language; but by the Malays or Javanese who had borrowed them, and incorporated
them in their own languages.
MASBATE. One of the Philippine islands lying between north latitudes 11° 49'
and 12° 36', and east longitudes 123° 1' and 123° 49'. It has Luzon to the north,
Samar to the east, and Panay, Negros, and Cebu to the south. Between it and Luzon
are the two smaller islands of Burias and Ticao, the last of which forms with it a
distinct government. Through the whole of Masbate there runs a crescent-shaped
chain of mountains, most probably of plutonic formation, since the rivulets of the
island bring down a sufficient quantity of gold to make it worth while to wash their
sands for it. Its area is estimated at 2334 square geographical miles; and in 1846,
its population amounted to 5489 souls, giving, therefore, no more than 2"3 inhabitants
to the mile. Along with the smaller island of Ticao, the entire population
of the province in the same year was 7994, distributed in four townships, three of
them in Masbatd and one in Ticao. That in this last island, named San Jacinto, lies1
on a good harbour and is the capital of the province. The extent of Masbatd under
cultivation is very trifling, as may be judged by the small amount of the population.
The probability is, that the soil is sterile, and the island without natural facilities
of irrigation.
MABENRENG is the name of an inland country of the Bugis or Wugi nation of
Celebes, situated at the base of the south-western peninsula of that island, and
between the Bay of Boni and country of Mandar.
MASOY, correctly Misoi, is the aromatic bark of a large forest tree of New
Guinea and its adjacent islands, the Cortex oninus of Rumphius. I t is a considerable
article of trade, being much used by the Malays, Javanese, and Chinese as a
cosmetic, and sometimes medicinally as an external application.
MATAN. This is the name of a Malay State on the western side of Borneo, and
forming, at present, part of a province of the Netherland Government. The town of
Matan is situated about a degree south of the equator, and in east longitude 110° 35',
and by boat about three days and three nights sail up a considerable river of the
same name, which, at its mouth, has a hard sand-bar, with very little water. It
consists of about 300 houses, its population being almost entirely Malay, while that of
the rest of the country consists of Dayaks or Aborigines, in this instance, a harmless
people, not addicted to head-hunting. To Matan belongs the island of Carimata, or
correctly Kurimata, inhabited or rather sojourned at by the seafaring fishermen, or
sea-gipseys, called orang-laut, said to amount to about 300 in number.
MATAEAM, or in the polite dialect Matawis, is the name of a province of Java,
in the country of the proper Javanese, and about equi-distant from the eastern and
western extremities of the island. I t is bounded to the north by the province of
Kadu, to the east by that of PajaDg, to the west by Baglen, and to the south by the
sea. The mountains Marapi and Sumbing lying northward of i t ; the first, 9250, and
the last 10,500 feet high, furnish this province with a perennial supply of water for
irrigation, and the result is that nearly the whole of it is one sheet of cultivation,
including the slopes of Marapi, to the height of 4000 feet, there being usually two
corn harvests within the year. Mataram has been twice over the seat of a native
principality. The first was founded in 1508, and the last, which still subsists, in 1756.
Mataram forms the principal part of the dominions of the chief who has the title of
Sultan, and the population of whose territories was estimated in 1846 at 348,354.
MATAEAM. The same word as the last, and most likely borrowed from it, is
the name of a place in the island of Lomboc. It is at present its chief town, and is
situated on the western side of the island, or that which is opposite to Bali, three
miles inland from the port of Amp&nan. A well constructed road, being an avenue
of fig trees, leads to it. The town consists of streets running regularly at right angles
to each other, the two palaces of the Raja being in the centre. The houses consist
of mud walls, thatched with the lalang grass or palmetto leaf, and the town is surrounded
by a quickset hedge of bamboo, and a barricade after the manner of chevaux-
de-frise. The population consists for the most part of Balinese, the dominant nation,
but no account is given of its amount. See Lomboc.
MAYA (Pulo). This is the name of an island lying off the western side of the
larger one of Obi, and between this last and the large island of Gilolo or Halmahera.
I mention it only on account of its name, which is Sanscrit, with the Malay or Javanese
word Pulo prefixed, the compound signifying “ illusion-’ or “ Deception Island,”
Malay^Javanese spice-traders, who would probably
encounter it in their route to e ^ & ^ Albay) in
MAYON. This is the D . prCKjuced formidable irruptions the island of Luzon, which has proa ^ ^ ^ since atnhde laornrigviatul doef
'The"mountain itself is of considerable elevation, being part of the
123° 34 10. in e mou ^ formidable irruptions of this volcano took place
on the° 2233 rdd ooefl OUccttooDbeerr,, 17< 66,> which totfa lly des.tprvoiynecde oanfeo ntgo wwnl thth afot uorf oMthaleirn atoo,w annsd.
did great mjurjr to■ Albay- ^ | which after a course of two leagues
Resides lava, a torrent of watei was^aisc which incl.eased the destrucif
o n c aW b y H. In 1814 an equally terrific eruption took place which destroyed
MEGA-MANDIJNGr. The name of a mountain of Java in. the district of Chanjur,
a *■ if Q.mda*? 50.00* feet above the level of the sea. The first part of the
i
or “ the great mountain.” . .
MELON. The only eucurbitaceous cultivated plants th a t thrive well mi the In
and Philippine Archipelagos are the cucumber and gourd The humid climate of
toese c o S e s does not seem well adapted to the growth of the common or the
water-melon the first being, indeed, little known, and the last much inferior m size
to that of northern India and Persia. The cucumber is known m all the tagcagf*
by the name of antimun, or some slight variation of it, and may be presumed to be
a lone-cultivated native plant, since the name is not traceable to any foreign tongu .
The gourd is known in all the languages of the Archipelago by the one name ol labu,
and as far as can be inferred from thiB, is indigenous. The water-melon is known in
Javanese and most of the other languages by the name of s&mangka, but in the
Lampung it is called lamuja. In Malay, besides s&mapgka, it has also the name ol
pataka, which appears to be a native word, and m&ndiki and tamikai, both of which
are Telinga. The name, therefore, will not direct us to its origin, but it is most
probably a stranger, brought from the eastern coast of the Peninsula of India.
MENADO. The name of a port and town on the northern peninsula of Celebes,
on its northern coast, and towards its extremity, in north latitude 1° 30', and east
longitude 124° 56'. This place, and the territory annexed to it, form part of the
Netherland possessions, and have been so since the year 1677. In 1848 it was
declared along with Kema on the opposite coast of the same peninsula, a free port,
exempt from all imposts on ship or cargo. The town and fort called Amsterdam, are
situated on a spacious bay, which affords shelter only during the eastern monsoon,
being a lee-shore in the western. The anchorage in from 30. to 40 fathoms depth is
within a cable’s length of the shore, and near a fresh-water stream with good potable
water. See Minahasa.
MENANGKABAU, or more correctly Manangkabo» is the name of an inland
country of Sumatra, in which the Malay nation seems to have at one time attained a
greater amount of civilisation and power than in any other part of the^ Archipelago,
and to which the chiefs of some of the other Malay tribes take a pride in tracing
their origin. It extends generally from the equator to a degree south of it, and
Mr. Logan describes it as composed of a series of mountain valleys, 6.0 miles long
and 50 broad, or containing an area of 3000 square miles. Southward, it has the
mountain Talang,. 10,750 feet high, with Singalangand M&rapi, each 9800, while to the
north it has that of Sago of 5000 feet. Talang and M&rapi are active volcanos, and mdeed
the name of the last of these signifies as much. The geological formation is partly
volcanic and partly plutonic and sedimentary, these different formations appearing
here to meet. Within this small territory there is a lake about 15 miles in length and
5 in breadth, abounding in fish. The soil of the valleys is described as fertile, and the
land is well supplied with water for irrigation, the result of which is that the country
is highly cultivated and populous. The late Sir Stamford Raffles, who visited it, gives
the following glowing picture of it. “ As far as the eye could distinctly trace was
one continued scene of cultivation, interspersed with innumerable towns and villages,
shaded by the cocoanut and other fruit-trees. I may safely say, that this view
equalled anything I ever saw in Java. The scenery is more majestic and grand,
population equally dense,, cultivation equally rich.” Sir Stamford estimate^ the
T1