In the vicinity of Gresik' there, are' seyepal hills .cornposed .of a soft white
stone, which hatd'ens.on .exposure-. t,o the air:. 'Storife^are'.hereeut in the
quarry into regularlSqOares "Of* various; sizes, from- that^hf'a brick ..do (|the
largest tomb-stone'. They are principally requfrech'^®T>The'lat-tef purpose,
and in fhe.cymetries'of'Gresik and .Mtfdwra-'the'inscriptions up6n th,em are
very neatly executed. d Beyond this; ■ the skill. of the' natives in stoneroutting
does not at,present pretend.
< .The !coyj=a;-ing of the-native houses'is generallyLof.thatch.- - Irethe maritime
districts;!'dtap, • or thatch, is made almost exclusivelydrom. the leaves-o'f'the
nlpa m-buyut~'~\n the preparation, the-leaflets separated'from the-common
petiol are-employed jc Being doubled, -they are attached• clo^^tpi^^eK other
on a; s£ick;o£ tbreS feet ini length, and when thus'arrah'ge'd-ar'e,pla?ce'd'oni\th'e
roOi* dike-shingles or-tdes,' -The leaves of dhe^ete^^on^accouritj of-tueir
fad-like formj^areJdifferently arranged1; 3they-constitute .large-mats, -which
are chieflyEmployed ffbrisid-es“of' 'bouses dr' for-composing temporary- sheds,’
but they are-tod large and brittle to ’ formrd"ura|5l'’e dtap., In -thednterior districts,
where-w^pa-does-not grow, the-houses 'are almost uniformlythatrihed
with a • species -of long grass called, alangialavig- fthdplakmg,\o&ife (Malay
countries-)!,^ Near, large forests/ yriiepfe. bambush<Siin&d, -.the i natives /dover
their houses with .this1 reed. The-leaflets of the cocoa-put-cahnot be tnadfe-into
thatch,-but whereverthSrsago and nipa grow,' itds made freto thei-r/feiiflets.
An article of-household, furniture in »use-among all-classes,^ arid-displaying
in vsome; cases j considerable beauty and deli®apy^&&iexecution>, js matting;
Mats are-- made dram- several* -species of pandanus,, from *ja-»kindi;'(rfogfass
called mdndemg;^ and -from the leaves of - various1 *»palmsW£ A- speriiris^fi^th'e
latter .affojds ithejhaost common-kinds, ■ coarser .anddfesf'j durable; thaw others;
as well as bags (straw.sacks) resembfing,Cqarse.mats: thcjfemprs Uefrig.'d-ivided
intoj laminae/ . about '.ohe’ilme in breadth,1 > are; ^^yefe.^h ith©;; same'oKriliier
•anddjnithe same frames as coarse lineff.-uThespfipres,'called dgel] aTqjSoinb-
times. mahufaetured into.twice, which possesses-but little* strength. 'The-
matis or bags, galled Icdrong,- are much inferiorito the-gunny-bags of India. •
. The .coarsestvkiuds- of mats,'jemployed, chieflyibyothe^ iS^em-elass/ -'are
called-in the: central districts felfeopbbngkoi; those-prepared from, 'grass,» Mem
anendong ,-imnd'.thfi others, ,k$>4o!_ psdntrjem <£(fxom the -place where-they/are
-made); T h e materials of all these are plaited by. hand. The Mosg-psantr-em
are of superior quality^and in .use through the, central- and eastern parts of
‘the
the island»^)Uspecidliy.amQng/>the2nativeS‘'o£ the first class/ with whom-they
.consfitnteothhi principal* furniture iof the: dwellirigJmueéi > A person of the
highest/raj&kc-aspires \ tö-npriüxuiiy, 'more) .delicate-'or expensivefin this way,
than-the po§gej5gio;n:of ar bédiödmpósed^of mats from• psdntr'em.J r
: AMndiof umbrella-hat ffi^gnjbyiythe’cdmmonfpeople, and universal in the
>)S?«?$Wdistricts-, denoraihafedïC^%é>ig,LtjiS-valso manufactured in .'this manner,
.principally from‘bénirntf dyed^fb various colours/ which1 being shaped in'the
fqrm aa4 of the^izuiofii'jkfg’ei warix-shand basin worn^reVéised, fis reridéred
impervious tQ^fop^pt'rby one or more‘}CjSyerings 'ofiyarriisHT .
• A:-great- part of the, manufacturing ’irigpnuityupfrieveryc people- ‘must be Dree*.
displayed5* 'in collhctihgijthp materials;r or1 arranging; the fabrics bf (those articles
,of clothing? requii?^lptfori>pr£itectión,<'.j decëncy/i or ornament. Whether
thesematerials are derivedfromr théMfllt&thë ‘ fur^ orot-he'' feathers'of the
Jargèr>animals,‘- from th^cuveringïof an: ra&ectd thri bark; dfi a ’tree, or the.
_ddwjn'’;of a’ shriib/ they havé to undergo, several laborious and< expensive pro-
:cess,es - before'theyiare;fit for/use^' and ire;conducting1 ‘theseiprocesses, or
forming: machineryffor rendering: them* more ■ expeditious/complete/; and
easy;5 the-nuperior^manufacturing IsMIkofabhe natioiiTo^êfïi 'anöthëfc is "chiefly
evinced. , .The' sheep :.óri. Java,' sis1 indall tropical;’elimatés/>loses its* flèéöe
-beforer-itican be-used with advantage.' : The-silkworm' ’has1 never'succeeded,
'although nxrreason can bo givèn whyTit should,'not/.‘and therefore:1 the-"chief
material-o^Javan.clothing is cotton.
inmtsöfough.> state/ is; called -kdpas, '.’and 'wbehi-cleanetfc'^dpo/f. Cot-tW.
’.Thfeprocess bfasoparating' the seeds is pèffofmedt by'.m'ëkns^of a' gilmg’ak,
.whicbds, a roller,« consisting.'of tWo^wooden eyliudèrs -revolving' in’ opposite
'directions, tbetwteén .which the' fibre 'is; made to pas^. ' Th is: operation-is-very
■tedious,' two;days>being: necessary for one;person to' clean a'M^; equivalent
tó»a‘pÖund and a quarter English. After' the; sepa-ration'bfthe 'seedflit' is
"géSlek, or beaten with* a rattan, arid pzndpov ipicked.'l i-Thb finer sort isi then
showed‘-after the. Indian manner ; - this'J'dpe'ratiomiis ’ called '' tmsóni. " The
cotton. jth-us^prepared* is 'afterwardsr palled' Out and ;drawri *'rbundr a stick,
when ifcis called, pusuk. - •Tonpérfbrm'. the »'process'^ upon a ;sihgle M*vwill
employ ope1 person about two days. The cotton-’.isf- iiowcready fonspinning
(’ngdnti),- and requires1 ten additional days’ labour of one" person/.to convert
{the small quantity ^above'mentioned into'yarn, whenfthe result is found
,to be three tukal, or-hanks, of the ordinary kind.
Previous