than the other islanders; and in their domestic relations they approach nearer to
the usages of civilised society.* The Sunda people, however, who inhabit the
mountainous districts of the island, are in all respects a much ruder people. The
Chacrelas, with fair complexion, white hair and feeble eyes, are obviously Albinoes,
although their number was formerly very considerable.
In the great island of B orneo the Malays have possession of the entire sea
coast, and the shores of all the navigable rivers. They form, however, but a
fractional part of the inhabitants of Borneo; for the mountainous region of the
interior is peopled by the savage Dayacks, and Eidahans, who belong perhaps to
another race; yet they are represented as being fairer than the Malays, and more
sanguinary and ferocious. Celebes has long been in possession of two Malay
nations, the Bugis and Macassars, who divide the island between them: the latter
are reputed for their bravery, which appears to be rather a temporary desperation
than cool courage.
The Malays of the P hilippine Archipelago are said to resemble the
Sumatrans and Macassars in person, as well as in language and manners. They
are described by Zuniga as possessing a goo,d Stature, an olive complexion, flat
noses, large eyes, and long hair. They call themselves Tagels, or Tagelos, in the
island of Luzon, and B isa ya s in the central islands. The interior and mountainous
parts of the larger islands of this group, especially Luzon, Mindanao and
Mindoro, are peopled by a very different race, who possess all the characters of
Negroes, and are regarded as the aboriginal inhabitants.
The Malay inhabitants of the Molucca I slands occupy all parts of them
excepting the mountainous interior, which is possessed by the Alfoers, a Negro
tribe. The women of Amboyna are remarkably handsome, and have more
resemblance to the natives of New Zealand than to the neighboring Malay islands.
F ormosa, although but twenty leagues distant from the coast of China, is
inhabited by Malays of rude and intractable character.
The island of Ceylon has a numerous Malay population on its coast, and they
are represented as a singularly lawless and desperate people. The same remark is
applicable to such of this nation as have established themselves on the eastern
coasts of Madagascar.
Besides the Malay and Negro races, the Indian Archipelago is peopled by
great numbers of Chinese and Arabs, among whom the latter enjoyed the almost
exclusive privilege of these seas between the ninth and fourteenth centuries, since
which period they have been superseded by the Malays. The Hindoos and Indo-
Chinese have also contributed largely to people these islands.
14. THE PdLYNESIAN FAMILY.
The name P olynesia has been given by geographers to all the islands in the
Pacific Ocean from the Ladrones to Easter Island, embracing also the Pelew
group, the Carolinas, the Sandwich, Friendly, Society, Navigators’, Harvey’s and
the Marquesas islands.
The Polynesians are of the middle stature, and athletic, with small hands,
heavy limbs and large feet. Their faces are round, or delicately oval, and somewhat
compressed. The nose is well formed, straight or aquiline; yet sometimes
spread, without, however, presenting the peculiar flatness that distinguishes the
Negro.* The forehead is low, but not receding; the eyes black, bright and
expressive: the lips are full, and the teeth remarkably fine. Their complexion
varies from nearly white to olive, and from dark brown to nearly black; but the
latter color is said to result chiefly from elaborate tattooing, and is particularly
observed in persons advanced in years.f Their hair is long, black and curling,
and not unfrequently more or less frizzled.
All voyagers, however, have noticed the great disparity that exists between
the plebeians and the aristocratic class, as respects stature, features and complexion.
The privileged order is much fairer and much taller than the other; their heads
are better developed, and their profile shows more regular features, including the
arched and aquiline nose. The indolent habits of this caste tend also to obesity,
which often becomes extreme after middle life.J
The eastern groups of the Polynesian islands present the most pleasing
examples of this race. Thus, in the Sandwich Islands the inhabitants, who call
themselves Kanakas, are the most docile and imitative, and perhaps also the most
easy of instruction, of all the Polynesians.
The Archipelago, called the T onga, or F riendly I slands, is composed of
\three groups, the Tonga, the Hapai, and the Hafaloo Islands, one hundred and
fifty in number, containing a vast population of the Polynesian race. “ Their
features are very various, insomuch that it is scarcely possible to fix on any
general likeness by means of which to characterise them, unless it be a fulness at
* Ruschenberger, Voy. Round the World, p. 454. t Porter, Yoy. II, p. 14
% Williams, Missionary Enterprises in the South Sea Islands, p. 460.