Man, Past and Present Part 26

#Culture#, _of the primitive Malayans very low--head-hunting, mutilation, common in Borneo_; _hunting, fishing; no agriculture; simple arts and industries_; _the Moslem and Christian Malayans semi-civilised_; _the industrial arts--weaving, dyeing, pottery, metal-work, also trade, navigation, house and boat-building--well developed_; _architecture formerly flourishing in Java under Hindu influences_; _letters widespread even amongst some of the rude Malayans, but literature and science rudimentary_; _rich oral folklore_.

#Malayans (Proto-Malays)#: _Lampongs, Rejangs, Battas, Achinese, and Palembangs in Sumatra_; _Sundanese, Javanese proper, and Madurese in Java_; _Dayaks in Borneo_; _Balinese_; _Sa.s.saks (Lombok)_; _Bugis and Mangka.s.saras in Celebes_; _Tagalogs, Visayas, Bicols, Ilocanos and Pangasinanes in Philippines_; _Aborigines of Formosa_; _Nicobar Islanders_; _Hovas, Betsimisarakas, and Sakalavas in Madagascar_.

#Malays Proper# (_Historical Malays_): _Menangkabau (Sumatra)_; _Malay Peninsula_; _Pinang, Singapore, Lingga, Bangka_; _Borneo Coastlands_; _Tidor, Ternate_; _Amboina_; _Parts of the Sulu Archipelago_.

In the Oceanic domain, which for ethnical purposes begins at the neck of the Malay Peninsula, the Mongol peoples range from Madagascar eastwards to Formosa and Micronesia, but are found in compact ma.s.ses chiefly on the mainland, in the Sunda Islands (Sumatra, Java, Bali, Lombok, Borneo, Celebes) and in the Philippines. Even here they have mingled in many places with other populations, forming fresh ethnical groups, in which the Mongol element is not always conspicuous. Such fusions have taken place with the Negrito aborigines in the Malay Peninsula and the Philippines; with Papuans in Micronesia, Flores, and other islands east of Lombok; with dolichocephalic Indonesians in Sumatra, Borneo, Celebes, Halmahera (Jilolo), parts of the Philippines[492], and perhaps also Timor and Ceram; and with African negroes (Bantu) in Madagascar. To unravel some of these racial entanglements is one of the most difficult tasks in anthropology, and in the absence of detailed information cannot yet be everywhere attempted with any prospect of success.

The problem has been greatly, though perhaps inevitably complicated by the indiscriminate extension of the term "Malay" to all these and even to other mixed Oceanic populations farther east, as, for instance, in the expression "Malayo-Polynesian," applied by many writers not only in a linguistic, but also in an ethnical sense, to most of the insular peoples from Madagascar to Easter Island, and from Hawaii to New Zealand. It is now of course too late to hope to remedy this misuse of terms by proposing a fresh nomenclature. But much of the consequent confusion will be avoided by restricting _Malayo-Polynesian_[493]

altogether to linguistic matters, and carefully distinguishing between _Indonesian_, the pre-Malay dolichocephalic element in Oceania[494], _Malayan_ or _Proto-Malayan_, collective name of all the Oceanic Mongols, who are brachycephals, and _Malay_, a particular branch of the Malayan family, as fully explained in _Ethnology_, pp. 326-30[495].

The essential point to remember is that the true Malays--who call themselves _Orang-Malayu_, speak the standard but quite modern Malay language, and are all Muhammadans--are a historical people who appear on the scene in relatively recent times, ages after the insular world had been occupied by the Mongol peoples to whom their name has been extended, but who never call themselves Malays. The Orang-Malayu, who have acquired such an astonishing predominance in the Eastern Archipelago, were originally an obscure tribe who rose to power in the Menangkabau district, Sumatra, not before the twelfth century, and whose migrations date only from about the year 1160 A.D. At this time, according to the native records[496], was founded the first foreign settlement, Singapore, a pure Sanskrit name meaning the "Lion City,"

from which it might be inferred that these first settlers were not Muhammadans, as is commonly a.s.sumed, but Brahmans or Buddhists, both these forms of Hinduism having been propagated throughout Sumatra and the other Sunda Islands centuries before this time. It is also noteworthy that the early settlers on the mainland are stated to have been pagans, or to have professed some corrupt form of Hindu idolatry, till their conversion to Islam by the renowned Sultan Mahmud Shah about the middle of the thirteenth century. It is therefore probable enough that the earlier movements were carried out under Hindu influences, and may have begun long before the historical date 1160. Menangkabau, however, was the first Mussulman State that acquired political supremacy in Sumatra, and this district thus became the chief centre for the later diffusion of the cultured Malays, their language, usages, and religion, throughout the Peninsula and the Archipelago. Here they are now found in compact ma.s.ses chiefly in south Sumatra (Menangkabau, Palembang, the Lampongs); in all the insular groups between Sumatra and Borneo; in the Malay Peninsula as far north as the Kra Isthmus, here intermingling with the Siamese as "Sam-Sams," partly Buddhists, partly Muhammadans; round the coast of Borneo and about the estuaries of that island; in Tidor, Ternate, and the adjacent coast of Jilolo; in the Banda, Sula, and Sulu groups; in Batavia, Singapore, and all the other large seaports of the Archipelago. In all these lands beyond Sumatra the Orang-Malayu are thus seen to be comparatively recent arrivals[497], and in fact intruders on the other Malayan populations, with whom they collectively const.i.tute the Oceanic branch of the Mongol division. Their diffusion was everywhere brought about much in the same way as in Ternate, where A. R. Wallace tells us that the ruling people "are an intrusive Malay race somewhat allied to the Maca.s.sar people, who settled in the country at a very early epoch, drove out the indigenes, who were no doubt the same as those of the adjacent island of Gilolo, and established a monarchy. They perhaps obtained many of their wives from the natives, which will account for the extraordinary language they speak--in some respects closely allied to that of the natives of Gilolo, while it contains much that points to a Malayan [Malay] origin. To most of these people the Malay language is quite unintelligible[498]."

The Malayan populations, as distinguished from the Malays proper, form socially two very distinct cla.s.ses--the _Orang Benua_, "Men of the Soil," rude aborigines, numerous especially in the interior of the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Celebes, Jilolo, Timor, Ceram, the Philippines, Formosa, and Madagascar; and the cultured peoples, formerly Hindus but now mostly Muhammadans, who have long been const.i.tuted in large communities and nationalities with historical records, and flourishing arts and industries. They speak cultivated languages of the Austronesian family, generally much better preserved and of richer grammatical structure than the simplified modern speech of the Orang-Malayu. Such are the Achinese, Rejangs, and Pa.s.sumahs of Sumatra; the Bugis, Mangka.s.saras and some Minahasans of Celebes[499]; the Tagalogs and Visayas of the Philippines; the Sa.s.saks and Balinese of Lombok and Bali (most of these still Hindus); the Madurese and Javanese proper of Java; and the Hovas of Madagascar. To call any of these "Malays[500]," is like calling the Italians "French," or the Germans "English," because of their respective Romance and Teutonic connections.

Preeminent in many respects amongst all the Malayan peoples are the _Javanese_--_Sundanese_ in the west, _Javanese proper_ in the centre, _Madurese_ in the east--who were a highly civilised nation while the Sumatran Malays were still savages, perhaps head-hunters and cannibals like the neighbouring Battas. Although now almost exclusively Muhammadans, they had already adopted some form of Hinduism probably over 2000 years ago, and under the guidance of their Indian teachers had rapidly developed a very advanced state of culture. "Under a completely organised although despotic government, the arts of peace and war were brought to considerable perfection, and the natives of Java became famous throughout the East as accomplished musicians and workers in gold, iron and copper, none of which metals were found in the island itself. They possessed a regular calendar with astronomical eras, and a metrical literature, in which, however, history was inextricably blended with romance. Bronze and stone inscriptions in the Kavi, or old Javanese language, still survive from the eleventh or twelfth century, and to the same dates may be referred the vast ruins of Brambanam and the stupendous temple of Boro-budor in the centre of the island. There are few statues of Hindu divinities in this temple, but many are found in its immediate vicinity, and from the various archaeological objects collected in the district it is evident that both the Buddhist and Brahmanical forms of Hinduism were introduced at an early date.

"But all came to an end by the overthrow of the chief Hindu power in 1478, after which event Islam spread rapidly over the whole of Java and Madura. Brahmanism, however, still holds its ground in Bali and Lombok, the last strongholds of Hinduism in the Eastern Archipelago[501]."

On the obscure religious and social relations in these Lesser Sundanese Islands much light has been thrown by Capt. W. Cool, an English translation of whose work _With the Dutch in the East_ was issued by E.

J. Taylor in 1897. Here it is shown how Hinduism, formerly dominant throughout a great part of Malaysia, gradually yielded in some places to a revival of the never extinct primitive nature-worship, in others to the spread of Islam, which in Bali alone failed to gain a footing. In this island a curious mingling of Buddhist and Brahmanical forms with the primordial heathendom not only persisted, but was strong enough to acquire the political ascendancy over the Mussulman Sa.s.saks of the neighbouring island of Lombok. Thus while Islam reigns exclusively in Java--formerly the chief domain of Hinduism in the Archipelago--Bali, Lombok, and even Sumbawa, present the strange spectacle of large communities professing every form of belief, from the grossest heathendom to pure monotheism.

As I have elsewhere pointed out[502], it is the same with the cultures and general social conditions, which show an almost unbroken transition from the savagery of Sumbawa to the relative degrees of refinement reached by the natives of Lombok and especially of Bali. Here, however, owing to the unfavourable political relations, a retrograde movement is perceptible in the crumbling temples, gra.s.s-grown highways, and neglected homesteads. But it is everywhere evident enough that "just as Hinduism has only touched the outer surface of their religion, it has failed to penetrate into their social inst.i.tutions, which, like their G.o.ds, originate from the time when Polynesian heathendom was all powerful[503]."

A striking ill.u.s.tration of the vitality of the early beliefs is presented by the local traditions, which relate how these foreign G.o.ds installed themselves in the Lesser Sundanese Islands after their expulsion from Java by the Muhammadans in the fifteenth century. Being greatly incensed at the introduction of the Koran, and also anxious to avoid contact with the "foreign devils," the Hindu deities moved eastwards with the intention of setting up their throne in Bali. But Bali already possessed its own G.o.ds, the wicked Rakshasas, who fiercely resented the intrusion, but in the struggle that ensued were annihilated, all but the still reigning Mraya Dewana. Then the new thrones had to be erected on heights, as in Java; but at that time there were no mountains in Bali, which was a very flat country. So the difficulty was overcome by bodily transferring the four hills at the eastern extremity of Java to the neighbouring island. Gunong Agong, highest of the four, was set down in the east, and became the Olympus of Bali, while the other three were planted in the west, south, and north, and a.s.signed to the different G.o.ds according to their respective ranks.

Thus were at once explained the local theogony and the present physical features of the island.

Despite their generally quiet, taciturn demeanour, all these Sundanese peoples are just as liable as the Orang-Malayu himself, to those sudden outbursts of demoniacal frenzy and homicidal mania called by them _m[)e]ng-amok_, and by us "running amok." Indeed A. R. Wallace tells us that such wild outbreaks occur more frequently (about one or two every month) amongst the civilised Mangka.s.saras and Bugis of south Celebes than elsewhere in the Archipelago. "It is the national and therefore the honourable mode of committing suicide among the natives of Celebes, and is the fashionable way of escaping from their difficulties. A Roman fell upon his sword, a j.a.panese rips up his stomach, and an Englishman blows out his brains with a pistol. The Bugis mode has many advantages to one suicidically inclined. A man thinks himself wronged by society--he is in debt and cannot pay--he is taken for a slave or has gambled away his wife or child into slavery--he sees no way of recovering what he has lost, and becomes desperate. He will not put up with such cruel wrongs, but will be revenged on mankind and die like a hero. He grasps his kris-handle, and the next moment draws out the weapon and stabs a man to the heart. He runs on, with b.l.o.o.d.y kris in his hand, stabbing at everyone he meets. 'Amok! Amok!' then resounds through the streets.

Spears, krisses, knives and guns are brought out against him. He rushes madly forward, kills all he can--men, women, and children--and dies overwhelmed by numbers amid all the excitement of a battle[504]."

Possibly connected with this blind impulse may be the strange nervous affection called _latah_, which is also prevalent amongst the Malayans, and which was first clearly described by the distinguished Malay scholar, Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham[505]. No attempt has yet been made thoroughly to diagnose this uncanny disorder[506], which would seem so much more characteristic of the high-strung or shattered nervous system of ultra-refined European society, than of that artless unsophisticated child of nature, the Orang-Malayu. Its effects on the mental state are such as to disturb all normal cerebration, and Swettenham mentions two latah-struck Malays, who would make admirable "subjects" at a seance of theosophic psychists. Any simple device served to attract their attention, when by merely looking them hard in the face they fell helplessly in the hands of the operator, instantly lost all self-control, and went pa.s.sively through any performance either verbally imposed or even merely suggested by a sign.

A peculiar feminine strain has often been imputed to the Malay temperament, yet this same Oceanic people displays in many respects a curiously kindred spirit with the ordinary Englishman, as, for instance, in his love of gambling, boxing, c.o.c.k-fighting, field sports[507], and adventure. No more fearless explorers of the high seas, formerly rovers and corsairs, at all times enterprising traders, are anywhere to be found than the Menangkabau Malays and their near kinsmen, the renowned Bugis "Merchant Adventurers" of south Celebes. Their clumsy but seaworthy praus are met in every seaport from Sumatra to the Aru Islands, and they have established permanent trading stations and even settlements in Borneo, the Philippines, Timor, and as far east as New Guinea. On one occasion Wallace sailed from Dobbo in company with fifteen large Maka.s.sar praus, each with a cargo worth about 1000, and as many of the Bugis settle amongst the rude aborigines of the eastern isles, they thus cooperate with the Sumatran Malays in extending the area of civilising influences throughout Papuasia.

Formerly they combined piracy with legitimate trade, and long after the suppression of the North Bornean corsairs by Keppel and Brooke, the inland waters continued to be infested especially by the _Bajau_ rovers of Celebes, and by the _Balagnini_ of the Sulu Archipelago, most dreaded of all the _Orang-Laut_, "Men of the Sea," the "Sea Gypsies" of the English. These were the "Cellates" (_Orang-Selat_, "Men of the Straits") of the early Portuguese writers, who described them as from time immemorial engaged in fishing and plundering on the high seas[508].

In those days, and even in comparatively late times, the relations in the Eastern Archipelago greatly resembled those prevailing in the Aegean Sea at the dawn of Greek history, while the restless seafaring populations were still in a state of flux, pa.s.sing from island to island in quest of booty or barter before permanently settling down in favourable sites[509]. With the Greek historian's philosophic disquisition on these Pelasgian and proto-h.e.l.lenic relations may be compared A. R. Wallace's account of the Batjan coastlands when visited by him in the late fifties. "Opposite us, and all along this coast of Batchian, stretches a row of fine islands completely uninhabited.

Whenever I asked the reason why no one goes to live in them, the answer always was 'For fear of the Magindano pirates[510].' Every year these scourges of the Archipelago wander in one direction or another, making their rendezvous on some uninhabited island, and carrying devastation to all the small settlements around; robbing, destroying, killing, or taking captive all they meet with. Their long, well-manned praus escape from the pursuit of any sailing vessel by pulling away right in the wind's eye, and the warning smoke of a steamer generally enables them to hide in some shallow bay, or narrow river, or forest-covered inlet, till the danger is pa.s.sed[511]." Thus, like geographical surroundings, with corresponding social conditions, produce like results in all times amongst all peoples.

This fundamental truth receives further ill.u.s.tration from the ideas prevalent amongst the Malayans regarding witchcraft, the magic arts, charms and spells, and especially the belief in the power of certain malevolent human beings to transform themselves into wild beasts and prey upon their fellow-creatures. Such superst.i.tions girdle the globe, taking their local colouring from the fauna of the different regions, so that the were-wolf of medieval Europe finds its counterpart in the human jaguar of South America, the human lion or leopard of Africa[512], and the human tiger of the Malay Peninsula. Hugh Clifford, who relates an occurrence known to himself in connection with a "were-tiger" story of the Perak district, aptly remarks that "the white man and the brown, the yellow and the black, independently, and without receiving the idea from one another, have all found the same explanation for the like phenomena, all apparently recognising the truth of the Malay proverb, that we are like unto the _taman_ fish that preys upon its own kind[513]." The story in question turns upon a young bride, whose husband comes home late three nights following, and the third time, being watched, is discovered by her in the form of a full-grown tiger stretched on the ladder, which, as in all Malay houses, leads from the ground to the threshold of the door. "Patimah gazed at the tiger from a distance of only a foot or two, for she was too paralysed with fear to move or cry out, and as she looked a gradual transformation took place in the creature at her feet.

Slowly, as one sees a ripple of wind pa.s.s over the surface of still water, the tiger's features palpitated and were changed, until the horrified girl saw the face of her husband come up through that of the beast, much as the face of a diver comes up to the surface of a pool. In another moment Patimah saw that it was Haji Ali who was ascending the ladder of his house, and the spell that had hitherto bound her was snapped."

These same Malays of Perak, H. H. Rajah Dris tells us, are still specially noted for many strange customs and superst.i.tions "utterly opposed to Muhammadan teaching, and savouring strongly of devil-worship.

This enormous belief in the supernatural is possibly a relic of the pre-Islam State[514]."

We do not know who were the primitive inhabitants of Borneo. One would expect to find Negritoes in the interior, but despite the a.s.sertion of A. de Quatref.a.ges[515] it is impossible to overlook the conclusions of A. B. Meyer[516] that no authoritative evidence of their occurrence is forthcoming, and A. C. Haddon[517] confidently states that there are none in Sarawak. It might be supposed that the Pre-Dravidian element found in Sumatra and Celebes might occur also in Borneo, but the only indication of such influence is the "black skin" noticed among certain Ulu Ayar of the Upper Kapuas in Western Dutch Borneo[518]. With the exception of certain peoples such as Europeans, Indians, Chinese, and Orang-Malayu, whose foreign origin is obvious, the population as a whole may be regarded as being composed of two main races, the Indonesian and Proto-Malay. Probably all tribes are of mixed origin, but some, such as the _Murut_, _Dusun_, _Kalabit_, and _Land Dayak_ are more Indonesian while the _Iban_ (_Sea Dayak_) are distinctly Proto-Malay. The _Land Dayak_ have doubtless been crossed with Indo-Javans.

Scattered over a considerable part of the jungle live the nomad _Punan_ and _Ukit_. They are a slender pale people with a slightly broad head.

They are grouped in small communities and inhabit the dense jungle at the head waters of the princ.i.p.al rivers of Borneo. They live on whatever they can find in the jungle, and do not cultivate the soil, nor live in permanent houses. Their few wants are supplied by barter from friendly settled peoples, or in return for iron implements, calico, beads, tobacco, etc., they offer jungle produce, mainly gutta, indiarubber, camphor, dammar and ratans. They are very mild savages, not head-hunters, they are generous to one another, moderately truthful, kind to the women and very fond of their children.

Hose and Haddon have introduced the term _Klemantan_ (_Kalamantan_) for the weak agricultural tribes such as the _Murut_, _Kalabit_, _Land Dayak_, _Sebop_, _Barawan_, _Milanau_, etc.[519] Brook Low[520], who knew the Land Dayak well, gives a very favourable account of the people and this opinion has been confirmed by other travellers. They are described as amiable, honest, grateful, moral and hospitable. Crimes of violence, other than head-hunting, are unknown. The circular _panga_ is a "house set apart for the residence of young unmarried men, in which the trophy-heads are kept, and here also all ceremonial receptions take place[521]." The _baloi_ of the Ot Danom of the Kahajan river is very similar[522]. The very energetic and dominating _Bahau-Kenyah-Kayan_ group are rather short in stature, with slightly broad heads. They occupy the best tracts of land which lie in the undulating hills at the upper reaches of the rivers, between the swampy low country and the mountains. The Kayan more especially have almost exterminated some of the smaller tribes. The Klemantan and Kenyah-Kayan tribes are agriculturalists. They clear the jungle off the low hills that flank the tributaries of the larger rivers, but always leave a few scattered trees standing; irrigation is attempted by the Kalabits only, as _padi_ rice is grown like any other cereals on dry ground; swamp _padi_ is also grown on the low land. In their gardens they grow yams, pumpkins, sugar cane, bananas, and sometimes coconuts and other produce. They hunt all land animals that serve as food, and fish, usually with nets, in the rivers, or spear those fish that have been stupefied with _tuba_; river prawns are also a favourite article of diet.

They all live in long communal houses which are situated on the banks of the rivers. Among the Klemantan tribes the headman has not much influence, unless he is a man of exceptional power and energy, but among the larger tribes and especially among the Kayan and Kenyah the headmen are the real chiefs and exercise undisputed sway. The Kenyah are perhaps the most advanced in social evolution, holding their own by superior solidarity and intelligence against the turbulent Kayan.

All the agricultural tribes are artistic, but in varying degrees; they are also musical and sing delightful chorus songs. In some tribes the ends of the beams of the houses are carved to represent various animals, in some the verandah is decorated with boldly carved planks, or with painted boards and doors. The bamboo receptacles carved in low relief, the bone handles of their swords and the minor articles of daily life, are decorated in a way that reveals the true artistic spirit. Both Kenyah and Kayan smelt iron and make spear heads and sword blades, the former being especially noted for their good steel. The forge with two bellows is the form widely spread in Malaysia.

The truculent _Iban_ (_Sea Dayak_) have spread from a restricted area in Sarawak[523]. They are short and have broader heads than the other tribes; the colour is on the whole darker than among the cinnamon coloured inland tribes. They have the same long, slightly wavy, black hair showing a reddish tinge in certain lights, that is characteristic of the Borneans generally. Most of the Iban inhabit low lying land; they prefer to live on the low hills, but as this is not always practicable they plant swamp _padi_; all those who settle at the heads of rivers plant _padi_ on the hills in the same manner as the up-river natives.

They also cultivate maize, sugar cane, sweet potatoes, gourds, pumpkins, cuc.u.mbers, melons, mustard, ginger and other vegetables. Generally groups of relations work together in the fields. Although essentially agricultural, they are warlike and pa.s.sionately devoted to head-hunting.

The Iban of the Batang Lupar and Saribas in the olden days joined the Malays in their large war praus on piratical raids along the coast and up certain rivers and they owe their name of Sea Dayaks to this practice. The raids were organised by Malays who went for plunder but they could always ensure the aid of Iban by the bribe of the heads of the slain as their share. The Iban women weave beautiful cotton cloths on a very simple loom. Intricate patterns are made by tying several warp strands with leaves at varying intervals, then dipping the whole into the dye which does not penetrate the tied portions. This process is repeated if a three-colour design is desired. The pattern is produced solely in the warp, the woof threads are self-coloured and are not visible in the fabric, which is therefore a cotton rep. Little tattooing is seen among the Iban women though the men have adopted the custom from the Kayan.

It is probable that the Iban belong to the same stock as the original Malay and if so, their migration may be regarded as the first wave of the movement that culminated in the Malay Empire. The Malays must have come to Borneo not later than the early part of the fifteenth century as Brunei was a large and wealthy town in 1521. Probably the Malays came directly from the Malay Peninsula, but they must have mixed largely with the _Kadayan_, _Milanau_ and other coastal people. The Sarawak and Brunei Malays are probably mainly coastal Borneans with some Malay blood, but they have absorbed the Malay culture, spirit and religion.

From the sociological point of view the Punan, living by the chase and on exploitation of jungle produce, represent the lowest grade of culture in Borneo. Without social organisation they are alike incapable of real endemic improvement or of seriously affecting other peoples. The purely agricultural tribes that cultivate _padi_ on the low hills or in the swamps form the next social stratum. These indigenous tillers of the soil have been hard pressed by various swarms of foreigners.

The Kenyah-Kayan migration was that of a people of a slightly higher grade of culture. They were agriculturalists, but the social organisation was firmer and they were probably superior in physique. If they introduced iron weapons, this would give them an enormous advantage. These immigrant agricultural artisans, directed by powerful chiefs, had no difficulty in taking possession of the most desirable land.

From an opposite point of the compa.s.s in early times came another agricultural people who strangely enough have strong individualistic tendencies, the usually peaceable habits of tillers of the soil having been complicated by a l.u.s.t for heads and other warlike propensities. But the Iban do not appear to have gained much against the Kenyah and Kayan.

Conquest implies a strong leader, obedience to authority and concerted action. The Iban appear to be formidable only when led and organised by Europeans.

The Malay was of a yet higher social type. His political organisation was well established, and he had the advantage of religious enthusiasm, for Islam has no small share in the expansion of the Malay. He is a trader, and still more an exploiter, having a sporting element in his character not altogether compatible with steady trade. Then appeared on the scene the Anglo-Saxon overlord. The quality of firmness combined with justice made itself felt. At times the lower social types hurled themselves, but in vain, against the instrument that had been forged and tempered in a similar turmoil of Iberian, Celt, Angle and Viking in Northern Europe. Now they acknowledge that safety of life and property and almost complete liberty are fully worth the very small price that they have to pay for them[524].

The cult of omen animals, most frequently birds, is indigenous to Borneo. These are possessed with the spirit of certain invisible beings above, and bear their names, and are invoked to secure good crops, freedom from accident, victory in war, profit in exchange, skill in discourse and cleverness in all native craft. The Iban have a belief in _Ngarong_ or spirit-helpers, somewhat resembling that of the _Manitu_ of North America. The _Ngarong_ is the spirit of a dead relative who visits a dreamer, who afterwards searches for the outward and visible sign of his spiritual protector, and finds it in some form, perhaps a natural object, or some one animal, henceforth held in special respect[525].

In Sumatra there occur some remains of Hindu temples[526], as well as other mysterious monuments in the Pa.s.sumah lands inland from Benkulen, relics of a former culture, which goes back to prehistoric times. They take the form of huge monoliths, which are roughly shaped to the likeness of human figures, with strange features very different from the Malay or Hindu types. The present Sarawi natives of the district, who would be quite incapable of executing such works, know nothing of their origin, and attribute them to certain legendary beings who formerly wandered over the land, turning all their enemies into stone. Further research may possibly discover some connection between these relics of a forgotten past and the numerous prehistoric monuments of Easter Island and other places in the Pacific Ocean. Of all the Indonesian peoples still surviving in Malaysia, none present so many points of contact with the Eastern Polynesians, as do the natives of the Mentawi Islands which skirt the south-west coast of Sumatra. "On a closer inspection of the inhabitants the attentive observer at once perceives that the Mentawi natives have but little in common with the peoples and tribes of the neighbouring islands, and that as regards physical appearance, speech, customs, and usages they stand almost entirely apart. They bear such a decided stamp of a Polynesian tribe that one feels far more inclined to compare them with the inhabitants of the South Sea Islands[527]."

The survival of an Indonesian group on the western verge of Malaysia is all the more remarkable since the _Nias_ islanders, a little farther north, are of Mongol stock, like most if not all of the inhabitants of the Sumatran mainland. Here the typical Malays of the central districts (Menangkabau, Korinchi, and Siak) merge southwards in the mixed Malayo-Javanese peoples of the _Rejang_, _Palembang_, and _Lampong_ districts. Although Muhammadans probably since the thirteenth century, all these peoples had been early brought under Hindu influences by missionaries and even settlers from Java, and these influences are still apparent in many of the customs, popular traditions, languages, and letters of the South Sumatran settled communities. Thus the Lampongs, despite their profession of Islam, employ, not the Arabic characters, like the Malays proper, but a script derived from the peculiar Javanese writing system. This system itself, originally introduced from India probably over 2000 years ago, is based on some early forms of the Devanagari, such as those occurring in the rock inscriptions of the famous Buddhist king As'oka (third century B.C.)[528]. From Java, which is now shown beyond doubt to be the true centre of dispersion[529], the parent alphabet was under Hindu influences diffused in pre-Muhammadan times throughout Malaysia, from Sumatra to the Philippines.

But the thinly-spread Indo-Javanese culture, in few places penetrating much below the surface, received a rude shock from the Muhammadan irruption, its natural development being almost everywhere arrested, or else either effaced or displaced by Islam. No trace can any longer be detected of graphic signs in Borneo, where the aborigines have retained the savage state even in those southern districts where Buddhism or Brahmanism had certainly been propagated long before the arrival of the Muhammadan Malays. But elsewhere the Javanese stock alphabet has shown extraordinary vitality, persisting under diverse forms down to the present day, not only amongst the semi-civilised Mussulman peoples, such as the Sumatran Rejangs[530], Korinchi, and Lampongs, the Bugis and Mangka.s.saras of Celebes, and the (now Christian) Tagalogs and Visayas of the Philippines, but even amongst the somewhat rude and pagan Palawan natives, the wild Manguianes of Mindoro, and the cannibal Battas[531] of North Sumatra.

These Battas, however, despite their undoubted cannibalism[532], cannot be called savages, at least without some reserve. They are skilful stock-breeders and agriculturists, raising fine crops of maize and rice; they dwell together in large, settled communities with an organised government, hereditary chiefs, popular a.s.semblies, and a written civil and penal code. There is even an effective postal system, which utilises for letter-boxes the hollow tree-trunks at all the cross-roads, and is largely patronised by the young men and women, all of whom read and write, and carry on an animated correspondence in their degraded Devanagari script, which is written on palm-leaves in vertical lines running upwards and from right to left. The Battas also excel in several industries, such as pottery, weaving, jewellery, iron work, and house-building, their picturesque dwellings, which resemble Swiss chalets, rising to two stories above the ground-floor reserved for the live stock. For these arts they are no doubt largely indebted to their Hindu teachers, from whom also they have inherited some of their religious ideas, such as the triune deity--Creator, Preserver, and Destroyer--besides other inferior divinities collectively called _diebata_, a modified form of the Indian _devate_[533].

In the strangest contrast to these survivals of a foreign culture which had probably never struck very deep roots, stand the savage survivals from still more ancient times. Conspicuous amongst these are the cannibal practices, which if not now universal still take some peculiarly revolting forms. Thus captives and criminals are, under certain circ.u.mstances, condemned to be eaten alive, and the same fate is or was reserved for those incapacitated for work by age or infirmities.

When the time came, we are told by the early European observers and by the reports of the Arabs, the "grandfathers" voluntarily suspended themselves by their arms from an overhanging branch, while friends and neighbours danced round and round, shouting, "when the fruit is ripe it falls." And when it did fall, that is, as soon as it could hold on no longer, the company fell upon it with their krisses, hacking it to pieces, and devouring the remains seasoned with lime-juice, for such feasts were generally held when the limes were ripe[534].

Grouped chiefly round about Lake Toba, the Battas occupy a very wide domain, stretching south to about the parallel of Mount Ophir, and bordering northwards on the territory of the Achin people. These valiant natives, who have till recently stoutly maintained their political independence against the Dutch, were also at one time Hinduized, as is evident from many of their traditions, their Malayan language largely charged with Sanskrit terms, and even their physical appearance, suggesting a considerable admixture of Hindu as well as of Arab blood.

With the Arab traders and settlers came the Koran, and the Achinese people have been not over-zealous followers of the Prophet since the close of the twelfth century. The Muhammadan State, founded in 1205, acquired a dominant position in the Archipelago early in the sixteenth century, when it ruled over about half of Sumatra, exacted tribute from many va.s.sal princes, maintained powerful armaments by land and sea, and entered into political and commercial relations with Egypt, j.a.pan, and several European States.

There are two somewhat distinct ethnical groups, the _Orang-Tunong_ of the uplands, a comparatively h.o.m.ogeneous Malayan people, and the mixed _Orang-Baruh_ of the lowlands, who are described by A. Lubbers[535] as taller than the average Malay (5 feet 5 or 6 in.), also less round-headed (index 80.5), with prominent nose, rather regular features, and muscular frames; but the complexion is darker than that of the Orang-Malayu, a trait which has been attributed to a larger infusion of Dravidian blood (Klings and Tamuls) from southern India. The charge of cruelty and treachery brought against them by the Dutch may be received with some reserve, such terms as "patriot" and "rebel" being interchangeable according to the standpoints from which they are considered. In any case no one denies them the virtues of valour and love of freedom, with which are a.s.sociated industrious habits and a remarkable apt.i.tude for such handicrafts as metal work, jewellery, weaving, and ship-building. The Achinese do not appear to be very strict Muhammadans; polygamy is little practised, their women are free to go abroad unveiled, nor are they condemned to the seclusion of the harem, and a pleasing survival from Buddhist times is the _Kanduri_, a solemn feast, in which the poor are permitted to share. Another reminiscence of Hindu philosophy may perhaps have been an outburst of religious fervour, which took the form of a pantheistic creed, and was so zealously preached, that it had to be stamped out with fire and sword by the dominant Moslem monotheists[536].

Since the French occupation of Madagascar, the Malagasy problem has naturally been revived. But it may be regretted that so much time and talent have been spent on a somewhat thrashed-out question by a number of writers, who did not first take the trouble to read up the literature of the subject.

By what race Madagascar was first peopled it is no longer possible to say. The local reports or traditions of primitive peoples, either extinct or still surviving in the interior, belong rather to the sphere of Malagasy folklore than to that of ethnological research. In these reports mention is frequently made of the _Kimos_, said to be now or formerly living in the Bara country, and of the _Vazimbas_, who are by some supposed to have been Gallas (_Ba-Simba_)--though they had no knowledge of iron--whose graves are supposed to be certain monolithic monuments which take the form of menhirs disposed in circles, and are believed by the present inhabitants of the land to be still haunted by evil spirits, that is, the ghosts of the long extinct Vazimbas.

Much of the confusion prevalent regarding the present ethnical relations may be avoided if certain points (ably summarised by T. A. Joyce[537]) are borne in mind. The greater part of the population is negroid; the language spoken over the whole of the island and many inst.i.tutions and customs are Malayo-Polynesian. A small section (Antimerina commonly called Hovas)--forming the dominant people in the nineteenth century--is of fairly pure Malay (or Javanese) blood, but is composed of sixteenth-century immigrants, whereas the language belongs to a very early branch of the Malayo-Polynesian (Austronesian) family. It would be natural to suppose that the negroid element was African[538], for in later times large numbers of Africans have been brought over by Arabs and other slavers; but there are several objections to this view. In the first place, the natives of the neighbouring coast are not seamen, and the voyage to Madagascar offers peculiar difficulties owing to the strong currents. In the second place, it seems impossible that the first inhabitants, supposing them to be African, should have abandoned their own language in favour of one introduced by a small minority of immigrants; the few Bantu words found in Madagascar may well have been adopted from the slaves. In the third place, the culture exhibits no distinctively African features, but is far more akin to that of south-east Asia. There is much to be said, therefore, for the view that the earliest and negroid inhabitants of Madagascar were Oceanic negroids, who have always been known as expert seamen.

Since the coming of the negroid population, which probably arrived in very early days, various small bands of immigrants or castaways have landed on the sh.o.r.es of Madagascar and imposed themselves as reigning dynasties on the surrounding villages, each thus forming the nucleus of what now appears as a tribe. Among these were immigrants from Arabia, and J. T. Last, who identifies Madagascar with the island of _Menuthias_ described by Arrian in the third century A.D.[539], suggests the "possibility that Madagascar may have been reached by Arabs before the Christian era." This "possibility" is converted almost into a certainty by the a.n.a.lysis of the Arabo-Malagasy terms made by Dahle, who clearly shows that such terms "are comparatively very few," and also "very ancient," in fact that, as already suggested by Fleischer of Leipzig, many, perhaps the majority of them, "may be traced back to Himyaritic influence[540]," that is, not merely to pre-Muhammadan, but to pre-Christian times, just like the Sanskritic elements in the Oceanic tongues.