THE CERAM-LAUT AND GORAM ISLANDS.
Preparations for a Voyage to New Guinea.--Departure from
Amboyna.--Banda.--Arrival at Kilwari.--Ghissa.--Character of the
Inhabitants.--Visit from the Chiefs of Kilwari and Keffing.--Their
Wars.--Force of the Islanders.--The Ceram-Laut Islands.--Their
Vessels.--Commerce.--Exclusive Right assumed by the Inhabitants over
the Coast of New Guinea.--Smuggling Trade of the English.--Papuan
Pirates devour their Prisoners.--Slaves.--Sale of Children by their
Parents.
Having given my reader a circumstantial account of my voyage to the
South-west, South-east and Arru Islands, I will now proceed with the
narrative of a voyage undertaken by me, by order of the Government,
to examine the coasts of New Guinea and the adjacent islands, the
objects being similar to those which gave rise to the former voyage. I
received, on this occasion, a resolution of the Government, from which
I give the following extract:--
"1st.--The acts of M.D.H. Kolff, Lieutenant in the Navy of the First
Class, during his voyage to the South-west, South-east and Arru
Islands, are approved of on the whole, with thanks for the perfectly
satisfactory manner in which he has carried his orders into effect.
"2nd.--The appointment of the chiefs made by M. Kalff are to stand
good, and certificates of the same are to be drawn up.
"3rd.--The Captain in the Navy, Commandant of the Division, is to send
H.M. brig _Dourga_, under command of Lieutenant Kolff, on another
voyage in the Banda Seas as far as the coast of New Guinea, in order
to make an examination of the same, &c., according to a letter of
instructions hereafter to be drawn up. Extracts from this to be
furnished to Lieutenant Kolff for his information and direction.
"True copy from the Register.
"Signed (W.G.) Paape."
For the sake of brevity, I will refrain from inserting other
resolutions of the Government, approving of the distribution I had made
of the presents, together with the new instructions with which I was
provided for the present voyage.
Having obtained these documents, and all other necessary articles,
I was speedily prepared for the task that had been imposed upon me.
I will now offer the reader an account of my discoveries, and the
remarkable occurrences which took place, pursuing the same method of
simple narrative with that adopted in the former part of the work, and
endeavouring to avoid all useless particulars.
I had brought with me from the Bay of Boni, a large boat belonging
to the Harbour Department, and as it was evident that I should
occasionally have to send out boat expeditions, for which the four
belonging to the _Dourga_ were unfit, I was permitted to take it with
me. This boat, which was thirty-six feet long, and armed with an
eighteen-pounder gun, was too heavy to be carried on the deck of the
brig; but as I had before proved her to be a good sea-boat, I did not
hesitate to let her sail in company. I received on board a party of
military, but, to my regret, some of my former companions remained
behind from sickness, among whom was the surgeon, M. Gayser, Officer of
Health of the 2nd Class, M. Pierson coming in his stead.
We left Amboyna on the 26th of March, but continued calms prevented
our reaching the picturesque island of Banda until the 1st of April.
According to my instructions, I was to obtain here the advice of the
Resident, with pilots and interpreters for New Guinea; but as none of
the latter were to be met with here, I judged it best to proceed to
the Ceram-Laut Islands, where I should be likely to obtain them. The
Resident informed me that a war existed between the people of Kilwari
and Keffing, and that the interposition of the Government had been
requested by several of the tribes. The Commandant Kaltaay, who resided
in Kilwari, had come with several others to Banda for this purpose,
and had furnished the Resident with the particulars of the affair. His
declaration was placed in my hands, with the request that, as I should
probably visit these islands, I would endeavour to make peace between
the hostile parties, since their wars had greatly injured the native
trade, and thereby caused a great want of provisions at Banda. The
Commandant Kaltaay had three jonkos with him, which followed the brig,
while he, with three of his retinue, took passage with us.
On the 5th of April we left the Roads of Banda, with our little
flotilla in company, and were again detained on our voyage by calms,
being unable to reach the channel between Keffing and Ghissa until the
8th. We passed along the edge of the reefs which front the north coast
of the latter island, and came to anchor in the mouth of the channel
which separates it from the Ceram-Laut Islands.
Ghissa is a low, sandy, uninhabited island, surrounded on all sides
by reefs, which extend farthest to seaward from the south end. In the
centre of the island is a lagoon, communicating with the sea by a
channel on the north side, which absolutely swarms with various kinds
of fish, while its shores abound with ducks and snipes. Ghissa was once
inhabited; but a war having broken out between the people and those
of Kilwari, the latter obtained the upper hand, and drove the others
from their island, forcing them to take refuge on Ceram-Laut and the
adjacent places, while everything they left behind was destroyed. From
this period the island had remained unoccupied. A small portion of the
former population still resided on Ceram-Laut, under the rule of a
chief in subjection to the people of Kilwari, the latter treating them
in a most barbarous manner.
Having anchored close to the villages on Kilwari, a gun was fired from
the brig as a signal that a vessel of war had arrived, and that the
chiefs were required to come on board.
This group of islands is known among the natives by the name of Pulo
Ceram, (though each has a separate name), from the inhabitants being
either descendants of the people of Great Ceram, or fugitives from that
island, and following the Ceramese laws and customs. The inhabitants of
this range of islands are all Mohammedans, and bear much resemblance in
every particular to the professors of the same religion at Amboyna, and
the other Molucca Islands.
Kilwari is a small sandy island, overspread with houses, lying to the
west-north-west of Ceram-Laut, to which it is joined by a sand-bank.
The inhabitants are under the rule of the Raja of Kilwari, and the
Commandant Kaltaay, the subjects of the latter forming a small portion
only of the population residing on the west side of the island. The two
villages are separated from each other by a stone wall, six feet high,
and two in thickness, a similar defence surrounding the island. The
houses, which are usually raised three or four feet from the ground,
have a very poor and neglected appearance, but those of natives of
consequence are enclosed by a substantial stone wall.
Coral reefs extend for a considerable distance from the island,
rendering it difficult of approach to ships. The village appeared to me
to be within reach of our guns, and should it be necessary to attack
them, it would be possible to approach within musket-shot. The best
landing-place, on such an occasion, would be a bay on the north side
of the island; but boats could easily pass over the reefs. The place
could easily be taken by a single square-rigged vessel, and some small
craft. It is owing only to their defenceless position that the natives,
who are naturally turbulent and rapacious, show any respect for the
commands of our Government. Being aware of the mildness of our rule,
they often take advantage of it, and enter into the smuggling trade in
nutmegs and cloves, which they exchange for gunpowder and arms, as will
be seen hereafter.
We had not long been at anchor when the Raja of Kilwari, with all his
chiefs, came on board with much solemnity to pay his respects, at
the same time testifying his joy at the kindness of the Government
in offering to be the mediator between the contending parties. He
expressed his willingness to abide by my decision, and to cease
hostilities against Keffing, should I command it.
I sent my clerk with an interpreter to the Major of Keffing, the chief
of part of that thickly populated island, to invite him on board, with
promise of safe conduct, on which he came to the ship. I subsequently
returned the visit of both chiefs at their villages, and was received
with great state. The war had ceased from the moment of my arrival.
On enquiry it appeared to me, that the people of Kilwari had been the
aggressors, and it was arranged that they should pay a fine, on which
I caused both parties to meet at the village of Kelu on Keffing, and
reconciled them in the Ceramese mode. I was engaged until the 13th in
deciding their differences, and although their state of civilization
is higher than that of most of the tribes I visited during my previous
voyage, the decision of disputes nowhere cost me more difficulty or
required more patience. I will refrain from giving a full account of
the causes of these disputes, as they would occupy too much space, and
will merely give the outline. Several months previous to our arrival,
the chiefs of Keffing and Kilwari fell out, the quarrel arising from
mutual jealousy, which found vent in taunts, the usual mode in which
the natives manage to create dissensions among themselves. They had
already met with their flotillas of korra-korras, and had fought,
after their manner, with great obstinacy and bloodshed. The people
of Kilwari had been the attacking party, for which reason they were
adjudged to pay a fine of two cannons, an elephant's tusk, and some
other trifles. According to the custom of the Ceramese, the payment of
a fine, coupled with an acknowledgment of having done wrong, puts an
end to hostilities; the punishment for all sorts of offences, robbery,
and even murder, being commutable to a payment of elephants' tusks,
lelahs, gongs, cloth, &c. Some villages possess a peculiar hereditary
right connected with the payment of fines, which are respected by the
others. For example, as a fine for the same offence, Kilwari would pay
to Keffing two _bagians_ or proportions, while Keffing would disburse
to Kilwari only one _bagian_. All these usages are called _Adat Ceram_,
and those who do not respect them draw upon themselves the enmity of
all parties. Their differences are often settled by a meeting of the
other chiefs; but such a devouring jealousy obtains among them, that
nothing gives greater satisfaction than punishment inflicted by our
Government on one of the parties. A threat made by me to call in the
assistance of the neighbouring chiefs, and punish the Raja of Kilwari,
if he continued obstinate, had the greatest effect upon him, and gave
much satisfaction to the other chiefs.
The power of the native chiefs is more or less in proportion to their
riches. An ancient Ceramese saying is to this effect:--"If he is a
Raja, I am one also. While I have vessels, slaves, _lelahs_, powder and
shot, with money to pay warriors, I will make war on the first chief
who offends me, and if I gain the victory all Rajas will come and kiss
my feet."
The chiefs take care that none of their subjects shall collect too much
property, as they know well how to reduce his wealth by imposing fines,
and other modes of extortion. The contributions, or as they are called
here, as well as by us, the tithes paid to the chiefs by the people,
forms by no means so ample a portion of their income as that derived
from the hereditary services performed by them, such as building their
houses, and keeping them in repair, and from the presents of stock,
fruit and other productions wrung from the unwilling hands of the
peasants. These extortions, which render the native rule so burthensome
to the people, are enforced, indeed, throughout India.
Ceram-Laut is encompassed by several smaller islands, the whole being
surrounded by an extensive coral reef, on the edge of which, at low
water, is found a depth of from two to four fathoms. The reef runs
steep off, there being an unfathomable depth a little beyond it, which
renders it dangerous of approach. The centre, which is also the largest
of the islands, is high and hilly. An exceedingly high tree upon it,
under which the chiefs of Kilwari are interred, raises itself far above
the others, and forms a good land-mark for seamen. The population is
small. The fugitives from Ghissa are settled on the west side, and
over the face of the island are scattered some natives of Tehor (an
island about midway between Ceram and the Ki Islands), who have been
driven from their country by their powerful neighbours, together with
a number of other unfortunates who have been forced to leave their
native island, Sumbawa, from the destruction caused by the eruption
of the Timboro Mountain in 1814. The condition of these strangers is
little better than that of slaves to the people of Kilwari, to whom
they are obliged to deliver the fruits of their labour, consisting
of rice, Indian corn, oil, &c.; while they are also forced to attend
their oppressors as rowers in their prahus, whenever they fit out
their flotillas for a warlike excursion. The slaves obtained from the
adjacent coasts of New Guinea, who are not quickly sold at Kilwari, are
also kept upon Ceram-Laut until the state of the market becomes more
favourable.[42]
The vessels employed by the natives of these islands differ from each
other considerably. Those employed for war are long and narrow, lying
low in the water and lightly built, a stage projecting from the sides,
on which the rowers take their station. A house is erected in the
middle for the fighting portion of the crew, on the flat roof of which
their chief warriors perform the war-dance. Across the forepart of
the vessel is placed a thick barricade made of light wood, provided
with ports, through which the lelahs or great guns are pointed, thus
affording protection to the rowers from musket shots, as the attack is
always made stem on, the sides of the vessel having no bulwarks. The
vessels employed by them for commercial purposes are large paduakans,
with a smaller description of prahu, short and broad, with high stems
and sterns, and covered with a roof of atap, which are engaged chiefly
in the trade with Banda and Amboyna. Maritime pursuits occupy most of
the time of the natives of these islands, and when a stoppage is put
to commerce they resort to piracy. The cost for the maintenance of the
crew is very small, these being Papuan slaves, whose food consists
chiefly of sago and a sort of periwinkle, with a little dried fish, the
latter being much esteemed by the negroes of New Guinea.
The principal branch of commerce carried on by these islanders is the
trade with Bali (an island adjoining the east end of Java), to which
are taken many of the products of the coast of New Guinea. The Raja of
Kilwari is deeply engaged in this, and frequently proceeds in person
to Bali, where the government of a village has been conferred upon
him by the king of that island, as a reward for his having purchased
and brought back to their homes some Balinese princes, who had been
captured by pirates. The Bughis traders from Celebes also resort to
the Ceram-Laut Islands, the produce of their voyages being mostly
carried to Singapore. The most important articles exported from this
group consist of slaves, nutmegs, trepang, tortoise-shell, and edible
birds'-nests, in return for which they take powder and shot, muskets,
small cannon, calicoes, China-ware, iron-work, &c. The commerce of the
entire chain of islands, extending from Ceram to New Guinea, is of
the same description. The articles exported are, for the most part,
obtained from the coast of New Guinea, which is annually resorted to by
a large number of vessels from Ceram-Laut. The natives of the various
islands forming the group assume the exclusive right of trading on
particular parts of the coast, a breach of which on the part of their
neighbours, instantly gives rise to warfare. Neither will the Papuas
carry on a trade with any but those who are in the habit of visiting
them. The places resorted to by the traders of Ceram-Laut lie to
the westward of Lakahia, a bay on the coast, situated directly north
from the Arru Islands. The extent of the trade may be imagined from
the fact, that twenty-five jonkos resort annually to Karrats-key and
Owin from Enekka, a village on Goram, alone. Several of the Ceramese
chiefs have married Papuan wives, and they have also succeeded in
converting the natives of several places on the coast to the Mohammedam
religion; but, nevertheless, the former dare not place much confidence
in them. They contrive to keep the Papuas in awe by their superior
skill in the use of arms, and this feeling is increased by the negroes
being continually at war with their neighbours, the Ceramese rather
endeavouring to promote this state of affairs than otherwise.
The monopoly of the trade on the coast is so strict, that should a
foreign trader wish to proceed there with his vessel, it would be
absolutely necessary for him to take some of the people of the islands
with him, (natives of Enekka, for example, should he wish to visit
Onion), otherwise his endeavours would be fruitless. These pilots
obtain the use of a portion of the vessel, in which to deposit their
goods, as a reward for their services, thirty piculs (about two tons)
being the usual tonnage allowed. According to the information of the
natives, an English vessel, having pilots from Enekka on board, carried
on a brisk trade with the coast in the year 1824. I heard that the
English, subsequently, suffered some punishment from the Ceramese for
this breach of their right of monopoly, but I was unable to ascertain
the particulars of this occurrence.
The English whalers occasionally visit the islands to the eastward of
Ceram, where they obtain spices and other productions in exchange for
arms, ammunition, calicoes, &c. I was assured that the Raja of Kilwari
engaged deeply in this unlawful trade.
The people of Papua-Oni and of Amalas, two places on the coast of
New Guinea directly east from Ceram-Laut, send out every year from
one hundred to one hundred and twenty small vessels on piratical
excursions, and proceed to a considerable distance from their homes.
Their mode of warfare is rude in the extreme; their weapons consisting
only of bows, arrows and spears. I have been assured, that they devour
the prisoners they take during these excursions. They entertain
considerable dread of the Ceramese, and carefully avoid doing them or
theirs any injury.
According to the information I received from some inhabitants of
Ceram-Laut, the natives of New Guinea are divided into two tribes,
mountaineers and dwellers on the coast, who are continually waging war
with each. The people occupying the sea-coast form by far the smaller
portion, but from their warlike habits they find no difficulty in
maintaining a superiority. The captives taken by the latter from the
inferior tribes are sold to the foreign traders, by whom they are held
in great esteem, so much so that their price is higher even than that
given for slaves of Bali, Lombok, or Sumbawa. The women from Koby, Ay,
and Karres, are considered the most attractive, and are often kept as
inferior wives by the Ceramese; the Raja of Kilwari, among others,
having a wife born in the Papuan village of Atti-Atti. The price given
for a slave on the coast is usually two pieces of white calico, valued
at from eight to ten Spanish dollars, from sixty to seventy rupees
(five to six pounds sterling) being obtained by the traders for them
at Bali, and other places in that direction. Natives worthy of belief
have assured me, that if a Papua of the coast is struck by a desire to
obtain any articles brought by the foreign trader, for which he has
no productions to give in exchange, he will not hesitate to barter one
or two of his children for them; and if his own are not at hand, he
will ask the loan of those of his neighbour, promising to give his own
in exchange when they come to hand, this request being rarely refused.
This appeared to me to be almost incredible, but the most trustworthy
natives were unanimous evidence to its truth. The mountaineers
themselves sometimes sell their children also. In other places, I have
known parents sell their children when their maintenance became too
heavy a burthen for them to bear, without heeding whether they would
ever see them again. Such a total absence of feeling certainly brings
these savage people below the level of dumb animals!
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 42: _Note by the Translator._--Among the numerous benefits
likely to be conferred on the natives of this part of the world, by the
proposed occupation by the British of the north coast of Australia,
will be that of an asylum being afforded to those who, by misfortunes
or oppression, are forced to leave their native country. Singapore, at
the opposite extreme of the Indian Archipelago, has already been very
beneficial in this respect, and the fact of their subjects being able
so readily to obtain the protection of the British, has forced the
native chiefs to behave towards them with more consideration.]