ê c c . seem to indicate either a common origin or a former intcfCóUrse. It is algo
remarkable, that- some o f the inhabitants o f I s u w u and the neighbouring State Of
B o n t t d n are said to dress in the same manner a« the Hindus o f Western India, and
that Hindu temples are reported-to exist in some parts o f this state. Brahma and Budha
have, however, never been heard o f; and thougk D ê w t t s are often mentioned; their
attributes are equally unknown.
Th e intercourse o f these islanders With the natives o f Java seems to have beèh
ancient and frequent. The earliest records o f the B ü g i s and M a k a s a r states denote
Hot only an early communication with J ava, but render it highly probable that a
Colony from Java settled in the south-west limb o f Celebes. In no other way can We
account for the transfer o f the names o f places from the former to the latter island,
Such as those o f M a ja p a h i t , ( x r ê s i k , J a p a n , and some Others. In th e gehealogy, 'too,
o f the sovereigns o f I a cw u , one o f the first o f their D S w a princes is said to have been
married to a princess o f M a j a p d h i t on Java.
Though some o f the B ü g i s states have a .good deal o f trade, they principally
depend upon themselves for subsistence. The mode o f husbandry is o f course very
rude, and feudal institutions stand in the way o f their improvement; but private
property in the soil is established, and lands are held in free tenure or by rent-hold.
T h e amount o f the rent, in the latter case, is generallyone-third o f the produee' paid
in k in d ; the cultivator is entitled to one-third; and the owner o f the buffeloes ttr
bullocks which assist is entitled to the remaining third. Labourers employed t6
reap are paid a sixth o f what they collect. - N o class is excluded from a proprietary
right in the soil, and the proprietor can dispose o f his-land - by sale whenever he
chuses.
The people o f Celebes are active and enterprizing traders: the character o f a
merchant is held in esteem, and the sovereign princea reckon it no disgrace to enteb
into commercial speculations. • Unfortunately, however, they are actuated by the
narrow spirit o f the trader, to the prejudice o f the liberal policy of the monarch,
and make their power subservient to their lo v e o f gain, by establishing in thedr own
favour monopolies against their subjects. Monopolies are common in every state on
the island, but most o f them arc only o f a temporary nature. •' The sovereign o f
I j&w u monopolizes the trade in brass; the Raja o f S ó p i n g that o f s i n (betel leaf),
which yields him three hundred dollars a month; and the Raja o f S e d e n d r e n g that
o f salt and opium.
So strong is the spirit o f commercial enterprise among the inhabitants o f this
island, that they frequently borrow sums for the purchase o f commodities on which
they expect profit, and stake their personal liberty, and that o f their families, on the
success o f an adventure. In their trading voyages each person in the p r d h u has his
own share o f the cargo, and conducts business on his own account: each person
likewise carries his own provisions; the latter practice, especially, is never departed
from. The owner o f the vessel agrees to undertake the voyage with a number o f
people, great or small, in proportion to its size, and apportions the vessel among them
in the following manner. The two j d r u m u d i s , or steersmen, receive one p H u h (pr
division) before the sa n k e ta n and the wlioje space abaft o f it ; the owner is entitled
to two p e ta h s in the broadest part o f the b o a t; and the two j u r u b a tu s t o the whole
space between the masts ; the remaining p e ta h s are divided among the crew, from
whom the owner, or n a k b d a , receives a freight o f one-tenth or one.twentieth o f the
price o f all the commodities they sell, according as they are bulky or small, in
proportion to i w value, 'JL'hp m d i i s and j u r u h d j u s only pay one-half o f the
proportion o f freight paid by the rest o f the crew- Sometimes the owner supplies the
c r e w with an advance o f jnoney -for an adventure, and receives at its termination net
SMly repayment o f his loan, .-but a third o f the profits o f the speculation.
The principal articles o f trade are cotfon, -which is-imported from the surrounding
islands and re-exported after being manufactured into cloths, known by the name o f
B u g h s e l o t b s , which are in great demand throughout the Archipelago, and in general
o f a wore delicate texture than those manufactured in Jpvft; bird’ft-ppsts, t r ip a n g
(sen slug), shark’s fins, tortoise-shell, a g a r d g a r , hides; pad other articles calculated
for the phinese market, are collected in considerable quantities and furnish return
cargoes for the animal ©Miss# junks which yisi^^elehes. Cold is obtained p® 0efobe%
but in much smaller quantities than on Borneo or Sumatra.
Althppgh the B u g i s , in general, are consideBed as great tiraderp, the foreign
Commerce seems to be almost exclusively confined to the people o f T V d ju . These
people are settled in considerable numbers ip all the trading ports, from Acheen
jo Manilla, and it is they who form the crew o f almost ail the B u g i s p r d h u s that
navigate die Eastern Seas.
: Several B u g i s p r d h u s from M a k d s a r annually visit the northern coast o f New
Holland and the Gulph of Carpentaria in search o f t r ip a n g , and sometimes a small
party is left. to collect the t r ip a n g in readiness for the arrival of the p r d h u s ip the
•following, year.. •
The B t i g i s , indeed, is the great maritime and commercial sfote p f the Archipelago.
The cargoes o f their vessels, particularly in opium, gold, apd .cloths, often amount
Jp fifty pr sixty thousand dollars each, and the people who navigate and are concerned
in them are acknowledged to he fair and honourable traders,
The natives o f the southern limb o f ©glebes are ,of a light active form o f body,
generally well made, and rather below the middle stature. They are said t o be
revengeful; but during the' period o f the British government at M a k d s a r , few, if any
examples occurred to support such ap assertion. Certain it is, that in po single
instance, was the death o f those who fell in a recent war between the two parties o f
-the M a k a s a r nation, avenged by their relations, although the persons by whoso hands
they had -fallen were perfectly well known -
- They attach themselves to their chiefs principally for their own convenience, but ip
some eases they have,evinced a devoted fidelity. They often change their chief,, but
• scarcely any thing can induce them to betray the chief they hav.e left. In no instance
h a s tire p r d h u pf a Dutchman or Chinese been parried off when navigated by M a k a s a r
or
Celebes.
Characterof
the Natives..