96 PHYSICAL CHARACTERS OF
sation a vowel is generally added as a terminal; for instance*
of the words quoted above,. * akin ’ would become ( akini.’
The Kissa people, and the Tjmorians generally* appear tp
have a great dislike to the letter ‘ s, ’ which is rarely used,
although they can pronounce it, which is not the case with
the northern Australians.
. <f The structure of the language closely resembles that of
the Bughi&j indeed I look upon them as dialects of the same
language: it also accords with the Malayan, and a Timorian
acquires both these languages with great readiness*, and pronounces
entry word with the most perfect accuracy.
d o n o t a n g r y w ith m e.
K issa , jehon mahan ma yahü
M a la y a n , jangan mam aama 1 aku
y oil p le a se r e e e im th is
K issa , óho ra’amnodi kakàal éniéni
M a la y , angkau saka tarima ini
p e o p le ' h o w m any, h a ve ' v illa g e .
K issa , rià wôïrà àjl lékM1'
M a la y a n , orang brapa ada di-negri
/Do sot be angry
1 with me.
f Will \rou I receive
j this?
)Hqw many people
/' are there in the
3 village ?
“ In the names of natural productions, this dialect bears
a close resemblance to that of Tahiti. I may instance
*■ aru,’ bread-fruit; ‘ oho,’ the bamboo; ( neno,’ the morinda
cetrifolia (used as a dye-wood); * tapi,’ cloth.
“ Physical characters o f these races distinctively.
“ With respect to the personal appearance of these people,
I may state as a general rule that individuals from the islands
of this groupe, if met with in Java, Celebes, or the Moluccas,
and clad in the costume of the- natives of those places,
would not attract any particular attention as differing from
others. I have seen this strongly exemplified in cases where
people of all these islands have been mixed together, as in
some native regiments in the Dutch service, and among the
convicts at Banda. There are exceptions, and these I will
proceed to notice. 1st. Some of the tribes inhabiting the
elevated table-land in the interior of Timor, near the northeastern
extremity of that island, and many individuals in the
Serwatty Islands, Timor Laut, and the Ki Islands, are fairer
THE TIMORIAN ISLANDERS. 99
in eomplexiou than the natives Of the Archipelago generally,
but not more so than some of the Dayak tribes of Borneo,
a ^ thfe incmiitaineei'S about MenadO on the north-east end of
Celebes.*» ■ 2. Many individuals in Timor, especially aboiit
Cbèpao^ Iiave curly hair, which, however, grows to a con^
siderable lengths : The men tie it up in -a bunch: on the Crown
of the bead, allowing* the ends to S tra fte down the bâek,
and as they do not take much care of i t / i t appears more
©oarse and 'ridugh than it really is. These people may possibly
have a slight5 crosse of the Papuan. rSÆ. On the south coast
of Timor there are also some tribes wh® possess very strong
characteristics pf the Papua, and who, I have no doubt,
are a mixed race. Their complexion is dark, indeed almost
black, and they have coarse bushy hair. They ane an . inferior
racé, much oppressed by the other tribesy and great numbers
of them are kidnapped to serve ad slaves. I bayé not personally
? vikitad these tribes, bût I have §pen many individuals
b elo n g in g to them on the north-westcoast of the island.
I never met with one whom I could pronounce a pure
Papua y but from the mformatioa I received from different
quarters, I Shink it probable that a few small scattered
tribes of that people may exist among the fastnesses in the
mountains.^
M I mat with no tribes of this mixed race upon any of the
islands extending from Timor to the Ki groupe except upon
the south side of Moa, one of the Serwatty islands* The
coarse bushy hait of the natives there, their dark complexion,
and that peculiar muddy appearance of what should be the
white of the eye, which forms the distinguishing characteristics
of all those tribes that have a tinge of Papuan blood in their
veins, had attracted my notice when I first visited Moa, and
I subsequently discovered that they had Originally migrated
from the south side of Timor. They are an inferior race,
and are much oppressed by their Polynesian neighbours Otx
* Notwithstanding this general observantly Mr. I^arle inform^ ,me; that
there is a village near the north-eastern extremity pf -fimoj, where-the people
are more fair them the Polynesian trihés in general! Some of these have red
hair, èf which Mr. Earle has given me à spèehhefi,
H 2