wèstem part of the island, and are supposed tó be the most
ancient of its inhabitants. Their' language Stf peculiar to
tfiêin> but it is saiff~tb be'eèfinèSètêd with the Midkyan, ahd
also with the Bugis and Burmah laftg-uages. Its relation to
thè Bugis is, According to Dr. Leyden, the' most intimbte.
This writer:says that the Batta ljahguage'!is the principal
source of the variety' of idiom discovered in the island. The
Rèjing appears to have been formed' by a mixture of Batta
and Malay, and the LampOng by Malay and Batta, 'blended
with a certain proportion of Javanese; the Achinese is a
mixture of Batta and Malay, with the idiom or some Indian
nation of the continènt.
The dialèct of the rude natives of the Néas- and- Poggi.
Islands is said to be more like the Batta than any other
language.*
The Battas have had a peculiar alphabet from immemorial
times, and are said to have numerous-bookis* The alphabet
is peculiar both in the form and arrangement of the characters,
but bèars a geheral resemblance te the other alpha-?
bets of the insular tribes, Thé Batta writing is generally in
përpendieular lines, but, unlike the Chinese, is read from thé
bottom to the top of the line ; this arrangement has probably
taken its rise from the materials on which the Battas usually
write, which are bamboos or a stnoothened surface on the
branch of a tree. The Batta characters when arranged in
their própër position have a considerable analogy to ihoéë -of
the Bufgfe and Tagala; and Dr. Leyden was of opinion that
the differences between the alphabets of the Battas and those
of thé Rejangé and Lampongs have arisen accidentally from
the different materials on which these nations write. It is
said that almost every individual among the Battas has
learned to read and write.
The Battas are pagans, but we have no correct information
as to the nature of their superstition. They have little images,
but Mr. Marsden doubts whether these are objects of worship
or merely a sort of talisman. It is said that they have priests
who are termed Gfirfis,. an Indian name, perhaps unknown I
I Leyden. .
to therBattas thejpfiely.es;.' $ In their dpmesticjmanners they are
scarcely.lesa-ciMlisedthan,the Malays,puthavepreserved certain
customs from an older and more, barbarops. state,, when they
must have bprne a strong, resemblance to, the native^of New
Zealand. They oat human fl^gh in .a spr^of c^emony. The
victim-is-a prisoner of war qr, a|m,aJ^actor, who after being
tried and condemned, is tied tp ,a ,^ k e> his. h§a4 peered with
a cloth, when the ypppple. .assembled' t'hrpw L^n^es .at him,
and after he ijS ^norj;ahy wq^u^epl run, up^ to^him 0ut .
pieces from his body with kniye%-J They-dip these^mofeeU in
a ’dish of sUlt and lempn-juice, slightly broil t^gm over a-^fire
prepared for tfie< purpose,, and then dep|0ur; Ihemi^jth savage
dejigjht. ni.On certain ,opca§iQps, the,,Battas t^ttqp, their .limbs,
, With figure^ of birds and beasts, .and paint them pf divk^
colours. It is said .that they-'are called* Batak., in- the,
Bisayan language pf the Philippines, by wbjbh same term the
tattooed ’ people are known who by ,th f£ i,amards are named.
“ Pintado#/’* : ^ \ - r ;.-4
The rtativhs of the neighbouring, Neas and Poggi Islands
Speak,* according to Dr. ^yde»,-. a..dialect,
hlihg th a i|p f the. Battas, and ?e"
* garded as an exemplar of the ancient ^state,. of thp Batta
nation. Lshall cite, the description given ro£ these islanders
by ,Mr> Crisp, as a supplement Jo the rpt^cndmgi remarks on
the'Battas. ..
.. Xhe Poggi .islanders are a finelyrfi>rmed people.; their
gtature seldom exceeds five feet and a half; their complexion
is, Eke that of the Malays,;.a light bjowa or copper ecqlour,.
The. numerals in their language most n im b l e . %)se of the
Battas and Lawpofigs,. They are at p^s^t^quite. a distinct
people from the ipmatrans., and much mpre ^.eseflahJe , the
Polynesian tribes in the Pacific. They majie glQtjh, of the
bark of a tree, which-they wear in the same, manner .as those
islanders, and the practice; pC tattooing” skin is general
among them, as among the Zealanders., They believe
in certain unknown invisible beings,.- tQ^whom tbfey sometimes
sacrifice a hog, or -a fowl^to arrest sickness,or prevent other
calamities^;and they dispose of their dead nearly in the same
way as the Otaheiteans. These people may be considered