80 KATIV ES OF- CELEBES.
had a close - connection with the ancient. Bittas,? and- they
likewise resembled the Bisayas and the Pintados of the
Philippines#
The origin of Indian culture among the Bugis- is unknown,
nor can it he determined whether it was introduced from Java
or immediately from the continent. Sir- T. Si Raffles has
observed that no Indianinscriptions'-or*'%ther monuments
indicating the former abode or domination of Hindoos? in
Celebes hawe heen b itherto seen- by ËurOpèêftsj' i th ough
reported that Hindu temples exist in the territory of Bontain.
The best-informed -natives ‘call thêrfisilvêS^ deieeifdahtS'^ h f
Hindoos! and the names? of Hindu divinities given to kings, 1
in»Celebes^ such as Batara Guru, Baruna, indicate ?a- connection
either immediate Or indirect with India. Batara Guru,
a local name for Siva, celebrated in Java, is the namefof the
first of the Bhgis- kings. Thé prevalence in GelebeSOf -local
-Javan. namèk, or ihê' transference ficom Java to Celefeèirbf'
such names of places as Majop&hit, Gresik, Japan,'indicate
the settlement of Javans in the former island, and render it
probable that it was through the medium of Java that
Celebes received its Indian culture, and perhaps:
civilisation.
The last writer who has paid some attention to the language
and literature of the Bdgis was the Baron W. A. Humboldt,
who, however, had no additional sources.: of information
beyond the short notices afforded by Raffles, xCrawfurd,
and Leyden, except a Vocabulary brought to Germany by Professor
Neumann, and prepared by Thornsen, a Danish missionary,
President of the Christian Union at Singapore.
Humboldt judgéd, from a comparison: of all the data in his
reach, that the Bugis idiom will be found to be an intermediate
member of the family of languages, and to constitute
the transition between the West Malayan dialects and those
of the Oceanic branch. » Humboldt has discovered, how-
* M. Le Gentil says, “ Les Bisayas et les Pintados, que. l’on a trouvé à
Camarines, à Leyte, Panay, et Zébu, ont la même origine que les peuples
de Macassar, (the island of Celebes,) qui se peignent le visage et le corps à la
façon des Bisayas des PhilippinesVoyage de M. Le Gentil, tom.*ii. p, 58.
PHXSÏCAL -CHARACTERS OF THE BÓGIS. 81
eyeiy in . the , Bhgis a , considerable number of Sanskrit
words1, .
The. alphabet of the Bógis bears much analogy to that of
the-Tagalas-, according to M. de Humboldt, who has compared
it with the characters used by. other nations of the Archipelago
and with the Deva-nagari, as wellas.with the modifications of
the . Deva-pagan.. adopted by different nations of the Indo-
Chinese Peninsula,. The result. of' this, comparison.usythat all
these alphabets are o f. I ndian, that is,. of Brahmanic origin;
that they were-formed, not on the model of the present; Deva-
nagari, but on that of a more ancient alphabet of which the
Deva-nagari is a comparatively late improvements This inference,
extends to the alpliabets of the nations inhabiting the
Indo-Chinese1. continent, as well as to those of the Malayo-
Pqlynesian tribes in the islands of the Archipelago.
The Biigi.s have a decided chara6ter. - Mr, Earle, in the
narrative of his first voyage, has described the Bngis colonists
of -Singhapura. He says they hear a strong personal
resemblance» to the Malays; but that in honesty, energy o f '
character,. and general conduct, they are for superior. They
arc deservedly praised for. their. upright conduct in commercial
transactions, greater reliance? being placed on their bare
word by those who are acquainted with their native character,
than on the: most sacred oaths taken by the natives of Bengal
and Coromandel#
The natives of Gelebes have been remarked as having in
their features some resemblance to the Tartars and Chinese.f
This is ^common to them and the Malays. Their colour is
yellow. Though more perceptibly tinged with this hue than
European women labouring under chlorosis, they are called
by the people of the Moluccas | Whites.” They are of light,
active form of body, well made, and rather below the middle
stature.J
* The Eastern Seas, or Voyages, &c. in the Indian Archipelago. By
George Windsor Earle, M.R.A.S.; London, 1837, p. 389.
f Labil lardihre,.Voyage è, la Récherehe de La Pérouse.
I Raffles’ Java, vol. ii. Appendix F.
yoL. y.