_Some Account of the Inhabitants of Batavia, and the adjacent Country,
their Manners, Customs, and Manner of Life_.
The town of Batavia, although, as I have already observed, it is the
capital of the Dutch dominions in India, is so far from being peopled
with Dutchmen, that not one-fifth part, even of the European inhabitants
of the town, and its environs, are natives of Holland, or of Dutch
extraction: The greater part are Portuguese, and besides Europeans,
there are Indians of various nations, and Chinese, besides a great
number of negro slaves.[149] In the troops, there are natives of almost
every country in Europe, but the Germans are more than all the rest put
together; there are some English and French, but the Dutch, though other
Europeans are permitted to get money here, keep all the power in their
own hands, and consequently possess all public employments. No man, of
whatever nation, can come hither to settle, in any other character than
that of a soldier in the Company's service, in which, before they are
accepted, they must covenant to remain five years. As soon, however, as
this form has been complied with, they are allowed, upon application to
the council, to absent themselves from their corps, and enter
immediately into any branch of trade which their money or credit will
enable them to carry on; and by this means it is that all the white
inhabitants of the place are soldiers.
[Footnote 149: Mr Barrow estimates the population of Batavia, and the
adjacent villages, at 116,000, of which only about 8000 are Europeans;
the slaves are supposed 17,000, the Chinese 22,000, and the remainder
consists of free Javanese or Malays. The streets of Batavia, he says,
present a greater variety of races than are almost any where else to be
found together. Among these, however, as is to be expected, the Dutchman
is by much the most consequential, when he condescends, which is not
frequent, to appear amongst the lower species. Mr B.'s description of
this important being may amuse the reader. "The Dutchman, whose
predominant vice in Europe is avarice, rising into affluence in an
unhealthy foreign settlement, almost invariably changes this part of his
character, and, with a thorough contempt of the frugal maxim of Molier's
L'Avare, lives to eat, rather than eats to live. His motto is, 'Let us
eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.' He observes, it is true, the old
maxim of rising at an early hour in the morning, not however for the
sake of enjoying the cool breeze, and of taking moderate exercise, but
rather to begin the day's career of eating and drinking. His first essay
is usually a _sopie_, or glass of gin to which succeed a cup of coffee
and a pipe. His stomach thus fortified, he lounges about the great hall
of the house, or the viranda, if in the country, with a loose
night-gown, carelessly thrown over his shoulders, a night-cap and
slippers, till about eight o'clock, which is the usual hour of
breakfast. This is generally a solid meal of dried meat, fish, and
poultry, made into curries, eggs, rice, strong beer, and spirits.
_Currie_ and rice is a standing dish at all meals, and at all seasons of
the year, being considered as an excellent stimulus to the stomach. The
business of the day occupies little more than a couple of hours, from
ten to twelve, when he again sits down to dinner, a meal that is
somewhat more solid than the breakfast. From table he retires to sleep,
and remains invisible till about five in the evening, when he rises and
prepares for a ride or a walk, from which he uniformly returns to a
smoking-hot supper." So much for the portly Dutchman at Batavia,--a sort
of animal not unsuccessfully emulated, as to substantials, by a certain
_genus_ in some islands of the West Indies!-E.]
Women, however, of all nations, are permitted to settle here, without
coming under any restrictions; yet we were told that there were not,
when we arrived at Batavia, twenty women in the place that were born in
Europe, but that the white women, who were by no means scarce, were
descendants from European parents of the third or fourth generation, the
gleanings of many families who had successively come hither, and in the
male line become extinct; for it is certain that, whatever be the cause,
this climate is not so fatal to the ladies as to the other sex.
These women imitate the Indians in every particular; their dress is made
of the same materials, their hair is worn in the same manner, and they
are equally enslaved by the habit of chewing betel.
The merchants carry on their business here with less trouble perhaps
than in any other part of the world: Every manufacture is managed by the
Chinese, who sell the produce of their labour to the merchant resident
here, for they are permitted to sell it to no one else; so that when a
ship comes in, and bespeaks perhaps a hundred leagers of arrack, or any
quantity of other commodities, the merchant has nothing to do but to
send orders to his Chinese to see them delivered on board: He obeys the
command, brings a receipt, signed by the master of the ship, for the
goods to his employer, who receives the money, and having deducted his
profit, pays the Chinese his demand. With goods that are imported,
however, the merchant has a little more trouble, for these he must
examine, receive, and lay up in his warehouse, according to the practice
of other countries.
The Portuguese are called by the natives Oranserrne, or Nazareen men
(Oran, being Man in the language of the country,) to distinguish them
from other Europeans; yet they are included in the general appellation
of _Caper_, or _Cafir_, an opprobrious term, applied by Mahometans to
all who do not profess their faith. These people, however, are
Portuguese only in name; they have renounced the religion of Rome, and
become Lutherans: Neither have they the least communication with the
country of their forefathers, or even knowledge of it: They speak indeed
a corrupt dialect of the Portuguese language, but much more frequently
use the Malay: They are never suffered to employ themselves in any but
mean occupations: Many of them live by hunting, many by washing linen,
and some are handicraftsmen and artificers. They have adopted all the
customs of the Indians, from whom they are distinguished chiefly by
their features and complexion, their skin being considerably darker, and
their noses more sharp; their dress is exactly the same, except in the
manner of wearing their hair.
The Indians, who are mixed with the Dutch and Portuguese in the town of
Batavia, and the country adjacent, are not, as might be supposed,
Javanese, the original natives of the island, but natives of the various
islands from which the Dutch import slaves, and are either such as have
themselves been manumized, or the descendants of those who formerly
received manumission; and they are all comprehended under the general
name of _Oranslam_, or _Isalam_, signifying believers of the true faith.
The natives of every country, however, in other respects, keep
themselves distinct from the rest, and are not less strongly marked than
the slaves by the vices or virtues of their respective nations. Many of
these employ themselves in the cultivation of gardens, and in selling
fruit and flowers. The betel and areca, which are here called _siri_ and
_pinang_, and chewed by both sexes and every rank in amazing quantities,
are all grown by these Indians: Lime is also mixed with these roots here
as it is in Savu, but it is less pernicious to the teeth, because it is
first slaked, and, besides the lime, a substance called _gambir_, which
is brought from the continent of India; the better sort of women also
add cardamum, and many other aromatics, to give the breath an agreeable
smell. Some of the Indians, however, are employed in fishing, and as
lightermen, to carry goods from place to place by water; and some are
rich, and live with much of the splendour of their country, which
chiefly consists in the number of their slaves.
In the article of food, these Isalams are remarkably temperate: It
consists chiefly of boiled rice, with a small portion of buffalo, fish,
or fowl, and sometimes of dried fish, and dried shrimps, which are
brought hither from China; every dish, however, is highly seasoned with
Cayan pepper, and they have many kinds of pastry made of rice-flour, and
other things to which I am a stranger; they eat also a great deal of
fruit, particularly plantains.
But notwithstanding their general temperance their feasts are
plentiful, and, according to their manner, magnificent. As they are
Mahometans, wine and strong liquors professedly make no part of their
entertainment, neither do they often indulge with them privately,
contenting themselves with their betel and opium.
The principal solemnity among them is a wedding, upon which occasion
both the families borrow as many ornaments of gold and silver as they
can, to adorn the bride and bridegroom, so that their dresses are very
showy and magnificent. The feasts that are given upon these occasions
among the rich, last sometimes a fortnight, and sometimes longer; and
during this time the man, although married on the first day, is, by the
women, kept from his wife.
The language that is spoken among all these people, from what place
soever they originally came, is the Malay; at least, it is a language so
called, and probably it is a very corrupt dialect of that spoken at
Malacca. Every little island, indeed, has a language of its own, and
Java has two or three, but this lingua franca is the only language that
is now spoken here, and, as I am told, it prevails over a great part of
the East Indies. A dictionary of Malay and English was published in
London by Thomas Bowrey, in the year 1701.[150]
[Footnote 150: What is here said of the Malay language cannot be
implicitly relied on, information on the subject being exceedingly
scanty at the time of the publication. Mr Marsden has lately favoured
the world with both dictionary and grammar of the Malay, of which a very
important account will be found in the Edinburgh Review for April
1814.--E.]
Their women wear as much hair as can grow upon the head, and to increase
the quantity, they use oils, and other preparations of various kinds. Of
this ornament Nature has been very liberal; it is universally black, and
is formed into a kind of circular wreath upon the top of the head, where
it is fastened with a bodkin, in a taste which we thought inexpressibly
elegant: The wreath of hair is surrounded by another of flowers, in
which the Arabian jessamine is beautifully intermixed with the golden
stars of the _bonger tanjong_.
Both sexes constantly bathe themselves in the river at least once
a-day, a practice which, in this hot country, is equally necessary both
to personal delicacy and health. The teeth of these people also,
whatever they may suffer in their colour by chewing betel, are an object
of great attention: The ends of them, both in the upper and under jaw,
are rubbed with a kind of whetstone, by a very troublesome and painful
operation, till they are perfectly even and flat, so that they cannot
lose less than half a line in their length. A deep groove is then made
across the teeth of the upper jaw, parallel with the gums, and in the
middle between them and the extremity of the teeth; the depth of this
groove is at least equal to one-fourth of the thickness of the teeth, so
that it penetrates far beyond what is called the enamel, the least
injury to which, according to the dentists of Europe, is fatal; yet
among these people, where the practice of thus wounding the enamel is
universal, we never saw a rotten tooth; nor is the blackness a stain,
but a covering, which may be washed off at pleasure, and the teeth, then
appear as white as ivory, which, however, is not an excellence in the
estimation of the belles and beaux of these nations.
These are the people among whom the practice that is called a _mock_, or
running a muck, has prevailed for time immemorial. It is well known,
that to run a muck, in the original sense of the word, is to get
intoxicated with opium, and then rush into the street with a drawn
weapon, and kill whoever comes in the way, till the party is himself
either killed or taken prisoner; of this several instances happened
while we were at Batavia, and one of the officers, whose business it is,
among other things, to apprehend such people, told us, that there was
scarcely a week in which he, or some of his brethren, were not called
upon to take one of them into custody. In one of the instances that came
to our knowledge, the party had been severely injured by the perfidy of
women, and was mad with jealousy before he made himself drunk with
opium; and we were told, that the Indian who runs a muck is always first
driven to desperation by some outrage, and always first revenges himself
upon those who have done him wrong: We were also told, that though these
unhappy wretches afterwards run into the street with a weapon in their
hand, frantic and foaming at the mouth, yet they never kill any but
those who attempt to apprehend them, or those whom they suspect of such
an intention, and that whoever gives them way is safe. They are
generally slaves, who indeed are most subject to insults, and least able
to obtain legal redress: Freemen, however, are sometimes provoked into
this extravagance, and one of the persons who ran a muck while we were
at Batavia, was free, and in easy circumstances. He was jealous of his
own brother, whom he first killed, and afterwards two others, who
attempted to oppose him: He did not, however, come out of his house, but
endeavoured to defend himself in it, though the opium had so far
deprived him of his senses, that of three muskets, which he attempted to
use against the officers of justice, not one was either loaded or
primed. If the officer takes one of these amocks, or mohawks, as they
have been called by an easy corruption, alive, his reward is very
considerable, but if he kills them, nothing is added to his usual pay;
yet such is the fury of their desperation, that three out of four are of
necessity destroyed in the attempt to secure them, though the officers
are provided with instruments like large tongs, or pincers, to lay hold
of them without coming within the reach of their weapon. Those who
happen to be taken alive are generally wounded, but they are always
broken alive upon the wheel, and if the physician who is appointed to
examine their wounds thinks them likely to be mortal, the punishment is
inflicted immediately, and the place of execution is generally the spot
where the first murder was committed.[151]
[Footnote 151: The word _amock_, which is vulgarly applied to this most
extraordinary exhibition of ferocious despair, signifies, in the native
language, _kill_, and is often vociferated by the unhappy madmen as they
prowl the streets, intent on vengeance. There is reason to believe that
opium is no otherwise concerned in producing such frenzy than as it
contributes to keep up the passions which had been previously raised,
and to render the persons under their influence insensible to the
dangers that beset them:--In the same manner as in other countries, the
intemperate use of spirits produces a sort of temporary, but often
fatal, and always hazardous derangement. The Malays are remarkable for
ferocity of temper, and are, at the same time, exceedingly liable to
jealousy, and to take offence. It is usually after such occurrences as
excite their bad passions, that they take to opium and are at last
wrought up to the madness of the "amock," which ends their days and
griefs together.--E.]
Among these people there are many absurd practices and opinions which
they derive from their pagan ancestors: They believe that the devil,
whom they call Satan, is the cause of all sickness and adversity, and
for this reason, when they are sick, or in distress, they consecrate
meat, money, and other things to him as a propitiation. If any one among
them is restless, and dreams for two or three nights successively, he
concludes that Satan has taken that method of laying his commands upon
him, which if he neglects to fulfil, he will certainly suffer sickness
or death, though they are not revealed with sufficient perspicuity to
ascertain their meaning: To interpret his dream, therefore, he taxes his
wits to the uttermost, and if, by taking it literally or figuratively,
directly or by contraries, he can put no explanation upon it that
perfectly satisfies him, he has recourse to the cawin, or priest, who
assists him with a comment and illustrations, and perfectly reveals the
mysterious suggestions of the night. It generally appears that the devil
wants victuals or money, which are always allotted him, and being placed
on a little plate of cocoa-nut leaves, are hung upon the branch of a
tree near the river, so that it seems not to be the opinion of these
people, that in prowling the earth "the devil walketh through dry
places." Mr Banks once asked, whether they thought Satan spent the
money, or eat the victuals? he was answered, that as to the money, it
was considered rather as a mulct upon an offender, than a gift to him
who had enjoined it, and that therefore, if it was devoted by the
dreamer, it mattered not into whose hands it came, and they supposed
that it was generally the prize of some stranger who wandered that way;
but as to the meat, they were clearly of opinion that although the devil
did not eat the gross parts, yet, by bringing his mouth near it, he
sucked out all its savour without changing its position, so that
afterwards it was as tasteless as water.[152]
[Footnote 152: The people of Borneo are said to have a similar mode of
placating the devil by means of victuals, &c. A curious account of it is
given by Capt. Daniel Beeckman, in his relation of a voyage to that
island, published at London, 1718. The following extract may
amuse:--"There was one Cay Deponattee, a very honest man, who often used
to visit us; he happened to come one day when Mr Becher was delirious,
(being ill of a fever) and perceiving him to be very earnest in
speaking, he asked us what he talked of? We told him he was seila, that
is, light-headed; and we explained to him what extravagant things he
said. Whereupon he told us, that he was possessed with the devil, and
that it was not he that spoke, but the devil that was within him. He
begged that we would carry some fowls, rice, and fruit, and offer it to
the devil in the woods, where they have certain places for that purpose,
and that then the devil would leave him; for, says he, what signifies
the expence? We answered him, that we knew better things, and that his
illness did not proceed from what he imagined; that we Christians feared
not the devil, for that he had no power to hurt any but those that put
their trust in him, and not in God. The old man laughed at our notions,
and said, that their sultan was of our opinion, but that, for his own
part, he knew otherwise by experience. The next day he came to see him
again; and upon his enquiry how he did, Mr Becher (being then sensible)
answered him, that he was something better, but that he had a great pain
across his stomach. 'Ay,' says the old man, 'I told you yesterday what
the matter was, but you are fools, and would not believe me, nor be
ruled by me; but though the devil is gone, he has smote you on the
stomach; and without you follow my directions, you will certainly die in
a very little time.' Then he desired that his wife might go and make
such offerings; but Mr Becher answered, that she might do what she
pleased, but not on his account, for that he would rather lose his life
than be beholden to the devil for it. The manner of these offerings is
thus; When any person is very ill, especially in the condition Mr B.
was, imagining him to be possessed, they buy the aforesaid provisions;
and having dressed them with as much care as if they were to make a
splendid entertainment, they carry this banquet into the woods to a
certain house or shed, built always under the largest trees near the
water side, where they leave it. As to what ceremonies of prayer, &c.,
they use on this occasion, I know not particularly, only that they
invite the devil very kindly to it, assuring him that it is very good,
and well dressed, and begging him to accept it. Now these woods are so
full of monkeys, that if never so much was left at night, they would
devour it before morning, which these ignorant creatures believe to be
eaten by the devil; and if the person recovers, they think themselves
very much obliged to him for his civility and good nature, and, by way
of thanks, they send him more; but if the person dies, then they revile
against him, calling him a cross ill-natured devil, that he is often a
deceiver, and that he has been very ungrateful in accepting the present,
and then killing their friend: In fine, they are very angry with him."
He mentions some other ways of enchanting away distempers, where such
offerings to the devil are no inconsiderable part of the
prescription.--E.]
But they have another superstitious opinion that is still more
unaccountable. They believe that women, when they are delivered of
children, are frequently at the same time delivered of a young
crocodile, as a twin to the infant: They believe that these creatures
are received most carefully by the midwife, and immediately carried down
to the river, and put into the water. The family in which such a birth
is supposed to have happened constantly put victuals into the river for
their amphibious relation, and especially the twin, who, as long as he
lives, gets down to the river at stated seasons, to fulfil this
fraternal duly, for the neglect of which it is the universal opinion
that he will be visited with sickness or death. What could at first
produce a notion so extravagant and absurd, it is not easy to guess,
especially as it seems to be totally unconnected with any religious
mystery, and how a fact which never happened, should be pretended to
happen every day, by those who cannot be deceived into a belief of it by
appearances, nor have any apparent interest in the fraud, is a problem
still more difficult to solve. Nothing however can be more certain than
the firm belief of this strange absurdity among them, for we had the
concurrent testimony of every Indian who was questioned about it, in its
favour. It seems to have taken its rise in the islands of Celebes and
Boutou, where many of the inhabitants keep crocodiles in their families;
but however that be, the opinion has spread over all the eastern
islands, even to Timor and Ceram, and westward as far as Java and
Sumatra, where, however, young crocodiles are, I believe, never
kept.[153]
[Footnote 153: Maximus Tyrius tells us a story of an Egyptian woman
having brought up a young crocodile as a companion to her son, who was
much about the same age. Things went on very well with these two friends
for a considerable time; but the crocodile gaining strength and the
common properties of his species, at last devoured his comrade. The
Egyptians, it is well known, had a peculiar regard for this animal, and
esteemed it as sacred. What could have given rise to the strange notions
mentioned in the text, the writer is utterly unable to conjecture, and
he does not recollect any relation or circumstances that can illustrate
them.--E.]
These crocodile twins are called _sudaras_, and I shall Relate one of
the innumerable stories that were told us, in proof of their existence,
from ocular demonstration.
A young female slave, who was born and bred up among the English at
Bencoolen, and had learnt a little of the language, told Mr Banks, that
her father, when he was dying, acquainted her that he had a crocodile
for his _sudara_, and solemnly charged her to give him meat when he
should be dead, telling her in what part of the river he was to be
found, and by what name he was to be called up: That in pursuance of her
father's instructions and command, she went to the river, and standing
upon the bank, called out, _Radja Pouti_, white king, upon which a
crocodile came to her out of the water, and eat from her hand the
provisions that she had brought him. When she was desired to describe
this paternal uncle, who in so strange a shape had taken up his dwelling
in the water, she said, that he was not like other crocodiles, but much
handsomer; that his body was spotted, and his nose red; that he had
bracelets of gold upon his feet, and ear-rings of the same metal in his
ears. Mr Banks heard this tale of ridiculous falsehood patiently to the
end, and then dismissed the girl, without reminding her that a crocodile
with ears was as strange a monster as a dog with a cloven foot. Some
time after this, a servant whom Mr Banks had hired at Batavia, and who
was the son of a Dutchman by a Javanese woman, thought fit to acquaint
his master that he had seen a crocodile of the same kind, which had also
been seen by many others, both Dutchmen and Malays: That being very
young, it was but two feet long, and had bracelets of gold upon its
feet. There is no giving credit to these stories, said Mr Banks, for I
was told the other day that a crocodile had ear-rings, and you know that
could not be true, because crocodiles have no ears. Ah, sir, said the
man, these sudara oran are not like other crocodiles; they have five
toes upon each foot, a large tongue that fills their mouth, and ears
also, although they are indeed very small.
How much of what these people related, they believed, cannot be known;
for there are no bounds to the credulity of ignorance and folly. In the
girl's relation, however, there are some things in which she could not
be deceived; and therefore must have been guilty of wilful falsehood.
Her father might perhaps give her a charge to feed a crocodile, in
consequence of his believing that it was his sudara; but its coming to
her out of the river when she called it by the name of white king, and
taking the food she had brought it, must have been a fable of her own
invention; for this being false, it was impossible that she should
believe it to be true. The girl's story, however, as well as that of the
man, is a strong proof that they both firmly believed the existence of
crocodiles that are sudaras to men; and the girl's fiction will be
easily accounted for, if we recollect that the earnest desire which
every one feels to make others believe what he believes himself, is a
strong temptation to support it by unjustifiable evidence. And the
averring what is known to be false, in order to produce in others the
belief of what is thought to be true, must, upon the most charitable
principles, be imputed to many, otherwise venerable characters, through
whose hands the doctrines of Christianity passed for many ages in their
way to us, as the source of all the silly fables related of the Romish
saints, many of them not less extravagant and absurd than this story of
the white king, and all of them the invention of the first relater.[154]
[Footnote 154: It is no doubt very true, that many of the _pious
frauds_, as they have been called, are as absurd as the story alluded
to; but really there does not seem to be any occasion whatever for
lugging them in here, in order to shew a sort of malicious contempt of
those who framed them. Dr Hawkesworth, it is very clear, kept himself
much on the look-out for subjects capable of serving as baits for the
greedy scoffers of his day. Few people have candour or patience enough
to discriminate betwixt truth and its counterpart, when religion is to
be investigated; and nothing is more common among the witlings, than a
sneer at the bullion, because of its being occasionally blended with
dross. But such behaviour has much stronger indications of spite than
claims to the merit of ability or good sense.--E.]
The Bougis, Macassars, and Boetons, are so firmly persuaded that they
have relations of the crocodile species in the rivers of their own
country, that they perform a periodical ceremony in remembrance of them.
Large parties of them go out in a boat, furnished with great plenty of
provisions, and all kinds of music, and row backwards and forwards, in
places where crocodiles and alligators are most common, singing and
weeping by turns, each invoking his kindred, till a crocodile appears,
when the music instantly stops, and provisions, betel, and tobacco are
thrown into the water. By this civility to the species, they hope to
recommend themselves to their relations at home, and that it will be
accepted instead of offerings immediately to themselves, which it is not
in their power to pay.
In the next rank to the Indians stand the Chinese, who in this place are
numerous, but possess very little property; many of then live within the
walls, and keep shops. The fruit-sellers of Passar-Pissang have been
mentioned already; but others have a rich show of European and Chinese
goods: The far greater part, however, live in a quarter by themselves,
without the walls, called Campang China. Many of them are carpenters,
joiners, smiths, tailors, slipper-makers, dyers of cotton, and
embroiderers, maintaining the character of industry that is universally
given of them; and some are scattered about the country, where they
cultivate gardens, sow rice and sugar, and keep cattle and buffaloes,
whose milk they bring daily to town.[155]
[Footnote 155: The Chinese who carry on any trade or profession, _i.e._
almost all of them, pay a monthly tax to the government. In Stavorinus's
time, this was about six shillings sterling a-piece.--E.]
There is nothing clean or dirty, honest or dishonest, provided there is
not too much danger of a halter, that the Chinese will not readily do
for money. But though they work with great diligence, and patiently
undergo any degree of labour, yet no sooner have they laid down their
tools than they begin to game, either at cards or dice, or some other
play among the multitude that they have invented, which are altogether
unknown in Europe: To this they apply with such eagerness as scarcely to
allow time for the necessary refreshments of food and sleep; so that it
is as rare to see a Chinese idle, as it is to see a Dutchman or an
Indian employed.
In manners they are always civil, or rather obsequious; and in dress
they are remarkably neat and clean, to whatever rank of life they
belong.[156] I shall not attempt a description either of their persons
or habits, for the better kind of China paper, which is now common in
England, exhibits a perfect representation of both, though perhaps with
some slight exaggerations approaching towards the caricatura.
[Footnote 156: Whatever may be their personal cleanliness in appearance,
their moral impurity, according to all accounts, is most gross and
detestable. We shall not pollute our page by the slightest mention of
the abominable gratifications in which they are said to indulge,
contrary to the most palpable enactments of nature.--E.]
In eating, they are easily satisfied, though the few that are rich have
many savory dishes. Rice, with a small proportion of flesh or fish, is
the food of the poor; and they have greatly the advantage of the
Mahometan Indians, whose religion forbids them to eat of many things
which they could most easily procure. The Chinese, on the contrary,
being under no restraint, eat, besides pork, dogs, cats, frogs, lizards,
serpents of many kinds, and a great variety of sea-animals, which the
other inhabitants of this country do not consider as food: They also eat
many vegetables, which an European, except he was perishing with hunger,
would never touch.[157]
[Footnote 157: The reader may turn to our account of Anson's voyage for
some particulars respecting their taste. Indeed, in almost every voyage
he will find abundantly disgusting information of this singularly
unamiable people. It is but fair, however, to allow them credit for one
of the virtues of necessity. Their capability of subsisting on such food
as others reject, is a very requisite part of education in their own
country, where the danger of famine is so great and frequent.--E.]
The Chinese have a singular superstition with regard to the burial of
their dead; for they will upon no occasion open the ground a second time
where a body has been interred. Their burying-grounds, therefore, in the
neighbourhood of Batavia, cover many hundred acres, and the Dutch,
grudging the waste of so much land, will not sell any for this purpose
but at the most exorbitant price. The Chinese, however, contrive to
raise the purchase-money, and afford another instance of the folly and
weakness of human nature, in transferring a regard for the living to the
dead, and making that the object of solicitude and expence, which cannot
receive the least benefit from either. Under the influence of this
universal prejudice, they take an uncommon method to preserve the body
entire, and prevent the remains of it from being mixed with the earth
that surrounds it. They enclose it in a large thick coffin of wood, not
made of planks joined together, but hollowed out of the solid timber
like a canoe; this being covered, and let down into the grave, is
surrounded with a coat of their mortar, called chinam, about eight or
ten inches thick, which in a short time becomes as hard as a stone. The
relations of the deceased attend the funeral ceremony, with a
considerable number of women that are hired to weep: It might reasonably
be supposed that the hired appearance of sorrow could no more flatter
the living than benefit the dead, yet the appearance of sorrow is known
to be hired among people much more reflective and enlightened than the
Chinese. In Batavia, the law requires that every man should be buried
according to his rank, which is in no case dispensed with; so that if
the deceased has not left sufficient to pay his debts, an officer takes
an inventory of what was in his possession when he died, and out of the
produce buries him in the manner prescribed, leaving only the overplus
to his creditors. Thus in many instances are the living sacrificed to
the dead, and money that should discharge a debt, or feed an orphan,
lavished in idle processions, or materials that are deposited in the
earth to rot.[158]
[Footnote 158: Their veneration for the dead is certainly excessive, and
by no means in unison with the rest of their character, which seems to
be made up of the grossest selfishness, avarice, and apathy. They often
visit the graves of their friends, strew flowers around them, and when
they leave them, deposit presents and sundry articles of provisions,
which, of course, are soon removed, though not by the dead. In this,
respect, then, it is very obvious that their mourning may not be quite
useless to the living.--E.]
Another numerous class among the inhabitants of this country is the
slaves; for by slaves the Dutch, Portuguese, and Indians, however
different in their rank or situation, are constantly attended: They are
purchased from Sumatra, Malacca, and almost all the eastern islands.
The natives of Java, very few of whom, as I have before observed, live
in the neighbourhood of Batavia, have an exemption from slavery under
the sanction of very severe penal laws, which I believe are seldom
violated. The price of these slaves is from ten to twenty pounds
sterling; but girls, if they have beauty, sometimes fetch a hundred.
They are a very lazy set of people; but as they will do but little work,
they are content with a little victuals, subsisting altogether upon
boiled rice, and a small quantity of the cheapest fish. As they are
natives of different countries, they differ from each other extremely,
both in person and disposition. The African negroes, called here
_Papua_, are the worst, and consequently may be purchased for the least
money: They are all thieves, and all incorrigible. Next to these are the
Bougis and Macassars, both from the island of Celebes: These are lazy in
the highest degree, and though not so much addicted to theft as the
negroes, have a cruel and vindictive spirit, which renders them
extremely dangerous, especially as, to gratify their resentment, they
will make no scruple of sacrificing life. The best slaves, and
consequently the dearest, are procured from the island of Bali: The most
beautiful women from Nias, a small island on the coast of Sumatra; but
they are of a tender and delicate constitution, and soon fall a
sacrifice to the unwholesome air of Batavia.[159] Besides these, there
are Malays, and slaves of several other denominations, whose particular
characteristics I do not remember.
[Footnote 159: Other causes operate to the early extinction of these
unfortunate females,--the lusts of their masters, and the cruel
jealousy, ingenious and discriminating in torture, of their mistresses.
Stavorinus well explains what is here meant. Speaking of the ladies of
Batavia, he writes to this effect. In common with most women in India,
they have an extreme jealousy of their husbands and female slaves. If
they observe the least familiarity between them, they set no bounds to
their revenge against the poor creatures, who, in general, have no
alternative but that of gratifying their masters, or experiencing very
harsh usage from them. On such discovery, their mistresses punish them
in different ways, whipping them with ropes; or beating them with canes,
till they fall down exhausted. One of the modes of tormenting them, is
to pinch them with their toes in a certain tender part, against which
their vengeance is chiefly directed; for this purpose, these wretched
girls are made to sit before them in a peculiar position, and so
exquisite is their suffering, that they often faint away. Indeed, the
refinements in cruelty practised on them almost exceed belief.--E.]
These slaves are wholly in the power of their masters, with respect to
any punishment that does not take away life; but if a slave dies in
consequence of punishment, though his death should not appear to have
been intended, the master is called to a severe account, and he is
generally condemned to suffer capitally. For this reason the master
seldom inflicts punishment upon the slave himself, but applies to an
officer called a Marineu, one of whom is stationed in every district.
The duty of the Marineu is to quell riots, and take offenders into
custody; but more particularly to apprehend runaway slaves, and punish
them for such crimes as the master, supported by proper evidence, lays
to their charge: The punishment, however, is not inflicted by the
Marineu in person, but by slaves who are bred up to the business. Men
are punished publicly, before the door of their master's house; but
women within it. The punishment is, by stripes, the number being
proportioned to the offence; and they are given with rods made of
rattans, which are split into slender twigs for the purpose, and fetch
blood at every stroke. A common punishment costs the master a
rix-dollar, and a severe one a ducatoon, about six shillings and
eight-pence. The master is also obliged to allow the slave three
dubbelcheys, equal to about seven-pence half-penny a-week, as an
encouragement, and to prevent his being under temptations to steal, too
strong to be resisted.
Concerning the government of this place I can say but little. We
observed, however, a remarkable subordination among the people. Every
man who is able to keep house has a certain specific rank, acquired by
the length of his services to the Company: The different ranks which are
thus acquired are distinguished by the ornaments of the coaches and the
dresses of the coachmen: Some are obliged to ride in plain coaches, some
are allowed to paint them in different manners and degrees, and some to
gild them. The coachman also appears in clothes that are quite plain, or
more or less adorned with lace.[160]
[Footnote 160: The distinctions of rank, and all the punctilios of the
respective ceremonies and homage, are attended to at Batavia with the
most religious exactness. Stavorinus specifies many instances, which, to
some readers, it might be amusing enough to transcribe. But in fact, and
to be honest, the writer has neither time, inclination, nor patience to
interfere with such mummeries, or investigate the claims to precedency
and peculiarly modified respect set up by Dutch merchants, and their
still more consequential spouses. He has not the smallest pretensions to
the office of master of the ceremonies for any society whatever.--E.]
The officer who presides here has the title of Governor General of the
Indies, and the Dutch governors of all the other settlements are
subordinate to him, and obliged to repair to Batavia that he may pass
their accounts. If they appear to have been criminal, or even negligent,
he punishes them by delay, and detains them during pleasure, sometimes
one year, sometimes two years, and sometimes three; for they cannot quit
the place till he gives them a dismission. Next to the governor are the
members of the council, called here _Edele Heeren_, and by the
corruption of the English, _Idoleers_. These Idoleers take upon them so
much state, that whoever meets them in a carriage is expected to rise up
and bow, then to drive on one side of the road, and there stop till they
are past: The same homage is required also to their wives, and even
their children; and it is commonly paid them by the inhabitants. But
some of our captains have thought so slavish a mark of respect beneath
the dignity which they derive from the service of his Britannic majesty,
and have refused to pay it; yet, if they were in a hired carriage,
nothing could deter the coachman from honouring the Dutch grandee at
their expence, but the most peremptory menace of immediate death.[161]
[Footnote 161: The reader will remember what Captain Carteret says on
this subject, in the account given of his voyage.--E.]
Justice is administered here by a body of lawyers, who have ranks of
distinction among themselves. Concerning their proceedings in questions
of property, I know nothing; but their decisions in criminal cases seem
to be severe with respect to the natives, and lenient with respect to
their own people, in a criminal degree. A Christian always is indulged
with an opportunity of escaping before he is brought to a trial,
whatever may have been his offence; and if he is brought to a trial and
convicted, he is seldom punished with death; while the poor Indians, on
the contrary, are hanged, and broken upon the wheel, and even impaled
alive without mercy.[162]
[Footnote 162: Impalement, as practised at Batavia, is one of the most
shocking punishments ever invented. An iron spike, about six feet long,
is forcibly passed between the back-bone and the skin from the lower
part of the body, where a cross cut is made for its insertion, till it
come out betwixt the shoulders and neck, the executioner guiding the
point of it so that none of the vitals or large blood vessels may be
wounded. The under end of the spike is afterwards made fast to a wooden
post, which is then stuck into the ground, so that the miserable wretch
is raised aloft, where he is supported partly by the iron spike in his
skin, and partly by a little bench, projecting about ten feet from the
ground. He may remain alive in this most cruel situation for several
days, during which period he is tortured besides with hunger and thirst,
for no victuals, of any kind, are allowed him; and numerous insects also
continually torment him in the fervent heat of the sun. His misery is
the greater and longer, as the weather is clear and dry. Should a shower
of rain fall, he is soon relieved from torment, as it is noticed that
any water getting into the wounds speedily induces gangrene and death.
Stavorinus saw an execution of this sort, and relates some very
affecting particulars. The fortitude of the wretched sufferer was
astonishing. He uttered no complaint, unless when the spike was fastened
to the post, when the agitation occasioned by hammering, &c. appeared to
give him intolerable pain, so that he roared out. He did so again when
the post was lifted up and put into the ground. In this dreadful
situation he continued till death ended his torment, which happened next
day. This was owing to a light shower of rain, of about an hour's
continuance, half an hour after which he breathed his last. He
continually complained of thirst, which no one was allowed to relieve by
a single drop of water.--E.]
The Malays and Chinese have judicial officers of their own, under the
denominations of captains and lieutenants, who determine in civil cases,
subject to an appeal to the Dutch court.
The taxes paid by these people to the Company are very considerable; and
that which is exacted of them for liberty to wear their hair, is by no
means the least. They are paid monthly, and, to save the trouble and
charge of collecting them, a flag is hoisted upon the top of a house in
the middle of the town when a payment is due, and the Chinese have
experienced that it is their interest to repair thither with their money
without delay.
The money current here consists of ducats, worth a hundred and
thirty-two stivers; ducatoons, eighty stivers; imperial rix-dollars,
sixty; rupees of Batavia, thirty; schellings, six; double cheys, two
stivers and a half; and doits, one fourth of a stiver. Spanish dollars,
when we were here, were at five shillings and five-pence; and we were
told, that they were never lower than five shillings and four-pence,
even at the Company's warehouse. For English guineas we could never get
more than nineteen shillings upon an average; for though the Chinese
would give twenty shillings for some of the brightest, they would give
no more than seventeen shillings for those that were much worn.
It may perhaps be of some advantage to strangers to be told that there
are two kinds of coin here, of the same denomination, milled and
unmilled, and that the milled is of most value. A milled ducatoon is
worth eighty stivers; but an unmilled ducatoon is worth no more than
seventy-two. All accounts are kept in rix-dollars and stivers, which,
here at least, are mere nominal coins, like our pound sterling. The
rix-dollar is equal to forty-eight stivers, about four shillings and
six-pence English currency.[163]
[Footnote 163: The reader need scarcely be informed, that the statements
given in the text as to the respective value of the coin, are fitted to
the circumstances of the period at which the account of the voyage was
published. It was thought unnecessary to correct them to the present
times in this place.--E.]