin in

the North, of which the independence was protected until the
Treaty of 1872.

276 BRITISH CONNECTION WITH MALAYA.

A few years after re-occupying Malacca, a small force of Sepoys
had to proceed against Naning, the interior district of Malacca, in
which Dutch sovereignty had apparently never been fully admitted.
Our first expedition (1831) failed; the second (1832) succeeded.
In 1833 a Treaty was made, settling the south-east boundary of the
Settlement as at present. There has been no disturbance in any
part of Malacca since the “ Naning War.”

When Malacca was taken possession of by the Portuguese in 1511,
it was one of the grand entrepots for the commerce of the East, and
it so continued till the close of the 16th century ; but as the Portu-
guese and other European nations pushed further to the East, in
the Archipelago and neighbouring countries, the trade of Malacca
gradually declined ; and the place ceased to be of much consequence
as a collecting centre, except for the trade of the Malayan Penin-
sula and the Island of Sumatra. This trade it retained, under
Dutch rule, till the establishment of Penang in 1786; when, in
the course of a few years, it became, what it has ever since been,
a place of no commercial importance, but possessing some agricul-
tural resources. Penang soon acquired most of the trade of the
Malayan Peninsula and Sumatra, Borneo, the Celebes, and other
places in the Archipelago, not reduced to mercantile subjection
by the Dutch; but soon after Singapore was established, Penang
in its turn declined in importance, the greater part of the
extensive Eastern trade being centred at Singapore. [Penang’s
local trade has, however, largely increased within the last few
years in consequence of the increased prosperity of the extensive
tin mines in Liarut, Rendong, Junk Ceylon, the tobacco planta-
tions on the East coastof Sumatra, &c.]| The opening of Singapore
in 1819 may be said to have accomplished, for the time being,
the ruin of Malacca’s commerce. To use RAaFFLES’s own words at
the time “the intermediate Station of Malacca, although occupied
“by the Dutch, has been completely nullified.”

The population and agricultural development of the country
districts of Malacca have, however, been very considerably increased
of late years, especially since roads have been made throughout

the territory. The Revenue has, in the last ten years, increased in
larger proportion than that of Singapore or Penang.

BRITISH CONNECTION WITH MALAYA. 2797
Penang.

Penang is an island about 15 miles long and 9 broad, containing
an area of 107 square miles, situated off the West coast of the
Malay Peninsula in 5° N. latitude, and at the northern end of the
Straits of Malacca. On the opposite shore of the mainland, from
which the island is separated by a sea channel from 2 to 10 miles
broad, is Province Wellesley, a strip of territory containing 270
square miles, forming part of the Settlement. It averages 8 miles
in width, and extends 45 miles along the coast, and includes, since
the Pangkor Treaty (1874), about 25 square miles of newly
acquired territory to the south of the Krian. The local Govern-
ment is administered by a Resident Councillor.

The chief town is George Town, in 5° 24’ North lat. and 100°
21’ East long.

Penang, or Prince of Wales’ Island as it was officially called,
was ceded to Captain Lieut, acting for the East India Company,
by the Raja of Kédah in 1785, the sum of 10,000 dollars being
annually paid to the Raja of Kédah as long as the British occupy
the island. The Settlement was founded on the 17th July, 1786.
In 1800, in consequence of the prevalence of piracy on the shores
of the mainland opposite Penang, a strip of the coast of the main-
land, now called Province Wellesley, was purchased for 2,000 dollars
from the same Raja. It extended from the Muda River to the
Krian River, a distance of 35 miles. Since the Pangkor Treaty of
1874 it has been enlarged, as stated above; and since that Treaty, also,
the Settlement has comprised the outlying dependency of Pangkor
and the Dindings, under a Superintendent, which gives an addition
of territory almost equalling the Province in extent. Province Wel-
lesley is in a high state of cultivation, when compared with the
neighbouring territories. The chief articles cultivated are sugar,
tapioca, paddy, and cocoa-nuts. In 1805 Penang was made a
separate Presidency under the Hast India Company, of equal rank
with Madras and Bombay. In 1826 Singapore and Malacca were
incorporated with it under one Government, Penang still remaining
the seat of Government. In 1837 the seat of Government was

278 BRITISH CONNECTION WITH MALAYA.

transferred to Singapore. The revenue and trade of Penang have
increased remarkably in the last fifteen years.

Singapore.

Singapore is an island about 27 miles long by 14 wide, con-
taining an area of 206 square miles, situated at the southern
extremity of the Malay Peninsula, from which it is separated by
a narrow strait about three-quarters of a mile in width. There are
a number of small islands adjacent to it which form part of the
Settlement.

The seat of Government, for the whole Colony as well as the Set-
tlement, is the town of Singapore, at the southern point of the
island, in lat. 1° 16’ North, and long. 103° 53’ East.

Singapore was occupied by Sir StamForpD RaFFLes, acting under
the authority of Lord Hastines, on the 6th February, 1819, by
virtue of a Treaty with the Malayan princes of Johor. It was
at first subordinate to Bencoolen in Sumatra, of which RaFFLES was
then Lieut.-Governor ; but in 1823 it was placed under the Govern-
ment of Bengal. It was afterwards, as above stated, incorporated
with Penang and Malacca, and finally became the seat of Govern-
ment (1837).

Its rapid progress was, at that time, unparallelled. On the 11th
June. 1819, RarFies wrote home: ‘“ My new Colony thrives most
“rapidly. We have not been established four months, and it has
“‘received an accession of population exceeding 5,000, principally
“Chinese, and their number is daily increasing.”

Nor has it disappointed the expectations then formed of its
future ; both its general and local Trade and its Revenues having,
for many years, exceeded that of all competitors.

The Protected Native States.

The Protected States comprise three “ Residencies,’ all on the
western side of the Peninsula, between Province Wellesley and
Malacea, viz. :—Pérak ( August, 1874), Sélangor and bund Ujoug
( December, 1874 ).

BRITISH CONNECTION WITH MALAYA. 279

The anarchy prevailing in almost all the Native States of the
Malay Peninsula, and especially in Pérak, had been, for some years
prior to 1874, a source of disquiet to the Straits Settlements, anda
hindrance tothe growth of local trade. In the beginning of that
year steps were taken by Sir ANDREW CLARKE to remedy this state
of things by settling the affairs of Larut and Pérak in the Pangkor
Treaty (20th January, 1874), and, later on in that year, by station-
ing British Residents in Pérak and Sélangor, and in the small State
of Sungei Ujong, to advise their rulers respecting the collection of
revenue and general administration. Witha view also to enable
the British authorities to keep order in that part of the Peninsula,
a strip of land south of Province Wellesley. beyond the Krian
river, about 10 miles broad, was acquired as British territory ; and
also a small portion of territory on the mainland, opposite the
island of Pangkor, which had previously been ceded to us, to sup-
press piracy and without any idea of occupation, in a Treaty with
Pérak (1825).

Towards the end of 1875, Sir Writram Jervors being then Gov-
ernor, Mr. Brrcu, the first British Resident at Péruk, was murdered,
(2nd November 1875) anda force sent to apprehend the murderers
was resisted; and, about the same time. the Residency in Sungei
Ujong was menaced by bodies of Malays from some of the States near
Malacca. Troops were obtained from India and China, a naval bri-
gade was landed, and Pérak was fully occupied (January, 1876).
During the previous month a military and naval force had already
driven the enemy from a strong stockaded position in the hills
between Sri Menanti and Sungei Ujong, and dispersed the malcon-
tents in that neighbourhood. During these operations, Sélangor
remained quiet.

Those concerned in the murder of Mr. Brracn were captured
and punished, the Sultan and some of the Chiefs being banished.
Peace and order have since been maintained in all the Western
States, and, so far as is known, throughout the Peninsula. On the
cessation of hostilities ( which had throughout been on a very small
scale ) it was finally laid down in Lord Carnarvon’s despatch of
Ist June, 1876, that the Protected States, without being either
directly annexed or governed by “ Commissioners, ” might con-

280 BRITISH CONNECTION WITH MALAYA.

tinue to receive assistance in their administration from British
Officers styled ‘‘ Residents.” Since then, both in Pérak, Sélangor,
and Sungei Ujong, Residents have been stationed uninterruptedly,
and without requiring any Military support, except such asa drilled
corps of Sikhs can furnish. They are assisted by a staff
comprising both native and European officers, and it is their duty to
aid the nativerulers by advice, and to carry out certain executive
functions delegated to them. The supreme authority in Pérak and
Sélaneor is vested in the State Council, consisting, in each State, of
the Malay Chief, the highest native authorities, and the principal
British officials. The Residents are directly under the Govern-.
ment of the Straits Settlements, and it is admitted that great
success has hitherto attended the development of Sir ANDREW
CLARKE’S experiment.

A. M. SKINNER.

Se SOR AA BaD
AS ee ES

MiSsCELLANEOUS NOTES.

M. pE ta Crorx.

In the Journal (No. 1 of 1883) of the Société de Géographie, of
Paris, appears the following paragraph which may be of interest to
some of our Members. Mr. pe ra Crorx has recently been elected
a Member of the Straits Asiatic Society.

“M. Brau de Saint-Po! Lias annonce le retour en Europe de M, de la Croix
qui était retourné a Pérak ot il avait abordé avec M. Brau de Saint-Pol Lias,
lors de son premier voyage. Cette fois, il était accompagné d’un second
ingénieur francais, M. Manthés, chargé de contréler les rapports techniques
sur ses prospections. Tous deux ont remonté !a riviére de Pérak et celle de
Quinta, un de ses principaux afiluents, jusqu’a la valléede Lahat. M. Manthés
a été frappé dela richesse miniére du pays et les deux voyageurs reviennent
également satisfaits des résultats dc leur exploration.”

And in Journal No. 5, for 2nd March, 18583. there is the fol-
lowing passage on the same subject:—*

“Tl [M. Brau de Saint-Po! Lias] fait ensuite hommage a !a Société du dernier
numéro de la Nouvelle Revue, dans }equel i! a raconté, en attendant !a publica-
tion d’un volume en ce moment sous presse, quelques épisodes de son voyage
dans ce pays de Pérak, si vailamment exploré surtout par son excellent ami,
M. de la Croix.. M. Brau de Saint-Pol Lias avait annoncé derniérement le
retour de M. de la Croix en Europ:; il a le plaisir d’aunoncer son retour a
Paris et sa présence a la séance d’aujourd’hi'.”

EXPLORATIONS IN CaMBOJA.

From the same Journal, the following translation of an interest-
ing passage has been forwarded. Our neighbours in Camboja are
actively engaged in exploring the interior of that country :-—

“The Governor of Cochin-China, Mons. Lt Myre pe Vizexrs,
“ writes from Saigon, on the 20th of September, the following infor-

Fe rhe publication of the present number having been unavoidably delayed,
it has been possible to give in it the above extracts.—ED. |

282 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES.

“mation, relative to the explorations which are going on in the
‘““ Colony :—
“ “We are continuing the explorations, in which the Geographi-
‘eal Society has taken so much interest. Lieutenant Prup’HoMME
“left last Monday for Sambor on the ‘Upper Mekong.’ He
‘is to take observations for the line of a tramway protected from
“inundation, and, at the same time, to determine the height of the
“ «banks of the river above and below the rapids.
“*Tieutenant Gautier is en route for Tracona, on the frontier of
‘“¢¢ Baik Ihuan, in the neighbourhood of Tanbinh. He wil! remain
‘in these almost unknown regions so long as his health permits
“him to do so, and will permanently establish himself.
‘““<*Mons. Pavie has finished placing the telegraphic posts be-
‘“ «tween Prom-Penh and Battambang. The wires are fixed on the
“ “Cambogian side. We are only waiting for the Siamese to open
“ ‘this nnportant line of electric communication.
‘Mons. AyMontER and Captain Sorry remain at Angkor; by
‘“ «the last news, their health left nothing to desire.”
“Tt is fitting here,” adds the general Secretary, “to thank Mons.
“te Myre pe Viters who is always so ready to help the Society.”

Matay TRANSLITERATION.

A Member of the Straits Asiatic Society, who was also one of
the Government Spelling Committee (1878), has furnished the
following Memorandum relative to the Paper on Transliteration,
which appeared in the last Journal :—

It may be RSME to define the exact difference between the
‘spelling system” adopted by the Government Committee (1878)
and published in Journal No. I., and that recommended in the
paper now published. Both systems adopt the same course
in giving the vowel sounds their Italian value, and, generally
speaking, in regard to diphthongs and consonants. Nor in regard
to separating the consonaats in agglutinative particles and doubling
the consonants in Arabic words having the ftashdid, are the
two systems in any way opposed. The difference between them
is almost entirely limited to two points: one as to the principle of
proceeding when sound and spelling differ; and one as to the mode

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 283

of getting over that crucial test—the open semi-vowel sound, so
much more common in Malay than in English. Both of these
points are treated briefly by the Committee under paragraphs 3
and 6 of their Report (containing 17 paragraphs altogether ) and
the differences between the two methods are really summed up
in the following statements :-—

a. The Committee considers that (paragraph 3) “in Malay as in
“ Chinese it is sounds and not letters that have to be represented.”

The critic considers that (page 142) “there are two
“objects to be kept in view: Ist to obtain a faithful
“transliteration of the Malay character ; and 2nd to
“clothe the words in such a form that they may be
“ pronounced correctly by an English reader.”

b. The Committee considers (paragraph 6) that as to the open
semi-vowel sound (which the critic refers to as the sound which
ean only be expressed in Arabic writing by the fathah) “no
“ natural representative suggests itself, and that there will be the
“least danger of misunderstanding if this sound be uniformly
“expressed by the letter ¢, sound as in ‘lateral’ ‘considerable’ ””—
e unmarked being devoted to the ordinary English sound as in
Ten (English), Sendok (Malay).

The critic proposes (page 147) that @ or e unmarked
shall correspond with fathah ; and as to the ordinary
English sound as in Sendok he omits to deal with
it altogether.

A good deal of his paper deals very ably with philological ques-
tions, which lead him not only beyond the ground covered by our
Report, but even beyond the principles of his own spelling system,
as for example when he suggests :—

a } Semin iy CEs ics) | Sembilan to mark its probable

Sembilan, k (by his system) derivation from Sa-ambil-an (1).

or Sambilan

(1) As these sheets pass through my hands, I take the opportunity of
adding a note or two. The word quoted is ses me This, according to the

2 :
system I proposed, may be rendered sambilan or sembilan, but the first is
obviously correct, as shewn by the derivation. Sais more generally correct
than se, in Malay, for the reason I have given.

284: MISCELLANEOUS NOTES.

t is only necessary to say in regard to this, that the Committce
was appointed to procure uniformity in spelling, and that their
system was only recommended to the Society’s contributors for that
end, (1) and by no means for the purpose of promoting philological
study ; and no spelling system can properly be gauged by any test
ofthat kind. It may not be beside the point to remark further that
the parent Asiatic Society also published, in the first number of its
“ Researches” (1784), a system of transliteration by Sir W. Jonzs,
the general principles of which have more and more recommended
themselves to the best judges, whether in Europe or India. It is
confidently asserted that the Committee’s system followed those
principles much more nearly than their critic’s system does, both in
adopting “a specific symbol for every sound,’ and in making
use of “the help of diacritical marks.”

It is, of course, impossible to know when the last word on any
subject has been said, but it will be a pity if the ingenious but too
fantastic suggestions of this latest writer should be hastily taken
for the “last word” by any of the general contributors to our
Journal. The system settled in 1878 has now been tried for some
years and has been found already of practical advantage—chiefly
because it has been looked upon as a settled system. (7)

(1) I do not admit that a system of spelling should be recommended to
the Society simply because it proposes to establish uniformity. A thoroughly
bad system might nevertheless be uniferm!y followed if every one were con-
tent. But wniformity has not been attained and cannot be attained when each
one has to decide by his ear whether he shall write @, uv, 6 or 0; 7, 7, é or €; and
soon. The member who takes up the cudgels on behalf of the Committee un-
intentionally affords me an excellent illustration of this. He quotes the words
sendok, the first syllable of which is said to be pronounced like the English
word ten. Now this word (senduk ) was quoted by me (p. 145 ) as an exam-
ple of the indefinite vowel-sound common in Malay and was said to be pro-
nounced s’nduk. Without arguing tae question as to which is correct, I ask
how uniformity in spelling is to be expected when men are to be guided by
pronunciation which varies in different localities and for which there is no
recognised standard? Uniformity isan illusion and the sooner the idea is
given up the better. What I have proposed is that a or e, i or é, and u or
0, Shall be equally correct provided that the Malay mode of writing and re
cognised derivations are not departed from.

(2) This scems to me to beg the question. The settled condition claimed
for the Government system, will be disproved in-five minutes by any one who
will take up the Government Blue-book or other publications.

W. EM.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 285

LANDING oF RAFFLES IN SINGAPORE.
By An Eye-Witness.

The following account of the first landing of Sir Stamrorp
Ra¥Frres in Singapore may not be without interest to the readers
of this Journal for two reasons: first as being the statement of one
who is now probably the only survivor of those present on the
occasion, and who is certainly the oldest inhabitant of the island
who was himself an eye-witness of the proceedings ; and, secondly,
as going to prove how unreliable is the detailed account, given in
the * Hikaiat Abdullah,’ from what Appuntan was told a few
months afterwards. The short summary in Mr. Jonn Canroy’s
work is apparently much more correct. It is a pity that no autho-
ritative record exists of all the circumstances attending Sin- |
eapore’s foundation, in Sir Stam¥Forp Rarriss’ Life or elsewhere.
That given in the Journal of Eastern Asia (1875) is obviously
incorrect.

Wa Hakim, now residing in Téluk Saga, of the Kelimang tribe
of “Orang laut,’ was, according to his own account, about fifteen
years old when Sir Sramrorp Rarrius landed, so he must be about
eighty years old at the present time. He is still an intelligent old
man. His statement isas follows :—‘‘ At the time when Tuan Rar-
FLES came, there were under one hundred small houses and huts at
the mouth of the river [ Singapore |]; but the Raja’s house was the
only large one, and it stood back from the river, between the sea and
the river, near the obelisk. About thirty families of ‘ Orang laut’ also
lived in boats (dia punya rumah ada prahu ) a little way up the
Singapore river at the wide part (lawt ofis). About half the
‘Orang laut’ lived ashore and halfin boats. My sister still lives in
aboat there, and has never lived ashore. The place where the
‘Orang Laut’ lived was called Kampong Téménggong, and it faced
the river. There were a few Malays who lived near, their huts
facing the sea. Our boat lay where the Master Attendant’s Office
now is. I myself was born in the Singapore waters, and this settle-

286 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES.

ment of Malays and ‘ Orang laut’ wasin existence in my earliest
recollection. | CRawFuRD says it was first made in 1811, and Wa
Haxtm’s recollection confirms this statement.| Tuan Rarrirs came
in the Barque Stone (?). She was akapal dua tiang sa-téngah. The
men that lived in boats were the first to see Tuan Rarries coming. I
remember the boat landing in the morning. There were two white
men and a Sepoy init. When they landed, they went straight to
the Téménggong’s house. Tuan RaFries was there, he was a
short man. I knew his appearance [7.e., subsequently]. Tuan
Fareunar was there; he was taller than Tuan Rarrnzs and he
wore a helmet.(?) The Sepoy carried a musket. They were
entertained by the Témtnggong and he gave them rambutans
and all kinds of fruit. J tegether with the Malays and ‘ Orang
laut’ followed them to the edge of the verandah. Tuan Rarrnzs
went into the centre of the house. About 4 o’clock in the after-
noon, they came out and went on board again. About twelve days
afterwards, they pitched their tents and brought guns, &e. on shore. -
Batryn Sapr, an Orang laut, went to bring Tunku Lone from Bulang.
I think he was four days away. Barin Sapir came back first and
then Tunku Lone came. The English had been some days ashore,
and had made atap-houses, when Batin Sapr went to fetch Tunku
Lone. When Tunku Lone came, Tuan Rarries was living ashore,
in an atap-house. They had a discussion first in the Téménggong’s
house and afterwards in Tuan Rarruzs’ house in Padang Senar.
At that time the plain wascovered with kémunting and sikedu-
dok bushes. I myself helped to cut them down and assisted in
making the fort (kubu) and digging a trench between Tuan RaFFies’
house and the sea. At that time there were some jambu trees,
as at present, towards Beach Road, and some near the Téménggong’s
house. These are the only trees | remember close by there. There
were no houses in the island except at Kampong Téménggong.
The first huts on the shores of New Harbour were built under Bukit
Chermin, shortly after Rarries came. Kampong Glam was then
called Séduyong by the ‘ Orang Laut.’ ”

DS fee ge 2

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 287
THe CHIRI.

In a paper contributed to the Journal of the Royal Asiatic
Society in 1880, I gave an account of the Chir, an unintelligible
formula recited in Malay Courts at the installation of Chiefs, and
the versions in use in Perak and Brunei were compared with that
which is to be found in the Sajarah Mulayu.

Being in Colombo last Septemer, 1 shewed the three versions to
my friend Mr. J. A. Swerrensam, C.S., who submitted them to a
Pandit learned in Pali. Tae latter furnished an amended reading
and translation of the Chiri as given in the Szjarah Milayu.

The following is the Chiri as printed in the Journal of the
Royal Asiatic Society, showing the different readings to be found
in four separate manuscripts in the Library of the Society :—

From MS. No. 89 in the Library of the Royal Asiatic Society.

Se ee ob ole ede Ge Pete cles Gye Spold Teepe gal

7 eyay? 5B Ly cw Lu RoE oly iN ye PU!) LSS » 3 Jb

9 Made 753, ) ly Gy Poly Ube Rio UL) ESP
Sys el Mebar er mre dye tt See SUF gays was

N.B.—This is the passage alluded to on page 24 of Leyden’s Ma-
lay Annals.

1 MSS. Nos. 18, 35, and 59 have cases.

2 MS. 18 has cic.

8 No. 18 has an.

* No. 18 has oS.

> MS. 39 has .5,. M38. 18 and 39 agree with 80.
6 MS. 35 has &-U3. MSS. 18 and 39 have gw.

7 Ms. 18 has ,, a?

5 No. 18 has ,)5.

° MS. 18 has ,)).
+0 MS. 18 has Soy.

288 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES,

MS. 18 has .j. MS. 35 has cg9)- MS. 39 agrees with 80.
12 MSS. 18, 35, and 39 have why yds.
13 MS. 18 has gol
14 Js0 is omitted in MS
15 MSS. 35 and 39 have «KJ.

16 Tn 35 and 39 the word 2 is repeated again before the final
word. In 18 the final words are yyu.0)3 eel ay? Sr:
Transliteration of the above.

Aho susinta (or swwasfa) paduka sri maharaja sara‘at (or
sarvat) sri sifat buana surana bumi buji bala pakrama nagalang (or
sakalang) krana (or karta) magat rana (or ratnz) muka tri buana
paralarasang (or parasan7) sakarita bana tongka daramuna besaran
(or darma rana sharana) katarana singzha sanv wan (vr rand)
wikrama wan (or wadat) runab (or ratna or runei) palawa dika (or

palawika) sadila dewa dida prawadi (or prabudi) kala mula mulat
(or kala mulat) malik sri darma raja aldiraja (or raja-raj7) para-
misuri. .

The following is the Pali reading, proposed by the Sinhalese
Pandit:—

Aho susinta-padaka sri maharaja sarat sri siva bhawana sarana
bhimi bhuja bala parakrama samalankrita mahat ratna mayikha
pratapa sanskrita vana tunga dhiraguna (wdaraguna) bhtshana krita-
rana sinha swana (swara) wat Wikramawan rana baladhika sardila
eva dridha pravriddha kala mula mulika sri dharmarajadhiraja
paraméswara.

This he translates as follows :—

O illustrious and great King, whose feet move very sedately (as
those of a man with subdued passions); the abode of autumaal
beauty and happiness ; a place of refuge; well adorned with prow-
ess and strength of arm; well-furnished with royal majesty
of high voice; (embellished with ) the ornament of fortitude (or
high and noble qualities ) ; a hero as terrific in the battles fought
(by thee) as the roar of alion: like a tiger of immense strength

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 289

in fight; the Supreme Lord; the Chief over the King of
righteousness ; the foremost at the commencement of a permanent
and long-extended ( period of ) time.

Dr. Rost, of the India Office, in a letter tome says: “The
unriddling of the Chiri by the Pandit in Ceylon_is certainly very
ingenious, and at any rate competes favourably with all others
yet attempted.”

W. EE. M.

see SPH? a—) 2

RAINFALL RETURN.

290

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