APPENDIX F.
ACCOUNT OF CELEBES,
APPENDIX Celebes is an island o f which hitherto the public has had but very scanty account?,
f . The part o f it best known to Europeans m -M a k & m i situated nearly at t e e souteer|r
CeieteT most extremity o f the western s id e : it was here the first European sèttlémènt’ on the
«aland was established. On the south part o f Celebes there are not any ascertained
Mountains. volcanos, but some are said to exist in the northern division. Some o f the mountains
are very high. The Bontain mountain, called by the natives B d m p a (Mg
belly), is the highest on the south part o f the island, and being seen at the distance pf
one hundred and twenty miles, must Jbe about eight thousand .five hundred feet above
the lev e l o f tilé sea.
Kivers. Th e largest river on the southern limb is that called C h m r d n a , 'w l n e h formerly constituted
the boundary line between the kingdoms o f B ó n t and J J rm u . I t rises on the
north side o f the Bontain mountain, and runs northward as fcr as ' i^ n o , wheh?e
inclining towards the north-east it passes through part, pf . S d p i n g , . and t k s . turning to
the east enters W d j u , after having received a navigable stream from th e XawhSafa,
Fresh-water Lake. After passing through W d j u it follows a south-east’ course, aqd
fella jnen tee hay o f B & n i, a few miles below the tpwn o f C h in r 4 m t— rI ^ s river is'najri-
gable for boats as far as M a r i » , and admits o f the passage o f fntfeis.af.fi.ye n f sfx
; k d y a n s as for as the Fresli-water Lake. Along the whole o f the coast, .a t no.great
distance from each other, smaller streams fall intp the sea; some o f them being so
• considerable as to admit o f a navigation of fivji or six miles, and wwpr o f them aHtjdir
: mouths affording shelter to trading p r d h m . Among the »P.s.t considerable are &W&>0>
I J n j é , and K d j a n g , to the east; D u m d n g , L é m b a n g , H a l i k é n g k e n g , JP d n r e , and
■ J e n e p ó n io , on the south; and C h ik o a n g , T a p e I d m ; ' S d r td r a M h i , G ü a j ■ T é lu , M d r o s ,
, B e n a n g ’a , L a n g k ó r a , and Pontidna, on the west.
Name. I t has not been ascertained by whom, or at what particular time, the name jof
; Celebes was conferred on this island. I t is generally attributed to the Portuguese,
I and certainly is o f foreign origin: none o f the natives, except those who have intercourse
with Europeans, recognise either the whole island or any part o f it under this
appellation; even among those who make use o f the word, it is applied to S u m b d w a ,
an island about two hundred and fifty miles to the south-west o f it, as well as to what
we call Celebes.
Divisions of the In the south-western limb o f the island there are two principal languages, called by
Europeans the M a k d s a r and B u g i s , and by the natives M e n g k d s a or M e n g k a s d r a ,
and W d g i or U g i . The former, or some dialect o f it, is spoken in all the districts
extending from B a k u U m b a t o S e g é r e . The petty states included in this compass are
B d l u kümba, B o n t a i n , T a r d b d y a , G 4 a , M & ro s , and S e g é r e . The B u g i s is much more
general
general beyond and over the whole tract extending from B ó n t to L r itw u , comprehend- appendix
ing the four gréât states of j L é w i t , B à r t i , W d j u , and S ó p i t tg , besides their numerous
dependencies. . «.I .■ CekSes,
In M d n d h a r and its vicinity .is spoken the M d n d h a r language. The centre and body
o f the islâhd1 to the northward'is distinguished by being inhabited by tee T u r d ju s or
H a r a f i c r a s , who speak armore! simple ^dialect, and are considered the aborigines df
the island ; and on the north-east comer o f the island at M a n d d u and G û n u n g t ê t u ,
the inhabitants are distinguished by some peculiarities.
The following observations must be understood as principally referring to the southwestern
limb, the part o f the island which fell under the influence o f M a k d s a r .
I t is impossible to ascertain, with any degree o f precision, either the origin o f the
inhabitants or their present numbers. From the most correct accounts that could be
obtained; it would appear that te e southern limb contains a population of about h a lf a
million ; but from the quantity o f land now lying waste, which bears the appearance
o f having been once cultivated, from the number o f ‘decayed and half-choaked water-
cuts, evidently once used for tee purpose o f irrigation, and the multitude o f spots
where ranges o f cocoa-nut trees mark out'the sites o f villages and cottages no longer in
existence, we may .infer that the number lo f inhabitants has greatly declined'. At present
there seem to be no serious chocks to population, "except the wars and the lawless
violence, o f the people, and what often occasions, and always aggravates them, slavery
and the slave trade. g The people seem to procure a sufficient subsistence without much
exertion. Th é climate is salubrious, and there is abundance o f water. Marriages are
early. In the history o f the island-tee years o f famine .are particularly noticed. The
women are held is'more esteem than could be expected from thé state o f civilization in
general, and undergo néiuÿ.of those severe hardships, privations, or labours, that
restrict fecundity in other parts o f the world. Polygamy prevails, the number o f wives
being limited only by the means o f the husband to purchase or support them. It is
more, difficult to procure a wife than a husband ; a female slave bears a higher price
in- the market than a male; and the compensation fixed for tee murder o f a man is only
thirty dollars, while that required for the life,o f a woman is forty.
I t cannot be known with certainty, whence the aboriginal inhabitants of Celebes
emigrated to this island. The countenances o f the natives, particularly o f the women,
more nearly resemble-the Tartar features than any other. There are no early or
generally received traditions concerning the time when the island was first peopled, or
the adventures o f thé' first race. ! Each state, however, has its traditionaiy tales, most
o f which relate to remote antiquity, or to a condition o f society very different from teat
which at present exists. In the B u g i s states, the earliest stories refer to a period sub-
sequent'to the G a l ig a s o f S a m i r a G a d in g , an d in the M a k d s a r states to the M u p â m a
of M a B e s é a n g , which will be mentioned hereafter. «The G a l ig a s contain an account
o f the peopling o f Lüwu or lAzcat from heaven.
• The first o f the two following accounts was given by the B & g i s ambassador ; the
other is an extract.
z 2 « In