BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE ISLANDS LYING OFF THE WESTERN COAST OF SUMATRA.
ISLANDS ADJACENT TO SUMATRA.
The chain of islands which extends itself in a line nearly parallel to
the western coast, at the distance from it of little more than a degree,
being immediately connected with the principal subject of this work, and
being themselves inhabited by a race or races of people apparently from
the same original stock as those of the interior of Sumatra, whose
genuineness of character has been preserved to a remarkable degree
(whilst the islands on the eastern side are uniformly peopled with
Malays), I have thought it expedient to add such authentic information
respecting them as I have been enabled to obtain; and this I feel to be
the more necessary from observing in the maps to which I have had
recourse so much error and confusion in applying the names that the
identity and even the existence of some of them have been considered as
doubtful.
ENGANO.
Of these islands the most southern is Engano, which is still but very
imperfectly known, all attempts to open a friendly communication with the
natives having hitherto proved fruitless; and in truth they have had but
too much reason to consider strangers attempting to land on their coast
as piratical enemies. In the voyage of J.J. Saar, published in 1662, we
have an account of an expedition fitted out from Batavia in 1645 for the
purpose of examining this island, which terminated in entrapping and
carrying off with them sixty or seventy of the inhabitants, male and
female. The former died soon after their arrival, refusing to eat any
other food than coconuts, but the women, who were distributed amongst the
principal families of Batavia, proved extremely tractable and docile, and
acquired the language of the place. It is not stated, nor does it appear
from any subsequent publication, that the opportunity was taken of
forming a collection of their words.
From that period Engano had only been incidentally noticed, until in
March 1771 Mr. Richard Wyatt, then governor, and the council of Fort
Marlborough, sent Mr. Charles Miller in a vessel belonging to the Company
to explore the productions of this island. On approaching it he observed
large plantations of coconut-trees, with several spots of ground cleared
for cultivation on the hills, and at night many fires on the beach.
Landing was found to be in most parts extremely difficult on account of
the surf. Many of the natives were seen armed with lances and squatting
down amongst the coral rocks, as if to conceal their numbers. Upon rowing
into a bay with the ship's boat it was pursued by ten canoes full of men
and obliged to return. Mr. Whalfeldt, the surveyor, and the second mate
proceeded to make a survey of the bay and endeavour to speak with the
natives. They were furnished with articles for presents, and, upon seeing
a canoe on the beach of a small island, and several people fishing on the
rocks, they rowed to the island and sent two caffrees on shore with some
cloth, but the natives would not come near them. The mate then landed and
advanced towards them, when they immediately came to him. He distributed
some presents among them, and they in return gave him some fish. Several
canoes came off to the ship with coconuts, sugar-cane, toddy, and a
species of yam. The crew of one of them took an opportunity of unshipping
and carrying away the boat's rudder, and upon a musket being fired over
their heads many of them leaped into the sea.
Mr. Miller describes these people as being taller and fairer than the
Malays, their hair black, which the men cut short, and the women wear
long, and neatly turned up. The former go entirely naked except that they
sometimes throw a piece of bark of tree, or plantain-leaf over their
shoulders to protect them from the heat of the sun. The latter also are
naked except a small slip of plantain-leaf round the waist; and some had
on their heads fresh leaves made up nearly in the shape of a bonnet, with
necklaces of small pieces of shell, and a shell hanging by a string, to
be used as a comb. The ears of both men and women have large holes made
in them, an inch or two in diameter, into which they put a ring made of
coconut-shell or a roll of leaves. They do not chew betel. Their language
was not understood by any person on board, although there were people
from most parts adjacent to the coast. Their canoes are very neat, formed
of two thin planks sewn together, sharp-pointed at each end and provided
with outriggers. In general they contain six or seven men. They always
carry lances, not only as offensive weapons, but for striking fish. These
are about seven feet in length, formed of nibong and other hard woods;
some of them tipped with pieces of bamboo made very sharp, and the
concave part filled with fish-bones (and shark's teeth), others armed
with pieces of bone made sharp and notched, and others pointed with bits
of iron and copper sharpened. They seemed not to be unaccustomed to the
sight of vessels. (Ships bound from the ports of India to the straits of
Sunda, as well as those from Europe, when late in the season, frequently
make the land of Engano, and many must doubtless be wrecked on its
coast).
Attempts were made to find a river or fresh water, but without success,
nor even a good place to land. Two of the people from the ship having
pushed in among the rocks and landed the natives soon came to them,
snatched their handkerchiefs off their heads and ran away with them, but
dropped them on being pursued. Soon afterwards they sounded a
conch-shell, which brought numbers of them down to the beach. The bay
appeared to be well sheltered and to afford good anchorage ground. The
soil of the country for the most part a red clay. The productions Mr.
Miller thought the same as are commonly found on the coast of Sumatra;
but circumstances did not admit of his penetrating into the country,
which, contrary to expectation, was found to be so full of inhabitants.
In consequence of the loss of anchors and cables it was judged necessary
that the vessel should return to Fort Marlborough. Having taken in the
necessary supplies, the island was revisited. Finding no landing-place,
the boat was run upon the coral rocks. Signs were made to the natives,
who had collected in considerable numbers, and upon seeing our people
land had retreated towards some houses, to stop, but to no purpose until
Mr. Miller proceeded towards them unaccompanied, when they approached in
great numbers and accepted of knives, pieces of cloth, etc. Observing a
spot of cultivated ground surrounded by a sort of fence he went to it,
followed by several of the natives who made signs to deter him, and as
soon as he was out of sight of his own people began to handle his clothes
and attempt to pull them off, when he returned to the beach.
Their houses stand singly in their plantations, are circular, about eight
feet in diameter, raised about six from the ground on slender ironwood
sticks, floored with planks, and the roof, which is thatched with long
grass, rises from the floor in a conical shape. No rice was seen among
them, nor did they appear to know the use of it when shown to them; nor
were cattle nor fowls of any kind observed about their houses.
Having anchored off a low point of marshy land in the northern part of
the bay, where the natives seemed to be more accustomed to intercourse
with strangers, the party landed in hopes of finding a path to some
houses about two miles inland. Upon observing signs made to them by some
people on the coral reef Mr. Miller and Mr. Whalfeldt went towards them
in the sampan, when some among them took an opportunity of stealing the
latter's hanger and running away with it; upon which they were
immediately fired at by some of the party, and notwithstanding Mr.
Miller's endeavours to prevent them both the officer and men continued to
fire upon and pursue the natives through the morass, but without being
able to overtake them. Meeting however with some houses they set fire to
them, and brought off two women and a boy whom the caffrees had seized.
The officers on board the vessel, alarmed at the firing and seeing Mr.
Miller alone in the sampan, whilst several canoes full of people were
rowing towards him, sent the pinnace with some sepoys to his assistance.
During the night conch-shells were heard to sound almost all over the
bay, and in the morning several large parties were observed on different
parts of the beach. All further communication with the inhabitants being
interrupted by this imprudent quarrel, and the purposes of the expedition
thereby frustrated, it was not thought advisable to remain any longer at
Engano, and Mr. Miller, after visiting some parts of the southern coast
of Sumatra, returned to Fort Marlborough.
PULO MEGA.
The next island to the north-west of Engano, but at a considerable
distance, is called by the Malays Pulo Mega (cloud-island), and by
Europeans Triste, or isle de Recif. It is small and uninhabited, and like
many others in these seas is nearly surrounded by a coral reef with a
lagoon in the centre. Coconut-trees grow in vast numbers in the sand near
the sea-shore, whose fruit serves for food to rats and squirrels, the
only quadrupeds found there. On the borders of the lagoon is a little
vegetable mould, just above the level of high water, where grow some
species of timber-trees.
PULO SANDING.
The name of Pulo Sanding or Sandiang belongs to two small islands
situated near the south-eastern extremity of the Nassau or Pagi islands,
in which group they are sometimes included. Of these the southernmost is
distinguished in the Dutch charts by the term of Laag or low, and the
other by that of Bergen or hilly. They are both uninhabited, and the only
productions worth notice is the long nutmeg, which grows wild on them,
and some good timber, particularly of the kind known by the name of
marbau (Metrosideros amboinensis). An idea was entertained of making a
settlement on one of them, and in 1769 an officer with a few men were
stationed there for some months, during which period the rains were
incessant. The scheme was afterwards abandoned as unlikely to answer any
useful purpose.
NASSAUS OR PULO PAGI.
The two islands separated by a narrow strait, to which the Dutch
navigators have given the name of the Nassaus, are called by the Malays
Pulo Pagi or Pagei, and by us commonly the Poggies. The race of people by
whom these as well as some other islands to the northward of them are
inhabited having the appellation of orang mantawei, this has been
confounded with the proper names of the islands, and, being applied
sometimes to one and sometimes to another, has occasioned much confusion
and uncertainty. The earliest accounts we have of them are the reports of
Mr. Randolph Marriot in 1749, and of Mr. John Saul in 1750 and 1751, with
Captain Thomas Forrest's observations in 1757, preserved in Mr.
Dalrymple's Historical Relation of the several Expeditions from Fort
Marlborough to the Islands adjacent to the West-coast of Sumatra; but by
much the most satisfactory information is contained in a paper
communicated by Mr. John Crisp to the Asiatic Society of Bengal, in the
sixth volume of whose Transactions it is published, and from these
documents I shall extract such particulars as may best serve to convey a
knowledge of the country and the people.
Mr. Crisp sailed from Fort Marlborough on the 12th of August 1792 in a
vessel navigated at his own expense, and with no other view than that of
gratifying a liberal curiosity. On the 14th he anchored in the straits of
See Cockup (Si Kakap), which divide the Northern from the Southern Pagi.
These straits are about two miles in length and a quarter of a mile over,
and make safe riding for ships of any size, which lie perfectly secure
from every wind, the water being literally as smooth as in a pond. The
high land of Sumatra (inland of Moco-moco and Ipu) was plainly to be
distinguished from thence. In the passage are scattered several small
islands, each of which consists of one immense rock, and which may have
been originally connected with the main island. The face of the country
is rough and irregular, consisting of high hills of sudden and steep
ascent, and covered with trees to their summits, among which the species
called bintangur or puhn, fit for the largest masts, abounds. The
sago-tree grows in plenty, and constitutes the chief article of food to
the inhabitants, who do not cultivate rice. The use of betel is unknown
to them. Coconut-trees, bamboos, and the common fruits of Sumatra are
found here. The woods are impervious to man: the species of wild animals
that inhabit them but few; the large red deer, hogs, and several kinds of
monkey, but neither buffaloes nor goats; nor are they infested with
tigers or other beasts of prey; They have the common domestic fowl, but
pork and fish are the favourite animal food of the natives.
When the vessel had been two days at anchor they began to come down from
their villages in their canoes, bringing fruit of various kinds, and on
invitation they readily came on board without showing signs of
apprehension or embarrassment. On presenting to them plates of boiled
rice they would not touch it until it had been previously tasted by one
of the ship's company. They behaved whilst on board with much decorum,
showed a strong degree of curiosity, but not the least disposition for
pilfering. They appeared to live in great friendship and harmony with
each other, and voluntarily divided amongst their companions what was
given to them. Their stature seldom exceeds five feet and a half. Their
colour is like that of the Malays, a light brown or copper-colour. Some
canoes came alongside the vessel with only women in them, and upon being
encouraged by the men several ventured on board. When on the water they
use a temporary dress to shield them from the heat of the sun, made of
the leaves of the plantain, of which they form a sort of conical cap (the
same was observed of the women of Engano), and there is also a broad
piece of the leaf fastened round the body over their breasts, and another
round their waist. This leaf readily splits, and has the appearance of a
coarse fringe. When in their villages the women, like the men, wear only
a small piece of coarse cloth, made of the bark of a tree, round their
middle. Beads and other ornaments are worn about the neck. Although
coconuts are in such plenty they have not the use of oil, and their hair,
which is black, and naturally long, is, for want of it and the use of
combs, in general matted and full of vermin. They have a method of filing
or grinding their teeth to a point, like the people of Sumatra.
The number of inhabitants of the two islands is supposed not to exceed
1400 persons. They are divided into small tribes, each occupying a small
river and living in one village. On the southern island are five of these
villages, and on the northern seven, of which Kakap is accounted the
chief, although Labu-labu is supposed to contain the greater number of
people. Their houses are built of bamboos and raised on posts; the under
part is occupied by poultry and hogs, and, as may be supposed, much filth
is collected there. Their arms consist of a bow and arrows. The former is
made of the nibong-tree, and the string of the entrails of some animal.
The arrows are of small bamboo, headed with brass or with a piece of hard
wood cut to a point. With these they kill deer, which are roused by dogs
of a mongrel breed, and also monkeys, whose flesh they eat. Some among
them wear krises. It was said that the different tribes of orang mantawei
who inhabit these islands never make war upon each other, but with people
of islands to the northward they are occasionally in a state of
hostility. The measurement of one of their war-canoes, preserved with
great care under a shed, was twenty-five feet in the length of the floor,
the prow projecting twenty-two, and the stern eighteen, making the whole
length sixty-five feet. The greatest breadth was five feet, and the depth
three feet eight inches. For navigating in their rivers and the straits
of Si Kakap, where the sea is as smooth as glass, they employ canoes,
formed with great neatness of a single tree, and the women and young
children are extremely expert in the management of the paddle. They are
strangers to the use of coin of any kind, and have little knowledge of
metals. The iron bill or chopping-knife, called parang, is in much esteem
among them, it serves as a standard for the value of other commodities,
such as articles of provision.
The religion of these people, if it deserves the name, resembles much
what has been described of the Battas; but their mode of disposing of
their dead is different, and analogous rather to the practice of the
Southsea islanders, the corpse, being deposited on a sort of stage in a
place appropriated for the purpose, and with a few leaves strewed over
it, is left to decay. Inheritance is by male descent; the house or
plantation, the weapons and tools of the father, become the property of
the sons. Their chiefs are but little distinguished from the rest of the
community by authority or possessions, their pre-eminence being chiefly
displayed at public entertainments, of which they do the honours. They
have not even judicial powers, all disputes being settled, and crimes
adjudged, by a meeting of the whole village. Murder is punishable by
retaliation, for which purpose the offender is delivered over to the
relations of the deceased, who may put him to death; but the crime is
rare. Theft, when to a considerable amount, is also capital. In cases of
adultery the injured husband has a right to seize the effects of the
paramour, and sometimes punishes his wife by cutting off her hair. When
the husband offends the wife has a right to quit him and to return to her
parents' house. Simple fornication between unmarried persons is neither
considered as a crime nor a disgrace. The state of slavery is unknown
among these people, and they do not practise circumcision.
The custom of tattooing, or imprinting figures on the skin, is general
among the inhabitants of this group of islands. They call it in their
language teetee or titi. They begin to form these marks on boys at seven
years of age, and fill them up as they advance in years. Mr. Crisp thinks
they were originally intended as marks of military distinction. The women
have a star imprinted on each shoulder, and generally some small marks on
the backs of their hands. These punctures are made with an instrument
consisting of a brass wire fixed perpendicularly into a piece of stick
about eight inches in length. The pigment made use of is the smoke
collected from dammar, mixed with water (or, according to another
account, with the juice of the sugar-cane). The operator takes a stalk of
dried grass, or a fine piece of stick, and, dipping the end in the
pigment, traces on the skin the outline of the figure, and then, dipping
the brass point in the same preparation, with very quick and light
strokes of a long, small stick, drives it into the skin, whereby an
indelible mark is produced. The pattern when completed is in all the
individuals nearly the same.
In the year 1783 the son of a raja of one of the Pagi islands came over
to Sumatra on a visit of curiosity, and, being an intelligent man, much
information was obtained from him. He could give some account of almost
every island that lies off the coast, and when a doubt arose about their
position he ascertained it by taking the rind of a pumplenose or
shaddock, and, breaking it into bits of different sizes, disposing them
on the floor in such a manner as to convey a clear idea of the relative
situation. He spoke of Engano (by what name is not mentioned) and said
that their boats were sometimes driven to that island, on which occasions
they generally lost a part, if not the whole, of their crews, from the
savage disposition of the natives. He appeared to be acquainted with
several of the constellations, and gave names for the Pleiades, Scorpion,
Great Bear, and Orion's Belt. He understood the distinction between the
fixed and wandering stars, and particularly noticed Venus, which he named
usutat-si-geb-geb or planet of the evening. To Sumatra he gave the
appellation of Seraihu. As to religion he said the rajas alone prayed and
sacrificed hogs and fowls. They addressed themselves in the first place
to the Power above the sky; next to those in the moon, who are male and
female; and lastly, to that evil being whose residence is beneath the
earth, and is the cause of earthquakes. A drawing of this man,
representing accurately the figures in which his body and limbs were
tattooed, was made by Colonel Trapaud, and obligingly given to me. He not
only stood patiently during the performance, but seemed much pleased with
the execution, and proposed that the Colonel should accompany him to his
country to have an opportunity of making a likeness of his father. To our
collectors of rare prints it is well known that there exists an engraving
of a man of this description by the title of The Painted Prince, brought
to England by Captain Dampier from one of the islands of the eastern sea
in the year 1691, and of whom a particular account is given in his
Voyage. He said that the inhabitants of the Pagi islands derived their
origin from the orang mantawei of the island called Si Biru.
SI PORAH OR GOOD FORTUNE.
North-westward of the Pagi islands, and at no great distance, lies that
of Si Porah, commonly denominated Good Fortune Island, inhabited by the
same race as the former, and with the same manners and language. The
principal towns or villages are named Si Porah, containing, when visited
by Mr. John Saul in 1750, three hundred inhabitants, Si Labah three
hundred (several of whom were originally from the neighbouring island of
Nias), Si Bagau two hundred, and Si Uban a smaller number; and when
Captain Forrest made his inquiries in 1757 there was not any material
variation. Since that period, though the island has been occasionally
visited, it does not appear that any report has been preserved of the
state of the population. The country is described as being entirely
covered with wood. The highest land is in the vicinity of Si Labah.
SI BIRU.
The next island in the same direction is named Si Biru, which, although
of considerable size, being larger than Si Porah, has commonly been
omitted in our charts, or denoted to be uncertain. It is inhabited by the
Mantawei race, and the natives both of Si Porah and the Pagi Islands
consider it as their parent country, but notwithstanding this connexion
they are generally in a state of hostility, and in 1783 no intercourse
subsisted between them. The inhabitants are distinguished only by some
small variety of the patterns in which their skins are tattooed, those of
Si Biru having them narrower on the breast and broader on the shoulders.
The island itself is rendered conspicuous by a volcanomountain.
PULO BATU.
Next to this is Pulo Batu, situated immediately to the southward of the
equinoctial line, and, in consequence of an original mistake in
Valentyn's erroneous chart, published in 1726, usually called by
navigators Mintaon, being a corruption of the word Mantawei, which, as
already explained, is appropriated to a race inhabiting the islands of Si
Biru, Si Porah, and Pagi. Batu, on the contrary, is chiefly peopled by a
colony from Nias. These pay a yearly tax to the raja of Buluaro, a small
kampong in the interior part of the island, belonging to a race different
from both, and whose number it is said amounts only to one hundred, which
it is not allowed to exceed, so many children being reared as may replace
the deaths. They are reported to bear a resemblance to the people of
Makasar or Bugis, and may have been adventurers from that quarter. The
influence of their raja over the Nias inhabitants, who exceed his
immediate subjects in the proportion of twenty to one, is founded on the
superstitious belief that the water of the island will become salt when
they neglect to pay the tax. He in his turn, being in danger from the
power of the Malay traders who resort thither from Padang and are not
affected by the same superstition, is constrained to pay them to the
amount of sixteen ounces of gold as an annual tribute.
The food of the people, as in the other islands, is chiefly sago, and
their exports coconuts, oil in considerable quantities, and swala or
seaslugs. No rice is planted there, nor, if we may trust to the Malayan
accounts, suffered to be imported. Upon the same authority also we are
told that the island derives its name of Batu from a large rock
resembling the hull of a vessel, which tradition states to be a
petrifaction of that in which the Buluaro people arrived. The same
fanciful story of a petrified boat is prevalent in the Serampei country
of Sumatra. From Natal Hill Pulo Batu is visible. Like the islands
already described it is entirely covered with wood.
PULO KAPINI.
Between Pulo Batu and the coast of Sumatra, but much nearer to the
latter, is a small uninhabited island, called Pulo Kapini (iron-wood
island), but to which our charts (copying from Valentyn) commonly give
the name of Batu, whilst to Batu itself, as above described, is assigned
the name of Mintaon. In confirmation of the distinctions here laid down
it will be thought sufficient to observe that, when the Company's packet,
the Greyhound, lay at what was called Lant's Bay in Mintaon, an officer
came to our settlement of Natal (of which Mr. John Marsden at that time
was chief) in a Batu oil-boat; and that a large trade for oil is carried
on from Padang and other places with the island of Batu, whilst that of
Kapini is known to be without inhabitants, and could not supply the
article.
PULO NIAS.
The most productive and important, if not the largest of this chain of
islands, is Pulo Nias. Its inhabitants are very numerous, and of a race
distinct not only from those on the main (for such we must relatively
consider Sumatra), but also from the people of all the islands to the
southward, with the exception of the last-mentioned. Their complexions,
especially the women, are lighter than those of the Malays; they are
smaller in their persons and shorter in stature; their mouths are broad,
noses very flat, and their ears are pierced and distended in so
extraordinary a manner as nearly, in many instances, to touch the
shoulders, particularly when the flap has, by excessive distension or by
accident, been rent asunder; but these pendulous excrescences are
commonly trimmed and reduced to the ordinary size when they are brought
away from their own country. Preposterous however as this custom may
appear, it is not confined to the Nias people. Some of the women of the
inland parts of Sumatra, in the vicinity of the equinoctial line
(especially those of the Rau tribes) increase the perforation of their
ears until they admit ornaments of two or three inches diameter. There is
no circumstance by which the natives of this island are more obviously
distinguished than the prevalence of a leprous scurf with which the skins
of a great proportion of both sexes are affected; in some cases covering
the whole of the body and limbs, and in others resembling rather the
effect of the tetter or ringworm, running like that partial complaint in
waving lines and concentric curves. It is seldom if ever radically cured,
although by external applications (especially in the slighter cases) its
symptoms are moderated, and a temporary smoothness given to the skin; but
it does not seem in any stage of the disease to have a tendency to
shorten life, or to be inconsistent with perfect health in other
respects, nor is there reason to suppose it infectious; and it is
remarkable that the inhabitants of Pulo Batu, who are evidently of the
same race, are exempt from this cutaneous malady. The principal food of
the common people is the sweet-potato, but much pork is also eaten by
those who can afford it, and the chiefs make a practice of ornamenting
their houses with the jaws of the hogs, as well as the skulls of the
enemies whom they slay. The cultivation of rice has become extensive in
modern times, but rather as an article of traffic than of home
consumption.
These people are remarkable for their docility and expertness in
handicraft work, and become excellent house-carpenters and joiners, and
as an instance of their skill in the arts they practise that of letting
blood by cupping, in a mode nearly similar to ours. Among the Sumatrans
blood is never drawn with so salutary an intent. They are industrious and
frugal, temperate and regular in their habits, but at the same time
avaricious, sullen, obstinate, vindictive, and sanguinary. Although much
employed as domestic slaves (particularly by the Dutch) they are always
esteemed dangerous in that capacity, a defect in their character which
philosophers will not hesitate to excuse in an independent people torn by
violence from their country and connexions. They frequently kill
themselves when disgusted with their situation or unhappy in their
families, and often their wives at the same time, who appeared, from the
circumstances under which they were found, to have been consenting to the
desperate act. They were both dressed in their best apparel (the
remainder being previously destroyed), and the female, in more than one
instance that came under notice, had struggled so little as not to
discompose her hair or remove her head from the pillow. It is said that
in their own country they expose their children by suspending them in a
bag from a tree, when they despair of being able to bring them up. The
mode seems to be adopted with the view of preserving them from animals of
prey, and giving them a chance of being saved by persons in more easy
circumstances.
The island is divided into about fifty small districts, under chiefs or
rajas who are independent of, and at perpetual variance with, each other;
the ultimate object of their wars being to make prisoners, whom they sell
for slaves, as well as all others not immediately connected with them,
whom they can seize by stratagem. These violences are doubtless
encouraged by the resort of native traders from Padang, Natal, and Achin
to purchase cargoes of slaves, who are also accused of augmenting the
profits of their voyage by occasionally surprising and carrying off whole
families. The number annually exported is reckoned at four hundred and
fifty to Natal, and one hundred and fifty to the northern ports (where
they are said to be employed by the Achinese in the gold-mines),
exclusive of those which go to Padang for the supply of Batavia, where
the females are highly valued and taught music and various
accomplishments. In catching these unfortunate victims of avarice it is
supposed that not fewer than two hundred are killed; and if the aggregate
be computed at one thousand it is a prodigious number to be supplied from
the population of so small an island.
Beside the article of slaves there is a considerable export of padi and
rice, the cultivation of which is chiefly carried on at a distance from
the sea-coasts, whither the natives retire to be secure from piratical
depredations, bringing down the produce to the harbours (of which there
are several good ones), to barter with the traders for iron, steel,
beads, tobacco, and the coarser kinds of Madras and Surat piece-goods.
Numbers of hogs are reared, and some parts of the main, especially Barus,
are supplied from hence with yams, beans, and poultry. Some of the rajas
are supposed to have amassed a sum equal to ten or twenty thousand
dollars, which is kept in ingots of gold and silver, much of the latter
consisting of small Dutch money (not the purest coin) melted down; and of
these they make an ostentatious display at weddings and other festivals.
The language scarcely differs more from the Batta and the Lampong than
these do from each other, and all evidently belong to the same stock. The
pronunciation is very guttural, and either from habit or peculiar
conformation of organs these people cannot articulate the letter p, but
in Malayan words, where the sound occurs, pronounce it as f (saying for
example Fulo Finang instead of Pulo Pinang), whilst on the contrary the
Malays never make use of the f, and pronounce as pikir the Arabic word
fikir. Indeed the Arabians themselves appear to have the same organic
defect as the people of Nias, and it may likewise be observed in the
languages of some of the South-sea islands.
PULO NAKO-NAKO.
On the western side of Nias and very near to it is a cluster of small
islands called Pulo Nako-nako, whose inhabitants (as well as others who
shall presently be noticed) are of a race termed Maros or orang maruwi,
distinct from those of the former, but equally fair-complexioned. Large
quantities of coconut-oil are prepared here and exported chiefly to
Padang, the natives having had a quarrel with the Natal traders. The
islands are governed by a single raja, who monopolizes the produce, his
subjects dealing only with him, and he with the praws or country vessels
who are regularly furnished with cargoes in the order of their arrival,
and never dispatched out of turn.
PULO BABI.
Pulo Babi or Hog island, called by the natives Si Malu, lies
northwestward from Nias, and, like Nako-Nako, is inhabited by the Maruwi
race. Buffaloes (and hogs, we may presume) are met with here in great
plenty and sold cheap.
PULO BANIAK.
The name of Pulo Baniak belongs to a cluster of islands (as the terms
imply) situated to the eastward, or in-shore of Pulo Babi, and not far
from the entrance of Singkel River. It is however most commonly applied
to one of them which is considerably larger than the others. It does not
appear to furnish any vegetable produce as an article of trade, and the
returns from thence are chiefly sea-slug and the edible birds-nest. The
inhabitants of these islands also are Maruwis, and, as well as the others
of the same race, are now Mahometans. Their language, although considered
by the natives of these parts as distinct and peculiar (which will
naturally be the case where people do not understand each other's
conversation), has much radical affinity to the Batta and Nias, and less
to the Pagi; but all belong to the same class, and may be regarded as
dialects of a general language prevailing amongst the original
inhabitants of this eastern archipelago, as far at least as the Moluccas
and Philippines.
THE END.
INDEX.
Achin or Acheh:
kingdom of, its boundaries.
Situation, buildings, and appearance of the capital.
Air esteemed healthy.
Inhabitants described.
Present state of commerce.
Productions of soil, manufactures, navigation.
Coin, government.
Officers of state, ceremonies.
Local division.
Revenues, duties.
Administration of justice and punishments.
History of.
State of the kingdom at the time when Malacca fell into the hands of the
Portuguese.
Circumstances which placed Ibrahim, a slave of the king of Pidir, on the
throne.
Rises to considerable importance during the reign of Mansur-shah.
King of, receives a letter from Queen Elizabeth.
Letter from King James the First.
Commencement of female reigns.
Their termination.
Subsequent events.
Achin Head:
situation of.
Address:
custom of, in the third instead of the second person.
Adultery:
laws respecting.
Agriculture.
Air:
temperature of.
Ala-eddin:
or Ula-eddin Shah, king of Achin, lays repeated siege to Malacca.
His death.
Alboquerque (Affonso d'):
touches at Pidir and Pase in his voyage to Malacca.
Alligators:
Superstitious dread of.
Amomum:
different species of.
Amusements.
Anak-sungei:
kingdom of.
Ancestors:
veneration for burying-places of.
Animals:
account of.
Annals:
Malayan, of the kingdom of Achin.
Ants:
variety and abundance of.
White-ant.
Arabian:
travellers, mention Sumatra by the name of Ramni.
Arabic:
character, with modifications, used by the Malays.
Arithmetic.
Arsenic:
yellow.
Arts:
and manufactures.
Aru, kingdom of.
Astronomy.
Atap:
covering for roofs of houses.
Babi:
island of.
Bamboo:
principal material for building.
Account of the.
Bangka:
island of, its tin-mines.
Baniak:
islands of.
Banyan:
tree or jawi-jawi, its peculiarities.
Bantam:
city of.
Expulsion of English from thence.
Barbosa, (Odoardus):
his account of Sumatra.
Barthema (Ludovico):
his visit to the island.
Barus:
a place chiefly remarkable for having given its name to the most valuable
sort of camphor.
Bats:
various species of.
Batta:
country of.
Its divisions.
Mr. Miller's journey into it.
Governments.
Authority of the rajas.
Succession.
Persons, dress, and weapons of the inhabitants.
Warfare.
Fortified villages or kampongs.
Trade, mode of holding fairs.
Food.
Buildings, domestic manners.
Horse-racing.
Books.
Observations on their mode of writing.
Religion.
Mythology.
Oaths.
Funeral ceremonies.
Crimes and punishments.
Practice of eating human flesh.
Motives for this custom.
Mode of proceeding.
Doubts obviated.
Testimonies.
Death of Mr. Nairne in the Batta country.
Originality of manners preserved amongst this people, and its probable
causes.
Batu (Pulo).
Batu Bara:
river.
Beards:
practice of eradicating.
Beasts.
Beaulieu:
commander of a French squadron at Achin.
Beeswax.
Bencoolen:
river and town.
Interior country visited.
Account of first English establishment at.
Benzoin:
or benjamin, mode of procuring.
Nature of the trade.
Oil distilled from.
Betel:
practice of chewing.
Preparation of.
Betel-nut:
or areca, see Pinang.
Bintang:
island of.
Birds:
Species which form the edible nests.
Modes of catching.
Birds-nest:
edible, account of.
Biru:
island of.
Blachang:
species of caviar, mode of preparing.
Blades:
of krises.
mode of damasking.
Boulton (Mr. Matthew).
Bread-fruit:
or sukun.
Breezes:
land and sea.
Braham (Mr. Philip).
Broff (Mr. Robert).
Buffalo:
or karbau, description of the.
Killed at festivals.
Building:
modes of, described.
Bukit Lintang:
a high range of hills inland of Moco-moco.
Bukit Pandang:
a high mountain inland of Ipu.
Burying-places:
ancient, veneration for.
Chameleon:
description of.
Campbell (Mr. Charles).
Camphor:
or kapur barus, a valuable drug.
Description of the tree.
Mode of procuring it.
Its price.
Camphor-oil.
Japan camphor.
Cannibalism.
Cannon:
use of, previously to Portuguese discoveries.
Carpenters' work.
Carving.
Cassia:
description of the tree.
Found in the Serampei, Musi, and Batta countries.
Cattle:
Laws respecting.
Causes:
or suits, mode of deciding.
Caut-chouc:
or elastic gum.
Cements.
Champaka:
flower.
Character:
difference in respect of it, between the Malays and other Sumatrans.
Characters:
of Rejang, Batta, and Lampong languages.
Charms.
Chastity.
Chess:
game of, Malayan terms.
Child-bearing.
Children:
treatment of.
Chinese:
colonists.
Circumcision.
Cloth:
manufacture of.
Clothing:
materials of.
Coal.
Cock-fighting:
strong propensity to this sport.
Matches.
Coconut-tree:
an important object of cultivation.
Does not bear fruit in the hill country.
Codes:
of laws.
Remarks on.
Coins:
current in Sumatra.
Commerce.
Company (English East India):
its influence.
Permission given to it to settle a factory at Achin.
Compass:
irregularity of, noticed.
Compensation:
for murder, termed bangun.
Complexion:
fairness of, comparatively with other Indians.
Darkness of, not dependent on climate.
Confinement:
modes of.
Contracts:
made with the chiefs of the country, for obliging their dependants to
plant pepper.
Conversion:
to religion of Mahomet, period of.
Cookery.
Copper.
Rich mine of.
Coral rock.
Corallines:
collection of, in the possession of Mr. John Griffiths.
Cosmetic:
used, and mode of preparing it.
Cotton:
two species of, cultivated.
Courtship.
Crisp (Mr. John).
Cultivation:
of rice.
Curry:
dish or mode of cookery so called.
Custard-apple.
Cycas circinalis:
(a palm-fern confounded with the sago-tree) described.
Dalrymple (Mr. Alexander).
Dammar:
a species of resin or turpentine.
Dancing:
amusement of.
Dare (Lieutenant Hastings).
Journal of his expedition to the Serampei and Sungei-tenang countries.
Datu:
title of.
Debts:
and debtors, laws respecting.
Deer:
diminutive species of.
Deity:
name for the, borrowed by the Rejangs from the Malays.
Dice.
Diseases:
modes of curing.
Diversion:
of tossing a ball.
Divorces:
laws respecting.
Dragons'-blood:
a drug, how procured.
Dress:
description of man's and woman's.
Dupati:
nature of title.
Durian:
fruit.
Dusuns:
or villages, description of.
Duyong:
or sea-cow.
Dye-stuffs.
Ears:
ceremony of boring.
Earthenware.
Earth-oil.
Earthquakes.
Eating:
mode of.
Eclipses:
notion respecting.
Edrisi:
his account of Sumatra by the name of Al-Rami.
Elastic gum.
Elephants.
Elizabeth:
Queen, addresses a letter to the king of Achin.
Elopements:
laws respecting.
Emblematic presents.
Engano:
island of.
English:
their first visit to Sumatra.
Settle a factory at Achin.
Europeans:
influence of.
Evidence:
rules of, and mode of giving.
Expedition:
to Serampei and Sungei-tenang countries.
Fairs.
Fencing.
Fertility:
of soil.
Festivals.
Feud:
account of a remarkable one.
Fevers:
how treated by the natives.
Filigree:
manufacture of.
Fire:
modes of kindling.
Necessary for warmth among the hills.
Firearms:
manufactured in Menangkabau.
Firefly.
Fish:
Ikan layer, a remarkable species.
Various kinds enumerated.
Fishing:
mode of.
Fish-roes:
preserved by salting.
An article of trade.
Flowers:
description of.
Foersch, (Mr.):
his account of the poison-tree.
Fogs:
dense among the hills.
Food.
Fortification:
mode of.
Fort Marlborough:
the chief English settlement on the coast of Sumatra.
Establishment of.
Reduced by Act of Parliament.
French:
settlement of Tappanuli taken by the, in the year 1760, and again in
1809, attended with circumstances of atrocity.
Sent a fleet to Achin, under General Beaulieu.
Fruits:
description of.
Funerals:
ceremonies observed at.
Furniture:
of houses.
Gambir:
mode of preparing it for eating with betel.
Gaming:
laws respecting.
Propensity for, and modes of.
Geography:
limited ideas of.
Goitres:
natives of the hills subject to.
Disease not imputable to snow-water.
In the Serampei country.
Gold:
island celebrated for its production of.
Chiefly found in the Menangkabau country.
Distinctions of.
Mode of working the mines.
Estimation of quantity procured.
Price.
Mode of cleansing.
Weights.
Government:
Malayan.
Grammar.
Graves:
form of.
Griffiths, (Mr. John).
Guana:
or iguana, animal of the lizard kind.
Guava:
fruit.
Gum-lac.
Gunpowder:
manufacture of.
Hair:
modes of dressing the.
Heat:
degree of.
Hemp:
or ganja, its inebriating qualities.
Henna:
of the Arabians used for tingeing the nails.
Herbs:
and shrubs used medicinally.
Hills:
inhabitants of, subject to goitres.
Hippopotamus.
History:
of Malayan kings.
Of Achinese.
Hollanders:
their first visit to Sumatra.
Holloway, (Mr. Giles).
Horse-racing:
practised by the Battas.
Horses:
small breed of.
Occasionally used in war.
Eaten as food by the Battas.
Hot springs.
Houses:
description of.
Human flesh:
eaten by the Battas.
Iang de per-tuan:
title of sovereignty.
Ibrahim (otherwise, Saleh-eddin shah):
king of Achin, his origin.
Enmity to the Portuguese.
Transactions of his reign, and death.
Iju:
a peculiar vegetable substance used for cordage.
Ilhas d'Ouro:
attempts of the Portuguese to discover them.
Import-trade.
Incest.
Indalas:
one of the Malayan names of Sumatra.
Indigo:
Broad-leafed or tarum akar.
Indragiri:
river of.
Has its source in a lake of the Menangkabau country.
Indrapura:
kingdom of.
Inhabitants:
general distinctions of.
Inheritance:
rules of.
Ink:
manufacture of.
Insanity.
Insects:
Various kinds of, enumerated.
Instruments:
musical.
Interest:
of money.
Investiture.
Ipu:
river of.
Sungei-ipu (a different river).
Iron:
Ore smelted.
Manufactures of.
Mines.
Iskander Muda (Paduka Sri):
king of Achin, receives a letter from king James the first, by Captain
Best, and gives permission for establishing an English factory.
Conquers Johor.
Attacks Malacca with a great fleet.
Receives an embassy from France.
Again attacks Malacca.
His death.
Wealth and power.
Islands:
near the western coast, account of.
Ivory.
Jack:
fruit.
Jaggri:
imperfect sort of sugar from a species of palm.
Jambi:
river of.
Colonies settled on branches of it, for collecting gold.
Has its source in the Limun country.
Town of.
Jambu:
fruit.
James the first:
king, writes a letter to the king of Achin.
Jeinal:
sultan of Pase, his history.
Johor:
kingdom of.
Kampar:
river of.
King of, negotiates with Alboquerque.
Kampongs:
or fortified villages.
Kananga:
flowering tree.
Kapini:
island of.
Kasumba:
name of, given to the carthamus and the bixa.
Kataun:
or Cattown, river of.
Kima:
or gigantic cockle.
Koran.
Korinchi:
country.
Mr. Campbell's visit to it.
Situation of lake.
Inhabitants and buildings.
Food, articles of commerce, gold.
Account of lepers.
Peculiar plants.
Character of the natives.
Koto-tuggoh:
a fortified village of the Sungeitenang country.
Taken and destroyed.
Krises:
description of.
Kroi:
district of.
Kulit-kayu:
or coolicoy, the bark of certain trees used in building, and for other
purposes.
Kuwau:
argus or Sumatran pheasant.
Labun:
district of.
Lakes.
Laksamana:
a title equivalent to commander-in-chief.
Lampong:
country, limits of.
Inhabitants, language, and governments.
Wars.
Account of a peculiar people, called orang abung.
Manners and customs.
Superstitions.
Land:
unevenness of its surface.
Newformed.
Rarely considered as the subject of property.
Land:
and sea breezes, causes of.
Language:
Nature of the Malayan.
Of others spoken in Sumatra.
Court.
Specimens of.
Batta.
Nias.
Lanseh:
fruit.
Laws:
and customs.
Compilation of.
Laye:
river and district of.
Leeches:
a small kind of, very troublesome on marches.
Lemba:
district, inhabitants of, similar to the Rejangs.
Leprosy:
account of.
Lignum-aloes:
or kalambac.
Limun:
district of.
Gold-traders of.
Literature.
Lizards.
Longitude:
of Fort Marlborough, determined by observation.
Looms:
description of.
Macdonald, (Lieutenant-colonel John).
Mackenzie, (Mr. Kenneth).
Madagascar:
resemblance in customs of, to those of Sumatra.
Mahmud shah Juhan (Ala-eddin).
Mahometanism:
period of conversion to.
Maize:
or jagong, cultivation of.
Malacca:
or Malaka, city of, when founded.
Visited in 1509 by the Portuguese.
In 1511 taken by them.
Repeatedly attacked by the kings of Achin.
In 1641 taken by the Hollanders.
Malays:
name of, applied to people of Menangkabau.
Nearly synonymous with Mahometan, in these parts.
Difference in character between Malays and other Sumatrans.
Guards composed of.
Origin of.
Race of kings.
Not strict in matters of religion.
Governments of.
Malayan:
language.
Malur:
or Malati flower (nyctanthes).
Mango:
fruit, described.
Mangustin:
fruit, described.
Manjuta:
river and district of.
English settlement at.
Manna:
district of.
Mansalar:
island of.
Mansur shah:
king of Achin, besieges Malacca, and is defeated.
Renews the attack, without success.
Again appears before it with a large fleet, and proceeds to the attack of
Johor.
Murdered when preparing to sail with a considerable expedition.
Mantawei:
name of race of people inhabiting certain islands.
Manufactures.
Marco Polo:
his account of Sumatra, by the name of Java minor.
Visited it about the year 1290.
Marriage:
modes of, and laws respecting.
Rites of.
Festivals.
Consummation of.
Marsden (Mr. John).
Measures:
of capacity and length.
Measurement:
of time.
Medicinal:
shrubs and herbs.
Medicine:
art of.
Mega:
island of.
Menangkabau:
kingdom of.
History of, imperfectly known.
Limits of.
Rivers proceeding from it.
Political decline.
Early mention of it by travellers.
Division of the government.
Extraordinary respect paid to reigning family.
Titles of the sultan.
Remarks on them.
Ceremonies.
Conversion of people to the Mahometan religion.
Antiquity of the empire more remote than that event.
Sultan held in respect by the Battas.
Metempsychosis:
ideas of, as entertained by the Sumatrans.
Miller (Mr. Charles).
Minerals.
Mines:
gold.
Copper.
Iron.
Missionaries:
no attempt of, to convert the Sumatrans to Christianity, upon record.
Moco-moco:
in Anac-sungei, account of.
Monkeys:
various species of.
Monsoons:
causes of their change.
Morinda:
wood of, used for dyeing.
Mountains:
chain of, running along the island.
Height of Mount Ophir or Gunong Passamman.
High mountain called Bukit Pandang.
Mucks:
practice, nature, and causes of.
Muhammed shah (Ala-eddin or Ula-eddin):
succeeds Juhan shah as king of Achin.
His turbulent reign, and death.
Mukim:
divisional district of the country of Achin.
Mulberry.
Murder:
compensation for.
Musi:
district of.
Music:
Minor key preferred.
Mythology:
of the Battas.
Nako-nako:
islands of.
Nalabu:
port of.
Name:
of Sumatra, unknown to the Arabian geographers, and to Marco Polo.
Various orthography of.
Probably of Hindu origin.
Names:
when given to children.
Distinctions of.
Father often named from his child.
Hesitate to pronounce their own.
Natal:
settlement of.
Gold of fine quality procured in the country of.
Governed by datus.
Navigation.
Nias:
island of.
Nibong:
species of palm, description and uses of.
Nicolo di Conti:
his visit to Sumatra.
Nutmegs:
and cloves, first introduction of, by Mr. Robert Broff.
Second importation.
Success of the culture.
Oaths:
nature of, in legal proceedings.
Collateral.
Mode of administering.
Amongst the Battas.
Odoricus:
his visit to the island of Sumoltra.
Officers:
of state, in Malayan governments.
At Achin.
Oil:
earth-.
Camphor-.
Coconut-.
Ophir:
name of, not known to the natives.
Height of Mount Ophir or Gunong Passamman.
Opium:
considerable importation of, from Bengal.
Law respecting.
Practice of smoking.
Preparation of.
Effects of.
Oranges:
various species of.
Oratory:
gift of, natural to the Sumatrans.
Ornaments:
worn.
Padang:
the principal Dutch settlement.
Padang-guchi:
river of.
Padi:
or rice, cultivation of upland.
Of lowland.
Transplantation of.
Rate of produce.
Threshing.
Beating out.
Paduka Sri:
king of Achin, see Iskander Muda.
Pagi (or Nassaus):
islands of.
Palembang:
river of.
Rises in the district of Musi, near Bencoolen river.
Dutch factory on it.
Description of country on its banks.
Government.
City of.
Many foreign settlers.
Language.
Interior country visited by the English.
Palma-christi.
Pandan:
shrub, its fragrant blossom.
Pangeran:
nature of title.
Authority much limited.
Pantun:
or proverbial song.
Papaw:
fruit.
Pase:
kingdom of.
Passamman:
province of.
Passummah:
Legal customs of.
Pawns:
or pledges, law respecting.
Pepper:
principal object of the Company's trade.
Cultivation of.
Description of the plant.
Progress of bearing.
Time of gathering.
Mode of drying.
White pepper.
Surveys of plantations.
Transportation of.
Percha (Pulo):
one of the Malayan names of Sumatra.
Perfume.
Pergularia odoratissima:
cultivated in England by Sir Joseph Banks.
Persons:
of the natives, description of.
Pheasant:
argus or Sumatran.
Philippine:
islands, customs and superstitions of, resembling those of Sumatra.
Pidir:
kingdom of.
Pigafetta (Antonio):
in his voyage appears the earliest specimen of a Malayan vocabulary.
Pikul:
weight.
Pinang:
areca, or, vulgarly, the betel-nut-tree, and fruit.
Pinang (Pulo):
island of.
Pineapple.
Piratical habits:
of Malays.
Plantain:
or pisang.
Varieties of the fruit.
Pleading:
mode of.
Poetry:
fondness of the natives for.
Polishing:
leaf.
Polygamy:
question of.
Connexion between it and the practice of purchasing wives.
Population.
Porah:
island of.
Portuguese:
expeditions of, rendered the island of Sumatra well known to Europeans.
Their first visit to it, under Diogo Lopez de Sequeira.
Transactions at Pidir, and Pase.
Conquer Malacca.
Sustain many attacks and sieges from kings of Achin.
Potatoes:
cultivated in the Korinchi country.
Priaman:
river and district of.
Invitation to the English to form a settlement there.
Puhn:
or Poon, signifying tree in general, applied by Europeans to a particular
species.
Puhn-upas:
or poison-tree, account of.
Pulas:
species of twine from the kaluwi nettle.
Pulse:
variety of.
Pulo:
or island.
Pulo:
point and bay.
Punei-jambu:
a beautiful species of dove.
Punishments:
corporal.
Amongst the Battas.
Amongst the Achinese.
Quail-fighting.
Queen:
government of Achin devolves to a.
Account of embassy from Madras to the.
Radin:
prince of Madura.
Raffles (Mr. Thomas).
Rakan:
river or estuary.
Rambutan:
fruit.
Ramni:
name given to Sumatra by the Arabian geographers.
Ranjaus:
description of.
Rapes:
laws respecting.
Rattan-cane:
fruit of.
Considerable export trade in.
Rau:
or Rawa country.
Rayet shah (Ala-eddin):
said to have been originally a fisherman, ascends the throne of Achin,
having murdered the heir.
During his reign the Hollanders first visited Achin.
And also the English, under Captain (Sir James) Lancaster, who carried
letters from Queen Elizabeth.
At the age of ninety-five, confined by his son.
Reaping:
mode of.
Rejang:
people of, chosen as a standard for description of manners.
Situation of the country.
Divided into tribes.
Their government.
Religion:
state of, amongst the Rejang.
No ostensible worship.
The word dewa applied to a class of invisible beings.
Veneration for the tombs of their ancestors.
Ancient religion of Malays.
Motives for conversion to Mahometanism.
Of the Battas.
Reptiles.
Rhinoceros.
Rice:
culture of.
Distinctions of ladang or upland, and sawah or lowland.
Sowing, mode of.
Reaping, mode of.
An article of trade.
Rivers.
Rock:
species of soft.
Coral.
Rum:
or Rome, for Constantinople.
Sago-tree:
or rambiya (confounded with the Cycas circinalis, a different tree),
described.
Salt:
manufacture of.
Saltpetre:
Procured from certain caves.
Sanding:
islands or Pulo Sandiang.
Sappan:
wood.
Scorpion:
flower or anggrek kasturi.
Sculpture:
ancient.
Sea:
encroachments of.
Sequeira (Diogo Lopez de):
first Portuguese who visited Sumatra.
Serampei:
country.
Villages, government, features of the women.
Peculiar regulation.
Further account of.
Sesamum:
or bijin, oil produced from.
Sexes:
mistaken ideas of a considerable inequality in the numbers of the two.
Shellfish.
Siak:
river of.
Survey of.
Country on both sides flat and alluvial.
Abundance of ship-timber.
Government.
Trade.
Subdued by the king of Achin.
Si Biru:
island of.
Silebar:
river, and district of.
Sileda:
attempt to work a gold mine at.
Silk-cotton (bombax).
Singapura:
city of, when founded.
Singkel:
river.
Si Porah:
or Good Fortune, island of.
Situation:
of the island, general account of.
Slavery:
state of, not common among the Rejangs.
Condition of negro slaves at Fort Marlborough.
Smallpox:
its ravages.
Snakes.
Soil:
described.
Unevenness of surface.
Fertility of.
Songs:
Singing.
amusement of.
Spices:
see Nutmegs.
Sugar:
manufacture of.
Imperfect sort, called jaggri.
Sugar-cane, cultivation of.
Suits:
see Causes.
Sulphur:
Where procured.
Sumatra:
name probably of Hindu origin.
Sungei-lamo and Sungei-itam:
rivers.
Sungei-tenang:
country, account of.
Superstitious opinions.
Surf:
Considerations respecting.
Probable cause of.
Surveys:
of pepper plantations.
Swala:
or sea-slug, an article of trade.
Swasa:
a mixture of gold and copper so called.
Tamarind:
tree.
Tanjong:
flower.
Tappanuli:
celebrated bay of.
Settlement on the island of Punchong kechil.
Taken in 1760 by the French, and again in 1809.
Taprobane:
name of, applied to Sumatra in the middle ages.
Teak:
timber, its valuable qualities.
Attempts to cultivate the tree.
Teeth:
mode of filing them.
Sometimes plated with gold.
Theft:
laws respecting.
Proof of, required.
Thermometer:
height of, at Fort Marlborough, and at Natal.
So low as 45 degrees on a hill in the Ipu country.
Threshing:
mode of.
Thunder:
and lightning, very frequent.
Effect of.
Tides:
At Siak.
Flow to a great distance in rivers on eastern side of the island.
Tiger:
Ravages by this animal.
Traps.
Tiku:
river and islands of.
Timber:
great variety of.
Species enumerated.
Time:
manner of dividing.
Tin:
A considerable export of it to China.
Titles.
Tobacco:
cultivation of.
Toddy:
or nira, how procured.
Tools:
for mining.
Carpenters'.
Torches:
or links.
Trade.
Triste:
island of, see Mega.
Tulang-bawang:
river.
Turmeric.
Upas:
vegetable poison, account of.
Urei:
river of.
Utensils:
account of.
Vegetable productions.
Venereal disease.
Villages:
description of.
Virgins:
their distinguishing ornaments.
Volcanoes:
called gunong api, account of.
Warfare:
mode of.
Waterfalls.
Waterspout:
account of.
Wax:
a considerable article of trade.
Weapons.
Weaving.
Weights.
Wens.
White-ants.
White pepper.
Widows:
laws respecting.
Wilkins (Mr. Charles).
Winds.
Wives:
number of. See Marriage.
Worm-shell:
or Teredo navalis.
Wood:
various species of.
Woods:
Mode of clearing.
Wounds:
laws respecting.
Writing:
On bark of tree, and on slips of bamboo.
Specimens of.
Yams:
various roots under that denomination.
Year:
mode of estimating its length.
End of Project Gutenberg's The History of Sumatra, by William Marsden