Ceremonies of
the Court.
Deference "paid
to superior Bank.
AF T E R 1 VII.
Ceremonies of- the Court.—Deference paid to superior Rank.—RegaEa.—^Processions.
Pomp.—Rank and Titles.—Ambassadors.—^Ceremonies attending
Births, Marriages, and Funerals.—Account o f the People called Kalang,
and ofihe Inhabitants o f the Teng’ger Mountains.—The Bedui.—Festivals.
~~ Amusements. The Drama.—Wayangs.—The Dance«’—Tournaments.
— The Chase«—Tiger Fights.—Combat o f Criminals with Tiger's.—Bull
Fights, ^c.—Games q f Skill and Chance.—Other Customs and Usages,
H a v in g , in the preceding Chapter, endeavoured to -pom-tray the
natural and moral character of the people of' Java, and to convey to the
reader a general idea of the-nature and principles of the government to
which they have been subjected, I shall now proceed to detail some of-the
usages and customs which prevail among them.
Of these the ceremonies of the court are the most obvious,- and a stranger
cannot fail to.be struck with the extreme deference and respect towards their
superiors, by which the Javans are characterized. . RespectPfor rank, for
experience, for parents and old age, have been already noticed amongfpfe
features of their character; but the excess to which deferencej to_ rank is
carried by the political institutions of the country/ deserves mot&particular
remark, whether we consider it as illustrative of the nature of the government
and the quiet and orderly disposition of the people, or endeavour, to
trace in the early periods of their history, the causes which may have Contributed
to the existing constitution of society among them.
The respect shewn to superior rank on Java is such, that no individual,
whatever his condition, can stand in the presence of a superior; neither
can he address him in the same language in which he is spoken to. Not
even the heir apparent, or the members of the royal family, can stand in
the presence of the sovereign j and the same restriction - applies t.o the
family of each subordinate chief. Were this mark of respect .confined to
the royal family alone, it might perhaps find a parallel in other eastern
* - Countries,
DEFERENfifis TO SUPERIOR RANK. 309
•ebuntiaegi o^heiefatKiW^nalp'for the; Subjfnt$o:prostia±e himself before? the
.sovereign; .but.-i® Jaya^the ancfad• that’-each
idelegatedeapthbritylex-apfs; the gameOTXrksiq^aBhisa^ee^hso ’rtbat,vfr&R]£;the
eommpmlabourer upward, noLon^d»to*tq)^Mdlijp;^e,'^es|gnce of a superior:
iThus when usuhl for'all the people
of, inferior rank am on g | tfe%boadies to the»igrouhd
tilLthey aotu4My^.sifentth^p;heels^an^''^t“° reih4®,itil thig-pp^uc^ until he is
gone by. ’ Thn©amejBule'.i&obse^e^,withinlq^^| and instead 'ofjaapassembly
rising on itihar-ftrit ran dec of- a great .man,,, as: in! Europe,-rit sinks tOithergrbiih^,
and; Remains am during ha^ipneseneqa
u'^SBhis Kumtii^ng, post«eiSjkoafed' Abdokt land .r^yiihejrendered 'into
English by ]t%rfeEfn matting.^ praetjc|pri^|nh’rnit^eai(t04y|ith.the4atmo8t
chieerfuinessnby thq pepple':jiiJ4is jepnsidprejl ;■ an ancientycustom;', and res»
peofed1 accordingly was, fhfotwe vermin a greatomea#p^d/fc6hrinuM in
the>-E^ropeah? provinces: during administration J^^te^^M^stgovernk
«lent, /whF^end^VQU^ednito raiser th^^feejvprdejBs; asfriufchia&^^jraferffe
of? degradation toj which fggi^ehiefs^;affledq b y the**©uteh
authority, had _s,ubj ectedr them»;..h u t $ > ' h i t h e - n a t i v e . pro!,
viruses, in Madura-^i^nfn tpsla cestain^e^t^ifte in mastj^dhe^disteictsJat a,
^ s tw ’ce/from the.'Seateiofi European, government.^,
Jn gravelling imi|4df .> through -some of ^hfrevpati ve*proyinc.e£- ■} a^d parti-
fcularly in Madura, where lthjej fo^fpsi -„o^heMafe^gn^eiaimeht/aT^partteU-,
l^d^obsferyed,!,)I haypuq$Mm |e^n|^°A&jhuhS^^^^pp^on my,approach,tthe
cultivator qiiitting.,'his plough, and the portexsMe ritoad, or^4<^sjghtiof the
•Tuan besdr’s carriage,.. At the courts of’ Swrackerta^. I. r^fiojilhefc that once;
when holdingj-a private, fconference/ with (t the; Susftnapt atr the residency,
'it became necessary fpr the Rdden\adipdtvtpjbe dispatch&Ltc«,the palace for
the royals seal: ‘the poor ’oilman was as usual^qpatting, and; as ih^e^Smunan
happened to.be. seated with his face,towards! th |^ S # ^ ^ '^ j£ iA te n ; minutes
before£da>fs miniver, after-rep eated^rf^mptual att.empt's,^could qbtain an
opportunity!,of .rising, sufficiently to^re^iidhe latch, without geingiseen^by
hj's royal master. The^ mission opi-t whicl^^was^digpatch.e^r-^as/. urgent*
and ,thei:Sus&han himself,'inconvenienced- hyvjthe;delay ;diut theseynconfje-.
nibnces-were insignificant;; compared \yith thgj in decorum;! of being; seen, out
of-the dbdok posture. When it is, necessary., for, an inferior to,move, - he
must still; retain that) position, an,d walk with his hams Upon his> heels until
beds .out of his. superior’s sight-.
Resides,