Section IL— O f the Natives o f Sumatra.
The island of Sumatra has long been the. seat of art§ and
civilisation. The character of the native inhabitants has
undergone great changes ; they are, with the exception of
the Javanese, the most cultivated people in the eastern archipelago.
We cannot find in th is, island, the: characteristic
traits of the unmixed Malayo-Polynesians ; . nevertheless, in
the interior of the country, and yet more in the range of
small islands on the south-western side of Sumatra, some
remarkable vestiges may still be traced, indicating the former
prevalence in Sumatra of a state of manners and of customs
and of languages nearly resembling those of the distant
Oceanic tribes.
In the interior of Sumatra some- savage ; hordes. yeL exist
who are generally supposed to be Papuas. of Haraforas.
They are termed, according to Marsden, by the Malays
Orang Kubu and Orang Gugu. Besides these almost, unknown
tribes Sumatra contains several distinct nations, differing
from each other in manners and religion as well as in
language and physical characters, but all referable :tQ. the
western branch of the Malayo-Polynesian race, These
nations are the Orang Malaio or Malays of Menangkabao,
the Battahs, the Rejangs, the Lampongs, and.the Achi,Qr
people of Achin.
Paragraph 1,-—Of the Orang Malaio.
Menangkabao is the principal state in Sumatra, and its
kings are supposed to have been formerly sovereigns of the
whole island, frbm all the chieftains of which they still
receive the shadow of homage. Menangkabao is the interior
and southern portion of Sumatra, and consists chiefly of
well cultivated and populous plains. The natives of Menangkabao
are the most civilised people of the island: they are
all Mohammedans,: while .most of the .other inhabitants of
Sumatra are still Pagans., They writeCthair language in
Arable, characters,, whereas the other nations have distinct
alphabets of their own*
The Malays of MenangkaBao differ little in physical characters
from their brethren of-Malacca on th e' continent.*
Both nations bear a general resemblance to the Siamese and
other Indochinese nations in general, and they mpst. be
considered as * nearly associated by their physical: typeto. that
department, of ^he, Asiatic .races, Ythbiigh distinguished from
them by a, differently constructed language*
Mr. Mar.sden has given , a general deseription of the Suma-
trans, whieh,..as hesays^ will suit all the native races except
therAchiuese,. It lias reference, however, principally toj the
Malays, odlt is as . f o l l ows » '
, “ They tare: rather below .the .middle stature ; their bulk is
ip proportion; their' limbs: are for thé most part Slight but
well-shaped; and particularly small at .the ankleSi Upon tho
whole they, are gracefully .formed.” “ The women flatten the
noses, andn compress the heads of\children,-newly, born, a
custom * which, increases their tendency, to that shape* Captain;
Cook ohsarved the. same practice ip the ijsla. of Ulietfea.
They pull out the ears of infants to make them stand
at an angle,froin the hehd«; Their
and clear, and among some, .especially thej§outhem,;\vQmep,
have’ a strong resemblance, ton|hose ofthe" ChipeseXt'in the
peculiarity of, formation -m generally .observed^of th%t people.
Theit hair tsstre^g^ randiOf a shmij^ hlapk; it is^ constantly
moistened with cocoa-nut Jflpjft The women wear their hair
long, sometimes reaching to the ground. The men destroy
their beards with chins are
so smooth that an uninformed person would imagine them
naturally destitute of hair.” “ Thebf complexion is properly
yellow, wanting the red tinge that constitute^ a tawny pr
* I have been informed feWiS»« Smith, * ai 1 *jhy.lV^Pl>'
travelled in Menangkabao m the diope of spreading 'Christianity among die
people, and who has written a very iritei^sting. account of his journey, yet
unpublished, that the Sumatran Malays are' somewhat of lighter complexion
than those of the continent.
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