MALAYAN STATES.
ANCIENT EMPIRE OF MENANGKABAU.
ORIGIN OF THE MALAYS AND GENERAL ACCEPTATION OF NAME.
EVIDENCES OF THEIR MIGRATION FROM SUMATRA.
SUCCESSION OF MALAYAN PRINCES.
PRESENT STATE OF THE EMPIRE.
TITLES OF THE SULTAN.
CEREMONIES.
CONVERSION TO MAHOMETAN RELIGION.
LITERATURE.
ARTS.
WARFARE.
GOVERNMENT.
MALAYAN STATES.
I shall now take a more particular view of the Malayan states, as
distinguished from those of the people termed orang ulu or countrymen,
and orang dusun or villagers, who, not being generally converted to the
Mahometan religion, have thereby preserved a more original character.
EMPIRE OF MENANGKABAU.
The principal government, and whose jurisdiction in ancient times is
understood to have comprehended the whole of Sumatra, is Menangkabau,*
situated under the equinoctial line, beyond the western range of high
mountains, and nearly in the centre of the island; in which respect it
differs from Malayan establishments in other parts, which are almost
universally near the mouths of large rivers. The appellations however of
orang menangkabau and orang malayo are so much identified that,
previously to entering upon an account of the former, it will be useful
to throw as much light as possible upon the latter, and to ascertain to
what description of people the name of Malays, bestowed by Europeans upon
all who resemble them in features and complexion, properly belongs.
(*Footnote. The name is said to be derived from the words menang,
signifying to win, and karbau, a buffalo; from a story, carrying a very
fabulous air, of a famous engagement on that spot between the buffaloes
and tigers, in which the former are stated to have acquired a complete
victory. Such is the account the natives give; but they are fond of
dealing in fiction, and the etymology has probably no better foundation
than a fanciful resemblance of sound.)
ORIGIN OF MALAYS.
It has hitherto been considered as an obvious truth, and admitted without
examination that, wherever they are found upon the numerous islands
forming this archipelago, they or their ancestors must have migrated from
the country named by Europeans (and by them alone) the Malayan peninsula
or peninsula of Malacca, of which the indigenous and proper inhabitants
were understood to be Malays; and accordingly in the former editions of
this work I spoke of the natives of Menangkabau as having acquired their
religion, language, manners, and other national characteristics from the
settling among them of genuine Malays from the neighbouring continent. It
will however appear from the authorities I shall produce, amounting as
nearly to positive evidence as the nature of the subject will admit, that
the present possessors of the coasts of the peninsula were on the
contrary in the first instance adventurers from Sumatra, who in the
twelfth century formed an establishment there, and that the indigenous
inhabitants, gradually driven by them to the woods and mountains, so far
from being the stock from whence the Malays were propagated, are an
entirely different race of men, nearly approaching in their physical
character to the negroes of Africa.
MIGRATION FROM SUMATRA.
The evidences of this migration from Sumatra are chiefly found in two
Malayan books well known, by character at least, to those who are
conversant with the written language, the one named Taju assalatin or
Makuta segala raja-raja, The Crown of all Kings, and the other, more
immediately to the purpose, Sulalat assalatin or Penurun-an segala
rajaraja, The Descent of all (Malayan) Kings. Of these it has not been
my good fortune to obtain copies, but the contents, so far as they apply
to the present subject, have been fully detailed by two eminent Dutch
writers to whom the literature of this part of the East was familiar.
Petrus van der Worm first communicated the knowledge of these historical
treatises in his learned Introduction to the Malayan Vocabulary of
Gueynier, printed at Batavia in the year 1677; and extracts to the same
effect were afterwards given by Valentyn in Volume 5 pages 316 to 320 of
his elaborate work, published at Amsterdam in 1726. The books are
likewise mentioned in a list of Malayan Authors by G.H. Werndly, at the
end of his Maleische Spraak-kunst, and by the ingenious Dr. Leyden in his
Paper on the Languages and Literature of the Indo-Chinese Nations,
recently published in Volume 10 of the Asiatic Researches. The substance
of the information conveyed by them is as follows; and I trust it will
not be thought that the mixture of a portion of mythological fable in
accounts of this nature invalidates what might otherwise have credit as
historical fact. The utmost indeed we can pretend to ascertain is what
the natives themselves believe to have been their ancient history; and it
is proper to remark that in the present question there can be no
suspicion of bias from national vanity, as we have reason to presume that
the authors of these books were not Sumatrans.
The original country inhabited by the Malayan race (according to these
authorities) was the kingdom of Palembang in the island of Indalus, now
Sumatra, on the river Malayo, which flows by the mountain named
Maha-meru, and discharges itself into the river Tatang (on which
Palembang stands) before it joins the sea. Having chosen for their king
or leader a prince named Sri Turi Buwana, who boasted his descent from
Iskander the Great, and to whom, on that account, their natural chief
Demang Lebar Daun submitted his authority, they emigrated, under his
command (about the year 1160), to the south-eastern extremity of the
opposite peninsula, named Ujong Tanah, where they were at first
distinguished by the appellation of orang de-bawah angin or the Leeward
people, but in time the coast became generally known by that of Tanah
malayo or the Malayan land.
SINGAPURA BUILT.
In this situation they built their first city, which they called
Singapura (vulgarly Sincapore), and their rising consequence excited the
jealousy of the kings of Maja-pahit, a powerful state in the island of
Java. To Sri Turi Buwana, who died in 1208, succeeded Paduka Pikaram
Wira, who reigned fifteen years; to him Sri Rama Vikaram, who reigned
thirteen, and to him Sri Maharaja, who reigned twelve.
MALAKA BUILT.
His successor, Sri Iskander Shah, was the last king of Singapura. During
three years he withstood the forces of the king of Maja-pahit, but in
1252, being hard pressed, he retired first to the northward, and
afterwards to the western, coast of the peninsula, where in the following
year he founded a new city, which under his wise government became of
considerable importance. To this he gave the name of Malaka, from a
fruit-bearing tree so called (myrabolanum) found in abundance on the hill
which gives natural strength to the situation. Having reigned here
twenty-two years, beloved by his subjects and feared by his neighbours,
Iskander Shah died in 1274, and was succeeded by Sultan Magat, who
reigned only two years. Up to this period the Malayan princes were
pagans. Sultan Muhammed Shah, who ascended the throne in 1276, was the
first Mahometan prince, and by the propagation of this faith acquired
great celebrity during a long reign of fifty-seven years. His influence
appears to have extended over the neighbouring islands of Lingga and
Bintan, together with Johor, Patani, Kedah, and Perak, on the coasts of
the peninsula, and Campar and Aru in Sumatra; all of which acquired the
appellative of Malayo, although it was now more especially applied to the
people of Malaka, or, as it is commonly written, Malacca. He left the
peaceful possession of his dominions to his son Sultan Abu Shahid, who
had reigned only one year and five months when he was murdered in 1334 by
the king of Arrakan, with whose family his father had contracted a
marriage. His successor was Sultan Modafar or Mozafar Shah, who was
distinguished for the wisdom of his government, of which he left a
memorial in a Book of Institutes or Laws of Malaka, held to this day in
high estimation. This city was now regarded as the third in rank (after
Maja-pahit on Java, and Pase on Sumatra) in that part of the East.
(*Footnote. The account given by Juan de Barros of the abandonment of the
Malayan city of Singapura and foundation of Malacca differs materially
from the above; and although the authority of a writer, who collected his
materials in Lisbon, cannot be put in competition with that of Valentyn,
who passed a long and laborious life amongst the people, and quotes the
native historians, I shall give an abstract of his relation, from the
sixth book of the second Decade. "At the period when Cingapura flourished
its king was named Sangesinga; and in the neighbouring island of Java
reigned Pararisa, upon whose death the latter country became subject to
the tyranny of his brother, who put one of his nephews to death, and
forced many of the nobles, who took part against him, to seek refuge
abroad. Among these was one named Paramisora, whom Sangesinga received
with hospitality that was badly requited, for the stranger soon found
means to put him to death, and, by the assistance of the Javans who
accompanied him in his flight, to take possession of the city. The king
of Siam, whose son-in-law and vassal the deceased was, assembled a large
force by sea and land, and compelled the usurper to evacuate Cingapura
with two thousand followers, a part of whom were Cellates (orang sellat
men of the Straits) accustomed to live by fishing and piracy, who had
assisted him in seizing and keeping the throne during five years. They
disembarked at a place called Muar, a hundred and fifty leagues from
thence, where Paramisora and his own people fortified themselves. The
Cellates, whom he did not choose to trust, proceeded five leagues
farther, and occupied a bank of the river where the fortress of Malacca
now stands. Here they united with the half-savage natives, who like
themselves spoke the Malayan language, and, the spot they had chosen
becoming too confined for their increasing numbers, they moved a league
higher up, to one more convenient, and were at length joined by their
former chief and his companions. During the government of his son, named
Xaquen Darxa (a strange Portuguese corruption of Iskander or Sekander
Shah) they again descended the river, in order to enjoy the advantages of
a sea-port, and built a town, which, from the fortunes of his father, was
named Malacca, signifying an exile." Every person conversant with the
language must know that the word does not bear that nor any similar
meaning, and an error so palpable throws discredit on the whole
narrative.)
About the year 1340 the king of Siam, being jealous of the growing power
of Malaka, invaded the country, and in a second expedition laid siege to
the capital; but his armies were defeated by the general of Modafar,
named Sri Nara Dirija. After these events Modafar reigned some years with
much reputation, and died in 1374. His son, originally named Sultan
Abdul, took the title of Sultan Mansur Shah upon his accession. At the
time that the king of Maja-pahit drove the Malays from Singapura, as
above related, he likewise subdued the country of Indragiri in Sumatra;
but upon the occasion of Mansur Shah's marriage (about the year 1380)
with the daughter of the then reigning king, a princess of great
celebrity, named Radin Gala Chendra Kiran, it was assigned to him as her
portion, and has since continued (according to Valentyn) under the
dominion of the princes of Malaka. Mansur appears to have been engaged in
continual wars, and to have obtained successes against Pahang, Pase, and
Makasar. His reign extended to the almost incredible period of
seventy-three years, being succeeded in 1447 by his son Sultan
Ala-wa-eddin. During his reign of thirty years nothing particular is
recorded; but there is reason to believe that his country during some
part of that time was under the power of the Siamese. Sultan Mahmud Shah,
who succeeded him, was the twelfth Malayan king, and the seventh and last
king of Malaka.
JOHOR FOUNDED.
In 1509 he repelled the aggression of the king of Siam; but in 1511 was
conquered by the Portuguese under Alfonso d'Alboquerque, and forced, with
the principal inhabitants, to fly to the neighbourhood of the first
Malayan establishment at the extremity of the peninsula, where he founded
the city of Johor, which still subsists, but has never attained to any
considerable importance, owing as it may be presumed to the European
influence that has ever since, under the Portuguese, Hollanders, and
English, predominated in that quarter.*
(*Footnote. It was subdued by the Portuguese in 1608. In 1641 Malacca was
taken from them by the Hollanders, who held it till the present war,
which has thrown it into the possession of the English. The interior
boundaries of its territory, according to the Transactions of the
Batavian Society, are the mountains of Rombou, inhabited by a Malayan
people named Maning Cabou, and Mount Ophir, called by the natives
Gunong-Ledang. These limits, say they, it is impracticable for a European
to pass, the whole coast, for some leagues from the sea, being either a
morass or impenetrable forest; and these natural difficulties are
aggravated by the treacherous and bloodthirsty character of the natives.
The description, which will be found in Volume 4 pages 333 to 334, is
evidently overcharged. In speaking of Johor the original emigration of a
Malayan colony from Sumatra to the mouth of that river, which gave its
name to the whole coast, is briefly mentioned.)
ANCIENT RELIGION.
With respect to the religion professed by the Malayan princes at the time
of their migration from Sumatra, and for about 116 years after, little
can be known, because the writers, whose works have reached us, lived
since the period of conversion, and as good Mahometans would have thought
it profane to enter into the detail of superstitions which they regard
with abhorrence; but from the internal evidence we can entertain little
doubt of its having been the religion of Brahma, much corrupted however
and blended with the antecedent rude idolatry of the country, such as we
now find it amongst the Battas. Their proper names or titles are
obviously Hindu, with occasional mixture of Persian, and their mountain
of Maha-meru, elsewhere so well known as the seat of Indra and the dewas,
sufficiently points out the mythology adopted in the country. I am not
aware that at the present day there is any mountain in Sumatra called by
that name; but it is reasonable to presume that appellations decidedly
connected with Paganism may have been changed by the zealous propagators
of the new faith, and I am much inclined to believe that by the Maha-meru
of the Malays is to be understood the mountain of Sungei-pagu in the
Menangkabau country, from whence issue rivers that flow to both sides of
the island. In the neighbourhood of this reside the chiefs of the four
great tribes, called ampat suku or four quarters, one of which is named
Malayo (the others, Kampi, Pani, and Tiga-lara); and it is probable that
to it belonged the adventurers who undertook the expedition to Ujong
Tanah, and perpetuated the name of their particular race in the rising
fortunes of the new colony. From what circumstances they were led to
collect their vessels for embarkation at Palembang rather than at
Indragiri or Siak, so much more convenient in point of local position,
cannot now be ascertained.
Having proposed some queries upon this subject to the late Mr. Francis
Light, who first settled the island of Pinang or Prince of Wales island,
in the Straits of Malacca, granted to him by the king of Kedah as the
marriage portion of his daughter, he furnished me in answer with the
following notices. "The origin of the Malays, like that of other people,
is involved in fable; every raja is descended from some demigod, and the
people sprung from the ocean. According to their traditions however their
first city of Singapura, near the present Johor, was peopled from
Palembang, from whence they proceeded to settle at Malacca (naming their
city from the fruit so called), and spread along the coast. The peninsula
is at present inhabited by distinct races of people. The Siamese possess
the northern part to latitude 7 degrees, extending from the east to the
west side. The Malays possess the whole of the sea-coast on both sides,
from that latitude to Point Romania; being mixed in some places with the
Bugis from Celebes, who have still a small settlement at Salmigor. The
inland parts to the northward are inhabited by the Patani people, who
appear to be a mixture of Siamese and Malays, and occupy independent
dusuns or villages. Among the forests and in the mountains are a race of
Caffres, in every respect resembling those of Africa excepting in
stature, which does not exceed four feet eight inches. The Menangkabau
people of the peninsula are so named from an inland country in Pulo
Percha (Sumatra). A distinction is made between them and the Malays of
Johor, but none is perceptible."
To these authorities I shall add that of Mr. Thomas Raffles, at this time
Secretary to the government of Pulo Pinang, a gentleman whose
intelligence and zeal in the pursuit of knowledge give the strongest hope
of his becoming an ornament to oriental literature. To his correspondence
I am indebted for much useful information in the line of my researches,
and the following passages corroborate the opinions I had formed. "With
respect to the Menangkabaus, after a good deal of inquiry, I have not yet
been able decidedly to ascertain the relation between those of that name
in the peninsula and the Menangkabaus of Pulo Percha. The Malays affirm
without hesitation that they all came originally from the latter island."
In a recent communication he adds, "I am more confident than ever that
the Menangkabaus of the peninsula derive their origin from the country of
that name in Sumatra. Inland of Malacca about sixty miles is situated the
Malay kingdom of Rumbo, whose sultan and all the principal officers of
state hold their authority immediately from Menangkabau, and have written
commissions for their respective offices. This shows the extent of that
ancient power even now, reduced as it must be, in common with that of the
Malay people in general. I had many opportunities of communicating with
the natives of Rumbo, and they have clearly a peculiar dialect,
resembling exactly what you mention of substituting the final o for a, as
in the word ambo for amba. In fact, the dialect is called by the Malacca
people the language of Menangkabau."
HISTORY OF MENANGKABAU IMPERFECTLY KNOWN.
Returning from this discussion I shall resume the consideration of what
is termed the Sumatran empire of Menangkabau, believed by the natives of
all descriptions to have subsisted from the remotest times. With its
annals, either ancient or modern, we are little acquainted, and the
existence of any historical records in the country has generally been
doubted; yet, as those of Malacca and of Achin have been preserved, it is
not hastily to be concluded that these people, who are the equals of the
former, and much superior to the latter in point of literature, are
destitute of theirs, although they have not reached our hands. It is
known that they deduce their origin from two brothers, named
Perapati-si-batang and Kei Tamanggungan, who are described as being
among the forty companions of Noah in the ark, and whose landing at
Palembang, or at a small island near it, named Langkapura, is attended
with the circumstance of the dry land being first discovered by the
resting upon it of a bird that flew from the vessel. From thence they
proceeded to the mountain named Siguntang-guntang, and afterwards to
Priangan in the neighbourhood of the great volcano, which at this day is
spoken of as the ancient capital of Menangkabau. Unfortunately I possess
only an imperfect abstract of this narrative, obviously intended for an
introduction to the genealogy of its kings, but, even as a fable,
extremely confused and unsatisfactory; and when the writer brings it down
to what may be considered as the historical period he abruptly leaves
off, with a declaration that the offer of a sum of money (which was
unquestionably his object) should not tempt him to proceed.
LIMITS.
At a period not very remote its limits were included between the river of
Palembang and that of Siak, on the eastern side of the island, and on the
western side between those of Manjuta (near Indrapura) and Singkel, where
(as well as at Siak) it borders on the independent country of the Battas.
The present seat, or more properly seats, of the divided government lie
at the back of a mountainous district named the Tiga-blas koto
(signifying the thirteen fortified and confederated towns) inland of the
settlement of Padang. The country is described as a large plain
surrounded by hills producing much gold, clear of woods, and
comparatively well cultivated. Although nearer to the western coast its
communications with the eastern side are much facilitated by
water-carriage.
LAKE.
Advantage is taken in the first place of a large lake, called Laut-danau,
situated at the foot of the range of high mountains named gunong Besi,
inland of the country of Priaman, the length of which is described by
some as being equal to a day's sailing, and by others as no more than
twenty-five or thirty miles, abounding with fish (especially of two
species, known by the names of sasau and bili), and free from alligators.
RIVERS.
From this, according to the authority of a map drawn by a native, issues
a river called Ayer Ambelan, which afterwards takes the name of
Indragiri, along which, as well as the two other great rivers of Siak to
the northward, and Jambi to the southward, the navigation is frequent,
the banks of all of them being peopled with Malayan colonies. Between
Menangkabau and Palembang the intercourse must, on account of the
distance, be very rare, and the assertion that in the intermediate
country there exists another great lake, which sends its streams to both
sides of the island, appears not only to be without foundation in fact,
but also at variance with the usual operations of nature; as I believe it
may be safely maintained that, however numerous the streams which furnish
the water of a lake, it can have only one outlet; excepting, perhaps, in
flat countries, where the course of the waters has scarcely any
determination, or under such a nice balance of physical circumstances as
is not likely to occur.
POLITICAL DECLINE.
When the island was first visited by European navigators this state must
have been in its decline, as appears from the political importance at
that period of the kings of Achin, Pedir, and Pase, who, whilst they
acknowledged their authority to be derived from him as their lord
paramount, and some of them paid him a trifling complimentary tribute,
acted as independent sovereigns. Subsequently to this an Achinese
monarch, under the sanction of a real or pretended grant, obtained from
one of the sultans, who, having married his daughter, treated her with
nuptial slight, and occasioned her to implore her father's interference,
extended his dominion along the western coast, and established his
panglimas or governors in many places within the territory of
Menangkabau, particularly at Priaman, near the great volcano-mountain.
This grant is said to have been extorted not by the force of arms but by
an appeal to the decision of some high court of justice similar to that
of the imperial chamber in Germany, and to have included all the low or
strand-countries (pasisir barat) as far southward as Bengkaulu or
Silebar. About the year 1613 however he claimed no farther than Padang,
and his actual possessions reached only to Barus.*
(*Footnote. The following instances occur of mention made by writers at
different periods of the kingdom of Menangkabau. ODOARDUS BARBOSA, 1519.
"Sumatra, a most large and beautiful island; Pedir, the principal city on
the northern side, where are also Pacem and Achem. Campar is opposite to
Malacca. Monancabo, to the southward, is the principal source of gold, as
well from mines as collected in the banks of the rivers." DE BARROS,
1553. "Malacca had the epithet of aurea given to it on account of the
abundance of gold brought from Monancabo and Barros, countries in the
island of Camatra, where it is procured." DIOGO de COUTO, 1600. "He gives
an account of a Portuguese ship wrecked on the coast of Sumatra, near to
the country of Manancabo, in 1560. Six hundred persons got on shore,
among whom were some women, one of them, Dona Francisca Sardinha, was of
such remarkable beauty that the people of the country resolved to carry
her off for their king; and they effected it, after a struggle in which
sixty of the Europeans lost their lives. At this period there was a great
intercourse between Manancabo and Malacca, many vessels going yearly with
gold to purchase cotton goods and other merchandise. In ancient times the
country was so rich in this metal that several hundredweight (seis, sete,
e mais candiz, de que trez fazem hum moyo) were exported in one season.
Volume 3 page 178. LINSCHOTEN, 1601. "At Menancabo excellent poniards
made, called creeses; best weapons of all the orient. Islands along the
coast of Sumatra, called islands of Menancabo." ARGENSOLA, 1609. "A
vessel loaded with creeses manufactured at Menancabo and a great quantity
of artillery; a species of warlike machine known and fabricated in
Sumatra many years before they were introduced by Europeans." LANCASTER,
1602. "Menangcabo lies eight or ten leagues inland of Priaman." BEST,
1613. " A man arrived from Menangcaboo at Ticoo, and brought news from
Jambee." BEAULIEU, 1622. "Du cote du ponant apres Padang suit le royaume
de Manimcabo; puis celuy d'Andripoura-Il y a (a Jambi) grand trafic d'or,
qu'ils ont avec ceux de Manimcabo." Vies des Gouverneurs Gen. Hollandois,
1763. Il est bon de remarquer ici que presque toute la cote occidentale
avoit ete reduite par la flotte du Sieur Pierre de Bitter en 1664.
L'annee suivante, les habitans de Pauw massacrerent le Commissaire Gruis,
etc.; mais apres avoir venge ce meurtre, et dissipe les revoltes en 1666,
les Hollandois etoient restes les maitres de toute cette etendue de cotes
entre Sillebar et Baros, ou ils etablirent divers comptoirs, dont celui
de Padang est le principal depuis 1667. Le commandant, qui y reside, est
en meme temps Stadhouder (Lieutenant) de l'Empereur de Maningcabo, a qui
la Compagnie a cede, sous diverses restrictions & limitations, la
souverainete sur tous les peuples qui babitent le long du rivage" etc.)
DIVISION OF THE GOVERNMENT.
In consequence of disturbances that ensued upon the death of a sultan
Alif in the year 1680, without direct heirs, the government became
divided amongst three chiefs, presumed to have been of the royal family
and at the same time great officers of state, who resided at places named
Suruwasa, Pagar-ruyong, and Sungei-trap; and in that state it continues
to the present time. Upon the capture of Padang by the English in 1781
deputations arrived from two of these chiefs with congratulations upon
the success of our arms; which will be repeated with equal sincerity to
those who may chance to succeed us. The influence of the Dutch (and it
would have been the same with any other European power) has certainly
contributed to undermine the political consequence of Menangkabau by
giving countenance and support to its disobedient vassals, who in their
turn have often experienced the dangerous effects of receiving favours
from too powerful an ally. Pasaman, a populous country, and rich in gold,
cassia, and camphor, one of its nearest provinces, and governed by a
panglima from thence, now disclaims all manner of dependence. Its
sovereignty is divided between the two rajas of Sabluan and Kanali, who,
in imitation of their former masters, boast an origin of high antiquity.
One of them preserves as his sacred relic the bark of a tree in which his
ancestor was nursed in the woods before the Pasaman people had reached
their present polished state. The other, to be on a level with him,
possesses the beard of a reverend predecessor (perhaps an anchorite),
which was so bushy that a large bird had built its nest in it. Raja
Kanali supported a long war with the Hollanders, attended with many
reverses of fortune.
Whether the three sultans maintain a struggle of hostile rivalship, or
act with an appearance of concert, as holding the nominal sovereignty
under a species of joint-regency, I am not informed, but each of them in
the preamble of his letters assumes all the royal titles, without any
allusion to competitors; and although their power and resources are not
much beyond those of a common raja they do not fail to assert all the
ancient rights and prerogatives of the empire, which are not disputed so
long as they are not attempted to be carried into force. Pompous
dictatorial edicts are issued and received by the neighbouring states
(including the European chiefs of Padang), with demonstration of profound
respect, but no farther obeyed than may happen to consist with the
political interests of the parties to whom they are addressed. Their
authority in short resembles not a little that of the sovereign pontiffs
of Rome during the latter centuries, founded as it is in the superstition
of remote ages; holding terrors over the weak, and contemned by the
stronger powers. The district of Suruwasa, containing the site of the old
capital, or Menangkabau proper, seems to have been considered by the
Dutch as entitled to a degree of pre-eminence; but I have not been able
to discover any marks of superiority or inferiority amongst them. In
distant parts the schism is either unknown, or the three who exercise the
royal functions are regarded as co-existing members of the same family,
and their government, in the abstract, however insignificant in itself,
is there an object of veneration. Indeed to such an unaccountable excess
is this carried that every relative of the sacred family, and many who
have no pretensions to it assume that character, are treated wherever
they appear, not only with the most profound respect by the chiefs who go
out to meet them, fire salutes on their entering the dusuns, and allow
them to level contributions for their maintenance; but by the country
people with such a degree of superstitious awe that they submit to be
insulted, plundered, and even wounded by them, without making resistance,
which they would esteem a dangerous profanation. Their appropriate title
(not uncommon in other Malayan countries) is Iang de per-tuan, literally
signifying he who ruleth.
A person of this description, who called himself Sri Ahmed Shah, heir to
the empire of Menangkabau, in consequence of some differences with the
Dutch, came and settled amongst the English at Bencoolen in the year
1687, on his return from a journey to the southward as far as Lampong,
and being much respected by the people of the country gained the entire
confidence of Mr. Bloom, the governor. He subdued some of the
neighbouring chiefs who were disaffected to the English, particularly
Raja mudo of Sungei-lamo, and also a Jennang or deputy from the king of
Bantam; he coined money, established a market, and wrote a letter to the
East India Company promising to put them in possession of the trade of
the whole island. But shortly afterwards a discovery was made of his
having formed a design to cut off the settlement, and he was in
consequence driven from the place. The records mention at a subsequent
period that the sultan of Indrapura was raising troops to oppose him.*
(*Footnote. The following anecdote of one of these personages was
communicated to me by my friend, the late Mr. Crisp. "Some years ago,
when I was resident of Manna, there was a man who had long worked in the
place as a coolie when someone arrived from the northward, who happened
to discover that he was an Iang de per-tuan or relation of the imperial
family. Immediately all the bazaar united to raise him to honour and
independence; he was never suffered to walk without a high umbrella
carried over him, was followed by numerous attendants, and addressed by
the title of tuanku, equivalent to your highness. After this he became an
intriguing, troublesome fellow in the Residency, and occasioned much
annoyance. The prejudice in favour of these people is said to extend over
all the islands to the eastward where the Malay tongue is spoken.")
HIS TITLES.
The titles and epithets assumed by the sultans are the most extravagantly
absurd that it is possible to imagine. Many of them descend to mere
childishness; and it is difficult to conceive how any people, so far
advanced in civilization as to be able to write, could display such
evidences of barbarism. A specimen of a warrant of recent date, addressed
to Tuanku Sungei-Pagu, a high-priest residing near Bencoolen, is as
follows:
Three circular Seals with inscriptions in Arabic characters.
(Eldest brother) Sultan of Rum. Key Dummul Alum. Maharaja Alif.
(Second brother) Sultan of China. Nour Alum. Maharaja Dempang or Dipang.
(Youngest brother) Sultan of Menangkabau. Aour Alum. Maharaja Dirja or
Durja.
TRANSLATION OF A WARRANT.
The sultan of Menangkabau, whose residence is at Pagar-ruyong, who is
king of kings; a descendant of raja Iskander zu'lkarnaini; possessed of
the crown brought from heaven by the prophet Adam; of a third part of the
wood kamat, one extremity of which is in the kingdom of Rum and another
in that of China; of the lance named lambing lambura ornamented with the
beard of janggi; of the palace in the city of Rum, whose entertainments
and diversions are exhibited in the month of zul'hijah, and where all
alims, fakiahs, and mulanakaris praise and supplicate Allah; possessor of
the gold-mine named kudarat-kudarati, which yields pure gold of twelve
carats, and of the gold named jati-jati which snaps the dalik wood; of
the sword named churak-simandang-giri, which received one hundred and
ninety gaps in conflict with the fiend Si Katimuno, whom it slew; of the
kris formed of the soul of steel, which expresses an unwillingness at
being sheathed and shows itself pleased when drawn; of a date coeval with
the creation; master of fresh water in the ocean, to the extent of a
day's sailing; of a lance formed of a twig of iju ; the sultan who
receives his taxes in gold by the lessong measure; whose betel-stand is
of gold set with diamonds; who is possessor of the web named sangsista
kala, which weaves itself and adds one thread yearly, adorned with
pearls, and when that web shall be completed the world will be no more;
of horses of the race of sorimborani, superior to all others; of the
mountain Si guntang-guntang, which divides Palembang and Jambi, and of
the burning mountain; of the elephant named Hasti
Dewah; who is vicegerent of heaven; sultan of the golden river; lord of
the air and clouds; master of a ballei whose pillars are of the shrub
jalatang; of gandarangs (drums) made of the hollow stems of the
diminutive plants pulut and silosuri; of the anchor named paduka jati
employed to recover the crown which fell into the deep sea of Kulzum; of
the gong that resounds to the skies; of the buffalo named Si Binuwang
Sati, whose horns are ten feet asunder; of the unconquered cock,
Sengunani; of the coconut-tree which, from its amazing height and being
infested with serpents and other noxious reptiles, it is impossible to
climb; of the blue champaka flower, not to be found in any other country
than his (being yellow elsewhere); of the flowering shrub named
Srimenjeri, of ambrosial scent; of the mountain on which the celestial
spirits dwell; who when he goes to rest wakes not until the gandarang
nobat sounds; He the sultan Sri Maharaja Durja furthermore declares,
etc.*
(*Footnote. The following Letter from the sultan of Menangkabau to the
father of the present sultan of Moco-moco, and apparently written about
fifty years ago, was communicated to me by Mr. Alexander Dalrymple, and
though it is in part a repetition I esteem it too curious to hesitate
about inserting it. The style is much more rational than that of the
foregoing. "Praised be Almighty God! Sultan Gagar Alum the great and
noble King, whose extensive power reacheth unto the limits of the wide
ocean; unto whom God grants whatever he desires, and over whom no evil
spirit, nor even Satan himself has any influence; who is invested with an
authority to punish evil-doers; and has the most tender heart in the
support of the innocent; has no malice in his mind, but preserveth the
righteous with the greatest reverence, and nourisheth the poor and needy,
feeding them daily from his own table. His authority reacheth over the
whole universe, and his candour and goodness is known to all men.
(Mention made of the three brothers.) The ambassador of God and his
prophet Mahomet; the beloved of mankind; and ruler of the island called
Percho. At the time God made the heavens, the earth, the sun, the moon,
and even before evil spirits were created, this sultan Gagar Alum had his
residence in the clouds; but when the world was habitable God gave him a
bird called Hocinet, that had the gift of speech; this he sent down on
earth to look out for a spot where he might establish an inheritance, and
the first place he alighted upon was the fertile island of Lankapura,
situated between Palembang and Jambi, and from thence sprang the famous
kingdom of Manancabow, which will be renowned and mighty until the
Judgment Day.
"This Maha Raja Durja is blessed with a long life and an uninterrupted
course of prosperity, which he will maintain in the name, and through the
grace of the holy prophet, to the end that God's divine Will may be
fulfilled upon earth. He is endowed with the highest abilities, and the
most profound wisdom and circumspection in governing the many tributary
kings and subjects. He is righteous and charitable, and preserveth the
honour and glory of his ancestors. His justice and clemency are felt in
distant regions, and his name will be revered until the last day. When he
openeth his mouth he is full of goodness, and his words are as grateful
as rosewater to the thirsty. His breath is like the soft winds of the
heavens, and his lips are the instruments of truth; sending forth
perfumes more delightful than benjamin or myrrh. His nostrils breathe
ambergris and musk; and his countenance has the lustre of diamonds. He is
dreadful in battle, and not to be conquered, his courage and valour being
matchless. He, the sultan Maha Raja Durja, was crowned with a sacred
crown from God; and possesses the wood called Kamat, in conjunction with
the emperors of Rome and China. (Here follows an account of his
possessions nearly corresponding to those above recited.)
"After this salutation, and the information I have given of my greatness
and power, which I attribute to the good and holy prophet Mahomet, I am
to acquaint you with the commands of the sultan whose presence bringeth
death to all who attempt to approach him without permission; and also
those of the sultan of Indrapura who has four breasts. This friendly
sheet of paper is brought from the two sultans above named, by their bird
anggas, unto their son, sultan Gandam Shah, to acquaint him with their
intention under this great seal, which is that they order their son
sultan Gandam Shah to oblige the English Company to settle in the
district called Biangnur, at a place called the field of sheep, that they
may not have occasion to be ashamed at their frequent refusal of our
goodness in permitting them to trade with us and with our subjects; and
that in case he cannot succeed in this affair we hereby advise him that
the ties of friendship subsisting between us and our son is broken; and
we direct that he send us an answer immediately, that we may know the
result--for all this island is our own." It is difficult to determine
whether the preamble, or the purport of the letter be the more
extraordinary.)
Probably no records upon earth can furnish an example of more
unintelligible jargon; yet these attributes are believed to be
indisputably true by the Malays and others residing at a distance from
his immediate dominions, who possess a greater degree of faith than wit;
and with this addition, that he dwells in a palace without covering, free
from inconvenience. It is at the same time but justice to these people to
observe that, in the ordinary concerns of life, their writings are as
sober, consistent, and rational as those of their neighbours.
REMARKS ON WARRANT.
The seals prefixed to the warrant are, beside his own and that of the
emperor of China, whose consequence is well known to the inhabitants of
the eastern islands, that of the sultan of Rum, by which is understood in
modern times, Constantinople, the seat of the emperor of the Turks, who
is looked up to by Mahometans, since the ruin of the khalifat, as the
head of their religion; but I have reason to think that the appellation
of Rumi was at an earlier period given by oriental writers to the
subjects of the great Turkoman empire of the Seljuks, whose capital was
Iconium or Kuniyah in Asia minor, of which the Ottoman was a branch. This
personage he honours with the title of his eldest brother, the descendant
of Iskander the two-horned, by which epithet the Macedonian hero is
always distinguished in eastern story, in consequence, as may be
presumed, of the horned figure on his coins,* which must long have
circulated in Persia and Arabia. Upon the obscure history of these
supposed brothers some light is thrown by the following legend
communicated to me as the belief of the people of Johor. "It is related
that Iskander dived into the sea, and there married a daughter of the
king of the ocean, by whom he had three sons, who, when they arrived at
manhood, were sent by their mother to the residence of their father. He
gave them a makuta or crown, and ordered them to find kingdoms where they
should establish themselves. Arriving in the straits of Singapura they
determined to try whose head the crown fitted. The eldest trying first
could not lift it to his head. The second the same. The third had nearly
effected it when it fell from his hand into the sea. After this the
eldest turned to the west and became king of Rome, the second to the east
and became king of China. The third remained at Johor. At this time Pulo
Percha (Sumatra) had not risen from the waters. When it began to appear,
this king of Johor, being on a fishing party, and observing it oppressed
by a huge snake named Si Kati-muno, attacked the monster with his sword
called Simandang-giri, and killed it, but not till the sword had received
one hundred and ninety notches in the encounter. The island being thus
allowed to rise, he went and settled by the burning mountain, and his
descendants became kings of Menangkabau." This has much the air of a tale
invented by the people of the peninsula to exalt the idea of their own
antiquity at the expense of their Sumatran neighbours. The blue
champaka-flower of which the sultan boasts possession I conceive to be an
imaginary and not an existent plant. The late respected Sir W. Jones, in
his Botanical Observations printed in the Asiatic Researches Volume 4
suspects that by it must be meant the Kaempferia bhuchampac, a plant
entirely different from the michelia; but as this supposition is built on
a mere resemblance of sounds it is necessary to state that the Malayan
term is champaka biru, and that nothing can be inferred from the
accidental coincidence of the Sanskrit word bhu, signifying ground, with
the English term for the blue colour.
(*Footnote. See a beautiful engraving of one of these coins preserved in
the Bodleian collection, Oxford, prefixed to Dr. Vincent's Translation of
the Voyage of Nearchus printed in 1809.)
CEREMONIES.
With the ceremonies of the court we are very imperfectly acquainted. The
royal salute is one gun; which may be considered as a refinement in
ceremony; for as no additional number could be supposed to convey an
adequate idea of respect, but must on the contrary establish a definite
proportion between his dignity and that of his nobles, or of other
princes, the sultan chooses to leave the measure of his importance
indefinite by this policy and save his gunpowder. It must be observed
that the Malays are in general extremely fond of the parade of firing
guns, which they never neglect on high days, and on the appearance of the
new moon, particularly that which marks the commencement and the
conclusion of their puasa or annual fast. Yellow being esteemed, as in
China, the royal colour, is said to be constantly and exclusively worn by
the sultan and his household. His usual present on sending an embassy
(for no Sumatran or other oriental has an idea of making a formal address
on any occasion without a present in hand, be it never so trifling), is a
pair of white horses; being emblematic of the purity of his character and
intentions.
CONVERSION TO MAHOMETAN RELIGION.
The immediate subjects of this empire, properly denominated Malays, are
all of the Mahometan religion, and in that respect distinguished from the
generality of inland inhabitants. How it has happened that the most
central people of the island should have become the most perfectly
converted is difficult to account for unless we suppose that its
political importance and the richness of its gold trade might have drawn
thither its pious instructors, from temporal as well as spiritual
motives. Be this as it may, the country of Menangkabau is regarded as the
supreme seat of civil and religious authority in this part of the East,
and next to a voyage to Mecca to have visited its metropolis stamps a man
learned, and confers the character of superior sanctity. Accordingly the
most eminent of those who bear the titles of imam, mulana, khatib, and
pandita either proceed from thence or repair thither for their degree,
and bring away with them a certificate or diploma from the sultan or his
minister.
In attempting to ascertain the period of this conversion much accuracy is
not to be expected; the natives are either ignorant on the subject or
have not communicated their knowledge, and we can only approximate the
truth by comparing the authorities of different old writers. Marco Polo,
the Venetian traveller who visited Sumatra under the name of Java minor
(see above) says that the inhabitants of the seashore were addicted to
the Mahometan law, which they had learned from Saracon merchants. This
must have been about the year 1290, when, in his voyage from China, he
was detained for several months at a port in the Straits, waiting the
change of the monsoon; and though I am scrupulous of insisting upon his
authority (questioned as it is), yet in a fact of this nature he could
scarcely be mistaken, and the assertion corresponds with the annals of
the princes of Malacca, which state, as we have seen above, that sultan
Muhammed Shah, who reigned from 1276 to 1333, was the first royal
convert. Juan De Barros, a Portuguese historian of great industry, says
that, according to the tradition of the inhabitants, the city of Malacca
was founded about the year 1260, and that about 1400 the Mahometan faith
had spread considerably there and extended itself to the neighbouring
islands. Diogo do Couto, another celebrated historian, who prosecuted his
inquiries in India, mentions the arrival at Malacca of an Arabian priest
who converted its monarch to the faith of the khalifs, and gave him the
name of Shah Muhammed in the year 1384. This date however is evidently
incorrect, as that king's reign was earlier by fifty years. Corneille le
Brun was informed by the king of Bantam in 1706 that the people of Java
were made converts to that sect about three hundred years before.
Valentyn states that Sheik Mulana, by whom this conversion was effected
in 1406, had already disseminated his doctrine at Ache, Pase (places in
Sumatra), and Johor. From these several sources of information, which are
sufficiently distinct from each other, we may draw this conclusion, that
the religion, which sprang up in Arabia in the seventh century, had not
made any considerable progress in the interior of Sumatra earlier than
the fourteenth, and that the period of its introduction, considering the
vicinity to Malacca, could not be much later. I have been told indeed,
but cannot vouch for its authenticity, that in 1782 these people counted
670 years from the first preaching of their religion, which would carry
the period back to 1112. It may be added that in the island of Ternate
the first Mahometan prince reigned from 1466 to 1486; that Francis
Xavier, a celebrated Jesuit missionary, when he was at Amboina in 1546
observed the people then beginning to learn to write from the Arabians;
that the Malays were allowed to build a mosque at Goak in Makasar
subsequently to the arrival of the Portuguese in 1512; and that in 1603
the whole kingdom had become Mahometan. These islands, lying far to the
eastward, and being of less considerable account in that age than
subsequent transactions have rendered them, the zeal of religious
adventurers did not happen to be directed thither so soon as to the
countries bordering on the sea of India.
By some it has been asserted that the first sultan of Menangkabau was a
Xerif from Mecca, or descendant of the khalifs, named Paduka Sri Sultan
Ibrahim, who, settling in Sumatra, was received with honour by the
princes of the country, Perapati-si-batang and his brother, and acquired
sovereign authority. They add that the sultans who now reside at
Pagar-ruyong and at Suruwasa are lineally descended from that Xerif,
whilst he who resides at Sungei Trap, styled Datu Bandhara putih, derives
his origin from Perapati. But to this supposition there are strong
objections. The idea so generally entertained by the natives, and
strengthened by the glimmering lights that the old writers afford us,
bespeaks an antiquity to this empire that stretches far beyond the
probable era of the establishment of the Mahometan religion in the
island. Radin Tamanggung, son of a king of Madura, a very intelligent
person, and who as a prince himself was conversant with these topics,
positively asserted to me that it was an original Sumatran empire,
antecedent to the introduction of the Arabian faith; instructed, but by
no means conquered, as some had imagined, by people from the peninsula.
So memorable an event as the elevation of a Xerif to the throne would
have been long preserved by annals or tradition, and the sultan in the
list of his titles would not fail to boast of this sacred extraction from
the prophet, to which however he does not at all allude; and to this we
may add that the superstitious veneration attached to the family extends
itself not only where Mahometanism has made a progress, but also among
the Battas and other people still unconverted to that faith, with whom it
would not be the case if the claim to such respect was grounded on the
introduction of a foreign religion which they have refused to accept.
Perhaps it is less surprising that this one kingdom should have been
completely converted than that so many districts of the island should
remain to this day without any religion whatever. It is observable that a
person of this latter description, coming to reside among the Malays,
soon assimilates to them in manners, and conforms to their religious
practices. The love of novelty, the vanity of learning, the fascination
of ceremony, the contagion of example, veneration for what appears above
his immediate comprehension, and the innate activity of man's
intellectual faculties, which, spurred by curiosity, prompts him to the
acquisition of knowledge, whether true or false--all conspire to make him
embrace a system of belief and scheme of instruction in which there is
nothing that militates against prejudices already imbibed. He
relinquishes no favourite ancient worship to adopt a new, and is
manifestly a gainer by the exchange, when he barters, for a paradise and
eternal pleasures, so small a consideration as the flesh of his foreskin.
TOLERANT PRINCIPLES.
The Malays, as far as my observation went, did not appear to possess much
of the bigotry so commonly found amongst the western Mahometans, or to
show antipathy to or contempt for unbelievers. To this indifference is to
be attributed my not having positively ascertained whether they are
followers of the sunni or the shiah sect, although from their tolerant
principles and frequent passages in their writings in praise of Ali I
conclude them to be the latter. Even in regard to the practice of
ceremonies they do not imitate the punctuality of the Arabs and others of
the mussulman faith. Excepting such as were in the orders of the
priesthood I rarely noticed persons in the act of making their
prostrations. Men of rank I am told have their religious periods, during
which they scrupulously attend to their duties and refrain from
gratifications of the appetite, together with gambling and cockfighting;
but these are not long nor very frequent. Even their great Fast or puasa
(the ramadan of the Turks) is only partially observed. All those who have
a regard for character fast more or less according to the degree of their
zeal or strength of their constitutions; some for a week, others for a
fortnight; but to abstain from food and betel whilst the sun is above the
horizon during the whole of a lunar month is a very rare instance of
devotion.
LITERATURE.
Malayan literature consists chiefly of transcripts and versions of the
koran, commentaries on the mussulman law, and historic tales both in
prose and verse, resembling in some respect our old romances. Many of
these are original compositions, and others are translations of the
popular tales current in Arabia, Persia, India, and the neighbouring
island of Java, where the Hindu languages and mythology appear to have
made at a remote period considerable progress. Among several works of
this description I possess their translation (but much compressed) of the
Ramayan, a celebrated Sanskrit poem, and also of some of the Arabian
stories lately published in France as a Continuation of the Thousand and
one Nights, first made known to the European world by M. Galland. If
doubts have been entertained of the authenticity of these additions to
his immortal collection the circumstance of their being (however
partially) discovered in the Malayan language will serve to remove them.
Beside these they have a variety of poetic works, abounding rather with
moral reflections and complaints of the frowns of fortune or of
ill-requited love than with flights of fancy. The pantun or short
proverbial stanza has been already described. They are composed in all
parts of the island, and often extempore; but such as proceed from
Menangkabau, the most favoured seat of the Muses, are held in the first
esteem. Their writing is entirely in the modified Arabic character, and
upon paper previously ruled by means of threads drawn tight and arranged
in a peculiar manner.
ARTS.
The arts in general are carried among these people to a greater degree of
perfection than by the other natives of Sumatra. The Malays are the sole
fabricators of the exquisite gold and silver filigree, the manufacture of
which has been particularly described.
FIREARMS.
In the country of Menangkabau they have from the earliest times
manufactured arms for their own use and to supply the northern
inhabitants of the island, who are the most warlike, and which trade they
continue to this day, smelting, forging, and preparing, by a process of
their own, the iron and steel for this purpose, although much is at the
same time purchased from Europeans.*
(*Footnote. The principal iron mines are at a place called Padang Luar,
where the ore is sold at the rate of half a fanam or forty-eighth part of
a dollar for a man's load, and carried to another place in the
Menangkabau country called Selimpuwong, where it is smelted and
manufactured.)
CANNON.
The use of cannon in this and other parts of India is mentioned by the
oldest Portuguese historians, and it must consequently have been known
there before the discovery of the passage by the Cape of Good Hope. Their
guns are those pieces called matchlocks, the improvement of springs and
flints not being yet adopted by them; the barrels are well tempered and
of the justest bore, as is evident from the excellence of their aim,
which they always take by lowering, instead of raising the muzzle of the
piece to the object. They are wrought by rolling a flatted bar of iron of
proportionate dimensions spirally round a circular rod, and beating it
till the parts of the former unite; which method seems preferable in
point of strength to that of folding and soldering the bar
longitudinally. The art of boring may well be supposed unknown to these
people. Firelocks are called by them snapang, from the Dutch name.
Gunpowder they make in great quantities, but either from the injudicious
proportion of the ingredients in the composition, or the imperfect
granulation, it is very defective in strength.
SIDE-ARMS.
The tombak, lambing, and kujur or kunjur are names for weapons of the
lance or spear kind; the pedang, rudus, pamandap, and kalewang are of the
sword kind, and slung at the side, the siwar is a small instrument of the
nature of a stiletto, chiefly used for assassination; and the kris is a
species of dagger of a particular construction, very generally worn,
being stuck in front through the folds of a belt that goes several times
round the body.
(PLATE 17. SUMATRAN WEAPONS.
A. A Malay Gadoobang.
B. A Batta Weapon.
C. A Malay Creese.
One-third of the size of the Originals.
W. Williams del. and sculpt.
Published by W. Marsden, 1810.)
(PLATE 17a. SUMATRAN WEAPONS.
D. A Malay Creese.
E. An Achenese Creese.
F. A Malay Sewar.
One-third of the size of the Originals.
W. Williams del. and sculpt.)
KRIS-BLADE.
The blade is about fourteen inches in length, not straight nor uniformly
curved, but waving in and out, as we see depicted the flaming swords that
guarded the gates of paradise; which probably may render a wound given
with it the more fatal. It is not smooth or polished like those of our
weapons, but by a peculiar process made to resemble a composition, in
which veins of a different metal are apparent. This damasking (as I was
informed by the late Mr. Boulton) is produced by beating together steel
and iron wire whilst in a state of half fusion, and eating them with
acids, by which the softest part is the most corroded; the edges being of
pure steel. Their temper is uncommonly hard. The head or haft is either
of ivory, the tooth of the duyong (sea-cow), that of the hippopotamus,
the snout of the ikan layer (voilier), of black coral, or of fine-grained
wood. This is ornamented with gold or a mixture of that and copper, which
they call swasa, highly polished and carved into curious figures, some of
which have the beak of a bird with the arms of a human creature, and bear
a resemblance to the Egyptian Isis. The sheath also is formed of some
beautiful species of wood, hollowed out, with a neat lacing of split
rattan, stained red round the lower parts; or sometimes it is plated with
gold. The value of a kris is supposed to be enhanced in proportion to the
number of persons it has slain. One that has been the instrument of much
bloodshed is regarded with a degree of veneration as something sacred.
The horror or enthusiasm inspired by the contemplation of such actions is
transferred to the weapon, which accordingly acquires sanctity from the
principle that leads ignorant men to reverence whatever possesses the
power of effecting mischief. Other circumstances also contribute to give
them celebrity, and they are distinguished by pompous names. Some have a
cushion by their bedside on which is placed their favourite weapon. I
have a manuscript treatise on krises, accompanied with drawings,
describing their imaginary properties and value, estimated at the price
of one or more slaves. The abominable custom of poisoning them, though
much talked of, is rarely practised I believe in modern times. They are
frequently seen rubbing the blades with lime-juice, which has been
considered as a precaution against danger of this kind, but it is rather
for the purpose of removing common stains or of improving the damasked
appearance.
MODES OF WARFARE.
Although much parade attends their preparations for war and their
marches, displaying colours of scarlet cloth, and beating drums, gongs,
and chennangs, yet their operations are carried on rather in the way of
ambuscade and surprise of straggling parties than open combat, firing
irregularly from behind entrenchments, which the enemy takes care not to
approach too near.
HORSES.
They are said to go frequently to war on horseback, but I shall not
venture to give their force the name of cavalry. The chiefs may probably
avail themselves of the service of this useful animal from motives of
personal indulgence or state, but on account of the ranjaus or
sharp-pointed stakes so commonly planted in the passes (see the preceding
journal of Lieutenant Dare's march, where they are particularly
described), it is scarcely possible that horse could be employed as an
effective part of an army. It is also to be observed that neither the
natives nor even Europeans ever shoe them, the nature of the roads in
general not rendering it necessary. The breed of them is small but well
made, hardy, and vigorous. The soldiers serve without pay, but the
plunder they obtain is thrown into a common stock, and divided amongst
them. Whatever might formerly have been the degree of their prowess they
are not now much celebrated for it; yet the Dutch at Padang have often
found them troublesome enemies from their numbers, and been obliged to
secure themselves within their walls. Between the Menangkabau people,
those of Rau or Aru, and the Achinese, settled at Natal, wars used to be
incessant until they were checked by the influence of our authority at
that place. The factory itself was raised upon one of the breast-works
thrown up by them for defence, of which several are to be met with in
walking a few miles into the country, and some of them very substantial.
Their campaigns in this petty warfare were carried on very deliberately.
They made a regular practice of commencing a truce at sunset, when they
remained in mutual security, and sometimes agreed that hostilities should
take place only between certain hours of the day. The English resident,
Mr. Carter, was frequently chosen their umpire, and upon these occasions
used to fix in the ground his golden-headed cane, on the spot where the
deputies should meet and concert terms of accommodation; until at length
the parties, grown weary of their fruitless contests, resolved to place
themselves respectively under the dependence and protection of the
company. The fortified villages, in some parts of the country named
dusun, and in others kampong, are here, as on the continent of India,
denominated kota or forts, and the districts are distinguished from each
other by the number of confederated villages they contain.
GOVERNMENT.
The government, like that of all Malayan states, is founded on principles
entirely feudal. The prince is styled raja, maha-raja, iang de pertuan,
or sultan; the nobles have the appellation of orang kaya or datu, which
properly belongs to the chiefs of tribes, and implies their being at the
head of a numerous train of immediate dependants or vassals, whose
service they command. The heir-apparent has the title of raja muda.
OFFICERS OF STATE.
From amongst the orang kayas the sultan appoints the officers of state,
who as members of his council are called mantri, and differ in number and
authority according to the situation and importance of the kingdom. Of
these the first in rank, or prime minister, has the appellation of
perdana mantri, mangko bumi, and not seldom, however anomalously,
maharaja. Next to him generally is the bandhara, treasurer or high
steward; then the laksamana and tamanggung, commanders-in-chief by sea
and land, and lastly the shahbandara, whose office it is to superintend
the business of the customs (in sea-port towns) and to manage the trade
for the king. The governors of provinces are named panglima, the heads of
departments pangulu. The ulubalang are military officers forming the
bodyguard of the sovereign, and prepared on all occasions to execute his
orders. From their fighting singly, when required, in the cause of the
prince or noble who maintains them, the name is commonly translated
champion; but when employed by a weak but arbitrary and cruel prince to
remove by stealth obnoxious persons whom he dares not to attack openly
they may be compared more properly to the Ismaelians or Assassins, so
celebrated in the history of the Crusades, as the devoted subjects of the
Sheikh al-jabal, or Old Man of the Mountain, as this chief of Persian
Irak is vulgarly termed. I have not reason however to believe that such
assassinations are by any means frequent. The immediate vassals of the
king are called amba raja; and for the subjects in general the word rayet
has been adopted. Beside those above named there is a great variety of
officers of government of an inferior class; and even among the superior
there is not at every period, nor in every Malayan state, a consistent
uniformity of rank and title.
GOVERNMENT BY FOUR DATUS.
The smaller Malayan establishments are governed by their datus or heads
of tribes, of whom there are generally four; as at Bencoolen (properly
Bengkaulu) near to which the English settlement of Fort Marlborough is
situated, and where Fort York formerly stood. These are under the
protection or dominion of two native chiefs or princes, the pangerans of
Sungei-lamo and Sungei-etam, the origin of whose authority has been
already explained. Each of these has possessions on different parts of
the river, the principal sway being in the hands of him of the two who
has most personal ability. They are constant rivals, though living upon
familiar terms, and are only restrained from open war by the authority of
the English. Limun likewise, and the neighbouring places of Batang-asei
and Pakalang-jambu, near the sources of Jambi River, where gold is
collected and carried chiefly to Bencoolen and the settlement of Laye,
where I had opportunities of seeing the traders, are each governed by
four datus, who, though not immediately nominated by the sultan, are
confirmed by, and pay tribute to, him. The first of these, whose
situation is most southerly, receive also an investiture (baju, garment,
and destar, turband) from the sultan of Palembang, being a politic
measure adopted by these merchants for the convenience attending it in
their occasional trading concerns with that place.
HOT SPRINGS.
At Priangan, near Gunong-berapi, are several hot mineral springs, called
in the Malayan map already mentioned, panchuran tujuh or the seven
conduits, where the natives from time immemorial have been in the
practice of bathing; some being appropriated to the men, and others to
the women; with two of cold water, styled the king's. It will be
recollected that in ancient times this place was the seat of government.
ANCIENT SCULPTURE.
Near to these springs is a large stone or rock of very hard substance,
one part of which is smoothed to a perpendicular face of about ten or
twelve feet long and four high, on which are engraved characters supposed
to be European, the space being entirely filled with them and certain
chaps or marks at the corners. The natives presume them to be Dutch, but
say that the latter do not resemble the present mark of the Company.
There is some appearance of the date 1100. The informant (named Raja
Intan), who had repeatedly seen and examined it, added that M. Palm,
governor of Padang, once sent Malays with paper and paint to endeavour to
take off the inscription, but they did not succeed; and the Dutch, whose
arms never penetrated to that part of the country, are ignorant of its
meaning. It is noticed in the Malayan map. Should it prove to be a Hindu
monument it will be thought curious.