that the judicious and intelligenfeSir T. S. Raffles was persuaded
to consider them all of one race. To this he applies
the description given by Dr. Francis Buchanan to Tartar
nations,—a name which, in -the acceptation taken by that
writer, includes inost of the Trans-Gangetic race's. | Dr.
Buchanan maked it comprehend the eastern and western
Tartars of Chinese authors, the Kalmuks, the Chinese, the
Japanese, and other tribes of the Indo-Chinese peninsula, as
well as the population of all the islands as far as New Guinea.'
“ This plainly comprises the great islands of the Indian seas.
The Tartar race, as described by. Buchanan,' may be distinguished
by a short, squat, robust, fleshy stature, and by
features greatly different from those of an European. The
face is somewhat in the shape of a lozenge, the forehead arid
chin being sharpened, while at the cheek-bones it iS: very
broad. Their hair is harsh, lank, and black. Those nations
-o f this family, as the same writer ^observes, mn the -fligirellk
climates do not attain the deep hue of the Negro or Hindh *
nor do such of them as live in the coldest climates acquire
the clear bloom of the European.”
Such is the description of a great department of the human
family, to which, judging, as it would appear, from physical
resemblance alone, these two writers, celebrated as extensive
and accurate observers, identify the Javanese. I, shall now
cite the particular description given by Sir T. S. Raffles of
the natives of Java particularly.
“ The inhabitants of Java and Madura are in stature rather
below the middle size, though not so short as the Bdgis; and
many other islanders. They are upon the whole well-shaped,
though less remarkably so. than the Malays, and erect in their
figures. Their limbs are slender, and their wrists and ankles
particularly small.” “ Deformity is very rare among them.
The forehead is high, the eyebróws well marked and distant
from the eyes, which are somewhat Chinese, or rather Tartar
in the formation of the inner angle. The colour of the eye is
dark ; the nose small and somewhat flat, but less so than •
those of the islanders. The mouth is well: formed, but the
lips are- larger, and their beauty generally injured by the
practice of filing and dyeing the teeth black, and by the use
^tobacco, • The cheek-bones 'are usually prominent,
the beaids- rather scanty, thè hair of the head generally lank
aridl ’biâèk;:butsbmethnes waviiig Hn curls, and partially
Wi&'hrdeep: bro'wn ©olOfA. ’ The countenance
is niild, placid, and thbugbtfid,/and easily expresses respect,
gaiet^tóièétrfess) indiffelénoeÿ btishfulnefes^br^ahxèety.
r/ó/In complexion* the JavUriè* lts* well as • tbö ’Oöstmh,
islanders may be Cohsideifed rather a ; yellow than a Copper-
coloured’ or black race. They/are generally1 darker, however,
than the tribes óf the-nei^hbdutin^MandSj 'especially
tlà ' ihbabttaÉfé 'o f^n ïe astérn districts/ who may indeed m
considered a« having more delicate'features; and bearing1 a
moreidistinct i mprefesion of Indian colonisation than- those of
the western or - Sunda districts. In «otne* respects ’they 're-*
semble the Madurese, -who display a more - martial' air than
the Uatîves^of Java/’ It is added'that a considerable difference
Exists in complexion and features between the: higher
and lower classes, and in differenfrfiihtriets*•
In Balbttt^eligion and^ government dre Still Hinddi * The
people * are 'divided 'into the four> great HindÉ castes, - arid
thteti* ërë; Brahmritîs Of two orders, termed’Brahma'ûè’SeWb
and BrahMrie Bhda. ’-The natives of Bali^th-ough^f the
same/stoefey differ comrideràbly from thedavàns : “ tHdy Wd'
above die middle- sizè of ; Asiatics, and e^ual both ife*sti,tfere
and müscölar power either the Javan br'Malayan.*
-, •Sir T.’S. Raffles has compared the Javan people with the
other two most powerful nations of the. Indian'OceUft, namely,
the Malays and the Bugis,’ the- fomrfm-Mog1 aotómmt
people óf Sumatra; and the latter of the Island o f’Geldb^J
He first observes their mutual resemblance. “ Whatever
opinion,” he says, “ may be foteed as to th é^ ^n tity o f origin
between the hâtions inhabiting thèse ' islands and the neighbouring
pehinsula, the striking rêseiriblance in person,' feaK
ture, language, and customs which prevaïls tlnhUghOüt thêï
whole Archif^lago, justifies the conclusion that the'orfginal
population issued from the same source,'and that the peculiarities
which distinguish the different nations and'Communities
into whifeh it is at present distributed are the’ result of
long separation, local c i^m s tà h ^ ^ s iid ' foreign intercourse.;