and will, in my next, proceed to answer your inquiries concerning the
habits and customs of the natives of the Nicobar islands.
LETTER V.
The natives of these islands are a free people, perfectly independent,
but have a captain in every village. There are, indeed, several who
claim the rank of captain, as being more sensible and clever than their
neighbours, but only one of the number is considered as the _Omjah
karru_, or the great master of the house. Yet no one is bound to obey
him, for all of them, male and female, consider themselves under no
control whatever; and the captain must take care, that he does not
offend, by pretending to command. He is sure to be disobeyed, unless
they are pleased to listen to friendly representation. All the
preference given him, consists in this; that when a ship arrives, he is
allowed to go first on board, and to make the bargain, if they have any
thing to barter. They are commonly good-natured men, disposed to make
and preserve peace among the common people. In every other respect they
live and act like the rest, get drunk, commit fornication, and, when
there is, as they say, a necessity for it, murder; and are equally lazy
and unclean. But they can use their tongues more glibly than their
neighbours.
Their houses are generally spacious, and built upon pillars, six or
more feet from the ground, resembling those of the Malays, but round,
not square, like the latter. The inhabitants ascend by a ladder, which
they can draw up after them. The house has only one room, but generally
contains more than one family. Parents and children, guests, young and
old of every description, pig here together, lying naked on the floor,
with nothing but a _hetfat_, the leaf of a species of palm, under them,
in lieu of a mattrass, and very few have any covering. The furniture of
such a house consists in a few pots, made by the women, some highly
polished cocoa-nut dishes, to hold water, some hatchets, a sabre or
two, a few sailor's knives, and a good many spears. A family generally
possesses two or three palongs, or boats.
Their chief food is melory bread, made of the fruit of a kind of
palm-tree[5], which is very palatable; yams, several other good roots,
and great plenty of fruit from various trees and shrubs; all which grow
in great abundance. Of pigs and common fowls they have a vast
profusion. These are fed with cocoa-nuts, and their flesh is remarkably
good. The sea furnishes them with various kinds of fishes, and an
abundance of crabs and other shell-fish, so that they may easily enough
serve their god, which is their belly.
[5] A species of Pandanus. See Asiatic Researches, Vol. III. p.
292.
The clothing of the men consists of a narrow piece of cloth, about
three yards long. This they wrap twice round their waist, then passing
it between their legs, and through the girth behind, leave the end of
it to drag after them[6]. The women wear a piece of cloth, commonly of
a blue colour, about a foot wide, fastened round their waist, so as to
hang down like an apron, reaching not quite to their knees. They pride
themselves upon their fine skin, which indeed they keep very clean, and
do not in general use any paint. Both sexes live from their infancy
without any restraint, and commit every kind of abomination, often to
the utter ruin of their health and constitutions, in very early life.
In general they do not live regularly in the married state, till they
are past their prime; though I have known some who had married early,
remain faithful to each other, and keep their families in good order.
[6] Hence the fabulous stories of men with tails, related by
Kloping, a Swedish navigator.
As savages, they may be justly esteemed a good-natured race, being
always ready to do a kind action, to their friends; of which I will
relate one instance. We used to buy of them what we wanted, and pay
with tobacco, the current medium. Even when they had nothing to sell,
they would come and fetch their portion of tobacco, which we never
refused them, as long as we had any, till, by the non-arrival of the
ship, we were left entirely without it. We therefore told the captain
of the village, that, as we had no more tobacco, the people need not
bring us any more provisions, for we had nothing to give in exchange.
The captain did as we desired, yet, on the very next day, we were
supplied more plentifully than ever, with the things we wanted. They
would not even wait for pay, but hung up their fruit and meat about the
house, and went away. We called after them and told them how we were
situated. Their answer was: "When you had plenty of tobacco, you gave
us as much as you could spare; now, though you have got no more of it,
we have provisions enough, and you shall have as much as you want, as
long as we have any, till you get more tobacco." This promise they most
faithfully performed. Such kindness we did not expect from such people;
but they always showed great affection for us.
As to religion, they are in a state of deplorable ignorance. Their
notions of a Divine Being seem most oddly perplexed, insomuch that it
is difficult to make out any thing among them like a fixed opinion of
His existence and attributes, nor do they seem to possess any curiosity
to know more about Him.
But they are not professed idolaters, like most of the other oriental
nations. They have not even a word in their language to express their
idea of God. They use the word _Knallen_ when they speak of Him, but it
only signifies, "above, on high:" for instance, they say, _Knallen
maade_, "on the hill;" _Knallen uniga_, "on the top of the tree;"
_Knallen gamalee_, "on the surface of the sea;" speaking of something
swimming. However, they believe that this "unknown God" is good, and
will not hurt them; but wherein His goodness consists, they neither
have, nor seem to wish to have, any understanding, nor ever trouble
themselves about Him. Therefore, when we endeavoured, as well as we
could, to explain to them the goodness of God, in pitying the lost
condition of man, and providing the means of our redemption; and spoke
to them of Jesus Christ our Saviour, and of what He has done and
suffered to purchase for us salvation, they heard us indeed with
astonishment and silent submission; but that they should be at all
interested in it, and become virtuous and happy if they believed and
turned to Him, and after this life enter into everlasting bliss by His
merits, was more than they could possibly comprehend. When we told
them, that we were come hither for no other purpose, but to make them
acquainted with their Creator and Redeemer, and to bring them the glad
tidings of salvation; and begged them only to take it to heart, and
reflect upon what we thus made known to them in the name of God, they
laughed at us. They observed, that they could not believe that the
sufferings of one man could atone for the sins of another; and that
therefore, if they were wicked, what we told them of a crucified
Saviour would not help them: but they insisted, that they were good by
nature, and never did any thing wrong, as we well knew. When we
replied, that we knew, that they had but lately murdered some people,
and afterwards abused the dead bodies, each thrusting his spear into
them, mutilating them in the most wanton manner, and at last cutting
them to pieces, and asked them, whether this was a proof of their
natural goodness, their answer was: "That you do not understand, those
were people not fit to live, they were _Gomoy_, cannibals!"
LETTER VI.
The inhabitants of the Nicobar islands believe, that all dangerous
diseases proceed from the devil, who is nevertheless under the controul
of their sorcerers, or _Paters_[7]. If, therefore, these men cannot
cure a disorder by their tricks and inchantments, by which they pretend
to catch the devil and drive him off the place, then they are sure,
that he has entered into some man or woman, sitting in his or her
house, and by witchcraft, sucking all the power of healing out of the
patient's body. The sorcerer then proceeds to discover the witch, and
finds no difficulty in fixing upon some one he hates. The word of such
a wise man is, of course, taken by all for the voice of truth, and the
poor person accused is murdered without further inquiry. Murders of
this kind occurred but seldom in our neighbourhood, but were said to be
more frequent in some of the other islands. We told them, that the
devil everywhere proved himself the father of lies, and a murderer from
the beginning; and, till they turned to the true God, they were Satan's
slaves, and his works they must do. They seem indeed to be continually
engaged with him, whenever they profess to perform any religious rite.
They even ascribe the creation of the world to the _Eewee_, or wicked
agent. If they do any thing wrong, or commit any atrocious crime, and
are reproved for it, they immediately answer: "It was not me, it was
the devil that did it." If you convince them, that they did it
themselves, and with their own hands, their usual phrase is, "The
_Eewee_ did not make me perfect, or better;" and therefore they cannot
help some times doing what is wrong. They speak of a great many sorts
of devils, but all malicious, and disposed to hurt them, if they had
not such great and powerful paters among them, who had a superior
power, and could catch, and bring them into subjection. It is not
difficult for the sorcerers thus to impose upon the poor ignorant
people, for they really do possess superior cunning, and astonishing
dexterity, being the most expert jugglers on earth. Every one who has
visited the East Indies, well knows, with what unaccountable
exhibitions and slight of hand tricks the jugglers endeavour to amuse
the people; but in the Nicobar islands, these arts being applied to
what they consider as religious exercises, the deception is so great,
that I have myself often stood astonished, being unable to account for
what I saw.
[7] An appellation borrowed from the Portuguese Missionaries.
I went once purposely into a house, where a sorcerer was about to
perform as doctor, and to cure a woman, who lay very ill. I was
determined to watch him as narrowly as possible. Both doctor and
patient were stark naked. After a series of most horrible grimaces, the
sorcerer produced a very large yam, which he held up, pretending that
he had _limpt_ it, (for thus they call this species of legerdemain),
out of the body of the woman, and that it had been, by witchcraft, the
cause of her disorder. When he entered, I particularly noticed that he
had nothing in his hands, or about him, nor did there appear any
possibility of a substance of that size being concealed in the empty
room. At another time, I saw a sorcerer under similar circumstances, on
a sudden exhibit three large stones, which he pretended to have
extracted from the patient's body. To the first of these patients, he
afterwards administered a decoction of herbs, and she recovered. The
cure was probably owing to his skill in preparing the potion, but was
of course ascribed to the incantation, and the seizure of the enchanted
yam.
After I had resided five years in the island, my legs began to inflame
and swell to a prodigious size[8]. A suppuration took place, and till
the discharge commenced, I suffered excruciating pain. During this
dreadful illness, several paters called upon me, and in the most
friendly manner, expressed their pity, offering me their assistance,
and assuring me, that if I would submit to their mode of cure, I should
soon recover. At last I thought, that as their skill in various
medicinal arts, and their knowledge of drugs was very great, I would
suffer one of them, called Philip, who always attended us as
language-master, to try what he could do for me, on condition, that he
should omit all superstitious ceremonies. He agreed, and immediately
putting on the most solemn and significant expression of face, worthy
of so eminent a practitioner, began to paw me all over, varying his
features with every motion of his hand, so that, notwithstanding the
pain I felt, I could not refrain from bursting into laughter at his
grimaces, which he could not possibly avoid, though bargained to be
omitted. At length, the preamble concluded, he began his work, first by
stroking my legs, from the knees downwards, with the palm of his hand,
muttering all the while, and then by applying his mouth, and sucking
the parts affected, accompanying the operation by a most strange kind
of purring or grunting. Thus far his practice seemed to do good, and I
felt relief, when, rising on a sudden, he produced a potsherd, which he
exhibited to the company, as having _limpt_ it out of my leg, saying
that he should soon bring forth more pieces. I cried out, "Stop there,
you deceiver, do you pretend that my body is full of potsherds; that
broken piece in your hand, you drew out of your own mouth. Open it
directly, and let us have the rest." He stood confounded, and soon
sneaked out of the house, laughed at by all his former admirers, nor
did he call upon me again, till about a fortnight after.
[8] A disorder known in India by the name of the Cochin leg.
Asiatic Researches, Vol. III.
As it sometimes happened, that when the skill of the sorcerers proved
ineffective, a missionary had administered some simple medicine, which,
by God's blessing, had the desired effect, they looked upon us, as the
first of paters, though our medicines consisted in nothing but a little
magnesia, spirits of nitre, and a few simples. But what astonished them
most, was this, that we could inform them before-hand, by means of a
perpetual almanack, that an eclipse of the sun or moon would take place
on the very day when it happened. Their notion of the cause of an
eclipse is the most preposterous and ridiculous, that ever entered into
the head, even of an heathen. They say, that the devil is come to
devour the sun or moon, and falls to work to gnaw off the edge; that
therefore it is necessary he should be driven away; consequently all
the sorcerers or paters assemble, and amidst singular and hideous
grimaces, throw up their spears towards the luminary attacked, all the
villagers sounding their gonggongs with the greatest violence, to
frighten away the voracious invader. After some time, their efforts
succeed, and he must betake himself to flight, without effecting his
purpose. Though we endeavoured, in every possible way, to explain to
them how an eclipse was occasioned, and they seemed in some degree to
comprehend it, they only declared us to be the greatest paters that had
ever been on the island, but ascribed the deliverance of the sun or
moon from the fangs of the devil, solely to the skill and power of
their sorcerers, and all we could say to prevail upon them, for once to
be quiet, and observe how the luminary would regain its former
appearance, by those means which God the Creator Himself had ordained,
was in vain.
The expulsion of the devil from a sick person or family, is a ceremony
as singular as it is silly, but as I have frequently been a spectator
of this farcical performance, a description of it may not be
uninteresting to you. I have before observed, that if their medicines,
(many of which are very powerful), or, as they will have it, their
incantations, are of no avail, they then ascribe the illness to the
immediate agency of the infernal spirit, who must be subdued and
caught. The pater, previous to the commencement of his operations,
summons all the young men in the village, to assist him in constructing
a small raft, of light wood. Three poles are fixed upon it, to
represent masts, and some bamboos laid across like oars. The masts are
hung with young white cocoa-leaves. This toy, which they call _Hanmai_,
they place between two palongs, each rowed by a crew of stout young
men, with a piece of rattan, as a towing-rope, fixed to it. Every rower
carries five spears, besides his oar. They now wait with great
eagerness for the pater's further orders. He has meanwhile begun his
work, which he finds either hard or easy of performance, according as
the patients are rich or poor. He is stark naked, and painted all over
with various colours, making as terrific an appearance as possible, to
frighten the devil, and indeed it is enough to terrify any man, to see
him brandishing a short clumsy bludgeon, which he holds up with both
hands, and dancing in the most furious manner. He accompanies his
gesticulations with the most horrible yells and howlings, and at length
is fortunate enough to seize the enemy by a leg, an arm, or even by the
hair of his head, which the poor deluded people believe, without seeing
what he grasps. Now the whole company rush towards the water, and the
pater deposits the supposed devil on board the raft, on which the
palongs row off with the greatest possible expedition, dragging the
captive out to sea, to a considerable distance, when, having turned him
and his vehicle adrift, they row back with the utmost speed to shore.
For two days the enemy may survive this rough usage, and again land in
safety, if driven on shore by the tide or wind, but on the third day he
must die. Should he land at another village, he then does the mischief
there, which he was prevented doing at the former place.
The worst consequence of such an unfortunate conclusion of the business
is, that the greatest enmity immediately takes place between the two
villages, and nothing can atone for the aggression, but a formal
combat. The village invaded sends a challenge to the former, and a day
is fixed for the battle. The captains of all the neighbouring villages
having met to a consultation, the combatants are chosen, and as there
are others who wish to take advantage of so just a mode of settling
their disputes, they are summoned to appear. One has stolen something,
another run off with his neighbour's wife, and the like. All these
people now meet, both the injured and the guilty, and each being
provided with a sufficient supply of long sticks, of the Mango tree,
they proceed to the place of rendezvous. There the captains examine the
sticks, and those that are too thick are thrown away. This being done,
two of the combatants step out, and lay about each other's back and
head, till one of the party is obliged to give up. A second couple
follow, and after them others, till in a proper space of time, the
whole company has got a good drubbing. The most innocent among them are
generally the worst handled; however, the business is now decided, and
all are convinced, that whoever was first obliged to give up, was the
offender. Peace is thus restored, both parties being perfectly
satisfied with so wise and just a decision, nor could anything we said,
convince them of the folly and wickedness of such superstitious and
injurious practices.
LETTER VII.
You wish to know what were the chief external causes of the failure of
our exertions; and ask, whether our residence on the island had been
with the consent of the natives, or whether they considered us as
intruders. The latter circumstance was guarded against by a regular
treaty made in December 1774, between the Brethren, and the captain and
inhabitants of the village Malacca, near to which they had made their
settlement. They then obtained legal possession of that piece of land,
which they occupied. Such presents as the natives required, were
delivered, and the terms contained in the treaty fully explained, to
them; after which the principal men signed their names, by drawing a
pen with ink over the letters, as written with a pencil. The
neighbouring village likewise received a proper consideration for a
treaty of friendship with them, and now the Brethren were looked upon
no longer as _Kaleng_, "foreigners;" but as _Baju Tripjet_, "natives at
Tripjet." Objections were however started, when they began to build
their dwelling-house; and some wicked people endeavoured to raise
suspicions in the minds of their countrymen, as to the intentions of
the Missionaries. The latter were, for some time after, in danger of
their lives, from the fickle disposition of their new friends; but the
Lord preserved them. Their upright intentions were at length
acknowledged, and ever after all due respect and confidence shown to
them by all the inhabitants of Nancauwery.
The failure of the Mission was owing to other causes, of which I will
mention some, according to my view of the subject. First, the extreme
difficulty of learning the language. We had indeed an opportunity of
speaking with some of the natives, in a kind of bastard Portuguese, but
it would by no means answer the purpose of preaching the gospel to them
in general. It was their own native language, of which we wished to
acquire a sufficient knowledge, thereby to gain access to the whole
nation. To this end, a pater, called Philip, was engaged as
language-master. A few of the Missionaries made some proficiency,
notwithstanding the peculiar difficulties attending the study; for
impediments arise even from the habits of the natives. Their language
is in itself very poor in words and expressions, and they are of so
indolent a turn, that even talking seems a trouble to them; and as long
as they can express, by signs, what they mean, they are unwilling to
open their mouths. If a stranger comes into their houses, they sit
still and look at him, or perhaps, pointing to some food, motion to him
to sit down and eat. There he may sit for hours, without hearing a
syllable spoken, unless he can himself begin, when they will answer
with friendliness. Again, both men and women have always a huge quid of
the betel, or areca-nut in their mouths, which renders their speech so
indistinct, that if you ask them the names of the various objects
before them, you can hardly distinguish between the sputtering sounds
they make. Often were we obliged to tell pater Philip to take his quid
out of his mouth, that we might hear what he attempted to articulate.
As to books and vocabularies, we found none, nor could we make any,
while our knowledge of the language was so imperfect.
Secondly, the unhealthiness of the climate; by which most of the
Missionaries were carried off before they could learn the language, or
just when they had got so far, that they were able to speak to the
natives. During the comparatively short period of the existence of the
Mission, eleven worthy Missionaries found their graves in Nancauwery,
and thirteen more, shortly after their return to Tranquebar, in
consequence of the malignant fevers and obstructions in the liver,
contracted in the island. These dreadful disorders, and the seasoning
fevers, which every newcomer must suffer, are all accompanied with such
pain in the head, dejection of spirits, and constant sickness, that the
senses are in a degree stupified, and learning rendered doubly
difficult. The mind being likewise filled with desponding views of the
possibility of relief and of future usefulness, the effect is very
unfavourable to that persevering diligence, with which such a barbarous
language must be studied; and death snatching so soon those away, who
had made some small progress, their successors must begin the uphill
work again and again, and the prospect of obtaining the aim of the
Mission is put off from one period to another.