guage which entirely superseded and extinguished any preexisting
dialect that may have been spoken in the island.
The Maleeassian is in its essentialprinciples and whole
structure a dialect of the great Malayan family.* 11 approaches
by much the most nearly to the Tagala, and contains in an
entire state a great many grammatical and fundamental forms
of the Tagala. Yet, in the opinion of Humboldt, it would
have preserved more of the fuhand artificial developement of
the Tagala had the Maleeassian been derived immediately from
the Philippine Islands. Perhaps it may have originated from
Java; but if that was the fact, we must date its derivation in
times antecedent to the introduction of Indian refinement in
Java. It would otherwise have possessed mbre Sanskrit
wordsj Yet some words of this language exist in the Male*
cassian, and even words expressive of common ideas, in no
very altered shape, such as mica, a cloud, from meg ha, and
vihi, seed, from the Sanskrit vija. It is likely that other
idioms may exist intermediate between theMalecassian and
the dialects of the Philippines.
It seems from various authorities cited by Humboldt that
one and the same language is spoken throughout the whole
of Madagascar. "
S ection IV.Gen e ra l Idea o f the History o f the Malayo-
Polynesian Nations and their Languages.
1. In the first age of the history of the Malayo-Polynesian
race, which, though chronologically undetermined, is recognised
as the earliest in a succession of periods, the collective
body of the people existed nearly in the same state as the
Tahitians and New Zealanders of the present time. It was
during this period that they were spread over all the islands
of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. In some groupes of islands
the people of this age appear to have been more numerous
* “ Dies© Sprache Tm eigentlichen Verstande und bis in ihr Innerstes
hinein dera Malayischen Slanim angehdrt.”—Humboldt, Kawi Sprache, 2,
S. 326.
and powerful than their descendants of the present day.
This has been conjectured,at least in regard to the natives of
those islands where,* as. we shall hereafter observe, colossal
images have been found. The centre of whatever mental
culture existed among these tribes, at least the quarter wherp
their language was most;elaborated, -andj.wheçe the. mother-
tongue of the whole rac.e, has been traced, if wef.may so
consider the Tagala, displaying as it dfos the^nearest relations
to the remotely spread idioms both in east and w,est, was the
groupe of the Philippine Islands, and particularly the northern
part.
^Before the termination of the ;fi§stp®pd tribes of ^ i #
who inhabited the islands ofe the Indian JïrchipçlagQ^ttainedl
some' improvement in arts. They, acquired knowledge^of
agriculture, of metals, of different manufactures, and perhaps
also alphabetical writing. They were perhaps as far advanced
in^cultureus the Battahs of Sumatra. ; *
* 2*. A second period in the history of the race begins with
the early colonisation of Java. .,. It
event fopk place at the commencement of tho Javanese e^a,
but this-ijs the' most probable suppositi^p^toThe^Ii11^ ^ #® ?
Jayanësê formed-dialects by amalgamating the (pure Jppnskrit
of their colonists, perhaps conquerors, at any rate civilisers,
with the old Polynesian, and. formed the Bhasa Dhalem,
and at length the poetical and litefary languagef |th#; Ka>wi.
They spread their conquests,far and near in the Indian seas;
the extent of their conquests or colonisation, or of the
influence of their religion and literature, may, be traced in
the history of particular tribes, to which we shall have ,occasion
to .advert. Sumatra and Celeb.eSf.and, the continental
Malayan |>eninsula were near to fhe.qentre of this influence.
| 3. The third period is the Mohammedan. The, decfinp.sof
Javanese influence was perhaps coeval with .the«^3|fopsiQi& of
Ta.ia.iw on the^ruins of HindpismK^ The pagaUt pngbip and
the Indian form of society still exists in , the Island ; of Bali,
near Java, whither the Brahmans retired on their expulsion
from Java by the converts to Mohammedanism.