. Thematùre of. the duties rendered-lby this person was so essential to the
well-being of a village, that this, privilege was most. intimately connected
with its existence. Whenever a "pîew’ assessmént- was imposed on^heî lands',
it was thë business of the ■ Feting’giy if. the amount wasitoo high, to jiepre-
sent the matter to the- superior,, and- to . state the inability of the^ppôplè'to
naafee good the demand : the consequent^, was, either a reduction bftasigss-
ment on the, part-of the principal, or desertion on that of theVpeo.jde.
But. whence,amount of the assessment was considered reasonable^(and
any amoupt less:jtjian three-;fifths seems to,have been 'sç considered),-the
Feting’gi had to rassemble all the • people, and to distribute^tp/jeach, in the
common presence of all, his .individual proportion of land, with a statement
of the- produce,-to. be -pajd;--, He had to keep ■ a/rosfer of aU. duties ] required
of the people, and to see" that every man took, hds^pjjpper turn.r When the
harvest ripened, he had to watch the collectors, 'that they ex acted • npyçqfifér
from each man than his proportion ; and the cultivator, that hè did rtot
embezzle, any part of the .due of government. ^ Ip - latge • v i ll e s pB^hadv an
assistant, called a Kabâyan, who.represented him during his ^absence, andr
with the MMMt&ah -and^ ikfôdia'"(priest), ;,formed a court for settling-petty
village disputes ;. -subject, however* to a 'reference, if.^the parties= should bo
dissatisfied.
It was customary for the people of the village to cultiyato; the. lahd&'of
their JPe//«g-’gi without payment. This .and the honour of 'chiefshjg; rendered,
the office an-object of village ambition; while an annual;election,1, and
the fear, if turned out, of being called upon to justify hisi'conduct,,-rendered
this officer generally . a steady and careful "represehtatiye of ‘ his §pn-
stituents. - .
All strangers passing through »the country were, expected "to apply,yto the
Peting’gi for the assistance they required ; and if payment was tendered, all
procurable necessarieswere ■furnished.,'The. Peting’gi also, took charge of
the-strangers’ property,, examined the same in the presence. of ther. other.
head-man, and was bound to. return, the whole undiminished the next morning,
or to pay the value. If, however* the stranger preferred keeping, his
property under his. own. charge, and rested .himself for the night -under,
some of . the public sheds,- the loss he might sustain fell on himself alone,
and all he could procure from the -village was. assistance to trace the offenders^
It
It was customary, as. well to deter beasts of prey as thieves, for a part of
the men of each village to keep a night watch round it, and to perform this
duty in successive rotation.,
Such appears to have been the internal regulation of these villages ; and
it seems to have been framed according to the ancient usage of the island,
the similarity of which to that of Western India has been adduced as a
strangAnstance q^pmqn- origin.*
‘ It
* With the exception, perhaps, of the right of election, which I have not seen noticed ui
any account of Continental India, the constitution of the Javan village has a striking resemblance
to that of the Hindus, according to the following statement in the Fifth Report of the
House of Commons on Indian Affairs.' “ A village, geographically considered, is a tract of '
“ country comprizing some hundreds or thousands of acres of arable and waste lands ; polity !
« ca]]y yie\ved, it resembles a corporation or township. Its proper establishment of officers
“ and servants consists of the following descriptions'; the Potail or head inhabitant, who has
« generally the superintendence of the affairs of the village, settles the disputes of the lrihabi-
“ tants, attends to the police, and performs the'duty of collecting the revenues within his village,
« a duty which his personal influence and minute acquaintance with the situation and concerns
ii pif the people render him the best qualified to discharge. The Kilrnum, who keeps the accounts
“ of cultivation and registers every thing connected with it. The Tallier a n d R p , tire duty of
“ the former appearing to consist in a wider and more enlarged sphere of action, in gaining m-
« formation of crimes and offences, and in escorting and protecting persons travelling from one
“ village to another; the province of the latter appearing to he more immediately confined to
“ the village,' consisting among other dutièsJn guarding the crops and assisting in' measuring
«'them. 'The boundary man, who. preserves thelimits of the village, or-gives evidence respect-
« ing them in cases of dispute. T h e . superintendent of tanhs and watercourses, distributes.
“ tire water therefrom for the purposes of agriculture. The llramin, who performs the village
“ worship. The schoolmaster, who is seen' teaching the children in a village to read and write
« in the sand. The calendar Bramin or astrologer, &c, -1
t: ^ These officers and servants generally constitute the establishment of a village; but m some
« parts of the country it is of less .extent, sonie of the duties and.functions above described.
« being uuited in the same person: in others it exceeds the number of individuals which have
dj,beert described. '■ ’ ’1' i ..' '. ;i , . j y .. vU, g i 'V • •
« Under this simple form of municipal government, the inhabitants ’ of the country have
. « i;ved from time immemorial'. The boundaries of the villages haye.heen W t seldom altered ;
‘f and though the villages themselves have been sometimes injured, and even desolated by
§ famine; and disease, the same name, the same limits, the same interests,. and even the
I sdme families, have continued for. ages The inhabitants give themselves no tremble about,
I the breaking up and division of kingdoms : while the. village remains entire, they care not
« to. what power it is transferred-or to what sovereign it. devolves; its internal economy.
“ remains unchanged.. The Potail is still die head inhabitant* and still acts as the petty.
i ‘ judge and magistrate, and .collector or renter of the village. v , tv-A'i-a •- . ••